Figured I’d do something a bit different than usual today… a collection of all the art I have commissioned from the great and super talented HorizenDreamer @doodlesdreaming
I will also link her BlueSky here!
I LOVE each and every one of these pieces of art I commissioned! I ABSOULTELY mean that! If you’re looking for an amazing artist who has a wide variety, then I cannot suggest HorizenDreamer enough!
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#shin megami tensei #death #art commisions #darksiders #west of dead #marvel comics #marvel #new x-men #x-men #megaten #smt v vengeance #final fantasy #final fantasy ix #top cow #the darknessSo... a while ago I made a post about how I think it would be cool to see a team-up of Andi Benton, Laura Kinney, and Nico Minoru. Today, another team-up that I think could be cool to see is Laura Kinney and Victor Mancha. Both are a person made to be used by a malicious force as a "tool" against others. Laura by The Facility as a living weapon for mostly assassination missions, while Victor was created by Ultron to be used against the Avengers. Pretty sure both also had a mother who loved and cared for them that is now not in the picture. I know Laura was forced to kill her mother, but I admit I can't remember what exactly happened to Victor’s mother.
Also, slight tangent, but I know there is this headcanon for some that Laura is Trans, considering she is stated to be a clone of Logan, so it popped in my head of "How come no one headcanons Victor as Trans?" Because you know, Ultron ain't got genetics, so I am pretty sure all of Victor’s come from his mother.
Anyways! There is some similarities that I think could allow a cool team-up with these two. Maybe something like Ultron gets ahold of whatever files The Facility had left and decides to use whatever knowledge they give him to attempt a new plan of wiping out The Avengers or some such? Or maybe a whole new villain that only the two of them working together can help defeat?
What are anybody else's thoughts on this?
Continuing off of this, I’m kinda surprised that there was never any type of internal crossover where X-23 met the Runaways. I think it could have worked. Maybe in a hypothetical future “What If” book there could be an issue where instead of Kiden and company it is the Runaways Laura runs into?
Maybe it could be set in an alternate universe and maybe it could start with Laura being sent to assassinate the parents of the Runaways? Or maybe it’s during that time where Laura is on the run without a stable place to stay and she’s taken in as one of the Runaways despite having no connections to The Pride?
So... just kinda wanting to continue talking on a thought, an idea, I had not too long ago... The idea of Laura Kinney joining the Hellfire Club.
Just going with an alternative universe where she has become a member of the prestigious mutant gathering that is the Hellfire Club, I could see her being taken in as a lower-ranked member before rising the ranks to become the new Black Queen. I also imagine she would become the Black Queen after something has caused Selene Gallio to become indisposed. Part of the idea is that Selene found Laura sometime after the girl has escaped The Facility, in some vague time frame for that. Laura could still join the Institute, become a member of the New X-Men, and maybe gain an internal conflict of whether she is loyal to the Hellfire Club, the people who took her in, or the New X-Men, the people who would genuinely come to see her as a friend and vice versa.
This thought just occurred to me: in this AU, if Laura is a member of the Hellfire Club when young, then Emma Frost kinda has a bit more of reasons to not trust the young clone of Logan, beyond what she already had. Emma could be an ex-member of the Hellfire Club, so she may remember Selene taking in a protege. And I do mean protege, as I HEAVILY doubt that Laura would see Selene as a motherly figure of any kind. I imagine that Sarah would HEAVILY skew how Laura sees mothers, see them as kind people who would do anything for their children, and so Selene being a colder person would make Laura see Selene as a teacher than anything else. I do think Selene's sense of fashion could potentially influence Laura somewhat, maybe with Laura dressing a bit more like how Selene may look in Marvel Strike Force? ...I think I've seen art of a design for if Selene made it into Marvel Strike Force but I don't know if that's official or not.
For the future part, where Laura is the new Black Queen, I kinda want to make Julian Keller/Hellion the new Black King of the Hellfire Club. I really like the dynamic between the two in the mainline comics, at least when written well, so I think the two being heads of the Hellfire Club could bring some more potential to the dynamic.
