#Battle For A Three Dimensional World

[dunmeshistash]

Interview to celebrate the opening of the Ryoko Kui Exhibition

About Delicious in Dungeon: Story making

Q1. Your first long-running series has lasted for about 9 and a half years. Has it been different from your previous experience drawing short stories?

A1. Compared to short stories, the series has been easier because the same characters appear each time. But I was surprised to find that I got tired of drawing the same characters too many times.

Q2. You have said before that the overall structure of the story was decided before serialization began, but how much of that had you communicated to your editor? Also, what kind of communication did you have during the series production?

A2. The goal was something we discussed and had decided on from the beginning. The goal itself was simple, but the path to get there was more difficult and took longer than imagined.

Q3. Regarding the overall story concept and development, did you write out or put anything down in writing (such as the plot)?

A3. I did, but it was simple.

Q4. Did you come up with the dishes based on the monsters you wanted in the story? Or did you come up with the monsters based on the dishes?

A4. It depended on the story, but usually the story came first followed by the monsters or food. I feel like that was most often the order.

Q5. As you progressed in drawing the series, what elements of the characters, story, or world expanded or grew in the most unexpected way?

A5. Nothing particularly unexpected perhaps. When I used to draw web manga, I tended to think up inconsequential settings. So, from the beginning I tried to restrain myself as much as possible and not expand too much. I was surprised when my editor said "Let's expand it more," in the second half of the series.

Q6. "Delicious in Dungeon" starts with a relatively simple setting, but as the series and the labyrinth exploration continues, the map slowly expands little by little in the readers' minds. It becomes more three-dimensional, revealing the secrets of the world, and taking on a multilayered structure. Are there any sources that you used as a reference, or which influenced you in creating this multilayered structure?

A6. A long time ago, when I was working on my personal web manga (fantasy), I drew it however I wanted, thinking that "Only people who can read this will read it," but I regularly received feedback that it was "unreadable", so I tried to make it as easily. accessible as possible.

Q7. The series combines many elements, including "fantasy", "gourmet", "battles", and "puzzle solving", but I think it's also important that it is a "comedy" which makes people laugh. Could you let us know if you have a creative commitment towards depicting humor?

A7. My hopes are that I can make it fun for people to read.

[page 5]

About Delicious in Dungeon: Drawing manga

Q1. Please tell us about the drawing tools you currently use, both digital and analogue.

A1. In terms of analogue tools, I use a light box, a G pen, a round pen, and a brush pen. And for digital, I use CLIP STUDIO PAINT and a Wacom LCD tablet. Screentone pasting is always done on the computer, so ultimately it all ends up as a digital manuscript.

Q2. Do you have any rules or reasons for using digital and analog separately?

A2. I'm always looking for ways to draw better and save time, so the exact approach is probably different for almost every chapter. Personally, I feel that analogue methods create more appealing lines, but I feel like digital saves time, so maybe I'll do a digital rough sketch and do the inking by hand… I might have been using a G pen, and maybe I'll try out a turnip pen, or this time I'm short on time so I'll draw it entirely digitally, but with digital I can redo it over and over, so maybe analogue is still faster, and so on and so forth. I'm indecisive in this way and so haven't developed a consistent process.

Q3. I understand that you prepare 3D data for your assistants to draw the backgrounds. What kind of data did you make for "Delicious in Dungeon" ?

A3. You could call it 3D, but it's not a proper model, just something to help with the rough sketching. I line up cubes to share the perspective and sense of scale, and they use it as a reference.

Q4. At the beginning of the series, the characters and backgrounds were somewhat simply drawn, and it seems like they became richly detailed over the progression of the story. What was your intention behind using these different styles?

A4. It's simply that my technique isn't stable. I thought I'd put a lot of effort in at the start. I remember being confused when my editor asked me to add more in to the drawing, and I wondered "Where…?"

Q5. Thinking about the food, were there any menu illustrations that you were particularly satisfied with, or which you struggled with?

A5. I've never liked my own food illustrations. But the times when I read other people's manga and thought "That looks delicious," I think it's been more an influence of the movement, the staging, and the situation than the drawings.

Q6. For the world maps and the terrain of each continent, did you refer to any maps of the real world? I feel like the shape of the 'island' is similar to the shape of Fukuoka Prefecture or Kyushu.

A6. I didn't reference any specific geography, but I did try to put thought into things like whether a developed city would be near a river or the sea, and what the coastline would look like. I'm pleased if it feels similar to a real place, because it means my interpretation was pretty accurate.

About Delicious in Dungeon: Other

Q1. Which is your favorite monster?

A1. Nightmare.

Q2. I'm sure you have received a lot of feedback from readers in countries and regions outside of Japan. Please tell us if there was anything from them that made you happy, was unexpected, or which made a lasting impression on you.

A2. When you play foreign games, there are times when you think "Why did they translate it into Japanese like that?" But having been on the side of having something translated, I've realized some things are unavoidable, or endless, and there are many things that don't matter either way from the author's perspective, so it was interesting.

About Ryoko Kui's short story collections and herself

Q1. Dragons are a consistent and important motif in your work. Was there any particular work or experience which inspired this? Also, are there points about drawing dragons which you find interesting or have had to work hard on?

A1. It's less about liking dragons, and more that I'm interested in the worlds in which dragons exist. When I draw dragons, the depiction in itself has a sweet feeling to it. I have never had a pet reptile, so I don't have a very good understanding of them.

Q2. Unomiya University in your story "The dragon's school is on top of the mountain" has a Faculty of Dragons, Department of Environmental Studies, and Department of Technology Studies, and a Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. If you were to enroll in the university, which department or faculty would you like to enter?

A2. I probably wouldn't be accepted….

Q3. The collection includes a short story staged as an essay manga. Are you a fan of essay manga? Please tell us about any genres of essay manga that you like.

A3. I love all kinds of essay manga. I read them often.

Q4. If you were to make your own game, what kind of game would you like to make?

A4. I prefer being a player when it comes to games.

Q5. When did you first start drawing illustrations (doodles)?

A5. I don't exactly remember when I first drew a picture, but I think I started drawing manga around the fourth or fifth grade of elementary school. in my notebooks and had my friends read them.

Q6. What is the most fun part about drawing manga?

A6. Every part is fun and hard in its own way.

Q7. Please tell us if there is anything you "just can't stop no matter what".

A7. My procrastination habit.

Q8. Could you please tell us if there's something you want to draw now?

A8. I've been working continuously since the serialization, so I'd like to take about 2 to 3 months to just draw whatever I want.

[burntoutdaydreamer]

3 Steps to Improve Your Characters and Make Them Three-Dimensional

So I don’t have a process for creating/developing characters (to me the process is intuitive to the point where I wouldn’t even know how to explain it), but I do have a process for revising characters that just… fall flat, for whatever reason. 

I like to get to know my characters by throwing them into a bunch of different situations and seeing how they react, but sometimes that’s not enough. In these cases I need to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to make them not feel like a cardboard caricature of the role I need them to fill. Here’s the process I use, and it involves three key questions to understand what makes your character tick.

1) What is this character’s fundamental belief- either about the world or themself?

2) Where does this belief come from?

3) How does this belief hinder them, and are they capable of growing past it?

Alright, here’s what the process looks like in action. 

Let’s say I have a character I need to flesh out for my story.

Character A is a middle aged coffee shop owner and the protagonist of her story. The central conflict of the story revolves around trying to save the family run coffee shop she inherited from her father when he passed away, which has recently fallen on hard times.

What is this character's fundamental belief?

Character A believes that the world is an inherently good and fair place. She believes that good is always rewarded and bad is always punished, even if the timing isn't always perfect. As such, she strives to live a virtuous life, putting as much good into the world as she possibly can. While she understands that even good people can face hard times, she believes that in the long term, if things don't work out, it'll be because she didn't put in the work needed to turn things around.

Where does this belief come from?

Character A grew up in a solidly middle class household with good parents that treated her well- rewarding her for good work, and fairly punishing her for misdeeds. Her parents gave her everything she needed, but also expected her to work hard for the things she wanted. She also had the experience of watching her father build a successful business through hard work and by building strong connections with the people in town. If we want to push this further, we could also say that this belief was reaffirmed by watching her brother ruin his own life, squandering all his money and goodwill with those around him on failed get-rich-quick-schemes and outright scams that landed him in jail.

How does this belief hinder them, and are they capable of growing past it?

Let's say that Character A recently hired a barista who seems perfect for the job. Strapped for help, she gets him started right away before getting the results of his background check. When the results come in, she finds out that he is on probation and was recently released from jail for a violent crime. Shocked, she fires him. Believing that people who end up in jail always deserve it, she can't see past her initial prejudices. As a result, her coffee shop suffers from the loss of her new star barista.

Some time goes on, and Character A encounters the barista again, and learns more about the circumstances that landed him in jail (maybe he was falsely convicted, maybe he was battling psychosis, maybe the violent act was done to prevent a loved one- anything that makes her question her initial assumptions). He then confesses that he is struggling to provide for himself and his family because no one will hire him because of his criminal record. Character A comes to realize that her belief isn't completely true, and that the world isn't entirely fair. Though it takes a lot of inner work to do so, including coming to terms with her privilege, she eventually accepts this, and revises her beliefs. She decides that even though the world isn't fair, people have the responsibility to make it fair.

She decides to re-hire the barista she fired. After doing everything she can to make things right with him, she proposes an idea she wants his help with. Together, they transform her family business into a joint coffee shop and community rehabilitation center. In addition to selling coffee, they also launch a program to provide resources to recently incarcerated individuals looking to reenter society. They'll host weekly events on job interview coaching, alcoholics anonymous, motivational speeches, group therapy, opportunities to connect with open-minded employers, and more. Their promotion of this new program enables them to secure funding from local patrons and public grants, and customers are willing to pay for more expensive coffee with the knowledge that that money will be put to good use.

Additionally, if we want to go with the brother in jail backstory, we could have this ending be an opportunity for her to reconnect with him and maybe even repair their relationship as she gets to see him in a new light.

Main Takeaways

And there you have it!

You can use this process on any character- protagonist, antagonist, side character, etc. By grounding your character's motivations and development in their beliefs, you can easily introduce depth and internal conflict while keeping everything connected to the themes and plot driving your story.

Depending on your character's role or your story's plot, the belief can be wide reaching and complex (such as a philosophy or ideology), or specific and personal (such as having to do with their self-esteem). Either way, it should always be tied to their personal experiences or observations. This doesn't necessarily mean a tragic backstory. It could be, but I encourage you not to make this your default way of creating character depth. A mundane but grounded and sincere motivation will always be more compelling than cheap, dark shock factor.

