Forum Replies Created
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wwwwhhhhoooo wrote:
Seriously now, I may have said this before, and I’ve never had time to actually flesh this out let alone start writing it, but I’ve had an idea for the Universe continuity. Briefly, it would have to do with one of Washu’s experiments going awry–as usual–involving a time machine/time travel. Introduced one at a time, two young men would appear, both bearing resemblance to Tenchi: one having “Ryoko-esque” characteristics, the other a certain air of Jurain nobility (yep, it’s what you think).
(Names: WIP)
Thus, the “new” setup would be shockingly familiar: two half-brothers, competing for the attention of their father, Tenchi (the Ryoko/Ayeka dynamic, but males just to shake things up a bit). The interest isn’t romantic, but it would be an intense competition between two people with very familiar personalities–albeit their own, unique ones–for a relationship with Tenchi.
wwwwhhhhoooo wrote:
Well, that’s all I got really, hope this is an ok place for it. I can’t say I “own” this idea, comprised of characters I don’t own in any way, so whoever wants to take off with this go for it, but just so you know ahead of time, Iwillget to this eventually. 😉 That’s a take that I do not recall seeing before, and it sounds like an interesting setup. ^^v I believe this thread would be an “ok” place to discuss your pair of brothers. I would like to see them in context, when you have the opportunity to write about them. ^^v How exactly would their personalities different from their mothers’? I assume the pair was raised together.
Dagon123 wrote:
It’s hard not to walk around any fandom today without feeling the ire of some when referring to OC’s (Original Characters) or “Self Inserts”, let alone the term fanfiction itself seems to have garnered a derogatory connotation with mainstream media and used in any which fashion when referring to writing or development that is lackluster or not worthy.I’m not going to debate that there isn’t really bad fanfiction out there, some of it even becomes a mainstream success (though take that as you will) but I digress, lets take a look at the OC and the Self Insert.
Ironically, the “expanded universe” of a popular franchise can essentially be regarded as “funded fan fiction”, along with their own exclusive casts. I cite the
Star WarsExpanded Universe, particularly as Lucas and Disney have essentially thrown them to the wind. Naturally, this could be applied to the Tenchi, but I will refrain from reopening that wound. However, considering the sheer number of publications, official or not, associated to a major property, probability alone states that some, if not most, will be awful to read. 
http://evilpii.50webs.com/forum/tu-mitsuki2.png
" /> I have no doubt that there are flame wars in theStar Warsfora over poorly written or Mary-Sued characters in the novels, as well as poorly written stories. 
" /> Dagon123 wrote:
The OC in it’s worst form is essentially Superman, can do everything, has the best traits of all the characters, is the strong-man in the situation, almost omni-present, always knows what’s best, if in a romance setting is the immediate source of affection to the main protagonist, but surprisingly with all of these physical superior traits has the one sided, 2 dimensional personality of a piece of wood plank , (I wonder who exhibits those traits….lol)
Dagon123 wrote:
Now that’s not to say that these characters can’t work (though I think the self-insert is too much ego-wank for most authors to be able to pull it off well) it’s all about writing and development. Give us a reason to laugh, and to cry, and to have a nice day with said character, while giving the audience a connection with them (other than saying “IT’S CANON”) and I can accept them in with the established lot.
You have struck on the main point behind this thread. No one likes a character who walks out from the ether and effortlessly eliminates all opposition. Conflict drives a story, and for that reason, I have heard that authors should be at least a bit sadistic, to put the cast through such troubles.
" /> As readers, we want to see how the characters struggle and either succeed or fail. We want that engrossing connection that draws us into the story, making us thirst for the next page to know what happens next. If a character can wave their hand and end the problem immediately, there is no conflict, no growth, no interest. As you say, “give us a reason to” care for these characters. This is also how they grow deeper by exploring their limits and failings, as well as how they overcome or circumvent them. If a character has no limits, there is again no conflict or growth to portray. The battle is already over before it is met.You referenced Superman, which makes for an interesting dichotomy. True, he is immensely powerful and can overcome most average villains in his rogues gallery, like Intergang or Silver Banshee. Perhaps that is why most of the Superman stories I have liked over the years have been those where Kal-El dealt with someone who is his better, physically or mentally: Darkseid, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, or Zod. Some of the moral dilemmas posed by Darkseid or Lex actually can be quite interesting to consider on their own, which develop and test Clark’s mettle.
