Worldbuilding 2 2023
Jan. 25th, 2023 08:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marsdragonSequel to the hit world!
I copy-pasted most of this because my desires don't change. You've probably seen this all before.
I dig unusual formats, so bring your in-universe documents, epistolary fic, posters, found footage transcriptions, whatever. I love treating these worlds like they actually exist and have supporting structure, so anything exploring that is good. Outsider viewpoints are great. I'm fine with different morals and cultures and would love to see those get explored. (in other words, feel free to have characters that would be terrible by our cultural standards not think they're wrong at all. I like it) Myths and legends (especially if they change over time), pop culture, explorations of daily life, what normal people think of all the crazy shit that goes down in canon, technology and its relation with culture, and explorations of mechanics in the game canons.
Astro Boy
Any/No Characters, Original Characters, President Rag/Richie
WB: Robot children, WB: Robot Law, WB: Robots and religion, WB: Unusually shaped/non-humanoid robots
1980:
Free streaming for US/Canada on Retrocrush (dub only). The dub does turn the first three episodes into two by chopping out all the Atlas content for...some reason, but that shouldn't affect these prompts too much. Also on archive.org for those outside US/Canada.
Official subs on the Discotek Blu-Ray, please support the official release, and this is where I'd normally link a pirate release but there really isn't a good one. There's the ones I linked last year, but honestly those subs are kind of crap.
1963: Free streaming for US/Canada on Retrocrush (dub only). As far as I can tell no one has ever even tried to sub this, but the dub is okay for the era.
I've primarily seen the 1980 series and these prompts are mainly for that, but I've also seen a decent chunk of the 1963 series and read the manga, so don't feel bound to one particular version or anything. I haven't seen 2003 but I can fake it.
I call the main character Atom because I'm exactly that kind of filthy weeb and I like it better as a name. I'm not going to be fussed about what you call him in fic, if he shows up at all.
In the 80s series Rag/Richie is specifically a politician robot and his antennae can sense if people trust him or not. That's really interesting to me. He's not built by Deadcross in the 80s, so who did build him, and why? Does it only work for robots? What happens if he runs into a scandal and people lose trust in him? (like him getting mind controlled in front of the entire populace - that's a real security risk!) Are there any upgrades during his presidency, and how would that work? Or just focus on his platform and how he runs the country - though I'd prefer there to be a bit more than just battling anti-robot groups, since that was already in the series.
The concept of robot children is also interesting. They can't grow up, which seems like it would cause some problems. Sure it doesn't bother Atom, but he's not exactly an unbiased source. What if robot parents don't want to be stuck with a kid forever? What about if the kid wants to grow up? "Just put them in a bigger body" is one solution, has anyone tried others? Are there specific laws around robot children? What's the reason for creating a robot child if you're not a mad scientist out to resurrect your tragically dead kid?
Robot law! Tezuka's robot law isn't like Asimov's, which is cool and good. (though it apparently led to problems for the poor doctor when Asimov's works got more popular in Japan) I really like how robot law is much more legal than programmed - robots can punch humans (as Atom will happily prove), they just get in trouble for it. A legal case about a robot hurting a human and if it's justified could be interesting, especially if it means having to define "harm". What if the robot hurt the human a little to prevent a greater hurt? Or other laws about robots, like how robots aren't allowed to travel alone internationally. That could lead to a lot of problems for robots that need to travel for work. Or how about how robot law differs across countries - this could tie into President Rag pretty well! Or the first law is "Robots exist to make people happy", and boy if that doesn't open up an implied can of worms, from "what does it mean to make people happy?" to "but I'm a sentient being, why should I make a bunch of selfish crazy jerk humans happy?"
Robots and religion is a fascinating topic the series doesn't talk about, but is ripe for exploration. I'd love to see how various religions react to sentient robots - the Catholics already have an answer for this and it's pretty anti-robot, which is fine for the robots we have now but is probably going to cause controversy in Atom's world. Or take some inspiration from Masahiro Mori and his thoughts from a Buddhist perspective, which opens up lots of new questions and controversies. New religions that take robots into account, or new religions by and for robots! Robot cults! (does that mean cults by robots, for robots, or about robots? Or all three?!)
