Azaar

The more I see of this, the more I wish I wasn't a complete putz when it comes to artwork. Looks nice, as always.

*laughs* I've heard Matt can be the same way. At least I'm still brainstorming things... which reminds me, I need to email you about an idea I have for Gabe during the Preparations saga. I'll drop you an email here shortly. Though, I have to admit, I'm wondering if Brian's playing Destiny as well right now, or if it's just RL eating him up at the moment. I know the coming holiday season will be hectic for me, between working retail and doing some part-time bellringing for the Salvation Army again this season.

I confess, I've been a major slacker of late -- I made the mistake of buying Destiny, and it's been sucking away my life and free time for the last six weeks or so. That being said, I have been brainstorming where I want to take things next in the Preparations saga -- and saga it is, because it's meant to carry on from pretty much where I left off with Inception up through (hopefully) the end of Story 9 when Sully gets it finished. The idea is basically showing Gabe's evolution leading up to the mission where he bonds with the Stellar WG unit. That being said, most of my current brainstorming has been in what I want to try and do with Part III -- it's where I admittedly have been suffering from writer's block for a while now. Like I said in the Sneak Peek thread for Part II, I'm planning to re-introduce a couple of characters from Mutronics -- namely, Mizky Segawa and Colonel Castle (the black guy who was Max Reed's "partner", though secretly working for Chronos). I might even bring in a couple of the supporting characters from Guyver 2: Dark Hero -- Bob and Lois, though I'm still trying to figure out which one Lois is supposed to be (for instance, if she's the one with Bob when they discover the newly-formed crack in the cave that leads to the unearthing of the Utah Relic -- I want to think she is, but I'm not entirely certain). Colonel Castle is gonna be the one I really work up the most, however -- I'm gonna try and see about working up a backstory of sorts for him, to lead up through his involvement in Mutronics, and then explain what happened afterwards and what he's doing now. I'll likely try to tag Sully about that, since it might have impact beyond Gabe's own story. I'm curious, though, as to what folks are interested in seeing. I can't promise that I'll follow through on everything by any stretch of the imagination, but I'll at least give it some consideration and see if it fits with the journey Gabe's taking in the buildup to becoming the Stellar Warrior Guyver.

Alas, I'm XBox 360 myself, and I've been really enjoying it... maybe a little too much, as I haven't done as much writing lately as I really should.

So, good news! I'm finally getting my own Internet come Monday, so I'll be able to be around more often. I'm still working on Part III of Preparations, and hopefully once I get everything set up, I can then try and get Skype so that I can chat some with Sully and others about where to go with Gabe and all that fun stuff.

Well, after about two weeks of playing, I'll give some basic ratings on the classes and my thoughts... Barbarian: I have a Barbarian build that I'm gonna try and work on, but I have to admit, I've enjoyed playing the Barbarian in limited time. Crusader: Also have a build for it (might as well be the Diablo 3 version of the D2 Hammerdin) -- but I really do enjoy the Crusader. Once I finish Act V - Westmarch with my Wizard, the Crusader is gonna be the next class I level up. Demon Hunter: Damn. Just. Damn. I love this class! Beat Normal, have been doing bounties in Adventure mode in Expert (which means I'm still killing reasonably fast, but I probably should do Normal or Hard difficulty bounties for faster killing speed. Even so, Hungering Arrow (Spray of Teeth) and Elemental Arrow (Frost Arrow) with passives like Cull the Weak? God, it's been a blast. Monk: The Monk, I'm actually not digging all that much, but I'll at least give it the good ol' college try. Most likely, though, it'll be the last character I try to run through Normal. I don't know why, I'm just not digging it quite so much. Witch Doctor: God, the thematics of this class are fun. Once I finish the Crusader on Normal, I'll likely focus on my Witch Doctor next. Wizard: You know, it's almost unfair, the ease through which I've mowed through the game with my Wizard. Most of that is because of socketed weapons with rubies to amp up the damage; right now, it's a Thunderfury legendary sword with a socketed Marquise Ruby, sitting at 357.7 damage -- got it partway through Act IV in the High Heavens. The result: Diablo dropped like a punk in less than five minutes (and that's likely being generous -- Electrocute (Surge of Power) and Disintegrate (Volatility) as main attacks is just sick... but Disintegrate will give way to Arcane Orb (Frozen Orb) come level 55. I'm in Act V - Westmarch right now, and still mowing through pretty much everything in sight. So, on console... I love it! I have played some multiplayer action with friends -- I actually had the good fortune of playing a four-player game at one point on a 46-inch flatscreen... I definitely have to get myself a flatscreen TV sometime, I swear. It's a blast to play.

