Idea

Ya know, one thing I like to think of with Metroid Prime is that Samus lands on this planet full of Chozo history that she’s never seen before and starts scanning everything in site like an excited little kid at a museum. She grew up with the Chozo, learned their ways, and lost them all to the pirates. Now, she has a world full of the remains of her home culture. You can just imagine her scanning every single statue of a Chozo to find out this was, why their statue is here, and what they were like. And she wants to know what the people of Tallon IV did. What was life like there? What did the average citizen do there?

Basically, Samus getting brain rot over her own culture’s history of which she’s been deprived of information about until now.

People on Reddit absolutely FLAMING Sylux for this one😭

“Are you ok?”

“Yargh, 𝓝𝓸.”

It’s my blog, and I get to nerd out about Metroid fan covers if I want.

Track 10: Power

I swear, I love this track so much. I was never a fan of the original Raven Beak theme. The percussion felt lacking, the vocal element didn’t seem to match the gravity of the situation, and the overall track just seemed discordant and lacking pattern. However, “Power” absolutely improves upon the base track in almost every way I can possibly think of.

The entire album returns a lot of old leitmotifs, from the iconic Brinstar depths, to the chase theme of the SA-X. Most importantly to “Power” is the eerie loop of the Super Metroid save room. It appears elsewhere in the album, but it is actually the first leitmotif within the final track. Its inclusion is brilliant. Raven Beak has been spying on us, lying to us, and manipulating us through the Network Station save rooms. To hear this leitmotif turned sinister is a perfect display of the realization that we were never alone, and NOT in a good way. The track then transitions into Samus’s theme, then Raven Beak’s leitmotif in a monologic fashion, perfect for Raven Beak’s declarations and ordering of Samus to capitulate. The almost vocoded vocal element really excels here as a low hum in a moment of intermission. You can imagine Raven Beak pacing about his thrown room explaining the necessity of his schemes, and his justifications.

Then as the actual battle portion of the song begins, we see that the pace is slower than the original, allowing the Raven Beak leitmotif to really shine and draw itself out. The save room leitmotif is carried over, as well, adding some variety and vigilantly reminding us of how well our enemy knows us. The full vocal rendition of his theme just fits so damn well with his overwhelming power and technology. We actually get a bit of the heroic part of Samus’s theme as well, perhaps to mark a significant set of blows. Then a brief interlude of the darker first half of her theme, no doubt signifying Raven Beak losing one wing and tearing off the other himself. The final act of the song shows a distinct level of desperation on the part of both combatants. We can imagine that they are both running out of resources, and the looming threat of planetary destruction. The finale showcases Samus’s theme and closes very upbeat. However, we all know that victory doesn’t quite happen as Samus anticipated.

Though it does come in the end

This track has given me several ideas for my own rewrite of the Metroid saga. I constantly had the idea of the throne room being heavily damaged throughout the fight, cuz, I mean

Look at that massive beam. There is no way he isn’t at least singing the banners. However, “Power” makes me think more into it as symbolism for Raven Beak dismantling Chozo society and morals in order to fit his own insane agenda and ideals. I could even see the towering Chozo statues tumbling down onto him during the final phase of the fight, as if their likenesses are throwing themselves upon him, begging him to cease this madness, to stop attempting to kill his own daughter. I also imagine both of them losing weaponry and tools throughout the fight as well, further amounting to their desperation as they run out of power bombs, super missiles, miniature suns, and other critical ammunition. I also like to think of Raven Beak using a spear like other Chozo warriors, but being disarmed of it throughout the fight, showing that he is no rightful heir to their legacy. There are so many ideas floating through my head on the matter.

In any case, Sam Dillard did excellent work here. And you should ABSOLUTELY check out the album! The link for it is in the video description.

My Personal Art Refs for the Galactic Federation’s Soldiers

So I’m in my early 20’s these days, but one thing I remember from back when I was a kid was my obsession with Mega Bloks. Mainly I was a Halo fan, but I also fell into liking a thing called Dragons Universe. It had these wacky spaceships, sci-fi dragons, spring loaded launchers, all the stuff a kid like me would love.

These days, I’m into Metroid, and am trying to flesh out a story I’m working on. The Galactic Federation’s own military forces don’t get fleshed out a lot, but we do at least have designs for their soldiers. Now, remembering back to Dragons Universe, I’m realizing the designs for the human soldiers are actually rather similar in some ways. I think I’ll likely use them as inspiration for some more specialized units in the Federation. So for anyone else who wants to do the same, I’m gonna toss you a couple images.

Hanging an led screen with this on it as I dip into the hotel room with my girlfriend.

As Samus learned as a child, dull Chozo claws make for excellent back scratchers. I cannot be convinced otherwise.

Well… CapCut got banned alongside TikTok. I had known about TikTok getting banned, but CapCut? I’m genuinely shocked. I did not know about that. I use CapCut for any video projects I do. Without that, I need to find a new video editing app. If anyone has any recommendations, please send them my way.

