General: Introduction
Well, it took nine months, but my much-needed political detox has ended, and now...

Im Back Baby Futurama GIF - Im Back Baby Futurama Bender ...


Anyway, I'm MrVulcan, and I'm here to share some worldbuilding projects of mine. What are these projects? I'm glad you asked.

The Nickstaverse: My main world. It's a one-man superhero universe with fantasy and sci-fi elements. It's got puns, serious powers AND silly powers, a quasi-elemental magic system, 60+ alien species, 40+ sapient mythical creatures, 0 non-Abrahamic deities and a surviving USFL.
On The Frontier: An alternate future world set in 2222 with aliens and other weirdness.
Return to Skylands: I do what Activision won't and come up with more Skylanders stuff.
Tales from Elmer Sterrett High: Arthur, but with monsters instead of furries.
Worldwide Warriors: Watchmen, but happy.

I'll post stuff about them here. Hopefully regularly, but I'm not making any promises.
 
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Nickstaverse: The Federal Bureau of Superheroics (descriptions)
Members of the Federal Bureau of Superheroics (in alphabetical order so no members can complain)

Bandage
(Cleopatra): A mummy who can ensnare people in her bandage-like flesh
Bird of Paradise (Sabrina Castilho): A Brazilian beauty with a magic amulet that lets her turn into a macaw
Bombshell (TN-20): A gynoid with miniature bomb factories for hair
Burning Man (Bruce Tent): A flaming green skeleton with military training
Captain Cactus (Tom Crow Foot): A Navajo cactus-man
Cobalt (Veronica Steele): Basically just blue female Iron Man
Crusader (Steve Bird): He has the power of God on his side (no anime though)
Demoness (Kendra Johnson): An Army vet who turns into a demon-like creature when she has a PTSD attack
Dr. Night (Roy Neville): A Cleveland district attorney who became Batman
Eclipse (Renee Watson): An amateur astronomer-turned-cosmic dynamo of light and darkness
Fallout (Bonnie Barnes): A sentient cloud of radioactive ash
Fauna (Amelie Thibodeaux): A Haitian immigrant with animal control and mimicry powers
Fluoridated Man (Frederick Alexander): A former conspiracy theorist made of Teflon
Folder (Chitose Furukawa): An amateur mage who can bring her origami to life
Grail (Maria Bird): Crusader's amazing wife with the healing power of the Holy Grail
Grandmaster (Tucker Scheving): A former FBS office worker who got his hands on the supervillain Checkmate's chess gadgets
Halloween Man (Owen Albertson): A festive fear controller
Ketuwong (Ro Sul): An alien from the planet Zeel with laser eyes, super strength, flight, intangibility, and material mimicry
Medusa (Medusa): A gorgon who used to work as a museum curator
Miss Methane (Cassandra Crawford): A flatulent crimefighter with connections to the Society for the Cataloguing Of Unusual Things
Multiplier (Mark Song): A former streamer who turned to superheroics after his mutant duplication powers manifested
Patriot (G. I. Joe Parker): An americophile with more guns than IQ points
Queen Bee (Heather Schmidt): A former model who turns into a bee-person when stung by bees
Shatter (Leona Masters): A scientist with a freeze ray and an itchy trigger finger
SigmaX (Project Sigma X): A robot with a jet thruster and four arms full of laser pistols
Stormer (Rodney Ritter): A charming Southern weather controller
Super Duper Man (Harley Cahill): wish.com Superman
T-Wreck (Rex Peters): A T-Rex-man with human-proportion arms
Timelapse (Tim LeMont): A time controller who mostly makes things old
Vwurmp (Joel McGill): A portal creating vagrant with nothing better to do
 
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Nickstaverse: The Federal Bureau of Superheroics (picture)
FBS Full.jpg

Top: Bandage, Bird of Paradise, Bombshell, Burning Man, Captain Cactus, Cobalt, Crusader, Demoness, Dr. Night, Eclipse
Middle: Fallout, Fauna, Fluoridated Man, Folder, Grail, Grandmaster, Halloween Man, Ketuwong, Medusa, Miss Methane
Bottom: Multiplier, Patriot, Queen Bee, Shatter, SigmaX, Stormer, Super Duper Man, T-Wreck, Timelapse, Vwurmp
 
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Nickstaverse: America's Superpowered Landscape
Here's a rundown of every (American) superhero and supervillain team I've made for the Nickstaverse!

