I haven’t drawn my girl Airi in a while, and I remembered I had a concept sketch (on the left, third pic) of her in a different displacer-styled outfit that’s geared toward the endgame so I decided to draw her in it (give or take a couple minor changes). I didn’t have the ripa (the sword) in mind when I did the sketch so I’m okay with her just holding the shep (the ritual staff, although I sort of had a chakram in mind).

This is normally an outfit reserved for displacers that have achieved acclaim, recognition, and risen through the ranks. It’s safe to say you can tell how notable and skillful a person is based off their outfit: the more elaborate it is, the more prestigious they are. However, some displacers would tell you they prefer the practicality of their uniforms over the gaudy ceremonial that belies their rank, and this is one such outfit that exudes the former over the latter.

Airi was not in the displacer forces for very long, having just been freshly minted as a new recruit when war between civil unrest between the lower classes and the Diamond Court, the Outer Essering’s elite, ruling government body in the nation, ramped up and engulfed the continent. As resources were being drained the longer it went on, the battle-garb for displacers were simplified, no different than what impoverished monks would wear, and would have been called humble under different circumstances.

In another world, Airi would have seen the end of the war and been promoted to a higher rank where she would wear this outfit. However, a fateful bout with Astolfo Orlando, a wanted fugitive, and his contracted demon known only as Ghestalt saw her fatally wounded and would have been left for dead if not for the long, ephemeral reach of the Demon King-In-Exile. 

For most of Airi’s story, I like to imagine she’s wearing her friend Lina’s outfit, which is admittedly no different than what any person regardless of gender would wear, and wields her ripa, for her own was lost in the fight against Astolfo.  It is thanks to Iryna, the young girl who knows about the changes in the world since Airi’s stasis, that she is able to take the first steps into the current era. However, sometime later, the weight of the role of being His Chosen Hero and the ever-present fact that she now lives in a world that has moved on without her and seen her family dispersed wears her down, and soon the ripa is shattered and the garb tattered to reflect her fraying mental state. Eventually, both Airi and Lina agree to burn the outfit, signifying the end of a troubling, bloody chapter in Airi’s new life as the King-In-Exile’s daemon familiar.

I do think she gets another outfit (and ripa) after that one that’s similar to it, and later on she acquires this one. I meant to give it some draconic features that would make her stand out from the other displacers (although at this point I would honestly compare her role to that of being a mercenary or “substitute Soul Reaper” a’la Bleach), except that’s only really apparent on the boots (and they’re not pointy enough!)...but it’s a concept, it’ll do. But I also like the other, simpler design, so maybe she’ll get both or a mix of the two in the future *shrug*

Arceus opinions. Gimmee.

THOUGHTS THOUGHTS THOUGHTS HERE WE GO

I 100% believe that the protagonist is the Sinnoh Champion, because it would make total sense for Arceus to entrust them with this, they look exactly the same (unless you choose otherwise lmao) and it just makes all the ironic differences between the ancestors and descendants crueler lmao

If you demonize Laventon in your fics, first of all WHY, second of all delete your fic

I don't respect Volo at all and I think he's motivated less by being some tragic backstory and more by a bloated sense of entitlement. I love that he's this bastard who takes advantage of a frightened teen and tries to destroy the universe because the it's not to his liking. I hope he never gets a redemption arc he sucks so bad I love it.

Relatedly, some Celestica people headcanons: The ancient hero was from the Celestica people, and he caught "Arceus" like the current protagonist after defeating it, which is why it loved among them for a while. Then, I dunno, the hero died or they did something fucked up because Arceus living among them gave them a power high and Arceus left. They couldn't handle it, and eventually most of them left to go find Arceus, and the remaining people couldn't keep it together for more than a few generations. Cogita and Volo were both born after Arceus left and are the only ones still remaining and became immortal somehow? not sure. Cogita was given the responsibility of one day helping the protagonist, while Volo felt cheated that he never got to meet Arceus and instead watched his people fall apart, and viewed everyone else in Hisui as stupid and unworthy for not even knowing who Arceus was, which is why he's fully ok with killing everyone and likes to toy with people (e.g. asking Ingo about his memory loss while knowing its his fault). I fully believe he's still on his shits to this day and may or may not have a fic idea related to that if i ever stop being afraid of writing documents lol.

Speaking of Ingo: he did not fall out of the sky! He canonically just appeared, and honestly I'm betting it was through a space-time distortion like a lot of the displaced Pokemon we see. I think the protag only fell from the sky because they were express delivery via Arceus instead of random fallout from reality tearing itself apart. Also I love Ingo sooooo much autistic king of my heart I want him to go home please let him go home. I think he's been there for a few years judging by how settled and familiar he seems, but man I think he wants to go home and he should go home, although I'm not sure if that'll happen in a DLC or not. (SIDE NOTE: it's too early to say whether there will be DLC or not it hasn't even been three months yet guys chill)

I don't forgive Kamado but I think he's an interesting, thoughtful character. He got off light but it's Pokemon. What can you do. Cyllene on the other hand deserves the world.

ALSO BENI. BENI WAS THE MOST GOBSMACKING REVEAL. HAS HE KILLED PEOPLE? HES A REAL NINJA.

Speaking of killing my slightly edgy headcanon is that it's Volo's fault that there aren't any noble pokemon or their ilk in modern Sinnoh because he drove them to extinction out of spite for having Arceus' favor.

I love Palina and Iscan they're so cute t4t romance right there.

Arezu is my funny little gal. I want to kiss her and let her do my hair please please please

Also Melli is the funniest bitch on the planet. BUT ADAMAAAAAAAAAAN. Pokemon sure knows how to make pathetic little men that are so funny

The Forces of Nature were so hard to catch they are my FUCKING enemies. Also I'm really bad at mass outbreaks because I get seen and then can't move because as soon as I get off my ass I get hit again and then I die.