I don't have much idea who could the White Queen and White King for the future part of this AU yet, but I do kinda want to make Santo Vaccarro/Rockslide a member of their group in a way as well. Going with the presumably chess piece theming, Santo could be a Black Rook. Maybe some of the other characters can also be part of the Hellfire Club too... It just struck me that maybe Elixir could be the White King of the Hellfire Club.
Kinda continuing this, I wanted to go real quick go over who I now think could be the other members of the Hellfire Club in this AU. These could be a bit more obvious but something I think could be fun to share. So, here we go!
BLACK ROOK: I feel like this could be Rockslide. I just feel like he could stick around his buddy Julian and help the guy in any way, but would still be a bit more on the good side compared to the Black King.
BLACK KNIGHT: I would probably make this Anole. Rockslide would probably bring him along for the ride and I feel like he would take things fairly seriously as part of the Hellfire Club. I did think of maybe making him the Black Bishop, but I also feel like that role could go to another character.
BLACK BISHOP: I would make this Wither/Kevin Ford. Julian is one of the few people that stood up for the guy back in the Academy X days, and I’m one of those people that wants to see him interacting with Laura/X-23.
WHITE QUEEN: Or, I guess maybe, White Queens. The Stepford Cuckoos. It could be one, it could be three, or it could be all five. In any way, I think them being the White Queen could be a fun contrast to Laura as the Black Queen. Both Laura and the Cuckoos are clones of massively dangerous mutants, made to be weapons, that would go on to meet their DNA sources. There are more than enough differences however, so many that I probably can’t name them all. Alternatively, I do also think Sofia Mantega/Wind Dancer could be a fun alternative choice for a new White Queen, maybe deliberately taking the role in a bid to try changing the Hellfire Club from the inside.
For much of the other pieces of the Hellfire Club, I don’t have much of an idea for who. I don’t want to feel lazy by just making them all a bunch of New X-Men/Academy X characters now in a more anti-hero or villain role for this AU.
So... continuing my thoughts on crossover ideas again, I had this thought after seeing some fanart... Devil May Cry/Marvel/Shin Megami Tensei crossover. Maybe have it be something like Nero is contracted a mission to test the Nahobino similar to how his uncle was contracted to test the Demi-Fiend, all while a different force, I'm thinking from the Marvel side of the idea, is looking to stop the Nahobino and/or take the Throne.
One idea I had for the Marvel side of things is maybe making Loki a sort of behind-the-scenes mastermind, maybe not in a bid to take the Throne but to find someone who can. Maybe he shows up to Lucifer and is like "Hello, old friend. Say... How about a little wager?" I only posit this idea because something tells me, even though I have not gotten very far into SMTV Vengeance, that Lucifer kinda likes that the Nahobino have returned. And going with Marvel's Loki, the God of Mischief is not above making things into a spectacle. Who would Loki put his bets into? I like to think he would bet on multiple horses in this race, as while not always the brightest, Loki can be pretty crafty. The ideas I have for who Loki would put stake into, and in all honesty most of my choices are some of the semi-known and some of the semi-obscure favorites of mine.
So far, for Loki's "champions," to put it one way, I'm thinking: Daken, Eric Masterson, Ben Reilly, Luke Cage and/or Iron Fist. Or maybe instead of those last two, I'll go with Victor Alvarez, who has taken on Luke Cage's hero name of Power Man but has chi-based powers like Iron Fist.
I also did just have the idea while writing this of maybe some Marvel characters are also now workers of the in-universe Devil May Cry business, so maybe they would tag along with Nero. I'm thinking that two of those Marvel characters that would are Robbie Reyes and Laura Kinney. Both have some experience with fighting demons, and I think it could be a fun dynamic to write for Nero, Robbie, and Laura. Maybe I could have it that they start by testing the Protagonist but as things go along start having some doubts and maybe start doing their own thing. I also had this idea of making Laura the Knowledge of Amaterasu, using her connection to the Uni-Power as a bit of inspiration. Also, thinking about it, Nero having a teammate who, unknown to them all, has the potential to take the Throne is a fun idea.
Another idea I had while typing this out is say making Nico Minoru into a Panagia, a Goddess of Creation, as the protagonist, with two Nahobino as the ones to sway her in choosing Order or Chaos. I don't know why this popped in my head, but I think it could be be a pretty cool idea to try writing.
