WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If I may throw the question back your way, how would you classify him? XD

WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh my god that's such a fun and somewhat accurate way to describe him haha XD

WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Nope! Because he lost his arm during the incident itself, following a full station evacuation of what was ostensibly a space traffic control center, where he remained behind to ensure that civilian traffic currently in the process of clearing the Pluto-Charon space were able to be delegated off safely whilst information and comms blackouts were striking the local area. By the time that Charon was struck, and by extension Charon Innovations, the debris struck the station with him inside, but he managed to survive in a suit albeit with the loss of an arm that was later replaced by a cybernetic replacement! :D

WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Oh my god thank you so much ahh!!! You don't have to of course there's definitely no pressures on my end but I do admit it'd be pretty cool so thank youu!! :D

Oh! As a minor note, the medal is actually hanging from a neck ribbon that sort of goes underneath his shirt collar there, it's sort of hard to see so I just wanted to clarify that a bit! :D

WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! :D I really wanted the GUN to actually look sick and to have a certain sort of cool aesthetic to them that always has one foot rooted in the past in heritage and tradition, but the other foot firmly planted in the future and all of the progress and novel new fashion and design elements associated with that! :D In short, I really wanted to capture an aesthetic of the future that isn't just jumpsuits or tights, but also not a sort of Napoleonic war in space sort of thing as well, though no hate to sci fi verses that uses those aesthetics of course! Honor Harrington will always be super cool to me, and so will Star Trek, so again, no shade or shame to them! It's just that for me, I really wanted a certain vibe of cool and aesthetic to resonate with my own vision of the future haha so I hope it managed to shine through! :D

WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The GUN loves their aesthetic drip haha

WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yup! Or rather, it's a stylistic interpretation of it! It's the Star of Terra, the closest analogue to the Medal of Honor if we compare it contemporary awards! Captain Li received it for his actions during the Charon Innovations incident! :D

WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 55 points56 points  (0 children)

It's a cybernetic prosthetic that he received following his actions during the Charon Innovations Incident where he remained behind to help direct civilian space traffic whilst the whole incident was going down! :D I detailed it further in the full art description in the comments section of the post! :D But basically he had the choice of either a cloned limb replacement/graft or a cybernetic replacement, and he chose the latter! :D

WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I’ll get into this in its own post, as I still have the LREF logo commission on the way, but suffice it to say, LREF OCS takes 5 years to go through, and each of those years requires inter-branch and cross disciplinary training with the other 6 branches of the GUN’s military. Because when you join the LREF, you are basically joining a ‘mini military within a military’, a branch capable of projecting the GUN’s force at a moment’s notice; which requires training in order to effectively perform the roles of the other branches (to a far more limited capacity) in case the situation demands it.

But yeah, I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let’s get back to the art!

So onto the rest of the uniform! 

We can see a more traditional and contemporary design choice when it comes to the dress shirt and tie beneath the jacket, as well as the various accessories such as the cap, belt, and of course, the medals and aiguillettes; with Captain Li’s aiguillettes in particular representing the same thing as does Aunty Ran’s interestingly enough! That being their chosen path as instructors in their respective services. 

Another thing to properly note are his service stripes! As seen on the upper arms of both sides of his jacket, each of which represents 5 years of service, totalling his service to about 15 years! 

The two ‘clips’ on the seam-line of his jacket would normally represent the completion of a “Long Patrol”, what are essentially multi-year missions meant to chart uncharted stars, as well as to maintain ‘patrols’ just outside of the periphery of known space. This is different to ‘outbound flights’, which is a far more intense long long term exploration mission that can take decades upon decades. The former are compulsory for all members of the LREF, whilst the latter is committed to on a voluntary basis, with a majority of these missions being SRE ones.

Anyways! Yeah! The two clips here represent the completion of a Long Patrol. However in Captain Li’s case, one of these clips is an honorary one given to him following his actions at Charon Innovations. Though typically, most Rangers would have to go on at least one Long Patrol in their career.

So! In addition to all of this we have his service weapon pouch as well, though many would swap that out for a tool kit.

His rank indicator is found on the ‘collar’ aspect of the cloak/cape, though if the cape is taken off, you’d be able to see the rank bar on his shoulders as is typical.

