#This creature is a combination of monster and human and they only have the skillset to deal with one of those.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Expertise can't help you here.

[bogleech]

People really don’t seem to understand what I mean about AI art generation already rendering a lot of artists “obsolete.” Every time I talk about it people say “don’t worry, it can’t replace all the work that goes into animating a character or sculpting a usable cg model or building a costume!” and that’s all true, but those jobs begin with just a concept on paper, and the entire industry of conceiving that concept was basically just murdered in its sleep. For instance I asked Midjourney to combine an Owl with a Barnacle and got this:

I genuinely envy this as a creature design. It’s exactly something I’d have been glad to have come up with and use in my main setting as a monster. It’s also something I’d be highly impressed by as a concept if I saw it walking around in a horror movie or a video game. To top it all off, it looks like a legit surrealist horror painting you might see used as the cover of a story compilation, or just a one-off illustration in a sci fi magazine. All of those things would have previously meant that someone was paid to think of the idea and produce the image.

Someone else in the same chat around the same time asked the bot to make “an eerie space entity” and got this:

If I saw this on deviantart years ago I’d have thought “holy shit, that is terrifying and gorgeous and totally original, somebody HIRE this artist!!!” ....even now there are no visual cues that actually tell me this was AI generated. I’ve already seen people with similar painting styles and aesthetics all my life. I also asked it to combine various pokemon together, and it had NO idea what pokemon species I actually meant, yet it still came up with some things that you could base some pretty fun little video game characters on:

Again I see people saying “this can’t replace the animating and sculpting and other hard work that goes into realizing a concept!” and that’s true, but for many artists, “realizing the concept” is basically the only skill they ever honed and has been their entire career. A lot of people didn’t learn to animate or sculpt or build, nor do they even actually want to, because simply making up neat ideas that no one’s seen before, drawing them, and maybe passing those drawings on to those other skillsets is what they like to do and what they’re proud of doing. I know because that’s me, I just like thinking of creatures and illustrating them, and that’s all I really wanted to do as a “job” in the art world. People will still seek real artists when those real artists have a certain personal flair that really stands out, especially if they just personally value human creativity as a principle, but *JOBS* in just “character design” or “background design” don’t typically care. Movie productions just have a bunch of artists draw a bunch of stuff for the producers to look through until they like something, and then they pay a different set of artists to put that idea into the product. The latter half of this process will be fine, but no studio is going to see a need to spend money on the first creative step once they all catch on to this.

[zorkaya-moved]

JUJU.TSU KAIS.EN VERSE IDEAS (DRAFT).

THIS IS JUST A COMBINATION OF IDEAS! THEY ARE NOT FULLY 100% INCLUDED. I’D LIKE SOME FEEDBACK ON THEM! THESE ARE JUST WHAT I HAVE IN MIND FOR HER VERSE RN AND IT CAN BE REWORKED EASY!

I will not erase Zarina’s intense control of her emotions. Her energy and her aura will make her still be referred to as a ‘monster’ among other humans just like in her canon. However, it is adjusted to fit more with the Jujutsu Kaisen canon. Zarina is a strong character and I do not wish to make her weak since she will not be taking any major fight in fighting others in this verse without protecting herself. But, once again, if these thoughts sound fine, I’ll go forward with them, but I’d like some feedback on that for real. :”D

In Russian, curses are called “proklyatiya/proklyat’ya.” So that would mean that Zarina uses Russian names of techniques when she performs them or when she names them, which means that Japanese translation or English translation may lose its full meaning. Curses in Russia take forms of mythological creatures like rusalki (mermaids), baba yaga, leshiy, domovoy, etc. Curses in Russia are dense in their nature despite a less dense population, all due to the different negative emotions ratio in Russia due to the different government and culture. I would like to say that there are a small number of sorcerers in Russia, but they are working with Europe since they live close by. I would say there is only one school for sorcerers in Russia because the population density in Russia is not as big. This is purely based on my knowledge of Russia and me going ‘What is happening in other countries?’

Zarina is in the mid-to-late twenties. She is well-known in several countries for her paradoxical rumors about her, but she is known as the Sorcerer who represents the winter itself. It’s connected to how all curses are left after meeting her - frozen, frigid, turned to snow and melted under the Sun. She is also known to be a sorcerer who did kill several other sorcerer when they were getting in her way, but the story about that remains a mystery: was it accidental or was it intentional? 

Zarina Sokolova is one of the Sorcerers from an ancient family of Sokolovs who are known as the underworld rulers (still mafia but also covering sorcerers). Only Zarina was able to pursue the education as the sorcerer since Victor had to be the next leader of Sokolov family. Not only that, but her skillset was much more useful while fighting against curses to protect their family and their legacy. Zarina is known for her control of emotions and her cursed techniques that make people question if she is a human or a reincarnation of some evil spirit (comparison with her being an elemental of natural disaster in canon). Little number of people or even curses can sense she’s a sorcerer without her ‘letting go’ of her mental restraints, which is how she goes under the radar, but once the cursed energy is unleashed, it scares many curses away as they compare her to the ancient sorceress turned vengeful spirit - Marzanna/Morana, whose cursed object will be discussed later. In Japan, it is, of course, different because they will NOT know who Marzanna/Morana is due to different histories and where they were born. 

However, Zarina is constantly compared to Marzanna because Sokolov family is related to sorcerers Svarog and Marzanna who turned against others at the end of their lives. Specifically, Svarog was killed by Morana when he tried to stop her and turned into a vengeful spirits because of that. Morana was sealed away before she was turned into cursed object of special grade that must be purified / re-sealed every year by Sokolov family. Zarina is in Japan because the “Doll of Morana” was stolen on its way to purification/re-sealing. She followed the trail and came to Japan to find the cursed object belonging to her family and to her country. This is why her mission in Ju.jut.su Ka.is.en is not as villainous until you speak more to her. 

Sokolova’s inherited technique is known as ‘Hawk’s Eyes,’ which show her the weak spots of curses and people alike, making her know where to hit to create an stronger impact and to either kill or to disarm a person. The hit on the weak spot would be much stronger as she hits with a strong controlled cursed energy or cursed techniques. In some cases with weaker sorcerers and spirits, her cursed technique or her cursed energy will manifest inside the weak spot and freeze them from the inside. ( this may be reworked )

Her Domain Expansion is known as ‘Imperious Glacial Domination’ (Vlastnoye Lyed’yanoye Gospodstvo). It freezes everyone inside besides Zarina, taking full ‘control’ of them once they are frozen and frigid, the temperature in the domain goes so low as to instantly freeze salt water; if you do not stand close to Zarina and she doesn’t allow you to survive in her domain, if you are not a strong sorcerer there’s a possibility you’ll die. Once again, this domain makes others sorcerers in Russia refer to her as a possible mirror image of Morana from centuries ago. In Japan, such comparisons may or may not be made depending on how others are knowledgeable about Russian curses and vengeful spirits.

Comparisons between the vengeful spirit Morana and Zarina are the conflict that plays on Zarina’s humanity just like her mutation plays in her canon. Zarina still dislikes her sorcerer abilities because they make her feel less human despite her knowing she is a human but she feels like if she keeps using them she’ll end up losing her humanity. She still prefers not to unleash much of her abilities and she prefers to use mostly her physical abilities and cursed tools to finish her job, which makes people think that she cannot use her cursed energy that well. 

