Amicus

Amicus is the deuteragonist of the Sci-Fi Romance Visual Novel Adastra by Echo Project.
He’s an alien Wolf from the titular Moon, Adastra and the heir to the Wolven throne who, after the death of the Emperor, his father, has to compete for it against his brother Cassius, with the assistance of his sister Virginia and the Khemian Neferu. In an attempt to improve his publicity, Amicus will end up on Earth in search for a human to make his “pet”, which will end in the impulsive wolf accidentally kidnapping the human student Marco, the two of them having to form an uneasy alliance and thread carefully in Adastra’s cut-throat politics, yet, eventually, falling in love.
He later appears again as the deuteragonist in Interea and as a supporting character in the sequel Khemia, both Visual Novels currently being works in progress.
==Appearance==
Amicus is a large, muscular yet portly humanoid wolf. He has light blue eyes, dark grey fur and light grey underbelly, muzzle, thick eyebrows, inner ears and a birthmark on his forehead in the shape of a downward arrow, a trait he shares with his siblings. He has a very large, black nose and, when he has his mouth closed, his right upper canine will still perk out of his lips.
He’s usually seen with blue, denim short pants (which he wears to appear hip with the crowds) and a light red cape over his shoulders, which is patched with a small gold and azure disk. On his body there are various jewels, such as multiple golden bracelets on his arms, a necklace with what appear to be three blue crystals on it and a white piercing on his chin.
After becoming Emperor, he starts donning a golden laurel crown on his head.
==Personality==
Befitting a future Emperor, Amicus is bold, competitive and confident, as well as strong-willed when it comes to doing what’s right.
Much less befitting of the charge is how easy-going Amicus is, the friendly wolf often taking some duties of formalities less seriously than he should in favor of having fun and spending time with what little friends he manages to have in his lonely life within the palace.
His masculine confidence can, often, leave way for a more endearingly dorky side, especially when trying to learn some Human customs from Marco or when trying to ask him out on a date.
Although he can be a bit grumpy when having a bad day or when he distrusts someone, like he did with Neferu; when he truly gets attached to someone, like he did with Marco, Amicus will strive to always protect them and make them as happy and comfortable as he can.
His confidence and optimism can, however, make Amicus act really impulsively and not think things through, which lead to him having to rashly abduct Marco in the first place and would later contribute in the two losing the first trial, as Amicus had severely underestimated just how much preparation they needed.In stark contrast to the duplicitous villains and even some of the other, very pragmatic heroes, Amicus is an honest, genuine person who wouldn’t be able to hide any ulterior motives even if he tried. On one hand, this makes him very trust-worthy and endearing, even being the one person both Marco and Virginia could always trust; on the other hand, this made Amicus pretty vulnerable to the sinister, subtle machinations in the ruthless world of Adastra’s politics, with more than one villain in the Novel playing the poor boy like a fiddle.
That being said, Amicus is not completely incapable of pragmatism, such as being able to act cordial to the Triumvirs, necessary political allies that he doesn’t like one bit, and sometimes taking advantage of an enemy’s misfortune rather than putting honor before reason.
After being cruelly exposed as homosexual against his will when he was just a teen, Amicus spent many years being insecure over his sexuality and distrusting any potential love. Only with Marco, who came out as homosexual as well, could Amicus finally truly confide in a lover again. Soon enough, being with Marco for the rest of his life became Amicus’ priority, to the point of defiantly standing up to what are basically gods to not lose him.
Due to his aristocratic upbringing, Amicus can be very childish and sometimes even spoiled. On top of how irresponsible he can be, Amicus is not very good at controlling his emotions, most notably his anger, as any threats towards his loved ones or even just a very scathing insult can really get under his skin, making him even violent in the worst situations.
