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Pahrak Model ZX

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Blog Entries posted by Pahrak Model ZX

  1. Pahrak Model ZX
    Hey, remember that one comedy I started but then never got around to finishing?
     
    ...Well...one of the comedies I started but never got around to finishing? The most recent one?
     
    I finally wrote Chapter 8 of The Bionicle RPG You Never Wanted. Sorry it took so long. At least I was able to spin it into a joke! Anywho, this chapter takes the party through the last Citadel, so next chapter will start the final dungeon. I'm thinking the ending will run into chapter 10, and then I was considering doing an eleventh chapter with a bonus dungeon, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll try not to take so long for chapter 9!
  2. Pahrak Model ZX
    So over in Japan, Kingdom Hearts X did a “final episode” a few days ago, and a very short “special episode” today.
     

    These Are Obviously Spoilers As expected, the main event of KHX’s finale is the full-fledged Keyblade War. It does first take a moment to have a final confrontation with the Nightmare Chirithy, who reveals that the Guilt we’ve been using is actually the power of darkness, which gave birth to him—meaning you are his Player. What a twist! Then he absorbs some of those Heartless who used to be Players and attacks you.
     
    So anyway, Keyblade War! It’s…actually really, really dark! They show flashes of random players attacking, with the narration noting that they aren’t fighting monsters any more, they’re fighting people who used to be friends. You then proceed to fight, one after another, every Foreteller aside from your own. And then you collapse on the cold hard ground in the middle of a field of abandoned Keyblades as the rain pours down on you. Chirithy climbs onto your chest and holds onto you. Dang.
     
    Then it gets weird. Bright light shines down, and Skuld and Ephemer appear to the Player. So, you probably survive…I guess. That was the end of the final episode. The special episode is titled “Unchained 0”, and shows you and Chirithy wake up in Enchanted Dominion (Sleeping Beauty), where Chirithy says you’ve been having strange dreams ever since Ava invited you to join the Dandelions. Which was kind of a while ago. It’s already been said that X and Unchained X diverge somewhere, so I guess we know where, if not exactly how. The sucker punch is that it then shows Maleficent, and she says “Sora and his friends can’t find me here.” Hoo boy.
     
    Various theories I’ve seen include:
    -Maleficent can time travel (though I’m not sure how, given the requirements 3D established, so I’m not onboard with this one)
    -Alternate timelines (this isn’t something we’ve seen in KH thus far and seems to clash with 3D’s time travel plot…though, the Player waking up with memories that Chirithy remembers differently does sound a little like Reading Steiner…)
    -The “Unchained realm” is the realm contained within the Book of Prophecies (which might be accessible through Jiminy’s Journal), and this is where we are now
    -Player died and Daybreak Town became a Sleeping World, a projection of the Player was then generated to fill in the gaps in the dream, but now that projection has gained its own sentience and become “unchained”
    -Either X or Unchained is a dream within a dream (like what happened with Riku in 3D)
    -The possibility that the Book of Prophecies is actually a gateway to the Realm of Sleep
     
    And I just don’t even know, man, I don’t even know. But insane as it might be I’m actually kind of excited. Maybe II.8 will give us something to work with? And it isn’t really clear exactly when Unchained “season 2” is going to start, but hopefully soon. You know, soon for Japanese players.
     
    *goes back to playing Unchained and getting killed on Adamantite quests*

  3. Pahrak Model ZX
    I decided to sit down and watch the Re:coded cinematics in Kingdom Hearts II.5 today. Coincidentally, I just saw a post on another site reminding us of that tiny bit of trivia regarding its origins, and it also had a link to an article which I perused.
     
    One line that stood out to me was one of the staff members being interviewed who, reflecting on the initial pitch of coded, said, "At first the plan seemed terrible, but at the same time interesting." And I'm laughing because that's really all you need to know about coded.
     
