WLC 2.8: Violence At Last

Regret

I apologize for putting such a poorly written bad guy (technically not a villain) like Honeycrisp out here. I thought I had an idea going here, but it just fell flat. He won't be in the story much longer.

Nothing in this child-kidnapping witches plot is meant to represent anything in the real world. There's no political intent here.

The final set of Vs sprites. We've got Tsubame and Katze, Nightstalker and Tony, Sazanka and Highwayman, and the secret characters. This first pair is actually unused in-game because Tsubame and Katze can only be selected in Vs mode (and Group Battle mode, which uses no sprites).

The secret duo, Otomaru and Ohomaru, are also only in Vs.

Character Select Face

On the right here, is the game's Story mode icon, which itself is a frame from the game's intro movie. Left to right: Gengoro, Jo, Kaun, Tatsumi, Mikado, Kannuki. Below are the Vs sprites for those five.

Due to a few characters' asymmetrical designs, they get two different vs screen sprites.

WLC 3.8-1: Intermission

The three geckos remain sitting around the old brick house. The empress on her conjured throne, her daughter on the conjured stool, and her mother, the wizard, on her molded dirt chair.

"So, what happened next?" asks Dalini, "What did Gank do?"

Ling tips the brim of her violet wizard hat up to eye her daughter. "Yeah," she asks in a mock tone, "Who can continue the yarn?"

Jevoi rolls her eyes, "Oh, that would be-"

"ME!" yells a specter bursting out of Jevoi's body. The ghost of a four-armed lizard woman leaps into Dalini's face.

"A GHOST!" shrieks Dalini, running out of the room, crying.

"Gank!" yells Jevoi, "You said you were going to do something cool."

"That was cool," says Gank, floating back to Jevoi, "Look."

The adults peer over to Dalini hiding behind the doorframe. The young gecko is shivering in her tattered brown dress.

"No, Gank," says Jevoi, "What would have been cool was you saying, 'Hey,' from the doorway or while sitting next to her. Walking up from the wrong angle. We've been over this."

"I saw an opportunity and I took it," says Gank, crossing all of her arms smugly.

"Gank?" asks Dalini, slowly sneaking back to the group, "You're her friend?" Dalini looks the ghastly charda up and down. "Are you dead? ...Are you my other mother?"

"Yes. Yes," Gank says with a nod, "And NO." Firm head shake. "Your mom's already told you where she is. D'ya forget?"

"Why were you in my mum?" ask Dalini.

"That's where she lives now," says Ling. She waves to Gank, "How's unlife in my daughter treating ya? Speaking of, how's the missus feel 'bout it? Sharing her wife's a**e?"

"This is not an appropriate topic," says Jevoi, raising her hands in offense, "For several reasons, Mum."

"Same old, same old, Doc. Ling," says Gank, "And that's not a problem since-"

"STOP!" says Jevoi, clamping Gank's ghost mouth shut, "We're not talking about this!" She points at Ling. "You are the worst."

"So, what happened when you beat up my mum?" asks Dalini, now on the stool again.

"Yes, continue the story," says Jevoi, sitting down, "Please, anything else, right now."

Has it really been two years?

"Light Me Up"

If I fall apart, you know where to find my pieces when they can't be found

On this day 2 years ago, The Owl House came to an end.

WLC 4.5: Mother, What Big Snake Butt You Have

Jevoi emerges from the bathroom speaking, "Now, get ready; she's right outside this door." She looks out to Angustias and licks her own eye.

Angustias prepares herself as Dalini steps out with Jevoi. Dalini is wearing an adorable pink dress with a little ribbon tied around her neck.

Dalini stops when she sees the snake-butted demon. "Wuuuuh?"

"Hello, little one," says Angustias, attempting to smile in a way that doesn't look like she's plotting murder, "I am Queen Angustias Maria Lilith Kun, bride of Empress Kun Jevoi, and thus," she lies her serpent body down to get closer to Dalini, "Your mother... er, other mother."

