Ren'py: Visual Novel Resources?

Hello~
ヤッハロー～
雪神だ。

Today I want to talk about Visual Novels (and Dating Sims, sure, same $hy7)

I am currently learning the Python VN-engine called Ren'py.
I've gone through the tutorials and stuff, and today I spent a little time downloading sounds.

Do you guys know where I can find some really good pictures for this kind of game? I have some, but some of the sites I've been referred to and/or bookmarked contain only extremely amateurish art or art for platformers--anyway, stuff like that!

I need some character pictures (background-less characters) for a school anime kind of story (in other words, obviously the pictures need to look like anime, since this is a Japanese-style VN we're talking about).

I'm taking my still-unfinished Love Lilycove side story, and for a change of pace/to practice making a game (still not sure if this will end up counting as "practicing Python", but making a game would be really really awesome! So far, it looks easy!) I'm turning that side story into a VN game.

Now, first off I'm planning to make a "kinetic novel"--that is, there will be no choice making or stats, just a story with sounds, music, full body character images with emotional ranges and poses, background art, special effects, and what have you. I may be able to manage short voice clips (basically just voice-sounds), but obviously I can't get any voice acting for my game. But that's fine! I've played various VN that didn't even have voices.

This "kinetic" version is just for practice, I will make choice-based games and/or games with personal stats (like a typical, if not retro archetype of Dating Sim many of us may remember?) as soon as I've got the more basic things down!

I'm not just telling Orlando's back-story though this VN, I'm just starting there. Once I'm done, I'll show it to my friends and stuff and show it here somehow, but I'll then return to finishing chapter one of the main Love Lilycove story, and just have it come long before the side story. I'm planning to have "side stories" occur throughout the regular story as a tangential but non-separate part of the story.

So, do you have some good art resources I could use? Any *great* links?
Thanks a lot~ Bye now!

~Yukigami

P.S. Another little update about the Hoenn Elite Four in my Love Lilycove story is, well to keep it vague for you and not reveal too much yet, basically the Elite Four changes up at some point due to certain events, and two new Elite Four members join the fray. Eli Stormwil is a boxer-cum-rocker and uses electric and fighting types. Shun Tsuchimura is a brainy user of ground and poison types, like a Giovanni team, but stronger and with a much more strategic and synergistic style!

Love Lilycove: The Champion of the Elite Four (pt.1)

Hi!

So while doing something totally irrelevant, I managed to come up with the champion of the Elite Four--that is, the person who will be the current champion at the time Love Lilycove (Jaden route) begins.

As mentioned in the first post on the Elite Four of this story's Hoenn, the Elite Four are as follows...

I will include some very minimal points about them in addition to their names, types, and Pokemon.
Here goes: (I will mention the champion after summarizing the E4!


Elite Four #1: Cindy Umbra

• Specialty: Fire and Dark types
• First battler: Houndoom
• Mid-battle: Charizard, Arcanine, and Hydreigon
• Trump Pokemon: High-level Umbreon (E4 members here use 5 Pokemon)
• The intimidating first challenge, and not necessarily the easiest one
• Signature stage: a castle chamber
• Adult, age 20-40, self-proclaimed "mage", mysterious
• Lots of black/red/purple clothing, red or dark eyes, bred/black/otherwise dark-shaded hair
• Passionate
• Dark, shady
• Mage/witch-like
• Slightly shrouded
• Mischevious, a little seductive
• Intimidating, grandiose, epic
• Starts a little quiet and ominous, later becomes fiery and passionate
• Makes constant references to magic, and to books and legends
• Frequently assesses the challenger's magical qualities and coolness, aloud.
• Example quote: "Your coolness was too much, and I finally got put out. Your confidence reached a godly level, and that allowed you to release a lot of dormant magical power, too much for me to gauge. Alas, I was defeated at my own game. Compared to my flame which was dimmed out by my own darkness, yours was roaring. Pure, and shining. You shall move on. But allow me to warn you, so that you may do justice to my defeat--even a fire of your magical magnitude will not be enough to get you past the next challenge. And remember this, kid: do not underestimate your opponent, no matter what. ...Now, be gone."
• Closest matches: Karen (Johto E4), Malva (Kalos E4), Grimsley (Unova E4), Caster (Fate/Stay Night), a little bit of Rider (Fate/Stay Night), Rias (Highschool DxD), Angela (Princess Waltz), Sabrina (Saffron City Gym Leader)

Elite Four #2: Altea la Sylva

• Specialty: Fairy and Dragon types
• First battler: Sylveon
• Mid-battle: Goodra, Gardevoir or Whimsicott, and Dragonite
• Trump Pokemon: High-level Altaria (something special about it~ ~)
• Signature stage: A fairy-esque stage reminiscent of Diantha's room, but more pink and bubbly and with a large pool, sort of a dragon/fairy mixed environment.
• The unconfident, unintimidating second challenge who doesn't look like an E4 member
• Teen/young adult, age: 16-20
• Normal-looking clothing, school girl (possibly university), positive colours, sometimes dark uncharacteristic colours (a little twist there), hair yet to be decided, light eyes (light blue?)
• Kind and caring
• Airy, dreaming, a little immature sometimes, lala land, loves cool things and cute things
• Sociable and fun, but sometimes awkward or timid
• Student-looking, bright and colourful and sometimes dark-but-young (esp. when she is less timid)
• Fun-loving and funny, particularly when she is feeling confident
• A lot more faith in her Pokemon than herself, but truly powerful when she can believe in both
• Tends to start off unconfident and worried/talkative, but gets more boild and passionate at times
• Lots of personal potential, battling power can go unexpectedly high at times
• Example Quote: "You think that if you push me down many times, eventually I won't bother getting back up. Well, I did. And guess what! I'm finally back here again, and my beloved Pokemon partners and I are going to take you down and show you what the ground tastes like! This time, we're going to get you! Let's go!"
• Closest matches: Chii-chan (Hataraku Maou-sama), shy schoolgirl characters (but more hidden spunk, wildness, and humour), Jasmine (Olivine City Gym Leader), a hint of Shauntal (Unova E4) and Roxie (Virbank City Gym Leader, Unova) when bolder and more confident, Ayaka Sajou (Fate/Prototype), Mizore (Rosario and Vampire) when she is a mix of her two sides and a little older, Sakura (CCS/Tsubasa Chronicles), Phoebe (canon Hoenn E4 member), maybe some Yumi Hoshino (Kimikiss Pure Rouge), and Minori (ToraDora). Obviously this is a huge mix, but I have yet to figure out an existing character or even two who sum her up. Basically, a shy and unconfident school-aged girl with a sense of humour and a somewhat hidden dark/funky side and a little inner fire. When not timid (mood or permanent development), she shows more happiness, smiles bigger, is more silly, and a lot more confident and strong-willed.

