Chapter Sixty Four, right? I have read that one, but I was kinda hoping for more news.
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From last week to this week, I did a full re-read of the fic.
My chest aches something fierce reading the last few lines of the last officially released chapter.
Also, sorry if it's been discussed already, but what might've happened in the future that the older Mikuru seems to be a bit...wistful I guess?
From chapter 24:
Well, the most simple explanation is that Mikuru ages very slowly thanks to some medical tech/genetic manipulation/whatever from the future and she had to spend a lot of time (from her perspective) away from Kyon and the Brigade.
Another possibility could be the Future Me Scares Me trope. That's it, that Kyon will grow into a more hardened individual as the time goes and the stakes tied to their adventures raise higher, leaving older Mikuru with feelings of nostalgia and maybe guilt every time she has to visit a younger and more innocent Kyon. Nevertheless, I don't think Kyon has to turn into a more world-weary or cynical Cerebus Syndrome kind of hero for that to happen, it's just what time and challenges do to people. You know, life happens.
On a different matter, recently I got kind of hooked to the EPUB format
and I wrote a markdown-to-epub converter in Python/Perl. Long Story Short, here you can grab another ebook version of the story.
It's missing a good cover, though. Suggestions/donations/advice are very welcome.
Random thought.
I was thinking on writing a short piece of Recursive Fanfiction for KBDH and I was wondering what kind of vehicle a 19-years-old!Kyon would own. I mean, it has to be something useful for Big Damn Hero's duties, stylish/exclusive enough for his position as a high-ranking yakuza and fiancé to the Tsuruya family but not fancy/expensive enough to give the idea of squandering (when properly used, social posturing is a powerful tool as everything else) and Kyon has to be able to take at least two unchibified girlfriends on dates comfortably at the same time with it. An old ride would be preferable so he won't be forced to disguise it while Time Traveling (just in case).
My best bet so far is a Cool Sidecar, more specifically Keiichi Morisato's BMW R65 bike/Harley Davidson sidecar
◊ combo, but I'm pretty sure Yuuto wouldn't be pleased if his son prefers a motorcycle over a really fast— er... a good reliable car instead. Not for lending, of course.
edited 7th Jun '14 9:29:29 PM by Specular
My K:BDH Recursive Fanfiction
to Specular,
I think an old style American muscle car might work very well. That or something sleek and futuristic. Well placed gull wing doors can make a car 50% cooler
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Huh. I've been working on some recursive fanfiction as well,
I figure it's one of the best ways to honor this work.
It involves mascot duty and Kyon...ko.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Hopefully, it's just a minor thing. Something like, the harem growing so much that they're all getting even less time with him. Actually, that really isn't that minor come to think of it.
edited 8th Jun '14 1:00:09 AM by Jigaboo
I did naht.
V
@ silverwind: But how common are they in Japannote ? I bet not very...
edited 8th Jun '14 1:58:58 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
I actually think that leaning towards muscle cars is going to end up on the wrong side of the believably reasonable scale. I believe that something like a luxary car (Cadillac, BMW, Volkswagon, Acura, Toyota's luxury models [whic are re-branded as Lexus in the states], etc.).
◊ combo, but I'm pretty sure Yuuto wouldn't be pleased if his son prefers a motorcycle over a really fast— er... a good reliable car instead. Not for lending, of course.Hmm? I had the impression Yuuto started in motorbikes before going into cars... Never mind, I was mistaken.
Anyway, thanks for the epub.
Kyon: Big Damn Hero: timeline & trailer
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If Kyon managed to genderbend himself, would that fulfill Sasaki's cuteness requirement and thus make it believable to her?![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
Think about it, female Kyon in a male uniform a few sizes too large grumbling about being shorter than everyone. I find the idea lends itself to a lot of hnnng and way too much fluff.
I did naht.
Re: Kyon-mobile:
@The Nobody:
I don't think a DeLorean would be a good idea. They're infamous for being unreliable, a poor acceleration for being a sports car and the stainless steel frame is a huge bother to keep clean. I do have a weak spot for the Shout-Out and the gull-wing doors,, though.
@Greenmantle:
Don't quote me on this, but I think you can import and drive a LHD car in Japan, it's just very expensive and taxed accordingly. The main problem is, of course, driving a LHD car in a country with roads where you have to drive on the left side. For example, just think of trying to overtake something like a box truck or a similar view-hiding vehicle by the right side with the driver sitting on the left side of the cabin. It's just to tempting for the Finagle's Law to put a third vehicle on the right lane.
