#v1 >> where our blue is

[limitlessscion]

Your name in my phone is now Frog King 🐸👑

Changes Jangmi's contact name to the title of one of those steamy romance books she's always reading

[kerakeriza]

damian's design: part one

i was inspired to make a post outlining how damian's design shifted a bit in his early appearances. it took a while for it to settle into what it was - and even longer for it to settle into what it is now.

so... here's part one. this is everything before batman and robin v1.

(batman, v1, #655)

(batman, v1, #656)

(batman, v1, #657)

in his first full appearance, as drawn by andy kubert, we can see he has pale skin, black hair, blue eyes, a long face, a smaller nose, somewhat thin lips, and slightly-thick and sharp eyebrows with a hook at the end. his hair is short, spiky, and slightly swept back, but it mostly just sticks up. his ears are quite big, too. his jaw is square, with a strong chin. he seems to have hooded eyes. he has high, strong cheekbones.

(batman, v1, #665)

again, by kubert, we see most of his appearance is the same, but the sides of his hair stick up taller than usual. this is likely just to show a devilish or bat-like appearance, given that this is a nightmare that bruce is having. his high cheekbones are more visible, too.

(batman, v1, #666)

once again, this is by kubert. this is an alternate future where we get our first look at batman!damian. in this original appearance, he is bald, with his nose larger and more hooked than before. his ears are still big. his jawline has filled out even more over the years. he doesn't clearly have hooded eyelids anymore, but he still has high cheekbones.

(batman annual, v1, #26)

damian's eyebrows are much thinner in this appearance, as depicted by david lópez. a small tuft of his hair hangs down over his forehead, and his nose bridge seems much smoother. his eyes are still blue, but they appear to have a different shape. (it's hard to tell, but he may have epicanthal folds or hooded eyelids again.) his skin is a bit more tan than before, and his chaw is still square. his ears are smaller, but his lips remain thin. his cheekbones are still quite obvious.

(robin annual, v2, #7)

damian, as depicted by jason pearson, has clearly pale skin again, a smaller, round and upturned nose, and thick, rectangular eyebrows. he retains his prominent cheekbones and square jaw. this time, however, his cheeks are also chubbier, and his lips are thicker. his eyes are black, and may be hooded or he may have an epicanthal fold. (again, it's not very clear...)

(batman, v1, #670)

damian retains most of his kubert traits in this depiction by tony daniel, however, his thicker eyebrows are notably less hooked at the ends, and his cheeks are fuller, as in his depiction by pearson.

(robin, v4, #168)

his face appears longer, more... rectangular, in this appearance by freddie e. williams ii.

(nightwing, v2, #138)

damian's nose appears bigger and more hooked, and his lips seem a bit more full, in this depiction by don kramer.

(robin, v4, #169)

david baldeon depicts damian with thin eyebrows, small, round blue eyes, a bigger nose, and a far smoother jaw.

(nightwing, v2, #139)

this time, kramer (and the colorist) shows damian with brown skin, the clearest tan he's had since his initial appearance.

(detective comics, v1, #839)

ryan benjamin shows damian with a very upturned nose and a smooth jaw. damian's skin is pale again.

(batman, v1, #675)

benjamin now shows damian with a long face, a big, square jaw, and a downturned nose.

(batman, v1, #680)

tony daniel returns with a damian whose cheekbones are very strong, indeed.

(batman: battle for the cowl, v1, #1)

tony s. daniel gives us a damian with chubby cheeks and flat hair.

(batman, v1, #687)

ed benes portrays damian with those same high cheekbones that we've seen before, his square jaw and strong chin, but with small ears and thin eyebrows. the inking makes it look as if he has a beauty mark under his eye. his nose is quite straight but short, also.

[ohbaby-here-we-go-again]

Hello ! So I saw @kaddyssammlung do an analysis of ‘Granite’ and as it’s one of my favourite sleep token songs, particularly from a lyric perspective, I was inspired to do one of my own :]

General overview of lyric/story construction:

Ok so for me part of what makes this song so great is the story telling and use of double imagery. Conceptually it’s split between talking about a bad relationship (A imagery) and a car crash (B imagery), though the lines dedicated to B imagery can almost always be read as metaphors for the bad relationship. For me I also see it as a story split up into 3 different time slots: past (focuses just on vessel and the relationship), present (vessel in the car crash, and in moment leading up to the crash), and future (post crash where I think that vessel/his character has died). I generally see the first verse as future, the chorus as present and, the second verse as past.

Line by line analysis:

V1

“Sulfur on your breath”

For me I always associate Sulfur with Hell, specifically the concept of ‘fire and brimstone’ (brimstone is an old name for Sulfur) and the ‘lake of fire’ in the bible which burns with brimstone. From this line we learn a lot about the person vessel is singing about (I’ll refer to them as S).

Vessel uses Hell associated language to describe S, meaning he knows they aren’t a good person/aren’t good for him. Additionally, when sulfur burns it produces sulfur dioxide (SO2), which turns into (potentially deadly) sulfurous acid (H2SO3) when it comes in contact with water - something our moist lungs have a lot of. So for someone to have “sulfur on [their] breath,” and potentially in their lungs, alludes to the idea that this person is not only bad for for vessel, but also self-destructive to a dangerous degree.

Also fun fact: Sulfur burns blue and when you see it, particularly across large areas, it looks a lot like water. Which I just thought was neat considering sleep token’s love of using water imagery and the colour blue.

“Granite in my chest”

This is definitely some sweet sensory imagery from vessel to set you in the song’s mindset/emotion

But I also think within the context of the story, the granite he could be referring to is the little bits of decomposed granite they sometimes use in road base. if the car crashed and he ended up on the road with chest injuries, he could very well have got some of those little bits stuck in there.

“You won't ever have to talk about it // You'll never have to talk about it”

I feel like the ‘it’ he’s talking about here, is referring to both their relationship and the crash/his body. Like S never wants to talk about how toxic their relationship is with vessel, and when they crash the car, they run away from the site/ves’s body and don’t talk about it for legal reasons to not go to jail for manslaughter.

Also the reason I think ves (in this song) died in the crash is cos of the chorus phrasing - specifically the past tense and use of the word “body” to refer to himself.

“Fury too damn late”

I agree with the idea of seeing someone for what they really are/wishing he got angry sooner. Like, maybe if he did, and decided to leave, he wouldn’t have been in the car with them when it crashed (and hence wouldn’t have died).

“Reason dislocates”

Vessel at it again with the awesome imagery that ties songs together ! The word ‘dislocate’ definitely ties in with the car accident imagery. But using it to refer to ‘reason’ makes me think he’s using it to describe/explain his not leaving/bad judgement. Like if you run it on from the line above, he’s saying ‘I didn’t get mad and leave when I should have because I wasn’t seeing the relationship with sound reasoning’ (due to an injury aka ~past trauma~ baby).

CHORUS

“I was more than just a body in your passenger seat”

Here B imagery is being used. with now deceased vessel talking to S about how, because they didn’t value him, he’s just a body in their wrecked car.

Additionally this could be metaphorical for their relationship. Vessel feeling like S is very controlling, maybe specifically over him, maybe just over the type of relationship they had. Either way he didn’t feel like he had much agency in what was going on.

“and you were more than just somebody I was destined to meet”

Honestly I’m not super clear on the meaning of this line, but I think he’s talking about how his own trauma, and self destructive tendencies, lead him to a lot of toxic relationships (including S), but despite that he feels he really did love S.

Like, because he hasn’t healed from something in his past, he repeats these patterns when it comes to the people he gets with. This can be the result of something called ‘emotional addiction’ where you seek out things that trigger certain emotions in order to produce chemicals in the brain that mimic a ‘reward’ feeling (similar to drug use). Often this is the result of when you’ve had periods of your life (often in childhood) that were unstable and chaotic, so you brain has come to register ‘home’ - and by extension ‘safety’ - as something choatic, and will hence seek out people that provide those ‘emotional hits’ even if they’re not good for your physical and/or mental health.

So basically ves is saying ‘ yea, I got with you because the trauma cycle I’m in makes the traits you exhibit attractive…but then I loved you for who you are. Your soul meant more to me than the chemicals.’ …. which obviously isn’t a super healthy thought, but it is honestly heart breaking, and makes me want to give vessel a hug if that’s anywhere close to the truth.

“I see you go half-blind when you're looking at me”

Ok so i feel like this is talking about both ves feelin like S doesn’t see him for who he is in the relationship, but also if they’re in the car, potentially arguing, S turning to look at vessel while driving means they’re ‘half-blind’ to the road…which is obviously not good.

“But I am // Between the second hand smoke and the glass on the street”

This could be painting an image of both the car crash, ves’s body laying between the glass and smoke of the wreck, and earlier in the relationship, where vessel and S are hanging out and there is smashed glass (possible from alcoholic drinks) and smoke from cigarettes. Images which conjure a chaotic and self destructive atmosphere, playing off the themes we’ve seen in vessel and S so far.

“You gave me nothing whatsoever but a reason to leave”

this line is pretty straight forward. No matter what time slot we’re in S wasn’t treating him good.

