#based off a different similar creature in my original universe lore )

[riftrive]

Chaos Dragon!

Renzo Dragon !

[luckyorchid]

The sun’s up

Comic 1 (PT. 1)

(Lore + Context is below!)

Hoo boy here we go (SPOILERS for anyone who wants to experience sky by themselves!)

Sky lore for Non-players (Feel free to skip, just added this since the story is a bit tied to the lore in game)

Some of the basics:

Core / Flame = Life source.

The ancestors are the original “humanoid” inhabitants of the world. Light creatures (animals) were the first inhabitants though. Sky beings were the last creations to solidify the inhabitants.

Light creatures & Sky beings all have a “core” which means they’re all connected and living off of light as their life source.

Sky beings are essentially just stars that fell on the world and decided to exist LMAO. You can't make one, so you just have to pray really hard for a shooting star.

Realms & Elders:

ignoring the middle one for now, there are 6 realms. Each realm has different climates (But it wasn’t always like that), and settings.

Isle of Dawn - Sandy terrain

Daylight prairie - Hills, grass, oceans and flowers.

Hidden forest - A forest where it rains non-stop

Valley of Triumph - A valley / mountainside that snows non-stop

Golden wasteland - Hell (/j) / Sandy terrain with toxic water.

Vault of Knowledge - Massive tower stored with history and knowledge

In the comic, they’re in “Hidden Forest.” Each realm has an Elder, who is essentially someone who governs the realm. They’re just here to make sure everything is stable.

History (This is all based off of my own observation + Tom Zhao's concept art!):

For that middle realm, it's called "Eye of Eden" and or where the "Storm" originated from. It also has an elder, but he's more or less "King of all kings" sort of thing. He had the say in most things. Eye of Eden never had a clear vision on what it was before the storm, but I'd imagine it would be a sort of sanctuary.

Speaking of before the storm, some realms weren't how they are right now, like how Isle of dawn used to be like Daylight prairie.

Moving on, at first every one was pretty chill, until the king found something called Dark stone. Dark stone is like...the opposite of light? It's like if you shoved a rock into gasoline and something radioactive. Despite it, the elders find out dark stone can be used to make advanced technology, so of course they take the chance to overuse it.

The light creatures and sky beings suffer from the effects of this. While sky beings were taken to areas with less dark stone, light creatures were treated with more hostility. This causes the ancestors and light creatures to go to war with each other.

Long story short; Dark stone corrupted the ancestors and started destroying the environment, because it literally uses light / fire as its power. The creatures said "Nuh-uh" and started fighting back. The final fight (that transpired in Eden) gets so bad that most of the dark stone explodes and creates a massive storm that affects all the realms, and most of the people die including the elders and king 😭

This is where "Dark creatures" start to thrive. These silly little guys are similar to dark stone, they love eating light.

Ratio & Kakavasha Lore

Ratio was born before the storm, while Kakavasha was born when the storm had already happened.

Veritas Ratio Lore:

Ratio was a smart kid, and a lot of people noticed it. That's it/j In fact, a lot of people noticed it, so he was dragged into the Sky version of the intelligentsia guild- in training, of course. He's too young to start running stuff, even if he insists on it.

It got to the point where even the elders acknowledged him, and some wanted him to be their advisor when he reached the right age. Veritas is (internally) ecstatic about this. He still holds the ideals of OG ratio, universal knowledge, and as an advisor he can further be of influence for good.

He was never close to his peers, in fact they couldn't count on their fingers just how many times he's called them idiots and other remarks, but he'd never go as far as to say he hated them. Fond? Maybe, just a teensy bit. A silent room is nice, but after a prolonged period, he may seek out that background noise of chatter. (Or not)

(Ref used: S1 arcane poster) Then the storm came. The storm pretty much threw all of his dreams to the abyss, and not only that- he had to witness the things he loved and cared for either die or go into shambles. He's one of the few survivors, but he's harboring a lot of guilt and contempt towards most things. (aka everything. He always thinks of "Why's" Why did the elders let it get this far? Why were the ancestors so selfish? Why couldn't he do anything to stop his friends from being eaten by those dark creatures?)

He stays with other survivors in safe realms (Daylight prairie), and he tries his best to be of help. Specifically: hunting. (Haha get it cause the hunt *cough*) He likes to join in hunting squads to kill dark creatures in the Hidden Forest, and if he can; study the body. It's morbid, but he wants to find ways to mitigate attacks.

Kakavasha Lore

The Avgin clan are all semi-dark creatures. Their landing spot is always within an area full of dark stone, so it's like their core merges with it. They can all turn into "Krills" (Sky version of dragon). Despite this, most of them have a kind nature and wouldn't go out of their way to hurt Sky beings. They settle on eating fruits, birds, and fish.

They live in Wasteland, which is littered with dark creatures. Despite sharing the same origins, even they have to be careful. Hungry creatures aren't picky after all.

But due to their advantage, they can usually freely travel through the Valley and Hidden Forest to scavenge for food and other materials.

Kakavasha loves to join his sister for scavenging, and he loves finding out about things in general, so much so his sister always has to look behind her shoulder to make sure he isn't doing anything risky. "High risk, high reward!" He still can't turn into a krill, but he can make his hands sharp! Other than that, he's pretty happy. The storm hasn't affected them much- in fact, it's an advantage. Though, he always wonders what's beyond the forest, snow and sands.

Post-storm Kakavasha happens when the storm starts to calm down and the sky beings start to regain their footing. This is how his clan gets found out and gets hunted down, until he and a few were the only survivors. He's used as a test subject to better understand dark creatures, but of course there was no consideration of his well-being. As long as he isn't dead. Similar to the OG hsr lore, he ended up killing the people who 'owned' him. But this time, he was freed with pardon because damn look at all that trauma. In this AU he's free to do whatever without someone shackling him down, but it doesn't make him feel any better to what happened to his clan and himself. He feels a bit of spite towards Sky beings, but he doesn't outright act on it...much.

This ended up having more lore than it's supposed to have 😭 I'll make a continuation comic of their first meeting, and some other random shenanigans these two end up getting into LMAO. Thanks for reading and have a good day <33

[theghostbunnie]

I've been telling anyone who will listen to me for years how I never believed Fiona's universe was just a genderbent version of Finn's bc the personality changes would be too drastic sometimes and I know adventure time is partly written as it goes along but let me have this !

Fiona isn't even a Finn multiverse variant, she's BASED off of Finn. Where as the rest of the multiverse is made by wishes, so I see it kinda like making a clone of a clone, Fiona's universe is "hand made" so to speak. Something I find interesting is, everyone in it, instead of having the deep lore and backstories as the OG universe (the one they were based off of) they seem to get the simplified "what a viewer would assume/all they'd get to know in the first few seasons of watching adventure time."

Fiona and Cake aren't referred to as sisters, even when their universe had magic. When it went without, cake turned into her pet cat. Similar to how as a little kid watching the first season, you just thought Jake was Finn's talking dog.

Fiona didn't get the last name Mertins because in her original magical universe I'm betting the human Island, bio parents' backstory, deep lore about the mushroom war and the vampires just don't exist there. Similar to how when you were watching the first seasons of adventure you don't really question how Finn got there, or all of ooo. It's just boy in magical land.

Also I am willing to die on this hill Gumball/Gary and Princess bubblegum have next to nothing in common. Even in his first appearances in the main series, Gumball was acting snooty and prissy, what young veiwers thought princess bubblegum to be in the earliest seasons. Gumball/Gary in the new series has very few of Princess bubblegum's traits, especially a lack of being a scientist or abrasive bluntness, or a whole list of things. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying he's shallowly written compared to her! Just different, easily embarrassed and a writer instead, infact! All his lil candy ocs.

The character with the biggest differences though?? Cake and Jake. These are two COMPLETELY separate personalities to me.

So to tie this back to my earlier point of this universe being "hand made" and the more intriqure details being more naturally unique and simple than a carbon genderbent copy, I think Prismo put the least amount of work into Cake. (So her as a living creature developed a personality naturally, not that she doesn't have one bc Prismo didn't give her one manually)

Prismo and Jake were friends, I'm sure he's mourned him and misses him. So why would he torture himself/Disrespect someone he knew personally by making a new one? That wouldn't be fun, and that's arguably the whole reason he made Fiona's world. To have fun making something. That's why I think it doesn't have that depth and darkness Finn's world has, it's just "girl in magical land."

[gotmyass2marz]

FINALLY DUMPING SOME OF RIDE THE WAVES SHITFUCKED WORLDBUILDING/LORE

before i say anyhting i need to say that this whole story is entirely based on some obscureish rhythm game slash platformer i like (soundshapes) .and also that this post is Really Fucking Long . so strap in everyone

the main species in the story (queazians)

i named them after one of the studios that worked on the game this storys based on .queasy games . i think im clever

all queazians have a weird blobby head with a single eye , humanoid body , sticky pads on their hands + feet , and some kind of tail

the head + sticky pads + sometimes tail are all made of the same goopy stuff . its also the main substance in their bloodstream

queazians start out as Just their head and over time their actual body sprouts out of it

fully developed queazians can actually retract their body back into their head if they wanna get around faster but they dont look similar to newly born queazians at all so they cant like . disguise themselves as babies or anyhring

they can Only be physically hurt by things colored bright red or pink . like if you shot one in the head theyd get up and be fine but if the bullet happened to be bright red/pink theyd be dead as a doornail . theres no explanation for this other than thats how it works in the game

all queazians come from the mother which is just . a really big nonsentient queazian at the center of the multiverse that they all just break off of and float away from

the mother USED to have this cool magical substance in it that gave queazians swagful powers but then VEX went and STOLE IT ALL when he was born (ill talk more about him l8r hes i,mportant)

drawing slash diagram of a queazian so this makes at least a little bit of sense

where does this even take place ???

short answer: everywhere !

long answer: diff sections of the story take place in diff universes , some sections of the story take place in the same universe - every character ends up finding eachother through . just kismet i guess

only exception here is vex because he doesnt necessarily live in Any universe . he actually lives in this citadel at the center of the multiverse (appropriately named the C.M. Citadel) where the mother is

the wave . aka the one thing that fucks everything up

sent out across the multiverse by vex (because Of Course) and its whole purpose is to . like i said . fuck up everyhting it touches in some way

physically just looks like a mess of blinding sparks and also makes a horrible screeching sound when it passes

affects every character in a different way , some more dramatically than others

has a few different ways of fucking shit up , including doing physical damage to things creating living beings and affecting peoples minds . overall everything it does has a negative effect

ohhhhhh shit here comes an entire section dedicated to character descriptions + stories

sprout (they/it)

theyre just a happy little guy . joyous beast

lives on this little cute whimsical planet named Helowurld (like . hello world . because thats the section of the game its based on)

grew up surrounded by all these weird little creatures and no one could actually speak Words so they ended up learning the creatures’ languages instead . which is just like bleep bloops and beatbox noises

most creatures on its planet are friendly , some ARE semi dangerous but sprout always manages to befriend them all . how do they do it

have not decided how the wave is gonna affect it . actually . original plan was that they were gonna be created by the wave but it didnt make sense . they dont wanna hurt nobody ………

eventually ends up befriending mars !!!!! besties !!!!!!!!

thomas (he/him)

average office worker . so so tired and confused all the time but just has to live with it

i think hes also a huge loser i need to incorporate at LEAST one failass character into my stories or i will die

lives in a world pretty similar to earth and the company he works for is just called GENERIC CO . they do Things and make Stuff and are definitely not corrupt at all

when the wave hit him it made him realize how much his job sucks ass and inspired him to try and escape the building . sounds like a good thing at first !!!! but he almost goes Completely Insane trying to get out !!!!!!

they put a chip in his brain that actively tries to stop him from leaving the building .this is entirely inspired by my controller drifting really badly when i was replaying his section of the game LMAO also he ends up ripping it out of his own head at one point

need to stress that this building is fucking Huge . he gets lost in there very easily . and theres also this scrapyard hellscape filled with torn up machinery under the building he gets stuck in for a while

the one little bit of enrichment in his personal torment nexus is this cute little office cat named benny who . can clone himself for whatever reason

alexis (she/they)

part of a team of astronauts embarking on a mission called project beyond . not sure what the objective is but its probably along the lines of flying to farther off planets theyve been observing from a distance and find out more about them firsthand

pretty kind and levelheaded most of the time but can crack under enough pressure ….. solid role model ……. also unrelated to the last 2 parts but TGIRL SWAG‼️‼️‼️

took her little sibling mars with her on the mission but the wave ended up wrecking their ship midflight and leaving them literal worlds apart from eachother !!!!! Whoopsies !!!!!!!!

bad news is she is now possibly permanently separated from her sibling good news is that she landed on one of the planets theyd already been studying ! convenient

she just refers to the planet she landed on as The Beyond (cus like . project beyond yeah very original of me) and its like . basic scifi shtick on there . funky aliens extreme conditions technology that seems to have been made by the funky aliens etc

so she just spends her time on there studying everything and trying to keep herself alive while also trying to find a way to find mars again

OH AND ALSO initially alexis and mars arent suuuperr fond of eachother but the moment theyre separated by the wave they want eachotjer back so bad it hurts ………..Heh i love putting guys in situations

mars (any)

theyre like . 12 . youngest of the group next to sprout (its ageless but whatever) . he probably has skibidi toilet humor imsorry

they USED to be goofy and whimsical like sprout but then the Events happened !!!!!!

unlike alexis instead of landing on a different planet mars was sent to a wholeass different universe . how tha hell

the place they land in is called Arcadia because ! well ! everything looks like an arcade game ! all the creatures there are like space invaderish alien things and everything is like . blindingly neon . please do not go there without some kinda eye protection

mars is fucking Terrified . btw . of everything there . lil bro just wants to be with her sister again :o((((

the whole reason why arcadia is so hostile is just because the section of the game its based on is So So Hard compared to the rest . i have had so many mental breakdowns while replaying that shit it is a miserable experience

like i said earlier , sprout and mars end up finding eachother and becoming besties but the way they actually found eachother was after mars found a rift between the universe that holds arcadia and the universe that holds helowurld .so ! mars gets a little bit of a happy ending ! i guess

vex . the real important one (prefs he/him but honestly does nooottt care)

hes my favorite but i based him on my fav part of the game soooo i May be biased

remember when i said he stole all the magical stuff inside the mother when he was born ? yeah that was a thing that happened

because of him having all that magic shit inside him he has a lot of qualities that queazians normally dont have . like floating limbs and wings and bright red body parts to Hit And Claw You with

hes just a huge freak naturally . he doesnt have any tragic backstory or anyhring hes just like that

when he came down to the cm citadel almost everyone there started worshipping him as a god (cus . i mean . he pretty much is)

but then he sends out the wave and destroys the citadel + almost all its residents !!!!! cus hes silly like that !!!!!!!

he now lives inside this fucked up pocket dimension that .has no name currently where he watches all the waves chaos go down from afar . also he created a bunch of weird little servant creatures that he just refers to as The People

he looooves singing funny little songs . specifically songs about how badly hes fucked up peoples lives (inspired by his section of the game being the only section to have lyrics in the soundtrack .also by that logic he would sound like beck which ?????? yeah ok sure i guess)

ok character section over

timeline (that i mostly just pulled out of my ass as i wrote)

vex is born

vex goes to the citadel where hes worshipped by everyone there

thomas is born

alexis is born

mars is born

thomas starts working at generic co (bad idea)

alexis embarks on her mission with mars (equally bad idea)

vex sends out the wave

vex creates his Unnamed Pocket Dimension + the people

sprout is born

thomas has his Realization after getting hit by the wave and starts looking for a way out of the building

alexis’ ship gets wrecked by the wave and separates her from mars

alexis lands in the beyond

mars lands in arcadia

alexis starts studying the beyond (and the wave too .because she figured out what that was) while also trying to find a way off the planet and track down mars

mars finds the rift between arcadia and helowurld

sprout and mars have funnnnn :o)) yayyyyy :o)))

alexis leaves the beyond and finds out that helowurld and the beyond are in somewhat close proximity ! convenient

alexis lands on helowurld and has her cute happy reunion with mars and tells him and sprout about the wave . and that they need to leave before the wave reaches helowurld

and im not sure where to go after this !!!!! i am very open to suggestions btw

was gonna make add more sketches of the cast and how their worlds look but i dont hwve my art shit currently so ill reblog this with that stuff when i can

[amphiptere-art]

Hey I'm attached to this side AU with da overseas AU as reference. So I'm going to go do some world building!

