Sash Lilac, the Main Protagonist of Freedom Planet, is a Hybrid Water Dragon[1] of unknown origin who is believed to be the last of her kind during her era.
At a young age, Lilac was raised by the Red Scarves and underwent martial arts training.[2] Not agreeing with the guild's lifestyle, she eventually left the Scarves to live independently.[2] Since then, she has been living with her best friend Carol, in a Treehouse hidden deep in the forests of Dragon Valley and stealing from the rich to survive.
After saving Torque, a stranger who crash-landed nearby during one of her raids, Lilac, along with Carol and her newfound friend Milla, would quickly find themselves involved in a large-scale conflict that affected Avalice as a whole. Together, they would form Team Lilac and 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 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's escape, Avalice and it's inhabitants were given another chance.
In a two year time skip, Lilac and her friends would be summoned by the Magister and offered the mission of defending the Three Kingdoms while discovering the origin of a new threat: Merga, the Final Ember who seeks to awaken Bakunawa in an act of vengeance.
Conception
Ziyo Ling's Original Design of Lilac as a Hedgehog.
Sash Lilac was originally designed by Ziyo Ling in 2001 as a Sonic the Hedgehog fan character, with her design being a Hedgehog.[3]
During late 2011, Ziyo was approached by Strife, who requested and was permitted the use of Ziyo's characters for the Sonic fan game he was developing.[4] This game would go on to become Freedom Planet. At some point 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 reinvented her as a Water Dragon.[5]
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.[6]
Freedom Planet 2
Lilac would be redesigned again for the sequel, 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 this redesign would be the removal of Lilac's two-toned forehead, which is a prominent feature of Sonic Character Designs, as Strife believed that it was "holding her design back from being considered original".[7] Inspired by the Virgin in a White Dress trope, where white represents emotional maturity, Strife incorporated the color into Lilac's design. He cited Mega Man X as an example of this.[7]
Appearance
Lilac is a female Hybrid Water Dragon teenager standing at 140cm (4'7") after the time skip, making her more grounded to an average Avalician instead of other Dragons like the Magister. As a hybrid, she has mammal-like 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 skin, magenta-colored eyes, and her hair is colored in a darker shade of purple.
She wears the majority of her long hair tied into twin ponytails 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).
During the events of 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.
After the time skip, Lilac now wears a long white overtunic on top of a blue shirt with Mandarin collar. The belt is replaced by an orange Obi sash with an Obijime, 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 bracelets. Lilac's hair is also slightly shorter (with the exception of her twin ponytails) and the side swept bang on her forehead is gone, no longer covering her eye.
Personality
Lilac is a good-spirited Dragon Girl and is more than willing to help those in trouble or in need.[8] She is very motivated and refuses to give up under any circumstances, even when her friends start to doubt their chances of success.[9] Lilac can get very angry, but it's only when pushed to the extreme is when she unleashes her "Inner Dragon". After the time skip, Lilac has grown more reserved throughout every battle fought, but she still has a big heart and will always 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.[10] At top speed, she is able to outrun speeding vehicles and gunfire.
- Durability: She is very resistant to physical damage. She can 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, for she can still be killed upon taking too much damage and has been shown to sustain extreme injuries while being tortured by Brevon.[11]
- Endurance: She 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 attacks.[12]
- Underwater Endurance: Lilac is able to remain underwater significantly longer than any of the other playable characters. 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, using them to whip and cut through enemies and obstacles.
- Intelligence: Lilac is shown to be fairly cunning, able to outsmart and deceive the Magister,[13] and is able to understand Torque's technobabble when others can't.[14]
Weaknesses
- Lack of Ranged Attack: 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.
- 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 attacker built primarily for gaining speed and keeping up the momentum. Her Dragon Boost gives her an instant burst of speed, and she has a number of extra 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, although this is mitigated somewhat by the Dragon Boost granting her temporary invulnerability.
- Health: 7 Petals
- Energy Consumption: Dragon Boost (all), Dragon Cyclone (some)
Freedom Planet 2
In the sequel, Lilac is defined 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 combo into the Dragon Boost, which can now be manually cut short by her new Boost Breaker. Lilac also now has a Guard and Blink Dash which provides evasive and counter options.
