#second iteration combat outfit

[armoredisopod]

Arknights CN 6th Anniversary PVs

New Operators

Confess-47, 1★ Pioneer Vanguard

"To cover up one's own sins, is to invite disaster."

Gracebearer, 5★ Primal Guard (new branch)

Are only perfect things worthy to be objects of faith?

Sankta Miksaparato, 6★ Welfare Sentry Protector Defender

I will not fall, you will not fall, no one will fall.

Lemuen, 6★ Deadeye Sniper

Ah, the smile on your face. Giving trust is just as reassuring as receiving it, don't you agree?

Exusiai the New Covenant, 6★ Limited Geek Specialist

Yeah, I met the "God" of Sankta.

But I reckon God is better off staying on 《The Saints' Travels》, from now on how we live our lives is up to us!

Operator Outfits Update

Total of 10 new outfits, 1 new addition each for the Epoque, Achievement Star, Iteration Provident and Rhodes Kitchen brands, 3 new additions each for the Bloodline of Combat and Test Collection brands

Epoque

Bard by the Lake - Cantabile

Achievement Star

A Player Forever - Mizuki

Bloodline of Combat

Primordial Ode - PhonoR-0 (Login Event)

Judgment Day - Fiammetta

Ignis - Vulcan (Event Reward)

Iteration Provident

Roar Against the Wilds - Młynar

Test Collection

Glory of the Devout - Archetto (21 OP)

Supernova - Wiš'adel (24 OP)

Doctor, won't you come and witness your masterpiece?

Come on, pull yourself together. At least we have time to do something about it.

星月漂流记 (The Drifting of Stars and Moon) - Kroos (Cumulative Login Reward)

Rhodes Kitchen

Secret Family Recipe - Savage (Event Reward)

Vulcan's outfit is a reward from Vector Breakthrough #1 「Inorganic Matter」

Kroos' new outfit is a 1000 days cumulative login reward

Savage's new outfit is a reward from the Arknights Link to the Limitless web event

Announced outfit reruns

Diversity Oneness - Virtuosa

Il Segreto Della Notte - Texas the Omertosa

Habitat - Silence the Paradigmatic

Operator Modules Update

All the new 6★s being part of branches with modules immediately get their modules

GEE-X module base effect increases Exusiai the New Covenant's SP Recovery rate by +0.25/s when her HP is above 80%

SPT-X module base effect reveals all Invisible enemies in Sankta Miksaparato's Attack Range

DEA-Y module base effect lets Lemuen restore 1 SP when her attack doesn't defeat/destroy the target

Liberator Guard branch gets 1 module type

Muelsyse, Thorns, Silence the Paradigmatic and CrownSlayer get their second modules

TAC-Y module base effect makes enemies blocked by Muelsyse's Flowing Shape more likely to be attacked and increases the trait effect to 165%

EXE-Y module base effect increases CrownSlayer's ATK by +10% if there are no allies units within 4 adjacent tiles

The base effect of LOR-∆ and BLS-Y modules are unknown at the time of writing

Events and Stories

The Masses' Travels, a Laterano side story event

If God intends for me to accept death as an angel Then I would rather live on this land in the ugly, fleeting, painful shell —of a human.

Before faith came to be A being imitating an angel began its prolonged yet transient pilgrimage And the starting point of its journey was but a single wish.

Vector Breakthrough #1 「Inorganic Matter」

Duel Channel: Green Grass Duel Centre Official, Cannot's April Fools event with multiplayer

Operator Archives update for Mostima, Broca, Nowell, Alanna and Arene

Misc Stuff

New QoL additions and changes

Starting from the Grand Bazaar annihilation mission, annihilation will start cycling on a 3 month rotation and future annihilation first clear rewards will give an additional 800 orundum to compensate for this change

Universal Certificates (blue certs) cost to hire 6★ operators lowered from 2k to 1.8k, cost for hire 5★ operators lowered from 500 to 450

Geek Specialist branch trait adjusted to lose HP slower and they will no longer go below 1 HP due to the trait effect

Auto deploy sweep feature upgraded allowing players to only need to watch one auto deploy for however many times they chose to sweep the stage

Added the ability to filter operators by their branch

Added a cumulative login reward system, after reaching level 80 and the corresponding number of logins players can claim dynamic profile icons and a special L2D outfit

Added 3 new activity rooms, improved performance when visiting friends bases and added a feature to instantly snap the camera to assistant operators

Saga, Mr. Nothing and Confess-47 added to recruitment

Asbestos' [Glen Sonata] Outfit will be available in the certs shop to players that don't have it

Livestream Stuff

Showcased Exusiai the New Covenant, a 6★ Geek Specialist with a unique support dps kit

Talent 1 - Firepower Radio makes it so when she's deployed and an operator consumes ammo she will immediately recover some HP and call a bombardment within that operator's Attack Range dealing a certain amount of AoE Physical damage

Talent 2 - Gun and Bullet Pact increases the ATK of all operators that have ammo when she's deployed, the effect is further increased for Laterano operators

Skill 1 - Clear the Skies is an ammo skill that makes her attacks deal a certain amount of Physical damage and prioritizes aerial enemies, if the skill is manually deactivated she will immediately fire all her ammo on random enemies within Attack Range

Skill 2 - Fire Unto Blight is an ammo skill that reduces her attack interval and makes her attack deal a certain amount of Physical damage, upon skill activation it also Steals ASPD from an ally operator within Attack Range and grants both her and the operator she stole ASPD from a Barrier that decays overtime, this skill gains additional ammo if she succeeds in stealing ASPD from an operator

Skill 3 - Mission Accomplished! is an ammo skill that has a passive effect of giving her a Delivery Marker on deployment. When activated the skill increases her ATK, makes her attacks hit 5 times in a row dealing a certain amount of Physical damage and if the marker is deployed before or during the skill is active, she will deal a certain amount of AoE Physical damage and deploy the melee operator with the longest redeployment time to the position of the marker, granting them some SP and retrieving the marker, each attack while this skill is active consumes 5 ammo

Showcased Lemuen, a 6★ Deadeye Sniper that has the ability to lock onto Elite/Leader enemies

Talent 1 - Cross-Border Pursuit License makes it so when she is deployed, Elite/Leader enemies that stayed within the Attack Range of Laterano operators for a certain duration will be marked as Wanted, attacks of Laterano operators deal more damage to wanted enemies and Lemuen can target all Wanted enemies

Talent 2 - Fugitive Extradition Procedures increases her ATK and max ammo after staying on the field for a certain amount of time

Skill 1 - Reunion Greetings is an ammo skill that increases her ATK and lets her attack an additional target

Skill 2 - Homecoming Invitation is an ammo skill that increases her ATK and ASPD and has a special mechanic where if there is a Wanted enemy on the field, she will immediately lock onto that enemy, take several seconds to aim and fire a shot that cannot be dodged. While aiming, her ATK gradually increases and if her ATK exceeds the sum of the enemy's remaining HP + DEF she will immediately stop aiming and fire

Skill 3 - Salute · Forced Memorial is an ammo skill that makes her stop attacking and consume one ammo every few seconds to lock onto enemies in sequence, when the skill ends she will carry out bombardment attacks on the locked-on enemies, each dealing a certain amount of AoE Physical damage with increased damage closer to the center of the explosions

Showcased Sankta Miksaparato, a 6★ Sentry Protector Defender

Talent 1 - Gun-Sweeping Welcoming Ceremony increases his DEF and ASPD for a few seconds every time he deals damage, this effect can stack up to several times

Talent 2 - Shield-Raising Send-off Ceremony grants him a Barrier equal to a certain amount of his Max HP after not attacking for several seconds, the timer resets when he loses the Barrier

Skill 1 - Gun Cavalry Inspector makes his next attack hit 3 times in a row dealing a certain amount of Physical damage and restores 1 ammo to a nearby Laterano operator with an ammo skill active

Skill 2 - Eight-Armed Chainsaw Man is an ammo skill that increases his ATK and DEF, if he happens to take lethal damage while the skill is active several rounds of ammo will be immediately consumed to block that damage instead

Skill 3 - Pre-Retirement Evangelism is an ammo skill that immediately restores several rounds of ammo of all other Laterano operators with ammo skills active upon skill activation, it also expands his Attack Range, increases his Max HP, ATK & DEF and stops him from actively attacking enemies. When attacked, he will counterattack and hit several enemies in his Attack Range at once (minimum counterattack interval is equal to a certain % of the regular Attack Interval)

Showcased the event mechanic, special tiles that make your operators fall asleep when deployed on, sleeping operators can eventually wake up on their own but can also be hit by allies to wake them up faster, there are also sleeping allied units on some stages that can be woken up to assist you

The cost required to spark Skadi the Corrupting Heart will be reduced to 200 starting from this event, the cost to spark Ch'en the Holungday will be reduced to 200 in the 2025 Summer Carnival event

Revealed more detail on Duel Channel, an improved iteration of the Cannot April Fools event

Players can play the gamemode in single-player, 8-player and 30-player lobbies

Each round during the pre-battle countdown players can choose which side they think will win and can freely switch their choices back-and-forth, players can see each others' choices until the last few seconds of the countdown where they will immediately be hidden

On the first 5 rounds, players have a one-time pass that lets them get away with one incorrect choice

The pool of enemies have been expanded

Vector Breakthrough will return with a number of adjustments as an annual gamemode

Amount of stages increased from 8 to 12

Added new challenge stages that can be attempted after beating the 12 normal stages

Buffs have a higher tier variant and players will be restricted to only 4 buffs active at a time

Teased future events, one involving the Crimson Troupe and one possibly taking place in Higashi

IS#2 will be updated to adopt the newer difficulty system going up to D15

Players can start on D3/6/9 depending on if they cleared easy/normal/hard difficulty before the update

The chance to obtain alternate ending encounters/collectibles are greatly increased starting from D10

Starting from D11 combinations of certain Hallucinations can trigger special effects

Starting from D13 the Proof of Glory collectibles have stronger debuffs, but the effects can be reversed upon meeting certain conditions

Announced Trials for Navigator #5, no details yet other than that it will feature bosses from IS#2 and IS#3

Announced IS#6 Sui's Garden of Grotesqueries

Implemented a new "dungeon-crawl" type floor that players can enter via a special node

Upon entering the floor players are given a number of candles, these candles are used to move from node to node on the floor

When you run out of candles you will be immediately kicked out of the floor, but entering the floor again in the same run will place you exactly where you left off

Implemented the ability to store recruitment vouchers, players can use the vouchers upon reaching a new special node and it will cost less Hope to recruit operators there

The core mechanic of IS6 is Tongbao coins, players can collect coins throughout their run, the coins have different effects attached to them

Implemented general improvements to the investment system, changed the Cannot's Mark collectible to automatically convert a % of ingots obtained after beating a stage into investments (up to a certain amount at a time), increased the amount of starting operator class options, optimized support reward options and adjusted initial resources for different difficulty levels

Raidian is a special operator you can obtain from IS#6, she cannot be raised via normal means and can only be upgraded by completing weekly/IS missions

Showcased the new Kroos skin obtainable from 1000 cumulative logins, it has 2 different animated art that players can freely switch between

Discussed the new qol features and announced plans to adjust the pop-up that appears when you tap on a material and it shows every stage it can drop from

Revealed the Arknights Link to the Limitless web event, which opened for all servers simultaneously, players can get a special icon and a Rhodes Kitchen outfit for Savage

Arknights PC client announced

Arknights anime season 3 [RISE FROM EMBER] trailer released

More episodes of the U-Official mini series confirmed

Announced Arknights Art Book Vol.4 is in the works

Revealed Taiko no Tatsujin collab, confirmed to be a mini collab bringing collab outfits and furniture

Revealed BanG Dream! Ave Mujica collab, confirmed to be a side story event

[crystaldoodler]

A very long post of doodles relating to @theminecraftbee ‘s smallishsona AU (sorry for the tag again). I think of this AU while wandering Tartarus, so, I’ve had a lot of time to think. This post is really long and has a lot of rambling so, I’m putting it all under the cut. I’m sorry world I have too many words and rambles in me

First up, character designs!

I used primarily their mc skins for design, with only a few rl things thrown in. But, I didn’t bring them up so the colors are off a bit.

Starting off with Joel:

He’s following the persona protagonist tradition of mostly wearing the school uniform correctly, but with some minor embellishments. I’m still debating whether or not to add more, but w/e. His signature color is green.

Then Skizz and Impulse:

The greatest dichotomy of time to design, Impulse I knocked out on the second go, but I’ve done many iterations of Skizz and I still am not satisfied with this design. The ripped sleeves looked too out there (to me, at least) but nothing else seems to work so I settled for the shirt under uniform shirt look. Something I struggled with that these two emphasize is making them look like teenagers, and what they look like, and also keep to the anime style, and also my own incompetence with drawing facial features so It’s something all of these lack in. Impulse is yellow, and Skizz is blue.

Scar and Grian are next up, Scar’s facial Scar is from summoning his persona, because he stabbed himself in the face lol. Not much to say about these guys, I settled on orange for Scar and red for grian, which I am still struggling with beacause mumbo:

is ALSO red. So I guess they are just, both? red? If you look at the party select screens in persona though, the characters have pretty strong color coding, so I guess I’ll figure something out. If anyone is still reading: help. Anyway, mumbo wins the award for wearing the uniform the most normal (except for the tie)

Last but not least, Gem!