The Big Dogs
Federal Bureau of Superheroics (30): America's national superhero team and the first responders if something big happens

Notable Super Academies
INSA (30): Indiana's state super academy, located in Gothamopolis
WASA (20): Washington's state super academy, located in Weaverton
COSA (18): Colorado's state super academy, located in Bold City

Independent Hero Teams
The Anomaleague
(9): The errand boys of the Society for the Cataloguing Of Unusual Things, and the best stoppers of very unusual crimes
The Energetics (7): An all-energy controller team
The Force of Nature (5): A weather-themed team that didn't get the memo that the Iron Age ended
The Halfbreeds (5): A relatively new team made entirely of half-alien teenage girls
The Iron Legion (5): An all-power armor-user team
The KenCo Rainbow Warriors (7): A corporate-backed team that somehow isn't corrupt
The Octette (8): A well-established all-female team
The Redeemed (5): A team of ex-villains who were bad, but now they're good
The Six Heroes (6): Equal parts superhero team and comedy troupe
The Starlets (5): A team based off Sailor Moon made by a guy who knows nothing about Sailor Moon
The Wuxing Warriors (5): A classical Chinese-elements themed team

The Big Three of Evil
The Alliance of Evil
(30): America's largest supervillain team, based in Gothamopolis
The Destroyers (15): The former minions of the late Dr. Destruction, based in Weaverton
The Fiendish Fifteen (15): The surprisingly successful new villains on the block, based in Bold City

Other Villain Teams
The ALliance for the Protection of Human Achievement (ALPHA)
(4): A human supremacist hate group with a division of trained mercenaries
The Bullies (7): Seven teenage defectors from COSA
The Clobber Crew (6): An all-brawler team
The Corps (8): Eight power armor-clad mercenaries
Crash Site Omega (8): Eight escaped alien convicts with a hatred of all things Earth
The Crowns of Hell (6): Superpowered Satanists
The Dominion (5): A gang of far-right sycophants
Onslaught (3): An all-duplicator team
The Rivers of Hades (5): A team of shockingly effective edgelords
The Sick Six (6): A team of truly warped disease-lovers
Team Tachyon (7): An all-speedster team
The Vice Squad (7): A gang of superpowered thugs bent on funding their addictions
 
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Bandage (Cleopatra): A mummy who can ensnare people in her bandage-like flesh
That would have been helpful to her in my TL
Crusader (Steve Bird): He has the power of God on his side (no anime though)
Deus Vult!
Fallout (Bonnie Barnes): A sentient cloud of radioactive ash
But can I play New Vegas with her?
Folder (Chitose Furukawa):
So my real life best friend
Multiplier (Mark Song): A former streamer who turned to superheroics after his mutant duplication powers manifested
YES YES YES HIM
BEST HERO!

Patriot (G. I. Joe
Americanophile
So he isnt really american?
That sounds fun, like Yugioh Abridged's Bandit Keith
Super Duper Man (Harley Cahill): wish.com Superman
Bootleg Superman by Team Four Star? :p
Cobalt (Veronica Steele): Basically just blue female Iron Man
Thats hot
Bird of Paradise (Sabrina Castilho): A Brazilian beauty with a magic amulet that lets her turn into a macaw
And thats just awesome!
 
Nickstaverse: History of the Orion Alliance
In the Nickstaverse, there are several alien races known to Earth. Unfortunately, First Contact didn't happen under the best terms.

In the year the Gregorian calendar calls 2003 AD, the Jhinu, a race of blue, tentacled humanoids capable of evolving on command, discovered faster-than-light travel. Unfortunately, the world government of Jhin subscribed to "we're the fittest and no one else will survive". Fearing a galactic genocide, the underground resistance had to act fast. Luckily, the Jhinu government had one major flaw: hubris.

The resistance was able to sneak pilot Atering Vuvusol past prideful guards no problem, and was able to take to the stars to warn planets of the impending Jhinu invasion. He managed to warn seven races before his ship ultimately crashed.

The Odrugarans, a race of long-necked, white bureaucrats
The Keedonzians, a race of blue humanoids with deafening sonic screams
The Qularr, a race of pink insectoid geneticists
The Kalishari, a race of color-changing humanoids that can inflate like balloons
The Toractans, a race of super strong, large, gray humanoids
The Fex, a race of blue, methane-breathing felinoids
and lastly,
The Terrans, a veritable slew of 50 different species (but mostly humans)

Shortly after introducing the Terrans to FTL, Vuvusol received word that the Jhinu had begun their master plan, starting with a race called the Hzeel. It was then that the original seven races started putting out messages for other species to join the fight. Not only did the Hzeel put up a lot of resistance, but the Fex came to their aid, risking life, limb, and asphyxiation on an oxygen-based atmosphere.

Other races soon followed suit in recruiting races to help. The Kalishari recruited the Jakkari and Mon'dabi. The Toractans recruited the Harkarthians and Mandaarians. But the Terrans were the most prolific, recruiting the Kadathari, Osathri, Roin'esh, and Varanyi.