Moreover, this is a thread about fan fiction. By that very fact, any new character should not take away from the characters who are central to the original series. For example, one should not write a story about completely new characters with the occasional cameo by the
Tenchicast and call it “fan fiction”. Readers come to a fan fiction story to read the continuing adventures of the characters they have loved, not necessarily this new character. I have personally fought this little war myself with my characters Will Pii and Nerti Ro, whom I plan to discuss in a later post. I love them both and enjoy writing about them, but as much as I want to elaborate on them, the first priority in a
Tenchifan fiction is to tell a Tenchistory. My current solution to the problem is to write side-stories about the couple, which are tangentially connected to the their fan fiction appearances, but are not necessary for the understanding of the broader story. For example, the pair appear in both Trilogyand Homecomings, but you do not need to read their origin story in Fortnight 1995Dagon123 wrote:
The self-insert (at least from what I’ve seen) is pretty much the same thing, except stands out like a sore thumb at a thumbs up convention. They don’t look, sound, or even make any effort at blending into the story.
Dagon123 wrote:
I personally, when it comes to writing any fanfiction try my hardest to dig deep into the already established universe if I want to insert any characters that might all of a sudden get the spotlight. This is merely because it’s the easiest for the audience to understand, instead of saying “Look at this guy he’s the new baddie” you could say “Here’s the new bad guy but he’s actually from this scene here but was only minor but because of this plot point is evil and etc etc” You get the idea, now that’s not to say I don’t have ideas for original characters. I pride myself in keeping with the tone and prose of the universe at hand and any new characters created should reflect that like any character already established, even if it’s the craziest most over the top universe in existence, as the old japanese saying goes “The stake that sticks out gets hammered down”.
Your point here actually states well why I did not start this discussion with my flagship couple. :Tenchismile: I agree that ingraining new characters into the existing mythos is important. This is something I learned through refinements of my own writing. It helps with emersion, suspension of disbelief, and overall continuity of the work.
In the first draft of
Tenchi Muyo! versus Men in Blackfrom 1997, Pii and Nerti did not mesh well with the existing universe and, as you said, stuck out amongst the Tenchicast. However, comments and critiques, and flames, from readers over a decade spurred me to improve them and connect them far more deeply into the continuity. In contrast, the idea for the Ryoan race developed organically from what I saw in
Universeand the questions I had about that continuity: Who are Ryoko’s people?
- Why are there not more powerful characters like Ryoko or Washu here?
- From where does their power come?
The characters then flowed from the parallels I drew with Jurai, as well as their reasons for conflict with said empire. Ryua Murakami and his followers are still a work in progress, though I have nailed down tenets for them in theHomecomings: Masakisegment linked above. Dagon123 wrote:
To finalize with actual ideas, I’ve always been fond of a “Ryoko’s Daughter” character who is essentially Minagi but still exhibits the brash, “take no prisoners”, attitude her mother has from time to time, which makes for a compelling story and narrative from the character being torn between the moral of her father, her mothers space pirate demeanor, and the honesty of the two, often times I’ve felt very compelled to write it, and probably is the main reason I would love to see the Tenchi anime follow the offspring of the cast instead of Kenshi, Lenchi, Fenchi, Senchi, Renchi, Aenchi, Yenchi, Nenchi, and Clyde Masaki.
I like the way you think. [nagi1] Your idea sounds quite interesting, and it would be nice to see her implemented in a future story, if you are willing to pursue it. I do think the official franchise has missed a trick not pursuing this idea.
In my old IRC days, I did some role-plays with some of the other
Tenchifans of the time, which really helped me develop some of my ideas and characters. In those exchanges, we delved into speculation about a “second generation” cast, even third at a few junctures. Since then, I have written the occasional one-shot story based on a character or two periodically while working on the longer stories, though I hope to one day write a full story about my ideas. One one-shot was
“Escalation”Demon’s Birth, the story tentatively scheduled to follow Homecomings. Ryoko’s Stepdad wrote:Here’s the problem with Super Saiyan Ryoko; you’d actually be making her weaker. By far, Ryoko with her three gems is much more powerful. Throw in the fact Tenchi is the avatar of God and essentially either one could wipe Saiyans from history no trouble at all.
wwwwhhhhoooo wrote:True story, folks (sorry the parade got rained on a bit, but a Tenchi fan forum couldn’t go forever without someone pointing that out). Like many other 10 year old boys, I
lovedDBZ back in the day, and as a younger fan of Tenchi, I at first found it difficult to get my mind around it, but it’s true: very few entities in existence could even come close to a three-gemed Ryoko (& those entities are within the Tenchi canon). This depends on which canon you are considering. In the
Universecanon, the Light Hawk Wings and gems are not depicted and assumed not to exist. If one takes into account Eternal Memory, then Tsunami exists at least. Still, a Super Saiyajin would stand far and above most everyone in that continuity, except perhaps Kain or Tsunami. There, a crossover could be more viable. :Tenchismile: A similar argument could be made for the Tokyocontinuity. In fact,
Universedoes have a “Super Juraian” already canon. 