She’s wearing a longer skirt than the usual uniforms and also some big-ass boots. Also, she’s a sea monster thing? So, I was thinking, staring at SEES cool new uniform things and thinking about the Phantom Thieves and how cool their outfits are and realized the persona games have at least some design change to separate their daily looks from shadow hunting. Even if it is only glasses in p4 lol. So, I thought maybe weapon holsters? but, that seemed a little too generic. So! I decided to combine how I normally draw the hermits (and a lot of the fandom does) as having non-human traits as the big things setting their combat looks apart. It is both a) fun to draw, b) creates an eye catching and distinctive design for combat and c) is really funny. I thought it was funny so I drew a comic about it:

and here’s a sketch of what everyone looks like and also the transformation gives them very distinct eyes, for no reason other than I think it looks cool:

mumbo is a normal human btw (or at least, he appears to be)

Welp,that’s all I got. If I look at these drawings any longer I will hate them so here they are, yippee. Also, Bee/OP, sorry for exploding; I am into persona and hermitcraft right now so this AU is like a perfect storm to give me brain rot.

[violet-moonstone]

Heathers: On Heather the Unhinged and Potential Modifications to Her Backstory and Character Design. Part 1: Introduction

This analysis about Heather came about when I had an idea to rate and review the designs of various HTTYD characters and talk about changes to their designs throughout the franchise. I soon realized that while there are definitely several characters whose designs and/or physical appearances I take some issue with, Heather stood out to me the most. This is because my criticisms of her RTTE costume is emblematic of much larger issues I have with her character in general. Please note, I do not dislike Heather, and this is not an attack on her. I think her character is fun and interesting, but has potential to be much better. So please bear with me while I discuss her character design and propose some improvements and alternatives.

The first option will refine the design and backstory presented in RTTE; the second will take inspiration from her character in School of Dragons (RIP); and the third will be a continuation of her characterization in Riders of Berk.

Heather in Riders of Berk

This section will be short and sweet. I have absolutely no issues with Heather’s original design. I love the muted colours of her outfit and that it looks worn and a bit tattered. I think it really fits her circumstances and is very in line with the design of the other adolescent characters, which is basically: modern American teen clothing with a Viking/Early Medieval twist. No notes. I think she looks great

Heather in Race to the Edge

This iteration of Heather is where I start to have questions. She has one of the most drastic redesigns in the franchise (other than Dagur’s...who I also have some comments about, but that’s for another, likely much shorter post). I have no issues with the design for her face and hair, but I am somewhat confused by her armour and weapon, and how all of it blends in (or rather clashes) with what we know of her backstory.

So at this point, Heather has been on her own, fending for herself for about 3 years. While I can accept this as a believable amount of time for her to learn how to fight, I have questions about how she learned. I’m in no way a combat expert, but I don’t think fighting with a melee weapon like her...Swiss army double axe(?) is something that you can just pick up without anyone to train with. I also have questions about where it came from. I think at some point, it’s revealed that Heather made it herself—in which case, I also have questions about who taught her how to make weapons and whose workshop she used. The same question extends to her amour. It looks very clearly inspired by/made from Windshear’s scales, but that would still necessitate being fashioned into something wearable, which requires resources and knowledge on how to construct armour.

So my question is: who was Heather’s mentor? The Gobber to her Hiccup, if you will? Who trained Heather and taught her how to make weapons and armour? And if the answer is no one, then we need to make some changes to her design, and by extension, her lifestyle.

I will be posting each section of this separately because I tried to post the entire thing all at once and Tumblr imploded.

Part 2

[wolftails-funkin-arts]

Collector minus gang bios

Minus Redstar:Minus Redstar is the overall leader of the group,only female and the strongest of them all. However she's a total sweetheart to her partners and friends. Her outfit was a method her mom often used to lure in mortals to collect but she wears it cause her partners think she looks cute (and her other pals). She's quite a soft hugger as cuddling with her could lead to falling alseep. Also she's really supportive of her friends problems (Pinkstars self doubts about her image,same with Limestar) she's quite sensitive and can cry pretty easy. Also despite them being trillions of years old their still really young in Collector aging. She often follows her gang while the others do their own work. She happened to one into the three minus Collector boyfriends one night and it was like at first sight. She didn't mind that Minus Bluestar was dating someone but her and Minus Greenstar did become good pals though they do have occasional fights on who to cuddle with. She's usually the one who comforts Limestar when he's sad or Pinkstar having self doubt. Whenever you see her with a sparkling yellow eye then she's mad and you might as well either run or pray

Sexuality:Pansexual

Minus Greenstar:Minus Greenstar is the toughest one of the group but loves dressing up as a lizard onecie (was originally a one neither but since the others found it so cute he kept it). He is pretty aggressive if him or the others are provoked by the species they meet. He often does physical combat rather the rely on his magic (which is pretty powerful). Despite his aggressive personality he's a softy like the others and can get quite sad if the others are. He is overall the muscle of the group but if things get too tough then he uses his magic. Also unlike the rest his relationship with his parents are kinds rocky. Also doesn't wear a cloak but the onecie is definitely fine with it. He was originally Minus Bluestars (Means Collector counterpart) but after he found out he had a crush on Minus Redstar he allowed him to confess. But since Minus Bluestars other pals had a crush on him AND MINUS Redstar that's essentially how the original iteration of the gang formed. And doesn't mind sharing them with Minus Redstar though they have struggles occasionally on who to cuddle with they do make up rather quickly. He can't sing but loves hwne the loves (and even blushes)

Sexuality:Homosexual

Cyanstar: Cyanstar is a childhood friend of the minus Collector boyfriends. Their the only non binary member of the group but is a huge sweety. Their pretty sensitive like the others but is a soft hugger. Just about everyone finds them adorable. Their parents love them and their buddies and they sometimes visits alongside the other parents (besides Greenstars). Their pretty skill in magic like the others. Their probably the closest to Limestar (since their both the one one's who aren't cisgender) and is his second comforter. After meeting Redstar and Greenstar the others realized their pretty cute and invited them to join (which they naturally accepted) . They can get flustered usually if they see Redstar in her full costume or Limestars. Also dus to being non binary they either stay with the girls or go out with the boys but they feel included. They also love squishing Blue,Lime and Ceruleanstars face cheeks (or rubbing their hair) Redstar does it too

Sexuality:Bisexual (though not physically so probably a bisexual aro mantic)

Minus Bluestar (Yeah I figured this name makes more sense): Minus Bluestar is definitely the tough one and gets annoyed when things go south or if anyone is bullying his friends. He's pretty strong physically especially with one punch but is pretty hard to defeat when using magic.He could be considered the second in command of the group as he's usually the older brother of Ceruleanstar and Limestar and normally has a tough persona. But like Minus Greenstar he's a softy and is a nice guy once you get to know him. And gets flustered pretty easily and it's evident when he blushes and unleashes flustered screams (also looks more agitated when flustered....alongside his bros). He dated Minus Greenstar but upon meeting Redstar he felt so conflicted. But when he found out that Greenstar found his pals cute and they found Redstar cute they all decided to form a polyamourus group. Although he is a bit chubby (not really noticeable) Redstar is perfectly fine with it (and trust me he can be a flustered mess like the other two guys) he's also a pretty good singer like the others. Despitethis he isn't immune to yelling and does that a few times but always apologizes later

Sexuality:Bisexual

Ceruleanstar:Ceruleanstar is definitely one of the sweeter members of the gang and is sensitive like the others. He's really cheerful and energetic. Usually whenever Bluestar yells at them harshly he cries for a while until Bluestar apologizes. He's honestly the one whose the closest to Redstar and often the one who protects her (Green and Blue Star protect the group overall). He can be quite cocky at times but can get humbled really fast. He usually comforts any of his buddies who are sad and usually is the one who meets the species first with Redstar (but majority they meet the species at the same time). He's sometimes confused with Cyanstar and vice versa (they make it clear that their not related and happen to look like eachother) also giggles when cuddling and is seemingly the baby of the group (alongside Limestar). His power however is pretty good though. Although he doesn't really talk to his parents their relationship is....decent......ish not exactly the best but not the worse....

Sexuality:Bisexual

Limestar:Limestar is the other baby of the group and is arguably the most sensitive of the group. He's trans FTM but that's because the star he was born from was like......not as stronger or didn't have as much energy so he came put mutated. Has a femine build but doesn't have the normal chest and can't reproduce which caused him to be depressed. Though his friends and family were supportive of them and often wears a robe to obscure his figure like Pinkstars jacket (which gave them a special connection). But he kept his natural long hair so when he's wrapped within his cloak it's hard to tell if he's boy or girl. He's pretty light and can be carried by ease by just about everyone else. His magic is pretty skilled and developed however. It's pretty common to see him wrapped in his cloak crying on the couch but when hugged he likes resting his head on someone's shoulder and usually puts his mouth on their shoulders and likes talking as it tickles them. Also can be quite scared easily and scared of lightning (just about everyone is besides Greenstar) and normally wraps his arms around Ceruleanstar and vice versa when startled or whenever he needs a hug or witnessing something sad

Sexuality:Bisexual

Goldstar:Goldstar is the newest member/addition of the group. The minus boyfriends met him and found him really cute. When the others met him they also found him cute. He's definitely the least emotional of the group and is pretty hard to fluster. But he can cry though. He's usually the one who calls out parts of the plan that make no sense. Magic wise He's a tough cookie and can manage to calm Blue or Greenstar down. He's a really nice guys and is someone you can talk to if you need to vent or just confess. He's really patient though and is a fan of skateboarding but never actually does it. Also he's probably used as the tie breaker in case the others can't disgust food. He still gets scared by lightning but acts more manly (Like Bluestar but he doesn't even get scared were as you can see some semblance of fear. He's also like the second in command of the group but is equal when it comes to Bluestar. He is also pretty tough and has a pretty good punch like Bluestar. He enjoys cuddling with the others and definitely is the most romantic to Cyanstar (Cyanstar does kiss him sometimes)

Sexuality:Pansexual

Facts for them all:They usually do group hugs whenever their all sad (Goldstar rarely cries but still) and they sometimes falls alseep. They usually like being covered in a blanket and even fall asleep for a while

Just about all of the depression the OG minus gang have the Collector versions don't (so the self harm,transphobia,abusive parents don't apply to these guys)

Also like the mortal versions they can't tolerate cigars or cigarettes (Gold and Greenstar can though)

Limestar is the only one whose appearance is different from his human counterpart as his hair is a bit longer but not like Betas hair when he was Braelyn

Redstar looks just about exactly like Minus Girlfriend and has the same clothes. The only thing setting her apart from eachother is Redstar has the black cloak and black blotch

Cyan and Limestar aren't aware of transphobia (none of then are) and would likely get mistaken by their parents mortal counterparts (who are absolutely repulsed and disgusted afyer seeing what their mortal counterparts bullying did to Beta and Cheesecake) they'd also tease the minus gang for their more wholesome formation but will get along with them

They usually are wrapped within their cloaks usually when walking around

Their all neurodivergent like their mortal counterparts and likey do the same things (besides chewing Greenstar doesn't)

The minus boyfriends don't wear hats so their hair is visually all the time

Their relationship with the others is also partially polyamourus as the girls cuddle so do the guys occasionally. The boys often leave the house to enjoy themselves or have their enjoy themselves

(I'll do the others if you want and ask me any questions)

Oooh! 👀

Maybe I can draw them someday? 🤔

[freya-development]

Character Design

Our first Games Art assignment of the year was to begin to develop designs and worldbuilding for a basic platformer video game which we will be reskinning.

The first thing that I thought of was a basic concept. My favourite genre is high fantasy closely followed by sci-fi, which I wanted to lean into. My initial idea followed a non-magical protagonist in a magical world, in which the world's innate magic had gone wild for an undecided reason, spawning monsters from non-sentient things with magical properties, such as slime, enchanted trees and so on. At this point, I was still unsure as to how I would incorporate sci-fi elements.

Following this, I started making some basic silhouettes for body types. I didn't go through too many iterations of this as I found one which I was happy with quite quickly.

Next I moved onto some more more complex silhouettes in which I experimented with outfits without too much regard for detail. At first, I started experimenting with more modern clothing styles, as I still wanted to leave room for science fiction within the world. As I continued, however, I found I was more drawn to the fantasy elements and was struggling to incorporate a second genre, therefore I opted to lean into the fantastical armoured designs instead. I also added small horns to the silhouettes during this, as I found I liked the shape of them alongside the longer ears.

My original idea for the story evolved as I was designing outfits and their silhouettes. I knew from the start that I'd wanted the protagonist to have rocket boots, as the jumps in the platformer game went very high with not much attention paid to gravity. As I'm not a programmer, I decided to lean into it and incorporate the long jump time into the character design.

Adding bags to some of the basic designs gave me the idea of a postman or delivery person due to the envelope-shaped pattern I added for the flap of the bag. I quickly decided that this was something I was set on as it inspired further ideas for what the overall concept of the game could be.

I went through several iterations of potential outfits before deciding, which I did through process of elimination. 1 and 2 I decided against due to their more modern looks, which I didn't think would fit the setting very well. 5 was because the design was too angular and almost spiky, connoting hostility, which was not what I wanted. 6 I liked a lot but had concerns about how to animate the skirt for a character that would be descending mid-air from a tall jump, so I decided against it. This left 3, 3.5 and 4, which I was really torn between. My reasoning for picking 4 was because of the supposedly hazardous world that the protagonist lives in, a more armoured approach would make sense.

