Jab’s Builds! (Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef! Sweetums! Gonzo!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Ken
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Re: Nora Valkyrie

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 9:23 pmHer "Famous Crossdresser" comparison is Thor, who had to imitate Freyja at a forced wedding to a Jotun. How THOR, of ALL the Norse Gods, is able to successfully pass for a woman (much less a beautiful one) is an aspect of the story that's been left tragically untold.
He was a beautiful woman by Jotun standards, not Aesir standards.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
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Re: Nora Valkyrie

Post by BriarThrone »

Ken wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:12 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 9:23 pmHer "Famous Crossdresser" comparison is Thor, who had to imitate Freyja at a forced wedding to a Jotun. How THOR, of ALL the Norse Gods, is able to successfully pass for a woman (much less a beautiful one) is an aspect of the story that's been left tragically untold.
He was a beautiful woman by Jotun standards, not Aesir standards.
Jotun tended to think the same Aesir were beautiful that the Aesir did. And the Aesir apparently were into some Jotun action from time to time.

I can only imagine that this story was told for giggles. A pre-electricity version of absurdist comedy anime.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Ruby Rose! Yang! Blake! Weiss! Jaune! Pyrrha!)

Post by Ken »

Rule #1 of comedy: there's nothing funnier than a man in a dress.
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Lie Ren

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

LIE REN
Role:
The Backgrounder, The Calm One
PL 8 (135)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+15)
Athletics 10 (+12)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Hunter) 6 (+7)
Perception 9 (+11)
Technology 3 (+4)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, Equipment 2 (Scroll), Improved Initiative 2, Ranged Attack 7, Takedown 2

Powers:
"Semblance- Suppress Negative Emotions"
Concealment 1 (Grimm Senses) (Extras: Affects Others) [2]
Enhanced Advantages 1: Fearless (Extras: Affects Others) [2]
Enhanced Will 4 (Extras: Affects Others) (Flaws: Limited to Suppressing Negative Emotions) [4]

"Aura"
"Nobody Sells Anything" Features 1: Gives No Indication of Harm Until Knocked Out [1]
Regeneration 2 [2]
Immunity 5 (Falling Damage) [5]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Protection 2 [2]

"StormFlower" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [8]
"Pistols" Blast 5 (Feats: Split) (11) -- (12 points)
AE: "Twin Blades" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical, Split) (4)

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Twin Blades +11 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Pistols +11 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3 (+5 Aura), Fortitude +5, Will +6 (+10 vs. Negative Emotions)

Complications: 
Responsibility (Hunting Monsters)
Relationship (Nora Valkyrie)- Nora has an obvious crush on Nora, who shares his feelings.
Power Loss (Aura)- Hunters & Huntresses may slowly lose power as their energy depletes. Their Scrolls keep them updated on their condition.
Responsibility (Must Spin Before Every Attack)- This is the most immutable law of the universe.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 28 / Defenses: 10 (135)

BriarThrone's Notes
:
Ren is a shy, quiet, serious student. He has a crush on his friend Nora Valkyrie, and some trauma related to the destruction of his home city, where he was an adorable aristocrat munchkin who loved flowers way too much. That’s… pretty much the extent of his characterization, to this point. He’s way overshadowed by his spectacular teammates.

He’s a very quick, agile fighter, very acrobatic, with great hand-to-hand abilities and Aura-control techniques, like tearing out a King Taiju’s fang, shoving the fang into its eye, and blasting through its head. His strength and stamina seem to be lacking, though. His Semblance is masking and suppressing negative emotions, effectively hiding from the Grimms’ senses.

His weapon is the StormFlower, automatic pistols with sickle blades on the end shaped like fangs or flower petals.

Jab's Notes: Ren is basically a PL 8 "Quick Guy" variant of the usual "RWBY" builds. He was apparently voiced by Monty Oum himself, who was replaced with Monty's brother- this may be why he was used less than the other characters, as Monty was busy as the Lead Producer. His "Famous Crossdresser" basis is Hua Mulan.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Ruby Rose! Yang! Blake! Weiss! Jaune! Pyrrha!)

Post by Jabroniville »

And that does it for the RWBY builds! Thanks to Briar for doing the notes for me! It was an interesting challenge to work with a show I'm largely unfamiliar with.
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Re: Nora Valkyrie

Post by Yojimbo »

BriarThrone wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:46 pm
Ken wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:12 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 9:23 pmHer "Famous Crossdresser" comparison is Thor, who had to imitate Freyja at a forced wedding to a Jotun. How THOR, of ALL the Norse Gods, is able to successfully pass for a woman (much less a beautiful one) is an aspect of the story that's been left tragically untold.
He was a beautiful woman by Jotun standards, not Aesir standards.
Jotun tended to think the same Aesir were beautiful that the Aesir did. And the Aesir apparently were into some Jotun action from time to time.

I can only imagine that this story was told for giggles. A pre-electricity version of absurdist comedy anime.
Thor wore a veil. And Thrym did some Red Riding Hood commentary, like "why your eyes be blazing red, baby" and Loki, also in a dress acting as Thor's handmaiden, gave excuses like "she SO wants to marry you that she hasn't slept a wink in nine nights."

Thrym notices something is up, but he's so excited to have a chance at marrying Freya that he plays along, only realizing his terrible mistake when it's too late. I think it is supposed to be a bit of a comedy, but the absurdity of Thor in a dress does get commented upon in-story.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Ruby Rose! Yang! Blake! Weiss! Jaune! Pyrrha!)

Post by Ares »

Or just further evidence that a beardless, pretty boy version of Thor isn't so far-fetched.

Hell, if Marvel wanted to have some fun with the concept, they could have that myth be canon, and explain why Thor is blonde and beardless: when Heimdal proposed the idea, Loki helped out with the disguise part, which included changing the color of Thor's hair and shaving his beard. Only Loki did it with those special scissors of his that makes it impossible for new hair to grow, and did something to the magic hair dye that it wouldn't change back. So Thor is clean-shaven and blonde because of a prank Loki pulled ages ago.
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RWBY Supporting Cast & Villains

Post by Jabroniville »

These are the characters who get little enough focus that builds would be mostly speculative. The bios are all Briarthrone's work.

ADULT HUNTSMEN & TEACHERS:

DR. OZPIN:
First presented as the enigmatic but knowledgeable and shrewd Headmaster of Beacon Academy, Oz has recently been revealed to be the Wizard himself – source of the Maidens’ power, cursed to reincarnate in like-minded and similarly-named people until Salem is defeated. Insinuated to be more terrible than presented, Oz has so far been nothing but kind and accommodating to his subordinates and students. He’s been training Huntsmen for countless generations, and is the SOURCE OF ALL KNOWN TRUE MAGIC, so his actual limits are unknown. A great teacher and mentor figure. Sometimes he grants followers straight-up superpowers. Oh, and fights with a cane, I guess. He died, but now he shares a noggin with a farm kid named Oscar. Head of a benevolent conspiracy to protect the Four Maidens, including Professor Goodwitch, General Ironwood, Qrow Branwen, and Leo Lionheart.

Image

PROFESSOR GLYNDA GOODWITCH:
Stern, hot blonde teacher with a riding crop. Whoever designed this character was very open with their kinks. Glad we don’t know anyone like that, right Jab? (Jab's Note: Yeah! PERVERTS!) Anyway, she’s Ozpin’s foil among the faculty, supporting him and accepting his authority but questioning his methods and decisions. She fights using her Semblance of telekinesis and masterful use of Dust. Character basis is obvious.