Dalini stares at Angustias; it's an unreadable expression that the gex are quite good at. "What are you?" she asks, "You're really pretty."

Angustias attempts to laugh in a way that doesn't sound she's committing murder. "I'm a marilith, a divine warrior, and that makes you," she says, then scooping Dalini up, "My little soldier." She tickles the princess.

To the side, Jevoi eyes Ling, who sits quietly. Too quietly. She projects a message into Ling's mind, 'Nothing to say, Mum? Not ruining the moment?'

'Don't have to,' Ling projects back, 'That whirlwind of rage will f**k this up eventually.'

'What makes you think that?' projects Jevoi, as Angustias spins around with Dalini laughing in her arms.

'Demons change when they change,' projects Ling, 'She's still war incarnate.'

'Proof?' projects Jevoi, walking up to her wife and daughter. They join in a hug. 'Or superstitious hearsay?'

'Seen it myself,' projects Ling, fiddling with her orb again, 'Succubus learned to love people became an angel.'

"Nana Ning," says Dalini from between her moms, "Come here too."

Angustias sneaks a look of disgust to Jevoi, who shakes her head ever so slightly.

"Hold on, Da," says Ling, standing up, hat covering her eyes, "Aren't ya hungry? Your mum mentioned a chef."

"Right," says Jevoi, releasing the hold, "How about we prepare for dinner?"

WLC 2.D: The Shadow Queen

A few hours after having entered the tower, Ling realizes that her split party never established an exit strategy, nor a means of communication. For a wizard, this is an embarrassing oversight.

Getting her things together, Ling attempts to sneak through the dark halls, but is quickly grabbed by a shadow and dragged into a new location.

Ling now stands in a decently decorated throne room. Crystal sconces and chandelier shine faint light. A lovely carpet stretches from the large door behind her to the cushioned throne ahead. Barely visible to Ling, sits the Shadow Queen; an usually pale busty elf-like being in a black slit dress with opera gloves. Her long curly hair is intricately woven.

"G'day," says Ling, "Mind giving a light?"

"Why are you in my house?" ask the Shadow Queen as the darkness in the room thickens, "Explain yourself."

"Ya got it," says Ling, leaning her body slightly, "I'm a scholar and I came to propose a business venture to ya."

"And you came alone?"

"...No," says Ling, "Had a friend, a priestess of Vanessa."

"Just one?" The Shadow Queen rocks back and forth, "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

Claws take form amongst the darkness and lunge at Ling. She skitters away. She rolls and hops about away from the constant barrage. Ling pulls rock from her bag and charms it to shine brightly. The shadows recede and the Shadow Queen growls.

J: We know her name's Melandria; stop calling her the Shadow Queen.

"You think that parlor trick will save you," she yells as the shadow limbs long steel polearms and bows and arrows. The solid weapons are unimpeded by Ling's light and force her to continue dodging.

As she dodges, Ling gets a better look at the elf-esque being. Her ears are small and round. If her hair wasn't black, Ling would assume she was albino.

"Who does your hair?" asks Ling, skittering up the wall desperately avoiding arrows... or at least, looking desperate. "Is it dyed?"

L: Obviously, I cast a wind shield as soon as I had seen the bows.

"What? Yes, but- No one, I d-" Melandria stops herself, "Stop talking to me, you, weird lizard."

"Gecko, actually," says Ling jumping into Melandria's face, "So what are you?"

The woman on the throne pauses, as do her weapons. The gecko's eyes are fixated on something just under her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Got to be blunt, mate," Ling shakes her head, "You look sick."

"It's a skin condition," says Melandria, "I'm al-"

"Albino, I figured," says Ling, "But that's not it. Ya're malnourished, starving even." She grabs Melandria's hand. "What have ya been eating?"

Melandria pulls her hand away and conjures a piece of bread. "I have plenty of food. I'm strong enough to feed myself."