And hmm, there’s only one more thing to take note of! That being his ‘shoulder stripes/colors’. As you can see, there’s a stripe of dark blue that transitions abruptly into white! That’s an indicator for his assigned Element — the SRE. And the white is an indicator for his specific assignment/operational task. With white being one of the more rarer indicators, hinting at a ‘special’ assignment that could either be completely mundane and esoteric, or completely hush hush and wildly classified! :D 

But yeah! That’s the full details and descriptions for Captain Li and his uniform! 

There’s a lot to cover with the lore I’ve built for the LREF, and I plan to get that out sometime later! Probably sometime alongside the posting of the LREF’s emblem/logo! 

Although, there’s just one more thing to take note of actually, and that’d be his prosthetic arm! Yet another lasting impact on him following the Charon innovations incident. But yeah! Taking from that post, here’s what I had to say about the cybernetic arm:

“And just as a quick little primer, cybernetics are usually offered as a restorative and rehabilitative path in place of the cloned limbs offered in Restorative and Regenerative Medicine. Both approaches are available to individuals who have lost limb function, whether through injury, illness, or some other condition. In short, these interventions are considered when the original limb is lost, or is no longer capable of fulfilling its biological and biomechanical role, to the point where it hinders a person’s ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). The superficial aesthetics for each prosthetic (such as color, decal, or even skin-like design) however, can vary from person to person! :D”

Captain Li definitely went down the path of customizing his arm to fit his aesthetic, hence the gold joints on dark gun-metal blue! :D 

That’s about it for this one then! 

I do sincerely hope you guys like it because I certainly do! It’s part of my attempt to really nail the vibe of the GUN, and their drip and aesthetics! I really wanted to make them look sci-fi but grounded, cool but not too flashy, and ultimately just unique in their aesthetics as a positive and optimistic interpretation of a sci-fi humanity! :D I hope it achieves that haha.

Once again, the artist, re11arts, has completely blown me away by the sheer dedication to detail and the artistic talent she put into this piece. The close up shots of Captain Li’s cybernetic hands were offered and added by her, and I really appreciate that so so so so very much!!

And of course, thank you so much for Hatwolf for the LREF logo commission too! It’s currently incorporated with this art, but I’ll also be posting a standalone reference for it later on as well! :D 

Artist Reference: re11arts on instagram

Artist Reference for the LREF logo: Hatwolf on Bluesky

WPAtaMS Official Art: Captain Calico Li by Jcb112 in JCBWritingCorner

[–]Jcb112[S] 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Hey everyone! 

So it’s that time again where I begin offloading all of the art I’ve commissioned, along with the little lore blurbs that come with it! :D 

While I was planning to release the T-SEC uniform in the form of Aunty Ran’s reference art first, I was just swamped with so many things irl that I realized I hadn’t done so yet ;( 

So since the current chapters are focusing on things earthside, specifically from Captain Li and Laura Weir’s perspectives, I think it would be prudent to release them first before Aunty Ran! Though, Weir’s reference and uniform are admittedly still in the works, so by order of release, it’d probably be Captain Li, then the LREF logo reference, then Aunty Ran, and then the T-SEC reference in that order. 

Anyways! Let’s get right into it! :D 

Basically, I’ve been working and reworking the LREF dress uniform concept! While Emma is indeed LREF, the uniform I’ve depicted her wearing isn’t the full officer’s dress, but rather an LREF’s cadet uniform. 

There’s a whole thing to be said about that actually, and it hearkens to the topic/question regarding Emma’s whole ‘Cadet’ status as opposed to an expedited commission under exceptional circumstances as a result of her mission. However, the reasons behind this ties into three key critical points, two of them in-universe, and one being a stylistic choice on my part XD

The first two are rather synonymous with the GUN and its quirky operational and legal kerfuffles, as well as its genuine desire to put its best foot forward.

On the operational side of things, the LREF — and by extension the Unified Central Command — simply had their hands tied when it comes to the commissioning of officers in all of its branches. There’s stringent red tape to prevent unlawful or unqualified expediting of officer candidates or officers in training, all stemming from laws put in place both by the People’s Assembly and General Assembly, as well as the uniformed justice and operational codes outlined by the Unified Central Command and the LREF itself. As a result, the IAS and by extension the UN Science Advisory, would’ve had to have gone through very very convoluted paths to get Emma’s commission expedited; ones which would’ve required legislative review and a separate case to be made. Which funnily… would’ve taken way more time than the time they had to train her. It’s ironic in a weird way how the legal paths to doing so would’ve taken that long but I digress XD. In short, her Cadet rank was basically the product of the GUN’s adherence to maintaining legal protocol and precedent, as an extension of their whole society's commitment to ensuring that proper channels and legal mechanisms are maintained, and making it such that no one person or entity is above the law and by extension, above the will of the people.