Generally, protagonists with happy endings and villains with successful redemption arcs are capable of moving past their beliefs, while tragic heroes and antagonists aren't, and this failure is usually the source of their downfall. Keep in mind that even if characters do move past their old beliefs, it will always be a difficult thing to do. It will require them to confront their own mistakes, biases, and emotional wounds, and require both internal and external work in order to fix whatever their old beliefs have damaged.

Hopefully this guide will help you approach your characters from a different perspective. Feel free to share any insights.

Happy writing y'all!

[burade]

a fairly detailed kirby oc ask meme

🪐 (Saturn) - What planet are they from? Is it in Gamble Galaxy, Another Dimension, the Mirror World, the New World, or somewhere else? Where do they live now?

🧃 (Juicebox) - What species are they? What’s their biology and physiology like? Do they differ in any way from a ‘typical’ member of their species?

⚔️ (Crossed Swords) - What weapon(s) do they wield or specialize in, if any in particular? Any special properties? Do their weapons have names or epithets? [e.g. MK’s Galaxia, Morpho’s Doomblade]

🪄 (Magic Wand) - Are they capable of wielding magic? Is it a learned skill, or is it innate? What sorts of spells can they cast? Do they possess any magical items or artifacts? [e.g. the Dimensional Mantle]

💫 (Shooting Star) - If they were to wish on a clockwork star, like Galactic Nova or Star Dream, what would they wish for?

🪽 (Wing) - Can they fly, hover, or levitate? Is it through natural means or artificial means? If they have wings, what do they look and feel like?

🥘 (Stew) - Do they have any favourite foods or comfort foods? What are their eating habits like? If absorbed by the Cook ability, what healing item would they summon?

🧋 (Boba Tea) - Come up with a Kirby Café item themed around your OC! It can be a savoury dish, a drink, a dessert, or something else entirely.

☀️ (Sun) - What’s their morning routine like? Do they take a lot of time getting ready in the morning? How do they groom themselves? What are they having for breakfast?

🌙 (Moon) - Is your OC a particularly light or heavy sleeper? Somewhere in-between? Do they take naps?

🍅 (Tomato) - If Kirby absorbed them or their attacks, what Copy Ability [or Abilities] would he get? Alternatively, if they themselves are capable of using the Copy Ability, do they have a favourite?

⚡️ (Lightning Bolt) - Which Power Effects [Blizzard, Bluster, Sizzle, Splash, Zap] would their attacks grant? Do they have any particular weaknesses or resistances, elemental or otherwise?

🎶 (Music Notes) - Do they play any instruments? What kind of leitmotif and/or battle theme would they have? Are there any songs you associate with them?

💌 (Love Letter) - How easy are they to befriend? Are they more of a social butterfly or a lone wolf?

💥 (Collision) - What’s your OC’s combat style like? Do they adhere to any particular code of honour or ethics in a fight, or are they totally unfettered by that sort of thing?

⚙️ (Gear) - Do they have any knowledge of, or connections to, the Ancients? What do they think of them?

⚖️ (Scales) - On the subject of a certain someone’s lengthy rant; is your OC moreso on the side of magic or science? Somewhere in-between? Do they incorporate the two together in some way?

🍨 (Ice Cream) - The Invader Armour undergoes a drastic transformation depending on its pilot. If they were to wield it, what appearance would their mech take on? What abilities would it have?

🪞 (Mirror) - What would their Mirror World counterpart be like? If they are a Mirror World counterpart, what traits of theirs are reflected? Do the two of them get along?

🐛 (Caterpillar) - What are your OC’s greatest fears, and why? How do they act or react when they’re afraid?

💼 (Bag) - Inventory check! What items does your OC typically carry around with them? What do they carry them in?

🔮 (Crystal Ball) - Out of all the treasures in the Great Cave Offensive, Kirby is letting your OC pick one from his stash to keep! Which one do they pick, and why?

♟️ (Pawn) - Does your OC get possessed easily, or do they have the willpower to fight back against any possible attempts? Have they been possessed before?

🕸️ (Spiderweb) - Create a bouquet inspired by your OC! It can be based on their colour palette, flower language and symbolism, whatever they like best, or any combination of the three.

💜 (Purple Heart) - If they were corrupted by the Jamba Heart, which negative traits of theirs would be amplified?

🩷 (Pink Heart) - If they were a Dream Friend, what would their moveset be like? How much HP do they have? Would they be a strong attacker, or would they take on more of a support role?

🦁 (Lion) - If they were an animal — that is, of the Earth / Shiver Star / New World variety — which animal would they be? If they already are an animal, what real-life species or subspecies are they most similar to?

🕰️ (Clock) - What would a Dreamy Gear version of them look like? What sort of accessories would they have? What kind of role do they play?

🛡️ (Shield) - Which Clash role would your OC pick - Sword Hero, Hammer Lord, Beam Mage, or Doctor Healmore?

🦋 (Butterfly) - Does your OC ‘fear the reaper’, so to speak? If they fused with Morpho Knight, what sort of form would they take on?

🍒 (Cherry) - Out of all of the Dream Friends [Kirby included], which ones would they get along with the most? The least?

🥀 (Wilted Rose) - Do they have a Soul form? What would it look and act like? How much control over themselves do they have? Is it still possible to save them, or are they too far gone?

[mmavverickk]

I personally have always felt that, on Jason's end, the rivalry he bad with Percy was done to like meet the expectation of his role S a son of Jupiter. He doesn't even know how to have a genuine rivalry because he's all in his head.

I dunno I might be talking outta my ass

i understand how it comes across that way. honestly, that's probably how rick wrote it. "well these two are kids of the big three, gotta put some tension there."

he clearly didn't think about percy and jason as three-dimensional characters that could have a rivalry grow naturally between them. he thought a rivalry would just be a flat plot point and made something up.

the rivalry should have been jason trying to fill percy's shoes at CHB for months, and still falling short because he's not thinking of percy as a person who can't be replaced rather than just an empty leadership role that needs to be filled.

the rivalry should have been jason learning that percy became praetor after spending less than a week total at CJ—he was literally on a quest 90% of the time. no matter how much he helped in the battle at the end of the book, jason wouldn't think he'd truly earned his position. earning a praetorship, jason would think, takes years of work, not a week.

the rivalry should have been percy remembering how bitter he really is towards the gods as he recovers his memory, percy realizing that CJ deadass has an entire child army, fully sanctioned by the adults in new rome, and realizing that those adults are just as bad as, if not worse than, gods who would send children on life-threatening, world-saving quests, and the only person he can really take that repressed anger and bitterness out on is jason.

the rivalry should have been jason hearing how flippant percy is when talking about these deities that they're meant to worship, how much he insults them and how impertinent he can be without consequence, and he simultaneously envies how much percy's able to get away with and hates how disrespectful he is.

we should have seen roman leader jason, groomed from his toddler years by the legion and lupa herself, who leads a structured, militaristic camp that prioritizes the safety of the many over the safety of the few, bashing heads with greek leader percy, who went from being an outcast to growing into leadership because he wanted to save as many people as he could.

we should have seen jason's envy of the fact that percy had a mother. we should have seen jason's jealousy over how much percy's father loves and values him. we should have seen jason's heartbreak that this self-important, standoffish, disrespectful jerk has the brotherly relationship with thalia that jason's desperate to have.

we should have seen so much more of these two characters that made them seem less like legendary heroes and more like the traumatized teenagers they are.

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

So how evil would you say Morgan is?

In Morgan's last post, I mentioned one of the biggest changes in KBASW AU (to mix the anime & game lore...) is Dame Morgan the one who gave Hyness the Jamba Heart.

(I hinted at her ability in this post... when I said she's a black hole, I meant that.)

She was the one who created the dimensional rift that dropped the Jamba Heart at his & the cult's doorstep. Dame Morgan being very well aware that Hyness was in the position of the book of Legend made sure the circumstances a line with everything the book says.

And of course, she waltzes right in (pretending she just happened to pass by), "Could it be the Jamba Heart, and it's chosen you, imagine the great power you can do with that, only you could, this is your destiny... "

And presents herself "as a former star warrior who's become weary lost soul after the war just trying to find purpose." Needless to say, Hyness welcomes her with open arms. The raw power of an ex-gsa-soldier, he couldn't pass up this ...

The events of Star Allies are very different... The best way I can describe is (without spoilers/ this is a reference to Kirby Star Allies' game). The "Story Mode" doesn't happen but Star Allies Guest Star mode is happening... (Minus the boss battles MK & King Dedede since aren't there ... they have someone else to fight ~)

"Where's Kirby & the main gang during this..."

"Forgotten Land" is happening... and when Dream Friends are confronting Morpho Knight so is Kirby in the Isolated Isles (the Extra Mode), Morpho is testing Kirby and his friends all at the same time.

Basically (this Boss battle is happening), while everyone was fighting Morgan snatched the Jamba Heart away. However, one person notices and tries to stop her... Leading to... this zesty confrontation with Zan Partizanne and Dame Morgan.

Keep reading for spoilers~

Zan Partizanne was able to realize that it was Morgan who delivered the Jamba heart to their doorstep once she saw (Morgan) create the dimensional rift to snatch it away.

And as any true villain does... Morgan comes after Zan Partizanne's entire life & entire existence ( as well as the hypocrisy of the cult) and rubs her mistakes in her face leaving no crumbs.

And this is why Morgan's so dangerous. She takes advantage of everyone's very human flaws and calls people out on them... she knows how to play a good mind game. (via. Joker in the Dark Knight)

THE THREE MAGE SISTERS ARE MEANT PARALLEL TO UTHER'S & HIS THREE STUDENTS: Zan Partizanne - Sir Arthur/ Flamberge - Dame Morgan/ Francisca - Sir Nonsurat...

With a very key difference, the Mage sisters genuinely care for one another, Uther's students hated each other. Which is why the blind loyalty they put into Hyness sickened her (at least Uther had class but this bumbling moron's way to scrap at the bottom of the barrel.)

Dame Morgan is one of the most complex characters in the story. (Uther & Morgan's dynamic is basically Azula & Fire Lord Ozai...) She's very much out to get what she deserves, in a sense she played by the rules of the world but it was never enough.

Now she's out to make her own way, rule her own life... TO TAKE IT!

She's evil yes but you get why she's like this.