PROFESSOR PETER PORT:
Good-natured old gentleman who teaches with mostly stories about war and hunting… and live combat with captured Grimm. Who is THE BORING ONE. Often works as a duo with Professor Oobleck, acting as a straight man to the latter’s eccentricity. His weapon is a FREAKING BLUNDERBUSS BATTLEAXE. I want this man to adopt me as his son. There was some old cartoon about a hunting kid named Peter, wasn’t there?

DR. BARTHOLEMEW OOBLECK:
The kooky and eccentric one, he mostly fights with his mind, memorizing historical and tactical data for later use. Though his coffee thermos can transform into a club/flamethrower combination. That helps too. The coffee lends to his hyperactive style. He’s very sympathetic to the hardships and motivations of his students. His name is a reference to the Dr Seuss story Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

GENERAL JAMES IRONWOOD:
Headmaster of Atlas Academy and a General in the Atlasian military, Ironwood has a ton of military power at his disposal, and is invaluable to Ozpin’s group, even if his brute-force approach leads to some difficulties. He’s a military man who values courage, duty, and selflessness above all else. He rewards those who sacrifice, and scorns those who are above it all. He’s a crazy powerful fighter, with his mostly-cybernetic body and his enormous revolver. Based on the Tin Woodsman.

QROW BRANWEN:
Uncle of Yang and Ruby, Qrow is the ultimate alcoholic rascal uncle. He doesn’t hang out much, since his Semblance’s aura of misfortune is uncontrolled, but he kicks his nieces’ butt at video games, taught Ruby to use her scythe, and is in general a bad influence of the most awesome kind. He loves his family, even his psycho sister, and rejects his upbringing as a bandit, embracing the life of a Huntsman instead. Believed to be one of the most capable Huntsmen in the world, Salem’s henchmen are dismayed to learn of his current involvement in aspects of their plans. He fights with a thing that transforms between a sword and a scythe. For… reasons, I guess. Has the magical ability to transform into a crow, for reconnaissance purposes.

RAVEN BRANWEN:
Qrow’s psycho sister, she served with Ozpin’s group for a while, but upon realizing the scope of the threat, she abandoned the fight and went home to head her bandit tribe and be some kind of weird anarcho-fascist. She loves her family, as illustrated by her Semblance ability to form bonds strong enough to open portals to them, but that love interacts poorly with her philosophy of the strong dominating the weak. Raven left her young daughter Yang with the father Taiyang shortly after birth. She fights with a massive sword, and the scabbard has traits of both Adam’s rifle and the revolving chamber of Weiss’s rapier. Greatly resents Ozpin for... giving her the superpower of transforming into a bird.

Image

WINTER SCHNEE:
Winter is every bit the icy professional Weiss aspires to be. Or would be, if not for that temper. Despite this, she’s the least horrible member of Weiss’s family, and honestly cares for her sister. She’s like a more experienced Weiss in most ways, including the same Semblance abilities, but instead of a variable Dust effect in a rapier, Winter uses a saber and a parrying dagger, each with a single type of Dust.

TAIYANG XIAO LONG:
He loved Raven. She gave him a daughter, then left. He grieved, but came to love his other teammate, Summer Rose. She gave him a daughter, then died. He was a fairly broken man for a while, but apparently recovered and became a wise and awesome dad-slash-sifu. He’s a very respected character, thought of highly by all the other Huntsmen of his generation. He teaches at Signal, the primary school where Ruby was training before being admitted to Beacon.

VILLAINS:

SALEM:
The Wicked Witch analogue and series Big Bad, she’s the source of the Grimm and a ruthless enemy of Mankind. She relishes using humanity’s positive emotions to build them up, only to make their losses sting even more. Despite this, she’s not falling prey to the classic Evil Overlord tropes, being fair and supportive to her minions as long as they remain loyal and submissive. She’s after the Relics, physical manifestations of the gifts of the gods to Humanity. Presumably lots and lots of powers.

CINDER FALL:
(two appearances, one sexy, one scarred)
A leader among Salem’s forces, Cinder is after power. She wants to be feared. Before the series, she half-succeeded in a plan to murder the Fall Maiden Amber and steal her power, gaining a portion of it and incapacitating the young woman. Later, she finishes the job. She takes pleasure in exercising power, whether overtly or in secret. Imperious, cunning, cruel, and ambitious, she really ought to borrow Salem’s copy of the Evil Overlord List. Able to use true magic, among her abilities are conjuring and manipulating flame and black glass, which she uses as weapons. Also, she can manipulate raw Dust easily. Based on Cinderella.

EMERALD SUSTRAI:
A loyal follower of Cinder, she’s a knowledgeable, outgoing, friendly sociopath, thief, and murderer. She’s introduced by murdering a bookstore owner, then joking about it in a lighthearted way. It appears that her cruelty has limits, though, as she shows remorse at the scale of destruction caused by Salem’s plan. Her weapons are oddly similar to Lie Ren’s, with chains thrown in to add a kusarigama element like Blake’s. She’s an agile fighter and stealthy, using her Semblance to enhance her opportunities. Her Semblance is the ability to cause hallucinations, which was key to Salem’s plan to destroy Beacon Academy. Based on Esmerelda from Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame.

MERCURY BLACK:
Partner of Emerald Sustrai. In most situations he presents himself as jovial and carefree, but he’s actually cold, cunning, sadistic, and vengeful of any affront. Raised by an abusive, alcoholic assassin, Mercury was recruited by Cinder after she watched Mercury kill his father in battle. He has prosthetic legs, and armored boots that fire explosive rounds, very similar to Yang’s Ember Celica. He’s a versatile kick-based martial artist, switching between styles resembling tae kwon do and capoeira easily. His Semblance is currently unknown. Based on the god Mercury.

ROMAN TORCHWICK:
Unflappable criminal gentleman, Roman Torchwick was charming and smug at all times. He’s on Salem’s side because he likes to back the winning team. He ran the standard criminal elements of Salem’s enterprise, like robbery and procuring weapons. Not shown to be a great threat at first, Roman was focusing on getting away with the goods. Later in the series, though not as technically able as the trained Huntsmen, he was shown to be a skilled fighter, using a bartitsu-inspired style with his cane-cannon Melodic Cudgel. Also a skilled pilot. He never unlocked his Semblance. Based on the Pinocchio character Romeo Candlewick.

NEOPOLITAN:
Subordinate of Torchwick’s, Neo is a mute, diminutive psycho without much characterization yet. Her unusual coloration, prim demeanor, and sadism are about it. She’s a great fighter, able to go one-on-one with Yang and Ruby and win easily, only outmatched by Raven Branwen. The canopy of her umbrella is armored, the stem conceals a blade, and she fights using a mixture of this weapon and a kick-based offense. Her Semblance is physical illusions, as opposed to Emerald’s mind manipulation. They shatter on impact. She doesn’t seem to have a character basis beyond Neopolitan ice cream.

ADAM TAURUS:
Current leader of the White Fang terrorist organization and Blake’s ex-boyfriend. Adam’s a complete control freak, willing to sacrifice anyone and anything to control everything, to the world-domination level, in a perverse, sadistic sense of justice. Despite this, he is an assertive and charismatic leader. He is also an amazing swordsman, using the sword Wilt and accompanying scabbard-rifle Blush. His Semblance is the ability to drain the power of enemy attacks and even the color from the world around him, releasing it as offensive power in his own strikes.

