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Oct. 23rd, 2015 07:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dmxratedManaged to plan out most of the opening events in Kazumi's fic yesterday morning. Decided to have a break from it now, before I come back to iron them out some more.
And naturally, I found myself defaulting back to Starbound. It obviously says something when I continually obsess over my ensemble of protagonists for that fic as much as I used to over that for Monster Collection Chronicles, barely defined as the characters in either set may be.
Thought about why I can't think of any actual events in any given arc or location. Long story short, it's because I have nothing left to draw from. Will go into that for the existing chapters in a bit, but so far, I did consider taking trips to the respective locations... if only that was actually within my budget.
Even if it was, though, would it actually be necessary for the party to travel across borders between each mana spot? I mean, I've been planning for them to head to France once they recruit Maria within Great Britain, but only because of a college term paper I once did on the channel-tunnel. Most arcs in Earthbound do involve navigating between different areas, and even returning briefly to places you've already been to before, but only because the plot actually requires it. And, whereas its world was entirely a fictional one built up as needed, Lucky Star is set in the real world, which is even emphasized by illustrations of real-life houses, buildings, and locales.
And to think that I added in some woods where there aren't any in real life, for the sake of the plot in chapters 1 and 2, though that was before someone showed me these sets of photographs (after I asked on the forum about the GPS coordinates that the wiki specifies for various locations):
http://www.cuso4.org/photos/20070511-tyo/20070511-tyo-rakisuta.htm
http://www.cuso4.org/photos/20070905-tyo/20070905-tyo-rakisuta.htm
But anyway, let's take a look at how I was able to think everything up that goes on in what I've put up so far:
Chapter 1: The opening scene is an amalgamation of the first few strips in manga volume 5 and Ayano's inter-chapter appearance in volume 6, and meant to foreshadow what's about to happen in the next few scenes. Next, I needed a way to ensure that the main four of canon would spend some time with only eachother between ditching their families and meeting up with Rokuna. Since Miyuki lives much further away from the twins and Konata than they do from eachother, having her spend a night at the twins' house after she gets sent home from school is a great way to ensure that everyone only has Konata's house to visit after the poltergeist attack. And, of course, all events from said attack to some ways into chapter 2 were planned specifically to mirror those that begin both Earthbound and Earthbound Zero, the games that inspired this whole thing in the first place. This, I pulled off naturally, only after learning that amethyst used to be one of four cardinal gemstones alongside ruby, sapphire, and emerald (five if you count diamond) and subsequently adding in a modified version of Rokuna from Mon Colle Knights as one of the main characters.
Chapter 2: The first few dialogues just came to mind on their own, and were a few of those parts I had fun writing as it flowed. The explanation of the Magé Stones was already obligatory, given how fundamental those things are to the story itself. Ichirobei reading his grandfather's diary to everyone mirrors how you're supposed to obtain your great grandfather's diary at the beginning of Earthbound Zero. The kind of feast Rokuna prepares for everyone was already a recurring gag from Mon Colle Knights, and a better way than any for Kagami to let Tsukasa come with her and the others after previously standing against that. The rest is just pre-journey preparations that common sense demands.
Chapter 3: Well, Rokuna has already promised to treat everyone out to lunch, and had also asked to see Kagami's goldfish, which she mentioned to her older sisters as the previous chapter drew to a close. Miyuki having lost her glasses during chapter 1 retroactively comes in handy here: Yukari having just arrived and objecting to Miyuki leaving with everyone conveniently allows Tadao and Miki to stay behind when Rokuna and co. set off to the twins' house, requiring only Inori and Matsuri to come with them. Meanwhile, coming off from where chapter 2 actually did end, it's only natural that Nanako would want to fill Soujiro in on what Konata had just told her online and find more out about what's been going on since Miyuki's incident she only knows about from the previous day. The conversation in front of the twins' house flowed naturally, and then comes the moment when Rokuna gets to see Kagami's fishpond... and comments on its lack of any features (based on what Chelle had to say when I showed her a relevant scene from anime episode 15). This is where "Buy stuff for Gyopi" becomes part of the party's pre-journey agenda for after (their real) lunch. Eventually, I ended the chapter with Mondo greeting Miyuki in front of the restroom at a fast-food place, specifically in anticipation to introducing Rokuna's other friends whom she mentions just moments earlier.