I also want to explain a bit more her power with the Jamba Heart, and how she was able to negate "insanity..." She's the middle man of the deal... that reaps the benefits. Getting that generated dark heat energy for herself. And it also helps that now she has her own personal sponge for that (*cough* Dark Matter *cough*).

And of course, after this, she departs for Dreamland... And this is where things get really interesting!~

I hope you all enjoyed Dame Morgan aka Morgan Le Faye.

[bravelyartbooking]

little known bravely default series facts

I noticed a couple of comments about the Bravely Series on Twitter last night that made me realize some folks didn't know some of what I consider common knowledge of the series (like why the ba'al theme wasn't on the Bravely Default soundtrack).

Contains spoilers for all three games. Also this got longer than I thought, thanks in advance if you make it to the end and find something you didn't know! I'm sure most of this seems obvious to long timefans.

Here is a compilation of what I know that may or may not be common knowledge to newcomers?

I had to split this into three parts because of Tumblr's character limit and I'm honestly too tired to fix the numbering. A much more readable version can be found on Google Docs here.

First part:

The version of Bravely Default that was received in the West is the second version of the original Bravely Default game, released in Japan in Dec 2013. This version, called "Bravely Default: For the Sequel" came with a massive (80ish) amount of improvements based on player feedback, such as: additional sidequests for the Asterisk Holders in later parts of the game, difficulty and encounter settings sliders, battle speed, redrawing the cities, and the Bravely Second mechanic itself.

This means some tie-ins to Bravely Second didn't exist with the first version - the Adventurer being green when you first encounter her, the end AR movie with Magnolia, the Ba'als and their theme. All this was added later.

The Japanese version does include different languages, including English, so if you can't understand Japanese you can still easily play this version of the game on a hacked or Japanese 3DS!

The first release in Oct 2012 was called "Bravely Default: Flying Fairy" and a lot of JP folks still use BDFF to refer to it.

While BDFTS and BD: Where the Fairy Flies (the Western release) are functionally identical, some changes between JP and West include but are not limited to:

Costumes were censored (such as the Vampire having a bodysuit under the belts and the Bravo Bikini)

The ages of Agnes, Tiz, Edea, Alternis and the Venus sisters was bumped up 3 years in their journal entries (or anyone whose age is written out instead of written as numerals).

Japan had merchandise that had codes for the extra costumes. The extra costumes made it into the Western version of the released game for in-game currency with the exception of Tiz's Dimensional Officer, Edea's Military Cadet, Agnes's Bravo Bunny, and Ringabel's Wakoku Warrior.

You can summon friends from Japanese versions and those costumes will be visible EXCEPT the Bravo Bunny is censored (the cut-out is covered) and Wakoku Warrior is replaced with Freelancer.

These codes expired after like 2 years.

There are 4 novels called "Pocketbook of R" (2 books) and "Pocketbook of R Second" (2 books). I'm including all the translation information I currently have.

Pocketbook of R is a first person journal from Ringabel in what is commonly dubbed "Infinity World" between the events of Bravely Default and Bravely Second.

Ellen translated the first book here (note that she did largely 'summary' translations as she hated the writing in the novel).

Bill translated most of the second book (page 70+) here. (Bill's native language is French and while I did some proofreading, there may be some clunkiness of translating from a third language into a fourth.)

Ellen started translating the third book here. This and the fourth book take place at the same time as Second, for the most part.

No solid English translations of the fourth book currently exist though I know the gist of it thanks to an older Tumblr fan who gave me the rundown. I'm sure RNT will make a video.

Second Part:

There are an additional 2 novels that are based on two of the spinoff games.

One is "Bravely Default - 200 years later" based on Praying Brage that was released in the Japanese Bravely Second collector's edition ONLY.

One is "Bravely Default Fairy's Effect - Rinne's Miracle" based on Fairy's Effect that was released as a standalone novel.

Very little information has been released about both. One day we'll have a summary/translation.

There are (currently) 4 spinoff games, all currently shut down.

Praying Brage (Nov 2012 - Apr 2017) was a browser game and was based on the premise of Edea going 200 years into the future to save Agnes. RedNovaTyrant has a great video on it here!

Bravely Archive: D's Report (Jan 2015 - Oct 2017) was a mobile game that centered around an alternate/future Luxendarc with crystal memories and a new main character who is revealed to be Deneb

It released in Australia for about 6 months in 2018

Bravely Archive Fairy's Effect (Mar 2017 - Aug 2020) was a mobile game released after Bravely Second that took place simultaneously 8000 years in the future and between the events of Bravely Default 1 and Bravely Second. There's a lot of lore for both games in FE that can be seen in various videos on the internet (such as info on the Kaiser/Glanz Empire and Agnes's transition into Pope, Ominas having a role in saving Mahzer and the newborn Edea from Eternia during Braev's coup), but Bill translated some of the remaining website summary here.

Bravely Default Brilliant Lights (Jan 2022 - Feb 2023) was a crossover mobile game in a new world that combined Luxendarc and Excillant characters and setting. It lasted 13 months and I archived as much video as I could on Youtube but as of now, first person "reports" can be found here that summarize each board of each story.

It explains why "First Born" Ba'al was a thing in Bravely Second.

An 'offline' version was released but pulled from the app stores in July 2023.

There are 2 audio dramas for the first game!

First one is called "Festival of Reunion" and a translation of all four tracks can be found here.

Second one is called something like "Bracelets of Eternity" and so far no English translation seems to exist (though I know the gist of the first track).

The Ba'al theme was released with the first audio drama.

There's a Luxendarc / Linked Horizons concert that took place in Japan in 2013, you can find video of it on Youtube and Amazon Prime Video, and they released music CDs specific to it.

Square released an X-mas Collections Music CD that has wintery remixes of some of the Bravely Default music.

There is a Bravely Default 4 volume manga that's a retelling of the first game. Red made a video about it here. You can find scans online and most of the translations were done by Ellen.

There is also a manga anthology that serves to tie together Bravely Default and Bravely Second (released around the same time as Second, if not earlier). Red also made a video about it here. Ellen scanslated the third story in the anthology, I reuploaded it here after her imgur account got nuked.

Bravely Second was changed between the JP and Western releases based on feedback from Japanese players:

Sidequests were streamlined so that players could get a "good ending" based on their decision even if they chose the opposite Asterisk after the time reset

The Black Mage/ Ranger sidequest had its endings completely rewritten, as the Japanese version ends with either Bahamut being eaten or the wounded NPC dying depending on who you sided with.

Some costumes that were DLC were added to be bought with in-game currency (same as Default)

Fort Lune was made more easily available instead of being locked behind a SE Member account (along with some other things like costumes).

Some of the writing was tweaked as there were complaints about the memey/modern references/references to other media like Dragonball.

Aimee/Hawkeye costume was changed (there was also minor censoring of other costumes, like adding a bra to Ranger for Magnolia).

The fox companion was moved to different locations instead of sitting next to the Adventurer, lessening some complaints of "mood whiplash" between tent scenes and serious story events.

Some JP preorder-exclusive weapons were excluded (as far as I can tell, some weapons were just very hard to get).

The controversial apology for Bravely Second was in regard to the large amount of negative feedback the team received from the JP fans in regard to Second (though some Western fans also had a lot of negative things to say, it was largely only because of the costume censorship to the point at least one mod was released).

Third Part:

Magnolia and Pope!Agnes had large plushie prototypes made of them that were never released.

There's an official MMD figure of Agnes from Second.

2 types of large Edea plushies were released, one with closed eyes and one with open eyes.

Only 200 of the open-eyed Edeas were made/released but now there apparently there's only 199 in existence because I tried to buy one and the seller told me she was damaged in by a wild animal getting into the warehouse, rip Edea...

Large plushies were released of Edea, Ringabel, Agnes, and Tiz based on their Default appearance. Tiz's plush had an unfortunate hair style in the prototype that they changed in the final version. Images of this bowl cut have been lost forever.

Gloria got a smaller plushie that's in the JP SE Store.

A set of even smaller Default 1 cast plushies, among other things, are in the 10th anniversary set.

The European Collector's Edition of Bravely Default Where the Fairy Flies included this unfortunate figure of Agnes.

The Bravely Second artbook has three versions:

Original Japanese version, scans of it exist online

Bravely Second (Western) collectors edition version, which removed several images - sketches/concept art of Agnes tied up in the ribbon and a couple of images of Geist as well. This version had translated captions but any text on the images was not translated.

The fully English translated version which also restores the images removed from the CE.

Sales data has indicated that the Bravely Series reached 3 mil in Nov 2021. No word on 4 mil or 5 mil, but maybe we'll find out this year?

Bravely Default 1 (all versions) hit 1 million in July 2014 (21 months from initial BDFF release)

Bravely Second (all versions) hit 700k in April 2017 (2 years from BSEL release)

Bravely Default II (all versions) hit 1 mil in Dec 2021 (10 months from BDII release)

So much JP only merch was released through the years, especially in the years before Second.

Some through the SE Cafe collab with BDII

Some through Artnia (here's Default and Second's collabs)

10th anniversary stores with Hakabanogarou in person and online (now closed)

10th anniversary collab with Super Groupies for watches, Agnes's pendant, a stole with Airy's pendant.

Stuff on the SE JP store

Limited edition rubber stamp sets for Default and Second

Linked Horizon branded BD merch was released with the concert like pins.

Magnolia figure.

Official D's Journal

The messaging Line app released Bravely Default/Bravely Second stickers drawn by a fanartist made official artist named Satokivi! I think they were like 3 dollars per set.

She also drew the mini series of 4koma called "Praying for Miko" for Praying Brage

Physical versions of these stickers are on the JP SE Store.

There's a vinyl record

Pop-up Parade figurines of the main four were released in 2023 for the 10th anniversary of Bravely Default.

Bravely Default II had two demos, the first one specifically made difficult to get feedback from the fans. They implemented some feedback to change the final version of the game (but not everything). This was the first time they have asked for feedback from the West instead of just Japan.

Team Asano has released Lunar New Year art every year except 2016 with Bravely characters and the zodiac animal

They do Christmas cards every year, and it seems that this year they included a special card for a special fan with an extra character in the dragon art. If you know you know.

The woman on the cover of Bravely Default II isn't Gloria.