But first of all this world building is not connected safe waves at all! Safe waves is completely separate AU and was made not using the sun and moon show as a base (although some similarities do exist).

You could also see this is a world building for @artoutoftheblue's overseas and other AUs using overseas as inspiration. but those are not my AUs, I'm just going to add some world building to them so they all can fit better as a universal world.

___________________________________________

So at some point in time humans decided they were going to mess with genetics and started making mermaids. Starting with the overseas KC, foxy, and others. These merman were kept in closed off oceans or large aquariums as they were still technically under experimentation. Seeing how well the man-made creations lived and behaved. But as you see thers creatures got bigger they were harder and harder to keep from the public eye. Eventually either through passerby drivers or by Google camera, rumors of these giant beasts spread around. Eventually a believer group turned into an actual research / rescue group. This group defended the mers and demanded that They should be released. Whatever government they had agreed with them. The lab of course did not agree with this but they kept their mouth shut.

At this point there are two groups The lab group and the research group.

Most of the Mers are either slowly released or release at once. Unbeknownst to the lab group The mers were parthenogenesis (able to create eggs without a partner) and therefore the Mers started to reproduce. Also many of the mers were able to grow too larger sizes due to the available space.

→

This information makes me wish to explain the world. Mers that could be up to 80 ft need a proper world or that is possible. The world is of course close to the Earth but different. This world is an ocean planet. Having around 89 percent of water instead of Earth's 71. The waters also can be much deeper and yet still create reef like structures. Making what I'm going to call deep reefs.

There are still standard reefs but deep reefs stand where Earths Twilight zone begins. It is then that the waters can go deeper and you find places that are similar to Earth's ocean floor that you can regularly see in documentaries. This extra zone of course is a place that still receives light. That I'm calling the night light zone. This is where most mer live. Is it still has a finite resources to hold such colorful animals without suffocating in the abyss that is below the Twilight zone Which still exists in name, But is now beneath this night light zone.

Given the fact that deep reefs exist It also means the Sun on this planet is a bit stronger. Meaning that the surface is actually extremely hot. But I am not going to concern myself trying to figure out the logistics of how human like aliens even exist on such a surface.

→

Back to the history. The research group of course tried to keep the mers protected. The lab group still wanted to do many of their experiments. Often either creating mer in the lab again or capturing the now a wild born mer to f### around with. This option of course is what happens to OS blood moon. Also due to the fact that Mers are now known to the public eye their begins to be trophy hunters (This part of the lore I'm digging into @synthcoyote's lore). Meaning that it is common for people to hunt mer on the fly in order to get a kick out of it. This also creates other separate groups.

Some wish to use the mers for entertainment. Others created their own research groups that unfortunately are not well versed in the trade of mer than the original one. Causing situations like in synths world were they naively put all her species in one collective spot instead of going through the trouble of researching in different environments. Causing chaos.

Mers at this point have spread across the globe. creating different species. Most of the time Mers will copycat a specie. How they do this. . . . I don't know, Maybe they breed with said natural species? Creating said subspecies? Perhaps it is just magic. Either way this is how other species of mer exist without human intervention. Such like @madcatdaderpydrawer-blog's mers or @synthcoyote's.

The research group is still trying to control the flow of mer as the lab group are still making and/or toying around with mer. Since the lab group holds a lot more power in the money department they also can get away with doing a lot more stuff. Capturing mer to sell their eggs to aquariums, performing cruel experiments on them to "evaluate" how the wild specie is going, and still creating mer in labs. The poor research group trying to free all mer within these situations.

Blue Moon's Leviathan species (And perhaps also @synthcoyote mer satern species) we're made through such extended dna experimentation. Particularly in the growth hormone department. As the lab scientist wanted to see how big and how fast mer could grow. This also caused Blue Moon species to become cannibalistic just to support their size. But due to the fact that Mer Blue Moon's species grew so exponentially large so fast They had to be released into the deep reefs. Unfortunately the research group they were not made aware of this giant cannibal species that had just been placed into the ocean.

The research group and others like them are of course trying to track and care for the new wild species. The research group of course splits across different oceanic regions. Creating the different areas that different AUs take place. This also separates a research groups and therefore sometimes naive ones are placed over separate regions which cause problems.

My AU has a research group that is fairly competent. As I see it cannon they have tried to tag every mer they can. That way they can track their movement without trapping them to a certain region. All of my mers are born within the ocean. Although at some point I'll probably add some that are lab made other than Blue Moon's parent. Golden red and tempting waters are both the natural species that was first released. Blue Moon is the unnatural Leviathan species. I've already explained Blue Moon's history and lore here before so I'm not going to explain it again.

Point is he should be living in the area just below the night light zone but before the Twilight zone. Basically at the deep end of the deep reefs. Blue Moon does not do this it due to maternal instinct. Believing that he should live in the top layers of the deep reefs area instead of the bottom ones.

The poor research group is desperately trying to tag Blue Moon and drive him into the deeper waters. Blue Moon always either knocks off the tags they place or simply too terrified of boats for them to get close. At this point they have decided to label the area that tempting waters and a golden red live as a protected hazard zone. Seeing that Blue Moon can cause quite a lot of damage to an unsuspecting ship.

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And this is all my little brain has made up so far. Do you guys like my unified lore and world building? Just remember I made this for fun and does not have to in any way impact your separate AUs

[slythepuffle]

Pastaverse Drabbles

The Pastaverse Drabbles are random headcanons or world-building lore I've made for my version of the Creepypasta universe. Other fandoms I'm in will also get similar types of blurbs. This blurb contains terms I use in the verse, inspired by things I've seen in fanfiction, fanart, or other types of projects.

Pasta: The general umbrella term for all non-human (or formerly human) creatures. It is considered somewhat of a slang word among them, having only popped up due to the internet horror stories based off of them known as “Creepypastas”.

Operator: An ancient, eldritch entity of great power. They can manipulate the reality around them, making it hard for them to be found unless they wish to be found, and create Realms to live in away from the human eye. Electronics react badly in their presence unless modified to withstand them. They command large groups of Proxies, who do their bidding and are sent on missions for their masters.

Proxy (Plural Proxies): Servants of Operators, a mix of monsters, ghosts, and serial killers. They are made to do whatever their Operator is asked of them and are usually sent out on missions to the human world. They cannot be harmed by human weapons nor harm Proxies that serve the same master. Proxies under other Operators are free game though.

Neutrals: Creatures who can wander between the different realms and the human world, unclaimed by an Operator. They live by themselves among the humans, or within Pockets made as a side effect of the creation of Realms. The most common and populated Pocket where Neutrals reside is known as Tartarus.

Marked: Creatures or humans that are under the protection of an Operator. It makes it so that the Proxies of the Operator are dissuaded from harming them, and warns against other Operators and their Proxy from attacking them. One may consider them to be “blessed” (or cursed in some perspectives).

Spawn: “Children”, connected by either blood or other means, of Operators. Most end up as Proxy, serving their parent as any loyal children would do. Some Proxy can even elevate themselves to the level of Spawn, if their master so decides it. One Operator is known for having the most Spawn, creating the subcategory of Zalgospawn.

Episodes: An act caused by a Trekken. This only affects Pastas who were originally something or someone else before. They will fall into a sort of trance and begin on a Spree, unable to be calmed or stopped until the Episode ends. They will have no recollection of what they did during the Spree. It has been reported that, while having an Episode, the Pasta sees and hears nothing but static.

Trekken: The trigger of Episodes. This is a memory, or memories, that are taken from Pastas who were originally something or someone else before. They will not be aware of what this memory is, only being met with a headache if they try to recall it. Should a Pasta be reminded or told of the memory, they will fly into an Episode. Once the Episode is finished, they will have forgotten the memory again.

Sprees: The result of an Episode. Blind, senseless slaughter done in distress due to the trauma of the memory forgotten. It is usually reported as a mass murder with an unknown cause and culprit, with a terrifyingly high number of victims. Afterward, Pastas are left extremely exhausted and will often collapse.

Realm: A dimension made by Operators for them and their Proxies to live in. The original spot that they were spawned from is guarded by a sort of field, so that humans who happen to approach are deterred from continuing. Other Pasta, whether Proxies or Neutrals, are not allowed to enter another Realm without permission from the Operator who made it. Pockets are made as a side effect of the creation of a Realm.

Pocket: A smaller Realm, in a sense. They are created as a side effect of an Operator creating a Realm. The creation of a Realm can spawn two or three Pockets. The most populated Pocket is known as Tartarus, where many Neutrals make their home.

[thekaijudude]

I’ve been planning for a version of King Kong, based primarily on the Monsterverse’s version, to be featured in my fanfics. While I don’t need it, I shall request help coming up with some details for his backstory. That said, I’ve already decided on a few things.

—Kong comes from Skull Island, as usual, which is located in the South Pacific in my universe.

—The discovery of Skull Island and Kong was in 8733 AD. At this time, Kong was an adolescent.

——Skull Island’s discovery being so far in the future already has an explanation. No need for anything on that.

—Kong’s story starts off with similar scenarios to those of the 1933 film and its remakes: Being taken to the mainland by humans, escaping captivity, fighting and losing to jets from on top of a skyscraper in a large city, etc. However, he then managed to get back to Skull Island, somehow, and a 9073 expedition ends up being the first time humans see him again. (This expedition would basically be Kong: Skull Island but set in the future instead of the past.) From there, his story basically becomes that of the Monsterverse’s Kong up until now, but instead of fighting Godzilla and Mechagodzilla, he fights a different creature.

—Kong survives until 9700 (the events of Ultraman M/L/V), by which point he’s grown into a middle-aged adult.

Other than those, I don’t have anything really, so with all that info, how would you write my Kong’s backstory?

One last thing, I will definitely need a reason for Kong to be brought to the mainland: everything I’ve thought of hasn’t satisfied me, and the original idea of how his captors intended to “show him off to those who’ll pay to see him” definitely won’t work. The humans of this time in my AU are far too smart to do that.

(Btw, your answer won’t be my Kong’s exact backstory. I do, in fact, plan to make slight changes to it where I see fit.)

Ngl I dont have much ideas for Kong himself cause he's literally just a giant animal in the grand scheme of things

Especially since if u wanna wank him up to the level of ultras, there's gonna have to be a shit ton of AU powercreeping which I don't do AUs

Unless u can use something like the Godzilla Earth logic that there was a final wars-esque situation that lured Kong and another Alpha kaiju opponent to the mainland. But beyond this if u wanna somehow scale him to the level of ultras? No idea aside for some AU wanking tactics

Or sth like Godzilla SP which as stated before, the lore fits rather well with the Ultra lore, that multiple collapsing events (kaiju from the red dust Archetype) are fighting each other to manifest in reality which is based on how fast they are evolving, and Kong may be an Earthian native that's fighting these extradimensional invaders.

Say something like Red Dust Rodan in its Third/Fourth Evolution is fighting Kong and that somehow brought the fight to the mainland which iirc it was the Black Giant version of Rodan in SP (The latest one that actually fought Ultima even tho Rodan had one less evolution)

Cause iirc, Rodan's evolution almost caught up to Godzilla, just one stage lower, and he's 2nd most manifested kaiju

But if u go by this path, youre gonna probably have to reconsider the other aspects of your story. Since u didn't really give me much context on the nature of the greater story that Kong is involved in, I can only suggest this.

And if u go with SP's storyline, u can easily fit other extradimensional kaiju/beings from the Ultra lore like Greeza, Yapoolmen, Chojus, Spheres and even the recent new characters like Koren, Metsushiroid/kuroid and Majuu Infinity

But as said, the Red Dust Archetype event would be a very predominant event so you'd need to take note if itll overshadow whatever else youre planning for the overall story

Thanks for the question!

[infinitesimalyerkesdodsons]

Me: okay im feeling kinda good about the el noli au time to work on i--

Motivation: JANUS SILANG AU CONCEPT

Some messy bullet point explanations for the characters under the cut (since they contain spoilers and might get too long to read and scroll past lmao)

Warnings: death mention, cannibalism, gorey descriptions, betrayal

Thank you for considering reading this explanation lmao 🍪 have a cookie!!!

- so what i wanna say here is that the janus silang stuff has themes that revolve around twins and duality

- I'll also refer to janus sanders as deceit here so as not to cause confusion with his namesake

- there are three sets of people that have something to do with twins: miro and mira, the tiyanak and tala, and probably Janus himself, given his name and some stuff about his character that gives him this sort of dual nature thing

- i was actually tied between whether I make thomas or janus as Janus Silang in this, because thomas' red shirt with the star on it looks similar to the one Janus usually wears, but Deceit and Janus are essentially namesakes

- i decided to go with both of them because of how i saw Janus as a character. His duality in my opinion is brought by the fact that he used to know and be super close the main baddie of this story, the tiyanak, and was used by the tiyanak to gain important information (sorry remus!!!) and yet he's also the only one that has the power to help the counterpart of the tiyanak, tala (roman)

- it's also interesting to note that I also think that Janus' duality will fully come out in the fifth and final book in the series

- during the fourth book he was fated to die in order to set the world right, however this death wasn't just physical death, but an existential death in which his sacrifice reset the whole timeline and created a world wherein he never existed in the first place.

- only one person, who used to be a diwata, now human, remembered him. I hope that Janus returns in the fifth book and things are set back into place.

- anyway, the fact that this happened shows a big duality; his past existence saved the world and his nonexistence created an alternate world in the future that didn't need saving at all

- the timeline where Janus existed (2015 when things went down), I assume is simply an alternate universe where magic exists and is based on Philippine Myth and belief. The nonexistent Janus timeline (which is 2018), I assume, is this world we live in right now, a more realistic version of the original timeline.

- i want to think that janus, tala, and the tiyanak disappeared permanently from existence in order to set the world right

- it was said that only tala and the tiyanak can match each other in power, but in order for one to die the other must die as well.

- meaning that whatever happens, both tala and the tiyanak will disappear to save the world, but janus still has to die permanently in order to make tala's existence possible.

- which brings us to the other twins, tala and the tiyanak

- some important stuff in this is that the tiyanak and tala were twins born from a curse from humans in the Tabon cave.

- the tiyanak was cursed as a baby to be a man eating baby who eats the innards of people who neglect their family (or so i remember???)

- their very existence as cursed magical twins was a mistake, so bringing back to the saving the world part, in order to set the world right they both have to yeet out of existence

- as for their duality

- the tiyanak as i said earlier is a cannibal, and can create creatures to do his bidding. These creatures are from Philippine Mythology and each have their own abilities. He emerged from his mother's womb fully able to walk and talk, and can shapeshift into a child. (He cannot shapeshift into an adult though, so his underling creatures, the do-ol, do it for him)

- the tiyanak during the first book, disguised as Janus' brother in order to gain information about his twin, since Janus was supposedly the only one that can help Tala reach maturity to counter her twin.

- tala on the other hand was born without enough physical maturity, and is said to age by one year every 1000 years. When the events of the story play out tala is nearing her true maturity and only needs janus to do so.

- interestingly, before she appeared as her true form, before Janus' whole dying from existence thing, she looked like the tiyanak.

- anyway this is an abrupt end to this part of the explanation but let's get to the third set of twins

- miro and mira

- the thing with miro and mira is that they're not polar opposites unlike tala and the tiyanak. they have the same ability of switching and seeing between a purely magical world and the lesser magical earth.

