#and with orange tentacles to represent that team

[salt-pile]

Frye during the recent Splatfest announcement: “I’ll leave the world-saving stuff to the experts.”

The experts in question:

[capobegone]

Can you do perhaps the spider mother :D (maybe the whole family if you are up to it!) Perhaps Murata as well! Sorry for asking for so many!! It is really cool to see the different sea slugs you choose! :]

Yes I can!! No worries about asking multiple times, my ask box is always open for requests! :D I’m so glad you like the sea slug series, I always have fun doing it. I adore Mother Spider, she is just so beautiful! And Murata is easily my favorite background character (besides Kakushi Gotou <3)! I threw in Rui and the Brother spider as well because I felt like they had the most unique designs!

Mother Spider

-I wanted to find a slug with more red or blue in it, but then I saw this one in all of its simple beauty, and… it just called to me.

-The way it’s looking up to the heavens with that pretty light on its face reminded me of her immediately :)

Murata

-I love that it’s positioned exactly like he is lmao

-The black and white is very bold without being too extra which I think is nice for such a good boy!

Brother Spider

-Ugh, confession time. I don’t love this slug for him. I saw one that looked EXACTLY like him, purple and orange stripes and all, but it was a stock image watermarked all over the place, so I had to settle for the next best thing.

-I do, however, like how the dark red circles on the slug look like the circle around his eye!!

Rui

-This is such an epic slug. Wow. Look at it go.

-The little tentacles (???) reminded me of his red threads! Plus the fade from red to white is just very cool :D

And there we are! The Mt. Natagumo team is here to represent in all of their sluggified glory. Thanks for giving me an excuse to keep this series going! Yet another installment to back up my thesis: Every KNY character can and will be paired with a sea slug. Everyone, I rest my case!

[merklins]

Fine. The Furry Roster, part 1 of however many parts it takes: All the Gordons are cephalopods. Reasoning: Freeman's deep sea thing + Swap's tentacles + Doc is strange and bizarre + Freeman compares Loverboy to a cuttlefish in Act 1 + Literal Actual Octopus "Gordon". Freeman/Storyteller: Architeuthis/Giant Squid Swap/Overlord: Vampire Squid (they're really weird AND the vampire thing) Doc/Hypnos: Firefly Squid (those fuckers GLOW) Player/Power Trip: Blue-Ringed Octopus (chill but also dangerous) Gordon B/Leading Light: Cuttlefish Seven/Last Resort Gordon: Giant Pacific Octopus Worldstop crew: Malcom Challender: Unicorn (something something his ability to manipulate Source seemed magical to the AI? Really it's just because our Malcom fictive has a ponysona but no actual fursona) Darnold: Pitbull (seen as aggressive but tend to be sweethearts; very loyal) Benrey/"Forzen": Blue dragon sea slug / garden snail (Benrey is a slug, but his Forzen disguise is quite literally him retreating into his shell) Y2KVR crew: Benrey (also Loveletters Benrey): Heterometris spinifer/Giant blue scorpion (for obvious reasons + they're blue) Spork (also Valentine): African Gray Parrot (They're smart as FUCK) Coomer/Lovetap: Mantis shrimp Bubby/Dr. Feelgood: Fire salamander Forzen/DJ Heartbeat: Mongolian death worm (this is not a real animal, however, they are supposedly attracted by rhythmic thumping similar to a heavy bass beat) Darnold/Smooth Operator: Cinnabar chanterelle (yes, the mushroom. Consider the emails to be similar to the mycelial network. I know this is getting weird. It will get weirder.) Tommy/I Don't Remember His Lovecore Name: Common crow The Restrictor: Raven (Half-Life G-Man is associated with ravens sometimes)

More will come soon.

"blackmailbutler asked:

Furry Roster Part 2 Of Something:

Admins: Admin C: Tri-color Monitor Lizard G-Man: Komodo Dragon Da Boss: Blue Poison Dart Frog Admin F: Blue jay (Like a blue jay, most of his aggression is a bluff; he's loud and abrasive, but doesn't actually want to fight) Admin P: Praying Mantis (green and can sort of punch things) Admin Darnold (he is mentioned one time in Act 1): Clownfish (orange + Darnold is mentioned to have been taking care of Joshua, which made us think of Finding Nemo because of the whole parental figure thing? Mostly going on vibes because we know nothing of him.)