Most robots in Tezuka's work are roughly humanoid, but there are plenty that are extra big, or have other features that would make it hard for them to get along in a world that's still primarily built for humans. I'm thinking Damdam, Pluto, etc. How do they deal with this? Are there any special accommodations, or pressure to even start considering them? What do these robots think about it? "Why did you build me this way?!" How about the kinds of cultures they develop, since they're by necessity separate from a lot of life? (Urasawa's Pluto says that these kinds of robots just have spare humanoid bodies. Gonna be honest: I consider this the coward's way out)
Any/No Characters, Original Characters
WB: Telepads, WB: Ripple effects from the defeat of Lavos, WB: Life in Zeal, WB: History and archaeology, WB: Day of Lavos and aftermath
Don't buy the Steam version unless you hate yourself. DeSmume, RetroArch/Mednafen (which really aren't that bad anymore), or just use good ol' ZSNES/SNES 9x like we've all been doing for the past twenty years. Literally the only reason to play the Steam version is if you've lost the ability to type "chrono trigger rom" into the Internet Archive. (it got a patch so it's not AS bad now, but it's still not needed)
Let's Play of SNES version
Let's Play of the DS version
Canon notes: So let's just pretend Chrono Cross never happened, okay? Including the extra ending in the DS version. None of that happened. It's 1996 forever here.
Prompts: So...what kind of historical record are we looking at, after our merry band of time travelers runs through history a few times? Between Zeal and the party, Chrono Trigger's world should be a goldmine of out-of-place artifacts, what do people make of them? Are theories about Zeal taken as seriously as theories about Atlantis here? What about the entire Reptile civilization? Does anyone ever perform a scientific investigation on the remains of Tyrano Lair? Do the theories about it change over time? Where the hell did the Rainbow Shell come from, anyway? And what changed in the future after Lavos was destroyed? Were there any changes earlier in the timestream?
What sort of civilization existed in 1999? Did they try to fight Lavos at all? Did they have any sort of space program, and if so, what did the astronauts see? What was the immediate aftermath like for the survivors? Did they have robots to help them, or did Mother Brain immediately rebel? If she didn't, how long did it take her to give up? How did people survive for 300 years? And during the good ending, how do they react to this giant space bug rising from the ground and just kind of dying instantly? Does anyone see the kids? I bet whatever news/media they have would be going nuts.
The telepad just...it changes everything. The game just leaves it as a plot device, but that's where fans step in! Lucca has flat out invented teleportation. What are the limitations? Does she improve on it later? What does that mean down the line? Can the telepad be mass produced? How does that change the transportation industry? By the time 1999 rolls around, are telepads still used, or were they forgotten?
And then Zeal, which offers a ton of possibilities on its own. What's their culture like? Religious beliefs? Festivals? How many of them are there, and can they actually sustain their population as-is? How long have they been living above the clouds? How do they replace all the water they lose in that pretty waterfall? What are their crops? The cuisine? Writing? What kind of stories did they tell? Was any normal citizen worried about the Queen and the future? If the four magical elements are light/fire/water/shadow, is there any significance to the fire/wind/water books?
Escaflowne
Any Characters, No Characters
WB: Beastpeople and humans, WB: Zaibach culture and society, WB: Levistones, WB: Guymelef construction
Officially available from Funimation/Crunchyroll...or torrent it.
Escaflowne is another show I love, especially because of the detailed world we don't get to see enough of. More Gaea in general is great, especially the bits the show glossed over.
Beastpeople are all over Gaea, and there are all sorts of different kinds. They also seem to be treated differently depending on the area, so it would be interesting to look at how things work in Zaibach vs Asturia vs Fanelia. Fanelia especially has wolfpeople living around, but it's not really established what the relationship between them and the actual kingdom is...though they are on good terms with the royal family. And then there are different kinds - catpeople and wolfpeople might not get along, which could cause problems in a cosmopolitan city like Palas. And there's more mundane stuff like what does it mean to have a dolphin wandering around your city? Does he need a steady supply of water? Do they end up working more by the ocean? Can they even move inland? You could ask these same sorts of questions about lots of different groups.
We don't get a really good look at Zaibach in the series, but it's interesting to me. It's clearly going through some sort of Industrial Revolution, which is a pretty big change - but it's also been ruled by the same guy for who-knows-how-long. What do regular citizens think of the Emperor? How long has Dornkirk been in charge, anyway? (...when did he change his name?) What is it like to live under the absolute rule of Isaac Newton? ...or is it absolute? What is the government structure like? What happens after the series?
