I have some awesome news and a WIP commission to share that's taken up my last three days of #dailycreative and will likely take up several more for sure. +Damian Jankowski asked me if I could illustrate the cover art for his new DW playbook, The Prophet. Damian already has two excellent playbooks out for sale on DriveThruRPG called The Damned and The Cloak respectively. I didn't create the art for those playbooks, but I've been hired to work on The Prophet, and I'm really excited to be doing this piece! Damian said he doesn't mind me sharing my WIPs, so I've been posting them on G+ as part of #dailycreative, and I wanted to share them again here.
Here are the first, preliminary thumbnails for the illustration.
07.15.14
07.16.14
07.17.14
As soon as I get the green light on the final thumbnail/direction, I'm going to get started on the large, 8.5x11" piece for the final illustration. The thumbnails are still pretty rough, but I'll fix all the details and clean it up for the final. This is already proving to be a fun journey, and I'm thrilled to have been given a chance to work on this.
07.18.14
One reason I love posting WIPs on G+ as part of #dailycreative is that other artists can offer critique, insight, and helpful suggestions such as trying out an orange background to help make the violet colors stand out more. I may not always follow other people's advice, but if it helps me, I certainly will.
+Adrian Thoen has been extremely helpful on G+ and I thank him greatly for it. He's also been sharing some awesome artwork as part of his #dailycreative exercises and posting videos of his process on his YouTube channel.
Anyway, the final thumbnail has been greenlit, so I started sketching the large, 8.5 x 11" image out, but I really wasn't happy with the initial construction and composition.
07.21.14
I didn't get a chance to work on the piece over the weekend, but my sister was kind enough to pose as the Prophet so that I could take some reference photos with candlelight. Tonight, I redid the sketch from scratch, and I'm much happier with the result. I also added some really rough shadows to get a sense of the lighting. The next step is to clean the piece up, ink it, redo the shading, add color, and it should be done before the end of the week. I only have a few hours each day to work on it, but I seem to be getting more done in less time with each passing day. I definitely call that progress! More updates to come.
07.24.14
I didn't have much time to work on this the past few days, but I finally got most of the inking done tonight. Some elements still need work, and I'm working on redoing clean shading and highlights next, followed by some minimal color and adding the title bar in the end. I'm shooting to finish this piece by the end of the weekend.
I quickly added in the background, but I'll probably redo it as well. I'm including four versions here: one with the BG and energy lines, one with the BG and no energy lines, one without the BG but with energy lines, and one without the BG and without energy lines.
07.26.14
I've been watching YouTube videos by Jonathan Rector, whose art and workflow has really inspired me. I first found out about him after backing the PbtA superhero RPG, Worlds in Peril, since he's working on art for that game.
Here, I took some workflow tips from Jonathan and started working on the shadows for this piece.
07.27.14
I continued working on the shadows with cross hatching for mid-tones, and I added some minimal color. Here are a few versions I did based on what was requested.
Damian was pretty happy, but he felt the background still distracted from the foreground, which I completely agreed with. He also felt that the piece was still lacking some energy and gave me a brilliant suggestion, so I took his advice and tried a lens blur effect with a Screen blending mode after darkening the background, reworking the hands, some of the hair, shadows, minute details, and adding a brighter candlelight coming out from under the card.
In the end, this is the final, completed piece, which I absolutely love. Damian's really happy with it too, and he's going to work on the layout for the rest of it (title bar, The Prophet title, illustration credits, etc.)
All in all, this has been an extremely fun and fairly challenging commission for not having worked on any commissions in a long while. I do need to work more on my speed and efficiency, but I've only been back into my art for a month now, and I learned a ton while making this piece which is what really matters.
Damian has been an awesome person to work with, and it's been a real pleasure creating this piece. I definitely look forward to doing more future commissions for him, whether it be DW playbooks or something else entirely, and I can't wait to see The Prophet playbook hit the digital shelves of DriveThruRPG in the near future!
I realize I haven't posted anything here in four days, but I actually have been working on #dailycreative exercises and sharing them on G+. Since they all revolve around the same two characters, I thought I'd save them all for one blog post. Meet the Blu Brothers. They're a pair of gnome mechanics and NPCs from an Adventures on Dungeon Planet PbP I run over on GotEXP called 226. Ni'blu is the livelier, rad, optimistic younger brother, while Al'blu is a pessimistic old grouch. Together, they own and operate Blu Brothers' Gizmos, a ship/droid repair business that also sells parts. In the PbP game, the PCs are currently on a mission to retrieve a cache of ship parts that were stolen from the Blu Brothers by Jaxx and his crew - Grenba Orkos or Emerald Orcs (basically space orcs). In exchange, the PCs hope to get the parts they need to fix their broken ship. It's been an exciting adventure so far. The PCs are getting ready to lay a trap for Jaxx and his goons, so they're the next set of NPCs I want to illustrate. Most of them are cyborgs, so that should be really fun to draw. Here are the Blu Brothers. Ni'blu is the one with the bandana and wearing goggles, while Al'blu is wearing the hat.
