Kyon: Big Damn Hero

I had a mildly-convenient method for making concatenated HTML files of the stories, which would fit onto Kindles and so forth. Less convenient now that it's off FF.net, but still doable. Can send the concatenated version to people if they want it, though for anything except a Kindle the PDF is probably more convenient.

Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)

Good idea. You can see the change in the header of the even-numbered pages (Ex. "Open Battle (VI)" for the last chapter). In that way the readers can quickly find out what section of the story they are reading without being forced to return to the beginning of the chapter and losing the page.

PDF version of the current edition (as of Dec 15th) of the story (4.3 MB, 1624 pages).

My K:BDH Recursive Fanfiction

Thanks for the PDF. So Much.

As for Sasaki, in the latest novel it's clear she's very much into Kyon, but Cannot Spit It Out. Probably. The majority of her talk is convoluted in a way that would make Koizumi confused. I think i have to read it again to get what she meant (and i'm doing so right now)... Anyone wanna help me, if anybody read the last novel and understood her speeches better?

Edit: Uhh... As for the Les Yay...in the novels... Gosh, how could i not see this before:

"My goal was to talk about my love life. Wouldn't it be something along the lines of passing my meaning on similar to what a strand of messenger RNA does? Ah, I'm sure you'll go through this with your sister."

Sorry…that's not very helpful.

"Oh well. When you're troubled, shouldn't you talk with people around you about what's troubling you? Besides, I reconsidered right beforehand to solve my problems by myself. Besides, you give too much noise for anyone to actually make a good decision."

The silence stuck around. If asked, I'd try to give some idiotic retort as my reaction, but I couldn't think of something to say. I need to brush up on my vocabulary for sympathy phrases. Maybe our librarian Nagato would recommend some books for me.

While my insides were still feeling like jelly, Sasaki said something that broke that stagnant feeling. Yes, it was a shocking new revelation.

"Suzumiya-san and I went to the same elementary school. While we were always in different classes, I could always see how that girl lit up the school with a light like she was the sun. Even in a different class I could feel that light coming from her."

edited 17th Dec '11 12:21:17 PM by Agasa

Kyon; He's in his harem, All's right with the world Scratching at the cat box since 1986 while Battling with Dread Shoelace Robots.

Toy Ship of loli Sasaki and Haruhi? :O

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That's in the last book. And it seems like she very much still feels like it...

Kyon; He's in his harem, All's right with the world Scratching at the cat box since 1986 while Battling with Dread Shoelace Robots.

I haven't read the latest, so that explains why Sasaki's attitude toward Haruhi seemed weird to me. But hey, if there's canon justification for it, no opposition here.

Now I feel that I should read it. >.>

And the relationships' getting that much more confusing appeals to me. Eheheheh~

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Point is, a (confusing) talk she has later confirms that she's got a different kind (less distant admiration, more "a woman (eg. me) may want to propagate her genes (eg. with you)" - not joking with the meaning, Sasaki really is different, if that was a confession, and it's not clear) of feelings for Kyon. Possibly. The point is that that part of dialogue is confusing enough that i forgot much of the actual content, and may have an entirely different meaning in hindsight (or maybe i just remember it wrong), and i'm having trouble searching.

Help? Anyone here has read the last book?

Kyon; He's in his harem, All's right with the world Scratching at the cat box since 1986 while Battling with Dread Shoelace Robots.

I could always try reading the last two books tonight and see how far I get. :D

Right, here we go~

...

D'aww.

In the first ten pages, too.

Asakura...

edited 17th Dec '11 2:16:06 PM by RainehDaze

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Ok, the part that i was searching for is from page 139 onwards of the first book, Sasaki makes a long talk, i'm trying to filter out the relevant parts in regards to shipping balance. Now, i encourage everyone (who read the books already) to read it again, it really gives insight on her character.

Also, we learn on that pages that Sasaki was known by Nonoko since middle school, and she did regard her as a positive figure, so i guess this is a point of divergence with K:BDH.

Ok, on with the relevant stuff: First, she talks about Kuyou and theorizes she has a strong case of Blue-and-Orange Morality, and that she can't understand her at all . She compliments Kyon to be able to interface so much with Yuki.

She then goes on talking about, of all things, the meaning of life - This part is really interesting, and very complicated. Any summary i could give of this part is by necessity incomplete and lacking, it's best read by yourself. Small tangent: If there's something that K:BDH is severely lacking is strong characterization for Sasaki. I guess she's probably the hardest character to understand, and i'd rather see her not explored than explored wrong, so this approach is probably the best if Durandall doesn't feel sure of his grasp on Sasaki's character. This is not against Durandall, i respect his decision. I'd not be able to do any better (more likely, i'd not be even able to do ten times worse).

Now back on track, the small parts that may give fuel to our Kyon/Sasaki ship: As I ruminated over Sasaki's line of reasoning and was puzzled why the girl who simultaneously held the posts of classmate from middle school as well as old friend from cram school narrowed her eyes, two fists came to a rest on her cheeks massaging them about. What's this? Calisthenics?