Guymelef (and melef) construction is interesting, because it's building giant robots with (to us) primitive tools. How did this happen? From some background I read once, guyemelfs take decades to build under normal circumstances and are highly specialized and passed down for years. Apparently Zaibach got this down to a month, which is presumably what allows them to just bury the entire rest of Gaea in materiel (until someone randomly invents a nuke? That was weird). But that's also a huge disruption, and worth exploring! Then there's stuff like the Ispano, who are these interdimensional beings that also build giant robots. That's also worth exploring - has anyone tried to reverse-engineer some techniques? Where did the Ispano even come from? Did they give robot technology to Gaea?
Levistones are just interesting for what they allow. Sure, airships and floating fortresses. But do they come in smaller? Floating toys? Can they be used in diving in regular water? Were there any experiments with jamming some on a melef to get it to fly? How was it discovered that their floating level can be manipulated? Or any other ideas about floating rocks that you find interesting. Imagine building a house on one.
Giant Robo
Any/No Characters, Original Character(s)
WB: BF Organization, WB: Experts of Justice, WB: Giant Robots, WB: Newspapers and the media, WB: Shizuma Drive
There's an official English Blu-Ray from Discotek, so you can get that or... *coughcough* torrent it.
Laserdisk linear notes, with lots of extra details about the characters and setting.
Extra info that's literally friend-of-a-friend, so take or leave it as you will. Might inspire some ideas, though.
Prompts: This is another big one, because there's just so much room to worldbuild here. Really, if you want to take any of the little scraps from the linear notes and expand them, that would be wonderful. More about the GR Project! More about the Magnificent Ten! More about backstories! More adventures! Anything.
More specifically, what sort of governments are there in the GR world? Do they openly know about BF and the IPO, or is it a secret? How much are they controlled by either organization? How good are they at navigating a path between the organizations? How about the media, do they know? What's the reporting like? Have reporters ever gotten where they're not supposed to be? If the public knows about BF vs the IPO, are there movies? TV shows? Books? Any scandals been broken, on either side?
Technology! Tell me all about the robots. Small ones, big ones, helpful ones? Supposedly the BF Organization has most of the robots, but are there any being used outside the two organizations? Or outside of robots, what was it like when the Shizuma Drive was first revealed? Did anyone hold back on upgrading their old car? Were there laws passed about it? How long did it take to take over the world? Is there anyone still using old technology? Did they get super smug during the seven days? Or how about after the series ends, what do people think of the improved Shizuma Drive? Does anyone ever try to clean up the atmosphere with the incredibly dangerous chemical just hanging out up there?
And then the two primary organizations, BF and the IPO! Tell me all about how they're organized and the nitty-gritty of working for one of them. How do they recruit? Do they ever try to recruit the same person at the same time? I'm picturing an IPO stand right across from a BF stand at a job fair. What does a propaganda poster for either side look like? How do the mooks get health care? Can they take vacation? How do you get promoted? A day in the life of a mook at any of the bases we just hear about in passing would be so great. Does anyone know someone on the other side and just kind of overlook it so they can keep their drinking buddy/gaming group/knitting circle? How much does anyone know about Big Fire himself? (and how did a teenager end up in charge in the first place?) And hell, what are Achilles, Garuda, and Neptune doing when they're not going along with Komei's plan? Speaking of that, tell me more about Komei's schemes and annoying all the rest of the Magnificent Ten. Does the IPO have any plans to assassinate him, and how do those work out? There's so much more I could ask here, but I'll leave it to your imagination. Just tell me more about this world!
King of Fighters
Any Characters, No Characters, Clemance Bellamy
WB: The King of Fighters stages, WB: The King of Fighters rules and regulations, WB: The King of Fighters publicity and reporting, WB: The King of Fighters name rights, WB: The King of Fighters fandom
Look, just get King of Fighters XIV or XV it's on like everything and covers most of what I'm asking about. And if you're worried about not being able to beat it, set it to the lowest difficulty and press heavy kick. That is literally all you have to do to win. (or there's lots of plays on Youtube)
There's some cute stuff on the King of Fighters XV website if you want to look there.
If you want to go the extra mile/don't want to pay for anything, check out WinKwaks and some cheat codes because these are arcade games and SNK was serious about eating your quarters.
