#metroid mauk

[kajira-kreations]

Lazy rest day today, so here's a doodle of my redesign of Kreatz from the Metroid manga and a bonus Mauk on the lower right!

[sepublic]

Anthony Higgs, Mauk, and Kreatz

Fun fact! In the Zero Mission manga, Samus has two Federation comrades named Mauk and Kreatz, a Simian and Elfin respectively! They’re ride or die teammates, going along when Samus jeopardizes what is supposed to be a purely reconnaissance mission to instead save the inhabitants of Jigrad from Space Pirates. Later, when Samus defies orders to go to Zebes and rescue her home from the Space Pirates (she fails), Mauk and Kreatz also defy orders to accompany Samus, and later escape with her.

What’s interesting is that according a captured Space Pirate from Jigrad, Kreatz’s Elfin species is looked down upon by the Federation, as they’re blamed for the ‘Species War’ (whatever that is). Likewise, the Simians are seen as so primitive that they weren’t even considered for Federation membership until the Chozo pushed for them to be recognized.

That last bit intrigues me because it definitely gives new meaning to Mauk’s dynamic with Samus, who is half-Chozo; Did he ever find admiration for Samus’ heritage, ask about the Chozo? Express appreciation, and mourn when they were driven from the galaxy by Mother Brain’s betrayal? Did he empathize with Samus’ own grief to some level, being supportive that way?

I dig these characters, and they’re surprisingly slept upon! They’re Anthony Higgs before Anthony Higgs, and given how much the fandom (rightfully) loves him, I’d like to see more of Samus’ other friends from the Federation.

Speaking of Higgs: From what I can tell, I think “Remember me?” is partly so memed upon because it’s that same gag of Remember that Guy, where we’re introduced to a character for the first time as someone who the MC or someone else has apparently always known and they’ve always been there. And it made me think of how the line could’ve been so much more impactful had it been Mauk or Kreatz who said it, returning years after the manga was published.

And it made me think; For a Metroid show, why not consolidate the elements of Mauk and Kreatz, as well as Anthony, as friends from Samus’ time in the Federation? Specifically, by making Anthony part of that same squad; We know him and Samus fought together in the same unit, so instead of Samus having two separate teams, let’s just do the one. Seeing Anthony in S1, before finally returning nine seasons later, would be great.

Likewise, I want to explore the concept of Samus’ old squad because in the source material, it’s comprised of non-humans who fight in a distinctly non-Federation way, save Samus; But even her power suit is non-conventional. We have Kreatz’s energy whips, as well as Mauk’s brute force blows and punches. There’s definitely this implication of them as a special unit of non-humans.

Additionally, I want to radical redesigns; I love how the manga gave us Federation aliens that could be good or bad! I just wish a character like Kreatz was more alien, because as his own species name shows, he’s basically just an elf; A human with pointy ears. Similarly, I do want to give Mauk a radical redesign for the same reasons, though he’s more forgivable. I also want to incorporate this idea I’ve had for Metroid worldbuilding about species who don’t fit within the same frame as others, and struggle for it.

So Kreatz is now this plant alien; Resembling Plant 43 from Resident Evil 2, the original version, with a three-petal mouth, vines for arms and leaves at the ends as fingers, and gnarled trunks for legs. He can lurch back to then hurl forward a glob of acid. In homage to how his pointy ears were the only distinguishing aspect of him, Kreatz has two leaves on his head, one on either side, acting like ears that can go up or down to emote.

The Elfin are a race of sapient plants; They can spew acid and have flexible vine arms. This has rendered them to a special fighting style centered around energy whips they can flail around their bodies with perfect control, with their whirling whips acting as both offense and defense for them, slashing apart enemy and enemy fire. Should an enemy get close enough, they get acid in their face.

Being plant-based organisms, the Elfin don’t speak with sound; They rely on pheromones. With most species relying on sound, this creates a huge communication barrier, with the Elfin being expected to put in the work to bridge it. Hence, many Elfin have devices attached that can translate the pheromones they emit into words; Similarly, these devices can interpret words and translate them into corresponding pheromones. It’s not perfect but it works.

The reason Kreatz’s name is so human is because his true name cannot be translated into letters, due to being pheromones; So it’s like how some PoC have an ‘English’ name to get by. For Kreatz, he’s in the Federation military, as part of the army; The army is comprised mostly of humans, so he uses a human name to appeal. The same applies for Mauk.

