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I don't care how dangerous it is! It's gonna take a lot more than robots and aliens to slow a dragon down!


Sash Lilac (サッシ ライラック Sasshu Rairakku?), also known as Lilac the Dragon, is the main protagonist of the Freedom Planet series.

She is a hybrid water dragon[1] of unknown origins, who is believed to be the last of her kind.

Before hatching from her egg, Lilac was stolen from her parents by Spade, who stole her egg as a test to get into an underground street gang known as the Red Scarves. As a result, she was raised by the Scarves after hatching, and would undergo training in martial arts and thievery.[2] Not agreeing with the guild's lifestyle, along with learning the truth of her egg being stolen, she left to live independently and find her place in life.[2] Since then, she and her best friend Carol have been living in a hidden treehouse deep in the forests of Avalice's Valley Region, stealing from the rich to survive.

After saving Torque, a stranger who crash-landed in Dragon Valley during one of her raids, Lilac, along with Carol and her new friend Milla, would quickly find themselves involved in a large-scale conflict that would affect Avalice as a whole. Together, the newly formed Team Lilac would take on the task of defeating Lord Brevon, an alien warlord who intended to power his army and resume his galactic conquest by stealing the planet's main (and only) source of energy: the Kingdom Stone. Along the way, she deals with the distrust and deception of every party involved, but eventually unites them all for an all-out attack, resulting in Brevon's defeat. While Lilac was not able to save the Kingdom Stone or prevent Brevon from escaping, Avalice and its inhabitants were given another chance, thanks to the Kingdom Stone's transformation.

Following a three-year time skip, Lilac and her friends are summoned by the Royal Magister and recruited for the mission of defending the three kingdoms from the remnants of Brevon's army, while discovering the origin of a new threat: Merga, the final ember who seeks to awaken Bakunawa and expose dark secrets in an act of vengeance.

After the fall of Bakunawa, Lilac is currently searching for the whereabouts of Merga, wanting to learn more about the water dragons, and possibly her parents.

Conception

Original Design

Lilac was originally created by Ziyo Ling in 2001 as a Sonic the Hedgehog fan character, with her design being a hedgehog.[3]

First Redesign

During late 2011, Ziyo was approached by Strife, who requested and was permitted the use of Ziyo's characters for the Sonic fangame she was developing.[4] This game would go on to become Freedom Planet. During development, Strife decided to convert it from a fan game to a commercial property. This meant that Lilac could not remain a hedgehog due to her similarities to Sonic. With this in mind, Strife redesigned her as a water dragon.[5]

Second Redesign

Lilac would be redesigned again for the sequel, but this time in the interest of maturing the character and separating her from her roots as a Sonic fan character. The task of redesigning Lilac for Freedom Planet 2 was originally given to TheCHAMBA, then later passed to Tyson Tan, who added upon the existing design.

A key element of Lilac's 2nd redesign would be the removal of her two-toned forehead, which is a prominent feature in Sonic character designs, as Strife believed that it was "holding her design back from being considered original".[6] Inspired by the Virgin in a White Dress trope, where white represents emotional maturity, Strife incorporated the color into Lilac's design, citing Mega Man X as an example of this.[6]

Appearance

Lilac is a female hybrid water dragon standing at 4'7" (140 cm) after the 3-year time skip. As a hybrid, she has mammalian features such as a fluffy tail and nose. Her ears were confirmed to be fish fin-looking like those seen on Merga, but are covered by a pair of earpieces that act as hearing aids, due to a genetic defect.[1] She has light purple scales, magenta-colored eyes, and her hair is colored in a darker shade of purple.

She wears the majority of her long hair tied into a pair of long, twin pigtails out the back of the head, with the rest of her hair formed into big spike-like points on the back. On the forehead, she wears her hair in form of a side swept bang, which used to be longer before the time skip and nearly covered up her right eye (left eye in various promotional art).

In Freedom Planet, Lilac wears a light blue sleeveless vest on top of a white tank top, and light blue shorts that are held by a dark blue belt with a golden box-frame buckle. She also wears light blue gloves with yellow trims, and light blue leather boots with yellow soles and rowel-like metal pieces on the side of the heels. The earpieces she wears have an angular "reverse C"-shaped frame with a blue drop-shaped gem placed onto it. On promotional art, the vest and shorts are often depicted as a full-piece cloth.

In Freedom Planet 2, Lilac now wears a white overtunic on top of a blue shirt with a Mandarin collar. The belt is replaced by a red-orange Obi sash with an Obijime, and a knot in the shape of a five-sided flower, tied around it. She also starts to wear white knee caps as well as white and orange braces over her blue gloves. Lilac's hair is also slightly shorter (with the exception of her twin pigtails) and the side swept bang on her forehead is gone, no longer covering her eye.

