Just A Sound Design Concept For Raven Beak’s Hyper Beam I Whipped Up In CapCut.

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

Ok but a Metroid tabletop game with cards that had a graphic design pattern similar to Samus’s scan visor would fuck unbelievably hard.

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.

I don’t talk about it much here, but I am a huge Halo fan. I have been since I was fairly young, and it’s the first… uh… first first person shooter I ever tried. I absolutely love the gameplay, the lore, the designs, the music, so much about it. For those of you who are new to me, I’m also a huge fan of Metroid. That interest is much more recent, but is still as strong currently.

As many might expect, the Halo TV show is, what some might call, Halo’s Other M. For the Halo fans who don’t know, Other M was a game in the Metroid series that made a lot of serious errors in its storytelling, gameplay, acting, and art design. Its story is downright abysmal, and a travesty of the Samus Aran that many Metroid fans know and love. The Halo TV show has a fair few of the same problems with unlikable characters, baffling plot decisions, and and a general misunderstanding of the source material

However, one thing I can still give unironic praise to is the animators, specifically for the Elites. They are so immensely expressive and provide a fascinating spectacle. Honestly. The Covenant sections are probably the best parts of the show.

If I were looking for an animation team for a Metroid movie/show, I would love to get the people who animated this scene on board. Imagine the Chozo animated with this level of prowess and realism. Imagine the Space Pirates. Imagine Ridley! I would absolutely KILL to see that in action. Don’t involve the writers, of course. Please do not involve the writers of the Halo show. But these animators know what they’re doing, and they’re damn good at their job. As a Metroid fan, I would love to see this sort of CGI used for many of the aliens in Metroid.

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

Ya girl is sick and bedridden, so I’m doing some gameplay theorizing. Something I’m curious about for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is how Sylux’s boss battle will actually function. For how cool Sylux is from his design and mystery, Metroid Prime Hunters’s gameplay loop did few favors in making an intriguing combatant. Sylux had the Shock Coil, an electrical weapon which could drain Samus’s energy to replenish his own, and a secondary form that left trip mines in its wake. This is all well and good, but how does you defeat him? You uh… you shoot him. You just shoot him. In Metroid Prime Hunters, the gameplay loop revolves around precise aiming against moving targets, a mechanic that worked well enough for a DS game with a somewhat limited control scheme. However, Metroid Prime 4 is a very different game. Lock on alone makes this approach tedious, especially with the Shock Coil allowing Sylux to regenerate health. Given his intro cutscene, it appears he will have some allies backing him up, at least in the initial encounter. I wonder if it’s possible that the Shock Coil’s siphoning function could be tied to the Metroids-ahem, Mochtroids he has, tethering the electrical arcs to the Mochtroids in order to actually make the attack replenish his own health. There could also be certain environmental hazards to use to your advantage. I could also imagine some sort of evolving state, requiring different beam types to deal damage, similar to the Metroid Prime in the first game. Alternatively, there could be specific timing windows to exploit, utilizing specific opening to rain hell during. Imagine having a narrow window during his energy siphoning attack where you could stun lock him, prevent the attack, and deal significant damage, but getting the timing wrong could punish you with even greater damage and siphoned health.

If you wanna see more nuance on Raven Beak and his internal dialogue and thought processes, I HIGHLY recommend reading The Downfall of Ashkar Behek by Acayl on AO3. I will abstain from any major spoilers, but you get to see how he comes to his headspace he has as the Mawkin Warlord we see in Dread. As the name suggests, you see his fall from moral grace, and his mental instability.

As for my own take on Raven Beak, I believe I’ve said previously that he is good at using fact based reasoning to for his own arguments. In my own retelling of events, he cemented the Thoha’s weakened state by using SR-388 as an example. The Thoha preach peace and coexistence with the universe and all its inhabitants. Yet they created an abomination of a species to solve their crisis on SR-388, and attempted to destroy the entire planet to eliminate the beings born by their own hands, their children, so to speak. He posits that the Thoha have strayed from their roots and their morals, and that they have no standing to hold sway over the Galaxy. It’s an insightful commentary that truly shakes the Thoha Hasana to its core. They fully renounce violence, refuse to kill the last Metroid in their possession due to the moral repugnance of their actions on SR-388, and withdraw from Galactic society and politics. The Metroids have become the great shame of the Thoha.