Continuing this, I imagine that going with Nero, Robbie, and Laura testing the Nahobino, they would take the contract without much issue but slowly come around to deciding to help the protagonist. Speaking of how I think the trio would interact, in general, I think they would all get along very well. Nero and Laura I can see having a fun dynamic, where it’s in part a friendly competition to see who can take out more demons with style. They wouldn’t have any romantic feelings, as at least for me, Kyrie is Nero’s one and only, and I’ll admit, when it comes to Laura, it mostly comes down to Hellion for me, I really like their dynamic. Also, it’s just cool to have a male-female relationship that doesn’t involve romance whatsoever, for Nero and Laura at least.
As for Nero and Robbie, they would have a bit more of a tense dynamic, where they’re friendly and can work together, but also have a bit more varied ways of dealing with situations. Where if Nero does try to lean into fun, then Robbie is a bit more serious about it all, due to factors in his personal life, like having to take care of his little brother.
Now, for all three, I think I’d change up a couple things from the previous idea. I’d probably go with that Robbie is the holder of Knowledge, maybe Zarathos’, while Laura’s connection to the Uni-Power could qualify her as a Panagia, as a Goddess of Creation, all while Nero is essentially one of the people just trying to look out more for Humanity than do anything with potentially helping most of the Gods and Monsters, the Angels and Demons than necessary. Either that or go with the previous “Laura is someone’s Knowledge idea” while also having that maybe Robbie is more a magic using human, his latest powers awakened due to the soul of evil serial killer uncle attempting to possess him, all while Nero is one of a maybe rare handful of beings who has both Human and Demonic blood in his veins.
For the Loki side of things, he would still have his “champions,” but I’m thinking of maybe, just maybe, swapping a character out. Instead of Ben Reilly, go with Julia Carpenter, who if memory serves correctly, is the second Madame Web. Really a bit more for variety in a way, having not all of Loki’s “champions” be male. You know, throw a female character in for a neat addition/potential dynamic. Where her powers due to her connection to the Web of Life & Destiny gives her an insight that someone like Eric Masterson, despite being Thor’s Knowledge in this, would not have. Power Man would be a young human who has mystic power, in this case Chi, and use it as a way to fight demons, just being someone who has a preference for physical attacks over anything elemental. Daken could something of a wild card in a sense, where just his healing factor and his pheromone manipulation, for comparison sakes, it’s akin to the power some demons have to Charm others, would allow him to survive the in the likes of Da'at really without really much need of magic, if any.
So... going into more crossover ideas... I do kinda want to continue more of that Marvel/Soul Eater crossover I came up with. For the most part, it is just an exploration of how could I make the two worlds properly work together. I may have a hard time with some parts and not with others. I may or may not factor Fire Force into the equation as I'm still a bit in the dark when it comes to that work and how it ties into Soul Eater.
Leaning a bit more into the Marvel side a bit, as I'm still learning about Soul Eater through watching the anime and hopefully later reading the manga, I do want to make Witches still their own thing a lot like in Soul Eater. Just maybe make it that for Witches, chaotic magic is what they naturally acclimate to, compared to maybe others with more orderly magic, like say Doctor Strange or even Lord Death. Gods and monsters, demons and angels exist in the Marvel Universe, so maybe they could be beings sort of similar to Lord Death, just maybe with not as the heavy of Soul Wavelengths compared to Lord Death or Kishin Asura. Thor isn't going to intentionally crush someone with his Soul Wavelength.
Speaking of Thor, considering Marvel does play a bit loose with whether Asgard is essentially another realm (dimension?) or is something like a planetoid or something else, I feel I gotta take some liberties. I would have Asgard and the other non-Earth realms as other dimensions where different & similar rules are in place. Odin and later Thor rules Asgard, Loki later rules Jotunheim, and in this instance, Lord Death has a say in how Earth is governed.