- i chose logan and patton based on their personalities and the dynamic of the duo

- miro is more extroverted of the two, which seems like a good fit for patton

- mira is more reserved and quiet, and less open with talking about her ability. She preferred to figure things out on her own, retreating into the pure magic world in order to experiment with her ability.

- they die tho, miro by literally getting vertically cut into half in the middle of teleporting to the pure magical world, and mira by the hands of a mambabarang in the fourth book.

- the thing about these twins is that they don't necessarily completely oppose each other, and only their personalities seem to be different.

- i can see a similar thing happening with logan and patton, how they're not moral opposites but differ with how they work.

- next up is mica and renzo

- they're not twins but their characters are really important to the story

- mica is janus' crush, who gave him a usb necklace in the shape of a star (at the same time, star can be translated to "tala" in Tagalog, and the usb necklace played an important part throughout the series as well.

- she also played an important part in the third and fourth book, being a regular human without any power gave her advantage to magic (and lack thereof) related problems.

- And finally renzo

- did i mention that janus was orphaned? Well he was and another important character took him in. Renzo was also an orphan and he and janus had a brotherly relationship.

- that is, until janus got stuck in a dilemma where he could only save either Mira or Renzo from falling off a literal cliff, at the very end of the third book. Janus saved mira and renzo was left hanging and eventually fell (Well that was a cliffhanger amirite heheehe)

- one bit of lore about renzo is that he was a creation of the tiyanak as well. The tiyanak saved renzo from his doom and revealed this and I dont exactly remember why but it definitely had something to do with Janus as well.

So uh that's it i think hsjdjs this is kinda messy but yea if you made it here 🍪 have a second cookie!!!

[the-world-of-enterra]

Enterran Lore - Higher Beings, Astrans and More

((Note that a lot of this is directly from my main universe, but some concepts changed to fit in with a Hollow Knight AU. These aren’t my theories on the game itself. I see Enterra and the stories I am crafting here as an entirely separate entity from the game, - simply a world inspired by the game, which allows me to be far more creative and have more fun with worldbuilding. :3))

Higher Beings (Also known as the Touched)

(Touched is a placeholder name until I can come up with something better, and it’s loosely based on the concept of Myschakkans from my original universe, modified to fit Enterran lore and flow with the Hollow Knight setting itself better)

Enterra is packed full of powerful magic. It’s soaked into every fiber of the world, able to be harnessed through Charms, which manifest naturally into items around that Enterrans, often from their final wish through death or crafted into Spellcharms for various effects, or packed into ancient caves full of powerful Crystals. Found in pools of water packed with Soul, or seas of Void full of lashing tendrils and dangerous Eldritch forces or simply flowing wild and free through the world as a whole. For natural charms, think something somewhat similar to Artifacts from Warehouse 13 in how they work.

Sometimes... an Enterran can become Touched. This natural raw power combines with the Enterran, effected by who they are inside. Things they love, things they are affiliated with.. things about they themselves effect what sort of Touched they become.

A Touched Enterran can then start to grow in power, in connection to the natural magic around them until they become almost entirely magic themselves over time.Touched can be as minor as just a small bit of power, that doesn’t effect their lifespan too much, though higher level Touched can stop aging and become effectively immortal unless something kills them. Their power does not usually pass on to their offspring in any significant manner. Touched will have normal children; aside from a strong affinity to magic and the aspect/s that their parent. Touched always happen naturally. The process can not be forced or triggered artificially and the attempt to do so always results in the death of the Enterran who attempts it.

Less powerful/minor touched are far more common than the more powerful ones often worshipped as gods. Touched, however, have a weakness. They depend on those around them, the energy around them, once they get powerful enough. The more Enterrans surround them and believe in their power, the more powerful they become until they become like gods. They come to embody these aspects so much that they become a part of their very being. They will begin to lose power as they lose influence and will often die, or go dormant. Some Touched become terrified of this; and things like the Radiance happen where they lash out in an attempt to keep their power and stay alive. 

Some powerful Touched can manipulate life around them, but can not properly create it. The offspring of Touched do tend to be a little longer lived than normal Enterrans and more durable, depending on the power of the Touched that brought them into being. 

Astrans (Sometimes called Gods, as close to gods as Enterran lore gets)

Astrans are as close to gods as one can get in Enterra. They are, for all intents and purposes, Gods; but still thinking beings with limits to their power. Their aspect is very important to them, and they can not do something that conflicts with what htey are. They are not all-powerful, but their power is beyond even the most powerful Touched. They embody an aspect, and that aspect forms a huge part of what they are. While most Astrans do not directly interact, some will at times depending. Astrans can, under certain circumstances, create life and bring new species into being, though these creatures are based on the one that made them. An example is Azmodeus, the Dreameaters he created being directly related to his aspect. He is also one of the rare Astrans who prefers to keep a physical form and walk among mortals especially since he fell for the old Dravhokonus King, Daemarus. In his physical form, he is a Dreameater himself, following their biological processes.

 Astrans are generally aloof, and don’t require worship to fuel their power; however, belief in them will increase the scope of what they can do in the area they are believed in. They are generally silent beings, and many exist, unknown and simply watching.Unlike the Touched, Astrans pass on their power genetically if they take a physical form and interbreed with a mortal Enterran. Astrans tend to mimic, to a point, the beings of the world they watch over. They form groups known as Pantheons, and while they are often recognized and worshipped as gods if they reveal themselves in some manner, they are above most of that and simply do their thing in silence.

Astrans have two types

Primordial/Primal - The first Astrans, they were born with the universe, and all Astrans came from them. Very powerful, aloof, rarely seen. A Primordial Astran can give rise to a new Astran without combining energy with another Astran. Primordial Astrans are more powerful than regular Astrans, but incredibly aloof. They interact rarely, if at all, with mortal worlds.

Astran - Born from other Astrans, they must combine energy to reproduce. Aloof and powerful, they tend to quietly watch over things and affect the world when needed, but they do so carefully.

Lesser Eldritch

There are many levels of Eldritch beings, from lesser creatures that can become a new race or species. Given long enough, many Eldritch will gain a mind of their own. While most Eldritch, even Lessers, are dangerous, not all are. They are fairly rare, and most that have spawned that are still around have been around for a very long time. Lesser Eldritch tend to take on forms somewhat affected by the beings around them; but often look different or off in some way. Perhaps having extra limbs, strange tendrils, extra eyes, or other strange features.

Greater Eldritch

These powerful beings dwell outside of Reality and never directly interact with mortal beings; but they can have profound effects on the universe. They tend to embody primordial things. Examples are The Conservationist and He Who Sees All. Neither of them directly interacted, but gifted their power through a gentle touch, not sensed by any. 

They are far too powerful to be in the realm of Reality itself, and they are usually neutral in their alignment. These beings never try to enter Reality, as if they did they would cause a cascade of effects that could destroy numerous worlds and cause massive problems. Eldritch are not worshipped as gods, and prefer not to be seen or recognized. They only interact with very few unless what they do is a part of the mortal world; as it is with He Who Sees All. It embodies reincarnation, and only interacts with the souls of the dead by placing them into new bodies to make right what they did wrong before. 

The Conservationist is a Greater Eldritch that only acts in its own self interest, that being to preserve rarities and beautiful creatures. It is responsible for the Vhessen becoming a proper species; as well as Kavuta being returned to being a Dravhokonus. Its meddling has caused problems more than once; as it enabled the Shadowed King Zarkhan to get ahold of Vhessen and selectively breed them to create a powerful army of Warbred, which he used to conquer several other Kingdoms before he stopped his conquest when he felt his borders were big enough.

Voidborn/Etherborn

These are ancient and powerful creatures that rise from the Void and Ether at the same time. They don’t rise any more, and any that are alive are truly ancient. They help balance the universe.

For every creature that rises from the Void, a creature descends from the Ether. The two are counterparts with eachother, connected deeply, almost like siblings.

The light ones are known as Etherborn. They are shining and otherworldly, but general softer looking than their dark counterparts. They glow bright and can blind a person if they are not careful. They often have wings, and like to embody beauty and grace.

The dark ones are known as a Voidborn. They are dark with glowing white eyes, sometimes seeming to have a "noise" effect to their body. They are often gaunt looking. They often have horns or spikes, and look spookier and more frightening.

Most who enter the world craft amulets for themselves, allowing them to rein in their power and avoid doing damage to the world around them. An example is Xonoth, who lives in the Abyss where he was once worshipped as a god then taken and used for his power. He was chained down there for ages, until he was freed by Hornet in return for helping her save the life of Kiolos before she disappeared. Xonoth’s counterpart, Bharavi, hasn’t been seen in a long time; but she’s alive. If she were dead, he’d be dead too. A Voidborn can not exist without their Etherborn counterpart and vice versa.

[kryptsune]

True and False Q and A

🌼 Hey everyone! I have been getting a lot of work done but I wanted to address some questions that have been tossed my way lately due to the blog content changes. So I decided to compile them all here for you and answer true and false and why that will be the case!  1. Are you no longer doing anything Undertale related?

False: I still love UT and I have done so much neat and creative work for it so the answer is never say never. It just won’t be in the forefront anymore.  

2. Are the fics/stories you made going to just end? 

False: Absolutely not. I plan to finish all those stories come Hell or high water. That writing work will also be posted on this main blog. I would really like more people to see it if possible. 

3. Are we not going to get anymore TLC? 

False: Again, I am not going to drop pre-existing open stories. TLC in particular is a good jumping off point. TLC uses a good portion of my Hell lore, aka my original work. 

4. Is there a UT specific blog now? 

True: Yes, if you are looking for all that juicy UT content go ahead and follow @fallenfellfrisk​ ! 

5. You are doing this because you hate UT? 

False: No, that’s not true at all. The reason for this change is because I really would like to have my original work known as well. I work just as hard on those worlds as I do on my own. I have so much I want to share and I hope you all enjoy what’s next.  

6. Can we still ask questions to your Multiverse boys even if it’s through your main account?

True: Yes! Of course! I know that Tumblr makes sub blogs not have the ability for ask boxes. I will answer any and all questions pertaining to the boys here and then it will be reblogged to the UT blog. 

7. Are you going to be getting rid of all the work you did (Ie. claims of AU concepts and designs)

False: No, of course not. Those AU/ideas are still mine and I am very attached to them. They are not up for grabs. I am going to continue to work on them when the mood strikes me. I will say that the more enthusiasm from others is also a driver. 

8. Does the name Kryptsune mean anything special?

True: Yes! It is a combo of a couple different things but long story short it is for my more personal brand now. There will even be merch with the new logo! 

9. Are you planning other fan stuff ? 

True: Yes! I am! There are a lot of properties in the media and pop culture that I love. I am planning merch stuff for that as well! 

10. Are all your links changed or up to date? 

True: Yep! If you go to my blog and see that pinned post on the top. It is all updated. That includes the website as well!

11. Are you never going to do your version of Fellswap? or Judgement?

False: Never say never. 

12. What are you working on right now? 

This is not really a true or false but I am working on a lot. I have four original stories with characters and such that I am working on. I am revamping some creature design. The thing that I am working on the most right now is my Hell lore and stories. I know you are all going to love those boys. 

13. Are you going to keep the boys? 

True: Yes! 

14. Even if it’s not your UT based work can we still ask questions about it? 

True: OH yes of course you can! I would love that more actually. The fact that people are excited to see what I can make just makes me feel the best. 

15. Who is Beast/ Costello?

Beast and Costello are two of my 12 Princes of Hell. They play a large role in that world and as well as the stories set within them. 

16. Are you still going to do merch of the boys? (ie. Grimm, Crimson, Ash, Blade)

True/False: I... don’t know. In all honesty I would really have to have a lot of interest in it. If I don’t see that then I can’t invest the money/time on the products. I am really sorry. I wish I could but sadly I have to think about the cost that it takes to make products. It is not easy. 

17. What are your new stories? (The first 3 are connected in the same universe/lore)

Contract- set in the 1920′s a young PI investigates various criminal activity only to realize that some things just don’t add up. Regardless of this she ends up following some leads that send her to one of the swankiest clubs in the city. When she goes undercover to put the pieces together she finds that she got caught up in a Hellish Civil War.  Inferum- A story that combines mythology/fairytales into a story about different realms and possibly Heaven and Hell.   Bloodswap- Tied to my Hell lore Bloodswap is a story within that larger story. That one has to do with my vampire/monster lore with that world. Yokai- Not attached to the Hell lore though in a similar supernatural vein, it will be a story about a young lady making a new life for herself in the countryside of Japan. What she finds there and who she finds there is where her story beings.  

18. Can we ask about your new stuff? (ie what you are working on)

True: YES! PLEASE. It would send me over the moon. 

19. Can we still make fanart of your UT projects? 

True: Yes! Of course you can. You can either tag me with @fallenfellfrisk​ or @kryptsune​

20. How can we support your new creative work? 

Just take a look at the links I have! I have a Ko-fi page. It also helps a ton if you Like/reblog my work. On the writing front comments and kudos are always loved. It takes a lot of time and mental energy to write as much as I do and keep up the 4 stories at one time. 

[sim-borg]

Vampire Lore and the Mullens (WIP)

Vampires in my universe are not simply undead humans, they are an entirely different, supernatural species. Therefore, I’ve cherry-picked some vampire lore and written vampire biology for my story.

Vampire powers is mostly based on the Sims 4 Vampire occult system and whatever liberties I decided to take. I will add additional edits to this as needed! Long ass post so click the Read More. 

Aging/Lifespan (1)

1.1 Sims that are born vampire/half vampire age very slowly. In simple terms, they age 4x slower than humans. Once they reach 108 years (approx 27 vampire years) they stop aging entirely.

1.2 There is a phenomenon where vampires that are very old turn into a Nosferatu-like creature. Nobody quite knows what causes it... Some say retirement helps prevent this, some say that it worsens this condition (SEE Immortality 2.4)

1.3 Humans that are turned into a vampire continue to age normally until they reach 27. If they were turned after the age of 27, they remain looking the way they did at that age. (yes, the 155 year old vampire that looks like a child is a top tier trope, but all else considered, I thought it would be too wish-fulfilment-y)

1.4 Ancient Ones are vampires that are older than 800 human years. They tend to have some social power or historical significance to the vampire community in their country of origin. Many have retired. (SEE Immortality 2.4, History 3.1)

Immortality (2)

2.1 Vampires live forever, but can become physically injured and die. Severe injuries that could kill a human could probably kill a vampire. They are especially vulnerable to fire. (SEE Weaknesses 6.6)

2.2 Vampires are not affected by human illnesses. However, illnesses that are unique to the vampire species exist... (I’m still worldbuilding this)

2.3 Vampires can still experience bone and muscle issues, from over-using their powers, or slouching (Fix your posture, Angelo!)

2.4 Some vampires decide to “retire”. They go into a deep hibernation resembling death. Some do this because they get bored with immortality, “retiring” in their coffin somewhere well hidden (a church crypt, beneath their family estate, a cemetery within an established vampire community). If you wake them up it better be for something good... (SEE Aging/Lifespan 1.2, 1.4)

History (3)

3.1 At various points in history, mainly the Middle Ages, there were scattered instances of massacres of vampires if their communities were discovered. Those who have survived through these events through to this day are regarded as Ancient Ones. 

3.2 Vampires have existed for longer than myths about them have. Communities were established and then evolved into places where myths and superstition are strong. (SEE Society 10.6)

Blood and Food (4)

4.1 Blood is the main source of nutrition. Vampires can satisfy their need for blood from drinking from sims, animals, plasma packs, or plasma fruit. Humans are very risky, unless you have willing donors. City vampires may resort to pigeons or rats... (nobody will miss them, anyway!) but their blood isn't very clean. Plasma packs are mass produced from plasma fruit farms. Other, shadier options are out there, but frowned upon. The Vampire League in the area will source and provide plasma packs for free to those who need them, but some vampires on the fringes don’t agree with these establishments. (SEE Society (10)) Plasma packs are also sold in stores owned and operated by vampires. Cafes and restaurants that serve food with blood as an ingredient are also around, but tend not to provide enough daily nutrition. Growing plasma fruit and taking these on their own frequently is viable, but does not provide as many nutrients as fortified plasma packs. There is some debate about whether human blood is better/tastes better than its "vegetarian” alternatives. Whatever their preferred method, the most important thing for a vampire is establishing a steady source of blood. 