The war raged on for two years until 2005, when the Jhinu attacked a vessel they thought was filled with Terrans, only to discover they actually attacked a vessel full of similar-looking Renghadi. This sparked the Renghadi to enter the war, alongside the rest of the Velarian Confederation (that being the Catavalans, Donburil, Fassai, Quagi, and Velarians).

This helped turn the tide of the war, but it wasn't until 2008 that the Jhinu's coffin got its final nail. An exploration vessel full of Sholarron saw the carnage of the war and appealed to the rest of the Se'ecra Combine (that being the Dorvalans, Ixendar, Jaruma, R'kaili, Se-lag, Se'ecra, and Susethrin) to join in. The Combine agreed and the Jhinu were forced to surrender in 2009 after they lost the Battle of Gary on Terra.

Over two billion sophonts were killed across 31 species during the war. But after the war, the Jhinu begrudgingly agreed to sulk on their homeworld, and as of today, many government officials have turned to piracy as the resistance makes great strides.

As for the 30 victorious species, they allied together into the Orion Alliance. The formation of the Orion Alliance sparked intrigue from a power who had been oblivious to all this fighting, the Ackálian Empire. Being impressed by the war stories, the Ackálian Empress decided to let the species of the Empire hold referenda on whether they wanted to leave the Empire and join the Alliance. In the end, 15 of the Empire's 18 subject races left, and the Orion Alliance welcomed the Belaxians, Dendrians, Dorugandans, Ereni, Esagites, Gadroon, Hrac'darese, Kadilians, Kolajik, Mostreen, Nan, Pograckians, Salgandans, Shar'een, and Vayathurans.

Since the Ackálian referenda, the Orion Alliance has only welcomed five more races, those being the Krsst, Malvans, Prylenish, Qedustiers, and Zmm.

So far, no other aliens have shown interest in joining, but one could always be in the next solar system over.
 
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Nickstaverse: Known Alien Species
Here is a list of every known alien species in the Nickstaverse, along with a short description
  • ORION ALLIANCE - the major players
    • Terran Bloc - contacted by Terra
      • Belaxians - stocky green reptilians that see via radar
      • Dendrians - blue cryokinetic humanoids
      • Dorugandans - yellow fungoids
      • Ereni - sasquatch-looking scholars
      • Esagites - green ichthyoids known for their weapon-making
      • Gadroon - squat green gravity-controlling humanoids
      • Hrac’darese - brown ichthyoids known for their clockmaking
      • Kadathari - olive electrokinetic felinoids
      • Kadilians - ochre humanoids with incredible regenerative abilities
      • Kolajik - gregarious green dinosaur-looking reptilians
      • Mostreen - gray avians with amazing flight capabilities
      • Nan - gray humanoids with impressive head spikes
      • Osathri - squat red ichthyoids from a water-world
      • Pograckians - loyal white caninoids
      • Roin’esh - shapeshifting purple humanoids
      • Salgandans - resilient green humanoids
      • Shar’een - small ochre humanoids known for their commerce work
      • Terrans - humans, elves, vampires, and 47 other species
      • Varanyi - psionically gifted purple humanoids with impressive crests
      • Vayathurans - golden hedonistic humanoids
    • Se’ecra Bloc - contacted by Ecra-shen
      • Dorvalans - black humanoids with radiation powers
      • Ixendar - yellow humanoids with a knack for inventing
      • Jaruma - short radial ammonia-breathing insectoids
      • R’kaili - purple humanoids with a strong sense of cooperation
      • Se-lag - hexapedal otter-looking mammaloids with a strong work ethic
      • Se’ecra - brown beetle-looking insectoids who love lifting up races
      • Sholarron - small black centipede-looking insectoids with mech suits
      • Susethrin - blue reptilians with a giant snake tail for legs
    • Velarian Bloc - contacted by Velarius VII
      • Catavalans - gray four-armed humanoids
      • Donburil - shiny golden humanoids with metallic skin
      • Fassai - brown humanoids with prehensile hair
      • Quagi - green frog-looking amphibians with incredible jumping skills
      • Renghadi - charismatic orange humanoids
      • Velarians - blue humanoids with incredible hearing
    • Fex Bloc - contacted by Fexao
      • Fex - blue methane-breathing felinoids
      • Hzeel - silver humanoids with laser eyes
      • Prylenish - brown plantoids
      • Qedustiers - brown humanoids with impressive horns
    • Toractan Bloc - contacted by Toracta
      • Harkarthians - super speedy tan reptilians
      • Malvans - yellow thrill-seeking humanoids
      • Mandaarians - red pyrokinetic humanoids
      • Toractans - super strong large gray humanoids
    • Kalishari Bloc - contacted by Kalisha
      • Jakkari - black mammaloids that can curl up into balls armadillo-style
      • Kalishari - color-changing tailed humanoids that can inflate like balloons
      • Mon’dabi - honorable green lizard-looking reptilians
    • Qularr Bloc - contacted by Reqqat
      • Krrst - creepy black insectoids
      • Qularr - pink insectoid geneticists
      • Zmm - tiny yellow insectoids with painful stings
    • Independent Blocs - no contactees yet
      • Keedonzian - blue humanoids with deafening sonic screams
      • Odrugaran - SCP-096-looking bureaucrats
  • ACKÁLIAN EMPIRE - the friendly rivals
    • Ackálians - large fearsome-looking green humanoids
    • Naloth - large slow green molluscoids
    • Shiseki - large red crustaceans with pincers
    • Zurites - long-lived hairless blue humanoids
  • UNION OF ERGATH - the two twin races
    • Ergons - red humanoids from Ergath
    • Thorgons - yellow humanoids from Ergath
  • JHINU CONFEDERACY - the omnicidal big bads
    • Jhinu - blue tentacled humanoids that can evolve on command
  • INDEPENDENT ALIENS
    • Az’arc’a - yellow energy beings with god-like powers
    • Coriphans - black caninoids with a love of savagery
    • Cristobalites - sessile gray lithoids with amazing wisdom
    • Golo - the pink humanoid North Sentinelese of the Orion Arm
    • Korundar - giant gray stony centaurs
    • Lorghil - humble brown humanoids
    • Orthu - disagreeable green avians
    • Soleminds - a race of blue humanoid used car salesmen
    • Tarmin - a haughty race of rat-looking humanoids
    • Thrínú - blue avians with sharp claws
    • Tkaki - parasitic green mantis-looking insectoids
 