"Nope."

Sasaki dropped her hands. "It's just that when I'm talking to you, I don't know why I always have a smile on my face. It's not good for facial muscles to stay rigid for so long, and besides, the conversation's dealing with a serious topic. I just wanted to see if I could change my expression. Any difference?"

Even though I used an amount of concentration that could have distinguished between 7- and 28-spotted ladybugs, I couldn't notice any difference. A wily smile and eyes narrowed in the shape of the moon…It's true that thinking back to the end of middle school, I don't think I've seen any other expression other than a light smile on Sasaki's face.

A sec, i'm not finished still.

EDIT: Ok, ready to keep going. We get these two bits: "Being a human, of course it's striving to pass on my genes. Passing on the essential blocks of your existence by having offspring for later generations is in the nature of living beings; at least on this planet, it's like this."

Kyon doesn't buy the evolutionary view - she answers that then, her purpose is to think and keep on thinking until she has life.

Another tidbit: "Out of the great historical figures we've learned about in World History class, it's only by having done things worthy of being called 'great' that they've managed to enter the annals of history. Even though my body and mind are small and weak, if I use my ability to think as a starting point, maybe one day I can come up with a new concept that will last far into the distant future. To be frank, I really do want to give birth to someone and nurture them, leaving a descendant in future generations. Of course it doesn't have anything to do with passing on my genes."

So, maybe i just read that wrong, she means it on a purely intellectual level - or is it? Further tidbit, Sasaki refers to Kyon of course:

"This matter will be resolved in your hands. That is a small, small prophecy I can make right now." Sasaki let out a laugh like that of an early morning dove. "You're the person I trust the most in the world, because you're a dear friend I couldn't ever hope to replace."

This is heartwarming. Even if the impact is lessened by the detached feeling that Kyon acknowledges himself, Sasaki gives.

Best tidbit:

Sasaki stood without moving, only examining my face. Not knowing how to respond, I also stood there like a wooden stick, not making any reaction at all, only to hear Sasaki speak in an unprecedented tone of hesitation, "Kyon, I actually had another reason in coming today. It's not very important, and it has nothing to do with Fujiwara-kun, Tachibana-san, and Kuyou-san. I just wanted to talk to you a bit about my normal life…"

If i had a really shipping-prone mind, this combined with the previous would be half a ship for them. We never get to hear what the Not Very Important thing is, so it might as well be a confession...nah.

EDIT: Another tidbit, page 124 of the 2nd volume: "The only person I've met since then who accepts me as I am is you. The times we spent eating our school lunches at your desk together were very precious to me. That's something I didn't realize until there wasn't anything to replace them. And then I took great care to keep away from you. There's only one man who's treated me normal after meeting me: that would be you." Which she says is not a confession. Of course Kyon is absolutely certain that it's not a confession. That Taniguchi is such a dork, getting wrong ideas about them all the time.

Now, if this was written differently, i'd say it's a terminal case of Oblivious to Love and Cannot Spit It Out, but it might actually be all true.

I think i'm done... her feelings are quite hard to decipher if we must go by what she says - she certainly values Kyon's friendship a lot, but i'm not sure if anything points to her liking him. On the opposite, she also admires Haruhi a damn lot (Les Yay?). Before talking about Haruhi, she remarks she wanted to talk about her love life, and before that, that she turned down a classmate they had in middle school that two weeks ago confessed to her. Anyone guess who he was? If we're told, i don't remember.

I'd say, that my end verdict is...

that i'm confused.

edited 17th Dec '11 3:18:28 PM by Agasa

Kyon; He's in his harem, All's right with the world Scratching at the cat box since 1986 while Battling with Dread Shoelace Robots.

Page 46. XD

GOING TO GET TO THE END OF THIS IF IT KILLS ME>

Too much effort. Hurrying won't help matters.

edited 17th Dec '11 3:06:46 PM by RainehDaze

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Random thought.

There is something about the dialogue between Koizumi and Kyouko in the last chapter*

that caught my attention.

What kind of "unwise" use of their powers are they talking about?

After considering it a little, I remembered one of Durandall's completed fanfics: "Error in Calculation", where the inner workings of the Organization are explored. For example, one of the duties performed by ESPers like Koizumi was to gather support for the Organization with "Closed Space demonstrations", which is basically how he proved himself to be an ESPer to Kyon in the first novel. That doesn't sound too bad, but what about going a step further and founding a cult around the idea of a veritable "end of the world", congregating probably the most dangerous kind of supporters: dogmatic followers.

Even dismissing the above, the issue of the kind of sponsors that the Organization gathered remains. Several possibilities comes to mind but one of the simplest would be somebody interested in potential military applications, like training an ESPer as a Super-Soldier or using a shinjin as a WMD. I know that those are not feasible options due to the way Haruhi's Closed Spaces and everything related to them works, but I were in the shoes of this hypothetical sponsor I would keep close tabs on the Organization just in case someday that changes.