07.09.14
07.10.14
07.11.14
I'm quite happy with how the character designs are turning out. Hopefully, I'll get an inked version of Ni'blu up tonight with color next to Al'blu. I'll make sure to update this page with the new image. UPDATE (07.13.14) After watching the new Dr. Who/Capaldi trailer today and completely geeking out over it, I had an idea for a very silly illustration. It also gave me a chance to practice three-point perspective. Here's my #dailycreative for Sunday. Comments and critiques are appreciated. I'm not sure if the space gnomes are too small in comparison to the Dalek or not.
I definitely want to finish inking and coloring this piece. I think it'll turn out to be a good one.
UPDATE (07.15.14) I'm still working on this piece, but I got Ni'blu, the younger gnome brother (right) inked, and I changed Al'blu's expression to better fit the scene. I thought he should be freaking out more at the sight of an almost human-sized Dalek. Now I just need to re-ink the Dalek and add color! I'll keep updating this post.
So there's this thing called Magic Item Monday over at the Dungeon World Tavern on G+, and as part of my #dailycreative, I decided to do a light/color study and practice some digital painting, both of which are weaknesses for me that I'm trying to improve upon. The item I picked for MIM is one that a group of PCs are currently carrying in a Dungeon World PbP I'm running on GotEXP called Sagas of Mahr-En.
I went in trying to draw the bottom half of a femur with some metallic rings and inscribed runes, but as several people pointed out in the tavern, it came out phallic-looking. That really wasn't my intent, but it is pretty funny. I guess I was too focused on capturing light, colors, and values to notice.
The Bone Wand of Beshi or The Bone Wand of Beshlanishutli
A cursed bone wand from the Jungle of Beshi, it was originally crafted by Beshlanishutli, King of Devils and Sultan of Death. It attracts any undead within near range and glows a bright teal color whenever undead are nearby.
Certain undead creatures (nightwing, ghosts, banshees, possibly more) may be absorbed by the wand which cause its runes to light up with the same, teal glow. Anyone capable of summoning or manipulating the undead may then draw them back out of the wand.
I haven't quite figured out what happens when all three runes are fully glowing, but I'm sure it will be terribly evil and detrimental.
It's also indestructible and unable to be lost or thrown away. If whoever is carrying it attempts to do so, it just comes back to wherever it was stored.
In the game I'm running, the PCs are on a quest to keep the wand from falling into the hands of Beshlanishutli, his demon offspring, and his minions. Since the PCs can't destroy it, lose it, or throw it away, the only means they have of getting rid of it is by imprisoning it in a special box deep within an ancient, underground temple dedicated to Beshlanishutli.
One person in the Tavern post also made a good point when they asked:
Also, if the wand can't be lost, does that mean its location is always known to at least one person? Let's say the PCs succeed in their mission; they bury the wand deep beneath the earth of the demonic temple. Even if no one else knows where it is, the PCs all know. When all the PCs die, the wand's location becomes unknown again, which I read as "being lost". So what happens?
I didn't go into much detail regarding the 'special box' and wanted to include it in the drawing, but technically that's another magic item in and of itself. The point is that the box is the only means of imprisoning the wand. I haven't fully decided why that is, exactly, but the PCs know that whatever magic it holds, it's certainly powerful enough to keep the wand imprisoned.
Here are the drawings. The first one is actually from over a year ago; I quickly drew it up for the game, but tonight I wanted to recreate it in a more realistic style. Next time, I'll try and go for a less phallic-look, though that's hard when bone wands are concerned. ;)
Drawing from over a year ago.
Tonight's attempt at a digital painting and light/color exercise.
A month ago, I was invited to play Torchbearer on Google Hangouts, and since the Sunday, Dungeon World game I was playing in sadly fizzled out, I welcomed the opportunity to finally give Torchbearer a try. Needless to say, I really fell in love with this game. The fact that I'd played other games with the player who invited me, as well as the GM, certainly helped, and the player who I hadn't met before turned out to be really awesome. They had all played TB together before, and even though I was a noob coming into this without any prior Mouse Guard or Burning Wheel experience, they've really helped me ease into this game with little to no hiccups. As of yesterday, we're now four sessions in. I tried to get the first AP up weeks ago, but time hasn't been on my side and other priorities got in the way. Better late than never, I always say, so here we go. Note, some details, like the conflict toward the end, are a bit fuzzy, since this took place four Sundays ago and I'm going strictly off memory (with a bit of help from the GM and other players, of course). Since it's from my Dwarf's point of view anyway, I'll just blame it on the wine.
