Absolute DC Challenge
Dear valued readers of “Absolute DC”,
Thank you for your patience as I work on the next part of Absolute DC and my other DeviantArt projects. I just had some real-life crud to work on, first.
Anyways, in celebration of AbDC, I decided to come up with a new “reader participation”-based series of non-canon stories, much like “The Absolute Brave and Bold”.
I’m going to call it “Absolute DC Challenge”, named for the ‘DC Challenge’ books from November of 1985 to October of 1986. The initial premise of that experimental story was a group of DC writers working on each issue by themselves, round-robin style (no pun intended), intending to create a cohesive narrative from fragmented pieces. But since I am not a team of writers, I am a single man, I decided to go with one part of the challenge: coming up with a story from a title come up with by someone else.
That is where YOU guys come in: Starting from today (April 19th) until the end of April 25th, I’d like you guys to come up with up to three titles, AND JUST THE TITLES, for a non-canon AbDC story for me to write around. Post your titles in the comments below, and remember:
Only up to three titles, no story synopses or characters to include, and nothing inappropriate.
I will pick the seven best titles I like out of all that qualify and will let you know when I am beginning to work on them. Also, I will credit the title to you, no problem.
Have fun and come up with some bangers!
Hearthstone: Shadows Over Kul'Tiras
From the darkest depths of the abyssal seas, it rises…
Aberrant creatures, polluted and insidious, take root on the coasts of the archipelago.
The dead wake, the covetous make landfall, and iron monstrosities shamble towards a grim destiny.
And as the dread forces of the blighted land leak onto the shores of these island, will you survive… the Shadows Over Kul’Tiras?
Shadows Over Kul’Tiras is the first expansion of Hearthstone’s Year of the Serpent. Taking place in the Kul’Tiras archipelago between the Broken Isles and the shores of Gilneas, adventurers are coming here to do battle with a long-forgotten and mysterious threat to Azeroth. The Kingdom of Kul’Tiras, a long lineage of sea farers and pirates alike, do not take kindly to mainlanders, like you. And the sickly citizens keep muttering four letters beneath their breath: “N.L.M.I.”
Guardsmen’s Profiler is a neutral Epic minion that is 5-Cost 5/4 with “Battlecry: Get a random Pirate from the past. It costs (1) less.”
The Guardsmen of the capital city of Boralus have an eye on you and are planning to add your name to the long list of pirates they’ve brought to justice.
But they have cause to be worried. Strange things have been occurring. For one thing, mutated sea beasts have been washing ashore. Either dead, or making you wish they were.
Aberrated Fish is a 5-Cost 3/4 Common Beast for Demon Hunter with “Lifesteal, Poisonous. Battlecry: Deal 3 damage to an enemy minion.”
Demon Hunters and other experts in death-dealing were called in by desperate governors to look into the aberrant animals and even some humans. They have no idea where to look for the source of this corruption. But there might be someone who knows…
Harlan Sweete is a Legendary Pirate for Paladin that is 6-Cost 4/6 and has “At the end of your turn, roll two dice. Summon a Pirate with Taunt and equal stats (It gains Divine Shield if you roll doubles).”
The king of the Irontide Pirates points you in the right direction, but you can’t get there by your lonesome. A helpful sailor agrees to carry you to your next destination, the island of Drustvar, but there’s something wrong with him, too. Less mutated, more… demonic?
Darkened Sailor is a 5-Cost 3/5 Rare Pirate/Demon for Warlock that has “Navigate: Add a Demon to your deck; add a Demon to your hand; summon a Demon that dies when your next turn ends; reduce the cost of Demons in your hand by (1).”
Navigate is the new keyword that comes with Shadows of Kul’Tiras. When a Navigating minion is played, you choose one of four directions to enable its respective effect at the start of your turn. You cannot override it with a new Navigation effect, your choice disappears after its made, and you only get three turns. So choose wisely…
After defeating the demonic sailor, the guardsmen arrest you for murder. You plead your case, but they fall onto deaf ears. However, the Admirality of Boralus, the leader of Kul’Tiras, is none other than the mage Jaina Proudmoore and she orders them to let you go. But not without warning…
“Admirality: Fire!” is a Common Mage Fire spell that says “Deal 3 damage split among all enemies. Repeat for each friendly minion.”
The warning she gives is succinct: “The Drust are not to be messed with.”
You claim to heed her message, but you travel to the island of Drustvar in direct opposition to such.
When you reach the land of the undead Drust, they come at you in full force! You are overpowered and brought before their leader…
Gorak Tul is a Legendary Undead for Death Knight. It is 6-Cost, 5/5, 3 Unholy Runes, and has “Deathrattle: Go Dormant for two turns. While Dormant, after you play an Unholy Rune card, take control of a random enemy minion this turn.”
The Drust leader claims that his zombified people are NOT the source of the corruption, but he’s just sitting aside until the plague claims the Kultirans. And YOU won’t get in the way.
After escaping with samples of the “Goozes” the Drust had taken, you find it to be blobs of genetic abnormalities taken from local flora and fauna.