Prompts:
So there's this big fighting tournament that runs (nearly) every year, and it's usually sponsored by some form of villain trying to use it for their own ends, and it always ends explosively. ...and people still show up, every single year. I love that.
One of the big things that stuck out for everyone in KoFXIV was Antonov bragging about getting the name rights. This is a tournament started by either a mob boss running shit in his backyard or an arms dealer running shit from his private aircraft carrier. What name rights? Did Geese register them? Rugal? Chizuru? How are naming rights even a thing? How do they get passed around? Did no one notice how dang near everyone trying to run one of these is some form of criminal, especially when they're participating in the tournament themselves? How in the hell did Antonov get them, and who did he get them from?
And then who sets the rules? Who enforces them? What kind of rules are there? Is it just one committee that gets passed around to whatever crime lord wants to run a fighting tournament next, or does each boss have their own set of people to run the thing? Did any special incidents cause rule changes? (Feel free to get as comedic as you want here, it's basically a "favourite character causes trouble" free space)
The stages vary between literally holding up traffic by fighting in the street to big productions that must've cost a ton to get going, sometimes both in the same game. Who sets those up? What's location scouting for KoF like? Negotiations? Do they hire teams of people to come and cheer? What happens if the crowd gets hurt? What about property damage? All those Power Waves and Earth Movers gotta be causing some problems.
And KoF keeps getting reported on like it's a legit thing. It mostly kicked in for 96, so were there any reports beforehand? Why is it getting reported on through the news in XIV and not a pay-per-view? How did Clemance Bellamy not know what a shitshow KoF inevitably turns into? I'd love to read an in-depth interview with the fighters, or an article on the tournament, or something treating KoF like a legitimate sporting event, fireballs and ancient gods and all.
And then there are enough fans to fill a stadium. I'd love to read about them. What stupid arguments do they get into? Bragging about how long they've been fans? ("You got in during 98? Ha! I remember back in 94 it was completely underground and I followed it anyway!") Do some fans just show up for the crazy final battles? I'd also love to see Clemance or another reporter doing an interview with a fan. Is there RPF? How weird and different is the in-universe fandom from the out-of-universe fandom? (and how stupidly similar?)
I copy-pasted most of this because my desires don't change. You've probably seen this all before.
I dig unusual formats, so bring your in-universe documents, epistolary fic, posters, found footage transcriptions, whatever. I love treating these worlds like they actually exist and have supporting structure, so anything exploring that is good. Outsider viewpoints are great. I'm fine with different morals and cultures and would love to see those get explored. (in other words, feel free to have characters that would be terrible by our cultural standards not think they're wrong at all. I like it) Myths and legends (especially if they change over time), pop culture, explorations of daily life, what normal people think of all the crazy shit that goes down in canon, technology and its relation with culture, and explorations of mechanics in the game canons.
Astro Boy
Any/No Characters, Original Characters, President Rag/Richie
WB: Robot children, WB: Robot Law, WB: Robots and religion, WB: Unusually shaped/non-humanoid robots
1980:
Free streaming for US/Canada on Retrocrush (dub only). The dub does turn the first three episodes into two by chopping out all the Atlas content for...some reason, but that shouldn't affect these prompts too much. Also on archive.org for those outside US/Canada.
Official subs on the Discotek Blu-Ray, please support the official release, and this is where I'd normally link a pirate release but there really isn't a good one. There's the ones I linked last year, but honestly those subs are kind of crap.
1963: Free streaming for US/Canada on Retrocrush (dub only). As far as I can tell no one has ever even tried to sub this, but the dub is okay for the era.
I've primarily seen the 1980 series and these prompts are mainly for that, but I've also seen a decent chunk of the 1963 series and read the manga, so don't feel bound to one particular version or anything. I haven't seen 2003 but I can fake it.
I call the main character Atom because I'm exactly that kind of filthy weeb and I like it better as a name. I'm not going to be fussed about what you call him in fic, if he shows up at all.
In the 80s series Rag/Richie is specifically a politician robot and his antennae can sense if people trust him or not. That's really interesting to me. He's not built by Deadcross in the 80s, so who did build him, and why? Does it only work for robots? What happens if he runs into a scandal and people lose trust in him? (like him getting mind controlled in front of the entire populace - that's a real security risk!) Are there any upgrades during his presidency, and how would that work? Or just focus on his platform and how he runs the country - though I'd prefer there to be a bit more than just battling anti-robot groups, since that was already in the series.