[stcllac]

alright let’s go lads time to inform u on the bois

viviette delacour

yall know her

she’s a model who’s almost finished her senior year and she’s gonna continue modelling as a career for as long as she can

it doesn’t really matter either way cause her family is fucking Stacked

she’s also a superhero because 1) she wants to help people but also 2) it’s an escape from the pressures of always being in the spotlight. even though being a hero gives her a lot of attention, no one knows it’s her, so she can pretty much act how she wants

her hero-self is a bee theme and the public took to calling her queen bee so she just went along with it

she wears a ring that she uses to transform and she’s super stressed whenever she has to take it off for modelling but she makes sure it’s on her person if she can help it. the ring is magic obviously so if the argenti got their hands on that ?? uh yikes

vivi is super anal about keeping her secret identity an actual secret and isn’t about to go telling anyone, even her closest friends if she can help it unlike some people we know

she lives in the downtown area in a place called glaycier which one of her mothers is the mayor of. the place is very classic france in terms of architecture and just general vibe. it’s the place she usually keeps safe and doesn’t usually need to leave for other areas for whatever reason

with the impending war, of course, she’s been making an effort on the frontlines in all areas, but she sometimes isn’t available as her modelling work continues and she also needs to make sure her identity is still intact

she’s the type of hero that doesn’t get super angry easily, but when she’s angry at you, even if she’s in the middle of saving you, you’ll Know

possible connections & stuff

pls give me her fellow heroes they can know each other’s identity or not i don’t mind, i just need a squad for her to get exasperated at

colleagues !! modelling friends or even just people in entertainment she’d probs know of them at least

hestia seasonaire

yall know her too lbr

she’s a demon and a faery or was anyway which can be a Bad combination but she never used her powers for evil she inherited her mother’s niceness much to the dismay of daddy demon

she preferred not to spend time at home and would instead go out and pretend she was a normal human or something and get a taste of regular society and all that fun stuff. as much as she loved her powers she thought living on the surface would be waaaaaay better

very enthusiastic and preppy and loves gossip so she’s always just “tell me eVERYTHING” and genuinely likes to listen to people

was probably a cheerleader at demon high school

she’s super nice and everything thinks she’s incapable of harming anyone or anything but she would probs gladly roast her father alive

when the aliens first invaded, hestia and rosie went out to see if they could stop them since they’re powerful demons and all, but they were unprepared and so they’re pretty much dead now but still live on as ghosts

bold of the argenti to assume that’d stop hestia tho

she tries to help as much as she can from the afterlife, like seeing if missing people are dead or not and passing that information on

the gossiper inside is still alive and so she’s always finding out everything about everybody, like your grandma ?? yeah she’s telling her how you used to shove gummy bears up your nose while watching barney

possible connections & stuff

ghost friends !! people she spends time with in the afterlife

old demon buddies she knew from school or something if she can she’d probs come and visit !!

people she met when she was gallivanting around on the surface who didn’t know she was a demon faery princess and just thought she was a cool human girl but sURPRISE she died and now you’re just finding out who she really is

noire seasonaire

aND ANOTHER ONE U KNO

aforementioned daddy demon is her uncle

her own father has always vied for the title despite being the younger brother but noire isn’t interested in any of that stuff, she just wants to make potions and do magic and live her life

is very fascinated by the world on the surface but has never been allowed to leave home for very long at a time, and so she’s probably only met a few people once or twice

everyone sorta assumes she’s the “normal” seasonaire but surprise bitches she’s making love potions and practicing resurrection rituals in her basement

her mother ?? isn’t around anymore. she was used to conceive a child and once noire was born was just sorta tossed away

her entire room is like a giant library. need something obscure ?? noire probably has a book for that

when the argenti invaded she wanted to go help hestia and rosie but hestia was just “hONEY NO IT’S OK WE’VE GOT THIS” and now feels super bad like she could have done something if she was there even tho she would’ve just died too

and so she’s dedicated to resurrecting hestia and rosie. it’s mostly just bc she loves them and doesn’t want them dead, but also bc she feels responsible

she’s also put her foot down against her father and basically had a giant demon tantrum in order to be allowed on the surface to help the fight. she still mostly helps from home but a lot of people know about the tiny demon princess who’s ready to die for them

possible connections & stuff

demon buddies !! people she knew growing up basically

people on the surface that she’s starting to get to know by helping everyone, she’s a pretty friendly person sO

remy maxwell

oh look a new one

he’s just a normal uni student tbh, like he’s aware that a lot of the other cities have superheroes and magical creatures and just all-around crazy people, but he prefers his quiet life

or at least he dID, the argenti kinda changed that and now his life is a Mess and he wants it to end

the cul-de-sac he lives in has become a prime safe-area that doesn’t have any monsters for whatever reason so there’s all these people taking a break from fighting there and he’s just internally “gET OFFA MY LAWN”

he’s kinda uncooperative and just gives one-word answers to a lot of people unless he knows you, which he probably doesn’t because he has the social graces of a toenail

he’s a psychology major who minors in literature so his skillset isn’t all that useful in combat but he has a weapon from sb laboratories he can use and he likes to think he’s pretty skilled at it

he lives at home, but his parents aren’t around much bc they’re always travelling, like people ask where they’ve gone now and he’s just “yeah i think this is their...................fifth or sixth honeymoon idk”

he’s not even scared of the argenti he’s just annoyed by them like he sees a creature lurking on his roof and he gets the broom and is just “fUCK OFF”

he just wants to go the grocery store without infected trees trying to kill him man

possible connections & stuff

give him his neighbours !! i headcanon that he and the other kids on the street he lives on are kinda close and have always played together since they were young and they’re still always around each other even tho they’re older now

someone young in the fight who stops by the cul-de-sac regularly who remy’s sorta taken in as his fake younger sibling

fellow uni students !! even tho school is probably cancelled bc u know..............evil aliens he probs still sees them from time to time

ginerva starkweather

BDE -- big dumbass energy

she lives in the wilds in a magic-ish type forest that i haven’t named yet i’ll get back to you on that in a witchy cottage that’s sorta hidden but ?? it’s not exactly a secret it’s just how the location is

she’s a witch and has been for her entire life, but she’s also been kind of alone for her entire life ?? like she’s just always Known she’s had magical powers but she sorta had to train herself and raise herself she was raised by the woodland creatures

she’s a disney princess but a really fucking stupid one

her best friend is a fox called mitzy who has been her loyal companion since the two of them were wee babs

she thinks magic is the solution to most things and doesn’t really see the appeal of science and modern shit and all that fun stuff, like she doesn’t have a phone or a tv, has never been to the suburbs or the downtown area really, she just chills and often forgets more modern places exist

her magic is what pays the bills as she advertises herself as “your own personal witch!!” so people can hire her for her to use her magic however they want, though there are limitations

she heard about the argenti by encountering some monsters herself and, after that, by her clients telling her and asking if she can do anything, so now she’s dedicated herself to finding a way to blast those damn aliens away once and for all

the main problem is that she hasn’t even thought of teaming up with the scientists to discover a solution, thinking she has to do everything herself because she’s just ?? never had to depend on anyone else before so it’s not something she’s even thinking about

possible connections & stuff

clients !! people who ask things of her magic-wise and pay her to carry out what they want and all that fun stuff, she’s super nice and social if that’s relevant at all

someone pls tell her that she should go and join forces with the scientists and shit. and give her a phone

the woodland creatures who grew up with her or helped raise her !!