“You say you want me, but you know I'm not what you need // But I am”

At first I was a little confused by this line because it sounded like it was contradicting itself. But what I think is happening is vessel is quoting S, saying they ‘wanted to be with him but on some level knew the relationship was toxic and not good for either of them,’ and then vessel is say ‘no I am what you need.’ It feels like this is another ‘vessel no!’ moment…. Like while this song does talk about S in a way that you can tell he understands that S and the relationship weren’t good (man’s is comparing it to a car crash were he dies, so there’s some self awareness) there are these softer moment like the ‘more than destined to meet’ line where he shows that despite all the bad shit, he really loves this person. To the degree where if the Big Thing (in this case the crash and death) hadn’t of happened, it sounds like he might have still pursued this relationship, or this ‘love’ he’s feeling. Which honestly is kinda a theme with ST songs.

Like if you look at some of the others you see this theme of vessel (or the character he’s created) being in these relationships that aren’t good for him because he is so desperate for someone to love him that he either ends up betraying himself - “I might break and bend to my basic need to be loved and close to somebody,” - he tries to take care of the person he’s with (which would make him needed and therefore loved) “I will be watching for your enemies //To let them know that they contend with me,” “give me all that you can give // All your darkest impulses” -or he’s like cool yea it’s ok if you fuck me up so long as for a moment I feel loved “a sacrifice in your name //But I know you've got a taste //So just take a bite of me,” “I know for the last time //You will not be mine //So give me the night.”

….anyways psychoanalysis tangent over sorry haha

V2

“When you sit there acting like you know me //Acting like you only brought me here to get below me”

pretty self explanatory. Ves is feeling used, and S sees the relationship as something different than what he does.

“Never mind the death threats, parting at the door //We'd rather be six feet under than be lonely”

Giving you scope of the relationship, where they seem to have intense arguments that involve at least one of them threatening the other and then leaving…only to come back because obviously neither of them like to be alone with themselves so for long periods of time - making even the (potentially many) ‘bad days’ of the relationship ‘worth it’ in their eyes.

“And if you had a problem, then you should've told me //Before you started getting all aggressive and controlling”

Also pretty straight forward. vessel is expressing frustration at S’s lack of communication and emotional maturity

“You only drink the water when you think it's holy”

it sounds like S is very stubborn. Additionally, you need water to survive, and only drinking the water that you have decided is ok, based on some arbitrary reason, could be bad for your health if it’s not readily available (you need to hydrate!), and put a strain on relationships you have with people who just want what’s best for you. This could also allude to some religious friction within the relationship but obviously I can’t guess specifics.

“So keep an eye on the road or we will both be here forever”

back to B imagery related to pre car crash. Obviously literally S should be watching the road so they don’t crash the car and kill them both (which would mean they both stay there forever). But there’s also an element of hey if you keep acting the way you do this relationship will never get better and we’ll be stuck here emotionally forever (because again ves seems to really love and be invested in S and not want to leave the relationship).

After this the chorus just repeats.

End Notes:

Obviously I don’t know vessel or anything about his life so this is all speculation based on the vibes of the song haha (plus he might not even be writing from personal experience ya know?). Idk I just really like this song (ngl there are portions of it that give me spider man meme moments haha) and I wanted to share my thoughts with you guys :)

Also I love love love the way ST writes lyrics so if anyone thought this was interesting and wanted to hear my thoughts on other songs, I have many and am willing to share pfft

[unknownfrom34]

Courtship

For @muzzleroars

On this post, I write a MichaelxV2 fanfic. Fluff writing about the Angelic courtship dance performed by a robot so I decided to be like this part. (Where they dance. Haha. I hope you won't mind 😅) Plus pronouns for V2 will be He/Her btw. I had edited out last minute edits before posting this so I hope you'll like it.

Enjoy. ——————————————————————————————————

"...And V1 had done that? To your brother?"

Michael nodded. He couldn't and still can't, believe that Raphael had helped but it made his already literally rotting heart flutter with reassurance that he tried.

"Yes indeed. He had helped the Machine to court Gabriel into marriage but I am surprised that he helped regardless."

"It must've been shocking." V2 tilted her head to the right.

Michael laughed gently as he placed his hand on his helm, a finger tenderly tracing the cracks. "I can't ridicule him for doing this." he spoke after a moment, still tracing the helmet's cracks mindlessly. "He is my brother and helping others is in our nature."

Michael finally removed his hand and turned towards the red automation. A mirror. A near perfect mirror of her processor painted as red as blood as the protector of peace. Blood tubes painted blue to ensure that he stood out of V1, the newly risen robotic angel and symbol of his brother's love Gabriel willing to give.

V2's processers is recording her findings on culture of Heaven. She had learned a lot from Gabriel in Fraud Layer she lived in, only from what he had been told from his perspective but when offered to see it for herself. It is truly a place of Paradise for what's left of Humanity to go to. Free of pain and suffering and found something she had been lacking in her making: Peace.

Still, the courtship dance is one of the private parts of Heaven over an millennia after Lucifer had fallen down with many other angels as it is considered a taboo by the Father. He had seen them prior to the former banished into Hell itself. The Hell that she and V1 had been born into when New Peace was established.

Curiously a few of his eight wings twitched slightly with another question in her hard drives as Michael took a sip from a cup provided by Raphael, due to a rotting jaw that seemingly be made of light gold, he was recommended to only drinks now.

"May I ask you again, Michael?" "Please do," He accepted, "What is it on your mind, Machine?"

He hesitated. "Have you ever been courted before?"

Michael nearly spit out his drink.

"I beg your pardon?" "Has anyone ever court you before?"

Michael went silent for a moment. He placed a palm on his exposed ribcage adorn with colorful radiant jewels and chains of sliver and gold.

"No." He answered honesty. "I have not been courted by any an angel nor human, Machine." he shook his head lightly. "Many had looked at and up to me as a leader chosen to lead His people and man kind throughout these centuries." He placed his hand again on his helm with a hint of flustered and nonsenses of the question. Turning away from V2. "Many of them knew this is an forbidden act to do, and even worse, the Prince of Heaven in place of Lucifer's and the Lord. I never even try to do courtshiping ritual."

V2 looked at him for a moment.

"Michael." V2 said finally, with a little bit of worry but confidence so little in his machinal voice. "Do you think that I..." Michael turned to look at her once again. "That I... that I do the heavenly courtship dance?"

"You?" Michael could almost chuckle but it was raspy due to a ruined larynx, it was ruined due to the event had had tried to sever his Light in attempt to show his loyalty to Lord he had long-since searched for... and Failed. He will save that story for later yet the machine like V2 could do the ritual is rather funny to him but...

But since Gabriel fell, since V2 was rebuilt and since, for him too much to bare; Even tried binding his brother before reason was struck into him by Gabriel's words, even in Hellish language, they still reached him and even worsen to do to him, he had tried to get him to see V1's corruption by having V2 himself as his date but... All of those failures, taken away his pride but made room for love, humble and a door open for a way for his own sins to be forgiven.

The plan to "open his brother's eyes" had backfired when feelings of this machine, the same way as Gabriel had and... To be honest when he looked back on it. He guessed that's what the race of Man calls "Petty."

Nonetheless, Michael had learned more of V2 being a replacement, ruined and will perish one day like himself will too. He could... He could watch her try. And if he was courted, well, only he will decide to tell or not tell the masses of Heaven.

"Well," He began to say, thoughtfully. "I cannot why not."

V2's optic seem to opened up a little, stars in his eyes with wings flutter a little behind him as he stood upright and then hand over his metallic abdomen and bowed with another arm extended out from him.

Head rose up and then one foot back and then he jumped into the air in a twirl, golden glowing wings flared out in display and then sticks the landing on two feet like a ballerina. Silent amazement resonating in Michael as he watched on. On the right and left of four appendages each. The right bottom one twitched slightly before one after another followed suit going up and then on the upper left appendage repeated this going downwards.

Then them both do it upwards and downwards before crouching down on fours as eight of them gone together to make it seem like they had only one pair of two wings before slowly raises up on two feet once again. Before too long, the eight wings came back but yellow faded into sapphire blue as two of each go downward and then soon out on display.

"This is..." She started to say, "This is so confusing to me, how do you all do it?" Michael, watching the progress had come to an metaphorical halt, placing his drink down and then stand up. He was feeling ridiculous for explaining this but he will feel even more not doing so. He said "Allow me." simply but his voice is gentler by the sound of it.

In his own display of wings, his four wings unfolded in brilliant shades and gradients of pinks, purples, magentas, and violets for a machine or soul to see. The wings then came around and covering Michael slowly and purposely to insight curiosity from the latter and then spun away before he unfolded the wings and then dashed towards V2 before stopping in front of him. The helm barely reached his ribcage and Michael is staring down at them before crouching down, wings flapping down to touch the floor before he stood up and hands grabbing onto forearms (so not to tear the skin and flesh off) after placing them behind his back and circled around him gracefully and leisurely.

V2, stunned but mesmerized, watching the head chief prince closely with wings behind her gently lowered down with her CPU was recording this in wonder before abruptly disappeared in a flash of light. Her optic blinked and looked to her left and right before something shines behind him.

Before he could turn to see, a pair of hands quickly covered his optic and wings enveloped around her as feeling of a helm lightly touching the surface of her own as his head was lifted up a little. Hands then removed themselves from his optic to see Michael roving above him, allowing the small robot to bathe in the glowing lights of his wings.

Both of them lost in a void of a colorful light.