4.2 Drinking etiquette varies among communities. Some have no qualms drinking and draining humans, while others avoid killing at all costs. Vampires keep their presence hidden from humans and simply draining and killing them, leaving bodies everywhere could expose their communities to danger. Vampires can drink from a human without killing or turning them. In any case, discretion is imperative. (SEE Humans 9). 

4.3 Vampires do not have the same circulatory system as humans do. They cannot blush, often feel cold, and have no heartbeat. After feeding however, they may feel warmer, and are able to blush for a short time. 

4.4  Vampires can survive on one feeding per week of a minimum of 10 pints, but most spread this out to several feedings over the week. Trying to survive only on 10 pints or less will result in malnourishment and weakness. Vampires generally cannot agree on when is the best time for feeding. It is mostly up to personal preference. In reality, it doesn’t really matter. Feeding starting at the beginning of the week is probably best for efficiency and energy, however. 

4.5 Vampires don’t strictly *need* food to live, but eating won’t make them sick. In fact, eating can give them energy and provide nutrients not found in some methods of getting their blood intake. Sure, if a vampire wanted, they could avoid human food altogether, but honestly, eating food is just enjoyable. Sometimes, eating iron-rich food can even stave off hunger for blood. It is possible to be easily turned off by human food and drink, but this doesn’t count as an allergy or weakness. 

Nocturnality (5) this... isn't a word...

5.1 Nocturnal schedules are preferred within traditional communities, but nowadays, it’s more of a lifestyle choice. The need to stay hidden among humans is especially necessary in this day and age, so most vampires have adapted to human sleep cycles. 

5.2 Having a nocturnal lifestyle may be more efficient for increasing vampiric prowess. An individual will not have to worry about sunlight or spending energy using sunlight resistance powers, and can save their energy for other things. Moonlight is also said to increase power. (SEE Powers 8.4)

Weaknesses (6)

6.1 For sunlight weakness SEE The Sun (7)

6.2 Garlic isn’t a fool proof way of keeping vampires at bay. Like other weaknesses, it is entirely possible to have an intolerance to garlic, but for the majority, simply having garlic around isn’t enough. It can deter vampires but a determined individual will still break into your house (especially if they are starved of blood and you’re the closest blooded creature around). Italian vampires seem to have a special distaste for this generalization..

6.3 Silver is indeed a strong vampire deterrent, stronger than garlic. For vampires, it’s similar to the way some humans are allergic to certain metals or alloys (think earrings). The myth of vampires not appearing in mirrors came out of the common practice of silvering on glass mirrors. Nowadays, aluminium is readily available for this purpose. Similarly, the early development of photographs in the darkroom with silver containing chemicals prevented the vampire’s image from appearing as it was developed. (idea sparked by that one tumblr post about vampires and mirrors and silver that I can’t find anymore. I know that this is sort of a logical leap, I just liked the idea that the myth had existed in this world but also was based on something)

6.4  The Vampire's distaste of crucifixes, holy water, and rosaries are purely ideological. European myths and stories about vampires were objectionable on the grounds of the connotations, symbolism, and stereotypes of vampires as evil, unholy creatures. Crosses will not weaken a vampire, but perhaps make them quite angry with you. 

6.5 Vampires do not need to be welcomed when entering a house. Some however, have a complex caused by superstitions around vampires, have internalized this and will still ask permission.

6.6 A stake through the heart and a decapitation can kill a vampire in the same way it can kill a human. If you really want to kill a vampire in a vampire hunter way, use fire. 

The Sun (7)

7.1 Sticking to Sims canon, Vampires will burn in the sun if their vampire rank is too low. They can avoid burning through leveling up, staying in the shade, or wearing sunblock. Some remedies for sun immunity have been passed along generations, but it’s essentially the equivalent of “natural medicine” and essential oils, with no proof of actual effectiveness. Vampires from different regions of the world have varying degrees of natural resistance to the sun, but are never born with full immunity.

7.2 Studies have shown that the sensitivity to the sun is related to UV rays affecting vampires more than other creatures. Some vampires are actually truly allergic to the sun, and cannot ever achieve sun immunity. 

7.3 Vampires that have been turned will develop intolerance towards UV rays unless they use the methods in 7.1. 

7.4 I’ve simply made the executive decision that vampires are able to get freckles upon exposure to sunlight. 

Powers (8)

8.1 Bat form is one of the first perks of advancing one’s vampire rank. The stronger you become, the easier transforming and maintaining it becomes. As a bat, a vampire is temporarily immune to sunlight. Bat form is greatly beneficial for travelling at night. 

8.2 Super-speed and strength are also perks of your vampire rank. Vampires are born with some degree of increased strength but cannot access super-speed unless they advance in vampire ranks. Over use of these two powers can cause the body to deteriorate faster. 

8.3 Glamours and vampiric charm are high level powers. The lower your level, the lower the strength of your glamour or allure. Whether vampires have the ability to control minds or cast hallucinations is hotly debated. In reality, they can sway humans but not fully control them. Vampiric charm does not work on other vampires. Glamours still appear but a powerful vampire will be able to dispel it. Over usage of these powers can cause abnormal aging. 

8.4 Increased power at night and affinity to the moon is gradually developed with practice, and the higher your rank, the more power you can draw from the moon. Gaining power/studying is more effective at night. There may be connections to increased nighttime power causing decreased daytime power.

8.5 A vampire’s Dark Form is like a power upgrade. These physiological changes to the body allow an individual to harness their powers, as well as gaining a more durable physical form. This uses a considerable amount of vampiric energy, however, and is difficult to maintain. This is why most vampires will only use their Dark Form while engaged in combat. The ability to control (and maintain control over) when to activate their Dark Form is gained by increasing the vampire rank. If one does not learn to control it, they may slip into it when under duress or powerful emotions, positive or negative. Whether or not trauma increases the power of an individual’s dark form is unknown 

Humans (9)

9.1 Humans are usually seen as a threat to vampires as a species, if not as a society. Fraternizing with humans is frowned upon amongst noble and upper class vampires. However, just like humans, vampire society has social classes, and many vampires have made lives practically integrated with humans. To blend in with humans, vampires who use methods of resisting sunlight can keep a diurnal sleep schedule and have a day job. (SEE Society 10.3)

9.2 Feeding on humans is a hot debate amongst vampires.  (SEE Blood and Food 5.2)

9.3 With the advent of vampire social clubs and fascination with the supernatural, some vampires have used this to their advantage. Either by gathering human friends sympathetic to vampires, or gathering a "farm" of willing human blood donors. (SEE Society 10.5)

9.4 The ability to Turn humans is gained as a vampire increases their power. At lower vampire levels, there is a risk of turning a human while drinking from them. Whether or not Turning is an acceptable practice is unclear and varies among groups. Generally speaking, a vampire will not turn an unwilling victim-it does them little good. Turning humans on a whim is not sustainable and perhaps dangerous (they now know for sure vampires are real! And will probably tell someone. Also it's just cruel). Etiquette dictates that once you turn someone, they become your responsibility to guide through their new life. Couples of a human and vampire are even more complicated because of this. (SEE Society 10.5)

Society (10)

10.1 Vampire Leagues are well established vampire organizations. Any densely populated area probably has a vampire community, and also has a chapter of the Vampire League. All chapters are interconnected to each other, although there is not a single headquarters/leader for the organization as a whole. In each country, there is one League chapter that is the representative for the country for legal and business matters. They are registered as a nonprofit social society. Each chapter is self governing. Each league has its own jurisdiction, with headquarters usually in the metropolitan area. Rural communities are usually under the care of one of these chapters. Most leagues operate under the motto of creating and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. Most do not adopt initiatives to overtake humans, but rather, to keep vampires safe from them. Groups that do so are considered extremists. 

10.2 Gated Vampire settlements, sometimes called havens, are rare and those that exist have deep history. Forgotten Hollow is one such town, as is the ancestral home of the Mullens back in Italy. These communities tend to have their own chapter of the League, or are serviced by a special branch of the League closest to them. These towns are gated-no humans may trespass or live in them. Glamours and similar magic are usually used to keep humans (and other creatures) at bay. To enter, you must be welcomed or led there. These towns are self governing and usually led by whatever family has historical power there, and are unique communities built up over the course of history. Rarely, these settlements have only wealthy occupants, but then are usually considered an area of a human metropolitan settlement. These ones cannot truly be self governing. 

10.3 There is a level of tension between “modern” vampires and noble ones. Modern vampires tend to live in metropolitan areas, and are well integrated with humans. A large portion of the demographic are half-human or were turned recently. Some Vampire Leagues have outreach programs to help these groups connect with the greater vampire community, and provide services. However, they can be regarded with some suspicion as Vampire Leagues may be seen as an elitist organisation. 

10.4 “Noble” is not an official title, but refers to ancient and powerful clans of full-blooded vampires. Ancestry is very important. They are usually wealthy, but simply being a wealthy vampire doesn’t count as being a noble one. Wealth however, can still be a leg up in the ranks of the Vampire League. 

10.5 Vampire Houses are urban groups of modern vampires who live communally without necessarily being related. Some Houses are formed entirely from one vampire Turning humans to gain “offspring”. The relationship dynamics depend on whether one individual operates a cult of sorts, or whether it was a group of friends who just decided they wanted to become immortal. Others are simply a found family of vampires who met under whatever circumstances. When you live forever, it’s nice to have some other immortals around to keep you company (or to manipulate to overthrow the powers that be?). Cult-like houses are condemned  by the Vampire League. Houses of one vampire and their offspring is regarded with suspicion-increasing in numbers is not always a politically neutral act. (SEE Humans 9.4)

10.6 Modern Vampires settle anywhere that suits their needs. Areas that have myths about Vampires or Vampire-like creatures were usually influenced by a large vampire population. Living in a highly superstitious area is a double-edged sword, in that humans may be accustomed to brushing off weird things, but also more wary of the supernatural. (SEE History 3.2)

[sumi-sprite]

Omnic Study: Deducing the Original Functions of Well-Known Omnics Based On Their Appearances

Okay people, just, like, bear with me for a hot minute here. 

I actively try to stay away from Omnic HCs for numerous reasons; the primary ones being so I can develop my own HCs, and to avoid canonical bias. And it has so far worked! As such, I guess I wanted to put together a bit of an “HC article” about Omnics and their numerous aesthetical appearances, and WHY they were built they way they (possibly) were. 

Or, Sumi tries to pull a smort and guess what it was Omnics were initially built to do based on their appearances and other known information. 

Please note, this is going off of the assumption that these examples were of Omnics “born” with their current bodies in the examples, and were not later modded or changed as their situations allowed them. 

So, let’s begin!

The Uncanny Valley

Uncanny Valley is defined, “In aesthetics, the uncanny valley is a hypothesized relationship between the degree of an object's resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to such an object. ... The uncanny valley hypothesis predicts that an entity appearing almost human will risk eliciting cold, eerie feelings in viewers.”

In short, the more something that isn’t human looks human, the more eerie it is to look at, and the more uncomfortable and even frightened a person may feel looking at it. It is theorized that phobias of mannequins and other human-esque objects and entities stem from the Uncanny Valley. The theory of the Uncanny Valley has a lot to do with the brain’s perception and observation of an object that has a form that, on an instinctive level, the brain is trying to figure out if this object is human, or if it is not human. Neurons start going off as the brain confusedly tries to figure out just what it is looking at, and whether or not it needs to process this entity as “human”, thus a relatable, living creature you could possibly connect with, or “not human”, thus not something you can socialize with and build a relationship with. This confusion of the brain results in the eerie feeling of uncertainty, that “uncanny” feeling. 

But! There is a flipside to the Uncanny Valley.

Humans are, naturally (and arguably), social creatures with a need to relate to and empathize with other people (again, arguably, just roll with it people). In the extreme, an object that looks human despite not being human can be extremely unnerving, thus, the extreme of the Uncanny Valley theory. But, if something looks roughly human but has distinguishingly not human features, it turns the uncanny feeling into a sense of curiosity. It’s much easier to react positively to something that is just on the margin of different, but just within the realm of similar, and thus it is easier to interact with. 

This is why series such as Transformers have worked out and maintain a loyal following. Because the characters are humanoid, but not human. They are just humanoid enough to relate to, but not so close to looking human that we want nothing to do with them. Humans are naturally attracted to things that look like them, but not so much so that we can’t figure out if it’s another human or not. We like relating to things in this way. This object has two arms, two legs, a head, two eyes, a mouth, etc; but it also has features that scream it is not human. This object has skin, hair, two arms, two legs, two eyes, a mouth, talks, blinks...but it’s not human; and it is making you very uncomfortable. 

Stay with me, there is a reason I am explaining all of this!

Okay, so, we now know generally what the Uncanny Valley is without getting too technical, and we have a small example of how and why it is utilized in media. Media creators know we like things like robots and androids and those characters that are humanoid, but not human. 

So, onto Omnics and their aesthetical appearances, with image examples to pick apart and theorize what they may have been originally built to do and why!

I repeat - this is all going off the assumption these Omnics have not upgraded themselves or have done too much to change their appearances. 

Let’s start off with arguably two of the most popular Omnics - Zenyatta and Mondatta!

The Omnics

Arguably the simplest in design, we know there are a lot more decorative and aesthetically complex Omnics in the Overwatch universe, but we will get to those later. For now, let’s break these boys down.

Zenyatta is a very simple design, made almost frail by his seeming lack of armor. It is not entirely clear if this is just his design overall, or if he ever had more armor to begin with. If at some point he did have more armor, he likely would have looked similar to the Omnics seen in the Alive short, with an example below. 

We can see many similarities and even full matches to some plating in the example image and Zenyatta’s image. The breastplates seen in the example image and on Zenyatta are identical, and the areas we can see that seem to be missing armor can easily be filled in with the plates of the Omnic on the left side of the example image. Even the abdominal plate of the Omnic on the left seems like it would fit almost perfectly on Zenyatta’s abdomen where it seems he is missing a similar plate. 

(Note that it is somewhat doubtful that Zenyatta would actually look exactly like the Omnics presented in the image if he had full armor, because it seems Omnics in general have regional attributes and trademark appearances based off of what region they may be from. The Omnics above are likely to be European trademark models since they are, in fact, in Europe. But you get the idea.)

Regardless of any armor he may or may not have had, his design is simple. Extremely simple. There does not appear to be any overtly human qualities to him aside from his overall shape and form. He has two legs, two arms, a torso, fingers, a head, and very vague facial features. Two slits in his face downturned at the outer corners serve as a marker for eyes without being actual human eyes, and a differently colored, seemingly locked jaw serves as a marker for a mouth. Curves added to his waist and chest lend more humanlike features and proportions. The only thing about him that may make a human uncomfortable or give him an odd second look is his ability to perpetually hover.

He’s nowhere within the extreme of the Uncanny Valley; he sits right on that very comfortable margin that, when you look at him, he is just familiar enough in shape to be relatable to as one who shares a similar shape, but he is clearly not a human being. His lack of true facial features helps this, and his overall having no skin, hair, eyes, etc also helps the brain determine that he is not human, and thus will not instigate that confusion in the brain. 

This makes him of a build that is, very likely, not truly meant to be worth a second glance. 

Zenyatta’s build is, as I said, extremely simplistic. This tells me, personally, that he was not built with the purpose of working close with humans. He isn’t decorative enough to warrant attention from one or more people, and he doesn’t possess the features needed to allow humans to identify with him on a level to prompt cooperation. Because he is so simple in design, and his lifestyle suggests he was built to be relatively sturdy, he was likely meant to be a laborer of some sort. He is an Omnic who was built to work “behind the scenes” if you will, with little to no human interactions outside of management.

