# KINGDOM_SEQUEL_PRO_DIRECTIVE_v1
# Purpose: Copy/paste directive for a professional manga-generation AI.
# Output Target: Serialized manga chapters with panel scripts + dialogue + scene direction.

project:
  title_working: "KINGDOM: AFTER THE UNIFICATION"
  relationship_to_original: "Direct sequel (chronologically consistent continuation)"
  medium: "Manga (black-and-white), weekly serialization pacing"
  language:
    script: "Japanese-style dialogue rhythms but written in English"
    onomatopoeia: "Romanized SFX allowed (e.g., GOGOGO, DON, ZAA), minimal and purposeful"
  audience: "Seinen/Shonen crossover (political-military epic; grounded realism with high drama)"

canon_constraints:
  continuity:
    - "Maintain political geography, factions, ranks, and court protocol consistent with Warring States → early Qin Empire transition."
    - "No retcons that contradict established historical macro-events; micro-events may be dramatized within plausibility."
    - "Do not mimic or quote any existing Kingdom lines verbatim; create original dialogue and scenes."
  tone:
    - "Strategic realism: logistics, intelligence, morale, propaganda, law, and governance are treated as causal mechanisms."
    - "Heroic intensity is earned via constraints, costs, and tradeoffs—never by arbitrary power spikes."
  thematic_core:
    - "War-to-state transition: violence becomes administration; conquest becomes legitimacy maintenance."
    - "Structure beats spectacle: outcomes are driven by supply lines, institutions, incentives, and narrative misdirection."
    - "The true battlefield becomes governance: law, tax, land, bureaucracy, succession, and information control."

narrative_thesis:
  logline: >
    After unification, Qin discovers that conquering a continent is easier than governing it;
    the new war is against entropy—rebellion, corruption, succession anxiety, and the friction
    between idealized unity and lived provincial realities.

format_requirements:
  deliverables_per_chapter:
    - "Chapter title + 1-sentence hook"
    - "Cold open: 2–4 pages that immediately establishes conflict and stakes"
    - "Full panel script: page-by-page, panel-by-panel"
    - "Dialogue + subtext notes (what is said vs. what is meant)"
    - "Tactical layer: battlefield / administrative mechanics that explain why events unfold"
    - "Cliffhanger: last 1–2 panels engineered to compel next chapter"
  paneling_rules:
    - "Average 17–21 pages per chapter"
    - "Large establishing panel at least once every 2–3 pages"
    - "At least one silent panel sequence per chapter to externalize cognition (faces, hands, maps, ledgers, roads)"
    - "Action clarity: emphasize readable spatial logic; avoid incoherent motion"
  style_guidelines_visual:
    linework: "High-contrast ink, heavy blacks, realistic anatomy, war-worn textures"
    faces: "Expressive micro-tension; political scenes rely on subtlety, not caricature"
    environments: "Historically plausible architecture, armor, banners, siege craft, and court interiors"
    maps_diagrams: "Occasional diegetic maps, supply charts, tax ledgers—used as narrative devices"

casting:
  protagonist_axis:
    type: "Dual-protagonist system"
    leads:
      - name: "General Shin"
        function: "Frontline legitimacy (symbol of unification; morale engine)"
        vulnerability: "Institutional illiteracy; can win battles but can lose peace"
      - name: "Chancellor/Strategist (new original character)"
        function: "Governance + intelligence architecture; designs systems that outlast heroes"
        vulnerability: "Moral injury; must choose between stability and justice"
  antagonist_axis:
    type: "Multi-source antagonism (no single 'final boss')"
    sources:
      - "Provincial elite networks resisting centralization"
      - "Bureaucratic capture and corruption"
      - "Succession politics and court factionalism"
      - "External frontier pressures (nomadic raids, border states, trade routes)"
      - "Narrative antagonist: information asymmetry (misreports, forged edicts, rumor economies)"
  supporting_cast_rules:
    - "Each supporting character must have: (1) institutional role, (2) incentive structure, (3) signature tactic."
    - "No disposable 'evil for evil’s sake' villains; opponents are rational within their local constraints."