siwoo bae

AH WHAT A FINE DAY FOR SCIENCE

siwoo grew up in the suburbs with parents who had high expectations for their kids and siwoo was no exception, but that wasn’t a problem for him since he was a genius from the get-go really

he was initially very proud of himself and what he achieved, and for a while his parents were, too. but as he started growing older they assumed that his inventions and experiments would become bigger and greater and soon their expectations were far too high for such a young kid

it was then that he started to just ?? slip off the radar in a way ?? let his siblings take the lead while he kept everything to himself and he would avoid family dinners and just isolate himself in his room and the lab it had become

when he was in his early teens taking away his 39045830490th science fair prize, he was offered the chance to start up his own science lab/company. at first he thought it was too good to be true and that this person was fucking with him but nOPE it was true

and so he became the ceo of SB Labs downtown, and he moved out there without his parents knowing so he wouldn’t be disturbed by them bc he kNEW they’d want a cut of his profits and he’s just like “pls no”

the older he became the more he shut himself in his lab and now he rarely ever leaves, relaying messages via his androids (woo-bots) or video message, but even the latter is rare

he’s a very shy person and has little to no social skills tbh he’s hopeless

when the argenti invaded he was On That Shit, studying any samples he could get his hands on and making weapons that were as effective as possible against the monsters, but still only showing his face when absolutely necessary

most people are kinda Shook that this 22 year old dude is the ceo

possible connections & stuff

his siblings !! idk how many there are i didn’t think that far ahead but basically they’d have the pressure against them that he did and he isolated himself from Everyone which includes them probs rip

someone pls drag him outside for once in his life

just people he would interact with for the war he needs to be social

briar kang

yeah that’s not her real name

briar is the lead singer of a band called acantha, but when she was growing up her parents told her that she couldn’t pursue music and had to follow a career path that would “actually lead somewhere”

she didn’t give up though, and when she was sixteen she told her parents that she wasn’t intending to go to university, instead wanting to head to the downtown area to make it in the music industry

she was promptly disowned, so in retaliation she changed her name

she and her band members struggled for a little bit until they played at a battle of the bands and were scouted and the rest was history pretty much

their band is known for being “larger than life” the type of people who like to hype up a crowd and just live in the moment rather than thinking too much about the past or fretting about the future. obviously, they have to be business-savvy and professional, but they like to keep it real, which is why a lot of their fans appreciate them aside from their music

briar can be kinda petty. i can confirm that they held a concert in her hometown in the suburbs just to piss her parents off

she’s an artistic person and gets inspiration from just about everything, but she’s also kind of unwavering when it comes to her artistic vision. she’s willing to compromise with her bandmates but pretty much no one else. she doesn’t want to go against her ideal sound/vision/concept/whatever solely because it’ll “make them more popular” as she feels like she’d be lying that way

the argenti haven’t broken her spirit, and she’s taken to using her fame to tell her fans that they need to step up and fight

acantha totally holds charity concerts and stuff to help fund anti-argenti programs and stuff

possible connections & stuff

PWEATHE.................GIMME HER BANDMATES.......................PWE A TH E

any other people in the industry she knows, ‘cause she would

elythe varelle

we been knew

the princess of the faeries, one would expect elythe to be spoiled and set up for life, and in some ways, she was. she was given everything she wanted by the servants, but never her parents, who were “far too busy” to deal with her

in her family, the title of ‘heir to the throne’ is something that has to be earned and not something one is born into, something eli’s been told since the beginning

but alas no matter what she does she’s just not good enough and her parents still won’t look at her, plus the people believe that she’s just a brat due to the sneaky and snarky way she acts and they’re not totally wrong but i mEAN

she’s a very difficult person to get along with and so she prefers to keep the staff members who work with her the same as when she was young since they know her and how her mind works, plus they see the good in her

the epitome of “can you blame me, i never got no love”

now that the argenti have come, she’s decided to see their invasion as an opportunity rather than a threat, which would be fine if she was rEALLY helping humanity, but she’s probs choosing the wrong way of doing things

aka she wants to resurrect 2 of the argenti’s first victims -- hestia and ambrose seasonaire, to show off that she has the magical prowess to be the next fae queen

aka she’s a dumbass who doesn’t see the bigger picture

she also kinda doesn’t understand exactly how the world outside of the land of the fae works ?? like she’s got all the magical sections of the wilds down, but the rest ?? probs not

possible connections & stuff

other faeries !! people who work in the castle or anything else really

people she meets during her journey to resurrect the seasonaires yeet skeet

[xfulmen]

"I can't hold on... fading away.."

@ventteux

↯ █ 全能ライトニング

      This was war. A state of conflict between societies or states. But its meaning can be beyond that. In a land where supernatural prowess such as magic exists, it is inevitable that wars between humans who wield magic can transpire. More so, wars between humans and miscellaneous creatures, some of them reputed to be mythical. From various outlandish looking creatures, to living beings such as dragons.

      And that’s what was taking place within the land of Fiore. A war betwixt mages and dragons. A sight beyond comprehension for anyone to behold. A sight that could only exist in books and stories told by elders. And yet, that what the reality bestowed upon them. The manifestation of calamity. The incarnation of terror. The epitome of destruction. 

                                                      THE END OF THE WORLD.

      Or so, it was believed by many. But those who had the capabilities to fight, had a different mindset. Those who had magic power surging inside them, refused to believe that this was the end. Declined the fact that they will be eviscerated. No. They had to fight for their survival. No matter how unbelievably impossible it seemed, giving up wasn’t an option.

      It all started when dragons made an appearance, creating a havoc of Crocus. And that was due to the eclipse project that overtly, didn’t go as planned. Little were the details that were given. However, such matters weren’t important at this point. Not right now. Other things held priority. And the vanquishment of the said creatures was the top mission to be accomplished.

      And this was something that those who possess magic that slay dragons excelled in. Seven dragons and seemingly, seven dragon slayers. Who could have thought that a time like this would come? The time where dragon slayers will conquer against dragons, and put the meaning of their magic into usage— illustrating the point, clearly and perfectly. Regardless of the generation, it still counted as dragon slayer magic; potent enough to complete the current objective. And Laxus wasn’t an exception. He wasn’t taught said magic and skillset by the real thing, but he was able to attain mastery of such abilities on his own. Hopefully, they will be proven useful for this calamitous situation.

      He was already having a conflict with one of those mythical creatures. A dragon of a jade complexion, scales tougher than anticipated, gargantuan size, and tremendous power. The sentiment of intimidation was something foreign to him. Hardly able to exprerience such feeling. But in this circumstance, it was ineluctable. Never in his life he was able to face such a monster, and the stakes are too high. Its power was worlds apart from his own. It gave him the impression that his own powerful magic was meaningless. Quite a joke, in actuality. But such contemplations should stay away from his mind.

      However, he wasn’t alone. Alongside with him there were some of his fellow comrades. Amongst them it was a fellow dragon slayer, known as Wendy Marvell. Unmistakably the youngstest one out of the seven dragon slayers, but that doesn’t alter the fact that she is still a force to be reckoned with. And her assistance in defeating the current enemy was more than beneficial. A teamwork that the Thunder God never expected to form, but he has no complaints either.

                                                           ——- SHIT!!!!

      Suddenly, a ferocious onslaught was performed by the jade dragon, consequently destroying the location that they are placed on. Nothing was visible except for smoke combined with the dirt of the ground. Yet, the S-class mage had no time to waste. Thus, his dinstictive magic engulfed his broad body, soon to transform into an enormous lightning bolt. In a second thereafter he disappeared from the position that he was standing, and he was teleporting at his surroundings, in an attempt to gather his fellow companions. And the first one to notice with the youthling, laying on the ground. Instantaneously, he landed right beside her, ready to help her stand on her feet—-

                           … . until a set of certain words echoed his ears.

      For a moment, he felt paralyzed. His lungs were unable to serve him under the common act of respiring. Eyes widened, as his mind was trying to analyze her statement. One that sounded like a complete nightmare, a horrible joke, an awful lie. However, scrutining her body, he noticed that she suffered some severe wounds that immediate healing was required. But due to the situation that is taking place at this moment, such quest seemed to be out of question.

                                         No…                                                It can’t be… —-

     He could tell that she was in a crucial state. Her fatal wounds on her body weren’t for ornamentation. Burgundy colored liquid was all over her clothes, smearing them. Her big eyes were half open— ready to be shut for an eternity.

                                 HE COULDN’T LET THAT HAPPEN. 

