State of the Realm 2012, Part Two
And so, continuing from yesterday, here is the rest of the State of the Realm address from last year, 2012. Tomorrow will be the new report for 2013. Now, the rest of the report;
The Book of the Shadows, Looking Glass: Cromwell Universe, is more or less a one-off book. It follows the Book of the Shadows essentially from the perspective of a universe devoid of Anzushiro’s unseen influence. It has the same background of the First Moon Saga, up until the point of the interaction with Sephiroth following the revival of the Rosencraft. At the start of the story, the Rosencraft have already been fighting with Sephiroth and many of them have died. Essentially I choose this time for Drusilla Arenzai to arrive with her fleet, looking to conquer Earth as a stepping stone to conquest of Nemesis.
The first two chapters of this story, which are complete, deal with Drusilla meeting the survivors of the Rosencraft, and a bit of the after-conquest reflection that covers the conquest of Nemesis. The idea of each chapter thereafter is to tell a collection of one chapter stories concerning Drusilla’s conquest of other planets and her meetings with various inhabitants of those planets.
Also part of Looking Glass is Shinigami Files. This is a story that is set to take place in the aftermath of the last story arc of Bleach. Taking place at least a hundred years later, if not more, it follows a group of ‘Reapers’ who are a team on permanent station on Earth. The idea of it is to be more of a slice-of-life story, with a few characters returning in appropriate posts (Ichigo as Captain of Squad 11, Orihime as Captain of Squad 4).
There are the Spirit Files, which though similarly insinuated, actually is a new take on Ga-Rei and Shikabane Hime. There is a female lead in the mold of more tusn than dere, and her younger brother who is strong but hates fighting. Their parents were killed by a corrupt spirit (similar to Yomi in Ga-Rei) and they have travelled for a couple years since then trying to track down that corrupted spirit which continues to kill.
Amusement Park is a slightly failed story. Sort of a meta comedy, it was to take place in a clubroom in a high school. The basic idea is that one member is a ‘realist’ who thinks of his fellow club members as highly eccentric, if not insane, for constantly referring to things around them as if they are characters in a story, rather than real-life people. Essentially it’s a story full of fourth-wall breaking. My comedic sense isn’t so great, so I had one good introductory scenario written but haven’t been able to add more.
Finally, there is Cult of Athena. As one might imagine, this story is a take on the classical Greek tales surrounding the Greek gods. But it isn’t a straight re-telling, of course. It is a rather massive story that is inspired by both the video game Final Fantasy XIII and the anime Campione. My story takes advantage of the most infamous tale involving Athena, the curse of Medusa. In fact, the entire story is about Medusa, albeit from a more Final Fantasy approach. Most notable of the story is the fact that Medusa in my story is less a monstrous villain and more of a reluctant hero. This idea first arose as an idea for one of the Cromwell Universe stories, but I decided after the initial concept to split it off completely for its own story. It’s going to mix in a lot of the meta story from Final Fantasy XIII, basically the contest between the Pulse Fal’Cie and Cocoon Fal’Cie. There are also plans to tie in other ancient mythologies. For now my plans only extend to the Romans, but I will think about throwing in the Norse gods and perhaps the Japanese and Indian deities, assuming I can find a good way to do so.
The other big draw has been Overture. A new series, it falls outside of any of the set Moon, Sun, or Star Sagas. It takes place in the future post First Moon Saga, after Yugi has already been reborn. But the story focuses not on him or the Rosencraft, but on a new male lead. The story takes on a definitive Tenchi Muyo vibe, but a bit more of a twist to it. My male lead isn’t a reimagining of Tenchi himself, just a slight variation of him, since Tenchi himself does make a brief appearance. I also mix in bits from the High School DxD story, and a lot from across the various Tenchi stories, including Ryo-Ohki and Isekai Monogatari. I was even able to toss in a little bit from Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and a manga I became interested in earlier this year called Superior.
What makes Overture special is not only an official revisit to the Anzushiro universe post First Moon Saga, but the fact that the lead female for much of the story will be another of the Two-Six, and that later on in the story yet another of the Two-Six will join. I won’t name which of them it will be, but that is mostly irrelevant. At some point in the story almost all, if not all, of the Two-Six will come together. But, if I mention Moretsu Space Pirates as one of my inspirations for this story, that should give you an idea of who the female lead is. It shouldn’t be too tough with such a big hint.
Taking this all in, the state of the Realm can only be described as very strong. The Book of the Shadows is progressing very well in all aspects. It is difficult to imagine that 2013 will continue on stronger than 2012. But the best effort will be afforded, as this epic continues to take shape and grow. Thank you, and please look forward to the continued tales that are to come for the Book of the Shadows.