Granted, I'm curious more for the experiences of anyone playing the console version of Diablo III than anything -- I just today (splurging on myself for my birthday) pre-ordered my Xbox 360 copy of the Ultimate Evil Edition of Diablo III -- but PC gamer perspectives are fine, too. Has anyone been playing Diablo III here? I want to know about experiences -- I've already been looking at a couple of builds for the Demon Hunter, as well as a Crusader build, but I'd really like to know what people think about the game.

I've been somewhat scarce the last little bit, I admit, but for good reason: I spent the last couple of months job-hunting, and came away with a new job -- in fact, I'm finishing up my second week of work tomorrow. But I've not forgotten things here -- I'm admittedly a trifle stuck on something I'm writing right now for Preparations (Part III), but it's one of those writer's block things. Once I can get past that part, I think I can get it wrapped up and get a Sneak Peek topic for it posted before too much longer. Edit: I just found this, and it seems so fitting... and right up my alley with my humor! Word Crimes --

The more of this I see, the more I like... and get jealous, to boot. I can't draw worth a darn, alas. Heck, I have enough problems trying to decide what colors I want to use on Matt's Stellar Guyver pic, to get an idea of the kind of look I want for Stellar Warrior Guyver when the time comes for his official unveiling in the fanfic.

Colonel Castle (that was apparently the character's name; from what I've seen, he was supposedly Max Reed's partner, but under Chronos control) -- yes, he is one of the ones I'm looking at. I'm also seriously considering Mizky (Sean's ex-girlfriend) as well. Not sure if I'll add in Sean's aikido class "nemesis", who was part of that street gang that attacked him when he first activated the Guyver -- I think Sully had planned for those street gang goons to get killed off, but I can't recall for certain. I'm also idly considering some of the survivors of the Utah dig team from Dark Hero as well.

A quick update: the writing proceeds apace (albeit slowly), but I am also working with zeo1234 to get together a data file for Stellar Warrior Guyver with the new data file format that the data files will be rewritten to. As an aside, mostly because I'm interested to see what people think: I'm idly tossing about the prospect of perhaps bringing in a few secondary characters from the live-action Guyver movies to play with, at least over the course of Preparations. And before anyone asks: no, Jimmie Walker's Zoanoid character is not going to be one of them, because I know Sully has every intention of killing him off, when the time comes for him to re-write the live-action movies as prequel stories for the website. Thoughts?

Thanks. I still have a long ways to go, though -- without spoiling anything, the end of Part II and a fair bit of Part III of Preparations will have some intrigue, and Parts IV and V are still on the drawing board. My plan right now, though, is for Part V to end right about the end of Seven Days Part VII, if not perhaps the end of Story 9 (depending on where Sully goes there in the time between Seven Days and Story 10, when Gabe bonds with the Stellar Unit). I've made a few minor tweaks (thanks, btw, zeo, for catching me on that stuff) in the process to fix things up. I might slow down a bit, though, but it's because I'm starting my first full-time (if you will) job in over six years within the next few days, so my time to write will be trimmed back some. However, I'm still diligently brainstorming things, and I've actually made some changes to my original plans for Preparations to account for the new ideas (which merits another thank you to zeo, because he and I have been back and forth some on those ideas and what they could mean for the fanfic as a whole -- once I get things more finalized, I'll be passing it by Sully to see if he approves).