Eight wings of his own twitch with surprise softly, blue began to share a gradient of light pink as he looked up at the Prince of Heaven before one hand lightly taking a hand, a hand that is nearly identical to V2's left one before raising it up and then spun the peace-keeping machine around with trails of neon blue and pink following behind her as four wings flown away steadily.

He kept spinning them to his right before letting go and catching V2 as a leg was raised up while he leaned backwards before lifting upward, lightly urged by a hand on her back with her wings fanning out as she was brought close to his chest.

Feet kept going in a dance of wings of beauty and grace for as long as it could go, a ritual was in fact an success by this point.

Midway, Michael had his hand on V2's back again and the other holding his hand, fingers intertwined, as they looked at each other.

"You have a surprising amount of grace for a machine." Michael commented, looking at his optic with interest. "Oh yeah?" V2 chuckled lightly. "Well, you've got a surprising amount of bugs for an angel."

Michael chuckled at the joke. She wasn't wrong but it was good to laugh once in a while.

"And the expecting tact."

They then spun around as they let go, wings behind them before they flapped, neon and natural light coming off from both pairs and soon they came back together with hands holding onto them and then twirled as they held on. Wings made from metal and divine light flapped and fanned out before fluttering and danced on their accord as their feet had became accustomed to the ritual.

They continued on in their rhythm of the heart beats and fans spinning before letting go.

At last, they bowed to one another.

"So, this is what the courtship dance is like." V2 commented as he turned to look at his wings, colors fading into the tips of his wings as they went from pink to blue and finally going back to default yellow. "Dance with someone you are close to."

Michael laughed, both lightly and worryingly as he tilted his head. "It is, Machine." he added. He is worried.

Someone will know that he had been courted and even worse, it was with this machine but they are in his private quarters, the chambers that was once... Once Lucifer's. Still, since they had danced the ritual here, this could be where a little white secret could lie until he will confess this sin. This sin that made him happy.

Michael cleared his throat gently as his wings folded and soon faded from existence. "W-Well, I enjoyed our time together." he said as his fist was placed behind his back and closed his eyes. "Please," He wanted V2 to leave back to his apartment but he hesitated. "It is getting late, do you think you can travel back to the Eighth Layer?"

V2 looked at the pillar that overlooks outside, stars have already decorated the skies as night time has begun and below were a small city and villages built since the Uproar after the Father's death. "I will but-" V2 turned over to Michael, with another question in mind. "Do you think that I could stay here, but for the night?" he asked as he used his hand to rub his arm. "I haven't seen an actual night like this." No. No you will not.

That's what he wanted to say.

"Of course, but only for one night... V2." He answered this instead.

V2 light up a little before bowing her head. "Thank you, Michael."

Michael bowed his head as well. "You are welcome, I hope you will enjoy the night." he said as he watched him sitting down and crossed his legs on one of many luxurious pillows to watch at the skies with wonder and silent joy.

Michael just wanted to offer her a room of her own but stopped himself. "Have a good night, V2." He bided good night before he turned and then headed towards his own resting chambers as V2 bids him a good evening as well.

Oh God Almighty, what is he even doing?

He had offered the machine to sleep over in the Eighth Sphere of Heaven for the night and only for the night. And all after that ritual of courtship!

He moved a fabric leading into his room away and letting it fall behind him as his head looked at it. He turned to his left arm and noticed new flowers have grown from the wounds. He must've accidentally scratched it during that dance as he carefully recognized them.

Peace lilies, cosmos and apple blooms.

No doubt this was related to the dance.

Michael turned to the fabric once again and peaked to see V2, still there right where he left her, watching the view and a dim lunar light before letting the fabric drop once again. It was the first time he had participated the ritual and he hoped it would also be the last yet.

His wings made from glass and metal, stamina long enough to keep up with him and the look in the optic. An angel of iron and blood he had greeted as an plan to restore Gabriel yet he could've known that this robot...

Never meant to be an replacement. Striped of purpose. Failed in securing something far from her reach. Stoic. Intelligent.

V2 was just like himself. He could come to talk to Raphael for advise on this newfound friendship but still on the same matter, maybe he could ask him if they could dance one more time before turning in for the night.

[the-great-annihilator]

VIOLENCE /// FIRST

THE GREAT ANNIHILATOR

V1 dropped the twisted scrapped metal to the ground, landing with a wet thud onto the soft clay. Blood leaked from the machines now burst piping. Its fingers twitched as the last few drops of blood seeped out of it, a single cyclopean eye going dark.

The machine stared down, holding the now limp arm, and examining it. Despite its bulky design, clearly a rough prototype, there was no mistaking it – from the blue plating and the way it had sent V1’s shotgun pallets hurtling back to where they came – this was a Feedbacker arm.

V1 had just terminated its own prototype.

A successor destroyed in the golden sands of Greed.

A progenitor left as scrap on the banks of the Phlegethon.

Well, whatever was left of the banks.

After the extinction of humanity, much like the River Styx of Wrath, the Phlegethon had expanded. Though rather than a tidal wave of sinners, Violence saw a torrential downpour of innocent blood that had been spilled needlessly which turned the river of boiling blood into a vast and putrid marsh. At least that’s what the scrawled notes found by V1 documented.

That information was irrelevant to the machine.

What was relevant was that Violence was a warzone.

Violence was full of blood, the fuel all machines ran on, and unsurprisingly this resulted in a free-for-all amongst its kin. The machine’s audio processing unit was enveloped by the sounds of war as machines tore each other apart, the sounds of twisting metal and mechanical screeches as they fought for supremacy.

Its kin would soon understand who the superior machine was truly. V1 would tear through Violence as the others squabbled amongst themselves to drain the Phlegethon dry, bathing in putrid blood while it would descend into Fraud and then Treachery.

Yes, its programming demanded that fuel took priority above everything else but V1 there was sweeter ichor to be had than what steeped in the Phlegethon.

Suddenly, the bloody marsh began to bubble. It took aim as several figures rose from the surface, Husks of muscle and bone. Signals travelled through copper traces in V1’s circuitry and it lowered its revolver as the group shambled towards it. The machine lowered its revolver as long dormant files were accessed within its ROM, reading comments within untouched  .c files which its software was built upon.

V1 recognised these Husks.

“Look!” one said, “our fifth horseman, come to free us from our torment!”

The Husks clamoured towards their creation, hollow sockets and glazed over eyes staring into an amber optic, reaching towards V1 with outstretched hands as it stood stationary.

“It remembers us,” another rasped, “we forgive you for what you did – in fact, we are proud- “

In a single swift motion, the machine grasped the hand of one of the Husks, crushing the bones to a fine powder in its iron grip. It raised its revolver to the forehead of the Husk, their mouth agape as it pulled the trigger.

The others stood no chance.

[wjbs-aus]

hello, I know absolutely nothing about Ultrakill besides gun, flesh and

COIN

Please enlighten me. Do not hold back. I want to hear every excruciating detail, from lore to gameplay.

and if you want to know *exactly* how much I know, all the media of ultrakill I have consumed is random pictures of the sentient security camera and Gohrdahn’s video on SPARECHANGE%. also asking people who have no idea what’s going on about what’s going on is funny, so so far all I’ve picked up is that you’re a robot angel thing from hell and you fighting your way to heaven. Machines killed everyone and I wonder if the protagonist finds the metal areas more disturbing than the fleshy areas; after all, they’re seeing what is basically their insides, no?

No offense, but wow is that summary incorrect! Let's rectify that!

I'll only be covering the lore because, even though I've finished the game (so far), I don't fully understand the mechanics.

Be warned that some information may be incorrect since my memory sucks, and it also may become outdated in the future, as the game is still in development.

Also, I really recommend just playing the game. It's very good so far!

Anyway,

The ULTRALORE

Long ago, humanity had a Big War™ and built robots powered by blood. Remember that last point, it will be important later. One of these robots is our protagonist, V1; a blue robot with large, glowing wings that it uses to store its weapons, Hammerspace-style.

Eventually, the war ended, but humanity still used the robots for stuff like security. They also discovered Hell, which coincidentally happened to be structured identically to Dante Alighieri's interpretation, as seen in the Divine Comedy (Limbo -> Lust -> Gluttony -> Greed -> Wrath -> Heresy -> Violence -> Fraud -> Treachery).

An indeterminate amount of time before this, Minos, king of the layer of Lust, tried to improve the living conditions of his people, believing it to be wrong that they were being judged for the "crime" of love. He was killed by the archangel Gabriel (yes, that one) and had his soul imprisoned within the Flesh Prison, a half-demon half-angel living cage, forced to watch his gigantic corpse destroy his own realm. At another point in time (though I am not sure when it happened in relation to the last one), King Sisyphus (yes, that one) tried to rebel against Heaven, and was killed; unlike Minos, whose body lived on as a gigantic Husk, Sisyphus was beheaded and crucified within a secret chamber inside a pyramid in the Greed layer, while his soul was imprisoned within the Flesh Panopticon.

Back to the present, V1 got a younger, more-advanced sibling named V2, designed for security purposes and equipped with an explosive punch. Meanwhile, the people exploring Hell discovered that the entire realm is alive.

And then all of humanity died of probably robot-related causes.

