Sandy

After a month of frustration and uncertainty, Hero is back! Yes, [B]Issue#4[/B] (the second one, written by me) is up, and the show can go on! My issue is a bit on the shorter side, but hey, I'm Finnish, so what can you expect? I hardly talk, so I'm not much of blabber in the writing section either. ;) Okay, I am, but at least I don't blabber too long. :p Anyways, I hope you like it, and now that I got to the taste, I'm eager to continue! :toothy: EDIT: One piece of Viveca artwork coming through! Not exactly my best work, but it's at least something... The picture is a styled version of the meeting of Viveca and Frigida. Hope you like it...

[center][b][font=arial]Issue #4: Idol[/b] [/center] Standing on the roof of a twelve stories high building, Jolinda Goode looked back on her life. How she had left her home town of Redeem, had arrived to Key City and had become the living legend known as Viveca deVita. Wrapping her bathrobe tighter around her, she leaned carefully over the ledge of the roof to take a look at the street below. The entire block was surrounded by police-cars, TV-vans, flashlights of cameras, and pointing passers-by. She was the center of this show, like she had been ever since her husband had discovered her from the street. Jolinda pulled back from the ledge, struggling against tears. She had trusted him so much, and now it was revealed that it had all been a lie. Her husband, Larry B. Goode, had really been no good at all. In the verge of despair Jolinda wanted to shout down to the crowd below to leave her be. ?I want to be alone?, Jolinda sobbed by herself. It was only an hour since Jolinda had seen the morning newspaper and read that her husband had been seen kissing a woman that most certainly wasn?t her. There was even a photograph included. In no time her penthouse was surrounded by the press. It was a social scandal, and most probably the end of Viveca deVita. ?I never wanted this! I didn?t ask for this!? Jolinda cried out. Then she remembered an event when she had said the exact opposite. That the life as Viveca deVita was everything she had ever hoped for... Half a year ago Larry had brought Jolinda as an avec to a charity banquet organized by Parasol Studios, Jolinda?s employer. Dressed in a white gown with golden ornamental patterns designed by the famed Giorgio himself, her bleached hair in a skillful set over her head, she had entered the ballroom, turning heads as she?d walked onwards. All her colleagues-in-acting were present, as well as many other celebrities of Key City. However, none of them had caught Jolinda?s eye like the blue-skinned and silver-haired miracle in white-and-blue uniform. Jolinda had never been that close to a Guardian before, although she had once starred as a Guardian?s girlfriend in the movie [i]My Hero[/i]. She had asked Larry about the female Guardian?s identity, as the ones with the force were so numerous that Jolinda, a relatively fresh citizen in Key City, couldn?t possibly remember them all. ?She is called Frigida, the Winter Witch?, Larry had answered knowingly. ?She uses her freezing touch to deep-fry evildoers - or at least she used to. Now the rumors say that she is trying her best to retire from the job, concentrating on spreading the good word for the Guardians.? ?But she doesn?t look that old to me?, Jolinda had wondered. ?That?s her abnormal powers doing the trick. Cold skin doesn?t wrinkle, you know.? Jolinda had approved her husband?s answer, never questioning the unusual amount of knowledge he had about the faction called the Guardians. For a while Jolinda had circled from celebrity to the next by her husband?s side, but then her eyes had met Guardian Frigida?s. Her curiosity had taken over, and she?d walked to the blue-skinned woman standing temporarily alone. ?Excuse me, you must be Frigida, one of the fabled Guardians. My name is...? Jolinda had started. ?Viveca deVita, I know. I?ve seen a couple of your films. You are talented, I must say?, the Guardian had replied. Although her words had been kind, Jolinda was surprised by the harsh coldness of her tone. ?Oh, with talent always come responsibilities, don?t you agree?, Jolinda had mused, trying to say something intelligent to the impressive figure. ?I certainly do?, Frigida had admitted. ?You and I are not that different, I reckon. Living on the spotlight constantly can wear you out on the inside. Trust my words; I?ve done it ever since they invented spotlights.? ?Are you really that...?? Jolinda had begun, but had swallowed her words instantly. The Guardian had nevertheless understood her question. ?Yes, I am that old. I?m not afraid to admit it, since it doesn?t really show.? ?Are the rumors true then? Are you really going to retire?? ?I?m afraid so. There are plenty of younger Guardians to capture criminals now. There?s no need for an old hag such as myself to get involved. I can say I?ve done my responsibilities in the past, and this fatigue is the price.? Frigida had turned her face towards the high windows of the ballroom, letting the full moon reflect from her clear eyes. ?You are still young, Viveca. You should consider what you are doing. Is this kind of life what you really want?? ?Of course it is!? Jolinda had replied innocently. ?Look at me: I?m wearing a Giorgio dress in a room full of celebrities! I have an amazing husband who takes me abroad and gives me expensive gifts. I live in a penthouse downtown, where the housemaids do all the chores. My work involves screaming at monsters and kissing attractive men, so I have no stress there either. Everybody gazes me in awe! What else could I possibly hope for?? ?What about privacy?? Frigida had asked seriously, her breath steaming as she spoke. The Guardian had turned her icy glare at Jolinda, making her extremely uneasy, like the eyes could see straight to her heart. ?What about it? I think it is a small price to pay for this kind of luxury. Believe you me when I say that this life is everything I?ve ever wanted.? ?As I said, you?re still young, so you?re bound to realize that life just doesn?t work that way.? Frigida?s chilling voice had sounded almost insulted. ?Goodbye now, Viveca deVita, and may your glee last as long as possible.? Their conversation had ended there, and the Guardian had turned her back on Jolinda and walked away. Jolinda had never seen Frigida again, or heard about her in the media. She reckoned that the Guardian had finally found her peace. Jolinda Goode, still standing in a bathrobe on the roof of her luxurious penthouse surrounded by a gasping crowd, knew that the same thing could hardly be said about her at that moment.[/font]

