Quote:Okay, yeah, that'll work. Except, if they're inland the way I've been thinking (my mental image of their fictional hometown of Toraguchi is in Nagano Prefecture, which is about as far inland as you can -get- in Japan... Toraguchi itself may or may not be a thinly-disguised version of the -city- Nagano, which apparently has a very famous shrine...), then where's she going to get a natural suntan? It's not like she can just sun herself on the beach...
Well, a deep (bottle) tan and bleach blode hair is apparently in for the fashionable crowd in japan - that's the basic ko-gal look, backed up by specialist knowledge in fashion and dating. Tsuchi I could see getting an honest deep tan as a two pronged thing - partly to mock those who get their tan form a bottle, and partly to make some small concession to looking like the currently-in model of what's attractive, so when she's standing in front of her mirror late at night she can assure herself that yeah, she's teh smexxy. Thoguh not in those words, most likely. I can do the black hair, but still think she should get, say, violet highlights instead of plain white? And obviously the described outfit isn't schoolwear.
Quote:I'd been thinking more like bright aquamarine, but yeah, parrot-green works, too. ^_^
... Are you sure you haven't been looking into my brain? Because Keiu has been peeking out of the reference stacks in my mind with her shoulder-length bright green hair, eeping and pulling back since I fist noticed her role in the cast. And yes, she's a Plumed dragon, with intermediate healing and attack, and strong utility and defense spells, two of her favorites being "catalogue and search" (for use in book shops or libraries) and "notice-me-not." As for her size, Plumed dragons are the smallest, right? So having her human suit be particularly small also makes sense.
Anyway, here's a thought - rather than having her be your standard book/library mouse, howsabout making her an artist? I can just see her running through the halls at the end of the day, sketchbook clutched against her chest, then turning the corner and bouncing right off Kennan with a yelp (He's a -fanged- dragon, remember - easily the largest of the four breeds, so even if he's not that atheletic, he's still -big-, like six feet or so. Which'd make him the second or third largest member of the cast, since both of our half-dragons are from the smaller, lighter clans.)
Quote:The hairband I'm kind of 'eh' about - you mean one of those scrunchy things, right? - since I'd been thinking of her just leaving it loose and occaisionally brushing the bangs out of her eyes, and I'd suggest keeping the glasses fairly small, a la, say, Kabuto, rather than Umino Gurio.
Red hairband, round glasses, brown eyes with just a hint of purple, anime-small bust - meaning she looks like a real teenager in that department - wears subdued, somewhat shapeless clothes when not in uniform. Can kick anyone's ass at any arcade or console video game you'd care to name, but no one really notices her hanging out there, any more than they do in school. This will be a matter of some consternation when Tsuchi finally discovers who "KK" is, whose top score on the Virtua Fighter 6 machine keeps increasing just as she gets close to surpassing it herself.
The videogame bit sounds fun, though, especially if it's the one thing that she just will -not- back down about - thereby letting us have these comic-relief game-wars going on in the background of Ken and Miyou's various touching moments.
And, a couple of thoughts on Tsuchi, since we're there anyway - First, that's almost certainly not her real name, although I doubt that even -she- thinks of herself as anything else. Second, despite my earlier plotting, I think that we should have her as -already- showing the super-skillz - incredible strength, roof-hopping, flaring ki aura, etc., but not really have anyone remark on it. Like, 'Oh, yeah. That's just Tsuchi. She's like that. Don't worry about it!' Third, lets say that she already -has- a steady boyfriend... who will not ever, despite numerous mentions and the fact that all the other characters know him, actually appear on screen. (One of the reasons for this is that he and Tsuchi, ah, already know each other much better than her parents would prefer. Another is that I think it'd make a neat running gag.) Fourth, despite the fact that she's a -lot- sharper than she admits and a genuine badass in her own right, she's the show's comic relief.
Finally, fun bonus things I've come up with -
(I'm seeing the music to this as being by KOTOKO - something about flying at night as a metaphor for being in love in an uncertain future)
Open with a close shot of Miyou's face as she opens her eyes, with the saturation and shading and such fiddled to -really- emphasize their color, then zoom back out to show her standing in front of a featureless black background with her shadow cast around her feet in white. Then a sort of sketchy impression of Tatsu-Kennan's face forms behind her and opens its eyes to look over her shoulders before we cut to title.
(nifty anime-esque title and flashy graphic go here)
Cut to Miyou in her dainty underthings (PG rating preserved through the use of careful camera angles) as she pulls on one of those stereotypical Kabuki bodygloves.