So naturally, the robots made a beeline for Hell; after all,

MANKIND IS DEAD. BLOOD IS FUEL. HELL IS FULL. BABA IS YOU

One of these robots is V1. It entered Hell through some kinda funky mechanical entrance thing, where it encountered other Machines, as well as Husks (the embodiments of human souls) and Demons (statues filled with Magic Meat™ that animates them and gives them powers), collecting blood as it went. Eventually, V1 reached the gates of Hell (which, much like in the Divine Comedy, have the phrase "Abandon hope all ye who enter here" written across them), defeated the Cerberi (a pair of Demons resembling simplified versions of the Thinker), and entered Limbo.

The ULTRAKILL version of Limbo is interesting, though fairly basic compared to the later layers; the "sky" is made of screens, ambient nature-sounds come from poorly-hidden speakers, and there are folly-like "ruins" everywhere. V1 continues its journey, fighting the Hideous Mass (a large Demon resembling a scorpion or maybe lobster with the Creation Of Adam carved onto the tops of its claws, along with a harpoon-tail, and lots of exposed demonic flesh leaking out from large gaps in its armour) on the way. Eventually, it reaches a serene church, where it encounters V2. After a long battle, V2 escapes, dropping its left arm; V1 takes it and leaves, entering Lust.

Lust is a gigantic Cyberpunk cityscape, with Minos's gigantic Husk towering in the distance.

It's one of the most beautiful areas in the entire game.

As V1 travels through the layer, it gets closer to Minos, until the dead king himself attacks V1; it kills him, and a gateway to Gluttony appears in his throat.

At time of writing, Gluttony is the most conceptually-obvious layer, being a big organic thing with wobbly meat-walls, giant searchlight-eyes, spine-bridges and lakes of stomach acid. Shortly after arriving, V1 is contacted by a mildly-peeved Gabriel, telling it to "turn back now", as "the walls of this palace are not for your kind". Naturally, lacking any sense of self-preservation, nor any percievable emotion, V1 proceeds to battle Gabriel in front of a gigantic beating heart. Gabriel loses, swears his revenge, and proceeds to have a tantrum and call V1 an "insignificant fuck", then teleports away in a blinding flash of light. V1 drops down the hole in the bottom of the arena...

Disgrace. Humiliation. Unseemly and unwelcome at the feet of The Council. Their eyes ablaze with bitter resentment, glaring through Gabriel's wounds of body and soul, bore outward for all to see. "Has this one abandoned the way of our creator?" "It is unworthy of its Holy Light." "The Father's Light is indomitable." "This one sees fit to squander it." Their words resonated in Gabriel's limbs, coursing through as lightning upon wire, a searing hiss that would strike lessers deaf and blind. The Holy Light within him, an unstoppable force of divine fury. Insurmountable for mere Objects. This he knew. "Holy Council, my devotion to our creator is absolute. I have never strayed from the will of The Father, but a machine-" "You dare imply the might of The Father could be shaken by mere objects?" "Impossible." "Heresy." "Unspeakable." "Heresy." "Heresy." "Silence." "Your treachery will not be tolerated. As punishment, The Father's Light shall be severed from your body. You have 24 hours before the last of its embers die out." "And you with them." "Prove your loyalty." "Unmake your mistakes." As the Light was ripped from his being, Gabriel's screams were silenced in the hiss of gospel in praise of God. A boiling anguish to which even the fires of Hell could not compare. Through the blaze of torment a single burning hatred was forged anew. If the machines seek blood, he would give it freely; and with such fury, even metal will bleed.

... before landing in Greed, a vast desert with literal golden sand, with recreations of various famous landmarks. V1 fights a Sisyphean Insurrectionist, and later re-encounters V2, who has a new hookshot arm, but manages to beat the newer robot; the two end up in a high-speed chase down the side of a pyramid, but eventually V1 manages to get V2 to fall, with it landing hard on a nearby bridge, turning into a large, red stain.

V2 is canonically dead.

V1 grabs its arm, and leaves for Wrath.

Once upon a time, Wrath was the River Styx (yes, that one), before it suddenly turned into vast ocean. The souls of the damned literally fight for air, while those who lose hope fall to the bottom and [REDACTED FOR SPOILER REASONS].

V1 fights through a flooded underground complex, before ending up outside on a stormy night; they fight through many enemies, and manage to summon a gigantic cruise ship captained by a skeletal Ferryman, leading to ULTRAKILL's only moral choice at time of writing; using the revolver's Marksman mode, it is possible to throw a coin to the Ferryman. Alternatively, V1 battles the Ferryman (who is a gigantic Gabriel fanboy that carves demons into enemy-protecting Idols). Either way, this opens the path to inside the boat, which is attacked by a vast sea-monster; after escaping the now-capsized boat, V1 fights the Leviathan (a gigantic demon whose flesh was made from the Husks who gave up and sank to the bottom of the Ocean Styx; its heart, which sticks out of its head, has multiple angelic spears impaled into it, and constantly screams). V1 defeats the Leviathan, which explodes into a shower of blood, and the ocean splits open to reveal the entrance to Heresy.

Heresy is the most "hellish" layer yet; it's bright red, there's fire everywhere, and a lot of the buildings have goat-skulls on the walls. Gabriel, more furious after having his divine link severed, awaits V1. He goes off on one at it for killing everything in Hell, then tries to kill it again.

He loses, but this time, he's more graceful. Gabriel leaves to think, and his giant pipe-organ opens, revealing the entrance to Violence. That is where the story ends for now.

Silence. Introspection. How many had he killed? Had he ever thought to count? How much cruelty did he embody... and to what end? How many did he condemn to hell and who did it benefit..? Two defeats at the hands of the machine had changed Gabriel. The world of the one supposed Will of God was now shattered and only he was left to put the pieces back together. They collected before the light of a dying fire that fresh fuel couldn't sustain, this new light showing the truth to Gabriel: The pieces never fit together to begin with. The supposed Council of "the people" who boasted a God that wasn't there. Gone. Vanished. The Council still chased after the light of God's fire, their memory of its words and will grown twisted and warped, and the rest of the aimless masses of Heaven follow their footsteps. The angels still act in The Father's name but His kingdom has changed. Now the fire was dying, sputtering out as the heat failed to gain purchase. Gabriel looked upon the embers with a perfect clarity. He drew his blade and held it in contrast to the dying light. In its reflection he saw a weapon reborn, no longer wielded by the will of another, but his own. He knew words alone would never sway the masses. He chose to do something drastic. Death stains the auditorium. The littered corpses of the once mighty council now strewn against its surfaces, their last gasps of life dripping down the dissident blade of Gabriel's sword. The last councilor, now backed up to a wall, scrambles for words between panicked breaths as death approaches with measured steps. "W-wait! Y-you can't do this! Out status forbids it! This is treason, heresy, murder! We are the supreme authority, our law commands you! "You command nothing. Your words hold no power over me, or anyone else. Lest you truly believe you can talk my blade back into its sheath." "B-but the people are on our side! The citizens of Heaven know that we are just!" "The masses only follow you out of fear and desperation. I will show them there is nothing to be afraid of, for there is not species nor origin, vested rank or holy status that will stop the sharp edge of a sword. We all bleed the same blood, and the cushions of your thrones have made you weak and impotent." "P-please, Gabriel, see reason! The council follows the will of The Father! You seek to go against our creato-" "Face it, brother. God is Dead. The fire is gone. You're chasing phantoms." Gabriel's silhouette now towers over the councilor, his shadow cast upon a soon lifeless corpse. He raises his sword for the final cut as the crying mess on the floor stammers out its final feeble argument. "B-b-but the Father's light! Without me you cannot hope to reconnect with it! I-i-if you kill me, you'll be dead in a matter of hours!" ... "I know." A clean, silent cut glides through the councilor's neck, severing his spine with elegance and ease. His head falls onto the marble floor, the rest of his body following soon after. Bereft of status but brimming with purpose, Gabriel gave a final message to the angels amassed at the gates of the auditorium before leaving Heaven for the very last time. His arm outstretched, without a word, the people saw. In the silence the message rang out to the far ends of the cosmos.

The terminals encountered in Prime Sanctums and other secret levels reveal a bit more; most importantly that A. the terminals get bored, explaining the infinite Cyber Grind mode, and B. God regrets condemning Lucifer to Hell.

There's more, but honestly, play the game. It's really good.

that moment when you realise that Gorillaz lore is probably easier to explain than ULTRAKILL

[novankenn]

Saints of the Sword (v1-2)

(I am going to very BLUNT with this statement, even though it seems like it... THIS IS NOT an everyone betrays Jaune fic. There is much more going on including Jaune's own low sense of self-worth.)

“Ms Denois.” Goodwitch gave Jeanne a nod, before returning her attention fully upon Cardin, “You have made a request to speak with the Headmaster, and as you have completed the… favor he requested, I shall take you to see him. Is it to be all of you?”

“No, just myself.” Cardin answered, “The others will see about our horses, and storing our gear. We do have accommodations available here, correct?”

“Yes, those arrangements have been made.” Goodwitch replied, “We have three dorms set aside for you and your group. Two are next to each other, one is across the hall from the others.”

“Thank you for the hospitality.” Cardin replied very formally, “One of our number is in need of rest, could him and two of ours be directed to these room?”

“Of course.” Glynda looks over her shoulder and spots teams RWBY and JNPR standing there looking rather shocked. Glynda could guess why, but it didn’t matter. “Ms Nikos, please come over.”