This then helped me develop my concept further, in which the protagonist shifted from a generic hero character to a very dedicated postmaster whose job is to deliver letters and parcels despite the dangerous state of magic throughout the world. I also considered giving them two prosthetic legs with rocket boosters built in instead of just boots, which they have due to a previous accident on the clock. I still like this idea, however including it depends on how clear I am able to make it in the sprite.

I then went through a few quick hairstyles. These were easier to narrow down - I decided against something long and flowy, such as long braids or loose hair, both due to animation capability as well as practicality. Somebody with a dangerous job would not have loose hair in case it should get in their eyes, caught somewhere or pulled on in combat. This left tighter updo styles. My current favourite is 3 as it still has shape whilst keeping out of the protagonist's way, though I also like 4 and 5, so those two still have the potential to be part of the finalised design.

Lastly, I drew a quick portrait of the character combining some of the parts that I'd drawn, including armour and hair. I drew facial features based on what I thought could match their personality, so I opted for softer, rounder features to come across as friendly and outgoing.

This isn't necessarily the final design for my game's protagonist, however I wanted to come up with a first iteration to have somewhere to go from.

[panahedvn]

ok thoughts so far

- my eyes hurt from staring at screen too long

- I like the combat but I get why people don't, It's a Huge change and not like traditional dragon age gameplay at all. Personally I still find it fun and its not a deal breaker for me

- that being said I do feel like most of the combat/gameplay was copied directly from God of War 😶

- I do not like the MCU style music and turned it off

- the character creation is absolutely amazing, the only thing i slightly wish there was hands/feet sliders and an option to make the neck thicker. and the base of the qunari horns are desperate for more texture. but like.... Body sliders? Lighting changes? Being able to fucking pick the horns and hair separate from each other? even aside from the gender diversity options (which almost made me cry) its pretty amazing

- I don't loooove the animation, especially when people are talking, the gestures feel off and the way peoples like. mouths do not line up with the words they're saying is... bad

- the setting up your room bit was quite cute and I liked it

- the evanuris look super cool

- most of the visual character designs are super cool

- i love neve gallus would die for neve gallus,,,, she has the best design and best voice acting out of all the (three) companions I have so far and I like her a lot

- why do they say ghilan'nain like THAT

- okay.... the voice acting 👁️👄👁️ especially i feel for the american accented characters specifically is so... rough. it feels like, idk, rushed? like they were reading the lines out for the first time and didn't have time to take a second take. Again, ESPECIALLY the american voice actors, even Varric suffers from it a little? What happened there guys? Was it a directing issue? A time issue? Why do none of the conversations line up and why is it like you spliced together a bunch of different audio clips. Why do these guys keep taking such unnatural, jarring breaks between words. Its just a real bummer

- I think I. hate Bellara. Gonna be real with you her voice acting is Not good, I think her design suffers the worst from the fortnite-ification everyone is complaining about, with the like. Solid 3D shape bun and stuff. And she seems to be babying me the absolute most out of everything else in the game. Like just... she's the one committing the worst of Telling me what to think and feel instead of trusting me to be able to read the environment and see what's going on. And jfc when we got the Archive spirit. How many goddamn times do you need to remind me that it's an archive spirit. You know how I remember its an archive spirit? because she reminded me unprompted at least five times that its a fucking archive spirit. WITHOUT EVEN EXPLAINING WHAT THAT MEANS

She just feels like... idk, a super flat tokeny character that doesn't really have much of a place. We already have Harding as like the character who is just a Nice Girl (and she already annoys me a little bit too, just not as severely). Bellara has bits from Merril and even Dagna but none of the complexity, so far at least. It just feels like she's there to be Nice and Cute and Tell Me How To Feel and I super do not like it. Her character had a lot of potential but it flopped

- Morrigan is hot as shit and the people saying they made her unsexy because they covered up two extra inches of skin for her new outfit are stupid whiny baby bitches

Overall idk, I'm seeing a lot of what people don't like about it, the vibe is very, very different than traditional dragon age (even inquisition in a lot of ways, which a lot of Dragon Age Traditionalists say is the worst game already). I'm still having fun playing but yeah. I can see a lot of things I don't like and a lot of places where the developers must have fucked up bad behind the scenes (cough cough cancelling the first iteration of the game and firing most of your staff towards the end of development cough). I'm wondering if the vibe will settle once I'm past tutorial mode or things will be fixed with further updates or what but. yeah

Today I finally will play Veilguard

[shadowofthelamp]

Wrong

Zib's plan goes off without a hitch. There's no meddling alternates to stop it. Everything is perfect.

Or at least, it should be.

Sort of a sequel to both Best-Laid Plans and Oh Perfect Dib. It could follow either, just assume comic!Zim and Dib never stumbled into the Zimvoid. Likes, reblogs, and comments appreciated both here and on ao3!

Warnings: Some violence, Zib kills Zims carelessly but without any graphic detail.

Wordcount: 2069

Ao3 link

He snapped his fingers. “Drone.”

“Yes, Number One?” Five’s wings fluttered as he stared at Dib with wide eyes.

“Report.”

“Two universal cleansings completed. Zims two and twelve have completed their missions. Seven and nine are waiting for your orders, sir.”

“Good, good.” Dib nodded at Five, who gave a single nod back before stepping back against the wall and looking down to the floor. He was a good little minion. About an inch taller than the average Zim. A good foot shorter than Two had been.

Why was he thinking of that? Two was gone. He’d fulfilled his purpose. There was no need for him anymore. There were literally thousands of other Zims that could take his place.

“Drone.”

“Yes, Number One?”

“Do you…” He trailed off. “Nevermind.”

____

He circled Five, boots squeaking on the shiny floor. Five stayed still as he could with only a mere involuntary twitch of his gossamer wings. Other than those, his antennae bent forward. Dib didn’t like that. They made it look like he wasn’t listening.

“Five, put yourself in line next, and find me a replacement second in command.”

Five’s eye twitched before he nodded.

____

Fourteen was good. Dib liked Fourteen. He was a bit on the taller end but knelt down on one knee when addressing Dib, and was from some kind of medieval dimension. Very loyal so the virus had plenty to work with, meaning there was no delay in his responses.

He kept calling Dib ‘liege’ though, and while ‘Lord Dib’ was kind of nice, it also just struck him as a bit much. Plus the clanking of the armor got annoying and he made a whining noise when it came off when Dib wanted to do tests on him. (He did tests on his second in command a lot. It was more a matter of them being the one that was physically in the room than anything. Two had jumped at the chance even before the virus, and Dib had never dropped the habit.)

____

Twenty-One wore a maid’s outfit. Dib wanted to keep that one just for laughs, but his chest felt funny when he bent over so he had him thrown out with the rest of the Elite.

____

Nineteen, the skater Zim, had an obnoxious accent. Dib didn’t know where he’d picked it up from. He sent him out within the day.

____

Three was literally an animal. Dib has no idea how it had gotten that high in the rankings other than the fact that Zims were morons, although the fact that it foamed at the mouth sometimes told him that it was probably just really violent. He had it incinerated instead of working for the cleansing plan, since it would probably muck things up anyway.

____

Thirty-Two was…

Dib liked him. He wore a tutu, but other than sort of fluttering around as he walked, there wasn’t really anything that bothered Dib about him other than the fact that he was a Zim, and he thought that he was, unfortunately, getting pretty used to Zims by now, especially ones that obeyed his every whim.

“Your drink.” Thirty-Two was down on one knee, head down, and Dib scooped the soda up before setting a hand on Thirty-Two’s head. A rumble echoed around him and he looked up.

“Huh?”

Thirty-Two didn’t say anything, and Dib looked down, realizing that the head under his palm was vibrating slightly. He was purring. Dib blinked down at him, hand drifting to the side to stroke up at his antenna, and Thirty-Two leaned into the touch, purring louder. It sounded like a dying engine.

He had him replaced within the week.

He told himself that he just didn’t like the orange of his leotard, and that was good enough.

____

Just because the only help he had was Zims didn’t mean he shouldn’t expect them to work perfectly well. He’d drained them of all that pesky resistance with the virus and their screw-ups generally disappeared with their control, so why did they keep driving him up the wall? They looked like Zims, but didn’t act like them, that should have been more than enough! He had an army now!

Dib tried surrounding himself with just the ones that weren’t irken, but their voices, even devoid of personality, rubbed a grater in his guts, shredding all the meaty bits up whenever they addressed him.

“Right away, Number One.”

“Of course, glorious Dib.”

“As you wish, sir.”

“You’ve got it-”

“Shut up!” Dib only realized when it left his hand that he’d chucked a piece of scrap metal at- he didn’t even know what number it was. It was some kind of vampire Zim, with a hooded cloak that hung over his eyes and the number collar. The Zim didn’t dodge, the metal smacking into him with a wet thud, and a moment later his eyeball popped out, pink blood trailing down his face. “Just shut up, I don’t want to listen to you, I don’t want to listen to any Zim. Zim, Zim Zim, there’s only you and I’m sick of it!”

The Zim didn’t say anything, and Dib’s fists balled up, nails digging into the soft flesh. He could feel the crescent dips from the last time he’d made fists, nails sharp enough to dig in and it hadn’t been enough time for the Pak to have healed them. He was getting annoyed more and more easily these days.

“Well? Going to take me insulting you?”

“You told me not to speak,” the Zim droned, cloak rustling as he shifted slightly. The eyeball was still dangling loosely from the optic nerve.

“Right. Right, I did do that…” He waved his hand. “Pop your eyeball back in.”

The Zim did.

"Tell me what you think of me."

"You're perfect and I'm honored to serve you, Dib." Blood kept dripping down his face, sliding under the cloak and out of sight.

He was sent off for the plan a few hours later. The fact that he was injured and that might affect his usefulness for the plan didn’t really cross Dib’s mind, he just wanted him gone for how he made something churn in his stomach. (Especially when he saw him from the corner of his eye.)

____

None lasted for more than two days. Why would they? Dib had a very large supply of puppets to use, why would he waste time on any individual one that wasn’t measuring up? He deserved the best, after all.

(His left eye had started to develop a persistent twitch.)

He tweaked the programming, made them slightly less robotic. It was just for something to talk to. He was sacrificing his own time to help cleanse the universe, he should have someone to talk with, even if it wasn't very intelligent conversation. He was still talking to himself in essence, but it was a little less blatant, at least. It wasn’t like they had enough will left to pry away, especially not now that he was on the fourth iteration of the virus.

“What do you plan to do when this is done?”

“Hmm?” Dib pulled his goggles up from welding something on one of the newer ships. “Oh! That’s easy. I’ll just…” He trailed off, the confidence in his sentence dying in his throat. “I’ll find another universe to call home. Maybe I’ll find some cute ghost-hunting girl or something, I dunno.”

Zim- some kind of supervillain one, he had a cape- tilted his head to the side. “Ah. What would you want in a companion?”

“Easy. I’d want someone who listens to everything I say, but also has ideas of their own so I’m not just talking to a brick wall. Talented in combat and fun to spar with, I’d need that if I take them on paranormal expeditions. They have to put me first, I don’t want to be ignored ever again. It doesn’t even need to be a human, honestly- I’m sick of people, and all I have to do is take one of the ships and go into one of the cleansed dimensions. Maybe a vortian or something.” He patted the Voot he’d been fixing up.

“That makes sense, Number One. You would find someone who deserved you, I’m sure.”

The Zim gave a strained, programmed smile, and there was a flash of purple.

“So, what’s the plan when we’re ready?”

Dib’s heel bounced, toes settled down inside of the heavy metal Zim-suit as he shifted on his throne.

“I’ll be sending you all out to make things right. You’ll be changing everything, and conquering those inferior people.”

Two grinned. “Oooh, I can’t wait! It’s lucky I followed that signal here to you, Number One! Your training is shaping us all up, and I really feel like the statue out in the lobby is really helping raise morale. I’d follow you anywhere. You’re really doing something special, and I’m honored to be a part of it!”

Dib leaned forward, petting between Two’s antennae, and heard as much as he felt a purr rumble through his body. It took him a few minutes to pull away.

“Number One?” Zim sounded concerned, and Dib shook his head to clear it, the memory falling away like pixels in an etch a sketch.

He wasn’t concerned, though, was he? He had a program telling him to sound that way.

The same program that had told a thousand other Zims to march to their deaths for him.

Well, they were useful now, why should Dib care? A Zim lost was a world gained, a universe saved from irken tyranny! He was doing the right thing! There was a sharp pain in his temple, and Dib automatically aimed a gun at Zim, sure it was his fault, before realizing that he was tugging at his own hair spikes.

He shot Zim anyway.

It didn’t help.

(It didn’t help the next three times either, Zims walking in, falling back, and getting hauled off by the next one in line.)

____

His chest ached as he hung over the balcony, watching the Zims toiling on the ships below. The murmur of noise as they repeated what they were supposed to be doing was a dull drone, making his ears antennae head hurt.

“Two would have done this better,” he muttered to himself as one of them ran into another, and then a chill ran up his spine.

Two had died months ago, why was he thinking of him now? He’d fulfilled his purpose. He’d done more than enough.

More than enough. He’d been throwing himself at Dib even before the virus, so eager for a leader but one of the only competent ones of the lot on his own, the leader of the elites but happily subservient to Dib nevertheless.