The Adventurers
1) Sig of Varik, Human Barbarian (played by +brian meredith)
Hails from the tribal village of Varik. Proper bio to be added soon. 2) Sobel Barefoot, Human Monk (played by +Chris Gardiner)
Sobel grew up in the Crooked Tower, an apprentice of the wizard Malvolio. She fled after seeing him conjure and interrogate the spirits of the air, with their six-fingered hands and serpent-tongues. She joined the mendicant order of Saint Colbin, studying in the library and trying to forget the gleeful voices of the wizard's spirits.
In time, Malvolio disappeared, and the secrets of his tower passed to his other apprentice, Luciens. But Luciens could not unravel Malvolio's sorceries to access his sanctum and library. He came to believe that Sobel had taken the key to their master's wards when she fled. He sought her on the road with her mentor, Benbaras the Cartographer. Benbaras protected her, and died. Sobel fled.
The other PCs
She found Sig floating in the river one day and healed him, though he was one of the barbarian tribes. She think's he's the emissary of her god, send to help her. She healed him. Vonar found them while Sig was recovering and drove off an owlbear that would have mauled them.
Her god is the Mountain Lord: a grinning, antlered god who dwells in the heart of the Last Mountain. He dug fire from the earth and brought it to man. His throne sits before the door to death, and he judges the dead as they pass through, with a tablet of law and a sceptre of bone. - Written by +Chris Gardiner.
3) Vonar Bouk Strongmaul, Dwarf Adventurer (played by myself)
Vonar is from the Dwarven Hills near the other side the Last Mountain. He was an orphan most of his life but was a troublemaker and ran away from the orphanage at a young age. He made an lifelong enemy while he was there, Torvald Redblade, who continuously tried to exact revenge on him and vice versa.
Over five years ago, Vonar traded in the life of laborer and craftsman to pursue a more adventurous, glamorous career as a lone, intrepid, treasure hunter! Little did Vonar know at the time what that life actually entailed, and he certainly didn't know Torvald had been one step ahead of him the entire time.
The last incident occurred fairly recently, actually. Torvald stalked Vonar into a cave and found the perfect opportunity to trap him inside by caving in the entrance. What an asshole! Luckily, Vonar found a way out back through some dark tunnels. He eventually escaped and found himself chasing after a rabbit for food, since he'd run out of wine and rations.
That's when Vonar heard Sobel and the owlbear, and he ran through the trees, toward the river, to help drive the owlbear off.
Preface
The Ruins of Aldornia
The land of Aldornia is one that, 1000 years ago, had some of the greatest nations the world had ever known. Then, during a massive earthquake that shaked the nation (known as the apocalypse) a great many places where lost. The ruins about 5 hours away was one of them, rumoured to be the secret hall of King Jeremiah from that time. Now, 1000 years later, a tremor has shifted the earth, and the ruins, formerly trapped under a lake, might be accessible again. If the players can clear the path to it, they can get forgotten treasures beyond their wildest dreams. - Written by +Lloyd Gyan.
Our awesomely evil GM is +Lloyd Gyan.
Ruins of Aldornia Source: Unknown :(
Actual Play, Session 01
ADVENTURE PHASE 1
Five hours outside the town of Merkast, we came upon the shore of a foggy lake. It was the middle of the night, and the sunken Ruins of Aldornia stared at us in ominous silence. A small, wooden rowboat sat in the murky water, begging us to get in. There was no one inside, just a couple of oars, and after careful consideration, we paddled off. Sig rowed, while Sobel and I kept watch.
We reached the opposite shore without a hitch. There were strange statues and totems piled there, which Sig and I had absolutely no clue about. Sobel seemed to know a thing or two, as her eyes grew wide with interest. She stared at those statues with the same look I always gave in the face of sumptuous treasure.
Sobel proceeded to explain the significance of the religious statues to us and who they represented. The first was the Mountain Lord, King of the Mountain, or simply, the Mountain King.
The King of the Mountain is often perceived as a combination of stag and Man. Tribal priests commune with his spirit through the use of mushrooms found growing under the sacred trees. When a tribe member reaches the age of accounting, they are prepared by the priests and sent up the mountain to find their destiny. They are are given the spirit soup, a weapon, and sent on alone. Not all come back.
Once their destiny is given to them in a vision by the King of the Mountain, they share it with the tribal priests and make way. They are known only by their child name until their destiny is fulfilled and they are allowed to return to the tribe, their duty fulfilled.
