Hey. I'm Matt, a.k.a. Okami SonicChaos. I write stuff.

In case it wasn't obvious, I'm a pretty big Okami fan. It was one of my favorite games back on the PS2, and I'm still hoping that CashCapcom revisits it for a true sequel some day (or at the very least sell the IP to someone who will). The original was just such a complete package and left so many open ends that it'd be a shame for it not to continue. Until that happens, though, I'll be here, writing my own versions of how things might go.

Besides Okami, I'm a big fan of the Halo series. Some of you might know me as sonicchaos1993/SonicNachos from GrifballHub, where I served as commissioner of the AGLA for just over a year and as Head of Advertising for the same league for a year before that. I also used to be fairly active over on the Hamumu forums, and have been a moderator over there for several years.

I'm always willing to provide critique on stories about games I'm into (and appreciate receiving critique in return), and I'm always open to suggestions for future stories for aforementioned games. Just keep in mind that my time is very limited, and it will likely take me a while to get around to making any writing suggestions I get into a reality.

If you want to keep up with me outside of my writings, feel free to check out my Twitter.

Writing Updates:

I try to focus on one main story at a time when I write, as I don't like to leave things unfinished. You might see me post a couple of extra one-shot stories on the side here and there, but generally only one of my longer stories will be receiving regular updates at a time.

At the moment, my Okami fic For All Eternity is my main focus on here. Ideally I'd like to be doing weekly updates for that story, but between school and work I don't know if that's realistic at the moment, so more likely updates to that will come as I have time to do them. I'd rather wait a bit longer between updates and be pushing out well-written content rather than rushing things to fit an arbitrary deadline.

Okami Mythology Notes:

In many of my Okami writings, I use a number of characters that may not have appeared in the games (or if they did, did so in a limited role) but are prominent in Shinto mythology upon which the world of Okami was based. For additional context for these characters, I've compiled a list of notes on Shinto myths that explain a bit more about these characters.

Amaterasu: Amaterasu-Ōmikami is commonly used as Ammy's full name in Shinto myths, derived from Amateru ("shining in heaven") and ōmikami (essentially "great god"). Literally, her full name translates to "The great god who shines in heaven." "Okami" also translates to "great god/spirit," and in the games it seems like they use this term in place of "Ōmikami", but as far as accuracy to Shinto myths goes "Ōmikami" is technically the correct term. As I try to follow the myths that Okami was based on in my writings, you may at times see me refer to Amaterasu's full name as Amaterasu-Ōmikami.

Tsukuyomi: Although the game refers to Tsukuyomi as Nagi's sword which was used to slay True Orochi, in Shinto myths Tsukuyomi is actually a fairly major figure. He is the god of the moon and Amaterasu's brother. He, Amaterasu, and Susanoo (the god of storms) were born when their father Izanagi cleansed himself after attempting to revive his wife from the afterlife. Amaterasu was born when he cleansed his left eye, Tsukuyomi when he cleansed his right eye, and Susanoo when he cleansed his nose. Original myths show Amaterasu hating Tsukuyomi after he kills Uke Mochi (goddess of food), hence why the sun and moon never shine at the same time, but later renditions of the myth show Susanoo as the one killing Mochi instead. I use the later telling of the myth in the majority of my writings, as the way I depict them, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi are far too amicable to each other for the earlier rendition to make sense.

Susanoo (yes, it's spelled with two O's; no, he's not the drunken warrior from the game) is Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi's brother. Like them, he was born when Izanagi cleaned his face after his encounter with his deceased wife (Izanami) in the afterlife. In Shinto mythology, he is considered the god of the sea as well as the god of storms. In every interpretation of the myths that I've seen, he's shown to be almost constantly at odds with Amaterasu. One of the oldest myths depicting him tells of a contest between the two of them, where they each used a divine item from the other to birth gods and goddesses. Both claimed victory at the end and Susanoo ended up on a rampage, destroying Amaterasu's rice fields, killing one of her attendants, and throwing a flayed pony (which was one of her sacred animals) at her loom. Following this, Amaterasu, furious and in grief, hid in a cave for days, causing the sun to vanish. Although she was eventually drawn back out, Susanoo was banished from heaven as a result of his outburst. Some adaptations of Shinto mythology also have Susanoo killing the goddess of food, Uke Mochi (as opposed to Tsukuyomi which seems to be the more common interpretation). For the sake of my Okami writings I use the former interpretation.

Izanagi: Although the game never makes reference to him (though Nagi in the game is named after him), Izanagi is a major figure in Shinto mythology. In every edition of the myths that I've seen, he, along with his wife (and sister, but let's not think about that) Izanami are the ones who shaped the Earth and the land of Japan/Nippon into what they are today. They also birthed a number of deities. One of the most infamous myths is that of Izanagi's attempt to revive Izanami from the afterlife, an experience that led to the cycle of life and death, and also led to the birth of Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo, who were born when Izanagi cleaned his face after returning to the world of life.

Izanami: Like Izanagi, she is never referred to in the games, but she is also a major figure in Shinto myths. According to legend, she was killed while giving birth to the god of fire, and Izanagi traveled to the underworld in an attempt to bring her back to life. However, in the process, he saw her dead, rotting form and abandoned her. Filled with fury and shame, she swore to destroy a thousand souls each day if Izanagi was to leave her, to which he promised to give life to 1,500 more each day, thus creating the cycle of life and death. It's important to note that she is not Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo's mother - they were born by the sole power of Izanagi, and thus technically don't have a mother.

Other Brush Gods: As far as I can tell from the research I've done, most of the other brush gods don't actually exist in the Shinto pantheon, or if they do, have very, very minor roles. Some, however, do have some similarities to some of the actual gods. Namely, Yumigami seems to share some similarities with Tsukuyomi (how she first attacks Amaterasu in the game is potentially a reference to the conflict between Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi in many renditions of the myths, and like Tsukuyomi she has power over the moon), and Gekigami has some similarities with Susanoo (Susanoo, as the god of storms, has power over lightning; Gekigami also attacks Amaterasu upon meeting him in-game which, like in the case of Yumigami, could be a reference to the conflict between Ammy and Susanoo that many Shinto myths are based around).

Okami characters named after mythology figures: You might notice that many of the names popping up in this section from Shinto myths sound very familiar. This is actually due to the fact that many of the characters met in Okami are named after major mythology figures, even though their role is very different. Namely, Nagi, Nami, and Susano are all named after members of the Shinto pantheon. Nagi and Nami are named after Izanagi and Izanami respectively, two of the oldest gods who were married to each other. In Shinto myths, Izanami dies during the process of creation, and Izanagi travels to the afterlife to revive her. While there, she tells him not to look at her until she has negotiated her release from death, but Izanagi disobeys. Seeing his wife's decayed corpse, he runs from the afterlife in terror, after which he cleanses himself. In doing so, he births three of the major methods of the Shinto pantheon: Amaterasu, goddess of the sun; Tsukuyomi, god of the moon; and Susanoo, god of the sea and storms. In turn, Susanoo is the basis of Susano's name in the games, possibly a reference to a Shinto myth where Susanoo slew Orochi by trapping and intoxicating each of its heads.

Favorite Series/Games:

Generally, I'm willing to critique stories set in the following franchises, if asked nicely. Just be aware that I am normally stretched thin most days so it may often take some time for me to get around to doing any requests for critiques.

Okami
Sonic the Hedgehog
Pokemon
Halo
Mass Effect
Jak & Daxter
Metroid
Spyro (pre-Skylanders)