Keizah the Kaleidoscope

Prose.

That helmet makes me really nostalgic for Bionicle '01, for obvious reasons.

LyraShe does her voice for the Fairy Tail anime.

A circle within a nonagon within a triangle within a circle.

Okay, is anyone else getting serious Noatak/Tarrlok vibes from the Ihkav brothers? Knowing Kytan's long-term future, the nightmare sequence in the beginning is both heartwarming and bitingly ironic. I've always had a thing for stories that involve dreamscapes, particularly as a way of showing hidden fears and complexes (a good example would be Bryan Davis' "Echoes From the Edge" trilogy).As for Xyla's part...wow. Just wow. Her fear of expectations and self-hate are so raw and realistic. You must be writing from some sort of personal experience to capture those feelings so well.

Yeah, sorry again about the barrage of fan-content at the end of last book. I imagine it messed with your rhythm quite a bit. ; Anywho, it's neat to see a little bit of the background behind the books. I already had the feeling that you were trying to do something different with the third book, what with the smaller group size, focus on the cast's flaws, and more mafia-style villains. You've done an exceptional job so far! ...don't fail us now.

I might actually consider that once my GS shows up....if my nerves don't get to me before I can start writing. :-/

It means distracting details that don't actually support the story. While some purple prose can help break up the action in a story and provide "flavor", too much of it can make one's writing very boring to read. ...Oh no, I'm letting my literature nerd show, aren't I? I like the way you described the family tree, sounds like you have planned this all out very well. Also, kudos on making Neiphelm's mysterious power...well, mysterious and powerful.

Wow...I think this chapter may very well be one of my favorites. I had to reread it a couple times just to organize my thoughts.Valxan's materialism was a really good call, it adds a lot to his design. It makes sense that the Va Champions have all had their personalities twisted in some way or another by the power of the King Bohrok. What's the expression? "Absolute power corrupts absolutely?" However, Valxan is still probably the most "moral" Va Champion, simply because he is aware that there is something wrong with his personality yet still able to live with himself.Should have mentioned this a while ago, but I noticed back when you were explaining the origins of the King Bohrok, the characters seemed to have some awareness of who the Toa, Bohrok, and Bahrag Queens were. Does this confirm my suspicion that the Bionicle universe is essentially the Bioni-Lords' mythology?Using a modified Russian Roulette as punishment is just brilliant, and it shows how reliant Gambler is on luck. Also, it makes more logistical sense than Virulence's "slap on the hand" gas or Meurtrière's flat-out murder. Of course, I guess different types of agents may need different kinds of "incentive." So far, it seems that Meurtrière's division specializes in assassination, Virulence's agents seem best at intimidation/terrorism, and Gambler's division might specialize in infiltration (or at least the Suit Bosses)...Also, I like how the characters are capable of doing actions that are not technically "attacks" (punching, kicking, utilizing their armor, etc.), it makes the battles just a little more exciting and unpredictable.

Hehe, ironically enough, it seems to be one of the most common battle strategies in the "Fairy Tail" manga. Or perhaps just a recurring joke. I hope I'm not annoying anyone by gushing about the emotional depth every chapter, but...you seriously were right on with Xyla's reaction to Tahra's confidence. I can remember those exact thoughts going through my head when I had performance anxiety.

That...was beautiful. Seriously, I love how you caught the emotion of the scene without using too much "purple" prose. Looking forward to this one, definitely!

You know something's wrong when Genekex is out-thinking you.I kid. Anywho, it was pretty funny to see Phaenyx's personality clash with Stratoro. I like how Stratoro's personality isn't quiet in the "cool" sense, but rather in the "off-putting" sense. Also, I love how these arcs have focused on the simpler strategic elements (weaknesses, abilities, etc.), especially since they tend to become less important in the "endgame" after characters start to develop Hidden Arts.

Don't feel obligated to apologize to us about taking breaks; real life has to come first. I think we can all respect that. Too bad about the reveal. Hopefully that easter egg pans out. Also, I was really excited to see an Accel World-based spirit on the index. Now I'm really tempted to make a Dusk Taker spirit....