Disclaimer: This is a fan-fic based on characters created by Yoshiki Takaya and contains violent situations with adult language. All other characters are created by Brian O’Sullivan, et al for the Warrior Guyver fan-fiction website. August 1, 2010 – Three days after Cori’s kidnapping ACTF Main Headquarters – The Pentagon The last three days had been a blur: one moment, he was looking up at the early morning sky to see a red four-armed Guyver-like being flying up and away with Cori, and the next moment, he was being pulled back by several ACTF military, a couple of them pointing at the prone figure of Guyver US, near the far end of the hall from where Sean’s and Cori’s room had been and yelling for him to do something – anything to get him back up again. But Sean had needed several hours to regenerate the damage, even though it was already starting to do so when Gabe, in a daze, managed to make his way over. The torso had sustained the brunt of the damage, and it looked as if his heart was completely gone, blasted out by the alien being. But he knew the Guyver unit had regenerative capabilities; Sean had said as much during the earliest interviews, recounting the events at Chronos LA and Fulton Balcus from his perspective as well as that of his ex-girlfriend, Mizky. He managed to make his way from there to the R&D labs, which were the only things set up to try and hold Guyver US down while the unit regenerated the damage. But afterwards, he had stepped back along with the team who had helped cart him in, and then turned around, silently departing. Part of him would have been fascinated to observe the regeneration process, but Dr. Drake was filming it for further study and analysis, and Gabe could watch it happen later. Right now, he had something more pressing to do, something that a much greater part of him wanted – no, needed to do: he needed to run until he had nothing left. It was either that, or punch something repeatedly. And at the moment, Gabe didn’t trust himself to be able to control his emotions and keep from winding up doing something incredibly stupid. Dr. Drake had said nothing for nearly three days following Cori’s abduction by the unknown four-armed Guyver-like assailants. He knew that Gabe was suffering from it, just as much as Sean was in some ways. But the fourth day, he finally decided he had to step in, and he went to Dave Shulman for help. Shulman had begun training Gabe in Krav Maga more than two years earlier, and had managed to convince Gabe that there was a necessity for defending himself; as a result, Gabe became one of his most apt pupils. Even Shulman knew that something was wrong, because Gabe had skipped on practice for the first time, on the day Cori was abducted. Both men were concerned, but Shulman convinced Dr. Drake that he would find Gabe and get things sorted out. Gabe wasn’t in his office still; for that matter, he wasn’t in his room. But a short time later, Shulman found Gabe in the gym, working a body-double mannequin for all he was worth. To Gabe’s credit, the mannequin looked pretty solidly beat up, and finally it gave up the ghost when Gabe launched himself into a series of body blows that culminated with a hard roundhouse kick that took the mannequin’s wooden head cleanly off. “Well, that’s a way to work out your frustrations,” said Shulman from the doorway. Gabe whirled around, his expression one that Shulman had never seen from the twenty-seven-year-old man before. There was a mixture of emotions that Shulman could discern: anger, fear, sadness and regret, all swirling around into a mixture that he knew he had to defuse. “You know,” Shulman continued as he walked towards Gabe and the mannequin, “I can understand all too well what you’re feeling; I lost family and friends to Chronos. I can even understand trying to sort things out on your own.” He paused, looking more closely at the mannequin and seeing its poor condition. “You haven’t been doing this behind everyone’s back for the last few days, have you?” “No.” Gabe’s voice was tired, drained of all vitality, and yet it was clipped short. “I ran first. Ran my ass off until I couldn’t run anymore and collapsed to the ground.” “But it wasn’t enough?” Gabe looked at the mannequin, then back at Shulman again. “I think the answer’s pretty obvious.” “Gabe, you aren’t a superhero. Even if you had been a Guyver, you saw what happened to Sean. Those four-armed Guyvers that attacked us are strong – strong enough to even give the Gigantic Guyver problems.” Shulman shook his head. “You’re beating yourself up for something you had no control over, and couldn’t possibly have stopped.” “I know that already, Dave. But I have to get it out some way, and…” Gabe sighed quietly. “This was the only way to get it out. It’s cathartic, really.” He looked off into the distance. “Besides, the last thing you’d want me to have right now is access to an unbounded Guyver unit. If you