Nickstaverse: A Short History of the Nickstaverse
14000000000 BC: The Father decides to create a universe, which He populates with angels. Unfortunately, some angels aren't happy with this arrangement and fall from grace. They are cast into Hell and become the first demons.

10000 BC: Sapience develops on Terra. The first two protosophonts, Adam and Eve, quickly fall from grace.

9975 BC: Cain, son of Adam and Eve, kills his brother Abel. After having to go to the afterlife alone, Abel takes up the job of accompanying souls to the afterlife so no one will ever have to face the same soul-crushing loneliness he did, thus becoming the Grim Reaper.

7000 BC: The protosophonts diverge into all 47 of the biological Terran sophonts.

3000 BC: The Father creates the lights to populate a new dimension of His, which would eventually be called Newland.

1000 BC: The golems are created to protect The Father’s chosen people, the Israelites.

1 AD: The Son comes to save the souls of the universe.

33 AD: The Son is put to death on the planets He visits, but is resurrected after three days.

1336 AD: The ogre chief Shrek stops the advances of Lord Farquaad’s armies into ogre territory.

1561 AD: British mage Finley Langhorne discovers Newland while tinkering with dimensional spells. Britain uses it as a dumping ground for Catholics, much to his chagrin.

1810 AD: The dark wizard Akumu places a curse on the Edo-era superhero Kami No Yōna’s descendants.

1889 AD: The first Dr. Anomalous founds the Society for the Cataloguing Of Unusual Things.

1939 AD: The British superhero Egret becomes the first superhero to enlist in WWII, flying to other countries in an attempt to convince them to join the Allies.

1942 AD: The V-Squad was formed as the first national superhero team. They would disband after WWII ended.

1945 AD: Hiroshima and Nagasaki are nuked, causing a spike in dormant but uncontrolled super-mutations in Japan’s population.

1989 AD: The Battle of Tiananmen Square leads to the collapse of the People’s Republic of China.

1991 AD: The Soviet Union collapses.

—RECENT EVENTS BELOW; REMEMBER TO SHIFT EVERY FEW YEARS—

2000 AD: Fireball, Glow, Poisoner, Nanosecond, and Icebox form The League of Incredible Heroes. They face off against villains like Edgelord Deathslayer, White Knight I, Debreather, ALPHA, Sun Goddess, The Crowns of Hell, and Beast Mode.

2003 AD: Atering Vuvusol lands in Tahlequah, Oklahoma on Terra and warns the Terrans of the Jhinu as he did to several other races, and helps to found the Orion Alliance. Here he also meets Margaret Johnson, whom he would eventually marry. Shortly after Vuvusol’s arrival, the Jhinu War begins with the invasion of Zeel. Following this, Space Knight becomes the first Earth superhero to enlist in the war.

2004 AD: The first human/alien hybrid babies are born, beginning the Hybrid Baby Boom.

2007 AD: The Battle of Boulder ends in a resounding victory for the Orion Alliance, albeit with the deaths of Mr. Shock, Daedalus, Faker, and the Human Rocket.

