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Pahrak Model ZX

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Blog Entries posted by Pahrak Model ZX

  1. Pahrak Model ZX
    In today's class we sang "Everything Is Awesome" and discussed the cleverness of old episodes of Spongebob before getting on to critiquing stories. One of the stories up was mine, which was the prologue and first chapter of my rough draft novel Divine Strength, and people actually seemed really into it and wanted more! (Which is what a good prologue and first chapter should probably do, I imagine.)
     
    I was thinking of doing something unrelated for story 2, but hey, if they want Queens, I shall give them Queens!
     
    ...I don't want to just keep ripping pieces out of my novel draft, though, so I'm writing up a new thing focusing on an event that happened a few centuries prior to the novel. It's going to be primarily a battle and in the process I discovered that one of the Queens is a magical girl, and I'm hoping to make people angry by making the first few pages seem like a semi-cheesy love story before letting everything go brutally and horribly wrong.
     
    That's what a good writer does, right?
  2. Pahrak Model ZX
    On April 23rd, an elite group of members will be executing a simultaneous name change to celebrate the release of the game Bravely Second.
     
    However! Our alliance remains incomplete! I present to you, our current roster!
     
    Former Vestal of Wind and now Pope of the Crystal Orthodoxy, Agnes Oblige, portrayed by Voltex!
     
    The ordinary farmer who was touched by the Celestials, Tiz Arrior, portrayed by Blade!
     
    An amnesiac who has already garnered a new reputation, Ringabel, portrayed by Ehks!
     
    Elite Eternian soldier who has gone on to reform her country, Edea Lee, portrayed by JiMing!
     
    Warrior from the moon determined to slay the encroaching demons, Magnolia Arch, portrayed by yours truly!
     
    Leader of the Three Musketeers and Falcon of the Gale, Yu Zeneolsia, portrayed by Dorek!
     
    Master Swordsman and Wolf of the Inferno, Jean Engarde, portrayed by Tekulo!
     
    But! We lack a member to portray the reliable recruiter and Bison of Solidarity, Nikolai Nikolanikov! We need YOUR help to complete this alliance and properly face the oncoming battle!
     
    If you wish to take Nikolai’s position, please say so in the comments, for we would be very grateful to have you!
     
    Fight bravely, my friends!
  3. Pahrak Model ZX

    Quick Question

    By Pahrak Model ZX,

    Hypothetically, if you were going to read a fanfic elaborating on the backstory of Ekimu and Makuta, would you rather see it take place in the Region of Earth or the Region of Water (for at least the first few chapters)?
     
    Because I may or may not be planning a short epic that will almost certainly be torn to shreds by future canon and I need to decide where they grew up.
     
    ,,,
     
    Hypothetically of course.
  4. Pahrak Model ZX
    I made it even simpler this time
     

     
    I was going to go with "Has Lego officially announced it", but then I remembered those BZP articles on stuff found through "guessing URLs" which apparently don't count?
     
    Aside from that one exception though the policy is really, truly, unbelievably, extremely simple.
     
    Feel free to use this handy image when teling people why you're closing their topics or whatever, staff, I won't even ask for anything in return
  5. Pahrak Model ZX
    I decided to make a content block for my blog with links to my library and sub-libraries (it’s on the left under the Asterisk Guide if you’re curious), and it got me thinking about how I haven’t been writing so much lately. I have been making slow progress on Divine Strength and The Kaita Legacy, and I’ve thought of plenty of ideas, and I guess there was that no context crossover, but the last time I actually posted a work here on BZP was…let’s see…September?
     
    I want to try to get myself posting stories here more frequently again. My first thought was going through my FFFC entries and rewriting them all a week or two at a time, or maybe writing new stories inspired by either the prompt for each of those stories or what each of those stories ended up as. Or maybe I could do a weekly blog entry advertising the new story (which I’ll probably do anyway) and also asking for any suggestions people might have for next week? I could also try tackling that list of ideas I have—I mean, several of them are non-Bionicle, but we have the OTC Forum; and a lot of them are ideas for larger stories, but I could either play with them in short story format or try to commit to writing a chapter a week.
     