Mauk is also of an ‘unconventional’ species, deemed ‘abstract’ by the majority. She (gender change because we need more women) is a clam-like creature; She comprises of an armored shell on top that is impervious to damage. Beneath that shell are folds of muscles that can crush any prey beneath her, to then devour and digest. It can be a bit sobering to see Mauk drag a Space Pirate beneath her shell as they scream in agony, their legs obliterated, before she finishes them off by crunching their lower half; This method avoids exposing Mauk’s vulnerable underside to any weaponry, wielded by the arms.

To move, Mauk has four soft yet muscular limbs, short and stumpy, arranged around her body; They fold underneath her shell. She can use these arms to prop herself up, or drag prey beneath her. Mauk uses these limbs to handle technology, and each is equipped with a device that translates her thoughts into words; She can hear sound just fine. Otherwise, Mauk’s species communicates by tapping rhythmically.

The Federation has always employed esoteric species; So it makes sense for them to have special units for the purpose of utilizing the unique talents, methods, and capabilities of other races. Especially the stronger ones, some of whom could qualify as bosses in the games in another context… Samus is a part of this unit, as she is a hybrid, half-Chozo, half-human, and uses a unique Chozo power suit. Samus finds a lot of camaraderie with Mauk and Kreatz for not fitting within the typical military mold.

So how does Anthony Higgs factor into this? I don’t want him to be their human commanding officer, because I feel that does take away a bit of the camaraderie that would otherwise come from them all being in the same trenches together, so to speak. I did consider Anthony being the same rank and lacking authority, only there to remind the others of standard Federation protocol. I didn’t want to make Anthony an alien because it felt like whitewashing to me; Not the same exactly, but the same in effect of erasing characters of color.

But I’ve considered another idea; He IS essentially human, like Samus, while also being an esoteric species; But not in the way Samus is. Anthony isn’t a hybrid. Instead, he’s a host, to his wife. His wife is of a sapient parasite species, one that bonds with a host when they become old enough; To them, it’s marriage, and the host has to be consenting. Ordinarily thìs species evolved with another sapient one, or maybe they relied entirely on animals before making contact with other planets.

Regardless, in the present day they all need a host upon adulthood; Or are expected to. Some don’t fit that mold, amongst a species that already doesn’t fit the mold of the Federation or Space Pirates or other groups. But in the case of Mrs. Higgs, she was happy to meet Anthony and bond with him for life. She lives inside of his body, enhancing it and maybe emerging to attack and defend. Only Anthony can hear and understand her; The two mutually agreed to serve the Federation. People address Anthony, and sometimes allude to his wife, who like most of her kind prefers to remain private. It’s a truly mutual relationship where they both make decisions together in the heat of the moment.

So technically, Mrs. Higgs is the ‘esoteric’ one within this unit, and Anthony is just along for the ride, or IS the ride. Regardless, he’s another unusual case, which adds to the sisterhood he experiences with Samus, Mauk, and Kreatz; A clam, a parasite, a plant, and an android. Samus isn’t an android, but many mistake her for one due to her constantly being clad in armor; It’s a callback to the NES manual speculating her as such, and how the name Metroid was originally assigned to Samus (combining Metro and Android), which makes the jokes of “Why can’t Metroid crawl” even more understandable.

With the exception of Anthony, the others didn’t really go through Federation boot camp, not the typical kind at least; Given how the Federation has already employed and worked with other species before, they were essentially loaned/recommended soldiers from their own worlds. The Federation accepted, and after a proper training period where they were taught Federation protocol and familiarized to its environments, Samus and the others were assigned to one another. This special forces unit answers to Chief Hardy, and are assigned to do recon on Jigrad.

We’re first introduced to the squad via Mauk and Kreatz; A Space Pirate patrol stops so one can relieve themselves upon on a small tree, singling it out by reasoning that “Plants actually appreciate what I have to offer, unlike some regular rock.” Speaking of rocks, another notices a strange one and realizes it’s not a rock at all; It’s Mauk, who goes still, withdrawn in her shell to avoid attention, trying to blend in. Due to not being intimately familiar with Jigrad’s ecosystem and possessing biases, the Space Pirates assume this faceless creature as just one of the local fauna. One tries to shoot Mauk for fun but is disappointed when she’s unharmed; The Space Pirate is mocked and they all leave with the other one’s business finished.