The King of the Mountain is not a god of blessings. His ways are followed to prevent his wrath. Many stories are told regarding generations who failed to do so and the destruction that befell the tribe, by storms, famine, and plague. This is why an individual's destiny is so tirelessly endeavored.
When Sobel described the second god depicted as the Dwarf god, Maull, my ruddy ears quickly perked up, and I knew, more or less, who she meant.
Maull is the Dwarven god of Crafting and the Hearth. As the legend goes, Maull's great anvil lies deep underground in the heart of the Dwarven Hills. Smiths and laborers from all over the land would bring raw materials as offerings in hopes that Maull would bless them and their craft or even forge them a tool, weapon, or armor if they were extremely lucky.
They say Maull only crafted a single item once every one hundred thirty years, though the last one was five hundred years ago, just before the devastating earthquake that swept Aldornia. Many believe the location of Maull's anvil was one of the many places lost during the apocalypse, and a rare few question whether Maull even exists anymore.
Nearly every Dwarf craftsman pays homage to Maull, even to this day. No one seems to recall what the last, legendary item he crafted was or where it would be. Some postulate that it might have had something to do with causing the apocalypse, but those who revere Maull vehemently refute this claim.
- Written by me.
Looking around, we knew, from the information we were given in town, that there was a trapdoor hidden in plain sight that would take us further down into the ruins. With Sig's help, I began searching the ground, and after spending a lot of time turning over the wrong set of rocks1, we finally found the secret entrance.
The moonlight that showered us from above didn't extend to the dark tunnels below, so Sobel lit a lantern and in we went, until we finally found a room with some sort of writing on the wall, along with bookcases and tables filled with empty flasks and half-filled potions in a variety of colors.
The writing intrigued Sobel first and foremost, and after she deciphered some of it, we learned a bit more about King Jeremiah, who died seven hundred years ago, and Prince Nole, who's tomb was buried five hundred years ago, right after the apocalypse - the same time the ruins were submerged. No one had gone further in past the top, where we were. Worshippers who supposedly wrote the writing were now regarded as heroes, and just five months ago, another tremor shook the ruins and cleared the waterway. Needless to say, it was a fortunate event for us treasure hunters and adventurers.
Sobel turned to the potion bottles and wanted to take the methodical route of examining them all and reading whatever labels and inscriptions they had on them, but I didn't want to waste any time and fearlessly2 took a swig of the first flask of indigo colored water that caught my fancy.
I immediately regretted my mistake, as I puked all over the floor. After cleaning up my mess, we decided to take a short break to prepare the room for camp and gather our wits.
1. Used the trait 'Born of Earth and Stone' against myself to earn a check. 2. Used the trait 'Fearless' against myself to earn a check.
CAMP PHASE 1
Sig's instinct has always been to cook food whenever we'd make camp, so that's what he did first. He also made sure to preserve the rations for later.
Sobel tried to figure out what the rest of the potion bottles were by their inscriptions, but they were vague, and she only managed to figure out that the flask with the green liquid was most definitely a strength potion.
I wanted as much protection as I could afford before delving deeper into the ominous ruins, so I scrapped a bunch of raw materials together and crafted myself a leather helmet.
Finally, with Sobel as our resident cartographer, she began working on mapping out our route thus far.
ADVENTURE PHASE 2
Now that we were all well rested, we set out to continue exploring the ruins and came upon a sparse tomb. There was a casket with a humanoid skeleton lying inside, a nest on the ground that must have been home to something, and a locked, metal gate leading further into another, dark tunnel.
Sig searched through the nest and turned it around a few times, until he finally found several, expensive, but ruined, tapestries. We knew they'd still fetch us something if we sold them in town, so we took them back to the room we made camp in and hid them securely.
In our attempt to revisit the tomb with the gate, we got lost and ended up in an large, flooded chamber with bridges we could cross, though we still had no choice but to wade through the water which nearly rose up to my chest.
Ignore the lights in the distance. Also, it's pitch black and flooded. Source: Unknown :(
I attached a rope to myself and attempted to swim across, as Sig and Sobel held onto the other end. Suddenly, I felt something scurry past my feet. I turned to alert my companions, but kept moving forward. Sobel still had the oil lantern, but I was too far out and traversing the water-filled bridge in complete darkness. Sadly, I didn't make it across, because two claws grabbed hold of my ankles and yanked me down into the black depths of the flooded pit. Flee Conflict
Source: Unknown :(
I couldn't breathe or yell under the water. All I saw were a pair of these piranha-like humanoids coming after me, as I felt Sig and Sobel tugging on my rope, trying to pull me out of there as fast as they could. It didn't work. I tried to grip onto an edge somewhere, but it was pitch black and useless. Sig jumped in to help me, but at some point Sobel's lantern went out - or she might've dropped it, I was too busy drowning - and one of the piranha men cut the rope, leaving Sig and I trapped in the water-filled pit. I don't even remember how Sobel ended up in the water with us, but she did, and somehow we were able to get away by plunging ourselves deep down toward the bottom of the pit.
