#neathian special squad

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Neathian Special Squad - Sketchy / Unfinished animation and frames dump

These were my past attempts at animating featuring the squad - posting some stuff and frames to signal they (and me) are still alive and kicking.

/ Sorry for partially becoming a Bakugan OC blog, but I’m still having so much fun with these kids! /

As always, a little talk under the cut ˘ down under ˘

Talking under here ˘

It’s always such a delight watching characters coming alive - hopefully I can collect motivation and inspiration to do more and better animations in the future - but until then I just keep talking about them. :)

The first video is supposed to be Cassie’s very first training session - This is just a short sequence about Taeli helping Manda up, picking up her spear and saying some words.

The gif with Taeli and Sabator was just a test - the story is actually complicated at this point, and honestly, I still haven’t figured it out yet.

The rest are just frames from the video and something, that never progressed further than sketch.

/ On the sidenote: I love interpreting, that Neathian ears are able to move to some degree, and they use their V shaped foreheads as eyebrows for conveying emotions - even if not for real, but at least for the cartoony effect haha! /

#bakugan #Bakugan Gundalian Invaders #neathian #oc #ocs #original character #nss #neathian special squad #taeli #cassie #captain pyrehart #manda #animation #bumbliart #video #gif #frame #bumblispeaks

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After almost an entire year, I finally found some aspiration, and sat down to write a little ‘talk-about-the-NSS’ post for the dudes of the squad: Captain Pyrehart and Jaxs!

Sadly, I don’t have as much content for the guys, as I had for the girls, so this post will contain less drawings - But it still tries to follow the order and structure of the previous one featuring the girls, containing thoughts on their personalities and appearances.

Let us get into it!

Captain Pyrehart

His real name is Alric Pyrehart, but it’s common for everyone to refer to him as his surname, along with ‘Captain’ or just simply ‘Pyre’ or ‘Sir’. I always imagined him to be a 40 year old-ish person with the mentality of someone being in their 20s. He is still fresh, and hasn't lost his flexibility and curiosity over the years. Positive and quite the optimist about every situation

If I had to say one word to describe Pyre, it would be 'caring'. Extremely responsible and trustworthy, he is the head of the strike team, which he manages both with dignity and consideration. In his eyes the 'kids' still have to learn a trick or two, but in reality, he treats the team as his good friends. In combat he calls the shots - outside of it works as a great reassuring and encouraging force. This is especially important for Cassie, as she sees him as a kind of mentor figure of her life.

/ Fun fact: Pyre and Taeli had known and considered each other friends before the special squad was formed. He only got to know the others during recruitment. /

Appearance: Pyre wears his hair in a little low-ponytail. Additionally he is very proud of his beard and other facial hair: Under his sidebang, he has little sideburns both sides. Secretly he always wanted to grow a moustache too.

His bodytype is of the average male Neathian - with just enough muscles to wield his weapon and his armor. But this is not something to be looked down upon - he is still the second in terms of strenght on the team.

He is hardly ever seen in anything else than his military attire - even in his free time he likes to wear his uniformised clothing.

Jaxs (or just ‘J’)

Jaxs (or just J for short) is the second tallest, but the biggest and most muscular member of the team.

Jaxs hardly ever talks. He is not mute, he just doesn't like speaking, and only does so, when it's a must. (When he does, he has a relative deep voice too.) On baseline he communicates through mimics and gestures. His eye shape is of the normal average Neathian, he just usually keeps his eyelids half closed as J is really laid-back and calm. A chill big guy, who may look intimidating at first, but a friendly and gentle dude in reality.

Within the squad he and Manda share a 'bro-sis' kind of friendship, often hanging out together (sometimes in a loose band with a couple of others as well) when they are not with the team, or can be found playing or racing each other. Out of the two, Manda is the more incented to compete, but he likes to pick up her pace and play along.

/ Fun fact: J has a really good sense of rhythm and hand-eye-foot coordination. He is considered to be master talent at juggling with things - for most part with weapons. Additionally he also likes to plays the drums as a hobby. /

Just like with Manda, for Cassie, J is the amusing big sibling figure. He is the one she usually asks to do fun things with - like juggle with training weapons or sledding down a hill!

Appearance: Jaxs is always seen with his hairband. He doesn't like to be without it, as it's both great for keeping his hair out of his eyes and functions as his comfort item. / It was initially unintentional, but I think I happened to put him on the autistic spectrum, when I was thinking about him./

Outside of this, his sideburns and small goatee makes him also recognisable.