ARTHUR WATTS:
Serves Salem in an unknown capacity, though there is a definite medical element to it. Arthur is the perfect condescending gentleman dickhead, though Salem will rein him in if he gets too nasty to his peers. He’s an enthusiastic academic, and capable of replacing Tyrion’s severed tail.

TYRION CALLOWS:
Dangerously unstable cackling psychotic murderer. His Faunus trait is a scorpion tail, complete with amazingly deadly poison, that he conceals as a belt. He uses vambraces that are equipped with blades and firearms. Able to capably go one-on-one with the series’ best Huntsmen. Semblance currently unknown.

HAZEL RAINART:
Serves Salem in an unknown capacity, for unknown reasons. His abilities are respected by Ozpin, though beyond his strength, we don’t know what they are. Highly critical of failure, he seems oddly reserved, calm, and compassionate for Salem’s crew, frustrated by senseless death.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri Dec 01, 2017 6:41 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Marvel Nations

Post by Jabroniville »

FOREIGN COUNTRIES:

Foreign countries are kinda fascinating. I was never a "Geography Nerd" the way I was into animals & dinosaurs and junk, but it's pretty cool to know that there's a kabillion cultures around, all bouncing off of each other and being dicks to each other and stuff. I've always meant to go down the various e-avenues of learning (mostly Wikipedia- it's just wordy enough to be fulfilling, but not so wordy as to require a full-time job to read all of it) and find out stuff about different countries and their histories, so I guess this is as good an excuse as any. These little mini-country bios are as much for my own amusement as anything, as it's a quick little guide to each country (sticking first to ones that feature Marvel heroes & villains coming from them). I'll give their name, "True" name (ie. what they call themselves- though I'll just write it out in English if I can't find the real answer), Population, Capital, Primary Language, and Super-Powered Representatives (or people like Moira MacTaggart and stuff, who are important supporting characters).

Also included are a point-by-point Fun Facts section about the country's history, wars, cultural tropes, stereotypes, etc. It's mostly gleaned from first TV Tropes (which has a very good "Useful Notes" section with entries written about various countries- usually by denizens of them), and then Wikipedia. There's obviously WAY more to each country than six or seven bullet-points, but I have to maintain SOME semblance of a social life here!

Biases:
-OK, so I'm a Canadian who holds little political ideology, and generally thinks people are dumb and need a strong hand or else they'll go all wild and start eating each other and stuff. I generally think all people suck, so I have no inherent biases against certain cultures, I'd think. Expect anyone who truly pulls a dick move on another group to get called on it, though.

Regarding Stereotypes:
-It's kind of a fact of life, and unavoidable that people get stereotypes. Obviously if you see enough people in one group acting a certain way, you're gonna come to some conclusions about it. It's silly to think otherwise, and it's not ENTIRELY an evil practise. Obviously, racial stereotyping and CULTURAL stereotyping are different. "All Asians are good at math" is dumb, because Asians clearly do not have a genetic DNA bias towards algebra. Rather, it's more accurate to say that "Asian parents typically put a far-greater emphasis on scholastics- especially math- than most other people". This is much more accurate- it's a CULTURAL stereotype, and it's very often true. I mean, all stereotypes come from SOMEWHERE. I have no problem making good-natured jabs and stereotypes of other people over stuff like this. Just so long as you don't go all dumb and figure "ALL of this group are like THIS", or get all mean-spirited about it, you're good.

Virtually every culture I've come across has stereotyped their immediate neighbors as "Cheap", and usually make fun of them for it, so it's universal to rag on people for that (I work in retail, so I can see a lot of it in some groups, as well). It's all in how people were raised, and the cultural mores prevalent in certain areas- some people are taught from childhood to be really tight-fisted and careful with their money, and to always haggle. That's fine- just like it's fine for me and my fellow poor retail workers to be annoyed with it. 

There's nothing wrong with pointing out most stereotypes- certain things have a tendency to be common among ANY group, not just ethnic or cultural ones. Stuff like South Park and The Daily Show pretty much showcase my exact opinions with this- it's funny to point things out, especially when it's in jest, especially if it's not entirely negative stuff. Like when they showed an Israeli TV network and Samantha Bee openly joked "FINALLY- a television network run by JEWS!" That's FUNNY. And hell, it's an accurate joke, and something everyone acknowledges as true- Jews DO have a disproportinate amount of people in Hollywood. The Daily Show- EARTH book has a funny bit where they make fun of their two-page spread on Judaism, which got as much space as Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, etc., despite their own admission that there's like 1/100th the Jewish population as any of these other groups. The comedian Russel Peters has some great bits about different groups as well- the cheapness of his own Indian people, the bad driving of Asians (I know several Asian people who admit to this one, and I've personally witnessed it in a few Asian acquaintances SEVERAL times), etc. 

Hell, I wouldn't even be embarassed by showing negative stuff like Arabic Terrorists, cuz let's face it- the world has some of that. There's a line- stuff like "Palestina the Terrorist" is ridiculous (not kidding- Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling had a character named this), and painting an entire race as terrorists because of this is also wrong. The whole "Muslims Hate Women" thing is also easily-disproven by all the female elected heads of state various Muslims countries have had, as well as the fact that more Muslim majority nations BAN veils than REQUIRE them- which isn't to say CERTAIN Muslim countries (especially the frickin' theocracies and kingdoms) don't have a deplorable history of that sort of thing, and should pull their heads out of their asses. Bill Maher (himself very un-PC) has a great bit about the "Path to the East" being undertaken in the West (the one that led to North America's rediscovery) had everything to do with that region being FULL OF INSANE PEOPLE.

In all, certain cultural groups lean a certain way. It's reality, and it's naiive to assume otherwise. As long as you're not dumb and don't think it's true for EVERYBODY, or feature huge deplorable stereotypes (like the blackface charicatures in '40s comics), you're fine. 

Simple rule: Don't be a dick.

In general, if you don't want to read endless facts about every nation, here's the history of every place on Earth:
1) Scattered tribes that are pretty much alike.
2) Someone unites, and starts being a cock to their neighbors.
3) Empire is forged by the guys who were being cocks. They overwhelm everybody in their path, until A) another Empire comes along, or B) there's a succession crisis.
4) Empire splits apart, getting either scattered into various mini-Empires, or getting overtaken by the other Empire.
5) Repeat.

That's pretty much it. Every dictatorship or kingdom ends badly eventually, and eventually, no matter where you're from, your ancestors committed an atrocity to someone near them. Ain't the world grand? :)
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Re: Nora Valkyrie

Post by BriarThrone »

Yojimbo wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 3:26 am
BriarThrone wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:46 pm
Ken wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:12 pm

He was a beautiful woman by Jotun standards, not Aesir standards.
Jotun tended to think the same Aesir were beautiful that the Aesir did. And the Aesir apparently were into some Jotun action from time to time.

I can only imagine that this story was told for giggles. A pre-electricity version of absurdist comedy anime.
Thor wore a veil. And Thrym did some Red Riding Hood commentary, like "why your eyes be blazing red, baby" and Loki, also in a dress acting as Thor's handmaiden, gave excuses like "she SO wants to marry you that she hasn't slept a wink in nine nights."