We ended up in a naturally-lit, cavern-like chamber with water running down the middle and immediately swam up to the side, where we finally got out and stepped onto dry rock. We were lost, wary of more piranha men, and our torches were all soaked, but at least we survived.
Unfortunately, I don't have the original source for any of the images or who to give credit to, and I take absolutely no credit for any of the images I posted.
Today, I worked on another sketch of ZoR, one of my Dungeon World PCs from the floating city of Aetheron. It's supposed to be a WIP, but I'll probably just treat it like another drawing exercise. One of the other players in the PbP game mentioned how the previous poses seemed too graceful for ZoR, which I agreed with, so I tried to tone that down a bit, but now this pose isn't dynamic enough.
There are other bits I'm not too happy with either. The arm holding the sword seems off, and I want to play around with other hairstyles to make Zornosh and Raz more distinct, even though they're supposed to be twin heads.
I also don't have a lot of experience drawing chainmail armor, especially one that's supposed to be elven-made. I've been looking up references, which have helped, but it still needs work. I think I'll spend a day on armor studies real soon.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with how ZoR's turning out. You can be sure to see a lot more drawings of this character in the near future. Once I nail down the right pose, features, and setting, it'll be well on its way to a nice, illustrated piece.
As I watched Germany play France today, I simultaneously drew quick, 1-3 second gesture poses of the players and this is the result. The first two sets of poses are from the first half of the game, and the latter two are from the second. You can clearly see how stiff the gestures were from the first half in comparison to the second. The cool thing is that I can totally use these for action poses that don't necessarily have to be football-related.
It's the end of the summer term, and the SAInt pilots from Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie Company all get to go on a week-long vacation to the Bahamas! Serena has to stay behind for special training with Dr. Johnson, but Sarah convinces her to shirk her duties and come along. AK-47 doesn't really mind.
Prior to the trip, Rick, Sarah, and Jason decide to break into Dr. Johnson's office when he's not there so that they can find out what sort of nefarious deeds he's involved in with relation to the Mayzor. Their suspicions are confirmed when Rick and Sarah discover confidential, CRC files on Opsie, Serena, Sarah, and Rick. All four are candidates for the top-secret Apostle Project which involves a new, 'P-Class' SAInt that's supposedly stripped of its Id and has an even stronger, telepathic bond with its pilot. The files also reveal the name of the drug that Opsie, Serena, and Rick have all been injected with sometime in the past. It's called Americium Bromine Oxide 51A (AmBrO51A) and allegedly helps expedite the zen-like state they need to reach in order to pilot the P-Class SAInts at optimal efficiency. Sarah is the only candidate who has yet to be injected with the AmBrO51A serum.
Meanwhile, Jason hacks Dr. Johnson's computer and finds several, encrypted folders containing text documents with scrambled code, which he copies over to his Linc. He puts his computer skills to good use and successfully converts the code into their proper form, revealing kanji-like symbols and a master list of an alphabet none of the pilots have ever seen before. Unfortunately, there's not enough time to translate them on the spot, but Jason will work on deciphering the files during vacation.
The next day is spent traveling to the Bahamas, and the pilots all settle into their beach houses. AK-47 and Dr. Harris are the only adults and Preservation Forces officers that accompany the teenagers as their chaperones.
Two new recruits, named Bala and Lieke, join Charlie Company and are pilots of a modified SAInt called the Mendicant. It's a tandem variant created for pilots with excellent, telepathic abilities but can't pass the physical or academic tests for Preservation Forces service by themselves. The two pilots cooperate and compensate for each others' deficiencies, as they pilot the Mendicant together. In Bala and Lieke's case, they're twin brother and sister who are so connected with each other, they even finish each other's sentences from time to time. Jason finds that extremely unnerving.
Later on in the day, he and Opsie go head to head in a surfing competition after the 'Prima Donna from Galilee' boasts about being a champion surfer from Sydney, which Jason clearly can't recall. He stays ahead of her the entire time and pulls off some stunning maneuvers which sends Opsie crashing into a huge wave and wiping out. Strudel cheers Jason on, as he heads over to the volleyball court, where a bunch of pilots are gathering for a game of boys versus girls.