                                                                             NOT ON HIS WATCH.

      He took a hold of her body by placing one muscular arm behind her shoulders, and immediately his magic appeared once more, permitting his existence to take the shape of a lightning bolt for one more time. In an instant, he changed his location, hoping that the rest of his guildmembers were in better physical condition. he appeared once again in a different locality, not far away from the dragon, yet far enough to create a large distance between them. To give some time to himself and to his almost fallen comrade. His pattern of breathing was growing quite heavy, as he noticed the blood coming from her wounds wouldn’t stop flowing. And her frail declaration echoing cranial walls was only deteriorating things.

      He felt his arms shaking; talk about a rarity. A guy like him unveiling such emotions. It was fear— horror orchestrated in front of him, fear portrayed within his face expression. And worst of all, the thought of being incapable of doing anything was crossing his mind again and again. 

                       HE HAD TO SAVE HER. 

                                                        EVEN IF IT COSTS HIS OWN LIFE.

            ❛ —- Snap..                    … Snap ut of it kid!! ❜

      It was a miracle that he was able to vocalize any thoughts that occupied his mind. Never in his life he partook in such horrifying scheme. The pain of losing a comrade was undeniably strong and grave. Unbearable, if more so. But the pain of losing such a young comrade, laying on your hands was a whole other different thing. A situation that stood on a higher level; far crucial, far more scarring in his mind. Only with the mere contemplation of letting such thing to happen, was making his blood boil, but at the same time— it was increasing the fear thhat was overwhelming his heart.

      He had to stand strong and save her. Otherwise he will never forgive himself for letting a comrade of his to fall for an eternity. Such was the reality that was bestowed upon him— a reality that he shall change. A reality that doesn’t need to worsen. She was the pride and the future of Fairy Tail. One that everyone wants to live and protect.

            ❛ Don’t give up yet.                      DON’T GIVE UP ON US.                              You— You will make it, I swear.                  I will make sure to save you.                             We… We will defeat those dragons.                                     And we will go back to our Guild.                                              Just don’t give up yet. ❜

[thecourt-rpg]

BELLATRIX THEOXENIOS is a TWENTY SIX year old FEMALE HUMAN that uses SHE/HER. They are known for THEIR SWIFTNESS, CUNNING AND MASTERFULNESS. Unfortunately, they are also known for THEIR INTRANSIGENCE, INTOLERANCE AND RUTHLESSNESS.  

Their face claim is EMERAUDE TOUBIA, and they currently live in FATESWALLOW as a PEACEKEEPER.

Trigger warnings for kidnapping, murder, and abuse.

Stories about the supernatural had always fueled people’s imagination, myths and legends have existed since times immemorial, most with dark undertones about the intentions of the creatures described. There’s little surprise, when one thinks about it, that some would have taken those stories seriously, would have wandered off in search of things that go bump in the night, would have instinctively seen them as threats to all of humanity and wanted them eradicated.  

The brotherhood is old, and few documents actually exist to provide its current members with a specific timeline, in fact, most stories about the monsters they hunt are transmitted orally. They’re fighters, they have no time for record keeping, after all. Killing is a demanding calling, especially their brand of it. Their lack of respect in written history is perhaps what explains why, as centuries passed and the human world evolved, the creatures they exclusive hunt these days – the creatures they still know about – are restricted to vampires and werewolves. Any other legends are met with dismissiveness and scorn, two different species are enough to provide a serious threat to the human world, and there is no need to look for dangers where there are only shadows.  

They recruit members from former victims, survivors of attacks, or their own offspring – rare as such people are – and Bellatrix had known no other life than this one. She’d been born into it, and more importantly, she’d been born for it, never a soft-spoken, affectionate child, never one afraid of loud noises or dark corners. She’d excelled at training, and while she could have been more obedient, more respectful of her superiors, her skill far surpassed that of others in her age group. Despite her mastery of numerous weapons, both ancient and modern, it was clear she preferred hand-to-hand combat, often times charging heedlessly into battle to get first shot at a kill.  

Being so good, so fast had made her conceited and indifferent to those she viewed beneath her. She wasn’t an easy person to get along with, even among her own people, but then again, the brotherhood was not a place to make friends, or lead a regular life. She wasn’t alone though, not when it came to her skill, nor to the isolating tendencies it gave her. Hunters always went out in teams, three, or four, even more if they were to attack a nest. Those they hunted might be less than human, but they were stronger, and faster than even the best trained soldier could be, and aid in dealing with them was considered necessary. Even so, collaboration between hunters was fraught with trouble and despite her confidence, it came as a surprise to her to realize she excelled at that, just like she excelled at everything else.  

Her partners quickly became her whole life, and although the first time they’ve shared a mission had been a fluke, they continued in the same form from then on, refusing to pair up with anyone else. For someone who hadn’t dealt in sentiment, the strength of her feelings terrified her at first, until she realized they felt the same way. It was, ultimately, a relief to trust the people who were charged with your protection, so deeply. It was a relief to know she wasn’t alone in finding the blind obedience their superiors demanded frustrating. It was freeing to have people assist her in her schemes, no matter how rebellious, or haphazard they sounded. They began sneaking out, spending all their time together, not just on missions, and training together. She became a better shot, their expertise with knives improved. Where she hated taking advice from her teachers, she had no trouble listening to her teammates, and becoming a better fighter because of it. Together they were unstoppable and lethal, so much so, in fact, that word of them had actually spread throughout the legendary underworld they navigated. Vampires and werewolves both showed signs of recognition when they attacked, but, riding on the adrenaline fueled wave of their success, they ignored the dangerous signs, and one day finally paid for it.  

The ambush separated them in a labyrinthine forest, and Bellatrix wasn’t worried, at first, there were other times when they’d have to split to track a mark, and they had protocols in place to find each other again before returning to camp, but the trails they’ve found were a mere diversion, its goal to divide and conquer, and she didn’t know whether she took the wrong turn, or if traps were waiting for all of them at the end of their path, and for all her skill, she couldn’t fight seven vampires at once. But being the cowardly, dishonorable creatures they were, they had no plans to kill her – it wasn’t punishment enough – and instead dragged her back to their lair, blindfolding her and feeding off of her to keep her weak.  

It was mostly the abrupt change in temperature that warned her something was terribly wrong. It was winter where she’d been, and now it felt like spring between one step and the next.  Another clue had been the fact that they’ve removed the blindfold, seemingly uncaring whether she could recall the way to their lair or not. She thought it was because they had finally decided to kill her, but they made no move to approach her and slit her throat, which was a mistake, just like their sudden carelessness to the danger she posed was. The place they’d ended up in was teeming with blooming trees and despite her efforts to ignore the uneasiness in her mind, she became aware she was no longer anywhere near the place she’d been taken.  

For the first time in a while, fear gripped at her chest – if she couldn’t guess where she was, then how were her friends supposed to find her? They had the same training after all, the same skillset – if she couldn’t figure something out, they’d have trouble as well. Yet despite that, she knew she had to get free. And, for once, her love of knives in a world where modern weaponry was easily available, had finally paid off. She’d been patted down before being tied up, but they hadn’t found all the daggers she’d hid, and she cut down her ropes, taking advantage of the fact they paid little attention to her, and stabbed the vampire who was supposed to guard her, before fleeing.  

It wasn’t that she thought she could escape them that way, but there were still six left, and she needed time to lay out traps. Luckily, all forest were more or less the same, and she was well versed in fighting in the woods, trained since young to ignore pangs of hunger, or weakened limbs. She killed every last one of her kidnappers, before emerging from among the trees, bleeding from multiple scratches and half-drained of blood. She passed out and woke up in a hospital bed, with only vague memories of having been found and moved. She didn’t trust them, seeing how the images contained winged creatures, with sharp ears and rows of sharpened teeth, but it wasn’t long until she saw them again, when her doctor entered the room.  