Thrym notices something is up, but he's so excited to have a chance at marrying Freya that he plays along, only realizing his terrible mistake when it's too late. I think it is supposed to be a bit of a comedy, but the absurdity of Thor in a dress does get commented upon in-story.
Well, yes, but it's fairly noticeable that Thrym does not take one look and say "Wow, Freya seems remarkably bulky today..."
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North America

Post by Jabroniville »

NORTH AMERICA:

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Actual name:
The United States of America
Population: 308.8 million
Capital: Washington
Primary Language: English
Fun Facts:
-Was populated by scattered Native American tribes (as opposed to huge empires in the South) for millennia prior to Ponce de Leon's "discovery" of Florida. Settlers soon came in force, forming the Thirteen Colonies. Things ended... badly for the Natives, who were basically a Stone Age people facing proto-Industrial Revolution settlers with muskets. Alliances were made (then broken), genocide was had, and basically Europeans (especially the British) ended up dominating the entire continent.
-The Revolutionary War started between Americans and the British, with America winning thanks to some help from Napoleon's France, and a Republic was born, with the first-ever Constitutional document signed.
-Settlers soon expanded westward, eventually hitting the coast. Texas and much of the "South" was taken from Mexico by war, other lands were ceded (Florida & California by Spain), and eventually the whole thing was "America", soon to include fifty states.
-The American Civil War occured (see "American South" below), splitting the nation politically (and emotionally) for years. To this day, there is still a bit of a divide, with the South favouring religion and right-wing politics, and the North favouring secularism (to a point- even non-religious Americans tend to be more religious than most Europeans or Canadians) and the left-wing approach.
-Became an Imperial Power of sorts, capturing the Phillippines and other lands, but was a late-comer and gave most of it's territories up eventually.
-Had a generally "hands-off" approach with the rest of the world, taking several years to get into World Wars I & II. Their arrival (with unlimited monetary resources) in both wars was quite integral in tipping the balance, especially with the Axis powers in both wars being heavily-tired-out by constant war with the rest of Europe (and Canada!).
-World War II pretty much... saw the end of the "hands off" approach, to put it lightly. Japan & Germany both seriously underestimated both American firepower, and their will to win. Both nations took an ass-kicking as a result, though Japan (who were especially rotten to captured American soldiers, which was noted frequently and shown to the American people) got the worst of it, and took the bad end of a nuclear attack. And thus, the globe had a new World Power.
-Various Presidents took a MAJOR interest in foreign politics. The threat of Communism and the Cold War set off a firestorm- wars in Korea & Vietnam to prevent Communism from taking hold, propping-up of dictators of a different sort occured all over the world. The U.S. deliberately knocked over a few anti-American leaders in South & Central America, then placed more friendly individuals onto the seats of power. One of these was Augusto Pinochet in Chile. Panama, Cuba, Iran, The Phillippines, Egypt... some ended better than others, and America was officially THE World Power, especially once the Soviets bowed out by the '90s.
-Massive cultural shifts were frequent- the '50s brought on television, sitcoms, soap operas, the Beat Generation, and more. Drug culture became big, ghetto culture did the same, and a huge surge of minority groups took hold and formed their own unique cultures. America stands as one of the most multi-racial areas in the world, thanks to immigration.
-Americans are rather notorious the world-over for percieved ego, a boisterous attitude, and being rather happy to go flying into war, but truth be told, they do a better job of being a World Power than most nations would (look at what happened when England had control, or to people under Russia's heel).
-American culture (with it's massive funding in the movies, TV, and more) tends to spread across the world in differing amounts, and most nations tend to just have their own celebrities, plus a general knowledge of American ones. It stands to reason that 99% of all superheroes are American (it formed as an American concept in the '30s & '40s), giving an "America is the most important nation in the entire world" effect going all over.
-Curiously, American censorship is different than in most of the world. Nudity is rather verboten, but violence is extremely graphic. Nudity is more taboo than almost anywhere else, but all sorts of horror movies are popular.
-The American military is far and away the most powerful in the world, with large numbers of troops, and the biggest and best weaponry. A good portion of weapons also goes out to other nations willing to pay, so expect the next war in the Middle East (don't pretend there won't be one) will likely have Americans fighting their own weapons.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Pretty much everyone else not mentioned under another heading. Marvel is an American company, with American workers, with an American audience intended from the outset.

THE AMERICAN SOUTH
Actual name:
unofficial names (usually just "The South")
Population: it depends on which areas you include
Capital: Not Applicable
Primary Language: English
Fun Facts:
-Made up of multiple States in the Southern portion of the United States, usually including Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky and others, and sometimes including Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and others.
-Fought the Northern States in the American Civil War, a war often reduced to being "about slavery", but had multiple other reasons as well... though a lot of people now pretend slavery either had LITTLE to do with it, or that slavery would have "ended on its own" to act as apologists about it. But yeah, slavery was very common in the South, and it's abolishment led to an economic downturn, allowing the creation of violent groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
-Generally stereotyped as hayseed, racist rednecks, there have been intelligent Southerners, such as humorists Mark Twain & Stephen Colbert. Many modern Southerners (such as Colbert) intentionally hide their accents publicly to avoid this (though many from large cities naturally speak without accents).
-Despite the above, a great number of American politicians hail from the more politically-conservative (ie. Republican) South, including Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and the two George Bushes.
-Race has been an issue, as the South is closest to Mexico, not to mention the history of slavery. Jim Crow regulations were in place well into the 1960s, and certain events (such as the Kirk/Uhura kiss on "Star Trek") were banned from TV outright. This gives the South an international reputation for the worst kinds of racism. Actual black folks are pretty clear that the NORTH has racism too- it was just a trickier, subtler form of institutionalized racism, which makes it harder to fight. You can POINT OUT things like "Move to the back of the bus" and "Whites Only" signs- these are obvious, "big" forms of racism. Stuff like "it's hard to get an apartment/cab/loan" is harder to specify and fight.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* A handful of names, though no major characters outside of Rogue.

Rogue
Cannonball
Husk
Icarus
Razorback
Excavator
Piledriver
Inferno (Exemplars)
The Armadillo
Firebird
Jeb Lee (Four Horsemen)
Boom-Boom (Boomer, Meltdown)
---
The Rangers:
The Phantom Rider IV (Modern Hero)
Shooting Star
Texas Twister

Native American Heroes:
American Eagle
Red Wolf
Black Crow
Thunderbird I (John)
Danielle Moonstar
Warpath
Forge
Harpoon
Thunderbird (Exiles)
The Puma

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PUERTO RICO
Actual name:
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Population: 3.7 million
Capital: San Juan
Primary Language: Spanish
Fun Facts:
-Similarly victimized/enslaved-by the Spanish, and quality of rule depended on the ruler in charge at any given time. The native Taino (the same racial group making up pretty much all of the Carribean) merged with the Spaniards and the black slaves, forming a mixed-race cultural group.
-The Americans invaded in the 19th Century (coming in late for the Colonial era, and wanting to make up for lost time), swiftly annexing it and making it a territory (but not a State). This may change at some point in the future (independence seems to be the most popular option). Government corroption and poverty are problems.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Actually a lot of names... though most are White Tigers.