Elite Four #3: Aaron Goldleaf

• Specialty: Steel and Grass types
• First battler: Klefki
• Mid-battle: Tropius, Magneton, and Breloom
• Trump Pokemon: High-level Aggron (something special about this one too~ ~)
• Signature stage: an amusement park
• An older E4 member aged anywhere from late 20s to early 40's, not sure yet. The other option is also making this character a young guy around Altea's age, but I think I might actually want to make him the older variant, because right now it just really works in my head with everything I'm imagining. So, for today, that's what I'll describe.
• Wears suits, is a little bit fancy, a little bourgeois, but not very pompous or arrogant
• Architect, very technological, but also talks and thinks about the environment; his niche as an architect and as a Pokemon trainer is the harmonious combination of nature and technology
• A bright and positive person, a bit fatherly, very knowledgeable and mentor-like
• Wears colorful (non-flamboyant) things and suits, contrasts sharply with Cindy, has some things in common with William but is nicer, less shady, less arrogant, warmer, more merciful, and more normal)
• Accomplished, a little fancy, and merciful but still intimidating (merciful as in, literally may let the opponent win because he wants to be more of a teacher or inspiration than a destroyer). Very wise and weathered as a battler and not a boring person.
• Very good with details and understanding materials, very technical and charismatic/sociable--a further combination within himself of his two Pokemon types.
• Doesn't usually demonstrate his full power; is perhaps no less weaker than, and possibly even stronger than, William.
• Brown or blond hair, probably green or silver eyes, usually wears suits or other formal attire.
• Solidly strong from the get-go, very consistent, and exceedingly strategic (almost Koga-style)
• Tends to test the trainer in battle more than seriously try to win. Gives helpful advice.
• Example quote: "Look at all that space. Just enough, yet not too little. Take a look at the beauty of those buildings, not to mention those wild rides! The structural solidity, the synergistic efficiency, the artistic schematics... Look around! I do hope that when you came in, and when you were battling with me, you were able to appreciate all this, if even just a little. Not everyone can notice or appreciate such things. That's why I am what I am; that's why it is I who got to design this place. Where do you think we are right now? We aren't just inside of an enormous indoor amusement park--we're inside the ever-grander Elite Four Headquarters, which... Wait for it... Happens to be the most massive building in the history of the world! And guess who designed it? If it weren't for becoming an architect, I never would have become a member of theElite Four. Thus, I owe my very being both to architecture and to my Pokemon--but I owe it all to them, really. They were with me every step of the way; they were there when I became an architect, they were there when I started challenging Pokemon gyms, and they're here with me now. These are the Pokemon who made me one of the greatest architects and most powerful trainers in the world. And you defeated this team of us. Bravo. You are truly a powerful trainer. The way you knew your Pokemon inside and out, and that passion... You beat me because you knew how to apply your Pokemon's unique features in battle, while at the same time analyzing and making the best possible use of your surroundings--that's exactlty what this stage and this battle were all about! If I could make one suggestion, it would be to think carefully about everything in your next battle, including the relationships between the various stats of each Pokemon, and how they effect the damage that is done by moves in battle. Congratulations, trainer, you have officially defeated all of the members of Hoenn's Elite Four. Be proud of it, ...But stay alert! Oh, and running around is not going to work so well in your next battle."
• Closest matches: Norman (Petalburg City Gym Leader), Mu La Flaga (Gundam SEED), Tokiomi Tohsaka (Fate Zero), Byron (Canalave City Gym Leader), aspects of Whitney (Goldenrod City Gym Leader), and Lancer (Fate Zero), but a lot more energy and charisma than these characters as a whole.