- Health: 5 - 7 Petals
- Energy Consumption: Dragon Boost (gradual; consumption may be cut off by Boost Breaker)
Move List
 This section contains information about content that is currently in development. |
| Button/Key | Name/Details | Freedom Planet | Freedom Planet 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | Hair Whip Lilac's standard attack. She uses her hair trendils to whip and damage enemies. When running or airborne, she adds kicks into the attack. In FP1, it can be powered up by a Dragon Star to fire a short range projectile. |
  |
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| Ground:
↓ + Attack |
Crouch Attack In FP1, Lilac uses a crouching kick that has a faster attack rate than the Hair Whip. In FP2, she uses a crouching Hair Whip that also has a faster attack rate. |
 |
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| Midair:
↓ + Attack |
Dive Kick Executed in midair, Lilac drops diagonally to kick enemies or fall to the ground at an accelerated rate. |
 |
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| Ground/Midair:
↑ + Attack |
Rising Slash An uppercut that lets Lilac deal more damage than the standard attack. In FP1, it can only be executed from the ground, while in FP2 it can be used once in midair. |
 |
|
| Midair:
Jump x 2 Ground: ↓← / ↓→ + Attack |
Dragon Cyclone One of Lilac's signature moves.[15] She performs a spin attack to hit enemies with her hair. Can be executed midair or on the ground; aerial version performs as a double jump, gains height off of Jump Springs and reduces fall speed. Uses energy in FP1, but not in FP2. |
 |
 |
| Special | Dragon Boost One of Lilac's signature moves. She rolls up and launches like a comet, accelerating to top speed and expending all of her energy[16]. It may be powered up by a Dragon Star in FP1 or the Dragon Wings in FP2. Grants temporary invulnerability. |
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| Special x 2 | Boost Breaker Lilac can cancel a Dragon Boost in mid-use and release an aerial shockwave to damage any enemy in range. It is automatically executed when hitting a wall. |
 |
 |
| N/A | Energizer
Lilac's Special Power-Up in FP2; it enables her to throw projectiles with her Hair Whips and increases her Energy Meter's Recharge Speed for 10 seconds. |
|
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| Guard | Guarding A dodge that provides Lilac with brief invulnerability against enemy attacks. Though it can't guard against larger or stronger attacks, it can still soften the blow if timed right. |
|
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| Guard (Hold) | Blink Dash A short dash that allows Lilac to dodge attacks, counter enemies or gain speed. |
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Relationships
Carol Tea
Though they started out as rivals when they first joined the Red Scarves, Lilac and Carol became the best of friends and usually get along famously. [17] However, Carol has been shown to be more reluctant to go along with Lilac's heroics, often calling her "Little Miss Heropants".[8] During the course of their adventure, this contradiction creates tension[9], 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.[18]
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.[9] What's more, when Lord Brevon brainwashed and mutated Milla, Lilac went berserk.[19] As she delivered the final blow to the defeated Warlord, she shouted out "NOBOBY . . . HURTS . . . MILLA!!!'[20] 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.[21]
Torque
After Torque's ship crash-landed, Lilac found and saved him from Serpentine.[22] Later, he tells them that Mayor Zao is about to steal the Kingdom Stone and they make their way to the Ancient Temple[22], 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.[23] 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[24] and when Brevon abducted him, she rushed off to rescue him on her own, due to doubts from Carol.[9]
Spade
Years ago, Lilac used to be part of the Red Scarves alongside Spade. She feels guilty for something she did to him when she and Carol left the Scarves, stating she was scared and didn't know what she was doing.[14] Any other part of Lilac's history with Spade is currently unknown.
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, appearing 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.
Lilac in Indie Pogo alongside Shovel Knight and the protagonist of Teslagrad.
Indie Pogo
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 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.[25]
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 a her Freedom Planet 2 Design that had been added on July 23, 2018.
Lilac on the Character Select screen of Super Indie Karts.
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.[26]. 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 in an official mod for A Hat in Time released on June 7th, 2019.[27] 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, 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 is not fleshy as the Thermal Base torture scene implies. Rather, when they're cut off, the spot of blood seen on the end came off of her head.[12]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Topic: The Lilac OCD Club - GalaxyTrail Forums
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Jiang River (Route to Shang Tu)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 My Sweet Purple
- ↑ The Evolution of Freedom Planet
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Retro Interviews: The Freedom Planet Invades Florida Supercon Edition". Sonic Retro (interview with Stephen DiDuro)
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SDiDuro/status/843242995768053760
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Freedom Planet 2 In-Depth Interview w/ Creator & Voice Cast! by 1upTV
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Dragon Valley (Meet Lilac and Carol)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Jade Creek Cave (What Do We Do Now)
- ↑ Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Lilac's Treehouse (The Kingdom Stone)
- ↑ Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Thermal Base (Torturing Lilac)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1
- ↑ Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Royal Palace Dungeon (Lilac's Idea)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Battle Glacier (Team Meeting)
- ↑ As a matter of fact, the Dragon Cyclone started life as an alternate rolling animation for Lilac. It looked too weird to us to use for rolling, but we loved the animation anyway, so we molded it into a new special attack. - Strife on the Kickstarter Campaign Message Board.
- ↑ We are currently experimenting with the ability for Lilac to perform a Dragon Boost that trails along the ground instead of bouncing against it, as long as the player presses C while running instead of standing still or jumping. So far it feels pretty cool. - Strife on the Kickstarter Campaign Message Board.
- ↑ Freedom Planet 2 - Characters
- ↑ Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Thermal Base (Brevon Encounter)
- ↑ Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Final Dreadnought 3 (Brevon Appears)
- ↑ Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Final Dreadnought 4 (Ending)
- ↑ Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Ending
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Crash Site (Meet Serpentine and Torque)
- ↑ Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Lilac's Treehouse (Torque Revealed)
- ↑ Freedom Planet in-game cutscene - Royal Palace Throne Room (Lilac's Apology)
- ↑ Indie Pogo - Lilac Showcase
- ↑ [1]Super Indie Karts - Early Access Update v0.64a - Spooky Halloween Update
- ↑ Freedom Planet 2: Lilac's Headpiece on Steam Workshop
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