Birthday of Destiny: Mainly a means to establish Rokuna's friends via her own one-off fic. At the time, I was also hoping to write a few one-shots about the manga-exclusive characters. However, Rokuna had already mentioned her birthday having just passed early in chapter 2, and the way this doubled as another perspective of the events of chapter 1 was also convenient.
Chapter 4: The chapter I found myself anxious for months to get started with. That trip to the pet store finally found its actual purpose when Chelle and I agreed on Tsukasa reciting some prayers to purify it of a poltergeist attack, which in turn is brought on as an equivalent event to that in the Fourside Dept. Store in Earthbound.
Chapter 5: As per chapter 4, all the main characters' friends, save for Minami Iwasaki, are gathered at Rokuna's house to learn about the Magé Stones and the events about to unfold. Dinner has to be something foreign in order to commemorate the beginning of a world-scale journey, and I chose Mexican (glad I didn't choose that for Birthday of Destiny instead) mainly to foreshadow the eventual recruitment of Desiré García, a Mexican-born girl currently living illegally in America, though it's also conducive to a few gags and would be best complemented by this particular song from the anime. (Mexico itself decidedly will not be one of the places they visit, in order to emphasize that there is always more to a story's world than its main characters visit, since many fanfic writers do tend to disregard that.)
From there, we skip over Rokuna's explanation of things in Ichirobei's place, and cut to Misao revealing the location of the first mana spot. Can't remember why I decided on the aquatic point in particular, although the fanservice that ensues (both immediately and later on) is one of my favorite things about this chapter. Miyuki mentions in anime episodes 1 and 4 that she can't open her eyes underwater (note her absence when the other mains float on an inner tube during 6), and Mondo's offer of some goggles from his house will contribute a flashback later on to emphasize their difference in mannerisms.
(Added in, 11/2/15: Since I still plan on showing this to Brian and Marie, I've just remembered that part of selecting the beach had to do with making sure that Nanako's role from chapter 2's cutaway ending would actually pay off in some way. She and Yui had taken the main four there before, so she knows where it is, and having driven into town two chapters ago ensures that she has the means to go back there.)
(Added in, 11/6/15: There was also the spot in question, a conch-shaped rock formation, in reference to both the canonical gateways to Magicant in Earthbound Zero and Konata's love for chocolate cornets. That would be a better thing than any for the first plot coupon, and a beach is the most obvious place one would associate seashells with. It is true that the two rock formations accessible in EB0 were located in a cave and some ruins (neither anywhere near water), but there were only those two, not necessarily based on anything in particular, as opposed to twelve (each based on an element) that Rokuna's party will come across.)
Next is where Minami comes in. I had her stay home from the gathering, because she needs special attention in order to foreshadow her planned role for the endgame. Bonus points for her ownership of a dog and Rokuna's canonical love of animals.
Also worth noting is that this is where Mondo's "attitude" (based primarily on Sonic the Hedgehog, but also on other characters like Funky Kong, the Ninja Turtles, Chuck E. Cheese, and the Burger King Kids' Club mascot) is emphasized the most, along with Kagami's distaste thereof. He seemed somewhat more reasonable in MCK, if still upbeat and a bit hammy and cheesy, but I thought it would be fun to "pump him up" as a direct contrast to Miyuki and Minami in particular (as well as nearly everyone else, who does use the occasional slang and the word "totally", but still much more normally).
The first mana spot being located on the same beach as from anime episode 6, it's only natural that the next few scenes would mirror a few from that episode. The twins and Mondo going off to ask the locals for clues about it while the others practice their psionic powers was something that Chelle suggested.