Dib had rewarded him by having him kill himself and every single member of his own filthy race. Saliva welled up in his throat, but he swallowed it down, claws nails clacking on the metal of the railing before gripping it tight enough to twist it beneath his palms.

“I was right,” he said aloud, staring down at the Zims working. They were practically a singular mass, none of them important enough to matter. He’d throw them all out into the void of space in a second. None of them had ever done anything worthwhile.

(None of them had spent months talking to him like Two had, complimenting and worshipping and admiring him, bringing him sodas when he coughed and making him laugh by frying the weaker Zims in the flamethrowers a few extra times.)

“I was right.” The words were a little louder this time. None of the Zims turned. They had more important things to do.

“I was right.” He’d just been following his plan, and it had worked, hadn’t it? Everything had been exactly as he’d imagined it would.

“I was right.” Two hadn’t even turned back when he’d sent him off. Why would he have? He was following orders, and the virus was flawless. Dib had complete control of everything. He still did. He was fine. It was fine. It was perfect!

“I was right.” He was right. He was perfect. He had done something good. He was right. He was right.

Right?

The metal in his fist crumpled like tissue paper as he stared down, down, down, and vomit welled up in his throat.

[angstytieflingbard]

What do you think Link would be like in the BNHA world? Because while he was a hero in Hyrule, I don't think he'd be able to get away with half the crap he does on a regular basis in the BNHA world.

Hm, this is a really interesting question! I think it depends mainly on whether or not he can remember his past incarnations. 

This is a bit of a long one, fair warning, so the theory and stuff is under the cut!

In the games, generally Link shows little to no awareness of his past incarnations (partially as a favor to the player, particularly new players who wouldn’t be able to just jump in knowing what was happening like veteran players, or like Link himself might be able to) so if we go by the assumption that that trend continues, he’d absolutely join U.A and become a hero. 

Link is, while a chaotic goblin child, also generally very eager to please and help people in authority figures (Impa, King Rhoam, Sahasralas, King Dorephan, etc.) mostly because in almost every iteration he’s either born into a military role or joins voluntarily. In Skyward Sword, he was the top of his class in the knight academy on Skyloft, in Hyrule Warriors he starts the game as a recruit in the army and within a few battles is leading an entire third of the Hyrule military by himself, just because Impa told him to, and of course in BOTW he’s a knight of Hyrule (the fact that Link, androgynous klepto goblin extraordinaire, has definitely been referred to as Ser Link of Hyrule is wild, I should also mention). These positions are difficult to achieve, and you absolutely have to have a deep respect for authority to get there. 

So, if Link doesn’t remember his past reincarnations, then he’d take to U.A and hero society like a fish to water, guided only by intuition and his profound desire to help and please people. However, I do think some of his more... chaotic tendencies, for lack of a better term, would get in trouble. I had like an entire paragraph of how he would fare in 1-A, but it was really convoluted and weird so instead I’m gonna bullet point some of the highlights of this before I move onto the other theory: 

He’s reckless, even more so than Midoriya or Bakugo sometimes, with a complete lack of regard for his own well being, something which absolutely grinds Aizawa’s gears. 

He gets along surprisingly well with Iida! Both of them have that deep respect for authority that I mentioned earlier.

However, Link’s tendency for sticky fingers and complete obliviousness to the concept of privacy and appropriateness cranks his anxiety up to an eleven sometimes. 

The boys in 1-A (excluding Iida who I’ve already mentioned) are terrified of him, both for his power in androgyny (he may go by he/him, but don’t be fooled, he’s never met gender in his life, and he loves how swishy the girls’ skirts are) and for how much of an absolute powerhouse he is in combat. 

Link is supposedly untrained in combat, but his ability to pick up any weapon that has ever existed and use it with the comfort and skill of someone who’s trained with it their whole lives is objectively terrifiying. 

The girls adore him. He’s down to earth and honestly really fun, if strange as all hell. It also helps that during the combat simulations on the second day of school he punted Mineta into a brick wall so hard it cracked. (Kaminari immediately vows to give up on his playboy ways the moment Link turns away from where he’d punted the grape and raises an eyebrow at him, as though challenging him to make a similar comment.) 

Momo and Tsu in particular take to him, liking his quiet, deceptively observant demeanor. Momo learns more about medieval/feudal weaponry for him and eventually helps him make something he insists on calling a paraglider, and the three of them end up becoming a team on their own, each using their abilities as well as the creations they designed together (with the help of Mei, of course, who is fascinated by Link and his wack equipment ideas) to unleash devastating attacks on their opponents in team battles.

On a completely separate note, I think he’d actually have a couple different hero costumes, to the surprise and delight of Mei, who made a point to be the one working with him on his equipment. Similar to BOTW, and even OOT to an extent, he has outfits for different purposes, though they stick to a similar color/theme across them, a mix of sky blue and forest green with the tri-force design incorporated somewhere (though he has no explanation for why he’s drawn to that symbol, he makes sure it’s always included).

As a final couple of points, I would like to return to his complete lack of awareness when it comes to most social faux pas. He is chaos incarnate, and he has absolutely no time to deal with whether something is considered appropriate. 

It’s even worse when they get to the dorms. The day they move in he ends up showing up a bit late, carrying an extra suitcase of random junk he absolutely could not bear to leave at home (there’s no way he’s not still a packrat), and the group sitting in the living room all watch as he catches sight of a potted plant in the corner, drops his suitcase, and lunges for it.

They remove the other potted plants from the common areas after that incident. 

Now, the other possibility. If Link does remember his incarnations, I don’t think he’d be able to bring himself to become a hero, at least not in the typical sense. He’d see the corruption in the hero system, particularly how heroes like endeavor treat not only their fans, but their families (I refuse to believe there’s not some circles of people somewhere on the internet who haven’t realized something is wrong with the man and investigated him in some way. And if they do exist, Link’s seen them, the evidence of corruption all the way to the highest levels of hero society only cementing his distaste for them). 

I think he becomes a vigilante, doing his best to track down Ganon and Zelda in whatever forms and roles they’ve taken in this new cycle, while still helping people wherever he can. He almost becomes spider-man like in his reputation, the media and hero society calling him a glorified villain, while civilians hail him as one of the few true heroes left in the world. Link refuses to hide his face or identity, showing the world exactly who he is at the expense of his own safety. As a vigilante, I think his costume would be something like the sheikah/stealth set, though with the Hyrulian royal crest instead of the sheikah’s crest, and eventually the symbol starts popping up around the city, hidden in plain site in the decor, or in the shadier parts of town outright painted on doors and windows of shops and homes, signals to show both support for the masked hero, and the offer of a safe place to rest during the day. 

It’s difficult for Link, forced to cloak himself in the shadow, ignoring every part of him that wants to trust those who’re supposed to help in the fight against evil. But every time he looks at endeavor he remembers a life when he was called the hero of time, and the shadowy king with fiery hair who poisoned his people and flooded Hyrule with monsters and malice, and it steels his resolve to continue. Well, that and the knowledge that the law would be less than forgiving of his more... odd habits. 

Anyway, this is all just sort of rambled off the top of my head, but I think I explained what I thought decently well. Thank you so much for the ask, this was a really fun concept! I’d love to do more on it if anyone would be interested in that. And I’m sorry it was so ridiculously long, I really got into this one lol. Have a good day anon! 

[davids-cartoon-corkboard]

I'm starting to think that Venomous and Shadowy Figure aren't twin brothers but one of them is the turbonic form of Laserblast. It's hard to say for sure which one is the turbo form because while Venomous is similar in personality to Laserblast ( Calm and collected, likes cute animals, romantically attracted to those who show strength. ) it feels like Shadowy Figure is more actively fit, carefree, goofy, and seems to genuinely care for K.O which gives him heroic traits.

I think Venomous and Shadowy Figure are brothers (maybe nottwins), and Shadowy Figure is Laserblast. However, Shadowy isn’tturbo!Laserblast. Which sounds confusing, but I’ll try to explain.

(longish post under the cut)

Coincidences happen all the time in real life. But OK KO isa story, and coincidences don’t happen nearly as often in stories. This storyhas only two purple snake people. Not two prominentpurple snake people, two purple snake people period. And they’re both voiced by Steven Ogg! They’re connected somehow.To fit with the show’s themes of family and identity, they’re either related orthe same person. (If someone can think of a third option that would fit, I’dlove to hear it.)

Ven and Shadowy aren’t the same person. Shadowy is veryfixated on KO and his power. Wouldn’t figuring out how to obtain it be aninteresting and complex project for Ven? But Ven had been dealing withlong-term boredom as of “Boxman Crashes”. Wouldn’t he have at least mentionedbeing frustrated at “not making progress” or being “stuck on a problem”? Thosetwo puzzle pieces don’t fit together.

Also, Shadowy Figure made a huge tactical blunder that wouldn’t have happened if he wasVenomous. When Fink was upset she couldn’t go to the party in “Villain’s Night In”, Ven apologized for disappointing her (via text, but still an apology). Every good parent knows the powerof an apology. And from a strategic standpoint, Shadowy should have apologizedfor hurting KO. I doubt he feels guilty about it, but when has the idea oflying ever stopped people like him? The second time he interacted with KO wasin “Let’s Have a Stakeout”. He acted manipulative, insulted KO, and physicallyattacked him. What if he hadn’t done that? What if he had met KO in the sewersand said, “I’m sorry”?

“KO, I’m sorry for what happened to the Plaza. If I hadknown the true extent of your power I would never have pushed you so hard inthe first place. I wanted to help you, but I wasn’t careful enough and wound uphurting you and many others instead. This is all my fault, and I am so, sosorry.”

Suddenly KO doesn’t feel quite so guilty for wrecking thePlaza, because Shadowy has taken the blame instead. Suddenly this guy isn’t anenemy, but a potential ally who just made a mistake. People forgive KO when hemakes mistakes, shouldn’t he do the same? And so what if Shadowy’s POW cardsays he’s level negative eight? KO’s card obviously isn’t accurate, so maybeShadowy’s isn’t either!

Maybe KO starts to trust Shadowy again, putting him in theideal situation to be manipulated. Carol and Gar and everyone else would thinkhis new friend was evil, so KO can’t tell them he’s visiting Shadowy. Shadowywants to fix this, so maybe it’s okay for him to take a few hair and salivasamples. Both want KO to use this power responsibly, so maybe he’d considerpracticing with it… just a little…

But Shadowy isn’t Venomous, so he messed up and none of thathappened. It would have been so cool,though.

Since Ven and Shadowy are not the same person, they must berelated. I only call them brothers for convenience, they could be cousins orsomething.

Where does Laser fit into this? Well, he’s not dead. Acharacter isn’t confirmed dead if nobody finds the body. And it doesn’t makesense for him to have said “screw this” and gone off to chill on a tropicalisland for the past six to eleven years without letting anyone know he wasokay. He must still be relevant. “Where did Laser go?” and “Where did Shadowycome from?” are questions that easily answer one another.

Both the blue and green orbs activated in the “Let’s Take aMoment” flashback. It’s possible the red orb also activated, removing Laser’spowers. Laser is clearly KO’s father. Children tend to inherit their powersfrom their parents. Shadowy wants KO’s power, but we don’t know the reason. Laserhas a reason, though. Them being the same person would fill in that blank verynicely.

While Shadowy is morecarefree and goofy than Laser, Shadowy isn’t under the pressure of Being a GoodExample, Not Disappointing Foxtail, and Not Blowing His Cover. I’m much morepolite and formal at my job than I am at home. This difference in personalitycan likely be chalked up to a difference in environment. Goofy isn’t inherentlya heroic trait either, Boxman is very goofy but he is absolutely a villain.

I don’t see any evidence for the Laser=Ven idea. While theirpersonalities are similar, it’s possible that’s just due to being raised in thesame environment. Sure, Ven has something to do with turbo power, but hisinterest in KO specifically is minimal, even though KO is apparently a sourceof it. He doesn’t seem to prioritize antagonizing KO over Rad or Enid. He hasno reason to attack the Plaza or its members other than to have fun withBoxman. We haven’t seen him interact with or comment on Carol. His opinion onP.O.I.N.T. seems to be wholly negative instead of wistful or bittersweet. Therearen’t enough strings linking the two for me to think they’re the same person.

Laserblast is Shadowy Figure, and that person is Venomous’brother. “Shadowblast” wants KO’s power so he can restore his own. But thepower he wants isn’t just turbo power. In “Boxman Crashes”, Venbecame more snakelike when he lost his temper. Ven has shapeshifting abilities,but he doesn’t use them a lot because he fights with science instead of hisbody. His brother Shadowy may have also had shapeshifting abilities. But sinceShadowy is a physical fighter, hewould have had more incentive to train and improve his powers.

Perhaps he got so good at shapeshifting he could change intoa human form?

And that is where“Laserblast” comes from. No turbo power, no two identities housed in one body,just regular-ass shapeshifting and a whole lot of lies.

KO’s eyes are typically brown (like Carol’s?), but have beenred, purple, both, or a mix when influenced by turbo power.

Maybe Shadowy hadpurple eyes and tried to change them to red to match Laser’s visor beam, butcouldn’t do it fully? Laser always hid his eyes because one was stuck atpurple. We could see this heterochromia in modern day Shadowy and that will beThe Big Reveal.

But why wouldShadowy undergo such a dramatic change for such a long period of time?