Amicus is patriotic towards Adastra as any other wolf, with history even being his favorite subject when studying and he is always proud to keep up the best, most valorous aspects of wolven culture. Unlike many of his kind, however, Amicus doesn’t adhere to his culture’s more xenophobic ideals, such as its long history of what’s practically slavery and the spreading desire for isolationism from the rest of the Galaxias. Amicus intends to use his power as Emperor to resolidify alliances with the other Sibling species, especially the Khemians, and, within Adastra itself, plans to bring gradual social change so as to, in the long run, do away with the slavery of Children species and the inequality towards wolven women, among other fundamental problems in the Moon, all with the good of his people in mind. That being said, Amicus is still a product of his people and, while merely misguided, he can sometimes say things that are no big deal in Adastran society, but are very bigoted by our and Marco’s standards, such as some pretty insensitive comments towards the same Khemians he wants to fix political relations with and not understanding how addressing a woman with “woman” could be demeaning. Amicus, likely, does get better in this regards thanks to lectures by a more culturally sensitive Marco.
While definitely not the brains, Amicus is the brawn among him, Marco, Virginia and Neferu, as he’s strong, athletic and has both courage and fighting spirit to match, which is useful to the heroes on more than one occasion, especially since only Amicus can put up a fight against Cato.
Probably so as to make up for abducting him against his will when they first met, Amicus makes sure to always keep Marco comfortable and, after the two become boyfriends, he always ensures the human consents to any and all initiatives of his.
Like all other Siblings, Amicus originally respected and feared the Parents as if they were gods (which, in practice, they are), flinching at Marco so much as doubting them. After being presented with their questionable plans, however, Amicus himself became much more critical and defiant of them, while still being confident in their plot.
Amicus can also be very mischievous and tease his friends, especially Marco after they become lovers, but is not as good at receiving teasing as he is at dishing it out, as it’s very easy for the equally as mischievous Marco to fluster or annoy him.He becomes much more respectable and pragmatic after having risen to the throne, taking on a more collected, if somewhat fabricated persona when attending to his duties as Emperor. His growth into a more responsible ruler is further helped by the advice of his more reasonable sister, Virginia, whom he nominated as his imperial Advisor. In Khemia, Amicus, who has now been Emperor for 3 years, appears to have shed a lot of his original immaturity and is now much wiser, even scolding Neferu’s impulsiveness in a similar way to how Virginia would’ve lectured Amicus himself years prior and, while he still is a very emotional, short-tempered person, he now has much more restraint over his emotions, or, at least, is able to express them like a strict leader rather than a manchild.
==Abilities==
*Peak Physical Condition: Amicus is just as strong as his huge, muscular build suggests, with only Cato being able to overpower him in a fair fight, while the other characters, even the muscular Neferu and the huge Brunis, are very much dwarfed by him. Unlike what his portly, top-heavy build suggests, however, Amicus is also quite the fast runner and very athletic, being able to even do headstands. With his strength comes equally as impressive resilience, as the strike of a heavy metal pipe against his neck and being plunged into a stone stairway (to the point where the stone itself was damaged) only left bruises on him and he merely fell unconscious when hit with an electric charge that is supposed to tranquilize elephants.
**Pugnu skills: On top of incredible strength, Amicus has amazing reflexes and technique thanks to his training in the combat-based sport of Pugnu. He’s able to deliver precise blows, can calibrate the power of his attacks and has great reflexes, as shown when he’s able to stop a very strong kick right before it comes in contact with Marco’s groin, and is knowledgeable enough to even instruct others, such as when he taught Marco some self-defense techniques.
**Swimming skills: In spite of his thick fur and build weighing him down, Amicus is shown to be a very fast swimmer. That being said, Marco notes that he puts a bit too much effort into his strokes when in the water and is a bit clumsy, and he’s initially very sloppy when Marco teaches him free-style, but, as Marco attests to, Amicus turns out to be a very quick learner.
*Leadership: Childish streak aside, Amicus has all the charisma an Emperor would ever need. Possibly owing, in part, to his deep, powerful voice, he’s a very good orator as, while Cassius always drew in bigger crowds, Amicus’ own speeches were, nevertheless, attended by hundreds of thousands of people and he fares well in the second Trial through his eloquence and theatrical mannerisms, on top of his agenda. After becoming Emperor of Adastra, Amicus becomes the most powerful and respected figure in the Empire, which includes complete control over Com, the A.I. that runs the imperial palace, and the ability to have almost-direct dialogue with the Parents. To help the public welfare of his people, he starts opening up to diplomacies in the Galaxias once more, even partially fixing centuries worth of diplomatic damage in three years and making an alliance with Khemia possible again. Amicus is very pragmatic about his plans to bring social change to Adastra, as he knows how gradual it has to be and, in his speeches, is willing to say bigoted things he doesn’t agree with so as to not alienate the oft conservative civilians.
