#kryptonverse

[darthkvznblogs]

I know the point of the universal meld was to keep them as close to canon as possible, but has there been any noticeable change in some characters thanks to the fusion or any obvious butterfly effect?

Some off the top of my head.

Regarding the world:

-SHIELD is a lot bigger and has more influence in the Kverse than it did in the MCU, for better or worse. There's any number of hidden projects and weapons derived from non-Marvel entities and concepts that I haven't even alluded to yet.

-There's a similar story with SWORD, though this is more due to the relationship with the Kree Empire through Hala. Abigail's been able to procure a lot of goodies that, even if they can't propel Earth centuries ahead, should at least give us a decent edge in a fight if the worst comes to pass.

-The Moon is a lot more storied, having housed the Silver Millenium, the Inhuman realm of Attilan, Pink Diamond's original base of operations, a SWORD base, and now a Bounty Hunter's Guild outpost throughout its history.

-There's obviously a lot more magical stuff in general, of all sorts, but also a lot more backlash towards it from scared, mundane humans. Even now, there's oodles more magical beings than there ever were in the MCU, but they exist in insular communities, largely cut off from one another, thanks to centuries of anti-magic crusades courtesy of groups like the Forever Knights and their allies.

-It felt like the Masters of the Mystic Arts were pretty isolated sorcerer monks in the MCU with little, if any connection to the other magical spheres. They serve a more SHIELD-like role in the Kverse - just, y'know, not nearly as militaristic - providing much needed diplomacy and conflict resolution between the isolated magical realms and protecting them from factions that would seek their destruction. They're kinda like Jedi before the Clone Wars (and with some of the same flaws, too).

Regarding the characters:

-An important part of Kara's story is figuring out she's actually underpowered, and really, subconsciously holding herself back from the true strength and wide range of abilities of a Kryptonian under yellow sun conditions. You might infer that she was initially mirroring the perceived power level of the world around her (though there's some standouts, certainly).

-Tony's at least partially connected to a bunch of non-Marvel figures simply by virtue of being born into incredible wealth. All rich people know each other, on some level. I'd say he's also a little less reckless and short-sighted (but more paranoid), just because he's more aware of just how many powerful figures could easily change the status quo - good, bad, and everything in between. He'd be less inclined to go out in a blaze of fire, at least until he's reasonably sure other people could pick up the torch.

-While not fully tethered to Earth like the Olympians are, Thor's a lot more of an actual god than he is in the MCU. He can feel the belief directed at him, even if it doesn't sustain him, for example, and more generally I've strived to move away from the "Asgard and the Nine Realms aren't actually magic, just really advanced tech" angle of the earlier phases in the MCU. There's a high (equivalent) tech level, don't get me wrong, but their powers are magical in nature first and foremost.

-I think Steve's a little less jaded about the modern world, but also less patient with people who would do it harm, intentionally or otherwise. Like, I don't think Nick Fury would find it prudent to show him a secret helicarrier armada, for example, even to gain his trust. He's inspired by people living their truth and embracing each other in a way that would be pretty unimaginable in the 40s, but disappointed at authority figures for running a society no less unbalanced and disjointed than he left it (just in different ways).

[darthkvznblogs]

Almost done with the first Magnus Chase book, I find it interesting that there's kind of...an intriguing ugliness to it that isn't really there in the other Riordanverse books I've read. It feels a little more willing to engage with the weirdness, the cruelty, the lack of empathy often found in mythology, but also in modern society.

Didn't really expect that side of it (which, in retrospect, I should've, with its whole "homeless teen protagonist that dies in the first few dozen pages" premise)

[darthkvznblogs]

Would the screams of the Titans affect the other Kverse magics?

It wouldn't completely cancel them out, like it does for the Collectors, but a Titan's scream would have a disruptive effect if it directly interacts with other kinds of magic, yeah. Sorta like having an orchestra playing music with all the instruments in unison and suddenly some guy in the audience brings out a trombone they've never played in their life and starts belting out discordant noises.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, but part of my "homework" during this impromptu hiatus has been to define and set in stone what the various schools and styles of magic in the Kverse are (sorry, anon who sent that ask back in december, I promise I didn't ignore you), the various sapient and non-sapient magical creatures that exist in the setting, and as many notable interactions between them as I can identify. Questions like this one help with that, so please don't hesitate to ask!