The Book of the Shadows, Looking Glass: Cromwell Universe, is more or less a one-off book. It follows the Book of the Shadows essentially from the perspective of a universe devoid of Anzushiro’s unseen influence. It has the same background of the First Moon Saga, up until the point of the interaction with Sephiroth following the revival of the Rosencraft. At the start of the story, the Rosencraft have already been fighting with Sephiroth and many of them have died. Essentially I choose this time for Drusilla Arenzai to arrive with her fleet, looking to conquer Earth as a stepping stone to conquest of Nemesis.
The first two chapters of this story, which are complete, deal with Drusilla meeting the survivors of the Rosencraft, and a bit of the after-conquest reflection that covers the conquest of Nemesis. The idea of each chapter thereafter is to tell a collection of one chapter stories concerning Drusilla’s conquest of other planets and her meetings with various inhabitants of those planets.
Also part of Looking Glass is Shinigami Files. This is a story that is set to take place in the aftermath of the last story arc of Bleach. Taking place at least a hundred years later, if not more, it follows a group of ‘Reapers’ who are a team on permanent station on Earth. The idea of it is to be more of a slice-of-life story, with a few characters returning in appropriate posts (Ichigo as Captain of Squad 11, Orihime as Captain of Squad 4).
There are the Spirit Files, which though similarly insinuated, actually is a new take on Ga-Rei and Shikabane Hime. There is a female lead in the mold of more tusn than dere, and her younger brother who is strong but hates fighting. Their parents were killed by a corrupt spirit (similar to Yomi in Ga-Rei) and they have travelled for a couple years since then trying to track down that corrupted spirit which continues to kill.
Amusement Park is a slightly failed story. Sort of a meta comedy, it was to take place in a clubroom in a high school. The basic idea is that one member is a ‘realist’ who thinks of his fellow club members as highly eccentric, if not insane, for constantly referring to things around them as if they are characters in a story, rather than real-life people. Essentially it’s a story full of fourth-wall breaking. My comedic sense isn’t so great, so I had one good introductory scenario written but haven’t been able to add more.
Finally, there is Cult of Athena. As one might imagine, this story is a take on the classical Greek tales surrounding the Greek gods. But it isn’t a straight re-telling, of course. It is a rather massive story that is inspired by both the video game Final Fantasy XIII and the anime Campione. My story takes advantage of the most infamous tale involving Athena, the curse of Medusa. In fact, the entire story is about Medusa, albeit from a more Final Fantasy approach. Most notable of the story is the fact that Medusa in my story is less a monstrous villain and more of a reluctant hero. This idea first arose as an idea for one of the Cromwell Universe stories, but I decided after the initial concept to split it off completely for its own story. It’s going to mix in a lot of the meta story from Final Fantasy XIII, basically the contest between the Pulse Fal’Cie and Cocoon Fal’Cie. There are also plans to tie in other ancient mythologies. For now my plans only extend to the Romans, but I will think about throwing in the Norse gods and perhaps the Japanese and Indian deities, assuming I can find a good way to do so.
The other big draw has been Overture. A new series, it falls outside of any of the set Moon, Sun, or Star Sagas. It takes place in the future post First Moon Saga, after Yugi has already been reborn. But the story focuses not on him or the Rosencraft, but on a new male lead. The story takes on a definitive Tenchi Muyo vibe, but a bit more of a twist to it. My male lead isn’t a reimagining of Tenchi himself, just a slight variation of him, since Tenchi himself does make a brief appearance. I also mix in bits from the High School DxD story, and a lot from across the various Tenchi stories, including Ryo-Ohki and Isekai Monogatari. I was even able to toss in a little bit from Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and a manga I became interested in earlier this year called Superior.
What makes Overture special is not only an official revisit to the Anzushiro universe post First Moon Saga, but the fact that the lead female for much of the story will be another of the Two-Six, and that later on in the story yet another of the Two-Six will join. I won’t name which of them it will be, but that is mostly irrelevant. At some point in the story almost all, if not all, of the Two-Six will come together. But, if I mention Moretsu Space Pirates as one of my inspirations for this story, that should give you an idea of who the female lead is. It shouldn’t be too tough with such a big hint.
Taking this all in, the state of the Realm can only be described as very strong. The Book of the Shadows is progressing very well in all aspects. It is difficult to imagine that 2013 will continue on stronger than 2012. But the best effort will be afforded, as this epic continues to take shape and grow. Thank you, and please look forward to the continued tales that are to come for the Book of the Shadows.
- DaCosta Rosencraft
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