Direct sequel to the Dragon Novel, so set some time before current events. However, it does give another peek at Mitsu trying to understand what's actually being asked of him, much like his current mission to Otosan Uchi.
New Dragon Fic
That anecdote about the Crane lady who suffers from stress due to being expected to be very good at things hit me more than it should.
...
Congratulations, ms. Brennan. That was good fic.
I'm going to make a suggestion that Senzai is this timeline's version of the Hooded Ronin.
I agree. You do get the feeling she's setup for more in the novella, but that feeling is even stronger after reading this fictions.
12 hours ago, Tonbo Karasu said:I'm going to make a suggestion that Senzai is this timeline's version of the Hooded Ronin.
?
Shinsei's reincarnation, whose primary 'job' was to find the various Thunders in advance of the Second Day Of Thunder.
Since there's a non-trivial chance Togashi Mitsu is/will be the Dragon Thunder, that would fit.
Edited by Magnus Grendel" Tiger got to hunt , bird got to fly ; Man got to sit and wonder, ' Why, why, why ?' Tiger got to sleep , bird got to land ; Man got to tell himself he understand .”
Alternately I wouldn't mind it if Kazue was the Thunder this time around. It would be cool if all the Thunders appeared in their clan novellas since we've had more time to get to know those characters.
1 hour ago, phillos said:Alternately I wouldn't mind it if Kazue was the Thunder this time around. It would be cool if all the Thunders appeared in their clan novellas since we've had more time to get to know those characters.
Depends on which route they go with the Thunders though since at the moment none of the main characters actually correspond to the families for the 7 seven Thunders which puts the re-incarnation angle a little off. They could do it easily enough with a little hand waving, but it does mean that the Phoenix Thunder is a Bushi rather then Shugenja which seems very off.
I do hope we get a different set of Thunders this time as the fact that most of them from the last version all happened to be the Clan Champions and Daimyo's (or the equivalent as Tadaka was a member of the Elemental Council) was always a little to convenient for my tastes.
I am really hoping for some left field choices this time around.
That's fair. Though considering we know people are reincarnated into different families (as shows with Togashi monks reincarnating into other clans) is the family of the Thunder important? I expect we'll get a Thunder from each clan, but I think it would be interesting if they keep the reincarnation angle but maybe over time the souls shifted around Rokugan to the other clans. If they reincarnate into their descendants and the clans practice intermarriage it seems a likely scenario.
Though to be honest I think I'd rather them not bother with the reincarnation angle since it seems restrictive. I agree I would rather we get some of these other characters as Thunders since if it's all champions as you say that feels a bit too convenient. It would be kinda cool to see a group of lower ranking character like say Kazue, Kosori, Yojiro, Yumino ...
25 minutes ago, phillos said:That's fair. Though considering we know people are reincarnated into different families (as shows with Togashi monks reincarnating into other clans) is the family of the Thunder important? I expect we'll get a Thunder from each clan, but I think it would be interesting if they keep the reincarnation angle but maybe over time the souls shifted around Rokugan to the other clans. If they reincarnate into their descendants and the clans practice intermarriage it seems a likely scenario.
Though to be honest I think I'd rather them not bother with the reincarnation angle since it seems restrictive. I agree I would rather we get some of these other characters as Thunders since if it's all champions as you say that feels a bit too convenient. It would be kinda cool to see a group of lower ranking character like say Kazue, Kosori, Yojiro, Yumino ...
My pet theory is that the core set 3 costs characters are the new Thunders (and yes I'm aware the Crab is dead, but we can work around that with either a younger sister/daughter who takes her name and is the actual representative on the card or Shadow Samurai tricks). The characters match to the correct families with the exception of the Crane, but since the Crane Thunder was the daughter of Kakita and Doji I can give that a pass (and bonus points that the Crane have two 3 Cost characters who would serve to mirror the Crane Thunder being twins and when the male twin was killed by an oni his sister took up his sword to journey into the shadowlands in his place).
Hida Tomonatsu - Best character DOA character in the current continuity
Under this line of thinking I do struggle with who in the current line-up would be the Crab Thunder since we don't know many Crab characters that aren't high ranking (Daimyo or child of a Daimyo).... or dead.
32 minutes ago, phillos said:Hida Tomonatsu - Best character DOA character in the current continuity
Given the promo push she's received (second Crab character Full art, first Crab mini produced) I'm surprised they didn't plan to use her more.
5 hours ago, phillos said:It would be cool if all the Thunders appeared in their clan novellas since we've had more time to get to know those characters.