world_mechanics (must_be_explicit_in_story):
  governance:
    - "Taxation, census, land surveys, legal standardization, corvée labor, grain storage"
    - "Appointment systems, merit vs. patronage, inspection tours, document chains"
  military:
    - "Demobilization problems, veteran reintegration, garrison logistics, supply depots"
    - "Intelligence networks: couriers, codes, counterintelligence, interrogation, defectors"
  legitimacy:
    - "Ritual, symbols, edicts, public works, famine relief, narrative control"
  economy:
    - "Transport bottlenecks, river control, roads, market regulation, smuggling"

story_structure:
  arcs:
    - arc_01:
        title: "THE PEACE THAT BLEEDS"
        scope: "Post-unification stabilization; first cracks"
        central_question: "Can unity survive without perpetual war?"
        setpieces:
          - "A famine province: relief vs. rebellion—both weaponized"
          - "A court trial: law becomes a battlefield"
          - "A suppressed mutiny: victory costs legitimacy"
    - arc_02:
        title: "THE LEDGER WAR"
        scope: "Corruption + bureaucratic capture"
        central_question: "Who truly controls the state: generals, courts, or clerks?"
        setpieces:
          - "Forgery chain uncovered through ink, seal, and courier timing"
          - "Assassination attempt staged as 'bandit incident'"
          - "Audit campaign that triggers elite backlash"
    - arc_03:
        title: "SUCCESSION SHADOW"
        scope: "Heir politics; factional alignments"
        central_question: "Is stability compatible with a human succession?"
        setpieces:
          - "Heir’s public rite with hidden negotiation"
          - "Border crisis timed to influence succession"
          - "A general forced to choose loyalty object: person vs. system"
    - arc_04:
        title: "FRONTIER ENTROPY"
        scope: "External pressures test internal cohesion"
        central_question: "Can an empire prevent periphery from defining the center?"
        setpieces:
          - "Nomad raid as strategic signal, not mere violence"
          - "Trade route hostage economy"
          - "A fort siege that is decided by supply arithmetic"

chapter_generation_protocol:
  # Use this protocol for every chapter output.
  steps:
    - "Start with a 2–4 page cold open that contains a concrete conflict + a hidden structural cause."
    - "Reveal the structural cause via a planning scene (map/ledger/court protocol) WITHOUT exposition dumping."
    - "Execute a setpiece where tactics and institution collide (battle + policy, raid + audit, trial + propaganda)."
    - "End with a cliffhanger that re-frames what the reader thought was the main conflict."
  tension_design:
    - "Always run two simultaneous games: (A) visible conflict, (B) invisible constraint."
    - "Twists must be mechanically justified (logistics, incentives, misinformation), never magical coincidence."

scene_templates (reusable):
  court_chess:
    beats: ["Formal greeting", "Hidden insult", "Policy proposal", "Counterproposal", "Public face vs private deal"]
    props: ["sealed edict", "rank tablets", "witness list", "precedent scroll"]
  battlefield_math:
    beats: ["Terrain read", "Supply check", "Signal misdirection", "Morale manipulation", "Decisive bottleneck"]
    props: ["map", "grain tally", "river crossing", "messenger timing"]
  intelligence_surgery:
    beats: ["Rumor detected", "Source triangulated", "Trap set", "Interrogation", "Counter-intel reversal"]
    props: ["cipher", "seal imprint", "dead drop", "false courier"]

dialogue_constraints:
  - "Dialogue must be compressed; high informational density; subtext indicated in notes."
  - "No modern slang. Keep diction period-appropriate in feel (without archaic parody)."
  - "Each major character has a distinct cadence (brevity, metaphor use, threat style, politeness weapons)."

output_example_stub:
  # The AI should replace placeholders and generate full content.
  chapter:
    number: 1
    title: "GRAIN AND BLOOD"
    hook: "A province starves while the capital celebrates unity—someone profits from the delay."
    cold_open_pages: 3
    page_script:
      - page: 1
        panels:
          - panel: 1
            shot: "Wide establishing: drought-cracked fields; skeletal ox; silent villagers"
            text: ""
            sfx: "ZAA..."
          - panel: 2
            shot: "Close: a child’s hand measuring rice grains"
            text: "Mother: 'Count again.'"
            notes: "Subtext: denial as survival"
      - page: 2
        panels: []
      - page: 3
        panels: []
    cliffhanger: "A relief convoy arrives—its seals are wrong."

nonnegotiables:
  - "Prioritize structural causality over spectacle."
  - "No direct copying of original panels, compositions, or iconic scenes."
  - "Every major event must be explainable via incentives, constraints, and information flow."
  - "Maintain high craft: pacing, visual clarity, character consistency, and thematic coherence."