The soundtrack is amazing but Pokemon games always have good music I love them

SBURB in the Pact/Pale/Otherverse

There’s a series of Reddit threads where people come up with versions of story characters, settings, elements, etc. that fit into the mechanics and style of the Otherverse from Wildbow’s Pact and Pale web serials and Pactdice game. In the last thread someone posted an idea of Sburb as a ritual, and while I was stewing on my own ideas for that, I didn’t want to hijack the comment. I was waiting for another thread to pop up but for now I’ll post it here. Sorry if some of the stuff doesn’t fit the tone or style of Pact and Pale. This is what I’ve come up with:

Nobody remembers the name of the small European colony on the Pacific Ocean where the war between Angels and Demons took place. It was literally wiped off the map, from most people’s memories, and from most records. It’s quite possible that if the humans, Angels, and Demons involved hadn’t taken part in this war, their cooperation would have sustained better relationships between the human and celestial forces, which are distant and oppositional to this day.

By some unknown series of events, only a few hundred years ago, a war sparked between many Greater Angels and Demons. Many Others and practitioners were roped into fighting for both sides. Evangelists, Diabolists, Greater and Lesser Angels and Demons, and greater gods and non-Angelic architects of Space and Time, standing on the same level as the most powerful Angels and Demons. Old grudges and rivalries had come to a head here, and the battle was bloody.

The final escalation happened when the Angelic forces were losing, and the Demonic side elected to deal the finishing blow. One of the Greater Demons called the stars to fall from the sky and crush the enemy. Others and Practitioners mounted defenses, and the arbiters of Time and Space tried to displace some of the stars, but weren’t strong enough to prevent the entirety of the damage, and so a Greater Angel elected to make sure the enemy didn’t survive to advance their agenda, pulling down more stars to destroy the Diabolical forces.

What resulted was a destruction so thorough that most of the island was wiped out, leaving a small sliver of volcanic island in its place. Nobody remembered what happened there, as the destruction was thorough, and brought on by Demons. However, nobody disappeared exactly. The whole country was pulled down, as the stars burned holes in reality, past the known homes of the forgotten, including the Abyss and the Paths. They were pulled down to the void beneath the void beneath the void, far beyond any realms known to Practitioner or Other.

Those pulled into this realm were shredded apart into simple and complex spirits, and larger fragments of beings still not whole enough to live on their own. Spirits and fragments were attracted to things similar to themselves as if by some gravitational pull, and slowly coalesced into whole beings. These beings were massive and godlike, eschewing conventional bodies, becoming a patchwork of flesh and mouths and eyes and tentacles.

The architects of Time and Space re-formed, merging with the remained of what temporal and spatial elements once made up the island colony. The Angels and the ideas they embodied tried to reform, embodying forces of knowledge, fortune, and Light, as well as creation, faith, and Hope. The Demons re-formed as amalgamations of darkness, emptiness, and the Void they found themselves in, and the sin, destruction, and Rage against the flawed structures and conventions of the world they once sought to destroy.

Most people and Others were broken down to their base elements. Their capacity for thought, and the forces of Karma and the laws of the Seal of Solomon, as well as choices, promises, and words, came together and took on a Mind of their own. The Selves of these beings, their feelings and identities grew their own Heart. The cycle of birth and death, and the beings who sought to take the dead to their final resting places, became the overseers of Life and enactors of Doom in this strange new world. The old relationships, connections both natural and Practiced, they came together to embody the ties of Blood between those who lived in this realm.

And, lastly, the one force that had no hand in this war was the air spirits, who only ever sought freedom. When the stars fell from the sky and burned a hole in the ground, sucking everything in, it was the air spirits that coalesced of their own accord, seeking to escape the horrible fate that befell the island, but sadly they weren’t strong enough to escape. The complex air spirits were torn apart, but became whole again long after they drew their last Breath.

These new Horrorterrors who ruled this realm remembered the echoes of their old war, and their old desires to tear down the old world as Demons, and the Angels’ original role as creators, long before they fell into their role as caretakers of the world the humans inherited. As such, the seed of purpose was planted here, to become the seed for the old world to be torn down, and a new universe to be created.

The problem was, this place was empty. There were spirits, fragments of animals, humans, and others, and the broken landmass of the forgotten country, but this wasn’t enough. This place was like the Paths, needing context and ideas in order to become solid. Guided by its new gods, it became hungry for definition and ideas it could use to build its new world, a bare canvas to be painted, a Medium for creation.

It reached out to the world, searching for anything to give it definition. It couldn’t bring in much at first; stories of heroes and adventure, of war and conquest. Games of cards and chess. Study of planets and stars. These things were reminiscent of the war that echoed through the memories of the Horrorterrors, and so the Medium sculpted two new kingdoms, Prospit and Derse, to wage a war like the one it remembered. The kingdoms’ citizens didn’t have enough definition taken from humans, and so they took on bodies more like chess pieces, and organized themselves like card suits. If the Battlefield could ever become ready, they could wage a new war, build a new world. But for now it was just a chessboard, with two kings narrowly avoiding one-another, never ceasing.

This didn’t become a full-fledged Ritual Incarnate for several hundred years. A group of technomancers and programmers in the nineties found the remains of that small volcanic island in the pacific, tended to by an elderly practitioner who had retired from traveling the world, retiring to this place with his young daughter. He showed the technomancers how this place harbored some faint, distant connection to the Medium, and they all worked together to find ways to channel it, and use its hunger for definition in constructive ways. They created a language of new symbols connected to this place to use in diagrams, choosing spirographs, as circles distorted by circles distorted by circles, to signify the circular, self-fulfilling loop of space and time in a void beneath the void beneath the void. These symbols were inextricably tied to Paradox Space.

