According to... (Working title)
According to... is the story of two worlds forced to collide and interact with each other. A common modern world where the supernatural is nothing but a myth and a parallel modern world where the supernatural is commonplace.
The line between the two worlds is blurred when two university students from the supernatural world accidentally create a rift that allows them to travel to the common world due to a mechanical malfunction. When they travel through it, they meet two other university students, but they are not the only ones who have travelled through as those who wish to do harm and cause chaos to the common world have followed them.
Sketches, Concepts and Finished works
Common World Characters and the Two from the Parallel World
Above are the two earliest concepts of the characters Leon Shimada and Jonas Dimaandal. The two rabbit characters that accompany Shimada in some of these earlier drawings eventually became the blueprint for the character Hwi as these two talked to Shimada and influenced him, only he could see them somewhat similar to Hwi.
Above are various concept sketches of Shimada and Jonas as well as the characters Connor Holt and Wallace "Jin" Tan,
The Four together, their more established designs.
Connor and Jin
Shimada and Jonas
Sketch concept of a essentially a bad dream Jonas has where he has transformed into his animal (like his brother his animal is the Dog) and attacked Shimada.
Parallel World Characters
Above are early concept sketches of Claude Durand and Aurelio Dimaandal. Aurelio is Jonas' younger brother
More exploration of Aurelio, when I was solidifying the ideas of the Trines and Factions, Aurelio is the strongest of his trine meaning when his traits are triggered by people seeing his naked eyes. he avoids this by wearing an eye mask developed for him by his older brother.
Claude in combat
Concepts of Claude's animal traits emerging due to exhaustion. The snakes are not apart of his animal traits but rather snakes that he was born with to protect him, this is something unique to the Snake people.
Above are recent sketches I did for Easter with Claude in a bunny costume, the monster below him in the first image and giving a smooch on the cheek to in the second image is Phee one of his assistants. Phee as well as the other monsters are currently in development
Concepts of Johnny Lange, he belongs to the Order Men Faction.
he is the childhood friend of Claude Durand, Aurelio and Jonas Dimaandal as well as Connor Holt. He along with Aurelio is the strongest of his trine, meaning his trigger point for his traits are when someone sees his naked eyes. Unlike Aurelio, he wears coloured contacts to hide his eyes.
Claude and Johnny working on the outskirts of the city. I did this piece for a online zine (I am allowed to use it here)
Early concepts of Mayzi Ametto, they belong to the Order Men faction
Mayzi's animal trait is the Pig, their traits are triggered by the consumption of sugary foods
Concept sketch of Mayzi with Yori Mamiya, Yori is a part of the Knighthood faction. The two work very closely together and are secretly a couple despite everyone knowing it because they did not even try to hide it
The first image is the first proper concept of Mira Asteri and Apollo Kurt into the story, the second image is my drawing of them recently, almost a year later, I am still in deliberation whether to keep Apollo's hair long or short like in the first image. Apollo is supposed to have a tail I just forgot to draw it in the second image, I think Mira's design is good for now
Exiled and Outsider Characters
The second image is the earlier concept I have drawn for Eugene, his design is subject to change, however things I will keep is the look of his eyes and the constant portrayal of his Snake traits, the first image is a theoretical fight I suppose between Claude and Eugene, the weapon Claude uses is not a shotgun anymore like this concept but a staff as shown in a previous image.
Earliest idea of Hwi that I had, I took from the face and body shapes of the bunny companions that I originally had for Shimada and used that to inform the design of Hwi
First concepts of Donna and Hugo, with Hwi and Eugene's eyes in the background
Explanation on the two worlds
Common World
The Common World and the city in which the story takes place is similar to that of the city of Melbourne and takes heavy influence from it as well as the feeling that capital cities across the world give.
The characters from this world have their problems whether internal or external and through the story.
The list below will be updated as more characters are designed and added to fit the story as this is still a work in progress
Known characters seen in the Common World:
Leon Shimada
Wallace "Jin" Tan
Jonas Dimaandal (Originally from Parallel World)
Connor Holt (Originally from Parallel World)
Leon Shimada:
Prefers to be called Shimada
Shimada is described by the people around him as passive and quiet, however when he does open his mouth it is often a snide comment or asking if someone needs his help
Truthfully, he feels as if he cannot voice his thoughts properly, he often has so many things he wants to say but cannot seem to muster the words or the courage to say them
Jin has been his only very close friend since high school, he often knows what Shimada is thinking from his facial expression
He is very popular with women and dates anyone who confesses to him but it never really goes anywhere as he is too passive with them, he has never really felt much attraction to any of the women he dated.