One word for you: cliche! But if you want to make this into a decent RPG, I suggest (on the basis of the pretty funny title) that you OVERDO it, make it into an exaggerated comedy. That way you can still use all the things that have been seen numerous times in the history of roleplaying games AND laugh at them at the same time! :D So put a little more effort on the characters (reduce the amount of knights to five or less!), make them moronic or sarcastic or ironic or whatever your taste of comedy is, and you have yourself a good game to work on. ;)

A constructive advice for you, Misenki: play before you create! What I mean is that you should experience the world of OB roleplaying by signing up to other people's games first. Then and only then you know what is required from a good RPG, and what makes it a flop. After you're absolutely sure you have a good, if not great, idea for a game of your own, then you go ahead and make one! I often hold back my own ideas until I'm sure it is ready enough to last at least few pages - or more importantly, people will enjoy playing it. That's the key, simply put.

Yes, it would be very foolish to start a game with an already existing story. I've played Golden Sun: the Lost Age, and although I really like the world with all the secluded continents and presence of the four elements, the plotline wasn't that brilliant IMO. Besides, there's bound to be Book Three in the series, as the plot didn't really end when the actual game ended. What I suggest you do is you take the world with all of it's unique features, add few of your own, invent a fully original storyline located in a completely different time, and either make a selection of characters yourself or let the joining players create their own. One possiblity for a story could be to place it into the Golden Age that was lost (you know what I mean if you know the story in the games). So it could be kind of a prequel... But the decision is of course all yours, inti. :)

It is now clear that the makers of this movie have managed to cram all important characters in FF VII into it. The most recent character to make an appereance is [B]Yuffie[/B], and there's even a screenshot of the redone flashback scene with Cloud and [B]Zack[/B] on the back of a pick-up truck. Actually they're still missing [B]Cait Sith/Reeve[/B] and [B]Elena[/B], but I'm sure they'll be in it some way. It makes me wonder how in-depht all these characters will be in the movie that is supposed to be only one and half hours long... How is it possible to cover up all of them?

I actually never forgot about myHero site, I went to check if it was updated several times, but my problem was that I didn't have a slightest clue on what to post there! I know, I should've asked you, Shy, but... I'm still waiting for my part to really start in the game, so I've kept quite a low profile with this. I've got few pieces of art for my character done, (and planning to do more), and I'll post the best ones of them in the near future. But now I'm just anxiously waiting for that special PM from Shy, where my character (Viveca deVita) finally gets her power... Until then.

Out of all the rpgs I've created in the past few years (and there must at least ten of them), a total of THREE has been concluded - I can even give you their names. The first was the [B]Unofficial OtakuBoards Survivor: the Freakshow[/B] - a game that had a clear goal in it - to outwit, outplay and outlast all the other players. I'm afraid that I can't really remember who won it... :( The second one was [B]Digimon Masters[/B], which I practically [I]dragged[/I] to the end, meaning that the entire Final Showdown between the Digidestined (known as Masters in the game) and their villain was never actually written, but the final post made by me was an epilogue after the pretended events. Also, many people quit the game, but me and few others, like Solo, Ginny and Ben, pulled their characters with us to the end. (Yes, you can actually do such a cheap thing! ;) ) The third, and the most recent one, was of course my last year's Grand Project, [B]Final Fantastic Survivor[/B], combining two themes I adore into one in a very peculiar way. This also had a straightforward target, and with the effort of the finalists, Ginny and Desbreko, I managed to steer that game into it's end as well. So finishing an rpg is possible, but by no means it is easy. Actually (and I'm sad to say this), I've never participated in an rpg made by somebody other that has ended (of course not meaning that I'm the only one can do that, so don't jump into any conclusions!). But I have great hopes in Shy's [B]Hero[/B], which I'm ANXIOUS to get to write in! (Check out the game's system and you'll understand what I mean). Personally I'm holding back my fresh RPG ideas until I find one so UNIQUE and INTERESTING that it will come to an end - that's my goal. ;)