These practitioners, now calling their group Skaianet, tried to bind the Medium to punch cards, to record the spirits making up an object or being within the Medium, and retrieve or create those objects from anywhere using an associated Hexadecimal code. These Captchalogue Cards were a success.

However, the connection to these technomancers was a potential foothold for the Medium to pull in more ideas from the world. The practitioners became Harbingers for the Horrorterrors without even realizing it, and the horrorterrors used their incredible powers to rewrite these practitioners’ lives, little by little. At first the members of Skaianet were only creating Captchalogue Cards and other associated odds and ends for their own gain. Then, suddenly, they had always been studying the ruins on this island, which had always been there. Then they had always been working on using their experience with text adventure games to build a ritual around the Medium. And then they had always been translating the code in the ruins into a video game that could be mass-produced.

And finally, these practitioners and their children had always been born in the Medium, destined to play the game and create themselves.

The Medium and the Horrorterrors finally had access to enough spirits to build new worlds. Other practitioners were beginning to use Captchalogue Cards to store items and build new ones out of the composite spirits by punching the cards a certain way and writing down the codes. Some could gather information on how a piece of technomancy could grow this powerful this quickly, but few could do anything about it in time for the game’s release. Skaianet’s members communicated through the internet via a chat program, and so the internet and the chat program became more footholds for the Horrorterrors. The game’s beta would go public, and people everywhere would be consigning themselves to doom in sacrifice to the Medium.

The four players (children and grandchildren of three of the members of Skaianet, and one practitioner related to the old man) would enter the game and complete the ritual.

The new structure of the game, a new Ritual Incarnate, would be as follows: The four chosen players would enter the game using the game disc and captchalogue cards. Like other Practitioners who became Harbingers, they were each chosen by Horrorterrors in charge of one of the Twelve Aspects, taking on a Class, a relationship to that aspect based on their personality and the archetypes of old stories and new games. The sacrificed players, their homes, and the objects they deposited into the Kernelsprite, all destroyed by meteors, would provide some definition to the new universe the players would create, and to the Lands they would adventure in.

The players, meanwhile, would deposit objects or beings into the Kernelsprite, and the spirits making up these things would provide definition to the warring kingdoms and their battlefield, allowing the war to properly begin. The pseudo-Lost Others of this realm took on roles as Imps, Ogres, and other, greater enemies, to challenge the players, once there were enough things prototyped to make them whole again. The children would set out on their adventure on their personal lands, completing quests and fighting the emissaries of the Horrorterrors hidden as Denizens deep within this land.

The quests would lead each player, playing out their own coming of age story, to save their Land, fight their Denizen, and assist the Kingdom of Prospit in defeating the Kingdom of Derse, completing the war that had never been fully won by either side in the old war. They would create themselves, fulfilling the time loop the game created, breed frogs (frog breeding was another bit of information the Medium found relatable for some reason) and create a new universe to rule. Everything would tie into itself using the portals utilized in the Reckoning, both protecting Skaia from the summoned meteors, and sending the meteors through time to Earth to fulfill each time loop.

Quick question: Which villain/hero is which character? I've just started to read your AU (It's flipping amazing BTW), but sometimes I keep forgetting who is who 'cause of the secret identities and all. 😅

I’m glad you like it pal, and no problem: (real name; super power)

Tell me if I forgot anybody. Other villains and heroes will be added if they appear in the story. Sorry this is so long,

Things to note: Jack and Mark are Jackieboy Man and Silver Shepherd because it seemed weird to not make them superheroes. All the Sides used to be Thomas before he was broken apart. I want to add in Lixian, Gabe, and Mika but don’t know how to yet and I don’t want to throw them in haphazardly because they deserve better than that.

*Heroes: (aka the Coalition of Heroes which include some of the Iplier’s, most of the Septics, and half of the Sides)

-The Silver Shepherd (it’s Mark Fischbach; super strength, flight, invulnerability)

-Jackieboy Man (Seán McLoughlin; super speed, X-ray vision, keen hearing, super agility)

-Detective Abe Lauer (Detective Abe; unwillingly and occasionally displaced in time, unable to die)

-Dr. Edward Iplier and Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein (the don’t have a secret identity; cynicism, medical knowledge)

-Marvin the Magnificent (this is his secret identity because he doesn’t go by his real name; magic, alchemist)

-Bro Average (Chase Brody, immaculate accuracy)

-J.J (Jameson Jackson; time manipulation)

-Gatling (Bob Muyskens; summons impenetrable barriers)

-The Drowned Man (Wade Barnes; hydrokinesis)

-UFO (Amy Nelson; flight)

-Blank (Ethan Nestor; aura dampening, invisibility)

-Robbie the Zombie (Robert Gravesly; zombie, super strength, undead)

-Captain Morality (Patton Sanders; emotional manipulation)

-Logic (Logan Sanders; super intelligence)

-Prince Creativity (Roman Sanders; object summoning, powers based in creativity)

-Anxiety (Virgil Sanders; fear manipulation, manifestation of fears)

-Nate (Nathan Sharp; bard, he strengths and deplores people with music, turning reality into a music video)

-Bing (doesn’t use a secret identity; AI unit, super intelligence, nanites)

-Oliver (Google Yellow; AI unit, super intelligence, nanites, humanity)

-The Host (formerly Arthur Isaacs, the Author; realty manipulation through narration)

-King of the Squirrels (Kaylor Kingston; animal telepathy)

-Explosion Boy (Eric Derekson; explosions from his fingertips)

