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redhoodinternaldialectical · 8 months

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My Jason Todd Rec List and Character Manifesto! (Edited and updated 28/01/2024)

This is a fuckin mess my ghouls, but I got categories and I got opinions and who can stop me from typing em out? Certainly not @lazaruspiss who is the reason this thing got made!

The format is gonna be

title and page numbers (No #s if I'm recommending the whole title) picture Summary and general notes My estimate of how unhinged he is in this portrayal What his morals are like; note this isn't about whether he's a protagonist or antagonist

Since cream rises to the top, let us start with:

The Creme de la Creme

The best of the best. The most fun, the most compelling, the most interesting looks into his character.

Green Arrow (2001) #69 - #72

This one really does have it all. Jason runs rings around both Batman and Green Arrow at the same time, all the while going after a goal neither of them ever truly figures out in large part because this story wasn't afraid to let Bruce be either wrong or lying about Jason's motives. It also wonderfully leverages the ways in which the Bats and the Arrows are really good foils for each other. I think I'm going to be turning over the ways these interactions went down for a long ass time. I've been really wanting to go page by page for a comparison between the way Jason treats Mia in this and the way Jason treats Tim in the Titans Tower showdown. Bottom line for this one: It's just so good!

Jason's sanity level: Six out of Ten hinges affixed. He's got a solid grip on things, is reasonably level headed, only problem is he might have completely forgotten how to interact with other human beings outside of combat. Love him for that.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Sympathetic Villain. Decidedly willing to mow down some "brain donors", and his goals are pretty morally grey, but he clearly still has a strong code of ethics.

Joker: the Man Who Stopped Laughing

With Jason's return to being an antagonist after a long stint in the Hero bin comes his return to being really fucking dangerous and whip smart! My boy quotes serious philosophy that gives him a real point to make against non lethal vigilantes and cops! I also think the part where he lets himself be arrested just... it says so much and all of it is wonderfully interesting and feels fitting for his character. He's kept deeply human, and just all of this portrayal gels together really well.

At the time of writing, this comic isn't finished yet, so I'm going off of like 12 issues in which he appears less than the Joker, but what is there is phenomenal, even with Gotham War having... Minorly Derailed Jason's role in things, and one or two inevitable scenes where ya just have to accept that he's not as trigger happy as he should be because DC is married to the Joker.

Also I like that he's friends with my favorite, Stephanie Brown :3 and he and Rose's chemistry is nice. On top of all that? It's a fun comic. Like, I generally hate the Joker, but I found myself enjoying watching the Joker do his Joker things in this one.

Jason's sanity level: Nine out of Ten hinges affixed. Level headed, calm, careful, really the only reason this isn't a 10/10 is cause he's obsessively focused, which like, honestly is pretty reasonable I think.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Clearly Justified Antihero. I almost put down Hero on this one, but ultimately he is just far enough over the line with how he treats the less threatening of the rogues like Killer Moth.

Batman (1940) #408 - #411 Jason's debut featuring Ma Gunn's School and his first ever outing as Robin fighting Two-Face

Just LOOK at this PRECIOUS BOY! I wanna pinch him on his cheeks and give him a handful of these bad boys

Jason has a ton of personality to him right out the gate. The first story has Ma Gunn as the villain and she's a lot of fun. The second story in here with Two-Face is also enlightening with regards to Jason's early personality, even if it's not quite as fun.

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Hero.

Under the Red Hood would be next if it wasn't already filed under ->

Foundational Texts

This is the shit that defines Jason as a character. Much is mutable in any given comic, but somehow, someway, all depictions of Jason are impacted and informed by these three stories. Enough has been said about all of them that I'm gonna keep it brief.

Red Hood: The Lost Days

Jason's sanity level: Eight out of Ten hinges affixed.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Antihero. He kills some incredibly nasty people, while also doing some genuinely heroic shit. The only places where his morals deteriorate are in the presence of Batman and the Joker.

Under the Red Hood

Jason's sanity level: Four out of Ten hinges affixed. Remember how his morals deteriorated in the face of Batman and the Joker? Yeah, that's mostly because he's way, way too personally invested to think straight about them. He's strategic as fuck, but this is not a stable man's strategy for dealing with his issues.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Sympathetic Villain. He is a revenant, a vengeful juggernaut, and breaks an awful lot of eggs making this brilliant disaster of an omelette.

Batman (1940) #426 - #429 A Death in the Family

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Hero.

Joker becoming an ambassador to Iran plotlines count: One too many.

Solid Storylines

These ain't the vaulted heights, but not everything has to be the Sistine Chapel. They're solid, and if you're wanting more Jason I do certainly recommend them.

Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer and Countdown to Infinite Crisis

Jason is in what I like to call his Purposeless Depression Era during this. It's after his plans in Under the Red Hood fail and he's really just got no place to go, no place to be, and in fact is keenly aware that on a cosmic level, he truly does not belong in this world anymore. He's supposed to be dead. There's something I find quite neat about this team up, with Donna Troy and Kyle Raynor and Bob, it's out of the ordinary for Jason, it's not bat related, and the ways he fits and doesn't fit with the other characters are just neat.

I especially recommend Gotham by Gaslight. The plot will be a lil hard to follow if you haven't read the others, but Jason by the end hopes to return to Victorian Era Steampunk Gotham and the moments of him hoping to literally leave his universe behind are both sweet and sorrowful.

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed. He's just sad and lonely.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Hero. Even if only Donna is willing to tentatively try to see him that way.

Robin (1993) #177 and one page of #182 and the front half of #183

Despite how much Jason is known for it, I think this is the only time we see him trying to run organized crime outside of Under the Red Hood (and uh debatably Battle for the Cowl). Short lil string of appearances, but critical for understanding how he's seen by Tim during this era if you care about that, and it really cemented my understanding of Jason being strangely honest and forthright.

I think the major way other Bats fail to comprehend him is that they expect him to manipulate through lying, which just isn't his style. He doesn't lie about his motives; he doesn't obfuscate his tactics; he doesn't hide how he's feeling. Hell, he doesn't even try to lie his way out of prison! I could not tell you why this series of interactions gave me this impression but it is why I have such faith that when Jason says something, he probably just means it, even when characters like Dick or Tim assume otherwise.

Pity this was the lead up to Battle for the Cowl.

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed. He's even attempting to pick himself up out of his Purposeless Depression Era slump at the start.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Antihero.

Nightwing (1996) #118 - #122 aka Brothers in Blood aka the One Where Jason Gets Tentacles

COWARDS and KNAVES will tell you "the tentacles are so icky and everyone is so OOC" or whatever but again they are KNAVES and COWARDS because bitch this shit is GREAT

Jason: Wow! My bestest big brother killed someone who deserved it, so now I (the person he's rejecting only because I kill people who deserved it) have a real chance at being his family again!! :D Hooray! :) Dickie-Bird why don't you look happy to see me? :) Dickie-Bird I went out of my way to get us matching outfits and stalked your work and killed people in your name so it's nice and easy to make room for me in your life! :) :) :)

Dick:

Jason's sanity level: Two out of Ten hinges affixed. My mans is off his rocker and I adore him like this. Frankly, the entire storyline is unhinged, and it only feels appropriate that Jason is similarly bonkers in yonkers.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Villain. You can sympathize with him, and he is still trying to carry out justice, but I have to call it for straight villain when he's threatening to bomb a building full of innocent people.

Batman and Robin (2009) #23 - #25

I don't have much to say about this one. It's good. The above page is pretty much the highlight.

Wait actually I do have something to say and it is that I would like to lick Jason's abs, pls & thx, because the other highlight is that Winick clearly believes in redeeming Jason's value as a villain through sex appeal and it is working lmao

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed. Certifiably sane, he's passed all his psych exams!

Jason's moral compass bearing: Villain. He threatens to bomb a train station full of innocent people. While he does do that in service of freeing himself and Scarlet, thus making it not completely self centered, I still gotta put him firmly in Villain.