An interesting idea I just had in making this AU a bit different is that maybe something happened to both Lord Death and Kishin Asura. That maybe Asura revived earlier somehow, that maybe he and Lord Death have destroyed each other due their power being equal. Just had this fun idea of maybe due to that, Death the Kid being raised by someone other than his father. Also, that maybe due to Lord Death being seen as dead, that's why the Marvel side of this crossover AU is a bit more prominent. What would happen to Kishin Asura if he and Lord Death have destroyed each other? If Lord Death can pseudo-survive through a legacy with Death the Kid existing, then I think the ones that turned into Kishin would count for Asura.
For whom I could maybe have taken charge after Lord Death and Kishin Asura destroy each other, I may just make it Arachne Gorgon. From what I know, she is the one of the Gorgon Sisters that has a bit more world domination-like plans in a way. Or would it be better to describe her plans as plans for a new world order? I'm pretty sure that at least compared to her younger sister, that Arachne is more a "world controlling" type of villain, while compared to her older sister, Medusa feels like a "just for chaos" type of villain. Anyways, maybe I could make it that Arachne is the one that raises Death the Kid after finding him as a youngling? Or maybe I could make it a different person who raises Death the Kid in this world without Lord Death.
...If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I guess. I'll make it that Arachne has at least taken over part of the Earth now that Lord Death is gone. Some villains from the Marvel side of this crossover could be rivals and/or ruling other parts of the world.
I'm also thinking about the New X-Men for this crossover. Mostly because I mentioned in previous posts about ideas of making Mercury and Hellion into Mutant/Weapon hybrids. Mercury could be a bit like Tsubaki in a way, where her Weapon form can be various different forms, while for Hellion, I did have the idea of making his Weapon form a meteor hammer. Initially I did think of making Hellion a gauntlet, but felt that wasn't creative enough, so after hearing a bit about meteor hammers in one of the Discord servers I'm in, I felt that was creative enough for Hellion. For the other New X-Men, maybe I could make some of them Meisters or Weapons, but I also feel like them just being Mutants with little to no other fancy capabilities makes things a bit more interesting for the group as well. Using Elixir as an example, he doesn't really need to be a Meister or a Weapon due to his already pretty powerful biokinetic powers. Maybe Prodigy could learn some Soul-based powers after her loses his Mutant powers, but I think him learning how to do hero work without powers could be interesting to explore, if I get to writing something more beyond just sharing ideas here.
Going a bit back into Thor, I guess him and the rest of the Avengers could exist in this crossover AU too. Maybe Thor was a friend to Lord Death and feels it's his duty to return to Earth and help protect it now that his friend is gone. Or maybe Thor does not get into things with Earth when Arachne takes part of it over due to having to take the throne back in Asgard. Odin isn't going to live forever, so a new king needs to rule the realm. Maybe similar for some other pantheons as well.
Then there's also Doctor Strange. I feel like he would have a tense relationship with Arachne, where neither trusts the other. Arachne will not go after Strange despite him being a trusted individual to Lord Death as Strange keeps Dormammu at bay, and Strange will not meddle in Arachne's affairs as she helps keep other forces on Earth in line. It's an agreement neither like but stick to it.
That's about all I got for this. At least for now. I think I'll come back to this one later, maybe with a self reblog to expand on the ideas more. I still gotta think more about how Death the Kid works into this. Maybe even how Maka & Soul, Black Star & Tsubaki, and even other prominent Soul Eater characters fit into this crossover AU I have made.
Continuing this, I want to talk a little bit more Arachne and how I could tie a bit of the Marvel side of this crossover to her, maybe by making it that Adriana Soria, Marvel’s Spider-Queen, was once a potential new body for Arachne that became their own being. Adriana nearly was the host for Arachne’s soul, but either she had enough willpower to force Arachne out, or the body gained their own soul due something unforeseen. Whichever I feel works a bit better, I guess. Maybe Adriana is one of the beings that Arachne and Doctor Strange had to come to an agreement on defeating together. Or maybe Arachne and Spider-Man.
Onto a character to put some more thought into for this crossover AU: Death The Kid. I have a few ideas for how to implement him. First is having Arachne raising the young Grim Reaper, without her fully knowing he’s the next Death. Second is after Lord Death and Kishin Asura destroy each other, a young Death The Kid is found by other survivors of the battle. Third is implementing the Marvel side a bit and maybe having a hero or two take in the young one and raising him. I have no full idea at the moment of who I could make it that raises Kid, just a couple smaller ones that maybe could work. One idea is Ghost Rider raising Kid, while another is maybe Logan. Or maybe even Spidey & MJ adopting Kid… somehow.