Ling pulls a potato out from her pouch. "Eat this."

Melandria balks at the tuber.

"I'm a doctor," says Ling before Melandria can speak, "If ya've only been eating mana manna, ya're going to rot away inside out."

Melandria warms the potato and rips it open. With a conjured fork, she begins eating.

"First saw this back at wiz school during the Great War," says Ling, "Spellies eating their own mana's no healthier than eating their own skin. And that's true even for one's that know healthy eating." Ling watches Melandria shovel food into her mouth. "Which most don't."

"Name's Melandria and I'm human," she says in between bites of food, "Since you asked."

"From the surface, eh?" Ling smiles. "My mum's from there."

6.8: The Woods, Man

L: What Ioana said was suspicious; so after she and Tanglepork fell asleep, I took a look 'round.

While setting off magic detection like a radar, Ling creeps through the house. She scrutinizes every trinket and trophy that crosses her sight. The house is too small to hide anything, but, alas, her search finds naught.

Stepping outside, the cold night air greets her bare head. It is an annoying reminder that she left it in the bedroom, too risky to fetch now.

Ling circles the cabin, checking the walls. However, the building is quite normal. While a part of Ling is relieved, another is frustrated. This dead end was a waste of the children's precious time.

Suddenly, the woods grew quiet. The wind stops, the bugs fall still. A presence, Ling feels; someone lurks amongst the trees.

"Yo," Ling calls out to the unknown. She quickly walks in its direction. "Wait, mate."

The presence does not wait.

When Ling reaches where she felt it, there is only a piece of parchment stuck to a tree. It says: Beware the Witches.

"What witches, mate?" asks Ling, "Gonna need a better b****y clue than that."

D: What are witches? J: It depends on the time. It was originally a political term used to oppress: an accusation of subservience to evil power. L: Then some claimed it as a rebellious term and some drongos thought 'evil power' sounded cool. A: And then evil powers thought more mortal servants sounded cool. J: Then other powers decided to do it too. L: So now it means a mortal who gets magic from some boss. J: Or feminist alchemists. A: Morality of any party involved: undefined. D: ...So, bad? L: Yes, this time bad.

Again, Ling could feel something deeper in the woods. She opens a door in space to its location.

The entity, a well-dressed, elvenoid over twice Ling's height with lanky limbs to match, stands hunched over affixing another paper to a tree. Its head twists around bearing Ling's own face.

"G'ev'ning," says Ling, "Nice to meet ya."

Mikado Endings

I mentioned earlier that the original Bushido Blade has a secret tenth fight. Beating that gives the second (actually canon) ending.

Here are the two endings for Mikado. Her Japanese VA in both games was Michiyo Yanagisawa.

Wizard Lizard Chronicles 1.1: Prologue of the End

Under the blackened sun, in the half-buried remains of a town, walks a gecko in a regal military uniform. The gold trim of her dark suit matches the streak in the bangs of her long, straight black wig. A band of darkened scales sits across her face, pierced by her unyielding eyes.

"Back where we started," she mutters, as she approaches a the remains of an old stone alchemical store. Her boots kick up dirt as she marches, smashing through numerous magical barriers and wardings; her own power emanating from her (no fancy hand signs or magic words, just raw stubbornness) to clear her way.

She pushes open the battered door with a loud creak and steps in. The building is filthy, but not as abandoned as it appeared. Sitting in a chair of molded dirt in the dark is a figure in a robe and pointed hat. The wizard leans back to see under the brim of her hat and asks, "Came alone, did'ya?"

The intruder licks her eyes. "Yeah," she says, "Finally tired of running, Mum?"

Thanks for Looking at My Blorbo

This has been the first, and only, Mikado Monday. I don't think any other character is going to get this much love from me, but I'm thinking of who to post about next.

Mikado has taken back the Yugiri.

It can be hard to tell, since it's a palette-swapped nodachi, but if you look close, you can see the hilt is red.