2009 AD: The Jhinu War on Earth ends with the Battle of Gary and a total of 50 million Terran deaths (and 39 superhero deaths). In response, the city-controlling light superhero Gothamopolis rebuilds the city from scratch even better than it was before. Unfortunately, the strain is too much for him and he dies. Out of respect, the new city is named Gothamopolis in his honor. The LIH disbands shortly afterwards, having decided they’ve fought enough.

2010 AD: The Octette makes their debut. / The Alliance of Evil makes their debut.

2011 AD: The Corps makes their debut, shortly followed by the Redeemed.

2012 AD: Dr. Destruction attempts to conquer Tacoma, Washington, but is stopped by a group effort from multiple heroes, culminating in Dr. Destruction committing suicide via orbital laser cannon.

2013 AD: The US becomes the first country to establish a national superhero team, The Federal Bureau of Superheroics. The Super Education System, or SES, is also founded to teach superpowered teenagers how to be superheroes. / The Destroyers make their debut.

2014 AD: The Force of Nature makes their debut.

2015 AD: The Junior Supes of Gothamopolis make their debut. / Color Force makes their debut.

2016 AD: The Four Horsemen are locked away in the Jail Dimension, but not before Pestilence infects a bystander named Serena Ramirez with every disease known to mankind to give her his powers. / The Fiendish Fifteen, Sick Six, and Vice Squad make their debut.

2017 AD: Foundry is arrested in Weaverton. / The Energetics, Iron Legion, and Wuxing Warriors make their debut. / The Bullies defect from the Colorado State Super Academy to become evil.

2018 AD: The Six Heroes make their debut. / White Knight I is killed by Aaron Archer. / Team Tachyon make their debut.

2019 AD: The Starlets make their debut. / The Clobber Crew, The Dominion, and The Rivers of Hades make their supervillain team debut.

2020 AD: KenCo puts together their KenCo Rainbow Warriors. / Eight escaped alien convicts form the supervillain team Crash Site Omega.

2021 AD: The Ten Plagues Incident occurs in Gothamopolis.

2022 AD: Xenox, Psionica, Hothead, Zeppelin Girl, and Rush form the Halfbreeds after escaping from ALPHA custody in Weaverton, Washington. To prevent this from happening again, ALPHA forms its Empire Division.

2023 AD: The present day
 
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Nickstaverse: Species of Terra
Here's a list of every sapient species on Terra, with notes I feel like mentioning.

Avian Branch
Roc (Homo avis) (birdfolk)

Fungoid Branch
Fungal (Homo fungus) (mushroomfolk)

Humanoid Branch
Banshee (Homo sonorus) (don't scream for death, just scream)
Chubbibub (Homo bellus) (take the place of halflings, basically Mario Shy Guys shaped like Kirby)
Cyclops (Homo unoculus)
Dwarf (Homo fodiendus)
Elf (Homo silvestris) (most often green, like in Skylanders)
Fairy (Homo minimus) (technicolor skin tones for these guys)
Gargoyle (Homo saxeus)
Gaswinder (Homo dispersis) (pitch black humanoids that can turn into smoke)
Genie (Homo magicis)
Ghost (Homo translucens) (very much alive, just translucent and can walk through walls)
Giant (Homo ingens) (max out at about 9 feet)
Gnome (Homo vesanus)
Goblin (Homo viridis)
Human (Homo sapiens) (the most common Terran by at least 2 orders of magnitude)
Imp (Homo calidum) (basically pop culture demons, except not chaotic evil)
Kobold (Homo mutantus) (little shapeshifters)
Leprechaun (Homo felix)
Mummy (Homo involutus)
Ogre (Homo buccinator) (look like Shrek)
Poltergeist (Homo movens) (psionic energy beings)
Reaper (Homo fatalis) (edgelord-looking guys who can drain your soul and teleport between shadows)
Skeleton (Homo osseus) (also very much alive)
Troll (Homo absconditus)
Vampire (Homo sanguisugae) (have reflections and are also fine with crosses, crossing running water, holy water, and dropping in uninvited)
Zombie (Homo lenta) (again, very much alive, basically Middle Eastern ghouls)

Ichthyoid Branch
Merman (Homo aquatilis) (covered in blue scales and can switch between legs and a tail)

Insectoid Branch
Bugbear (Homo insectum) (actually insectfolk, not like in D&D)
Gigantula (Homo aranea) (spiderfolk)

Mammalian Branch
Centaur (Homo equus)
Gremlin (Homo calamitosus)
Minotaur (Homo taurus)
Sasquatch (Homo magnapedus)
Satyr (Homo caprus)
Sphinx (Homo felis) (catfolk)
Werewolf (Homo canis) (rational and furry 24 hours a day)
Yeti (Homo frigus)