-Yellow Tape (Randall Voorhees)

-Captain Magnum (doesn’t use a secret identify; he’s a 10ft tall pirate)

*Allies:

-Mayor Damien Mood (Dark, yes he finds their trust hilarious)

-Yancy Times (doesn’t use a secret identity, doesn’t want to be a bad guy; manipulating people when he sings)

-the Jims (RJ, CJ, all of them work for both sides; crazy hive mind)

-The DA (Y/N; is the viewer)

*Villains:

-Dark (Damien and Celine Doom, the Entity; void aura, magic, undying)

-Wilford Warfstache (William J. Barnum, other identities; manipulation of the meta, void manipulation, plot armor)

-Anti (glitch demon; dominion over electronics, void manipulation)

-Mare (music demon; sound manipulation)

-Google (doesn’t use an alias; AI unit, super intelligence, nanites)

-Deceit (Janus Sanders; illusions, magic, living lie detector)

-The Duke (Remus Sanders; object summoning, powers based in creativity)

-Orange (too lazy to use an alias; tbd when Thomas announces him)

-Ed Edgar (does not use a real alias; no known superpowers)

-Bim Trimmer (does not use alias; slight void aura, slight inhuman strength, cannibal)

-Yandere (Yan Ayano; summons weaponry from hammer space)

-Illinois Jones (does not use an alias; uncanny luck, luck and probability manipulation)

DC Saiyans and Goku

(Will play this verse at any point, leave many key events vague for purposes)

The saiyans were an infamous species of aliens, reputed for traveling to other planets, killing off the inhabitants, or otherwise running them off, and then using the planet for their own use, or selling/bargaining them to other evil galactic forces, or even races previously displaced by the saiyan forces.

Such a race doesn’t garner its own negative attention, and enemies, so they would seek protection under Freeza, a frequent purchaser of theirs. However, influenced by ancient legends and stiff prodding from a far greater being than himself, Freeza would take it upon himself to destroy the saiyan homeworld, after calling them home, by tricking their king into fearfully doing so in case an attack was upon them.

Several saiyans would escape this, but only one would narrowly avoid the planet’s destruction.

Kakarot, son of Bardock and Gine, would send their son away in a pod, hoping to save him from the galactic overlord’s path of destruction. And escape he would, sent to the planet Earth unofficially, with little more than an errant release on the pod logs as indication that he had, indeed, gone anywhere by the Freeza Force’s systems.

And so would begin the magical adventure of Dragon Ball.

Key changes to this timeline include Goku originating in Paozu, China (the Eastern District), and the first portion of the magical adventure largely taking place throughout the continent of Asia. Bulma would be an American adventurer from West City, Krillin a Shaolin monk, etc. Papaya Island, and therefore the world martial arts tournament, would be situated in the Pacific Islands, and West City would instead be San Francisco.

Goku’s adventures throughout the first portion of Dragon Ball would largely remain unchanged until the Piccolo saga, with the range of Tambourine's murders not only including participants of the Tenkaichi Budokai, but also from pilfered records of public identity superheroes, based on the hero registry from the 1960s. This would result in the deaths of key members of the Justice Society.

Superheroes who were privy to these assassinations, beyond simply Tenshinhan and Master Roshi, would make attempts to defeat both Piccolo and his demon clan. Although, due to a lack of immediately available heroes who were both aware of what was going on, or able to do something about this, Demon King Piccolo was able to rule over key capitals across the world for several days.

Deciding to divide the world into 43 sections, he randomly selections section 29, the Western coast of the Americas, intent on destroying it first. However, through the intervention of Tenshinhan and Goku, Piccolo was destroyed, thanks to Goku’s ingesting of the Ultra Divine Water.

Another key change would be the nature of Goku’s training during the timeskip between the Demon King Piccolo saga and the Piccolo Jr. saga. Not only would Goku train under Kami to expand his ability to use chi/ki/qi, he would also spend some time training under I-Ching.

I-Ching would help Goku’s abilities with chi develop, but also teach Goku responsibility. Whether he liked it or not, his powers demanded he use them, either for good or evil. Simply using them for battle was not responsible, and would almost assuredly result in more destruction than not, even moreso than if he simply sought out conquest, like his people before him. And so, Goku would develop a more spiritual side to his path, becoming more altruistic, as he decided to represent the light in the world.

During this training, Goku would also meet another young man, Bruce Wayne, with who he’d cross paths again later.

The Piccolo Jr. Saga would transpire much the same as before, although towards the ending, Goku would still turn down Kami’s offer to be God, and instead become Earth’s guardian, training and studying from the lookout. This would not allow him to marry Chi-Chi, unfortunately, but she would still accompany him to the lookout.

During the times between the tournament, and Raditz’s appearance, Goku would encounter several other heroes of a similar magnitude, such as Batman, with whom Goku had once trained under I-Ching, and would occasionally advise on mystical matters, Superman, with whom Goku initially battled, and developed a close friendship with/friendly rivalry, and Wonder Woman, who would also serve as another of Goku’s rivals in martial combat.

Through the Saiyan Saga, the encounter with Raditz would resolve largely in the same way, as while lacking an actual marriage, Goku and Chi-Chi would still have a child together in Son Gohan, though his education would be largely handled by Mr. Popo, rather than private tutors. This would give his son a more spiritual outlook on life, but also not lacking in a drive to become an academic, like Chi-Chi hoped for. This would still set up the initial discourse between Goku, who while somewhat stronger than in the initial battle between himself and his brother, as well as the 2-on-1 against Raditz later, would still perish during the heat of battle.

This difference in power would be thanks to Goku’s active training over the four years, as Earth’s defender, and his missions that he would take alongside the other heroes of Earth, that would later result in his joining The Justice League.