White Tiger I (Hector)
White Tiger II (Animal)
White Tiger III (Kasper)
White Tiger IV (Angela)
White Tiger V (Ava)
Araña
Bantam (Boxing Prodigy)
Fer-de-Lance (Serpent Society)
Tag (Dead Hellion)
Senor Suerte & Muerte I-II
El Vejigante

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CANADA
Actual name:
Canada
Population: 34.3 million
Capital: Ottawa
Primary Language: English & French
Fun Facts:
-Started out pretty much like America did, with tribes of Natives being first allied with, and then subverted by the settlers. The English and French were the major powers, eventually fighting a war between "Upper" and "Lower" Canada (the English won heavily, and Canada became anglo-dominated). Generally speaking, the Natives were treated better- they weren't explicitly given a genocide, but were politely shoved into reserves.
-There are currently a LOT more Natives in Canada as a result. They're usually just called "Natives" because of course they're not Native AMERICANS, though community leaders try to change the name every ten years or so, once one name becomes a sort of short-hand racial slur. They're currently pushing either "Aboriginal" or "First Nations" on us, but it's only a matter of time before people start using THOSE with disgust. This is because Natives tend to be very poor, and end up with the same sort of "drunken hobo" stereotypes that other really poor people do (Natives are five times as likely to die via alcoholism as other races). It's unfortunate, but a fact of life.
-Canada was dominated by England for years (getting into both World Wars by proxy immediately), but gradually lost dependence (compared to America) and eventually became a Constitutional Monarchy with no major legal links to England. It's a major American ally, but with a much smaller military force- their combined border is the longest in the world, and has been undefendeded for longer than any other, with only a relatively minor skirmish in 1812.
-Politics are less volatile than American ones, with a multi-party system (though only two have ever held power, two others have attained "Official Opposition" status with the second-most votes). Issues remain between the English side and Quebec, which are percieved as whiners by the rest of Canada, while the Quebecois like special treatment and considerations (such as bilingual signs). Quebec eventually voted (barely) to stay a Canadian Province.
-There are ten provinces and three Territories (with Nunavut forming in 1999, cutting the Northwest Territory in half- this was after I left High School, so now I no longer know all our capitals). The Provinces (except the Maritime ones, which are tiny) are HUGE, much like the rest of Canada, but most of the population is close to the American border by reasons of weather (it is COLD up north).
-Canada isn't a major cultural force officially, but a huge number of celebrities are Canadian: Pamela Anderson (you're welcome, thirteen-year-olds of the '90s), Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox, Leslie Nielson, Rush, Celine Dion (sorry about that), Nickelback (REALLY sorry about that), Justin Beiber (okay, Rush has gotta make up for some of that crap, right?) and more. Only a few Canadian TV shows can sprout up under overwhelming American cultural presence, but the "Degrassi" series is a stand-out- showing real-life young teenage issues in the early '90s (such as a kid with AIDS, which was WAY ahead of it's time).
-Regarding the accent: It's a little bit true, though obviously gets exaggerated like most accents. The further east you go, the more people say "aboat" (not quite "Aboot") and "eh"- Western Canada sounds a bit more like Western Americans (ie. California), but with slightly different vowel pronounciation.
-The hockey thing? No joke. Paul Henderson's winning goal in the "Summit Series" is a bigger deal in Canada than the "Miracle On Ice" was in the States, and Wayne Gretzky is still a national hero. Almost everyone has at least a passing knowledge of hockey, the country basically shuts down when Canada goes far in hockey in the Olympics (I've seen this happen twice), and there is hockey ON THE MONEY (specifically, the $5 bill. Some Americans have said "There's hockey on the money? That can't be real" upon seeing it).

Super-Powered Representatives:
* A rather large set, actually... pretty much entirely due to Alpha Flight, because their book featured an array of supporting characters and villain teams. Naturally, BY FAR the biggest star is Wolverine.

Wolverine
Turbine
Transonic
Wendigo
Chinook
Dog Logan
Sasquatch (Exiles)
Iceboy (Euroforce)
---
Alpha Flight:
Aurora
Box I (Bochs)
Box IV (Jeffries)
Centennial
Diamond Lil
Flex
Ghost Girl
Guardian
Major Mapleleaf II (w/ Thunder)
Manbot
Murmur I (Truffaut)
Nemesis I-III
Northstar
Puck I (Judd)
Puck II (Yu)
Radius
Sasquatch I
Sasquatch II
Shaman
Snowbird
Talisman
Vindicator
Wild Child
Windshear
Yukon Jack
---
Beta & Gamma Flight:
Auric & Silver
Earthmover
Feedback
Flashback
Goblyn & Pathway
Groundhog
Manikin
Purple Girl/Persuasion
Saint Elmo
Smart Alec
Stitch
Witchfire
---
Weapon: P.R.I.M.E.:
Double Trouble
Kane
Killjoy
Tigerstryke
Yeti II (PRIME)
---
Omega Flight:
Bile
Brain Drain
Delphine Courtney
Jerome Jaxon
Miss Mass
Sinew
Strongarm
Tech-Noir
---
Northstar's Foes:
Barb
Link II
Mister Nice
Sadista
Shortfuse
---
The Derangers:
Bedlam I (Knowles)
Breakdown
Freakout
Janus II (Vincent)
Scramble, The Mixed-Up Man

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MEXICO
Actual name:
The United Mexican States/Estates Unado Mexicano
Population: 112.3 million
Capital: Mexico City
Primary Language: Spanish
Fun Facts:
-Indigenous peoples include various empires, including the Olmec, Mayans & Aztec. A small number of Spanish conquistadors eventually conquered the entire thing, wiping out an empire and putting their own in it's place. Smallpox, horses and higher technology (along with a hell of a lot of angry subjucated peoplewere a nasty combo.
-Mexico declared independence centuries later in the 1800s, with the new racial group (a mix of Spanish & Native ancestry) dominating the region. Various lands now in the United States were part of the Mexican Empire, but they lost half their total land in the Mexican-American War. The head loser, Santa Anna, turned into a traitor/dictator/revolving-door presidential candidate, and is to this day why Mexicans dislike re-electing people.
-Various revolutions and political upheavals (seriously, a LOT of them- from the ones popular in Westerns to as recently as two decades ago) took place over the next century and a bit, leaving Mexico a very, very poor country, with many border-jumpers attempting to cross into the wealthier United States. This is a major issue in the American South, with immigrant groups soon outnumbering the "majority" of whites in the region. Currently, a drug war is ongoing between various crimelords, leading to thousands of murders each year- the police are helpless, and many cartels actually control entire towns, and the youth are easily taken in to the drug culture.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* A surprising lack of... well, any kind of names, despite being America's southern neighbor. You're much more likely to see characters of American Latino descent, really.

Rictor
The Cheetah
El Toro Negro
Velocidad (The Lights)
Los Hermanos De La Luna
Captain Mexica (Alternate Universe where the Aztecs were never conquered, but fell to Marvel's Zombies)
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri Dec 15, 2017 6:05 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Central & South America

Post by Jabroniville »

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BRAZIL
Actual name:
República Federativa do Brasil
Population: 190 million
Capital: Brasilia
Primary Language: Portuguese (the only country in the Americas where this is the case, giving them a sense of national identity regarding it)
Fun Facts:
-The stone-age native tribes at war with each other were conquered by the Portuguese quickly upon colonization in the 1600s. Brazil would declare it's independence from Portugal in 1822.
-Contains the Amazon River System, the largest in the entire world. Massive flooding occurs every year in this area, with unique biodiversity (the largest in the entire world, actually) as a result.
-Contains the world's eighth largest economy, and is easily the largest country in South America.
-About half the population considers themselves white, and 43% are "brown" (multiracial- a history of slavery plus native contact mixed things up considerably).
-Football (aka "Soccer") is far and away the most popular sport, and their team is one of the best in the world.
-The major cities are Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the latter of which has the famous "Carnival" celebration, but a violent reputation in the poorer parts.
-One of the Top Twenty most dangerous countries to live in in terms of violent crime (usually surrounding drugs and gangs). Typically has 45,000-52,000 homicides per year.
-Has the largest number of "unencountered" peoples in the world, with several tribes spread out through the rainforests.
-For all of it's size and global status, has a really poor showing of superhumans. Sunspot is a great character, but a second-string New Mutant at-best.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Very few big names- Magma only barely counts (she's descended from Romans), but Sunspot's been given a bigger role in recent years.