Left out of Raven Beak’s statements to the Thoha Hasana are his own plans of using the Metroids for his own gain. He conveniently omits the fact that he would not go so far as to commit genocide on the Thoha on SR-388 were it not for the military boon a supply of Metroids would afford him. What the full on massacre afforded him was the benefit of being the only one with the whole story, able to dole out and withhold as much of the truth as he sees fit. The only Thoha to know of his treachery is Quiet Robe. However, he’s not able to tell anyone. He is safely secured on ZDR, constantly monitored, and given no access to communications deemed unnecessary to the purpose Raven Beak has for him.

What he told them was the truth, but he did omit certain details the Thoha would certainly like to know.

Once again, read The Downfall of Ashkar Behek. It has many differences to my own take on him, but it’s so damn good I’ve used it for a fair bit of inspiration.

Sometimes I do have to question the decision to make Samus into the Chozo's personal champion/warrior; I think there's def some questionable moral implications about this. Especially when you find out that the Chozo let Raven Beak donate his DNA into Samus', which is just a whole can of worms; How the heck did this happen, how did they agree to it??? Did Raven Beak threaten them, why did they never tell Samus? Why an interest in Samus? How did Mother Brain think of all this, because I'd be surprised if she just never noticed despite her massive control over Zebes.

It's different not mentioning it was Gray Voice's DNA specifically, because I can see why it wouldn't be deemed relevant by either the Chozo or Samus herself up until the circumstances of that reveal. Samus definitely knew they donated somebody's DNA from that community, and she only knows of Chozo on Zebes, not Tallon IV or SR388.

I could see the Dread arc in a Metroid show being a storyline where Samus is kinda forced to confront her Chozo heritage, her relationship with them, ask these sorts of uncomfortable questions; I think Samus has a problem with seeing herself as only a weapon, a destroyer, which should make her dynamic with Adam compelling in theory because despite being a military commander, he does try to remind Samus that she should have an existence outside of these things. And this plays into his AI reincarnation finding a way for Samus to survive Fusion while still completing her objective. The fact that Adam himself was a military human might play into this, because he might understand firsthand how Samus feels the need to be her role; More on that in a bit…

And after Fusion, after the guilt of the Metroid genocide, and now carrying one's DNA within her, I can see Samus having a lot of questions about what she is, who she's made up of, etc. So in the buildup to the proper Dread storyline, I like to imagine that after Fusion, Samus actually goes to Earth, the ancestral homeworld of humanity, to reconnect with that original side of hers, with Rodney and Virginia's.

Seeing how much humans are used by the Federation as attack dogs (per my own HCs and the series itself) makes Samus wonder if there's more than that, hence Earth. It's a way for her to clear her head from depression and take a damn vacation with Adam, who has his memories again... Maybe Anthony? I think Samus might be in too much of an awkward spot with the Federation to invite Anthony, because that would put him in such an uncomfortable position as a Federation employee himself.

Still, seeing the role that humans play as the Federation's infantry species makes Samus wonder, at some point; Is that why the Chozo chose to adopt me? Obviously they saved me, but they could've just left me at an orphanage, maybe insisted on seeing me through a successful adoption process. But instead, they took me to Zebes, away from my people, and changed me to be more like them. Maybe when I joined the Federation, it was in the hopes of reconnecting with my human side.

It's a bit of irrational, panicked doubt that Samus has the luxury of being able to voice to Adam, who acts as a more objective, rational observer after becoming an AI; He's also reconnecting with his emotions, and we possibly get an arc of him showing Samus his home on Earth and where he came from, if he isn't from another world entirely like Samus herself is.

There's definitely a recurring question: Did I even know my people? Do I know who runs through my veins? The Metroids are a good example of this question, since Samus thought of them as just dangerous animals, and for a brief while as unnatural bioweapons after learning more on SR388 (which helped to justify their extermination in her Mind). But then she meets the Queen and then the Infant, and has her whole world rocked via gradual realization.