“Yes Professor.” Pyrrha called back, as she started to move forward. Her partner Jade also started to move forward.

“I only require the assistance of Ms Nikos, Mr Hedera.” Glynda commented her tone and firm. Making it obvious to anyone with in earshot that it was not a request. Jade paused and latched onto Pyrrha’s wrist. “Is there a problem, Mr Hedera?”

“Jade, let go.” Pyrrha hissed at him. “I warned you not to touch me like this.”

“Have Etienne, and Jean, go with him.” Cardin leaned in a whispered into Jeanne’s ear, as they waited for the scene to play out. “Don’t trust her, don't use his name, and don’t let her see his face.”

“I don’t trust them.” Jade openly admitted, without saying what his reason was, even though he did reluctantly release his grip on Pyrrha’s wrist.  “I don’t feel Pyrrha should be… alone with, such obviously, rough individuals.”

“I can handle myself, Jade!” Pyrrha snapped.

“Got it. Are you good with doing the meet up solo, or you want someone?” Jeanne, whispered in response as her blue eyes watched the altercation.

“No, I’ll be fine. Get our stuff stowed, and Jaune taken care of… that’s more important than backing me up at a stuffy meeting.” Cardin replied, his voice still barely above a whisper.

“Mr Hedera, enough of that childish behavior.” Glynda gave the young man a look. “While you may have misgivings about these individuals. I do not. Ms Nikos will be perfectly safe while in their company.”

“Got it. What about this cluster…” Jeanne asked, her voice also almost inaudible.

“Let them work it out.” Cardin continued to whisper while shaking his head at the display. Jeanne nodded, and leaned away from Cardin before turning and moving over to their comrades. 

“Etienne, Jean.” Jeanne called the pair over. Jean, hesitating before leaving the side of her charge. She was quickly replaced by Sky Lark. When they pair reached her, Jeanne leaned in and whispered their instructions. 

“You two are going with Jaune. Make sure he’s comfortable. Don’t trust her, don’t let her see his face, and don't call him by name around her. Got it?”

The pair nodded, and Jeanne gave them a quick nod, they made their way over to replace Sky who returned to working with the horses. Jeanne waited and watched as the scene between Nikos and Hedera finally played out, with Nikos walking away from him and directly towards Jeanne.

“Ms Nikos, please escort some of their group to their lodgings, here.” Glynda showed Pyrrha her tablet, listing the rooms set aside for Cardin’s crew. “You know where these rooms can be found. Correct?”

“Yes Professor.”

“Thank you.” Glynda returns her attentions to Cardin. “Mr Winchester, if you would, I shall take you to the Headmaster.”

/== Table of Contents ==/

[kittyball23]

Prologue v1 - BroZone Flashback (a Trolls fanfic)

Summary: BroZone perform for an excited audience, debuting their little baby bro Branch for the first time

A/N: I am very excited about Trolls Band Together, and as I was writing a post about my predictions for how I think some scenes in the movie could happen, it ended up turning into a fanfiction! So anyway, enjoy if you read, I've got several ideas that I'm going to be writing oneshots for :D I have also cross-posted this Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad.

The Trolls movies have so far started with prologues before we see the main characters. I'm going to kick things off with one version of that, featuring BroZone :)

__________________________________________

“Bro-Zone! Bro-Zone! Bro-Zone!”

The sound of the crowd chanting out the name of their band made four little Trollings fill with joy. This was what they lived for – singing, dancing, and sharing their talent with everyone. And so, without further ado, the quartet made their way out onto the mushroom stage, and the crowd went wild with claps and cheers. Not too long afterwards, the music started, and the four Trollings began to sing.

Taking the lead vocals was the aquamarine Troll John Dory, who wore a vest of the same color of his hair and a pair of sunglasses above his head all the time. With him were Spruce, Clay, and Floyd – purple, yellow, and magenta haired Trolls respectively who sang and danced alongside him. Those who knew them knew that the four of them were great friends, and that was a good thing, given that they were also all brothers. Everyone in the crowd clapped and sang along with them, knowing very well the lyrics of the song.

“Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk.

I'm a dancin’ man, no time to talk

Music loud and women warm, we’ve been kicked around

Since we were born,

And now it's alright, it's okay,

And you may look the other way,

We can try to understand,

The New York Times' effect on man,

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother

You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive,

Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'

And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive,

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' aliiiIIIIIiiiiiIIIve!

Yeah we’re stayin’ alive!”

Suddenly, John Dory stepped up to the front of the stage and bent down, clapping hands with some of the nearby fans who stretched up to him. “Ladies and gentletrolls!” he announced. “We wanna introduce to you another little bro to our band!” He ran back up the stage to join his other brothers as they danced some more and continued. “You know him! Okay, well, maybe you don’t know him yet, but you’ll love him! Please, give a warm welcome to the small, the cute, Baaaaaby Braaaanch!”

In a skilled move, John Dory and Clay stepped aside to reveal a small, bopping blue baby Troll with round white glasses. He hip-hopped with his small feet and struck more than enough cute poses to make nearly all the girls faint. He was a huge star already – and he wasn’t even old enough to sing yet!

Pleased by the positive reaction of the crowd, the brothers continued to perform, making sure that each of them had enough time in the spotlight and an equal chance to sing. The crowd roared with glee by the time that the song had finished and they struck their final, signature pose with an exclamation of “Bro-Time!”

Bowing and giving their thanks, the Trollings dismounted the stage and huddled together in a quick group hug.

“We nailed it!” JD exclaimed, beaming. “What did I tell you? I knew that show was going to be our best one yet!”

“You say that about every show we do, JD,” Spruce pointed out.

“Lighten up, Spruce!” Clay piped up. “Every show is the best show if it’s done with you guys!”

“He’s right,” Floyd agreed. “It really is something great to be singing with my bros,” he said. Then, suddenly, the brothers saw him tear up, and knew where this was heading.

“Uh-oh,” John Dory mumbled.

“Here he goes again,” Spruce muttered.

“The waterworks are coming!” Clay said, right as tears spilled out of Floyd’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” the magenta Trolling whimpered, “I just love you guys so much!”

“Yeah, well,” John Dory said, “while you’ll never see me get all blubbery about it, I love you guys, too,” he admitted to them. Then he put his hand in the middle. “Bros forever?” he asked.

Spruce, Clay, and Floyd immediately understood and placed their hands in the middle, too. Baby Branch, giggling and following his older brothers’ lead, also placed his hand in the middle with theirs and happily swung it up in the air. “Bros forever!” they cried.

They knew that nothing, not ever, would tear them apart.

[kitkatopinions]

Criticisms and Praise of the RWBY Volume 9 intro

RWDE ahead, only read if you're alright with criticisms including nitpicks. (I have not seen the full ep and have only seen the intro, and all of my expressing fears I have for this season isn't saying it'll definitely be that, it's just expressing fears.)

Also RWBY volume 9-ish spoilers (it's just for the opening intro and song and stuff so it's not much of a spoiler but like better safe than sorry.)

The little opening melody doesn't fit very well with the rock theme later. I'm sure it sounds better in the full version, but with just what I've heard in the opening sequence, it feels disconnected from the rest of the song. I'm sure that's part of the point since there's a whole 'Team RWBY and Jauney boy are now disconnected from reality,' but... I just didn't like it.

2. On that note, I also didn't happen to like the song much. It's better than some of our themes have been and not as 'samey' as a lot of the higher speed RWBY music can be. OK Goodnight (I think that's what Casey Lee Williams' band is called) taking over the music I think is a good thing and I'm thinking we'll get some good songs, but this one - while it had good to it - didn't feel like anything particularly special.

3. The visuals of Weiss, Blake, and Yang being pictured together and Ruby being pictured on her own is good and clearly gets across that Ruby is likely to experience some isolation this volume.

But this?

Is not giving me high hopes. I want Jaune in support and I want him to not be an antagonist and I honestly don't want him and Neo to interact at all, ever. Hopefully they're just putting them here together because they didn't have time to do flashes of both of them alone, but also it's really not inspiring when you consider what Ruby being separated from her team says, because it's clearly imo meant to display to you that she's going to be on her own... So is Jaune being paired up with Neo here telling us to expect these two to join up?

4. They need to stop showing us the original outfits and then the Mistral arc looks and then these stupid new Atlas outfits that I hate (except for Ruby's.) They've done it for the past two volumes, it's no longer special and it just serves to remind me of how ugly the outfits are (again, except for Ruby's.)

5. Also omg guys but their faces in those scenes, let me see if I can get close ups.

So Weiss has a very basic character-less smile, okay, whatever. Blake is giving a smirky smirk, which doesn't feel very in character for Blake... Either version of how they've written for her. Yang is beaming away, just looking so psyched to be here somehow. And then the Ruby I have a pic of here is the original V1-3 Ruby, who looks like... No face that has ever been made by any person.

6. Also also, Blake's color isn't purple. I'm gonna say it a million times. Weiss's background looks vaguely blue, but then it settles on white when her emblem lights up. Yang's background is yellow and stays yellow. Blake's background looks black until it settles on purple! Like, I know that they've reinvented Blake to the point where she's pretty much a different person and therefore they might think she needs a different color than True Blake had, but by heavens, it makes me persnickety.