Bolded the important part... one need not be the central protagonist of a novella to get some groundwork in in the course of it. That said...
4 hours ago, Schmoozies said:They could do it easily enough with a little hand waving, but it does mean that the Phoenix Thunder is a Bushi rather then Shugenja which seems very off.
Considering that the "Phoenix always equals shugenja" notion pretty much crippled the Phoenix from an "interesting narrative" perspective in the last continuity, having the Thunder be a Shiba (or an Asako, or a Kaito) is hardly the end of the world- having the Dragon thunder last time be a Mirumoto rather than a Togashi didn't exactly involve leaning on the stereotype trope the hardest.
After all, last time, in the story I desperately hope they'll continue altering (why buy the IP to tell the exact same story, after all?), we had-
-Team "Clan Role Stereotype on Legs"- a Lion Bushi, a Crab Bushi, a Unicorn Bushi ("Otaku [sic]-Also-Appearing-in-This-Story" Kamoko), and a Phoenix Shugenja
-Team "Some of Us Get To Have Facets"- A Crane Bushi, a Dragon Bushi, and a Scorpion Courtier.
I mean... yeah, Isawa sealed Fu Leng in the Black Scrolls, but since the second batch of Thunders just engaged in a punch-up last time? Tadaka's mystical contributions boiled down to eating his own reflected Jade Strike and dying pretty uselessly.
So far, the Crane (boooo!), Phoenix, Unicorn, and Scorpion all have multiple complex, nuanced characters who could take the job, including versions of their prior Thunders just lined up and ready to rock, but also including interesting options ranging from seemingly irredeemable villains (I would laugh myself into a temporary coma if the Scorpion Thunder turned out to be Aramoro) to flawed sorts (Kuwanan leaps to mind) to clear-cut heroic types (Kaito Kosori remains one of my favorite heroic characters in the entire run of L5R to date, which is pretty impressive given how little time she's had).
The Dragon, Crab, and Lion, on the other hand are all a bit more... limited in terms of who we've gotten to see in action- yes, even they have multiple options, but they have fewer that feel fleshed-out compared to the others.
Aramoro for the Scorpion Thunder would be hilarious, though I'm rooting for Bayushi Yojiro.
4 minutes ago, Doji Hyōkin said:Aramoro for the Scorpion Thunder would be hilarious, though I'm rooting for Bayushi Yojiro.
I would chuckle at them having to trust him.
I do come back to the idea of the original Thunders was that only mortals could defeat Fu Leng and while they were some of the strongest of the Kami's followers all the Thunders were still mortal at the time. In the modern age the Clan Champions and Daimyo are in many ways the new "Kami" so I kind of like the idea that it's the lesser characters who are called on to face Fu Leng again, also the symmetry of the new Thunders being reborn in the same role to face him has a certain kharmic balance appeal and the idea that the battle with Fu Leng could be cyclical in nature.
I would love if Aramoro was a Thunder this time around, and he's been a pretty large part of the narrative so far. I think that would be more interesting that Yojiro honestly, and definitely a better fit than Kachiko. I really enjoy Aramoro in the new continuity. I wouldn't mind Shosuro Miyako. She's been a fun character so far.
Also Kuwanan would be a fun pick considering what he's been up to so far. I approve
Crab - Yasuki Oguri
Crane - Doji Kuwanan
Dragon - Togashi Mitsu
Lion - TOTURIIIIIIII!!!!!!!
Phoenix - Kaito Kosori
Scorpion - Bayushi Aramoro
Unicorn - Moto Chagatai
Now, there's a party of heroes! Toturi just wants his would-be assassin Aramoro dead, Kuwanan doesn't like Toturi because he's Tsuko's friend now and besides Toturi always liked Hotaru better, Moto Chagatai & Yasuki Oguri spend most of their time drinking together, while Togashi Mitsu and Kaito Kosori are just desperately trying to keep everything on the rails.
Making no claim as to the likelihood of their selection, these are the characters I would enjoy seeing as the Thunders currently:
Crab: Yasuki Oguri - I really liked this character after the Crab/Mantis short, and would like to see more of him.
Crane: Doji Kuwanan - Kuwanan is flawed, but I think he knows it, and a flawed character always has potential in my mind.
Dragon: Mirumoto Hitomi - She's my favorite character, and if I were king and tyrant, that's how it'd be. She's another flawed character; I like the contrast of her anger and bitterness with her sense of honor and duty, and the iron will they give her.
Lion: Akodo Toturi - Toturi is a good man, and I want one in the story.