One idea for how Peter & Mary Jane could adopt Kid is that maybe Doctor Strange found Kid and brought the youngling to someone the Sorcerer Supreme felt would be both a good influence and is a trustworthy individual. Maybe I could make it that Spidey & MJ already have a child or maybe adopt Kid before Mayday is born. Which do you guys think could be more interesting?
Speaking of Ghost Rider, an idea I had is that Zarathos was once the Spirit of Justice, but through torture by Mephisto, fell into Madness and became the Spirit of Vengeance. Maybe Lord Death knew Zarathos during both phases and feels guilty for not helping the Spirit of Justice when he could have. Either that or maybe that Zarathos is an entity that can be either the Spirit of Justice or Vengeance, maybe even both, depending on the current host. Maybe while not as trustworthy to Doctor Strange as Spider-Man to raise Kid but could maybe see that Ghost Rider and Kid could be good influences on each other in a way.
Interesting idea I had at work when I had time to think over this crossover AU: Kishin Asura being reborn. Sort of. His body will have been destroyed, and most of his soul has dispersed into madness over the world, but later a piece would be reborn into a new body, as a new being. A still quite fearful being, but a new being nonetheless. Because Laura and Hellion are one of my favorite couples in comics, I had the thought of that reincarnated part of Asura being their child. Because I am a bit of a metalhead and because of who it is that is partially reincarnating, I would make it that Laura and Julian name their kid “Ozzy”. Maybe the soul fragment remembered the “Ahs” pronunciation of Asura enough, somehow, that it spoke to Laura’s soul and the name “Ozzy” popped into her mind.
That’s about all I got for this one. At least for now. Once again, I may or may not come back to this one later. I still gotta think about how Soul, Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki, and however many other Soul Eater characters are going to fit into this crossover AU.
So... I'm thinking of a new crossover idea again. Marvel/Soul Eater crossover. With maybe Loa and Mercury as the Meister/Weapon Duo. I could go with Laura and Julian again, but I feel like switching it up a bit.
There are two main ideas I got with this. Number 1: Shared Alternate Universe. Number 2: Multiverse Shenanigans
For idea number one: I guess it could be interesting to see how mutants can factor into the equation, but I also like idea of them looking human and being mostly normal, with exception to the soul-based powers of course. Here's a thought that just crossed my mind: Mercury being a Mutant/Weapon hybrid in a way? Or her Earth-616 powerset being her Weapon abilities kicked into overdrive, in a way? I guess it could be the same for Loa? OR she could just he a mutant who's tapping in the soul-based abilities that come with being a Meister.
For idea two: it's basically just hopping from one universe to another, maybe with the idea that whatever device allowed Loa and Mercury to get to the Soul Eater universe just adapting them to that universe. Think of it almost in a way like Across the Spider-Verse with the wristbands that Spider-Society has that lets them safely exist in other universes. Or maybe Loa and Mercury have been unmoored from the usual space-time of their home universe and have been recruited by Exiles and now their universe hopping.
I like all the ideas about equally. So, I want to hear from others, if you feel so inclined. Which would you want to do? How would you go about this?
Continuing some of this. Really, a bit more on the shared universe idea. I got to thinking about Death, both from Marvel and Soul Eater. How would I make it so that both can work? Or could I just combine the two?
Going with both, maybe one Soul Eater’s Death is just a Death that has jurisdiction over Earth? With Marvel’s Death existing on a more cosmic scale. Or maybe having jurisdiction over Titan? Something to think on a bit more.
Let’s come back to Death another time. Let’s go over more ideas for the setting of a shared universe crossover. I think the face on the Moon is just iconic to Soul Eater, so I feel like that has to be kept, while I think the Sun should be a normal sun, like in the Marvel Universe, meaning it has no face on it. Earth can still have the Marvel superheroes, at least some of them. I think some of the more street level or down to earth Marvel characters make the most sense, but I guess some bigger one can work well if we go with them not being Weapons or Meisters.