That’s when tree in this scene moves out of their posture, facing Mauk; This a sapient individual named Kreatz, also unrecognized by the ignorant Space Pirates. He apologizes to Mauk for having to go through that; He speaks by grabbing a stone to use the rhythmic taps of Mauk’s species, a language the Elfin can learn to accommodate without relying on technology. Mauk reassures Kreatz that it’s all right, and anyhow he’s the one she feels sorry for. Kreatz admits it’s actually quite all right; That Space Pirate was correct, that WAS refreshing for him, and the most those pricks have ever contributed for the Elfin!

The two return to where Samus and Anthony are hiding; Samus has also mastered the rhythmic language, but Anthony struggles and laments this. Kreatz uses his device to speak, reassuring Anthony that it’s all right; He still struggles sometimes himself. The group alludes to “Mrs. Higgs,” whom Anthony reassures them on, while reiterating she prefers to be private to assuage any concerns.

The story goes about as you expect, just with Anthony (and technically Mrs. Higgs) present as well. Anthony appears to be a regular Federation soldier and that’s how the Space Pirates underestimate him, just thrown in so the others can be reminded of the Federation’s authority, until Anthony shows off what him and Mrs. Higgs can do together. Samus is the only one not underestimated, something that precedes the intimidating reputation she earns amongst her enemies.

Anthony, Mauk, and Kreatz are all ride or die friends who remain in the Federation when Samus leaves. When the Metroid crisis begins, we get a scene showing what they’ve been up to, and how they attempt to survive this new threat. It’s sobering when an indestructible shield such as Mauk, who often props herself up to protect others, is told to retreat because it doesn’t matter how impervious she is; If a Metroid latches on, she’ll be drained and killed like any other victim. It’s a testament to how Metroid is unlike anything anyone has ever faced, and a true threat.

Like in the manga, we get a scene of the trio fighting back against the Space Pirates on Mauk’s homeworld of Jamoru; After Samus completes her Zero Mission, there’s an aftermath episode acting as the season finale where we check up on her old comrades, who help turn the tides against the Space Pirates. They hear the rumors of a bounty hunter named Samus Aran single-handedly defeating Mother Brain, and express admiration, having always believed in her.

Cue all three disappearing for basically the whole show, until nine seasons later, when one of them returns on the BOTTLE ship, working as part of a new special forces unit… More on that later. Anthony asks Samus, “Remember me?” And this time the viewer actually does, with the same elation and disbelief as Samus.

[yourfaveisfriendshaped]

Mauk from the Metroid manga is friend shaped!

Mauk is friend-shaped!

[wacktroid]

the metroid zero mission manga if it was good

samus: we did it guys...we defeated mother brain!

kreatz: now THATS what I'm talking about! Hey....I hear a song coming on...

*4th of July by Katy Perry starts playing*

Mauk and Kreatz singing: cuz baby you're a firrrrreeeeework..

Grey voice: room for one more?

Everyone: GREY VOICE?!

Samus: but...you....ridley-

Grey voice: killed me? Heh....about that...let's just say someone had a change of heart...

Ridley shyly walks up to the gang: gulp....I'm really sorry about how mean I was to you guys. Could you ever forgive me?

Samus: bring it in, big guy!

Ridley: really...? After all I've done?

Kreatz: GROUP HUG!!!!!

*everyone hugs and 4th of july by Katy perry is still playing btw*

Ravenbeak: I hope I'm not too late!

*record scratch plays followed by dramatic pause*

Samus: DAD???

Ravenbeak: I'm so sorry for being a deadbeat, my daughter. And Grey voice....I'm sorry for everything or whatever

Grey voice: that's all I've ever wanted to hear!

Ridley: wow....I guess this really was a zero mission to never forget...

Samus: say that again

Ridley: zero mission?

Samus: I like the sound of that.

[mu-te33]

Hii!! This is for the metroid ask game!

- favorite ridley design?

- favorite bounty hunter besides samus?

- favorite npc?

I LOVE YOUR RIDLEY ART SO MUCH😢😢 you really do him so much justice and characterize him so well❤️ I especially love your birdie hc!

Hiii

-Manga Ridley, easily. From his expressions and his characterization, he is what I think of when I think of the character. Absolute elite design. My favorite part is how heavily shadowed he is illustrated, makes him look extra menacing.

-ooohh, this is a toughie. I really like Gandrayda though, i like her playful personality and sass that I think makes for an interesting dynamic with Samus. The shapeshifting ability is quite fascinating too.