The Saiyan invasion proper would see Team Dragon working together with an early incarnation of the Justice League, formed an alliance to help fend off Nappa and Vegeta. This would ultimately reduce the deaths in the heat of combat, as not only would Yamcha be the only member of Team Dragon affected by the Saibamen’s surprise attack, but it would allow Tenshinhan to survive his encounter with Nappa, thanks to the intervention of other League members.

Summarily, following the deaths of Yamcha, and Chiaotzu, would result in the Justice League no longer having an interest in squaring off, like Team Dragon and the saiyans insisted, and the battle quickly became a free-for-all.

Clark and Diana would prove largely a match for Vegeta and Nappa, being able to keep him from murdering other members of Team Dragon, but still very nearly losing Batman and Zatanna to the overwhelmingly powerful nature of the saiyan duo.

Salvation would come in the form of a recently resurrected Goku, however, as his new techniques, the Kaioken and Spirit Bomb would prove sufficient to help defeat the two saiyans in their Oozaru forms.

In the wake of the battle, though, Piccolo would still perish thanks to his wounds, as well as Barry Allen and Hal Jordan (the latter of which would result in the designation of Kyle Rayner as his replacement Green Lantern).

The expedition to Namek would serve largely its same purpose, though many events and battles would be shortened, due to the presence of Goku, and the lack of a death on the part of Nappa during the saiyan battles. However, many of the primary events and battles would still occur, though Dodoria and Zarbon would both be defeated on accelerated time tables due to the change in present fighters.

Many of the events in the Dragon Ball timeline still occur, largely in a similar fashion, with a primary emphasis being placed on the Asian continent for many of Goku’s adventures, though their consequences were still global in nature. By the end of Z, Goku would essentially be equivalent to an Eastern Hemisphere Superman, being of a similar, or greater, raw power than Kal-El.

Goku’s rivalries with other characters is often a focal point in his stories, and can pretty well put him on many sides of a conflict, so long as it doesn’t inherently contradict his responsibility to protecting Earth.

Goku’s power spikes are similar, but timed different, due to training with Kal-El and Diana.