    ...Well, okay, that's a bit oversimplified. There were some neat things that got to me while I was watching, and if you have some spare time, sure, it's worth taking a look at. If you get the relevance of all the things its referencing, at least. And, really, a large amount of the dialogue is just strangely painful (and not in the wonderful way like BBS), and I feel like some of the voice acting is a bit off too. (Though I'll make special mention of Roxas, I thought he was voiced quite well.)
     
    Anyway, in the end Re:coded is...not my cup of tea, though I will be trying to go easier on it in the future. I'll probably continue to parrot that line from the interview, though.
  4. Pahrak Model ZX
    The Time of the Mask Makers, The Final Swing, is live! It’s essentially a retake on The Legend animation, and finishes the tale of Makuta and Ekimu while creating the sparks that ignite the 2015 story. So I guess you already know what happens.
     
    I had a lot of fun with this story, and I’m eager to get feedback on the ending! (Maybe a little nervous too, ahaha…) At first I thought I shouldn’t write G2 fanfiction until we had more canon material to work with, but it was actually nice to take the springboard we’ve been given and see what I could do with it without knowing how close or far it would be from canon. So…I’d kind of like to do it again.
     
    Mask Makers has been pretty well-received, I think (my best-received epic in maybe forever), and I want to do more with this version of Okoto. Since there might be some life-related things coming up in the near future, I don’t want to necessarily commit to anything, but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to keep writing short epics or short stories with each new wave of G2, probably after the material has been officially revealed but before the story has really gotten to it. I’m sure it’ll only grow more and more distant from the canon, but I want to do that before realizing just how far I’m straying. And this way I’ll keep myself writing a little more frequently.
     
    So I’ve been brainstorming for what I could write on the summer wave. I think I want another flashback story, explaining where all these skull people came from, though this one will be going even farther back to justify the place they live in being termed the “Ancient” City. LoSS will also appear, since I want to justify him being the guardian of the City. I also want to give the skull people names, and I’m thinking I’ll just take names from G1 that currently aren’t in G2 and see who gets angry with me.
     
    After that, I sort of also want to make a short story where Ekimu is awakened and goes to battle Skull Grinder for the Mask of Creation, just to give some closure and tie the two epics together. I wonder if I’ll ever get to writing about the Masters, haha…
     
    I’ll put some more thought into the skull story and let you know if it gets anywhere. In the meantime, I’ll try to write some other stuff. I just did a short story for my Young Adult Literature class (we were allowed to do this instead of writing a paper!), but it was rushed and is stupid. I’ll probably post it eventually, but I might try to see if I can clean it up a bit first. And I’ll have another Fiction Writing story due at the beginning of April, so there’ll be that, too, if anyone’s interested.
  5. Pahrak Model ZX
    Like I wasn’t going to enter The Legend Continues. Come on. You can win The Artbook! Plus 2016 sets I wasn’t able to afford, so even if I get second or third it’s still awesome, but…mainly The Artbook!
     
    Er, anyway, I just posted Second Star! I should probably say it’s…rather long. Around 4300 words. I didn’t mean to get carried away, there was just a lot that I wanted to get in and even after cutting back I still had a lot left. Please forgive me. I got excited by the mention of that legendary tome.
     
    This story takes place a few years after the 16 story, and sets up a new plot concept with a new group of heroes. You can probably guess who from the title, but you may still be surprised to see who they’re fighting. Please check it out if you have the time!
  6. Pahrak Model ZX
    So I know I said I was going to write a few stories over break, but for some reason I just completely crashed and didn’t accomplish much of anything. I’m sorry about that—I’m starting to get back on track (since my third story for Fiction Writing is due soon), and I’m still going to get all those things up, it just might take a little more time.
     
    First up is Mending. This is a Queen story that began with an idea for a monologue, where the Queen of the Land says she can feel the entire world to make it even more unfortunate that she has been restricted to the queendom of Roche. It’s tied into the problems she and the Queen of Gravity are experiencing with their relationship, so I set it during the novel plot a bit farther ahead of where I currently am. This puts the Queen of Light in Roche and gives Land someone to monologue to (though I tried to make it more of a dialogue), and hopefully it’s vague enough that the plot I’m skipping won’t be missed.
     