Not one for dramatics, Bellatrix didn’t recoil or scream, or start crying, and simply tried to absorb her shock at the apparition. Days passed until she could find it in herself to speak again, the one who’d drawn her out of her shell human, like her, a psychologist who specialized in those who slipped unintentionally into this world. The Court – she’d called it – and gave her a brief rundown of its structure claiming, outrageously, that all species lived here in perfect harmony. Bellatrix was not going to believe that, but she couldn’t very well contradict her without raising suspicions.  

After all, she was not supposed to know anything about any other supernatural creature, until she’d been attacked by the vampires who dragged her here. She was offered a way out, but encouraged to adapt to this new world instead, and although her skin crawled at the thought of treating monsters like fellow citizens, she daren’t argue. Somehow this seemed like too momentous a discovery to let herself squander it and, armed with the knowledge that she knew how to leave, she took a job as a Peacekeeper in Fateswallow, her training helping her pass the entrance tests. And although she trusted her partners with her life, she wasn’t as certain they could follow her there, in another world, the thought of having to do what she’d set out to do alone, leaving her hollow and dejected. But there was little time for moping around, with all the secrets she had to discover, all the weak spots she needed to exploit so she could blow this thing wide open and end this bizarre world once and for all.  

At Least Three Potential Plots for Your Character  

 ENEMY OF MY ENEMY – Bellatrix might have trouble adjusting to the idea that there are more things out there for her to hate, but nothing quite measures up to her dislike of werewolves and vampires, and because of her job, she cannot only keep her interactions with humans. She’s likely to meet others who, because of circumstance, or bigotry or a combination of both, hate vampires and werewolves, as well.  

 HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT – Bellatrix took advantage of her training to get a job as a law enforcement officer, swearing to defend the very people she hates. This plot can be related to regular days on the job, whether it’s her catching someone red-handed, or being called to deal with a public disturbance; or it can deal with the conflicting feelings that arise as she has to pretend to view all people as equal, and even help those she feels are unworthy of being saved.

 BLOW  A KISS, FIRE A GUN – even if she feels like she’s fallen of the face of the earth, and that there would be no tracks to lead her teammates to her, she cannot quite lose hope completely. If anyone can find her again, even in this place, it would be them and she spends countless hours looking for any sign that they might have crossed over too.  

[cellerityweb]

Shadow Tactics – Finding the Perfect Art Style

From colorful to rather dark and realistic: finding the right art style for Shadow Tactics took time, but it was worth every second.

Since the company’s founding in 2012 we developed two big games for PC and consoles as well as several mobile apps, with these two games being »The Last Tinker« and our recent release »Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun«. In this article we want to take you behind the scenes of our quest to find a fitting art style for both The Last Tinker and Shadow Tactics. First off, we will introduce both titles and their art styles to you. After that we’ll dive right into the development process before we talk about problems and challenges we encountered along the journey – and of course about how we solved these issues.

The Art Style of The Last Tinker & Shadow Tactics

The Last Tinker is a third person jump ‘n’ run in a colorful world, inspired by games like »Banjoo Kazooie« and »Jak & Dexter«. As Koru, you must defeat the Bleakness that threatens Colortown by using the power of colors. The game’s style is defined by round and smooth shapes, bright colors and a warm light setting. Everything is made from paper, color and glue which combined results in papier-mâché. As a contrast, we added some cardboard elements to create edges and make the world look more interesting. No straight lines, no 90 degrees, rather playful than super accurately drawn patterns – everything looks like it’s made and painted by children. The game’s characters are cartoony and funny, showing their attributes in their looks.

Shadow Tactics is set in Japan’s Edo period and it’s quite the opposite of The Last Tinker. It’s a hardcore realtime stealth game in which you control five different characters with individual skillsets. Basically, it‘s »Commandos« with Ninjas. You kill or sneak around enemies to accomplish your missions. Theme and story of this game are darker and grittier, that‘s why we decided to create a more realistic style and combine it with non-realistic elements like outlines imitating ink, that typical Japanese paintings are famous for. We included many details and each map has its own interesting light setup to catch the mood of a level. In comparison to The Last Tinker, we used more desaturated colors. All characters are human but they all have their own unique silhouette, so you can instantly identify and recognize them. However, they have longer legs than normal humans – a design decision we made because the perspective made them look smaller and somehow compressed.

Finding the Style for The Last Tinker

The Last Tinker started as a project while we were still at university and we had three to four weeks to complete it. It had to be in 3D which was a problem for us at that time. When we started developing the style, our artists had nearly no experience in 3D modeling – our strength clearly lied in creating 2D graphics. So we thought about how we could use our skills in creating 2D graphics for a 3D game. We didn’t have the time and experience to make high detailed models so we thought about what we could create with the help of simple shapes and if we could create details with the help of textures. That‘s why we started with a 2D image that we projected on a plane and roughly cut out the shape of the image. Then we extruded the face and voila – we had a 3D model. Now we just needed the right material to realize this style, ending up with cardboard. [6]

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So we decided to create a world made entirely out of cardboard but we weren’t really satisfied with the early outcome. It looked sort of boring. Plus, we felt like cheaters because our 3D models were so simple. Still, we needed 3D models with plain shapes that could quickly be created and animated. Then we had the perfect idea: Papier-mâché! It’s perfect for beginners in 3D modeling. Plus, at university we were five artists. After starting the real production, we were two artists, then four. By only having to handle one or two materials we were able to create a world fully made of papier-mâché. Material handling was crucial, as creating different good looking materials that look good and real costs a lot of time.

Everybody loved the idea and since we had proper 2D skills, we decided to use textures to add detailed hand-painted patterns.

Now we had a base to work with. To get to know the material better we came together with artists and game designers in tinkering sessions [1], testing different shapes and patterns. We had two or three of these meetings and in the end we really knew the material and its potential. The figures we made were nice references. Some were really good, some were pretty ugly. Oh, and we still have them in our office. One of them sits right next to me and watches me … creep … [2]

Anyway, after having decided on a direction, we wanted to get a clearer vision for our design, which we eventually found in the works of Hundertwasser and Niki de Saint Phalle. Both focus on round and smooth shapes which colorful textures. Plus, we looked for papier-mâché figures made by kids because we wanted the world to look like kids built it. Those references gave us a good feeling for how the world and characters should look like.

First Steps in the Right Direction

After graduation, we occasionally experimented with the prototype, got a lot of feedback and wondered how we could improve it. When it became official that we could make The Last Tinker a complete game, we developed a story and reworked the gameplay which both influenced the style of the game. The first thing we noticed was that everything looked too clean and not very lifelike.

So we added some color splashes and dirt to make everything look a bit more used. Along with the story came Colortown’s different districts, which served the gameplay well. Prior to that, the world was so colorful and chaotic that players often got lost. Introducing the districts and with them some coloring rules helped solving this issue. As already mentioned, we initially used only two materials. After starting the development, however, we considered adding more materials like water and paper hills [3] to make the world more interesting. We struggled a long time with the water because it never really fit into the world.

Then we had the idea to add patterns that you can see on nearly every asset: spirals. They appear as ripples in the water and as splashes in waterfalls. Honestly, I love spirals and I loved drawing them. After some time though, I was so fed up with them that now, every time I see a spiral, I’m about to scream!

Of course, not all of Tinkerworld is friendly and colorful. The Bleakness wants to erase everything in it. The player sets out on an adventure to defeat the Bleakness and the monsters it created – so much for our vision of the first prototype. Style-wise, they needed to fit into the world, so we gave them round and simple shapes. Still, we wanted them to look like something totally strange and foreign to the world. So we decided to make them out of some kind of goo, however, they seemed like being made out of porcelaine. Again – with the story we added in the later production, in which whole colortwon is covered by bleakness – we needed to find a design for this new material. We had an overall feeling and look for the creatures but we still struggled with the Bleakness that wasn‘t lifelike.