My theory is that Ven and Shadowy are from a formerlypowerful villain family. Shadowy had a mission to infiltrate P.O.I.N.T., butcouldn’t complete it because he lost his powers and permanently reverted to hisoriginal form (except possibly for his red eye). His failure disgraced thefamily. Ven often wears a hat and glasses in public and Shadowy Figure wears ahood because they don’t want to be recognized as members of the disgracedfamily.

Shadowy wants his powers back so he doesn’t have to sneakaround everywhere. Perhaps he even wants to become Laser again, to make up astory about why he was gone so long and return to his former friends. Cob knowshis family won’t take him back.

Shadowy had major shapeshifting abilities, while Carol hasnone. This gives KO minor shapeshifting abilities. Because the abilities are sominor (and possibly because he doesn’t know he has them), they only manifestwhen boosted by turbo power. We can see this in “You’re Level 100”, when KO wasusing turbo power before TKO had fully formed. His eyes, teeth, and claws areclearly different.

KO’s minor shifting powers with enough turbonic energyshould get Shadowy back to his original ability level.

“But David!” you ask. “If Shadowy’s power is onlyshapeshifting, then where does KO’s turbo power come from?”

It comes from Carol. And I know that sounds like a reach,but hear me out. Carol can mimic any combat move she sees. We see this mostoften when she copies Gar’s signature move. But it’s not your standard elbowattack- it also emits a pink energy. This suggests Carol could mimic otherenergy emitting moves.

Remember that turbo collar Ven made for Fink? It worked very well! The only reason it stopped was because it ran out of power. There weren’t any glitches or malfunctions. That means it probably isn’t the first iteration of this project. Perhaps he’s had prototypes for years and years, but hardly made useof them because he a) didn’t have a stable glorb supply, b) doesn’t dohand-to-hand combat himself, and/or c) didn’t trust anyone he might have beenworking with to use it. But he let Fink have it because she’s loyal and theynow have access to Boxman’s glorbs.

The tree under the Plaza is a source of glorbs. Presumablythere’s another one somewhere else underground, as suggested by the glorbcluster Gar sealed up in “GarQuest”. There are likely more of them scatteredacross the world. If we’ve noticedthe similarity between glorbs and the colored orbs, P.O.I.N.T. may have too.Carol’s new outfit in the “GarQuest” flashback suggests she still did somenon-secret hero work after Laser’s death, presumably until she realized she waspregnant. I think she was sent on a mission to make sure a glorb tree didn’tfall under villain control, and got in a fight when she arrived; perhapsagainst Venomous himself, perhaps against someone he used to test the collar on.If Carol fought a collar-powered villain while in a glorb-rich environment, shecould have used her ability to temporarily go turbo herself.

Which could do odd things to a fetus.

While KO has a weaker version of his father’s power, he alsohas a weaker version of his mother’s. “Copycat” becomes “Imprint”. He can copyan energy-emitting ability… but only once, and then he’s stuck with it.Normally he wouldn’t have been able to do this until after he was born, butsince he was essentially soaked inturbo power, he imprinted early.

This would explain why his standard power fist is blue- it’sthe color of a normal glorb. Only under special circumstances can he use theturbo version. It might also be why PKO’s headband and wristbands are blue.

That’s why Carol has no fucking clue what’s going on withher kid. It wasn’t a particularly memorable mission, and she was focused on hergrief. She has no reason to connect it to KO’s situation six to eleven yearslater. Maybe now that Foxtail’s done a heel face turn we can get access to someold mission files.

I’d say, “this is a bit complex for a children’s cartoon”,but Gravity Falls and Steven Universe pulled off some wild shit. It couldhappen!

This was probably way more of a reply than either of us were expecting, haha. But that’s my take on things! Y’all are welcome to bring up new evidence, alternate theories, corrections, etc.

[crimsonfluidessence]

Junelezen Day 17: More Heroes

Bathed in the warm glow, you follow them into darkness, And each obstacle is felled like you've not seen in a long time. We push, we bleed, we restore light to the land- together. As you raise your sword and rush to your place in the battle, tell me once more, Who are they which stand by you? Have you seen a new dawn, or merely the same sunrise as always? Creature of the shadow, answer my call to arms, Who are you? Here in the darkest hour as the sun sets once more, Who are you? Who are you really, now?

@kainenmarlowe @shieldbcund

[armoredisopod]

Arknights CN 5th Anniversary/New Main Story PVs

New Operators

PhonoR-0, 1* Ritualist Supporter

Anger turns words into fire.

Fang the Fire-Sharpened, 5* Charger Vanguard

Commanding a Squad? Don't worry, i'm familiar with it.

Logos, 6* Core Caster

The souls have left, but our souls still need rest.

If the deceased needs guidance on their way to the other side, i am willing to be the Sarkaz ferryman.....

Wiš'adel, 6* Limited Flinger Sniper

Remember, Doctor, It's "Wiš'adel"

No longer a dead man's codename, this is my name.

Civilight Eterna, 6* Welfare Bard Supporter

Time will heal all wounds, love will heal the scars.

Amiya, Incantation Medic Class Change

Hatred is spreading. I will try to put it out, no matter... how many times it takes.

Operator Outfits Update

Total of 9 new outfits, 4 new additions for the Bloodline of Combat brand, 2 new additions for the Iteration Provident brand and 3 new additions for the Ambience Synesthesia brand

Bloodline of Combat

Three Hundred Meters Underground - Savage (Login Event)

Blade-Cleaved Tides - Thorns

Under the Flaming Dome - Ines (21 OP)

Young Branch - Muelsyse (24 OP)

The blades are vibrating, the water is humming.

Now, i understand their emotions even better than before...

Iteration Provident

Nocturne of Elysia - Blue Poison

Red Countess - Skadi the Corrupting Heart (24 OP)

The scarlet velvet of life cushions this diamond of death.

Ambience Synesthesia

Carriage of the Winds of Time - Ho'olheyak

Rhythmic Blocks - Swire the Elegant Wit

Never-Melting Ice - SilverAsh (21 OP)

Announced outfit reruns

Series IV Bloodline of Combat outfits (Skadi the Corrupting Heart, Gnosis, Aurora)

Bloodline of Combat outfits of Kal'tsit, Specter the Unchained and Ebenholz

Epoque outfits of Rosmontis and Nearl the Radiant Knight

~120 other outfits as part of the 5th anniversary celebration edition of Rhodes Fashion Review

Operator Modules Update

Wiš'adel, Logos and Fang the Fire-Sharpened being part of branches with modules immediately get their modules

BOM-X module base effect adds another shockwave to Wiš'adel's attacks

CCR-∆ module base effect makes Logos' attacks additionally deal 8% of his ATK as Necrosis damage

CHG-X module base effect makes Fang the Fire-Sharpened generate 2 DP per enemy defeated and refunds her full DP cost when retreated

Lord Guard branch gets 2 module types

LOR-X given to SilverAsh, Thorns, Qiubai, Lappland, Ayerscarpe and Frostleaf

LOR-Y given to Лeto, Arene and Luo Xiaohei

Events and Stories

Ep14: Absolved Will Be The Seekers

During the anniversary event period, Ep14 will be immediately accessible immediately after beating Ep1 and there will be an event shop

Operator Archives Update for Greythroat, Siege, Shining, Ascalon and Aroma

Misc Stuff

New QoL changes; failing Challenge Modes will only deduct 1 sanity instead of half the sanity cost, players can put signatures in their profile cards and the friends list limit is increased to 100

Blemishine, Aosta, Bubble and PhonoR-0 added to recruitment

The potential tokens in the red voucher shop will be changed, Royal Guard and Specialist tokens will be available

Players who don't have Scene and Siege's [Legacy] outfit can get them in the Ep14 event shop

Amiya's [Newsgirl] outfit will be available in the certs shop to players who don't have it

Livestream Stuff

Showcased Wiš'adel, a 6* Flinger Sniper that can apply heavy pressure in a wide area and just straight up dealing with high DEF enemies because sure why not at this point

First talent makes her attacks attach an Afterimage to enemies, when this Afterimage is hit with a shockwave from her attacks it has a chance to explode and Physical damage to nearby enemies and Stun them for a few seconds

Second talent allows her to summon a Spirit Shadow within attack range upon deployment, if she has her summon in a nearby tile she gains Camouflage, her summon attacks enemies in her range inflicting a brief Slow and Afterimage, her summon can be attacked by ranged enemies

Skill 1 is a power strike skill that makes her next attack inflict more shockwaves and Stuns the targets for a few seconds, additionally it increases the splash range and shockwave damage multiplier

Skill 2 reduces her attack interval, increases her ATK and lets her attack multiple enemies at once, it also has an Overload mode where her attacks turn into a rapid barrage that hits random enemies and has a damage multiplier, this skill can be manually deactivated

Skill 3 immediately summons 2 more Shadow Spirits (up to 3 can exist at a time, will remain when skill ends), increases her ATK, greatly lengthens her attack interval, massively increases her attack's splash range, increases the Afterimage proc chance to 100% and gives her attack a damage multiplier, this is an ammo skill and can be manually deactivated

Showcased Logos, a 6* Core Caster with a very interesting and versatile kit

First talent makes his attacks have a chance to bounce and target another enemy + apply a brief slow

Second talent makes his attacks reduce the target's RES and increase the Arts damage they take for a few seconds

Skill 1 is an infinite duration skill that expands his range and increases his ATK, enemies that enter his range with HP lower than a certain % of his ATK will immediately be defeated, then deal Arts damage equal to the amount of HP the defeated enemy had to a random nearby enemy

Skill 2 increases his RES and changes his attack to a channeling type attack, the attack increases in power and gradually reduces the target's movement speed the longer it's channeled (up to a limit), if the attack is interrupted or the target is defeated Logos will lock-on to a new target and have the attack's power reset

Skill 3 expands his range, increases his ATK and lets him attack multiple targets at once, enemy projectiles caught within his attack range will have massively reduced flight speed and will be removed if they are still in his range when his skill ends

Showcased Civilight Eterna, a 6* Bard Supporter

First talent is the 3 "Fine Dust" that revolves around her, when one collides with an ally it increases the healing that ally receives from her trait effect and disappears, disappeared "Fine Dust" will respawn after a few seconds

Second talent makes all allies take less damage from Sarkaz enemies when she is deployed

Skill 1 is an infinite duration skill that increases her trait healing effect and reduces "Fine Dust" respawn time

Skill 2 increases the maximum of "Fine Dust" that can appear, immediately spawns more of them, increases their rotation radius, and changes the "Fine Dust" to hit enemies, dealing True damage and inflicting Bind for a few seconds, allies within range gain an ATK Inspire buff

Skill 3 expands her range, increases her trait healing effect and makes it so the "Fine Dust" no longer disappears, allies within her range gain a Max HP Inspire buff and will have their HP periodically redistributed/equalized

Showcased Amiya's Incantation Medic form

Her talent increases the Max HP of all allies when she's deployed and heals all allies by a % of their Max HP when her skill is active

Skill 1 increases her ASPD and her attacks heals all allies in a Bard range around her by a % of her ATK

Skill 2 immediately deals damage to all enemies in range + reducing their ASPD and movement speed for a few seconds and she gets +ATK for every enemy hit by this (up to a limit), for the rest of the skill duration she deals True damage and attacks two targets at once but this skill can only be used once per battle

Showcased the new main story episode mechanic, originium storms that deals damage to allies and enemies and significantly reduces ally SP recovery, the storm can grow in size by absorbing originium scattered on the field, there are also beacons that can be shifted by operators and will attract the storm towards it

All operators will have special anniversary voicelines that will play during May 1st to May 3rd

Hypergryph promises they will no longer use non-token potential increasing items for future welfare operators (like they did with Vigil and Lessing)

Starting from Wiš'adel's banner, all limited banners will guarantee the featured limited operator at 300 pulls (does not reset your odds), additionally W has her spark cost reduced to 200 and other limited operators will have their spark cost reduced in the future

Arknights anime season 3 - Rise From Ember confirmed

Rhodes Island Icebreaker Games, limited time event with live co-op gamemodes, rewards include a new profile card theme and a new outfit for THRM-EX

Both players need to coordinate on which operators they bring since they can't double up on the same op, each player can bring up to 10 operators

The battle can go on 2x speed if both players agree to it, the battle can also be paused

Players can also send each other Deployment Points

Both players play on the same map and have objectives to clear, in the livestream the objectives that were shown were survive for a set amount of time and protect some ursus civilians

There is also a Football co-op gamemode where both players have to fight against the CPU

Operator attacks can move the ball; attack power, attack trajectory and shifting ability affects how and where the ball is moved

Operators can attack and knock down the enemy team

Having operators successfully intercept the ball allows the players to place the ball where they want on their side of the field

Each round is randomized, there are breakable barricades that block some (or all) tiles in front of the goal and there can be stage hazards on the field, the one showcased in the livestream had the Magnificence waregeist enemy periodically apply Camouflage to the enemy team and the ball

Teaser for an Aegir event with Ulpianus

Revealed a Sanrio collab, said it won't have any collab operators but will have collab skins, special icon and merch

Revealed IS5 set in Kazdel

The main system for IS5 is "Thoughts", players can use these to gain buffs but the more of one type is used there is a chance to get debuffs as you progress

Thoughts can be combined and analyzed to gain Collectibles/HP shield/Hope/etc

In IS5 players can sell Collectibles and Thoughts in Cannot's shop

Thoughts can be used to upgrade and alter nodes

IS5 debuffs last for a certain amount of moves

IS5 QoL changes; E2 Class squads will have all ops of those classes at E2 on the starting pick, Elite recruitment vouchers will give guaranteed E2, Recruiting 4* operators no longer cost Hope and 5* operators have their recruit cost decreased, squads also get upgraded as you climb in difficulty, they also plan to improve the King series Collectibles

There is a special enemy that can capture your last deployed operator upon defeat, the captured operator cannot be deployed for the rest of the battle but will be promoted to E2 afterwards

Revealed Dunmeshi collab, with Senshi as a collab unit

Arknights 2024 Commemorative Animation PV ft. Mili

Arknights PV 4 ft. Starset

[fantabulosogamedev]

Barkwursts and Kickstarter Info!