Elite Four #4: William Snow

• Specialty: Psychic and Ice types
• First battler: Espeon
• Mid-battle: Starmie, Lapras, and Sneasel/Weevile
• Trump Pokemon: High-level shiny Gardevoir that can do Mega Evolution
• An older E4 member aged anywhere from late 20s to early 40's, not sure yet. A very rich, reserved, quiet, calm, and affluently powerful and well-known person. I have yet to fully figure out his job stuff, but I was thinking of having a dark twist, perhaps relation to an evil organization. Either way, however, he puts up a very convincing innocent front--he is princely and chivalrous, highly and bourgeois, very powerful in his city/in Hoenn, and a bit charming, despite being cold, intimidating, and at times condescending.
• Signature stage: an overly boring room, which on his whim (perhaps using his Pokemon's power or his own self-proclaimed psychic power, turns into a kind of bright, tundra-like battlefield. Despite seeming or acting like a cold realist, at times cynical and cold and at times charming and chivalrous, he represents escapism in a twisted sense, as if making a suggestion to the challengers/protagonists/heroes to accept their reality as hopeless and find a means of escape. It is he himself, however, who would seem to have taken this advice too far and fallen into the darkness. The darkness has twisted him not only into a corrupt and malicious person, but also into a multi-faceted, multi-faced faker. A lot of this was caused by the fact that he had little social ties, real psychic powers, and an oft-misunderstood personality. As a result, he developed in an N or Sabrina kind of manner, but also happened to gain great power--both of Pokemon battling, and of politics and affluence--and as a result, he has a strong effect on whatever he influences. His Pokemon understand him and know the goodness inside of him, and he loves his Pokemon as much as anyone else could love theirs. In addition, his personality quirks and inner complications allow him to battle with maximum power as though he has nothing to lose from doing so. What results then, is an extremely strong fourth member of the Hoenn Elite Four, and a person with a great deal of personality and depth despite his usual outward calmness and reserve, which could have been boring, provided he is dressed normally. But again, Aaron ,the Elite Four member coming before him, hides his abilities and may be no less powerful as a trainer than William is (emphasizing the strength of these two). Even if translated into normal Pokemon game power-levels, this Elite Four would be at least on the strong side of the bunch. But since this AU Pokemon world is more realistic (as I put it) and, for example, makes real Pokemon professionals far, far stronger than any casual trainers, and since it makes Pokemon like Onix and Wailord massively strong--as they SHOULD be(!!)--the result is that this Elite Four has fairly insane power (for, as you will eventually see/read, even the lower-tier gym leaders are each a ridiculous obstacle for aspiring trainers).
• He is calm, confident, grand, and condescending to the point of deep passive intimidation.
• Wears suits of the fanciest sort, never wears casual things, and everything he wears is at the very least of an unusual color (ex: blue, red, or purple suit)
• Whimsical and eccentric despite his collectedness; sometimes wears a surprising style of attire and.or acts differently than what is expected of him. Very deep and multi-faceted personality, very mysterious and at times, almost creepy. Very strange, but also very good at reading people, and very perceptive (he is "psychic" after all).
• His Pokemon types represent his coldness and inner oppressive and condescending nature. He has a superiority complex and he doesn't hold back in battle.
• He claims to have psychic power rivaling that of a Pokemon, and ice represents his inner loneliness
• He is very aesthetic (regardless of how whimsical his style is at times) and likes water Pokemon, but he likes ice-types (and psychics) more, which represents a kind of tainted, spoiled aspect of his personality, as ice is a twist on (form of) water that is solid (like a wall) and mercilessly cold and lifeless.
• He will hold some sort of important positions in terms of affluential and/or political power
• Very good with the abstract, the philosophical, the deep, the complicated, and the fantastic. Less of a realist than Aaron despite being colder and a lot less sociable (so he is like a twisted kind of artistic dreamer), more like a male, bourgois Cindy who is grandoise and fantastic, except dark and twisted in a more real and malicious way, rather than in a fun or harmless kind of role-playing way.
• Colorful appearance palette (undecided specifics).
• Example quote: "Haha, oh, that's right... Ideally, I'm just a stepping stone since you'd like to become the Pokemon Champion of Hoenn, right? Youre not wrong, as much as I like to think I'm pretty well unbeatable to the likes of you and all the other randoms who come trotting along on their merry way, ready to be tossed into a pit of despair after having gotten their hopes up by lucking out against the mediocres downstairs. Oh Aaron, you really are a cruel one... You, it's really for your own good that you lose to me and don't move on, that's all I have to say."
• Closest matches: Will (Johto E4), Lucian (Sinnoh E4), a hint of Giovanni (Viridian City Gym Leader, Team Rocket Leader), Some fanciness of Wallace (Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire Sootopolis Gym Leader, Pokemon Emerald Pokemon League Champion), Maybe some Volkner (Sunnyshore City Gym Leader, he contrasts some of what is described so far but I haven't 100% settled into my personality and appearance concepts yet), a hint of Elesa (Nimbasa City Gym Leader), Brycen (Iccirus City Gym Leader), Kurapika and Proto Saber (Fate's King Arthur, male ver.--especially if I do go the blond route), and probably more...

And Now...

Announcing...

THE POKEMON CHAMPION OF HOENN!!

