Erma (v1.4) by DeluxeGamer705
From: Erma (webcomic)
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What's this? Deluxe making a character... that's NOT from a video game? I think I got crazy!

But yeah, every Mugen creator sometimes needs to make a character that's not from a video game. Anyways, comics is something that pretty much a great amount of people have heard of, and really enjoyed reading them. Obviously, there are even online comics in the form of webcomics. One webcomic that I absolutely adored is Erma. A half-human, half-onryo that is also a nice girl. Originally, I've planned to make her for Mugen much later, but when I started to adore the series more and more, I pretty much had no choice but make her eventually. She features some moves that are melee attacks and can hit from quite a distance, and some stuff that can spook her opponents. I also made some of her specials and hypers to be based on some stuff from the webcomic.

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1. WHO IS ERMA?

Erma is the main titular protagonist of the webcomic series of the same name, which started on May 28th, 2014. She is a half-human, half-onryo who is the daughter of an onryo mother and a human father, and lives in the fictional town Blairwood. She is like any regular child, who goes to school, plays with her dog, has human friends from her school, including a babysitter that gets along very well, and is a fan of Warrior Unicorn Princess. However, there's one catch - she's in fact a half-ghost due to being born to an onryo mother, giving her various ghostly powers, such as being able to float, use telekinesis, climb on walls, teleport by emerging from dark shadows, manipulate her hair, and other stuff. Despite being creepy overall, she's ultimately a nice girl who wants to live a full life and loves her friends and family. However, messing with her is a no-good move as she can then prove how creepy she can be.

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2. CHANGELOG

-v1.4 (November 14, 2025)
 *[FIX] A.I. could sometimes get stuck in an endless loop if it tried to redirect to state 1530, which was for the removed EX version of Hair Whip.
 *[REMOVE] Unused leftover code for EX Hair Whip.
 *[CHANGE] A.I, now making better use of hypers and the ultimate.
 *[RENAME] Finisher to Ultimate.

-v1.3 (October 13, 2025)
 *[CHANGE] A.I. in some ways, mainly involving the use of Paint Balloon and Dark Teleport.
 *[BUFF] Knives in Knife Army are now faster, so they should be able to chain Physic Throw into them now without worrying about them whiffing.
 *[FIX] If Erma was hit while charging Hair Whip, she would still flash even when not charging.
 *[FIX] Guard Cancel used an incorrect animation, causing it to not deal any damage.
 *[CHANGE] Speaking of the Guard Cancel, it now causes a wall bounce instead of hard knockdown.
 *[CHANGE] Readme style.
 *[REMOVE] Angry Boost, since the finisher was more effective anyways. :P
 *[CHANGE] However, Invincibility now can be performer by pressing two punches now, since there's now space for them following Angry Boost's removal.

Also, happy birthday, Erma. ^^

-v1.2b (July 23, 2025)
 *[FIX] Erma can now crouch while "running".
 *[FIX] Air Dash had a small oversight.

-v1.2 (July 22, 2025)
 *[CHANGE] Erma's aerial drift has been reworked, now being more fluid.
 *[BUFF] You can now chain light normals into hard normals.
 *[CHANGE] Pausetimes for stronger normals.
 *[CHANGE/ADD] Erma now cannot be pushed during Head Boomerang when she does not have her head on herself.

-v1.1 (June 16, 2025)
 *[REMOVE] One thing from the notes because I was too upset when I wrote it and honestly it was completely unneeded (what was I thinking?).
 *[CHANGE] Hair Whip's EX version is no more, but it instead now has a chargeable version.
 *[EDIT] Some A.I. parts.
 *[FIX] In one of her winposes, Erma's head was affected by the floatness and therefore went back to her hand too early. The Gravity coding 
 was therefore replaced with a VelAdd.
 *[EDIT] The sprites in one of Erma's winposes were slightly updated to be longer.
 *[FIX] The question mark in Siris' win/losepose was facing the wrong way when Siris was facing left.
 *[FIX] Erma is now centered in one of her winposes.
 *[FIX] If invincibility was in effect, Erma could still be hit after using Dark Teleport.
 *[CHANGE] One of the finisher's sprites has been replaced.