    Since this was going to potentially be used for Fiction Writing it makes reference to the second story I submitted for that class, Divine Clash, so it might make more sense if you read that first. Also if you’re interested in the Queens I’m currently trying to make a decision regarding them, and help would be much appreciated!
     
    Next will probably be an original idea meant to be a “pilot” for a story playing with a concept from Japanese mythology. (I was also thinking of using this for Fiction Writing, but thought introducing one weird world per semester was enough. I have a draft, just want to edit at least a bit.) After that, there’s the piece I’m actually going to use for the class (another Queen story, also related to Clash and features the Queens of War and Fire) which is due on Monday and will be posted sometime around then, and the second chapter of Shooting Star Sonia which might have a little difficulty staying afloat in the near future but I will do my best to accomplish nonetheless!
     
    Also I do have a new idea for weekly prompts in mind (I might have mentioned this already?), but between school and other stuff I might not get to this until May. Which is a shame, the reason I keep mentioning it is because I’m really excited about it! I shouldn’t try too much at once, though, it can wait for now…
     
    On a completely unrelated note dreams are weird, in one night I dreamt about making Dragon Ball Z puns to put on cupcakes for Frieza, and Korra and Asami fighting a giant flying robot head with tactical support from Bolin and Varrick. Best dreams I’ve head in a while tbh.
  7. Pahrak Model ZX
    So the new multiplayer mode of the KH mobile game just...isn't that good, IMO. I messed around with it a bit when it first came out and I just haven't even considered touching it since.
     
    This week, they're adding a new avatar costume you can only get by playing said multiplayer mode
     

     
    These are the most beautiful costumes I've ever seen and I take back everything I just said. I am going to play multiplayer until I drop.
     
    Not sure where they came from, but I'm really, really hoping they somehow turn up in KHIII or beyond because something this gorgeous deserves a canon appearance.
     
    UPDATE: They are now mine
  8. Pahrak Model ZX
    That prompt seemed awfully daunting at first. A game with absolutely no violence? Is such a thing even possible?! But after a bit of brainstorming, I’ve developed a peaceful game that I want to throw into the ring.
     
    The Great Career Fair will need 12 players to get started, no more, no less. Each player will represent one of the professions available to Matoran in the city of Metru-Nui (two from each Metru), and every 24 hours or so we’ll randomly determine a type of event that you will have to book a venue for. Try to spend your money wisely and figure out how to make the most of your innate abilities so that you can convince as many Matoran as possible to pursue a job in your field!
  9. Pahrak Model ZX
    Pokemon Black and White 2 are out in Japan! *fist pump* So yeah, once the info starts rolling in, I may make slight changes to the Kyurem Spirit. But probably not.
    Anyway, on to the main event of today...
     