Hoenn Champion: Finley de Brina

• Specialty: Water types
• First battler: Vaporeon
• Mid-battle: Lantern, Milotic, Azumarill, Slowking
• Trump Pokemon: High-level Swampert that can Mega Evolve
• Intimidating, mighty, famous, powerful, confident, proud, very competitive, obsessive, masterful
• Signature stage: "anywhere you think you'll have an advantage"
• Adult, age 24-32, "goddess of water", self-proclaimed water master
• Older sister of Orlando de Brina
• Every range of colour and style of clothing
• Passionate, competitive, thoughtful
• Loves water
• Very sporty, very normal, but with a fierce personality and a refusal to lose
• Unforgiving, merciless, with a heart but not for those without one
• Attractive but doesn't try to me; just barely not too feirce and competitive to make her unappealing as a woman. About the same ferocity as Clair (Blackthorn City Gym), but a lot more powerful and more potentially ruthless and chaotic, and even more proud and strong-willed
• Very casual when Pokemon is not discussed or the focus of a situation. When it comes to Pokemon, she is a real pro, and it changes the way she behaves
• Likes to wear very casual, anticlimactic clothing even in battle. She has a lot of style sense without trying to have it. She is like Gilgamesh (Fate/Stay Night) when he wears stylish and casual human clothes, which creates a tastefully cool contrast between the his casual style and his extreme power and literal godliness (ie. his epic-ness, as his story and power are both pretty epic--or should I say, "epoch").
• Extremely competitive, but has a beautiful and more casual/sociable or feminine side that pretty much comes out whenever she does/talks about things not involving Pokemon, or things like swimming or thinking to herself.
• Gets extremely in the zone during battle, to the point of not hearing what's happening around her. She doesn't care to talk to her opponent, so mid-battle trash-talk is out of the question. She takes battling very seriously, and she loves and respects her water Pokemon to the point that to her, giving even 1% less than her maximum effort and focus in a serious battle means dishonouring her own Pokemon, and all water Pokemon 9since she claims to be a true master of them).
• Hair: probably some shade of blue, otherwise probably black. Eyes: Probably blue, but not for sure. Possibly blind, it's still all up in the air.
• Example quote: "You behave yourself or I will personally annihilate your headquarters using only water."
• Closest matches: a bit of Misty, a bit of Cynthia for coolness/style, power, and beauty, a lot of Clair (Blackthorn City Gym leader), a hint of Maylene (Veilstone City Gym Leader) for competitiveness, intimidation, and sportiness, Some of Elesa's mystique and charm, a bit of Sabrina (Saffron City Gym Leader) for some intimidation, a little darkness, and some class, Asuna (SAO, SAO II), perhaps a bit of Lorelei to her (Kanto Elite Four), many aspects of Saber/Arturia Pendragon (Fate) such as competitiveness, chivalry, seriousness in and about battle, focus on objective, power, and being attractive and graceful despite everything (also, blond hair is not counted out just yet, as it can also give her a "girl of the sea" kind of flavour).

Her name just kind of came to me randomly. Her name caused me to make her a pure water type. Also, I love water-type Pokemon (as you can tell from this data), and I wanted to make a water trainer who actually doesn't suck!! I also wanted to make a pure-type champion because it's an unexpected change from what I've been doing. It's pretty badass to succeed to her degree with only one type in this Pokemon world I've created. When possible, I've been giving the Elite Four members at least one Pokemon that is more or less their namesake (I didn't end up doing it for William Snow, but we can call him an exception since he is me, Yukigami! So he's aloud to stick out, or something...). I don't have that for Finley de Brina, but I do have Pokemon with fins! I chose her to start with a Vaporeon, and also have a trump card of Swampert. Also, I will flavour in that she had a Finneon. Even after becoming a Lumineon, it just wasn't powerful enough to be on her competitive team. Even though she loves it a lot and likes to have a team of favourite Pokemon, she had a lot of water Pokemon she loved, and was too competitive and ambitious to let anything hold her back. She still has her Lumineon. The other factor was that she wished to make a team of only Pokemon who are not restricted to battling in the water. As you can see, she has succeeded in making a team of that. Her team also has some balance as far as water Pokemon Go; she has Swampert for defense against electricity, she has Pokemon to use as physical or special walls, and she has decent type coverage as a whole. Combine all that with 'anything can happen" TV-style Pokemon logic, and her team can be plenty insane, about as insane as I can write it to be!

Here's some closest-match concept art, for fun~:




 Cindy Umbra

Altea la Sylva

Aaron Goldleaf

William Snow

If I do go the blond route with William Snow's character, I will most likely make him deceivingly princely, handsome, and chivalrous. Although he may have features of Kurapika in that case, and this picture in a suit is nice and fitting, he would probably look more gentle and approachable and more masculine, but also older. For example, like Fate 'Prototype' Saber/Saver, aka King Arthur (Fate-style), as seen in the last two pictures, below this one.

 The picture displayed on the left also features Saber's master, Ayaka Sajou, who would also make decent concept art for Altea la Sylva.










And last but definitely not least, Finley de Brina

If the other Elite Four members' Pokemon were to range from levels 40-50, with their trump card Pokemon having a max level of 60, then Finley's Pokemon would be around level 80, maxing out around lv. 90-95.
That's right, a ridiculous Pokemon Champion.
Who can beat her??

"I am a water Master. No, wait, that's wrong... Um... I'm a Pokemon Master. I am a Pokemon Master, who specializes in water-type Pokemon."

That's all for now!!

~Yukigami

P.S. Mega Metagross revealed!!!

The New Hoenn Elite Four

Hello!

I am still doing a lot of things right now, such as learning programming, doing stuff with D&D, hanging out, photoshopping, this and that. But another thing I'm still doing is writing--I'm still working on my Love Lilycove side story, after which I'll go ahead and finish up chapter one once and for all. I'm also planning to redo a lot of my previous posts about characters, story synopses, and whatever else I may have posted, except with updates and overall improvements. After finishing the first chapter of the regular story, I will "reward" myself by writing something really awesome...

What will I write? What's so awesome? Well, as you may have guessed, it's something to do with Hoenn's Elite Four. But I'm not talking about Drake, Glacia and all that good stuff. First of all, to match face with the dark realism of Love Lilycove as opposed to canon Pokemon, the evil organization is going to be actually really bad and do really dangerous and criminal things, and the Elite Four is going to be extremely strong. In fact, as will become apparent when at some point I post the "side story" I've been talking about (a back-story for a character named Orlando de Brina), even gym leaders will be mad strong.