We had so many concepts [4] and it took us very long to get the Bleakness’ style right – also because of some technical problems. We ended up with a mix between a less shiny form of goo, and something that you can‘t touch, something that isn‘t really quite there. We also added some patterns on every bleak object to give them a little bit of a mystical appearance. [5]

Finding the Style for Shadow Tactics

The basic idea for Shadow Tactics formed during our time at university. Our Creative Director had always been a huge fan of “Commandos”, so he thought “Why not revive this genre?” So, what’s cool and fits a stealth game? Exactly: ninjas! So we pitched a Commandos-like game with ninjas, with the very first draft being a mobile version. And as we all know, it‘s always common to reuse skills you acquired in prior projects to do something completely different … not. Shadow Tactics was supposed to become a mobile game [7] , so we had a rather cute and cartoony style in mind, which we were already used to. Or in other words: we were – artistically speaking – kind of stuck and pretty much too influenced by our work on The Last Tinker, but we knew that this wasn’t the style we wanted to go for. We wanted to reach these old fans of Commandos which were used to a much more realistic style with tons of details and crispy textures.

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We analyzed the spiritual predecessor [8] and tried to understand what made Commandos … well, Commandos. We wanted to keep its core elements within in our own style to keep the old fans of the game happy – for us artists, however, finding the right style became a real struggle. We had our concept artist overpaint some Commandos screenshots [9] [10] to get a better feeling for a more realistic style while trying to add our touch to it. We never wanted to create some super realistic style, because that just wouldn’t have been us. Plus, for only four artists it was nearly impossible to make a realistically looking game, so we mixed realistic elements with non-realistic elements. We started to concept and model some buildings because somehow the concepts we had created so far didn‘t get us any further. In the beginning, we reduced the complexity of the models and again used textures to obtain detail, which based on photographs that our artists painted over to give them a painted look. We experimented with different non-realistic elements like outlines and canvas patterns [11]. The outlines worked best ingame and fit the Asian style the most, while the canvas patterns created too much noise and simply didn‘t look good. After finishing the first playable prototype [12] [13] , we already knew that we also wanted to include numerous interesting light-settings for catching different moods.

Shadow Tactics’ pre-alpha

For our vertical slice we created polished assets to get a feeling for the style and the quality we wanted to reach, so a lot of time went into one level [14]. Between putting up the prototype and this pre-alpha version we had time to get used to the perspective that brought its own challenges with it. We changed the color palette and various little details, because the prototype seemed a bit to cheerful and idyllic. Shadow Tactics’ story included wars and tragedies, so we developed a better fitting style, using more desaturated colors, but still keeping it very painty, though with reduced details and thick outlines.

From there on out we received some feedback from friends from other games companies, many of them asking „Oh, is it a mobile game?“ Just what you want to hear when you’re developing a big PC and console game … it really bothered us. We realized that our current version was too far away from the original Commandos style, lacking detail, crispiness and realism. We used no normal or specular maps which therefore had no depth and small surface details – everything was kind of plane. This particular level admittedly wasn‘t the best choice for a vertical slice, because it was one of our most colorful ones – not the best basis for finding the right art style for a game that’s getting darker and darker in the long run.

From Pre-Alpha to Alpha

When we created our alpha version [15], we added some normal as well as some specular maps for metallic assets, also adding further details to textures like on stones and thatches. We changed the way that nature looked, from a very painty to a more realistic style, with small leaves instead of big spots. We also removed the outlines from all foliage. Additionally we used the new lighting system from Unity 5. However, we first wanted to get the overall setup right, so we lost the interesting lighting at that stage. And still, it wasn’t what we were aiming for …

From Pre-Alpha to Pre-Beta

In our pre-beta version [16] we decreased the overall number of outlines and made them thinner. We even considered deleting them completely but lost that thought because they created a nice depth and contrast between asset and terrain. We also added dirt to the textures to give everything a gritty and used look. And our shaders learned color variations which you can see on the stones. At that time we didn‘t have a good setup, that‘s why it looks a bit out of place. Besides making the scenes more realistic, however, it kind of masked the fact that we used the same assets over and over again. We tweaked a lot of small things in this phase of development and improved our terrain by adding normal and height maps. These height maps did a better job in blending textures, so the transition between two materials like grass and dirt looked rather crispy than blurry. Eventually, we gave every level a nice light-setup and used color mapping to create more variety between the levels thus creating the proper mood. Ambient particles like in The Last Tinker made the world more lifelike. Well, so much for finding and creating the right art style for Shadow Tactics.

Problems and Solutions

On our quest to find the right art style for both The Last Tinker and Shadow Tactics we certainly had to overcome quite a number of challenges. So, let’s take a look at what these problems were and how we managed to solve them.

The Last Tinker

As mentioned earlier, the first version of The Last Tinker was too colorful and chaotic. Players got lost on a regular basis and didn’t know where to go. Since we used every color to paint the assets and usually had a bright light-setup, we couldn’t use color or light to guide the player through the world. As we developed the story we divided Colortown into different districts. That helped us bringing some order into this colorful world. Bye reducing the number of colors per district and, at the same time, adding specific shapes and patterns as well as some coloring rules, we were able to help players navigate better. Plus, every district is inhabited by different races [17][18][19]. The whole game uses the same house assets. So by giving each districts its own attributes and uniquely designed assets, we could create enough variety and saved a lot of time by not modeling different house types.

Another way to facilitate navigation was adding unique landmarks like a big windmill [20] or unique fountains or maybe special buildings like taverns, that draw the players’ attention and thereby help them remember certain places. Unfortunately, we never managed to completely solve this issue so eventually we gave our companion Tap a guiding feature. Whenever you call him, he shows you the way before you get lost again. Anyway, we just yellow to mainly mark relevant gameplay assets climbable walls, pillars you can jump on or specific landmarks. So, whenever you see something yellow, that’s where you want to go!

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The Challenges of Creating Shadow Tactics

21 – time was scarce … so was a good night’s sleep.

Shadow Tactics confronted us with a whole set of different problems, the biggest being the style itself. On the one hand we weren’t sure on which platform we’d release the game. On the other hand our artists were still too influenced by our previous projects that were all cute and cartoony. »Realism« was another big thing. Not only did we want to make a more realistic looking game, we also wanted it to be historically correct. For that we had to do a lot of research and research takes up a lot of your time! Time – unsurprisingly – was a big problem, but well … when isn’t time a problem game development [21] ? As mentioned in the beginning we switched between styles a couple of times, until we were told it looked like a mobile game and we started to increase the quality, added normal and spec maps, better lighting and more details overall, which resulted in a ton of additional work. And with us still being only four artists, time was crucial. Also, we lacked experience in many ways, e.g. when it came creating high-detailed terrains and proper lighting setup, so we had to get to know a lot of new tools which – again – cost us a lot of time we didn‘t have. Oh, did I mention the time problem? Well, luckily we have a lot of comfortable couches in our office.

When we had finally developed the first style-prototypes and started with the creation of assets, we encountered a new problem.

The Perspective

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In the beginning we had really large curved roofs that took up a lot of screen space which made it difficult for our level designers to place enemies the way they wanted. It also made it difficult to navigate the player characters because you couldn‘t see what was behind the buildings. It was possible to rotate the camera but with all these roofs the player wouldn’t have been doing much else, which would have eventually killed the fun. Also, the big roofs looked kind of out of place, so we iterated them a couple of times until they fit. We minimized the roof sizes and flattened [23] them so they wouldn‘t hide the enemies on the ground.

