Vanilla McDowell adopted his alias from a friend who called him Vanilla because of his plain, bland character. And truth be told, he was. Later, along with this and another friend, he became involved with a questionable group that was running cross-dimensional journeys, both for research and for resources. After a while, it became apparent that quite a few other worlds had active magic channels, and magic was possible only in these realms. What was curious about all magical worlds is that none were presently inhabited. However, civilizations of varying complexity were almost always found, albeit deserted. As different explorers studied the ley lines and practiced balancing internal and external mana, Vanilla's progression was strange. While his friends, like many people, had a large mana output but a small mana intake, thus causing many to rely solely on physical reinforcement magic, Vanilla instead had a small mana output but an incredible intake. This limited the magic he could use but still made him viable on excursions. But shortly after, the reason for the mass exoduses was discovered; a disease transmitted through ley line use that was quickly named Fairy Blue, after the most obvious symptom that it turns the skin under the eyes blue in an almost winglike pattern. For each person who caught the disease, it would force the mana output open, causing immediate mana discharge and no way to replenish it fast enough, burning out the victim until they collapse of exhaustion. The other, less destructive, symptom is various behavioral changes, quite often to the extreme. While buff users were relatively safe due to minimal ley line contact, those practicing external magic were highly susceptible. No one survived the disease once they contracted it, until Vanilla caught it. While not immune to the disease, due to his ridiculous mana intake and dwarfed output, the disease actually helped Vanilla reach new heights with magic. But not long afterward, his personality had shifted to the point where he decided to set off on his own. Through his journey, he discovers lost magical items, such as ley-infused orichalcum blades, a ley-infused darksteel glove, and various reference materials reciting lost knowledge and the grim final moments of each civilization knocked out by Fairy Blue. Vanilla sympathized with these lost peoples, especially those like him who survived only to watch their people fall and then succumb to attrition themselves. Vanilla's quest still continues, fighting through the various wildlife that has since taken over these worlds, looking for more answers.

Vanilla started out as a ML movie Winter Soldier. After removing his belts and hair, I sculpted on the hair, the jacket, the kneepad spikes, and then the mana rings around his wrists (didnt say much about these in the story, but they resonate with the colors of two of Vanilla's trusted friends' auras, his own aura being green). Swords were sculpted hilts and package plastic for blades. Scabbards are thick coffee stirrers, with sculpt to decorate. Belts are zip ties with scrap to decorate. All sculpt is ProCreate sculpt. Wind spell effect was made with wire and hot glue, swirled around. Paint was Tamiya, Testors Model Masters Acryl, and Citadel. Really had fun with some of the colors, especially the hair and leylines, and the wind was really interesting. Vanilla has all articulation of the base figure.