    Korra Thoughts, contain 100% spoiler concentrate, highlight to read:
    -Hey, the vagrant's back!
    -Fighter planes! We're in trouble now...
    -My first reaction to Tarrlok's revelation: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!
    -My second reaction: "Yakone and sons, bringing terror to Republic City for 50 years! Come to us for all your villainous needs!"
    -My third reaction: Amon's backstory is kinda similar to Kytan's in Bioni-Lords...there goes my thunder. D: Oh well, at least it goes to an awesome series.
    -My fourth reaction: Wait, did they just redeem Tarrlok? Tarrlok?
    -Hm...so, does Amon use bloodbending to jam their chi flow or something...?
    -Invisible fence, called it. Come on guys, use your heads.
    -Asami steals ALL the Equalist weapons! MECHA FIGHT!!
    -Taking down planes. Iroh the Second is officially awesome.
    -Wait wait wait, children bound and gagged? Isn't that a bit much...?
    -KORRA!! NOOOOOOOO!!
    -Seems the Lieutenant is going from "the Dragon" to "the Starscream." I approve.
    -So how do YOU like getting zapped, Amon? Also, this scene shows that it has became WAY too easy to bend lightning. Seriously.
    -Yay, she Airbends before the season ends! Although...how can she still use Air when she's lost the other three...? Ah, whatever.
    -The scar is fake? Hm, I was thinking that Amon had a firebender actually scar him to support his story, which would give him extra points in the commitment department. Oh well.
    -Actually, I was thinking the same thing as Bolin. Sure, you lost three elements, but at least you're not totally powerless, right?
    -Yeah, we get to see Bumi the Second! ...For about five seconds...
    -...Did Tarrlok...just...blow up the speedboat...?
    -Well, since bloodbending is what caused the problem, couldn't Katara use her own bloodbending on the next full moon and see if that helps?
    -I see why she's upset...she's always been so proud of being the Avatar, and now that's been taken away from her. This is an excellent chance for some great character developme--
    -AANG!! And Roku and Kyoshi and...other Avatars...
    -Wait, was that Energybending? So Energybending CAN restore bending?! The theories were true!!
    -AVATAR STATE! Had to happen at least once. Suprised it didn't happen sooner...
    -Well, we didn't get that character development, but I guess this is cool. Again...I love this show, but it moves quickly.
    -So Korra knows Energybending now...yay for Lin getting her bending back!
    -I guess when Korra goes back she'll be giving out free bending restoration. She'll be up for days...
    -Alright. When does Book 2 start? And what will it be called? And what will happen? I MUST KNOW.
  10. Pahrak Model ZX
    I caved and bought a new copy of Megaman ZX off Amazon. And it was actually new! It was in a case, and even wrapped in plastic. Rad. Anyway I’ve completed Easy Mode with Aile and most of Normal Mode with Vent so this seems like a good time to say stuff I guess.
     
    My memories of the first time I played this are a little fuzzy, but I do think I’m benefitting now that I actually know who all the Biometals are based on. ZX as a whole is a neat progression from the Zero series—it capitalizes on Zero 4’s proposition of humans and Reploids setting aside their differences by showing a future where the races have grown close enough that you can hardly tell which characters are which species. It feels a good bit lighter too. There are serious threats and some fairly precarious situations, but the locations and people tend to seem a little more optimistic, so even if trouble is starting to brew again it still feels like the world has really developed a lot during the interim. I really like that.
     
    And of course, this game is noteworthy for giving us a choice of protagonist! Differences between the two are typically pretty minimal (crawling speed, knockback), though there are a few that stick out more than others. In Aile’s story, Zero lookalike Giro says he’s already a member of the organization you end up working with, meanwhile in Vent’s story he doesn’t say anything of the sort. Plus, I noticed two or three very vague references to ZX Advent’s villain that only occur in Aile’s story. Basically Aile’s story is better. And when Vent beat Prometheus the first time, I got a scene that focused a little more on Prairie’s origins and essentially confirmed she’s…well, spoilers. So there is some value in replaying with both protagonists, especially with a certain bonus you get after clearing the game with both, but you don’t really have to if you don’t want to. Anyway, while Aile isn’t the first playable female character in the franchise (I only discovered this recently), this is the first time we’ve been given the option of a female character who actually drives the story forward and is treated on equal terms as the male option rather than being an unlockable bonus. Put more succinctly, she’s the first female Mega Man, which is still a huge deal. (And yeah, “Mega Man” is a gender neutral term here, more on that later.) This, plus a few of the characters introduced in Advent, make this series seem like it’s trying to break the gender stereotypes of the franchise, and now that I know this is important I’m even sadder it was cancelled. Aile’s great. We need another round of Aile.
     