Bravely Default II has several secrets in the names of Chapter 5, 6, and 7. Spoilers for BDII below:

Twin AGES refers to both the first initials of the known Heroes of Light (Adelle/Gloria/Elvis/Seth and Aileen/Godric/Emma/Sloan) as well as the repetition across the two eras of Heroes. Also, you’ll notice that the initials are shared between the folks who inherited the same blessing from the crystal (assuming Emma got the Earth Crystal and Godric the Water Crystal). This is most noticeable in the final fight against the Night’s Nexus when the spirit of the old Hero of Light is standing behind the new to help them. - Adelle/Aileen - Gloria/Godric - Elvis/Emma - Seth/Sloan

Twin CAGES refers to the ‘cage’ that Adelle locks herself into, and the ‘cage’ that Elvis is forced into without her

Twin PAGES references back to the twin eras of the known Heroes of Light, but now with the Player - whose help is needed for the cycle to end. This is why “P” is the last letter to fade in the ending credits when the player is thanked.

I'm sure there's a lot more I'm forgetting, and this isn't even including the Bravely Default original concepts that were revealed in a booklet in the 10th anniversary exhibitions.

If you made it to the end, I applaud you, and I hope there was at least one or two things you didn't know!

Also one day I'll finish the video on the English fan survey.

[racefortheironthrone]

Considering superhero comics predate the invention of spandex, when did the idea that superhero costume are made from spandex come from?

Great question!

To answer this question, I first need to backup and do some history about fin-de-siècle strongmen and the origin of the "superhero costume" as a distinct cultural concept. In the late 19th/early 20th century, circus strongmen were not just huge draws but celebrities and cultural icons in their own right, part of the whole obsession of anxious masculinity in that era, along with the emergence of bodybuilding and quite a bit of racist eugenics (think "Passing of the Great Race" stuff) about how industrial civilization was making white men effete and degenerate and thus vulnerable to the Other.

However, the strongmen had something of a fashion problem: in order to do their shtick, they often wore close-fitting silk tights and shirts in order to show off their musculature, and these had a tendency to split when they were flexing. This could run the risk of leaving the strongmen hanging in the wind, as it were, so they adapted by putting on wrestler's unitards over their tights to keep themselves under wraps.

Throw on a cape, and you literally have the archetypal superhero costume. But if you take a look at how these costumes look on an actual human body, they're not literally skin-tight. You can see some muscle definition in places, but there's also visible wrinkles and folds at the joints and other places where you need more flexibility. It's just not quite there yet in terms of evoking the whole George Sandow aesthetique.

And then in 1958, spandex was invented as a much more elastic fabric that could be truly skintight without splitting, so you could really see the musculature much more clearly. Add this to the expanding and increasingly professionalized and advanced culture of postwar bodybuilding, and people's expectations about what their superheroes could and should look like began to change. Thus, starting in the Silver Age and into the Bronze Age, superheroes start to look a lot buffer and their costumes look a lot tighter so that the reader can see every damn muscle (and curve) on superheroes' bodies - because artists and editors and publishers realized they could make more money by making comics that were a bit sexier, thanks to the magic of "spandex."

Now this gets us into the economics of the comics industry and changing generational cohorts, but as we passed from the Silver Age to the late Bronze Age, you started to see a shift from comics artists who worked in comics because Jews and Catholics weren't welcome in the Art Departments of Madison Avenue, to comics artists who worked in comics because they had grown up reading comics and learned to draw from comics.

This had an impact on superhero costumes, because the older artists tended to be plugged in more to fashion and fashion art and thus drew superhero costumes as clothing with real three-dimensionality to it and the younger artists found it easier and faster to just draw familiar superhero bodies naked (with "spandex" as the figleaf) and then put in a few lines showing where the costumes end - and this easier and faster style that turned up the dial on allowable sexiness was more profitable for the companies.

Once you get to Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, and the other "Image Kids" of Nineties Comics, the spandex-ification of superhero comics had reached its peak because now the hot new trend was stuff that wouldn't work even with real-world spandex, hence the phenomena of the boob sock and the logical extension of the swimsuit/bikini for superwomen to the battle thong.

So ultimately it all comes down to the combined pressures of culture and economics.

[jadevine]

Have watched MAD MAX: FURIOSA and I am struck by several excellent things:

1) The Ancient Roman/Greek aesthetic of Dementus’ gang and pre-crazy Immortan Joe, and the attention to costumes for everyone’s gang/clan/settlement in general. A+++ for the costumes again! Is it just me, or does the Green Place feel Wild West/frontier with all their blue/indigo denim, long skirts, and their rifles/shotguns, and walking around barefoot??? Even considering shoes are rare in the apocalypse, you don’t put all of those elements together, along with a theme of PEACHES, and expect folks from the States to NOT immediately think “country,” lol.

2) The medieval/“fall of Rome” feeling. Dementus’ motorcycle chariot is Greek/Roman, obviously, but his procession to the Citadel is a REALLY medieval show of power/people all carefully filing down the road behind him on motorcycles. Everyone’s got their own fiefdoms, and the war style is given a medieval feel with skirmishes, long-ranged weapons, and trading “hostages” (especially Furiosa) in exchange for good behavior.

3) Neon colors bursting out of the endless orange desert, or shiny and chrome metal versus rusty and old metal! It’s like “a desaturated photograph with a single pop of color,” but for the whole movie, and I love it! Another thing that imitators forget about when they fall into the “real is brown and dirty” trope is that people are people, and they will TRY to look nice, even in the apocalypse.

4a) The detailed body language. Dementus has at least one herald/signaller, folks are constantly signaling each other from a distance, and everyone seems to automatically gag/muzzle or cage an excessively violent person. Even in the apocalypse, some people are clearly considered too far gone, and biting is frequent ENOUGH that people watch out for it. People also know to just wait for a clearly angry/traumatized hostage to start talking again, or that some people don’t talk at all (whether because they physically can’t, or they just stopped due to trauma). Everyone also inspects a new person to check for disease/injury.

4b) The shifting/forgetting of spoken language. On the surface it sounds like the standard trope of “after the world ends, everyone forgets how to talk good,” but they haven’t forgotten JUST YET. History Man still remembers how to read, and the various gangs/settlements clearly have their own dialects. Military orders are distinct, and Dementus and the History Man are especially well-spoken throughout the film. (Besides making good use of Chris Hemsworth, Dementus was also an adult when the world ended, so he is constantly using ALMOST-right words.)

5) Heights! Cliffs, towers, the long range weapons, the diggers, and kites/gliders! It gives the fight scenes a three-dimensional feel and the impression that even the SKY isn’t safe. Sky-octopuses or metal buckets swooping down on you??? A+! Also terrifying! Related: Dementus’ gang sure uses a lot of monster trucks that are twice the size of everyone else’s cars. Durability aside, I wonder if the expense of these vehicles (especially in the apocalypse) is another symptom of Dementus being a) arrogant and needing to feel “bigger” than everyone else, b) desperate to fill the void of his family’s deaths with cars/killing, and c) an excellent fighter who unfortunately knows nothing of logistics, and he drains everything/everyone around him. He uses THREE motorcycles for his chariot, and using a monster truck in battle also means you need more gas and more metal/rubber for repairs.

6) THEY KILLED MY BOY JACK! 😭

7) Several POC characters, whose faces we can see! We are also Mad Max fans, so it’s nice to see them even as supporting characters ❤️

There is a A LOT more to talk about, but in general: This movie is shiny and chrome!

[nebraska-is-a-myth]

Abuse in 'Runaway Max': A Stranger Things criticism

One thing I know to keep in mind is that the book is told from Max’s perspective, so it's her eyes we experience the world from, and her opinions that guide us through the story. For that we have to value her as a somewhat unreliable narrator, considering she is thirteen at the time and dosnt understand certain things.

A quick timeline to keep in mind because the book handles time very messily:

Billy has just turned 17 by the time Max and Billy first meet.

After Halloween in season 2, Max says she’s known Billy for 7 months, which takes us back to early May.

They move in together three weeks after the wedding in late June, meaning Max and Billy have lived together for a total of 5 months by the time they get to Hawkins.

Neil confiscates Billy's car keys for two months in June, so I’ve taken an educated guess that Max first witnesses Neil's abuse somewhere around august, then in September/October Billy breaks Max’s friends arm, leaving for Hawkins late October.

Now onto the deep dive:

In 'Runaway Max', we learn about the terrible Hargrove family dynamic, and how the Mayfield's learn to navigate that. Max gets a very graphic front row seat of Billy's abuse in chapter 10, and during that chapter Max responds to that situation as any 13 year old would, scared and confused. Despite this however, Billy's image doesn't change in Max’s mind. She has no visible compassion for Billy at any point of the book except from this chapter, and after that she states that she’s actively trying not to care about “his stupid life and his cruel dad”. 

From a writing standpoint, choosing this to be a part of Max’s character takes away from her complex experiences in an abusive household. Yes Max is a hardened character, but not exploring these difficult topics of disliking Billy while also feeling sorry for him makes her feel like just another pawn for the audience to make them dislike Billy. The writers could have made the step-siblings dynamic much more interesting to have them navigate this terrifying experience together. But I understand the duffers just wanted another one dimensional antagonist for season 2.

"I'd watched the Hargroves in action. Neil standing over billy with the belt - calling me a stupid little girl - making it clear that he thought I was weak and pointless. Knowing Neil believed that still wasnt as bad as the way Billy had hated me for trying to help him"

I have mixed feelings about this. I feel this description Max gives dutiful to anyone going through that situation, that they would feel disheartened by someone rejecting their help, and verbally berating them for it. However, it’s vitally important to understand the context of Why Billy reacts to Max this way.

During the assault on Billy that Max witnesses, Max calls out and interrupts Neil, trying to diffuse the situation. Neil responds not to Max, but to Billy “Is this the son I raised? A worthless loser who needs a little girl to fight his battles for him?” And then strikes billy again. 

Max assumes this to be an attack on her, however that's not what's happening at all. Neil is using Max against Billy. He takes Max’s intervention as a sign of Billy's own weakness, a softness. “Any hint of softness and he would never let me forget” In a way Billy had been trying to teach Max to harden herself so that Neil couldn't find anything to target her for, Billy had been making her more likeable for Neil. And now this softness that Max is showing for Billy, by standing up for him, is getting him punished. It’s been implied before that this was the case, but now we are seeing it explicitly that Billy is being punished for Max’s actions. This chain reaction forces Billy into a position where he cannot be on Maxes side, he cannot be friends with Max, because siding with anyone other than his father equals punishment.