So Raven Beak showing up is the perfect time to contribute, when Samus starts to reconsider her relationship with the Chozo, her existence as a weapon. And Raven Beak outright says, Samus was groomed by the Thoha into their weapon because they were cowards.

He says that the Thoha were hypocritical, useless cowards; Despite their supposed devotion to peace, down to making it physically painful to inflict it, they still had plenty of workarounds. The Thoha still saw firsthand how violence was a necessary, natural part of life; Case in point, the X were not about to respond to diplomacy, so the Thoha had to create the greatest bioweapon the galaxy has ever seen. And this bioweapon, despite their attempts, would be weaponized later on by so many others, and cause so much destruction.

They also saw the need for the Mawkin; Despite their hostility and dismissal of their 'warmonger' brethren, the Thoha accepted their help when pushed into a corner. It was Mawkin soldiers who gave their lives sealing away the Metroids, so that SR388 might live. So perhaps, then, it was only justice, blood for blood, that Raven Beak slaughtered the Thoha for the deaths of his soldiers.

(I don't see him as being sincere in terms of 'avenging' his soldiers, because I prefer to write the members of a cause as less sympathetic the higher up the command chain they go; Feels truer to real life imo.)

This is a very uncomfortable position for Samus, she's backed into a corner and cut off from a friend like Adam who would be there to speak reason and back her up; Here, she feels alone. This is nonsense, Samus insists. The Thoha made themselves resistant to violence so as to encourage different methods, another way.

Yes, and those 'different methods' were simply to make others do the violence for them, Raven Beak notes. That's why the Zebesian Thoha groomed Samus into their own Metroid, why they accepted Raven Beak's DNA donation. The Thoha weren't trying to minimize violence; They simply sought to keep their hands clean of the dirty work by manipulating/creating others to do it for them.

But Raven Beak knows, he's figured out there's no difference; At that point, just cut out the middle man, do it yourself! This is why the Mawkin are the loyalists, while the Thoha and other clans are traitors; Only the Mawkin remain the True Chozo. And Samus must join them, because like the Mawkin she knows the simple truth that violence IS a natural, necessary part of life. She's seen how naturally vicious animals can be, engaged in that violence herself.

Other things are also necessary, Samus challenges sarcastically. Do you expect me to increase those tenfold in my routine? Raven Beak dismisses that question; Maybe if the situation calls for it. But in this chaotic state, the galaxy needs violence more than it does diplomacy, and so violence is what Samus must offer.

On Raven Beak's end at least, he WAS interested in Samus' status as a human; The Federation's most widespread infantry species. Especially given his plans to clone an army of Metroids... And then an army of Samuses. In general he was intrigued by the use of bioweapons and chimeras, hence Raven Beak adding to hybrid warrior Samus.

This makes it all the more poetic that Raven Beak would forcibly become a chimera himself, thanks to an X; Fusing with Kraid's DNA, with Kraid and the Space Pirates as a whole also operating on the idea of "We are physically superior, especially in combat, so we deserve to take advantage of that for ourselves and rule. Also Metroids are good bioweapons."

So despite their opposition to one another, the Space Pirates and Mawkin are truly two peas in an X pod, aren't they? Raven Beak 'got his wish' by fusing with the Space Pirates' most physically powerful member, and indeed his kidnapping of Kraid might have something to do with his eugenics and bioweapon plans.

Maybe Samus brings up, that beings like her and the Metroids are just a few examples; But the majority of Thoha options was peace, and Raven Beak's folly is that he only recognizes violent options and their success, while only remembering the failures of peaceful options. But it just goes to show how flashy they are, that the Mawkin are too 'bored' and 'under-stimulated' with the banal work of real peace to glorify it. Maybe Samus says this, or Adam, or even Quiet Robe-X.

Point is; If Old Bird is still alive out there, Samus has a LOT of questions for him and the other Zebesian Thoha when they reunite. That's assuming Raven Beak didn't get to them first, and unlike the game, the Metroid show has them actually appear in-person to add to this chaotic arc for Samus. Maybe this could lead to a respectful disagreement, where Samus decides she HAS to fight and this is necessary; But she understands why the Thoha are averse and feel shame, after their warring past.