    Right, so, “Mega Man”. It’s actually a term/title in this series, referring to anyone who can utilize Biometal, with this game showcasing three at a time (the protagonist, Giro, and the villain...well, five if you count Prometheus and Pandora, but anyway). There are even more in Advent. I feel like this gives it a slight meta quality, since now we have characters fighting each other to determine the best Mega Man and we’re sort of asked to decide what we want that term to mean. Even before this you probably could have had a debate on that subject: while some of the series just have a character named Mega Man, that isn’t always the case. X’s name is X, but you’ll never hear anyone not call him a Mega Man. Since Megaman Zero is a thing, can we call Zero a Mega Man? And while MegaMan Volnutt is named MegaMan, the presence of MegaMan Juno in Legends implies there’s more to it than that. (Too bad we’ll never know for sure!) So having ZX begin to play with that is neat, I think. And I like the fun with acronyms in the Biometals’ M.E.G.A. System (Meta Encapsulated Granule Awareness)…though I have to say the Japanese version is even more fun. Since Mega Man is Rock Man in Japan, they get R.O.C.K (Rebirth of Crystallized Knowledge), and rather than shout “Megamerge” when they transform, they actually, honestly activate their powers by holding up their Biometal and shouting “R.O.C.K. On!” You can’t beat that. That’s just incredible.
     
    And I’ve always loved the concept of Biometal. It’s a great way to bring back familiar heroes without technically reviving them or bogging down newcomers with needing all this backstory, and you end up with a good variety of abilities to play around with as you wander aimlessly around the map looking for the area you need to get to next. ZXA does give you a lot more forms to choose from, but while that’s fun they can be redundant or overspecialized, so you could argue ZX’s smaller selection is a bit better rounded.
     
    Anyway, that’s an overview of my thoughts on ZX. I don’t want this to be too long so I’ll leave it there. Now I need to justify buying a new copy of ZXA so I can give more coherent thoughts on the series and its place in the timeline.
  12. Pahrak Model ZX
    Don’t get too excited, Tournament 4 isn’t going up just yet. Having heard that a G&T contest is on the way in April, I’m entertaining the idea of entering it, and even if I don’t it’ll be difficult to compete for attention with all the entries that will be popping up. So I’m planning to host Technic Tournament 4 in 3D this May, in theaters near you.
     
    But I figure I can give you a little info. As always we’ll be having Bionicle G1 and G2, Slizers, and Hero Factory. Galidor and Knights Kingdom are also making a comeback, and one Exo-Force mech will be used in the Misc category alongside newcomer Metalbeard who can’t really be fit into a category. For the eighth category, after watching Star Wars Episode VII I really wanted to put those constraction sets in the game, so that’s what I’m going with.
     
    This is the first time in this whole series we’ll be having a game with no RoboRiders.
     

    Roster -Onua Mata
    -Avak
    -Akida
    -Uniter Lewa
    -Ski/Ice Slizer
    -Spark Slizer
    -Nathan Evo
    -Vapor
    -Allegra Zane
    -Jens
    -Jayko
    -King Mathias
    -Stealth Hunter
    -Metalbeard
    -Rey
    -Kylo Ren

  13. Pahrak Model ZX
    Things that need to be done for Divine Strength: improve characters, settle on worldbuilding details, structure plot, actual work
     
    Things I’m focusing on for Divine Strength: the Queen of Light’s hair color
     
    Yeah. The idea is that some Queens, when their body is charged with magic during the fusion of the human soul and the deity soul, have their hair color altered to a specific color. In the case of the Queen of Light, that color changes over the course of her life, acting as a gauge for how much of her natural lifespan is left. It starts out red, then shifts to orange after a few years, then on to yellow, green, blue, indigo, and finally violet for the years leading up to her death. The origin of this idea was stupid, but I feel like it’s interesting (if possibly silly) so I wanted to keep it. Plus, the novel plot involves a way for the Queens to lose their power, and I like the idea of the color draining from Light’s hair to show this.
     