    Of course, I should probably use this desire instead for writing Divine Strength. Also I’m not sure I really can keep a weekly schedule, especially with taking an actual Fiction Writing class again this semester (and I might post those stories in OTC, I’ll have to think about it). Biweekly like the FFFC would probably be easier, but I still don’t know, and there’s always the possibility of doing this monthly but I feel like that’s not exactly frequent. But, I don’t know, maybe this is an area where I really should try pushing myself…
     
    I guess part of the dilemma is that, while there’s still a lot of Bionicle fanfiction I want to write, I also want to try writing stuff that’s not Bionicle, and I want to post it here but I’m not sure OTC is a very busy place. I feel like this is obnoxious, but I want to gauge my chances of getting feedback on any of this stuff. I’ll post my current list of ideas (in spoilers because there are…a few), if anyone has any comments on these ideas or any of the possible methods mentioned above, I’d appreciate it.
     
     
     
  6. Pahrak Model ZX

    Mrgrgr...!

    By Pahrak Model ZX,

    So a new article popped up showing off Edea's new look, saying she's the leader of the Imperial Guards and will be one of the main characters of Bravely Second (though it doesn't specify if this means she'll be playable). Also there's something about judging the Asterisk Holders.
     
    Pretty neat.
  7. Pahrak Model ZX
    Asterisk Holder: Angelo W. Panettone (left)
     
     

     
    Origin: Bravely Second
     
    Was It In Bravely Default?: No
     
    Overview: This Job focuses on debuffing, and is said to be capable of inflicting ailments and lowering enemies' stats. Specific attacks seen thus far are "Charm Cake", which charms all enemies, and "Pie Meteor", which throws pies at an enemy until their stats go down.
     
    Personal Thoughts: This is going to be one of the best games ever.
     
    Update 1/23: New Magnolia image, role revealed and added to Overview
  8. Pahrak Model ZX
    Well, I just beat Kingdom Hearts II, and since I did entries for the other pieces of II.5 I figured I’d do one for this too. This is my fifth time playing the game, so I don’t really have that many new feelings, there were just a few miscellaneous things I thought of.
     
    (Contains spoilers for II, coded, and 3D)
     
     
     
     
    And now I want to replay 3D. I really shouldn’t, though, with school starting, and wanting to do all the extra stuff in II and BBS, and new games coming out in the coming months, and that game from months ago I bought but haven’t finished, and that new copy of Mega Man Star Force I bought because it was $7 and I am weak, and… *sigh*
     
    Anyway, II.5 is great, I recommend it. I have a feeling it’s going to influence my next name change again…
  10. Pahrak Model ZX
    What a coincidence: I just got the Asterisk Guide caught up, and Square Enix gives us some new info, including a new Job! This newcomer is the Exorcist Job, which has the ability to go back in time and negate turns. This functions primarily by resetting the target’s HP to what it was up to three turns ago; other uses remain to be seen. I should be able to make a barebones Asterisk Guide that I can post tomorrow.
     
    The remaining info was some fairly random bits. The staff members joked about how the localization team was going to have a hard time translating Amy Matchlock’s dialect; the reason Magnolia is fluent in English (in the Japanese version)/French (in the English version) is because everyone on the Moon speaks that language (haha okay); and EDEA IS CONFIRMED TO RETURN! No real details, BUT EDEA’S BACK THIS IS MRGRGREAT.
     
    It’s funny because I was just wondering when we were going to get more news—the game is releasing in about three months and I feel like what we know about it is a little on the low side. I mean, of course they’re not going to detail everything pre-release, but…I love knowing things!
     
    EDIT: Also there seems to be some bit about the rebuild the moon minigame. Like Norende, there are Enemies you can fight, but now you'll be able to use battleships to weaken them before you fight...? Apparently this (and the Exorcist Job) are going to be added to the demo so it should be clearer soon.
  11. Pahrak Model ZX
    Asterisk Holder: Currently unnamed old man (pictured right)
     

     
    Origin: Final Fantasy Tactics
     
    Was It In Bravely Default?: No
     
    Overview: We have been told that the Astrologer will use “Moon Magic”, which consists of powerful buffs including an ability known as "Element Barrier". Very little information is known.
     
