Metroid Prime 4: Ruins Looking Niiice.

Dim tar Ili Metroid

This is just a short fic I made to flex my voice acting and narrating muscles again. I am transgender, and have been voice training for a good couple of months now. I have bigger plans, but I’d like to do something small before jumping into the really good stuff that I wanna really get right.

To those who do not know, this story utilizes the actual Chozo language! Sparingly, at least. The title, Dim tar Ili Metroid, translates to DNA of the Metroid. Tanumar, is the Chozo word for leader, one which I have taken to using as an official designation of rank. Hasana, as well, is the Chozo word for tribe, which I have used as the actual term of their societal groupings. Has means yes, and ulu means no. Raven Beak’s voice is a doozy to get right, largely due to the large amount of voice modulation. I have dumbed it down to be more in line with some of the effort/chuckling sounds in his boss fight, both for ease of editing and ease of understanding. Lastly, as for the voices themselves, I tried going for an accent based on how Raven Beak and Quiet Robe speak within Metroid Dread, with the rolled R sound, for example.

Hope you all enjoy! Sol ata (thank you)!

I personally doubt we’ll see Adam in Beyond. Other M is a direct follow-up to Super, which the calendar year listed in the trailer implies took place prior (though, with all the inconsistencies in timelines, that’s not exactly definitive). Adam dies there, and isn’t seen again until his AI recreation in Fusion, after Samus’s suit gets diced up to remove the X parasite attempting to consume her. Given that we see the after effects of that in Dread but not Beyond, it’s safe to assume this game takes place before Fusion, leaving no room for Adam Malkovich to show up save for some obituary or something of the like. It would be nice to see a little Easter egg in Samus’s gunship of Adam’s helmet she retrieved at the end of Other M, though.

Of course, whether we should be adhering to Other M for canon is its whole other debate that I shall not be delving into right now.

Sometimes I wonder if Admiral Dane could’ve been replaced by Adam Malkovich for Corruption, since we already knew about his character’s past with Samus and even got a glimpse of him in the Zero Mission manga. I feel like that would’ve actually endeared the original, human Adam to fans, more than Other M ever did… That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sakamoto said no because that’s his character, whom he already had plans and a specific vision + game in mind for. So Retro Studios had to make up Dane, who ended up becoming an actual fan favorite and often compared to Adam as the superior Federation commander to Samus. Maybe Adam can show up in Beyond with a different studio writing him this time.

Metroid Prime: The Great Hunt art dump 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I tend to go for a middle ground between the two. Someone with scars from injuries that no human being should be able to survive, but also let her care about eyeshadow and lipgloss because it’s just a fun thing she can do to express herself in a busy life of hunting down criminals and super predators. Give her absolutely chiseled abs and towering height, yes, but let her smile with the people and little critters she’s saved along the way. I’m not saying you can’t have your buff, grizzled veteran of many battles with the scars to prove it, but she’s still human, she still needs to live a little. But yes, give her a massive co-

People who draw Samus Aran as a 5 foot nothing girl with an hourglass figure, flawlessly smooth skin, perfectly applied makeup, absolutely no musculature, and a bubbleheaded smile are cowards. That woman has been put through the ringer and should look like it. Give her towering height. Give her absolutely chiseled abs. Give her terrifying scars snaking across her skin. Give her weird feathers and scales covering her body. Give her a scowl that could shatter glass. Give her a massive co-

Well… CapCut got banned alongside TikTok. I had known about TikTok getting banned, but CapCut? I’m genuinely shocked. I did not know about that. I use CapCut for any video projects I do. Without that, I need to find a new video editing app. If anyone has any recommendations, please send them my way.

“Are you ok?”

“Yargh, 𝓝𝓸.”

If any of you guys have some great Metroid or Murder Drones fanfics to share with me DM THEM… or comment or something!

fanfics are one of the best things that humanity has come up with. i fucking love reading stories about my favorite characters from people who have the same brainrot as me

Transfem dysphoria is like transforming into a Werewolf. You’re bulkier than you want, covered in a fuck ton of hair all over your body, your voice is deeper than you want to hear yourself as, people expect you to care less about kindness in that form, and people might ostracize you if they find out your secret other half but real homies will attempt to help remove that side of you that you dislike.

autism is living by vampire rules. light sensitivity. eating the wrong food makes you want to die. need to be explicitly invited places. weird sleep schedule. eating the same thing every time. specific rituals and routines. burst into flames at the sight of a crucifix. etc.

Told y’all I would voice this! (Comic by @molagboop )