After Neil leaves, we circle back round to the sentence “Sometimes Billy acted like we were in on some big, crucial secret together / like we were in some sort of secret club together - like we could be on the same team” Billy had been trying to tell her from the beginning, they were both members of a club trying to navigate life with Neil Hargrove, bonded by shared experience. They were supposed to be on the same team too, victims of Neil, but Neil has made that impossible by using Max against Billy. “I could see all the ways he hated me” Neil isolates one from the other, Billy resents Max for getting him hurt, and Max resents Billy for rejecting her.

During most of the sections of the book that happen in Hawkins, Max continues to call Billy a “Monster”. However, never Neil. It’s not untrue that Billy has a mean streak, he can be cruel and heartless, most notably when he breaks the arm of one of Max’s friends. The only time this level of violence is seen in Hawkins is during the fight with Steve.

Both of these big outbursts of rage are built up by attacks from Neil. Note: Billy is still an asshole, these are not excuses for his actions only explanations.

Yes, there are two occasions in which Billy grabs hold of Max’s arm, but there is an argument to be made that this is just normal sibling behaviour. Have you never pushed or shoved your sibling before, or been on the receiving end of that physicality. It’s not always pleasant, but it’s not uncommon for siblings to get physical during disagreements. Max is also only distressed by this on the first occasion, “He caught me by the arm, and it wasn't the first time he’s ever touched me, but other times had always been to push me out of the way in the kitchen or flick me on the end of my nose. This time, his fingers closed hard around my elbow” - however the second and last time goes like this “He reached out fast and caught me by the wrist”. Those are the only times Billy is ever physical with Max.

Despite this, Billy is still the monster. “Billy was the closest thing to one that I had ever known - this was what it meant to live with the monster.” Monster singular. Billy is the most terrible thing living in the Hargrove home, not the man who beats his son.

Personally I find something off putting with Max ranking Billy as a worse monster than Neil. During the night at the byers she says "I understood now that Neil was in his head, and that meant he was just as dangerous as his father. Worse because Neil was cruel and frightening but he cared how things looked on the outside. Billy was crazy" Max isn't stupid, she knows Neil is a bad person, and maybe from Maxes point of view Billy is worse than Neil because Neil hasn't ever physically hurt her. But from a writer's point of view, to say that the victim is worse than the abuser? That is both dangerous and honestly disgusting. To call Billy crazy, and insinuate that he’s acting like a ‘bad victim’ because he doesn't pretend that everything is normal is so hurtful to victims of abuse who see themselves in Billy. 

Continuing this thought, Max then goes on to compare Billy to a recently possessed Will. Which, first off, comparing abuse is never okay. But what Max says is almost worse, "Will had turned into something terrible and frightening, but even with the mind flayer working through him, he was trying not to let it. He'd almost gotten us killed, but you couldn't blame him because he didn't ask for this. He was trying so hard to stop it" Is the author trying to say that Billy should try harder to not let the abuse he has been experiencing at the hands of his father since before he was ten, affect him? Because if Brenna Yovanoff is using Will as a ‘good’ example of a victim of parental abuse, and using him to discount Billy's own experiences, then I’m sorry but who let this book go to print?

Obviously as a character Max choosing this comparison means very little to her because she doesn't know about Lonnie, but the writers do. Comparing Billy to will is a choice.

Billy and will have both experienced abuse from their fathers. Will is on one side of the spectrum of victims, quiet, timid and apologetic. Billy is on the opposite end of that spectrum, his experiences have hardened him, made him angry about what's happening to him. Billy isn't quiet, he’s an asshole and he has issues with authority, but the one thing that sets Billy and Will apart is the fact that Billy is still experiencing that abuse.

Will is a survivor, Billy isn't.

To imply that "you can't blame Will because he didn't ask for it", but it’s okay to blame Billy, does that mean we are supposed to think Billy is asking for it?

There are choices writers make in the information they reveal to their readers, the phrasing that is used and the comparisons they make. It speaks volumes that while Will is praised for his experiences and bravery with his dad, Billy is called a monster for acting out because of those same experiences.

I mean, tell me you're a writer who doesn't understand the complex reactions to abuse without telling me you only care about “good” reactions to abuse.

[robotlesbianjavert]

What's the problem with Deku's writing?

well for one he's a main character. which is strike one.

technically that's a joke but also not. there's a lot angles i could take in order to complain about deku, so for now i want to take the angle that as a main character, there are things that are going to be taken for granted as endgame for the narrative, but it's so taken for granted that the story forgets about the actual material needed to reach the endgame.

i'm going to use ofmd s2 as an example of this, because it's another thing i like to point at and go :) bad writing. so for that, it's very evident that the writers are aiming for "ed and stede are together and are ready to embark on a new, more mature phase of their life together". you can tell this because the showrunner was constantly talking about it in interviews. and indeed, the season ends with ed and stede parting ways with their crew and pirate life to try their hands as innkeepers.

but to reach that endgame, the series has to a) get stede and ed back together as soon possible, meaning they have to lean heavily on coincidence rather than any real efforts on the part of the characters, b) resolve the very emotionally stark situations the characters had left s1/started s2 in a way that makes the happy innkeeper endgame possible, but this makes the segue from drama to resolution unbelievable because the series can't really dedicate the time to dealing with that fallout before hopping onto the next big issue, which c) means that the ways that the other characters have been hurt as a result ed and stede's relationship drama have their pain sidelined and shrugged off, and in turn d) the focus on ensuring that ed and stede are together and in love means that their relationships with other characters get de-emphasized and feel much less lived, which rebounds and makes ed and stede feel more one-dimensional without the magic that fleshed them out. and most dire of all e) the audience is expected to believe that "sorry i was a dick" "you're not a dick life's a dick" is meant to indicate a development of maturity that means they are able to go off and be innkeepers together. it is NOT there.

essentially, the focus on a specific endgame without care about how that endgame is achieved ends up undercutting the triumph and catharsis of that endgame, rendering it much more hollow. people still enjoyed ofmd s2, and they're allowed to! but they enjoy it because their otp ended the season standing next to each other. three feet part. not for any genuine critical acclaim.

it's a similar issue with deku, especially in this final arc. his obvious endgame is that he'll affirm shigaraki's humanity and pain, "save" him (what that looks like yet, we don't know), and in turn become the greatest hero. we've got all the bones of that - just recently in 411, deku did his whole "you ARE human" declaration. but the lead up to deku and shigaraki's confrontation is thematically shallow and heavily dependent on us knowing that deku is a great kid and a great hero.

deku starts the third act realizing that if he understood the villains that he's faced, things could have turned out differently - the set up is that deku has to understand shigaraki as a person in order to stop him. the lead up to this is. well he asks muscular "what's up with you" one time in the middle of battle. that didn't work out. and then he had his nagant confrontation, where he was more shocked about her killing the former commission president than he was about the commission ordering a lot of evil assassinations. and then never thought about what that meant for society at large. and he was just like "well i know the world has some greys in it now" and that fixed her i guess. overhaul was there and deku made no real effort there to get why he was so frantic about seeing his boss. and then he has that conversation with ochaco where they both go "isn't it crazy that we have empathy for villains".

so basically the most work that he actually put into "understanding villains" was with nagant, who is a completely new character who has the baggage of "hero commission assassin is ANYONE in series gonna talk about that", and the potential she possesses as a shigaraki foil and a stepping stone for deku towards his endgame gets muddled. she's also basically, while a significant confrontation, is one beat of many in the third act.

so the set up for "understanding villains" as a factor in deku's endgame, in seeing villains as human, is pretty weak. and deku was honestly really dependent on getting that build up and using other villains as a learning experience, bc his actual dynamic with shigaraki is sparse. compare it to uraraka and toga - the "understanding" thread fares a lot better there, because uraraka has had specific and charged interactions with toga that deeply affected her and made her think. deku's most constructive interaction with shigaraki was way back at the mall, before the training camp, but that's not enough to carry chemistry through their supposed arc as hero & villain.

but the story already knows that deku, one way or another, is meant to succeed, so it acts like he received the necessary development to be able to understand shigaraki as human in their confrontation.

there's a similar lack of meat for many other aspects of deku's characters - like his relationship with the vestiges, where yoichi could be 2nd and 3rd around on deku's behalf, and his mastering of the new ofa quirks, which we get TOLD has consequences or that he's struggling with, but it's never in a way that actually causes him substantial issues that he must overcome.

but actually, we can move all of that aside and ask one simple question about deku's character: what does he think about the floating death coffin the other heroes built for shigaraki?

deku gets confronted by the vestiges about having to possibly kill shigaraki, and his response to that is "yeah i guess but i gotta try saving him". which is very nice, but it just ends there. deku doesn't have to deal with how everyone else - people who are scared, or have been hurt by shigaraki and the villain's actions - might feel about this initiative. at no point does deku have to stand his ground against the other heroes after shigaraki's head, he doesn't have to convince anyone of his point of view, he doesn't have to look inward and understand why he wants to do this. it's just "well if i can!"

deku doesn't have to have any thoughts about the floating death coffin. he never has to be in scene with it before it started malfunctioning. he doesn't have to have any opinions about its construction, about the heroes deciding to take this path. he doesn't need to have feelings about it, he just has to save shigaraki.

and when that happens, the narrative will celebrate him, and the heroes will be like "wow deku really is the greatest hero, kids these days are so great". they don't need to have thoughts about deku wanting to do this in the first place, because it's going to happen and no one can stop it.

in a similar way that some ofmd fans can walk away happy with season 2 because they don't need anything more than their otp standing together three feet apart, a lot of fans would be happy with deku and shigaraki's likely endgame because what matters is that deku is the hero and that he saves shigaraki. but from where i'm standing, deku has so little substance and build up to this endgame (or at least the build up is THERE, but poorly done) that it's hard for me to be impressed.

also everything @codenamesazanka said here. everything she says i nod and go hell yeah.

[swan2swan]

This shot is...well, it's a lot. Let's break it down:

FIRST: I wanna see the storyboarding for this. The direction. The concepts. They pulled off a 270-degree rotation in the whole environment to illustrate several beats of a fight scene. That's REALLY COOL, and a perfect use of the three-dimensional medium. That's the ambition I love to see.

However, the ambition is...well, obviously limited by the assets. It's a big void. We know from the movie just how much more complex the wreckage of Main Street is, and everything just sort of hits the pavement...

...BUT speaking of hitting the pavement, the camera shakes when it gets close to Rexy's feet. They went into this shot and said "When the camera gets close, shake the camera to simulate the weight." It might also just be because of the proximity, but the camera shakes when Rexy snaps her jaws shut--which any Jurassic superfan will know was a brilliant technique used in the final battle of the original Jurassic World.