The concept of robot children is also interesting. They can't grow up, which seems like it would cause some problems. Sure it doesn't bother Atom, but he's not exactly an unbiased source. What if robot parents don't want to be stuck with a kid forever? What about if the kid wants to grow up? "Just put them in a bigger body" is one solution, has anyone tried others? Are there specific laws around robot children? What's the reason for creating a robot child if you're not a mad scientist out to resurrect your tragically dead kid?
Robot law! Tezuka's robot law isn't like Asimov's, which is cool and good. (though it apparently led to problems for the poor doctor when Asimov's works got more popular in Japan) I really like how robot law is much more legal than programmed - robots can punch humans (as Atom will happily prove), they just get in trouble for it. A legal case about a robot hurting a human and if it's justified could be interesting, especially if it means having to define "harm". What if the robot hurt the human a little to prevent a greater hurt? Or other laws about robots, like how robots aren't allowed to travel alone internationally. That could lead to a lot of problems for robots that need to travel for work. Or how about how robot law differs across countries - this could tie into President Rag pretty well! Or the first law is "Robots exist to make people happy", and boy if that doesn't open up an implied can of worms, from "what does it mean to make people happy?" to "but I'm a sentient being, why should I make a bunch of selfish crazy jerk humans happy?"
Robots and religion is a fascinating topic the series doesn't talk about, but is ripe for exploration. I'd love to see how various religions react to sentient robots - the Catholics already have an answer for this and it's pretty anti-robot, which is fine for the robots we have now but is probably going to cause controversy in Atom's world. Or take some inspiration from Masahiro Mori and his thoughts from a Buddhist perspective, which opens up lots of new questions and controversies. New religions that take robots into account, or new religions by and for robots! Robot cults! (does that mean cults by robots, for robots, or about robots? Or all three?!)
Most robots in Tezuka's work are roughly humanoid, but there are plenty that are extra big, or have other features that would make it hard for them to get along in a world that's still primarily built for humans. I'm thinking Damdam, Pluto, etc. How do they deal with this? Are there any special accommodations, or pressure to even start considering them? What do these robots think about it? "Why did you build me this way?!" How about the kinds of cultures they develop, since they're by necessity separate from a lot of life? (Urasawa's Pluto says that these kinds of robots just have spare humanoid bodies. Gonna be honest: I consider this the coward's way out)
Any/No Characters, Original Characters
WB: Telepads, WB: Ripple effects from the defeat of Lavos, WB: Life in Zeal, WB: History and archaeology, WB: Day of Lavos and aftermath
Don't buy the Steam version unless you hate yourself. DeSmume, RetroArch/Mednafen (which really aren't that bad anymore), or just use good ol' ZSNES/SNES 9x like we've all been doing for the past twenty years. Literally the only reason to play the Steam version is if you've lost the ability to type "chrono trigger rom" into the Internet Archive. (it got a patch so it's not AS bad now, but it's still not needed)
Let's Play of SNES version
Let's Play of the DS version
Canon notes: So let's just pretend Chrono Cross never happened, okay? Including the extra ending in the DS version. None of that happened. It's 1996 forever here.
Prompts: So...what kind of historical record are we looking at, after our merry band of time travelers runs through history a few times? Between Zeal and the party, Chrono Trigger's world should be a goldmine of out-of-place artifacts, what do people make of them? Are theories about Zeal taken as seriously as theories about Atlantis here? What about the entire Reptile civilization? Does anyone ever perform a scientific investigation on the remains of Tyrano Lair? Do the theories about it change over time? Where the hell did the Rainbow Shell come from, anyway? And what changed in the future after Lavos was destroyed? Were there any changes earlier in the timestream?
What sort of civilization existed in 1999? Did they try to fight Lavos at all? Did they have any sort of space program, and if so, what did the astronauts see? What was the immediate aftermath like for the survivors? Did they have robots to help them, or did Mother Brain immediately rebel? If she didn't, how long did it take her to give up? How did people survive for 300 years? And during the good ending, how do they react to this giant space bug rising from the ground and just kind of dying instantly? Does anyone see the kids? I bet whatever news/media they have would be going nuts.