-v1.0 (May 28, 2025)
 *FIRST RELEASE*

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3. GAMEPLAY

-MAIN GAMEPLAY-
Erma is a character who mainly focuses on comboing with melee attacks that are close-ranged and are disjointed where she can attack form a distance. Her projectile is not like your average projectile, as it instead falls onto the ground and explodes upon hitting it. It also comes with a catch where the opponent will still receive very small damage if they hit the projectile. Some of her moves gain her invincibility, giving her an ability to be protected temporarily from any attack, depending on the attribution. In addition, Erma has an invincibility that disables hyper moves for 8 seconds but also gains her full invincibility. She also comes with an attack boost when a "DANGER!" message appears (if her HP falls to 300), giving her an attack boost of 1.25, making her attacks stronger for the rest of the round. Her main get-off-me tool is a throw, performed by pressing C (high kick for a regular button layout), and she has a dash attack that can be performed while running, knocking the opponent down.

Some of her moves are encased in square brackets ([ ]) as seen in this readme. These mean that the button (mainly a directional input) must be held down for the move to be performed. Some specials also come with an EX version, a stronger version that requires 500 power and gives some longer endlag, and EX moves require two buttons to be pressed.

-COMBOS-
Erma's combo system follows the chain comboing one, allowing her to cancel normals into stronger ones, specials, and hypers. Along with that, Erma can chain most of her specials into hypers. In addition, certain specials can be cancelled into other specials. While she has easy combos, there are some combos which can be quite trickier to perform.

In addition, she also has some chain normals which can be performed by pressing the same button after a normal connects. The strong normals, however, don't have any, though they can be cancelled into her crouching light normal.

-MECHANICS-
Erma has a few mechanics to go through. One of them is a dodge, performed with A (light kick for normal characters). When she performs it, she does not get hit from melee attacks and projectiles, giving her a defensive tool, unless she is hit by a throw (which WILL hit her, so don't be surprised when she is hit by a grab for example if she's dodging!). The second one is a power charge, performed with B (medium kick for normal characters). Doing this will cause Erma to gain power if the button is held, which will give her faster access to EX specials and hypers, though this comes at a cost of not allowing her to move, so make sure you don't abuse it too much. The third one is parrying, performed when you walk forward just before the opponent's attack makes contact, and this mechanic has an airborne version. When performed, Erma negates all damage the opponent's attack would do to her, while providing small invincibility to not be hit while parrying. Another one is an air dash, performed by pressing forward twice to do a forward one and vice versa. This does not give her any unique properties, but allows her to cancel it into any of her normals, while giving her more air control. And lastly, she has a super jump, performed by pressing X+Y+Z at the same time. This is mainly a defensive mechanic where she can avoid certain attacks that she might not really be able to avoid by air jumping, though this is character-dependant.

A more unique mechanic she has is that she can climb up walls when she performs a move called Wall Come, though she can only stay on the wall for 5 seconds before triggering an attack that will get her off the wall. She can also simply get off the wall by climbing down onto the ground, and when climbing up, she can temporarily stall to avoid certain attacks.

-MOVELIST-
SPECIALS:

Paint Balloon: D, DF, F, X/Y/Z
- Erma throws a balloon that has red paint inside it, exploding upon hitting the opponent and causing soft knockdown. If the oponent hits the balloon, they'll still be hit but will receive less damage. Good zoning tool, can be used while airborne, and balloon velocity varies depending on the button pressed.
 - EX version: Throws two balloons. Both have a random velocity

Float Charge: B, DB, D, DF, F, X/Y/Z
- Erma floats and charges forward, hitting the opponent several times and causing hard knockdown on the final hit. If the opponent is airborne, they receive the knockdown even on the first hit. Good combo tool, can be used while airborne, and horizontal distance varies depending on the button pressed.
 - EX version: Final hit causes a wall bounce.

Physic Swipe: D, DB, B, X
- Erma swipes with her left arm, being able to hit the opponent from a distance. Being a combo tool is varied depending on which move is cancelled into this, though this doesn't apply if Erma is in the corner. This move also reflects projectiles. Can be used while airborne.

Dark Teleport: D, DB, B, Y
- Erma goes down into a hole, before jumping out and launching the opponent. Tracks the opponent's position. The startup also has a hitbox close to her so that it can stun the opponent in case she performs a combo with this move. It also gives her invincibility when she goes in and out of the hole.

