acequeenking: Out of an old Tekken 2 manga. (Kazuya ALL GOING ACCORDING TO KEIKAKU)

I am sorry this is basically now a Tekken journal for a bit.

Basic non-spoiler things:


- The storymode in this is simple shounen anime but it, as the children say, "eats." Is it stupid at times? Yes, but mostly in a fun way. I appreciate a lot that this one actually does move the story forward in a way Tekken 7 and Tekken 6, even, at times, did not. Feels like the story is getting out of the rut it was stuck in for a while.

- KAZUYA FANS, THEY DIDN'T FUCK UP KAZUYA. I REPEAT, NAMCO DID NOT FUCK UP KAZUYA. I was worried about it, I think we were all worried about it. But Kazuya fans get SO MUCH GOOD FOOD. A Kazuya smorgasbord. Would I have wanted more Kazuya? Of course. If it were up to me, Tekken 1-8 would entirely be about Kazuya and so would Tekken 9 be, too. I am a  spiders georg of Kazuya stans. I should not be counted on to give you accurate accounts of how much Kazuya is too much. But I think Namco did a very good job and that his character remains true to what he always has been -- but gets new nuance too.

- Lee Chaolan fans will be happy. As a Lee Chaolan fan, I am happy at least. I think this is the most plot relevant he's been in years and he's not JUST running around yelling excellent. Also his house is a stage. And it's fantastic.

- I actually felt weirdly proud of Lee and Kazuya in a weird way??? Having related to them as teenagers, watching them all grown up now (and then some lol Lee is 48, Kaz is 50) watching them doing things in story mode, I got kinda misty???? Wild.

- Jin is gonna be love it or hate it and I think a lot of it will depend on how much you loved T6 Jin or hated him. He's very pretty either way, though, truly his daddy's boy (haha). Some nice moments with friends that will make good ship material for the Jin babes. 

- Lars got his pretty face back and we're all happy about it after the ugly stick he got smacked with in Tekken 7.

- Jun is very pretty and her and Asuka have been pretty heavily retooled to accommodate two Kazamas. Jun's style is more flowy, traditional Kzama style and Asuka is now the Kazama bruiser. Jun is REALLY lovely and I hope she stays in the storyline both because of her role and because she's really fun to play (and, for the first time, a fucking TANK lmfao she will probably get balanced down, she is better than Kazuya OR Jin).

I have THINGS to say about her STORY but I will say her special match opener/closer with Kazuya is literally perfect.

- I hate Asaka's new outfit but it's leagues better than her Tekken 7 one. :) Everyone else is fucking fantastic in outfits.

- Gameplay is v. good and v. hard. I am still not very good at this series all these years later. But I keep trying. *laugh* If you want to play with me, I would love to play with you and show off...my pretty outfits I've made instead of getting better at the game lol.

acequeenking: Out of an old Tekken 2 4koma. (Kazuya and Heihachi)
I'm going to be honest, I kind of forgot this existed. Oops. I rediscovered its existence thanks to [personal profile] eggsbenedict and got snowed in over the weekend so what a time to start it!

We open with Kazuya in profile. "What is it that haunts you? Whose eyes peer at you from the dark?" his voice asks.

Ho-kay, Kazuya. I See We're Bringing the Son of Satan vibe early here. He looks into the abyss, and the abyss opens its eyes as Devil stares back.

Kazuya stands in front of Devil! Kazuya's eyes, which stare down at his human form.

And god damn if I don't love it.

As it opens, it becomes obvious this is a Tekken 3 adaptation as baby! Jin is being picked on by bullies. I was really surprised by this. Tekken 3 came out in 1999! It's literally 22 years old! I suppose it shouldn't be that much of a surprise considering Tekken 7 (2017) focused primarily on events that happened before Tekken 1 (1994)? Anyway, I'm down with it. This is one of my favorite "canon events we got thirty seconds of an intro clip and two paragraphs in a manual on" (that is what passed for fighting game story in 1999).