Mad Science Team: Sleepless: Canada Goose (Acts like an asshole most of the time + Canada + probably loud as fuck) Harold: Protogen (it's MY furry AU and *I* get to choose the species. AND Protogens are COOL) Electrobubby: Electric eel (duh) Politerey: Duck (mostly because we are a Benrey and Forzen siblings truther) Project Coolatta: Lace Monitor Lizard The Old Man: Lace Monitor Lizard (they're monitors to call back to a certain other father-son duo, but unlike GVRV and C, they're the same species to represent them NOT being estranged)

Merch Team/The Last Resort: The Party Pontiff: Mantis shrimp Wheels: Okay so you know how people make anthro planes? That but a Greyhound bus. Yes he still drives an actual bus. I told you last ask that it'd get weirder! Tommy Bahama: Marine iguana (He does the beach tour IIRC. Plus I wanted him to be a lizard like some of the other Tommies.) Dr. Perky: Golden orbweaver (laser grid = spiderwebs, plus golden/orange color scheme) The Bellhop: Tropical leatherleaf slug (Vibes only. Plus he can retract one of his eyestalks to fit the one-eyed thing.)

???: Barney Calhoun: Harbor Seal Alyx Vance: Leopard/Deer (based on our pre-existing furry!Alyx. Eli is a deer, and she wears a little headband with some of his shed antlers on it.) Capital M: Changeling (think MLP. What do you mean that's just the ponysona that I got assigned by the system. I don't know what you're talking about.)"

----

me time answer time (:

OH MY YOU ACTUALLY DID IT. YOU ACTUALLY HAD THEM ALL. AND!! THEY'RE ALL SO AWESOME TOO?? I don't know much about the lizard selections for the Coolattas BUT!! Absolutely AGREED on the Gordons being cephalopods that is SO SO COOL. The bright colored rings of the blue ringed octopus on Player and Power Trip? OHHH THAT'S EPIC.Love the sea slug snail thing you have going for worldstop benrey. YES!! Attention for the worldstop benrey!! Love that guy. cherish that guy. AND Y2KVR FORZEN AS THE WOOORM. THAT! IS! SUCH A COOL WAY OF TYING IN MUSIC TO CREATURES. AND!! Same goes for Y2KVR Darnold! Because OH! MY! GOD! MUSHROOM MYCELIAL NETWORK FOR THE EMAILS YES YES YES THAT!! IS AWESOME. love mushrooms (: kicking my legs and giggling DUDE!! You have so much good stuff here HOW AM I TO SAY STUFF AT IT ALL? Literally ALLLL of these are SUCH! GOOD! CHOICES! I could be here forever. Mad Science Harold as a Protogen, YIPPEE! Forzen and Benrey connections? ALWAYS welcome! WHEELS. AS A BUS FURRY. /VPOS. Dr Perky as an orb weaver I LOVE ORBWEAVERS YES YES YES I SEE THE VISION AND IT IS WONDERFUL. And you certainly covered your bases huh? THE MCDONALDS WORKERS FROM HLVRV. AS FURRYS. IN! MY! INBOX!! /pos

and of course. ponysona ponys mlp hlvrv on the merklins tumblr ONCE AGAIN!! A lovely selection by the way changelings are so epic and cool always <3

THANK YOU FOR SHARING. THE. THIS!! SO EPIC AND COOL LOVE YOUR IDEAS THIS IS WONDERFUL AND TREASURED! This list spinning forever in the thoughts now (:

[neojayink]

“Neighborhood Watch” - Concept for Hero mode Protagonist

Story Demo:

In this world, Octolings way of life now would be threatened by a change coming from forces which they have little understanding of. In order to not lose everything they have some players will work in teams of 4 to watch over the city by night. As in, there will be a future concept for a hero multiplayer mode. It’s still a fresh idea in my mind but I wanted to share it because it sounds cool and I like how multiple agents look working together. The main goal of the hero force would be to keep unauthorized tech off the steets for the safety of turf wars. The protagonist will work with an outsider that knows and recognizes Octoling tech well to get to the source. (Which will be the main hero mode missions)

I sketched these two while brainstorming for the hero mode story I wanna tell. Agent number reserved for their proper introduction but I’m sure it’s not hard to guess. The protagonist is kinda rhe embodiment of the whole cities want for survival. So one “number” that represents all numbers.

They’re waiting to receive the location of the next enemy sighting from their leader. I imagine they’d stake-out and travel through a cityscape much like spider-man for their overworld missions. Orange looks good as default ink colors, but I can see the Hero rocking Black ink a lot of the times especially for the fact that the octoling’s hairstyle is based off of ferrofluid using my previously explained tentacle/hair techniques.