Due to his muscular build-up and additional training, his upper buddy strenght is unmatchable by the others. This, his size and his lack of words renders him an intimidating and fearful foe to the enemies.

#bakugan #gundalian invaders #nss #neathian special squad #oc #ocs #original character #jaxs #captain pyrehart #bumblispeaks #text

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Yet another NSS Oc sketchdump featuring the girls getting summer outfits, J and Manda having fun, and some coloured painting concepts (because I felt the one I had done of Pyrehart wasn't doing him enough justice, so I went back and put some colours on the sketches to see, how well they fare like this).

#bakugan #nss #neathian special squad #oc #neathian oc #original character #sketch #manda #taeli #cassie #jaxs #captain pyrehart #bumbliart #gundalian invaders #art

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In service of Neathia

We - Castle Knights - swear loyalty to serve and protect our own.

- Captain Pyrehart

#bakugan #bakugan oc #neathian special squad #nss #captain pyrehart #neathian oc #neathia #art #original character #gundalian invaders #bakugan gundalian invaders #bumbliart

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Hope of Neathia

Those, who are brave enough to face the Gundalian Twelve Orders head-on, get to called the true heroes of their people.

#bakugan #gundalian invaders #oc #neathian #bakugan oc #cassie #neathian special squad #nss #barodius #longfly #art #bumbliart #original character #haos longfly #neathian oc #bakugan gundalian invaders

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Taeli from Neathia

#bakugan #bakugan oc #original character #neathian special squad #nss #taeli #neathia #art #neathian oc #bakugan gundalian invaders #bumbliart

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Another NSS sketchdump with the girls, Jaxs (or just “J”)  - and me, trying to figure out the details on Taeli’s outfit... (but knowing myself, it always changes over time... I made this attempt to find a solid ground for the future..)

#bakugan #bakugan oc #original character #nss #neathian special squad #neathian oc #gundalian invaders #sketch #taeli #manda #cassie #jaxs #art #bumbliart #bakugan gundalian invaders #oc

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I refuse to believe I’ve never posted this entire version of the comic about how Cassie got recruited into the Strike team. Here it is. As always, comments and explanation under here:

So, I may have mentioned before, but the Squad functioned as a Special Strike Force under the Commander (Jin in their time), being on the same hierarchy level as Elright (Pyrehart posesses the title Captain too). Pyrehart and Elright used to be colleagues, and it was Pyre’s responsibility, to put a team together of meele weapon-wielder Neathians, who operate as a distraction for the Gundalians. Their task was not to eliminate the Twelve Orders, but to keep them busy during Bakugan battles, split their attention and give less room for them to activate abilities or focus on the fight. This strategy allows the Neathian forces to gain advantage on their opponents, and help them win.

Pyre meets up and talks about one particular staffing issue, which is a missing component from his team: They need somebody to function as ‘The shield of the team’; Somebody, who can carry, lift and transport quickly a particularly heavy shield.

Thank Elright (and a lucky timing) the best candidate was just running in the quarters.

Cassie used to be a heavy-inforcements courrier within the Palace and Neathia’s main military base. (On Neathia teleportation may exist, but I believe, that due to the teleportation-infrastructure and the relative short distances within the Palace, courriers were employed to transport occasional supplies to the different military quarters. For example ensuring, that the teleportation system is not overwhelmed or overused, they carry things on feet from one place to another.)

Cassie was the fastest of them all, constatly breaking her own running time-records. She knew the Palace in and out: being quick on her feet and with the weights on her back she was the perfect candidate! This is how she got recruited into the Strike team.

#bakugan #bakugan oc #nss #neathian special squad #original character #cassie #captain pyrehart #elright #neathian oc #comic #bumbliart #art #bumblispeaks #gundalian invaders

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Not finished animation dream sequence, with experimental purposes:

Cassie is suffering from nightmares time to time...

(I swear, there is an entire page of story and thoughts behind this, I just have to get further to explain)

#bakugan #bakugan oc #nss #neathian special squad #original character #cassie #taeli #animation #animatic #bumbliart #bakugan gundalian invaders #art #neathian oc

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It had been awhile, but I was thinking about the Neathian Special Squad recently, and made a bigger post describing them (or at least the girls for now). If anyone is interested, a lot of information about them is under the cut:

I live with the assumption, that Neathians (and Gundalians for that matter) have distinctive features beyond their completely different alien looks. For example the eyeshapes or body structures/builds of the individuals, or the way they move. To me it's very interesting to discuss the characters' movement culture or gesticulation/mimicry, for these quailities can tell a lot about the characters themselves (and I often find myself not talking enough about their personalities.. so let's get to it...)