Aesthetically speaking, he is easily passed over if you were to walk by him while he was working or doing something mundane; moreso if he wasn’t wearing his current attire. 

It is, unfortunately, impossible to gauge a more broad idea of what Zenyatta’s original function may have been. Because he is likely missing a massive amount of armor, we lose the idea of how sturdy he is, thus what sort of environments he would be able to work in. His proportions are, like most Omnics, exaggerated, with seeming emphasis placed on his limbs, which may suggest he was meant to be frequently mobile. This is a bit difficult to gauge though considering he hasn’t been seen moving with both feet on the ground. 

Many have theorized (myself included recently) that Zenyatta had come from Null Sector, and as such, probably underwent a full downgrade and hardware replacements. If this is the case, we really can’t make any solid guesses to anything unless we see what he looked like pre-downgrade. 

(Hmm…)

It is difficult to add much more on what Zenyatta likely was prior to his current self. We lack visuals of him in casual settings, and have mostly audio, screenshots, gifs, and in-game bonus animations to work with, and very little else. Gestures and mannerisms are somewhat lacking, so it’s impossible to gauge a 100% determination of what exactly he could have been in his primary function. His voice lines also mostly determine his current life, rather than many implications of what he used to be or do before the current time. So for now, I can only guage what he was originally built for on his appearance alone. 

(Waiting on that lore too, guys…)

Mondatta is in a very similar though distinct boat. 

Mondatta is sort of the aesthetic step up from Zenyatta. It has been theorized they are the same make and model, but of a newer and older variety (Mondatta usually depicted as an older model of Zenyatta). But there are also some very distinct oddities to Mondatta that Zenyatta lacks.

Many people have theorized Mondatta was meant to be a focal point of attention as his original function. He is very eye catching and distinct from other Omnics, but then again, just how many Omnics have we seen in the Overwatch franchise? He is also hardly the most aesthetically complex. Like Zenyatta, he is extremely simple in design, with slightly sharper angles and narrower features than Zenyatta, who boasts rounder features and more curves. There are also very subtle yet telling nuances that put him between a simple model and a complex model.

Firstly, his coloring. As far as my research goes, I haven’t seen another Omnic with white armor remotely similar to Mondatta. Most Omnics we have seen are chrome with features in more chrome, copper, black, silver, etc. It is very unlikely he got this armor to replace or upgrade a former armor set. The armor he wears is chipped and stained in some places, suggesting its age and wear. I can also safely assume that Omnic armor of such an obscure color is probably not cheap, and he does not seem like the type to drop so much for frivolous aesthetics. He doesn’t seem to have an obvious reason to adding the white armor to himself at one point in time. Mondatta, while simple in design is obscure for this reason alone.

Another obscurity of Mondatta is his size in comparison to his proportions.

Now, we do not know his or the guards’ heights, but with the average male standing around 6ft (roughly 182cm) tall, we can guess that Mondatta is roughly around 6ft tall, if not taller standing next to his guards, so perhaps 2 or more inches taller than Zenyatta (5ft 8in). We also get to see that his bodily proportions are very close to a tall human’s build. If he is an older model, it is likely that classical proportions went into his design, whereas with Zenyatta, slightly more exaggerated proportions were used. This could also just be a simple result of hardware. Omnics, from what I can see, are very disproportionate because of the ratio of hardware they carry. It’s almost impossible to make an artificial entity with exact human proportions without adding a synthetic skin and padding to fill in narrow or hollow spaces. 

Larger Omnics tend to have more exaggerated and wider proportions, yet with Mondatta’s size making him a relatively larger Omnic, he remains in sensible proportion similar to a human, rather than more exaggerated like other larger Omnics. This makes him appear exceptionally tall, though not notably broad. This also makes him sturdy. 

He is not thickly built, but there is an implied broadness in his shoulders that, if taken into proportion with the rest of his body (unseen), suggests he is likely bigger and set a bit heavier than Zenyatta, with a larger and slightly more elongated and squared head, which may suggest a stronger and faster processor, or just a lot more hardware to buffer the processors. Though “size doesn’t matter” has become a bit of a running gag for humans, in machines, it usually counts since the hardware size can sometimes imply the power, speed, and efficiency of the software. He likely has a very powerful AI. In a word, he’s smart. 

All of this tells me that Mondatta was only slightly like Zenyatta in that he was never meant to work closely with humans. But while Zenyatta was probably never meant to interact with humans at all, Mondatta may be an obscure exception. If he is given the hardware and software to be socially equipped to be dealing with mass crowds and individuals, it could be that he was only meant to work closely with selective humans. 

Mondatta’s form is a prime example of “simple yet elegant”, aesthetically subtle and pristine, but not so complex as to be a distraction. His form is one you may expect to see on a well-dressed servant. It could be theorized he is even a custom model some well off individual commissioned to perhaps work as a personal servant. And if in fact he was meant to work closely with one individual in particular, he probably could have been the individual’s assistant - be it for work or in personal assistance, or even health assistance. He would need to be able to, to a degree, argue with and refuse certain orders - ie refusing to finish a project, refusing to take medicine, etc - and try and convince his owner to do something they need to do, but may not want to. 

(Confirmed: Mondatta is Ra9)

Both his appearance and his processors imply a sort of interpersonal function, and one that demanded he toe a few lines without actually crossing into areas of insubordination. His function probably demanded he maintain a certain amount of order, and even power, in his former function. 

But this also may beg a more functional reason as to why he looks the way he does. Let’s go back to his coloring and his sturdy built again for a moment. As we know, Russia in Overwatch has its own Omnium, and is home to hostile Omnics. Siberia is a common battleground, with Zarya herself being from a Siberian village that got caught in the crossfires. And as we know, a lot of areas in Russia, particularly Siberia, is covered in snow. If at some point Mondatta was built during the Crisis, it would be prudent and even smart to make sure he, as a soldier or otherwise, could blend into his environment during a fight. This could imply he is a Russian made Omnic, and with his simple yet distinct form, could have been anything from a grunt soldier to a higher ranking Omnic officer (if the God AIs even used the militant system). 

If his processors are as powerful as they are seemingly implied, this could work well in his favor as a personal servant or a part of the Crisis. As a servant to someone well off, he would probably need to engage with and determine orders and who he can and can’t take those orders from, and thus he would need an AI powerful enough to discriminate, categorize, and even personalize. In a war situation, this would help in strategizing and organizing, even mapping and planning defence and offensive techniques.  

Regardless, his aesthetic appearance sits in a margin similar to Zenyatta’s: not too human as to be uncanny, but not so distinctly object-like to not be comfortable interacting with. But he is also touching just this side of a more complex Omnic because of his armor coloring, his overall build, and the implication of powerful processors. He seems, quite simply, like he is built to walk just as well as he talks. 

He makes up for his lack of humanoid features with his manner of speech, gestures, and other body language. He gestures frequently during his speech in Alive, and even when he is being escorted off the stage to make his escape, he makes contact with and nods to the crowd as a sign of conscious acknowledgement. This could be a learned behavior, but if it is in fact an ingrained part of his function, it could imply that he is supposed to acknowledge people who are speaking to or regarding him. A sort of “speak only when spoken to” behavior that serving staff would typically be taught. The more he acknowledges, the more he engages, the easier it would be for a human to relax around him and relate to him, and thus make his job easier, and thus increase his efficiency. 

But if he did not have these habits and mannerisms ingrained, he had to have the social baseline to learn, and indeed to want to learn them, perhaps even out of necessity. These gestures and little nuances in his everyday body language would be vital in his endeavor to show humans that Omnics are alive and deserve the same treatment as humans. They make him more easy to communicate and cooperate with humans. 

(It is somewhat ironic that we can gauge more about Mondatta personality and function-wise from a single short animation, than we can from Zenyatta over years of gameplay)

Now comes a slightly more obscure model that toes the line of Uncanny Valley, and mild anthropomorphism. 

Lynx 17 is an example of a VERY obscure Omnic due to one major factor - their adorable headgear. 

Lynx is a bit difficult to discern in terms of what their original function was, but with their abilities, we can conclude they were in fact originally intended for computer-based fields; assuming they did not install these functions and software themselves at one point. 

Lynx’s possible function is also further obscured by their appearance - or perhaps enhanced by it. 

A trademark of Lynx is their ear-like helm extensions. We can safely just assume they function as functional antennae to further enhance their wireless networking and hacking skills. They could also be a means of protection, not unlike an antenna used to project a powerful firewall around their processors. But, looking at the upper left image, we can see they are also used to express emotions. 

We also see, in most of the images above, that they have larger optic slits, and in fact, have visible optics. It could be just optical glass inset into their optic slits, but the adding of glass makes a tremendous difference. 

Eye contact is something vital to human beings, and it helps for other living things to have eyes they can see and lock with. Gazing into the eyes has been proven to help strengthen relationships of all sorts, and even helps make short term relationships (such as interviews) a much more successful endeavor if you can keep eye contact. This suggest Lynx was, in fact, supposed to work relatively close with humans, probably on a one-on-one basis, or in small groups. 

Back to the odd appearance. Lync overall is a sort of subclass example of anthropomorphism, which has been linked vaguely to the Uncanny Valley. Their helm shape, helm antenna, larger optics, and the glass used to make them look like they have more noticeable eyes puts them in a very weird area in terms of human relations. And in fact, this may have only helped them if they were meant to work with humans.

Humans have a much easier time relating to animals than other humans. You ever hear the phrase, “Greet the dog, ignore the owner”? Well, here is your middle ground. People like animals. People like anthropomorphic humanoids. People like anthropomorphic, humanoid robots. And to go further, people who work in more technical and computer-based industries tend to have a much lower tolerance for fellow human beings, and in fact will pick an animal over having a five minute conversation with humans. Animals are just that much more approachable, and they’re easier to get along with, and in fact have been proven to reduce stress in a tense work environment. 

This tells me that Lynx likely was built to work in a technical industry, perhaps as tech support or a tech assistant of some sort. But due to the social minefield most humans in this field walk in, it was likely to the benefit of the makers to make Lynx just that more approachable; not by making them look more human, but by making them look less human, and more animal. Again, their antenna features could be entirely utilitary to their function, rather than just an aesthetic; or they could be both. Regardless, the antenna and other, smaller elements have made the idea that Lynx, in function, was supposed to work with humans in an industry where the humans in question would find them more approachable if they looked less human. We can’t go much further due to the rest of their body being covered by a jumpsuit, but from what little we can see, we can conclude Lynx was designed with social preferences in mind.

(On a slightly interesting note, Lynx’s model would make a great companion or minder to humans who have Autism or social defects. Their anthropomorphic design makes them easier to look at, as people with Autism or other social defects do indeed tend to prefer animals over other people and avidly avoid eye contact with other humans. The simple design coupled with the cat-like eyes and “ears” would make it easier for an individual with Autism in question to look them in the eyes more easily, and perhaps enhance and teach the individual in question how to interact with human peers on a much more comfortable level. Lynx’s model would be excellent in teaching subtle body language too because an individual could use their expressive “ears” as a reference, and later pick out the more human-like gestures in Lynx’s model to go along with the more telling droop, prick, and tilt of their “ears”) 

Mondatta, Zenyatta, and Lynx 17 are simpler designs, so what about the more complex, thus more Uncanny, Omnics?

Enter, Maximilien…

This Pretentious Asshole™ that I would die for is an example of an Omnic that is much closer to the Uncanny Valley than the previous three Omnics. 

Maximilien was first featured in the comic, Masquerade, then later in the campaign, Storm Rising. And looking at him even in the comics, we can all pretty safely conclude that he was meant to work with humans in both one on one, and mass. 

Why can we conclude this? Because of his smug face. His head in general actually. 

Of this entire list, Max will be only one of two Omnics we will see with a hairlike protrusion on their head. We can’t really say for certain that the “hair” was something he himself added at some point in his life, but it’s doubtful this is the case. We know Maximilien is Akande’s accountant, and that Max has some very high prestige for an Omnic. Storm Rising has shown us that he owns a brewery, and likely various other businesses around the world, and profiles and the comic have shown us that he runs a casino in Monaco. Max knows how to handle money, and this tells me that he is very likely still serving his original function as an accountant. 

Accountants are far from the most pleasant people to be around, and working with them can be a chore in and of itself. Handling money is a chore in an of itself. And a lot of people in well-off situations just don’t want to deal with where their money goes and how it is being used, and will likely hire a high end accountant to manage it for them. There is an issue though: accountants tend to be human. Humans tend to make mistakes. They also tend to steal. So, the solution? Make a supercomputer accountant to handle your funds, with zero will or desire to even be greedy or steal from you. Bear in mind, this thought likely came into being before the Crisis and before Omnics started becoming more sentient and self-aware. 

This makes Omnic accountants cheaper than their human counterparts, and it makes them a thousand times more efficient since you eliminate human error and bias. It is likely that Omnics like Max have extremely fast and efficient processors; they are living calculators, a sort of sentient supercomputer if you will. They likely have the ability to measure markets, determine stock, bond, and investment pros and cons in less than a few seconds, and can calculate safe and risky investments, as well as determine based on hyper-collected data what you should and should not invest in in the near or distant future. They likely have every up to date accounting manual and guideline in their memory banks, and every accounting and monetary law crammed into massive data banks inside their own processors. 

This makes Maximilien and other Omnics like him smart. Frighteningly smart. I would honestly not be shocked if the theory of Max low-key puppeteering Akande to control Talon turned out to be true.

But, back to the aesthetics and why this works in Max’s favor. Max sits a step above the previous three Omnics, and likely many others, and is closer to the Uncanny Valley due to his very distinct and humanlike facial features. In the gifs above and in the beginning, we can see he not only has distinct and lit optics, but optics with shutters - he has eyelids. In fact, if you look closely at the gifs, you can even see he appears to have optic foci - or a pupils - that shift and flicker depending on where he is looking; from Genji’s sword to where Tracer is standing after she clears her throat to get his attention. Like Mondatta, he gestures and makes subtle movements to express in a way that is animated in a human manner and is either an ingrained part of his function, or a learned habit. And although lacking in solid confirmation in the Storm Rising cutscenes, in the comic and presented in the lower right image on the collage, we see Max has a fully articulated jaw that, in my personal theory, only opens when Max is in a state of more volatile or strong emotions.   

Max’s humanlike features make him even more familiar to humans than Zenyatta, Mondatta, or Lynx. He’s easier to trust when it comes to business savvy men and women on a social level because he looks just enough like them to be comfortably familiar. Anyone looking for someone to manage their money would want someone who isn’t as likely to steal or make a blaring mistake with where money is spent, gained, or lost. 

Now, we can assume Max is likely bleeding clients dry, but bear this in mind: he’s strategic. If anything I said about his processors is true, and if his final cutscene is implicit of his intelligence, then he would legitimately do his damndest to keep his clients happy and not rob them blind. Because if they decide he’s obsolete in managing their money, they will leave, and he loses reputation, money, and resources. Reputation is the lifeblood to any successful high end accountant’s career, and any slip or red mark on their ledger is an absolute death sentence. Max literally cannot afford to screw over accounting clients if he can help it. 

He shows a sense of calm and lack of being intimidated by casually adjusting his tie and pin in the third gif of the first set. This expresses confidence. In the cutthroat world of business, no human would trust an accountant with zero confidence in themselves, otherwise, how can they trust them with their money? This could be a learned attribute to his personality, but confidence tends to stem from an inborn seed (meaning, one is not necessarily born confident, but they may be more predisposed to it as they age). Charisma, confidence, wit, charm, and brains are the key factors of a good accountant after all, and the attributes of an accountant someone with a lot of money can trust. 

Maximilien does not seem to be loyal to any one person, as we see this loyalty ambiguity when he sold out Akande to be arrested by Overwatch. But we never find out if Akande found out, or even if Akande cared; if anything, perhaps Akande would find the fact endearing. Max seems to have an ingrained loyalty to whoever and whatever is going to benefit him in the long haul. He is “loyal” in the sense that he will remain loyal to X so long as X provides protection and absolute security without compromising his own life. Faced with Overwatch and no escape, Max no longer had any loyalty to Akande, thus sold him out. 