Hey everyone!  Got a bunch of stuff to talk about in this post, so let’s get rolling!  If you aren’t already on the discord, I’d recommend joining it by clicking this link.  This is by far the best way to get in touch with me and keep track of development.

Barkwursts

Around 2-3 years ago, during The Fantabulous Game’s development, I announced the existence of Spheredogs.  These dogs would serve a similar purpose to Jinjos, giving Capboy a sausage if he collects them all in a level.  Initially made as a reference to the original Le Fantabulous Game, I’ve decided to change that plan.  After all, the new Spheredog design wasn’t even a sphere, but rather more of a sausage with legs!  So, I present to you:  Barkwursts!

(left-to-right: Tico, Cosmo, Jim, Goobert, Eyedog)

Barkwursts are the exact same as Spheredogs were in TFG, just with a new name.  Though they aren’t designed as of right now, Spheredogs will be returning as small, kickable, gremlin-esque Spherefriends -- just as they were back in the very first iteration of Le Fantabulous Game.  The Sausage rewards will be doled out by a new character, interested in collecting Barkwursts to help his own Quest for Sausage...

(fanart by ZackTheNerd)

The first new Capkin design in Fantaria’s history, I present to you: Ecapresu, the Farmer!  Living in Home Sausage, Ecapresu uses Barkwursts to help facilitate his peaceful harvest of Sausages.  To thank Capboy for bringing Barkwursts to him, Ecapresu shares a portion of his harvest with Capboy.  Additionally, Capboy will be able to learn more about his own species from Ecapresu, as well as get information on the Barkwursts that he has brought.

(kickstarter art by Scandre)

The aspect of Barkwursts that I’m the most excited about, however, is their integration into the Kickstarter.  The Barkwursts you see above are actually created by members on the testing team, hence their fantastically varied designs!  Also named by these testers, these fellas will serve as the five Barkwursts found in Fantaria’s demo level.  On that note, I’d like to move on to talk about the Kickstarter’s stretch goals and reward tiers!

Kickstarter Reward Tiers

Fantaria: The Quest for Sausage is going to have a variety of reward tiers, focusing on digital rewards.  Every tier has its own title in the credits, and your name will be listed alongside all of your creations (if you’re okay with it!) in the credits as well.  I won’t be going into incredible depth on all of them here, but here’s a quick lowdown:

$5: Coolfriend. Have your name put in the credits, and receive a wallpaper pack.  Every further tier has the wallpaper pack as well!

$15: Digital copy of the game on release.

Backerfriend title in credits.

$25: Deluxe copy of the game on release.  In addition to the game, this features the soundtrack and access to (potential, not guaranteed!) DLC released in the future.  Every tier beyond this point also has the deluxe edition of the game.

Deluxe Backerfriend title in credits

$60: Design-a-Spherefriend.  Similar to the build-a-spherefriend tool I released many years ago, design a Spherefriend NPC by choosing color, size, name, and customized headwear.  Also, you can name your spherefriend, pick a combat unit archetype, and write a small dialogue blurb to be translated into Spherespeak!  

Designerfriend title in credits.

$120: Design-a-Barkwurst.  With much more freedom than Spherefriend designs, you can have your own Barkwurst design put into the game, along with a name and a bio!  As seen with the example 5 above, Barkwurst designs have a lot of freedom, so this will be your chance to really get creative.

Dogfriend title in credits.

$150: Designer Dogfriend.  Design both a Spherefriend and a Barkwurst!  The next two reward tiers give you these privileges as well.

Designer Dogfriend title in credits.

$300: Design-an-NPC!  This tier will let you get your own unique NPC design into the game, with at least one encounter in one of the games’ levels.  Note that due to the larger universe impact of a proper NPC, some restrictions will apply -- see below.  

Deluxe Designerfriend title in credits

$600: Design-a-boss!  This tier will let you design your own unique boss encounter for Capboy and Friendwoman to face, featuring its own unique fighting style, difficulty, arena, personality, and rewards upon defeat!   Note that due to the larger universe impact of a full bossfight, some restrictions will apply -- see below.  

Ultimate Designerfriend title in credits.

Kickstarter Reward Limitations

To help make sure Fantaria: tQfS is a cohesive experience that fits my vision, there are some limitations on “design-an-x” reward tiers.  Note that these are guidelines, not hard refusals!  If you have a character that you’re concerned will be affected by these limitations, I want you to reach out to me to talk about it!  I’m always willing to work to find a compromise if you’re interested in seeing your character or design in Fantaria..

I reserve the right to have final say on small tweaks of all backer designs

You must legally own the rights to the characters and/or designs you request!  For example, a direct lift of Mario’s outfit on a Spheredog wouldn’t be okay, but a design which clearly falls under parody would be.  This applies more strictly to the higher tiers (see below).

Spherefriends cannot be made super massive, and their headwear shouldn’t be excessively vulgar or otherwise go counter to Fantaria’s aesthetic (i.e. no hyper realistic textures).

Barkwursts must always have the same silhouette, and make the same SFX as each other, to ensure the player can easily identify them despite the varied designs.

NPCs and Bosses have some further restrictions:

No humans.  Friendwoman is the only human presently in Fantaria’s universe, and this is a very key component of the universe.  If you have a human design that you’d like to see, I’d be thrilled to work with you on creating a variation of it that fits into the universe! (i.e. a capkin or PBot version).

No parodies/memes.  Unlike Spherefriends and Barkwursts, which don’t weigh much on the plot or universe, NPCs/bosses should not blatantly be referencing real-life jokes or personalities.  This does not mean that they all have to be serious, they can be wacky and silly!  Just...no ugandan knuckles parody, or trump parody, or other designs like that.

No characters with explicit and consistent ties to adult material.  It’s totally fine if your character is generally slightly lewd or attractive, but if all they’re associated with is porn (either vanilla or fetish), they won’t be a good fit for Fantaria.

I retain final say on the power level of your character in relation to the cast of Fantaria.  This is mostly to make sure that no characters become more important to the plot and events than pre-existing characters like Capboy and Friendwoman...unless, of course, I think the design can fit into such a role!  Naturally, you still have control over your character’s personality and attitude, and I will run any story events they are involved in by you to make sure you’re satisfied with the way they react.

Kickstarter Stretch Goals

Now that that’s out of the way, the final thing I’d like to talk about here are Kickstarter Stretch Goals!  I’ve budgeted these all fairly thoroughly, as I’ll explain in more detail when the KS itself launches.  These are as follows:

$25,000 -- Initial Goal.  This provides me with the living costs needed for the estimated year and some change of remaining development, as well as to commission Scandre and Viv for art and music, respectively.

$30,000 -- Local Deathmatch.  This tier will add a local deathmatch option to the main title, where you can fight with up to three of your friends in brand new arenas inspired by the couch competitions of old!

$35,000 -- More levels. This tier will add four fully-featured secret levels, pushing Capboy to the limit and providing special new rewards.  These levels will each come with a unique ability, melee weapon, and bossfight

$40,000 -- The Fantabulous Arena.  This tier will add a special arena to the game, allowing Capboy to fight endless enemy waves and challenge bosses that he’s already defeated again!  In addition to being able to have fun experiencing these fights, the Arena will have special challenges restricting Capboy to certain weapons, with even more sausages being rewarded for completing them.  Finally, post-release, all bosses will receive an additional Fantabulous version of themselves, unlocking potent new weapon upgrades for Capboy!

$50,000 -- Nightmare Mode. This tier will add a second campaign, inspired by the brutal NG+’s found in oldschool games.  Play as Capboy’s ally Friendwoman, travelling backwards through a distorted and damaged version of the main game’s story.  Face brutal platforming challenges, intense battle arenas, and mindbending puzzles, using with all of the main game’s weapons and unlocks to overcome the odds!  Naturally, this mode will also feature every single Fantabulous boss in place of their standard versions.  Nightmare Mode, if funded, would release as post-release DLC free to all backers of the $15 tier and above.

$60,000 -- Local Co-op.  Friendwoman will be able to join in with Capboy in the main quest, with the game dynamically adjusting challenges and obstacles to adjust for the additional player.  When in multiplayer, bosses will gain new co-op exclusive mechanics, and co-op exclusive puzzles and battle rooms will block the pair’s route.  This will also allow Friendwoman to be played instead of Capboy in the singleplayer main campaign.  If funded, this tier will release alongside the main game, and will likely cause some slight delay to the current predicted release date.

$65,000 -- Nightmare Co-op.  Friendwoman will be able to bring Capboy with her on her quest through the nightmare realm, enabling cooperation against the new threats and challenges of this brutal adventure.  As with the main campaign, new unique co-op oriented challenges will be present when in multiplayer on this campaign!  If funded, Nightmare Mode will have co-op when it is launched post-release.

$80,000 -- Online Multiplayer.  If funded, all multiplayer modes will be able to be played with one another online!  Releasing with the main game, Online Multiplayer will likely result in some further slight delay to the predicted release date if funded.

Whew, that was a lot!  If you bore with me for all of that, you’re a superfan, and it’s great to know that there are people dedicated enough to read through all of that.  As for when the KS and demo will actually launch, my current prediction is July 26th -- ironically, the same date (+4 months) as I wanted to release TFG’s kickstarter last year! Now that I’ve recovered from the issues I discussed in the last post, I’ve been diving deep back into development and making great progress.  As we approach that date, I will continue to evaluate the amount of work remaining and let you guys know if that seems like it’s going to change.

As I said at the beginning, swing by the Discord if you haven’t already and want to talk about this stuff!  I’m very eager to hear feedback on the price points of rewards and stretch goals, and am willing to listen to suggestions on any changes.  See you guys soon with another chunk of progress!

-Fantabuloso

[derekscorner]

Between KH2 and KH3, which game did you like more, both story and gameplay-wise?

Ah is this that KH2 vs 3 debate I hear is ongoing? Well if you’re in for a sit I can answer that.

Gameplay:

From this angle I quite bluntly find KH2 Final Mix more fun. I’m not going to argue what was arguably better or worse, gameplay preference is a matter of…well preference no matter how many wish to deny this fact.

Not that you do but I”m sure some lover or hater of one will see this and try to retort. o3ob

Anyway; I felt Kh2 final mix was more technical and “harder” if I had to describe the feeling. Like 3 KH2 is normally overly easy but when put on critical mode it’s technicalities shine.I had to learn tactics, I couldn’t spam X or △, and I learned uses for summons. Which I found ironic since the 2 summons are far more useful when you dont initiate their moves.

Like if I let Stitch wander the screen he’ll deflect projectiles and keep my MP full. Chicken Little is a great early Magnet substitute and Peter Pan+Tinker Bell gives you a Phoenix Down.This was an improvement to KH1 in which only Tinker Bell was a spell with decent combat use. 1′s other summons had more supplemental uses imo.

KH3′s summons were nearly win buttons I felt. Simba in particular, while damn spectacle, felt broken. I never bothered to learn them as I didn’t need them. Which I’m sure they have their own uses but I’m not really fond of many control schemes for them so I opt out of it.

In terms of the magic system I felt 2 and 3 were opposites. In KH3 magic is far too powerful, something many have noted. And while you dont ‘have’ to use it that’s not an excuse for a problem. You should choose not to use it not force yourself to ignore it for challenge.

KH2 on the opposite spectrum made magic nearly useless I felt. Many enemies didn’t stun nor have elemental damage. Fire’s AOE animation was good for early Critical game and Blizzard helps that first Hollow Bastion visit but many enemies shrug the base spells off later.In contrast, KH2′s Magnet and Thunder spells can be OP. Reflect in of itself is practically the only spell you’d ever need to use due to it’s nature.

So while many have long rants on either’s magic system I dont really think one trumps the other. each one is equally flawed with issues I dont see ever being addressed.

In terms of keyblade combat I preferred KH2′s because I felt like Sora was automated in 3. I spam X cause I’m a scrub at timing presses (DMC5 is helping me overcome that) and due to this I noticed real quick that Sora’s combos just felt really automated.

Like I’d press X for one hit and get three. In contrast, KH2′s combat is harder. Sora animates combos as fast as my lazy ass can spam X and I’m not floating around like a final fantasy god.

I’m not really sure how to put this feeling into words but I do feel Kh2 keyblades are funner or snappier to combo whereas in KH3 I’m playing a watered down FFXV with it’s hold/press X for combo string.

Both games are so similar outside this issue that I dont see no reason to list likes or dislikes. If anything, from here, KH3 had great quality of life changes. The menu system was easier on the eyes and I’d be a damned soul if I didn’t admit I like switching keyblades mid-combat.

I also really appreciate KH3 finally using Re:Coded’s keyblade ideas. It’s been there since that DS game yet no one every expanded on making keyblades unique since. It was a very foolish step backward to me.