Nightwing (2016) 2021 Annual

In high contrast to the previous two in which Jason acts as a villain to Dick, this one has them working together and the tentative peace and cautious trust they've got going is interesting to me. This Team Z era Jason is interesting to me in general, though I don't know much about him.

Jason's sanity level: Nine out of Ten hinges affixed. He's quite chill, but there's just this little edge to him that says his relationship to violence is a little too casual a little too deep to really be fully hinged.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Edgy Hero.

Your Mileage May Vary

These stories I can't recommend without major caveats or warnings, but I still think are worth mentioning.

Gotham War (It's such a mangled mess that I'm just gonna link a reading guide.)

So, the main problem here is that Gotham War spans five different titles and had three different authors whose renditions of Jason do not feel cohesive or even coherent. The funny thing is though, each rendition has real merits, and while it doesn't go far enough in condemning Bruce's horrifying treatment of Jason for many people's tastes, I have to point out that it's one of the only comics to condemn an instance of Bruce mistreating Jason at all. The fact that the other Robins come to his defense is a HUGE thing! The bar may be in Hell, but it did clear the bar!

Due to how disjointed it is, I'm going to very loosely separate Jason out into two versions of himself. Think of these not as hard lines, but more a spectrum he slides across depending on what author has him that issue.

Jason Primus combines the ideas in Jason's Under the Red Hood speech about controlling crime rather than trying to stomp it out with his more Heroic modern interpretation. He's a chill, funny, smart guy whose protectiveness over the mooks is really charming.

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed. Jason's moral compass bearing: Hero.

Jason Secundus is much more violent, not used to working with other people, and paranoid and antsy in a way that causes him to take it out on people who really don't deserve it. This is a compelling take on him, though I like him closer to Jason Primus. His trauma has clearly shaped him a lot, both for better and for worse.

Jason's sanity level: Seven out of Ten hinges affixed. Jason's moral compass bering: Anti-Hero, most of this focuses on him antagonizing two former Joker goons which kinda doesn't work well cause they're mostly scarecrow goons actually and also at one point he hurts them in a way that borderline just seems like stress relief. It's nothing worse than what we see Batman himself doing countless times, but it's still jarring because we've been made to strongly sympathize with the goon in question.

Batman: Three Jokers <- I read it while typing this up, so I got a lotta thoughts

Guh, this one is just fucking sad

So, I don't mind a story being blunt with its message as long as the message actually holds up. Unfortunately, this three parter's attempt at the cycle of violence lesson is... bad. Real bad.

Jason in it is neat! This is a good Jason portrayal somehow despite literally everything about the way this comic frames him! The narrative expects us to believe he is a danger to society on the cusp of becoming another Joker, because he *checks notes* shot the Joker dead, shot at a Joker loyal guy, and roughly interrogated an injured child abuser. At no point does he show signs of wanting to hurt innocent people. At no point does he show signs of doing any hurting without premeditation or a need to defend himself. I'm baffled by this.

My kingdom for a fucking CRUMB of nuance, I swear, smh...

I hear a lot of people hate his one sided romance towards Barbara. This is understandable as it squanders the opportunity to have a female character not be stuck as the narrative sponge for man emotions. I like it from the perspective of a Jason fan, and give condolences for the Barbara fans. It's not healthy, and good fucking job on the janitor sweeping away his letter to her so poor Babs doesn't have to deal with that shit, but I do like Jason's desperation to be loved by someone, anyone, who might show him compassion.

Jason's sanity level: Six out of Ten hinges affixed. He's sad, he's lonely, he needs some PTSD specific therapy, he's a bit creepy about his crush on Barbara, but quite frankly he has it together a lot more than the narrative would like us to believe. The way the other characters treat him like he's some kind of monster just waiting to snap and start maiming people indiscriminately makes me really uncomfortable.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Antihero. Quite frankly I'm tempted to say Hero out of spite.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #1 - #43

There are three transcendental character moments in this run that I think make it worth reading even if not all of it's your cup of tea. On the other hand though there are some big issues that could very easily be deal breakers. Oh and anything after #43 is a wasteland and #43 is included purely for the implication that being transgender made a woman immortal.

The narrative structure is really heavily dependent on rule of emotional impact/cool/allegorical usefulness. Many events will not make any fucking sense based on petty things like basic logic or the laws of physics, but they do work just fine in the area of what makes the story more fun or the emotional beats hit harder. Stronger than average suspension of disbelief is necessary for the reward of getting a lot of stuff that's, like, just really fuckin cool.

The romantic side plot with Artemis is... odd. Either the author, Scott Lobdell, intended to write Jason as a desperate loser trying to date his uninterested lesbian friend who he co-parents with, or he accidentally wrote a romance so awkward and comp-het that I cannot wrap my head around reading it as reciprocated. This works for me because I have a lot of fun reading Jason as a desperate loser who's not even actually in love with her, he just is desperate to cling to the closest thing he's ever gotten to a nuclear family and in denial about being either aro/ace or gay.

Now, lets explore a lil bit of the whole Jason is a loser angle, cause it's not the whole story, there are many points in which Jason gets to be a badass motherfucker, but he is much, much less of the hypercompetant, highly determined, murderous threat he used to be. Almost none of the newer renditions of Jason are. This Jason in particular though is very soft and cuddly, and fits the archetype of man trying to be the edgy bad boy but who secretly just wants a hug and a warm glass of milk.

If I were to describe my personal Jason in a few sentences I would say that he is someone who loves himself viciously. He feels he has been wronged and is willing to burn down the world to rectify that. He will hold your ass at gunpoint and demand the hugs and warm glasses of milk that he fucking well deserves!

This Jason is about as far away from that as you can possibly get. I still like him though, and I do not count him as being a different character, because when you start with emotional logic that goes like this:

It wasn't my fault + I deserve better = I get to burn the world down in order to get better

It becomes extremely difficult to ever stop burning the world without also deciding "It was my fault" or "I don't deserve better". Jason is meant to have changed a lot, and this is a plausible evolution of the Jason I prefer.

Finally, the handling of Bizarro, a mentally disabled character, is a sensitive enough topic that your mileage will vary, even if I can't think of a bad thing to say about it. Jason and Artemis are really pretty good about treating him with respect, giving him help where he needs it and autonomy where he's capable of taking it. They raise him, but don't control him, and he is literally three days old when they find him so this isn't infantilization. It takes the framing of Lenny from of Mice and Men and Flowers for Algernon and rejects them in a way that I am satisfied with. You'll just have to read it for yourself to see if you're satisfied as well.

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed. I kinda wish he was more unhinged.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Hero. He even saves a puppy and gives them pats.

Knight Terrors: Robin

Have you ever been in the mood for a syrupy sweet hurt/comfort fanfiction in which Jason and Tim were magically forced to talk about how much they like each other in order to overcome their own insecurities? Do you wish that existed as a lavishly illustrated two issue comic?

If you answered yes to those two questions then congratulations! It does exist, this is it, go have fun!

If you think that sounds like ham fisted garbage turning what should be several long arcs of serious reconciliation and deeply meaningful character moments into two issue fan service schlock then condolences! I wish you all the best in denial, as all comic fans sail that river sooner or later and I shall join you upon it someday.

What category do I fall into? Well I think this is definitely ham fisted, but I won't kick a boar out of bed as long as they ain't a bore, and this little ditty is certainly entertaining.

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed.

Jason't moral compass bearing: Hero.

Batman and Robin Eternal

This is a decent portrayal of Jason in his modern, much friendlier, and much more bat family integrated rendition. He has some fun moments in it, and I like his staby bracers.

I don't like this comic. It commits the most dire of writing sins: Being boring. I think about Jason every second of every minute of every day; if your comic that majorly features a good portrayal of him cannot hold my attention, then something has gone very wrong. Hopefully one of you will like it more than I do.

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Hero.