Lab Assistant is a 1-Cost 2/2 Common Shaman minion with “Battlecry: Get a random Gooze. Overload: (1).”
The goozes appear to be fusing to each other once they make contact, leading to hybrids such as Undead Beasts with Rush and Reborn, or Draconic Naga with Taunt and Spell Damage.
After some more digging, you make a horrific discovery: The source of the corruption itself!
And the meaning behind the letters “N.L.M.I.” It stands for…
“NONE LEAVE MECHAGON ISLAND”
And when the miniset comes out, the adventurers go to this deserted, scrap-strewn land to help the Rust Bolt Resistance battle the mad machines that serve the creator of the taint that has infected the rest of Kul’Tiras: King Mechagon!
Neutral Commons: Part 1 and Part 2
Neutral Legends: Coming Soon!
Miniset: Coming Soon!
JJBA: A Paradise Eulogy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZld28TkIjU
Welcome to the nation of Paradise. It is a large island nation situated in the North-East of the Philippine Sea, South of Honshu, the mainland island of Japan. It is a democratic government with an elected President leading a cabinet of duly elected ministers. It’s main exports are oil, farmed foods, and precious metals, and its main import is technology. It was primarily uninhabited by humans until World War II, when it was taken over by the military of Imperial Japan as a strategic military fortification. After WWII ended with the defeat of Japan and its allies against the USA and its allies, Paradise, named such from its original Japanese nomenclature ‘Tengoku’, meaning ‘heaven’, was colonized by several joint Chinese-European businesses. In the late 1950s, a bloodless coup led to Paradise’s independence. In modern times (the year 2015, to be exact), Paradise is the 16th most populous country on Earth (with a variety of national heritages emigrating to Paradise), the 14th richest, and is almost ready to enact the first unmanned launch of their budding space program. However, there has been a vague rumor recently circulating throughout the dark alleys of the cities of Paradise, speaking of items of great monetary worth, items said to have mystical powers… the Method Crystals. Whatever these Crystals are, they are worth millions of Paradisan dollars. ゴゴ And there is one in Paradise who seeks their true worth, and shall claim it by any means necessary…ゴゴ
This is Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: A Paradise Eulogy, a JJBA fan story I’ve been working on, on-and-off, since 2021.
It stars Josephine Cassandra Kujo, a.k.a. Jojo, a Stand User and daughter of Paradise’s president Jordan Kujo, who gets caught up in the kidnapping of one of her high school classmates. As a Stand User, Jojo wields superhuman psychic powers that manifest as a Stand, an apparition that is made from her life energy and only other Stand Users can see. In seeking to rescue the kidnapping victim, Jojo and her friends learn more about the Method Crystals and what the kidnapper, a crime lord named Roosevelt, has planned for them…
I plan on finishing it and to begin releasing each chapter of this story separately before the end of this year (no promises, though). This has been a work of passion for a long time, and I hope you are looking forward to it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
EDIT (October 21, 2023): The chapters are all done and I finished the first microheroes for my characters. Each chapter will be released on every second Saturday, starting today, until it's finished. The release scheduel will also be intermittently marked with release of the microheroes of the Stand User characters. Essentially, every two Saturdays will be either a chapter or a picture of the main Stand User of that last chapter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DyziWtkfBw
< COMING SOON =
Hearthstone: At Hallow's End
So, we’ve had quite the year so far. A great toy convention, a not-as-great ‘vacay’ in the elemental plane of Earth… and then for a long time nothing happened. But now we’re back at the good old tavern. And guess what? It’s time to stock up on candy and board the windows. It’s Hallow’s End!
At Hallow’s End is the third and final expansion for Hearthstone’s Year of the Shark. As the air gets cool and the leaves turn a crunchy brown, a time for both merriment and horror comes. Young children go trick-or-treating and parties celebrating the year’s good harvest are thrown.
“Candy Seeker” is a neutral Common minion that is 1-Cost 1/2 and has “Battlecry: Discover a Candy.”
Candies are a new cycle of collectible class cards. Each class has one, and they are cheap with a strong effect. We have…
“Candy Scorn”, a 1-Cost Common Fel spell for Demon Hunter that says “Gain +2 Attack this turn. Silence a random enemy minion.”
“Rock Candy”, a 1-Cost 2/2 Elemental minion for Shaman that has “Taunt. Overload: (1).”
And “Jawbreaker”, a 1-Cost 2/2 weapon for Warrior with “Battlecry: Gain 2 Armor.”
But as everyone celebrates, terror looms in the shadows that inch ever closer.
“Fear” is a new Keyword coming with At Hallow’s End. Whenever a minion dies next to a minion with Fear, that Fear effect triggers.
Wary Doctor is a Rare minion for Priest that is 2-Cost 1/3 with “Fear: Restore 2 Health to your hero.”
As the townspeople of the Western Kingdoms celebrate, stalwart knights and towns guards are vigilant for the beasts of the night. Such as…
Regretful Paladin, a neutral Rare minion, who is a 4-Cost 3/3 with “Fear: If this is now the only minion on your field, gain +2/+2 and Divine Shield.”