Personality

Lilac is good-spirited and more than willing to help people in need.[7] She's highly motivated and refuses to give up under any circumstances, even when her friends start to doubt their chances of success.[8] Lilac can get very angry, but it's only when pushed to the extreme is when she unleashes her "Inner Dragon". By the time of the events of Freedom Planet 2, Lilac has grown more reserved throughout every battle fought, but she still has a big heart and will always help her friends and others in need.

Powers & Abilities

Lilac is very athletic and has an imposing natural physique owing to her Dragon Heritage. She is stronger, faster, and all-around more powerful than most non-Dragons can claim to be. She is adept in combat and has a wide range of moves in the way of both attacking and evasion, and is able to hold her own against some of the most powerful fighters on Avalice and beyond.

Physical Abilities

  • Super Speed: Lilac is able to run at incredible speeds, this being her most notable ability, which is attributed to her Dragon heritage.[9] At top speed, she is able to outrun speeding vehicles and gunfire.
  • Durability: Lilac is very resistant to physical damage, able survive falls from great heights, intense pressure, energy blasts, extreme heat, and strikes from beings with supernatural strength without being weakened. She is also able to blast through walls and heavy metals head-first. However, she is not invulnerable or immortal, for she could still be killed upon taking too much damage and has been shown to sustain extreme injuries while being tortured by Brevon.[10]
  • Endurance: Lilac is able to remain physically active for extended periods of time without growing fatigued.
  • Hair Manipulation: Lilac has the ability to stretch and stiffen her Hair Tendrils as needed for the basis of some of her combat abilities.[11]
  • Underwater Endurance: Being a Water Dragon, Lilac is able to remain underwater for significantly long periods of time. However, she is unable to breathe underwater due to a genetic defect.

Skills

  • Martial Arts: Lilac was trained in martial arts by the Red Scarves. She is well-versed in hand-to-hand combat and has won multiple martial arts tournaments.[2] Her abilities rival those of Spade, Neera Li and is even capable of overpowering Brevon in a one-on-one fight.
  • Hair Combat: Lilac has developed a unique fighting style that utilizes her Hair Tendrils as weapons, enabling her to use them as whips cut through enemies and obstacles.
  • Intelligence: Lilac is shown to be fairly cunning, able to outsmart and deceive even the Magister,[12] and can also understand Torque's technobabble when others can't.[13]

Weaknesses

  • Lack of Ranged Attacks: Lilac only has melee attacks with nothing in the way of range attacks, so she has to get up close and personal in order to fight her opponents. This weakness can be negated by a Dragon Star in Freedom Planet, or an Energizer Sphere in Freedom Planet 2.
  • Deafness: Lilac has a genetic defect that renders her hard of hearing if not completely deaf. Her earpieces are hearing aids that account for this.[1]

Gameplay Attributes

Freedom Planet

Lilac is a close-range fighter built primarily for building speed and keeping the momentum. Her Dragon Boost gives her an instant burst of speed, and she has a number of additional abilities that help carry her momentum across a variety of different terrain types. Her Cyclone allows her to soar over obstacles and her Dive Kick provides an instant drop to the ground. These traits make her an ideal character for speedrunning. Her primary weakness is the lack of a ranged attack, though this is mitigated somewhat by the Dragon Boost granting her temporary invulnerability.

Freedom Planet 2

In the sequel, Lilac is classified as a Speed-Type character. Her moveset has been tweaked for better control and mobility, as well as less energy consumption. Her Dragon Cyclone no longer uses energy, allowing her to throw some combos into her Dragon Boost, which can now be manually cut short by her new Boost Breaker ability. Lilac also now has a Guard and a Blink Dash, which provide her with evasive and counter options.

  • Life Petals: 5 - 7 Petals
  • Energy Consumption
    • Dragon Boost (all; consumption may be cut off by Boost Breaker)

Move List

Move/Details Images
Hair Whip

Lilac's standard attack; she uses her hair tendrils as whips to attack her enemies. While running or airborne, she adds kicks into the attack. This move can be powered up by a Dragon Star in FP1 or by an Energizer Sphere in FP2.

-Button/Key-

Attack
FP1
Lilac Hair Whip
FP2
FP2LilacAttack
Dragon Boost

One of Lilac's signature moves; she rolls up into a ball, charges up all of her energy and launches herself like a comet, accelerating herself to top speed and even granting her brief invulnerability [14].

