WLC 2.E: Only Human

WLC 5.1: Into the Woods We Go

J: It was about twelve years ago. L: After that cult nonsense. J: Yes, Mum. One story at a time.

A lanky black-cloaked figure walks alone down a dreary forest path. The path is old and seldom used. The sun overhead shines upward illuminating the other side of the world, reflecting back down far dimmer and weak enough to blocked by the few clouds. The noises of the forest sing: the breeze through the trees, the chirping of bugs, the hooting of an owl, and the howling of wolves in the distance. The figure marches forward, boots stomping on dirt, as her mind wanders.

L: I figured. It's when you ran away from home again. J: Let me tell the story, Mum.

The trail leads to an abandoned home. Years of neglect have let nature tear it down. It's roof has largely collapsed, it's door broken open, and the tell-tale signs of animals litter the property.

A figure cloaked in red waits by the broken door. As the other figure approaches, she growls, "Are you looking for trouble?"

"I have seen enough of it," answers the first.

The figure inside leans her muzzle out and says, "Set them down there."

"Tome first," says the one outside.

"That's not how this works," growls the one inside, "You put them down and I'll tell you where your d**n book is."

"I'm not putting it down," says the one outside in a matching tone, "Until you prove the tome is here."

"Maybe you can just give them to me then?" asks a dainty, third voice from the trees.

"Were you followed, d******e?" yells the voice in the house.

"You really think I didn't know about your granny's old house, Luminița?" asks the voice in the woods, "You, in the black, let me see what you've got there. It's nothing illegal, is it?"

"Of course not," says the black-cloaked, "There's nothing illegal in these woods, Sheriff."

"True that," says the voice in the woods and then a gunshot rang out. The black-figure fell to the ground. "Shame your mommy couldn't bail you out tonight, Jevoi."

D: GASP! Is that how you died? J: I didn't die. L: Tanglepork? Hmm. J: Yes, Sheriff Tanglepork.

Jevoi remains still on the ground. Gank's ghastly hand gently places the bullet onto the ground and her eyes envelop Jevoi's. She can see the soul of a gnome hiding amongst those of the trees, sneaking toward the house.

"You want to run~, Loomy~?" asks Tanglepork, singsongly, "You can try~eye~!"

Jevoi can see the soul of a large bipedal wolf lurking in the house, poised to strike.

WLC 2.B: Trip Trap Trope

The party enters a massive sandy chamber, they stand atop a slope above the black desert. The fossilized remains of a massive spike-shelled creature lies atop a fortress, thirty stories tall, sculpted from the caverns themselves to fit the creature's silhouette.

"Hiding, shhe iss not," says Kalyani, "It lookss familiar, thhough."

"You'd think someone calling herself 'The Shadow Queen' would live somewhere more... subtle," says Maraja, "Any ideas, wizard?"

A magical pulse emits from Ling's location; as it moves forward, an invisible runic wall shimmers briefly ahead of the group. "I know that symbol," says Ling, "That's a 'false ward' alarm... ward."

L: I know it's a dumb name.

At Kalyani's insistence, Ling continues, "This ward does exactly one thing: alert its creator to any change. Unwelcome intruder? Alarm. Attempt to disable? Alarm. Warp past it? Alarm. Actually disable it? Ya guessed it: alarm. But," Ling raises her finger, "That's ALL it can do."

D: I don't get it. Why's it special? L: How do I put this? On top of alerting their creator, most wards try to do something to whoever trips them. J: Mindjack, teleport, incinerate. L: They're intended to go unnoticed until it's too late. J: They're meant to catch dumb thieves and animals. D: So, why use this one? J: Paranoia.

"Asssuming it'ss a perfect ssphere, whichh iss likely," says Kalyani, "Thhey will know we're coming, no matter what."

"Maraja," says Ling, stretching, "You stay here and, when you see your chance, get in that building. Save your mate."

"I'm not leaving you out here," says Maraja, "You have no idea who or what will come out of there."

"Hang back, dear," says Kalyani, "Make that call after they come forth."

Maraja nods her watery head and steps back into the tunnel; Ling and Kalyani race down the slope. Ling feels the hot sand between her toes and Kalyani carves a trail with her tail.

"A late realizzation," says Kalyani, "But iss thhat a tarrassque?"

"Trying not to think about that," says Ling.

"Do you thhink it died reccently?"

"Trying not to think about that."

"HALT!" calls out a raspy woman, when the duo are about a hundred meters from the tower.

"CEASE!" call out a gravelly man, immediately after.

Standing in a second floor, a pair of heavily armored bipeds. They're too far away for Ling to identify who or what they are.

"HOW'S YA GOING?" yells Ling, "WE'RE AS LOST AS A EUNUCH'S BALLS!"

"WHAT?" yells the woman wearing her shield on her right, "WE'RE NOT HOLDING ANY BALLS."

"WAIT," yells the man wearing his shield on his left. He then speaks to the woman beside him.