Rick, Strudel, Billy, Raspberry, Kazuhiro, and Miguel square off against Sarah, Serena, Joanne, Stephanie, and Laurie. It's an exciting game that forces many of the pilots to eat sand, and Sarah leads the girls team to a successfully victory over the boys. The PF officers watch from the sidelines, and AK-47 finally takes notice of Serena, who shouldn't even be on the trip, but AK-47 isn't mad at her one bit. She's actually relieved Serena didn't stay behind with Dr. Johnson.
There's a competition that evening to see who can build the best bonfire, and everyone ends up gathering around Alpha Company's site. The pilots eat dinner, roast marshmallows, and share spooky, ghost stories. Rick's story causes Joanne to fall off her log, while Jason cleverly utilizes sound effects to scare the pants off Strudel.
Right as they're going to bed, Jason's Linc beeps, alerting him that the first file from Dr. Johnson's computer has been deciphered. It contains instructions for Dr. Johnson to upload a virus to the Operations' computers using a miniature-sized Wormwood which acts as a sort of flash drive. The virus is responsible for disrupting the MetaTron and causing the static interference that the pilots experienced in New Alamo the previous.
The episode cuts with Jason grumbling, "Awww, fu-"
Saturday, August 16th 2031
00:01
Bad News Part I
Jason wastes no time, and sends Rick, Sarah, Serena, and Strudel a group message on their Lincs to meet up by the campfire pit. Rick arrives first, and Jason gives him all the details on the first file he's deciphered. Rick's starting to freak out too. Meanwhile, Jason's Linc is almost done deciphering the second file, but something goes awry, and there's some sort of technological failure. Jason scrambles to fix it and manages to save the file from becoming corrupted. It reveals detailed blueprints of the city of New Alamo and a full breakdown of the Mayzor assault - where the Wormwoods would land, the number of Locusts and their targets, the Magnas, and specific instructions for Dr. Johnson to purposely redirect Bravo Company's Jehu's Bow trajectory to keep them far away from New Alamo. The plan was to isolate Alpha Company so that the two Magnas could gang up on them and destroy them. Obviously things didn't go as planned, and the Mayzor underestimated the SAInt pilots they were dealing with.
Sarah meets up with Rick and Jason, and Jason tells her about the instructions Dr. 'Scary Face' received in the deciphered messages, and Sarah's just as stunned and uneasy as they are. While none of the instructions are actually proven to have come from the Mayzor, Jason works a bit more computer magic and figures out that Dr. Johnson received them two months prior to the New Alamo invasion. This news really worries the pilots, and they unanimously decide to bring the information to AK-47 right away.
Since Rick is on better terms with AK-47, Jason and Sarah decide he should be the one to break the news to her, however Sarah's the only one who's allowed inside the girl's beach house to wake her up and tell her. Sarah hesitantly walks inside to do so, and AK-47 grumbles with groggy, partly-closed eyes asking what Sarah wants that can't wait until the morning. Sarah says she needs to come outside; they have some grave and serious news to tell her. AK-47 dismisses her and plops back into her pillow, but Sarah reiterates the importance of their news, that this isn't a prank, and convinces AK-47 to follow her by actually saying her full name, Captain Anastasia Kasherov. "This better be good," the Captain grumbles. On her way out, Sarah locks eyes with Serena, who's awake, and points her Linc before motioning to the door. Serena follows shortly after.
Outside the girls' residence, Rick salutes AK-47 and explains what they've discovered, while Jason sends her the files he deciphered (and the ones he's still deciphering) to her Linc. AK-47's mouth drops, and her face goes pale. "Where did you get these? What else do you know?" she asks. Rick explains that they broke into Dr. Johnson's office and copied the files off his computer after decrypting them. Rick also tells AK about the classified, CRC folders they saw with the information on the Apostle Project, the P-Class SAInt, the candidates chosen, and the AmBrO51A serum. AK-47 walks them over to the campfire pit, where they'll have more privacy, and confirms a lot of what Rick said. Yes, there's a top secret Apostle Project being spearheaded by the CRC. Yes, Opsie, Serena, Rick, and Sarah are candidates, and yes, Opsie, Rick, and Serena were said to have been administered the AmBrO51A drug, but AK-47 merely had suspicions about Dr. Johnson; now, they're proving to be accurate. AK-47 gets into a few specifics regarding Opsie's and Serena's training with the P-Class, or Prophet, SAInt, in an underground, CRC facility within the Arx Jericho. AK-47 doesn't have the necessary clearance to check up on them during training, but she has an inside source, a CRC scientist, who feeds her information. She suspects Rick will be next to start his training and urges him to heed Dr. Johnson's instructions when asked so as not to alert suspicion. Rick isn't thrilled with the idea one bit but reluctantly agrees. Just as AK-47 gets ready to retire again for the night, Jason suddenly asks about the pilots who perished in the Chicago Catastrophe and whether they were candidates or not. AK-47 says Serena was the only Prophet candidate from the former Alpha Company before she leaves, and Jason's comment leaves Serena with a sad or angry look on her face. Sarah attempts to read her emotions and figures out that Serena is neither outright sad nor angry, but she's feeling extremely guilty for not being able to save all her teammates on that dreadful day.