    But recently I remembered that violet light has more energy and red light has less, so now I’m thinking it might make more sense to reverse the order above. That way it looks like the energy is gradually seeping away over time instead of intensifying for some reason. Of course, I’m always hesitant to make changes, and this would mean the Queen of Light in the novel will have purple or indigo or blue hair, which seems a lot more…anime. And that could be detrimental. (Then again, I’m already saying the Queen of the Sea has hair the color of the ocean, so…)
     
    Well, while I’m at it: I have an idea for the next chapter of Beyond Ruin. Rather than focusing on Light and Sea like I previously said, I’m thinking of doing something with Land (with appearances from Sky and Knowledge) to test out that one concept I was talking about, that the Magic of the World reacts to people’s feelings and beliefs. I just need to find the motivation to write it, which is something I’m really just not feeling lately…so, no clue when it’ll be up, but it’s in the works I guess.
  14. Pahrak Model ZX
    Asterisk Holder: Unknown
     

    Origin: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
     
    Was It In Bravely Default?: No
     
    Overview: Fencers are said to be able to increase their defense ("Bison Horn") and speed ("Falcon Claw"). They fight using special sword techniques.
     
    Personal Thoughts: We don’t have much to go on, so I can’t really say a whole lot. I’m not sure what sort of sword techniques are available that won’t overlap with Swordmaster, though. Apparently, in the Final Fantasy games where this is a Job, it inflicts status ailments, and a physical-based debuffer would certainly be interesting to see. No word yet if that’s when Luxendarc Fencers do, though.
  15. Pahrak Model ZX
    I just posted the first chapter of Beyond Ruin over in OTC! Again, I’m not sure this part does anything particularly new or special, so I’ll just summarize the basics of the idea here.
     
    Beyond Ruin is intended to be a set of short pieces fleshing out the characters and world of my work-in-progress story Divine Strength. It takes place at a point in time where the Queens, who have been constantly at war for the three hundred years since their creation, have just defeated monsters known as the Ruinous and declared a truce. This peace will (for the most part) last for thousands of years, at least up until the timeframe I want to set the main story in. Since this is a huge turning point for the Queens, I think this is a good time to explore their characters, as what they do now will come to define them for well into their future. The review topic also has a short FAQ that hopefully clears things up for newcomers, though if it proves ineffective I’d love suggestions to make it more user-friendly!
     
    Updates will be sporadic, but the second one should be up fairly soon—it’s done for the most part, I just want to edit it a bit. I hope you enjoy the story!
  16. Pahrak Model ZX
    Eh, you know, the idea got in my head, I’m impatient, the starting post is already typed up. But, like I said, I want to make at least a few more pre-release entries.
     
    Specifying on some points from my last post, I’m going to go with 13 points for profiles this time, and the headstart for fighters going against the fighter who made the most last round is going to be 500 W.
     
    I’m also considering that, with my next entry on the subject (which will have the release date), I’ll open early sign-ups, and whoever takes advantage of that will start with an extra 500 W, but I dunno?
     
    And of course, any last minute suggestions and such are always welcome. The date will be announced in a few days and the game will open late next week probably!
  17. Pahrak Model ZX
    Chapter 17 of Shooting Star Sonia has been posted, meaning the story is now complete!
     
    Not that the story’s gotten a whole lot of attention (though it is doing surprisingly well over on FanFiction.net), but it’s so rare that I actually finish a story, especially one this long! This is a victory.
     
    Despite taking long and frequent breaks, I enjoyed writing this story—I’ve known these characters for, what, almost nine years now, and it was fun to get to know them a little better and play around with their world a bit. It wasn’t always smooth, of course, so hopefully I’ve learned enough that I’ll do better in the future.
     
    I do want to continue the series, but I might need some time to rework Star Force 2 to a point where it feels…less bad. I make no promises. Stay tuned I guess!
  18. Pahrak Model ZX
    Wow, I was Pahrak #0579 for over a year. That's definitely a personal best.
     
    But I like the way my new name sounds too. Figured there's no harm in trying something different for a little while.
     
    Might take a while to get used to, though.
  19. Pahrak Model ZX
    Yet again, brainstorming new fanfic ideas instead of progressing on old ones.
     