Sunspot
Magma II (Aquila)
Defensor
Shark-Girl
Reignfire


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VENEZUELA
Actual name:
República Bolivariana de Venezuela
Population: 29.1 million
Capital: Caracas
Primary Language: Spanish
Fun Facts:
-A hard-luck Spanish colony, with an ever-changing line-up of politicians, dictators and false-leaders coming and going after Victor Bolivar died (he was a national hero in much of Latin America, who united a lot of countries to rebel against colonialism). The discovery of lots of oil helped out a lot.
-A recent President was "Internet Troll in World Leader Form" Hugo Chavez, who liked to be bombastic and lively... until he croaked. Beauty contests are a surprisingly big-deal, and the nation has a rep for having lots of diseases (despite being mostly urban) and drug traffickers.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Only one.

Wind Dancer

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COLOMBIA
Actual name:
República de Colombia
Population: 45.6 million
Capital: Bogota
Primary Language: Spanish
Fun Facts:
-Pretty similar history to Venezuela, like most of Latin America. The Indians were wiped out or bred with by the Spanish.
-Famous for coffee, kidnappings, and drugs. LOTS of drugs. "Colombian Drug Lord" is practically short-hand for the most common type of trafficker you'll see in fiction, and Pablo Escobar was the most infamous. It's apparently getting better about that, though (Mexico is only too happy to take over). Still, around half the population lives in poverty.
-The birthplace of Shakira & Sofia Vergara, both famous for being Latina and hot.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Only one. And hilariously minor, too.

El Toro

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CUBA
Actual name:
República de Cuba
Population: 11.2 million
Capital: Havana
Primary Language: Spanish
Fun Facts:
-blah, blah, Latin America, blah, blah, conquered by Spain, etc. Slaves from Africa were sent in to work in plantations. A rebellion was aided by the Americans, and caused the Spanish-American War.
-America had set up the unpopular Batista as dictator, who was very friendly to U.S. big business and the Mafia. A massive surge in rebellions was led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, and they unseated Batista and turned Cuba into a communist dictatorship.
-The Cuban Missile Crisis, in which the Cubans decided to house Soviet nuclear missiles only a few hundred miles from American soil, is as close as the world has ever come to nuclear annihilation.
-Repression is common- freedom of speech is limited, and the secret police have great power. It's more well-off than many Latin American countries around it, though.
-Famous for cigars, Castro (ironically the longest-serving world leader of the 20th Century, considering all his enemies tried to do to him), baseball, and Communism. Americans were prohibited from going for decades, but this may finally be overturned. Canadians have been vacationing there with impunity for decades, since Castro & Pierre Trudeau (then-Prime Minister and the current PM's father) were good pals.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Way fewer than you'd think, given how the country was treated in America.

Poison (One-Shot Spidey Foe)
La Bandera (Wolverine Ally)
The Crusher I & II (Daredevil Foes)

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THE BAHAMAS
Actual name:
The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Population: 330,000
Capital: Nassau
Primary Language: English, Bahama Creole
Fun Facts:
-Really close to Cuba & the U.S., and was a British colony until the 1970s. A famous vacation destination. Is heavily-African racially, and the richest country in the world with such a make-up. Christopher Columbus first landed here. It became a haven for pirates (including Blackbeard), but those days are long gone.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Only one, and I didn't even realize it. Her name is CLARICE FERGUSON.

Blink

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JAMAICA
Actual name:
Jamaica
Population: 2.8 million
Capital: Kingston
Primary Language: Jamaican Patois
Fun Facts:
-The British wrested it from the Spanish in the 1600s, and it was their colony for the next three-hundred years, leaving them with a very distinctive variant of English. Famously-friendly to tourists, it is nonetheless a VERY poor nation, prone to extreme violence and gang activities.
-It was a major victim/benefactor of the slave trade, with blacks eventually outnumbering whites by 20 to 1, thanks to the sugar trade.
-It gave the world Bob Marley, Reggae music, and Rastafarianism. Plus it has the bobsled team.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Two voodoo-themed characters.

Brother Voodoo
Calypso

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ARGENTINA
Actual name:
República Argentina
Population: 40.1 million
Capital: Buenos Aires
Primary Language: Spanish
Fun Facts:
-The nation was, by 1900, one of the most advanced countries in the world, but was amazingly a developing country by 2000- a HUGE drop in prestige and power.
-Was ruled by Juan Peron and his famous wive Eva (aka "Evita"), but she died (some say of poisoning), and then he was ousted. The military junta made the utterly-stupid decision to invade the Falkland Islands for... some reason, at which point England promptly gave them an ass-kicking. Democracy soon took hold.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Three names... possibly two, if Defensor is Brazilian.
The Black Tarantula
Defensor (this or Brazil)
Saint Anna (X-Statix)
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri Dec 15, 2017 6:02 am, edited 5 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Middle East

Post by Jabroniville »

THE MIDDLE EAST:
-Curiously, this fabled modern-day hell-hole was once central to global culture, and was the most advanced civilization around. Muslim conquests over much to the West and East (including parts of Europe) terrified the CRAP out of people, but they repelled numerous invasions. The Ottoman Empire was the "Dying Man of Europe" after a Golden Age, however, and things faltered quickly into decentralization and succession crises.

-Thus, the Middle East (which contains about 20% of the world's Muslims) kinda turned into a hell-hole in the last century, though various counties got VERY wealthy thanks to large stores of oil. Places like Saudi Arabia & Afghanistan became hotbeds of terrorism, thus "earning" them a legacy in the modern media. It's an uncomfortable subject many want to avoid, so not a lot of comic book characters come from here. Usually, comics maintains a balanced viewpoint, as the Arabs are often looked at as sympathetically as their foes (such as the Israelis). Claremont's New Mutants featured an honorable Palestinian, for example. The Desert Sword, by contrast, were a bunch of evil dicks, though only The Veil was particularly stereotypical (Scirocco looked like an armored Iraqui, but that's because he WAS one).

-Veils are common in some areas, and not in others. Saudi Arabia, Iran and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan are or were pro-veil. Nothing in the Qu'ran dictates this by law- it is a pre-Muslim Arabic social tradition that had become linked to Islam after the fact. Various Muslim nations like Turkey & Indonesia have some women with head-scarves, but do not enforce it, and in some places, it is even banned (in Turkish public buildings, for instance).

-Some parts of the Arab world are generally okay, but others are prone to savage violence and bloodshed. Nasty tribal politics, racial hatred, warlords and theocratic governments abound in parts. Fundamentalist psychosis and terrorism IS very real (just as Benazir Bhutto... oh wait, you can't), though there are nonetheless four Muslim nations that have elected female heads to state, so not everyone believes in it.