D: What did he say? L: I don't know; I wasn't going to cast spells where they could see me.

The two jump down, slowing down before landing. They then pose together. Ling can now clearly see the mace and scimitar the man and woman respectfully carry.

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.

She's the nicest assassin you'll ever meet.

Battle Arena Toshinden 3 - Kayin VS Cuiling by Franjogutierrez

WLC 4.2: Princess Suite

The empress steps forth from a magical gate into a circular room decorated simplistically in black and gold. The wizard entering behind her recognizes the design instantly. This chamber is glorified teleportation room... and yet her daughter brought her here through a gate.

"The rest of palace is protected from external spatially effects," says Jevoi, "No teleporting into the throne room, or such nonsense."

Jevoi leads Dalini, whose eyes are wide and wandering, and Ling, whose eyes are narrow and plotting, through the door. The guards in dark armor on the other side salute their empress as she leads her family down the hall.

"Was it really a good idea to bring me here?" asks Ling, scanning the structure of the palace: the trims, the scones, the door, anything and everything. "What an oppressive atmosphere," she mutters.

"We can settle our issues later, Mum," says Jevoi, marching confidently, "Dalini comes first."

"Wait, was it?" asks Dalini, hopping after, "Where are we going?"

"Hold on," says Jevoi, sweetly, before her voice turns serious as she singles out an elven maid in the hallway, "You, inform the queen of my return and of our daughter's arrival." As the maid, takes off. Jevoi yells, "And the head chef. Inform him as well!" She continues marching. "Mum, don't stare at the servants' legs."

"Was not," mutters Ling, "Why the cute little dresses?"

Jevoi leads the duo to a door and leans down to Dalini. "Now, I had to make several assumptions," she says, "So if there's anything you want changed, we can be replace it." She stands up and opens the door, "Because this is your room, and it should be what you want it to be."

The room was bigger than the entirety of Ling's old home/lab. Fluffy white and soft pink with a few pastels of other colors stand in sharp contrast to the dark, foreboding palace halls. The walls are painted with a cloud motif. A simply massive bed sits opposite the door. A pile of stuffed toys and dolls lie in the left corner by the bed and a bedside table in the right. On the table is a black and gold bell. A mostly bare bookshelf stands in center of the left wall. There are a pair of doors on the right wall; one open: a closet. In the center of the room, under a fancy light, is a small table and chairs, with a mock tea set upon it.

Dalini stares, overwhelmed, unable to speak.

Jevoi takes her hand and gently walks her into the room. She flashes a smug look over her shoulder at Ling.

"This is-s-s my roooom?" asks Dalini.

"That's right," says her mother, leading her to the closet that has several dresses hung inside, "All of this belongs to you. So pick one out and let's get you clean."

Dalini picks out the pink dress in the center, her expression still mixed between disbelief and ecstasy, "I LOVE IT SO MUCH!"

Jevoi stops her daughter from removing her current clothes. "Wait, you need to take a bath first." She gestures with her head to the other door.

Dalini runs over to it and throws it open. It leads to an immaculate bathroom.

"Now, can you take a bath by yourself?" asks Jevoi leading her to the tub, "Do you know how these work?" She points to the knobs by the faucet. When her daughter shakes her head, Jevoi shows her what each part does.

"What's the bowl-chair for?" asks Dalini, as the tub fills with water.

Jevoi takes a few seconds to ruminate the implications of that question and scowls at Ling standing at the doorway. "How have you become worse at this, Mum?"

MKDA has my favorite take on Reptile, even if it's because he was literally going insane.

I miss pirate Nitara too. There's absolutely room in MK for a pirate.

Vampires of the DA era are of impressive size.

Here are even more sprites. In order Utsusemi and Hongou, Red Shadow (Hotarubi) and Chihiro, Matsumushi and Utamaru, and Suminagashi and Isohachi.

Now play spot the difference with these last two.

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 2.F: Quest Complete

Ling follows Melandria through the dark and hollow castle. "So new idea: the sand outside is hot, so maybe we can try to create geothermal plants. I'll need to bring water, unless ya know of any sources down here."

Melandria shakes her head. "Just using magic. That's not dangerous, is it? Like the food?"

"Standard create water spells just convert vapor into liquid, safe to drink." Ling's eye light up. "A gate to the the Plane of Water! That's what we could use."

J: You were just filled with fantastic ideas, weren't you, Mum? L: Seems like it runs in the family.

As the two climb the stairs, Melandria asks, "Aren't elementals... extremely territorial?"

"Don't worry 'bout that," laughs Ling, "I know a girl." Ling straightens up. "The real probo is how the wildlife'll be affected. We'd need to raise natural defenses alongside anything we're growing." Ling thinks for a moment. "Thrashing worm-eaters might be a good deterrent."

"Giant worms do pass through this desert," Melandria nods. She leads Ling into a corridor. "We'll have to give this more thought. First, let's get everyone together."