I love that keyblades level up, I love that each one has a preference and the only way that could’ve been better is if they adapted Coded’s system entirely and gave each keyblade (or most) it’s own unique combo.

KH2 quite frankly just falls short in a hindsight perspective since keyblades were “stat sticks” and you only ever chose weaker ones for an ability. Which, back then, was a huge step up from KH1.

So KH3 wins in this area I also dont really hate on Kh2 for it since KH2 is a product of the era. This idea of keyblades growing with you didn’t happen till Re:Coded.

As for Shotlocks…I dont like them. I hated them in BBS and I hate them here. It’s not even a comparison to KH2 type of opinion. I hate Shotlocks, I never use shotlocks so I’m going to skip those.

I mean sure, KH2 had limits but the only limits I use are Knocksmash so I can’t exactly praise KH2′s half of that either.

And when it comes to Forms vs Transformations I think both have pros and cons the other lacks. For example, some Transformations are really cool, I love the hammer weapons or the dual pistols.

I also believe the staff transformation is what KH2′s wisdom form should’ve been in terms of how it does magic or basic attacks.

That said, I also really dislike many second forms keyblades have. I never evolve the pistols into the bazooka, I never turn the hammer into the drill, I have those second forms. It’s to the extent I prefer keyblades that have one form such as the staff.

I’m also not fond of the Kingdom Key’s 2nd form change. It’s a neat throwback and I love the outfit recolor but I dont find it fun to use.

Between the two games my favorite forms are Valor Form, Anti-Form, and the Staff Transformation. Odds are I wont use anything else unless I feel particularly bored.

I might use others more often if KH3 forced me to rely on them for tactics but as of right now it does not. This may change with 3 gets it’s Critical Mode DLC. Similar to how KH2FM forced me to rely on forms I hate like Wisdom or Final.

As a concept I will admit that I dislike transformations. I dont like the idea of keyblades becoming magical swiss army knives. KH3 pulled the idea off better than I expected but I dont like it all the same.

The only, and I mean only, thing I felt KH2 did better was tie forms to a meter. In KH3 the commands appear randomly (and often) and I dont gain consequences for using them.

In KH2 this was tied to your Drive Gauge. You had to plan what you used and this is an issue I felt KH3 had as a whole. Rather than shotlocks, I’d have preferred that Focus Gauge to be reserved for my summons and forms so that I could have better control of what I picked and to reduce how broken they are in-game.

The rest is miscellaneous opinions so I’ll rapid fire:

Gummi Ships: always hated them, BBS did Gummi Ships best. Point goes to KH3 here since I can at least skip most of it.

Minigames: I’ve never found a KH minigame fun. No one wins here

Worlds: KH3 wins this aspect too. World towns have actual people in them and when it uses original plots the worlds are quite good. I also appreciate the power to explore and soft platform again. It gives me a more immersive feeling than later titles ever have. (although I feel KH1 was still better than both here)(entirely because of how many small details/cameos/secrets a KH1 world had compared to sequels)

I dont really have a more technical opinion than that. I do however think Arendelle was a horrendous world and I hate to even be there. For a myriad of reasons….reasons that would be a rant post of it’s own.

Lil Chef: I never use the food. I dont care if it’s a good spot for ingredients. If I want to cook stuff I’ll do some irl or play FFXV.

Enemies: KH3 used nobodies more than KH2 did and I find that a damn crying shame. I also felt Unversed were underutilized. KH2 still takes the point here due to the combat points I mentioned above.

KH3 fodder is prettier and can be more elaborate but KH2 is funner to play and destroy them in so KH2.

The Disney Rides: I don’t use them, they break the game. I do like the choo choo though since it’s situational to specific battles. KH2 has nothing akin to these so there’s no comparison, I just wish the rides could be disabled or that they worked more like the train. (set to key fights)

KH2 vs KH3 Commands: Eh both aren’t that good. KH3 spams you commands to shift through and KH2 has so many for spectacles sake that the games get easy. There is no winner here, if anything KH2 should’ve restricted these like KH3 restricts the Train ride summon.

Final Fantasy: I dont like FF games but I consider the ones of Kh1 part of the main cast. Their alternate KH selves are important to me. The lack and fading of FF over the years is quite honestly something I dislike and 3′s total lack of them is inexcusable to me. KH2 takes this point since I got to at least meet Leon and crew again.

Then there’s the story.

Anyone that’s followed the blog or met me knows I strongly dislike the direction of KH’s story. It’s not a matter of things others debate, I do not like it. I hate it and I’m still teetering on quitting.

I wont even go into the points cause I’ve made a whole series of posts about my story gripes. I wont link them since this isn’t a shameless plug, I just want to iterate that my issues with the story has driven me to make 20+ tangents plus the older more angry rants.

Others liking it is fine I think, I get easily annoyed if someone tries to excuse something out of nostalgia or adoration, but generally anyone that likes it while admitting faults or agreeing to disagree is fine. (you do you folks)

If I had to rank them I feel KH2 is where a lot of issues started and I feel a lot of issues got worse after since the sequels tried to “fix” that mess. If left alone KH2 would’ve been a poorly written entry and a good stopping point for any disillusioned fan.

KH3 as a contrast tied up everything after 2 up til 3 itself. I do not consider the story good, the pacing is very jarring because it lacks a mid point, it’s weighed down by all the BS prior to it.

I do not feel attachment for the “trios” of the series, I find the repetition of them annoying. I find it a shame most have more dev time than the originals they’re cloned based on.

And I frankly dislike Xehanort as a villain. He’s not interesting, his motives seem to switch with several report entries and I dont eve get the satisfaction of ending him like I did Xemnas or Ansem.

I was entirely indifferent to the entirety of this game’s narrative as I played it. Something that worried my friend @blackosprey because I was so tired I could not even care enough to hate it.

I did fine the trios reunions well done. I dislike them for a list of reasons but they were coming back anyway, their fates sucked prior, so those were well done. I finally felt hype when the LW appeared (only to vanish, fuck you nomura) and in the final battle.

The ending was confusing to me. So many got a happy ending so I fail to see the logic of Sora vanishing. The Luxu reveal, which I found fucking hilarious, was the only sequel bait needed.To have Sora just up and die felt like a stupid decision and I’m sure many more found it insulting.

And when mentioning Luxu I dont mean it in a sarcastic fashion. I genuinely find him funnier in retrospect due to this retroactive change. Nearly every line or scene he’s said is now funny as hell because he’s this ancient troll. I consider it the first legitimately earned twist Nomura has made in ages.

Still, KH2′s writing and story isn’t great either. I could rant why, I have ranted why, but despite it’s flaws it was an “ending” to me.So if asked 2 or 3 I will pick 2. The writing in Kh2 is bad for lots of reasons but if I ignore the Ansem reports it’s no a story about Xehanort.

Ignoring one KH2 report let’s me live this simpler story of Sora and a scientist gone mad and the journey to stop him. It had a lot of stupid things or one of the worst “twists for twists sake” moments ever in the ‘two ansems’ reveal.

But still, I can play Kh2 and be in a KHverse where Xehanorts, Keyblade Wars, Ceremonies, timelines, sleeping worlds, data world abuse, and clones upon clones dont exist.

It’s not nostalgia so much as everything I came to dislike was post KH2. KH3 was all about these things I dont like. My favorite for key and nostalgic reasons is KH1, my pick of the question is Kh2.

KH3′s best assets that can’t be contested was it’s graphical evolution. I played KH3 three times back to back due to this, I came away from KH3 wishing KH1 or 2 looked like this. No game prior contests the look.

So all in all, as I reread this, it’s largely a mixed bag. Neither game is grand but I prefer KH2 because combat is more fun to me and it’s not tied down by a narrative and mythology I’ve come to hate.

I can play KH1, CoM, and KH2 and never be annoyed about something I loved going in a direction I hated.

[aion-rsa]

G.I. Joe Lady Jaye Series to Expand Hasbro Universe on Amazon

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G.I. Joe has been enduring a period of relative mainstream dormancy since the release of 2013 movie G.I. Joe: Retaliation. However, Hasbro’s popular toy property—specifically, the Cobra-combating “A Real American Hero” iteration launched in the early 1980s—has serious comeback plans that have just expanded, thanks to a live-action television series set for Amazon. The classic character on which it will focus is the franchise’s other main female character, Lady Jaye.

While the pandemic derailed the intended 2020 release of reboot prequel Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, which is scheduled to hit theaters this October, that film now stands to be complemented by the untitled Lady Jaye live-action series, which Deadline reports that Paramount Television Studios, eOne and Skydance Television are developing for streamer Amazon Prime Video. While details are lacking regarding the plot, the project is being described as a standalone story that connects to the larger G.I. Joe Universe. Indeed, Lady Jaye is clearly part of a major multimedium endeavor for Hasbro Toys, which has spent the past few years conjuring similar plans for its movie-teeming Transformers property off the success of 2018’s Bumblebee.

Tellingly, the show has tapped an experienced storyteller in Erik Oleson to serve as showrunner, executive producer and credited creator, bringing pertinent genre experience as an EP on Netflix’s Daredevil (during its third and final season), Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle, The CW’s Arrow and short-lived 2014 NBC ensemble thriller series Crisis. He also notably serves in that capacity for Amazon’s upcoming second season of Carnival Row. Oleson will be joined by producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who—via his Di Bonaventura Pictures shingle—has served in the capacity for all of Paramount’s Hasbro pictures, starting with 2007’s original Transformers.

The choice to focus on Lady Jaye is certainly an intriguing one. The character, whose real name is Alison R. Hart-Burnett, is a covert ops specialist who was introduced in the G.I. Joe 3 ¾” toy line in 1985. The cardback bio describes her as highly-educated with a diverse skill set that complements cryptological linguistics, signals intelligence and electronic interception with Airborne and Ranger training. Yet, a major aspect of the character—besides an affinity for green outfits—is her romantic link to fellow Class of ‘85er, the rough, beret-wearing warrant officer, Flint. Thusly, Lady Jaye has seen her share of exposure, starting with her appearances on Sunbow Productions’ 1985-1986 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero animated series (voiced by Mary McDonald-Lewis) and DiC Enterprises’ stylistically-divergent 1989-1992 continuation of the series (voiced by Suzanne Errett-Balcom), and appeared—albeit briefly and without lines—in the 2009 animated film, G.I. Joe: Resolute.

Read more

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However, Lady Jaye would eventually arrive on a most prominent platform, the movies, in the aforementioned sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, played for the first time in live-action form by Adrianne Palicki (pictured below), the Friday Night Lights standout and eventual Agents of SHIELD Mockingbird portrayer who famously starred as Wonder Woman in David E. Kelley’s tossed 2011 television pilot. While Retaliation was a recalibration for the franchise that saw Dwayne Johnson’s debuting Roadblock assume the starring role, Palicki’s Lady Jaye was a prominent part of the film, bringing the ops abilities to which she was classically attributed, depicted as a seductive master of disguise. Interestingly, while Flint was present in the film, played by D.J. Cotrona, the initially-unlikely romance angle with Lady Jaye that defined both characters didn’t quite manifest. Of course, that was hardly the biggest issue with that film, which arrived in 2013 after a notorious year-long delay that left Hasbro in the lurch as its unsupported toy line languished in store aisles; an occurrence that, more than anything, was likely the cause of the franchise’s lengthy dormancy.

Paramount Pictures

Consequently, Hasbro’s new universe-building aspirations seem destined to manifest as a major course correction to the misfires of Retaliation and 2009 predecessor G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, both of which failed to make the kind of significant—bountifully bankable—pop culture impact that was clearly envisioned by the toy-slinging IP owners. While the upcoming Snake Eyes may still be hiding story details, it has assembled an auspicious cast, with Crazy Rich Asians’ Henry Golding fielding the title role of the iconic black-clad commando, pit opposite Warrior star Andrew Koji as frenemy ninja Storm Shadow, and joined by a rising star in Ready or Not’s Samara Weaving as the franchise’s original female hero, Scarlett. Likewise, the Lady Jaye series—as a continuity-connected standalone—can help flesh out the non-ninja aspects of the new G.I. Joe movie canon, potentially whetting appetites enough to treat a prospective proper team-up film with Avengers-like reverence. It’s an unconventional approach that could pay off tremendously at the box office.

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Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins will attempt to make black (head-to-toe black) the new orange on its scheduled theatrical premiere of Friday, Oct. 22. The Lady Jaye series, on the other hand, has just gone into development and doesn’t have any production or release dates at the moment.

The post G.I. Joe Lady Jaye Series to Expand Hasbro Universe on Amazon appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[elgaberino-mcoc]

BLACK WIDOW (MOVIE) Natasha Romanoff

The Idea A playable Marvel Contest of Champions (“MCOC”) character in the Skill class with stun batons, a remix of the original Black Widow (“BW”)’s abilities, and maybe the white outfit she wears in the movie, obviously inspired by the origin comic.

Why Summoners Care

Nat is the only member of the original MCU Avengers team lacking a second playable MCOC character, unless you count Nick Fury as an Avenger. 

Think about it. Rogers is the original (“OG”) Captain America, with WWII, Infinity War (“IW”) “Beardo,” and Civil Warrior variations. Stark has OG, Superior, Hulkbuster, and IW Iron Mansuits. Banner is the alter-ego of the OG, Ragnarok, and Joe Fixit hulks. Thor has his OG and Ragnarok iterations. Barton is Hawkeye and Ronin. But Nat? She just has the OG BW champ. In MCOC, we might say she is essentially a second-class member of the MCU’s Avengers first team until she has a second way to end up on your roster. Her solo movie’s arrival (finally!) would be good occasion.