7. The themes for that particular sequence seem to be either 'Blake, Weiss, and Yang know who they are and are confident, but Ruby does not know and is not confident' or 'Blake, Weiss, and Yang are the best that they can be they are the best versions of themselves, but Ruby is not the best that she can be and is not the best version of herself.' I'm hoping it's the second one that might result in some good growth for Ruby, but at the same time, both things... Feel a little bit frustrating, because Blake, Weiss, and Yang should also be going through things and still in need of growth and stuff. I do think that Ruby's growth should be treated as particularly important since she's the main protag, but this isn't inspiring me to think that the others are gonna get any real growth themselves.

8. I hate all these mice. Including Litte. I could not be less enthusiastic about having to see them and deal with them. Same goes for the Racoon. And same goes for the cat. It might go well, but I doubt it, and even if the animals are as well done as they can be I still don't like that they're here.

9. I feel like just from the look of him, I could like this weird little... King Olly the Origami King do over with his bright red eyes. But I could also hate him, depending on how he's played. But it could go either way.

10. So I'm told that there are actual 'shadow people' in the fairy tale wonderland world, which is just... Peachy keen aces perfect. /s It's giving 'Shadow's House'

But, RWBY has never (in my knowledge) claimed to be full of original ideas, and the visual is cool. Also it's clear that the new girl (who I've seen referred to as Alice and Alex so idk what to call her) is really important due to how much she's featured in the intro, I've got theories, but I'm gonna talk about those later. The visual is nice. And while they're really hammering home Ruby's isolation and exhaustion and the breakdown they want us to think she has (not sure yet if there's gonna be convincing follow through there) arguably too much, I also like the image of her slowly starting to get left behind. I really hope this season gives me conflict eight ways to Sunday!

11. This is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.

I want it to be away from me. Also, how obvious can they get? Isn't RWBY supposed to be transformative? Why this season do they think 'let's just slap this Wonderland thing in our plot and make the design slightly different and it'll literally smoke the exact same thing and blow the smoke at everyone?' Who came up with this weirdo? I mean, besides the creators of these two:

It just doesn't feel creative or transformative, is my point. Maybe he has a role that makes him distinctive, but visually, this is lazy imo.

12. This expression is the stuff of my nightmares

I'm pretty sure that's the point, so... Good job there.

13. In contrast, Neo could not be hotter than she is right now... Except maybe if they fixed her hair back to the old way it was.

14. I like the style of this

It's pretty, and also a clear reference imo to 'the girl who fell through the world.' Also it's worth noting that Ruby is once again on her own. (please please please don't let this mean the development for the other girls is going to be minimal...)

15. This design is simple, but effective and I like it.

16. I think these backgrounds can look very PS2 game graphics-ish in a bad way.

(I want it to be clear that I don't blame the animators who were likely overworked, underpaid, and/or fired.)

Anyway, those are my criticisms and stuff of the opening intro.

[everafterfrisk]

Are the RWBY Mangas Canon?

Going over stuff like the Ice Queendom Manga(2022),RWBY Anthology Manga(2017,RWBY Manga(2015) and Finally "RWBY Official Manga(2018)"

I'd say despite minor changes here and there

They are overall canon to the series

"RWBY Manga(2015)"

-Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross were involved with this Manga's Development

Ambiguously canon(described by Rooster Teeth as being "not non-canon" and "canon until it's not")

- Ruby's Fight with Cardin emphasizing a flashblack to Ruby's past when Yang had to protect her from the Grimm at a young age which is reflected by Volume 2 Chapter 6 Burning Candle

Yang: (off-screen, while her younger self looks petrified) "There we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time".

As the Beowolves leap into the air to devour their young prey, the familiar sound of a gun-scythe follows the sight of them all being cut into pieces by a caped warrior. His bird-haired silhouette fades away to present day, where Yang has just finished drawing a clockwork eye.

-Chapter 3 has Weiss fighting the Arma Gigas and claiming that her father only got her into Beacon due to her proving her capabilities

-Chapter 4 Jacques is confirmed to have faced threats of white fang terrorist activities

☆Weiss highlights this notably in Vol 1 Chapter 15

-Chapter 5 highlights the Black Trailer with Blake and Adam going their separate ways

Chapter 6 has the team being visibly aware of Blake's Ears making this take place at the end of Volume 1 to the start of Volume 2

Chapter 7-8 had Yang's Fight with Junior like the Yellow Trailer

Chapter 10 provided more Blake and Ruby bonding moments like

☆Blake encouraging Ruby's interest in Weapons during their fight against the Eight Headed Grimm Snake

Rwby "Official Manga"

(2018)

- Glinda saving Ruby during her encounter with Roman & Cinder

Just like in V1 Chapter 1 "Ruby Rose"

- Chapter 4-5 Team Rwby & JNPR worked together against the Grimm Bird like the Chess and pieces episode

- Chapter 6 Encountered Sun Wukong in the same way as like in "The Stray"

Rwby IQ Manga(2022-)

- ^ Chapter 1 gives insight of the Creation of Crescent Rose prior the beginning of the series alluding to Volume 1 Chapter 3 "The Shining Beacon"

Ruby: (giggling)"Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, sooo... I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it".

- Ozpin's Mention of Ruby's silver eyes as well as expanding on that scene

How there were Silver Eyed Warriors in the past who have been legends and expressing a similar line in Canon that Strength alone doesn't guarantee Victory

- Expanding on Yang & Ruby's Home life with Taiyang as well as Tai & Oz having some sort of history together[Alluding to his time as Team STRQ]

-the Appearance of Zwei,Ruby's dog, lives with them at home

Reference to Volume 2 Chapter 5 Field Trip

Yang: I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us. I thought we could open it together!

Ruby: Ooooh! Something from home!

Ruby zooms over to Yang and wraps herself around Yang, trying to take the cylinder from her. The package opens, and another cylinder, hairy and black, falls out onto the floor and starts to shake. The object suddenly transforms into a corgi. Team RWBY leans in, staring at it.

The animal barks twice. While Weiss and Blake continue to react with great shock, Ruby and Yang react excitedly, with Ruby jumping in the air. Ruby, still airborne, is depicted among a changing blue background and four shots of the dog, two full body shots and two headshots. She then poses as she shouts the dog's name.

Ruby: Zwei!

Blake: He sent a dog?

Weiss: In the mail?

- Chapter 2 has Weiss fighting the Arma Gigas just as she's done in the White Trailer and within the Icequeendom anime

-Adds onto Weiss's Rocky relationship with Whitley [Whitley making fun of her for failing to live up to expectations during her Arma Gigas]

-Weiss's/Ruby's argument are more or less the same

-chapter 3 has Weiss doubt Ruby's leadership skills like in the OG & IQ series

Rwby Anthology (2017)

stated, by Kerry and Gray, to be "very much in tune with the show" and that "very minimal feedback had to be given on canon stuff".(26:15)

As well as side stories they didn't have time to put into the show

Red like Roses: Volume 1

-in the "partner" side story,Roman was taken into custody and RWBY & Co are at the school dance

☆Referencing the Episode "Dance Dance Infiltration"Vol 2 Chapter 7

In the "Just trying to help" side story, Weiss confirms that Ruby and Cardin has fought before

☆ Referring to the Cardin v Ruby fight from the (2015) Manga

Mirror Mirror: Volume 2

- in "Snow White's Melancholy" & "The princess, Showcases Weiss's Neglection from childhood

- in the "Who is the Ice Queen meeting?" Side story, Weiss is shown training in secret so she wouldn't be considered a liability due to her loss against the White Fang Grunt

☆Referencing Vol 2 Chapter 11 "No Brakes"

- in the "Soft Warm Ears" side story,Weiss is still adjusting to the new change that Blake was a faunus and at the end she begins to embrace it freely (touching Blake's Ears).

☆Takes place after the events of Vol 1 Chapter 15 "The Stray"

-In "The Moon" side story, Weiss has a talk with Winter about her training and making connections

☆Referencing Vol 3 Chapter 3 "It's Brawl in the Family" & Chapter 4 "Lesson Learned"

From Shadows: Volume 3

In "the Monster" sidestory,Goes other Blake's Grim past as a white fang member with Adam remarking Faunus as Monsters

It also expands more on Ruby's & Blake's relationship

+Where Blake recalls her convo with Ruby in Vol 1 Chapter 3 and wanted to learn me about Ruby's way of thinking as she believed that just this once

A Fairytale can become reality.

In "Friend" Blake connects with a lost cat and ended up happily crying after he found his new home

+Which could parallel how Team RWBY became Blake's "new home"

In "Curosity killed the Cat" side story, Weiss mentions a train accident

☆Most likely alluding to Volume 2 "No Brakes"

In "Proof of a Black Cat", Yang provides Blake a way to open up more leading to Blake to be a bit less pessimistic and welcoming her as a teammate [Seemingly after Burning Candle]

I Burn:Volume 4

In "You can't have that bear", Yang battles and is fully aware of Melanie & Miltia

☆The Twin sisters she fought against in Junior's Bar during the Yellow trailer

In "Semblance Challenge" Ruby points out that Yang destroyed Roman's Paladin

☆ Notably referenced from Vol 2 Chapter 4 Painting the Town

In"The Reader" side story, it plays on Yang's perspective as a child dealing with her harsh reality of responsibility after summer never came back.

[limitlessscion]

Chiyori stares silently from the sidelines at Gojo spilling info about frogs. She’s impressed. She wants to know more about cow-sized frogs. (She goes like: 😮)

"It's just math! Not frog facts!"

