WLC 2.B: Trip Trap Trope

WLC 6.7: House Call

The shady little lady suddenly grew twice as large. Her outfit pulls apart as she returns to her natural size, exposing scaly limbs and belly. The dark cloak is barely a cape now. The gex licks her own eyes. "G'day, mate," she says, "This do?"

Dr. Ling puts her claw on the fake lycan, whose image fades away, leaving only a blonde gnome guardswoman behind.

"Sorry for wearing your daughter's face, Ma'am," says Tanglepork, "But we had to make sure the trail was safe."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Ioana squints her eyes.

"Chil-"

"Claims of a strange svelte man lurking out here," says Ling, "Leaving messages about."

"Oh, him," says Ioana, opening her door wide, thus allowing to see her fully. An elderly lycan, her fur is greying in numerous places. She is clad in a thick pastel floral-print nightgown. "Come in, dears."

They do.

The old cabin is decorated in many old furs, hunting trophies, and small bookcases. It is divided into three rooms a simple kitchen, a comfy bedroom, and the main room with a rocking chair and a stool by a fireplace.

The elderly lycan sits in the rocking chair as Ling closes the door behind her. "Come, sit," she says.

Tanglepork sits on the stool, while Ling manifests a bone chair.

"Now, what's this about that night creeper?" asks Ioana, "What has he done?"

"We're not certain yet," says Tanglepork, "But we suspect him of the kidnapping, or worse, of several children."

"Ya wouldn't have seen any kids of late, right?" asks Ling.

"No, only my little Loomy," says Ioana, rocking, "Last week exactly."

"How long has Note-boy been out here?" asks Ling.

"And what's he look like?" asks Tanglepork.

"Less than a week," says Ioana, "He's a tall elvenoid — twice an elf, in fact — in a fancy suit, like from the old cities, but his face: it's wrong." She rubs her paws on her face. "He looks like you- er, like whoever is looking at him."

Ling leans to the side and asks, "So ya've spoken to someone who's seen him too?"

Ioana face droops. "Y-yes, a few neighbors."

"Can you tell us where these neighbors live?" asks Tanglepork, "The woods are pre~tty~ big."

"Of course, I can, dears," says Ioana, eyeing them with a sigh, "But it's so lonely being so far out here. Could you stay a while longer?"

J: Mum, tell me you didn't. L: Does it really surprise ya...

Victory Pose Double Feature

In Bushido Blade 2, victory poses are locked to characters, but I've found a way to make everyone be able to strike all those poses.

This video is of Mikado first and her Shainto counterpart Kaun second doing every victory pose except their own in their Versus mode outfits.

This video is the same arrangement, but with Story mode outfits.

Mikado Mirror

There are so many death animations in Bushido Blade 1 and a few in the sequel. For some reason (probably demons), I recorded Mikado ending herself for more than six minutes straight.

Just screaming and dying for six minutes.

WLC 3.A: A Fishy Ending

Outside of the tower, Ling begins praying, "I humbly call upon ya, OH GREAT DAGEXTAN!" The others chant the name behind her. "Bless this land to feed this world, guard this land from those beyond death, and," Ling points at the wormsworn, "Accept this offering!"

The ground rumbles, harder and faster than the worms and spells had made it prior. It bursts open under the what remains of the undead pests. The massive fish-headed avatar of the agricultural god devours the monsters in one sucking bite.

"Return to Samsara, ya wiggly b*****ds," yells Ling.

The avatar leaps out of the ground, flailing his elven-looking limbs as he dives back into the ground. His splash is a healing wave across the battle-scarred land.

"We are so lucky that worked," says Oighrig, finally landing, "Your divine connections have saved us all."

"No worries," says Ling, "'Sides, ya'll did most of the work."

"I would never have thought to use the corpses themselves as the runes, Your Darkness," says Oighrig, "A most impressive display."

"Thank you," Melandria says with a bow.

"That's nice," says Ling walking into the tower, "But I got to check on my kid. Gash, you're still responsible."

Before Ling can get to far, Melandria's shadow hand stops her. "I know a faster way," she says. She pulls the group into the shadows and to just outside Gank's room.

Gash opens the door without knocking. Inside the room, Jevoi lies asleep on Gank's bed, with the charda sitting on the floor reading her tome. She shushes the adults as they enter.

"See, nothing to worry about," whispers Gash.

"Ya're lucky," whispers Ling, "Ya got a responsy kid here." She walks up to the bed. "Good on'ya, kid," she says to Gank, before picking up Jevoi, "And time to get ya back to bed."