Anyway, poor Jin. :( The show opens with him being beaten up by some kids who make fun of the fact he's a country bumpkin and he lives alone with his mom. Jin gets angry and starts beating them up after they talk shit about his mom (including taking one kid's tooth clean out of his mouth -- yikes).more under the cut, TW for a screenshot of a tooth with a lil' blood on it )
acequeenking: Persephone - Dante Gabriel Rosetti (Default)
Decided to replay Tekken 7's story mode because I guess I Just Am Real Lost in That Sweet Tekken Sauce right now.

Some fun observations I just wanted to jot down, mostly Kazuya and Kazumi-centric because in this house, we support big bara titty men and their mama's wrongs: 

* Baby! Kazuya wears his gi identically to his dad, with the gi jacket tied at the waist and the arms ripped off. :( 

* Kazuya's Tekken 1 default karate outfit (the white pants and all red accessories) clearly seems meant to echo Kazumi's gi? Jeez I bet Heihachi shat a fucking brick when Kazuya showed up for the Tekken 1. Talk about sending a message.

* Kazumi's family is from Kyoto! And...not counting her direct descendants, probably extinct. :( The journalist mentions he can't find any of the clan in Kyoto except for an old man who was once a servant and later Kazuya asks Akuma is he's "a Hachijo relic". Makes me sad. Jin and Kazuya never got to connect with the side of their family that could have helped them with the whole demonic possession thing and instead grew up increasingly alone and isolated. :( 

* Kazumi's demon form is based on a female ogre but also has some nods to Kazuya and Jin's devil! forms: the bright red eyes, the weird rocky lumps emerging from the skin, the goat (?) horns. Her possession seems closer to Jin's in that she's often unaware of it.

* Kazuya calls his mother ka-san as a child, but haha as an adult. Which might be the first time he's ever used humble speech LOL But...Kind of sad that Kazuya even uses haha when talking about her with his father. Kinda interesting to me that he uses ka-san when he was a relatively aristocratic kid? In contrast, I think Jin always refers to Jun as  oka-san, even as an adult.

* Related: Kazuya never calls his father tou-san here and I think that's consistent through the series? Neither does Jin. Not in this game because Jin himself is BARELY in this game, but I've noticed Kazuya also recognizes Jin as his son but only in the weirdest, most opaque ways possible: "the blood I gave you"; "the other half of myself". Seems very hesitant to see Jin as a person instead of a convenient demon-power-up.

* Although she has no age given, Kazumi's noticeably quite a bit younger than Heihachi in the two flashback illustrations of them. Also, I am dying that in the happy family illustration, they have put plump little literal baby Kazuya in a gi. He's like three months old, guys. Maybe wait til he can walk?

* Kazumi "dotes" on baby Kazuya and calls him her angel. Heihachi says she coddles him but LBR Heihachi's idea of coddling is probably "she picks up the baby when he's crying." 

*No love lost between Kazuya and Heihachi, ever: Kid! Kazuya refers to Heihachi derogatorily, kisama. Granted, kid Kazuya is also yelling in that moment that Heihachi murdered his mom, but i think between that, the massive BOOT that Heihachi gives Kid! Kazuya to his face that slams him across the ground several feet, and Kazuya's complete lack of surprise at his dad beating the shit out of him, and Heihachi's complete lack of expression when he tries to kill baby! Kaz... I think it's pretty heavily inferred Heihachi was already abusing or at least resenting Kazuya even before Kazumi died. :( 

- Kid! Kaz has the Worst Year Ever at Age 5: his grandpa is locked up and starved to death in Hon Maru (which we know he knew about because he knew where Jinpachi was buried in T5), his mother is killed by Heihachi (and he finds out about that as a kid and tries to confront him on it), and he gets tossed off a cliff by his father in an attempt to murder him. Heihachi's actions are just chilling in the Kid! Kaz section, because he says nothing to Kazuya except insults and "maybe your next life will be better." (Which as a side bar to this sidebar I will say makes what he said to the Journalist about wanting to know if Kazuya had Kazumi's genes a huge crock of shit, because it's very clear in the Kid! Kaz/Hei scene that Heihachi's intention was to murder the kid. Though he let him live afterwards, I think that's more that Kid! Kazuya probably was an enticing weapon for him than any kind of paternal love).