I’m torn between how I want to represent the agent as one main default look (the way all the others are just the default hairstyle mainly) The inkling girl to the right would be the more traditional way to do things. Chances are I might represent the heroes in both genders as a duo team and maybe even do both Octolings seeing as the story has big plots stemming from Octoling history. Most of the hero concepts i drew are an Octoling girl which I’ll be sharing over time. The Octoling boy above gives the stern energy of agent 3 with the spiky hair and I really like that about his design so chances are he will be the main male agent.

The story’s first chapter is nearly complete in idea form and I’m gonna redo the prologue slightly once that’s set. In the future I’ll definitely be doing a lot of writing for the story. My heads full of too many ideas for this project and they all probably won’t get drawn or sketched. I’m making a personal rule for myself now to at least post something sneo related once a month even if it’s not a big art piece. Too many ideas and already made content as sketches for me too just keep it all to myself.

[snakeboistan]

Life Is A Rainbow

Just a short Nagisa-Centric Drabble for the birthday boy

RED is for the colour his cheeks turn when Sugino thanks him for helping him practice his baseball pitches. It’s the colour of the sweet strawberry that sat delicately on top of Kayano’s cupcake that the green-haired girl gave him (despite denying Sugino the very same fruit earlier - saying that it was her favourite part) - it then also is the juice that trickles down his chin and stains his (once) pristine white school shirt. It’s the colour of the messy hair that sits on top of the head of the most brilliant student in his school, the same student that protects him from bullies and watches movies and plays video games and reads comic books with him. It’s the colour of the sweatbands that are always present on Sugino’s wrist, that he always sees when they hold hands and feel when they hug. It’s what he sees blossoming on his wipes and tissues that he uses when he patches up his injured classmates with a comforting smile and then gets rewarded with a smile in return. It represents the love he feels radiating off of his friends when they’re around him (and he’s sure it’s radiating off of him too). 

ORANGE is the colour of the face that Koro-Sensei makes when he gives a correct answer. It’s the colour of the bright locks that he sees swaying when Kurahashi gives him one of her famous beams or giant bear hugs. It’s the colour that the clouds turn in the late afternoon, once his session of practicing baseball pitches after school has finished. He sees it outlining Maehara’s eyes when they light up with laughter as the taller boy punches his shoulder and ruffles his hair. It washes over his desk during the last period of school, defining the grooves of the old scribbles that he likes to run his fingers over when he’s bored. It flickers in the old bunsen burners that they use during science lessons and in the stoves that they use for Home Ec, the same stoves that Hara uses to make all sorts of treats to share with the class, that are made with so much care that he can taste it in every bite.

YELLOW is the colour of his teacher, of the wriggling tentacles that write praises on his English essay, of the beaming face that speaks to him with more kindness filling one syllable than any word another adult. It’s the colour of hair of the girl that helps him out in English and whose dream is to be a diplomat, of the outspoken girl who's not afraid to be dirty and doesn’t care what others think of her - yet is also kind and can be sweet when she’s not laughing at his expense. He sees it in the flecks of Isogai’s eyes when they brighten up in happiness and they flare as he leads their class to victory, when he directs and orders them like a prince orders his knights and they dim with concern when the Ikeman sits next to him and asks him if he’s alright. It’s the colour of the warmth he feels filling his stomach when his classmates smile at him, when his teachers watch out for him, when people show that he’s wanted.

GREEN is the colour of the grenade that nearly ended his life, the only colour he saw when the deadly necklace he wore exploded into a myriad of flying anti-sensei bbs and then disappeared when he opened his eyes in confusion too find that he was still conscious - that someone deemed him important enough to save. It covers the special knives that were gifted by the government, the ones that fit almost perfectly in his palm like they were made for him and offer him protection and make him feel strong. It’s painted on the grass that covers the mountain and surrounds the classroom that feels more like a home than the cage he lives in, the classroom that he’s only had happy memories in and is filled with people that actually see him. It’s the colour of the strands that cascade down the head of the person that gifted him his favourite hairstyle. It’s the colour that splashes across Hayami’s eyes, that allow her to never miss her target. It’s the colour that shocked the entire class when Takabayshi took off his spectacles for cleaning revealing his own eyes for the first time. It engulfs the surface of his bento box, that’s always filled with his favourite food - and that always tastes a thousand times better when he’s with his friends.

BLUE is the colour of his hair, that he’ll let the girls brush and twist and gently run their fingers through with utmost care as they smile and coo and shower him with enough admiration that his face becomes warmer than a summer day. It’s the colour of his own eyes that are always analysing and observing and that hide a thousand and one secrets. It’s the colour of the uniform that he and the rest of the class wear for Physical Education, that reminds him that he’s a part of a team, that he belongs with them. It’s what he sees when he jumps into the pool that Koro-Sensei took the time and effort to make for them. It covers the front of the notepad that he writes the weaknesses of their target in. He sees it in the chalk that Sugaya uses when he draws multi-coloured murals on the class blackboard. 