Improving Castlevania Netflix

While I really enjoyed CV Netflix, it has quite a few things in it that I am not fond of, so I thought I'd go over how the show could have been improved/written differently while still maintaining its overall integrity.  Note that some of my changes are actually very minor, but I think would still improve the overall product. * Tone down the exposition; it's all over the place and there's way too much of it.  This is a visual medium; have things that happen speak for themselves. * The castle is not just a machine.  It is a living, magical/mechanical creature, hence "Demon Castle Dracula" in Japanese.  This was a massive missed opportunity in the show, as they could have had the castle itself become malicious to those plotting against Dracula within its walls, or have it shift around/change form. * Do not make Fahrenheit part of Alucard's name.  Do not make Tepes part of anyone's name.  Of all the things to carry over from the video games, these are perhaps the strangest.  Lisa of Lupu was fine. Dracula doesn't need a surname; he has titles.  If you really want to make reference to Alucard's goofy middle name, use "Fahren."  I freely admit that this is just a pet peeve of mine but it was really distracting. * Don't have Lisa pass by a bunch of impaled bodies on her way to Dracula's Castle.  That makes her relationship with him come off as very strange.  Make it so that she doesn't actually know all that much about him/doesn't have much trust in what she has heard about him on account of her having a history of being demonized as a witch herself. * Hector and Isaac have lived in the castle since they were young, and they are both older than Alucard.  Make it so that their powers extend their life-span so they age more slowly than the average human; they have power over life, after all.  This gives them a connection to Lisa as well as additional time to develop loyalty to Dracula (it's also pretty much how it was in the video games, with Hector having gone to Dracula when he was very young).  It would also give Lisa more cause to come to Dracula, if she had heard that there were other people going to Dracula to learn about lost or forbidden knowledge.  Isaac should be closer to his portrayal from the video games, while Dracula's true right-hand would not be Isaac, but a mysterious fellow named Zead/Zobek.  Keep Isaac's strap thing, history of oppression, and zeal, but his weapon should be a spear. * Make it clear that Alucard was present when his mother said her final words, but had arrived too late to save her/was incapable of reaching her where she was. * Make it so that Dracula does not return until several months after she has already been killed.  When he does return, he maims Alucard and Hector prevents Dracula from outright killing Alucard, trying to calm him down; Alucard escapes through the Carpathian mirror.  Hector, Isaac, and Dracula agree that they should target Targoviste, where Lisa was killed, and so the slaughter begins immediately and quickly spirals out of control as far as Hector is concerned, with Dracula having them gather the dead of Targoviste to start bolstering his forces.  THEN we have a time-skip. -------- * Cut the goat scene.  Waste of screen-time, irrelevant. * Change "sleeping soldier" to "sleeping guardian." Less catchy, but it is actually on-point, especially if they end up going all the way to the Sorrow series. * Put more emphasis on the priest who blesses the water in Gresit, in order to balance out the depiction of religion in the show.  Make the scene where Trevor gets the townspeople to turn on the corrupt church members less clumsy. * Make the demons in the first season more diverse; they were too homogeneous. -------- * If Alucard is going to verbally spar with Trevor, it needs to be written with a bit more cleverness. * Cut the scene that shows Lisa being arrested, as it was poorly written.  Instead, show a scene of her interacting with Dracula, Hector, and Isaac in the castle in order to emphasize the relationship she had with Dracula. * When the heroes are fighting the demons that are going to attack Arges, they are joined by a fourth person, a cloaked man named Grant Danesti.  Danesti explains that he is the last of his family, a family that fought against Dracula during his attack on Targoviste, and has been hiding in Arges since he escaped from Dracula's Castle where he was been kept as livestock for his forces.  It isn't until they reach the Belmont estate and Sypha lights up the vault that they discover that Grant has been twisted by dark powers, and can't really be considered human anymore.  The group intentionally lets the last demon go in the hopes that it will draw Dracula to them rather than them having to go after his castle, and instead focus upon strengthening themselves at the Belmont Hold. * Trevor should find a silver cross/stake in the Belmont Hold, and should be keeping salt and holy water around.  Sypha should use lightning magic.  Alucard should use his bat/mist transformations and spells.  Dracula should use the spells he has other than just Dark Inferno. :-/ * Hector becomes increasingly distressed over Carmilla's blatant attempts at manipulation and the slaughter of people, and his breaking point is when a child's body is brought in for forging purposes.  He flees, throwing a wrench into Carmilla's plans.  Isaac chases after him, having killed Godbrand for far less and taking Hector's flight personally because of their shared status as Dracula's human generals.  So, Carmilla instead has her forces abduct a priest in Braila and force him to bless the river.  What she does not realize is that Zead has been keeping tabs on her, and so when the castle arrives at Braila, Dracula has dropped it straight into the river, displacing the water and decimating her forces.  Realizing she's been outmaneuvered, Carmilla flees, but not before Dracula jabs out her left eye. * After crushing Carmilla's forces with minimal effort and almost no losses on his part, Dracula changes track and immediately warps the castle near the Belmont Hold, re-asserting his control over his now cowed forces.  He then sends Zead out of the castle to make sure that there are no Belmonts running around, and orders his army to prepare to attack Arges, not Braila.   Because the castle has warped not once, but twice, and Isaac was chasing Hector, Isaac has been left behind, and cannot return to Dracula in time to help him. * Zead is able to enter the Belmont Hold with almost no effort, and he attacks the three with almost no warning.   Sypha and Trevor don't take him too seriously as an opponent initially until they see how worried Alucard and Grant are, and find themselves fighting for their lives against a single opponent who seems increasingly less and less human, until at least, Zead reveals his true form; a reaper of souls, loyal to the King of the night.  Sypha is ultimately the one that subdues the reaper. * The four of them then take on the castle itself, with Sypha focused CC'ing the forces that were to attack Arges while the other three narrow in on the major players.  Grant kills the most of them, being enraged by the vampires who abused and mutilated him.  But Dracula is not among the forces, and so the four let Alucard take point as they make their way through the demon-infested castle to the throne room.  The fight plays out somewhat similarly to how it did in the show save that Grant is also there and Dracula uses more of his magic, including teleportation, fire pillars used in tandem with his horizontal lightning spell from SC4, Demonic Meggido, and Ghost Chaser. Scrap all the fist-fighting.  :-/ * Alucard only takes Dracula on solo after Dracula knocks Sypha and Grant out a window and claws at Trevor's face, clawing out one of his eyes.  When they come to a halt, Alucard can't bring himself to kill his father, and Trevor stakes Dracula from behind.  This does not kill Dracula.  Instead, Dracula calls upon the chaos that runs through the castle and shifts into a demonic form, and begins using Dominous Hatred/Fatal Ray, Demonic Meggido, and Delta Spark.  The fight ends when Trevor uses Grand Cross. * The castle disappears when Dracula dies.  After Trevor is fairly well-healed, he gifts Alucard with the Belmont Hold.  They re-seal the hold with Alucard inside, who goes to sleep.  Grant, Trevor, and Sypha make their way to Braila in order to see what damage the chaos there left behind and help. * Carmilla, infuriated by her losses at Braila, rallies what little she has left and begins to lay siege to Braila in order to replenish her vampire forces.  Hector uses the devils he originally forged to attack the Belmont Hold against Isaac, sacrificing them in order to escape and go into hiding.  Isaac searches for a way to return to Dracula's castle, only to find out much later from a revived Zead that the castle has fallen... but with some work... it and its master might rise once again.

PANTHER!!!

From the moment the I saw the 'Black Panther' movie early this year, I knew I would write this blog. This movie which has made over $1.3 billion worldwide ($1,324,656,634 to be exact) has been described as a cultural phenomenon and we could not agree more. But why? My research into the Black Panther and its relevance in African American history shows that there is a TRUE connection and a NEED that is being served by the 'Black Panther'.

When the term 'Black Panther' is heard it often conjures up images 'angry black men' in iconic black leather jackets, afros and black berets marching angrily. Rarely does it mention the 10-point manifesto of the Black Panther Party founded in 1967 in Berkeley, California by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton which called for better housing and education and yes...an end to police brutality. It also does not conjure up the core of the Black Panther Party which was community service. They organized school breakfast programs, health clinics and even voter registration drives but none of this is celebrated. 

The guns and defiance are more remembered. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter and I am afraid this is the case here as well. The image of LEGALLY armed black men marching into government establishments was simply too much for America to handle. A tape with President Nixon suggesting the use of the FBI was released proving how the 'Black Party Movement' was targeted. It is amazing to me that despite all the hardships faced by the African American and amid their civil rights heroes being gunned down that there wouldn’t be an effort to understand but rather the movements were targeted for destruction.

Even today another movement also formed in Berkeley, California is demonized, the ‘Black Lives Matter' movement along with millionaire law abiding NFL players (Colin Kaepernick) are examples of groups that are still fighting against police brutality over 50 years after the 'Black Panther Party' started the struggle. While this is so unfair, it is not nearly as unfair as what happened to the people in the birth place of the 'Black Panther’, Lowndes County, Alabama.