think what Sean and Sho can do is awful, you would probably cringe at what I might be doing right now.” Shulman ****ed his head at an angle. “Revenge on your mind, huh?” Gabe nodded silently after a moment. “Then be thankful you don’t have one, Gabe. But you need to quit beating yourself up over this.” Shulman looked back at the mannequin once more. “I can understand why you did this – I’d have ripped you a new one if you’d pulled anything like this in class, because the idea of training isn’t to hurt people. So I’m not going to judge you.” He laid a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “Is the worst over, at least?” Gabe nodded again. “Yeah, I think so.” “Good. Dr. Drake is worried about you.” Shulman smiled slightly. “You might want to let him know your days as a whirling dervish are over now.” ************************* A couple of hours and a fresh shower and clothing change later, Gabe approached Lacey's desk. “Doc’s in, I take it?” Lacey looked up, smiling. “Hey! Yes, Dr. Drake’s in his office. I’ll let him know you’re here.” She hit a button on her telephone. “Gabe Kelso’s here, Doctor.” “Send him in.” “Yes, sir,” Lacey answered, looking up at Gabe again. “It’s good to see you back.” “Thanks, Lace.” A slow blush crept up Lacey’s cheeks as Gabe moved past, opening the door to Dr. Drake’s office. “Sent the cavalry after me, I noticed,” he said as he entered, closing the door behind him. “Dave said you had him hunting for me.” “I was worried, Gabe. So were several others.” Dr. Drake smiled faintly, gazing at Gabe. “It's nice to see you back again.” He paused briefly. “How are you feeling?” “Better, now that I’ve run myself ragged for three days and beaten the absolute hell out of a wooden mannequin.” “Fair enough, Gabe.” Dr. Drake leaned back. “The General and I were talking a few days ago. He has an idea that I’m loathe to implement, but he wants some people for it.” “What does upper management want this time?” Gabe never really hid his disdain for the military brass that controlled the base, even now that he was able to leave the base for several hours or more. “Carter wants some combat-trained technicians. If he thought the self-defense stuff being forced on the techs was a smart idea, then he should know better than to expect any volunteers for it. But he wants more techs in the field, not just to maintain the exo-armors but also be trained like military--” “I’m in.” “Normally, I wouldn’t even mention it to you, but…” Dr. Drake stopped suddenly as Gabe’s reply belatedly sunk in. “Gabe, wait a minute.” “Doc, I’ve been locked in base for more than five years. I need some way to deal with the current circumstances, and this is the best chance I’ve seen to do it. I’ll take combat training, so long as I choose what I want to learn. If Carter doesn’t like it, then he can have fun trying to vet the techs for this, and I know how that’s going to turn out.” “But Gabe, with Cori…” Dr. Drake sighed quietly. “With Cori gone, you’re the only one we have left who has any idea about the Guyver unit and its technology. We can’t afford to lose you.” “You can’t, Doc, and I respect that. But at this point, you have Scot Matthew helping you more than I am here in the lab. Most of my work has been computer programming, and you’ve got techs by the dozen for that now. The fact that I know something about the Guyver units should make me more than suitable.” Gabe paused briefly. “Besides, the fact that I’m also a computer hacker will likely score points and help me get the training I want for this. I can be the Swiss army knife of combat techs.” Dr. Drake leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “I don’t like this, Gabe,” he confessed. “I really don’t. At least take some time to think about this before you let yourself get drafted. As much as you don't like the military--” “Doc, this is what I want. I need a new challenge, and this is as perfect an opportunity as I can get. I was going stir-crazy already, and that was before all this mess with Cori happened.” Gabe was quiet for a couple of seconds, and then smiled. “This gives me a chance to more constructively vent my frustrations, if nothing else. Carter knows I won't accept rank or anything like that, not right now. Just give me a chance.” Dr. Drake twitched his lips. “If you insist,” he finally acquiesced. ======================================================================================================================================== Just in case people were afraid I had dropped off the face of the Earth, I am still around and kicking. I'm waiting for confirmation from Sully about whether I've emailed Preparations (Part I) to him or not -- I've gone ahead and sent it, just to be sure. But I figured perhaps folks might like to get another glimpse of what's going on... which admittedly gives everyone an idea of where Part I cuts off and where Gabe fits in. Hope you all enjoy the read.