You know, I haven’t seen anyone talk about how damn LOUD Thardus is! He is so damn loud it is intense! Granted, I haven’t played Metroid Fusion so I can’t really compare it to Neo Ridley, but it’s still gotta be up there. He just drowns out everything, even the music.

And now for part 3! I have finally learned how to collapse text (is that the right word?) so that this will be much less cluttered. I love seeing all the tags in reblogs mulling over the specifics here. It’s always great to see these ideas leaving an impact.

Day 15: Nemesis

System Stress Alert

“Warning: Cortisol at dangerously high levels. Continued use of Power Suit can result in endocrine-

Warning: Stress levels continuing to rise. Please cease use of this Power Suit to avoid systemic-

Warning: Power Suit Emergency shutdown initiated. Due to critically high stress levels, wielding of weapons grade force multipliers has been deemed unsafe for you and anyone in your vicinity. Reactivation can be initiated once stress levels have subsided to stable levels.”

Day 16: Hatchling

Recommendation on Adaptation Procedure on Human Child

“The life readings of the child, Samus Aran, have stabilized for the fourth time. However, according to various shamans, spiritual harmonics remains an issue. This is likely due to her traumatic past before arriving in our care. In spite of being sedated too heavily to dream, and being supplied air filtered for human consumption, she can still, somehow, feel the pain of her past. This is an issue that must be resolved once she leaves sedation. As it stands, this is an area of healing which I can only offer minimal assistance in.

Nevertheless, preparations are being initiated for gene tailoring and conjoining. A problem still remains. Much of the Chozo bloodline on Zebes has become too old and frail to provide samples not liable to produce genetic defects. The only individual on Zebes who is not in too great a state of atrophy is Grey Voice. However, without multiple donors, genetic aberrations are likely to occur unpredictably. Without a second donor, regular genetic tailoring procedures will be required in order to stabilize any potentially hazardous mutations or cancers. To solve this issue will require political discussions with another Hasana.”

Day 17: Proteus

Administrator Command Log of Aurora Unit 059

“System Plugin initiated.

Please input credentials

Response: System Admin Proteus

Administrator Identity Confirmed. All functions available.

Command: Initiate Self Destruct Sequence

Initiating Self Destruct. Alerts placed to all personnel onboard. Evacuation Procedure Underway.

Command: Expedite

Timer reduced to thirty seconds.

Command: Quarantine

All access to exits now blocked without valid confirmation.”

Day 18: Thief

Space Pirate Archeological Report

“We have successfully located and secured one of the three artifacts needed to unlock the seal around the meteorite. The so called ‘Artifact of Study’ appears to be a miniature display of a solar system. Studies have begun on the artifact by science team to discern what its functionality may be in the seal’s mechanism. With sufficient study, we may be able to unlock the seal without locating the other two artifacts. This will be very beneficial to our time table and personnel resources. It took expenditures of 17 teams in order to obtain our first artifact, due to both the physical traps and defenses surrounding the artifact as well as the presence of one or more spectral entities. Regardless of if opening the seal takes study of the first artifact, or capture of the other two, we are closer than ever before to gaining access to the crater.”

Day 19: Sinewy

Combat Scan of Meta Ridley

“Various armor plates have been damaged, revealing fleshy layer beneath. Ridley is still undergoing a healing process from the confrontation on Zebes. Various areas destroyed during the battle have begun to regenerate, such as the eyes, tongue, internal organs, wings, and arms. This regeneration is not fast enough to overcome direct arms fire. Recommend targeting these weak points.”

Day 20: Tail

Scan of Space Pirate Carcass

“Unlike many other corpses on the Orpheon, this does not appear to be the work of Space Pirate bioweapons. The lacerations have severe heat trauma within the wounds. The killing blow dealt to the torso has begun to melt the internal organs through excessive burning. Whatever was in the blade that pierced this individual’s chest was at least 475°F.”

Day 21: Deceptive

Last Words of a Lone Chozo

“To any who may read this message, Mother Brain has betrayed us. Even as the battle raged on Zebes’s surface, she refused to call for aid. Little did we know she was communicating to find some arrangement with the Space Pirate commander, the demon. I have retreated into Norfair, separated from my kin. I have no food or water. I do not expect to live for long. The demon and his minions come for me, aided by the betrayer. Safe havens have become kill houses. Security doors have become open halls. I have no protection, no weapons, no armor. But I will ensure that the world knows this. The Chozo did not sit idle as we were slaughtered. A great betrayal cut us down. The one we relied on turned our own world against us. I am Onyx Vow, and Mother Brain is not one of us.”

Maytroid 2024 is here!

I am so excited to get to work on these new prompts. Last year, my entries for each day were fairly sloppy, and I was new to the series, so I was lacking a fair bit of information. Now, I’m armed with more knowledge and am eager to use it.