Molluscoid Branch
Blob (Homo gelatinosis) (basically blobs of cytoplasm)
Kraken (Homo lolligo) (sapient octopuses)
Nightmare (Homo formidulosus) (basically Cthulhu if he wasn't godlike beyond comprehension)

Plantoid Branch
Ent (Homo ligneus)
Plant (Homo floridus) (typically flower-looking or flytrap-looking)

Reptilian Branch
Dragon (Homo regalis) (humanoid, more like dragonborns)
Gorgon (Homo serpens) (petrification vision requires active lasering)
Hydra (Homo regenerans) (just snakefolk with toxic spit and incredible regenerative abilities)
Orc (Homo squamosus)

Other
Golem (Golem golem) (come in 12 fun varieties)
Light (Lux lux) (little glowing orbs of energy that can give you superpowers)
Robot (Robot robot)
 
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Nickstaverse: Magic
When God made the universe, He filled it with bits of His power to be used as a tool. Like any tool, this can be used for good (using a fireball to start a fire for a homeless person) or evil (using a fireball to burn someone's house down). This power, called mana, comes in 10 varieties, and is mostly exported to the main universe by the fantasy realm/pocket dimension of Newland. The ten types of mana are:

Fire (red)
Decay (gray)
Earth (brown)
Body (orange)
Shadow (black)
Water (blue)
Nature (green)
Air (cyan)
Mind (purple)
Light (yellow)

Each mana is used for different spells:

Red magic for fire, heat, and steam
Gray magic for disintegration, rust, corrosion, and decay
Brown magic for rock, vibrations, metal, crystal, and glass
Orange magic for healing, growth, and augmentation
Black magic* for poison, darkness, and obfuscation
Blue magic for water, ice, and cold
Green magic for life, wood, and plants
Cyan magic for sound, wind, and thunder
Purple magic for telepathy, mind control, and telekinesis
Yellow magic for illusions and lasers

Now, how do you do magic? Well, to use mana, you need to put in a wand, which is basically just a hollow enchanted tube, and flick the wand around in just the right way while saying the spell word. If that sounds complicated, that's because it is. Most people don't bother learning magic because of the difficult learning curve. However, there are some ways to get good quick.

1. Win the genetic lottery. For some reason (probably to do with the sparse magical energies of the universe), about 1 in 2.5 million babies are born as magical prodigies, distinguishable by their technicolor eye color. These kids have the ability to cast any spell without the need for a wand. Of course, most of them amount to nothing like most gifted kids, but some, like the late Crimson Cloak, go on to become successful heroes.

2. Chug mana! If you're one of the normies, you can always get a bunch of mana and drink it. According to arcanologists (magic experts), if you chug a half-gallon of a specific color mana, you'll be able to cast any spell using that color mana without the need for a wand. And the only side effect is temporary skin discoloration!

3. Let others do the heavy lifting. Just find a prodigy or chugger or someone who actually worked for this stuff and have them carve a few sigils in magic rocks to use as bombs full of... well, it depends on the sigil. Or get some distilled water and have them cast a spell into it. That'll make a potion you can use at any time.

*not necessarily evil, just any spell that uses black mana
 
Nickstaverse: The Kalishari
The Kalishari are a race of humanoids native to the windy planet Kalisha, near the Union of Ergath. They have long non-prehensile tails and color-changing skin. However, this color change works pretty badly as camouflage, as the changes are linked to their emotions. Happiness is bright green, anger is red, fear is deep purple, and neutrality is blue.

Of course, this pales in comparison to the Kalishari's internal abilities.

In an instant, a Kalishari can inflate their body into a six-foot-wide sphere full of biohelium. What's biohelium, you ask? It's just helium, but it's produced by living things (through magic), and it changes density when electricity is applied to it (again, through magic).

Anyway, the Kalishari achieve their inflation in a pretty remarkable way.

1. They have a special membrane (called a wisedimod) between their ribcage (which is made of hexagonal plates of bone connected by ligaments) and their internal organs.

2. They have a bunch of extra tendons connecting all their internal organs to the membrane to hold their organs in place.

3. They have a special gland (called a wisòya) that can produce biohelium.

4. Their skin is very stretchy and can withstand being stretched into a smooth sphere.

5. Through the application of electrical brain signals, they can change the density of the biohelium.

And that's how a Kalishari can float like a balloon, bounce like a rubber ball, or crush things like a wrecking ball.