Suicide Squad: Get Joker! (Content warning for suicide, skip to the hot take if this'll get to ya - also spoiler warning cuz I can't discuss this properly without discussing the ending)

A three issue miniseries in which Jason is inducted into the Suicide Squad on a mission to kill the Joker. He's highly competent as a team leader, grounded, intelligent, and uses measured violence in a way that is satisfyingly tactical. The squad they threw together honestly has some pretty neat chemistry as a whole, and the characters were appropriately messy and quite likable.

This isn't higher on the list because it thinks it earned it's ambiguous ending, and frankly, it's wrong about that. Ambiguous endings live and die by the question they make the audience sit with - It has to be worth losing out on the emotional payoff of a solid ending.

The question of "If you left Jason in a room with the Joker and a gun with one bullet, would he shoot the Joker or himself?" is a really shitty question. Like, did the authors not realize that just on a logistical level, Jason could leave the room and find a second bullet after shooting the Joker? Like, seriously, even if we accept the premise that Joker's speech got to Jason, there are no reasons for him not to choose the "both" option. The only way I can imagine this working is if the Joker is actually the fucking Purple Man from Jessica Jones using mind control.

So we exchanged the validation of literally all our protagonists' struggles/sacrifices paying off for... the vague implication that Jason unforgivably betrayed his teammates, himself, and the entire world because he was so eager to die that he couldn't wait ten fucking minutes. If I loved the Joker I might feel differently about it, but as is, I felt insulted.

This would have been Solid Storylines or maybe even Creme de la Creme if not for that implication. It's not boring though! The rest of it up to the end is honestly pretty damn good, if a bit convoluted, and much of the ending's sour taste can be assuaged by getting out a sheet of paper and doodling Jason opening Joker's head with a handgun and then going out for icecream with the team.

Jason's sanity level: Ten out of Ten hinges affixed. He's a sad, sad lad tho.

Jason's Moral Compass Bearing: Anti-Hero, forced to be much more violent than he wants to be.

A Hot Take

I bet you thought the tentacles were the hot take! HAH! MuahahaahhHAHAHAH - Prepare now, puny mortals, to witness me defend Pill Helmet Jason AND his fashion choices!

No, I am not talking about Winick's redo late in the game, we've already been over that one. I mean I will defend Grant Morrison's flop era, three foot head gear wearin, goofy ass, unwashed ass, "how to build ur brand" reading maniac

It's time to talk about Batman and Robin (2009) #1 - #6

The interpretation of one scene makes or breaks this Jason:

If you believe he is being insincere and manipulating her into putting all her emotional eggs in the basket of his crusade, ignoring her wellbeing in favor of his 'brand', then this is probably the worst mischaracterization of Jason ever written.

If you believe he is being sincere, genuinely comforting her in the only way that he's got to deal with his own trauma, giving her real affection and not pushing her to take either option with the mask because he trusts her to make that decision for herself, then this gets Jason very right.

No matter what Morrison might have intended, I choose to believe it's the latter. This is terrible advice to give a trauma victim, but it makes perfect sense for Jason to believe that about his own trauma, and thus to pass that maladaptive view along. He doesn't try to assure her that the mask can come off safely or that he'll get her a doctor because he really can't promise her either of those things. It would be cruel to her to pretend that he's got a solution. Jason can't undo the damage that was done to her any more than he can force a dead Bruce to kill the Joker.

Instead he offers her purpose, and reassurance that she's gonna look badass if she never does take it off, and protects her when she's in trouble.

You can claim this is just him acting out his chosen Hero role, but like, WHY would he have chosen to method act that role 24/7 if he wasn't trying to BE a Hero who protects people like Scarlet? There's nothing in it for Jason to fake this.

I also think if he was being written out of character as a manipulator we would have seen him use a romantic or sexual angle which he absolutely doesn't do.

Dickie, you are such a funny Batman, they never shoulda brought Bruce back tbh.

Instead, he seems to be taking a more parental role, in a near perfect reflection of how Bruce took him in when he was a kid. Just he's doing it his way, meaning that whenever Scarlet goes further with the violence than Jason seems to want to, he backs her up instead of chastising her.

Speaking of violence and morals, Let the Punishment Fit the Crime is a coherent moral position to take, even if you (understandably) disagree with it, or disagree with what punishments fit which crimes. It's basically the same moral position as every other version of Jason there's ever been! Like, is he even killing more people than he used to in stories like Under the Red Hood? No, I don't think he is.

The branding thing is weird, lil annoying too after a while, but ultimately it still makes sense. And brings me around to my promised defense of his fashion choices.

First of all the symbolic importance of the fact that he wears white cannot be overstated in my mind. Will I elaborate? No, this post is way too long already lmao! Second off, it's supposed to be silly. I believe the silliness was a conscious, calculated choice, and the right one to make.

Jason doesn't believe that fear works, he's not trying for pure intimidation, and he knows that he's going to have to appeal to people in his bid to be seen as a Hero. Making himself seem big but non-threatening, a bright patch in the night, makes real sense.

Take a look at this view of Jason from Scarlet's POV when he comes to rescue her from the cops after she kills her dad:

He's got a smoking gun in his hand and he just shot two people dead, yet we're hard fuckin pressed to find him intimidating aren't we?? Cornball dialogue, and the silliest fuckin hat in the universe, because he's not meant to be from this era, he's emulating the Golden and Silver age comics and all their goofiness. He's trying to be the older, happier, sillier batman that used to exist (at least in his head), while doing what he believes is right and necessary.

The costume makes sense dammit!

Also it just doesn't look bad, I can't provide an argument for this, it's just true!!

Also also every one of these fuckers should be wearing a helmet too, this is basic brain safety, if you're gonna go around antagonizing fuckers with guns you need to make your head at least nominally bulletproof, it's that simple!!!

Now... do I recommend you read this? (This section was rewritten on January 28th, 2024)

Yes, with significant caveats. There's a reason I chunked this in with YMMV.

First is the Batman typical ableism of just really fucked depictions of mental illness. I normally wouldn't warn for this because everyone knows most of the rogues and will be aware of what they bring to the table, but Professor Pyg is obscure enough I wouldn't expect people to know, and the way he's written just... hurts. Like there's just something about him that is painful to read as someone that's got several schizophrenic friends who are near and dear to my heart. I would hesitate to recommend it to any of them the same way I'd hesitate to recommend Silence of the Lambs to most other trans people.

Secondly this comic is Extremely Gay (a definite positive!) however it is Extremely Gay in a way that kinda requires some onboarding and analysis to properly parse and that is actually why this post was edited:

The first time I read this comic, my impression was that it was vitriolically homophobic. Considering that at the time I had heard many things about Grant Morrison, and none of them good, I went with my gut. I put here that while I would defend Jason's characterization, I couldn't in good faith recommend something so bigoted, detailed what felt bigoted, and went on with my day.

Then a while later I saw a post that I suspect was talking about this one saying something along the lines of "How the hell could you call Grant Morrison, who gave us so many of our most iconic gay characters, homophobic? The racism and such I can understand but homophobic? No."

To which my initial response was a resounding: Wha??? Like, genuinely how was I supposed to read this and not get homophobia out of it?? But I went and looked Morrison up and yeah sure enough the guy's queer so I dug deeper and mulled it over until I figured out what the fuck I was missing. So, this section is a correction and an apology about that earlier homophobia claim. Sorry about that.

The styling of this queerness are highly akin to that of the John Waters movie Pink Flamingos which I'll let Matt Baume explain better than I ever could. This guy right here is pretty much the perfect example, Hell, he's even literally named The Flamingo.

Essentially it's queerness is all aggressive, unapologetic, and designed to be provocatively shocking, which can be jarring if you're not ready to flow with it. Also he likely had to arrange a lot of things to get around censorship, same as Judd Winick did. For instance the fact that Dick spoke the same circus lingo as the police precinct destroying troupe of Very Queer Freakshow Workers was meant to imply that Dick is Very Queer too. Pretty sure he would've said that in a far less convoluted way if he could've.