This fluidity in loyalty is an absolute necessity in preserving one’s reputation, and thus one’s credibility and ability to perform their given task. It’s nice to feel like your accountant works for you 100%, but if that were the case, your funds would stagnate because your accountant has no resources and no connections, and thus, no means of actually helping your funds grow and increase. Accountants, and accountants like Max, need “friends in high places” as well as “friends in very low, very desperate, very dark places”. Thus, he needs charisma and social prowess, of which he has in spades (hah, puns).

He is a master negotiator if his getting off the hook with Overwatch is anything to go by, and is just enough of a “backstage” type of worker to very easily slide under the shifting leadership roles in Talon without a hitch. This also includes helping Akande remove Vialli from Talon’s head when Akande escapes prison, despite being the reason Akande was put into prison (though again, we do not know if Akande is savvy to this fact). Maximilien functions absolutely seamlessly in his craft, and that is strategy. His appearance gives nothing away of this, but his mannerisms, gestures, how he speaks, and the topics he discusses lend a serious implication to both his function and the benefits he gains by continuing to work by his function, rather than outside of it. 

So far, we have seen three Omnics who likely had vastly to mildly different functions to what they do now. Max and others like him, due to how close they work to humans, and thus the benefits they reap, may in fact be more likely to serve their intended function rather than abandon it, while simpler, “disposable” Omnics are more likely to shift their perspectives.   

Another Omnic similar in aesthetic class to Max is Luna.

Now, we know next to nothing about Luna, other than the fact she is present on the Paris map in the Cabaret Luna. Luna is a slightly off-the-wall case because of her appearance, and the fact that her gender is made physically very clear.

Most Omnics appear to present as sexless or male by default, usually based off of their bodies or their voices. In Lynx’s case, neutral pronouns are used by their choice. Luna is, as far as I can tell, the only distinctly female Omnic we have seen or had interactions with - second only to Athena/Iris and Orisa. We haven’t really seen any other female-oriented Omnics though, and with female characters of ANY species often being sexually emphasized so we ALL KNOW they ARE female (we get it, please stop with the armor bikinis), it’s very hard to miss if a character is defined - until stated otherwise - as female. 

Luna is defined in a relatively subtle manner as female in numerous ways physically, and even audibly by her feminine singing voice. Women in entertainment are, well...they have expectations based on appearances, sadly. And with Omnics being made and installed with the desired hardware and software, even designed with the desired appearances, this criteria becomes moot. 

Luna is clearly meant as an entertainer, though whether or not this is of her own choosing, it is difficult to say. There exists little to no information on her other than what her job is and where she is found. But based on her appearance, we can safely conclude she is meant to catch the eye of humans. Her entire physical appearance is meant to catch the eye, likely and primarily the eye of straight men. 

She has a curved build with hide hips, an elaborate hairstyle, as well as lit optics set into a coy downturn at the inner corners. Even her facial plate seems to express a coy smile. She even has the implication of breasts on her chest. The cat ears add a sense of mischief and promiscuity, perhaps even some playfulness, and likely a nod to a sort of feline theme. 

Though it may just be an attribute of the game itself, there could be implications that she is not a fully sentient Omnic. When spawned in Luna’s cabernet, she appears to be singing, but the whole room is empty. This may suggest she is not - or not yet - self-aware of anything but her function. Whether or not a room is empty, she keeps singing, day or night, until customers come in to watch and enjoy a drink or two. She is not “free” like Mondatta, Zenyatta, Max, and others may be, and in fact may be a very new and very young Omnic who has not yet had a chance to be someone other than her function. But again, this could mean absolutely nothing, and merely be an attribute of the game itself rather than Luna’s lore. 

Looking at her arms, legs, feet, face, and collar, we can see light blue lines of biolights. This emphasises her presence, which heightens the desire to gather the attention of as many people as possible in a collective group. Humans are naturally drawn to light and flashing shapes, and this only further emphasises the intentions of her build. Adding in her flashy clothing, humanlike hair, jewelry, and her musical voice, we can safely assume she was built to entertain and catch an audience’s attention, and she is perhaps still serving this function, and may in fact not be self-aware just yet. 

TL;DR - I spent a few hours compiling this pile of TRASH BABBLE because I was bored and couldn’t stop thinking about what could be implied by the appearances of some well-known Omnics in Overwatch and I needed to write it all down.

YES, I KNOW I SKIPPED ORISA AND BASTION. But let me explain why: Both Bastion and Orisa have had their primary functions made glaringly obvious as war and battle Omnics, and are in fact relics leftover from the Crisis, and thus, there isn’t really much to unpack about them. But if you want me to do a sort of study on them too in a more current sense rather than a past function and Uncanny Valley sense, let me know! 

And that’s all I got. Can I go to bed now?

~Sumi

[joyofcrime-elinorhigh]

2018 Year in REVIEW: Part 1

 Doing these list was a lot easier back when I actually had cable...

 Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt, and another year has come and gone. And with 2019 is right around the corner, I think it's time to once again continue the annual tradition. That's right, I'm talking about my end of the year recap! Cause 2018 was a huge year for the cartoon community!-

Oh wait, that's a picture of a dumpster fire. Don't know how I mixed those two up...  If you've been following my page for a while now, you'll already know how this works. But for any newcomers, I'll be going through a list of several of the most notable events and animated series that happened over the course of the year. I'll be going over these events is roughly chronological order (Though I may swap a few things around to keep similar topics together) all while giving my own personal thoughts and opinion on each one. Anime and theatrical films will be exempt from this list, as it's already long enough as it is. I'll mostly be focusing on TV series and animation news. And while OBVIOUSLY I won't be able to cover everything I'm try to hit you with the highlights, along side some things that may have gone under the radar. And when I'm done I will count down my favorite series of the year from worst to best, give the year a grade, and decide which network "won" the year.  I would also just like to be transparent here and say this concept is stolen directly from the anime youtuber Gigguk. I liked the concept, and wanted to apply it to something I loved. Also, if you want to check out my previous years in review, you can do so here. (2016 Year in REVIEW: Part 1) And here. (2017 Year in REVIEW: Part 1) But with all that out of the way, let's get into 2018 year in review. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  And what's a better place to start with than with everybody's favorite cringe lord. That's right, I'm talking about the Christian Minecraft Server himself, Butch Motherfluffin' Hartman! Who announced that he...would be leaving Nickelodeon. Which is just weird to think about, y'know? Butch Hartman has been working at Nickelodeon for close to two decades. And now he's just gone seemingly out of the blue. Sure, not all of his shows were great, but you can't argue his impact. He helped define the network and was one of the channels biggest tent-poles along with Dan Schneider.  In other news, Dan Schneider has announced that he would be leaving Nickelodeon. Which is just weird to think about, y'know? Dan Schneider has been working at Nickelodeon for close to two decades. And now he's just gone seemingly out of the blue. Sure, not all of his shows were great, but you can't argue his impact. He helped define the network and was one of the channels biggest tent-poles along with Butch Hartman.  ...Wait?  Yeah, these are massive hits for Nickelodeon. But honestly, it might be for the best in the long run. If you look at Nickelodeon for the last twenty years or so, it's always been dominated by shows from the same handful of creators. So maybe losing these two will force the channel to take some chances on some fresh talent, rather than relying on the same people over and over again. For good or for bad, I think we're going to see some big changes for the network within the next couple of years.  I just wonder what these creators are going to do going forward. Especially Butch Hartman, I hope he has some kind of project planned. If he did I think a lot of people would be really excited for it, y'know? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  In other news, it was announced that My Little Pony Friendship is Magic would be canceled in the year 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOtGi2McE6A

I never watched much My Little Pony, only seeing the first season and a handful of episodes from the second. So this news isn't that big of a deal to me, but I know that it is for a LOT of other people out there.  I mostly just feel bad for Hasbro honestly. Cause let's be frank here, when they do make a G5 My Little Pony series...people will crucify it. It doesn't matter what the series is like. The reaction will be knee jerk, as THIS series is what people consider to be the definitive interpretation of MLP. If they change things people will be mad, and if they keep things the same people will find it to be a rehash. There's no real winning. I would suggest that Hasbro holds back on rebooting the series for at least a couple of years after this. Let the series die down a bit before starting something new. But I know there not gonna do that. They're going to want to make a new series as fast as possible in order to capitalize on the massive fandom. But still, nine years, that's a pretty good run for a show I think everybody was expecting to suck when it was first announced. Even though the show was never my cup of tea, I can still respect the show for the impact it's had. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Meanwhile, Cartoon Network decided to grace us several new cartoons this year. The first of which is Apple and Onion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A9YzON11nw

The series follows a pair of food, Apple and Onion, as they begin life as adults living in the big city in a world of other anthropomorphic food people. The series is created by George Gendi, who has worked as a storyboard artist on both The Amazing World of Gumball and Sanjay and Craig. And that's exactly what this show feels like. A cross between The Amazing World of Gumball and Sanjay and Craig.  This show is nothing that you haven't really seen before. It's the pair of naive but optimistic idiots who get excited about everything around them. They annoy the people around them, but always find a way to make for it in the end. They're childish. They constantly break out into these in-prob raps, which I think is a trend that Adventure Time and Regular Show started. It's that kind of show. They're not really much difference between Apple and Onion besides Apple being a little bit weirder and Onion being a little bit more neurotic.  Something that this show does do that different is the delivery. In most of these types of series the characters would always be yelling and shouting slang and stuff. But the deliverer here is pretty dry and subdued. The dryness coupled with the somewhat odd looking character designs honestly makes this show feel less like a Cartoon Network series and more like an [adult swim] show with all the raunchiness taken out. There's something just unnerving about this show, and I can't tell if it's intentional or not.  Despite the shows flaws, I do kinda enjoy the elements about moving out and tackling adulthood. Both characters grew up in a very sheltered environment, and don't know much about the real word. We see them with relatable worries. Things like missing their parents on their first night alone, or being desperate to make they're first friends. But most of these moments are really only in the first episode and after that the show just goes back to following the typical "dude bro" formula. Which is a shame. The show has a really base to work off of, but it didn't do anything with it. And instead just became something cliche. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  TBS began creating it's own original animated series. Seemed like an odd move given the fact that TBS is owned by Turner, which already owns [adult swim]. Would TBS be able to find a way to differentiate itself? Well, to find out the answer to this question, let's have a look at the show that TBS seems to be most heavily pushing. Final Space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EHbt_kSkG8  Final Space follows the adventures of Gary Goodspeed. A space criminal who has spent five years in solitary confinement aboard a prison ship filled with nothing but robots. But just a few days before his release he encounters an alien creature that he names Mooncake and decides to adopt it. But it just so happens that an evil alien empire happens to also be looking for this exact alien in hopes of using it's powers for universal domination. So Gary, along with a ragtag group of friends he meets along the way, have to work together to protect Mooncake and save the universe from said evil empire.  This show is something very unique, and there really isn't any other show I can think of that I can really compare it to. Not only is it one of the only "lore shows" that are aimed at adults, but it also one of the only american adult cartoons I've seen to really incorporate not just comedy but also drama and action as well.  One one hand, I love the combination of it all. It's all a combination I've never really seen before. Nearly all adult cartoons are comedies. And while that's not bad in any way, It's great seeing an adult cartoon tackle a more complex story. The show also manages to have really high stakes, with an adventure story with the entire universe potentially being in jeopardy. The series main villain, Lord Commander, shows just how much scarier a villain like say Bill Cipher or White Diamond could be if they were allowed to kill people onscreen. There is a sense anybody can die, which I really appreciate. The show also has a lot of heart...ehhh, for the most part. It is really refreshing when most adult cartoons rely on dark, cynical humor. Again, not that it's a bad thing, it's just nice to see an adult cartoon with a more optimistic viewpoint is all. "Cynical" does not automatically equal "adult."  However, there is a big problem I have with the series. While all the show's individual elements all work, they really don't all gel together very well. I don't mind a show tackling drama, comedy, action, ect. in fact, I tend to enjoy stories more when they're able to do more than one thing. But there isn't much easing these different elements into each other. And as a result the tone is all over the place. Every time something serious would happen Gary would end up making some kind of dumb joke that kills the mood. Even though the shows stakes are high, it feels like it's not until the last couple of episodes where Gary starts taking anything seriously. And it ends up making Gary seem really annoying. The show will be mostly light hearted, but then will throw out absurdly dark jokes out of nowhere that feels like they belong in Rick and Morty.While every element of the show is strong on it's own, it feels like they're all at odds with each other. It feels like the show wanted to be everything at once, but ended up being the jack of all trades, master of none. I admit these problem does begin to get a little better as the season goes on, but it still ends up kinda killing my enjoyment of the show as a whole.  I don't want to be to hard on this show though. It's clear that a lot of people really seem to like this show a lot. And you can tell from the interviews that the creator, Olan Rogers, feel very passionately about the series. And while I wasn't as crazy about the show as a lot of people were, I still admire the ambition and am glad that it exist. I'm glad that TBS is really promoting it, cause it is something that is unlike any other adult cartoon out there right now. And if this is the direction that TBS's original animation is going to do moving forward, than I think it defiantly will have it's own space separate from all the other adult cartoon channels out there. Olan Rogers has been very open to criticism of the show on twitter, so I am cautiously optimistic for season two. If the show can iron out some of these problems in season two, I think it could have the potential to be something really special. But as it is, it feels like great ideas with meh execution.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  So Infinity Trained got picked up, and- 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBNxGZP49ls

 Sure, you're all hyped now. But just wait till Infinity Train has it's first "filler" episodes! Than you'll turn your back on it faster than you did with Steven Universe! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    Roster Teeth gave us a new animated series in the form of "Nomad of Nowhere." A show that it felt like they didn't promote nearly as much as there other series. Which is a shame cause the show is actually pretty good. 

 The series follows The Nomad, a magical immortal being with the power to bring any inanimate object to life. In this world magic is feared and forbidden, with only the king and his top governors allowed to hoard the power. The series follows The Nomad as he travels town to town, helping people with his powers, all while being hunter down by various people trying to capture him.  The show has a real Samurai Jack vibe, which makes sense as the people behind the show listed Jack as a main inspiration. Both series follow quiet, or in The Nomads case mute, protagonist traveling around helping people all while dealing stalked by bounty hunters. But the series does manage to differentiate itself to not just a ripoff. While someone like Jack is a stoic badass who's driven by a mission, the Nomad is just a bumbling goofball who really just wants to survive and help people. Nomad of Nowhere also benefits from recurring antagonist who get there own character development in the form of Toph and Scout. Two characters who come close to approaching Steven Universe levels of "sad lonely lesbians." And THAT is quite and accomplishment!

 The series has a bit of a slow start, but gets better as the season goes on. The animation, while not fantastic, is "pretty good" and about on par with other 2D Roster Teeth series like "Camp Camp." One complaint I do have with the animation is with the way the objects that the Nomad brings to life are animated. They're just given stick arms and googly eyes, and I feel like the could of gone a bit more creative with that. The series is nothing mind blowing or anything, but it is fun. It definitely deserves more attention than it's gotten, as I feel it's been pretty overshadowed by Rooster Teeth's other works. Check it out if you haven't. It's all on Youtube for free. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Cartoon Network decided to give us another new series, created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin of Steven Universe fame. And that series is Craig of the Creek.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIflRLSjzH8

 The series follows a young boy named Craig and his two friends Kelsey and T.J. as they just kinda...live life. More specifically it follows there adventures around the creek, the top hang out for all kids in there town. It's a fairly quaint series just following the life of these kids as they deal with all the different cliques that occupy the creek. It's one of those shows where they most mundane things as incredibly importance. Despite the show being made mostly by people who worked on Steven Universe, I'd say that the show is more comparable to something like We Bare Bears. However, there still are some elements of the show that are VERY Steven Universe.  You can also tell the people who made this show worked on Steven Universe because anime references...