I'm not the all-knowing tech guru that zeo1234 is, but I think I'll take a stab at this. There is a lot in common between the Guyver's control medal and the Relic's own control medal -- recall, if you will, that the Uranus (Creators) originally tested the Guyver unit on a human to see if the human would be able to pilot the Relics. It seems a fair assumption to make that, with enough energy from the Bio-Boost dimension (since I'm assuming that's what powers the Relics, just as it ultimately does the Guyver), the Relic would be able to repair itself, though the energy requirements would likely be much more intensive and the regeneration of the Relic would take longer as a result (I'm assuming this is due solely to the sheer magnitude of difference in size between a Relic and a Guyver). As for the "upgraded" Relics with Warrior Guyver control medals and the like... I have a theory that many of the Gen Relics that housed the various Projects (such as the Hydra, Clandestine, Stellar, etc.) have the same type of control medals, in order to make things more efficient for the Relic, as well as the pilot/Relic bonding for when the Gen were engaging in space travel at that time. Granted, I can't really prove it offhand (unless it's mentioned in some obscure corner of Time War or something like that), but it seems a plausible scenario to run with.

Belatedly, but sent. Sorry it took so long -- I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for most of the last two weeks, since I finally got my own apartment and no longer am living in a homeless shelter like I had been for most of last year. Hope you enjoy the read.

I only have a PM icon beside my posts, and you have PM and Web icons. Maybe something happened to the forum, I'm not sure.

The only icon I see beside the PM icon to the right is the website icon that pops me back to the homepage for the Warrior Guyver website. I'm not sure where I'm missing it.

How do I send it to you, zeo? I was gonna try and do it via PM, but it's saying you have private messages disabled on yourself.

I'm still working on plenty of new material -- Part I of Preparations is done, I just need to send a copy of it to Sully to get it posted. Part II is also nominally done, though I'm doing a bit of editing with it; I'll likely post a sneak peek of it once I send in Part I. Part III is still in the works, and I'm currently planning to re-introduce someone from the first live-action Guyver movie in it. Most of Parts IV and V are sketched out. So, all told, Preparations should carry me from the events of Inception all the way up through at least Seven Days of Hell, if not all the way to Sully's Story 10, where Gabe will finally bond with the Stellar Warrior Unit. I'm also tweaking the data file I have written for Gabe as the Stellar WG, and gonna be sending it to zeo1234 for his thoughts on further tweaking, so that I have a working baseline for when I finally reach the point of Gabe as the Stellar WG.

Heh. I'm just over the 10 year mark, heading for Year 11 (May 14, 2003) myself. Hard to believe it's been that long, but I'm still enjoying the read, especially seeing how Sully's fleshed out so much more with the WG universe with his ongoing rewrites. That said, there is still some writing being done -- Sully's working on the rewrite as well as Story 9, as I understand it, and I know he's been trying to get in contact here and there with Matt and the others. I've completed the first part of my second story "Preparations" for Gabe/Stellar Warrior Guyver ("Inception" being the first, in the Character Stories section of the site), but the last month or so has really bogged me down -- I was working a seasonal job as a bellringer for the Salvation Army locally, and just finished last week... right in time for Christmas and New Years. That said, Part 1 of Preparations is done, Part 2 is gonna undergo a potential minor rewrite, and I'm a little ways into Part 3... with Part 4 sketched out and Part 5 still in the brainstorming stage. After Preparations, I'm likely gonna see what Sully has planned for Story 10 and how Gabe bonds with the Stellar Warrior Unit, before continuing on and seeing about pursuing my own storylines while coordinating with Sully to keep things flowing in the Warrior Guyver universe.

Since this is the third day of Christmas (in keeping with the old song), I hope everyone's had a good Christmas and has a happy (and safe) New Year.

Yes, indeed. Happy Thanksgiving for all the Americans. Enjoy your turkey, tryptophan and football -- I know I am.

I noticed your other forum thread about what had happened, and knew you were dealing with that. No worries.

Just a quick little update for those interested: I've been adding several things to my original outline. What was originally a three-part story that was slated to take Gabe from post-Inception/pre-Union of the Guyvers through the beginning of Story 10 (wherein Gabe is bonded with the Stellar Warrior Unit) has changed -- significantly. Now, I'm looking at four parts thus far, and that's just going to carry me through the events of Rescue (assuming Sully sticks with Gabe showing up and playing a role in the Rescue rewrite). "Surely you can't be serious, Azaar?" you might ask. And my answer: "Yes, I brainstorm too much for my own good... and I'm still brainstorming all the more. And don't call me Shirley." * Granted, a lot of what I'm angling to write will depend on Sully's plans for the rewrite between the end of Time War and Seven Days Part 6 (and to make sure, he already has the revised four-part outline for her perusal), but I do have the first two parts of Preparations done now, and working my way slowly through part three. I'm leery of pushing too far ahead with what I'm writing, but I enjoy writing enough so that when Sully lets me know that something is clashing with his plans, I can make the changes I need to keep in line with his vision. * Sorry, had to insert the obligatory Airplane! joke in there. Now you all know how corny my sense of humor can be.