@Jbstormburst:
If it has to be a luxury car, I think I'll go for the Porsche 997 GT2. I'm biased, though. I always had a soft spot for the Neunelf line up.
@Filraen:
Still, your post made me wonder what member of the cast has a past as a Badass Biker. My list of prime suspects would be:
- Shinobu
- Kasai
- Tsuruya-sama note
- Arakawa-san
- adult!Mikuru
Mmm, I wonder if I'm the only one who pictures Shinobu as a less-insane Expy of Roberta.
@Jigaboo:
I remember I once plotted a Kyonko medium-sized omake where kbdh!Kyon had to Mental "Slide" into his female Alternate Self to look for Kanae who escaped into a different world after something Wataru said convinced her that she had to leave the Brigade for their own protection. Instead of a full Grand Theft Me though, Kyonko would remain as a self-aware voice in Kyon's head to snark, complain, help out and occasionally tsundere-ing at the whole situation. The story was also supposed to include Koizumi and Yuuki (AU!Yuki) as the only male members of the SOS Brigade, little to none supernatural stuff to highlight normal badassery and a lot of Waif-Fu, Le Parkour, MacGyvering and Yuukio/Kyonko Ship Tease.
Sadly, I had to scrap the idea because I didn't find a way Hand Wave why Kyon's Psychic Block Defense would allow that.
Random image.
If your sugar levels are low enough, I won't advise you against looking at this picture
◊.
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I was tinkering with the idea of Kyon's ability in kissing carrying over to his "female" version should he ever get the ability to switch genders, albeit manifesting itself differently. If kissing him male causes a "daze" effect, does kissing him female cause a, say, "berserk/addiction" effect?
Sounds like a lame excuse to write yuri but it's working out in my head.
Also, pay my hospital bills specular, I've got a severe case of dokis now. :PPP
edited 9th Jun '14 10:46:17 AM by Jigaboo
I did naht.
Just finished reading K:BDH. I haven't enjoyed a fanfic this much since Methods of Rationality... Actually, I like this way better than Methods. So I thought I'd join here to express my consuming love for this thing. :)
Kuyou/Yuki interaction with Kyon is basically the best. Favorite line: Yuki - "We will search for it together", in regards to the 'special hell'.
Oh, one thing I did think was strange - that nothing in the TV Tropes page seems to make reference to Kyon's almost superhuman chessmaster/tactical genius powers. To wit:
-With Ryouko's help he was able to come up with a flawless victory plan to rescue Sasaki.
-He wins literally every game of skill he plays with the other Brigade members, unless he loses on purpose (Yuki notes that he is good enough to lose intentionally without ~seeming~ to be losing intentionally, which is harder than winning).
-He can beat Koizumi at chess.
-He can beat Skynet at chess... repeatedly.
-In nearly every situation he is able to come up with a strategy to turn things to his favor.
-Later on he is able to once again help the Yamaguchi-gumi with their planning, and is mentioned as being an amazing tactician despite ~not~ having Ryouko's help this time.
-At one point it is implied that he can challenge YUKI at chess (she specifically asks him to play against her), which I'm not even sure how that should be possible since in theory she can visualize every potential state of the board at once.
Anyway, altogether the story makes "tactical genius" almost as much one of Kyon's superpowers as his strange psi-block ability is, so it caught me off guard that the TV Topes page doesn't mention it.
edited 10th Jun '14 9:37:55 PM by MaxAstro
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You sure? The trope page's pretty massive and I can't be assed to look through it. So I guess I'll take your word for it. Though, I'm sure there's a trope on the page that at least gives a nod to that.
Yeah. Really great! It's why reading the latest chapter just tears me up inside a bit every time.
I did naht.
Believe it or not there actually isn't. Once I finished reading the fic, I decided to read the whole Tropes page. I even read the characters page for all the individual character tropes and yep, nothing mentions that aspect of Kyon. Maybe everyone who added tropes assumed that someone else had already done it...?
Really, though, it should be on Kyon's character page - the lack really stands out there, since the character page isn't nearly as long as the actual tropes page.
Anyway... Yeah, I enjoyed this story enough that I might try my hand at writing something based on it. Not sure, though; I'm out of practice, and I don't really trust my ability to nail the characters, especially not to the level that the story does...