-Button/Key-

Special
FP1
Lilac DragonBoost
FP2
FP2LilacDragonBoost
Super Dragon Boost

Lilac's Dragon Boost can be powered-up, becoming stronger and able to be used twice in a row. In FP1, it can be powered up by a Dragon Star, while in FP2, it can be powered up by Lilac's Dragon Wings.

-Button/Key-

Dragon Star Special x2
LilacSuperBoost1
Boost Breaker

In FP2; Lilac can cancel out of a Dragon Boost and release an aerial shockwave to deal extra damage to any enemy in range. This Move is automatically executed when hitting a wall.

-Button/Key-

Special x2
BoostBreaker
Dragon Cyclone

Another of Lilac's signature moves [15]; she uses her hair tendrils to perform a spin attack, while sometimes shouting "Cyclone!" This move can be used on the ground or in midair, where it also acts as a double jump. It can be used to gain extra height from springs or reduce her falling speed. In FP1, this move consumes a small amount of energy, while in FP2, it consumes none.

-Button/Key-

Midair Jump x2
Ground / + + Attack
FP1
Lilac Cyclone
FP2
FP2LilacCyclone
Rising Slash

Lilac can execute a rising punch with her Hair Tendrils to deal more damage than the Hair Whip. In FP1, this Move can only be used on the ground, while in FP2, it can be used once in midair, but instead of a punch, she raises her hair tendrils up with her hand.

-Button/Key-

+ Attack
FP1
Lilac Rising Slash
FP2
FP2LilacUppercut
Dive Kick

While in midair, Lilac can perform a kick that lets her fall to the ground at an accelerated rate, while kicking any enemy in the way.

-Button/Key-

Midair + Attack
FP1
LilacDiveKick
FP2
FP2LilacDiveKick
Crouch Attack

While crouching, Lilac can perform an attack with a faster rate. In FP1, she uses a Low Kick, while in FP2, she uses her Hair Whip.

-Button/Key-

+ Attack
FP1
Lilac Low Kick
FP2
FP2LilacCrouchAttack
Energizer Sphere

Lilac's Power-Up in FP2; it allows her to throw projectiles with her hair whip while also accelerating the recharge time of her energy meter for 10 seconds.

Energizer
Guarding

A dodge that provides Lilac with brief invulnerability against enemy attacks. Though it can't fully guard against larger or stronger attacks, it can soften the blow to take less damage if timed right.

-Button/Key-

Guard
LilacGuard
Blink Dash

After guarding, Lilac can perform a short dash that leaves an afterimage of herself, enabling her to dodge attacks, counter enemies, or gain a slight speed boost.

-Button/Key-

Guard (Hold)
LilacBlink

Relationships

Lilac Hug
She's like my tail. Always right behind me.
- Lilac, describing her friendship with Carol to Torque

Carol Tea
Lilac first met Carol back when she first joined the Red Scarves years ago. Although they started out as rivals, the two became the best of friends and usually get along famously. [16] However, Carol has been shown to be more reluctant to go along with Lilac's heroics, and often calls her "Little Miss Heropants".[7] During the course of their adventure, this contradiction creates tension[8], but they eventually make up when they need to. When Carol saw Lilac severely injured from Brevon's shock torture, she broke down in tears and blamed herself for running off on her own.[17]

Lilac-Milla Hug
Don't be scared. I promise we'll keep you safe.

Milla Basset
At first, Lilac was a bit weirded out by Milla's mannerisms, like when she asked if she could touch her hair, but she quickly accepted the young hound as a friend. Lilac eventually becomes a big-sister figure to her, also acting as a protector, like when she told her to stay with Carol while she went off to rescue Torque alone.[8] What's more, when Lord Brevon brainwashed and mutated Milla, Lilac went berserk.[18] As she delivered the final blow to the defeated Warlord, she shouted out "Nobody. . . Hurts. . . Milla!!!'[19] This shows how much Lilac cares about her young friend and how personal she took it. When everything was said and done, Lilac tried to comfort Milla in her distress.[20]

Neera StaffChat
Do you hear yourself? You're talking about our friend!
- Lilac tells Neera not to jump to conclusions.

Neera Li
Lilac's first acquaintance with Neera was not friendly. Initially, she did not know who she was, but when she found out that Lilac and her friend Carol had criminal records, it turned out that they used to be in the same Red Scarves group. As a result, Neera did not believe her and poisoned them in the cell. But later all doubts were dispelled. Years later, Lilac and Neera seem to be friends and work together. However, there is sometimes disagreement between them when, for example, Neera makes a hasty conclusion that Carol is a traitor, and says if she hears herself that she is talking about her friend. But despite all this, they trust each other.

Magister Idle
You don't know what you're talking about! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!
- Lilac, when the Magister judged her by her past.