Maytroid… sort… part 2!

To recap, since I forgot to add the tags when I initially posted the first installment, I’m doing a different sort of twist on Maytroid. As opposed to art for this prompt, I am writing some snippets that might be data than Samus would scan on her various missions. While some of these are subject to change in the process of fully writing the story, these are canon for where the story is at at this current juncture. Without further ado, time for part 2.

Day 6: Queen Metroid

Intel on Planet Designation SR-388

Planet SR-388 appears to have an active Metroid population. However, the circumstances surrounding this population are unusual. SR-388 atmosphere is highly turbulent, and has had an active super-tornado that engulfs large swathes of the planet for the entire seven months that the planet has been catalogued. All life of the planet is largely relegated to the planet’s abundant cave networks, with cross network migration only occurring in the times when weather is conducive to survival on the surface. The Metroid population on SR-388 is localized in a cave network only recently opened up by particularly destructive weather patterns. Life scans in the inside show an estimated 640 Metroid specimens. There is also signs of a much larger creature in this cave network, emitting a frequency that can be detected by our drones within low orbit. The strength of this creature to produce such a powerful frequency must be immense, just as with its durability to live within a Metroid infested habitat. It is believed that SR-388 is the home planet of the Metroids, and that they were brought off world either by the Glaxamore Pirates, or another piratical faction before falling into their hands. Given the pirates’ vested interest in the Metroid species, it has been deemed critical that the infestation be eradicated for the safety of the galaxy and the surrounding ecosystems on the planet.

Day 7: Gorea

Incoming transmission

“Your world seems small. A single oxygen atom in an endless ocean. Your bonds are unbreakable but to those willing to confront you down at the level you exist in, tearing your kin from you personally. I can offer, with the last breath of my existence in this reality something more. Become a ship and sail upon this endless sea. Forge destiny for yourself, bend oceans to your will, find that which you desire most. If you have the strength to overcome, find that which remains of me. Make something of my last gasp, and gain power, The Power. Your technology can lead you to the world where this mission begins.”

Day 8: Nightmare

GFS Chainmail computer scan

We are still unaware of the origins of subject MF-1. While it was found on planet SR-121, MF-1’s cellular structure is carbon based, while the native life on SR-121 is silicon based, meaning this creature is likely not native to the planet. No wreckage of ships, other similar individuals, or signs of civilization were found on SR-121 in subsequent expeditions, leading to the subject being quarantined aboard the GFS Chainmail. MF-1’s body is largely composed metal alloys, with parts being subsequently added from surrounding metal by an unknown process. Further testing is required on understanding the process and extent of this capability. The only known method of preventing this siphoning of metal materials is through exposure to temperatures below -40° Celsius. Until safe and effective testing can be performed, MF-1 is to be kept in stasis chamber C at a temperature of -55° Celsius.

Day 9: Phantoon

Vol Paragom computer scan

Our partnership with Mother Brain is already beginning to bear fruit. Through her own research and experimentation, we have managed to seize a Phantoon creature from the Galaxy’s deep core. Their ability to subsist off of expelled energy from Black Holes and Space Ship power cores alike has long since fascinated us, and to have a specimen of our own to study is a true delight. The currently held subject is dubbed PH-3, and will be undergoing rigorous testing to bring it under our own control. If we can have a sentinel that will drain power from enemy ships while leaving our own untouched, we will have an unbeatable advantage.

Day 10: Kanden

Galactic Federation Report

The individual known as Kanden applied for a Bounty Hunting License in 2503 FF, and raised various concerns from the get-go. Independent fact checkers have found evidence that Kanden was a lab experiment gone wrong. While born an Enoema, he was experimented on by his own government, likely without consent, in order to create a perfect weapon in order for the race to stand completely independent in an increasingly war torn galaxy. However, upon his first field deployment, Kanden was able to cut a swath of destruction through Enoema leadership, leaving the race defenseless and uncoordinated as the Glaxamore pirates descended upon them in a genocidal campaign. These experiences have left Kanden with a variety of psychological disorders. In spite of, or perhaps due to this tragic past, Kanden has since taken multiple jobs for Glaxamore, appearing to not choose sides within the current conflict. However, it has been decided that he is more valuable with the Federation, rather than demonized entirely.