As my story is futuristic (early 22nd century) and AU, I'm taking the bold liberty of "retelling" the story. By that I mean that the premise and events are different, but some canon characters will be featured here and there in a secondary manner. Most or all gym leaders, such as Flannery, will still be what they were despite this taking place in the future (though, do we really know when the real story would have taken place?). All or most of my main characters will always be made from scratch, and in this case, the same is true for the Elite Four and Champion, which I will detail below. Canon characters will not necessarily hold their original role, such as X City Gym Leader, Ash's companion, etc. Also, I won't age some canon characters excludively, but I may age the entire canon population as a whole (for example, everyone being two years older than their canon ages). I'll probably, for example, feature Kanto characters as their Pokemon Gold/Silver selves, whereas I may or may not have Flannery or other Hoenn people be of a different age. This is also because we can't say for sure which game corresponds to which year in the PokeWorld. For the time being, I have no plan to feature any canon character as being significantly aged or regressed--3-6 years is probably the maximum aging I may apply to anyone. For example, I like the older, more mature looking Misty/Kasumi, so if I do feature her, it will not match the season 1 style.

Early Misty (game style, but similar to show):

I have based the Elite Four on my friends and I :)

The first member of the Elite Four, along with the rest, follow a running theme of duel-type thematics I eventually develop in my story. The tentative (very tentative at this stage) name of the first of the E4 is named Cindy Umbra, and uses fire and dark type Pokemon. Her character flavour is a dark and passionate kind of mage-like lady, slightly reminiscent of Malva of the Kalos Elite Four and Karen of the Johto Elite Four.

Her first Pokemon is Houndoom, and what follows is Charizard, Arcanine, Hydreigon, and then her trump: a very high-level Umbreon.

I won't get too much into personalities for now, as I'd rather reveal all that in a more appealing manner.

Elite Four #2 is named Altea La Sylva (Pokemon-style pseudo French. And yes, I am reusing the name Altea, which is taken from my recent D&D character creation. She is (awesomely!) a fairy and dragon type user, and starts with a Sylveon. Next comes a Goodra, then either a Gardevoir or a Whimsicott (pending), a Dragonite (might make this just a Dragonair, I want to treat Pokemon like these as fairly epic beings), and her trump: a high-level Altaria. I have something special in store as well, which I won't reveal. Her character flavour is pretty normal, and in being so sets her apart from the rest of the Elite Four. She's young, normal, and not very confident (for now!), even though she is already powerful enough a trainer to deserve her position. Unlike the other members of the Elite Four, she will have some major involvement with the main characters at some points. (One or more of the other E4 members also gain some minor or very major relevance, but these aren't things I'd be willing to reveal just yet.)

#3 is named Aaron Goldleaf, and trains Steel and Grass type Pokemon. His character flavour is an architect, so with some bioethics background it is pretty suitable. In this case, it's like a mix of nature and technology, and in that sense a very artistic and real world relevant trainer style. His first Pokemon is Klefki, and next he uses Tropius, Magneton, and Breloom. His trump card is an Aggron, which like what can be seen from the other members, is more or less his namesake. He doesn't always use or reveal it, but his Aggron can Mega evolve. This is because he considers his position that of a judge of abilities rather than an all-or-nothing competitor.

The final member of the Elite Four is named William Snow. If I went the Japanese route, I would have called him Yukigami (surname) Toru (given name). Anyway, "Will" refers to the psychic type Pokemon he uses, and "Snow" should be obvious. 'William' is taken from part of my last name, and 'Snow' is in itself a real last name. His character flavour is basically similar to Lucian of Sinnoh's Elite Four, except more princely and chivalrous, as well as more cold and mysterious--very rich, fancy, and even a little bourgeois, but also stern and a bit dark. He is also extremely aesthetic, as his team might suggest. Furthermore, there is a lot more to him than just has position as the final member of the E4--but again, I won't be talking about this just yet ;p

His first Pokemon is Espeon, and the next three are Starmie, Lapras, and Sneasel (or Weevile, pending).

His trump card is a miscoloured (black) Mega Gardevoir (at least, it's black and looks like this in its Mega form and this in its regular form).

I have yet to decide on a Pokemon League Champion. (EDIT: I am posting this on a day inwhich I HAVE finally come up with a champion, so the post about the champion will follow immediately after this one!!)


Thanks for reading! More detailed summaries still to come.

~Yukigami

Yukigami Still Kickin'

Yukigami has returned!!

Hello everyone!

Long time!


So I haven't blogged in some time, but it's just because some other things had to come first. With this post, I will fully (ish) update you on Yukigami developments and recent happenings. Following this post, I will write up 1-2 more tonight alone, just to comprise a little '"I'm back!" posting burst.


As I've said before, I'm aiming to become a programmer. I started by learning Python for about a month. After that, various incidental things came up in addition to a lot of social things, and I went without programming for around two weeks. After that, a lot of different things were getting to me and bogging me down, and I mean a lot of things. I went at least a month or more without doing any notable amount of programming, and I even became a bit disorganized and slack for a bit. But, I was able to let out my stress and things that had finally, finally piled up on the normally stoic-ish me, and finally look back on everything and put it all into perspective. I was able to gain a new resolve after letting the people around me know what's up and, with their help, spring back into high gear!


Essentially, I am programming now like I should be. I have a lot of reasons to push myself. I'm also fitting in some story writing, and setting close deadlines for myself for all my current undertakings. That includes exercise--I'm making a point of running at least once a day, or if it rains and stuff, trying to make up for it another way indoors.


In addition to Python, I've taken up HTML and CSS--I find them pretty intuitive and fun!
That said, maybe I'll be able to spice up this blog a whole lot more with such skills. I am of course planning to build my own websites and whatnot; my first project is going to be sort of an online Evernote with which to organize my life and serve as a convenient all-purpose homepage. It will also serve as a means of practicing style and design, and essentially everything else associated with web development, albeit at a novice level. What I most want to do with programming, at least in the near future, is build websites and create games and apps. I know I'll be interested in more than just that, but essentially I want to do the fun things that serve as a creative outlet for me.


