CaptainPaco's Custom Minimates (Star Trek & DC plus more)

[Liney]

On 10/8/2025 at 7:48 PM, Captain Paco said:

buttheadsmate, sorry you must be outside the US. I am told by friends in the UK that imgur is not allowing it's content to be visible in the UK.  Not sure how else to get the images shared as I use imgur because it is free and I have over thousands of images stored there.

I am sorry but if I can find an means to share images other than via imgur. I will let you know

Can confirm this is the case - there's load of content of forums that we can longer see. I've been using Postimages — free image hosting / image upload, but can understand not wanting to swap platforms

[Captain Paco]

Liney, I respect your comment. However, I have too much in imgur that I had to move over from photobucket that I just don't want to switch to another platform. I have a good friend that can't see my Postimages files that I did as a test to try to switch to that platform.  I am at a loss for which service to use.  I have over a thousand images on imgur (public and private) and I had closer to three times as many on photobucket (personal and work related) that I lost because I could not get them all pulled out to get swapped to imgur. I will continue to  try and see about finding a good free host platform to store my image that may work for all the forums I am a part of.

Thank you for understanding the conflict.

[Padrino]

On 2/24/2026 at 8:07 AM, Liney said:

Can confirm this is the case - there's load of content of forums that we can longer see. I've been using Postimages — free image hosting / image upload, but can understand not wanting to swap platforms

VPN?

[cylonchaney]

flickr seems to work well for me. That's what I use to post my images.

[Captain Paco]

Hello, I know it has been a while since I was here.

I am back at tinkering with the parts of Minimates I have on hand.

I am creating a team of supervillains and the heroes that will fight them.

The team of villains is a trio I am calling the Trine of the Broken Seal. Then there will be other villains that come along to work with them when their goal align but not officially part of the Trine.

The heroes will be called the Vanguard. They consist of a trio of heroes who were born one the Jade Seal broke and created the Trine. The three main heroes will counter the Trine and then there will be an assorted group of allies that come along to assist and stick around to support the protection of the Earth and the Solar System from all threats cosmic, mystical, spiritual or physical.

So I hope to come May to get my idea done in physical form and get the backstories aligned. Then I will start taking pictures and posting here.

Stay Tuned.

Kam

[WookieFodder]

I’m Trine to comprehend what you’re saying here.

No but really that’s awesome. 

[cylonchaney]

You're pretty good at world / universe building. This should be fun.

[Captain Paco]

So TRINE

the definition as a noun is "an aspect of 120 degrees (one third of a circle); a set or group of three; another term for triad.

the definition as a verb (of a planet) be in trine with (another planet or position).

The Trine of the Broken Seal needs to start with the seal that became broken as it is all the origin concept of this universe.

 

Before kingdoms rose, before stars had names, The Seal was forged to bind what should never walk free.

Long before recorded history, the world was not a single realm - it was a crossroads of three planes: The Mortal Realm (Earth), The Spirit Realm (home to the ancestral forces) and the Astral Realm (cosmic consciousness and celestial beings). The realms overlapped freely and beings crossed between them without restriction. This created chaos, spiritual storms, cosmic predators, corrupted spirits and mortal suffering as humanity was caught in the middle.

Three great sages emerged (one from each realm) to restore balance. The Earth Sage was a mortal philosopher-king who sought harmony. The Spirit Sage was a guardian spirit who embodied order. The Astral Sage was a cosmic wanderer who understood the laws of creation. So, together the forged a pact to seal the boundaries between the realms. This boundary was The Jade Seal. This Jade Seal was forged from a cosmic jade meteorite that fell during a rare celestial alignment. It was fused with mortal will, spiritual essence and astral energy. This Jade Seal become a keystone in reality, stabilizing the three realities and preventing catastrophic overlap. The power was divided into three virtues, Power (Earth), Knowledge (Spirit) and Freedom (Astral). And due to the Jade Seal, the virtues were balanced perfectly within.

For centuries, the Jade Seal held the realms in harmony, but balance is fragile. A war erupted between The Spiritborn (those who wanted the realms reunited), The Astralborn (those who wanted to reshape reality) and Mortal Kings (those who wanted the Seal's power for themselves). During the final battle of this war, the seal was struck by three simultaneous forces: a Mortal Blade, a Spirit Curse and an Astral Beam. The seal shattered and the explosion tore through all three reams. The realms separated violently, spiritual rifts opened, ancient beings were trapped or displaced, time itself fractured in places. The three core virtues became shards, each carrying a fragment of the Seal's original power. 

The shards were then lost. The Shard of Power was buried beneath a mountain temple. The Shard of Knowledge was hidden in a forbidden library of the spirit realm. The Shared of Freedom was lost in a desert where the veil between realms was thin. For centuries they slept. That is until an ancient cult, The Order of the Broken Seal rediscovered them. The Order of the Broken Seal believed "to restore the Seal it to restore the world to its true form." They sought three worthy vessels to carry the shards.

The shards are dangerous in the fact that each shard amplifies the virture it represents. The Shard of Power is Strength without limit that becomes destruction. The Shard of Knowledge is Wisdom without empathy that becomes manipulation. The Shard of Freedom is Liberation without restraint that becomes chaos. The Seal kept these virtues in balance, Separated, they corrupt their bearers. This is why the Trine is so dangerous. They are not evil by nature, but warped by the imbalance of the broken seal.