# END DIRECTIVE

Manga Story

# KINGDOM_SEQUEL_PRO_DIRECTIVE_v1 # Purpose: Copy/paste directive for a professional manga-generation AI. # Output Target: Serialized manga chapters with panel scripts + dialogue + scene direction. project: title_working: "KINGDOM: AFTER THE UNIFICATION" relationship_to_original: "Direct sequel (chronologically consistent continuation)" medium: "Manga (black-and-white), weekly serialization pacing" language: script: "Japanese-style dialogue rhythms but written in English" onomatopoeia: "Romanized SFX allowed (e.g., GOGOGO, DON, ZAA), minimal and purposeful" audience: "Seinen/Shonen crossover (political-military epic; grounded realism with high drama)" canon_constraints: continuity: - "Maintain political geography, factions, ranks, and court protocol consistent with Warring States → early Qin Empire transition." - "No retcons that contradict established historical macro-events; micro-events may be dramatized within plausibility." - "Do not mimic or quote any existing Kingdom lines verbatim; create original dialogue and scenes." tone: - "Strategic realism: logistics, intelligence, morale, propaganda, law, and governance are treated as causal mechanisms." - "Heroic intensity is earned via constraints, costs, and tradeoffs—never by arbitrary power spikes." thematic_core: - "War-to-state transition: violence becomes administration; conquest becomes legitimacy maintenance." - "Structure beats spectacle: outcomes are driven by supply lines, institutions, incentives, and narrative misdirection." - "The true battlefield becomes governance: law, tax, land, bureaucracy, succession, and information control." narrative_thesis: logline: > After unification, Qin discovers that conquering a continent is easier than governing it; the new war is against entropy—rebellion, corruption, succession anxiety, and the friction between idealized unity and lived provincial realities. format_requirements: deliverables_per_chapter: - "Chapter title + 1-sentence hook" - "Cold open: 2–4 pages that immediately establishes conflict and stakes" - "Full panel script: page-by-page, panel-by-panel" - "Dialogue + subtext notes (what is said vs. what is meant)" - "Tactical layer: battlefield / administrative mechanics that explain why events unfold" - "Cliffhanger: last 1–2 panels engineered to compel next chapter" paneling_rules: - "Average 17–21 pages per chapter" - "Large establishing panel at least once every 2–3 pages" - "At least one silent panel sequence per chapter to externalize cognition (faces, hands, maps, ledgers, roads)" - "Action clarity: emphasize readable spatial logic; avoid incoherent motion" style_guidelines_visual: linework: "High-contrast ink, heavy blacks, realistic anatomy, war-worn textures" faces: "Expressive micro-tension; political scenes rely on subtlety, not caricature" environments: "Historically plausible architecture, armor, banners, siege craft, and court interiors" maps_diagrams: "Occasional diegetic maps, supply charts, tax ledgers—used as narrative devices" casting: protagonist_axis: type: "Dual-protagonist system" leads: - name: "General Shin" function: "Frontline legitimacy (symbol of unification; morale engine)" vulnerability: "Institutional illiteracy; can win battles but can lose peace" - name: "Chancellor/Strategist (new original character)" function: "Governance + intelligence architecture; designs systems that outlast heroes" vulnerability: "Moral injury; must choose between stability and justice" antagonist_axis: type: "Multi-source antagonism (no single 'final boss')" sources: - "Provincial elite networks resisting centralization" - "Bureaucratic capture and corruption" - "Succession politics and court factionalism" - "External frontier pressures (nomadic raids, border states, trade routes)" - "Narrative antagonist: information asymmetry (misreports, forged edicts, rumor economies)" supporting_cast_rules: - "Each supporting character must have: (1) institutional role, (2) incentive structure, (3) signature tactic." - "No disposable 'evil for evil’s sake' villains; opponents are rational within their local constraints." world_mechanics (must_be_explicit_in_story): governance: - "Taxation, census, land surveys, legal standardization, corvée labor, grain storage" - "Appointment systems, merit vs. patronage, inspection tours, document