Now, the character movements are...somewhat choreographed, it feels, but there's also a definite path to all of them. Mitch and Tiff run, Tiff runs into a table. Throws the table, which turns upside-down (the camera even passes in front of it!), runs, panicks and covers herself as Mitch running in from behind an umbrella, Mitch stabs Rexy, who gets mad, throws the table in pain, and the table lands on the guns Sammy is carrying, yanking her back. Darius has to come and rescue her.

Final point: I love that Rexy is using everything in this battle. Teeth, legs, tail, she's a machine. She's a Boss Battle, and the crew is struggling to escape and stay alive.

[maithefluffychicken]

PART 1 || PART 2 || PART 3

Astarion/Gale Bloodwave.

THE GIFT. Part 3 of ????

It's funny how easily Gale weaves the magic, how easily the words come to him to conjure whatever he needs in the moment. Even in the middle of the battle, with the tadpole carving its way in his brain, Gale doesn't stutter, and the magic transforms itself to become a fireball to incinerate their enemies, or to become a friendly ball of light to illuminate their steps.

Gale finds out, now, here in front of Astarion, that the words come easy to him, yes, but he does stutter under the vampire's red, inquisitive eyes. The wizard shakes his head, says the words again, thanking Mystra for her gift, and makes a flourish with his hands, conjuring a magical seal with arms and fingers.

"Oh, a new spell?" Astarion asks, and Gale relishes in the interest pouring from the pale elf's voice. "What is it, dear? What is- oh?"

Gale hopes this is... not overstepping. He finishes the enchantment, his voice echoing through the Weave into the real world, and looks at Astarion, studying his micro-expression while the spell... succeeds.

In front of Astarion there's an electric blue blob, ethereal energy that starts to take form. His form. Astarion's form.

"Oh, it can't be-" Astarion whispers in awe, his voice trembling, his lower lip quivering. "Is that... is that me?"

The vampire raises his hand, waving his fingers, and the mirror image in front of him does the same. It's the exact image of Astarion, three-dimensional, even his voice is echoed when Astarion talks. Same clothes, same shocked expression, twin reactions that Gale admires and catalogues in his mind, knowing well that he'll never forget the vampire's face as long as he lives.

Astarion's pupils blown wide, his lips half parted. He touches his face with both hands, cold fingertips prodding at the soft flesh of his cheeks, pushing the sking under his eyes. The vampire frowns, smiles, sticks his tongue out, delighted with his magical reflection.

Astarion examines his face carefully, thoroughly; he caresses his lips before opening his mouth and baring his teeth, takes note of his fangs with his index until the skin breaks, and he winces at it, watching how a drop of blood blooms from the wound.

Ignoring the blood, Astarion admires his hair, touches it lightly, turns his head right and left to contemplate the artfully mess of his white curls.

He straightens up, coming back to his usual stance, proud, taking up space, and studies his clothed body, turning around to look at his own butt. Gale can't help but to look at it, too, and blushes when notices Astarion's red eyes fixed on him, a knowing smirk in his pink lips.

"So," Gale starts, his voice fails. Clears his throat while Astarion is once again looking at his face. "Do you like it?"

"Do I like it?" Astarion asks, his voice weak. "Do I like watching my face, my eyes, after two hundreds years of darkness?"

Gale's stomach churns, and for a moment thinks this has been the worst idea ever.

"I was unable to remember my face, Cazador took that as well with everything else... but you have returned it to me. My face. My identity. My hope."

"Astarion..." Gale whispers, and notices that there's a lonely teardrop rolling down Astarion's cheek. Gale can't stop himself, raises his hand to cradle the vampire's cheek and thumbs at it, gathering the tear. Astarion leans into his palm, Gale's heart starts rabbiting in his chest.

"Thank you, Gale of Waterdeep," Astarion whispers against Gale's palm, his own cold hand reaching to wrap his fingers around Gale's wrist. "I need to ask you something, before we... go back to the camp."

"Of course, Astarion, what is it?"

"Is that how you see me?" Astarion asks, looking at Gale through his pale eyelashes. It's similar to that question so long ago. What do you see? This time, Gale can read through him, his antics, his fears. This time, Gale is ready.

"I see you as my everything," Gale sighs, smiling. Astarion's eyes flicker, jumping from Gale's eyes to his lips and to his eyes again. "I don't see your past, when I look at you. Nor your future. I see you, fearsome and beautiful and... everything."

"Darling," Astarion smirks, Gale can still feel the affection in his voice. "Shush now, or you'll make it possible for me to blush."

Gale snorts at that, and Astarion smiles at him, his red eyes bright and wide and too beautiful for this world.

"May I kiss you?" Gale finds himself asking. "I'd love to kiss you now."

"Oh, dear, how could I say no?"

To be continued...???

PREVIOUS || NEXT

Let me know if you want to be tagged in the next parts or in my Astarion/Wyll ficlet (coming soon) 💛

[zios-plotbun-farm]

One Piece Fanfic Crossover Idea [includes LawLu]

Alright. So recently after having binge-reading a lot of Lawlu fanfic, and falling back into the rabbit hole that is One Piece. I have managed to brew up a really silly lawlu storyline that honestly is more law-centric than anything. Although it has a lot of romance elements, probably more than it should. But uh, it's not entirely focused on Lawlu? That’s what I get for thinking throwing in my past 3 OTPs from my previous fandoms and 1 very old one would be a great idea. =w=;;

And if that got your attention then buckle up this is gonna get slightly cracky and very long. Not much plot but plenty of detail lol

So the story starts with the Blackbeard battle on Whipper Island which still goes the same as canon. The only difference is that somehow Bepo, Shachi, Penguin and Ikkaku were the only ones in the crew to have survived the attacks. All of them escape with Law as in canon and regroup at a further away barren island or something. Not very detailed here.

Anyway, let’s just say a passing benevolent godly entity who favors Law (me lol) sees his situation, and decides to meddle as a way to help him out. They send Law a vision as a way to explain what will happen and why some random people will be suddenly appearing in front of them. That explanation being that they are sending possible new crewmates that will definitely be strong enough to survive the New World and help Law on his new quest for revenge against Blackbeard. Obviously Law protests against this at first but is unable to refuse since all these people were already being transported from outside their universe's domain  and can’t be returned because of their own universal rules. The Entity was just kind enough to nudge them on the path to the One Piece universe. When instead they could have continued hurling into the void between universes.

So after his forced agreement, various types of portals opened up, dropping off a whole bunch of confused people. A few of which were injured. A list also happened to appear that conveniently had information on them with their previous occupations and abilities. After everyone was done panicking, being suspicious, and first aid was administered. Law explained what the Lady Entity told him about their situations. He then asked them how they all got transported outside their universes. Here follows their situations:

[Naruto] SasuNaru

Naruto and Sasuke were sealing Kaguya away when she was able to get one last shot in that was a dimensional portal that had sucked in the two ninja while they were exhausted. They weren’t able to dodge it and Sakura was barely saved from being sucked in like they were since she was less exhausted and farther away from the portal.

[SVSSS] Moshang

LGJ got the drop on MBJ during the accession ceremony and SQH was able to distract him enough to get to MBJ. He used his return to home function while gripping MBJ as a last attempt to escape LQJ since MBJ was heavily injured. When Law arrived, Strange and Naruto were able to heal him enough not to die. Also during their explanation SQH realizes that he isn't bound by the system any more and has essentially been freed. Which means he can reveal his past life secrets if he wants too.

[MDZS] Wangxian

Their group had been ambushed by masked men during a very suspicious night hunt. They were caught in an array that had Wei Wuxian try to use a prototype transportation talisman to help escape or counteract it. Instead it made it into a very unstable dimensional travel array. The array that was used had something to do with time. [Include Wen Ning & Lan Sizhui]

[MCU] StrangeIron

All three were thrown out of their universe by the infinity stones themselves because the space/soul/time stones convinced the others to let them leave since they really liked Strange/Tony/Peter and didn’t want them to die. Initially only Tony was gonna use the stones but Peter joined in to help him and Stephen joined in to try to keep either of them from dying from power overload. So now they are banned from returning to their universe since they are supposed to be dead. That's the price for saving their universe. Also in this universe Tony had used a very low dose version of extremis to survive chest surgery after Siberia which is why he was able to survive the snap with the help of the other 2. This has Tony looking like late thirties.

After hearing their various situations, with all of them sounding very outlandish to the Heart Pirates, Law is both amazed and dreading having them all as possibly future crew members. But still Law throws out the offer of them joining his pirate crew and explains why it's a good idea. While explaining he also informs them about what this universe is like. Which includes devil fruits, the marines, the world government, the pirate era and the most famous pirates currently.

This in turn leads to Law’s bounty and infamy which also reveals Law’s newest quest for revenge against Blackbeard for killing most of his crew and destroying the Polar Tang. Sasuke, Wei Wuxian, and Mobei jun can relate to wanting revenge. Collectively they agree to join Law since the Heart pirates were the only ones that knew about their otherworldly situations and abilities. Plus none of them had any interest in being recruited or kidnapped by the Marines for their powers. Also not one of them would have been able to live normally without attracting some sort of attention, besides maybe SQH on his own.

After this Law goes over the list that Entity gave him. Which also included the tip of rejoining the StrawHats as an Ally again. Since they are eventually going to have a run-in with Blackbeard. Plus they needed time for his new crew to figure out how they fared against the fighters here. As well as get over the culture shock they're gonna have being in a new world. And possibly learn how to sail a normal boat and not a submarine. At least until they buy or steal a new one.

Crew Positions/Roles? Bepo = Navigator/First Mate Shachi =Doc assistant/Swordsman? Ikkaku = SubMechanic/Sniper Penguin =Doc assistant/Cook/Staff user? Naruto = Helmsman?/Scout/Fighters Sasuke = Lookout/Scout/Fighters MBJ = Fighter/Assassin/General SQH = Treasurer/Quartermaster/Spy Tony = Mechanic/Inventor/Fighters Stephen = Doctor/Sorcerer/Fighters Peter = Mechanic/Cabin boy/Fighters WWX = Fighter/Inventor/Musician LWJ =Cook/Fighter/Musician LSH =Fighter/Cabin boy/Musician WN =Fighter/Watchman/Pharmacist?