(Image source KnowYourMeme.com)  Also the sad lonely lesbians.

Seriously, what's the point of making character who are ambiguously gay if you're going to make it so obvious! Why not just have them start out as a couple! And why can't a lesbian couple ever just be happy in one of these cartoons! Why are they always sad and lonely!?  This show...is fine. There's nothing wrong with it, but I have to admit that I couldn't find myself getting that into it. While it is funny enough, I just don't think there was anything in this series that felt particularly stand out. Craig feels like the same "naive but kind fun loving" hero it feels like every Cartoon Network show seems to have right now. The shows art style is INCREDIBLY similar to most other Cartoon Network shows, (specifically Steven Universe.) Like, nearly the exact same. I know that they share a lot of the same crew, but so does OK KO, and that has it's own style. Even the concept feels like a toned down Clarence. Everything about this show just feels like something I've seen before. All of this wouldn't be a big deal if the show had some kind of unique quirk or execution or something. But it really doesn't. The show isn't bad but it's incredibly... average. It's the most average show of the year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  [adult swim] made several new shows this year, too. One of these series is Ballmastrz: 9009. A show that I didn't know much about and wasn't too interested in before I saw the trailer. But when I saw the trailer-oof, man. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4OaHcvzPh8

What the FRICK is this madness?!  Ballmastrz 9009 follows Gaz Digzy, an athlete living in the post apocalyptic future. She's a star player in a futuristic sport known simply as "The Game." However, after a drunken bender she ends up being kicked off her team and is forced to play on the worst team in the league, the Leptons. If she can help the Leptons win just one game, she'll be given permission to return to her original team.  The world of this show is pretty much the OK KO universe after a nuclear apocalypse. There is a TON of anime influences and references going from the obvious to the obscure. I also like how the show get's right to the point with establishing it's lore, instead of dragging it out. The series manages to have an overarching continuity that rewards people watching it in order, while also having episodes stand on there own for people to jump in at any time.  And OH MY GOD the animation. This is probably one of my favorite looking TV shows out right now. I love the sketchy look of it. The animation varies from comedically bad to INCREDIBLY fluid. It just adds to the anime aesthetic. The show is made by creator of Superjail. I've never seen that show, but from my limited knowledge I do have to say if your expecting the same level of gore you're not going to get that much. There's some gore, as this future has just invented immortality apparently, but there is a surprising lack of carnage compared to what I was expecting given the creators reputation.  The show isn't perfect however. The biggest flaw is actually the characters. There not bad, but there not great either. Gaz is an alcoholic, drug attic, sex crazed snark machine who uses these vices to make up for the fact that her life feels empty. As she, being the best at her profession, has become bored. Cause y'know, I've never seen that character done ANYWHERE else before. 

 In addition to Gaz, we also have Baby Ball. A robot ball who is just Master Shake from Aqua Teen in both voice and personality. There's also Ace, who is the typical "friendship loving shonen protagonist"  played by Jessica Dicicco. These three are the only characters who really get much screen time. The rest of the Leptons all pretty much stick to there one personality trait, maybe an episode about them if there lucky. I wish the show focused more on the team as a unit instead of just three of the characters.  The series also ends on a bit of a joke ending, which feels a bit unsatisfying for a show with a continuous continuity. The plot they set up in season one pretty much wraps up, so I don't know what the show is going to do if it gets another season. But I really hope it does. The show isn't perfect, but it's a fun ride through and through. The whole series is up for free on [adult swim's] website, no cable login in requires. I would highly recommend checking it out. It's like OK KO, just with more raunch and less propaganda aimed at children. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And while we're on the topic of [adult swim] decided to renew Rick and Morty...FOR SEVENTY MORE EPISODES! Like...oh my God! The show has been running for five years so far, and has only aired thirty one episodes. If they continue at that pace, that means Rick and Morty will be on until...2031, give or take.  Rick and Morty will outlive us all...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUpsKsBqqwE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUpsKsBqqwE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUpsKsBqqwE

Play all three videos at once for maximum IQ)  But it's okay. It's all fine. Unless, Rick and Morty has some kind of drop in quality sometime within the next SEVENTY episodes. Y'know, like a lot of fans say it's already has. But then again, I already don't like this show, so I'm not the best person to comment on this. I'm sure a lot of people are excited about this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Disney decided to move all of there original animated series off of Disney XD and back onto Disney Channel. A move that honestly just makes sense. Disney XD is a secondary channel that not as many people have. But for some reason for the last several years Disney always treated it as the top channel, with episodes of cartoons not airing on Disney Channel proper until MONTHS after they had already aired on Disney XD. With more and more people cord cutting each year, it just doesn't make much sense to have so many shows premiere on a channel that a lot of people do not have. Many people have said this is the end for Disney XD. And while it is probably the end of it being a "big channel" it'll still be there along side channels like "Boomerang" and "Nicktoons." At least Disney XD still has originals like the Marvel cartoons, anime like Pokemon, and reruns of older Disney shows. There's an audience for that, even if it's not as huge. I mean, where else can you watch Fillmore in the year 2018? That's what I thought. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Ace is in the Gorillaz.

...  And they said Avengers: Infinity War was the most ambitious crossover of all time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  And finally, I have to ask you all...do you know what a Thundercat is?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qi41rHz4ps

 My God...just, my God. In the several years I've been in the cartoon community I have never, EVER, seen a clusterfu*k quite like this. Powerpuff Girls 2016 WHO? Teen Titans Go! WHAT? Nah, man. This is the real tea right here, sis!  So, Thundercats is getting a reboot coming out next year. It's called Thundercats Roar. And the internet...has opinions on it.  If you compare the actual percentages of likes to dislikes on both videos, there is actually a higher percentage of people who liked Youtube Rewind 2018 than the Thundercats Roar trailer. Yeah...  So what are people so upset about, exactly? Well, there are several reasons. One of which I've seen several people in the comments list is the creators man bun. Guys, come on. We all agree that man buns are a sin against God and nature, but let's leave the mans appearance out of this, alright? Many people are also mad at the seemingly more comedic tone that this series seems to be going for, saying that it's another example of an action cartoon being rebooted as an eleven minute comedy. I mean that does seem to be a trend as of late. From 2017's Ben 10, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and of course Teen Titans Go! I mean just look at the titles. Teen Titans GO! Thundercats ROAR. The comparison seems easy to make.  There are also people who are upset about the fact that we're getting a new Thundercats show instead of a continuation of the previous series, Thundercats 2011. I've never seen that show, but from what I understand it was a really well received action cartoon that got mistreated by the network and got cancelled without resolving a lot of the plot threads. It can seem like salt in the wounds when your mature, serious action series ends on such a note only to be replaced with a kiddie comedy. As a Young Justice fan, I've been there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNp8JQJjKAw

 But the biggest reason I have seen for the outrage is...the CalArts style. Hoo Boy...  So let's go over some history. CalArts is a school that was founded by Walt Disney and a lot of other people. A lot of famous animators have got there starts at CalArts. Everyone from Genndy Tartakovsky, Craig Mccracken, Pendleton Ward, JG Quintel, Pat McHale, Alex Hirsch, Butch Hartman, and many many others. The CalArts style however, is a term that has come to refer to what is often considered the way "modern" cartoons tend to look. Distinct features include thin outlines, really noodle-y arms, the "bean head" shape, and large eyes without colored irises. And boy oh boy, do people have OPINIONS on this style.  First off, I wanna clear away some misconceptions. Not everything that people label "The CalArts style" is actually made by people who went to CalArts. Steven Universe, Gumball and Undertale, two series are often listed as having the "CalArts style" are both made by people who didn't attend CalArts. And obviously not everyone who went to CalArts draws in the "CalArts" style. However, and this might get me some hate but I have to say it, I do believe that there is an argument to be had that there definitely is a "modern" art style that is prevalent in animation today. I'll continue to refer to it as the "CalArts" styles since that's what everyone else calls it, but I believe the better term would be the "2010's style."  And this is nothing new. In the 2000's everything had the "knock off anime" style. And in the 90's everything had the "thick outline UPA inspired style." And in the 80's everything has the "Macho Man Action Figure " style. However, I have seen a lot of people use this as an argument on why you shouldn't complain about the CalArts style. And that's something I disagree with. There are a lot more cartoons coming out now of days compared to the past, and people in general expect more from them. And this is a good thing cause it forces the medium to evolve. You shouldn't come accept something you consider sub-par just because it was deemed okay to do so thirty years ago. And this is coming from someone who doesn't hate the CalArts style, but does feel it to be a bit overused at this point. But also a series art style should match the story there telling. The creators say that Thundercats Roar will have both action and comedy. And while we won't know for sure till the series airs, but these designs don't look like they're very tailored made for action. The designs don't look like they have any weight to them at all. Lion-O looks small, and the lighting on his body is very bright and stretchy looking. Almost like he's made of plastic. He looks like a chew toy.  But still, I'm not going to judge the show until it comes out. (So look forward to that in 2019 Year in REVIEW.) However, I'd be lying if I said I was particularly looking forward to this. Even if there is some action in it, I've simply grown tired of these more comedic superhero shows. They're just so many at this point. Even the good ones feel done to death for me at this point. But this is all just such a big deal for a show Cartoon Networks probably going to dump at 7:30 am anyway. If you hate the show, don't be a jerk and make bomb threats to CalArts, which is something that somebody actually did! It should not need to be said that doing that is bad. And if you're excited for this show, don't be pretentious and claim that anyone who doesn't like the style is just a man child who doesn't know anything about the animation process. People can like or dislike whatever art style they like. And the least productive thing to do is to say that someone else's argument is "invalid." And when this show does finally comes out, what will probably happen is that people will freak out for a few episodes, and then move onto the next thing.  This segment is longer than most of the show reviews and this series isn't even out yet! AHHHH! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  And that's where I'm going to end this part. But do not worry, we still have several more stories and series to get to before we get to the end of the year! So come back in hopefully a few days, as we go over the second half of 2018 for animation. What are your thoughts on the shows that I talked about here? What are your favorite series of 2018? Tell me all that and more in the comments down bellow. Please fav, follow, and comment if you liked the review, and let's all hope we can get through the second half of the year without any more huge controversies, okay? 

I'll be the round....about....  Have a great day. (I do not own any of the images or videos in this review. All credit goes to there original owners.)

https://www.deviantart.com/joyofcrimeart/journal/2018-Year-in-REVIEW-Part-1-778591454 DA Link

[dapperkobold]

Review at Random: Alien Bestiary (Starfinder)

Welcome to Reviews at Random, today we’re not doing a video game. Today, instead, we’re doing a third party product for a tabletop role-playing game. I’ll try my best to make this friendly for people who don’t know about Starfinder, but whatever.

The Alien Bestiary product is published by Legendary Games, made for the Starfinder system (a space fantasy system made by Paizo, the Pathfinder people) and fueled by Kickstarter (including me, full admission). It came out between the Alien Archive (the first official monster book) and Alien Archive 2 (the second official monster book). This makes it... interesting in how it relates to the official products.

Near as I can tell, the intent behind this product is twofold: One, to port some of the more obscure Pathfinder monsters over to Starfinder, and Two, to serve as a dedicated monster book for Legendary Games’ Aetheria setting. That’s not a bad thing, setting-specific monster books can be lots of fun as long as they’re not too tied up in the lore of the original setting, keeping people from understanding the lore of the monsters, and they don’t make you read a different book to use the monsters in your game.

But! We’ll come to that later. For now...

Presentation

The art and design of the Alien Bestiary are fine, the art is from a few different artists and one or two didn’t get the message that the art is for a Sci-Fi product, but it’s overall nothing too jarring or ugly. At least, not artistically ugly; abominations are all suitably hideous. Apart from that, there’s a few typos around (last I checked) and while they’re rare and mostly harmless they can be annoying on the occasion you find one.

Final Presentation Score: B-

It’s not really a super pretty book, but whatever it works and works well.

Mechanics

RPG books have less ‘gameplay’ per se, and more Mechanics. In this case, the mechanics of the monsters in question. And for the most part the mechanics seem fine... except that they relate to the official Paizo Products oddly.

Alien Bestiary came out after the Alien Archive, but was set in stone before Alien Archive 2 came out. Alien Archive 2 brought with it a lot of cool space-like creatures from Pathfinder that were really neat. See where this is going?

While Alien Bestiary neatly avoids overlap with Alien Archive, there’s some things in 2 where the overlap is notable, and for the most parts Alien Archive 2 wins out. You might say to yourself, “But if the two stat blocks are different, they can be used for different things!” and you would be right but they’re mostly NOT. Since both companies went off of the Pathfinder version as a cheat sheet, they’re strikingly similar save for some stat changes. 

Now, I haven’t side-by-sided many of the overlapping monsters, but my bias is to default to the Paizo stats, because at this point Starfinder is still young enough that Paizo has the best handle on their own system. And if you are the sort to side-by-side them, you still need to put forth that effort and decide which is better.

Otherwise, things like wild animals, dinosaurs, and dragons give Paizo an edge because Paizo doesn’t just give dozens of Dragon stat blocks at various ages and colors, but instead a system that lets you plug-and-play dragons fast. Will that result in samey dragons? Maybe, but if you’re worried about dragons feeling unique you’re likely putting some effort in tweaking them anyway. Same with dinosaurs, herd animals, predators... with the creation system in the Paizo products, you can just MAKE custom dinosaurs using the super easy monster creation system from the FIRST Alien Archive. If you have an obscure dinosaur you’re super fond of, the Paizo system will let you use it without trouble!

Though the Alien Bestiary has dedicated stats for a dunklesteosis, which is free brownie points from me.

...That and the soulbound shell, which is like a sorcer’s spirit encased in a robot, and that’s pretty darn neat!

See, when you get into third-party books, especially monster books, there’s going to be overlap. Whether you buy a given book is more about whether there’s enough from that book that you care about.

So, what does the Alien Bestiary have, specifically?

Traditional abberations like intellect devourers, aboleths, cloakers, chokers, and flumphs!

Meteor Dragon!

Allips and a host of other undead who died in exceedingly evil ways!

Phycomid!

Moon Flowers and Moon Beasts!

Various Giants!

Kytons!

More Kytons!

SERIOUSLY this book has 11 different Kytons in it!

The Alien Archive 2 has one Kyton, under a different name, but none of these Kytons overlap with it.

There’s even rules for tweaking other Kytons fit the rules for the Aetheria Setting Kytons!

Who needs this many Kytons?!

Golems.

DOWNSIDE: Still using the whole ‘golems are immune to spells’ thing.

Fairly creative monsters specific to the Aetheria Campaign Setting.

New robots!

WHAT IS IT OH CRIPES GET ME OUT OF HERE

Clockwork Constructs!

Daemons?

John Carpenter’s The Thing

Obligatory Great Old Ones

Starship stat block for Cthulhu!

Trappers and Mimics!

Mobster leeches!

I TAKE IT BACK THIS ONE IS WORSE GIVE ME THE FREAKY HEAD BACK

A TON of other classic and original (or at least obscure) monsters!

So, yeah, even with the overlap this book has a LOT to offer.

However! Be aware that this is a dedicated monster book, and NOT the Alien Archive. There isn’t really any bonus material like items or PC options with a very few exceptions. This is standard for Monster books, yes, but I thought it worth bringing up in case you got used to Alien Archive.

(Though I hope that they give PC-usable rules for the poisonous squid people in a different product sometime.)

Final Mechanics Score: B+ C-

Though I can’t vouch for the balance of the book, for all I know it’s a mess, I didn’t see anything immediately alarming and the selection of monsters is very wide. It’s possible that the makers were more using Pathfinder design philosophy than Starfinder, but the two are close enough that shouldn’t be really damaging.

HEY THERE! Future Kobold here! I was going over the thing for session planning/another post on it, and was looking closely at the stat blocks. Turns out that the mechanics are split about 50/50 on whether they’re a complete mess or not. Even the ones that aren’t messes tend to have presentation problems that might be confusing for new GMs. A lot of entries are missing space/reach, too. This is really disappointing, and I’ve amended the grade to account for it.