So, with the bulk of my initial reservations about this comic disproven... I have no choice but to straight up recommend it to anyone who thinks they can jive with this vibe of storytelling!

Jason's sanity level: One out of Ten hinges affixed. Obsessive, not taking care of himself, possessed of some really maladaptive trauma coping frameworks, completely unhinged. My condolences to his mental health, but I do love to see it.

Jason's moral compass bearing: Antihero. It's weird because this is undeniably a much darker comic, and Jason certainly feels darker, but in terms of what he actually does, and what the other characters do, his violence is honestly very tame.

So, cards on the table, here is the core of who Jason is to me:

He's got clear moral motives and a drive to help as well as harm, though violence and harm are the main ways in which he tries to improve the world.

When confronted he does not back down; he does not let himself be overshadowed or silenced. He is confident in his decisions and every bit of push back is already accounted for in his head.

Everything he does is premeditated. He is not impulsive. His plans may sometimes be unhinged but they are methodically planned.

He is painfully sincere, the way fire is painfully hot.

He desperately desires love and connection, but it will take many years of constant rejection and fighting before he is willing to accept any kind of compromise to his ethics for the sake of civility.

Under all the hurt and combativeness, he's a pretty goofy guy! He's got a sense of fun and likes to be flamboyant and silly when he can!

He's a villain, a hero, a protagonist, an antagonist, and everything between the extremes. He exists as a powerful counter-thesis to Batman, and as such DC can't ever fully answer the question of what to do with him. He exists in this waffling limbo state as his morals are debated, stretched, refuted, turned on their head. I think that makes him a wonderfully fascinating character to love.

I hope you enjoyed this and, like, go have fun reading comics!

#jason todd #red hood #comic recommendations #Damian's Tomfoolery #dc comics #dc universe #long post

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cottoncandytomu · 1 year

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SLOW BURN ENEMIES TO LOVERS FIC IN THE WORKS BABYYYYYY~

I've decided to start working on a new fic that will hopefully be out this weekend!! It's a Ellie Williams x F!Reader x Abby Anderson love triangle - reader being in the middle of it! Here is a photo I edited of said story. It's titled "Torn." (More descriptions of the story below!!)

In this story you and Ellie are both Superheroes! (This ones for the comic nerds most defffff). Abby is the villain hehehe~ It will include angst, fluff, smut and dark themes (I'm putting everything in this bitch). So it will be 18+ no minors and ageless blogs are welcome to this story - or any of my content for that matter!

I haven’t made up any hero names so I’m just going to use their regular names for this 🫡🫡

Here's a brief summary below!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You and Ellie are one unstoppable superhero couple, constantly being in the public eye has sky rocketed you both to stardom. To the public you both seem to be an extremely skilled fighting duo. You wielding the ability of Psionics. Being able to move matter, read minds, teleport and see events before they happen. Whilst your beautiful, loved by all, girlfriend has super strength more powerful than any entity in the universe that is paired perfectly with her ability to fly. She is a natural born leader. Being the head of all heroes comes with great responsibility she doesn't take lightly.

You both fight crime and take on whatever challenges come your way to keep Seattle safe. The biggest threat to you all is none other than Abby. A force not to be reckoned with, her ability is to shape shift into anyone she pleases. This along with the power to wield the abilities of anyone she shifts into makes her a dangerous opponent. Her mind is set on one thing, making sure there are no more heroes left.

Abby isn't like the rest of society. She can see right through the little while lies of all the heroes. They're not the saviors the public perceives them to be. If she can be true to her wicked ways, not hiding who she truly is then why can't they? They don't care about the people they save. They only care for the cameras and flashing lights. The praise they get is laughable. All they do is fool the masses. It disgusts her.

You knew this all too well though. Having to deal with Ellie behind the scenes was enough to know how fake everything and everyone was. The duo everyone has known to love and obsess over is not the duo they think they know. Ellie is selfish and cruel. She won't let anything or anyone - including you - stop her from being the best there is.

What will happen when you're face to face with true danger, head to head with none other than Abby. Will Abby see you as the others or will she peel back the layers to recognize that your true intent is good. Will you be corrupted by her ways when she shows you what you could be instead? Will you finally accept the dark thoughts that have been clouding your mind since you were young? Will you truly understand Abby's true intentions? Or will you be just like the rest of them? Selfish and greedy for that spotlight. Torn between two choices, you must choose your fate~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GOOD GRAVY!! IM HYPE FOR THIS STORYYYY I WON'T LIEEEE!! This will be my first ever slow burn fic so I hope you all enjoy it when it comes out!! Thank you all for reading! While you wait here's my Masterlist~ where you can find more of my works :)

Have a wonderful night/day you Beauties~

=^.^=~

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space-blue · 2 months

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BG3 Fic Feb Comic Edition, Day 20 :

Tav gets a proposal from their partner. In which Gale offers to pay the bill on a fancy new outfit to wear around camp, so long as Tav lets him pick the cut. He's fallen for his love's chubby body and thinks he deserves better than the rags they made it to Baldur's Gate with.

With a small rambling H/C below the cut on Gale's relationship with fat, and a chubby/fat LI.

In which I posit that Gale's abs are fake, and a relationship with a fat or chubby Tav can change his view on his own body.

I saw the debate going around early on, and it has stuck with me. Are Gale's abs real? Do they make sense on a man who has been on a self-imposed year of isolation in his tower? A gourmand who loves to cook?

I've seen art that shows him working out, and I've seen lots of art in which the abs are replaced with chubbiness he's either fine with or self conscious about. But see, I'd like to think that Gale, the good dancer of Blackstaff academy, Chosen of Mystra, prodigy fretted over since boyhood, would have a particular relationship with "appearances".

Let's imagine that his looks are exactly as they are at the start of the story. He has a six pack, depression, and a magical black hole stuffed in his chest that pushes a strange hunger on him. He eats magical artefacts to upkeep it, and delicious dishes to soothe the sadness and anxiety.

Except now he's on the road, making do as best he can, prepping meals out of what we can scrounge. So for a while the intense physical effort of the adventure, paired with bare bones meals, would maintain his physic. But eventually, nature would take its course, and arriving in the environs of Baldur's Gate, sweets are available again, as well as real, restaurant grade food. His waist thickens, his cheeks fill out, he's less gaunt. He's got the glow of a man in love, too.

But even deeply in love, Gale struggles to fathom that Tav could love him as he is. Well, no, of course Tav loves him, but Gale is only offering so much, and isn't that bad? Tav, who he now loves more than his own Goddess... Tav deserves more. Deserves better than puny, human Gale. I think God Gale would come with chiseled silver abs because it's the vision he has of perfection. An ambitious body should be flawless, right? And Mystra, his Goddess, is a skinny depiction of "perfection" herself, isn't she?

So in his mind, fat is still a flaw. Assuming we manage to show him the light and guide him away from godhood, that he is truly who we love, as we love him, I think that Gale, master of illusion, would still want to present the best way possible for Tav. Having regained his old abilities, he'd be tempted to trim himself again.

I think his abs, in that context, are a lazy wizard's artifice. Anyone at Blackstaff can do it, and does. Being chubby, to them, is an aesthetic choice. And if it's not in fashion, then why indulge it? But also why work out, when time can be best spent hunting and reading books, writing essays, and sourcing collections of rare artefacts? Or eating 5 stars meals at the best restaurants in Waterdeep? There's only so many hours in the day, and so much to do. Plus, we've seen his home, and he pointed out the magical piano that plays itself (wink wink), not the dumbbells and workout bench.

No, Gale would be tempted to go back to his easy snatched waist, and probably would if his LI was slim. He's got a tendency for self-consciousness. I like to imagine that he kept the six pack through his great depression era because he just couldn't stand the idea of slipping in appearance this much, and having to get a new wardrobe. We already know the beard is unusual, and that he keeps it because he likes it, to Tara's dismay.