    Personal Thoughts: Since Performer and Astrologer are both buff-focused, I’m curious to see how they will be differentiated. I find it odd that we’ve been told so little about the Asterisk holder—just that he’s a mysterious fortune teller—and since the Astrologer’s command is “Moon Magic”, I have to wonder if he’s related to Magnolia somehow. That could be interesting! I do like the general look of this Job, though I’m wondering what that weird contraption on the chest is supposed to be. Plus, the old man’s floating star halo is nostalgic. I guess he’s mastered the Job already!
     
    Update 1/23: New Magnolia image
  12. Pahrak Model ZX
    Asterisk Holder: Ayame
     

     
    Origin: Bravely Second (Many Final Fantasy games have had upgraded Mage classes with Wizard in their names—White Wizard, Red Wizard, etc—but the Wizard Asterisk seems to use unique abilities that set it apart as a new creation.)
     
    Was It In Bravely Default?: No
     
    Overview: Wizards use magic in two stages: select an element (Fire, Blizzard, Thunder), and then select a method of attack. Confirmed so far are Darts, Hammer, Blast, and Mist (causes steady damage over time like poison). This should provide a wide variety of attacks that can take advantage of foes’ weaknesses.
     
    Personal Thoughts: Well, it sure sounds powerful! Everyone seems to be focusing mainly on the Elemental Mists, and I can see why: encounter a hoard of ice monsters, unleash a Fire Mist to burn them all over time. It sounds like Black Mage is going to have some serious competition as offensive magic Job. Wizard is playable in the demo currently out in Japan, so hopefully I'll be able to find more detailed data to update this soon.
  13. Pahrak Model ZX
    Asterisk Holder: Fiore DeRosa

     
    Origin: Final Fantasy
     
    Was It In Bravely Default?: Yes
     
    Overview: As classic and iconic as you can get! The Red Mage has long been a Square Enix staple, a jack-of-all-trades who can cast a little White Magic, cast a little Black Magic, and swing a few swords. In Bravely Default they can cast all White and Black Magic spells through Level 4, giving them a very solid spellbook to work with, and they learn a variety of support abilities that give them chances to gain extra BP. Because of this, Red Mage is one of the most useful Jobs to invest in, because literally any Job can benefit from having boatloads of BP.
     
    Personal Thoughts: Throughout Final Fantasy, Red Mages are generally known for having snazzy hats. In Bravely, the hats have been ditched in favor of flashy threads and I am totally okay with it. When you first get this Asterisk, it’s one of the greatest Jobs at your disposal. This Job can cast White Magic AND Black Magic AND cause decent physical damage AND has BP-raising support skills?! What more could you want! However, later in the game you start really needing Level 5 and 6 spells, and your characters will be able to equip high-level White or Black Magic from their other Jobs while using a main Job that is probably better at physical attacks than Red Mage. Still, all that investment certainly doesn’t go to waste—all those BP-boosting skills will serve you long after Red Mage outlives its usefulness as a main Job, so it’s still a very key Job to take care of. And did I mention the outfits? They’re gorgeous.
  14. Pahrak Model ZX
    They are fun to write.
     
    One of the many things the Korra finale did was cement Varrick's status as my favorite character, and then I started wondering what would happen if he met the equally eccentric Hououin Kyouma from Steins;Gate.
     
    This is the best I could come up with.
  15. Pahrak Model ZX
    I finally cleared Birth by Sleep's Final Episode. I remembered what happened from when I played the game before, but for some reason I felt it a lot more this time. I'll admit to tearing up at the end of all three individual scenarios, but Final Episode made me actually cry multiple times throughout, and I still want to go cry about it.
     
     
     
     
    Part of me is kind of embarrassed to be crying over a video game, but as time goes on, I find more and more that this idea is kind of silly. Video games matter to people--they give us characters who can inspire us, and possess an interactive element lacking in other forms of media that draws us even closer to these characters. I think I'd care about Aqua even if Kingdom Hearts was a movie or book or what have you, but I also think it's a little different since I was just guiding her through an intense boss battle knowing that my choices (or mistakes) would determine the outcome. It's an interesting sort of relationship between player and character--admittedly no substitute for relationships with real people, but much less intimidating and with a clear outcome. Er, maybe I'm getting a little off-topic...
     
    What I guess I mean is that I want to stop being embarrassed about getting emotional over video games, because those emotions exist.
     