[darthkvznblogs]

You have any plans involving a certain triangle statue in the Oregon woods?

Plans? Yes. Bill Cipher returning as a major antagonist? Not so much.

I've mentioned before that I feel like the Pines have more than earned the right to not have to worry about Bill coming back for revenge, and I stand by that. I've also said I'm not sure I could do a proper Bill Cipher justice to begin with, and I stand by that, too.

I did not originally intend to bring Bill back to any semblance of life, to be honest with you - I have more than enough Big Bads on the horizon. That being said, with the new info on Bill's fate, I've adjusted my plans a little bit. Should be interesting!

[darthkvznblogs]

Since you're taking from the game Hades for the characterization of the chthonic gods, how different was the titanomachy for the Percy Jackson universe? Since in canon some chthonic gods, such as Hecate, were allied with Chronos... did best sleepy boi Hypnos betray the House of Hades? 👀

Well, remember that the events of Hades (and, I imagine, Hades II) took place in the past, some three-thousand years ago; personalities and attitudes can change, especially if - like many gods, Olympian and Chthonic - who joined Kronos' side, you've been neglected and mistreated as part of Zeus' preferred status quo. You'll also recall that most of the traitor gods were forgiven and allowed to rejoin under Percy's new status quo. The Greek gods are just one enormous, incredibly dysfunctional extended family.

Anyway, to your question, Hypnos didn't betray anyone, his son Morpheus did! Even if he was one of the unhappy campers among the minor Olympians and the Chthonic gods that considered joining Kronos' army - which I could see - Hypnos is just really conflict-averse (unlike Somnus, that guy is killer).

Frankly I think the most interesting prospect would be Melinoe, who's kind of a villain in PJO canon and canonically took Kronos' side; I'll have to see what her characterization and arc is like in Hades II, but it'd be kinda cool if I could work her into that antagonistic role without compromising what she was like as a heroic protagonist - especially since she'd be joining her ultimate antagonist this time around.

Can't really say one way or the other until I play the game, though!

[darthkvznblogs]

Given that Natalie Tennyson works for the LIFE Foundation (or will soon), does that indicate we may see characters from Sony's Spider-Man Universe?

Some concepts and ideas from it here and there, but - even though I’ve more or less enjoyed the movies for what they are - the actual stories and most of the characterizations aren’t really what I want in the Kverse. Just as an example, the Venom Symbiote will have a more comics-aligned origin (though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it comics-accurate!)

[darthkvznblogs]

Wait... what would a reignited Great War look like? What glorious tribute to Unicron could the Autobots and Decepticons unleash if the fighting picks up on a galactic scale? (And would D&R think it better that the Cybertronian crossfire burns away the Black Order or just retcon Cybertron out?)

It would be like the difference in scale and intensity between the Galactic Civil War and the Clone Wars. Not to belittle the Autobot-Decepticon conflict at all, but I think that even though it’s not a bloodless (energon-less?) conflict in the slightest, and despite the bitter grudges accrued and held by both sides, an outside observer could fairly easily glean that the two factions are not actually trying to exterminate the other. I think you’d be able to tell that, even through the hatred and rage, both Optimus Prime and Megatron still hope to lead/rule an unbroken people.

The conflict is, at its core, about uniting the entire species under one single banner, one ideology. That’s not the sort of war you win by simply throwing warships and hordes of troops at each other. There’s constant skirmishes all over, to be sure, and now that the Decepticons have “won”, the Autobots are persecuted all over the galaxy, but there’s as much (if not more) propaganda and winning over the hearts and minds of unaffiliated Cybertronians as there is shooting blasters and punching the headlights off a bot with the “wrong” insignia.

If the Decepticons and Autobots ever truly gave up on that hope, they would unleash their worst weapons of war, conscripting and fielding untold numbers of troops, subjugating the colonies into one final, devastating match-up. The war would rapidly spill beyond Cybertronian borders, as such a change in the war would quickly consume their already dwindling resources, forcing them to seek - or more practically, convert - energon out in the wider galaxy, ripping through comparatively fragile organic civilizations and forcing the galaxy’s major factions to respond in kind. It goes without saying for Optimus, but even Megatron, tyrant that he is, doesn’t want that kind of future. It’s something that they could never come back from as a species, regardless of the outcome, and they both know it.