Possible Synergies Obvious pairings would be the existing Black Widows (OG and Claire Voyant), maybe Taskmaster, and Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, Iron Maiden, and/or Taskmaster (MCU) should Kabam add them. Others might include Hawkeye and Ronin, Winter Soldier, any playable Captain America, etc., and then there’s always the secret agent angle that could amplify Quake, Nick Fury (MCU), and others not yet added such as Coulson, Yo-Yo, Agent 13, Mockingbird, etc.

NEWS

April 24, 2020: Champion Spotlight and graduation from MCOC Wishlist Poll.

April 13, 2020: The official Marvel Contest of Champions Twitter has released Kabam-branded promo art of a redhead Black Widow in a white combat suit.

On March 23, 2020, upon learning Black Widow would likely have a delayed theatrical release, I expressed confusion about whether my MCOC prediction should still Hold. 

On March 9, 2020, based entirely on thoughts from having written this blog post, I changed my prediction, thinking Kabam will agree that Nat deserves another variant in-game. “Can't recall if I called my shots, so I think in the next two months we get . . . Red Guardian and an MCU version of Black Widow, which I hope is the white-clad version. No theory which, April/May. Shrug.”

On March 4, 2020, Rich the Man reiterated his theory that Black Widow (Movie) will enter the State of the Battlerealm map this year.

On November 26, 2019, content creator Rich the Man suggested that Baron Zemo and either Red Guardian or Black Widow (Movie) will probably take one of the spots on the State of the Battlerealm map near Winter Soldier, Falcon, and Captain America.

On October 24, 2019, I predicted we’d get characters in coordination with the MCU Black Widow movie’s release in May 2020. I listed a ScarJo/Nat Black Widow (Movie) character as an honorable mention behind Black Widow (Yelena Belova) and Red Guardian.

[waronodar]

Deliverable #2: Story Bible and second iteration

Logline/Premise: A powerful dark wizard has stolen a great magical weapon to strike fear against the peaceful Hana Empire with his dark creatures, and only a gentle forest witch recently positioned as clan leader decides to take on this opportunity to unite all the different kingdoms in the empire to stop him.

Characters:

Amfelisia being the oldest child her family and the Fostroy clan, has to carry on her father’s position as he passed away from his old age. Most people in the kingdom knows Amfelisia because of her kind and shy personality. This all changed however, after the Forest Kingdom relations ambassador rushed towards her to bring her the horrific news from the citadel. She knew she had to do something. Use her new acquired power to rally her people and unite with the rest of the empire.

Sir Ronba, one of the wisest people in the Forest kingdom has been with the Fostroy family and their clan for many years. He is honest, and HIgh-minded therefore was positioned as adviser of the Fostroy clan. He is like a father figure to Amfelisia, he taught her how to conjure magic, leadership skills, and has provided her his knowledge and power. One secret that he has never revealed to the clan is that the dark wizard Han’toef is his brother.

King Ronhoth is the current leader of the Beetle Kingdom. Ronhoth himself is a great warrior, and so far most of his battles against wild barbarians and pirates has been successful. However the truth is that he requires help from Amfelisia more than anything as his borders are constantly being under siege by Inactoids and Clawhoppers. Ronhoth is very prideful, so throughout his negotiations with Amfelisia, he would always cut her off when she mentions anything related about the current state of his kingdom. It is up to Amfelisia to either ignore his ignorance, or to persuade him that things can be done in a better way.

Tsumo is a peaceful and percussive monk. Upon Amfelisia’s arrive to the city of the River Fog. He silently watches her every move and interaction with the locals. Because of one brave act which Amfelisia did to help a local. Tsumo left a note to Amfelisia to pray at the temple of Wuwanghai. Throughout the rest of Amfelisia campaign, he offered himself as an advisor to support her campaign to unite all kingdoms. His suggestions are often the more peaceful resolution. However, sometimes his suggestions might not be the more effective way of getting a better result.

Eddon Grayshade the Unconquared is the King and leader of the Wolf Kingdom. When Amfelisia arrived at his war-camp, the first thing that comes to his mind is unworthiness. He does not trust leaders who shows signs of weakness and mercy. It was until he listened to Amfelisia’s proposal of a united front against the dark creature did he improve his respect towards her. However, the awkward situation was made worse the fact that he needed her help to dissolve his nasty border situation with the Diamondo Kingdom.

Neu the village chief would be one of Amfelisia’s adviser after her negotiation with Eddon has been resolved. Under attack by the dark wizard’s monsters, Neu was saved by one of Amfelisia’s magicians. After Neu conversed with Amfelisia, she wanted to help as she see much of her younger self in Amfelisia. Neu tends to give Amfelisia advises that are more practical.

The Hana Empire and its kingdoms

In this story, it will take place in a large empire called Hana. There currently sits one emperor who controls entire region of Hana. The empire is divided into 5 kingdoms.

The Beetle Kingdom. They are known for their strength in striking when necessary. Strong in defense. They are a nation of honor, a striking symbol during the ancient war was their invention of their armor. Their magic casts were able to give their people the ability to fly with insect like wings. Therefore the Beetle Kingdom build tall buildings with their excellence in smiting, construction, and armory makes them one of the more technologically advance kingdom.

Wolf Kingdom. A warrior driven kingdom. They are masters of war tactics and their culture is build upon self-growth. However, they always move in packs. They are not as technologically advance compare to the Beetle Kingdom, nor are they best in magic compare to the Forest Kingdom. However, they have proven other nations wrong when they invaded East of Diamondo. They live in harsher environment therefore every person in the Wolf Kingdom have the ability to survive on their own. They don’t live in large buildings or structures, and since they do organize hunting sessions, Wolf Kingdom's citizens often move their villages quite often. They are extremely fast and learned many martial arts embedded with magic to make their nation stronger.

Diamondo Kingdom are build upon knowledge. They are civilized people that put much importance on figure, outfits, and scholars. They use a different type of magic that differs from other nations. They build a great relationship with the Eagle nation. As much of their knowledge is exchanged for riches and resources. In terms of military, Diamondo certainly does not lack in this department. Influenced by the gorilla attacks from Wolf Kingdom, Diamondo has developed their own martial arts and gained technological advancement knowledge from neighboring Eagle Kingdom.

Forrest Kingdom isolated. Their island is protected by the magic of the forest. They have learned to inhabit and make use of the forest environment to grow their kingdom. The yare the most powerful spell casters in the empire. Able to cast tree giants, magical forest creatures, and shape their environment to their needs. Many other kingdoms have sent scholars to visit this kingdom to learn spell casting. However, ever since the ancient war have started, the high casters of the forest kingdom have learned that other nations have used magic for combat. Therefore sealing itself out of contact and only listens to the council at the Eagle Kingdom citadel.

Eagle Kingdom: The main Kingdom who won the ancient war. Their history was much shorter compare to other nations. In the beginning they were just bands of merchants who travels across the plains of Hana to sell goods and weapons. Eventually their skills in crafting, knowledge in trade was able make them gain strength over time. Once their band of merchants gained numbers, they were able to occupy and establish land of their own. At the start of the ancient war, the wolf nation with their desperate attempt to invade other kingdoms, the Eagle nation benefited much with other neighboring Kingdoms purchasing war goods and weapons from them, providing them great riches. It was near the end of the war when the wolf nation eventually tried to invade the Eagle nation, they retaliated and stopped the invasion. The emperor of the merchant group decided to unite all nations and not occupy or conquer others. Instead they have established a citadel in the center of Hana so that all nations can band and co-exist with each other under their rule.

Enemies and monsters of the Dark Wizard:

( Dagrea Beasts)was the name people gave when they first attacked at the Citadel. These are dark creatures summoned by (Han’toef). These creatures are intelligent, and are directed by deceased great generals of the Eagle Kingdom. During the raid and surprise invasion. Most of Eagle Kingdom’s greatest generals stayed to defend the citadel has been cursed by (Han’toef) to lead his army.

The creatures vary in sizes, the very first time of creature are only a 4 feet tall. Although small in size, they are intimidating. They have purple gas that covers their body, walks with two legs with long sharp claws. They can leap at great heights and are great a climbing. Although they are not very powerful alone, when moving in packs, they can be devastating and can finish off a foot soldier in matter of seconds. The soldiers of the Beetle Kingdom nickname them the ‘Clawhoppers’.

The second type of dark creatures are the ‘Inactoids’. The are the main grunts of the dark creatures. They have great resemblance compare to a Forest Kingdom’s summon magical creature. Although these are much taller, height around 9 feet tall, they have long snapping jaws and 3 eyes. Same as the ‘Clawhoppers’, they also move in packs. Although they do not move the same speed, they compensate it with their flexibility to move on all sorts of terrain. Throughout the campaign, most of the dark creatures that shows up in battles are these ‘Inactoids’. They are proven to be powerful snapping Eagle Kingdom’s foot soldiers in half. It takes about 4 foot soldiers and 1 troop master with well coordinated attack to finish off an ‘Inactoid’.

The third type of dark creature is the most feared. They are the brutes and the most dangerous creature the dark wizard and conjured. They are essentially four legged giants that can mow down large stoned walls and defensive structures. When not in range, they will charge a large fireball like projectile that can melt any material like heavy acid. Such dangerous attacks can only be blocked by magical shield cast by powerful wizards. After the invasion at the citadel, they have been named as the ‘Thumper’

The Forest Kingdom, and the Fostroy Clan.

    The main character (Amfelisia), is a descendant of the (Fostroy) clan and daughter of the current leader of the Forest Kingdom. The clan has massive knowledge in magic. One of the Nation’s adviser, have recently completed (his/her) trip from Hana’s citadel. After fleeing from the attack and seen the warning that the dark wizard has sent. The advisor brought this grave news to (Amfelisia) and warned her about the attack that took place the citadel. Due to Forest Kingdom’s vast knowledge in magic, and its position is the most neutral compare to other warring Nations. (Amfelisia) thought her kingdom must be responsible and should not let other kingdoms face this danger alone. She decided to launch a campaign to offer help to other Nations by bringing her kingdom’s greatest magic casters and bravest warriors to help her. Every beginning of a season, the Forest Nation pledges to stop by each Kingdom. There, (Amfelisia) will be faced with decisions with her advisers on what to negotiate on terms There, the decisions will help decide the fate of each meeting. The other kingdoms may either join forces together and face the invasion, or there might be a reason to replace their leader under some circumstances, or worse they blacklist (Amfelisia) from helping them and decide to fight the dark creatures on their own terms. These decisions will eventually determine the Forest Kingdom’s fate. Ideally, all the kingdoms will have to band together and defeat the dark wizard of (Han’toef). This is a journey to set aside each other’s differences and secure the empire’s survival.

Introduction

    Land of Hana (In Japanese Means Flower): Hana is an empire controlled and governed by the Eagle Kingdom. The kingdoms under its rule includes the Beetle Kingdom, Wolf Kingdom, Forest Kingdom, and Diamondo Kingdom. There was a war in the empire that caused the Eagle Kingdom to reign supreme in the current timeline.

What triggered the event?

    Previous ruler of the Eagle Empire decided that it is not ideal to conquer others kingdoms and insisted to keep them as a united empire that must follow the rules set by the Eagle Kingdom. To establish the new Empire, the ruler has decided to set-up the city citadel at the center of the empire. Behind the scenes however, there were many who opposes the idea of other kingdoms governing their own territory. Therefore they have secretly developed a weapon code-named (Nazerak*) that can enhance magic abilities that’s far beyond imaginable.

    It was a then a rogue and exiled Forrest Nation dark wizard named (Han’toef), decided to break into the secret weapons lab and stole the (Nazerak*). Upon stealing such a weapon, he was able to summon powerful dark creatures to his aid to slaughter anyone who stands in his way. He began his attack at a military camp site near the borders of Eagle kingdom and beetle kingdom. There, he massacred many soldiers and cast a spell that could spread his message across the Eagle Kingdom citadel. There were many puffs of clouds expanding itself at the citadel and slowly forming into an ugly beast like figure. It grabbed the attention of people who live in the citadel. Many were pointing their fingers towards it, some others were screaming with just the sight of the clouds. It was then, the clouds spoke, “Those who will surrender in under the great wizard (Han’toef) shall receive pity, and will be awarded with a quick and painless death. Those who oppose will have their souls be enslaved and will forever serve the the new KIng! Within a year, the wizard will bring hell to this world! If you surrender yourselves, walk through the dark clouds and the great wizard promise you no pain!”  After it spoke, the clouds leveled themselves down. Suddenly, a dozen fireballs fell then crashed landed. A few seconds later, many dark monsters came crawling out from the flames left by the fireball. Even with the city’s heavy defense, the warning came too soon.

Attack Aftermath

    The attack that took place in Hana’s citadel had forced many residence out. It was a place where all races from different kingdoms gathered to live with each other. When the Eagle Kingdoms established citadel haven was attacked, it strikes fear among the other kingdoms. From this fear, Diamond Kingdom has decided to take this opportunity to reclaim their long occupied territory that wolf kingdom had conquered during the ancient war, and the Beetle kingdom has sealed its borders to defend against the spread of dark creatures that looms near their border in the citadel.

Ray Ho, Midhat Kazmi, Michael Su.