Phoenix: Kaito Kosori - From what little I know of her she seems like a cool character, and I would like the Kaito family to get more screen time in general.
Scorpion: Shosuro Miyako - I somewhat admire Miyako, and I think the Thunders will need someone to say "no matter the odds, no matter the cost." I think she and Hitomi would understand each other.
Unicorn:
Iuchi Shahai
Shinjo Altansarnai - Poor Shahai. I feel bad for her and want there to be a happy ending for her somehow; I don't care who she was in the old lore. Altansarnai has been demonstrated to draw strength from compassion - that is not something you read often enough, and I want it in the story, similar to Toturi.
I'll go for:
Phoenix : Isawa Tadaka
Scorpion: Bayushi Aramoro
Crane: Daidoji Uji
Unicorn: Moto Chagatai
Lion: Matsu Tsuko
Crab: Hida O-Ushi
Dragon: Togashi Mitsu
Aka, the folks on the cover of Clan packs.
15 hours ago, MirumotoKatsuro said:Scorpion: Shosuro Miyako - I somewhat admire Miyako, and I think the Thunders will need someone to say "no matter the odds, no matter the cost." I think she and Hitomi would understand each other.
I'm glad someone else is on the Miyako train. I agree what strikes me about Miyako is just how dedicated she is to her mission, and the Scorpion should ideally be someone who does what needs to be done to ensure the mission's success. Also she would be a nice parallel to the original Shosuro. Aramoro is interesting because he is flawed and self serving. Being a Thunder would give him an opportunity to grow beyond that potentially.
I would be pretty happy with O-Ushi as the Thunder this time around for Crab. You give up the Hitomi/Yakamo conflict in the original grouping, but honestly we have seen that already so I wouldn't want too much of a repeat on that story. If I had my way I'd want Kisada to fall in battle leaving a crisis of leadership for the Crab clan. Preferably in a battle that finally breaks the back of the Crab's fortifications thus opening us up to more Shadowlands involvement in the story and giving the guy a heroic end. Retribution for losing his father due a perceived lack of support from the other clans would give Yakamo a fairly strong motive to rebel. Yakamo's poor leadership due to his brash attitude, inexperience and Kuni Yori's scheming could lead to a more believable downfall for the Crab. Then O-Ushi could be poised to repair the Crab's reputation as a Thunder (after potentially Yakamo is out of the picture maybe even by Hitomi's hand). That would certainly make for a very different series of events and a more believable corruption arc for the clan IMO.
Tadaka's arc does seem to be driving him toward the Second Day Of Thunder again so I can see an argument that he (more than any of all the old characters) should continue to be a Thunder this time around, but I also wouldn't mind Kosori getting a shot at being the big hero. All the other slots feel less necessary. More than Hitomi, Mitsu does feel like he also is driving narratively toward the greater conflict considering this fic. So I can see a definite argument for him.
I could definitely see:
- Tadaka
- O-Ushi
- Aramoro or Miyako
- Tsuko or Toturi
- Mitsu or Kazue
- Kuwanan
- Kamoko or Yumino
That would be an interesting and different mix of old and new characters.
Edited by phillosWhile I loathed Kachiko being the Scorpion Thunder in the old game, I actually wouldn't mind it if she was this time around, if only to have her ruin everything by sending Asami in her place.
To me it seems like the new story has some opportunities to assemble the 7 thunders pretty quickly:
Toturi (Lion) and Kaede (Phoenix) are together and seeking out the answers which should/could ultimately lead them to the Scorpion thunder.
Daisetsu (Crane) is with Shahai (Unicorn) and Mitsu (Dragon).
If those two groups merged then all they would be missing is Crab.
Daisetsu as the Crane Thunder? Is there something I'm missing? Why do you think that is likely? It would be very interesting if Daisetsu was fated to defend an Empire he does not love, and if some failure in the mission leads to his corruption.
19 minutes ago, phillos said:Daisetsu as the Crane Thunder? Is there something I'm missing? Why do you think that is likely? It would be very interesting if Daisetsu was fated to defend an Empire he does not love, and if some failure in the mission leads to his corruption.
A kolat told me.......
Seriously though, I think there have been some speculations from the fictions that Daisetsu's birth mother may have actually been someone other than the empress. And if it hasn't been speculated upon then consider me doing that now.
And I'd love for Kachiko's blunder of sending Asami in her place to lead to the party's failure and Daisetsu's corruption.
Edited by Ishi TonuI'd find it hilarious if Asami were actually the Thunder, but shenanigans and distrust ensue because everybody thinks she's Kachiko.
Edited by Kinzen