On the other hand, Koizumi and Kyouko's powers could be also be used to directly threaten or harm people as they were. Kyouko's in particular is dangerous due to the fact Sasaki's Closed Space is always active. For example, let's say that her former group wanted someone "deal with". How about taking that person into Sasaki's Closed Space and abandoning them to die or killing them there without leaving any evidence in real space? From a third person's PoV the result would be either the victim in a coma or a missing person, depending on how her power works outside Sasaki's awareness.

Ugh... I didn't like this topic.

*goes to read Angel Densetsu*

edited 17th Dec '11 6:48:16 PM by Specular

My K:BDH Recursive Fanfiction

Well, we do know that the Organization is willing to work with organized criminals. Maybe they went through the same justifications that the other characters did (they're good people, they helped with disaster recovery, etc) and maybe they just didn't care.

I've read the whole thing twice. It's great. :)

edited 17th Dec '11 6:48:33 PM by PaxEmpyrean

Are you sure that the Lethal Harmless Powers entry to the fanfic page is correct? Kyouko's powers cannot cause a Time Crash on their own, it was a whole set of circumstances that would do that — Kyon being trapped in the Closed Space, Kyon time-travelling into the same time, and Kanae sliding to Kyon.

Their influence over her, I believe. I interpreted "greater powers" as referring to her superiors, who logically have administrative/executive/influential power over her (and others who are below said superiors in the Family's hierarchy).

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

I still remember that I got complains the first time I read it. I think it was something similar to "could you please laugh quietly?". I didn't even noticed that I was laughing until someone pointed it out.

"If you're going to clean up trash... You use brooms, isn't that right?"

Short answer is "No". You can just edit it out if you are not convinced, but I disagree with the Time Crash thing. The danger of the situation was to "frag" Kyon out of existence and, as I understand it, that doesn't immediately causes a Time Crash or The End of the World as We Know It. It's just that the Retconned version of the history is, let's say, less than perfect.

That is my interpretation too. I'm not sure how I inadvertently argued against it, but my intention was just to make some guesswork on how an organization with ESPers like Koizumi or Kyouko under its control could have acted.

edited 18th Dec '11 4:53:25 AM by Specular

My K:BDH Recursive Fanfiction

   Number of the Beast!!!   

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

I just remembered... some time ago I made a php script for showing all the chapters in a single web page by concatenating all the contents inside the <body> tags.

I can give it to anybody who cares. Just please don't use it too much as it downloads all of the chapters from Durandall's site on each run.

Kyon: Big Damn Hero: timeline & trailer

Random thought.

I wonder if Miyuki is going to end paraphrasing one of Sherlock Holmes' Catch Phrases: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth". I mean, it's likely that she is going to have access a written copy of Nonoko's testimony*

and at some point later she could begin to consider Nonoko's claims of Magical Girl Warriors, Fairy Companions and an Alien Invasion seriously after one too many failed mundane hypothesis. Bonus Points if the idea is then dismissed.

Unrelated.

My Crazy-Prepared inner self advise me to make public the LaTeX code of the PDF version of the story because, you know, it's my Crazy-Prepared inner self. Here you go.

@Filraen: I'm interested in the code. How about using pastebin.com?

My K:BDH Recursive Fanfiction

<Stealth Hi/Bye>

Tsuruya gets into the holiday spirit in her own special way.◊

</Stealth Hi/Bye>

edited 18th Dec '11 9:29:33 AM by JasonUlloa

@Filraen: I propose that you use it instead and upload the result in an archive? It would be the best idea. Also, yeah, why not open-sourcing it? I like this.

I was about to ask you people about opinions on Sasaki and the last novel in general, but the way i was thinking and phrasing it was really dumb. So, please, people who did read the novel, i'll ask you directly the opinions on the plot and developments of the last novel. Obviously, use spoiler tags. I myself regard the novels, for us foreigners, as a pale shadow of what they could be in the hands of Kyo Ani, as the translation hampers the mood significantly in written words, but less so in animation.

Spoilers for Surprise ahead: Ask your doctor before clicking this! *

While i'm at it, i shall recommend you this fanfiction, listed on the Haruhi fanfic recs page. It branches off after book nine, and so far, looks real good. Careful, it is not WAF Fy at all, for what i have read so far.

edited 18th Dec '11 9:57:42 AM by Agasa

Kyon; He's in his harem, All's right with the world Scratching at the cat box since 1986 while Battling with Dread Shoelace Robots.

... Agasa, what has been said about spoiler tags' insufficiency?

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What?

I'm sorry. collapsing them in a * right away.

Did Tsuru-nyan ask Santaruhi for an upgrade in the squishy department?

edited 18th Dec '11 10:11:26 AM by Agasa

Kyon; He's in his harem, All's right with the world Scratching at the cat box since 1986 while Battling with Dread Shoelace Robots.

Namely, that there are numerous reasons for their being turned off. :D

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<EXPLOSIVE NOSEBLEED>

edited 18th Dec '11 10:09:29 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.