INDIGO is the colour of Fuwa’s eyes, that shine with such passion and determination that he can’t help but be in awe. It’s the colour of the laces that tie up Okano’s favourite trainers, that allow her kicks to have that extra power. It smudges across the bruises that litter his skin after the fight with Takaoka - the same bruises that were carefully treated by Sugino with an ice pack and words of comfort. He sees its shades at night, surrounding the perpetually crescent moon.

VIOLET is the colour of the flowers that Yada planted in the E-Class garden, that she said were the same species that she gave to her sick brother. It’s the colour of Yoshida’s favourite book on motorcycles that he proudly holds up and shows off to the class as the Terasaka gang give him thumbs up and words of encouragement. 

[superman86to99]

Action Comics #692 (October 1993)

In this issue: Superman goes to the doctor and finds out why he's not dead anymore! But, before that, he's clearing some of the debris left by his fight with Doomsday when he finds... Clark Kent? Lois Lane is very happy to see Clark again, but Superman himself doesn't look very thrilled in these panels.

Turns out Clark wasn't dead as everyone believed, he was simply trapped in the basement of a collapsed building! The basement happened to equipped with plenty of food and gym equipment (explaining why he's still jacked, like Superman), but unfortunately not a single pair of scissors (explaining why his hair is now long, like Superman's).

Later, Superman bumps into Lex Luthor Jr., who demands to know where Supergirl is, but Superman gives him the runaround. Hmm, where could Superman's good friend who can change shape and pretend to be other people be? Anyway, Superman then meets Lois and Clark and... holy crap! Mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent is secretly Supergirl!

So yeah, Supergirl pretended to be Clark for a while just so he and Superman would be seen together and no one would question why both are suddenly alive again. Then Supergirl leaves and we move on to the second dilemma solved in this issue: How the hell is Superman alive again? To address that question, supernatural DC character (and fellow Jerry Siegel/Joe Shuster creation) Doctor Occult appears out of nowhere and rudely teleports Lois and Clark to a black void, where he replays moments from Superman's life... and death.

Occult explains that Doomsday DID punch Superman's spirit out of his body, but there was still solar energy keeping the body just barely alive. Superman's ghost ended up stuck between the living and the dead, attracting some nasty soul-eating demons. Fortunately, Pa Kent happened to be dying of a heart attack at the same time, so he and Superman teamed up to fight off the demons (as seen in Adventures #500). Superman’s soul returned to his near-corpse, which was taken to the Fortress of Solitude by the Eradicator and lovingly nursed back into health. (Okay, more like “coldly,” but you can’t argue with the results.)

Anyway, the point is that Superman's resurrection happened due to a convoluted series of events that could never be repeated, unless someone's willing to sneak behind Pa Kent and blow an airhorn in his ear or something. As the mystical exposition dump ends, Occult teleports Lois and Clark to Smallville, and the issue ends with the Kents finally reuniting. A tender moment...

...until two seconds later, when Ma smacks Clark in the back of the head for taking two whole issues to come see them (or that’s what I’d do).

Plotline-Watch:

Doctor Occult reveals that the moment when Bibbo shocked Superman’s body with a hyper-charged defibrillator in Adventures #498 actually helped keep him alive. Once again, Bibbo is the real hero of this saga.

Supergirl has a lot of experience posing as Clark, since she was stuck in that form between 1989 and 1992. That was also her in the only other photo of Superman and Clark together, taken in Superman #34.

While Superman is being interviewed by a news crew after rescuing "Clark", that lawyer from Action #689 barges in and demands that they stop calling Superman Superman, since that name is now trademarked by Superboy's manager. Damn, maybe he's gonna have to start calling himself "Supreme" or something?

Aww, Lex is happy to see Superman again. Sure, it's only because he wants to be the one to kill him, but still.

S.T.A.R. Labs is examining the Eradicator's corpse when they realize he's alive! Sort of. Later, Doctor Occult remarks that the Eradicator sacrificed himself "in mind, if not in body". Hmm. The doctors overseeing his condition are Kitty Faulkner, who can turn into an orange She-Hulk called Rampage after a workplace mishap, and a new character called David Connors, the only S.T.A.R. employee without superpowers. So far.