I think a fat or chubby Tav would help Gale relax. He falls for this person, and they so happen to be fat. All right, so what? He leans more towards intercourse in the Weave anyway, so bodies aren't so high a concern. But after Gale declares his feelings (which are returned) and the intimacy with Tav becomes more physical (small caresses, sleeping and cuddling together, hugging...) I think he'd start seeing the light.

He'd press himself into Tav and be completely overcome with the pleasure of having all this softness be for him. That Tav being chubby means more of Tav to have.

Slowly realising that Tav's fat isn't making them any less gracious or fetching in their clothes, and that a lot of the things Gale was worried about in himself were image concerns brought by the gazes of others. Expectations put on him. What a wizard of his standing should look like, that being a gourmand should not get in the way of being Mystra's arm-candy Chosen.

If Tav's chubby belly is such a delight however, then why should his be an issue? I think Gale would remain nervous and try to open the conversation, rather than not mention it or deciding to make the change on his own. Because ultimately, even being more relaxed around the idea that he's gaining weight again, he'd be nervous that this might not suit Tav's tastes.

That's the problem with being a wizard this powerful. You can influence your self and your image so much. Heck, there are spells that can resculpt your very face, so why would someone like Gale, who has carte blanche on himself, dare disappoint his love?

Tav would have to work to reassure him, but imo would have less struggle is they are a man, or masc, because Gale couldn't use the "beauty standards for thee" logic loop. A handsome man who makes tight shirts look inviting? Fat softened pecs becoming the greatest pillow he's ever rested his chest on? Seeing a form of desirable beauty in his lover that he's slowly growing to mirror? He'd wax poetic about it, get in his feels.

Tav could whisper a soft, 'Please, be yourself.' and Gale would never concern himself with six packs again, nor be afraid to develop his well-settled-professor's body.

Gale's taste remains a tad refined, and I think his concern with appearances would not go away completely. It's just that, settled in Waterdeep, he'd drag Tav to his favourite tailor, and commissions well fited clothes for him. I can see Gale being quite on top of fashion, and anxious for everyone to see Tav under his best light, especially early on as they meet the family, his circle of friends, the faculty... Stressful days, during which being able to sink into Tav's soft embrace would be the best of cures.

#bg3ficfeb #gale #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #tav #trans tav #trans masc #gale x tav #gale bg3 #tav bg3 #fat positvity #tiefling tav #gale headcanons #bg3 headcanons #baldur's gate 3

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reikiajakoiranruohoja · 9 months

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W5: Why do I think it is bad

When W20 (Werewolf the Apocalypse 20th anniversary edition) came out, it was a joyous occasion for multiple reasons. First, it was the first proper book released for the game in 10 years. Second, it was proof that the old game still had fans who were willing to try a new edition.

And third; W20 was about hope.

From its beginning comic about rising up to fight despite the odds to the way the book offered chances to play the lost tribes, to the way the supplements followed suit in offering more options and interesting ideas to use, W20 was about going on despite the odds.

This is not the feeling one gets reading Werewolf the Apocalypse 5th edition. Despite being a reboot, the book spends pages guilt-tripping players about playing garou. There is little hope, because being a garou sucks and most importantly; The fight for Gaia might not even be real.

Now, I am not one to say no to Alternative Universes, I enjoy the concept a lot. But W5 is still a game and so needs more than a rant about how badly the garou screwed up, it needs gameplay. And the gameplay W5 offers is sitting in your caern defending your turf while the world around you burns and if you dare to take action? You might become mad and become a fascist.

I need to remind you all that the core of WtA is the fight against pollution, systematic oppression, your own ancestors and your own Rage. The horror is how impossible the fight seems, how easily you can turn on your friends and how tempting an easy way out is.

The horror in W5 is how bad your ancestors were and how terrible it is to be a garou.

Personal Horror has always been the wheelhouse of Vampire the Masquerade, as being a vampire forces you to create justifications for your actions. Werewolf is titled Feral Horror for a reason, the horror is more external than internal. Yet W5 tries to make it internal like in VtM, leaving behind all the environmental horror. Indeed, W5 is written quite clearly with purely urban characters in mind with very little focus on nature.

Anyone who is familiar with NWoD/Chronicle of Darkness should by now notice that this sounds quite a bit like Werewolf the Forsaken. This is because W5 has taken a lot from Forsaken, but without truly understanding the way these parts make Forsaken what it is.

But all of this is, as we say in the community, fluff. What about the mechanics? Surely they are at least fun?

The way Rage works in W5 is extremely punishing because Rage has its own dice that replace normal dice the more you have. If you fail with these dice, your character will destroy something. At best. Worse is that any Rage above the hilariously small maximum of 5 gives your character willpower damage. The kicker is that you cannot choose to use Rage Dice when you want to, nor can you control their use. It is all or nothing.

Rage in the previous editions of WtA was a power versus control trap. You could do amazing things with your Rage, but the more you had the easier it was to lose control and the harder it was to deal with humans. What made Rage such a clever trap, was that gaining more was often based on player action. Those seeking a fast way to power would end up being creatures with very little to no self-control.

Rage Dice are not that, they make the life of a PC hard no matter what they do and at times punish players by taking actions as werewolves.

Another mechanic that punishes and in fact has some really unfortunate implications attached to it is Hauglosk. Stated to be the opposite of Harano, Hauglosk is in reality a way for the ST to punish any player who plays in a way that the ST does not approve. Worse, Hauglosk is at one point stated to be equal to fascism.

On the fluff side, Hauglosk also serves as a way to limit what the PCs can do as the book helpfully notes it manifests in the form of absolute certainty to your cause and the want to act NOW. Since we are on Tumblr here, I should not have to note how baffling that is in a game about activism.

The way Hauglosk is written is most likely to justify the removal of a tribe from the playable roster. The Get of Fenris might have had their issues, but W5's cult of Fenris is said to be utterly lost to Hauglosk. By wanting to keep fighting the Wyrm with certainty. The sheer vitriol this book has for the Get of Fenris is to the point where some tribes do worse things than they do but are still playable. Worse, by the book itself, you can redeem a Black Spiral Dancer but not a Cult of Fenris member.

Let me repeat that; You can redeem a rapist torturer who willingly pollutes and eats humans but you CANNOT redeem a person fighting on the same side as you who is a bit more fanatic about the cause.

This push to make the tribe into essentially fascists didn't come from an edgelord writer. It came from the Brand Manager who pushed for it very hard, while doing their damnedest to take away feminism from the Black Furies and ignored suggestions from Indigenous writer about the Native American tribes. Sadly, because this person still IS the Brand Manager, Furies are no longer women-only and no tribe has ties to any human culture.

(Also, just to be clear; Paradox denied the Onyx Path developers any name changes to the Native American tribes and the only reason their names were changed in W5 is thanks to the aforementioned Indigenous writer fighting for the changes tooth and nail.)

These are only a few things that make W5 a mess, but I hope I shed some light on the issue.

#nazi mention //#rape mention //#racism //#werewolf the apocalypse #w5 #wta

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sincerely-sofie · 6 months

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Check-in for October 24, 2023

I'm planning on doing regular check-ins that peeps can read or skip as much as they please. If you want to see behind the scenes of my projects or get to know me a bit better, feel free to peek below the cut! If not, just look at this color palette I made for my web dev class and admire it:

I know green and pink are my favorite colors, so I may be just a tad biased, but look!!! Look at how pretty it is!!!

I plan to use the palette for a website that is basically a guided tour of a fictional town that's populated by bug people, and while the colors used in the initial character sketches are still my preference, I don't think they look too bad in this proof of concept image! They definitely need some tweaking, and some details in the art itself need correcting, but all around it's not too shabby :>

I also made the logo for the website which, while uninspired, doesn't look that bad. I'm not in a logo design course, so I can't be too upset about that. I made two versions--- a light and dark one--- so that I could have it appear on most colors of background.

Also, I've printed off tons of art and stuck it on my walls over the past few days to inspire me. The art wall has been very successful in beautifying my space, but I've been a bit too worn out to draw much other than the start of a project where I draw individual generations of pokemon by memory. Venusaur looks exactly like I remembered it, but also nothing like that at all. Charizard's line only looks halfway decent by virtue of Twig existing.