Physic Throw: D, DB, B, Z
- Erma grabs the opponent from a distance, before throwing them away. Normally causes hard knockdown, though if the opponent is close to the wall, it instead causes a wall bounce. Can be used while airborne.

Hair Whip: F, DF, D, DB, B, X/Y/Z
- Erma whips her hair, causing hard knockdown. Good combo tool.
 - Charged version: Causes a wall bounce.
  - This is also used for the Guard Cancel, which can be performed by pressing X+Y during blockstun at the cost of 1000 power.

Spooky Counter: D, D, X/Y/Z
- Erma covers her face with her hair, and if hit during it, she counters the attack by jumpscaring the opponent, stunning them for a while. Usable as a combo starter.

Wall Come: D, D, X/Y/Z (AIR ONLY)
- Erma charges onto a wall, knocking the opponent down upon contact. When she reaches the wall, she can climb either up or down.

Spin Jump: X/Y/Z when on a wall, or wait 5 seconds to automatically be performed
- Erma jumps away from the wall, spinning as she does so, knocking the opponent down.

Call Siris: [B], F, X/Y/Z
- Erma calls her dog Siris, who cannot be hit, but comes at a cost of having a cooldown time of 8 seconds. Causes hard knockdown.

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HYPERS:

Knife Army: D, DF, F, D, DF, F, X+Y (uses 1000 power)
- Erma summons a bunch of knifes from the back, with each one causing soft knockdown. Can be used while airborne.

Unexpected Charge: D, DF, F, D, DF, F, Y+Z (uses 1000 power)
- A stronger version of Float Charge where Erma charges forward and launches the opponent up, with no horizontal knockback. Note that this one is a single-hit instead of a multi-hit and gives her full invincibility when she charges.

Unusual Face: D, DB, B, D, DB, B, X+Y (uses 2000 power)
- Erma covers her face with her hair before uncovering it with an unusual face that catches the opponent off-guard. A long range and stuns the opponent temporarily, making it useful for combos in simul mode if the partner is combo-heavy.

Hair Slam: D, DB, B, D, DB, B, Y+Z (uses 2000 power)
- Erma uses her hair to create a fist that will slam the ground and launch the opponent up. The move does not cover the whole floor and is less damaging than Unusual Face, but is a low. It also stuns the opponent if the hair hits them when it goes down.

Head Boomerang: D, DF, F, D, DB, B, X+Y (uses 3000 power)
- Erma takes her head off, and throws it like a boomerang, hitting the opponent two times. It gives Erma invincibility when she does not have her head on herself. Both hits cause hard knockdown, although the first hit causes it only against airborne opponents.

Possessed Stun: D, DF, F, D, DB, B, Y+Z (uses 3000 power)
- Erma fires an invincible attack which possesses the opponent temporarily by stunning them, leaving them open for a combo. Not really damaging due to its ability to stun, but can be a combo starter at times. Also, note that it CANNOT K.O. the opponent due to it stunning them instead. Lastly, it cannot be used if the opponent is either stunned or in guardstun.

-ULTIMATE- 
The ultimate is an unblockable move that is performed by crouching thrice and pressing X+Y+Z. The move covers the entire screen, dealing almost enough damage to K.O. the opponent if at full HP, and can only be performed after the "DANGER!" message appears, while giving them full invincibility during its duration. 

Erma's finisher - Jumpscare:
Erma covers her face with her hair, before jumpscaring the opponents after a short while, causing them to be sent up into the air while  screaming (if they have a K.O. scream, that is).

-OTHER MOVES-

Invincibility: D, X+Y/Y+Z/X+Z (uses 3000 power)
- Erma gives herself invincibility which lasts for 8 seconds. This however comes at a cost of not allowing her to perform any of her hypers, EX specials, and the Guard Cancel when the invincibility is in the effect. When invincible, the background flashes gray. In addition, dodges and parrying are disabled when Erma is invincible (I mean, what's the point of dodging when you're fully invincible when the background flashes gray?).