Nice to see this thread revived.
@Jigaboo So Kyon goes Yamada-kun?
@Specular I never knew I wanted that Kyonko omake, but now I do. Very much.
Also, a Seiyū joke with adult!Mikuru as a biker based on Yūko Gotō? Not bad. When we're on the topic of Seiyūs, did we ever discuss on which character would have which Seiyū? Because when I think about it, I always end with Hana Kana as Kanae.
We did discuss it a while back. A lot of us really liked the idea of Norio Wakamoto providing the voice for Tsuruya-sama, I remember.
Content Warnings: Wall of Text ahead. I was kind of inspired today. I don't mean that in a good way.
@Jigaboo:
I think I'll need to come up with a disclaimer or content warning for pics like that.
@Max Astro:
IIRC, a long time ago I added an entry for The Chessmaster, but it got deleted for some reason or another.
I'm not too sure about the following, but how about...?
- The Chessmaster: Kyon is one, but you'll be forgiven for not realizing it at first because of how nonchalant he's about it. He always comes up with a sensible and most-likely-to-success strategy, regardless if the situation is escaping punishment from his parents, playing chess against alien intelligences (Skynet losses soundly, Ryouko can at best just force him to a draw and he's a par with Yukinote ), basically blackmailing Mori and the Organization to do his bidding, playing enemy yakuzas for fools, outsmarting a Time Traveler or keeping the IDSE in check by using their effective omniscience against them and forcing them to wait for the completion of the Stable Time Loops they know he has to fulfil. Kyon is short of being a Magnificent Bastard because he can't lie through his teeth for the life of him, but he does have a pretty good poker face and a knack for making people think he's lying.
- The Strategist: When veteran, top brass members of Yamaguchi-gumi look at a high school student for a reliable, efficient and airtight plan to curb stomp their enemies with barely any fighting, then Kyon certainly won this reputation.
Humor Mode: Sometimes I think it's a shame that TV Tropes is not more like Badass of the Week or Cracked. Otherwise I'd put something like this on an article about Kyon (Content Warnings: less-than-polite redaction and liberal application of the Literary Agent Hypothesis):
/Profanity Filter OFF
It's almost a cliché to hear stories of consummated badasses tapping more and better ass than we mere mortals ever will, but you need a special kind of pimptastic charm for your super-hot fiancée and her equally hot best friend to suddenly decide that greater love hath no chick than a sista hooking the hell up of her gals with her man. You know, apparently out of loyalty to their friends or some weird Far Eastern honor-thing like that.
This proves that I won't ever understand Japanese chicks, but at least the deal makes some Darwinian get-it-on-with-the-fittest kind of sense.
When the Kowa Keigo is not going from one orgy to the next (actually I found no word of this, but I think it's a pretty good educated guess based on the way how the insider and hard-as-nails no-nonsense badass in her own right Sonou "Anego" Mori blushed like an young innocent church-going maiden in a hardcore bachelorette party at the mere hint of a question about Kyon's most likely sexy, sexy exploits), he's using the impregnable fortress and perfectly tuned clockwork machine known as his brain to plot the inevitable and untraceable downfall of his every enemy.
At an age when most guys are getting their asses handed to them in their online RTS of choice, Kyon was planning, running, fighting and more importantly winning mob wars, including one notable operation that can only be described as a seven-pronged simultaneous raid that would make SWAT teams everywhere cry in envy against enemy boryokudan jerks holding one of his allies' whole family hostage. The plan also involved leaving the poor sods, probably tied up with present bows and a "Go to Jail" Monopoly card glued on their foreheads, for the police to find.
Say whatever you want about organized criminals, but I can't help but hold some admiration for a mafioso who makes un-corrupt cops do his dirty work. Just try to picture the morbid glory of something like Al Capone tricking The Untouchables into arresting all his competition and getting off scot-free and you'll see what I mean.
Heck, there is also the story of him delivering a good ol' school curb-stomping so beautiful and awe-inspiring that the whole Sumiyoshi-rengo group at the wrong end of it defected en masse to his side in the hope that a little of badassitude would rub off on them.
Playing people like pawns in an one-player game of chess gets boring after a while, so when Kyon wants a real challenge he brings his 8×8 portable battlefield to one of the three greatest minds on Earth. Of course, when I say "greatest", you can already tell I don't necessarily mean human intelligences. One of them is a secret supercomputer about which I couldn't get even a codename, but I heard Kyon nicknamed it Skynet and likely very expensive piece of tech can't even force a match against him into a draw.