I must say, though, that I am charmed by these drawings' doofy lil grins. Just look at Bulbasaur. He is raring to go! Charmander is ready to shake your hand! Look at these lads!!

I've been trying to learn Clip Studio Paint by drawing a new The Present is a Gift comic in it, but I cannot begin to explain to you all how intimidating of a program it is for me. I'm a Procreate gal, y'all. I have a conniption whenever I look at the Photoshop interface. When I look at this:

I am desperate for the cozy white space of this:

I spent over an hour struggling to draw a simple piece for Instagram, admittedly while desperately trying to get OBS to not give out on me while I recorded my screen, but I think that I'm slowly learning how to not faint whenever the Paint window boots up.

youtube

Anyhoo--- enjoy the WIP teaser for the upcoming comic featuring a chat between Dusknoir (piloting a KO'd Twig) and Darkrai amidst a cave-in. If I am found dead, know that said comic worked alongside Clip Studio Paint to kill me.

As an update for The Present is a Gift in terms of the fanfic, I recently broke 6,000 words for the first draft. I haven't been writing too regularly--- when I do, it's usually to just sit down for 30 minutes max to try and get a little bit of a head start on NaNoWriMo coming up--- but whenever I do, the words come in batches of 400-700+ at a time. My dudes, I used to take a week to reach the lower end of that amount. I've been beating perfectionism back with a stick while sobbing "Quantity begets quality! Quantity begets quality!", but since I've set myself a challenge to write as many garbage words as possible without editing them until the first draft is done, I've been writing--- and enjoying the process of writing--- more than I have in my entire life.

I've been trying to win NaNoWriMo, a challenge where you write 50k words in November, for the last 7 years. I resigned myself to being a NaNo rebel and trying to write just 15k words next month. But if I keep cranking out 1,500 words in under two writing sprints per day--- without properly trying to eliminate distractions--- I think I could actually win for once??? I didn't think Pokemon Mystery Dungeon fanfiction would be what gave me a fighting chance at winning NaNoWriMo, but here I am. PMD brainrot truly is a miraculous thing, but I'll have to see exactly miraculous it is on the 1st of November.

So... yep! I probably should have figured out a way to sign off on check-in posts before deciding to publish this. Oops. Welp. Um. Thanks for reading?

Sincerely, Sofie

#sofie checks in #web development #web dev #web design #fanfiction writer #nanowrimo #Youtube #pngtuber #The Present is a Gift AU Update

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rpgsandbox · 6 months

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The Best Selling Hit RPG from 1985 is Back!

This Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness Kickstarter campaign features a relaunch of the original TMNT role-playing game and sourcebooks, sought-after collector items that have enthralled generations since their release in 1985 as one of the first licensed TMNT products.

They are returning to print as two, officially licensed, deluxe hardcover collections of the RPG and all sourcebooks. Each is completely remastered, includes rules clarifications, and is updated to full color. Bonus material includes an array of new artwork, never-before-seen behind-the-scenes info and art, remembrances, and tributes by renowned comic book and RPG creators Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Freddie E. Williams II, Sophie Campbell, Jim Lawson, Ciro Nieli, David Petersen, Steven Cummings, Ramon K. Perez, and many more.

From Kevin Eastman, TMNT Co-Creator

This is incredibly exciting! I am 1000% onboard to help bring this historic and original TMNT Role-Playing Game series back in a truly deluxe collector’s edition that will thrill original fans and open the door for new ones.

I've made all my archives available for expanded behind-the-scenes content as well as a few top secret surprises you need to be part of. Stay tuned!

What is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness RPG?

CREATE YOUR MUTANT - Mutate your own hero (or anti-hero) from a wide variety of urban, rural, and wild animals from birds to exotic zoo animals. Train them up with a variety of skills, combat experience, weapons, cool gear, and even psychic powers!

EXPLORE - Shrouded in secrecy is a hidden world of mutants, robots, aliens, time travel, and even passages to other dimensions. While their existence is kept secret from the public, the deep lore of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - and other strangeness - awaits fans old and new to experience firsthand.

ADVENTURE - Visit the back alleys, sewers, and dark recesses of metropolises like New York City, or travel to faraway exotic dimensions. Get caught up in mayhem and foil plots to destroy the neighborhood, the world, or even stop an alien invasion. The choice is yours, and so are the weird friends and rewards that await. Each book contains easy-to-run adventure scenarios as well as plot hooks to keep your own story arc fresh for years.

DISCOVER - The familiar cast of the TMNT are joined by unique potential allies, enemies, and frenemies to add to the RPG lore. These characters, originally illustrated in 1985 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and others, have never appeared again in the TMNT comics, cartoons, movies, or video games. The Terror Bears, Caesar's Weasels, Doc Feral, and more will delight new and old readers and gamers alike with their memorable antics, crazy origins, and unique motivations. Learn their schemes and grand plans for the future of mutantkind and decide - will you help them or work against them?

Originally released in 1985, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness role-playing game books were created using typewriters, paste-up boards, and lots of handcrafted skill.

REMASTERED TEXT: Palladium Books' archives of these titles - the original boards sent to printers for printing - have been painstakingly scanned at high resolution, cleaned up visually, edited for typos, and updated with new content and rules clarifications.

ART UPGRADE: We are pleased to say that the high-resolution scans have the art looking sharper than ever and presented in glorious full color for the first time by top colorists like Michael Majestic, Jeremy Colwell, Luis Antonio Delgado, and more. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness looks more stunning than ever before!

FRESH CLEAN BOOK: When combined with advances in digital printing, modern digital layout software has also allowed us to refresh the look of the books while staying true to their classic presentation. Each book will have a back index and other tweaks to make the contents easy to navigate and enjoy.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness Redux Edition

This 256 page full color reissue contains the following remastered with modern layout:

NEW Homage Cover Art by Freddie E. Williams II, with color by Michael Majestic.

The classic 1985 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness core RPG book. Now in full color.

The Turtles Go Hollywood adventure book. Now in full color.

The Truckin' Turtles adventure book. Now in full color.

Featuring 8 pages of original comics created for the RPG by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Now in full color.

Featuring 35 original mutant animal illustrations for the RPG by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Now in full color.

Featuring all-new rules for creating 5 new mutant animals (the Gecko, Great White Shark, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Penguin, and Alligator Snapping Turtle) with one or more illustrated by Sophie Campbell, plus a new "Feral" hand-to-hand combat style for mutants who grew up in the wild, and an equipment chapter updated with modern gear not available in 1985.

The Redux Edition includes the classic rules clarified and updated to provide ease of play for fans old and new alike.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Transdimensional Adventures Redux Edition

This 256 page full color reissue contains the following remastered with modern layout:

NEW Homage Cover Art by Freddie E. Williams II, with color by Michael Majestic.

The fan favorite Transdimensional TMNT sourcebook with rules for creating humanoid mutant dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals like the saber-toothed tiger and mastodon. Plus fan-favorite easy to use time travel rules, magic, and more! Now in full color.

The TMNT Guide to the Universe sci-fi sourcebook and adventure supplement with weird aliens, high-tech gear, and rules for creating futuristic craft and piloting them in dogfights! Now in full color.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures the best selling TMNT RPG adventure book with memorable villains and dastardly plots. Now in full color.

Featuring 10 pages of original comics created for these sourcebooks by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Now in full color.

Featuring 33 original mutant animal illustrations created for these sourcebooks by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and Jim Lawson. Now in full color.

BOTH BOOKS INCLUDE ADDED TRIBUTES AND MAKING-OF FEATURES

NEW full-page artwork by comic and RPG artists including Kevin Eastman, Jim Lawson, Freddie E. Williams II, Sophie Campbell, Ciro Nieli, Ben Bishop, David Petersen, Ramon K. Perez, Steven Cummings, and many more including RPG legend Larry Elmore!