I always thought Trace was interesting too, along with the whole Kriken Empire that I can't say I wouldn't mind seeing expanded upon a bit more 👀

- I gotta go with my boy Anthony Higgs. I think its pretty neat Samus had some friends in her Federation days. I would love to see him, and though not likely, Mauk and Kreatz again 🥺

AHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! He is my favorite ever, my boy deserves all the justice as a character 😤

ahhfdhfhd thank you, I have like so much more I want to share about my birdie hc

[televenus]

Modern Metroid au (based on the two part manga)

Samus lives in an apartment with her rabbit Pyonchi and Baby, the stray kitten that followed her home one day (based on the baby metroid). She does freelance work in many different subjects, but tends to mostly work for GFU (galactic federation university - sometimes referred to as the Federation Academy, a scientific university that doubles as a large research lab). She is a graduate of GFU along with two of her best friends, Kreatz and Mauk (the latter is now a professor. Kreatz and Mauk are dating) and she tutors Damara, a freshman at the university.

[doctorsupernova-archive]

Samus

Thank you! Strap in, everyone, this is gonna be a long one!

I think I’ve already talked about this headcanon, but Old Bird wanted to make sure she had some exposure to human culture during her time living on Zebes, so he found some old archives of media from around the 1980s for her to look through. Her favorite musician is Michael Jackson, hence her ability to moonwalk in Super Metroid, but she’s also a fan of rock bands like AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses. Also, her biggest role model growing up was Ellen Ripley.

When she was a little kid, she had trouble understanding how exactly the Chozo messed with her DNA. At first, she thought she was going to get feathers and wings like they had, and the idea of growing a big beak terrified her. It didn’t take long for her to catch on that that wasn’t happening.

They also gave her follow-up DNA-changing sessions as she grew older. Not because she had any trouble surviving on Zebes, but because they wanted to help her transition by altering hormone production in her body. (Technology for gender-affirming procedures would presumably be far more advanced in the future anyway, but they wanted to give her a treatment she was more familiar with.)

She took up playing the cello when she was a teenager. She doesn’t get many chances to practice since she has precious little downtime, especially considering she prioritizes being out saving people as much as possible and doesn’t leave much time for herself, but she picks it back up as a therapeutic hobby as her life as a fugitive wears on her nerves. One time, she made Madeline laugh so hard she cried with a slow romantic cover of “Never Gonna Give You Up”.

Her taste in food was uniquely shaped by her Chozo upbringing, to the extent that some of her favorites can make any humanoid gag. Notable examples are scrambled Imago eggs and Kihunter honey.

About once a year, she goes to check on Kreatz and Mauk (who are now captains in different branches of the Federation Police) and see how Pyonchi’s doing in Damara’s care. Since the events on the BSL, she hasn’t been able to do that, and she dreads to think what will happen if she encounters her old friends as enemies.

She dyed her hair green and wore a fuchsia jumpsuit over her Zero Suit for a time after leaving the Federation Army. Now, she thinks of this time as the equivalent of an embarrassing scene phase and hates it when Anthony drags out the old photos.

She was able to get Doom running on her gunship’s HUD, but the version for her visor is still a work in progress.

Even though lots of people have expressed attraction toward her for obvious reasons, she’s never had a serious long-term relationship. She contemplated having something with Gandrayda, but after what happened there she never wanted anything to do with love again since she’d just lose them anyway. That is, until a certain redheaded scientist comes into her life… ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Speaking of me being the captain of the Samdeline ship pool noodle, Samus tends to suppress her emotions around other people, bottling up her trauma and regrets and barely reacting to impressed or horrified onlookers, but she absolutely melts whenever she’s with Madeline. Especially when she hears her wife’s childlike laugh. (This changes as they move from infatuation to more committed love, of course, but those little moments still get to her.)

[kajira-kreations]

After re-reading the Metroid manga after such a long time, I've been wanting to redraw the characters 'cuz they need some more love!

One character in particular is Damara. I'm very intrigued by Damara's character along with some hc that I have about her role within the story: after graduating from the academy, she's a doc for the Federation. Along with some captions in the image.

I hope to draw more of the others like Kreatz and Mauk.

[doctorsupernova-archive]

Ok I'm gonna be really predictable: 1) Metroid 2) Samus x Madeline 3) hmmm... Samus?

well, you asked for it

Leaving out the third because I feel like it’d be redundant after the first two.

METROID

Favorite CharacterThe obvious answer here is Samus, since she’s everyone’s favorite, so I’m gonna go with my personal faves: Madeline and Melissa! I maintain that Other M should’ve had a much greater focus on them.