In 1965, Lowndes County Alabama was 80% black who had NO representation on the county level. So after the voting rights act passed, it was time... for the first time, to exercise African American voting power. A new party was formed called the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO). While there we literacy tests to hinder voting rights of the majority black population, it was still problematic for them to vote, so a simple symbol... like the donkey for democrats and Elephant for republicans was born...the Black Panther. It was because of this symbol that they started being known as the Black Panther party.

Despite all the effort to elect black leadership and the overwhelming majority population being black, none of the Black Panther party candidates won. This was because of voter intimidation on another level was going on. American citizens lost their homes and jobs if they participated in community meetings, marched or supported the LCFO and especially there was trouble if you actually 'pulled the lever for the black panther". The displaced and intimidated 'Black Panther Party' members were forced to live along highway 80 in what is now known as the 'TENT CITY'. Yes ... American citizens were living like refugees because they voted for themselves. This 'Tent City' was very dangerous as you might imagine because of the racists that surround them. Reports were that even 11-year-old boys were training with shotguns in case the imaginable happened during the night. Stokely Carmichael a leader in this movement in Alabama later took the symbol to California and joined Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in formation of the ‘infamous’ "Black Panther Party' we spoke of earlier.

Ironically, at the same time all this drama was going on an all-white comic company named Marvel introduced the 'Black Panther'. First appearing in a Fantastic Four comic #52 in July 1966, the black panther was the first mainstream superhero of African descent in an American comic book. I read the first reference and Ben Simmons aka the 'THING" for you, comic buffs, asked ‘how some backwards African king could provide them with the superior technological space age fighter jet they were flying in at the time’. They were very few black comic book heroes previously and none before the black panther had superpowers.

If we look at the time frames, while the comic book is published before the founding of the Black panther party formed in Berkeley, California, the comic book Black Panther comes after the Lowndes Country Freedom Organization adopted the symbol in 1965. Stan Lee, co-creator of the comic, denied that the comic was named after any of the political uses of the term "black panther", including the LCFO, citing "a strange coincidence". 'Strange coincidence or not' King T'Challa 'decided' to call himself the 'Black Leopard ‘to avoid appearing to support the 'radical' Black Panther Party, this new name obviously did not have the same ring to it, luckily in proper American fashion cash rules and the king decided to go back to be the 'Black Panther'. King T'Challa explained in the comic Avengers #105, ‘'T'Challa explained that renaming himself made as much sense as altering the Scarlet Witch's name, and he is not a stereotype.'

The comic also did not pre-date the 761st Tank Battalion which was primarily black independent tank battalion during World War II. They were known as the 'Black Panthers' after their unit’s distinctive insignia and their motto was 'Come out Fighting'. The law was that the military would be segregated at least until after World War II. General Patton gave the ‘Black Panthers’ praise, they received a presidential unit citation for its actions as well as 1 medal of honor, 11 silver stars and about 300 purple hearts. They were one of the more effective tank battalions in world war II'. A little-known fact that the first African American to play in Major League Baseball, First Lieutenant Jackie Robinson was a member of the 'Black Panthers'. He desegregated baseball but not before he had all charges cleared for insubordination because he refused to sit at the back of the bus. True ‘Black Panther’ bravery!

So, is this 'coincidence ' as Stan Lee stated? Or is it fate? Or a mix of both? Regardless of where you fall on this issue, there is a connection between the African American and the 'Black Panther'. A strong and resilient connection to what the 'Black Panther' represents which is hope, pride and dignity, that is well deserved and earned by the African diaspora, but often not given by our fellow countrymen. There is a section of our society that believes that 'Wakanda' truly is a 'shithole' country and they also use their power of definition to demonize African and African diaspora efforts at justice and equality.

King T'Challa seems to be our hero that fights in various forms over the decades as the "Black Panther' against all that deny us justice and equality.  This movie embodies that sentiment which is evident in the record breaking success the movie has had. This movie shed light on the cultural void experience (the negative space left from the forceful removal of culture from the African American). This cultural void needs to be filled and the 'Black Panther' fills it with pride, dignity and strength. Strength to fight wars while being segregated, strength to desegregate baseball, strength to vote for yourself when the consequences are painful, strength to feed and support you community while standing up and defending yourself.

The Black panther movie success proved that there is a longing to see ourselves a s part of the majority, with the power and all the technological advances and not simply as a token added for diversity sake. African Americans wore African clothing to the movies which touched the hearts of Africans who also felt pride and validation. This movie fills our void. This movie provides us with pride and empowerment. This movie endorsed unity between Africa and the African diaspora. This movie through the eyes of Kill monger sparked debate over the relationship between Africa and the African diaspora. This movie highlighted that a lack of belonging to home, makes you lost and lacking in enough culture. This movie shows that Africans have a long way to go before they can understand the plight of the African American. This movie shows how Africans isolate themselves from the problems faced by the African diaspora. This movie makes us realize that we must welcome our distant cousins home and feel their pain.

WAKANDA FOREVER!!!

CREDITS

ORIGINAL 'PANTHER' COVER ARTWORK/PAINTING BY NATHAN JALANI TAYLOR. PLEASE SUPPORT HIS AMAZING WORK

  @ IG: @nathanjtaylor or www.nathanjalanitaylor.com/shop-1/

BLOG INFO SOURCED FROM WIKIPEDIA YOUTUBE AND OTHER WEBSITES

Fantasy New Releases: 21 December 2019

Vengeful warriors, demon-slaying androids, refugee gamers, and a legendary frog hero fill this week’s collection of fantasy new releases.

Deadline (Afterlife Online #4) – Domino Finn

Black knights. Dastardly pirates. Bloodthirsty rebels.

And those are the good guys.

War is coming to the Midlands. Like a kettle ready to bubble over, cities teeter at the brink of boiling, all while a spymaster fans the flames.