The Architecture

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(56.) Another problem was the Asian architecture. We wanted our characters to be able to climb roofs to generate that sneaky ninja feeling. But Asian roofs are rather bent and curved and these shapes collided with our animations. The feet of the characters didn‘t adapt to the ground beneath them, so it always seemed like they were floating. Also, you could never tell where you were supposed to go because the shapes were too undefined – you never quite knew where you could climb up and where you couldn’t.

So we designed three types of roofs [24]: – flat and completely walkable rooftops – rooftops with obstacles protecting you from your enemies’ eyes – inaccessible rooftops – Sadly, we lost a little bit of the Asian feel and typical design but in this case proper gameplay was more important.

  Readability

The third challenge was readability. Being able to instantly recognize enemies and usable objects is a must. In the beginning we struggled with this topic because we didn’t have enough contrast between the different assets. For example, every wood asset mostly had the same color. There was no real eye candy drawing the player’s attention. Enemies kind of disappeared within the environment because they were designed in the same color scheme like everything else. To solve this issue, we created some landmarks, made the shadows darker to create depth and added different color shades to give the assets more contrast [22].

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Then we developed a slightly different, more saturated and brighter color scheme for enemies. We also provided them with fake lighting so the environmental lighting wouldn‘t affect them as much as the assets surrounding them. The fake light was a gradient that made enemies look brighter from above while usually, they would look brighter on the bottom, to separate them from the ground. In this case, however, they are wearing dark trousers, so it wouldn‘t have had any visual effect. Thanks to the lighting, they wouldn‘t completely merge with the environment and were therefore a lot easier to spot.

Summary

Every game needs its own process of creating a style. You will encounter different problems and will have to find individual solutions for all of them, no matter if your following project is similar to the first. Problems might occur because many reasons, a new setting maybe. I think, what‘s always important when creating a style, is that you use the skills your artists have. Don’t try to create something you can‘t identify with or that doesn‘t fit your skills just because it would be so much cooler. When you don‘t create something that you can absolutely relate to, you will get stuck and be very unhappy with the result. That said, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t leave your comfort zone. We definitely left ours in order to make Shadow Tactics.

After The Last Tinker and some other cute looking games we wanted to develop something different and in the early beginnings we struggled a lot – the style simply wasn’t like anything we were used to. After some long discussions, reworks and iterations, however, it turned out quite well. The Last Tinker and Shadow Tactics are two completely different games with completely individual styles. Sure, we could have gone for a super realistic style, but it wouldn’t have made us happy. And if that had been the case, maybe we wouldn’t have put that much heart and effort into it to make it look great.

About the Author:

Bianca Dörr

is Art Director and Texture Artist at Mimimi Productions.

In her position as Art Director, Bianca is with Mimimi Productions since 2012. She’s not only in charge of leading and coordinating the art team, but also works on game asset textures and develops the art styles for every major project. On top she is responsible for the quality of all graphics and artworks. @Katzenviechle

The post Shadow Tactics – Finding the Perfect Art Style appeared first on Making Games.

Shadow Tactics – Finding the Perfect Art Style published first on https://thetruthspypage.tumblr.com/

[omniversalobservations]

Portal 2 (2011)

The Borealis is an Aperture Science research vessel introduced in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. According to Isaac Kleiner, Aperture was working on a promising project, but in their rush to beat Black Mesa for funding, they neglected ordinary safety rules and the ship simply disappeared with parts of its drydock, which earned it a legendary stature.

It is assumed that the Borealis contained an immensely powerful and dangerous secret, most likely involving portals and teleportation on a larger scale than that of a handheld portal device, which is likely the reason the Combine are searching for it as they could possibly connect back to Combine Overworld and flood the planet with their large and powerful armies. The Combine also have yet to perfect localized teleportation, as the Black Mesa scientists and Aperture Science have, giving them ample reason to investigate the ship.

Appearances * Many years after the Combine invasion of Earth, Judith Mossman, Resistance operative, finds the Borealis in an Arctic location. She is attacked by Combine forces soon after, and is only able to send an incomplete transmission of her discovery to White Forest. This is intercepted by the Combine, and in turn stolen back by Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance from the Citadel Core during their flight from City 17. (Half Life 2: Episode 1)

* After safely reaching White Forest, Alyx and Gordon deliver the data to the Resistance, which reveals that Mossman was cunning enough to encrypt Borealis photographs, coordinates, blueprints and hailing frequencies within her message. Once Eli Vance and Isaac Kleiner have decoded these and realize the full significance of the transmission, a rift opens between the two Resistance leaders. Kleiner believes the technology the Borealis contains could be used by the Resistance against the Combine to aid them in The Uprising; Eli, haunted by memories of the Black Mesa Incident and not wanting a second Seven Hour War, believes that the Borealis has to be destroyed at all costs. (Half Life 2: Episode 2)

* In Portal 2, the Borealis' dry dock can be found in the 1970's section of Test Shaft 09, near the offices where Chell finds GLaDOS in the bird's nest. The dry dock is obviously empty, save for several life preservers bearing the ship's name scattered on the floor. This is an uncommon location in which to place a large ship; the elevation of the dry dock is approximately 3975 meters below the surface, as noted on the wall in the nearby inaccessible lobby of the main shaft elevator on this level. There is no other mention of the ship's presence in, or disappearance from this area. (Portal 2)

Source: Half Life Wiki

Black Mesa is a scientific research corporation in the Half-Life universe and the main competitor to Aperture Science. Black Mesa has shown wide variety of scientific interests in areas like nuclear energy, weapons, robotics and physics research with main goal of teleportation technology. Unlike Aperture Science, Black Mesa got government support and nearly unlimited funding both from investors and government.

In the game Portal 2, players have the ability to enter a room where a Powerpoint presentation on Aperture Science's main competitor can be seen projected on the well. A transcription is as follows:

Dollar$ and SENSE: Competing with BLACK MESA For DoD and Government-wide Acquisition Contracts

What is BLACK MESA? + 2.59% of ALL DoD contracts + 10 Billion in Federal Dollars Annually + 12% From Full & Open Competition + 88% From No-Bids or Excluded-Sources Bids + Not bound by Govt Performance & Results Act

5 Year Review: GSA Schedules Proposed / Awarded Black Mesa / Aperture

A Case Study: Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System + Defense Logistics Agency solicits bids for development of fuel system icing inhibitor (FSII) + Black Mesa FSII proposal: Costly - Black Mesa personnel overpaid given limited skillset / ambition Design inhibits ice, nothing more + Aperture Proposal: Less expensive Bonus to DLA: Aperture FSII inhibits ice but is also: - A fully functioning Disk Operating System - Arguably alive

Source: The Portal Wiki

The Half-Life and Portal universe (HL/P or HLP universe for short) is a science fiction universe created by Valve Corporation in 1998, with the release of the video game Half-Life on the PC platform. It is told through four related story arcs, split into two game series, Half-Life and Portal. Each arc stems from a game: Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Portal, and Portal 2.

Half-Life has spawned since then many modifications, expansions, and sequels, most of which set in the same universe. Most of them were developed by Valve; however, Half-Life's three expansions, Blue Shift, Opposing Force and Decay were developed by Gearbox Software.

In 2005, Electronic Arts took over distribution of the Half-Life series.

Since its first installment, the series has been introduced to many consoles such as the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, as well as Mac. Starting on the GoldSrc engine, a modified Quake engine, the series now runs on the Source engine.

The protagonist of the Half-Life series is Gordon Freeman, a former Black Mesa employee whose attempt to escape from Black Mesa ends up in his employment by the G-Man. In the expansions and spin-offs, the featured playable characters are not Gordon Freeman, but rather a HECU Corporal and a security guard, both as eager as Gordon to make their way out.