And…
Dan Chesterson, a Legendary Hunter minion that is 6-Cost 4/6 with “Whenever you cast a spell, deal 3 damage to a random marked minion and one of its neighbors.”
But there are more horrible monsters out there, and they hunger for Sacrifices.
Sacrifice is another keyword coming, exclusively to Legendary class minions. One such minion is the Phantom of Diamond Lake,
Johann Von Heeds, an 8-Cost 7/7 Legendary Rogue minion with “Sacrifice (9 enemy minions): Summon this from your hand or deck, gain Rush, and equip a 3/3 Machete.”
Wherever Von Heeds is, once you Sacrifice 9 enemy minions to him, he appears from the fog to strike at those who wronged him.
Sacrifice means that wherever that Legendary minion is, once a certain number of minions of a certain kind (usually yours) meet their grisly end, their Sacrifice effect triggers.
Nesfrat, Lord of Vampires, is a Legendary Mage minion that is 7-Cost 6/6 with “Sacrifice (Spell Damage +5): This gains ‘Deathrattle: Go Dormant for 2 turns. This casts a random damaging spell at an enemy when it awakens’.”
So, if you seek Nesfrat’s favor, you better have a deck of worthy (and cheap) Spell Damage minions to send into the darkness to fend for themselves…
In the end, the townspeople have come together to beat back the evils, including the most nefarious of them all, The Headless Horseman! Injured and weakened by the battle, the Horseman rode back to the ruins of the Scarlet Monastery, where you have followed him to.
Complete the upcoming “The Haunting of Scarlet Monastery” adventure to win even more cards! Or meet your doom. Either/or.
Haunting of Scarlet Monastery 1- Intro
Haunting of Scarlet Monastery 2- Bosses
Haunting of Scarlet Monastery 3- Collectible Cards
Hearthstone: Wonderworks Toyfaire
So, what a year that was, huh? We had plantlife invading Azeroth, a criminal gang war in Pandaria, and then we discovered a hidden super-city in the Tanaris Desert ruled by a brilliant megalomaniac. So, after that, we need to relax. What do you want to do? What’s that? The Tinkertown Arenadome is hosting a toy and entertainment convention this year? You want to go? Sure! Let’s go!
Wonderworks Toyfaire is the first expansion of 2022: The Year of the Shark. They will be showing off a variety of new entertainment products for us, coming later this year. From toys, to comic books, to sporting products, there are new playthings for every interest. Like this:
R.C. Carriage, a Common 3-Cost 2/4 Mech for Paladin with “Tradeable. Divine Shield. Whenever a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, gain +2 Attack.”
The Tradeable mechanic returns from United In Stormwind. There are plenty of new toys and goods being released and sold at the Toyfaire this year, and others sure want to trade their swag with one another. Such as this…
Charging Playmech, an Epic 6-Cost 6/6 Shaman Mech with “Charge. Attacking with this Overloads all but (1) of your Mana.”
We should also check out the various booths that will be there. Look at that:
Booth Girl, a Rare 3-Cost 4/2 Neutral Minion with “Battlecry: Give a friendly minion Lifesteal this turn.”
She’s leading us towards that booth. It says…
Construct-A-Bear, a 5-Cost Legendary Nature Spell for Druid. “Discover 2 Beasts. Choose One: Combine both in your hand as a 6/6 Bear; or summon them each as 3/3 Bears.”
Wow! And check out that:
Puzzle Piece Of Doom, a 2-Cost 1/1 Common Demon for Warlock with “Battlecry: Gain two out of +2 Attack, +2 Health, Rush, and Taunt (randomly).”
The forces of darkness and despair sure love a good jigsaw puzzle.
Not to mention the -
Sporting Bat, a 4-Cost 3/2 Epic Demon Hunter Weapon with “Dice Roll: Shuffle that many Fly Balls into your deck that deal 2 damage to the enemy hero when drawn.”
That’s right. Dice Roll card effects are back from Jackpot In Zuldazar.
Everyone loves a good roll of the dice. Just ask the:
Invested Player, a 4-Cost 2/1 Epic Rogue minion with “Whenever you Dice Roll, Discover, or kill an enemy, give this +1/+2.”
They really get into the spirit of things when it comes to tabletop games.
We’ll also have some amazing celebrity appearances, such as:
Toymancer Joybuzz, an 8-Cost 6/6 Neutral Legendary minion with “Battlecry: Set the stats of all minions in your deck to 2/2. This game, those minions gain +1/+1 (wherever they are) when you play one.”
Not to mention a very special prize to whomever wins at the Fun And Games challenge! If you get through this adventure, not only do you win a bunch of cool new Hearthstone cards, but you get a special mystery vacation! Where the winner is going, who can say? You’ll have to beat the Fun And Games challenge yourself to find out!
Fun and Games 1: Explanation, Treasures, and Bob’s Booth
Fun and Games 2: All Bosses
Fun and Games 3: Collectible Reward Cards