And, the next chapter will be the party's exploration of a cave somewhere, their fight for the power contained within the spot, and their subsequent trip through Magicant (which will probably mirror Arn's Winter Quest as a whole, at least for this fanfic) before they wind up in the United Kingdom. Not sure what to do from there.
-----
Asked Jake in a convo last night whether he'd assume that the writers came up with stuff to utilize first and then a purpose for everything, or stuff he wanted to fulfill and then everything through which to carry it all out. What he surmised was this:
"Okay, so what kind of threat could happen to [Onett]? Maybe the police are completely useless. In fact, let's have them be a boss fight! But it would be dumb for them to be the first boss fight. Maybe their uselessness means teen crime is at rise. And the mayor wants them gone, and he's so corrupt you have to deal with them AND the police punish you over something you're supposed to do! That's brilliant!" *does some drugs* "AND MAYBE THE FIRST SERIOUS BOSS IS A GIANT ANT!!!!!"
For Threed...
"ZOMBIES! And... they trick Ness and co. into being captured! That's a good way to get Jeff in the plot. They're probably radiation zombies, so they come from some other place... a place led by an alien, let me think..." *does more drugs* "HIS NAME IS BELCH AND HE ENSLAVED THE MR. POTATO PEOPLE!!!!"
We already talked about this before, but not only does this kind of stuff not come naturally to me, but while I did acknowledge the room there is for "pockets" (see my 10/12/15 post in this thread on LSSF; I'm McKnight, btw), there are so many things I'd just rather not combine with Lucky Star (such as an ice-cream-cone-shaped tank that Nintendo Power mentioned offhand in a preview of Earthbound 64). I will admit that I never really paid attention to the humor behind everything whenever I played Earthbound during my childhood or teen years, but I often wonder if it was all a mistake to choose Lucky Star as the show from which Starbound continues in the first place. Initially, the fic was conceived as a giantess story, was going to be based on either LS or Pani Poni Dash!, I'd be more inclined to go all-out with the humor if I had chosen the latter, and I didn't stick with MCK because most of its mons' designs are too much more complex than most enemies throughout the Earthbound trilogy. But then again, I was still even more interested in writing something w/ the Lucky Star girls' hair done up into beehives.
Still, I am glad I scrapped the Hunt Club arc after having written that, given how overly serious it was (including its resolution), even though it did feel good at least to be writing something at the time. I am also willing enough to keep Jake's idea to involve a Hooters restaurant, even if he thought it up for reasons besides humor; even Chelle suggested I keep it, while suggesting I do away with a scene where Tristan somehow gets powered up and kicks ass to save some of the girls deep within its underground factory (something I admittedly took from both Yoshi's Island and one of the old Superman films that involves Supes racing a train on foot as an infant). There are lots of things throughout the Earthbound trilogy that were conceived mainly for humor but could easily translate over into Starbound to be chalked up to other things. (Walking mushrooms and weeds, for example, could easily be alien-induced possession of some sort.)
-----
One more thing I'd like to mention, is that in the first list in the hyperlinked entry two paragraphs above, the fifth item that I specified was "the general atmosphere". I still can't quite place a finger on what I mean by that, but to take a shot at it, I suppose one could say how relaxing and lighthearted (albeit with its darker side) the world as a whole feels as you explore it, from the small-town neighborhoods of Onett and Twoson, to the scenic frostscape of Winters, to the vast desert of Scaraba. I guess that could be true with just about anything, but I used to feel something similar whenever I played Super Mario RPG (even more surreal the Marioverse may be), such as the view of the open sea when Mario is sent flying from Bowser's Keep, the general scenery of Rose Way in particular, and the music you hear whenever you navigate the map screen. Ditto with Zelda, particularly everything prior to Majora's Mask.
I also mention every now and then, how Earthbound 199X seems to read somewhat reasonably while carrying its own share of humor. That would at least be in comparison to the Lucky Powers series (here Miyuki's fic, the first of its), but Magus523's novelization series of Mega Man (which begins with game 3) also reads similarly while maintaining all the cartoon physics that defined those games.