I don't feel particularly good at depicting different facial features or body types in drawings, so I rather talk about them here. I’ve wanted to do this for quite a long time, so here I go:

Taeli's eyes (compared to the Neathian average) are generally narrow and has a shape of 'almond eyes' with sharp, but elegant edges. I often draw her upper eyelids thicker (almost like she has makeup on, but it's somewhat natural), and her lashes build up like 'cat eyes'.

Taeli is taller than the average Neathian, and she is officially the tallest in the group (by not much - approximately by 1-2 inch - ,but still taller than Jaxs). Her build up is slim and slender, and commonly moves with a grace and elegance. Her most prominent movement quality is not losing balance and staying light on her feet. She is very agile and has great dodging skills.

She is considered kind of appealing and beautiful for Neathian standards, but she is like a 'wild prairie rose': untamable and not too much interested in the looks or flirts. She has strong morals and an exceptional view of life: Her intentions and life-style revolves around 'Everything being in balance'.

/The Neathian Special Squad's story is more or less depicted from Cassie's perspective: in her life Taeli is a ‘big sister figure’./

Manda (or with her disliked full name Mandarena) falls for most part in the 'average Neathian' category. Her eyes are of the common Neathian eye shape. The interesting thing to note is that Manda and Jaxs have each other's signature colours as eye colour (Manda's are deep blue, Jaxs' are grass green-like).

The average goes also for her height and her body form - with the only difference, that her shoulders are a tiny bit broader, and she doesn't have a rounded out hip (her waist-hip line is rather straight). Out of the girls, she shows the most, but well-toned muscle. (All the girls are trained, but their delts and pecks are not that visible.) Manda is fast and jumpy, in fights moves around 'parkour-style'. The squad consists of weapon wielders, but she is the most used to kicking and punching (bare-hand fighting).

Manda is the 'Rainbow Dash' of the team: determined, laid-back, but playful, sometimes a little hot-headed. Likes racing and playing (especially with Jaxs, they share a sis-bro type of friendship), towards enemies she is either teasing and aggressive or confidently cool.

/Also a big sister-like figure to Cassie, but more like a cheery and funny friend, than the wise protector Taeli is./

Cassie's appearence operates with generally round features (her hair, the eye shape, face shape, shoulders, hips). This is partly because she is the youngest on the team (recruited by Captain Pyrehart, who plays a mentor role in her life).

She is not only the youngest but the smallest/shortest too - but she runs the fastest, both on short and long distance. She often carries weight on her back (like a backpack), so her backmuscles are extremely trained. Quick on her feet, otherwise she can be kinda clumsy, when she doesn't pay attention.

Always sincere and good. Cassie is young and rather naive, but super friendly and cheerful. She is a cutie, but still a child, and doesn't bear traumatic experiences easily (has a tendeny to become doubtful or easily influenced). If it weren't for the war, she couldn't hurt a fly (this is why she has the mainly defensive weapon out of the squad, the shield.) She loves her friends and teammates with a pure heart, and is generally a little scared of Gundalians.

Skinwise Taeli is quite pale (almost white) compared to other Neathian females. Cassie's complexion is more pinkish, while Manda is supposed to have a slightly darker violet variation.

As far as I could make out, the Neathian hair structure seems 'blocky' to me, consisting of 'bigger chunks of hair', with a little diamond-ish shine.

Taeli usually wears her hair in a long braid or low-ponytail. The colour is a blueish purple.

Manda has medium-short green hair - her hair has these blocky curves with edges. Signaturely she has it let down with a bun on the top of her head - sometimes she leaves that bun in a high-ponytail. Also she naturally has a 'third midle fringe', but she tends to hairclip it back, so it doesn't bother her.

Cassie has her big curvy hair in a signature high-ponytail - rarely she can be seen without it too.

For their (psychological) age I couldn't point out exact ages, so I've written up approximate (human year) intervals instead. Same goes for the heights, I just wanted to show/see a relative height ranking among them.

I'm going to talk about the guys in an other post. So far so good! :)

#bakugan #bakugan oc #oc #original character #nss #neathian special squad #bumblispeaks #manda #taeli #cassie #gundalian invaders #long post

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I still love my Neathian children - a loving Cassie for everyone.

#bakugan #original character #gundalian invaders #oc #bakugan oc #cassie #nss #neathian special squad #bumbliart #neathian #art

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A bunch of NSS comics I momentarily forgot about, but let me explain them under the cut:

1.