And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The reason why machines don't turn against their human masters is because they're too smart to put themselves on Kyon's shitlist.
About his other two chess partners, I couldn't find a thing because everything about them is very hush-hush, but considering his reputation and going through every bit of intel available and lots of booze, I'll say that—-until proved wrong—-they're crazy-smart Single-Minded Twins Green-Skinned Space Babes with a thing for caring guys with panache for magnificent bastardliness.
(...)
So there you have it, a glimpse into the life of the lawbreaker genius with the sweetest name ever written in Kanji. No best bro to trust your back in a fight, no worse guy to have as your wingman if you ever want to have any hope of scoring.
To the Big Damn Hero, I salute thee.
/Profanity Filter ON
... OK, boys and girls. This should prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that posting stuff when you're sleepy is a BAD idea. Let it be a lesson.
Also, I think I should stop reading Ben Thompson for a while.
Don't let that discourage you. I mean, if I trusted myself to be able to do just that, I'd never tried to write KBDH snippets in the first place.
@Taiboss:
I thought no one would catch that! 
Kana Hanazawa? Good pick, but my personal choice would be something like what Kanae Itō did for Elsea de lute Irma.
@Jason Ulloa:
@Taiboss:
Allow me to try to tease you with an In Media Res snip:
Now he was, sitting on a chair in the middle of a dimmed clubroom, with Haruhi trying her very best impression of a TV perp sweating to get him to spill the beans. Heck, she even made a lamp out of card stock and adhesive tape for the light bulb hanging from ceiling and over his head, the major available source of illumination in the room after she pulled the curtain close, probably in an attempt to create a more old school police procedural atmosphere.
"Kyon-san, whatever your situation may be, I think it would be for the best to be honest with us so we can help you. We are your friends, we want to help you."
And yes, Haruhi even got Koizumi to play "good cop" for her "bad cop". On other matters, Kyon thought how amazing and annoying was the fact that even in a different universe, even where he never was a guy in the first place, he was still stuck to the same lame nickname.
The silver lining in the whole situation was that at least "Kyon" was gender-neutral enough. Something more feminine like "Kyon-ko" or whatever would be just plain unbearable to him.
"It's about time, Kyon. Tell me, what's your business with the roster of the class 1-7?" Haruhi tapped the register containing the information he needs to find Kanae twice with her index finger, "You know I won't give up until you confess."
<She's for real, you know. I don't know about the Suzumiya from your world, but the Ace Attorney there will breathing down our neck until you can come up with something she can buy,> the voice in his head, the original "Kyon" of this world, said. <And don't look at me for inspiration, John. I told you it was a bad idea.>
"John" wished that he could talk back to her, but whatever the mechanics behind their "mental sliding", the rightful owner of the body he was currently inhabiting couldn't hear him unless he spoke aloud, which wasn't an option with the whole SOS Brigade in the room with them.
"Haruhi, I can't tell you. Could you just trust me on this? Please?" he pleaded one more time,
"'Haruhi'?" she said a little taken aback. Even Nagato turned his sight away from his electronic book to look at him.
"'I'?" Mikuru—-thankfully a girl here—-belatedly commented.
<Idiot!>
Only then he realized that made two crucial mistakes in the same sentence. First strike: his other self calls Haruhi "Suzumiya" without any honorifics, but she doesn't use her first name. Second strike: he also let slip an "Ore", probably the most masculine first person pronoun he could have used and definitely not something the Kyon of this world does.
"Er, I mean, Suzumiya. To tell the truth, yes, I'm hiding something from you, but believe me when I say it'd be for the best for you to not get involved. You already know I was willing to get into trouble with the school just to get my hands on this," Kyon got to his feet and grabbed the book labeled as 'Evidence #1' from the table with his left hand, "Don't you think I could have a very good reason to do it and keep quiet about it?"
Haruhi looked at his eyes and seemed to consider his words carefully, but then she quickly focused on the fact that Kyon had the "corpus delicti" in his hands and swiftly tried to grab it back. To her surprise Kyon almost absentmindedly yanked the register just an inch out of her reach and continued trying to reason with her.
"Suzumiya, do you understand? Can I— What are you doing?" Haruhi ignored him and persisted in trying to recover the book, but Kyon could to predict every movement of her right hand and prevented her from doing so.