This inflation mechanism evolved as a defense/escape mechanism. The animal the Kalishari evolved from either scared off predators through increased size, or was able to float to safety on one of Kalisha's strong winds. And if they did get attacked, their stretched-out skin would be punctured, causing them to zoom around haphazardly, as their musculature is strong enough to hold their body together.

Today, the Kalishari inflationary system serves little purpose other than as a way to fly to places at ~60 mph. However, its survivalist purpose can sometimes show through, specifically when strong emotions, such as anger or fear, activate the Kalishari fight-or-flight response, which invariably causes inflation.

However, like anything a sapient species evolves, inflating can have its downsides. For example, Kalishari space travelers have to take into account the local air pressure of their destination, so as to not experience full-body bends.

Intoxicants such as ethanol can also cause involuntary inflation by redirecting brain signals to the wisòya. This reaction is affectionately nicknamed "party ballooning".

Below are two pictures of a Kalishari couple, once deflated and once inflated. Note how the limbs and tail do not inflate or shrink into the torso, but rather remain fully extended for use as fine manipulators, akin to a jellyfish's tentacles.

Deflated Kalishari.jpg

Inflated Kalishari.jpg
 
Nickstaverse: The Octette
The Octette is one of the oldest intact superhero teams in America. Formed in 2010 and staying together without any lineup changes since, the Octette have proven to be one of the best in their field.

The team was formed all thanks to one chase in Savannah, Georgia.

While fleeing some local superheroes, the late supervillain Optimus splashed passerby Ashley Powell with mutagen containing Kalishari DNA as a distraction. Ashley's torso ended up inflating to over a hundred times its normal size with a helium isotope, causing her to float like a balloon. Luckily, a flying hero was able to keep her from floating off into the stratosphere.

Afterwards, Ashley became really sad that she had blown up like a balloon on local TV, and that got worse after she found out strong emotions, electric shocks, and even just thinking too much about inflating would cause her to reinflate.

However, Ashley's father, a veteran in the Jhinu War, knew that the Kalishari were some of the best heroes in the war, and his daughter could be a hero with that power. So, to remedy her sadness, he sent out an ad for other superpowered ladies around his daughter's age to come to their home and show him what they had. Seven people applied:

Julie "Chicle" West, a former teen actress from LA who was trying to branch out into a music career before her jilted ex turned her into bubblegum
Iris "Chemigal" Tillman, a college student from Philadelphia who had an experiment blow up in her face, giving her the ability to shoot any type of gas from her pores
Vanessa "Iron Maiden" Scott, an aspiring swimmer and former mean girl from Miami who was turned into iron by a victim of her bullying
Deshondra "Lion Queen" Thornton, a vigilante and super-nerd from St. Louis who cleaned up her neighborhood's streets with a utility afro full of gadgets
Andrea "Miss Appearance" Alvarez, a mutant from Dallas who was born invisible, but helped take out a supervillain by ditching her power-nullifying bracelet
Tomoko "Phosphora" Nakayama, a Seattle native with pyrophoric skin who made headlines after future FBS member Burning Man gave her his old containment suit
Allison "Raptor Girl" Nylund, a tomboy from Rapid City who nicked herself with an irradiated velociraptor claw and was mutated into a velociraptor-person

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Pictured left to right: Chicle, Chemigal, Dirigibelle, Iron Maiden, Lion Queen, Miss Appearance, Phosphora, Raptor Girl

The other girls were able to help Ashley see that she could use her mutated body to prevent villains from messing up peoples' lives, and they formed a team, with Ashley taking on the name "Dirgibelle".

When the team formed, they originally didn’t have a name, but the media latched onto the fact all the members were girls and called them The Octette, complete with feminine -ette ending. (Strange how all-male teams never get cute masculine nicknames.)

The Octette was mostly a local team at first, but in 2012, they were thrust into the national stage after they helped defeat Dr. Destruction at the Battle of Tacoma. During the battle, Dirigibelle proved her usefulness by using her rapidly expanding body to break up crowds of Destructoids. Since then, they've helped stop plots by teams ranging from The Crowns of Hell to The Sick Six to Crash Site Omega. This has won the team many Supie awards, and even more Supie nominations.

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Pictured left to right: Chicle, Chemigal, Dirigibelle, Iron Maiden, Lion Queen, Miss Appearance, Phosphora, Raptor Girl

The Octette have also become quite the pop culture phenomenon. You might remember the time Dirigibelle shilled for Gas-X, the time Lion Queen shilled for Dove shampoo, or the time Chicle shilled for Trident. They even cameoed in the superhero-themed sitcom "How to Save the World".

All in all, the Octette have proven themselves one of America's premier superhero teams.
 