Only dating them because they asked him to.
He loves building things such as model kits and small machines as well as reading comics
The one person that he eventually feels attraction to romantically and physically is Jonas Dimaandal.
Shimada is of average intellect and studies mechanical engineering similar to Jonas and Connor
Wallace "Jin" Tan:
Preferring to go by Jin as he hates his first name Wallace
Jin is described by the people around him as kind, talkative and a great adviser but also very quick to anger and irritation, easily falling for teasing and responding the way the teaser wants him to.
He has a girlfriend who is suspiciously too busy for him lately
He loves fashion, if he isn't talking or working on university work, he is most likely has his head buried in a fashion magazine or is staring at clothes on his phone
He studies Nutrition science at the same university as Shimada
Jonas Dimaandal:
Jonas is one of the two from the Parallel World who accidentally travelled to the Common World
He is a Mechanical Engineer student and has a massive passion for machines despite protests from his parents and younger brother
He is described as 'bright-eyed' and passionate but can also be too loud and often needs to be told to be more quiet.
Despite his loudness, he is able to easily make friends especially if he meshes interests with them.
Connor has been closest friend out of his friendship group since he was a child, due to him and Connor sharing a similar passion for machines and a similar loud, friendly nature
Similar to Shimada he has never really felt attraction toward another person before until he met Shimada and developed an attraction to him.
Connor Holt:
Connor is one of the two from the Parallel World who accidentally travelled to the Common World
What caused them to travel to the Common World was a prototype machine Connor and Jonas were testing, the machine was supposed transport them temporarily to the outside the city just so they could have a look at it then be transported back
However the materials within the machine were much too potent and caused an explosive rift between the Parallel World and the Common World in Connor's bedroom floor and the two fell through travelling to the Common World
Described by people around him as bold and friendly as well as loud, teasing and a complete flirt.
His favourite person to tease is Jin, as he falls for it every time
Apart from his passion for machines, he loves video games, FPS shooters, party games anything he can play with friends he especially enjoys.
Parallel World
The Parallel World and the city in which the story takes place is slightly more complicated than that of the Common World, due to the abundance of supernatural creatures and abilities that a select amount of its inhabitants have.
The Parallel World contains individuals whose ancestors were blessed by the animals that completed the race to be the animals chosen for the zodiac.
As a result of this blessing, their ancestors were granted special abilities, strength and intellect.
However in exchange, the ancestors were required to take on the traits of the animal they were blessed by and had to elect someone to take on the immense power of each Trine of the animals.
Through much internal conflict between the different trines and different peoples that led to much mindless bloodshed, the animals of the Zodiac were disappointed in what had become of the ancestors, imposed 'trigger points' on the ancestors.
Meaning their animal traits and abilities are only to be awoken when triggered by certain events or tasks.
The more powerful the individual the more painful it is for their traits and abilities to be awoken.
The animals of the Zodiac believed this is what would be best to keep the weaker individuals of each Trine safe as well as the creatures and monsters who were not blessed by the animals due to their migration from their previous domains or they were mutations of common humans who had accidentally travelled to the Parallel World.
The most common triggers are:
Blood Letting
Exhaustion
Specific Food and Drink Consumption
Triggers reserved for the strongest of the trine:
Allowing their naked eyes to be seen
The people who bore the traits of the animals and had incredible abilities would become known as the Zodiacs
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In the modern era of the Parallel World, several factions have been established, these factions work together in order to keep peace within their city and beyond. However there is much tension between that of the Ordermen and the High Chair due to many clashes of interests in the treatment and rehabilitation of monsters and creatures used by outsiders and the exiled as well as only allowing those with the traits of animals of the Zodiac to exist and function as contributing members of the factions outside of simple servitude.
These factions are:
The Ordermen
The Knighthood
The High Chair
The Order Men are currently lead by Claude Durand, they assist The Knighthood in the elimination of anyone wishing to do harm to their world and help maintain the barrier between the Common World and the Parallel World.
Due to Claude's philosophy in regards to the treatment of the monsters and creatures who are forced and tricked into working for exiles and outsiders.
The Order Men are also required to heavily research and have a vast knowledge of different monsters that exist within their world, in order to properly rehabilitate them and introduce them back to their society.
Many of the monsters are incredibly grateful to The Order Men and often end up working for them as advisers to their species or as general researchers and helpers.