    So yeah, I cried my way through the credits of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, and the next time I feel hopeless, I'm going to try to think about that final line. And maybe that's okay.
  16. Pahrak Model ZX

    TOYS R US

    By Pahrak Model ZX,

    I love you even more as an adult than I did when it was socially acceptable
     
    I also love Amazon which let me pre-order Tahu, Gali, Pohatu, and Onua who will arrive soon
     
    And, of course, all the family members who gave me gift cards and money to afford all this
  17. Pahrak Model ZX
    Asterisk Holder: Einheria Venus
     

     
    Origin: Final Fantasy II (character), Final Fantasy III (Job) (called “Dragoon” in both)
     
    Was It In Bravely Default?: Yes
     
    Overview: Heavily-armored lance-specialists known for their jumping ability. Valkyrie is a powerful Job, starting out with an ability that allows it to attack the entire field at once, and then learning various jump attacks that prevents it from taking damage for a time before unleashing a powerful move. They also have a variety of nifty ways to manipulate MP and BP, as well as learning how to pierce Default, making them a tricky foe to take down.
     
    Personal Thoughts: Crescent Moon alone is enough to make this Job worth equipping as soon as you get it, and it only gets better from there. Jump and its variants have always been interesting: while you will avoid all damage while you’re in the air, you also can’t be healed, so it can be risky in a tough fight. Still, I’m sure many players find Jump very nostalgic and are perfectly willing to spam it, and hey, if it works, it works. Visually they’re a bit brighter than what I’ve come to expect from Dragoons, and then there’s the matter of the ridiculous skirt spears on the female costume. It looks weird at first, but you get used to it. I'm looking forward to using it again.
  18. Pahrak Model ZX
    Asterisk Holder: N/A
     

     
    Origin: Final Fantasy V
     
    Was It In Bravely Default?: Yes
     
    Overview: The basic Job one has without an Asterisk. Rather than having a unified theme, Freelancer outfits are whatever the character wears normally, though in Bravely Second three of the four protagonists do wear similar uniforms in their Freelancer Job. Though they don’t have any specialties, Freelancers do learn a variety of useful abilities, and gain a boost to all stats for every other Job you master. The majority of Freelancer abilities from Bravely Default will likely return in Bravely Second, though there will be a new ability called “Halfs” that allows a character to use a healing item on the entire party at once, though its effectiveness will be reduced to 50%.
     
    Personal Thoughts: Freelancer, in any incarnation, is one of those classes most people ignore until very late in the game. Bravely Default gave them more early-game relevance thanks to having abilities like Examine, Treat, and Dungeon Master. Mid-game, investing in a Freelancer will get you the wonderful JP Up ability, and of course mastering it gives you the ever-broken Mimic. However, the allure of flashier Jobs kept me from spending a lot of time in Freelancer until I realized I needed one of its abilities. Even with the stat boost that comes with mastering Jobs, I still feel like its command abilities aren’t worth setting it as your main Job, but that might just be because I’m comparing it to the wonderful brokenness of post-game Freelancers in FFV. Regardless, I definitely recommend spending some time in Freelancer to get a few low-level abilities and then switching back to get JP Up before you start your serious late-game grinding.
  20. Pahrak Model ZX

    Bravely CATS

    By Pahrak Model ZX,

    We’ve got some official info on Bravely Second’s new Cat Master Job. The Asterisk-holder, Minnette, likes taking care of cats (obviously) and assassinating people (eh?!). Also she lives alone and looks kind of sad about it. Meh, not enough to make me feel bad for her just yet.
     
    The Job itself, then. The Job’s command can translate to “Put to Work” or “Order”, and involves calling cats onto the field to do random stuff such as buffing the party or inflicting status ailments on enemies. Okay. They can also use cat food items, which will be dropped by monsters, to call cats out to actually attack enemies, and you can even combine foods to call out even more powerful cats…apparently too powerful, because the team wants to adjust it more.
     
    Cats are serious business.
     
    You know, now I sort of want to do a series of blog posts detailing what we know about each Job, similar to CHRIS PRATT’s Smash Files. Maybe “Asterisk Guide” or something, and it might expand to include other features (since I already post whatever I hear on the game anyway). I’m thinking I would set up the posts, put links to them on a sidebar on my blog, and then update those posts whenever we get new information—when the games are released, then, I could maybe even go as far as filling out all the abilities they get by levelling up. Would anyone be interested in seeing something like that?
     