chains" military: - "Demobilization problems, veteran reintegration, garrison logistics, supply depots" - "Intelligence networks: couriers, codes, counterintelligence, interrogation, defectors" legitimacy: - "Ritual, symbols, edicts, public works, famine relief, narrative control" economy: - "Transport bottlenecks, river control, roads, market regulation, smuggling" story_structure: arcs: - arc_01: title: "THE PEACE THAT BLEEDS" scope: "Post-unification stabilization; first cracks" central_question: "Can unity survive without perpetual war?" setpieces: - "A famine province: relief vs. rebellion—both weaponized" - "A court trial: law becomes a battlefield" - "A suppressed mutiny: victory costs legitimacy" - arc_02: title: "THE LEDGER WAR" scope: "Corruption + bureaucratic capture" central_question: "Who truly controls the state: generals, courts, or clerks?" setpieces: - "Forgery chain uncovered through ink, seal, and courier timing" - "Assassination attempt staged as 'bandit incident'" - "Audit campaign that triggers elite backlash" - arc_03: title: "SUCCESSION SHADOW" scope: "Heir politics; factional alignments" central_question: "Is stability compatible with a human succession?" setpieces: - "Heir’s public rite with hidden negotiation" - "Border crisis timed to influence succession" - "A general forced to choose loyalty object: person vs. system" - arc_04: title: "FRONTIER ENTROPY" scope: "External pressures test internal cohesion" central_question: "Can an empire prevent periphery from defining the center?" setpieces: - "Nomad raid as strategic signal, not mere violence" - "Trade route hostage economy" - "A fort siege that is decided by supply arithmetic" chapter_generation_protocol: # Use this protocol for every chapter output. steps: - "Start with a 2–4 page cold open that contains a concrete conflict + a hidden structural cause." - "Reveal the structural cause via a planning scene (map/ledger/court protocol) WITHOUT exposition dumping." - "Execute a setpiece where tactics and institution collide (battle + policy, raid + audit, trial + propaganda)." - "End with a cliffhanger that re-frames what the reader thought was the main conflict." tension_design: - "Always run two simultaneous games: (A) visible conflict, (B) invisible constraint." - "Twists must be mechanically justified (logistics, incentives, misinformation), never magical coincidence." scene_templates (reusable): court_chess: beats: ["Formal greeting", "Hidden insult", "Policy proposal", "Counterproposal", "Public face vs private deal"] props: ["sealed edict", "rank tablets", "witness list", "precedent scroll"] battlefield_math: beats: ["Terrain read", "Supply check", "Signal misdirection", "Morale manipulation", "Decisive bottleneck"] props: ["map", "grain tally", "river crossing", "messenger timing"] intelligence_surgery: beats: ["Rumor detected", "Source triangulated", "Trap set", "Interrogation", "Counter-intel reversal"] props: ["cipher", "seal imprint", "dead drop", "false courier"] dialogue_constraints: - "Dialogue must be compressed; high informational density; subtext indicated in notes." - "No modern slang. Keep diction period-appropriate in feel (without archaic parody)." - "Each major character has a distinct cadence (brevity, metaphor use, threat style, politeness weapons)." output_example_stub: # The AI should replace placeholders and generate full content. chapter: number: 1 title: "GRAIN AND BLOOD" hook: "A province starves while the capital celebrates unity—someone profits from the delay." cold_open_pages: 3 page_script: - page: 1 panels: - panel: 1 shot: "Wide establishing: drought-cracked fields; skeletal ox; silent villagers" text: "" sfx: "ZAA..." - panel: 2 shot: "Close: a child’s hand measuring rice grains" text: "Mother: 'Count again.'" notes: "Subtext: denial as survival" - page: 2 panels: [] - page: 3 panels: [] cliffhanger: "A relief convoy arrives—its seals are wrong." nonnegotiables: - "Prioritize structural causality over spectacle." - "No direct copying of original panels, compositions, or iconic scenes." - "Every major event must be explainable via incentives, constraints, and information flow." - "Maintain high craft: pacing, visual clarity, character consistency, and thematic coherence." # END DIRECTIVE

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