The JLA returns from the little space vacation the Cyborg sent them on, and we get the first instance in all of comics of Guy Gardner admitting he was wrong. Character growth! Don Sparrow says: “Nice to see some follow-up to the characters around the DCU and how they react to Superman’s return. No mention of the fact that they got suckered into a mission into space that went nowhere.”

When Doctor Occult shows up, Superman is like "aw, not this guy again!", referencing that classic tale of Superman's first encounter with the supernatural... which hasn't come out yet. Don: “It’s a neat forward call-back (is that a thing?) when Superman references his first encounter with Doctor Occult, given that we won’t see it happen until 1995, when DC does a line-wide ‘Year One’ series of stories. And wouldn’t you know it, that story is written by none other than Roger Stern (and even involves tentacles, as in the thumbnail image)!” #rogersternplaysthelonggame

Don Sparrow's section, on the other hand, can be read NOW, after the jump!

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow​):

We open with the cover, and it’s one of the top ten best of this era, for sure.  Drawn by Kerry Gammill and Butch Guice, DC used this drawing on the “Return of Superman” cards.  I tend to favour simpler, iconic covers, even when they don’t necessarily represent the story within, but in this case, it’s showing exactly what the heart of the story is about: Clark Kent is back.��

Inside, we open with a full page splash of Superman’s shield, through tons of rubble, and it’s a great image, but without the face, it allows us to focus on the title of the story, a callback to the speech introduction of the old Fleischer Cartoons.

I don’t know if it’s from the writing, or the artist, but Action Comics has always seemed the most romantic of the Super-titles, and this one is no exception, as Clark and Lois have their hands all over each other for basically the whole comic. While it is a bit weird to remember that it isn’t Clark that Lois is caressing (more on that in a bit) in the early part of the story, it always feels intimate and romantic more than it feels graphic or titillating.  A tricky balance that this team pulls off well, particularly in their “reunion” on page 3. [Max: Every time I read this issue I think it’s Martian Manhunter posing as Clark and when they start flirting I’m like “ew”. Then I remember who it is and I’m like “nice”.]

I always enjoy seeing Superman flying upside-down, which I consider to be a Byrne innovation—I don’t remember him doing it pre-Crisis. It always seems so joyful and carefree, and it’s nice to see Superman savouring his powers. 

Jackson Guice uses tone very well in the scenes with Lex Luthor II in his aviators, and I quite like the sense of motion to Superman’s pose as he approaches the helicopter—almost like he’s swimming in the sky rather than floating.

It’s a good drawing of the Eradicator getting the post-Hoth Luke Skywalker treatment, with David Connor and Kitty Faulkner getting an eyeful.  My copy has a slight colouring error that makes it look like the Eradicator is awake in the tank, even though he’s supposed to be catatonic. [Max: Still looks like that in the collections. Maybe he’s one of those people who sleep with their eyes open?]

Superman embracing Lois after the ruse of “Clark Kent” is very cutely drawn, as is the Ghost-like backward embrace on the following page.  

The entire sequence replaying Superman’s death and rebirth is drawn well throughout, especially the dreamlike staging, and the darkness as Lois knocks the flashlight away.  It’s also moving that Superman can see the heroic lengths that Bibbo went to try to save him once Superman succumbed to his injuries.  

Lastly, it was wonderful to see Clark reunited physically with Ma and Pa, especially with the nice touch of the poem by DH Lawrence as the only narration.  Stern was always the best at referencing secondary texts in his stories, and it’s well used here.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

Is it me, or is Matrix/Supergirl a little too into this Clark Kent act?  I get that making their performances light and funny keep it from seemingly overtly dishonest, but “Clark” is pretty tender in these scenes. Lois does a good job of playing along, but it’s hard for me to fully forget that all this canoodling is actually with Supergirl.  So as a helpful tool, I created these graphics: [Max: Nice.]

It was cool that Lois specifically mentioned that Jimmy got a shot of the returned Clark Kent next to Superman, I always like it when that can happen.

In previous posts, I’ve talked about how creepy it is that Luthor has a sexual relationship with Supergirl/Matrix, when she is in so many ways (mainly mentally) a child, and I can’t help but read the scene where Lois chooses Superman over “Clark” this way.  The laughing and clapping has a whole different feel if you think of her as mentally diminished somewhat.  

So it’s not exactly a continuity error that Clark says on page 13 that he has to call Ma and Pa to let them know that “Clark” is alright (even though he already called them in a previous issue).  It could be that they want to tell the Kents the cover story of Clark’s return has now taken place, and they can act like their son is alive again when they go to the corner store, etc. [Max: Yeah, that’s how I took it. It would be awkward if their neighbors saw them all cheerful while their son is still “dead”.]