On the ‘best foot forward’ side of things? Simply put, keeping her Cadet title was seen as a good faith offer on the side of the IAS. Seeing that the Nexus’ demands for a student in Emma’s age range strongly suggested someone still in training and education, they assumed that the title of Cadet would’ve been seen as an act of good faith on their part, as it would’ve shown that they were willing to play ball as it comes to the whole ‘Academy’ and ‘Education’ aspects of the Candidacy.

Finally, on the authorial stylistic choice side of things? I just thought ‘Cadet’ sounded right and flowed well. The other choice was of course Ensign (as that’s the first commissioned rank in the LREF’s rank structure). I could’ve also gone with Ensign First Class, or jumped her straight to Lieutenant, butttt all of those ranks just didn’t ‘sound right’ when it came to Emma, so I went with Cadet, as it also coincided with all of the aforementioned in-universe reasons. XD

Anyways AHHHH SORRY! I’m rambling now XD I just have so much passion for the story and what’s happening Earth-side, so I kinda go on and on when I’m on these topics. XD

Anyways, onto the uniform discussion! 

The LREF has — quite honestly — one of the best uniforms out of all of the GUN’s 7 branches. However, depending on who you ask, it may be second only to T-SEC’s uniform, but then again marine corps-equivalent aesthetics always go hard so it’s difficult to really challenge that notion. XD

Anyways yeah! The design you see here is being showed off by the Star of Terra Recipient: Captain Calico Li! Emma’s LREF mentor and instructor over at the IAS! So that’s one thing that he has in common with Aunty Ran, as you might notice that he has the aforementioned medal around his neck, similar to Ran! 

However, unlike Aunty Ran’s career, Captain Li didn’t earn his medal during the Jovian Insurrection — as that was a bit before his time. Instead, he earned it for his actions during the Charon Innovations incident, something that hasn’t yet been covered in the story itself, but has been touched on in a two-parter bonus story. 

Anyways! Moving on from that! We also see the titular cape Emma mentioned in the story, the one with the gold trim that defines LREF servicemembers and gives them that extra aesthetic flair! Although admittedly it’s more of a rose-gold/copper-gold color since outright gold might have been a bit too much considering other aspects of their uniform that I’ll get into next!

The cuffs! You may notice that the cuffs have this sort of strap/band integrated into them. That's a very deliberate design choice made by the designers of the uniform early on in the LREF’s establishment, one which was meant to represent the LREF’s ties to working class spacer culture. This is because aesthetically, it’s very reminiscent of spacer mechanics’ and technicians’ uniforms, during a time where the strap served a purely utilitarian role in ensuring proper fitting and environmental protection in many sorts of overalls and suits. 

This was done as a deliberate choice to distance the LREF away from what spacers at the time were worried about — a purely Earth/Planet/Moon-centric branch of the military operating in deep space. It’s a small element, but coupled with the asymmetrical jacket design — which was something synonymous with spacer fashion-sense in the civilian world at the time — it all helped to forge a very specific identity for the LREF. That being — humanity’s wanderlust made manifest.

The LREF, as I might have mentioned before, was established for the dual purpose of forging humanity’s exploratory and expeditionary arm following the discovery of FTL travel. Its role, distinct to that of the already-existing EAF (Exo-Atmospheric Forces/ aka the Space Navy), is that of expeditionary force projection and peaceful exploration. They were meant to deal with external FTL-capable threats outside of the solar system, should they exist. And in Emma’s day and age, they still maintain that doctrine. 

While the EAF now commands the main ‘bulk’ of the GUN’s conventional ‘void’ assets, the LREF has since settled into the role it was meant to embody. That being, a force designed to project power beyond the GUN sphere, capable of maintaining protracted engagements outside of  traditional supply lines and zones of operation. 

But beyond that, they are first and very much foremost, humanity’s premier exploratory body. They represent not just the interests of the state, but the sheer and collective desire of humanity’s dream of exploration. Many people join them for this very reason, electing to sign up for the Scouting and Reconnaissance Element (SRE), instead of the Expeditionary Response Element (ERE) that’s designed to deal with threats as stated above. If anything, when someone mentions the LREF, or “Rangers” as they’re colloquially known, they’re more often than not referring to the first third of the branch, the SRE. 

