Summercamp 2024 Age of Defiance Homework

I swear, it feels like Summercamp just finished not long ago. Here we are again but given the amount of crap I've been dealing with in the past year and having to accelerate plans I thought I could stave off another few years has eaten up a lot of my spare time. I still don't have my nice new rig I had specially made for use in the future, the friend who sold me on the build and swore up and down the river he'd walk me through setting it up dropped into the twilight zone and seemingly cut himself entirely from any and all contact, and my tech-savvy brother-in-law is too much of a windows-bro for me to trust with any of this so I've been stuck making do as best I can. At least pen and paper doesn't need weekly bloatware updates and certainly won't STEAL YOUR ARTWORK AND FEED IT TO AN AI BEHIND YOUR BACK!!!! So here we go with year 3 of Age of Defiance in World Anvil Summercamp....

Week 1

1.Change

People don't like change. They have an inherent aversion to trying new things. Often times you wind up disappointed and most of the time it's best to stick to what you know. It's called a "comfort zone" for a reason. Humans are creatures of habit and we tend to react poorly when a complete stranger wanders into our lives and barks "you need to change how you live!" "You need to change your views!" "You need to stop using what's worked so well for you in the past!" Why? Because you say so? How about not. How about you keep your damn nose out of my business and stop trying to foist your repulsive ideals on everyone else. There's passages I can site that specify why certain things are to be avoided, and with all the hedonism and debauchery going on these days, it's easy to see why.

Scene from FFAW ch6 (Sketch) by Mardrena

So no, change cannot be forced on a whim or unwillingly. Change is evolution, change is adaptation, change is necessity, change is choice...and sometimes...change comes through violence....
The City Strife

The Bloody Bricks (rough ink) by Mardrena

2.Goals

AoD Summercamp Pledge 2024 by Mardrena

Because of various factors I've been having to deal with in my life such as work and the growing pains of adapting to an entirely new OS and desktop, I will only be committing to Copper this year. I might try to push for more, but last year it was literally pulling teeth just to get my regular off days and I nearly had to physically fight my store manager to get vacation time off to make a mad dash to finish SC23's entries. I was not happy with some of them, I felt rushed, and this little ungrateful soft dweeby baby seems to think employees don't deserve to have normal lives outside of work. I made the mistake of committing to doing full-colored pictures for each entry and ended up over-extending myself. I prefer quality over quantity, and trying to do that many pieces to the standards I set for myself on top of the mad summer retail rush will just overtax my reserves.

3. Organization

I never expected to invest this heavily into World Anvil. I avoid social media like the plague and GIVEN CERTAIN EVENTS GOING ON LATELY it's easy to see why. I can't code my way out of a paper sack and making a website from scratch would just take energy and resources I don't have to spare. At least here I can categorize things in ways that make sense to me that I can reference in a pinch if I'm revising a older chapter or writing a new one entirely. Some tags might not make sense because the subjects simply haven't been introduced yet, but everything has a purpose.

4. Meta

I'll get to it, I'll get to it...eventually. Seriously this comes up every major event, but it's just not something I feel comfortable doing currently. I had originally planned to finish up the current ongoing "season", Spacequake and start on AoD season 6-which funnily enough- would've dealt a great deal with change regarding the guys. Until I get the narrative at a place I feel comfortable with, there's too much spoiler-wise that would be included in the Meta. I want to set down the road map for AoD so longtime and newer readers can see what's in store but at the same time I don't want to give away too much.

Week 2

1. Refuge

I'm an introvert. I feel safe and comfortable at home and I'm best when I'm by myself. And this goes back to the previous week's subject about changes: I don't like them. I don't like when some greedy company decides to take over the complex I've lived at for twenty years and decides to make a host of 'improvements' which I find only detract from the welcoming aesthetic of the property. I've felt angry these past few weeks and I see why, it's because I see my refuge being attacked, assaulted, overturned. And so I've been forced to accelerate plans I made for the future, plans which were only supposed to be for an emergency and yet that emergency has decided to kick down the door. In the coming year I will be preparing to leave the city I've called home for the past two decades and seek refuge in the countryside. I might not have all the comforts I've gotten used to, but ironically enough this area has lost much of what I found I liked to begin with, so moving might not be that much of an unwelcome change of setting...