[gbgamebun]

Road to Cream64 v1 Part 3: So many friends and an egg.

I was hoping to do two of these a week but man this has been a crazy week. Anyway, we back to wrapping up the rest of the NPCs. Actually had to grab

Star Toads were next and I wanted to make each one unique. The thought process for who got chosen was a mix of who was connected to Cream and just who I liked. The obvious answers were Amy and Blaze and I ended up choosing Blaze for the second toad. Doesn't mean I would leave Amy hanging, as she got a little side story in v2, but when we get there of course.

In Blaze's dialog, she mentions that Marine was also with her and that she's somewhere. So go help her find this mangy raccoon! I wanted to do something special and stick Marine in a level where you'd just run into her. Though with very limited code knowledge, even if you find Marine, Blaze's dialog stays the same. Mostly just a cute little event that would eventually fuel my desire to add more stuff like this in later versions. So much more...

The first star toad as you can see here ended up being a leftover from a small edit I did when just figuring out dialog edits and stuff. Eventually just ran with the idea of a single stubborn toad who refused to leave when Peach gave the order for every toad to go on vacation for this party.

Even after all the latest versions and dialog rewrites, his has been the only one that's stayed the same since v1. People really have come to love this little asshole.

For the last toad, I ended up choosing a little blue bunny for reason that should be clear: she be my bun bun.

Around early 2020 is when I finally had gotten out of my weird funk about my drawing ability and stuff and finally started getting back into Sonic stuff. Bare with me for a bit for I must go into a tangent into what I've been doing for the past few years before all this.

Near the end of 2019 I started slowly getting back into Sonic AUs and OCs again, a bit of that can be attributed to the Sonic movie and my friend's revigorated interest into that part of the fandom. One of my oldest characters, Mark, was stuck in a weird limbo of being in a Sonic AU and being in an original story for a few years. It reached a point where I just tired of it and shelved him to focus on an entirely new story and characters unrelated to anything I've done before.

Now back to the start of 2020, I actually go out of my way to try and update his design and do some stuff with him.

And we have our new design. I swear one day I'll go into his backstory but I'm dragging on. So where does this rabbit fit in? One of the new story bits I had in mind was that he would find a little rabbit named Katalina and adopt her. Then while he does his adventurin', he would leave her with Vanilla and that's how she would form a bond with Cream and the rest of her family. It's also why she calls Cream "Lil' Sis" in her dialog since she's like slightly older than Cream.

So yeah this hack is based off my AU, which is still mostly just told through these hacks. Don't blame people for getting real confused as to who the heck she is and eventually her adopted pappy. Sorry for the long bit, I rarely get a chance to speak about them as much like this. Speaking of, let's go back to him since that we're now done with the toads.

Changing Yoshi was just like changing the other model though this is the first time changing someone's model who was bigger than the model swapped (in this case it's using Mario's rig on a model that's taller). The best way to describe it is that the root position is off so he's kind of sticking a bit on one side, even if his shadow looks fine. His collision is kind of wonky as a result.

I would end up leaving this for v1 but it is something I would fix down the line. It was just a matter of changing the root point or even moving the rig a bit before exporting. Also noting, Mark here has changed again, with Blaze like fur sticking out instead of the weird white hair flowing from the back. Saved me a lot of effort down the line, lemmie tell ya!

Ya know I guess I should at least show what they're latest designs are. From the ref sheets I got, made by my friend @fudgernutter.

And now time for the big boy. That's right, it's time for Eggman and his Egg Koopa Mk 2!

God, this monster was one of the hardest thing to put together, if only just to uncrumple him so I can apply his textures and fix up the head mesh.

WHY IS YOUR JAW SO FAR APART?! It was one of those that was so bad I had to write down which bone was moved and how much so I don't accidently mess up the whole thing. Gah, it was a mess but as the years have shown me, it was 100% worth the effort.

It wouldn't be the first time messing with Bowser's model and rig, as I did an edit for Super Suwako 64 by turning him into a Cirno cosplayer. Don't mind the missing jaw, had messed up rotating on of the bones. This is what can happen.

The actual design of the EggBowz basically just comes down to "I wanted the robot to look as close as I can with him". So changed the hair to brown, the horn and spikes to gold to match Eggman's buckles, the upper torso is red to match his coat and the lower half is black for his pants and shoes. The mustache model is just his SA1's stache slapped on the front of the nose cause it seemed like something he would do.

Carving a hole into Bowser's head mesh wasn't too hard thankfully and then just repositioning Eggy to look like he's sitting and we're good! Still weird to think that it was initially just a random thought to actually do this but hey that's how half the ideas in his hack have worked out. Shoutouts to Cream nerds on twitter.

And with that, we got every major character swapped out! I suppose the last reoccurring character not mentioned here would be Mips so I'll just stick him at the end here.

Sonic is full of small animal critters so grabbing one of them was perfect for Mips. Ended up grabbing a model of Pocky from I forget either Smash 4 or a mobile game where the animal friends are there (and low poly). Everything here is still the Mips model except for the head obviously. Then just applying Pocky's textures and even connecting his ears so that they're a single mesh.

Whew that's a lot but there's not much else left. Just enemy models, UI stuff and the soundtrack and that's gonna be fun to discuss. Gotta see if I still have spreadsheets of the songs I chose before adding them.

[cahouser]

v2

When Sarah said, "Just be thoughtful," as her only hint for how I should propose, I knew I had my work cut out for me—after all, being thoughtful on demand is like trying to be cool at a high school reunion: easier said than done.

First up, I thought about popping the question at Desnudo Coffee, our favorite haunt before it became the hipster headquarters it is today. Picture this: me, sneaking behind the counter to hijack the intercom. Instead of calling out "Sarah, your latte is ready," I’d blurt out "Sarah, will you marry me?" I ditched the idea when I realized a public proposal was more Broadway and less 'us'. Plus, with my luck, the espresso machine would choose that exact moment to explode.

Next, I flirted with the idea of a trip down memory lane to Mexico City, where we first tested our travel compatibility (spoiler: no one got left at a rest stop, so, success!). But the thought of a shiny ring in a bustling city felt more like a heist movie than a romantic getaway. So, scratch that.

Plan C? France! Because nothing says 'marry me' like croissants and the Eiffel Tower. But then, practicality—my constant party pooper—reminded me of our schedules.

Ultimately, I opted for something low-key yet high stakes at our own abode. I laid out a veritable feast of her favorites: blue cheese (which to me tastes like sadness feels), Marcona almonds, and a bottle of Beaujolais—our annual nod to her dad. Fleetwood Mac serenaded us from the speakers because nothing sets the mood like "Dreams" on repeat.

The big day was nearly derailed by a crisis at Sarah’s work—because why wouldn’t it be? After navigating the corporate storm, and a two-week delay, I finally set the scene while she was in the shower, hiding the ring like it was the last piece of Halloween candy.

When I went down on one knee, my rehearsed speech turned into a 'Mad Libs' edition of a proposal. Thankfully, Sarah found my verbal fumbling endearing, saying it was nice to see me lose my cool, proving I’m human after all.

We celebrated at Nomade, where the staff was in on the secret. They ushered us to a table decked out with flowers and bubbly. The hostess, Sunshine, eyed Sarah's hand like it was a celeb sighting. We feasted on Aztec salsa and guacamole fit for royalty and ended the night with a dessert that shouted "congratulations" in chocolate script.

In the end, the evening was perfectly 'us': low-key, a little goofy, and very, very full—of food and of love.

=============

v1

Sarah once told me, "Be thoughtful," when we talked about getting engaged. So, I made a plan with lots of personal touches because that's important to us both.

I first thought about proposing at Desnudo Coffee, our favorite coffee shop from before it was popular. I wanted to surprise her by asking over the intercom when they called her for her coffee. But, I worried it was too public and things could easily go wrong, like noise from the crowd or the wind.

Then, I considered a trip to Mexico City, where we had a great time early in our relationship. It felt right, but walking around with a new ring might be risky there. I also thought about a last-minute trip to France, but scrapped that idea too.

Instead, I chose to propose at home, where it was just us. I planned a special evening with a bottle of Beaujolais wine, which we drink yearly to remember her dad, and snacks she loves like blue cheese and Marcona almonds. I don’t like blue cheese, so it was a small way to show I cared about her preferences. I also set up a Fleetwood Mac playlist because we both love their music.

On the day I planned to propose, Sarah was overwhelmed with work, facing long hours and layoffs at her job. So, I postponed everything for two weeks until things settled down.

When the day finally came, I got everything ready while she was in the shower. I laid out roses, the snacks, and the wine. I played our favorite songs. Then, I proposed, and even though I stumbled over my words, she said yes. She actually liked that I was a bit nervous—it showed how much it meant to me.

We went to celebrate at Nomade, a Yucatan restaurant on South First Street. I had told them I was proposing right before our dinner, so they were ready for us. They gave us a special table with flowers and champagne. The hostess and the staff were all excited for us, and they made sure we felt celebrated. They served us a special Aztec-inspired salsa and guacamole, and ended our meal with a congratulatory dessert.

It was a night filled with simple, personal moments that meant a lot to both of us. It was just as Sarah wanted—thoughtful and full of love.