Royal Magister
Lilac's first acquaintance with the Magister was more normal. When he found out about her past, he became cautious, but later, when the doubts were removed, he let her go. Years later, he called Lilac and her friends that they helped sort out some cases. She believes him and he is even grateful to her and her friends for defeating Lord Brevon. With the appearance of Merga, he confesses to her that what happened to the Water Dragons a long time ago that he simply had no other choice. He even began to doubt that Lilac was not a good person. Then she did not agree with him by telling him that he did not know anything about her, he later realized that he was wrong about her. At the end he asks if she's okay after she was injured during the Final Battle.

Torque Victory
See you soon!

Torque
After Torque's ship crash-landed, Lilac found and saved him from Serpentine.[21] Later, he tells them that Mayor Zao is about to steal the Kingdom Stone and they make their way to the Ancient Temple[21], just to realize he was right. They agree to help him out after he told him who Brevon was and why he wants the Kingdom Stone.[22] Lilac went to various measures to protect and rescue Torque on multiple occasions. She claimed responsibility for manipulating Torque, painting him as a victim, just to convince the Magister to release him from quarantine[23] and when Brevon abducted him, she rushed off to rescue him on her own, due to doubts from Carol.[8]

Fp2-spadesprite
Long time no see...

Spade
Years ago, Lilac used to fight alongside Spade when she was part of the Red Scarves. She feels guilty for something she did to him when she and Carol left the guild, stating she was scared and didn't know what she was doing.[13]

In Freedom Planet 2, Lilac still maintains her rivalry with Spade, but is now shown to hold a grudge against him. At the end of the Story Arc "ROBOT WARS! SNAKE VS TARSIER!", it is revealed that Spade stole Lilac's egg from her family before she hatched in order to get into the Red Scarves, unaware of what he took. Even though Spade tried to be sympathetic and apologize to her for taking her from her family before hatching, Lilac scolds him, stating that because of him, she never got to know her parents or her kind, discovered that she was a living trophy and was forced to live in the woods due to having a criminal record for being raised by thieves.

Fp2-brevonsprite
I'll never forgive you!
- Lilac, confronting Brevon after he harmed Milla

Lord Brevon
Lilac hates Brevon for everything he did and for the pain he caused her friends, especially Milla. Their acquaintance is hostile from the very beginning, he tortured and beat her with electricity right in front of Torque. Even when he got what he wanted, he continued to torment her further, curious of her resolve and determination. Face to face in the final battle, Lilac says that he will never forgive him for what he did to Milla. In response, he says that he does not need her forgiveness and gives her one last chance to leave, to which Lilac refuses and joins the fight. However, he underestimated her and suffers defeat at her hands. Afterwards, he escapes from the doomed Dreadnought and flees into space via Absolution. Years later, Lilac continues to hate Brevon, but possibly fear that he may one day return.

Merga ChatAlt
Merga. All of this... Is this what she would have wanted for you?
- Lilac, speaking with sympathy to Merga after fighting her and seeing Cordelia's message

Merga
When Lilac saw Merga for the first time, she was surprised to see another Water Dragon. Because Lilac is also a Water Dragon, she did not consider Merga evil even though she captured Zao, but Lilac wanted to resolve everything peacefully and not resort to force. They were initially enemies and Merga even tried to kill her but later she wanted to give Lilac a chance to join her in ending the Earth Dragons and leaving Avalice to die. But Lilac refuses, not wanting to leave her friends, which disappoints Merga. After the final battle with her, Lilac says that she wanted to see how they should be. At the end, she helps Lilac's team defeat Syntax. Which eventually leads to the downfall of Bakunawa, Merga tells Lilac to leave her, But Lilac asks that she go with them, but she is hurt and knocked out by the head of the defeated Bakunawa Fusion. Merga throws herself after her and saving her from falling to her death. Waking up from a coma in the Royal Palace, Lilac learns that Merga had disappeared and decides to go search of her. Which clearly makes it clear that Lilac is not indifferent to Merga and considers her not only a friend but also a close sister.

Other Appearances

Sonic After the Sequel

Lilac makes a cameo appearance in the Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Game, Sonic After the Sequel, developed by LakeFeperd, where she appears in her original hedgehog design.[5] She can be found after successfully completing an Easter Egg on the Parhelion Peak stage. When approached, she will talk to Sonic before leaving off-screen.

Runbow

On April 14, 2016, Lilac was added as a free DLC character to the platform racing game Runbow, developed by 13AM Games. She shouts "Cyclone!" whenever she jumps.

Indie Pogo

Lilac in Indie Pogo alongside Shovel Knight and the protagonist of Teslagrad.