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SAUDI ARABIA
Actual name:
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Population: 25 million
Capital: Riyadh
Primary Language: Arabic
Fun Facts:
-The Prophet Muhhamad was born in Mecca in 570, and swiftly forged a Muslim empire including Saudi Arabia. It was later folded into The Ottoman Empire (a massive conglomeration of Muslim states), from which it revolted during World War I (with the help of T.E. Lawrence "of Arabia").
-The Saudi Dynasty rose power in the 1800s, and fully took over the country in 1932. It's fortunes have waxed and waned, but are currently high thanks to a huge amount of oil in the country.
-Became part of the anti-Iraqi forces and an ally of the Americans, which led to various anti-American groups (notably al-Quaeda) trying to reject this. 9/11 was specifically a reaction to American military bases in Saudi Arabia.
-Sunni Muslims are the majority, and the country is an absolute monarchy. The Qu'ran is the constitution, and Sharia law rules.
-Is in the bottom four countries on Earth in terms of gender disparity. Women are not allowed to vote, marry of their own free will, or travel without the consent of a male relative. Homosexuality and converting religions from Islam can be punishable by death.
-Contains Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest places. Pilgrimages are made on a constant basis.
-Controversially the source of a vast amount of terrorists, and funding to terrorists, backed up by wealthy oil-men.
-Don't tend to show up in comics a lot, despite a lot of story potential, largely out of fears of being percieved as racist.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* An Arabian Nights dude, a modern-day soldier guy, and rich Oil Sheiks. So basically a trio of stereotypes.

The Arabian Knight I (Qamar)
The Arabian Knight III (Navid)

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TURKEY
Actual name:
The Republic of Turkey
Population: 79.8 million
Capital: Ankara
Primary Language: Turkish
Fun Facts:
-Turkey spent centuries greatly affected by its proximity to Greece & Rome- the fabled city of Troy is often thought to reside in Western Turkey (where many Greeks settled), for example, and largest city in the nation is Istanbul, which was famously the city of Constantinople- jewel in the Eastern Roman Empire. The Achaemenid Empire moved into Constantinople, taking it over completely and forming a central point of the Muslim Conquests of the 6th Century.
-Turkey, named for the ethnic group the Turks, was the capital of the Ottoman Empire for centuries- a global powerhouse that fell into decline just as Europe was heating up, leading to it stagnating culturally and economically, eventually moving backwards and becoming "The Dying Man of Europe" while Europeans carved up the globe. The Empire finally fell in the wake of World War I, and the general Ataturk became the new glorious leader.
-Prior to this, Turkey engaged in some of the last Pre-Holocaust Ethnic Genocides of major repute- the Armenian Genocide being a pretty notorious one, as they got into the "wiping out cultures we don't like" thing a little TOO late for the rest of the world, who were like "NOT COOL, Turkey!". That Turkey controlled Greece for years also remains a bit of a sticking point- it was kind of "a thing" to win back Greece in the 1800s, with many Christians moving there as a minor "Crusade" of sorts.
-Ataturk is so respected by the Turks that when Stephan Pastis of Pearls Before Swine randomly named a camel "Ataturk" (because it had a funny sound; he had no knowledge of the Turkish leader), he was indundated with death threats for years.
-Modern Turkey has numerous issues- it's the most European of Muslim nations by a ways, and has more stances against things like veils than any Western nation does. However, sectarian violence is frequent, and crackdowns on journalists (generally seen as the "opening shots" of true dictatorships) are common.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Almost nothing.

The Turacs (The Vampires who transformed Dracula himself)

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AFGHANISTAN
Actual name:
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan/Land of the Afghans
Population: 28.4 million
Capital: Kabul
Primary Language: Dari (Persian) & Pashtul
Fun Facts:
-The "Land of the Afghans" ("Pashtun" is the term for the main ethnic group) is an important hub in the world, being so close to the Middle East, Russia, China and more. It spent hundreds of years as part of numerous empires (the Achaemenid, Seleucid & Ottoman Empires among them). In general, there were a LOT of conquerings and re-conquerings done to the land, with few empires lasting long in the grand scheme of things. This basically goes on for hundreds of years, including the modern day.
-A Marxist government took over for a few years in the 1980s. The Soviets had designs on Afghanistan for years, and were eager to help- the United States' C.I.A. covertly assisted the resistance forces, egging the U.S.S.R. into an expensive "Vietnam" of their own, draining their economy. It worked, and the Soviets left. Of course, said "resistance" was comprised of Osama bin-Laden and his al-Quaeda cronies. Unfortunately this tends to happen a lot to the Americans.
-The Taliban was able to take over in the 1990s (scattered militia leaders controlled parts of the country at the time), forging one of the most oppressive religion-based regimes in history, with no rights for women and turbans & beards enforced on the populace. Immediately after 9/11, the Taliban were the only people in the world stupid enough to deliberately antagonize the angriest America in sixty years, and got their asses righteously KICKED in response. America and it's allies unseated the overlords, and enforced a democracy, though there are constant attacks from rebels, Taliban loyalists, and other warlords.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Only one X-Person.
Dust

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IRAN
Actual name:
The Islamic Republic of Iran/Land of the Aryans
Population: 76.9 million
Capital: Tehran
Primary Language: Persian
Fun Facts:
-It was called "Persia" until 1935, but the people always called it "Iran". Like most of the Middle East, it's been the centre of power, or the victim of another power- the Mongols, Macedonians and others have invaded, and it's invaded Greece, Egypt, Babylon, Afghanistan and others.
-Fabled as the original land of Zoroastrianism, and had famous monarchs Xerxes and Darius, enemies of "300" and Alexander the Great, respectively. Eventually the Macedonians conquered Persia, but it was won back from the Seleucids (descendents of Alexander's general) in a few centuries.
-The subsequent rulers, the Parthians, were a constant thorn in the side of Rome, and one of the few nations that regularly fought back Roman armies (including Marc Antony's). This stunted Roman growth in the East. Eventually the Parthians fell to the Sassanids, and Islam came to rule over the land. They got their asses severely kicked by the Mongols for a few generals (over half the total population of Iran was killed), not recovering their population until the 1900s.
-The British & Americans unseated the new -and secular- Prime Minister (who took power after the Shah was ousted), only for the new Shah to be unseated by a REALLY non-secular Ayatollah. As expected, Americans are not popular in the region (the fabled Iran Hostage Crisis, in which the American Embassy was invaded, is one major result of that).
-A war broke out with Iraq over various things (hatred of Saddam by the Ayatollah, the Shia minority being oppressed by Saddam) in the 1980s, with many nations (including America) backing Saddam, and a handful of others (including Israel) backing Iran. An eight-year war, full of atrocities on both sides (child soldiers, child mine-clearers, etc.). Both sides lost craploads of lives, but no territory was gained, and it was basically a stalemate.
-Sharia Law is not upheld, though it is ruled by religious leaders. Sh'ia Islam is the official religion, and it has the second-highest execution rate in the world (after China).

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Only two nobodies, despite the focus it's gotten in American society. Marvel probably doesn't want to deal with it.

