#joke character

hey gang we invented a brand new fuckass guy his name is stinkbug his whole existence is a bit and hes a terrible individual but its ok he just has some things to work out in therapy he'll survive however we accidentally made him hot please forgive us

I created him with my good buddies @hexsie and @knightcineris lalalala

I've been playing Street fighter 6 on Switch2 a lot recently. And my brain keeps coming back to the one storied character the game doesn't show (beyond a reference character in side mission in Nayshall and a Fateful Day event in Beat Square).

Dan Hibiki.

The man who watched his father die at the hands of Sagat and has tried to honour the training and techniques of his father while building and incorporating new techniques into his arsenal. A man whose growth and personal narrative is tied to his rejection by Gouken, his desire to avenge his father, and a hope to become a great mentor and teacher.

All of which gets constantly shit on because Dan exists to be ridiculed and mocked relentlessly by everyone and everything within the SF universe and (presumably) by the player base/Capcom as well. And it's such a shame that Dan can not develop in any true and meaningful way because if he did, it'd ruin the joke.

Because he is a character with a surprising amount of narrative meat on his bones.

His father's refusal to bend to Shadaloo's demands and his subsequent death by Sagat within the dojo Go Hibiki founded (Hibiki Go Dojo).

His (and his sister's) presumed homelessness as we've never heard of Dan's mum ever

Mastering his father's style, learning the style of his father's killer

Being taught (briefly) by Gouken before his intention for learning the foundations and techniques of the Ansatsulen are made clear.

Gouken feared Dan would become like Akuma, letting his anger and hatred consume him like the Satsui no Hado had to Akuma

Builds the initial (loosely) connected techniques, combos, and ki attacks that would go on to become Saikyō-ryū (Strongest Style)

Seeks to prove his newfound and (mostly) self-taught and self-engineered style lives up to its name

Fight and defeat Sagat for the death of his father

All of these dot points are literally just Dan's backstory. (Didn't even mention his "apprentice" Sakura, or that Gouken truly believes Dan has no talent or ability for martial arts). If Dan Hibiki were anyone else, he'd be given strong focus and cool narratives.

But Dan isn't anyone else. Dan's Dan Hibiki and Dan Hibiki is the universe's punching bag. So all of his improvements are dwarfed by others or are simply ignored. No one ever takes Dan seriously (Not even Sagat). And to top it all off, Dan has felt ashamed and was unable to face his father's grave (only now able to because Sagat pantomimed a fight and took a dive to give Dan the victory).

So, to the main question and its immediate sub-question. How do we un-joke Dan? And how do we keep Dan's identity once we've un-jokified him? Because if we go too far, he becomes a crappy Ken/Ryu clone with none of what makes him interesting. So it's a balancing act to get him serious enough not to be a punching bag worthy of nothing but ridicule while still maintaining Dan's good-hearted nature towards innocents and his martial arts ego.

Keep Dan's backstory as is (from his father's death to his struggles and eventual ejection and rejection by Gouken.

Have Dan's shame and inability to go to his father's burial place and face him like a man play a big/ger role in his narrative.

"Use whatever works! Fighting is meant to defend those who can't! Remember that!!" One of the last things Dan heard his father say to him. It becomes a central aspect of his personality and fighting style. Whatever works, works!

Play into Dan's obsessive behaviour. He's constantly pushing Saikyō-ryū to evolve. Granted, it isn't done in any way that's smart. Dan is just travelling to tournament to tournament, clashing with fighters, and promoting Saikyō-ryū. And that in his spare time, he's imitating the techniques of strong opponents, creating his take on other fighter's techniques.

Though he lacks the classical latent aptitude and innate talent for martial arts, Dan can take a beating. Certain aspects of Saikyō-ryū require the trade-off of taking a blow to land a blow. An idea that might be considered too stupid by others.

If it comes to removing one of his father's techniques for a technique of another style to strengthen Saikyō-ryū, Dan will keep his father's move to honour Go Hibiki

Dan is incredibly active in his community. He picks up litter, feeds the homeless, and runs errands for the elderly. All actions driven by the Rules of Manliness that were left to him by his father

His ego and taunting behaviour comes from two places. A genuine place that he is as talented as his father and those his father viewed as his equals, and that if a fighter underestimates you, they create exploitable openings. The driving force of his ego depends on where he is and who's he fighting.

Dan's contempt for Ryu and Ken should be deeper. Ryu has struggled with not succumbing to the Satsui no Hado for years and Ken has (as far as Dan's concerned) never truly suffered and had lived in luxury his entire life. Yet, despite having a noble goal, their shared sensei condemned him while Gouken let's Ryu dance on that razor's edge constantly.

I have also been mulling over the idea of Dan realising he was cheated out of his vengeance by Sagat. But I also feel like that realisation pierces through his defences of ego. He seeks out his prized student, Sakura and talks to her, and in a moment of honesty, requests her opinion of his techniques, and she answers.

She tells him that Saikyō-ryū techniques are easily telegraphed, have a short range, and on the whole, poorly designed and don't flow together. She tells Dan he spends so much time creating moves but never actively refining them. Like Gadouken, for example, it's unstable, losing power the further it travels and only exists for half the distance of a Hadouken.

She finishes by saying if Dan wants to be taken seriously and if he wants Saikyō-ryū to be taken seriously as a martial art, Dan needs to understand why he chooses the moves he does, why they matter, and to take the ideas and principles he understands to enhance and evolve. Just like he had when he studied Mui Thai initially to strengthen his father's style.

Now, Dan resides at his dojo, fighting phantom opponents and re-teaching himself his father's style, Mui Thai, and the half-formed Ansatsuken principles and techniques to undergo his first real evolution as a fighter.

Ask me 👍

(M!A's are allowed, no harrassment. This is a generally laidback, silly blog; so go crazy.)

My tag is: #tennas brother who is called apps

This started out as an entirely joke character, Snapping Dennis Jr. but (un)fortunately he became a real boy, ladies and germs! He’s a bolivian river dolphin by the way and an awkward one at that! He’d be a Hometown resident and players could find him in an alleyway where he’s selling ‘alleged’ rare and illegal snapping lessons (do you see how unserious this shit is). He’s actually just a music school dropout, but that fingersnaps do be making me want to canoodle around.

He wouldn’t even be entering the Dark World, he’s just horrible. And awkward. HE’ NOTHING.