In any case, I'll be sure to bring this all up with Brian next time I see him.
And naturally, I found myself defaulting back to Starbound. It obviously says something when I continually obsess over my ensemble of protagonists for that fic as much as I used to over that for Monster Collection Chronicles, barely defined as the characters in either set may be.
Thought about why I can't think of any actual events in any given arc or location. Long story short, it's because I have nothing left to draw from. Will go into that for the existing chapters in a bit, but so far, I did consider taking trips to the respective locations... if only that was actually within my budget.
Even if it was, though, would it actually be necessary for the party to travel across borders between each mana spot? I mean, I've been planning for them to head to France once they recruit Maria within Great Britain, but only because of a college term paper I once did on the channel-tunnel. Most arcs in Earthbound do involve navigating between different areas, and even returning briefly to places you've already been to before, but only because the plot actually requires it. And, whereas its world was entirely a fictional one built up as needed, Lucky Star is set in the real world, which is even emphasized by illustrations of real-life houses, buildings, and locales.
And to think that I added in some woods where there aren't any in real life, for the sake of the plot in chapters 1 and 2, though that was before someone showed me these sets of photographs (after I asked on the forum about the GPS coordinates that the wiki specifies for various locations):
http://www.cuso4.org/photos/20070511-tyo/20070511-tyo-rakisuta.htm
http://www.cuso4.org/photos/20070905-tyo/20070905-tyo-rakisuta.htm
But anyway, let's take a look at how I was able to think everything up that goes on in what I've put up so far:
Chapter 1: The opening scene is an amalgamation of the first few strips in manga volume 5 and Ayano's inter-chapter appearance in volume 6, and meant to foreshadow what's about to happen in the next few scenes. Next, I needed a way to ensure that the main four of canon would spend some time with only eachother between ditching their families and meeting up with Rokuna. Since Miyuki lives much further away from the twins and Konata than they do from eachother, having her spend a night at the twins' house after she gets sent home from school is a great way to ensure that everyone only has Konata's house to visit after the poltergeist attack. And, of course, all events from said attack to some ways into chapter 2 were planned specifically to mirror those that begin both Earthbound and Earthbound Zero, the games that inspired this whole thing in the first place. This, I pulled off naturally, only after learning that amethyst used to be one of four cardinal gemstones alongside ruby, sapphire, and emerald (five if you count diamond) and subsequently adding in a modified version of Rokuna from Mon Colle Knights as one of the main characters.
Chapter 2: The first few dialogues just came to mind on their own, and were a few of those parts I had fun writing as it flowed. The explanation of the Magé Stones was already obligatory, given how fundamental those things are to the story itself. Ichirobei reading his grandfather's diary to everyone mirrors how you're supposed to obtain your great grandfather's diary at the beginning of Earthbound Zero. The kind of feast Rokuna prepares for everyone was already a recurring gag from Mon Colle Knights, and a better way than any for Kagami to let Tsukasa come with her and the others after previously standing against that. The rest is just pre-journey preparations that common sense demands.
Chapter 3: Well, Rokuna has already promised to treat everyone out to lunch, and had also asked to see Kagami's goldfish, which she mentioned to her older sisters as the previous chapter drew to a close. Miyuki having lost her glasses during chapter 1 retroactively comes in handy here: Yukari having just arrived and objecting to Miyuki leaving with everyone conveniently allows Tadao and Miki to stay behind when Rokuna and co. set off to the twins' house, requiring only Inori and Matsuri to come with them. Meanwhile, coming off from where chapter 2 actually did end, it's only natural that Nanako would want to fill Soujiro in on what Konata had just told her online and find more out about what's been going on since Miyuki's incident she only knows about from the previous day. The conversation in front of the twins' house flowed naturally, and then comes the moment when Rokuna gets to see Kagami's fishpond... and comments on its lack of any features (based on what Chelle had to say when I showed her a relevant scene from anime episode 15). This is where "Buy stuff for Gyopi" becomes part of the party's pre-journey agenda for after (their real) lunch. Eventually, I ended the chapter with Mondo greeting Miyuki in front of the restroom at a fast-food place, specifically in anticipation to introducing Rokuna's other friends whom she mentions just moments earlier.