L: I'd take it back, but... G: It's funny, now.

"Can I hold her?" asks Melandria, "No, I'm sorry. Ignore me."

"Go ahead, Mel," says Ling holding Jevoi up for the Shadow Queen to grab, "Sorry, I was... acting like that down there."

Melandria gently scoops Jevoi from her mother's arms and rocks her slowly. "You've nothing to apologize for Ling. The circumstances were... difficult."

"Struth, that was a stressful five minutes," says Ling, "Just glad she's okay. I was ready to end one of ya."

J: You did not say that. L: Yeah, I did. G: Was there, can confirm: she did. J: Your memory's wrong. G: Ghosts have perfect memory; I can't forget even if I try. L: I'm a wizard; I don't forget anything I don't want to.

"Mom, stop," says Gank, swatting one claw at Gish who is rubbing her head.

"Gank, was it?" asks Ling, "How'd you like a little job?"

G: One of the worst decisions of your life, right? L: Not even top ten.

Loving the crown hat!

Mario Kart World Rosalina ✨🩵

Making Characters Act

Since the cutscenes of Bushido Blade 2 are handled in-engine, it's super easy to put different actors on different stages with repurposed animations.

For example, this is Mikado and Jo reenacting part of Kannuki's ending in the Shainto Group Battle Stage. Jo is even using a different weapon from Mikado, unlike how Tatsumi wields the same as Kannuki.

The way Tatsumi falls in Kannuki's ending is so stiff; it's a very low-budget fall.

By contrast, "Tatsumi's" attack is a complete whiff in Mikado's ending, but the fall is more dramatic.

There's a few hiccups to the process of making this, but I can mostly make anyone in this game do anything someone else can do.

Does that make the twins a pair of sneasels?

Sneasler + Hsien-Ko

WLC 5.3: Women Arguing in Total Darkness

Tanglepork hits the cold, hard ground with a squishy plomp, then gets crushed under Jevoi, and then Luminița, forcing a pair of loud squeaks out of her.

Luminița staggers to her feet, blindly fumbling about.

Jevoi grabs Tanglepork's gun. "Would you look at that," she says, "One of us dropped her weapon." She looks down on the soul of the gnome, scared and prone.

"Okay, Jevoi," says Tanglepork, flipping upright, "Let's talk this out."

"Isn't it sad, Loom?" asks Jevoi glancing at the soul of the blind lycan, "If we were here sooner, we may have saved the sheriff from the wolves."

"Shame that," says Luminița, "Where are we?"

"Now, hold on," says Tanglepork, "You wouldn't hurt a helpless little girl like me, would you?"

"You're, like, ten times older than me," says Jevoi, "It's time to be a big girl, Sheriff."

"Just shoot her," says Luminița, continuing to search for a wall to lean against, "And help me find a way out of here."

"I'm not going to shoot her," says Jevoi, "She was eaten by wolves."

"Why is it my job?" growls Lumnița, "If you want her dead, then kill her yourself!" She trips over something. "Are these bones? Why are there bones?"

"With what?" asks Jevoi, swinging the gnome's gun around, "Her gun with my marks on it? My special knife?"

D: Weren't you trying to do that? L: That's when the cutie had a weapon. G: Yeah, killing someone who can't fight back is uncool.

"Not killing me is good too," says Tanglepork, tightening her arms on her chest, "Also, bones? What kind of bones?"

"So you want my teeth marks on her?" yells Lumnița, getting further away, "Can you even see her down in this devil's a**e?"

"Of course I can. What are you freaking out about?" yells Jevoi, "It's just your nana's basement!"

"My bunica didn't have a basement."

WLC 5.E: She Tangle with My Sheriff 'til I Pork

Jevoi leans on the railing, looking out on the endless sea of stars. As much as she needs that tome, her mind keeps wandering off. That demon has crawled into her mind like a weevil. Yesterday keeps playing in her mind.

"You're trickier than I thought," says Tanglepork, her gun pressed to Jevoi's back. "Hiring staff to humiliate me, didn't see that coming."

G: Ya're welcome.

"You can clearly see, I-"

"Shut up," growls the sheriff, jabbing her hostage with the gun's barrel, "Where is it?"

"With a horny sea hag," says Jevoi, "That coven's probably used it all already."

"Stop ly~ing~," sings Tanglepork, "If you don't have it, you know what ha~ppens~."

"Diablo mio," a voice rings out; it belongs to Angustias, who is slithering down the dock. "What are you doing?"

"Arresting a criminal," says the sheriff, flashing her badge, "Stay~ back~, de~mon~."