As far as this blog, Nevermeltice goes, I have some organizing to do and no longer am I going to promise dates for anything. But I'm going to operationalize all of the sections, add to them, fill them up with content, and get all of my labels (tags) organized and set up in a systematic manner.


I put writing aside, but personal urges/needs and social happenings have led me to start fitting in some writing again. Before, I spoke of and posted about various stories-to-be--particularly Love Lilycove, my AU Pokemon fanfic (don't doubt it before you try it!), and kept saying that chapters were coming soon. Well, they didn't come soon. They didn't even come yet.

I did, however, begin the writing and I do have part of a chapter one. What's more, I just started getting back into it and am already up to about 20 pages, so you can definitely expect to see something soon (though the thing I was writing today is not an early chapter. It's something I felt like writing now, which will actually be posted later on--a side story chapter. Although its a side story, I must admit it's going to be hard for any regular chapters to live up to its standard. It's not that I don't have confidence in my regular story, but this "side story" will read like a movie of sorts. Or, you know, a really good, somewhat long episode. It's a special backstory chapter that focuses on the past of one of the characters and how he ended up the way he is (and in showing this, I also show more dimensions to his personality than would be otherwise clearly revealed).


I've been thinking of going to college for programming as a major path change. I'm not sure yet though, but I have some researching and calling to do (more, that is). I'm currently looking into Seneca@York. Do you have any suggestions?


I'm still teaching Go.


I recently started watching various cooking contest shows, such as Masterchef, Masterchef Canada, Hell's Kitchen etc. They're pretty funny and entertaining, and I learned some things from watching Masterchefs.
I also watched the anime No Game No Life--definitely pretty decent, I must say! Loved the Fate (Rin and Archer) reference in episode, what was it, 10? Said by Jibril. Speaking of Fate, I can't wait until the Ufotable take on Heaven's Feel comes out in October!!


Congrats to Caressa and Jino for getting married!!

Best of luck to mah man Johnny @ WakeGaNai in his new pursuits!!

Congrats to Allen, my good friend at Noble Zen Legacy for graduating!!

 Congrats to us for 2.5 years!!

~Yukigami

Summer Teaser

Hello!

There's one more thing I feel like posting today: A teaser for my blog-related summer productivity!


The following more or less sums up my blog-related productivity aims for this much-anticipated summer of 2014:

• Write a whole bunch of chapters of Love Lilycove, and possibly also chapters of another one of my stories (not a fanfic) called Jackie! (the exclamation mark is a part of the title!). The total combined chapters will probably, and hopefully, range from 10-25. I'm sure I can manage a lot more than ten, but no promises!
• Write a vast variety of character biographies, info sheets, and so on. First of all, all of the characters from the stories I'm currently writing (i.e. particularly Love Lilycove's characters, but also a bunch from my many other yet-to-be-written stories) will have all kinds of the aforementioned documents written up for them and posted!
• Exceed 100 poems! This should be an easy summer feat, as I already have around 70 poems completed and stored in my Evernote~ I believe I have only posted 2 poems to Nevermeltice so far. It's because I'm not clear on what the scoop is for literary/conceptual theft, as well as how internet publishing affects future career-related usage. That is, if I post poems and story chapters and things here, does that limit or hinder my ability to get my works published in the future? This is an issue about which I must further inquire...
• Write a bunch of each of the following:
• Story synopses
• Story one-shots
• (Possibly) manga chapters by me with poor drawings for the sake of visual story-boarding
• Some more quotes, at least bringing my total to 10-15
• Several big articles/essays on certain topics I'm enthusiastic enough about to the point that I'd go as far as to work hard on such things outside of school. For example, in addition to a big essay on Fate (Fate Zero especially, but also the Fate universe), I plan to write up something big I brainstormed that takes on some big real-world philosophical matters and life problems, particularly pertaining to school, parenting, careers, career counseling, advice and opinions, philosophy, the education system, grades, social judgement, and additional relevant matters. You'll see!
  
• Go stories and articles/tutorials, one of many examples being my new Joseki Explained series (or more broadly, my "Go Explained" series). I'll be writing at least triple what's needed for the CGA newsletter schedule as far as Go articles/tutorials go. I'll also be posting some other content that should prove helpful for Go players, specifically for students of the game but also for teachers.
• Role-play sessions for Pathfinder, D&D and whatever else will be written up as many stories and posted! Furthermore, my characters and everything about them will be posted. Other information, such as my imagined worlds, races (etc.) will also be posted.
• I'll be posting a lot into the Magic/card game section too, starting with my current decks, my deck plans, my personal taste, and some of my MTG aphorisms.
• In addition to everything else, there will of course be a lot of more random posts, or random tangents. Plus, I'll be sharing all kinds of interesting content from other blogs, especially those of my close friends - and that means even more stories, characters, magic, role-play and more!
• Anime reviews and related will of course also be featured. I will do some writing about Fate, Gundam SEED, Hataraku Maou-sama, and many more.
• And let's not get ahead of ourselves! I still need to write up some autobiographical posts. As all of my passions and a lot of my many personal ideas are being exhaustively poured into the many sections of Nevermeltice, I figure I might as well allow you the chance to get to know me through more than just topical posts in which I rant about, share, or guru things.
• All of the sections of this blog will be activated and fully operational pretty much as soon as the summer begins; as I'm not planning on taking any courses this summer, I'll have a lot of time to write, blog, and Youtube - or should I say, YukiTube - which brings me to my next points;
• My friends Johnny and Allen and I will be having weekly (or maybe even more frequently) short story contests. We''l choose either anime or other stories, scenes, or themes to write about and each be given like 1-3 hours (we haven't decided yet) to speed-write it all in separate writing environments and then return with our stories at a certain time. We'll then rate several aspects of each story and discuss them. I think this will be a lot of fun, and it was Johnny's idea.
• My Youtube Channel, probably to be named "YukiTube", will be fully active as soon as the summer begins! First, I'll finish adding all the music and other videos I've been meaning to fill it up with. I have various playlists with which all my videos will be organized, such as: Go, Fate, Pokemon, Interesting, Education, and so on and so forth. I plan to immediately make at least one Go video - the first video ever of my new and up-and-coming channel - before I get to other tasks.
• I will be practicing not only with Photoshop and Illustrator (I am currently Level 0 in Illustrator and Level 1 in Photoshop), but also with Visual Novel-making software such as Novelty and whatever else I can find that might be better. I have strong intentions to advance myself in terms of VN-making as well as (or especially) programming. Due to some unease about my future, I'll be doing a little more programming than I had originally planned.
• Also, as far as games are concerned, I also plan to download some other game design software and tools and see what else I can do. I'm very interested in the game-design industry. I might even read up on that specifically, as I'd really rather not procrastinate or half-ass an interest of mine that's both potentially career-relevant and about which I have plenty of enthusiasm. 