This if [I]finally[/I] up! Like I said I would, I'm now going to apply. (This is going to be [I]good[/I]...) [color=plum][B]Name:[/B] Jolinda Marilou Goode, born Benson, alias Viveca deVita [B]Gender:[/B] female [B]Age:[/B] 21 [B]Biography:[/B] Hailing from the Middle States, Jolinda Marilou Benson was brought up in a small town called Redeem, very typical to the area. Her family consisted of a farmer father who was overly religious, housewife mother who was overly subdued, and seven elder brothers. In her childhood Jolinda was hard-working and strong-willed - she had to be if she wanted any attention in the family she had - , but there was always she felt was missing in her life, and that thing bothered her. So when she reached the age of eighteen, she decided that her life was somewhere else than in Redeem. The road led her to Key City. When she first arrived to the city, she thought it would devour her in an instant. Then she noticed posters of the latest movies being played in local theaters, and a whole new possibility opened in front of her. From that moment, when she stared at the posters of "Monster of the Blue Lagoon" and "Much Ado About Anything", she decided that she was going to become an actress. The road led her to Parasol Studios. A year and another passed in auditions and doing minor roles in minor movies, but Jolinda didn't give up. There was no returning to Redeem now. Finally fate interfered, and Jolinda met the man of her life: Larry B. Goode. Larry showed her the tricks of the show business, and in no time Jolinda starred in her first leading role in "Uncanny Casanova". The fame surrounded her instantly. She posed in the front page of several magazines, and moved in with Larry B. Goode to a luxurious penthouse downtown. Finally the road led her to marriage. Third year in Key City passed, and Jolinda Goode, now known as Viveca LaVita to the public, enjoyed her life in the spotlights. She starred in three more movies, and they all were big hits. Then came the fateful day when the postman brought the morning newspaper. In the front cover was printed a large photograph of the famous manager Larry B. Goode fondling what seemed to be a prostitute. "SCANDAL!", the headline glowed. In no time the press had poor Jolinda surrounded to her penthouse appartment. The only possible road led her to the roof... and this is where her story really begins. [B]Personality:[/B] During her three years in Key City Jolinda went through a metamorphosis in this area: from the diligent and honest Jolinda Marilou Benson to the spoiled and self-centered Viveca LaVita. Her dreams of fame and fortune ultimately crushed her old self - one of the oldest stories in the world. The common people worship her, but to her colleagues and even to her husband she appears as a pretty pathetic figure, and in her darkest moments she feels the same way. Despite growing up in a very religious environment, her beliefs are only superficial. In the end of the day she's not even sure that the life in luxury is what she really wanted... [B]Profession:[/B] As said in the biography, Jolinda is a semipopular filmstar. [B]Appereance:[/B] [img]http://otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=19980[/img] This is the picture I did of her earlier today, showing her in her filmstar outfit. Her true haircolor is dull light brown, and her features are pretty at the most, far from beautiful. [/color] Well, I certainly gave my best! I'll stay and wait for the result...

[B]Updates! Spoilers! Updates![/B] Unless [I]somebody[/I] didn't know this (which I highly doubt), several new (or old, depending on how you look at it) characters have been revealed to appear in Advent Children. [spoiler] Most surprising - yet most wanted - is of course everybody's favorite Mary-Sue [B]Aeris[/B]. She seems to appear on a supernatural field of some sort with her slayer Sephiroth - perhaps we can expect a duel in afterlife? Just this week both [B]Cid [/B] and [B]Red XIII/Nanaki[/B] both appeared on a scan, but nothing else was informed about them. A totally new character is a boy named [B]Denzel[/B], who apparently gets the Planet Scar Syndrome, aka Geostigma. There's a small picture of him bedridden with Marlene standing next to him. [/spoiler] Also, the official site contains lots of new stuff, including the profiles of Tifa, Barret, Vincent, Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz, and a marvelous [B]trailer in English[/B]! You absolutely have to go check that out! Lastly, here's a link to the scans (this is a site in German, but one should be able to find what one wants pretty easy - just look for the name of the movie): [url]www.squarenet.info[/url]

Neil Gaiman is my number one favorite author at this moment. Well, he's not perfect, but he has the best stories I've encountered this far in my life. I've read his novels "Neverwhere", "Good Omens", "American Gods" and "Stardust" (well, that's just about all of them, excluding "Coraline") and the gathering of short stories "Smoke and Mirrors". His dark humour and magical realism are something that touch me deeply. Everytime I read something by him I get sucked into the world completely, and I find it hard to lay down the book until it's finished. To my opinion his books have all the features that are required from a excellent piece of literature. Great man, he is, and it would be great to meet him in person.