Howdy! Truth be told, I've actually gone a step or two past this, mostly with discussing with Sully what all he had in mind, then put together a revised spin on it with his input. The result is something I'm still waiting for him to clear (though I confess, I have an "official" data file written up and ready to hand in). Thta being said, I do want to hold back from giving out full specs, at least for the time being, but I will admit to certain things. I admit, in some ways I was not entirely a fan of gravity being removed, but it was for the flimsiest of reasons: my original intent was to make the Stellar WG, well... superhero-esque. If Guyver 2/Oswald Risker is now the Reverse Flash/Eobard Thawne of the WG universe, then Stellar WG/Gabe was gonna be the Green Lantern/Kyle Rayner. I'd had aspirations of effectively making the Stellar WG a redux of a Green Lantern Power Ring, especially considering the fact that originally Gabe was gonna be "everyman" (in that there wasn't anything truly unique to set him apart) -- what I've written of Preparations so far, though, Gabe's evolving into a more complex character than I'd ever imagined him becoming... and he's nowhere near getting the Stellar Warrior Unit yet. That whole long diatribe aside (if nothing else, it does give an idea of my original inspiration), with gravity out, electromagnetism was a shoe-in. I was looking as much at Cyber Guyver as I was Angel for this; Stellar WG will be stronger than Cyber Guyver, but not at Angel's power level by any means -- though I will admit that there are different things Gabe will potentially be able to do as Stellar WG that Angel isn't geared for so much, while there's a number of things that Angel can do better than Stellar WG could. At least, that's my plan. Strength... was tough, I admit. I did want there to be a bit of a downside there, but with the base Warrior unit already set at 4x, I felt like I couldn't play with it too much; still, there is something in the works that should make things interesting in that score. Speed was something I put serious consideration into, particularly after garnering Sully's input. "A bit past" a normal Warrior unit, in this case, is a major understatement. Sully said the idea was for Stellar WG's target to be dead long before he/she got close enough for melee -- which works, to a point. With Sully's input in hand, I made speed and evasive capabilities much more important. Past that... no comment You know, that's actually an interesting idea; I may incorporate into the final design, in fact. The hyper sensors, ironically enough, were the absolute bane of my existence when I sketched up my current "official" data file. I had no idea of how to set up the sensory range, and found myself looking more often than nought at both the Dreadnought and Angel data files to give me ideas; even then, that didn't really "feel right". This is something for me to consider more fully. The Energy Matrix emitters are gone in the current data file draft; I wound up just not liking it, even though it had some interesting potential utility. And even before I removed it, I'd already limited the emitters to not allow for melee weaponry, just to keep it fully ranged-combat in nature. It just never really felt right to me, so I ultimately decided to ditch it. Designing a ranged combat unit is surprisingly tricky, particularly when you do it without the benefit of certain weapons. No sonic emitters or vibrational swords is one thing; heck, even strip away gravity (though that was pretty easy to deal with, since I replaced it with electromagnetism), but Sully threw in another wrinkle that really forced me to rethink my entire approach to the Stellar WG design: no megasmashers. Needless to say, it made the design phase for the data file very... heh... interesting. But, rather than try to defend keeping what is arguably the most powerful weapon system of a Guyver unit in the design, I began to explore some alternatives... and those alternatives became very intriguing. Criticism is perfectly fine with me, so long as it's constructive. I went through at least one major revision on my ideas on my own, and that was before I went to Sully to see what sorts of things he had in mind. I went through a second major revision soon thereafter, courtesy of his input. I'll have to check at some point to see whether Sully's amenable to letting me post my data file submission for everyone to see or not -- right now, I'm actually checking on how far into Preparations I should write, since it's basically running from a year after Inception (three years before Union of the Guyvers, Part 1) up through at least the end of Seven Days of Hell, if not just far enough to tie Gabe back in for when Story 10 is ready and Gabe's bonded with the Stellar WG.