Birthday of Destiny: Mainly a means to establish Rokuna's friends via her own one-off fic. At the time, I was also hoping to write a few one-shots about the manga-exclusive characters. However, Rokuna had already mentioned her birthday having just passed early in chapter 2, and the way this doubled as another perspective of the events of chapter 1 was also convenient.
Chapter 4: The chapter I found myself anxious for months to get started with. That trip to the pet store finally found its actual purpose when Chelle and I agreed on Tsukasa reciting some prayers to purify it of a poltergeist attack, which in turn is brought on as an equivalent event to that in the Fourside Dept. Store in Earthbound.
Chapter 5: As per chapter 4, all the main characters' friends, save for Minami Iwasaki, are gathered at Rokuna's house to learn about the Magé Stones and the events about to unfold. Dinner has to be something foreign in order to commemorate the beginning of a world-scale journey, and I chose Mexican (glad I didn't choose that for Birthday of Destiny instead) mainly to foreshadow the eventual recruitment of Desiré García, a Mexican-born girl currently living illegally in America, though it's also conducive to a few gags and would be best complemented by this particular song from the anime. (Mexico itself decidedly will not be one of the places they visit, in order to emphasize that there is always more to a story's world than its main characters visit, since many fanfic writers do tend to disregard that.)
From there, we skip over Rokuna's explanation of things in Ichirobei's place, and cut to Misao revealing the location of the first mana spot. Can't remember why I decided on the aquatic point in particular, although the fanservice that ensues (both immediately and later on) is one of my favorite things about this chapter. Miyuki mentions in anime episodes 1 and 4 that she can't open her eyes underwater (note her absence when the other mains float on an inner tube during 6), and Mondo's offer of some goggles from his house will contribute a flashback later on to emphasize their difference in mannerisms.
(Added in, 11/2/15: Since I still plan on showing this to Brian and Marie, I've just remembered that part of selecting the beach had to do with making sure that Nanako's role from chapter 2's cutaway ending would actually pay off in some way. She and Yui had taken the main four there before, so she knows where it is, and having driven into town two chapters ago ensures that she has the means to go back there.)
(Added in, 11/6/15: There was also the spot in question, a conch-shaped rock formation, in reference to both the canonical gateways to Magicant in Earthbound Zero and Konata's love for chocolate cornets. That would be a better thing than any for the first plot coupon, and a beach is the most obvious place one would associate seashells with. It is true that the two rock formations accessible in EB0 were located in a cave and some ruins (neither anywhere near water), but there were only those two, not necessarily based on anything in particular, as opposed to twelve (each based on an element) that Rokuna's party will come across.)
Next is where Minami comes in. I had her stay home from the gathering, because she needs special attention in order to foreshadow her planned role for the endgame. Bonus points for her ownership of a dog and Rokuna's canonical love of animals.
Also worth noting is that this is where Mondo's "attitude" (based primarily on Sonic the Hedgehog, but also on other characters like Funky Kong, the Ninja Turtles, Chuck E. Cheese, and the Burger King Kids' Club mascot) is emphasized the most, along with Kagami's distaste thereof. He seemed somewhat more reasonable in MCK, if still upbeat and a bit hammy and cheesy, but I thought it would be fun to "pump him up" as a direct contrast to Miyuki and Minami in particular (as well as nearly everyone else, who does use the occasional slang and the word "totally", but still much more normally).
The first mana spot being located on the same beach as from anime episode 6, it's only natural that the next few scenes would mirror a few from that episode. The twins and Mondo going off to ask the locals for clues about it while the others practice their psionic powers was something that Chelle suggested.
And, the next chapter will be the party's exploration of a cave somewhere, their fight for the power contained within the spot, and their subsequent trip through Magicant (which will probably mirror Arn's Winter Quest as a whole, at least for this fanfic) before they wind up in the United Kingdom. Not sure what to do from there.