A lot of new information about the game has been revealed during and after E3. I'm sure many of you who are interested in the game already know this stuff, but I'll just do a quick review on them. Most of the info comes from the sites [U][url]www.square-haven.com[/url] [/U] and [U][url]www.ffxii.net[/url][/U]. I'll start with the characters: - six playable characters have been announced: [B]Vaan[/B], who is acting as the main character of the game, his [spoiler]assumed girlfriend[/spoiler] [B]Penelo[/B], princess [B]Ashe[/B] and her companions [B]Balthier[/B] and [B]Fran[/B], and the newest character, [spoiler]errand knight/general[/spoiler] [B]Basch[/B] [spoiler]who according to my theory is Penelo's older brother[/spoiler]. If you want more spoilers on them, just visit the two sites mentioned above. Also many details from the storyline has been revealed, mainly concentrating on the relations of Vaan, Ashe and Basch: they are all linked together by an NPC called [B]Rex[/B], who is [spoiler]Vaan's big brother, Ashe's husband, and Basch's colleague in knighthood. Rex is killed by Basch in the opening sequence of the game because he - along with Ashe's father the king - betrayed the people of Dalmasca. Basch seems to be a man of very extreme methods... Only the creators of the game know how both Vaan and Ashe tolerate Basch's presence in their party - maybe they just don't know...[/spoiler] Many aspects of the battle system have been revealed as well, such as no separate battle-screens, mobile and intelligent enemies, new branch of magic (called Green, including status enhancements and -ailments), Gambit-system to control the other two characters in battle besides the leading character (I didn't quite get this one yet), weapons that level up (?), and many other quirky stuff you can read from the sites. To my delight I can say that I'VE SEEN MOOGLES! Yes, those furry guys are coming back cuter than ever! (well, not as overly cute as in Crystal Chronicles, but anyways...) New screenshots show them, as well as members of other races, so check them out! Lastly, PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES! Loads of new pictures, both FMV and in-game screenshots can be viewed at the two sites I mentioned (and of course in various other sites, but those two have the most). I know I said earlier I don't want to spoiler myself with this game, but I think I've lost control of myself. But maybe when this game finally comes out in my country after few years I've forgotten about all the spoilers... or not. Well, I can only spread the FF-fever to others now, so enjoy the spoilers! :smirk:

IIH!!! It's Tifa! It's Vincent! It's Reno and Rude! It's a bunch of Sephie-clones! IIIHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!111 I'm turning into a screaming fangirl right this moment! :toothy: Who do you think the little (?) girl in the last picture is? Is it Yuffie? Or maybe Marlene? Heh, this movie is getting more Matrix-y with every new picture. ;) Just don't know if that's a good thing or not...

Bleh... Well, I guess a delay in publishing can only be a good thing, since we get a better game as a result. This goes with the old saying: "when you do something, do it good" (or something like that), meaning that you should give time to whatever your doing, instead of rushing it. Although this stunt may seem bad for advertising (thinking that fans might get bored of waiting), I think the opposite: now the hype will have more time to grow, and when the game is finally released, it will get sold-out in a minute. ;)

It's not just you; that is a fact. ;) Of course there are us who don't think "fruity" is a bad thing at all. :toothy: I reckon the main reason FF-series doesn't have macho musclemen-type heroes is that the game designers are doing their best to avoid stereotypes - although FF-heroes are beginning to be a stereotype of their own. If you haven't noticed, all the main heroes have quite a personality (at least in the beginning of the games), and even features that aren't that likeable (such as Tidus being a whiner, Cloud being a heartless biatche, Squall having this "I don't care if the world explodes"-attitude...). But hey, isn't that what makes them so appealing? ;) Who can say what our newest friend Vaan will turn out to be?