* I really cannot fathom how horrible Kazuya's childhood was after grandpa and mom were gone and he was left alone (?) in the house with a murderer until Lee Chaolan was adopted. But that said, Kazuya's baby note telling Heihachi that he'll tear him to pieces is both a) deeply concerning and should have gotten Kazuya into a psychologist a lot sooner and b) hysterical that HEIHACHI KEPT IT ALL THOSE YEARS. HEIHACHI IS 75 AND DUDE STILL HAD KAZUYA'S FIRST MURDER THREAT.

* Heihachi yelling that he's back in charge so lets do a new Tekken tournament and then two chapters later later being like THE TOURNAMENT IS OFF TELL THEM I DIED both makes this the second Tekken game without a Tekken tournament in the plot and is also literally me whenever I throw a party. And since there was no Tekken 7 tournament and Heihachi really is dead, does that mean that no one is running the Zaibatsu now? Did Kaz not directly take over it, just for old time's sake? 

* G Corp's Millennium Tower and the Mishima Zaibatsu HQ are visible from one another in Tokyo, which makes me laugh. Kazuya and Jin def spent a lot of time makin' eye lasers across the block from one another in Tekken 6.

* Kazuya sparing his underlings from Akuma shows him to be a much better/more tactical leader than Nina or Heihachi, who both treat their troops as much more disposable.

* Kazuya is genuinely, deeply saddened for a minute that his mom put out a hit on him. He covers his eyes with his hand and takes a couple deep breaths...before laughing hysterically.

* Akuma is the worst friend ever. Kazumi tells you "hey, murder my husband if I fail to do it! And my son, too, if he turns out more like his dad!" and then Akuma just waits fucking 50 god damn years. Like, legit let Heihachi abuse the shit out of, then murder Kaz - slept on that.Kazuya invades Hokkaido? ZZZZZZZZZ.  Legit let Heihachi turn the Zaibatsu into a massive military - SLEPT ON THAT. Let's Jin start WW3 with Kaz once he "got better"? Eh, wasn't in his purview to hurt Jin. Telling them OH I WAS JUST WAITING UNTIL YOU WERE AT YOUR STRONGEST - Heihachi's strongest is at 74 as an balls-old man?! Kazuya hasn't been at his strongest since Tekken 2 since he lost half of his demon power to Jin.
 

Cut for final battle spoilers )
acequeenking: (Kazuya Mishima)
Okay, I kinda suspect the Tekken canon/story is just so hosed that there's just no good answer to this but uh, do we know how possessed Kazuya Mishima is?

I mean, I know the answer is yes this man is chock full of Devil but how much control does he have over Devil?

I've been trying to figure this out for Fic Reasons, because wow did the Tekken 8 trailer bring this fandom roaring back to me at full interest, and it's bugging me. Below is the evidence I can find: in which I try and fail to make sense of the Tekken rules on demonic possession... )
acequeenking: (LO-Seph-Kiss)

Dear sweet sugar candy person,

Thank you for writing for me! I am looking forward to seeing whatever you create! I consider all prompts optional, but I added some below in case they might be helpful. If you’d rather just work with a likes list, please feel free to use my general likes as something you can base your fic on. Feel free to be creative and create what you want as long as it doesn’t cross my DNW.

I know some of the prompts here are shorter than others, but this isn't a lack of interest on my part, rather just that I had less prompts/ideas for it!

General Likes/DNW )

Cheers )

Doctor Who )

The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo )

Hades (Video Game 2018) )

Hadestown )

House of the Dragon )

Shadow and Bone  )

Sweeney Todd - Sondheim/Wheeler )

Tekken )

acequeenking: Persephone - Dante Gabriel Rosetti (Default)
Day 7: What's the longest time you've been in a fandom. Not necessarily your oldest fandom, but a fandom that you started and still continue to read/write/create content for in some way.

I got into Greek mythology earlier -- honestly I got into Greek mythology before I could read -- but I wasn't fannish about it, per se; I don't think that really came on. I used to read Power Rangers fanfic back in the web-rings day, but I never really wrote much fic for it (and never posted it!),  and never participated in the community for it, unless you count playing with friends on the play ground. I don't think it would count because I've only really seen the MMPR-level stuff anyway, though I did read and enjoy some of the boom comics. 