Extra Story Elements

Inventor group= Tony, Peter, WWX, Ikkaku Doc group= Law, Stephen, WN Inhuman= MBJ, WN, Bepo, honorary members Naruto & Peter Swordsmen= Law, LWJ, WWX, LSH, Sasuke, Shachi Lit Club= WWX & SQH, Shachi, Pen + editor Naruto Avoid Docs group= Tony, Peter, Naruto, WWX Kids Club= Peter, LSH, Naruto, Sasuke Sanity Group= LWJ, SQH, Law, Bepo Cooks= LWJ, Penguin, Naruto

Luffy becomes super jealous of Law for having 2 ninjas on his crew and tries to convince one of them to join his crew. Naruto doesn’t want to separate from Sasuke, and Sasuke would rather die than join a crew with 2 Narutos.

Franky & Ussop are amazed by the stuff that Tony and Peter make considering they do not use cola and are untraceable to the Marines. Tony was horrified by the fact that Cola could be used essentially like oil and that their phones were living organisms. Created various devices by hand and maybe recreated the Arc reactor to power their new Boat/Sub?

New Boat/Sub was made by a combination of Tony, Peter, Ikakku, Franky & Naruto who used his clones as workers.

Stephen gets his hands fixed with the help of Law and Naruto. Law with taking the pins out and attaching the nerves. And Naruto helped to regrow them and heal them. [hand wavy medicine]

On the boat when people are having relationship problems they go to wangxian since they were the only ones in a relationship and technically married with a son. MBJ is the first one to ask LWJ about how to court a cultivator since they are both introverted.

People confuse Tony & Steph as a couple because they parent Peter and think he is their son. This is before they actually get together.  

Peter, LSH, Naruto, and Sasuke are seen as the Kid group. Although Law does treat them as adults when needed. Everyone tends to be protective of them. MBJ & Law are Sasuke’s favorite crewmates because they are all cat-like.

Have a whole thing about trying to revive WN back to life since his body is in a state of stasis and his soul is bound to his body by force. Get his body to work again like Frankenstein. Group project between WWX, Law, Stephen, and MBJ. Possible outcome that WN turns into a Demon since he is saturated in Resentful energy.

SQH and Peter are the only ones to have an idea about the One Piece and Naruto worlds. SQH had his OTPs SasuNaru and LawLu while Peter had his favorite characters aka Sas, Naru, Law and Lu. Decide together to try and help the couples along with SQH taking LawLu and Peter getting SasuNaru. Peter has no clue how to, so just suggests ways to hang out.

Law while an introvert and masking as a Stern stoic badass. Is very much a secret chaotic dumbass when provoked by Luffy and others. Also he can’t seem to seriously fight Luffy without a good reason otherwise it turns into a slapstick fight lol. Is willing to wear stupid clothes/costumes although some might be in his eccentric style.

Shachi is a swordsman but only because Law needed someone to train and spar against while growing up and traveling through the North sea before they took on the grandline. He's a lot more comfortable with fighting hand to hand like a brawler/street fighter. Although he's also pretty good at using blunt weapons [bats, knuckles]. Possibly have him learn how to use armament haki to coat his fists and weapons. Maybe learn with Naruto and Peter to fight better with hand to hand techniques and parkour techniques aka move around larger opponents like Peter. [All the flipping and jumping] Possibly learn how to use advanced armament haki techniques with the help of Naruto and Sasuke. Similar to Sage techniques and Sakura’s strength techniques.

Penguin joins up with Shachi to learn better hand to hand combat. Can't seem to get the hang of using a weapon so at some point asks Stephen if he can learn his magic? Stephen gives it a try at teaching him. Penguin can only use a few magic spells since he isn't a genius like Stephen but tries to be creative with them. [Portals, Mandala shields, Eldritch whips, Energy sword, pure energy saw blasts, possible water element?] Help with MBJ, and Peter somehow, learns to water bend using magic.

Ikkaku gets trained by Tony, SQH, and surprisingly Sasuke. She focuses on hand to hand combat, gun/sniper training, using daggers, and figuring out how to use observation haki. She focused on presence sensing and intent sensing that she wishes to develop into future vision. Trains to make sure her concentration can't be easily broken, plus to increase her endurance and stamina. Possibly ask Stephen to teach her how to transmute items so she never runs out of bullets or without a dagger and some mild telekinesis to throw them/manipulate them. 

Law trains with his new crew mates to better use his devil fruit and his own body. Possibly have him unlock his own Conquerors haki like Luffy. Maybe have WWX give him some tips on using Jiang techniques since they were more adaptable while he spars LWJ & LSH to learn proper sword fighting. While also learning how to fight either bare handed or with only his fruit abilities with Strange and Sasuke.

WWX totally treats Law like a little brother since his tsundere tendencies remind him of JC. While WN likes him since he reminds him of WQ and his harsh bedside manner but caring actions for those he loves. Peter, Naruto, and Sasuke are new ducklings to teach and protect in WWX’s eyes. LWJ respects Law's authority and experiences, and at times acts like an advisor for battles [war experience]. Naruto/Peter = cool older friend while LSH treats him like a senior disciple. MBJ is willing to follow only because of SQH but watches Law like a hawk and forces him to grow stronger to be worthy of following him [demon stuff]. Stephen treats him as a colleague because both are genius surgeons and Protectors. Tony likes to mess with him and treats him like a youngsters aka Peter. Same with the other OG heart pirates although gives slightly more respect to Ikkaku for withstanding their bullshit [Sees Pepper/May in her]. Sasuke and Law at times butt heads because Sasuke isn't good with authority figures, and while Law understands that, it can be frustrating since he is the authority for this crew.

MBJ was the one to push Law to train to get stronger. Reason 1) cause it the demon way to only be the subordinate of someone if they were stronger than them. Reason 2) sees that Law needs to be pushed after having fallen into depression for failing his previous crew. So decides to motivate him by fueling him with Anger, Revenge and Spit like any proper demon would. Sasuke and WWX help at this point because they understand. This also causes the other OG hearts to also start training which leads to others offering their help for training.

While shopping for clothes SQH and WWX go ham looking for clothes. SQH convinces WWX to try on these great form fitting black coats and pants with low heeled boots. Also tells him that they aren't obligated to wear multiple layers so they can experiment with fashion now. WWX is very excited by this both from not having to be so formal and to tease LWJ. Tony and Peter go and decide they want to look the part of actually being pirates and drag Stephen along. They give Stephen the full pirate look with Levi turning into an overcoat. MBJ decides to wear the least amount of clothes since the seas are very hot and he can't be bothered to wear layers here. LWJ on the other hand struggles to find clothes that he is comfortable wearing. Gets help from SQH after he and WWX are finished with their choices. Sasuke and Naruto go and try to find the best reinforced clothes they can buy but choose to alter the few clothes they had to fit in.

Shang Qinghua: System gives him the ability to have a RPG game system interface to use in real life for completing PIDW storyline. He gains unlimited inventory space, Analysis ability, Spotify, Library, Map, Internet.

KARAOKE/DANCE NIGHTS SQH goes ham with the Spotify ability because it has modern songs which has Peter and Tony joining in. Everyone gets curious about the different music which ends up with them having Karaoke/dance nights where they sing or have dance offs to different songs. Even Law finds songs that he enjoys and is willing to sing to although rarely. Shachi and Penguin during those times are always his back up dancers or singers by force.

[yyh4ever]

Hello, Does yu yu hakusho also have Drama CDs?

Yu Yu Hakusho DRAMA CDS

There are two "Yu Yu Hakusho Shueisha Drama CD" released in 2004 and 2005. The voice actors are all the same as the anime version.

CD 01: December 2004

TRACKS

Spirit Detective Saga: the encounter between Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei

01. Sanbiki no Youkai (Three Youkai)

02. Kizuna (Bonds)

03. Jagan no Otoko (The man with the evil eye)

TWO Shots Gaiden

04. Sesshoku (Contact)

05. Kyoutou (Joint Struggle)

CAST

Yusuke Urameshi: Nozomi Sasaki

Kazuma Kuwabara: Shigeru Chiba

Kurama: Megumi Ogata

Hiei: Nobuyuki Hiyama

Keiko Yukimura: Yuri Amano

Botan: Sanae Miyuki

Gouki: Norio Wakamoto

Shiori Minamino: Kumiko Takizawa

Mirror of Darkness: Tomonichi Nishimura

Maya Kitajima: Yuki Matsuoka

Yatsude: Osamu Kato

Hedoki: Ikuo Nishikawa

CD 2: March 2005

Inter-dimensional Cannon Arc (events from the epilogue of the manga)

Yusuke is spending his peaceful days running a ramen stand when he receives news that Genkai has collapsed. Furthermore, the Gate of Judgment in the Spirit World is occupied by those who seek the elimination of youkai from the Human World and the re-establishment of the barrier between the Demon World and Human World. If their demands are not accepted, they say they will fire the inter-dimensional cannon into the Human World. Yusuke and his friends gather together again and head to the Spirit World, but...

TRACKS

01. day by day

02. Reikai e (To the Spirit World)

03. Gekitotsu (Clash)

04. Noru ka Soru ka (All or Nothing)

05. Sore kara (And then...)

06. Messages from the VA: Nozomu Sasaki, Shigeru Chiba, Megumi Ogata and Nobuyuki Hiyama

CAST

Yusuke Urameshi: Nozomi Sasaki

Kazuma Kuwabara: Shigeru Chiba

Kurama: Megumi Ogata

Hiei: Nobuyuki Hiyama

Genkai: Hisako Kyouda

Botan: Sanae Miyuki

Keiko Yukimura: Yuri Amano

Atsuko Urameshi: Yoko Soumi

Shizuru Kuwabara: Ai Orikasa

Yukina: Yuri Shiratori

Otake: Hidetoshi Nakamura

It's great that after more than 10 years, "Two Shots" and "All or nothing" were finally made into OVAs in 2018.

There's also an original mini drama story written and directed by Shigeru Chiba (Kazuma Kuwabara VA). Part 1 was released in the Music Battle Edition 2 (1994), and Part 2 in the Yu Yu Hakusho Memorial CD BOX (1995). The cast is Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama and Botan.

"Yu Yu Hakusho Special Mini Drama ~ The Hungry Warriors" (Part 1 & 2)

This is a drama that makes fun of the lack of eating scenes in anime, where Yusuke and his friends argue over what to eat. Among them, Hiei wants to eat monjayaki. In the manga, when Hiei melted Bui's axe, Kuwabara says "It melted like chocolate''. In the anime, his line was changed to "It melted like monjayaki''. So, it was probably an in-joke between the voice actors, using the mini drama as reference.

I don't know if there's any translations. I remember someone told me they were translating the mini drama, but I haven't heard anything since then. Does anyone know if there's any translations?