This was supposed to be their official ‘knighting’ by Queen Serena (while Jin was still alive, because their story plays out before Gundalian Invaders ... or at least relatively at the beginning of the war...sometime...)

2.

Cap’ Pyrehart holds an important team meeting along with a strategic planning and break-down on the Major Twelve Orders, because the squad has to know, who they are going up against. Cassie puts up a question and points out, that Cap’ hadn’t talked about Barodius.

In the back, Manda comments about him ‘being lazy to show his face in a hand-to-hand combat..’ while Jaxs (’J’) plays with Manda’s shurikens. (Fun fact: J is great at juggling with weapons.)

3.

A late Winter/Christmas special. C: Just having fun in the snow together. (...if it ever snows on Neathia... but if they have geomagnetic storms and some crazy weather, why not?)

#bakugan #Bakugan Gundalian Invaders #nss #neathian special squad #neathian ocs #bakugan oc #taeli #captain pyrehart #jaxs #manda #cassie #queen serena #serena sheen #jin #fabia sheen #comic #bumbliart #bumblispeaks #art

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Random Neathian OC sketch dump no. 2

+ I leave under something earlier, that never got fleshed out entirely

#bakugan #neathian #oc #original character #bakugan oc #nss #neathian special squad #taeli #cassie #longfly #eve #rewrite GI! #nurzak #captain pyrehart #bumbliart #fanart

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Dialogueless Neathian Squad OC comic I think I should talk more about...

The Squad is on the way of their mission - flying on the back of the resident Longfly - while Taeli departs earlier (to arrive at the target location of Nurzak).

Here are some extra pieces of information: 

1. Although they don’t brawl directly, the Team got a Haos Longfly from Elright to get around the front easier. / And also as a backup for dangerous situations or quick retreat./

(Longfly usually resides with Cassie, but they all love the marble-bug.)

2. Surfing on the back of any Bakugan is the best way of transportation. The Strike Team got some special training in hijacking Bakugan-rides or traverse between them on the battlefield.

3. Neathian headcanon: Neathians are generally light-feeted, elusive and quick. Compared to humans or Gundalians, they hop around and dodge more easily and are quite good at martial arts. (Somewhat similarly to elves in fantasies.)

/ I just want to roll with the thought, that Neathians may look soft and pastel, but they are low-key threatening to fight - especially when they have to defend themselves or their home. /

#bakugan #gundalian invaders #oc #original character #bakugan oc #comic #nss #neathian special squad #taeli #cassie #captain pyrehart #jaxs #longfly #manda #bumbliart #neathian ocs #headcanon

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Fanart of OCs - Far Flung Castle Knights / Content recommendation Part 2 ˇ (Part 1)

If anyone lacks awesome fan-made Bakugan character- and AU content in the meantime, I would like to make two recommendations, which certainly worth a check-out:

1. Inesidora’s Bakugan R comics and stories (The original Battle Brawlers plot with a twist: role-reversed brawlers and Bakugan!)

2. The Far Flung Castle Knights created by @laggingartblog and their friends (A very vivid and extended alternative timeline in the setting of Gundalian Invaders with an original cast of friendly Neathians and Gundalians)

Both of these cover an incredible amount of content - both past and present - and have been put a lot of effort and talent into. Go and take a look!

Character credit list:

Visoko Skapan ‘Blue-haired beauty (1)’ and Nariva Kuran ‘Adorable baby-pigtails (3)’ belong to GengarGijinka

Selkis ‘One timid Gundalian boy (2-3)’ and Medea Argo ‘Lovely curls (2)’ belongs to LaggingBehindReality

Romi Larcess ‘Mischievous green girl (3)’ belongs to Kyomaruko

Fabia and Ren (3) belong to [you know, who] Spin Master

… Oh, and look, Taeli (1) is there too!

#bakugan #bakugan oc #original character #far flung castle knights #ffck #bumbliart #fanart #sorry repost #visoko skapan #nariva kuran #selkis #medea argo #romi larcess #taeli #nss #neathian special squad #recommendation #ren krawler #fabia sheen

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Was I ever talking about some comic about Neathian soldiers and the Twelve Orders?

(I’ve been calling ‘Spear Lady’ Taeli for a while, so I think this name is kind of official now.)

#bakugan #bakugan gundalian invaders #neathian special squad #comic #fanart #i had this thing in my draft for too long #nss #nurzak #taeli #oc #original character #neathian #bumbliart