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Nickstaverse: The Federal Bureau of Superheroics (actual powers oops)
Just realized I never shared this:

Bandage: Can unravel her bandage-like flesh to entangle enemies
Bird of Paradise: Magic amulet that lets her turn into a macaw
Bombshell: Miniature bomb factories inside her hair puffs
Burning Man: Pyrophoric skin (but he's figured out how to control his burnination enough to ditch the suit)
Captain Cactus: Sharp spines and photosynthesis
Cobalt: Suit of Iron Man-esque power armor
Crusader: Sword that can summon lightning strikes and create fissures
Demoness: Turns into a demon-looking creature when stressed
Dr. Night: Basically just Batman
Eclipse: Darkness control on the left, light control on the right, flight everywhere
Fallout: Body of radioactive ash that can fly, squeeze through small openings, and shoot gamma rays
Fauna: Animal mimicry and animal control
Fluoridated Man: Teflon skin, fluorine and hydrogen fluoride breath, and hydrofluoric acid sweat
Folder: Can bring her origami to life
Grail: Healing touch and force fields
Grandmaster: Chess piece-shaped weapons
Halloween Man: Fear control
Ketuwong: Laser eyes, super strength, intangibility, flight, and material mimicry
Medusa: Petrifying eye blasts
Miss Methane: Can eat a special berry to produce foul-smelling gas to release on villains
Multiplier: Duplication of not just himself, but pretty much everything
Patriot: Guns, guns, and more guns
Queen Bee: Turns into a humanoid bee whenever stung by a bee
Shatter: Liquid nitrogen gun
SigmaX: A jetpack and quadruple-wielding laser pistols
Stormer: Weather control
Super Duper Man: Basically just Superman
T-Wreck: Super strong, super tough, and super smart
Timelapse: Time control, which he mostly uses with relation to aging
Vwurmp: Portals, portals, and more portals
 
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Nickstaverse: Newland
The fantastical dimension of Newland (accessible via dimensional portal spell), is divided into 10 realms, each associated with a different mana. The dimension was discovered in 1561 by mage Finley Langhorne, and his descendants have since crowned themselves as the monarchs of the realms. Newland has also attracted a significant population of non-human Terrans. So much so that Newland is 46.5% non-human.

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Yes, it's supposed to be America upside-down. This way I can have fantasy NYC, LA, etc.,
 
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Return to Skylands: Species Demographics of the Americ Isles
  • Species Demographics of the Americ Isles
    • 42.8% Furred
      • 34.6% Mabu
      • 5.0% Fox
      • 1.6% Molekin
      • 0.9% Gremlin
      • 0.5% Yeti
      • 0.2% Seadog
    • 25.1% Skinned
      • 12.1% Elf
      • 3.9% Troll
      • 3.6% Cyclops
      • 2.2% Storm Giant
      • 1.5% Spell Punk
      • 1.0% Dwarf
      • 0.7% Orc
      • 0.1% Greeble
    • 18.4% Scaled
      • 8.8% Dragon
      • 6.7% Gillman
      • 2.9% Dirt Shark
    • 7.3% Boned
      • 4.4% Skeleton
      • 2.7% Ghost
      • 0.2% Vampire
    • 5.1% Plated
      • 2.5% Arkeyan
      • 1.9% Ent
      • 0.4% Goldling
      • 0.3% Wilikin
    • 1.3% Feathered
      • 1.3% Sky Baron
 
Planning on making some country maps of Earth in the Nickstaverse.
WARNING: I will be using MapChart. Please do not get mad at me.
 
Nickstaverse: The KenCo Rainbow Warriors
You ever wonder where all the superhero science breakthroughs happen? Well, they happen at KenCo!

Founded by Ken Stevenson Sr. in 1994, the company quickly made a name for itself through the creation of many technologies superheroes take for granted. Unfortunately, they'd eventually cause a number of supervillain-creating industrial accidents.

To make up for their corporate negligence, KenCo decided to create The KenCo Rainbow Warriors, one of the first corporate superhero teams. The current CEO, Ken Stevenson Jr., found seven interns who wanted to be superheroes, and did some fancy-schmancy genetic alteration to them to give them superpowers. Now they're ready to save lives, because no people means no customers. Those lucky interns were:

Alondra "Red Racer" Daniels, a speedster and Orange Overload's elder twin
Shakenya "Orange Overload" Daniels, a electricity controller and Red Racer's younger twin
Megan "Yellow Yell" Collins, a sound controller who was the ex-girlfriend of the first villain the Warriors fought
Theo "Green Gateman" Coleman, a portal creator who mostly joined for the glory
Sameera "Blue Band" Zufar, a stretcher with a hijab-compliant costume
Erisu (Alyssa) "Indigo Insect" Yanagimoto, a shrinker who keeps her strength while shrunk
Ryan "Violet Visor" Garvin, a token white guy with laser eyes

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