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4. PALETTES
Erma has a total of 12 palettes, all of which can be selected if you press a different button when you're at the character select screen. Note that palettes 7-12 can only be selected if you hold start (which is used for the taunt). However, Erma comes with a palette selector, which allows the player to select any of the 12 palettes, which can be helpful if they change their mind before the match can start. Below are the palettes:

A: Erma (Default)
B: Red
C: Sam (Erma's father)
X: Early (based on the opening panel of the first entry)
Y: Paula Jones
Z: Cream the Rabbit
Start+A: Kentaro (Erma's uncle)
Start+B: Peach
Start+C: Sonic
Start+X: Mayumi (Erma's aunt)
Start+Y: April Fools 2020
Start+Z: Pure Black (with red eyes)

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5. NOTES

-THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH HER-
 1. Make a match with her.
 2. Share it with your friends/fans in case you would want them to gain a potential interest in the Erma series.
 3. Give her an A.I. patch if you want her A.I. to be stronger. No permission needed, though credit will be still appreciated. :)
 4. Create additional palettes for her, in case you would want more variety or have your own palettes.
 5. Send me feedback if there are any oddities, oopsies, or bugs, especially that can affect her gameplay.

-THINGS YOU CANNOT DO WITH HER-
 1. Make NSFW/18+ edits (this includes vore edits. I mean she's a child!).
 2. Bash her (it's a waste of time. There are better ways of using your time rather than bashing. This isn't the 2010s anymore anyways).
 3. Make spriteswaps or paletteswaps of her, because doing them is laziness and is disrespectful.

-THINGS THAT REQUIRE PERMISSION-
 1. As I tend to have trust issues with some Mugen content creators, editing her requires permission from me. Note that what can be editedare combos, gameplay, and other stuff, but absolutely no NSFW/18+ edits as mentioned earlier.
 2. Using codes from the character if you're creating a Mugen character yourself. It's better to learn how to code instead of steal, so if you would want to use some of her code, ask me first.
 3. Use of sprites in a different project.

-KNOWN ISSUES-
 1. The A.I. code is not perfect, but I tried.
 2. Spooky Counter might mess up the opponent's helpers and cause a clone of the character to appear due to the ReversalDef code.
 3. Sometimes, Physic Throw might send the opponent in an incorrect direction. Not sure why this happens. :|

-OTHER NOTES-
 1. This character was made only for Mugen 1.0 and up. Older versions of Mugen will not load the character.
 2. Tested on Mugen 1.1, but still works on Mugen 1.0.

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6. INSTALLATION

Struggling with adding Erma to your roster? No worries, here's how to do it:

1. Unpack the character's folder and add it in the chars folder
2. Go to data and open select
3. Paste the following name in the character section: Erma

And here you go! Erma should now appear anytime you start Mugen.

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7. CONTACT

Found any bugs or oopsies with Erma? Then please tell me about them and I'll update her when I have time.

MFG: https://mugenguild.com/forum/profile/DeluxeGamer705-99108
MFFA: https://mugenfreeforall.com/profile/28846-deluxegamer705/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGfXpYBe143GxmRUvp8Q7fQ
DeviantArt: DeluxeTheGamer705
Twitter/X: @DeluxeGamer705
Bluesky: DeluxeGamer705
Discord: @deluxegamer705 (note that I do NOT do friend requests with randoms)

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8. SPECIAL THANKS
Brandon Santiago: For creating Erma.
Outcast Studios: For publishing the comics.
PlasmoidThunder: For small help with the wall climb mechanic.
N64Mario: For the template I used.
Kong: For ripping the hitsparks.
Elecbyte: For creating such a wonderful fighting program.
My fans: For supporting me and enjoying my characters.
Some people on Mugen Fighters Guild: For providing feedback for my characters.
You: For downloading her, of course.

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9. DISCLAIMER

This character was made out of love for the source media the character comes from, and therefore there's no intended copyright infringement. This character was made for free to allow the Erma fans enjoy playing as Erma in Mugen and to let those that never heard of Erma to gain a potential interest in her series if they were looking for new media to discover.

Don't forget to support the original creator of Erma, Brandon Santiago, as well as the entirety of Outcast Studios! This character was made to show respect to Brandon and Outcast, and was made to be a fanmade thing for other fans to enjoy. You can find the webcomic on DeviantArt, Tapas, or WEBTOON!

In case you'd wanna find more of my characters, head onto my site: https://sites.google.com/view/dxgsmugensite/main-page
Note that when the "Latest update" is changed, then that means a new, updated version was released for the character.

Thanks for reading and have a nice day! ^^
- Deluxe