NEW never-before-seen behind-the-scenes information and art, plus remembrances and tributes by renowned TMNT creatives including Kevin Eastman, Jim Lawson, Freddie E. Williams II, Ciro Nieli, Sophie Campbell, Kevin Siembieda, and others including writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Wed, November 29 2023 4:59 AM UTC +00:00

Website: [Palladium Books] [facebook] [twitter] [instagram]

#RPG #kickstarter #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #TMNT #Palladium Books

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kafus · 10 months

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oh hey ive been meaning to ask is there an easy or preferred way to get into kamitsubaki lore esp for vwp. ive tried to skim the website like 3 separate times & only picked up the very very basics

ok so the problem with kamitsubaki lore is that literally like Most of it that is direct and not just implied thru music videos/twitter posts happened in a fuckign ARG that is... kind of lost media kind of not. the kamitsubaki city ARG took place on a website where players were given new... riddles and tasks called Qs every day for the month of october in 2021 and that website is now inaccessible but people i know archived and translated all the content they could so it's still viewable in some fashion. a couple of my friends practically singlehandedly edit the kamitsubaki fandom wiki and you can find all the "story fragments" (cutscenes from the ARG with direct story) translated here (oh and there's also lost media from before the ARG from kaf's old fanbox page that is now inactive/lost media... i have all of the images from that but they aren't all typeset yet so i'd have to get back to you on that one. it's dubious whether all that stuff is still canon anyways, a lot of it seemed conceptual before kamicity was properly outlined. one day i'll compile all this shit somewhere for everyone to have easy access since the wiki is kinda eh for it)

when you said "skim the website" i assume you're talking about the website for the narrative TTRPG stuff? perhaps? sorry kamitsubaki has websites all over the place it's kind of a disaster. i can't give too much information on this one honestly, my japanese isn't good enough and i'm a little bit behind, but afaik other than the tutorial after you sign up which walks you through a scenario with one of the girls as TTRPG practice, the rest is just... TTRPG stuff. like you making up stories with other players within the setting and whatnot. you'd have to browse through it. (eventually there's going to be some sort of small video game related to all of this. exciting. who knows when that'll happen)

there is also some stuff to do with the cr/ypto project that's loosely correlated with kamitsubaki city i guess but not really you can ignore that. and i would ignore it. i do

otherwise it's kind of like vocaloid song series where the VWP music videos contain hints to lore/metaphorically show what's happening. occasionally art is posted to the hashtag # STORY_VWP on twitter too which contains art correlated with the actual story of kamicity.

if you want my basic breakdown and understanding, tldr the girls r summoned from elsewhere by a mysterious organization called the Restoration Foundation to use magic singing powers to restore life to a city, but the city is doomed to end in apocalypse from fishlike creatures called Tessaracters every single time and they're like. in a time loop with varying amounts of memory retrieval trying to save kamitsubaki city and go home. there seems to be a lot of significance with what clothes the girls are wearing in different media and etc etc

Sorry i'm sleepy and this is probably too long and also a mess. the reason it's a mess though is because VWP lore is a mess and that's part of the fun for me. if you have more specific questions about specific parts i probably can help with an answer though! i'm not as into it as some other people but the lore is still fun to theorize on and i like seeing symbolism in the music videos.

this isn't even touching on like. how there's the kaf membership manga canon which is just an official comic where vwp is in high school together. or otogibanashi which was a series of... spoken skits? that kaf put on at her concerts for a while and has yet to be concluded and is a completely different universe from the rest of the vwp lore. Truly an enigma

by the way look at this video of one of my fandom friends posting a shitpost gif we made into the japanese kamicity ARG discord chat during a livestream. we made kaf laugh. the joke is that parrot was so annoying you don't want to know. i am so proud of this communityjsfdksdf

#asks #red-dyed-sarumane #sorry again for the mess omg #kiki was here #this may not have helped at all LOL

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onedivinemisfit · 1 year

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2022 Creator’s Self-Love Extravaganza

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works (fics, art, edits, etc.) you’ve created this year and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2022. If you don’t have five published works, that’s fine! Include ideas/drafts/whatever you like that you’ve worked on/thought about, and talk a little about them instead! Remember, this is all about self-love and positive enthusiasm, so fuck the rules if you need to. Have fun, and tag as many fellow creators as you like so they can share the love!

Tagged by @bubblesthemonsterartist tho I daresay I am fashionably late at this point, more than two weeks into the new year. Did I forget? Maaaaybe. Which brings us right to the main problem;

I barely remember. Like. 2022. At all. Things happened, I’m sure, but it’s as if there’s a fine layer of mist atop my memories, stopping me from really seeing them. Last year wasn’t really very kind to me. For every up, three downs followed, and between two failed surgeries, a bout of covid, and then whatever the hell kind of flare happened in the autumn… yeah. Idek. It is what it is.

As such, I can’t really comment on my art as like, a whole process, this year. It just existed in the ‘now’, which is presently the ‘then’. I know I beat my submission record from last year, but it felt like a meaningless victory. Despite everything, I can feel it in my hand now, when I draw, that some progress has been made. Subconsciously perhaps, but it’s there.

Onto the ranking then! (I just had to pull up the archive cuz fuck if I remember what I posted, and when)

*deep sigh* we all saw this coming, didn’t we? As much as I love, I curse this image, for in hindsight it felt as if all my creative energy for the entire damned year went into this one piece! Like how dare! But yes it is one of my best redraws ever, and more so than the characters, I feel like I added to the background something even better than the original. There, I said it.

Omigod this entire thiiiiiing. Were it not for the redraw, this would be the top spot. I can’t explain, so many ideas are left in the brain for countless hours, days, months, YEARS. This was two years in the making, and never before did I manage to recreate something that had the exact same vibe as it looked in my imagination. Especially because I’m not a comic creator, hashtag compulsive disclaimer lol. Also while I was drawing it, seeing people go from “hmmm what’s this?” to “wait is that-?” and then “ooooooh it is the lead-up to The Thing” was priceless.

A last-second outlier comes in third. I admit to making this in a hurry, just to have something really nice to show for december (a month which is usually a highly productive month to me, but 2022 didn’t let me have that either) and as such, since I was struggling, both with a deadline, and a lack of real inspiration, I feel like. I managed to improve, somehow. Call it magic, but this looks noticeably different to many of my other colored pieces.

To be perfectly honest, this was a sketch. People might not think it one, for it has details, a color scheme, and even effects - but at the time I posted it, this was just a colorized sketch in my mind. Tumblr disagreed. And I was left in awe watching this first get reblogged within the fandom, then beyond, then go through a hanfu appreciation blog, and finally reblogged with a truly tender chinese poem attached that said person felt gave them the same vibe as what I had drawn. The people spoke, and I was both awed and humbled, and I learned a valuable lesson in humanity relating to art.

Unlike the others, this was a conscious attempt at something different. I can’t really say why it should go in the fifth spot, but it does; i spent a lot more time than usual on composition, colors, and most importantly, mood setting. And putting characters so solidly into the middleground can be a challenge in itself for me, as I run the risk of getting storybook-ish. Which would’ve been disastrous for a scene like this.

Honorable mention;

Coping through art. @bubblesthemonsterartist has the honor of inspiring this, or like, being the one to “give me” the go-ahead to channel some of my experiences through the characters and story-telling in general. Back pain is something I know all too well, and it was well and truly therapeutic. I also got to do another test of “can I retell this scene, even if I switch part of the cast and premise?” And it seems I did. I will always remember @what-plant-metaphor-am-i ‘s tag; ‘# I feel like I just watched an entire episode XD’ <- never has my inner storyteller been more validated.

There, that wasn’t so hard! Sometimes I’m really thankful for the internet, and timestamps, and kicking my memory back into gear etc… anyway, since I am so woefully late to the party, I’m not tagging anyone specifically; if you wanna be fashionably late too, you know who tagged you~

#2022 self love extravaganza #art meme #self love meme #2022 summary #myart #about the artiste

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offl7ne · 1 year

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MC: Josh Edition Update #4

Hello, everyone! I am here with another update for you. I know there has been a lot of activity on my end with different platforms and content. For those of you that may be curious on what this means for the project, I’ve got some updates for you.