[darthkvznblogs]

Gen Rex does shave the capitulation that the Nanite Event would have had to happen yet not affect Earth extremely. Ironically enough, this was kinda answered in the more child friendly Ben 10 reboot where the event did happen, but the nanites are more dormant and haven't caused any mass monstrous mutations.

I think I'd rather keep the mutations as they are in the OG but limit the affected area - either one big region or several smaller areas spread out around the globe. I know this would go against the "anyone could turn into an EVO" premise, but I just don't see such a massive shift in the status quo meshing well with the established Kverse.

[darthkvznblogs]

Could someone with technopathy control or affect synthetic species?

If their bodies are technological in nature, then yes, to a certain extent depending on the species. Synthetic is a catch-all term for artificially created species - Petrosapiens are synthetic, for example, but a technopath couldn't control them because their bodies, while inorganic, are not made of tech.

A technopath could control Geth platforms, for example, as they're merely robots piloted by the actual Geth, which are basically all software. They could partially control a Cybertronian, though their massive size and complexity would prove a challenge to all but the most powerful. They couldn't control a Galvanic Mechamorph, or at least not for very long, because they're technopaths themselves.

[darthkvznblogs]

Building off that question about Kara and the Stones, how would Krypton react if Kara saved them at the cost of being in a new universe? I'm particularly interested in what a general with a fetish for making people kneel would think of a galaxy with so many warlords and powerful beings.

I think there was a really big split between Krypton's military and the more science-minded rulers of the Empire; Zod was...Zod, of course, but him and his forces were trying to lead an expansion that no one back home really wanted or cared for. He was a vestige from earlier times, when Krypton sought to be the top dogs in their sector - a drive that slowly vanished, as they realized the galaxy was a lot more dangerous than initially anticipated.

(basically, they figured out that it was a bad idea to get too big and draw Apokolips' attention)

By the time of Krypton's end, many of the warmongers - Zod included - had been imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, and the Empire had pretty much completely withdrawn to their heavily fortified homeworld. This proved a fatal error, as the overcrowded world soon began having trouble with resource scarcity, brewing a civil war that turned bloody as soon as it became clear that Krypton had mere hours left before detonation.

That's the world Kara knew, and likely the one she would bring into the Kverse; I think that split would only grow more notorious, as Zod's loyalists would attempt to make a splash in their new environment, establishing a foothold for later expansion, while the ruling class would see the Black Order, the Phalanx, etc., and it would only reinforce their belief in keeping to themselves. I wouldn't be surprised to see a schism amongst Kryptonians, maybe even provoking the military into striking out on their own.

[darthkvznblogs]

So if you don't mess with Cybertronians "without expecting some pretty damn steep resistance", what prompted Thanos (besides general insanity and arrogance) to invade Caminus?

I think what you have to understand is that Thanos hadn't even come close to being defeated since he fought Vilgax at the very start of his crusade; part of it is that the Black Order tackles worlds/species it knows it can defeat, but also part of it is that Thanos himself is so powerful that they can take on a lot.

He definitely expected Caminus to be a difficult challenge, and he faced them accordingly; the Black Order suffered heavy casualties, but the assault was going relatively well, and the defenders would've likely been overwhelmed eventually...until Caminus himself came into play.

Titan-class Cybertronians are extremely rare - so much so that they're considered a myth by most of their own people, let alone the rest of the galaxy. Obviously, they do exist, and the colony on Caminus was built upon (and named after) the dormant body of one such Titan. When it became clear that the fighting against the Black Order had become an existential threat, the colony's cityspeakers - a secretive order made up of a scant few Cybertronians who have learned to communicate with and sometimes even partially control the enormous synthetics - made the decision to wake up their home, despite the fact that simply asking him to assume his robot form would destroy most of the capital city. Nevertheless, Caminus rose, wrecked the Black Order's invasion force, and even came close to injuring Thanos, forcing him to retreat. While there were certainly enough forces left over in orbit to continue the battle, and probably eventually win, Thanos allowed them their pyrrhic victory - after all, it took them decades to rebuild their capital, a hefty price paid for their defiance.