[yellowhollyhock]

Posting a timeline for myself so I don't get confused writing in this space but now that it's getting organized it is become a Thing. So, 2003 turtles headcanons and eventual future

November 1992: Splinter attends first Battle Nexus, turtles 4

November 1995: Battle Nexus, turtles 7; Usagi saves Splinter from Drako, he looks about 9

November 1998: Battle Nexus, turtles 10

November 2001: Battle Nexus

May 14, 2003: boys 15th birthday (shared, on different years they either celebrate together or each get a day close to it)

June 2003-February 2004: Season 1 (April 25, Casey 27)

February 2004-November 2004: Season 2. turtles turn 16 between Reflections and The Ultimate Ninja. Battle Nexus is November 2004

December 2004-September 2005: Season 3. Turtles turn 17 between Worlds Collide Part III and Touch and Go. Exodus in late September

September 2005-August 2006: Usagi visits in January; Leo is with the Ancient one February-March. Turtles turn 18 in the Cretaceous which becomes confusing to keep track of (do they ever tell Splinter they had two 18th birthdays? probably less confusing to only count one since it's only three extra months)

September 2006: s5 starts, Angel leaving for college while turtles are being taken by Tribunal.

March 2007: final battle with Shredder

May 2007: turtles turn 19

October 2007-October 2008: turtles get yoinked to the future. B Team bonding and worrying: Leatherhead, Professor, Professor Honeycutt, Angel, Justice Force. April trying to make 2nd Time Around happen, also hitting that inter-dimensional portal project again with Augie's help (not unreasonable for her to assume that's where they are). Turtles turn 20 in the future. Turtle Fam misses Battle Nexus 2007 (Usagi champion mayhaps? He'd be 22)

April 22, 2009: Casey and April wed

May 2009: turtles turn 21; Angel moves back home, works as a hair stylist

August 2009: April announces pregnancy, and at the same time she and Don have begun work on O'Neil Technologies

Spring 2010: Leo starts a dojo, his brothers all help when they can. Cassandra is born (April 17). turtles turn 22

Summer 2010: Raph and Casey start a shelter. April begins hiring help for O'Neil Technologies (Irma, Leatherhead, Professor Honeycutt).

November 2010: Battle Nexus year! Leo reconnects with Usagi. Mikey wins again.

December 2010: Leo announces his intention to go to Japan to train with the Ninja Tribunal

February 2011: Neutrinos come to earth to talk business with O'Neil Tech. Leo leaves shortly thereafter; Mikey is now the main turtle in charge of the dojo.

Spring 2011: Donny and Angel start dating; anti-mutant sentiment on the rise, Bishop apparently busy again. Raph very stressed about Bishop and wanting to be able to handle it without Leo; oh btw Mikey would like to pursue a college degree. Oyuki gets a job at dojo

October-December 2011: Mikey disappears; Leo returns, furious that things were allowed to get as bad as they did and the Ninja Tribunal didn't tell him his family was in danger (he thought they would because TAO did). When Mikey is rescued (from Bishop) his arm is infected and must be amputated.

Spring 2012: Turtles meet Mona Lisa, who explains how mutagen is being leaked purposely in areas suspected of harboring aliens, to give hate groups credibility as well as punish those (like her) who stick up for aliens. Splinter begins writing a book. Turtles are banding together with other non-humans as world becomes more hostile. Oyuki joins O'Neil Tech team

Summer 2012: Leo and Splinter visit Usagi; Mikey is determined to get back to work on his degree; O'Neil Tech recruits Harold. Mikey and Oyuki start dating

Fall 2012: Usagi visits turtles world; Leo takes the Dojo back up so Mikey can focus on school

January 2013: Donny proposes to Angel

April 2013: rival tech company developing robots with alarming level of sentience and then abusing them (Nano followup basically), April and Donny find themselves fighting for robot rights which makes O'Neil Technologies both a laughingstock and a target. btw Neutrino crew returns to work there. Mikey is now dating Ia

Summer 2013: Turtles gather allies and make a plan to come out of hiding; being in the shadows hasn't been working, people are suspicious and afraid, there's lots more lives at risk now, they need to rethink their strategy. Angel gets badly injured. Turtles meet Punk Frogs

November 2013: Raph Battle Nexus champion (their family is going to be banned for winning too often 🤣)

January 2014: enter Timothy. Raph enjoying socializing with other mutants, especially close with Mona and Genghis. Mikey depressed that they aren't the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (now we're just, like... regular mutant ninja turtles), breakup with Ia

Spring 2014: Donny's secret therapy, unfortunately coinciding with TAO moving to NYC. Much conflict in general as bros all want to stay living together but have different life goals, plus there's Angel now and Raph has basically been living with Mona Lisa and Genghis Frog and Mikey's very busy at school and etc. etc. In other news, Raph finds a baby mutant turtle named Lita. Mikey dates and breaks up with Woody

Summer 2015: Karai invites the family to Japan. Chaplin wants Donny and April's input on a robotics project gone wrong, Karai is finding herself freshly mourning her father and seeking advice/understanding of family history from TAO and Splinter. Time travel shenanigans.

December 2015-October 2016: Ch'rell jailbreak, space adventure to stop him (he has of course moved on from the idea of conquering earth, his goal now is to get away from the utroms and find a planet where he can steadily build up an empire until he is able to plan revenge). And they all get home just in time to take 6 y/o Cassandra and 3 y/o Lita trick or treating

November 2016: Lotus Blossom wins the Battle Nexus, befriends turtles. Her and Leo quietly become pen pals

January-August 2017: speaking of Cassandra she wants to be a ninja. Also Splinter falls ill. Donny builds them a Place (in NYC) to all stay so they can be close to him, and also start her training (strictly recreational (I'm sure that will work out for them))

May 2018: Agent John Bishop is abducted by aliens. Mikey finishes his masters!

August 2018: Leo and Usagi break up for good; April and Casey announce second pregnancy

October 2018: Cody arrives to ask for help with O'Neil Tech in his time

March 2019: Splinter passes

May 2019: send Cody home

July 3, 2019: Nova Lynn is born (Cassandra is 9, Lita is 6)

November 2019: Battle Nexus year, turtles miss

December 2019-January 2020: Mikey and Kala start dating; Casey and Timothy accidentally go on adventures across dimensions and get banned from the lab

May 2018-September 2020: Bishop has a stolen spaceship now, crashes on his way back to earth, gets rescued by aliens, spends time there healing and has his change of heart, returns to find Earth in the middle of a pandemic.

January 22, 2021: Leo and Lotus wed

Fall 2021: Angel's dad attempts to get back in touch with his adult children

November 2022: Battle Nexus Year; Leo wins, Donny does not participate (Mikey is much more sad about this than Don is)

June 13, 2023: Mikey and Kala wed

also in 2024: Bishop runs for President on the premise of intergalactic peace (he loses). April recruits Bishop for O'Neil Tech; he turns her down and disappears. Mikey and Kala rescue and adopt triplet robots Alli, Jax, and Zinnia (renamed from 003a, 003x, and 003z)

November 2025: Battle Nexus year, Mikey takes back his title

2032: Bishop, now going by a different name, becomes governor of New York

[beguines]

Just as economic cycles have their leading and trailing indicators, cycles of trade union growth, militancy, and political radicalism have had their vanguard groups of workers. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in virtually every geographic location, in every part of the world, in almost any time period, coal miners (where they existed in significant numbers) were in the lead when it came to labor struggles. Coal miners played this role so often, so many different times, in so many different types of societies that statements about their vanguard status are relatively uncontroversial. However, why and even how they played such a role is hardly ever examined systematically.

One of the early studies—​considered by many the seminal study—​by Kerr and Siegel examines a large amount of data from thirteen developed countries. Kerr and Siegel argue that miners, along with longshoremen, sailors, and loggers (and "to a much lesser extent" textile workers), formed "isolated masses," a "race apart," living in isolated communities, with common grievances and values. Their supposedly one-​dimensional communities allegedly created sharp class polarizations, without the other occupational and class groupings that might mitigate class antagonisms. Further, the employees all do the same type of work and have the same work experiences, thus forming "a largely homogeneous, undifferentiated mass". While correctly identifying the high strike rates of miners, their explanation is far from compelling. As a general thesis, Shorter and Tilly find their argument lacking, noting that in France, at least, it is the multi-​industry cosmopolitan cities, not the smaller, single-​industry ones, that have the highest strike rates. Gary Marks extends the critique by arguing that Kerr and Siegel's description of the coal industry and coal mining communities is inaccurate. He notes that industrial growth (in England, Germany, and the United States—​the three largest nineteenth-​ and early-​twentieth-​century coal producers) led to a rapid expansion of coal mining. Rather than leading to stable, isolated mining communities, the demand for labor led to a rapid influx of newcomers and a high level of transience of experienced miners. In those few isolated areas, miners were, if anything, more provincial than in the more open locales.

However, several studies have also shown that the strike militancy of miners varies considerably by country and even by mining districts within the same country. Numerous investigators have shown that coal miners in the United States and Great Britain, for example, have had significantly higher strike rates than miners in Western Europe, especially France and Germany, the largest Continental coal-​producing countries.

Lipset, in a nuanced study of political proclivities of groups of workers, finds miners among those most predisposed to left-​wing political support and activity, although, like Shorter and Tilly, he also lists larger cities, larger plants, and more "economically advanced regions" as similarly inclined. In contrast to the variations in strike militancy, investigators have found coal miners consistently more likely to be left-​wing in virtually all countries.

Investigators mention a number of hypotheses that might have led to increased militancy and radicalism on the part of miners. First, the sheer size of the coal industry and the large number of miners may have been a factor. Second, the centrality of coal to the national economy gave coal miners decisive economic leverage in major battles. Third, miners' solidarity and sense of common grievances did not develop from the isolated community or lack of occupational hierarchy. Rather, it was due to the unique working conditions underground, "dark as a dungeon," the miners often on their hands and knees, deep in the bowels of the earth. Coal had seeped into the pores of all who came up at the end of a shift, whatever their occupation, age, or color. Fourth, coal mining had high accident and death rates, with the threat of being buried alive always present. When cave-ins and explosions did occur, it was not isolation that created broad solidarity, but the community-​wide mobilizations and vigils that still accompany rescue efforts. Fifth, given the high percentage of the cost of coal that went to labor and the intense competition between the many producers, opposition to workers organizing for more pay and for better working conditions was inevitably intense.

Michael Goldfield, The Southern Key: Class, Race, and Radicalism in the 1930s and 1940s