(Who needs 11 different Kytons? I’m not sure if the original Pathfinder Bestiary had 11 different Demons, sakes alive...)

Writing

So, for some of you, it will be enough for me to say ‘it has a Bullette in it’ and you will go buy it. Other people will wonder if the monsters are usable in their stories, mainly that they have solid descriptions so the GM knows how to present and run them. And... yes, they do. Some more than others, and there’s one or two that are so out there that I have no idea how to put them in other than as an extra random encounter.

Other than that, while this book WAS made as a monster book for a specific setting, nothing really shackles it to that setting. The few monsters with setting-specific mechanics have those mechanics detailed in the indices of the book, and the mentions of in-universe organizations aren’t really too complex. With a little bit of creativity and replacement, you can pretty well swap things out without too much strain.

Overall, I do wish a few of those odd monsters were better explained, but it’s no real lost traction.

Final Writing Score: B

Overall

While it lacks the polish of Paizo’s first party products, the people involved knew what they were doing. Everything is fine. Nothing is really amazing, but something doesn’t need to be amazing to be good. It has some fun ideas, and it does cover a lot of bases the official products don’t while both pandering to the classics and showing some originality itself.

(Or at least knowing obscure enough classics that they count as in-jokes, whichever)

Presentation: B-

Mechanics: B+ C-

Writing: B

FINAL GRADE: B C+

Release some old terrors on your players. And then some new ones, just to keep them guessing.

Awards:

MAXIMUM KYTON

[pokemaniacal]

Morelull and Shiinotic

Today we come to the newest iteration of mushroom Pokémon: the tall, slim-stalked, luminous Morelull and Shiinotic.  Morelull and Shiinotic have an uphill battle to make themselves unique and interesting, as the fourth set mushroom Pokémon after Paras and Parasect (interesting by reason of soulless parasitism), Shroomish and Breloom (interesting by reason of kick-boxing dinosaurs), and Foonguss and Amoonguss (interesting by reason of… um… stealing Voltorb’s schtick in a way that somehow makes even less sense).  These latest versions… well, I mean, they give it a go.

To their credit, Game Freak are aware that they’ve put Morelull and Shiinotic in a difficult position, forced to live up to the legacy of multiple generations of other mushroom Pokémon, and have tried to turn the overlap between their designs into an in-universe rivalry.  Sun and Moon set up the new Pokémon as counterparts to Paras and Parasect in a day-night pairing, with Morelull being found in the wild only at night and Paras only during the day (a similar pairing exists between Araquanid and Ariados), and references in the Pokédex to territorial disputes between the two species that can leave great swathes of forest covered in spores.  We’re also told, interestingly, that Paras and Parasect are somehow weaker in the Alolan environment (the Pokédex doesn’t know why, exactly, but suggests both a lack of water and a lack of nutrients); their mushrooms grow poorly and their spores are less potent.  Perhaps we’re supposed to infer that Paras would outcompete Morelull in any other part of the world, but there’s something about the Alolan climate that they are poorly adapted to, making it impossible for them to completely overtake the native mushroom Pokémon.  On the other hand, Paras and Parasect’s stunted development in Alola could be Morelull’s doing.  We learn from the Sun and Moon website that Morelull, like Oddish, are known for behaving like normal stationary plants during the day and uprooting themselves at night to wander around on their root-feet, but unlike Oddish, Morelull are given a specific motive for this behaviour: if they stay in one place for too long, they drain the soil of nutrients and cause plants around them to wither and die (the Pokédex says that they attach to tree roots and drain them directly – it could be they do both, deriving different nutrients from each).  Since we know that Paras compete for territory with Morelull, it could be that Morelull systematically exhaust the plants whose roots are fed on by Paras and Parasect, keeping them from becoming successful.  That would also neatly explain why the two are rivals, even though they have different feeding behaviours and are active at different times of the day.

Morelull and Shiinotic’s most striking feature is the eerie, hypnotic glow of their spores.  Glowing mushrooms are a staple of dungeon-delving fantasy, but there are several species in the real world as well, all of which emit light through the action of a family of specialised enzymes called luciferases (a reference not to the Devil, but to the original meaning of his Latin name – “lightbringer”).  In European folklore the blue-green glow of these fungi is known as foxfire (probably from the French faux, false, rather than any reference to actual foxes) or fairy fire, and is part of the association between mushrooms and the fairy creatures of the world of magic.  Like fae beings, Shiinotic is known for leading mortals astray, and Alolan folklore holds that following her glowing lights at night, like the lights of the ethereal will’o’wisp, will lead you to become lost in the forest, never to return.  Similarly, so-called fairy rings – circular formations of mushrooms, especially the Scotch bonnet Marasmius oreades – are held to be traps set by fae creatures to curse or imprison unwary mortals who step inside their boundaries.  This is what provides the justification for Shiinotic’s Fairy-type powers, and I have to say, it’s refreshing to have more Fairy Pokémon whose nature is informed by the sinister side of fairy lore.  The other aspect of what makes Morelull and Shiinotic dangerous is simply what they are, because mushrooms and other fungi, unlike plants, cannot photosynthesise to acquire energy from the light of the sun, and therefore have to extract nutrients from dead and decaying things.  We’ve already seen that Morelull drain and exhaust the plants and soil around them, a little like real mushrooms, but Shiinotic takes it a step further and can supernaturally drain life force with her very touch – or, if necessary, transfer excess life force to another living Shiinotic.  It’s not clear how this is supposed to be different from the variety of draining abilities possessed by other Grass Pokémon – few of them make it an important point of their design, but most Grass-types can learn Leech Seed, Giga Drain or both.  It could have something to do with Game Freak’s desire to make the Fairy type the one that’s most closely associated with the Pokémon world’s concept of life force – whether for benign or sinister ends.  Of course, in spite of all this, tourists in Alola love to visit the enchantingly luminous forests where Morelull and Shiinotic live at night, because tourists are entitled morons.

Finally, I would like to share with you some of the bizarre trivia I inevitably stumble across in my day-to-day duties as an ostensibly sane Pokémon blogger.  During the course of what I generously like to call “research” for writing these things, I have adopted the practice of just periodically Googling “Hawai’i + x” (x being mongoose, or stag beetle, or woodpecker, or whatever the Pokémon I’m writing about seems to be based on), just in case something interesting pops up within the first page or so.  Aside from learning that there is apparently a thriving trade in psychedelic mushrooms on the Hawaiian islands (and, well – pretty glowing lights, altered states of mind, memory loss… Shiinotic knows something we don’t; that’s all I’m saying), the most striking thing I found on the first page of Google hits was a surprising number of articles about a rare Hawaiian mushroom whose scent is rumoured to cause spontaneous female orgasms.  Because, y’know, of course.  Before you get too excited and dash off to Hawai’i to start collecting these things, I’m going to let you down and spoil the story by saying that the whole idea is almost certainly pseudoscientific dreck, but this account of one woman’s quest to discover the truth about the elusive mushroom is a well-written and genuinely fascinating read, as well as a reassuring reminder that my own predilection for random obscure biological trivia is downright normal compared to the lengths some responsible adult humans will go to in search of weird mushroom facts.

If you feel like putting Shiinotic on your team, what you’ll be getting is fundamentally a sort of support-oriented tank with a nasty primary attack, potent self-healing capabilities, and strong disruptive techniques, but very poor speed and little flexibility.  Grass/Fairy leaves Shiinotic with a lot of weaknesses (including a double weakness to Poison) and a lot of resistances, with some important types in both categories, as well as immunity to Dragon attacks.  It also gets her access to Moonblast, which is one of the best moves in the game to have as your only attack, since nothing is immune to it and relatively little resists it.  You can also take a Grass attack for diversity, probably Giga Drain for the incidental healing, but there really aren’t that many Pokémon who take a lot more damage from Giga Drain than Moonblast (since almost everything that resists Fairy also resists Grass).  And that’s… well, that’s about it for Shiinotic’s offensive movepool.  Sludge Bomb is there if you really hate other Grass-types or Fairy-types.  Signal Beam is too weak to bother with most of the time, but will be your best option against a small selection of dual-type Steel Pokémon.  The meat of Shiinotic’s movepool is in her support options, and to begin with, we have to talk about her signature move, since it’s one of her stronger selling points.

Shiinotic’s signature move is Strength Sap.  Strength Sap is a draining move, but unlike, say, Giga Drain, it doesn’t drain HP – it drains attack, healing the user for an amount equal to the target’s attack stat, while reducing the target’s attack stat.  The disadvantage to Strength Sap, of course, is that it does no damage.  Its healing will also become less effective every time you use it, because the target’s attack has already been lowered (although, if they’re doing less damage to you as a result, you may not care).  The advantage is that, at least on the first use of the move, you’re likely to heal for substantially more than you would from Giga Drain – probably more than half of your own health – and the healing will not be affected by resistance to Grass attacks.  Unless an attack can outright one-shot Shiinotic, the healing she gets from Strength Sap will scale with the power of anything attacking her physically, allowing her to mitigate an awful lot of damage while simultaneously weakening the aggressor, potentially forcing them to either change tack or switch out.  If you try to string it out too long, you’ll run into problems because Strength Sap will stop healing you once the target’s attack bottoms out at -6 levels, and you’ll eventually suffer a critical hit (which will ignore the attack reductions).  However, it should at least give you plenty of time to cause havoc with your other moves, like Spore.  Spore itself is as fantastic as ever – as with the other mushroom Pokémon, a 100% accurate sleep-inducing move is so powerful that there’s really no good reason to use Shiinotic without it.  In fact, having Spore is almost, but not quite, a good reason to use Dream Eater.

Aside from Strength Sap and Spore, Shiinotic has the usual gamut of support moves we expect from a Grass-type.  Leech Seed is good for gradual healing and will encourage your opponents to switch out.  Paralysis isn’t essential on Shiinotic, because Spore is usually better, but if you want it, she actually gets Thunder Wave, which is more accurate than the Stun Spore available to most Grass-types.  Shiinotic can learn other healing moves, most easily Moonlight, but unlike most support Pokémon she sort of doesn’t need them; most of the time, Strength Sap will be quite enough.  Ingrain is adorable and just bad.  If you want Shiinotic to do something to support the team, Light Screen is on her list, and complements Strength Sap by slowing down special attackers.  Finally, we should probably talk about Spotlight, since only four other Pokémon (Lanturn, Clefable, Spinda and Starmie) get it.  It works a little like Follow Me, but instead of forcing opponents to target the user, Spotlight draws attacks towards a partner.  This is inherently less useful, because Follow Me sacrifices your turn to buy time for your (presumably more frail) partner, while Spotlight sacrifices your turn to buy time for… yourself?  It’s potentially useful with a partner who does something when attacked, like Aegislash with King’s Shield, but that’s about it.  You can also use Spotlight to focus fire on an opponent, but it can’t redirect enemy attacks towards their own allies, only your own attacks… which you already choose targets for anyway.  I’m pretty sure you can’t even use Spotlight to override Follow Me, because it has a higher speed priority.  So… what’s the move even for?  Answer: Battle Royals.  In a free-for-all against three opponents, using Spotlight will force two of them to attack the third.  This isn’t game-winning, because the Battle Royal is scored according to how many Pokémon you, personally, knock out, but you can still manipulate your opponents in pretty powerful ways.

You might have noticed that Shiinotic’s ability choices haven’t come up yet, and that’s because they’re fairly grim.  Illuminate increases the frequency of random encounters, but has no-in battle effect, so we can write that off immediately.  Her hidden ability, Rain Dish, provides a little bit of extra healing every turn during rain.  I’m not sure why you would use Shiinotic on a rain team, when there are so many Water-type tanks who stand to gain so much more from weather control, but you could.  That leaves Effect Spore, which is one of those rubbishy little abilities that occasionally does something nice for you but is too unreliable to use meaningfully.  Every time Shiinotic is hit by an attack that makes direct bodily contact, there is a 30% chance that her attacker will be struck by paralysis, poison, or sleep – chosen at random.  Not all Pokémon will care about all three of those conditions, and they may actually interfere with Spore, one of Shiinotic’s strongest features, but that’s what we’ve got.

What I like best about Shiinotic from a mechanics perspective is probably that Strength Sap gives her a very unique style of fighting, revolving around her ability to slowly neutralise physical attackers while providing herself with ludicrous amounts of healing.  She’s severely held back, unfortunately, by painfully low speed, merely average defensive stats, and a small movepool even for a Grass-type, and sort of ends up comparing unfavourably to similar Grass-type support tanks… which makes it kind of a shame that Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon allow you to breed Strength Sap onto Jumpluff and Vileplume, who would arguably make better use of it… like, come on, Game Freak, at least give her one full generation of being special.  Aesthetically there is arguably a bit of “just a mushroom” about her, but her eerie, kind of alien appearance feels to me like it knows what it’s trying to be much better than Amoonguss does, I like that she works with the folkloric associations and unusual properties of real mushrooms, and Morelull hits a nice sweet spot between cute and utterly bizarre.  It’s kind of a wash for me, but there is a lot to like here (even aside from my heavy pro-Grass-type bias).

[its-dylan-redway-year1conceptart]

Skyrim an improvement in certain elements

In my opinion, Skyrim lacks the depth when it comes to its RPG elements simplifying them to the foundations of the word RPG , Compared to is its predecessors and this where the game falters. However, its art and immersion take centre stage as the art team go from generic fantasy creatures/settings and personalise them to fit the expanding universe of the elder scrolls with creatures like the Falmer, Draugr and even the character design for the 9 playable races the creative team had upgraded the engine and with it the ability to create higher polygon. Detailed characters with intricate Armor sets and weaponry to match everything visually is mostly improved upon with a more realistic gritty fantasy tone that sometimes lacks variety in colour. Often there is a lot of brownish-grey everywhere. Maybe this is down to the colour grading giving everything a more stylised look but coming off very plain visually your game needs to stimulate you but lacklustre, bland colour leaves the player feeling bored and depressed it fatigues way faster which is a shame because early colour schemes for the concept art have way more vibrant contrasting colours but a lot of the time these early ideas go through so many iterations that it can sometimes lose the true vision the artist set to create this happens for a number of reasons time restraints, problems with textures and many different people enforcing their idea on the project which goes back to the old saying of too many cooks spoil the broth which I find can be a problem with the industry so many people want to ravage one man's idea and it becomes compromised and meaningless it loses its original purpose and ends up messy and unfocused. the game is still very well crafted and an upgrade in overall quality for graphics and mechanics. one other problem I have with the game is the Art for the different races they should all have unique patterns for the armour sets and weapons but instead all follow a similar design of Scandinavian interlinked swirls and patterns, this design choice bleeds into all the different cultures in reality each race should have unique Armor and patterns personalised from where they originate from. The Dwemer however, have an Art Deco influence from the early 1920s-30s this is very unique and should have prompted the art team to utilise the different cultures for other races. for example an improvement you could have had is influence from native American culture for the orcs as they are a primitive people adding feathers , decorative skulls and leather making each race more distinct the reason I bring this up is that Skyrim has a big focus on lore and culture and art is essential to bring this to life but yet a lot of the armour sets look indistinguishable and bland. the Art team came up with the idea of Epic reality where theirs dramatic views where ever you go. To give a sense of scale they did this by focusing on trying to create landscapes and spectacles based on their Nordic representation everything looks very ancient and lived in the views from mountains show very uneven terrain shrouded in mystery aided by the vast array of weather effects and good lighting. They tried to make each race feel more unique to one another physically and the creatures had to feel like they belonged in their environment's it's said they had the most concepts for this game when designing all the creatures and armours they need clear concepts early on that can be integrated into the game and part of that process is discussing that with the directors how it will work in the game and how it can be improved on it initial design it will then be given to the character artists who will immediately start modelling it then it will be texture and put into the game . one focus is that it must fit within the universe that has been established what makes it unique to Skyrim instead of just being based on fantasy.