In the history of the The Order Men there has only been one monster with the resolve and strength to become one of The Order Men.
The Knighthood are currently lead by Mira Asteri, they assist The Order Men in the elimination of anyone wishing to do harm to their world as aforementioned.
Mira's outlook on the treatment of monsters and creatures is the same as that of Claude as she herself was a creature saved by him, the two get along very well which fortifies the relationship between their individual factions.
The difference between the factions is that The Knighthood is very much the brawn to the brain of The Order Men.
They maintain peace within the city as well as outside it.
While they are not as research heavy as The Order Men, The Knighthood are still required to have knowledge of monsters and creatures as well as their enemy in order to track them down.
However, if an Order Man can assist, they will get them to do so.
More often than not, rehabilitated monsters will join The Knighthood as many monsters possess incredible strength which is very desired.
The High Chair are currently lead by Marie-Louis Durand, The High Chair are the highest ranking government officials who often decide the fate of their people, make laws, and strategise against attacks from outsiders.
The High Chair believes that the monsters should be killed or used as common servants as they see them as a nuisance and essentially 'ticking time bombs'
They do not allow any other Zodiacs from other Trines or other creatures to join due to severe bias towards those individuals which is another of the major point of contention between each faction.
The High Chair are the ones who instruct The Order Men and The Knighthood on what to do when severe threats are within the city or are known to be coming.
The High Chair completely consists of only those born with the animal traits of the Second Trine of the Zodiacs which are the Ox, Snake and Rooster as well as angels who were once the established government.
The lists below will be updated as more characters are designed and added to fit the story as this is still a work in progress
Known Order Men faction members:
Claude Durand: Leader
Aurelio Dimaandal
Johnny Lange
Mayzi Ametto
Sho Kabu
Phee (assistant)
Masaki "Eugene" Hanae (Former)
Known Knighthood faction members:
Mira Asteri: Leader
Apollo Kurt
Yori Mamiya
Known High Chair faction members
Marie-Louis Durand: Leader
Randall
Uri "Hwi" (Former)
All Factions do not have bias against what genders can join however there are more males than other genders in The Order Men, there are more females than other genders in The Knighthood and The High Chair has a somewhat even amount of those who identify as Male, Female and Other Genders outside of the aforementioned
Outsiders and Exiles
The outsiders and exiles are people and creatures who refuse to abide by the laws set by The High Chair and those who are cast out by the society due to egregious crimes against innocent members of society, peacekeepers (The Order Men and The Knighthood), highest ranking officials (The High Chair) or specially protected families such as that of Claude's family, The Durands.
Known Exiles and Outsiders
Hwi:
Hwi is classed as one of the most dangerous threats to not only the Parallel World but also the Common World.
They see certain people such as Claude Durand and Leon Shimada as nothing more than playthings, they will often appear to them or people around them to talk to them just to interfere with their lives. To them the lives of those in Common and Parallel World is like a daytime soap opera that they can change what happens
An encounter with Hwi, means that they will be a continuous influence in your life, they will never leave you and will always be watching you
Anyone who gets in the way of the lives of those Hwi chooses to keep alive or chooses to kill will anger them greatly and will be eliminated by them.
Eugene:
Eugene like Hwi is classed as one of the most dangerous threats to the Common and Parallel World, however he is believed to be more manageable than Hwi
Eugene once went by his birth name Masaki "Masa" Hanae before he was exiled for assaulting Claude.
As a child, he was friends with Claude Durand, Aurelio and Jonas Dimaandal, Connor Holt and Johnny Lange.
The six of them went to all levels of schooling besides university together, as Claude, Aurelio, Johnny and Eugene went to a specialised university specifically to increase their chances of becoming Order Men whereas Jonas and Connor went to a more normal university.
He was always the closest with Claude as the two of them were constantly together with them both bearing the traits of the Snake that the two of them eventually became a couple after high school until Eugene's exile in their second year of university
Even after his exile, he hates the thought of Claude with anyone else and still misses him, he wishes to tear down the society built by the three factions so he can take Claude away
He was the strongest of his Trine and was one of the most promising Zodiacs alongside Aurelio and Johnny.
He shares similar traits to Claude when Claude is exhausted, however since Eugene was the strongest of his Trine, his trigger for his traits remains his naked eyes being seen.
He does not hide his eyes as he believes showing his eyes is a sign that he is free from any rules.
Mao:
Mao is rabbit who often is seen around Hwi