Least Favorite CharacterDoes the Boost Guardian count as a character? Also, I’m kind of behind on Samus Returns because of exams last week, but I’m dreading having to fight Diggernaut. (Apparently it’s a chase sequence and puzzle? That’s all I’ve heard, don’t spoil it for me)

5 Favorite Ships (canon or non-canon)Samus x Madeline, Kreatz x Mauk (from the manga), Samus x Not Losing Everyone She Cares About (will never be canon, ever), Melissa x Living (it’s canon shut up), Prime 4 x A Release Date…This series doesn’t give a whole lot of shipping material.

Character I Find Most Attractiveall the women are wonderful, this question is BS

Character I Would MarryMelissa. I’m a sucker for villains, what can I say?

Character I Would Be Best Friends WithI’d love the chance to hang out with Samus and Anthony! They have a fun dynamic that I wish we could’ve seen more of.

A Random ThoughtI was home from college for the weekend when Samus Returns came out, so I got to sit with my family and kitties while I played it! At one point early on I said “I don’t think I’m too good at this game yet” and my mom just looked at me and said “You’ve been playing it for ten minutes, Peyton”

An Unpopular OpinionI’m going to give two because I can’t decide which one to say:

I’m super excited about Prime 4 being announced, but I’m not so sure about the name they gave it. The trilogy was named after an entity called Metroid Prime that was pretty unambiguously annihilated in the third game. So, unless it’s meant as an interquel or something, I can’t help but feel like the name was just a publicity stunt.

I feel like I’ve already made it clear that the merits of Other M outweigh the faults for me personally. But when did a portion of the fandom decide that it’s complete trash and anyone who likes it at all is a moron? It got pretty good reviews for the most part, and the kind of people who police others’ tastes tend to be the same people who take reviews as objective truth. So what happened here? And can’t we all just get along?!

My Canon OTPI don’t actually remember any canon ships except for Rodney and Virginia Aran, and we all know what happened to them

Non-Canon OTP*sweats nervously* I think you can tell from the next section

Most Badass Characterthis is Metroid we’re talking about, could it be anyone besides Samus

Pairing I Am Not a Fan ofSamus and Adam. Writing missteps with troubling abusive undertones aside, it really does seem like it’s more of a parental relationship than a romantic one. Not hating on anyone who does ship them!

Character I Feel the Writers Screwed Up (in one way or another) Adam. And this isn’t so much the writers as the designers, but I feel like Samus outside her suit tends to be oversexualized to the point of it, ironically enough, being a turn-off? At least in my opinion. (She looked so much better in that green jacket at the end of OM.)

Favorite FriendshipSamus and Anthony, best bros

SAMUS X MADELINE

When or If I Started Shipping ItI honestly don’t remember. I think I cracked a joke to myself while playing and was like “heh, yeah, she wants her to come closer bby” and it kinda spiraled from there.

My ThoughtsThe best possible ship between Samus and a canon character, in my opinion. I feel like they have so many significant parallels - shared personality traits shown by their heroic actions, extremely similar traumas and struggles with surrogate motherhood, common interest in technology - that I’m surprised it seems like I’m the first to think of this ship!

What Makes Me Happy About ThemI haven’t seen anybody notice this, but it’s adorable how much Samus seems to admire Madeline! I mean, Samus praises her actions a lot, keeps her protection a top priority (despite the whole mess being partially her fault), and seems really sad when it looks like she’s about to be arrested. It seems like the makings of the “badass who’s a complete softie around their partner” trope, which is the good shit

What Makes Me Sad About ThemThey both lost their babies… (also, the fact that they only know each other for one cutscene in canon)

Things Done in Fanfic that Annoys Meum, what fanfic

Things I Look For in FanficIts existence? Y’know how some people say they don’t have a ship so much as a little rowboat? This isn’t even that. This is, like, a pool noodle.

My KinksI can’t decide if they’d have fluffy vanilla sex or be the kinkiest fuckers in the galaxy. Either way, they’d praise each other through the whole thing and there’d be an absurd amount of cuddling afterward.

Who I’d Be Comfortable Them Ending Up With, if Not Each OtherI’d be cool with Samus ending up with Anthony, because they’ve got a solid friendship that’d translate well into a healthy relationship for both of them. As for Madeline? …I don’t know.

My Happily Ever After For ThemWhen Samus isn’t off saving a civilization or blowing up a planet, they live a peaceful life on a restored Aether with an android daughter they made together.(this is so sappy holy shit)