That night, Rick, Sarah, and Jason all have nightmares. Jason dreams about his mother's recent abduction by the Mayzor, the attack on the Arx Galilee, and the fact that his step father couldn't do a thing to prevent either. Sarah dreams about her brother and parents being attacked in New Alamo, and Rick has the worst nightmare of all. He's somewhere in Germany, in an auditorium filled with masked scientists, and he's strapped to a cot next to Opsie, screaming as his father, Rafe, plunges the syringe of AmBrO51A into his neck. "Why are you doing this?!" he screams, and his father softly replies, "Shhh, shhh. You're special, Rick. You're going to help save the world, my son. Remember that." It's around six in the morning when Rick wakes up, and he doesn't go back to sleep.
Bad News Part II
Jason wakes up around nine in the morning and checks his Linc first thing. The rest of the files have been deciphered, and Jason's face sinks, as he discovers even more, terrible news. The third file reveals blueprint images of two new, aquatic-class Locusts - a squid-like Constrictor and a whale-like Cannon - and a list of islands and coastal cities the Mayzor are targeting next. The Bahamas and Bimini Island are included. Jason gets ready to alert his teammates, but he has trouble opening up the fourth and last file. Something is preventing it from displaying properly on his Linc; it's like the file is purposely trying to block Jason from opening it. Being the tech wiz that he is, Jason overrides the security and successfully opens the deciphered file. It contains one last set of instructions for Dr. Johnson to closely monitor Rick, Serena, and Opsie and a plan to take control of the Prophets as soon as the Preservation Forces launch Operation Blue Moon.
Jason frantically sends another group message, alerting his teammates, and Sarah and Serena get up to tell AK-47, but she's not inside the beach house. Sarah spots her swimming in the ocean through the window and rushes out with Serena to deliver the grave news. They've never seen AK so flustered and disturbed, and the Captain rallies Alpha Company to meet her in private, by the volleyball court, before breakfast. She also tells Sarah and Serena to bring Opsie.
Sarah fetches Rick and Jason, while Serena heads to the girls' bunk to grab Opsie, and they all meet up with AK-47 who's still overwhelmed by all the news and in shock after the pilots mention Operation Blue Moon. She tells them about a secret, underground base on Bimini Island, where the Preservation Forces have been working on several, new, aquatic prototype SAInts in case they were ever forced to battle the Mayzor in the water. She tells the pilots to meet her in the afternoon so that she can take them there.
Rick, Sarah, Jason, Serena, Strudel, and Opsie return to the campfire to help the other pilots prepare breakfast.
Morning Activities and Drama
Joanne calls Rick over and challenges him to a Kendo match after they eat. Rick can't quite tell if she's trying to act mean/tough or awkwardly tease him again, and after spending Ego, he realizes she's not just teasing him; Joanne wants to publicly humiliate Rick by beating him in competition in front of everyone. He accepts her challenge nonetheless.
Jason notices Laurie glaring at him with an angry expression, and he wonders what on earth he did. She walks away from the campfire, and he catches up with her to have a word. She turns and says, "Go away, Jason, I know what you did!" "What did I do?" Jason asks, and Laurie replies, "Opsie told me everything!" "What did Opsie say now?" he asks, and Laurie says, "Don't play dumb! I know you tried to kiss her after your little surfing competition yesterday. She told me everything." Jason grumbles and catches Opsie grinning at them from afar. Strudel is nearby, collecting sea shells, and overhears everything. Jason struggles to convince Laurie that Opsie's lying, and Strudel's sincere face is what finally turns it around for Laurie. She agrees that Opsie says a lot of things that aren't always true and believes Jason is telling the truth in the end. She gives him a peck on the cheek, takes his hand, and invites him to go on a long walk across the beach. That's an offer Jason can't possibly refuse.
Raspberry tells Sarah there's a cool arcade by the boardwalk and invites her to come play video games after breakfast. She wholeheartedly accepts and beats him in every round of Shinobi Knights 4 while drawing a crowd of local kids.