 I like to imagine that Dr. Occult looks and sounds like Robert Stack. [Max: It’s impossible for me to hear him as anyone other than Humphrey Bogart after Lois calls him “Sam Spade”.]

We’ve mentioned previously Jackson Guice’s tendency to use photo reference for his characters.  In this issue, Superman looks a lot like Jason Patric to me, who would have made a pretty great Superman had there been movies being made in this time.

I also appreciated this issue explaining both the physical and metaphysical reasons Superman was able to return—and that there’s no back door to the story—if Superman ever died again, he would be unable to return.  

[grandmasterhand]

Figma Inkling Girls DX Set Quick Review

Some of my most anticipated figures EVER have arrived! I'm here to review them, but unfortunately most of my other figures and photography equipment are in storage for my pending move. So pardon the quality and brevity. I'm going to skip all of the posability and acessories you can see just by looking at the promo shots and skip right to the things I didnt know, and would have liked to!

Firstly, dressing them up and accessorizing is actually really fun! You can mix and match ALL items between the two inklings, though picky squid fans might prefer not to put pink hats on the orange girl (a hat's primary color changes per team color). Be absolutely sure not to miss these tiny clear plastic T shapes! They are made to slide into the top of the head and keep the hats straight.

I did not know ahead of time that the headphones were able to be switch to the pink girl! The set actually comes with a second set of ear parts to conform to her tentacles a bit better. Be sure not to bend the headphones out too far when putting them on or they WILL break!

As for negatives, there arent many! But the squids representing the boy counterparts seem like an afterthought. They're about 50% the size they should be (similar to a WoN 2.5" squid) so I would have preferred just getting one larger squid. Even the amiibo will scale better with these girls. The included ink splat parts are a little lame too. They're printed on clear plastic, so unless you're playing on a white surface, the color won't be accurate. Mine also has a bit of color gradient, which doesnt look right. Also Orange girl's tentacles are solid and fixed unfortunately so you'll have to work around them when posing. I really wish GSC had found a way to make them bendy.

A few gripes aside, the figma are solid gold next to the WoN Inklings! Look how great an Inkling can look when the Splattershot is sized correctly and the ink tank is actually painted! Look at her even making fun of his stupid eyes! (The eyes are fully movable. She can look every direction, cross them, etc) the two brands are sized well, so this boy can at least fill in while we wait for the figma boys!

And the boys ARE coming! Prototypes havent been revealed, but I expect them to be amazing just judging by the girls! I expect the Blue S1 boy and the Green S2 boy with their respective Splattershots. I expect Orange and Pink squids and potentially a different roller or Sub-Weapon. This DX pack of girls was back in stock in the regular import sites last I checked. Please do yourself a favor and grab a set! It will also send GSC a message that we need SO many more sets, colors, weapons, Octos, Idols and Judds!

[jcmorrigan]

Who were all the Old Ones glimpsed in Discord's slideshow during Ch. 44 of Elements of Harmony?

ALL RIGHT, LET’S BREAK DOWN THE GRAND REVEAL. This was not necessarily ALL the characters I planned to add to the stew, but this is a fairly good representation, including the actual final villain I planned for the entire story, who I guarantee NO ONE had guessed.

“The images were terrifying. There was Mirage, along with ablue winged cat.”

Obviously Mirage from Aladdin: The Animated Series, who had been established as an Old One before. And where there is Mirage, I had decided there must also be Chaos, also from ATAS. I’d introduced him briefly at the end of the Seven Deserts storylet, but Rainbow Dash never met him, so he’s nameless here. He was going to be Discord’s little brother who Discord considered inferior to him in every way.

“There was a gigantic black creature, somewhat like a gargoyle,with bright yellow eyes and a horned head, rising from a mountain in thedarkness.”

Chernabog from Fantasia. Bummmmm, bummmmm, bum bum ba DAAAAAAA, DA DAAAAAA…DADADADAAAAAA…DADADADA! DA!

“There was a tall, thin, humanoid man, with no face—just blankwhiteness—and arms that branched into writhing tentacles; he wore a neat blacksuit.”

The infamous and memetic Slenderman. There was a time when I was REALLY into the Slenderman mythos, and I figured he made a good addition to the team.

“There was a golden two-headed dragon whose body was that of a gigantic marblestatue’s head.”

This is Fortitudo from Bayonetta. I eventually wanted to introduce a theme that Darkness was not always evil, and Light could be just as bad. Fortitudo and the other Cardinal Virtues were the most Light-associated characters I could think of to hand to the Old Ones to show that they could encompass both Dark and Light and ultimately be aligned with neither.

“There was a red-orange mass that erupted from the ground into alumbering body and a head with sharp teeth.” 

I actually don’t remember? This might be Pyros from Disney’s Hercules. While he was too, well, destroyed in zillions of pieces to join the Titan force that assembled upon the first visit to Olympic Greece, he and the other three (I wasn’t counting the Cyclops) were going to be put back together.

“A slim red creature withslicked-back black hair and a teasing grin.” 

HIM from The Powerpuff Girls, who was going to have an epic broTP with Discord. Nergal from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy was going to round out their trio, though Nergal was just a god, not an Old One. I think I WAS going to have Nergal be the son of Chernabog, though.

“A black sphere from which protrudedan enormous hand, and at its center, through layers of black metal, a tinyglass sphere containing a green larva was visible.” 

Yami from Okami. If we’re going to have the Cardinal Virtues representing Light, we’re going to have Yami be the Darkness. 

“A man wearing black hornedarmor, impossibly gigantic and casting a hungry shadow.”

…Well, gosh darn it, I knew all these characters when I put them in this fic and now I can’t remember who some of them are now, including this one. I’ll probably remember him at 3 a.m. next Thursday.

“Another man, bound inbandages, with black and white striped hair.”

Asura from Soul Eater. 

“Another black sphere, with noremarkable features other than an impending sense of danger.”

Mr. Shadow from The Fifth Element.

“A grinning god—orsomething more powerful, the father of gods—flanked by hulking masses ofelements, fire, ice, wind, shaped vaguely like living beings.”

Okay, so that earlier thing can’t be Pyros, because here are Pyros, Lythos, Hydros, and Stratos with Kronos.

“An aged man incrimson robes, with bright crimson eyes.”

The Crimson King from Stephen King’s Dark Tower books.

“A soil-colored dragon chewing upon theroot of a tree, hoping to cause its toppling and with it an entire realm ofexistence.”

Nidhogg from Norse mythology, who I equated with Melvin from Odin Sphere. He actually made his debut a couple storylets later!

“A creature that shifted from human woman to mare, but kept constanttwo black buttons for eyes.”

The Other Mother from Coraline. She has a pony form here because the Coraline storylet was going to be the Mane Six entering a warped version of Ponyville where everypony had button eyes and everything seemed to be perfect. I can’t remember if I was planning on having the OM take the form of Celestia, cycle through the bodies of the six’s mothers, or just be a mare with an original design who claimed to rule over this supposedly perfect Ponyville.

“A blue-skinned woman with silver hair—her head washacked off by an invisible blade then and there, but it kept on smiling.”

Jenova from Final Fantasy VII.

“A manwho seemed unremarkable, resembling perhaps a politician or an office worker,but whose shadow writhed as he held up a vial of what seemed to be deadlypoison.”

Okay, everyone listen up, because THIS IS ACTUALLY THE MOST PIVOTAL PIECE OF THE PASSAGE. I mention a certain Lovecraftian god later, and I put an emphasis on that side of Cosmic Horror, so I imagine most of my readers were guessing the final boss of EoH would either be a Lovecraftian god, Discord, or Maleficent. The answer is none of the above. It’s this guy. This is Khattam-Shud, from the book “Haroun and the Sea of Stories” by Salman Rushdie. Which everyone reading this post needs to go read RIGHT NOW because it’s so good. Khattam-Shud is the physical incarnation of “The End,” and in a world where stories originate and are sent out for mortals to tell, he wants to destroy all stories so that they will reach The End and there will be nothing left. He is intentionally described as very ordinary, and uses that to work influence on the mortal plane, occasionally acting as an agent of chaos to bring real-life events to tragic ends. (I won’t spoil how it goes down in the book.) Well, since EoH was going to be a crossover of ALL FICTION EVER and I was going to eventually touch on the fact that THESE WORLDS ARE FICTIONAL, I felt like Khattam-Shud was the best possible final boss. The endgame was going to be the Old Ones breaking down all the worlds into a chaos dimension where everything was mixed up and characters died like crazy. As heroes and villains alike allied to make a final stand against them, only too late would the Old Ones, especially Discord, realize that Khattam-Shud set them all up and is not using their powers to cause chaos, but rather to OUTRIGHT DESTROY EVERYTHING, intending to finish it off by destroying the other Old Ones and finally himself so there would be NO STORIES LEFT. EVER. And I actually wanted to get it down to the Mane Six vs. Khattam-Shud as the only seven beings left in the multiverse; the six would have sort of a magical deus ex machina (perhaps a subject for another post?) that would have allowed them to reverse Khattam-Shud’s power and bring back all the worlds and their friends and enemies alike. 