For those who haven’t seen what I did for Maytroid last year, what I’m going to be doing instead of art is something more writing focused. These little text entries are mostly styled after the scans from the Metroid Prime series. Matter of fact, this new set of prompts actually lends itself much better than last year’s, as I have a lot more leeway to play to my own strengths than last year (I still don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do with Gorea). These are all canon to my own Metroid AU currently, though as things change in development, these may become out of date. They will give the vibe my stories are going for, but these shouldn’t be held to as the absolute canon for them. I’ll be posting these week by week, around 7 at a time, starting today.

Day 1: Ridley

Transcript of Security Footage

Several individuals in this footage cannot be identified at this time. They shall be identified as Pirate 1, Pirate 2, and Pirate Major.

Ridley: What I want to know… is why he is not in custody.

Pirate Major: I gave them their orders, they knew he was to be brought in alive, and instead they killed him.

Pirate 1: You told us to take care of him! We thought you meant an execution, not milk and cookies!

Pirate Major: Insolent Wretch! You say such things about your orders in front of our Commander?! You know how we handle that sort of insubordination!

Pirate 2: Cool it, we’re already in hot water.

Pirate 1: We’re in hot water because of the life of some winy little nobody that begged for his life with money he didn’t even have.

Ridley: While your insolence is… aggravating… I am willing to forgive this misstep.

Pirate Major: What?

Ridley: He was an insignificant pawn. We can always find another. As I was saying, I am willing to forgive this on one condition. Did he die in pain?

Pirate 2: Yes. He did suffer before he died.

Ridley: What methods or torture did you employ?

Pirate 1: Waterboarding. Works wonders on humans. I always liked how they sound when they cough and gasp for air.

Ridley:Mmmmm… was blood shed before his end?

Pirate 2: Yeah. My partner here has… quite the way with knives.

Ridley: Do tell.

Pirate 1: Slashed his wrists. Those arteries gush lots of blood from humans. And we started pulling teeth when he lied.

Ridley: Delicious. You have escaped capital punishment, but you will still be serving as guards for the Metroid containment units. For further forgiveness, you will need to be more creative with your implements. I find Revine’s death, by your account, to be quite dull. Your are dismissed, unless you wish to enlighten me further.

Day 2: Fiery

Scan of Pipe System in Norfair

“These pipes appear be delivering superheated magma into the Norfair region. Given the proximity to Ridley’s personal quarters, likely explanations include terraforming the area for Ridley’s own comfortability, additional protective measures, or the intentional destruction of Chozo artifacts not deemed useful. The latter is most likely, as the immediate area was once a Chozo burial tomb. It is now completely submerged in magma, disintegrating much of the artifacts within.”

Day 3: Winged

Scan of SA-X Mutations

“This X-Parasite copy has suffered some form of destabilization of its copying abilities. Abnormalities include a malformed, beak like structure around the mouth, several atrophied fingers, several hypertrophied fingers, small patches of feathers, and an extraneous structure protruding from its back resembling a Chozo wing bereft of feathers. These unusual deformities could be the result of DNA infusions during childhood complicating the process of anatomical replication within X-Parasite offspring. This individual seems to suffer great stress from its predicament, but it is unsafe to assume that its combat functionality is greatly hampered. Adaptation is this species’s main trait.”

Day 4: Pirate

Scan of Space Pirate Elite

“Subject is a member of an unknown species known only from individuals working within Ridley’s special operations group, The Revenants. This group acts as Ridley’s personal enforcers and assassins, fanatically worshipping their commander as a literal God of Death. They wield melee weapons personalized to their unique fighting styles. Each weapon is charged with electricity, giving them an additional ranged attack capability. They have operated since before the Galactic Federation, making a name for themselves in fighting Chozo warriors. Their endurance, agility, and strength cannot be overstated, in spite of their gaunt appearance.”

Day 5: Mecha

Scan of automaton codenamed Mecha Ridley

“Subject is a battle ready drone, seemingly created by Ridley’s fanatical special forces, the Revenants. Mecha Ridley is heavily weaponized, as there could be no altar to the God of Death without the ability to take a life. Weapons include flamethrowers, guided munition launchers, and superheated claws. Mecha Ridley’s armor is highly durable, but greatly hampers mobility compared to its inspiration. Additionally, as a cult idol of worship, advanced artificial intelligence was not prioritized during production. Mecha Ridley displays average combat intellect for a war drone. Recommend staying moving and outsmarting the automaton.”

Day 6: Fang

Scan of Rundas’s Necklace

“Rundas appears to have begun collecting Metroid Fangs as trophies since last he was approached. Assuming one fang was taken from each Metroid he has eliminated, he has defeated 15 Metroids in the two months since he was last seen. Unfortunately, his ego has grown with his kill count.”

Day 7: Cunning

Scan of Abandoned Home

“Old Bird and Grey Voice’s abandoned home has been left mostly in tact, minus the usual signs of neglect. However, there appear to be a plethora of traps lain around the home. Various grapple snares have been detected, alongside explosive charges, beam emitters, and microphones. Much of these systems appear to be inert, and once reported directly to Mother Brain. It is clear she anticipated you might return here before confronting her. Given her destruction, several trap systems remain completely dormant. Still, any approach must be made with great caution.”