The telepad just...it changes everything. The game just leaves it as a plot device, but that's where fans step in! Lucca has flat out invented teleportation. What are the limitations? Does she improve on it later? What does that mean down the line? Can the telepad be mass produced? How does that change the transportation industry? By the time 1999 rolls around, are telepads still used, or were they forgotten?
And then Zeal, which offers a ton of possibilities on its own. What's their culture like? Religious beliefs? Festivals? How many of them are there, and can they actually sustain their population as-is? How long have they been living above the clouds? How do they replace all the water they lose in that pretty waterfall? What are their crops? The cuisine? Writing? What kind of stories did they tell? Was any normal citizen worried about the Queen and the future? If the four magical elements are light/fire/water/shadow, is there any significance to the fire/wind/water books?
Escaflowne
Any Characters, No Characters
WB: Beastpeople and humans, WB: Zaibach culture and society, WB: Levistones, WB: Guymelef construction
Officially available from Funimation/Crunchyroll...or torrent it.
Escaflowne is another show I love, especially because of the detailed world we don't get to see enough of. More Gaea in general is great, especially the bits the show glossed over.
Beastpeople are all over Gaea, and there are all sorts of different kinds. They also seem to be treated differently depending on the area, so it would be interesting to look at how things work in Zaibach vs Asturia vs Fanelia. Fanelia especially has wolfpeople living around, but it's not really established what the relationship between them and the actual kingdom is...though they are on good terms with the royal family. And then there are different kinds - catpeople and wolfpeople might not get along, which could cause problems in a cosmopolitan city like Palas. And there's more mundane stuff like what does it mean to have a dolphin wandering around your city? Does he need a steady supply of water? Do they end up working more by the ocean? Can they even move inland? You could ask these same sorts of questions about lots of different groups.
We don't get a really good look at Zaibach in the series, but it's interesting to me. It's clearly going through some sort of Industrial Revolution, which is a pretty big change - but it's also been ruled by the same guy for who-knows-how-long. What do regular citizens think of the Emperor? How long has Dornkirk been in charge, anyway? (...when did he change his name?) What is it like to live under the absolute rule of Isaac Newton? ...or is it absolute? What is the government structure like? What happens after the series?
Guymelef (and melef) construction is interesting, because it's building giant robots with (to us) primitive tools. How did this happen? From some background I read once, guyemelfs take decades to build under normal circumstances and are highly specialized and passed down for years. Apparently Zaibach got this down to a month, which is presumably what allows them to just bury the entire rest of Gaea in materiel (until someone randomly invents a nuke? That was weird). But that's also a huge disruption, and worth exploring! Then there's stuff like the Ispano, who are these interdimensional beings that also build giant robots. That's also worth exploring - has anyone tried to reverse-engineer some techniques? Where did the Ispano even come from? Did they give robot technology to Gaea?
Levistones are just interesting for what they allow. Sure, airships and floating fortresses. But do they come in smaller? Floating toys? Can they be used in diving in regular water? Were there any experiments with jamming some on a melef to get it to fly? How was it discovered that their floating level can be manipulated? Or any other ideas about floating rocks that you find interesting. Imagine building a house on one.
Giant Robo
Any/No Characters, Original Character(s)
WB: BF Organization, WB: Experts of Justice, WB: Giant Robots, WB: Newspapers and the media, WB: Shizuma Drive
There's an official English Blu-Ray from Discotek, so you can get that or... *coughcough* torrent it.
Laserdisk linear notes, with lots of extra details about the characters and setting.
Extra info that's literally friend-of-a-friend, so take or leave it as you will. Might inspire some ideas, though.
Prompts: This is another big one, because there's just so much room to worldbuild here. Really, if you want to take any of the little scraps from the linear notes and expand them, that would be wonderful. More about the GR Project! More about the Magnificent Ten! More about backstories! More adventures! Anything.
More specifically, what sort of governments are there in the GR world? Do they openly know about BF and the IPO, or is it a secret? How much are they controlled by either organization? How good are they at navigating a path between the organizations? How about the media, do they know? What's the reporting like? Have reporters ever gotten where they're not supposed to be? If the public knows about BF vs the IPO, are there movies? TV shows? Books? Any scandals been broken, on either side?