*Knowledge: Although subpar at Mathematics, Amicus is very knowledgeable in History (or, at least, the History records the people of Adastra are provided with, which are sometimes untruthful and propagandistic), a passion he uses to build his political opinion and enrich his speeches. Like most Siblings, Amicus does not actually know how the technology that the Parents gifted the Galaxies with actually functions, but is otherwise perfectly capable of using it, as he’s even able to competently pilot his late father’s spaceship. Although he still needs some work, Amicus is more knowledgeable than any other in the Galaxias when it comes to Earth and Human cultures, which he starts studying to make Marco’s stay more comfortable and to prepare to one day establish relations with the Humans.
*Canid Physiology: As an Adastran, Amicus possesses all the attributes of an anthropomorphic wolf, including enhanced senses of smell and hearing and sharp teeth and claws. While the rules of Pugnu normally forbid the usage of these latter two animalistic features in combat, they become useful when Amicus has to challenge Cato to a duel to the death as a last resort to stop him.
*Musical skills: At the start of the first Trial, Amicus and Cassius have to play a bizarre brass instrument and howl a brief song. Although he has little frame of reference when it comes to this alien music, Marco claims that Amicus’ performance was easier on the ears between the two.
==Weaknesses==
*Impulsiveness: Amicus’ overconfidence often clouds his better judgement and, throughout the Visual Novel, he makes a lot of foolish, barely-planned decisions or underestimates how much preparation he needs and he will often let his emotions lead his actions. His impulsiveness leads to Marco being stuck in Adastra in the first place.
*Transparency: Unlike Alexios or Virginia, Amicus is very bad at lying, manipulating or hiding any secret plan and most characters can often see right through him. He’s even worse at hiding his strong emotions, and will often express them with little to no restraint. Even if this makes him very trust-worthy, it also greatly damages his odds in Adastra’s ruthless, Machiavellian politics.
*Vulnerability to belly rubs: A much less serious weakness; Amicus, being a canid, can’t resist belly rubs at all and will enter a trance when given one.
*Mathematical ineptitude: Mathematics confuse Amicus, who in eclipsed by Cassius in the subject, and he will often get the answers wrong. Amicus’ dislike of Maths is further aggravated by the harshness and physical abuse of its teacher towards Amicus.
==Reception==
On the Itch.io site, Adastra currently has a 5 Star rating from almost two-thousand reviews. Amicus is one of the most praised aspects of the Visual Novel, as his confidence, kindness, loyalty and often even dorkiness endeared him to many, which helped, as Amicus is the character that the POV main protagonist, Marco, falls in love with in the story.
His masculine design also contributed greatly to his popularity, and Amicus is very well-liked among both the furry and the bara fandoms, respectively for being an attractive anthropomorphic wolf and for being a muscular yet hefty gentle giant.
==Trivia==
*Fitting his good-hearted nature, “Amicus” is ancient Latin for “friend”.
*Adastra’s artist HAPS first laid out Amicus‘ design when sketching during a Geometry lesson he wasn’t paying attention to.
**Amicus‘ own dislike of Maths in the Visual Novel may be a subtle nod to this.
*Starting with a keychain and later a plushie in his image, Amicus was the very first Echo Project character to have merchandise about him made and sold.