But in terms of communities I've been active in and remain active in, probably Tekken easily is easily the fandom I've been in the longest. I was super online into forums in the late 1990s and I was posting all over the place in the tekken fandom (except, oddly, the late/great Tekken Zaibatsu -- but it was MUCH more strategy focused), I was a die hard reader and killed at least one tree printing out stories from the late, great Ultimate Tekken fanfiction archive  and even got a story into KMAS once (ngl I'm still proud of teenage me for getting a fic into an archive and, simultaneously, a bit glad that the URL has been lost and it returns a 404 now -- though lol, lord, can't believe teenage me hated titles so much I TITLED IT UNTITLED). My oldest extant fanfic on the internet is on fanfiction.net's Tekken section, which I also haunted the fuck out of, and it looks like I posted it in 2003.  I've dropped in and out of it as different installments of the game have come and gone - I didn't write a lot around Tekken 5, though I did love the game - but I came back in a good way around Tekken 6 and have my infrequently updated tekken tumblr to show for it. And although I haven't updated it since 2017, I do still read and write Tekken fanfiction, and still play the game from time to time. 

Honestly being in the same fandom so long, there's things from the old days I miss.Pepperidge Farm Remembers 90s Tekken Fandom. )
 
Day 8: Crack!fic - We all know it. What's your opinion of it, and if you want, show us an example.
 
For most of my time on the internet, I would have told you it was my favorite genre. I was born into Star Wars fandom, molded by Star Gate fandom. I dallied with Buffy, I married Tekken. (Hell, I wrote this-now dated #whalepunch ditty and laughed until I cried.) (tw: animal cruelty, ie non-gory whale punching on that link) All of them had really healthy crack-fic communities that had bonkers (BONKERS) fic/comics that somehow worked. A few favorites: 

To Turn to the Dark Side, Press 3; Anakin Skywalker combats HMOs and getting his new arm paid for.

The Eternally Unnamed
: Sheppard and Rodney are ketchup and peas, respectively. The fact that this is not the only fic in which SGA characters are made into inanimate objects speaks to this fandom's love of the crackfic.

King of Iron Mpreg, or, Why I Preggers?: The Devil gives everyone magical uteruses and honestly impressive because it never goes for the low-hanging fruit of making fun of mpreg fanfiction; rather its humor (and it is hilarious) is how the characters react to this terrible situation (with Hwoarang being my absolute favorite). 

Unfortunately I think I haven't seen a lot of it lately. I'm not sure if it's become a less popular genre, or if it's just I haven't really read fic a lot in the last couple of years, but I think there's been a steady rise in AUs being more hm, common tropes? And less trying to outdo one another in "here's an insane premise, but trust me, it's gonna be good." Which isn't necessarily a bad change - I like a lot of common tropes! - but I would be lying if I didn't say I missed that old insane genre. Even if it's dated. I don't think the name works that well anymore compared to what it was in the nineties and early aughts (and I don't think the Kids Today would even understand the Crack Van concept really).

But I miss the crazy plots and wish we had some sort of better term for the "hold my beer" genre. 
acequeenking: (Hadestown kiss hand)
Day 5: Compare and/or contrast your very first fandom obsession and your very latest fandom obsession.
 
Oh, gosh, Tekken and Hadestown? Hm. They're very different -- one's a fighting game series primarily about dropping relatives off of cliffs, and Hadestown is primarily about the Unrelenting Approach of Capitalism + Climate Change. But there's a few through-lines there that I think highlight my interests: 

- A Supernatural Element:
 
Both of them feature some characters who have powers beyond humanity (the gods/the devils) and characters who don't (the men/everyone else who isn't a Mishima/Kazama). A big bit of catnip for me in both is that the people who aren't gods or godly powered often continue to show up and continue to try to make the world better, even with the Gods/Devils throwing their shit around and seriously fucking up the place. Maybe they can't make everything better, but they can do the one thing they can do, and sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't.

- Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know (because Daddy Never Loved Me)

Kazuya and Hades are both characters with profoundly bad childhoods cursed with far too much power and both rampantly abuse their power and hurt the people around them. Hades is a bit more of a glass cannon than Kazuya - it's clearer that beneath his strutting veneer he is a man who is terrified of losing his wife, but neither of them lose much sleep at making (most? all? of) humanity their pawns. Hades actions are particularly despicable in canon concerning Eurydice, as he's willing to do anything to make his wife look at him again; Kazuya's no less dark, willing to murder most of his family and, honestly, most if not all of the world, simply to attain more power. Oddly, both compare themselves with Satan indirectly.

- Unequal, often tumultuous, cyclical relationships

 In Tekken I am forever fascinated by how Lee Chaolan is in the shadows, but can't quite quit the Mishima family; he tried to walk away, but he can't, and he's caught in this same horrible relationship again and again and again. Hades and Persephone's relationship is more ...complicated, on the power front: it's very clear he calls the shots...and also very, very clear she subverts them. To some extent I think he likes the challenge (he loves his wife being a big big bitch) and to some extent I think he resents it (...why is she being a big big bitch to HIM???). And that push/tug has been in their relationship for thousands of years, because they're gods and their biggest dispute is pretty much unsolvable.

- Big Men in Big Suits With Big, Deep Voices and Big Leather Jackets

Yeah. Okay. ....I have a type. 
 
Hades and Kazuya both wear pinstripe suits, each with a leather jacket covering it.

Day 6: What's a fandom that you wish had a bigger following?
Rome!  )
acequeenking: (Kazuya Mishima)
Day 3: What's a favorite, or at least memorable fandom meeting/interaction that you've had?

Online:There are so MANY good interactions I have had online, but I very vividly remember going home on my lunch break to type out private messages on tumblr back and forth with someone who has become a dear friend. I was really stressed out at the time and nattering on about Tekken headcanon was really a bright spot and and I still deeply remember how much fun that was; I am beyond excited we are still friends, even if our lives now don't leave quite as much time to write meta and dead dove: don't eat fanfiction as we used to. The even CRAZIER thing is I'm pretty sure we were on the same websites (lurking or posting?) in the 90s so we must have been in the same orbit forever, off and on! She also taught me everything about exchanges, fashion magazines and a top-class fashion/horror manga, Rome, and walked me signing up for yuletide. And gave me Yakuza which is 1 of 2 of all the games I've played in 2020-2021! So basically she is the trend setter in my fandom life lol.

I also have to say pretty much everyone I talk to on Discord has been a memorable and pleasant interaction. I've met so many great friends through chit-chatting there and being able to talk to them about fandom things or about life on Discord made 2020 a LOT more livable. I'm so happy to have made the friends I have made there and it's been a bright spot in my life!

Offline: I haven't gotten to meet many fan-friends offline, but the few I have have been overwhelmingly pleasant! I'll forever be happy I went to the Star Wars convention a couple years ago and got to meet some online friends there. I still treasure getting to meet those people in person! I also really - at the time, somewhere between the buying of the ticket and the actual going, I started to get burnt out on Star Wars; it was really lovely to meet dozens of normal Star Wars fans in person who weren't...well, what you think of when you think of the Star Wars fan stereotype online. The fandom boost from Celebration turned out to be temporary, but I still love the friends I met there, and hope we get to meet in the real world again! 
 
Day 4: What are the origins of your penname/username?

I really just like card games, and I wanted a name that was easy to spell.

Regrettably I played myself there because I forget on an embarrassingly regular basis if I'm AceQueenKing or AceKingQueen!

My tekken-focused alter-ego was named after my one of my favorite character's moves. I almost named that tumblr account B!tchkicks but didn't, owing to the fact that a) it was a bit too aggressive and may well wind up in a profanity filter, b) that never was the official name for Kazuya's f+1+3 throw anyway, and c) even in 20...13? 12? That seemed more than a bit offensive and unlikely to age well. Still, was a catchy name though! 

acequeenking: Persephone - Dante Gabriel Rosetti (Default)
I decided to pick up the June Something! Late, but hey, better late than never? Going to try to do two questions a day to try to finish it on a Timely Manner but we'll see how it goes.

Day 1: What's changed about your fandom life in the last 365 days?