Of course, the official story is that the regular Cybertronian forces alone were responsible for Thanos' defeat - a convenient lie that keeps other would-be conquerors away from Cybertronian territory and gives a false but valuable hope to the people of the Nova Empire that the Mad Titan can be defeated "conventionally".

[darthkvznblogs]

As a massive SW fan, I'd say that General Grievous would definitely be a great character to add if it suits you. The dude never had an affinity for the Force and yet was one of the most dangerous figures in the Clone Wars era. Throw in some vibranium & biotics, and Doom has another powerful weapon at his disposal.

It'd be very fun to try and shoot for this happy medium between hyper-competent no nonsense 2D Clone Wars Grievous and absolute rat bastard hammy 3D Clone Wars Grievous with a sprinkling of his supposed brilliant strategic mind (not something we really see depicted outside of maybe the Battle of Kamino, which was an admittedly genius feint for an invasion).

The thing that keeps me from going for it is that I just don't think he'd be satisfied with being a gladiator on Sakaar, or something to that effect. To me, one of Grievous' more important character traits (aside from surviving at all costs, which strikes me as the most important) is that he always acts like he has something to prove, a double edged sword that sees him shooting for some truly wild objectives (i.e. killing as many Jedi as possible, a suicidal task for the vast majority of people in the galaxy), but also gives him tunnel vision when the goal is within his grasp (which caused his more embarrassing defeats and, of course, ultimately led to his death). I'd need to find him a niche that would challenge him in more ways than just his combat prowess, y'know?

[darthkvznblogs]

Is Kara particularly devout to Rao? Or was she just looking for any shred of Krypton?

Overall, I think the House of El generally wasn't particularly religious. I picture them like the kind of family that's Catholic in name only, only really goes to mass on Easter and Christmas, mostly just to keep up appearances or have a modicum of respect for the family tradition.

Between the trauma of escaping its doom, the undetermined amount of time she spent in the Phantom Zone, and the formative years she's spent on Earth, the unfortunate reality is that Kara's forgotten a lot of things about Krypton. Her school friends, her extended family, what most of Argo City looked like, etc.

The repetition and symbology involved in worshipping Rao left a good enough impression that she still remembers it fairly clearly, so even though she's not religious herself, she tries her best to keep it in the forefront of her mind, so she doesn't forget that, too. Like you said, she's clinging to the scraps of Krypton left in her memory.

[darthkvznblogs]

There's an old show I remember called Captain Planet. Basically the Spirit of Earth awakens, sees how humanity has fucked up the Earth and sends out five magic rings to young champions so they can begin raising awareness and stop villains by summoning the embodiment of nature as a champion. It's as cheesy as 90s show can be but I thought it might interest you.

I've never watched the show, and I doubt it's something I'd be really keen on watching, but I definitely know of it! To be honest, the concept of a champion like this is super appealing - especially if you pair it with like, a Shazam/Voltron thing where Captain Planet is the embodiment of all five kids put together instead of a separate entity. Could be fun to make an OC out of that!

[darthkvznblogs]

Rose also put a magical barrier in the Temple of the Crystal Gems or has just no one noticed them?

She did, but Beach City, much like Gravity Falls, just naturally attracts some weird people for whom the wards don't fully work. Regular tourists don't really see the Temple for what it is, and they tend to ignore conversations about the Gems (but it's not impossible for them to figure it out, close proximity and time spent around Gem stuff will eventually erode the ward's effects on the person).

[darthkvznblogs]

señor puedo¿ preguntar cómo ven los caballeros eternos a los mutantes y superhumanos si no le molesta ?

(Transl.)

Q: Sir, can I ask how the Forever Knights see mutants and superhumans, if that's alright?

Well, they're really just humans with slightly altered genomes, so they usually get the benefit of the doubt on principle. If the source of a superhuman's enhancement is the product of human science or technology, or some other Earthly natural phenomena, then it's all good. If it's alien or magical, then it's a case by case basis - they can tolerate a demigod, for example, but only if they renounce their godly parent's service, and help the Knights' crusade in some meaningful way.

Inhumans, though very rare, don't get that treatment - they're living Kree weapons, so they're irrevocably tainted and must be eliminated. Half-alien human hybrids are also kill/capture on sight.