Traedeskaton 3d Model by Mardrena

2. Accountability Buddy

Normally I'd tap Firo for that, but given his brain has been operating on "Potato" rather than "Warp Factor 10" this past year and I couldn't even flog him into getting to Copper LAST SC, I'm not holding my breath... Wordigirl seems a nice candidate but she's likely being pulled in a dozen different directions as it is. I used to share my thoughts and drawings with my Linux Bro buddy but as I've said he's dropped off the face of the planet and I've been unable to reach him. I have another friend I've tried to get into WA who has several settings including one I affectionately nickname "Rednecks and Wizards" about some country hicks transported into a fantasy realm. He described it to me the first time and I had an image in my mind of a bunch of guys in a beater 4x4 waving shotguns and chasing magical creatures while throwing back a few cold ones. But he's too shy and has the same retail woes as myself. I mostly have only myself and my standards to depend on. Most of my writing flies over Mom's head and my coworker friend might be impressed with my drawings but there's too much 'lore' for him to keep up with.

3. Style

I still haven't quite figured out a "style" I'd like to use for AoD. It's not that I don't have the tools I know there's ways to make tileable textures with BlackInk's tiling operator, I just haven't decided on a specific look. Back in the day many many many years ago there was a graphics designer I think named CandeeKis who had gorgeous themes for sale and I thought to myself one of these days I'll buy one. Then she dropped into the twilight zone. I've gone through the theme selections available for Master on World Anvil and none of them really seem to stick out for me. That's kind of still up in the air. I would like to do a double-sided banner with one side dedicated to AoD Vanguards and the other dedicated to OAS (Original Animated Series) characters. But first I would want to do more artwork for both. Like everything it'll just have to come with time....

4. CSS

I think I've reached the limit of what is doable with BBcode and there's some CSS features that are pay-locked. I have a simple sticky-sidebar code in my CSS cheat sheet, but not much beyond that. There are authors who do some genuinely mind-boggling things with CSS, and while it looks gorgeous, really my priority is writing and drawing.

Week 3

Belief

Beliefs being challenged is nothing new for our heroes. In the OAS, the five guys believed they were simply the good guys and the Dark Warlords were the bad guys. As their campaign against the Dynasty reaches its finale, they find that stance challenged as they realize their Armors share a common thread, and just as they run the risk of succumbing to the Dark Side...it is possible for even a Dark Warlord to turn to the side of good...
Anubis has always believed himself as hailing from the feudal era, a brash noble youth readily recruited by Talpa as one of his generals. In Foes From Another World he finds his beliefs turned upside down with a series of revelations: How does he have a biological daughter from the United States, and how do residents in a sleepy desert down know him as "Koma"? With his memories obscured as a result of Phitdaitiarona's power in AoD season 5, Spacequake, Anubis finds himself accosted while meditating in the desert. How is it a team of spooks call him by his original birth name?
The guys find the very foundation of their beliefs shaken with the introduction of the Thangien Gods as being more than fictional figures of worship. Anubis' miraculous regeneration in the finale of Aftermath, originally thought to be a form of deus ex machina, is ultimately revealed to indeed be divine intervention. Further upheaval results with additional revelations concerning the nature of the gods.

Scene from FFAW Ch6 (WIP) by Mardrena

Inspiration

When I look for ideas for writing, I consult the classics, and by that, I mean 90's era entertainment, old sci-fi and fantasy staples such as Man-Kzin Wars, Dragonriders of Pern, Lord of the Rings, Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms, and even some westerns such as Louis L'Amour novels. Sometimes I'll go even further old school. I had the luck of finding a nearly-complete set of old mythology books for sale online I remember seeing in my old school library but couldn't for the life of me find for years until I found some old copies on a thrift website. These were well-written, beautifully illustrated and divided up by region such as Greek, Roman, Mesoamerican, Asian, Egyptian, and so on. I have a dedicated playlist of specific songs that embody the feel I aspire to in AoD and I'll binge-listen while writing or at work via my antique ipod nano. Two Steps From Hell, Nightwish, and TSO compose the bulk of my playlist, but I'm always on the look out for new additions. Sometimes I'll find a nice playlist of stunning epic music to bookmark or some cd's online to add to my collection.

Images

I've posted more artwork on World Anvil alone than online in my entire life. I don't really do social media for OBVIOUS REASONS, and the only sites I used to post artwork on shut down decades ago. As I add more pieces, I'm having to set up dedicated galleries to organize everything such as raw sketches, character-specific pieces, and references for my "Anatomy of a Drawing" series. My goal before making Core Cast entries for OAS characters is at least 10-12 images featuring a given character. In order to avoid any copyright pitfalls, I do not use any stock imagery or images from sources other than myself or kitbash programs. Maps are a fairly new addition to AoD. I've always had an idea of location placements, but only recently have I been able to firmly establish things.
The Big City