At this point, Haruhi forwent subtleties and brought both hands to the task. Kyon simply kept his right side of his body towards her, left hand firmly holding the book, and gently pushed her arms to the side whenever Haruhi tried to reach out around him to snatch the class register.
<John, do you know martial arts?>
Third strike...
Haruhi took two steps away from Kyon and looked at him as she was seeing him for the first time. Koizumi didn't seem to make sense of the situation, but his face betrayed signs of curious surprise. Mikuru simply regarded him with a hint of admiration in her eyes. Nagato instead focused intensely on his posture, probably trying to figure out the precise style he was using.
"'Kyon'," Haruhi said with until-then unheard of seriousness, "mind telling who are you and what happened to the real Kyon?"
...and out.
Did I manage to do it?
My K:BDH Recursive Fanfiction
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@Taiboss: I guess he does doesn't he? I've read that manga before, and it never occurred to me how similar it sounded till now.
In Media Res is right. You keeping an archive of the things you write?
edited 12th Jun '14 5:30:43 AM by Jigaboo
I did naht.
That cliffhanger... Can I report you for the act of distributing addictive material? Because you damn hooked with that.
I didn't choose Kana Hanazawa for Kanae because I wanted to, her voice just keeps popping in, I'd rather want to continue the Haruhi/Higurashi/Umineko relationship with Kanae by Fuyuka Ooura , Sasaki and Miyuki by Miyuki Sawashiro , Akane by Sayaka Ohara (Thanks 4chan and your Sugita School Life pictures) and Wataru by Hiroshi Kamiya , simply because I could not think of anyone else.
edited 12th Jun '14 9:30:38 AM by Taiboss
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Kamiya's range is really...ehhh. He has one voice. That one voice doesn't even sound remotely angry. More of, "kinda irked but not really" is the closest he gets. I think Mamoru Miyano is a cleaner fit. Angry Light comes to mind, and who knows what else his voice can achieve.
I think Touyama Nao would make a good Kanae. Voice is irresistible.
I did naht.
@Specular:
Tsuruya-sama: Hello, everynyan! How are yous? Fine, thank yous.
edited 12th Jun '14 3:46:36 PM by JasonUlloa
@Jigaboo:
In Media Res is right. You keeping an archive of the things you write?
I'm not sure if I understood the question, but if you're asking whether I write down my Plot Bunnies, the answer would be no. It's almost a hobby for me to come up with weird story ideas or random scenes and see if or how they would work out, but I usually don't hit the keys unless the idea is just too interesting or plain silly to pass up.
@Taiboss:
That cliffhanger... Can I report you for the act of distributing addictive material? Because you damn hooked with that.
You know, I was about to say "that's a cliffhanger for me too", but I'm starting to think that the Kyonko omake has some potential after all if the Central Theme I got in mind for it works as intended.
I don't promise anything, but I'll see if "Sympathy for the Devil" (temporal title) shapes into a more definite form during the weekend.
Re. Voice actors.
Too many names, I'm getting lost. The only thing I'll say is that Wataru needs an Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy voice, something like Nobuhiko Okamoto or similar.
@Jason Ulloa:
Good jokes like that are not easily forgotten, I assure you .
Random thought from the left field.
Association exercise:
There are Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath, Avarice, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy and Gluttony.
The Big Damn Harem consists of seven girls: Haruhi, Yuki, Mikuru, Tsuruya, Kanae, Kuyou and Sasaki. (a.k.a. the Seven Deadly Girlfriends)
Now, which girl do you think better represent each cardinal sin?
At first blush, I'd say:
- Haruhi: Avarice.
- Yuki: Sloth (not for laziness, but instead in original sense of spiritual apathy)
- Mikuru: Lust.
- Tsuruya: Wrath.
- Kanae: Envy.
- Kuyou: Gluttony.
- Sasaki: Pride.
In case you're wondering, all this came from a costume theme idea for a Halloween Episode.
edited 12th Jun '14 10:27:01 PM by Specular
My K:BDH Recursive Fanfiction
...If your idea came from where I think it came from, you are tempting me horribly with what would happen in that omake.
Certainly, if you'd like to read the draft of the next chapter and give Hal comments, you're welcome to go to Soulriders and read it there.
Author of The Second Coming (NGE) and The Coin (Haruhi).