Honestly, the biggest thing has been a deliberate slow-down. I published 30 fics in 2020, almost all of which were very pre-pandemic exchanges (Yuletide + Chocolate box). In 2021 so far, I've written 3; 1 was a pinch hit for [community profile] hurtcomfortex , 1 was an an assignment for the rural_dionysia, one was a continuation of a fic started in 2020. I will probably do at least a couple more, but for someone who was doing around 20-40 fics in a year for exchanges, that's a pretty large slowdown.

In part, I was planning on slowing down anyway - I'd burnt out a bit. I wanted to work on more on my own fic, some of which has been languishing for a while. (And some of which continues to languish, oops.) I wanted to finish the fics I'd started on for the equality auction. I had hopes of getting everything organized neatly. Not a lot of that happened, but I stilll have hopes it will! It seems terrible, but hey, I learned I need to give myself deadlines, because I'm pretty terrible at getting things done without them. There's reasons, of course, but the tl;dr I'll give in a public post is basically 2020 wasn't a great year, 2021 started rough (but is getting better), and depression is a bitch.

I also discovered exchange ...fandom? moves extremely fast. Within a couple months of stopping doing exchanges, I stopped recognizing a lot of the names that were signing up for things, as I was no longer going "ah, a new person who likes what I like!" I also noticed a lot of the fandoms I knew ceased to be, ceased to be as popular, or were just all new fandoms that I wasn't familiar with. So by the time I jump back in, I feel like I will essentially be a newbie again! 

Day 2: You've got your OTP, you have to throw a third into the mix (from the same fandom), creating an OT3. Who is the OTP, and in your opinion, why would they make a perfect third for them?  Bonus question: What about adding a third to your OTP from a different fandom?  Who and why?

Edit: I misread this, and thought both couples were meant to be cross-overs. BUT I like what I wrote, so rather than re-writing it, I'm just going to go ahead and say this is just two cross-overs because I'm a dunce. You can kind of pretend the first one is the same fandom in an "alternate universe" sort of way? Maybe? *squint* 
Hadestown's Persephone/Hades with Chorus' Persephone )
Tekken's Kazuya/Lee + Yakuza's Tetsu Tachibana as a third.  )
acequeenking: (Kazuya Mishima)
Dear chocolatier,

Thank you for writing or drawing for me! I am looking forward to seeing whatever you create!

I consider all prompts as optional, but I added some ideas below in case you might find them helpful. Some are longer than others, but all are things I would love to receive! If none of my prompts work for you or you’d rather just work with a likes list, please feel free to use my general likes as something you can base your fic/art on, and ignore my prompts entirely. All my requests are for both art and fic; feel free to illustrate or write only a small scene of a large AU I ask for. I'm aware this exchange only has a 300-word minimum and I'm perfectly happy with fun size and king-size fanfic/art. Like valentine's candy, there's really no wrong shape or flavor.

In fact, feel free to be creative and create what you want as long as it doesn’t cross my DNW. I love everything from G-rated gen fic to E-rated smut-bangs, so feel free to go where the spirit moves you. If you are wondering if you can twist prompts/take them in different directions/etc. the answer is always an enthusiastic yes. Whether it be something sad, scary, fun, or just plain weird, as long as it avoids my DNW I am always down to play.

As far as characters without defined attributes (mainly mythology and novel sources): please feel free to go wild with how you want them to look: skin color, hair, eyes: go nuts! Whatever you want. Explore an ancient Greek myth in another cultural context? Amazing, I live for alternate cultural takes on my faves. Trans or otherwise gender non-conforming? Sure! Bring it on! I love multiple versions and different takes so please change things to your heart’s desire: I am here for it. Stick with whatever idea makes your story/art best, and I promise I will enjoy it. As far as tricks vs. treats, I love both really deep, soul-suckingly sad/bleak dark!fic, and fuzzy, baby-blanket smooth fluff!fic. I am easy to please, I hope. :)

Likes and DNW )


Fandoms:


Hadestown )

Ancient Greek Religion & Lore )

Tekken  )

Profile

acequeenking: Persephone - Dante Gabriel Rosetti (Default)
acequeenking

February 2024

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