Blink to a shot of Miyou sitting alone at the shrine and peoplewatching with a slight smile. On-screen text credit to Miyou's VA.
Cut back to Miyou prepping for battle, this time as she's checking then strapping on a set of throwing knife forearm sheaths.
Blink to Miyou and Tsuchi sitting in a booth at a Kissaten, both in casual clothes, with Tsuchi waving her arms in a very dramatic manner and Miyou laughing in a quiet 'I'd-be-howling-if-I-weren't-too-polite-to-be-that-loud' way. Text credit to Tsuchi's VA.
Cut to Miyou going over a belt full of smallish bomb/grenade looking things then buckling it on.
Blink to Sensei dangling Gaku by the scruff of his neck. Both of them are -soaking- wet, and Gaku is holding a water balloon. Text credit to their VAs.
Cut to Miyou loading a smallish pistol - an SIG P228, specifically - and tucking it into a holster at the small of her back.
Blink to Keiu doing a sketchy portrayal of her dragon form perched on a playground swingset. She seems to be sitting in the school library. Text credit to Keiu's VA.
Cut to Miyou sliding a leather jacket on over her arsenal.
Blink to Kennan looking down at where he and Miyou are holding hands and both blushing slightly. Text credit to Kennan's VA.
Cut to Miyou gathering her hair and tying it up in a high ponytail.
Blink to a panning shot of Our Heroes' high-school classmates. Text credit to director, creator, character designer.
Cut to Miyou hooking a Japanese-style sword-cane to a particular loop on her belt.
Blink to another panning shot of an array of the Four Directions, in human form. Text credit to animation house and soundtrack artists.
Cut to Miyou, fully equipped, taking a sprinter's starting position in a field at what is either dawn or dusk. She explodes into motion and takes a running swan dive off the same field that nearly killed Kennan in the first episode.
Rapid series of ~1 second flashing shots of milestones in her and Kennan's relationship - The Cliff Scene, their first date, Ningen-Kennan putting himself defiantly between her (while she's obviously injured and in no shape to fight) and a demon, Valentine's Day, White Day, him giving her the jacket we saw her put on earlier, etc. - then back to her falling for an instant before Tatsu-Kennan swoops out of nowhere to come up under her and pull up and away.
She leans down and hugs him, then grins and sets herself like a jockey as he banks away from the camera to soar and spiral up and away into the darkening sky.
Ep 1 - Introduce the characters, Miyou saves Kennan from a nasty fall
Ep 2 - Ken and Miyou's first date, Miyou gets a mysterious message
Ep 3 - More slice of life, Miyou acts strangely, Ken twigs and, since he's worried, tries to follow her
Ep 4 - Ken grumbles after being given the slip and goes to think things over at his favorite quiet spot - the small shrine on top of the rocky escarpment overlooking the smallish city where this all takes place. Then he's attacked by a monster ranting about making him a sacrifice and before he has a chance to chomp its ass, he's saved by a mysterious kunoichi with very familiar eyes.
Ep 5 - Ken confronts Miyou about her saving him, she denies everything, he doesn't buy it and starts ranting, and then she shuts him up with a kiss. Since this is a.) their first kiss, and b.) about an eight on a scale ranging from 1 - "preschoolers on a playground" to 10 - "what clothing isn't ripped has hands inside it", she then has a chance to escape while he's trying to reboot his brain. Cut to Jaan talking to An Liu, saying that he wants to do some more investigating before he tries to take this target again. Liu says no, do it right away. One of Jaan's lieutenants volunteers. Commercial break. Start back, we see Miyou going over some files on her laptop before she blinks, then curses at it. She pulls out her phone, tells Ken to meet her at the shrine, since it's private and that way she can explain everything. He comes, and we get treated to his thoughts and introspections for a bit (with a dash of 'wow - that was some kiss'), and then he hears a noise behind him, turns, and catches a spell in the face. Cut back to Miyou, as she finds one of the minor demons that have been assigned as perimeter guards - she thinks a bit, realizes Ken would have been -right there- and is probably in trouble, and goes into ass-kicking mode. She reaches the shrine, finds Ken tied up and Lieutenant incanting over his spreadeagled form, then wades through the last of the faceless minions just to get clobbered by Mr. L, who probably isn't near as skilled/powerful, but who also hasn't just fought his way through a small army. Ripping noise from Ken's direction, *chomp,* cut to credits.
Ja, -n
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."