Maybe some cosmic beings exist while others do not. One I am on the fence about is Galactus. He is very iconic to Marvel, but I feel like in a crossover universe he could be a bit much. Meanwhile I think some like the Collector or the Grandmaster can work well enough without much issue.
Come to think of it, how could magic-based Marvel characters work in a Soul Eater crossover? For example, how would Doctor Strange work? Or even Thor and Loki? Something to mull over more.
So... a while ago I made a post about how I think it would be cool to see a team-up of Andi Benton, Laura Kinney, and Nico Minoru. Today, another team-up that I think could be cool to see is Laura Kinney and Victor Mancha. Both are a person made to be used by a malicious force as a "tool" against others. Laura by The Facility as a living weapon for mostly assassination missions, while Victor was created by Ultron to be used against the Avengers. Pretty sure both also had a mother who loved and cared for them that is now not in the picture. I know Laura was forced to kill her mother, but I admit I can't remember what exactly happened to Victor’s mother.
Also, slight tangent, but I know there is this headcanon for some that Laura is Trans, considering she is stated to be a clone of Logan, so it popped in my head of "How come no one headcanons Victor as Trans?" Because you know, Ultron ain't got genetics, so I am pretty sure all of Victor’s come from his mother.
Anyways! There is some similarities that I think could allow a cool team-up with these two. Maybe something like Ultron gets ahold of whatever files The Facility had left and decides to use whatever knowledge they give him to attempt a new plan of wiping out The Avengers or some such? Or maybe a whole new villain that only the two of them working together can help defeat?
What are anybody else's thoughts on this?
RANDOM PERSON ON THE INTERNET WE'RE NOW BEST FRIENDS IM THE VICTOR MANCHA EXPERT AND I HAVE SOOO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT HIS GENDER IDENTITY
AWESOME! Hey, if you want to go off, show your expertise and share your many thoughts, I say go right ahead! I’d like to hear it!
So... I've been thinking about Laura Kinney's various codename in the comics. There's her first and probably most well known "X-23", the one she took up "Wolverine", and then there's "Talon". I feel like she deserves a new codename, something that sticks out but isn't tied to potentially regressing her character or potentially turning her into "Logan with boobs". Also not tied to a bit of sour point of writing the character.
I have two suggestions. They are names of an animal species, like "Wolverine", I feel could potentially help move her forward as a character, and just sound kinda cool. Lynx and Ocelot.
Lynx mainly because it is an animal that has a population in Canada, which Laura has ties to through Logan. As far as I know, she should be taller than Logan due to not having adamantium bones, at least for the longest time, with Logan, a short & ferocious man, being called Wolverine because that is a small & ferocious animal. Laura is very much thinner than Logan. From what little I have found online, a lynx is taller yet thinner than a wolverine.
Ocelot mainly because I think it sounds cool. Like a lynx, I have found that an ocelot is thinner than a wolverine, but have also found that they are probably not as tall. If Laura is about as tall as Logan, then this could fit in that way.
These are just SOME reasons that I have come up with. Maybe some are a bit off, as I have very little time to do research as I type this up due to being at work. I sometimes find a bit of free-time and start brainstorming and feel the need to type it down. There are also other reasons that could be made, but they are not coming to mind at the moment.
Logan’s height has nothing to do with his adamantium. He was already an adult and fully grown when Weapon X bonded his skeleton. So he’s just plain short, which also supports Laura herself being short, too.
I may I have worded that part improperly. What I was trying to say is that that Laura does not, or did not, have adamantium bones so I would think she could be taller and that for the longest time she did not have adamantium bones, as I think I remember a post or two talking about someone screwing up and Laura getting an adamantium skeleton post-resurrection of Krakoa. I was never trying to say Logan is short due to the adamantium. Sorry for the confusion.
So... continuing my thoughts on crossover ideas again, I had this thought after seeing some fanart... Devil May Cry/Marvel/Shin Megami Tensei crossover. Maybe have it be something like Nero is contracted a mission to test the Nahobino similar to how his uncle was contracted to test the Demi-Fiend, all while a different force, I'm thinking from the Marvel side of the idea, is looking to stop the Nahobino and/or take the Throne.