[font=century][color=royalblue] The wheel of the sun was descending towards the western horizon when Serisay, Logan and Cortez finally arrived with the blue chocobo Serene. ?We found this one from a small stream long way southwards from here?, Serisay told to the others. She pointed at Cortez, who was soaking wet. ?His first attempt to catch this bird went literally down to the drain.? Cortez looked even more sinister than usually, so everybody tried to cover their amusement - many of them failing miserably. Gale turned to Chap, who attached harness to Serene while wiping away tears. ?Was this the last?? ?Umm... Yes, this was the last! You should get going now, I mean right this moment. Night is falling rapidly, and Camelot is a darn long away.? The rancher nodded his head a bit too enthusiastic to Gale?s opinion. He stared at the youngster suspiciously. ?Didn?t you say that you had eight chocobos? I only see seven. Where?s the grey one you mentioned, Donkey?? ?Oh, he... died. Yes, he was very old, that poor thing. Now, you should get going...? ?When did that happen?!? Beatricia asked in disbelief. ?I was with you the whole time!? Sweat started dripping from the forehead of the rancher. He twisted his hands nervously. ?Uh...? Suddenly a loud ?kwark? echoed in the air. ?It came from the stables?, Cortez said, dashing inside the large building. The others followed him quickly. All of them scattered to search the interior of the stable, while Chap remained at the doorway. Another ?kwark? came from the back. ?Here he is!? Cortez hollered. And indeed, there at the back of the stables, half covered to a stack of hay stood an extraordinary chocobo with ash-grey feathers and two floppy ears. Donkey kwarked happily when he saw so many people giving him their full attention. Cortez grabbed the weird bird by its plumage and escorted it outside, followed by the rest of the bunch. ?Cheater?, Kaeli hissed to Chap when she passed him on the door. Others gave the chocobo rancher despiteful glares as well. When Gale reached him, he began explaining. ?I didn?t mean to trick you, sir! I just don?t want to give my precious birdies away, you understand? I?ve raised them all with my own hands...? Gale put his hand on the youngster?s shoulder consolingly. ?No need to explain, Chap. It?s hard to give up things you love, I know. But I promise you we?ll take excellent care of your chocobos.? ?Thank you, sir?, Chap muttered. When Gale stepped out of the stables, Logan walked to him. ?Geez, you?re really getting soft, Gale!? the mage smirked. ?It must be the company of other people that?s doing this to you.? ?Yes, I?m beginning to think about taking one of these birds and running as far from here as the bird can carry me?, Gale murmured dryly. But he knew his old friend was right. This journey was changing him already, even though it had only lasted one day. Then he pushed these thoughts out of his mind, and stepped back to his role as a leader. He stepped onto a pack of hay so that everybody could see him. ?Alright, people, gather around. And take those big chickens with you as well. We?re going to decide who gets which now.? Now Gale had a perfect view of his little army: seven people from all walks of life, a walky-talky machine and a moogle, and eight chocobos of different colors. Chap had appeared next to him, holding the harness of his favorite chocobo, the yellow Jeune. ?I don?t know if I told you this yet -?, the Chocobo Rancher said, with a new hint of pride in his voice. ?- but I?ve taught my chocobos some skills so they can fend for themselves. Ruby can shoot small flames from his beak, and Bianca can do the same with icicles. Ebony can blow a blinding cloud at her foes, and Serene has a supersonic shriek that prevents spellcasting.? ?Sounds like magic to me?, Logan said a bit surprised that a bunch of birds had same talents as him. ?That?s not all. Willow?s spit is poisonous, so be extra careful with his beak. Mandarin is the fastest of them all, and she can do a nasty double-kick with a whirl. Then there?s Donkey, who has great psychic powers, but he?s too darn stubborn to use them when asked.? Everybody was quite impressed of Chap?s training skills, but he acted modest. ?Just thought you should know...? Gale thanked Chap yet again, and then distributed the chocobos. Beatricia wanted to ride the loyal Boco, and Gale didn?t start to argue with her. Aster got the fiery Ruby, and Cortez wanted Ebony to match his dark outfit. Logan took Serene, and Biggs and Wedge got the green Willow. Kaeli choose the enthusiastic Mandarin, and Serisay got the noble-looking Bianca. That meant that Gale was left with the stubborn Donkey. ?Do you think it?s wise to ride to the Misty Moors this late?? Aster inquired Gale, as he was attaching Gilventure?s sheath to the harness. Gale gazed to the darkening sky. The full moon was rising towards the zenith already. ?Maybe you?re right. We can rest here this night...? Gale?s eyes widened as he saw a shadow passing the disc of the moon. He recognized that shadow too well ? not even a day had passed when he?d seen it last. ?Forty fiery fiends!? he cursed. ?Sudden change of plans, everybody! We?re leaving [i]right now[/i]!? ?What? Why??? Aster asked confused. ?The Waltzes have found us!? Gale shouted, jumping on Donkey?s back. [/color][/font] OOC: Back again! Hopefully this post will be enough to revive this game. Let?s all aim to that, alright? ;) Oh, and in case somebody wonders, Waltzes were the black-robed, raven-winged monsters the Queen sent to track Gale and Beatricia earlier in the game. Yes, they?re practically snatched from FF9. :toothy: The Waltzes are supposed to be extremely tough to defeat because their great potency in magic, but we?ve gathered a party of eight (riding chocobos who can fight), so I think we?ll survive. ;)

OH WHEEEE!!! Do you know how good you made Sage feel now, Semmy?! EXTREMELY GOOD! I mean, WRITING-IN-CAPS GOOD! I've been waiting for a new character to show up for SOOO long, and I'm a total sucker for characters!!!! Alright, let's try to calm down now... *breathes slowly* Hmm, Pannero... I don't know if I like the name, but I reckon it will slightly change once the "true form" is revealed, like to Panerot or Pennelot or I don't know what. Well, whatever her name is, obviously she's the Relm/Yuffie/Selphie/Eiko/Rikku of this game. ;) [B]EDIT:[/B] I read from Rpgfan that Pannero/Pannelo is actually [spoiler]Vaan's quarreling girlfriend[/spoiler]! So the good news is that there's hardly going to be a [spoiler]romance between Ashe and Vaan (although how much of a gigolo the protagonist is)[/spoiler], but the bad news to me specifically is that [spoiler]Vaan's not gay after all - no matter his cutesy looks[/spoiler]! :bawl: The site also said that Pannero/Pannelo is a singer/dancer. Maybe she uses similar techniques as the FFX-2's songstress dress-sphere had? Those abilities were pretty innovative, I must say...

Excuse me Fate, but how can you say you hate Puck, since he is only a very minor character appearing only in two scenes? ;) What's there to hate [I]or[/I] like in him? As fir the subject, my opinion is that FFIX, although I really liked the game, doesn't need a sequel. I can't really imagine anything that was left unclear in the game (unlike FFVII), and the world and characters weren't [I]that [/I] interesting. Quite shallow, actually. Basically there's nearly nothing in the game that is worth transferring into a sequel. Let's just stick with waiting for FFXII. ;)

Actually there is a new manga-series in Japan called Digimon Chronicles, featuring at least three new stereotypical digidestined: a goggleboy, a loner and a girly girl. Their digimon partners are (respectively) bestial Dorumon, dragonish Hiryuumon (or something like that), and feline TobuCatmon (not sure about this name either...). Well, I don't know much more about it, but there're bits of information scattered around the net, so go and search if you're interested.

[FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue] [I]Gale observed the hyper-active orange bird carefully. It would make its move any moment... "Kweh!!" Mandarin the Chocobo squeaked and dashed to a run towards Serisay. "Seize it!" Gale shouted at the girl. Serisay spread her arms, blocking the birds way. But the bird didn't even try to go around her - it aimed to her hair. "Hey!?" Serisay yelped. Gale couldn't help to chuckle at the situation. The chocobo was eating Serisay's hair ornaments. The woman's face flushed with anger, and she lifted the other of her blades up threateningly. "If you don't release my hair at this very second, I'll..." "Caught it!" Gale shouted victoriously, as he jumped on the orange bird from behind.[/I] *Battle won! No experience or gil gained! Gained Chocobo Feather x1!* "Good tactic!" Gale said smiling to Serisay when she was pulling her hair out of Mandarin's beak. "Maybe we can use it for another one? Just kidding! Now let's take this fellow back to Chap and go find another one." Serisay mounted the chocobo as well, and they rode back to the stables, where Chap was waiting. Two other chocobos - the black one and the white one - had also been brought back. "Goodbye my precious birdies!" Chap bawled. "May the world treat you well!" "We're not done yet", Gale said, trying to sound as consoling as he could. "We still lack four chocobos." Gale and Serisay left the sobbing Chocobo Rancher and headed back west to look for another. After ten minutes wandering in the barren fields they heart rattle from a pile of yellow hay. "Hush! There's another one!" Gale hissed to Serisay, receiving a scournful glance for his obviousness. Gale pointed her to circle the bush from the opposite direction. As they made it around the hay, they were assaulted by the red chocobo, Ruby. "Yeowch!" Gale exclaimed as he received the chocobo's footprint at her forehead. "It's getting away!" Serisay yelled, dashing after the bird. "Come on!" Gale quickly rose from the ground, following her. They tried to capture it, but whenever they got too close, it rewarded them with a nasty kick or a peck. "It's no use!" Gale shouted exhaustedly to Serisay. "It won't let itself be captured! We have to herd it to the stables." Serisay nodded. She looked less tired than Gale, but she was seemingly frustrated. With one final chase they managed to direct the bird back home. Once Ruby was safely back inside the pen, Gale collapsed to the nearest hay-pile, wiping off sweat. Serisay remained standing next to him. "How can you bare all that running?" Gale asked her, amazed by her endurance. "Well, in Arcane Academy of War Arts we begin our day with a refreshing run around the city", the woman said like it was nothing out of the ordinary. "Oh", Gale said after a moment, not knowing what else to say.[/COLOR][/FONT] OOC: Three chocobos left to catch: the blue Serene, the green Willow and the grey Donkey.

Well, the story [I]sounds[/I] manga-ish, but is it very original? In my opinion, no - I haven't read that much manga or watched anime, yet I still see quite many themes in your story that have been used many times before (female clone falling in love with a human boy is probably the most striking of them). If you want examples, I can give you "Ghost in the Shell", "Macross 2" and even "Ah My Goddess". But I really don't want to put your creativity down - it's [I]how[/I] you do it that counts in manga, in my opinion. If you have drawing talents, and now how to do manga comics, then it really doesn't matter what the storyline is (this isn't going on sale, right? ;) ) So, I suggest you give it a shot. Start sketching, and the story will unveil itself during the process if it is destined to. :)

Actually, Windy is supposed to look "beautiful", so it was on purpose. I admit, though, that the faces are very hard to do - I mean, I hate drawing same characters for that reason - I can't seem to make two similar faces! Anyhow, here's a sixth picture that I saved for later, since it didn't fit in the first post (5 pics's maximum, you know), and it involves remakes of some of the characters - namely Windy, Kiev, Reis and Vivi. So there's something for everybody to comparison.

OOC: Here's something that I know some of you have been waiting for: the cast of this game - drawn, inked and colored (and even scanned!) by me! I tried to base them to the descriptions each of you gave at the recruitment-thread, but you understand that artistic liberty took place in some details. ;) I hope these will inspire everybody to continue - you wouldn't want this work to go to waste, would you? :toothy: PS. I know I should continue the story, but I'm hoping everybody would deepen their characters at this point, when were doing the out-of-nowhere sidequest. ;)

I've been planning this idea of a massive fanfic/rpg that happens in a world where almost all the races from the FF-game series dwell. I don't know if the idea will ever be fully ready, but here are some characters I've been "doodling" for it. Alright, you can't really call fully inked and colored pictures doodles, but I was trying to be modest (which is pretty hard for me). :toothy: Go ahead and test if you can recognise all the races. ;) Oh, there are also two original races, both on the same paper: Ilias is a minotaur, and Gem is a genderless Jinn. Rest of the bunch are mostly from FFX, FFXI and FFTA. And all types of feedback are always wanted/needed!

[FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue] Gale tried not to think about this new twist that had been revealed, but failed miserably. [I]"If the assassin who assaulted us in the tunnels was in reality Sade, then it must mean she was going to finish her job. It is up to the gods to decide if Fuchsia will survive the second attempt... Her powers are superhuman, but if her mind is out of balance, she might be very vulnerable... The powers might even turn against her..."[/I] His thoughts were finally aimed away from the subject when they reached their first destination. "Windale Village - Where People Live In Peace", Gale read from a loosely hanging sign at the side of the path leading to the village. "Huh. It seems like people are living in peace to extremity." The village really was quiet. Not a soul was in sight. All windows were dark, some doors hanged open. An abandoned cart stood at the small square. Even all the animals were gone. "Strange. It's... deserted", Gale wondered. "What's more strange is that I've heard nothing about this", Logan continued. "And usually I hear all the rumors passing through Miraclion. Windale Village is the place where most of the flours come to the city, but I haven't noticed any lack in bread." Everybody scattered to look around the village to find if it was really abandoned for good. Gale walked to Aster. "Don't look at me", the dragoon said defensively. "I used the road when I came from Rosaria." "I didn't... Oh, forget it", Gale gave up. The Rosarian man apparently still thought Gale didn't trust him. "He-ey!" Beatricia suddenly yelped. "Boco, what's the matter? Where are you gooo...!!!" Boco the Chocobo suddenly sprinted out of sight, to the other side of the village. The others followed the bird as fast as they could. When they finally reached Boco and Beatricia, they found another chocobo as well - another yellow one. "Kwark?" the other chocobo exclaimed in an asking tone. "Kwa-ark!!" Boco replied. Beatricia let out a charmed sigh. "Look! They like each other!" "Yeah right", Gale said dryly. "The good thing in this is that we now know there has to be somebody around - no sane person would leave a healthy chocobo like this behind." "I assume it's me you're talking about", said a cheery voice behind him. Everybody turned to look at the man who had appeared out of nowhere. He was wearing a strawhat and brown overalls, but no shirt. The wide hat hid his eyes and nose, but a wide grin and longish bright orange hair were still visible. "It's nice to have visitors in a time like this - and so many even. Ah, don't worry, I didn't drop down from the sky - I was back at the ranch doing some last minute packing. I'm the last one to leave - everybody else were driven away by the crops failure nearly a month ago. Oh, sorry folks for not introducing myself. Name's Chap, the local Chocobo Rancher. This beauty here is Jeune." The young man walked to the yellow chocobo and patted it lovingly. "A true beauty, as I said, but a bit stubborn from time to time. She escaped just a moment ago - probably smelled your bird there. The males I keep at the stable don't rouse her interest." "There are more?" Beatricia asked, breaking the ice. The others just looked at the man cautiously. "Yeah", the man said, obviously thrilled that somebody else took interest in chocobos as well. "I own a total of eight birds. Come and see for yourselves if you're interested." The Chocobo Rancher took Jeune the Chocobo's reins and walked to the direction he had come from. Gale looked at the others askingly, but when Beatricia rode after the man, he had no other choice but to lead everybody after her. The ranch was located just outside the village. There was two buildings - smaller one was Chap's house and the larger was the stable - and an empty pen. "Chubby Chocobo!" Chap cursed. "Where are they!?" He pointed at the fence of the pen. It was broken. "Where have all my babies gone to?!" Chap cried, falling to his knees. Beatricia descended Boco rapidly, and went to console him. "Don't worry", she said softly. "We'll find them for you." "Really?" Chap asked, wiping his eyes. "But", Kaeli suddenly interrupted, stepping forward. "Only if you sell seven of them to us. We could use them in our journey." "What?" Chap said astonished. "But... my chocobos are [I]unique[/I]! They are the only chocobo's that can fight - I've trained them to do so!" "That only makes us want them more", Gale said, going along in Kaeli's scheme. Now he had no regrets for taking the girl along. "Sell the ones we find for us for a very generous price, or lose them for good. Take it or leave it." "I guess I have no choice..." Chap said sadly. "But you'll take good care of them, will you?" "Of course we will", Beatricia said, glaring angrily at Gale and Kaeli. "I will personally make certain of it." "Fine. But please, bring them all to me first, so I can say goodbye to them before we separate. I should also describe the chocobos to you, just to make it easier for you to track them: [COLOR=Red]Ruby[/COLOR] is the spicy red one, and [COLOR=Black]Ebony[/COLOR] is the nasty black one. Those two might be the hardest to hold on to.