Lilac makes a playable appearance in the auto-jumping fighting game Indie Pogo developed by Lowe Bros. Studios. Her inclusion was announced on April 5th, 2017. Originally intended to be unlockable, she was made a part of the initial roster following the results of a community poll.

Lilac's Moveset is taken almost directly from the first game, with the addition of her Blink Dash from Freedom Planet 2. She can also summon a Time Gate to get a power-up, which strengthens her moves and enables her to use the Boost Breaker. For her Super Move, she summons the Holodragon to fire a laser beam across the screen.[24]

In her entry sequence, she is seen flying in on an airplane alongside Carol, Milla & Torque, and jumping out of it. When defeated, she explodes into purple petals similarly to the first game. Her various costumes consist of the scrapped color palettes and her Freedom Planet 2 Design that had been added on July 23, 2018.

Super Indie Karts

Lilac on the Character Select screen of Super Indie Karts.

Lilac is a playable character in the kart racing game Super Indie Karts developed by OneLeggedSeagull Games. She was introduced in an update made on November 1st, 2017, which also added Dragon Valley as a course.[25]. She drives a pink and purple go-kart and shouts "Cyclone!" whenever she tries to use an item without currently having one.

A Hat in Time

Lilac's headpiece appears as an official mod in A Hat in Time released on June 7th, 2019.[26] In form of a badge, it can be equipped to allow Hat Kid to perform the Dragon Cyclone, sometimes shouting "Cyclone!" when doing so.

Trivia

  • Lilac's first name, Sash, is a variant of the Russian name Sasha, diminutive form of names "Alexander" or "Alexandra" which means "Defender of the People" or "Protector of Men."
  • Ziyo Ling's version of Lilac likes ghost movies and hip hop but hates onions.[3]
  • Lilac's Hair Trendils are not fleshy as the Thermal Base torture scene implies. Rather, the spot of blood seen on the end of each trendil implies that they were ripped them off of Lilac's head from the roots, possibly by Brevon.[11]
  • It was once planned for Lilac's father, who was alive, to show up during the game. He was going to be a Water Dragon who looked similar to Lilac in design, though his existence was eventually scrapped.[27]
  • Some of Lilac's moves are traced to specific character's moves:
    • Her Dragon Cyclone resembles Blaze's Axel Jump & Espio's variation of Spin Jump, both from Sonic Rush & Knuckles' Chaotix respectively.
    • Her Rising Slash and Dive Kick traced back to Zero's Ryuenjin & Enkoukyaku in Mega Man X4 & X8 respectively.
    • Her Dragon Boost bears some resemblance to Ristar's Meteor Strike in Ristar. In Freedom Planet 2, the same move resembles Sonic's Super Boost in recent Sonic games.
      • Though cut from the final game, her Super Dragon Boost in Freedom Planet 2 using Dragon Wings resembled the second shot of X's Double Charge Shot in Mega Man X2.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Topic: The Lilac OCD Club - GalaxyTrail Forums
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Jiang River (Route to Shang Tu)
  3. 3.0 3.1 My Sweet Purple
  4. The Evolution of Freedom Planet
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Retro Interviews: The Freedom Planet Invades Florida Supercon Edition". Sonic Retro (interview with Stephen DiDuro)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Freedom Planet 2 In-Depth Interview w/ Creator & Voice Cast! by 1upTV
  7. 7.0 7.1 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Dragon Valley (Meet Lilac and Carol)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Jade Creek Cave (What Do We Do Now)
  9. Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Lilac's Treehouse (The Kingdom Stone)
  10. Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Thermal Base (Torturing Lilac)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Strife Statement Lilac's Hair
  12. Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Royal Palace Dungeon (Lilac's Idea)
  13. 13.0 13.1 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Battle Glacier (Team Meeting)
  14. Sash_Lilac#cite_note-15
  15. Sash_Lilac#cite_note-14
  16. Freedom Planet 2 - Characters
  17. Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Thermal Base (Brevon Encounter)
  18. Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Final Dreadnought 3 (Brevon Appears)
  19. Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Final Dreadnought 4 (Ending)
  20. Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Ending
  21. 21.0 21.1 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Crash Site (Meet Serpentine and Torque)
  22. Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Lilac's Treehouse (Torque Revealed)
  23. Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Royal Palace Throne Room (Lilac's Apology)
  24. Indie Pogo - Lilac Showcase
  25. [1]Super Indie Karts - Early Access Update v0.64a - Spooky Halloween Update
  26. Freedom Planet 2: Lilac's Headpiece on Steam Workshop
  27. https://twitter.com/SDiDuro/status/843242995768053760
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