Day 11: Diggernaut

Incomplete Chozo script

“Our harvesting of the planet’s resources has gone well. Due to the secluded nature”-illegible-“to wildlife has been successfully prevented. Our machines have been given the intelligence to and compassion to immediately cease mining if any wildlife will be put in risk by”-illegible- “will be”- illegible-“planet”-illegible-“field has been working to an acceptable extent. Our settlement has been spared the destruction of the storm, but is still occasionally battered by harsh winds that make work and travel impractical.”-illegible

Day 12: Raven Beak

Diary Entry

Dear Diary,

I had another dream about the man with the broken face. Once again, he just stared at me, as judging every aspect of my soul. His beak still hasn’t healed after all of these years, nor has it deteriorated. I know it’s just a nightmare, but it has Old Bird and Gray Voice very shaken up. Gray Voice even put training on hold for a day. That is NOT normal. I wonder if this is simply a thing related to growing up, maybe some sort of hormonal imbalance caused by the gene splicing. That could possibly explain some of it. Though Old Bird has gone to Bright Tallon for hours, which might mean my imbalance is more spiritual. Hopefully, things will return to normal soon, even if I am breaking bones again.

Ok so… things are bad… real bad…

But I’m not going quietly. I am not just gonna curl up and pretend I don’t exist. I may not comment on politics much, but a reminder that I’m here no matter what those fucks on Capitol Hill say is political enough, I guess. My name is Natalie. I am me. I am a woman. No executive order can change that.

For Christmas, I was gifted a homemade trans pride pin by my grandmother, a devout Christian I hadn’t expected to support me but turned out being one of my biggest supporters. I will be wearing that as a fixture of every outfit I wear out of the house from here on out. I hope that sign brings some hope to other trans people in my area, that we aren’t gone, that we are still here. I am still here. It may be dangerous, but it is more dangerous for trans people to become something… other, something that is somewhere else, not a part of life. I will stay here and a part of people’s lives as a trans woman.

I am a Metroid nerd at heart, so I’ll leave you all with some Chozo.

Ana maril sarin, ana maril haruna, hem ana maril sahar mir tar anamahar hasana. Ana bahi turuta. Sabalba, ana maril ulu umauka. Ana man ana.

(I will continue, I will live, and I will help those of my tribe. I truly worry. However, I will not submit. I am me.)

Metroid Prime: The Great Hunt art dump 1

Today, y’all get some wildlife concepts. After all, the worlds of Metroid feel a lot less lively without an array of critters and beasts populating them!

The Icthyosuchus is a marine predator on the planet Collidus III, a world with vast oceans and only scattered islands left above the waves. Think of them like the cross between a dolphin and a mosasaur but with gills. There will be a brief fight between Samus and one of these sea beasts

The “Vigor” is something I thought up while brainstorming wildlife for a tall mountain range. The name is a pun based on its resemblance to a… certain tree dwelling mammal. It is a predator inhabiting the frigid planet of Collidus V, a world experiencing its own ice age.

Returning to Collidus III, the War Mantis is based off the concept of having a bigger, meaner war wasp, and thus the carnivorous praying mantis served as inspiration. The War Mantis is huge, with a specimen encountered by Samus totaling about 11 feet in height. Due to this size, they are flightless. However, their abdomens are hollow, allowing them to float on top of calmer waves and catch prey in shallow waters. Their thickly armored underbelly keeps them safe from aquatic predators like the Icthyosuchus.

The Herrahound is a ubiquitous native of Collidus IV, an arid world comparable to late Triassic Earth. These nocturnal creatures prefer to sleep during the day, held off of the heated soil of the perpetual summer by their clawed tails which can cling to trees or the ceilings of caves. Their prehensile mandibles and powerful legs allow them to catch prey effectively. The design of this creature is adapted from a cancelled enemy type from Metroid Prime: Hunters. I was not able to find a name for this creature, so I drew inspiration from its Triassic Environment and resemblance to a creature from the Half Life game series.