[COLOR=White] Bianca[/COLOR] the white and [COLOR=Blue]Serene [/COLOR] the blue are both very calm. The green [COLOR=Green]Willow[/COLOR] and the orange [COLOR=Orange]Mandarin[/COLOR] are happy, if not a bit on the wild side. Those two are also the most fastest of the bunch. And finally there's [COLOR=DimGray]Donkey[/COLOR], the gloomy grey chocobo. But [COLOR=Yellow]Jeune[/COLOR], this yellow one here, is the most beautiful." "Thanks. That helped us a lot", Gale said sincerely. "Now folks, let's gather! Biggs and Wedge, you take east, Cortez and Logan will take north, Kaeli and Aster head south, and I will go west with Serisay. Beatricia, you stay here with Chap, okay? As said, if you find any chocobos, bring them here to the ranch. Understood?" Everybody nodded, divided into the pairs Gale had ordered them, and went their separate ways. "That went smoothly", Gale said pleased to himself as Serisay walked to him. Apparently the others had approved him as the leader of the party. [/COLOR][/FONT] OOC: Time to go Chocobo Tracing! :D FYI, here are the updated statistics: [SIZE=1][B]Gale, the Mercenary (Sage)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level: 6 - HP: 300 - MP: 30 [U]Weapon:[/U] Gilventure (golden longsword) [U]Commands:[/U] Sword Art (use following moves using a sword): *Slam - damage with stunning effect *Power Break - decrease target's physical strength *Armor Break - decrease target's defense against physical attacks *Magic Break - decrease target's magical potency *Mind Break - decrease target's resistance against magic *Slash - damage all opponents with halved effect *Rasp - damage target's MP Paysword (boost attack by spending gil) [U]Support Ability:[/U] Counter Attack (retaliate when hit physically) [B]Aster, the Dragoon (The (Sic) Shape)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 6 - HP: 350 - MP: 15 [U]Weapon:[/U] Kain's Lance (dark lance) [U]Commands:[/U] Jump (leap into air to avoid attacks and cause increased damage when landing) Dragon Soul (tame a dragon and call it later to aid in battle) [U]Support Ability:[/U] War Cry (increase power and speed when HP is critically low) [B]Logan, the Red Mage (inti)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 5 - HP: 225 - MP: 40 [U]Weapon:[/U] Blood Sabre (red sabre) [U]Commands:[/U] Red Magic (cast following offensive and defensive spells): *Fire *Blizzard *Thunder *Water *Poison *Doom *Cure *Barrier (Protect & Shell combined) *Sleep *Blind *Silence *Life Magic Slot (use learned spells randomly with double power) [U]Support Ability:[/U] Element Eater (absorb fire-, ice- and thunder-elemental attacks) [B]Biggs, the Gagdeteer (Zidargh)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 5 - HP: 250 - MP: 5 [U]Weapon:[/U] Mavericks (duel gloves)/Rifle (long range gun) [U]Commands:[/U] Blitz (perform combined attack using either gloves or a gun) Go Wedge! (call Wedge to aid in battle) [U]Support Ability:[/U] Sentinel (sometimes Wedge comes to block enemy's attack) [B]Wedge, the Droid (Zidargh)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 5 - HP: 300 - MP: 10 [U]Weapon:[/U] N/A [U]Commands:[/U] Rocket Fist (attack with blasting effect) Recharge (restore HP & MP) [U]Support Ability:[/U] N/A [B]Serisay, the Guardian (Cyriel)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 6 - HP: 325 - MP: 45 [U]Weapon:[/U] Twin Blades (two machete-type swords) [U]Commands:[/U] Paralyze (damage with stopping effect) Mimic (copy the previous ally's attack) [U]Support Ability:[/U] N/A [B]Cortez, the Thief (Jokopoko)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 5 - HP: 245 - MP: 10 [U]Weapon:[/U] Poison Daggers (knives with poisoned tips) [U]Commands:[/U] Steal (take items and gil from enemy) Distract (lower target's accuracy) [U]Support Ability:[/U] Alert (avoid getting ambushed) [B]Ascencia, the Fencer (Arcadia)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level ? - HP: ? - MP: ? [U]Weapon:[/U] Briar Rose (thin rapier) [U]Commands:[/U] Lunge Art (perform special moves using a rapier) White Magic (cast restorative, defensive and holy spells) [U]Support Ability:[/U] Parry (increase evasion of attacks and spells) [B]Kaeli, the Merchant (Wondershot)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 3 - HP: 180 - MP: 50 [U]Weapon:[/U] Vajra (gadget with thunder element) [U]Commands:[/U] Spare Change (throw gil at enemy to cause damage) Dice (cause random damage based on a roll of dice) [U]Support Ability:[/U] Mix (combine items to make more effective one when party's situation is critical) [B]Rakurai, the Fighter (Shanghai)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 6 - HP: 295 - MP: 40 [U]Weapon:[/U] Kali-Yuga (rod) [U]Commands:[/U] Rod Art (perform special moves using a rod) Black Magic (cast elemental and status ailing spells) [U]Support Ability:[/U] Roar (decrease opponents' strength, speed and accuracy when HP is critical) [B]Beatricia, the Healer (NPC)[/B] [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 4 - HP: 220 - MP: 110 [U]Weapon:[/U] Dual Staff (white staff that can be divided into two shorter sticks) [U]Commands:[/U] White Magic (cast restorative, defensive and holy spells) Light Prayer (restore a little HP to all party members without spending MP) [U]Support Ability:[/U] Critical Barrier (automatically have protect- and shell-statuses when HP gets too low)[/SIZE]