Angustias glares at the gnome. If she's going to do anything, she has to take initiative. She subtly coils her body. As fast as she can, Angustias conjures her six swords and leaps toward the gnome, swinging wildly. One sword cleaves off the gnome's gun' barrel. Another, the hand holding it. One slices open the back. Another, the belly. One stabs a knee from behind. The last, up the butt.

A: A rather unsatisfying fight, I'll admit. After that- J: She died on the spot. L: Is that so? D: That's how the mean sheriff died?

Tanglepork's screams are trapped in the unseen bubble surrounding the trio. For all Jevoi's dismissiveness and daughterly angst, she has learned some of her mother's spells. The sheriff uses her remaining hand to try to hold her organs in as she collapses to the floor.

"A lizard who's a wizard?" Angustias less asks and more blurts in confusion.

"No," says Jevoi over Tanglepork's softening sobbing, "I'm ...an eldritch... trickster?"

"Still sounds like a nerd," says Angustias, reaching down into Tanglepork and pulls an organ up, still attached to a tangling mess of the sheriff's "pork", so to speak. "Let's play a game, the first of you two that identifies each organ gets a point."

"Kidney," says Jevoi.

"Correct," says Angustias, crushing it.

"That's not fair," whimpers Tanglepork.

Angustias drops the kidney and pulls up another. "Liver," Tanglepork tries to yell.

"Yes." Angustias sets it back in. As she does, she notices Tanglepork attempting to wiggle something out of her vest pocket. The demon stabs another sword into the gnome, this time, in her shoulder. "I know your kind's tricks." Angustias tries to pull something else out of the gnome, but it's small and buried. "What's this little thing?"

"An ovary?" asks Jevoi, glancing around nervously. "You should stop before we get caught. Just kill her already."

POP-SQUISH

"Just one more," says Angustias, eyeing Jevoi with a mad fire in her eyes. "I'm finally getting why so many demons are into this." She pulls another organ up. "Besides, the gnome can't die from this."

"Please, don't crush my bladder," cries Tanglepork. She clinches her eyes and focuses on her magic. "Optica-"

Angustias punches Tanglepork in the jaw, the force cleaving the gnome's tongue off and shattering her teeth. "No spells!" She shoves the bladder back in.

Tanglepork attempts to speak, but the message is lost in the spray of blood.

Jevoi takes a step back. "I think your game's over, An-Angustias."

"Fine, it's a draw," whines Angustias, "Adios, p**a." She shoves the gnome's severed hand and gun into the open wound and flings her off the side of the ship.

Tanglepork slams into the magic sphere protecting the ship, her cracking against it, and slides down the side, leaving a bloody smear behind her.

Jevoi looks over the railing. "You really think she'll survive that?"

"Yeah," she says, "Gnome's can only die of boredom."

"That's not true," says Jevoi, turning toward Angustias, "That just how they die of age. They're still mortal. If you cut them, they still bleed."

"Oh," says the demon, now licking Tanglepork's fluids off the deck, "Eh."

Jevoi gawks at wild messy display and licks her own eyes.

A: Yes, she died immediately and we disposed of the body. J: Then we went back to Angustias' cabin. L: Yeah, here we go. J: Don't be weird, Mum. We just talked about- L: Then why ya telling me this? D: Did you ever get your book? J: Yes, after the cruise, we- L: One hook at a time. Next yarn: why I killed that old wolf. J: I suppose, you could entertain us over desert. Here comes the cake. D: Oooooooooooooooooooooo! Cake.

WLC 1.2: In the Long Quiet Night

In the half-buried atelier, surrounded by broken equipment and furniture, the two geckos continue to stare each other down. A soft red light faintly fills the room from the window of a large metal pod. Likewise, the bubbling from within it serves as the sound in the dead eternal night.

In front of the wizard, the remains a fire pit erupt back to life. She leans forward again. "Another cold summer day," she says with the faintest laugh, "Bring a gift? Or just more disappointment?"

"What I have brought are demands," says her daughter, scanning the room, "Where is she?"

"Look at you," scoffs the wizard, "Dressing like an elf, standing like an elf. Want me to turn ya into one?" She pulls one arm out of her robe; the long violet fingerless glove blend back into them, as she traces her finger up and down her daughter's image. "Nana Ning would be so disappointed."

"And whose fault is that?" exclaims her daughter, "The time I spent with her was measurable in days." She adjusts her fine black leather gloves. "And it's not as if you knew anything about us. How would you? But that's not the point. You're just trying to distract me from-" A shadow appears, just briefly, in the doorway in the back. "My daughter."