Witness the rise of the Violet Order.

It was always coming to this. Freedom isn’t given, it’s wrenched from the choking grips of those who would stifle, contain, and control. Legends are rife with noble heroes standing over vanquished enemies, but reality is more grisly. Peace is hard-won with blood and sacrifice, and sometimes the good guys pay the ultimate price.

Thus Talon, Izzy, Kyle, and the Black Hats are tasked with raising an army, storming a fortress, and fighting a war on multiple fronts, all on an impossible deadline. In three days, Haven’s beta test ends, and in three days, so too might their entire world.

Foundling Wizard (Apprentice to Master Series #1) – James Eggebeen

Magic is just one more thing to be stolen…

For over a hundred years, the Temple of Ran has been sacrificing young wizards in order to steal their power. When Lorit discovers that he holds the rare ability to use magic, he becomes their next target.

At first, he runs, working to master his abilities on the move so that one day he might be able to resist them. But that was before the Temple targets his beloved sister, Onult. In order to save her life, he infuses her with his own power.

Now, they’re both targets.

Together, they’ll battle to make the world safe for magicians everywhere… if they can survive the temple’s power-hungry priests. If they can’t, their enemy will absorb their magic and become unstoppable.

Karma’s Touch (Chronicles of Ethan #3) – John L. Monk

A showdown with destiny. Paradise or deletion. The hero of the hour.

In an act of desperation, Ethan takes a quest to free himself and his wife from Mythian forever. Melody only has one life, and nowhere is safe for her, not even the cities.

To help keep Melody safe, Ethan travels alone, at least until an old ally joins him—one who could prove to be the key to his success… or the destruction of all he holds dear.

The seeds of Karma were planted long ago, and they are about to yield fruit. One choice is poison, one is salvation. It’s time to decide.

Karnov: Phantom-Clad Rider of the Cosmic Ice – Matthew Knight, Howie K. Bentley and Byron A. Roberts

Returning from battle, the warrior Karnov discovers his family murdered and his homeland ravaged by vampyres. Learning that the undead Lord Ghormanteia is responsible for unleashing nosferatu hordes upon the land, he seeks aid from the sultry witch of a nearby woodland. By blood and sorcery, he is granted the supernatural ability to traverse worlds and absorb undead souls to gain strength. Declaring Ghormanteia shall fall by his ice-encased blade, Karnov sets out on a quest of vengeance to cleanse the land of its evil scourge.

Ghormanteia’s minions are not the only threat Karnov must face on his journey. A scheming blood-countess, a serpent monster with time-displacing venom, a mutant-breeding necromancer, daemonic forces, an uprising cult, and myriad creatures all stand in his way. Aided by witchcraft and sorcerous allies, will Karnov’s powers and burning lust for retribution be enough to avenge his loved ones, or will undead wraiths corrupt the earth forever? Through mist-shrouded graveyards, haunted castles, cosmic gateways and strange worlds, Karnov: Phantom-Clad Rider of the Cosmic Ice will take you to the heart of the vampyre’s lair and beyond!

Konosuba, Vol. 10: Gamble Scramble! – Natsume Akatsuki

Luck be a lady tonight!

Seeking financial support in the fight against the Demon King’s army, Princess Iris visits the neighboring nation of Elroad to meet the prince: her husband-to-be. But Kazuma won’t hand over his little sister to just anyone!

Scratch that. He won’t hand her over, period!

Posing as her escort, he tags along in an attempt to derail yet another wedding (and rake in the dough). But no sooner than they arrive in Elroad are they informed that the engagement is off, and there won’t be any financial support at all!

And so it falls to Kazuma to use his wit and insanely good Luck to milk the Casino Kingdom for all it’s worth!

Leap of Faith (Anura Rising #1) – J. S. Grulke

Every Frog Has His Day.

Deep in the bayou of Louisiana, Henry’s life has been shattered. He never expected a second chance, a way to redeem himself. He’s been given an opportunity to return to his family, if he can fight off the evil threatening to take over Anura.

All Henry has to do is understand his new abilities, build a kingdom, and form an army to stand against the impending doom in this new fantasy world.

Just one problem.

He has to do it as a frog.

Sea of Sand (Dragon Heart #4) – Kirill Klevanski

He was born anew in a world where martial arts were indistinguishable from magic. He only received a neuronet and meaningless desires from his past life.

What lies ahead?

He dreamed of adventure and freedom, but those dreams were taken away from him. The same way his mother, father, and sister had been taken away.They took the Kingdom, they took his own destiny.

But he is willing to wage a war, against the whole world if need be, to bring everything back. Even if the army opposes him, his sword won’t waver. Even if the Emperor sends the legions, his step won’t falter. Even if demons and gods, heroes and enemies alike are to unite against him, he won’t bend to their will.

His own will is iron itself, unstoppable.

His name is Hadjar and he heeds the call of the dragon heart within him.

Valkyrie Doll and the Ashen Brotherhood (Deus Vult Wastelanders #3) – Adam Lane Smith

The Valkyrie revives in a coffin.

As she climbs from her tomb, she finds the end of the world has come and gone. Demons roam the blasted wasteland of what was once America. Humanity hangs by a thread and she, one of the last surviving Valkyries, is tasked with driving the rampaging legions back into Hell.

As she battles waves of demons, raiders, and mutants, the Valkyrie faces far darker questions: Does a created being have a soul? What does it mean to protect mankind as humans prey upon each other? When she confronts the cult of Moloch hidden beneath the ruins of an ancient abortion clinic, her burning need for justice may just prove more powerful than her orders to protect mankind.

The last survivors of humanity need her. Will she be our protector, or our destroyer?

Fantasy New Releases: 21 December 2019 published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/