Melandria knocks on a door. "Kirono, are you awake?" There is no answer. "Kirono, are you feeling well?"

L: Since I wasn't sure if Maraja had left already, I decided to use my wizardly cunning.

Ling stumbles into the door, pushing it open. "Oops, sorry, mate," she says, "I'm a clumsy b******d." Her eyes spy two figures lying in the bed. She recognizes one of them. "Good onya, Maraja!" she says too loudly, "I knew ya'd root her out."

"Who is that?" shouted the Shadow Queen, the darkness around her agitating, "Why is she in my house!?" Her fury awakening the duo.

L: I calmed her down and we sorted the details out for the plan later, but that's a yarn for another time. D: So Maraja and Kirono got together and you started a farm with a queen? J: Yes, yes, everyone lived happily ever after. The End. Now, how about I tell you a story, Dalini: a story about how I met the Shadow Queen. D: But what happened to the priestess and the tallgoblins. L: Kalyani went back home- J: And the tallgoblins are in my story.

WLC 1.5: A House Divided

"You think I'll let you keep her in this hovel?" asks Jevoi, her eyes scanning the broken shelves and piles of refuse in the corners.

"As much as ya'd think I'd let ya take her to your fortress," says Ling.

"I'm willing to let YOU in," Jevoi's voice rises as small flames sparkle around her briefly, "I have a lab and a library."

"And I do not care."

Jevoi pauses. Her face slipping back into a smug malevolence. "There's also a pair of half-orc-"

"No."

"-Vrow twin-"

"NO."

"-Princess assassins-"

"n-n-no."

"-and their girlfriends are just dying to meet you."

The old lizard hissed and rasped. "Ya- ya- ya can't get me that easy." Ling pulls her hat down over her face.

"What else do you want?" Jevoi swings her arm into air. "Why would you rather live in trash?"

"This trash," seethes Ling, removing her hat, "Was your home. I spent half my life in this house and ya spent most of yours." She hops to her feet. "I built it. My life's work was done here." The room itself begins to shake. "Work ya destroyed."

Jevoi's eyes track Dalini, scurrying toward the back door. "Let's stay calm, Mum," she says, "We can still fix this. It's not too late. You don't know how many of your old friends are working for me now."

"Like who?" Ling scoffs, "Melandria? You think she's good for a brain?"

"She kept your old notes," says Jevoi, gesturing over to the glowing pod, "But there's so many others."

"Fine," says Ling, sitting down as the room stops shaking, "But first I need to tell ya 'bout how I met her."

"Why?" asks Jevoi.

"Story time!" shouts Dalini, racing back toward the fire.

"She's the first one to fund this," says Ling, "And we promised Dalini a yarn. So, sit down."

Jevoi summons an elaborate cushioned black throne to sit on; Dalini lies on the floor. "Oh, no," says the Empress, "Don't sit on the floor." She summons a matching stool which her daughter throws herself onto.

"Righto," says Ling, puffing up the fire, "Here's how I met the Shadow Queen."

WLC 5.8: How I Met Your (Other) Mother

"How are we on your list?" ask Luminița, "We fell from-" She looks up to the completely normal ceiling. She sputters in confusion.

Lurentooz smiles, as best as a cluster of tendrils posing can be considered to be. "Let me show you to your rooms."

In spite of being a trans-dimensional vessel, the Love Craft looks very much like an extravagant sea vessel. The fancy wood is clearly of alien origin, but still distinctly wood. The other main material is mysterious; it is as a hard white liquid, but neither earthen nor organic. Most of the vessel's exterior is made of this unnatural substance.

The trio has little chance to protest as they are led to their cabins and advised as to the hot mingling spots.

J: As tired as I was, I was not climbing into a strange bed in a strange world.

Feeling peckish, Jevoi makes her way to the dining hall. A veritable menagerie of beings sit at dozens of white-clothed tables. Merry feasting and conversations fill the room. The banter is incomprehensible to the gex for it largely is in languages she cannot speak.

Alone with her thoughts, a marilith in a sleeveless green dress sits picking at a piece of meat. Jevoi takes care not to stare as she crosses the room to the bar.

The bartender, a floating multieyed spherical creature, greets her with a smile. His ID labels him Yyzax.

"What can I getcha?" he asks, his central eye staying focused on her, while his eye stalks continue to observe the room.

In spite of (or perhaps, because of) her mother, Jevoi struggles to answer the question. "Something ...buggy?" she spits out.

As Yyzax mixes a drink with his eye beams, he says, "Saw you eyeing that lonely lady."

"Yeah?" says Jevoi defensively, "Is there a problem?"

"Nah," says Yyzax, sliding a cockroach cocktail to Jevoi, "Just saying what I'm seeing." His smile says a lot.

Jevoi takes the drink and then takes a drink. Its meat gives her a slight buzzing feeling. She looks at the demon again, a titanic woman. She's going to do it. She's going to talk to her. Just as soon as she can remember how.