[Padrino]

cannot wait to see these! Sounds fantastic! 

[Captain Paco]

So I am sorry to not immediately follow up with images, but I am still tweaking my ideas on the characters appearances and backstories as well as the story arc for the formation of the Vanguard that arises to fight the Trine.  I have some allies for each side as well so I want to get more established in my story arch and details ironed out before I start to share the images and bios. But they will be coming in the next week or two hopefully.

Thank you,

Kameron

[Captain Paco]

Part Two of the Broken Seal

 

For centuries, the shards slept, until the ancient cult, The Order of the Broken Seal, rediscovered them. The cult then sought three worthy vessels to carry the shards.

The Shard of Power was imbued to Yu-Min Arata who was a devote follower of the cult with a long familiar tie to the cause. She was chosen as she alone could withstand the overwhelming spiritual weight. She was given a hammer that was forged of the same jade that once formed the seal. Her hammer strikes resonate across both the physical and spiritual realms. Her abilities include Devastating Shockwave Strikes, Enhanced Strength and Resilience, Spiritual Weight Manipulation of the Hammer and Brief Bursts of Supernatural Speed. With the Shard of Power, Yu-Min donned the title of Jade Lotus.

The Shard of Knowledge was imbued to Ming-Yu who was once a scholar of forbidden arts, looking to be a great sorcerer. He sought enlightenment beyond mortal limits. He was chosen by the shard and was granted insight into spirit realm but it cost him all empathy. He now sees the world as a flawed manuscript that needs to be rewritten. His abilities include Conjuring Creatures and Constructs from Ink, Breaking Magical Seals and Wards, Summoning Spectral Dragon Fire and Extracting Memories or Secrets through touch. Ming-Yu now dons the title of Ink Serpent.

The Shard of Freedom was imbued to Jahan, was was a rogue spirit-touched wanderer who happened to stumble into the cult's sacred grounds and was chosen by the shard itself. He is the unpredictable element of the Trine as he rejected all chains, physical, spiritual or moral. His abilities include Shadow Stepping (short-range teleportation), Tracking across physical and spiritual planes, Dissolving into Smoke or Shadow and Sensing Fear and Emotional Weakness. Jahan now dons the title of Night Jackal.

The vessels of the three shards are now known as the Trine of The Broken Seal. This trio is not evil by nature but warped by the imbalance of the broken seal.

The counter-balance to the Trine is created to attempt to bring back the harmony that had existed until the shards took on vessels to do their bidding. This counter-balance is known as the Vanguard of Sol or the Vanguard of the Unbroken.

The abilities of these heroes were awakened by the many sages and scholars of the realms in an attempt to bring the Shards back under control and restore the harmony.

The initial Vanguard selection was that of Captain Nathaniel Braverman, who is a highly decorated Army officer. When the three shards bonded to their vessels, some energies released from the three realms and sought out to find a vessel of their own to fight the Trine. Captain Braverman was selected and imbued with Spiritual Resilience which amplified his natural strengths. His willpower is his weapon. His abilities include Courage Surge, which he gains Strength, Speed and Durability when he is protecting others; Aegis Field, a shimmering protective barrier that shields allies from mystical attacks; Battle Sense, momentary flashes of insight that help him anticipate danger; and Unbreakable Will, resistant to corruption, illusions and spiritual influences.  Captain Nathaniel Braverman now goes by the moniker of Commander Courageous.

The same energies sought out Mei-Lin Arata. These energies awakened her latent abilities that include Shadow Silk, energy ribbons she can shape into whips, shields or snares, Red Veil, a crimson aura that boosts her agility and stealth, Seal Sense, allows her to detect the presence and movement of the Jade Seal's shards and Mirror Step that allows her to teleport through reflective surfaces.  Mei-Lin is the cousin of Yu-Min, but her father defected from the cult and his family to move his wife and daughter to live a normal life in modern world. Mei-Lin now dons the moniker of Scarlet Shade.

A third member of this Vanguard was also selected to help in the fight and make a balance. Vincent Blaze was an archaeologist who was present at the site of the cult's main gathering and when an explosion occurred as the shards were being imbued to their vessels, he lost his right eye but at that same moment the energies that sought Nathaniel and Mei-Lin, also took a hold of him. His left eye become a conduit for his abilities. His hair became a living flame-not a physical fire but a spiritual fire that reacts to corruption and lies. He also has Inferno Sight as his left eye sees illusions, lies, spiritual entities and corruption in living beings. He has Flame Crown which is his hair that can intensify with emotions, Blaze-Step which allows him to teleport in bursts of flame and Purifying Fire that allows him to burn away curses, toxins and dark magic without harming the innocent.

 

There will be some other villains and some other heroes as I continue to tweak my thoughts.  I wanted to give you the basic idea of Trine and the Vanguard to hold you over as I continue to create the right representation of the concepts I have for the characters.  I do promise that in about two or three weeks, I will start sharing the images and more details for the assorted allies to each side.  I am working on universe that does not necessarily steal from other ideas and if I am it is only because I am working with what I know and I am not trying to out right steal anyone else's idea.