Map of Bainshaebo, Thangien Capitol by Mardrena

New Inspirations

I'm not really on the look out for "new" inspirations since I have a rough idea of how the story in AoD will progress and ultimately end. The conclusion of season 5 will bring the long-planned season 6 and officially kick off the Three Wars mega-arc alluded to in the narrative. Without giving too many spoilers, the War of Woe takes alot of inspiration from the "Cadmus Arc" from Justice League. The AoD series finale Future Fight leans more on vintage sci-fi such as Babylon 5, Star Trek TOS, and even franchises such as Star Fox and Wing Commander. I've trimmed so much fat over the course of the AoD Rewrite I'm not inclined to add any back on. Cutting ties with a former creative partner who actually tried to sabotage my writing behind my back allowed me to cut out alot of filler.
I can't stand filler. For me everything has to advance the narrative, or drop breadcrumbs, or contribute to character development. A chapter might introduce a new character that won't be actively featured until much later, or a location namedropped that isn't visited until the near future. I think one of the reasons I'm so fond of the OAS is it was a fairly tight, concise story with continuity and solid resolutions. Contrast with say...other series which can drag on for hundreds of episodes that just kind of go all over the place or take a dozen episodes for a fight to resolve... I think the only newer series that have appealed to me are One Punch Man for being basically distilled anime and Persona 5 for being in the vein of a team of close friends fighting bad guys, and the bad guys are actually terrible people that deserve to get curbstomped and not have their feeweeings examined and their bad behaviors excused... I wish I could buy the game on Steam but I'd rather watch a 8 hour letsplay with story cutscenes included than install that Denuvo bloatware crap on my desktop...

Week 4

Planet Thunthen by Mardrena

Decay

I've seen critiques of this self-described anti-death "health guru" online and his bizarre obsession with cheating death via a bevy of dubious "therapies". The guy is as old as I am and looks as old as my Mom. Usually the people that try to stave off death hasten it. It is said "do not place tests before the LORD", and I found that out the hard way a couple years ago when I said I would buy burgers for everyone at work that a impending tropical storm would hit Houston and that storm took such a hard right and punched Louisiana in the nads so I ended up ponying up $200 of burgers. So I would probably go broke if I offered to buy burgers for everyone I know if this guy dies before I do.
Contrast this weirdo to Mr. Bill, a elderly gentleman I've known for many many years. He's 90 years old, a living time machine, a fountain of facts. The people streets, buildings, and parks were named after he knew personally in their heyday. He tells me how his father had to relocate his business when a storm hit Texas, and back then they didn't exactly know what hurricanes were. Here is a man who has lived a very very long, full live just by LIVING. Now he is feeling his age, he isn't as active and energetic as he was just a year ago, and my Mom always says "don't let the old man in" well the old man kicked down the door in Mr. Bill's case...The world will be poorer for it when his time inevitably comes.

But time comes for everything. Everything breaks down at some point. Equipment, environments, friendships...and even planets.
I had hoped to conclude Spacequake before Summercamp but that's looking less likely, so I might have to settle for August. I have two chapters, one for Spacequake and one for Neo Ronin written and in the pipe, but until Fanfiction.net sorts out its notification problems AGAIN, I'm going to hold off on posting them so readers don't miss out on the story. In the season finale, Cye learns a devastating truth about the 2.0 Armors, but before he can break the news to the others, long-time arch-foe Mal Daggur strikes, enacting a plot to destroy his foes. But from death comes new life, and the end of the old heralds the rise of the new...
A Taste of Things to Come...

Wildfire III Concept Sketch (VERY OLD) by Mardrena

Halo III Concept Sketch (VERY OLD) by Mardrena

Optimization

You do not optimize cats....
That being said, I think I have my setup well enough...minus Linux rig of course...I have my desktop, my toolboxes of drawing tools underneath, and my current sketchbooks to the left of the desktop. I draw like a crazy person but there's no guarantee anything I've drawn all year is going to fit with a given category. I sort stuff on specific folders on my HD according to what program they're made with or what subject they pertain to. I might be a crazy cat lady, but there's a saying: God Bless this Mess!

Amber and Jade by Mardrena

Homepage

Borderline Ancient plan for AoD website dating all the way back to high school... by Mardrena

I'm not entirely sure what to add to the home page. I was hoping to have Foes From Another World ready to import by now but that's been put on the back burner until Spacequake is concluded. I think it's okay for now with the new splash art and world header and the link for Aftermath. Eventually I'd like to add columns for Core Cast members, or the various categories like Core Cast, Vanguard, Major, and Minor characters, but likely not until I have everything ironed out. AoD is over TWENTY YEARS of worldbuilding I'd never posted anywhere else. As much as I'd like to sit down and work on my pillars-I actually do have quite a bit of raw sketches and artwork for the major superpowers- it's something I'd rather take a long time to work on and I simply have too much going on at present. I work on drawings regularly when I can, and most major articles I wouldn't want to post or edit until I have accompanying artwork.