Yup, that's definitely a remix of "Calling." *fanboy squee*

I was seriously expecting this chapter to begin with the caption "One off-screen beatdown later...." Genekex and Takashi seriously needs to learn to avoid offending people so often. This chapter had a nice "behind the scenes" vibe to it, especially the scene of Tahra lending Xyla her Jack Corvus. I know it provides more of a sense of suspense for the Element Lord battles to keep the orbs concealed, but an occasional glimpse like this is great. Having Kytan take Tahra's criticism in a positive light was an interesting twist. On a side note, the dialogue between Kytan and Tahra seems more mature than the other characters, maybe it's because they're more used to taking leadership roles. Also, I really liked the scene near the end. It seems that a lot of the character's unusual appearances tend to get passed over as part of the "other world" mystique, so it's kind of refreshing (in a twisted way) to see an example of that type of prejudice in Bioni-Lords.

That catchy music...that art style....is this what I think it is??!?!

Why thank you! Oh, and I'm a guy, I guess the female avatar and my unusually polite way of speaking might confuse that issue a little bit...I think I mimic my older sister a little too much... On to the chapter review, Genekex seems to share his brother's preference for versatile battle strategies. Gurren Lagann's attacks have a bunch of nifty side-effects, and Exo-Skrall MW's weapons seem to work well with that moveset.

I think that describing the appearances of characters of the opposite gender often feels more interesting than describing characters of the same gender. I've scrapped a lot of male designs simply because they start to bore me. Probably not the best reason, but meh, it's the internet.

Speaking of that...could you put a link to Exo's Desk on the review topic for the epic? It doesn't really matter to those of us who have it bookmarked and visit it freely, but I think it would be convenient for new fans.

Wow, it seems that every chapter brings a new, unique perspective. I had not considered that someone might support others for selfish reasons, but it really makes sense after reading that scene. On the other hand, there is such a thing as self-deception; she might simply be incapable of seeing herself in a positive light.Also, I love how Kytan and Genakex react to abandonment in completely different ways. It's hard to get the older/younger sibling dynamics just right, but you're pulling it off somehow.

And again, Tahra surprises us all with her insight into the other characters. It's a really interesting twist on her "aggressive" personality type; it seems she might actually a rather caring person underneath all her gruffness. I guess that could be part of the reason she delayed her quest to take care of her father...Voyager seems to have a very different approach to the war than Titan. Since he's interested in Genekex's development, I doubt he actually sees him as a competitor. I wonder if he's interested in the throne at all, or if his real goal is to end or prolong the war some other way... Anyway, I love how you interpreted Voyager's Royal Awakening, I always thought he could use more card-based attacks. I'm not sure whether they're intentional or not, but the parallels between Titan and Genekex's father are really intriguing. I'm guessing that a lot of his personal growth is going to come about as a result of learning to stand up for himself, since it seems to be a recurring theme for him.

I guess I'll just go OCD here for a bit and assign my Element-Lords themes, if that's alright: Strider = "Metal Harbor" - Sonic Adventures 2 Array = "X-MATIC" - Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend Kiryu = "Now or Never" - Nano

Oh my...Buu vs. Voyager? Seems we have a battle of imitators ahead of us, unless Voyager's effect works differently in the story. Also, good idea having the lightning rod be an actual spear, makes much more sense than having it generate randomly whenever he uses the attack.On to the main battle portion, I appreciate how you fleshed out the battle using dialogue and banter, although I'm not sure what the Cell Jr. thing was about...maybe it's because I'm not familiar with Dragon Ball.

I suppose that leaves light...I'll take it! Kiryu, male, 33, wild brown hair, pale green eyes, glasses, wears white and yellow robes, 5'7". Very eccentric. He's very fond of puzzles and strategy games, often irritating his challengers by delaying their battles for days so he can enjoy his hobbies. Because he values intelligence above all else, in battle Kiryu tries to challenge Bioni-Lords as much mentally as he does physically. #749. Exo-Paladin, #544. Chozo Suit Hunter, #588. Light Fuser (usually fused with Aslan), #1096. Aslan, #902. Solar Flare Armor (usually fused with Keyblade Samurai), #925. Keyblade Samurai

Oh, okay, as long as I'm not coming across as a snob or that one evil English teacher we all had somewhere in elementary school.