    Also, a new Bravely smartphone game was just announced. It’s called Bravely Archive: D’s Report, and takes place in a magical library in an alternate future. Apparently it has some of the same characters as the browser game (Bravely Default: Praying Brage), and it’ll probably be somewhat similar. There’s also not much chance that either of these will be making their way to America anytime soon, but…in case you want to know, this is a thing. But they both have Edea. That makes them important.
  22. Pahrak Model ZX
    There have been a bunch of announcements recently but I haven’t posted any of them (and I haven’t seen anyone else posting them either), so I’ll summarize everything as best I can right now!
     
    First up, returning(ish) features. The main thing is that the Norende minigame will have a counterpart in this game—now, you’re rebuilding Magnolia’s hometown, which I must remind you is on the moon. So be sure to StreetPass everyone, because rebuilding the moon is very important. Also there will be a journal, U’s Journal, I don’t think they’ve said if it predicts the future or anything special though. Probably just standard in-game journal functions.
     
    We also have our villains! The guy who kidnapped Agnes calls himself Emperor Oblivion, which does sound pretty cool, and he’s going around with his military destroying things for reasons currently unknown. Also he’s accompanied by a fairy named Anne who looks suspiciously similar to…
     
    Well, anyway. A release date has been set: April 23, 2015! In Japan, of course. In preparation, a demo was just released (in Japan), and apparently has returning Asterisk-holders you can fight. Reports mention Kamiizumi, Praline, Einheria, and…unfortunately…DeRosa. But this is just the demo, so, who knows. Apparently the demo also includes the previously mentioned Amy Matchlock with her Tomahawk Asterisk, and that leads right into our next topic!
     
    Two new Asterisk-holders were announced, both of whom are designed by the creator of Soul Eater. One is an old man who doesn’t have an official name yet, but his Job will be Astrologer. There’s also a girl named Minnete Goroneze, using a Job called Cat Master. Yes, she and the artwork for Magnolia using the Asterisk are pretty much what you expect. Astrologer is usable in the demo, and uses Moon Magic that features powerful buff abilities. Also, it looks like Freelancer has a new ability that lets you use an Item on the entire party at the cost of reducing its healing effect by 50%.
     
    Confirmed Job List: (Jobs new to Bravely Second in bold, newly confirmed Jobs italicized)
    -Freelancer
    -Valkyrie
    -Red Mage
    -Time Mage
    -Performer
    -Tomahawk
    -Swordmaster
    -Wizard
    -Cat Master
    -Astrologer
     
    There should be 20 more Jobs, and we should be getting at least 2 more brand new Jobs, maybe more if old Jobs are cut (though I don’t really want to see that happen). Since Astrologer uses Moon Magic and Magnolia is from the moon, I’m expecting there to be some sort of connection between her and the Asterisk-holder, which could possibly be why he doesn’t have a name yet. Of course I could be entirely wrong.
     
    One more thing is a new feature called Consecutive Chance. If you clear the field of enemies in one turn, you can challenge another enemy with a chance to get increased rewards, x1.5 it seems. You can also chain this if you’re really good at clearing battles in one turn, with the reward chance increasing to x1.8, then x2, then x2.2; unknown if it can go beyond five battles. You will not regain BP, however, so if you used up a bunch of BP one-turning that first battle, you’ll be sitting ducks in the second. Use with caution.
     
    Also there will be a Collector’s Edition, but since that might be Japan-only I won’t tempt you with the details. I think that’s everything, though since the demo is fresh, there might be more to discover that just hasn’t been reported yet. I’ll let you know, and I’ll be quicker about it this time!
  23. Pahrak Model ZX
    "Huh, you made it past the Elite Four after all? That's actually rather impressive. But your challenge ends here. As Champion of the Akihabara Region, I, Makise Kurisu, shall show you what true power is!"
     

     
    ...I don't know, I just wanted to take a picture of some of my new Pokemon figs (plus some old ones) and still like the idea of Pokemon Trainer Christina.
     
    BTW the Elite Four would totally be Kyouma, Suzuha, Ruka, and Mayushii, feel free to give them whatever Pokemon you like.
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