I have lots of other tasks to do that don't necessarily relate to my blog as well, such as:

-Using Athletic Centre and improving my fitness with a light daily exercise regiment and a certain number of days a week of "intense workouts" (but also exercising near/in home).
-Learning Python (I'm not taking it in school, I can only teach myself, learn from others, and study up on it online. But I really want to develop my skills seriously and turn myself into a prospective computer science professional. I think the more I learn, the more I'll like it and be able to fool around with programming stuff. When that happens, It will be easier for me to devote more and more time to developing those skills. I am, however, planning to take CSC108 next Fall.
-I have some other more specific goals and "to do" tasks, and well, I guess even these things (above) will find their way into the blog :)


So stay tuned!!

Once Summer comes around I'll be pumping out an average of two or more posts per day - and staying true to the original-but-seemingly-forgotten purpose of the blog, I'll be pumping out chapters of Love Lilycove for you to read, critique/comment on, and share! ;)

De wa!

~Yukigami

俺のブログはこんなに可愛いわけがない: I-Its not like I wanted to show you this because I...

To add to my last two posts containing very old story writing attempts of mine, I present to you, the reader, something recently posted by my friend at WakeGaNai that was a past attempt of his at writing a Naruto-verse fanfic short story.

Here you go~

俺のブログはこんなに可愛いわけがない: I-Its not like I wanted to show you this because I...: Irrelevant-Kirino or Always-Totally-Relevant-Kirino? と、とにかくちゃんと読みなさいよ。バカ兄貴！ Way back when, I was enamored with the idea of forum-based...

Story Synopsis

Hello, reader! Yukigami here.

Firstly, some of you who've checked out this blog have been misled by my somewhat poorly written nutshell character descriptions from the previous post, and have made assumptions about the story that aren't true. First, I will clarify a few things:

• No, the protagonist is not like Ash. He probably isn't even like Red (I need to read more of the Pokemon manga. More than none would be good... ^_^' )
• Yes, this story will be highly romantic, though this element generally will not flood the story. But it will pervade it; there will be some chapters, strings of chapters, and maybe even entire arcs that focus on romantic drama, but in the case of entire arcs, the drama will be tied into or complimented by a lot of Pokemon- and battling-related happenings. I won't be able to identify any concrete labels for this story for you until I've written a few chapters, as it may contain any mix of "romance/drama", "slice", "shonen", some comedy, some darkness...and heck, there might even be some things sitting at the corner of Shoujo and Lovelove street.
• For those of you who read more than just one or two chapters, I can pretty much guarantee that the major developments will not be predictable. Furthermore, as far as I'm concerned anything goes
• I will be using all the comments that come in as a means of improving my story and my writing, and many of your suggestions may be used. At the same time, however, this story will not become a reader-obsessed mockery of its original intentions. The characters will always keep true to their own virtues, and let me add that although some of them will at first seem to fit into certain known archetypes, such as Coby being a typical smartypants geek character, that only scratches the surface about them. Furthermore, some of these characters will undergo huge, well-built-up-to personal changes that will surely surprise and hopefully satisfy you.
• I especially wish for technical advice for my writing. When it comes to the story ideas themselves, all I can say is this: Please have faith in my imagination!! I will not let you down!!
• I am writing this series like a novel, so although I will try not to make it very slow, expect a long story!

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STORY SYNOPSIS:

 The bulk of the story takes place in Hoenn, at Lilycove Secondary Pokemon Academy in the bustling City of Lilycove. All of the main characters are students of this school, each around 15 years-old at first. The story takes place far in the future - Pokeballs are a restricted item, trainers have special ID, and their Pokemon are not secret from the schools. 

Every student has at least one Pokemon, and very few students have any evolved ones. Furthermore, as students, there are restrictions on the Pokemon they can bring to school. Students learn about and practice with Pokemon, but they also learn about regular academic subjects and about half of their time in school is spent on this. There are still schools around that focus only on typical academic subjects, and students who go to those schools often also go to Pokemon academies or Pokemon cram schools. Lilycove Secondary is a renowned and advanced school, and going to schools with built-in Pokemon education has become commonplace.

The story begins with a nightmare (: : EDIT : : Or does it??) - Jaden Petalstar's nightmare - and eventually, the cause of his inner turmoil that has eaten away at his personality for years will be revealed. The story starts off centralizing this issue and builds it into a mystery, but also presents a growing new problem of crime in Hoenn - an issue that has been taken care of and, until now, long forgotten. The story also slowly builds upon the unique characteristics, issues, and motives of the other characters, working them into the plot and subplots.  