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/4995718595_ae1cce8ebf.jpg " /> Thus, there is precedent for such a transformation. [nagi3]
To put my response in a short context, I loved this little piece. ^^v I adored the way you mashed up all the continuities and recast characters appropriately: Sakuya as a stalker, Amagasaki as the ditched bro, and poor Kiyone working at the shop. Admittedly, if Tenchibecame primarily a sitcom, rather than scifi, I would watch a series of this nature. ^^V Also, the cameos and references were absolutely lovely. ^.^ I do think you missed a trick after Makoto’s “tumor” comment, having someone say “It’s not a tumor!” ^_- And, are Ryoko and Ayeka really repeatedly seeing
Magic Mike, or other films? 
However, I did see one little issue that had me thinking for a bit. How did Sakuya get from stalking Noike all day in the carrot field to lurking in the back of
Finding Nemowhen Mihoshi and Tenchi left? Does she teleport while off-camera like Jason Voorhees? shadowsfall0 wrote:I just read
Homecomings: Masakiand I really loved it! I have to echo the thought of that being its own alternate aside story if it is delved into deeper and such. I think I now have a concept for how this little side story would go and how to separate it, mostly, from my previous work.
Submitted for your approval, after the events of
Tench Muyo! in Love 2with Haruna, Masaki Tenchi awakes to find the Masaki estate in ruins. The house is gone, the grounds overrun with the encroaching forest, the shrine in shambles. After a moment of shock, he realizes that this is exactly how it all looked when he was being erased by time, yet he isn’t being erased. Confused, he roams across the nearby countryside, looking for something familiar, but nearly 30 years of time has worn much of the homestead away. Except for the yokai cave, which attracts the young man. Entering, he navigates the ancient booby traps to its center, finding a huge green crystal, Washu’s exile unit, whole and in tact. With Tenchiken, the prince cuts through the seal and releases her. However, upon meeting her, she has no memory of him or the household. Frustrated and pleading, he describes his version of events, leading her to scan him, finding he is from a different reality parallel to this one. She continues to scan and find the awful truth of what happened in this world gone wrong.
Can Tenchi escape this reality, or should he stay and fix this twisted universe?
In fact, that might be a good title, “A World Gone Wrong” or “Twisted Tenchi Universe”. [nagi1] I thought “Tenchi Muyo! in Love 3” might be a good title, but that has been done already.
" /> shadowsfall0 wrote:For Washu, I was thinking that she could have the part to play in which They all 3 are in the onsen, (planning this scene) and as Ryoko talks to her, she will open up a LOT about her past and a bit of a…negative modification to Ryoko. In the end that modification didn’t work however, seeing as Ryoko by the end of the series in what I have planned, is a child. Washu steps up as well to be a bit of a motherly figure to Ayeka as well.
Washu being a mother figure for Ayeka could work, though in your current setting, Misaki would likely be Ayeka’s mother. How would Ayeka react to someone else standing in her mother’s place? This can likely be debated considering Misaki and Funaho might have been distant due to their respective positions. This could be interesting depending on how it is written. :Tenchismile:
shadowsfall0 wrote:Mihoshi i have the idea of her getting upset(as would be expected) and she can’t look at Tenchi, Ayeka, or Ryoko. Washu and Nobuyuki(who is visiting around this time in what i plan) talk to her, and tell her “Your destiny may have been to meet him then to go foward farther, destiny has an odd way of bring people together, whether it be for love, or for experience and knowledge and encouragement.” something like that.
This would be tricky. In OVA, Mihoshi is infatuated with Tenchi, and depending on how she is broached about the others’ affections, she might react poorly. I think this is part of Misao’s worrying about her in OVA 3, as well as being an insanely obsessive brother.
" /> Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka might want to consider how to break the news of their mutual arrangements to the others. I do like having Washu and Nobuyuki, bothhaving lost a mate[/color]