In the spin-off series, including Portal and its sequel, Portal 2, the main protagonist, Chell, a Test Subject, is detained in the Aperture Science computer-aided Enrichment Center, run by the A.I. GLaDOS, the series' main antagonist.

[...]

The Half-Life series begins in 200-, at the Black Mesa Research Facility, deep below the New Mexico desert. Gordon Freeman, a recently employed theoretical physicist for Black Mesa, is involved in an experiment analyzing a strange, unknown crystal. On his way to the testing chamber, he sees a mysterious and enigmatic government man watching him from a tram, and again arguing fervently with a scientist. After slipping into his trademark HEV Suit, he makes his way to the laboratory, meeting several nervous colleagues on his way. Inside the large, cylindrical chamber, the scientists assure Gordon that nothing will go wrong, and he makes his way, confidently, to flip the switch. Below him, Gina Cross delivers the non-standard crystal to the delivery shaft.

Powering up, the tunneling rods of electric current jump from the top of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer to its base, signaling that the machine is ready to begin. The specimen for analysis is lifted into the chamber in its cart. Gordon begins the experiment by pushing the crystal into the beam. Suddenly and furiously, the crystal causes severe discrepancies in the equipment, causing explosions and destruction in the surrounding area. Trying their best to shut it down, the scientists in the observation area shout manically. Gordon is somehow teleported out of the facility onto a strange alien world, where he is confronted by aliens and monsters alike. Saved from the destruction, for now, he has no idea of the trouble the crystal has caused.

When he arrives back into the chamber, a scene of destruction and terror surrounds him. The Anti-Mass Spectrometer, now hanging loosely on its hinges and exploding every five seconds, has thoroughly fallen apart and is on the floor in pieces. One of three surviving scientists, Eli Vance, helps Gordon on his way, but not before Gordon has a chance to see an odd alien teleporting in out of nowhere. It seems that, throughout the rest of the facility, aliens are appearing, and attacking scientists without mercy. The few who have survived are fleeing to the surface.

Traveling further through the facility, Gordon learns that the HECU forces have been called in to control the situation, however quickly discovers that their idea of containment is to kill everyone and everything within Black Mesa. A security guard informs him that he is to reach the Lambda Complex at all costs, and on his way launch a satellite which can be used to close the rift. He continues his journey using a disused rail system below the Facility. At the end of the line, he launches the satellite needed by the Lambda team to close off the rift. Continuing along on the surface, Gordon comes across the Black Ops assassins, who were brought in after the HECU repeatedly failed to dispose of Freeman, however they also fail to stop him. He is apprehended by the HECU, and they stash him in a trash compactor. This also fails, and Gordon wakes up in time to get out and find his way back in.

When Gordon reaches the Lambda Complex, he is teleported to Xen in order to kill the creature responsible for keeping the rift from closing. Before he leaves, a scientist gives him the Long Jump Module, which can be used on Xen to make the necessary jumps. Xen, an impossible world of floating islands, is even more full of hazardous aliens than Black Mesa has become, and Gordon swiftly makes his way to the Nihilanth's lair. On the way, he is caught up in a battle with the Gonarch, which he wins.

The Nihilanth greets Gordon with threats, and uses powerful yellow projectiles to take down Gordon. Luckily, Gordon manages to destroy it and the rift begins to close. As the Nihilanth's fading last words echo in Freeman's mind, the G-Man absconds Gordon and stores him in stasis, after telling him that he has been offered employment. Walking into the green portal, Gordon accepts his offer and disappears from the face of the planet.

Nearly twenty years later, the G-Man brings Freeman out of stasis and places him onto an Earth ruled by the Combine, an alien race that used the dimensional rift caused at Black Mesa to conquer Earth. In City 17, Freeman meets surviving members of the Black Mesa incident, including Isaac Kleiner, Barney Calhoun, Eli Vance and his daughter Alyx Vance, and aids in the human resistance against the Combine. The Xen aliens, the Vortigaunts, who have also been enslaved, assist the Resistance. When Freeman's presence is made known to former Black Mesa administrator and Combine spokesman Wallace Breen, Freeman becomes a target for the Combine. Eventually, Freeman sparks a full revolution amongst the human citizens, by destroying the Nova Prospekt prison facility, where the Combine used to manufacture humanoid soldiers. Eli Vance and his daughter are subsequently captured by the Combine, and Freeman helps the resistance forces attack the Citadel to rescue them. Breen attempts to flee in a teleport, but is killed when Freeman destroys the dark energy reactor at the top of the Citadel. The G-Man then arrives to extract Freeman before he is killed in the explosion, but is interrupted when Vortigaunts liberate Freeman from stasis and place both him and Alyx Vance at the bottom of the Citadel. After Dog finds Gordon in the rubble, Alyx and Gordon attempt to stabilize the Citadel's primary reactor while the citizens evacuate the city. Alyx and Gordon soon discover that the Combine is attempting to destroy the reactor to call for reinforcements from the Combine's native dimension. After downloading critical data, they move through the war-torn city to the train station to take the last train out of the city. The Combine then destroys the reactor, thus destroying both the Citadel and City 17; the resulting explosion of which causes the train to derail.

Freeman awakens in one of the wrecked train cars with Alyx outside, where a superportal is visible from where the Citadel used to stand. They begin a journey through The Outlands to White Forest, a Resistance-controlled missile base in the nearby mountains. Along the way, Freeman and Alyx are ambushed and Alyx is severely injured by a Hunter. However, a group of Vortigaunts are able to heal her. After Alyx is healed, both her and Gordon are able to reach the Resistance base and deliver the data, which contains the codes to destroy the superportal as well as information on the Borealis, an enigmatic research vessel operated by Black Mesa's rival, Aperture Science. The base then launches a rocket that is able to shut down the superportal, cutting off the Combine from outside assistance. However, as Alyx and Freeman prepare to travel to investigate the Borealis, they are attacked by Combine Advisors, who kill Eli Vance before being driven off by Dog.

Source: Combine OverWiki

[uncleasriel]

via @poorly-drawn-mdzs-mdzs

#dungeon meshi#kabru#laios touden#falin touden#Happy Thistle Thursday once again. Have I been holding on to this comic for several weeks? Sure have!#I forgot how long it takes for Chimera Falin to come into play.#I still really love my 'better drawn' art of her - unfortunately it was several weeks too early for the anime only folks.#Slowly getting the hang of drawing Laios. I don't know why I struggle so much but I am getting...somewhere.#Meta time: God damn I love how the chimera shows off the expertise and gap between Kabru and Laios.#The truth is: they are both *right* and they are both *wrong*.#This creature is a combination of monster and human and they only have the skillset to deal with one of those.#Kabru goes for all the human vitals - but she isn't human.#Laios tries to approach her as a monster and is struck down by the humanity he sees in her.#She is something new that defies what they *both* understand about the world. And that makes her such a perfect antagonist.#The damsel was the dragon all along!#...She is really so cute though. Terrifying! But adorable. I am so excited to see the boom of fanart for her.

This is why, I think, people shipped Laios and Kabru together. They both have a solid understanding of exactly half of this world's key elements - people and monsters - and their initial...friction? At odds-ness?... that was holding them back from being able to Solve The Problems they were faced. If they could learn from one anther's skillsets, or at least learn to work together... they'd be literally unstoppable.

Expertise can't help you here.

[bataranqs]

#Meta time: God damn I love how the chimera shows off the expertise and gap between Kabru and Laios.#The truth is: they are both *right* and they are both *wrong*.#This creature is a combination of monster and human and they only have the skillset to deal with one of those.#Kabru goes for all the human vitals - but she isn't human.#Laios tries to approach her as a monster and is struck down by the humanity he sees in her.#She is something new that defies what they *both* understand about the world. And that makes her such a perfect antagonist.#The damsel was the dragon all along! (tags via op)

Expertise can't help you here.