Joanne warms up with Stephanie prior to the Kendo match, and as soon as Rick joins her, all the other, remaining pilots form a crowd around them by the volleyball court. Joanne gives Rick a chance to warm up, but they soon jump right into the competition. Rick's first strike misses, and Joanne starts taunting him out loud, while Billy yells, "Yeah, Joanne! You show that twerp!" Rick responds with some rapid footwork and disorients Joanne completely before landing a successful strike. Serena cheers her brother on, but Rick's Ego doesn't go up, as he can't her amidst all the other pilots cheering. Joanne gets ready to retaliate, and Stephanie asks Rick if he needs any help, but that only distracts him and forces him to fumble his next attack. Joanne sneers and hits him in the side, but Rick recovers and cleverly decides to pay her a well-timed compliment by saying how cute she is when she gets mad. Joanne turns red, and Rick steps in front of her while bringing his boken up to her throat and forcing her to land backwards into the sand. Humiliated and defeated, Joanne gets up and salutes Rick, congratulating him. As the crowd disperses, she says she wants a rematch tomorrow and leaves. It's almost time for Alpha Company to meet up with AK-47, but Stephanie asks Rick if he wants to spar a bit more. Rick agrees and exchanges several, quick blows, but it's far too easy, and Stephanie is clearly no match him unlike Joanne.
Source: Bamboo Blade Volume 1
http://www.news-anime.com/reviews/bamboo-blade-volume-1/
Image used without permission. I take no credit for this image.
Jason and Laurie return a little past twelve, and Strudel meets them going on and on about Rick's incredible fight. Jason's eyes widen, but he's relieved to find out it was just a Kendo match, not a real life with, say, Billy. Strudel wants to ask Jason something but not in front of Laurie, though it might have to wait until after they meet with AK-47. Laurie turns to Jason and asks, "Oh, where are you guys going?" and Jason responds AK-47 wants to meet with them. Laurie takes that to mean all the companies, and Jason says he only means Alpha Company. "Oh, well OK then," Laurie says before giving Jason a kiss and walking off.
Image used without permission. I take no credit for this picture.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/k74bgss
The Underground Base and Billy's Folly
AK-47 meets Alpha Company and Opsie with the new recruits, Bala and Lieke. They take a banana boat to Bimini Island, where AK-47 leads them to a secret, camouflaged, underground hangar in the opposite direction of the natural, hot springs. There, AK-47 shows off the aquatic, prototype SAInts which have propulsion systems on the soles of their feet and their backs as well as rubber webbing between their toes and fingers. Otherwise, they resemble the normal, land-based SAInts, only with green markings instead of red. AK-47 wants Alpha Company to choose what weapons they want their aquatic SAInts to wield, while Bala and Lieke have come along to spend some time training in their Mendicant.
Before exiting the hangar, Jason confronts Opsie and tells her to quit spreading lies about him. He doesn't like her, and he never will like her. Opsie gives him a wide grin and bets that he does, and Jason attempts to slap her, but she instantly blocks it. He storms off.
Alpha Company returns to the main island by late afternoon, while Opsie stays behind to oversee Bala and Lieke's training.
Strudel asks Jason for relationship advice, as he believes Stephanie is mad at him. Jason tells Strudel to ask her what he did wrong and then apologize. After all, it's what Jason's step father always did with his mother. Strudel thanks Jason for the advice and says he'll follow through with it.
A few hours before dinner, Rick sees Billy arguing with Serena and decides to eavesdrop on them while remaining inconspicuous. They whisper far too quietly for Rick to hear anything, but he sees Billy storm off in ab pouty fit of rage. Along the way, Rick, Jason, and Sarah see Billy kick over Miguel's sand castle while yelling, "Get out of the way, dweeb!" They can't believe Billy just did that, and after Miguel (the youngest of the pilots) starts bawling in tears, Jason suggests delivering some poetic justice. Rick agrees and rallies all the other pilots to stand together with him and Jason to prevent Billy from having dinner as punishment for his bullying.
Billy storms off and sulks by himself the rest of the night, as all the other pilots have dinner, roast marshmallows, and end the evening on a fairly good note.
Next Time
It's Day 3 of summer vacation/beach week in the Bahamas, and Rick, Sarah, and Jason are still apprehensive about all the ominous news concerning Dr. Johnson and the evolved, aquatic-class Locusts. At least AK-47 and Dr. Harris are taking the pilots to visit the hot springs at Bimini Island, so that should be fun and relaxing! With the girls and boys separated, you can be sure to see some sneakiness going on and plenty more, teenage drama. But what about the Mayzor? Will they launch their first ever naval assault? If so, will the Bahamas be hit first, and can Rick, Sarah, and Jason even stop them using the Preservation Forces' specialized, submarine SAInts?
Stay tuned to find out!
End of Episode 09
Director Commentary
I'll update this section with some more commentary at a later date, but for now, here's the actual game we played on Hangouts on Air:
