when I first set out to create the story of the dark lord zer0, I wanted the timeloop to be revealed early because the entire point of the plot was learning how to cope with inevitability.
as a response to final fantasy tropes and rpg tropes in general, the dark lord zer0's plot is less about facing the bad guy who is threatening the world and more about the double edged nature of heroism.
what good is a hero in a universe created and run by a villain?
what matters most to a god, a being above death and life?
what is a man? what is he in the context of the last nightmare saga?
when I first introduced the villain, he went by the name and face of dracula for two appearances, this was primarily for two reasons, one, to give you a recognizable, almost offensive face to see, a one-dimensional bad guy you recognized. I wanted you, the reader, to see the use of dracula and roll your eyes and think "wow this writer can't come up with anything original"
and if I did my job correctly, that's precisely what you would have done, it would have intrigued you that I used a copyrighted character in a story like this, is it dracula? what's the point in using a vampire of all things? we just got done fighting a werewolf and this was the big bad? what is this? castlevania?
yes, the dark lord zer0 takes especially heavy inspiration from castlevania, chiefly the lords of shadow sub-canon, but that's just the thing, it's only inspiration.
Later on I reveal that this villain is actually a shapeshifter, he uses concepts, which are the amalgamations of ideas cast off by hundreds if not thousands of people to collect into a source of identity changing power, to alter his appearance and give himself power.
take for instance, dracula and vampirism, people think about it, they imagine it, they create their own idea of this character, in the dark lord zer0 ideas aren't ephemeral, they HAVE to go somewhere, they have to be placed somewhere when you use up the thought.
that's where the ocean of time comes in.
inspired by bram stoker's dracula's quote "I have crossed an ocean of time to find you." the ocean of time, and indeed, the castle the villain resides, is a tribute to castlevania and dracula in general, but the castle on the ocean of time serves a more central purpose.
called castle nihil, it is the source of time control, it's this castle that channels the collected ideas that merge together naturally to become spirits or souls and renders them into tools for the dark lord to employ.
castle nihil is more than just a castle however, it's a symbol of my own struggles with nihilistic views I can never seem to avoid, that it is the seat of the god of time and space's power is no coincidence, the name, the function, castle nihil IS the biggest plot point in the series and will be revisited by the younger zero many times.
and so I get back to my primary point.
why did I make the timeloop story reveal occur earlier in the saga?
because the dark lord zer0 is about coping with inevitability.
the whole story is about zero being faced with an unavoidable, inescapable fact of his existence, his futuremost self is manipulating its own past, zero is that past, he is the thing that will eventually become the lord of time and space.
but zero is a good person by nature, so to look back after his future self reveals the truth, to reflect on the sheer scale of casual genocide, death and destruction, such a revelation is fit to drive any man mad beyond reason.
the dark lord zer0 is basically a deathmarch, the story's happiest, most beneficial ending is the one that sees zero becoming the lord of all evil, time and space.
zer0's futuremost self is literally father time, the god of creation, and the source of evil in the universe.
he created it.
he wrote out how the story would go.
and the entirety of the series focuses on him condemning his past self to the very same fate he consigned himself to in an endless timeloop.
the dark lord's plan is to send his present-time self back to the beginning of creation and time, there he will be exposed to the ether streams in the river of chaos.
and there zero's sorrow will take the form of the universe.
the series's ending is a grim one, one that the main character is being slowly walked into.
it's a fate of powerlessness, of having infinite power and authority and having no freedom to use it.
it's a story about not having choices, not having hope.
but it's not the ending that's important, it's the journey to it, and more importantly, how I'm striving to fool you, the reader, and thwart your expectations.
the dark lord zer0 book 1 is out now, just type it into google or check my earlier posts if you're interested, it's via kindle and can be bought for 3 dollars.
this is a very large project I'm working on, and the previous book was mostly an introduction to the world and universe, the second book, heaven, will explore the themes that drive the plot along.
be sure to check it out when and if it comes out.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Friday, January 8, 2016
the day vanted saved everyone part 4
Featuring dagon from the devil may cry series!!
I confess, I enjoy making this running joke run a bit longer, and capcom walked right into this by providing us with a red vergil coat.
anyway, this is part 4, I'm seriously considering remaking some of the older episodes because they need it, badly.
please, watch and enjoy if you haven't already, it's primarily for entertainment purposes.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
The story of Vante continues
In an alternate devil may cry 4 timeline, where nero doesn't exist, another hero arrives in fortuna: the legendary clone of sparda created by mundus, a failed clone that can travel across time and space. He entered fortuna with but one goal in mind, destroy any vestiges of sparda's existence. (he has a serious chip on his shoulder)
His name was vante, and after he tried and failed to rewrite time in devil may cry 3 special edition by killing vergil, he's back and ready to wreck everyone's shit.
Things proceed exactly according to Keikaku (Editor's Note: Keikaku means plan)
He successfully defeats the actor playing the role of sparda in a disrupted concert, and then proceeds to taunt kill the demons the order of the sword™ summon out of desperation utilizing the lesser hellgates.
He successfully defeats the actor playing the role of sparda in a disrupted concert, and then proceeds to taunt kill the demons the order of the sword™ summon out of desperation utilizing the lesser hellgates.
This all takes place while a certain devil hunter watches and applauds as the mysterious man in red does his job for him.
But it's not all sugar and rainbows, agnus has been doing his research and found out that the evil villain is noneother than the time traveling failed sparda clone vante, so named by mundus to mock the poor clone before he was ultimately cast aside.
With vante killing powerful demons by taunting them, they have credo meet him at their headquarters to do battle in the hopes that vante's impulsive need to kill worthy opponents with a taunt will backfire when he faces an opponent as agile and capable as angelo credo.
credo fails in spectacular fashion
Followed shortly by angelo agnus
It is at this point in our story that dante decides to intervene in the hopes of challenging the powerful clone and putting an end to his plans, whatever they may be, and after resetting time several times, even dante is defeated by vante's taunting capabilities!!!
However he hits a roadblock when finally confronting Sanctus, WHO FLOATS IN THE AIR AND CANNOT BE STRUCK BY A TAUNT!!!!
Since vante only brings himself to kill worthy opponents with his taunt, he cannot defeat Sanctus and ends up being bested by him for holding back during their battle and seeking the opportunity that will never come!!!
or...will it?
after dante brings him back to sanctus's room he gives him his red coat and tells him "if you want revenge, the save the people of fortuna from sanctus's evil plan, agree to do that and I'll tell you how to finish him in style!!" Dante reveals that Sanctus will use a powerful stinger move that can be countered by a taunt with Toyota (the sword vante uses to travel through time with, very plot convenient that,) and while chances of hitting him with the taunt and killing him are slim, if Vante can at least finish Sanctus off after countering his stinger, he will have had his revenge!!!
Eager to settle the score, vante reluctantly agrees to dante's plan and the two team up to chase after the completed savior, which is imbued with the soul of captain falcon!!!!
Now with renewed hope and sense of purpose, the failed non-canon clone of sparda goes into a time-space warp called the bloody palace's debug mode to train, but when he returns from his long exodus, he finds that Agnus had been prepared for such an event, in time traveling vante activated the failsafe agnus used to alter his influence on time, strange demons that can alter time-space!!!
now the archdemons demons vante killed are back! (except baal, fuck that guy)
He soon uncovers the reason behind this: LANGOLIERS!!! AGNUS CAN SUMMON FUCKING LANGOLIERS!!!!!! (P.S. This also means agnus came back to life too, as it was his keikaku.)
Realizing he has no further obligation to taunt kill the same set of demons twice, he instead opts to seek out the completed savior, kill agnus and taunt counter sanctus diabolica's sparda stinger and maybe taunt kill the captain falcon gundam and save everyone!!! can he do it? can vante, failed clone of sparda, anti-hero who tried and failed to destroy vergil in a non-canon devil may cry 3 playthrough, possibly hope to get to fortuna in time?
Let us hope so, now vante embarks on a hasty journey through fortuna castle to quickly best dagon without taunting him, as he only taunt kills worthy opponents, he must hurry and hurry fast if he expects to destroy sanctus and save everyone!!!!Sunday, January 3, 2016
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Roar at the moon
A story of revenge, and a hunter determined to shove said revenge up the vengeful thunder wolf's ass like his ice katana.
truly an epic journey.
Friday, January 1, 2016
Book 3: Void will have a gilgamesh as the main character.
Gilgamesh has been one of my favorite final fantasy characters of all time.
as I plan out the heaven arc I look ahead to the void arc, in truth the entire story of the dark lord zero is contained within one large tale, broken up into arcs for the sake of convenience, but of special note is the void arc.
The reason void is so important is because it doesn't fit the fantasy feeling, void takes place in space, as in the outer space space, the endless abyss filled with stars etc.
the story is centered around the ancient space pirate king Gilgamesh, head of the storm fleet.
This part of the dark lord zer0's plot is crucial because it ultimately leads into the final arc, but also establishes out titular antagonist as the villain he truly is, through the eyes of the pirate king we see the influence the lord of time has on planets, solar systems, how he destroys empires and lays waste to entire worlds.
Gilgamesh is his own character, similar to final fantasy's own gilgamesh and very much an anti-hero to FF gilgy's anti-villain, where FF gilgy would wear a flamboyant red, this gilgamesh wears black as his color of choice.
He is a mighty warrior who collects the services of those he's defeated, and he's on a quest to rid the universe of an arch-spirit that has been eradicating entire planets, supposedly in zer0's honor.
this arch spirit is called shinryu, much like the self-same shinryu from FFV, but what sets this shinryu apart from his counterpart is that he bears closer resemblance to yamato-no-orochi, and gilgamesh, despite having his own multi-armed form by way of his Magi armor, is himself more akin to susano'o.
From the moment gilgamesh's world is razed to the climactic finale between himself and zer0's most dangerous servant, the void devouring light serpent shinryu, the entire focus of the story serves to show just how evil the dark lord can be, and just how far removed he is from the man you spent two entire books with.
Void isn't just about chasing the dragon, gilgamesh and his crew are very much akin to a spacefaring nation, and gilgamesh himself will be shown to be a somehwhat noble, if a bit stubborn individual with power enough to rival even the celestial's.
However don't mistake the dark counterpart for the final fantasy V equivalent, the dark lord zer0 series is designed to be anti-final fantasy, reusing tropes and ideas to serve a much more sinister purpose.
indeed, the void arc's ending may leave you feeling a bit empty.
it's really unaVOIDable.
going to hell for that, going to hell for that...
as I plan out the heaven arc I look ahead to the void arc, in truth the entire story of the dark lord zero is contained within one large tale, broken up into arcs for the sake of convenience, but of special note is the void arc.
The reason void is so important is because it doesn't fit the fantasy feeling, void takes place in space, as in the outer space space, the endless abyss filled with stars etc.
the story is centered around the ancient space pirate king Gilgamesh, head of the storm fleet.
This part of the dark lord zer0's plot is crucial because it ultimately leads into the final arc, but also establishes out titular antagonist as the villain he truly is, through the eyes of the pirate king we see the influence the lord of time has on planets, solar systems, how he destroys empires and lays waste to entire worlds.
Gilgamesh is his own character, similar to final fantasy's own gilgamesh and very much an anti-hero to FF gilgy's anti-villain, where FF gilgy would wear a flamboyant red, this gilgamesh wears black as his color of choice.
He is a mighty warrior who collects the services of those he's defeated, and he's on a quest to rid the universe of an arch-spirit that has been eradicating entire planets, supposedly in zer0's honor.
this arch spirit is called shinryu, much like the self-same shinryu from FFV, but what sets this shinryu apart from his counterpart is that he bears closer resemblance to yamato-no-orochi, and gilgamesh, despite having his own multi-armed form by way of his Magi armor, is himself more akin to susano'o.
From the moment gilgamesh's world is razed to the climactic finale between himself and zer0's most dangerous servant, the void devouring light serpent shinryu, the entire focus of the story serves to show just how evil the dark lord can be, and just how far removed he is from the man you spent two entire books with.
Void isn't just about chasing the dragon, gilgamesh and his crew are very much akin to a spacefaring nation, and gilgamesh himself will be shown to be a somehwhat noble, if a bit stubborn individual with power enough to rival even the celestial's.
However don't mistake the dark counterpart for the final fantasy V equivalent, the dark lord zer0 series is designed to be anti-final fantasy, reusing tropes and ideas to serve a much more sinister purpose.
indeed, the void arc's ending may leave you feeling a bit empty.
it's really unaVOIDable.
going to hell for that, going to hell for that...
The Dark Lord Zer0 isn't just a story about a villain, it's my response to final fantasy tropes
Final fantasy 1's garland was a villain caught in a timeloop after being handily bested by four heroes of light.
the twist is the very first wtf moment in gaming, where the villain exists in both his future and his past, sends himself back in time, and ultimately is defeated a second time, but only after savaging the world and its elements all to prepare to send himself back in time once more.
the dark lord zero's plot is like anti-final fantasy because it uses these tropes but highlights many of the horrific realities behind them.
it's not alone in being targeted, persona is also on the dark lord zero's chopping block so to speak, chiefly in book two.
However book one is sort of a self contained homage to the very first final fantasy, the inspiration for the story is garland's own timeloop but another source of inspiration lies with the fall of dracula from castlevania lords of shadow, which really helped the building of the story.
if say, final fantasyXV is a fantasy based on reality, then the dark lord zer0's first book is a reality based on a fantasy, it starts off in the "real world" with the book's lead character and antagonist, lord zero, before he becomes the villain, and across the first book he's forced into a journey that pits him against the four heroes of light guided by a crystal.
much like gabriel belmont, zero is a good man forced to do terrible things, but where lords of shadow offers elements of choice to the plot and gives clear indicators that there were other avenues, the dark lord zero contrasts this by putting zero in horrifically unfair, one-sided encounters where luck and only luck might save him.
from a dragon razed city of portland, to a mythical heavenly plane where he becomes the disciple of an ascendant first emperor of japan, to a battle against a fox demon swordmaiden, zero's endless journey thrusts him into situations he can't escape and pushes him into becoming a monster, despite his desire to escape.
through it all he'll be faced with enemies on all sides and be made to question the very nature of heroism.
zero's story ends in the final arc, but for now the planned arcs are as follows.
Book 2: Heaven is the reaper arc, and is heavily inspired by persona 3.
Book 3: Void is the Gilgamesh arc, yes, a direct inspiration in more ways than one, it also alludes to the myth of susano'o and yamato no orochi.
Book 4:Myth is the final arc, the requiem arc and closes out the book, and the story of the time loop as well as the tragedy of zero.
for each book, one of the warriors of light ultimately perishes as they're caught up in the dark lord's schemes, for each book a celestial arch-spirit based on the four spirits genbu, baihu, etc will also be featured, genbu and xaunwu, the chinese version of genbu, having already been featured.
The dark lord zero series draws extremely heavy inspiration from final fantasy and shin megami tensei, so if you're fans of those games, you will love this series.
the first book: slumber, which contains the downfall arc is out now but will be getting an updated rerelease with new cover art and some extra chapters later on.
please check it out.
the dark lord's journey into a neverending nightmare begins here.
the twist is the very first wtf moment in gaming, where the villain exists in both his future and his past, sends himself back in time, and ultimately is defeated a second time, but only after savaging the world and its elements all to prepare to send himself back in time once more.
the dark lord zero's plot is like anti-final fantasy because it uses these tropes but highlights many of the horrific realities behind them.
it's not alone in being targeted, persona is also on the dark lord zero's chopping block so to speak, chiefly in book two.
However book one is sort of a self contained homage to the very first final fantasy, the inspiration for the story is garland's own timeloop but another source of inspiration lies with the fall of dracula from castlevania lords of shadow, which really helped the building of the story.
if say, final fantasyXV is a fantasy based on reality, then the dark lord zer0's first book is a reality based on a fantasy, it starts off in the "real world" with the book's lead character and antagonist, lord zero, before he becomes the villain, and across the first book he's forced into a journey that pits him against the four heroes of light guided by a crystal.
much like gabriel belmont, zero is a good man forced to do terrible things, but where lords of shadow offers elements of choice to the plot and gives clear indicators that there were other avenues, the dark lord zero contrasts this by putting zero in horrifically unfair, one-sided encounters where luck and only luck might save him.
from a dragon razed city of portland, to a mythical heavenly plane where he becomes the disciple of an ascendant first emperor of japan, to a battle against a fox demon swordmaiden, zero's endless journey thrusts him into situations he can't escape and pushes him into becoming a monster, despite his desire to escape.
through it all he'll be faced with enemies on all sides and be made to question the very nature of heroism.
zero's story ends in the final arc, but for now the planned arcs are as follows.
Book 2: Heaven is the reaper arc, and is heavily inspired by persona 3.
Book 3: Void is the Gilgamesh arc, yes, a direct inspiration in more ways than one, it also alludes to the myth of susano'o and yamato no orochi.
Book 4:Myth is the final arc, the requiem arc and closes out the book, and the story of the time loop as well as the tragedy of zero.
for each book, one of the warriors of light ultimately perishes as they're caught up in the dark lord's schemes, for each book a celestial arch-spirit based on the four spirits genbu, baihu, etc will also be featured, genbu and xaunwu, the chinese version of genbu, having already been featured.
The dark lord zero series draws extremely heavy inspiration from final fantasy and shin megami tensei, so if you're fans of those games, you will love this series.
the first book: slumber, which contains the downfall arc is out now but will be getting an updated rerelease with new cover art and some extra chapters later on.
please check it out.
the dark lord's journey into a neverending nightmare begins here.
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