One idea I had for the Marvel side of things is maybe making Loki a sort of behind-the-scenes mastermind, maybe not in a bid to take the Throne but to find someone who can. Maybe he shows up to Lucifer and is like "Hello, old friend. Say... How about a little wager?" I only posit this idea because something tells me, even though I have not gotten very far into SMTV Vengeance, that Lucifer kinda likes that the Nahobino have returned. And going with Marvel's Loki, the God of Mischief is not above making things into a spectacle. Who would Loki put his bets into? I like to think he would bet on multiple horses in this race, as while not always the brightest, Loki can be pretty crafty. The ideas I have for who Loki would put stake into, and in all honesty most of my choices are some of the semi-known and some of the semi-obscure favorites of mine.
So far, for Loki's "champions," to put it one way, I'm thinking: Daken, Eric Masterson, Ben Reilly, Luke Cage and/or Iron Fist. Or maybe instead of those last two, I'll go with Victor Alvarez, who has taken on Luke Cage's hero name of Power Man but has chi-based powers like Iron Fist.
I also did just have the idea while writing this of maybe some Marvel characters are also now workers of the in-universe Devil May Cry business, so maybe they would tag along with Nero. I'm thinking that two of those Marvel characters that would are Robbie Reyes and Laura Kinney. Both have some experience with fighting demons, and I think it could be a fun dynamic to write for Nero, Robbie, and Laura. Maybe I could have it that they start by testing the Protagonist but as things go along start having some doubts and maybe start doing their own thing. I also had this idea of making Laura the Knowledge of Amaterasu, using her connection to the Uni-Power as a bit of inspiration. Also, thinking about it, Nero having a teammate who, unknown to them all, has the potential to take the Throne is a fun idea.
Another idea I had while typing this out is say making Nico Minoru into a Panagia, a Goddess of Creation, as the protagonist, with two Nahobino as the ones to sway her in choosing Order or Chaos. I don't know why this popped in my head, but I think it could be be a pretty cool idea to try writing.
Continuing this, I imagine that going with Nero, Robbie, and Laura testing the Nahobino, they would take the contract without much issue but slowly come around to deciding to help the protagonist. Speaking of how I think the trio would interact, in general, I think they would all get along very well. Nero and Laura I can see having a fun dynamic, where it's in part a friendly competition to see who can take out more demons with style. They wouldn't have any romantic feelings, as at least for me, Kyrie is Nero's one and only, and I'll admit, when it comes to Laura, it mostly comes down to Hellion for me, I really like their dynamic. Also, it's just cool to have a male-female relationship that doesn't involve romance whatsoever, for Nero and Laura at least.
As for Nero and Robbie, they would have a bit more of a tense dynamic, where they're friendly and can work together, but also have a bit more varied ways of dealing with situations. Where if Nero does try to lean into fun, then Robbie is a bit more serious about it all, due to factors in his personal life, like having to take care of his little brother.
Now, for all three, I think I'd change up a couple things from the previous idea. I'd probably go with that Robbie is the holder of Knowledge, maybe Zarathos', while Laura's connection to the Uni-Power could qualify her as a Panagia, as a Goddess of Creation, all while Nero is essentially one of the people just trying to look out more for Humanity than do anything with potentially helping most of the Gods and Monsters, the Angels and Demons than necessary. Either that or go with the previous "Laura is someone's Knowledge idea" while also having that maybe Robbie is more a magic using human, his latest powers awakened due to the soul of evil serial killer uncle attempting to possess him, all while Nero is one of a maybe rare handful of beings who has both Human and Demonic blood in his veins.
For the Loki side of things, he would still have his "champions," but I'm thinking of maybe, just maybe, swapping a character out. Instead of Ben Reilly, go with Julia Carpenter, who if memory serves correctly, is the second Madame Web. Really a bit more for variety in a way, having not all of Loki's "champions" be male. You know, throw a female character in for a neat addition/potential dynamic. Where her powers due to her connection to the Web of Life & Destiny gives her an insight that someone like Eric Masterson, despite being Thor's Knowledge in this, would not have. Power Man would be a young human who has mystic power, in this case Chi, and use it as a way to fight demons, just being someone who has a preference for physical attacks over anything elemental. Daken could something of a wild card in a sense, where just his healing factor and his pheromone manipulation, for comparison sakes, it's akin to the power some demons have to Charm others, would allow him to survive the in the likes of Da'at really without really much need of magic, if any.