Technology! Tell me all about the robots. Small ones, big ones, helpful ones? Supposedly the BF Organization has most of the robots, but are there any being used outside the two organizations? Or outside of robots, what was it like when the Shizuma Drive was first revealed? Did anyone hold back on upgrading their old car? Were there laws passed about it? How long did it take to take over the world? Is there anyone still using old technology? Did they get super smug during the seven days? Or how about after the series ends, what do people think of the improved Shizuma Drive? Does anyone ever try to clean up the atmosphere with the incredibly dangerous chemical just hanging out up there?
And then the two primary organizations, BF and the IPO! Tell me all about how they're organized and the nitty-gritty of working for one of them. How do they recruit? Do they ever try to recruit the same person at the same time? I'm picturing an IPO stand right across from a BF stand at a job fair. What does a propaganda poster for either side look like? How do the mooks get health care? Can they take vacation? How do you get promoted? A day in the life of a mook at any of the bases we just hear about in passing would be so great. Does anyone know someone on the other side and just kind of overlook it so they can keep their drinking buddy/gaming group/knitting circle? How much does anyone know about Big Fire himself? (and how did a teenager end up in charge in the first place?) And hell, what are Achilles, Garuda, and Neptune doing when they're not going along with Komei's plan? Speaking of that, tell me more about Komei's schemes and annoying all the rest of the Magnificent Ten. Does the IPO have any plans to assassinate him, and how do those work out? There's so much more I could ask here, but I'll leave it to your imagination. Just tell me more about this world!
King of Fighters
Any Characters, No Characters, Clemance Bellamy
WB: The King of Fighters stages, WB: The King of Fighters rules and regulations, WB: The King of Fighters publicity and reporting, WB: The King of Fighters name rights, WB: The King of Fighters fandom
Look, just get King of Fighters XIV or XV it's on like everything and covers most of what I'm asking about. And if you're worried about not being able to beat it, set it to the lowest difficulty and press heavy kick. That is literally all you have to do to win. (or there's lots of plays on Youtube)
There's some cute stuff on the King of Fighters XV website if you want to look there.
If you want to go the extra mile/don't want to pay for anything, check out WinKwaks and some cheat codes because these are arcade games and SNK was serious about eating your quarters.
Prompts:
So there's this big fighting tournament that runs (nearly) every year, and it's usually sponsored by some form of villain trying to use it for their own ends, and it always ends explosively. ...and people still show up, every single year. I love that.
One of the big things that stuck out for everyone in KoFXIV was Antonov bragging about getting the name rights. This is a tournament started by either a mob boss running shit in his backyard or an arms dealer running shit from his private aircraft carrier. What name rights? Did Geese register them? Rugal? Chizuru? How are naming rights even a thing? How do they get passed around? Did no one notice how dang near everyone trying to run one of these is some form of criminal, especially when they're participating in the tournament themselves? How in the hell did Antonov get them, and who did he get them from?
And then who sets the rules? Who enforces them? What kind of rules are there? Is it just one committee that gets passed around to whatever crime lord wants to run a fighting tournament next, or does each boss have their own set of people to run the thing? Did any special incidents cause rule changes? (Feel free to get as comedic as you want here, it's basically a "favourite character causes trouble" free space)
The stages vary between literally holding up traffic by fighting in the street to big productions that must've cost a ton to get going, sometimes both in the same game. Who sets those up? What's location scouting for KoF like? Negotiations? Do they hire teams of people to come and cheer? What happens if the crowd gets hurt? What about property damage? All those Power Waves and Earth Movers gotta be causing some problems.
And KoF keeps getting reported on like it's a legit thing. It mostly kicked in for 96, so were there any reports beforehand? Why is it getting reported on through the news in XIV and not a pay-per-view? How did Clemance Bellamy not know what a shitshow KoF inevitably turns into? I'd love to read an in-depth interview with the fighters, or an article on the tournament, or something treating KoF like a legitimate sporting event, fireballs and ancient gods and all.
And then there are enough fans to fill a stadium. I'd love to read about them. What stupid arguments do they get into? Bragging about how long they've been fans? ("You got in during 98? Ha! I remember back in 94 it was completely underground and I followed it anyway!") Do some fans just show up for the crazy final battles? I'd also love to see Clemance or another reporter doing an interview with a fan. Is there RPF? How weird and different is the in-universe fandom from the out-of-universe fandom? (and how stupidly similar?)