*He can be seen as the heroic foil to Cato as, although both are incredibly strong wolves determined to become Emperor, the two are otherwise polar opposites:
**Amicus is more open-minded than most wolves and intends to establish an alliance between Adastra and Khemia and, later, the rest of the Galaxias, while Cato is a complete xenophobe and plans to become Emperor so as to restart the war between Wolves and Khemians;
**Amicus is very patriotic and acts with the good of all wolves in mind, while Cato, for all his jingoism, would, in fact, doom wolven civilisation out of spite for his enemies;
**Amicus started out as childish and impulsive, but, after becoming Emperor, learned to act much more pragmatically, growing wiser along the way, in contrast to Cato, who started out as a seemingly reasonable and respectable authority figure, but shew a much more depraved, blood-thirsty and short-sighted streak after becoming Emperor;
**After becoming his boyfriend, Amicus always went out of his way to make Marco comfortable and would always ask for his consent before any and all initiatives, while Cato tried to forcefully marry Virginia, with very likely plans of marital rape;
**Amicus, while still having his followers, was a pretty controversial figure in Adastra due to his progressiveness and homosexuality and Cassius always eclipsed him in public popularity, but in the end, Amicus was able to become a respected and mostly popular leader, while Cato was originally a well-respected war hero but, after showing his true colors, was eventually so despised among the wolves that cries of joy over his death at Amicus‘ hands could literally be heard miles away;
**when it comes to presentation, Amicus‘ name in the in-game dialogue is in a vibrant orange, while Cato’s in a bleak, greyish brown;
**Overall, Amicus is a good-hearted young adult who embodies the egalitarian part of Adastra that wants social change and alliance with the Siblings, while Cato is a despicable elder who embodies the conservative, xenophobic part of Adastra who wishes for isolationism or even imperialism towards the Galaxias.
*Amicus wears a very strong lavender perfume. In traditional flower symbolism, lavender is used to represent calmness, serenity and grace, which is ironic since Amicus is burly, boisterous and short-tempered, but also purity and devotion, which are already more fitting for Amicus, who’s loyal and good-hearted.
*He’s 2.1m tall and weighs 135kg.
==External Links==
Amicus on the Echo Project Wiki
Category:In Love
Category:Monarchs
Category:Protectors
Category:Video Game Heroes
Category:Indie/Doujin Heroes
Category:Science Fantasy Heroes
Category:Aliens
Category:Anthropomorphic
Category:Optimists
Category:Mischievous
Category:Fighters
Category:Wrathful
Category:Benevolent Rulers
Category:Wealthy
Category:Brutes
Category:Animals
Category:Aristocrats
Category:Strong-Willed
Category:Arrogant
Category:Successful
Category:The Chosen One
Category:Big Good
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Nurturers
Category:Honorable
Category:Good Vs. Good
Category:False Antagonist
Category:Benefactors
Category:Bond Creators
Category:Bond Protectors
Category:Friend of a Villain
Category:Pawn of the Villain
Category:Charismatic
Category:Dimwits
Category:Pragmatists
Category:Master Orator
Category:Neutral Good
Category:Wrestlers
Category:Male
Category:Harmonizers
Category:Egalitarian
Category:Insecure
Category:Jerks
Category:Criminals
Category:Officials
Category:Passionate Learners
Category:Rescuers
Category:Rivals
Category:Damsels
Category:Selfless
Category:Siblings
Category:Related to Villain
Category:Sophisticated
Category:Spoiled Sweet
Category:Determinators
Category:Tragic
Category:Wayward Heroes
Category:Xenophobes
Category:Predators
Category:Successors
Category:Addicts
Category:Berserkers
Category:Counter-Terrorists
Category:Betrayed
Category:Liars
Category:Deal Makers
Category:Extravagant
Category:Feminists
Category:Honest
Category:Unwanted
Category:Lethal
Category:Merciful
Category:Martyr
Category:Mascots
Category:Loyal
Category:Famous
Category:Martial Artists
Category:Misguided
Category:Obsessed
Category:Orphans
Category:Power Hungry
Category:Scapegoat
Category:Victims
Category:Wise
Category:Disciplinarians
Category:Extremists
Category:Ferals
Category:Heretics
Category:Leaders
Category:Paranoid
Category:Gladiators
Category:Patriots
Category:Archenemy
Category:Villain's Lover
Category:Master of a Villain
Category:Philanthropists
Category:Tricksters
Category:Dreaded
Category:Mechanically Modified
Category:Supporters
Category:Stalkers
Category:Comic Relief
Category:Virtually Resourceful
Category:Apprentice of Villain
Category:Failure-Intolerant
Category:Nemesis
Category:Hope Bringers
Category:Cosmic Protection
Category:Thrill-Seekers
Category:Status Dependent upon Player Choice
Category:Spouses
Category:Rebellion Heroes