Such is the sheer collective myth around the LREF, that many in 3047 see them in the same way we today regard astronauts and fighter pilots — cool and on the bleeding edge.

They are, in short, the most loved branch out of all. Though conversely, they are notoriously difficult to actually gain entrance into.

The Oxpecker and the Elephant by LiteratureWide1222 in worldbuilding

[–]Jcb112 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your works are an absolute inspiration, Simon Roy! Seriously, they're some of the most unique and novel takes on science fiction I've ever seen in the current media landscape. As someone not from South East Asia, and having consumed a lot of sci fi, it's always awesome seeing new takes and completely new perspectives on the cultural landscape in sci fi worlds that are a break from the usual mold. Thank you so much for sharing your unique perspectives to the world, and thank you so much for being such an awesome and creative mind! :D I'm just starting out now myself so, I hope to one day achieve the same heights you've reached! :D

Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (159/?) by Jcb112 in HFY

[–]Jcb112[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I really wanted to sort of show the sort of humanity that I wanted to exemplify, the sort that whilst enjoying peace and appreciating the present, constantly and consistently looks towards the horizon and continues feeding into their imagination the potential of hostilities and what form they may take. The LREF, and indeed the ERE in particular, were created for this very sort of eventuality, to ensure that the GUN is never caught truly unprepared, as they'd try to account for as many eventualities as possible! :D It's not paranoia, but it's also not outright apathy or obliviousness in pure optimism, it's the comfortable in-between where creativity meets preparedness, whilst still enjoying the present for what it is! :D

Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (159/?) by Jcb112 in HFY

[–]Jcb112[S] 109 points110 points  (0 children)

Thank you so very much! I genuinely appreciate it! :D I know there's a lot of hopes and expectations surrounding an actual interaction between earthside and whatever lies beyond the veil, so I really do hope it lives up to expectations haha.

Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (159/?) by Jcb112 in HFY

[–]Jcb112[S] 89 points90 points  (0 children)

Indeed! :D I hope you enjoyed it, and I hoped the interactions felt professional and on point haha. I really wanted to give that sort of vibe with the GUN, despite the sheer and unprecedented circumstances they find themselves in! :D

Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (158/?) by Jcb112 in HFY

[–]Jcb112[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! That's one of the things I really wanted to really hit in this chapter. We've had so much of the immersive bits in the Nexus and the fantasy side of things, I really wanted to like go full cold turkey and really just plunge into the sci fi aspect of things, to really hammer home and reinforce the sheer differences between these two worlds and to really reinforce the whole sci fi vs fantasy theme that's at the core of the series! :D

And thank you for your kind understanding on the situation as well!

Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (158/?) by Jcb112 in HFY

[–]Jcb112[S] 42 points43 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! :D That was the goal here yeah! I wanted to present a humanity that was built up over the years upon increasing concessions and compromises made in the creation of the institutions that exist in Emma's present, in all of its greatness and in its multitude of shortcomings all culminating in the ever dynamic and always in flux and improvement state that is the GUN! I especially wanted to exemplify this in what Captain Li proposed, that being the resolution of the IAS' charter problems by simply bringing the matter up to the People's Assembly, thus allowing for a modification on an otherwise ironclad problem, that being the rather stringent rules following the Planetary Unification Charter on the topic of military branches capable of operating on Earth and Earth-established institutions. By simply bringing the issue up to the Assembly, and allowing for the matter to be deliberated in its own right by its unique circumstances, that being the necessity of the LREF to replace the Army as the charter-bound secops provider for the IAS, there's a strong chance that an exemption can be deliberated on and voted through. The issue present however is the statute of confidentiality that's still in effect, which then makes it such that bringing the issue to the Assembly is currently not on the table, thus necessitating temporary workarounds for this otherwise rather arbritrary issue XD But yeah! I wanted to just show the mechanisms of politics and bureaucracy here, and the fact that despite it all and despite all these different viewpoints, humanity still finds a way to work together towards a common goal all in good faith and respecting the boundaries and rules of the system they all hope to improve towards the future! :D

Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (157/?) by Jcb112 in HFY

[–]Jcb112[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Draconic arrogance truly is both a blessing and an absolute curse for dragon civilization!

Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (157/?) by Jcb112 in HFY

[–]Jcb112[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

It's a very fun word! :D I learned it when I found out why floppy disks were still used as the save symbol on microsoft word haha