“A being as tall as a mountain, with a green face, sharp white fangs,and flames for eyebrows.”

Aku from Samurai Jack. A note: I had only seen a couple eps of SJ at the time; I just knew that Aku was exactly what I wanted, and I had plans for him. I was going to do the whole show before getting to that storylet, of course. WELL, NOW I’VE ACTUALLY DONE THE WHOLE SHOW AND EOH IS DEAD AND I NEVER GOT TO USE HIM AND HE’S A REALLY GOOD VILLAIN. BLARGH.

“A monstrously huge being, green as the sea, withtentacles protruding from its face.”

And, as promised, this is Cthulhu. Put last to, again, fake people out to think he might be the Bigger Bad when in fact, it’s Khattam-Shud everyone needs to watch out for!

[allspark]

Hasbro’s Revolution set for San Diego Comic-Con 2017 is the talk of the town today, bringing together seven different franchises for one big boxset. You’d be forgiven for thinking this set draws its inspiration solely from the IDW crossover it’s named for, but it actually pulls on a variety of sources, including G.I. Joe: Renegades and more! We’re here with the low-down on every figure!

Jetfire

The easy one! Representing Transformers is the popular ex-Decepticon scientist, in 2014’s Thrilling 30 Leader Class mold, and with a deco close to Takara’s release of the toy. The mold is based closely on Jetfire’s (AKA Skyfire’s) animation model from the Generation 1 cartoon, and the design has been adopted by IDW in recent years. Jetfire sports it to this day, under the pen of Optimus Prime artist Kei Zama!

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Roadblock

G.I. Joe’s famous cook/heavy-weapons specialist, the set’s Roadblock figure is inspired not by IDW, but by his appearance in the 2010 G.I. Joe: Renegades cartoon, with distinctive sideburns. Roadblock never received a figure based on that design during the show’s brief 2011 toyline, so this new release will be a welcome addition to many a Renegades fan’s collection!

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Matt Trakker

Matt Trakker’s figure uses the helmet and armor created for 2008’s “Specialist Trakker” G.I. Joe toy, inspired the original Trakker toy and cartoon design. But a look underneath the Mask makes it clear that this is IDW’s younger, less confident version of the M.A.S.K. team leader.

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Action Man

Action Man is immediately recognisable as IDW’s Ian Noble, chipper pun enthusiast and Kup’s best friend. Ian draws upon the early ’00s action hero versions of Action Man, rather than the character’s purely military origins, sporting a natty blue-and-orange power suit.

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Rom

Rom, Lord of the Solstar Order! Rom, the Wraithslayer! Rom, the Space Knight! This figure reuses some parts from existing Joe figures, but his new tooling is mostly based on the Space Knight’s Marvel Comics design, rather than the more streamlined IDW design.

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Dire Wraith

In contrast, Rom’s opponent, a Dire Wraith, is firmly based on that species’ modern IDW design. This is no coincidence – Marvel Comics still own the rights to the design they created for the shapeshifters. The tentacle-arms this figure reuses from the Joe Zombie-Vipers nicely evoke the IDW Wraiths’ palm-spikes, with which they attack and infest their victims.

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Leoric

This Spectral Knight is firmly based upon his ’80s toy and cartoon design, with IDW’s Visionaries comic only teased for the time being. Only time will tell how they’ll fit into the Hasbro Universe!

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Micronauts

Finally, we come to the Micronauts, who are a real mixed bag in terms of design inspiration. We’ll go through toy-by-toy.

First up:

Oberon, a new character borrowing his name from an unrelated horse Micronauts figure.

Xant, an orange version of the original toyline’s Antron.

Phenolo-Phi, a character created by Hasbro and passed to IDW for their comic series. Phen is loosely based on the original Space Glider toy.

Biotron, the large robot from the original toyline.

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Antron

Phenolo-Phi

Biotron

Next:

Quin-Tillus, a new character based on the original toyline’s Time Travelers.

Acroyear, the fierce warrior from the original toyline.

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Time Traveler

Acroyear

And finally:

Gammatron, a new character named after a Micronauts vehicle.

Baron Karza, famed villain of the original line.

Betatron, another new face named for a vehicle.

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Baron Karza

Excited for this boxset? This reporter certainly is! Discuss it with other fans on the Allspark Forums!

  SDCC Revolution Boxset – An In-Depth Guide! Hasbro's Revolution set for San Diego Comic-Con 2017 is the talk of the town today, bringing together seven different franchises for one big boxset.