Black Raazer
Sanjar Javeed


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IRAQ
Actual name:
The Republic of Iraq
Population: 31.2 million
Capital: Baghdad
Primary Language: Arabic, Kurdish
Fun Facts:
-The seat of the first major global cultures- it was the heart of the Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian & Akkadian Empires, which is a hell of an accomplishment. The Mesopotamian ("Between the Rivers") region was a major breadbasket.
-Was conquered by Islamic forces centuries ago, and turned into one of the major military points for Islam. The destruction (ie. sacking) of Baghdad by Mongol hordes is considered the worst occurence in the history of Islam.
-Iraqis are largely Shi'ite Muslims. The region was controlled by the Ottomans until World War I, at which point the British carved it out of the old empire, without heed of the various ethnic groups within the region. A couple coups took place over the decades.
-Saddam Hussein's forces took control in 1979, and he became a classically-cruel militaristic dictator- assassination of rivals, ethnic genocide, all that fun stuff. The Americans helped him out in the Iran-Iraq War (see above), but he swiftly became a pain in the ass when he invaded Kuwait. The resulting one-sided ass-kicking (Comedian Bill Hicks described it as a "military excercise for techno-fetishists") devastated the region, but the Americans didn't fully invade. That would come later, under a notoriously-incorrect pretext of "Weapons of Mass Destruction", resulting in a second major front for American invtervention in the Middle East. Attempts are being made to remove soldiers from the region, but the democratically-elected party is under constant assault from suicide bombers and the like.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Basically a bunch of nobodies, largely from the same story arc in the X-Men Annuals.

Aminedi, The Invisible One
Sirocco
The Veil
Blind Ali (X-Statix)
Crule (Ancient Babylon)

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ISRAEL
Actual name:
The State of Israel/Medīnat Yisrā'el
Population: 7.6 million
Capital: Jerusalem
Primary Language: Hebrew
Fun Facts:
-The region was home to the earliest Jews millennia ago, and features heavily in the Bible stories. It's generally unknown where the mythology ends and the mystery begins. Various forced would control it over the years, most famously the Egyptians, Persians, Romans (leading to the seige of Masada, where the city commited suicide rather than be taken captive), Macedonians, and finally the Ottomans, who eventually maintained control of it despite the Crusades and the attempt by Europeans to capture Christianity's "Holy Land".
-Jews spread throughout most of Europe, but were generally (to put it lightly) disliked, and stereotyped as miserly villains. Oppression was widespread (though ironically less so in the Middle East itself at first), but would reach it's peak in World War II and the Holocaust.
-Was founded after World War II by the British, taking over their Mandate of Palestine, as part of global reparitions to the Jews after knowledge of the Holocaust spread. This was... unpopular with some of their Muslim neighbors. Several nations (Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria & Transjordan) invaded almost immediately, and got their asses handed to them (some possibly deliberately- to stew up anti-Jew sentiment to distract their respective populaces from unpopular government leaders).
-The Suez Canal crisis was even WORSE for the Muslim armies, and the Six-Day War (called that for a reason) was worse AGAIN- a humiliating loss that saw the Israelis (who invaded Egypt because of an obviously-forthcoming military invasion) take a whole ton of land, including the Gaza Strip, West Bank & Sinai Peninsula. The Egyptian Air Force was wiped out before it even left the ground. After the Yom Kippur War, the Egyptians forged a treaty of sorts with the Israelis, largely ending their problems.
-Like most Allied nations, Israel got into the act of helping-out evil governments to suit it's own interests, like aiding Iran against Iraq ("lesser of two evils" there) and South Africa with aid in general (no idea there).
-Israel has a unique mark as being an ally of several hated powers (U.S., France & England), most of whom were colonial empires that screwed Arabs & Persians in the past. It's unlikely they'll ever be popular in the region anytime soon. The Palestinian cause (becoming more important once it was realized that no Arab army was going to successfully invade Israel) is complex, but most Arab nations lionize them as an oppressed people. Truth be told, most of those nations don't like the Palestinians EITHER, but it's a handy thing to have as a focus for your cause. Ironically, the largest population of Palestinian immigrants is in Jordan, which is one of Israel's more trusted relations in the area.
-Founded the Mossad, one of the most elite military agencies on Earth (they carry out a LOT of assassinations), and has one of the most bad-ass, experienced military forces (the Israeli Defense Force) in the world, which has won numerous conflicts against outnumbering forces. Military service is a requirement for all citizens, including women.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* It's hard to blame Marvel for not wanting to touch THIS one, so we only get the arrogant, nationalistic Sabra, and the violent David Haller- son of Charles Xavier and a Holocaust victim.

Sabra
Legion

Image

EGYPT
Actual name:
The Arabic Republic of Egypt
Population: 79.1 million
Capital: Cairo
Primary Language: Arabic
Fun Facts:
-A fabled seat of early civilization, with the Egyptians being at the absolute peak of adancement for their time. Famous for their mythology, their mummification of the dead, chariots, the Sphinx, and the mighty Pyramids (which were actually covered in metal and were ultra-shiny- it got stolen/reclaimed later- and weren't built by slave labour at all).
-Fell out of power eventually after numerous leadership issues, and were conquered early on by Alexander the Great's Macedonian forces, putting Ptolemy in charge. His successors, all named Ptolemy and Cleopatra, ruled for generations before one Cleopatra made some alliances with Julius Caesar, and later, Marc Antony, and Egypt was formally conquered AGAIN.
-Got controlled by numerous forces in subsequent years before finally becoming independent in the modern era. Many, many political upheavals came about, replacing the government every few decades.
-It became the official "Head Aggressor" in the region against Israel by 1948, but eventually made peace with them. It's generally given as the centre of Middle Eastern culture, and is comparatively moderate. Anwar Sadat, the Lion of Egypt, was responsible for a lot of this, but was assassinated on Oct. 6th, 1981 (I only know this because I was born that day- I could conceivably be a reincarnation of the guy!).
-Mubarak, the subsequent dictator in charge ruled ever since, but was deposed after open protests against him as part of the Arab Spring. His replacement was soon deposed as well. We'll see where this goes.
-A huge part of the economy is tourism, what with its famous history and landmarks... though the tumult of the post-Arab Spring world casts this into doubt. Expect most modern stories featuring Egypt to deal with either these or it's famous religious figures, none of whom are worshipped by anyone short of Goths and Pagans attempting to seem cool.

Super-Powered Representatives:
* Egypt's tremendous amount of historical value has led to a LOT of comic book characters being from there- generally evil Master Villains with intentions of taking over the world.

Apocalypse
The Shadow King
The Sphinx I
The Sphinx II
The Living Monolith
The Living Mummy
Asp
Amun (Assassin)
Akhenaten
The Mad Pharaoh
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri Dec 15, 2017 6:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Gilliam
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Ruby Rose! Yang! Blake! Weiss! Jaune! Pyrrha!)

Post by Gilliam »

BriarThrone wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:01 pm Favorite Nora moment.

Team JNPR are completely sidetracked in an embarrassing way during a televised tournament, arguing over formation names in a private team meeting IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE. Their opponents interrupt to remind them that they're still supposed to be fighting.

Jaune, embarrassed, says "Nora, just... hit them with the hammer."

Nora grins evilly. "Got it."

Other team assumes terrified posture and facial expressions. "WHAT?!"

One swing later, JNPR wins by ring-out.
About 3:30 into the clip :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_BF789hJuE
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Gilliam
Posts: 1170
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Location: New Zealand

Re: Jab's Builds! (Ruby Rose! Yang! Blake! Weiss! Jaune! Pyrrha!)

Post by Gilliam »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 2:00 am And that does it for the RWBY builds! Thanks to Briar for doing the notes for me! It was an interesting challenge to work with a show I'm largely unfamiliar with.
And thank you Jab for posting the RWBY builds :)
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