Continuing this again, one idea I had that could be fun is playing with Khonsu. Both the Marvel version and SMT version. The idea would be that either could fuse with Miyazu, though Marvel Khonsu would be vying for the Throne while SMT Khonsu would give up his position in the race to care for his Knowledge. Would I have it be that Khonsu was split it two? Yeah, basically. Using the in-game mechanic of there being multiple of different demons, why not there be multiple of the different major demons? Why not there be multiple Khonsu running around? Same could apply to Loki. There is SMT Loki looking to essentially make big bucks using Idun’s Golden Apples, all while there is Marvel Loki showing up and making a bet with Lucifer on which Nahobino will take the Throne. That really also goes in many ways for other beings shared by SMT, Marvel, and even DMC.
One thing that popped in my head: maybe instead Loki hired the DMC crew to test the protag Nahobino, while Julia Carpenter is the mastermind behind Thor’s group, bringing them together from ideas given by the Web of Life & Destiny. I’m thinking the Web is sort of connected to the Mandala System, but that doesn’t automatically make Julia into a Panagia. Maybe something more similar to Goko than Tao.
Another idea I had was for the DMC side of things is making Kyrie a Panagia, a Goddess of Creation. It came to me when watching a livestream of Vengeance the other day, sharing it with others in the chat. So, with that and maybe adding Nico to the mix, imagine the Devil May Cry crew for this story as Nero, Nico, Kyrie, Laura, and Robbie. Three of them are the fighters while the other two are essentially support. I’m still going a bit back and forth on whether Laura or Robbie should be the Nahobino on the DMC crew. After some thought, I’m leaning towards Robbie, with him wanting to take the Throne in a bid to make a better world, mostly for the sake of his brother. In the comics, Robbie’s brother Gabe is born with some mental and physical disabilities. I highly doubt in a new world Robbie would change anything about his brother, I also don’t doubt he would change the world for his brother. Nico and Laura would the more normal-ish ones of the group, having little to no magical capabilities to put to use but still being valuable members of the group overall.
For who I would make Robbie the Knowledge of, I’m kinda torn. On one hand I could just keep going with Zarathos, on another hand, I think going with Dagda could be a fun idea. Both Zarathos and Dagda are skeletal beings with an appetite for destruction, one could say, and both are potentially some of the strongest beings in their respective universe. I am tempted to go with Dagda, but I also want to write him as part of protagonist Nahobino’s party, recruited after being defeated and spared.
C0missi0n Dump!
For Seizui, Sobata92, Minerva, @demon64 , and KingHawke.
Thank you all so much for the ☕️!
LOVE the art, Hori! Fury looks so good but so annoyed!
Super glad I commissioned you! Hope you have a great day!
So... I had some fun ideas: imagine Laura and Gabby Kinney going to something like Comic Con and dressing up as Hunter and Omega from the Bad Batch. OR imagine Laura and Julian going to like a convention as like Leia and Han or Mara Jade and Luke. Star Wars and Marvel both have been on the brain lately. Or just like a cool scenario where they all dress as Star Wars characters.
I kinda want to imagine more of the second scenario, as I really do love both Laura and Julian. BUT! I do also want to imagine a fun scenario with Laura, Julian, and Gabby. I think Julian and Gabby could get along, or Gabby being like an almost protective little sister type when she sees that Laura let's Julian over to the home. Or just suspicious when she sees Laura and Julian deciding to hang out.
I'm also having fun imagining Bellona giving Julian the stink eye, maybe oddly not liking Julian based on vibes alone really. Oh! Here's a thought for the Kinney Sisters as the Bad Batch: Bellona as Crosshair. Makes some amount of sense to me. Mostly from a hair color standpoint, as both Bellona and Crosshair are the clones with white-gray hair from a batch of clones.
I thought it’d be funny to see Gabby grill Julian before “letting” him date her sister.
Just the thought of Gabby grilling Julian is funny. I can very much see her doing that.
zonedelicious-x