Overall, the story could hypothetically be separated into these elements:

• Jaden's deep-rooted personal issues
• Life at school, rivalries, and the issues and motivations of other student characters
• The emergence of a new crime syndicate and growing danger in the city
• Romance and drama, a heavy element within the overall scheme
• Adventure: though rare and limited, things like travel and gym battles will take place

As for the overall tone of the story, the first thing I can say is that it will be darker and more realistic than the regular Pokemon story or even the Pokemon manga; anything goes. Again, romance will be a heavy aspect, and I will do my best to make those parts sweet, sad, irritating, well built-up, and very dramatic. Humour, death and sadness also make their presence known in the story. Finally, the last thing to say is that even if some characters seem highly archetypal at first, this will not always be the case, as their personalities are highly unique and individualized, and some of them undergo amazing changes.

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Please, please, post your questions and comments! I'm sure there are more things you wish be answered, and you may have something to critique and wish to hear my response, so comment away!

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P. S. By no means is Jaden the only male character who will have overt romantic relations throughout the course of the story. Any of the girls and any of the guys could have or develop feelings for one another - something I'll be sure to properly build upon for each character - and each character is not limited to one romantic interest or pursuer. Anything goes!!


~Yukigami

Love Lilycove's Characters

Yukigami here~ ~


Below are brief character descriptions, please comment! These names were created using a Pokemon-esque naming scheme; the're not meant to be very realistic, but rather, names which help the reader remember things about the character, such as the types with which they prefer to battle or their signature Pokemon.

Main Character:

Jaden Petalstar
("Jay-din Peh-tull-star")

The somewhat emotional, cool protagonist with personal issues and some personality traits locked away within. His true personality remains mostly hidden from the reader, as he, despite the passage of time, remains in strife with a deep-rooted inner turmoil. The story centralizes the revealing and overcoming of his problems, while at the same time, diving into a great deal of eventful romantic drama and cool battles and developments.

Other characters introduced within the first chapter:

Coby Confuchsia

("Koh-bee Kunn-few-shuh")
An eccentric, confident know-it-all character who loves to amass knowledge and rely on highly strategic battle methods. Despite his confidence, he makes a lot of mistakes and appears goofy at times. He is clumsy with his own archetypal style.

Marin Skylily

("Meh-rin Skai-lily")
A shy and reserved girl. She is friendly and light-hearted, and although her grades in school are good, she has clear room for improvement as far as battling is concerned and is not very serious. She often daydreams, and appears to be a klutz and a bit of a flake, but she is very punctual and considerate. She tends to think herself incapable.


Tyrell Blaxton
("Tai-rehl Blax-tin")
An aggressive and power-hungry guy, he battles with overwhelming force. Because he favours bulky and high-offense Pokemon and refuses to give his opponent time to think, he is a tough opponent in battle despite his unsophisticated strategies. He is a friendly and big-hearted guy, but can be a handful and rather temperamental at times. He doesn't like to study, but gets through by proving himself in practical demonstrations. To him, results are most important. However, he is very sportsmanlike.


Amber Marblis
("Am-ber Mar-blis")
She has a very artsy, over-the-top personality. As though a "Pokémon Connaisseuse", Amber describes her favourite Pokemon with overflowing enthusiasm and charisma, and occasionally does the same about other things and Pokemon as well. She loves fashion and the arts, and although she isn't one of the stronger battling characters, the sheer depth of her selective knowledge helps her to get through school with flying colours. While at times she can seem rather skewed in her tastes, her love and passion for her favourite Pokemon - particularly rock types - occasionally offer her boosts in battle.


Carmen Stormwil
("Karr-min Storm-wil")
Carmen, a top student from a prestigious family, is a somewhat mysterious and rather attractive over-achiever, thought by some a genius and others a lucky and spoiled girl. Many students are jealous of her, attracted to her, look up to her, or are highly put off by her. She has a graceful but fiery personality and eyes that reveal intelligence and a resolve to be the best. Though she is highly competitive and often the topic of conversation, she has a habit of following her whims and doing whatever interests her, even if it takes her onto a detour from her personal goals. Despite her appearance in the eyes of the student body, she is at heart neither cocky nor cold. She is a noble but rather humble person who cares about others and does know how to have fun. Her personal weakness as a battler is something to be discovered.




~ ~ Jaden's mysterious second Pokeball ~ ~
Coby defeated Jaden's Gastly, winning him the practice match in chapter 1. But why, then, was there a second Pokeball on Jaden's belt? Coby, preoccupied with the morale boost from his lucky win, put the matter aside in his thoughts. But why didn't Jaden use the other Pokeball? What, if anything, could it contain, and why did he store it in his room later that night? As far as the others are concerned, Jaden has just one Pokemon.



~Yukigami 

Introduction

Hello to you, and to all, welcome.

This is Yukigami's Japan-o-centric writing blog, NEVERMELTICE.

Sit down, make yourself at home~ But keep your coat on, and watch out for the ice; it doesn't melt ;)

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My initial purposes for this blog are three:

1. To share my writing with everyone and receive your motivation and critique in growing as a writer.

2. To share my thoughts on various subjects such as Anime and Manga, Japanese language and culture, philosophy, my life, and more.

And of course,
3. To read all of your comments!
: : Edit : : AS you can see from the sections of the blog, there's even more - a LOT more ;) 


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My first major activity will involve a "fanfic" of sorts - a Pokemon high school romance!

I'm pretty sure I'll be calling this work...

 ~ ~ Love Lilycove ~ ~

I hope you can enjoy the story. Though it is only just beginning, I have quite the inflow of ideas for it, and with your motivating influence I'm sure we can go quite far~

Please comment on my blog and my writing!

~Yukigami