[lightingsbllslighting]

How to Connect Your PAL Lights to The Attendant

Connecting and configuring your PAL drivers and lights to The Attendant is a simple process. Once you have completed the physical wiring connections from the lights to the driver, you can proceed with the following steps. Wiring To wire a single PAL driver, connect the “+ and – terminals on DMX In” on the driver to the “D+ / D- terminals” of a BUS port on The Attendant. Make sure to keep the DMX Line Terminator attached in the light controller. DIP Switch Settings Each light zone you have wired on your PAL drivers must have a light device configured on The Attendant. The addresses for red, green, and blue are derived from the combination of the DIP switch settings within each PAL driver. For the PAL model PCR-2DMX driver, the addresses for the two zones that this controller supports are defined by two banks of switches – Module Config and Other Config. You can find the settings and corresponding values in our online chart located here. For the PAL model PCR-3DMX driver, DIP switches 9-1 define the addresses for the 8 zones that this controller supports. The location of these switches is marked in the following image. Again, you can find the settings and corresponding values in our online chart located here. Basic Configuration Example For most installations with one PAL driver controlling two zones, the DIP switch settings should be as follows: Module Config: 1 ON, 2 ON, 3 OFF, 4 OFF Other Config: all 4 OFF (down) Referencing our table, you’ll find the Red/Green/Blue addresses for each zone. Depending on the model of your driver, use the values for either v1 or v2 of the schema. As v2 is the most recent update from PAL Lighting, assume you have the latest model driver and use addresses 1 through 6 to set up the lights in the app. Advanced Configurations Using More than One PAL Driver in Series When you have more than one driver providing lighting to additional zones, you need to connect them together using the In and Thru terminals on the communications board. Ensure power is disconnected when working with devices. It is important to avoid powering on devices when changing DIP switches or connecting them to one another to prevent accidental damage. From driver 1, wire D+, D-, and Shield from the Thru output and connect them to the In input on driver 2. Remove the Thru terminator jumper from driver 1 but don’t remove it from driver 2. Make sure that driver 2 does not use the same DIP switch settings as driver 1. This is required as using the same settings will result in the lights not working. Refer to the reference chart to find the matching addresses for the DIP settings of the second driver and configure the lights in the Poolside app accordingly. Frequently Asked Questions Q: Can I connect multiple PAL drivers to The Attendant? A: Yes, you can connect multiple PAL drivers to The Attendant. Just make sure to follow the advanced configurations mentioned in the article. Q: What should I do if my lights are not working after connecting them to The Attendant? A: Double-check the DIP switch settings on both the PAL drivers and The Attendant. Ensure that the addresses are correctly configured in the software. Q: Are there any safety precautions I should take when working with PAL drivers and lights? A: Yes, always disconnect the power before making any changes to the DIP switch settings or connecting the devices. This helps to avoid any accidental damage or malfunction. Q: Where can I find the online chart for the PAL driver DIP switch settings? A: You can find the online chart with the PAL driver DIP switch settings here. Q: Can I use older models of PAL drivers with The Attendant? A: Yes, you can use older models of PAL drivers with The Attendant. Just make sure to follow the specific instructions and settings provided for your model.

[lightingwebsitesbllslighting]

How to Connect Your PAL Lights to The Attendant

Connecting and configuring your PAL drivers and lights to The Attendant is a simple process. Once you have completed the physical wiring connections from the lights to the driver, you can proceed with the following steps. Wiring To wire a single PAL driver, connect the “+ and – terminals on DMX In” on the driver to the “D+ / D- terminals” of a BUS port on The Attendant. Make sure to keep the DMX Line Terminator attached in the light controller. DIP Switch Settings Each light zone you have wired on your PAL drivers must have a light device configured on The Attendant. The addresses for red, green, and blue are derived from the combination of the DIP switch settings within each PAL driver. For the PAL model PCR-2DMX driver, the addresses for the two zones that this controller supports are defined by two banks of switches – Module Config and Other Config. You can find the settings and corresponding values in our online chart located here. For the PAL model PCR-3DMX driver, DIP switches 9-1 define the addresses for the 8 zones that this controller supports. The location of these switches is marked in the following image. Again, you can find the settings and corresponding values in our online chart located here. Basic Configuration Example For most installations with one PAL driver controlling two zones, the DIP switch settings should be as follows: Module Config: 1 ON, 2 ON, 3 OFF, 4 OFF Other Config: all 4 OFF (down) Referencing our table, you’ll find the Red/Green/Blue addresses for each zone. Depending on the model of your driver, use the values for either v1 or v2 of the schema. As v2 is the most recent update from PAL Lighting, assume you have the latest model driver and use addresses 1 through 6 to set up the lights in the app. Advanced Configurations Using More than One PAL Driver in Series When you have more than one driver providing lighting to additional zones, you need to connect them together using the In and Thru terminals on the communications board. Ensure power is disconnected when working with devices. It is important to avoid powering on devices when changing DIP switches or connecting them to one another to prevent accidental damage. From driver 1, wire D+, D-, and Shield from the Thru output and connect them to the In input on driver 2. Remove the Thru terminator jumper from driver 1 but don’t remove it from driver 2. Make sure that driver 2 does not use the same DIP switch settings as driver 1. This is required as using the same settings will result in the lights not working. Refer to the reference chart to find the matching addresses for the DIP settings of the second driver and configure the lights in the Poolside app accordingly. Frequently Asked Questions Q: Can I connect multiple PAL drivers to The Attendant? A: Yes, you can connect multiple PAL drivers to The Attendant. Just make sure to follow the advanced configurations mentioned in the article. Q: What should I do if my lights are not working after connecting them to The Attendant? A: Double-check the DIP switch settings on both the PAL drivers and The Attendant. Ensure that the addresses are correctly configured in the software. Q: Are there any safety precautions I should take when working with PAL drivers and lights? A: Yes, always disconnect the power before making any changes to the DIP switch settings or connecting the devices. This helps to avoid any accidental damage or malfunction. Q: Where can I find the online chart for the PAL driver DIP switch settings? A: You can find the online chart with the PAL driver DIP switch settings here. Q: Can I use older models of PAL drivers with The Attendant? A: Yes, you can use older models of PAL drivers with The Attendant. Just make sure to follow the specific instructions and settings provided for your model.

[ledlightingdesignbllslighting]

How to Connect Your PAL Lights to The Attendant

Connecting and configuring your PAL drivers and lights to The Attendant is a simple process. Once you have completed the physical wiring connections from the lights to the driver, you can proceed with the following steps. Wiring To wire a single PAL driver, connect the “+ and – terminals on DMX In” on the driver to the “D+ / D- terminals” of a BUS port on The Attendant. Make sure to keep the DMX Line Terminator attached in the light controller. DIP Switch Settings Each light zone you have wired on your PAL drivers must have a light device configured on The Attendant. The addresses for red, green, and blue are derived from the combination of the DIP switch settings within each PAL driver. For the PAL model PCR-2DMX driver, the addresses for the two zones that this controller supports are defined by two banks of switches – Module Config and Other Config. You can find the settings and corresponding values in our online chart located here. For the PAL model PCR-3DMX driver, DIP switches 9-1 define the addresses for the 8 zones that this controller supports. The location of these switches is marked in the following image. Again, you can find the settings and corresponding values in our online chart located here. Basic Configuration Example For most installations with one PAL driver controlling two zones, the DIP switch settings should be as follows: Module Config: 1 ON, 2 ON, 3 OFF, 4 OFF Other Config: all 4 OFF (down) Referencing our table, you’ll find the Red/Green/Blue addresses for each zone. Depending on the model of your driver, use the values for either v1 or v2 of the schema. As v2 is the most recent update from PAL Lighting, assume you have the latest model driver and use addresses 1 through 6 to set up the lights in the app. Advanced Configurations Using More than One PAL Driver in Series When you have more than one driver providing lighting to additional zones, you need to connect them together using the In and Thru terminals on the communications board. Ensure power is disconnected when working with devices. It is important to avoid powering on devices when changing DIP switches or connecting them to one another to prevent accidental damage. From driver 1, wire D+, D-, and Shield from the Thru output and connect them to the In input on driver 2. Remove the Thru terminator jumper from driver 1 but don’t remove it from driver 2. Make sure that driver 2 does not use the same DIP switch settings as driver 1. This is required as using the same settings will result in the lights not working. Refer to the reference chart to find the matching addresses for the DIP settings of the second driver and configure the lights in the Poolside app accordingly. Frequently Asked Questions Q: Can I connect multiple PAL drivers to The Attendant? A: Yes, you can connect multiple PAL drivers to The Attendant. Just make sure to follow the advanced configurations mentioned in the article. Q: What should I do if my lights are not working after connecting them to The Attendant? A: Double-check the DIP switch settings on both the PAL drivers and The Attendant. Ensure that the addresses are correctly configured in the software. Q: Are there any safety precautions I should take when working with PAL drivers and lights? A: Yes, always disconnect the power before making any changes to the DIP switch settings or connecting the devices. This helps to avoid any accidental damage or malfunction. Q: Where can I find the online chart for the PAL driver DIP switch settings? A: You can find the online chart with the PAL driver DIP switch settings here. Q: Can I use older models of PAL drivers with The Attendant? A: Yes, you can use older models of PAL drivers with The Attendant. Just make sure to follow the specific instructions and settings provided for your model.