    There are two oneshot crossovers I’m thinking of, but I’m also considering one other larger undertaking. Unchained X gave us an opportunity to create an avatar of ourselves within the Kingdom Hearts universe, but naturally, that’s been left as open as possible. So, I can’t help but consider the prospect of fleshing Pahrak out a bit more.
     
    It makes the most sense to start with backstory, but after that, I thought it might be interesting to continue on into a slightly-altered telling of Unchained’s story. Obviously there’s still a lot we don’t know so I might have to make some sharp turns later on to meet back up at the canon ending, but still, it could be fun. And I’d like to play around in this world a little more.
     
    It’ll probably be one of those “post as I have it” things, so I feel like I should pick a title before I really get started. I thought of just doing something simple like Pahrak of Ursus, and I do like the sound of that…but if I wanted something more appropriate for Kingdom Hearts, I’d probably go with something like Re: Unchained X – Oneirism for Avatar.
     
    Hm. I wonder…
  20. Pahrak Model ZX
    EXECUTE!
     
    So I can now play as my first Mega Man in Smash. The only way this gets better is if they eventually add my favorite Mega Man too. As soon as the servers get a break I am downloading this at once.
  21. Pahrak Model ZX
    I made some solid progress on another project, so I finally sat down and edited Right of Law Section III!
     
    This chapter is entirely made up of Krika trying to defend Nynrah from the army sent after Zaekura. Admittedly I don't have as much experience writing this sort of battle, but I think the result turned out well, and I'll of course strive to improve in either event. Makuta and Rahkshi give you so many options to play around with, though I do have to keep reminding myself that I can't use Shattering or Disintegration. No slip-ups in this part, at least!
     
    Next Section will introduce a new Makuta with a very unique skill. I hope to have it for you soon!
  22. Pahrak Model ZX
    Round 1 ends tomorrow at 10:30 AM EST!
     
    New players can join whenever, but it’s only going to get harder to catch up to the other players’ Widget counts, especially with the option of ending rounds early this game. Joining before the first round ends is your best shot at winning!
  23. 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!
  24. Pahrak Model ZX
    Asterisk Holder: Ominas Crowe
     

     
    Origin: Final Fantasy
     
    Was It In Bravely Default?: Yes
     
    Overview: Another iconic Job! The Black Mage can cast a wide variety of damage-dealing and debuff spells, making them your basic offensive magic unit. In Bravely Default, their Black Resonance ability powered them up when you had multiple Black Mages in the same party, though the lack of variety and low survivability of Black Mages makes this approach somewhat questionable. They also learn Damage Dispersion, which lowers the damage they take…by splitting it with their teammates…and Group-Cast All, which allows any spell to be cast on all foes (very handy).
     
    Personal Thoughts: Now, Black Mage is a nice, classic Job, and it can be pretty useful. But again, it’s tough to keep them alive. Also, when they’re out of MP, they’re done. Just plain done. And, as the game goes on, you keep finding newer more unique Jobs that can fill the same roles your Black Mage does, so…I’d say use them, get a feel for them, and don’t be afraid to switch back every now and then, but this might not end up being one of your main Jobs. Also, looking at the render, it seems to me Magnolia is irked that her hat is almost as tall as she is.
  25. Pahrak Model ZX
    I've posted a new story in Off-Topic Culture!
     
    She Understood is a short (under 2000 words) Kingdom Hearts story examining Kairi's thought process as she is about to begin her Keyblade training. Essentially, it's her reaction to being shoved outside of the plot constantly over the past ten years or so of the franchise, and only now being (sort of) brought back in because they need to fill a quota.
     
    Yeah, I'm...displeased with said developments. Preparations are certainly in place for things to turn around, but after seeing Dragon Ball Super heavily advertise Buu as part of the U7 Team only to replace him with Frieza of all people at the last second has renewed my worries.
     
    Come to think of it, this might actually be the first piece of actual fanfiction I've written about Kairi. Huh. Maybe I need to re-evaluate my actions as well...
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