-----
Asked Jake in a convo last night whether he'd assume that the writers came up with stuff to utilize first and then a purpose for everything, or stuff he wanted to fulfill and then everything through which to carry it all out. What he surmised was this:
"Okay, so what kind of threat could happen to [Onett]? Maybe the police are completely useless. In fact, let's have them be a boss fight! But it would be dumb for them to be the first boss fight. Maybe their uselessness means teen crime is at rise. And the mayor wants them gone, and he's so corrupt you have to deal with them AND the police punish you over something you're supposed to do! That's brilliant!" *does some drugs* "AND MAYBE THE FIRST SERIOUS BOSS IS A GIANT ANT!!!!!"
For Threed...
"ZOMBIES! And... they trick Ness and co. into being captured! That's a good way to get Jeff in the plot. They're probably radiation zombies, so they come from some other place... a place led by an alien, let me think..." *does more drugs* "HIS NAME IS BELCH AND HE ENSLAVED THE MR. POTATO PEOPLE!!!!"
We already talked about this before, but not only does this kind of stuff not come naturally to me, but while I did acknowledge the room there is for "pockets" (see my 10/12/15 post in this thread on LSSF; I'm McKnight, btw), there are so many things I'd just rather not combine with Lucky Star (such as an ice-cream-cone-shaped tank that Nintendo Power mentioned offhand in a preview of Earthbound 64). I will admit that I never really paid attention to the humor behind everything whenever I played Earthbound during my childhood or teen years, but I often wonder if it was all a mistake to choose Lucky Star as the show from which Starbound continues in the first place. Initially, the fic was conceived as a giantess story, was going to be based on either LS or Pani Poni Dash!, I'd be more inclined to go all-out with the humor if I had chosen the latter, and I didn't stick with MCK because most of its mons' designs are too much more complex than most enemies throughout the Earthbound trilogy. But then again, I was still even more interested in writing something w/ the Lucky Star girls' hair done up into beehives.
Still, I am glad I scrapped the Hunt Club arc after having written that, given how overly serious it was (including its resolution), even though it did feel good at least to be writing something at the time. I am also willing enough to keep Jake's idea to involve a Hooters restaurant, even if he thought it up for reasons besides humor; even Chelle suggested I keep it, while suggesting I do away with a scene where Tristan somehow gets powered up and kicks ass to save some of the girls deep within its underground factory (something I admittedly took from both Yoshi's Island and one of the old Superman films that involves Supes racing a train on foot as an infant). There are lots of things throughout the Earthbound trilogy that were conceived mainly for humor but could easily translate over into Starbound to be chalked up to other things. (Walking mushrooms and weeds, for example, could easily be alien-induced possession of some sort.)
-----
One more thing I'd like to mention, is that in the first list in the hyperlinked entry two paragraphs above, the fifth item that I specified was "the general atmosphere". I still can't quite place a finger on what I mean by that, but to take a shot at it, I suppose one could say how relaxing and lighthearted (albeit with its darker side) the world as a whole feels as you explore it, from the small-town neighborhoods of Onett and Twoson, to the scenic frostscape of Winters, to the vast desert of Scaraba. I guess that could be true with just about anything, but I used to feel something similar whenever I played Super Mario RPG (even more surreal the Marioverse may be), such as the view of the open sea when Mario is sent flying from Bowser's Keep, the general scenery of Rose Way in particular, and the music you hear whenever you navigate the map screen. Ditto with Zelda, particularly everything prior to Majora's Mask.
I also mention every now and then, how Earthbound 199X seems to read somewhat reasonably while carrying its own share of humor. That would at least be in comparison to the Lucky Powers series (here Miyuki's fic, the first of its), but Magus523's novelization series of Mega Man (which begins with game 3) also reads similarly while maintaining all the cartoon physics that defined those games.
In any case, I'll be sure to bring this all up with Brian next time I see him.