Are you a streamer? A youtuber? A comic artist? My first priority is to be a comic artist for you all. Streaming and making youtube videos, shorts, tiktoks, are all a side project so you can be a part of the process while waiting for the comic pages. It also allows me some down time between working on Josh Edition to spend time with you and learn each other.

What is your stream schedule and what do you intend to show? As of this post, I have decided to try and aim for this kind of Twitch stream schedule in USA Central Time Zone: 1) Sundays - 8PM CST - Art content stream: This is for concept work, viewers suggestions, and comic pages. 2) Mondays - 8PM CST - Minecraft Game Stream: This is for playing casually with hardcore worlds, mods, SMPs, and spending time with each other. I may also discuss Josh Edition lore or give hints and clues to what to expect with the project! 3) Saturdays - 8PM CST YOUTUBE VIDEO drop (experimental): This is a new one, but I am working with an editor to try and get videos made to drop on Youtube the following Saturday after a Monday game stream so that for those of you that aren’t truly interested in the gameplay or miss it can have an abridged version for fun to enjoy in your feed.

When is the comic going to be released? That is a solid question and I wish I had a date for you all, but you have to keep in mind that I am holding down a job that takes priority over this content creation since this is done as a passionate hobby. That out of the way, I can say it will be very soon as I just need to finish up a few more reference sheets, concept art and already have opening scripts written and ready to become comics. I do apologise that it’s been so slow. Believe you, me, I want them coming out now!

You have mentioned a Discord server before. Will that ever be made public? I do have an official Minecraft: Josh Edition Discord server but it is not yet ready for public release. I am still unsure if I will make it public since I am so new to all this and still gathering a team to help me out. If and/or when it is ready, I will let you know!

Is there anything I can do support you as a content creator? Yes! You can spread the word by giving likes, reblogs, comments, favourites, coming to streams and/or chatting to make yourself known, and just being patient with me. All of those things will help me out dearly!

Thank you so much for sticking around and I hope to see you all again soon! - offl7ne

#offl7ne announcement #offl7ne update #minecraft josh edition #josh edition

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txabier-lost-word-balloon · 1 year

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105 years and change, ago…

A rather prodigious mind, an indefatigable creator, a hard worker abused by his employers, an indisputable talent… and a complex-yet-kind man that still remains an unsurpassed example for all the other professionals on the field. It was so with him then, he remains so to this day. That’s the five phrases that describe Jacob Kurtzberg, the best lines to address Jack Kirby’s seemingly immortal legacy in the least words I could muster, and still stay true to every aspect of his work and status as a legendary figure in the world of comics. But it has been 52 years since Kirby’s mind gave us what I consider to be the summit of his creative experience when in 1970, in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134, the readers got to see the first appearance of one of the best villains ever created. A rather common saying purports a hero is only as good as the villain he is facing, yet Kal-El (Clark Kent, you know... Superman) had already proven to be a very good hero. Yet the arrival of Intergang (S’sPJO #133, published in Aug 25th, 1970), along with the introduction of The Outsiders and Habitat, almost single-handedly became the real landmark issue that ushered the indisputable peak and end of Silver Era of Comics into the world. Yet the incredible scope for adventure that this funny book had opened, would only come into being a month later. It was in S’sPJO #134 that we have the first brief glimpse of the villain that would bring Superman to a point nearest true exaltation. In yet another bout of mad genius and his capacity to synthetize universal concepts into asingle idea and the anthropomorphize it, Jack Kirby:coalesced the perfect nightmare being to haunt and antagonize Kal-El, and to actually pose a threat too great for him to go at it alone. Kirby had given birth to the Sum of All Evil in the DC universe, well outside the hells already depcited and the inhuman conquerors from outer space and an immortal from the dawn of the human race. In what I like to refer toa a the most inspired event in his creative life, Jack Kirby gave us the villian par excellence, once Uxas dropped his birthname, after murdering his brother Drax and stealing the Omega Force, and became:

The reveal was less than stellar, but thrilling and captivating nonetheless, so when it was clearly stated both Intergang’s leader Bruno Mannheim and Morgan Edge—owner of Galaxy Broadcasting and recent proprietor of Daily Planet—were running things under orders from a mysterious character in search of something called “the Anti-Life Equation”, the stakes in Superman’s adventures were elevated to the truly cosmic level, for Darkseid, he’s a god, you see? A New God to be precise and the only being to ever truly oppose every single thing the Man of Steel stands for. From that point in time on, Kirby kept introducing the various elements of what would come to be known as The Fourth World, and while many of the character created to populate this uinverse of New Gods are still the object of adoration by tens of thousands of fans, not one of the has the lasting power, mystique and appeal Darkseid has. Not even his own adopted son: Scott Free (a.k.a.: Mr. Miracle) and his powerful, beautiful wife Big Barda can rival the enigmatic charisma this enemy of all Life has. His schemes have been many and surprisingly varied, even when his goal is very specific.He been at the center of many major plots in the DC multiverse and the key figure in one of the mega crossover events some of us aren’t that keen about—thank Heavens for collected editions encompassing the majority of the relevant titles in these moneygr... erm, “earth-shaterring summer events.” Alas! Recent... developments have made his existence a little more convoluted than was really needed and thus, a bit less fascinating, but there’s hope some will come to their senses and get rid of all the “omniversal” complexities to bring back Drakseid and the horrendous might of Apokolips back to their former glory. One can only hope, Superman and the Justice League need something more than just metaphysical ramblings to face, and the universes need a true Darkseid Prime resembling—respecting—Kirby’s original intentions for the character. After all, no matter how much his enemies try to defeat or destroy him... DARKSEID. IS.

#jack kirby #comics #darkseid #super villain

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twistedtummies2 · 2 years

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Artists in Wonderland - Number 8

Welcome to Artists in Wonderland! Running till the 4th of July, I’m counting down My Top 10 Favorite Illustrators for “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland!” The Lewis Carroll stories of Alice are as immortal as they are odd, and many great artists have handled them in different ways. This countdown will pay homage to just a few of them. Our 8th Place illustrator is truly a (Little) Golden Choice. Today’s artist is Leonard Weisgard!

Leonard Weisgard is a name probably not well-recognized today, but he was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, especially in the field of children’s literature. Weisgard is most well-known for his work in the Little Golden Books series: a collection of children’s stories that dominated the market of the 1940s, and are still celebrated and beloved today. These books covered just about everything a children’s company could cover, from original stories to adaptations of fairy-tales and fables to educational subjects. Weisgard was not the only artist who worked on the books, but he was one of the most prominent, responsible for such titles as “The Golden Egg Book,” “Indian Indian,” “The Little Eskimo,” and “Pussy Willow.” The Little Golden Books were not the only things Weisgard worked on, naturally. In 1949, Harper & Brothers Publishers released a new omnibus edition of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass” illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. I first learned of this book after seeing it in a local library, but I was never able to get hold of it myself, and unless I’m much mistaken it’s no longer to be found there. (Not sure what happened to it.) Tracking down Weisgard’s edition is NOT an easy task: while he is hardly the oldest illustrator of the stories to be found on this countdown, his particular version IS the oldest I own. The Weisgard volume has not been in print since at least the mid-1950s. The used copy I hunted down has a small message, inscribed upon the inside cover, that dates this edition being given to someone in 1953. A friend of mine found it on Etsy, and purchased it for me as a gift. If you’re reading this, you know who you are, and you are AMAZING. Weisgard’s artwork was done in a modernist aesthetic, which was highly fashionable in the 1940s. It’s a style that’s difficult to describe; on the one hand, it’s very graphic and geometric, all points and spheres, simple and clean in its construction. The characters are flat, but they have a sort of dimensionality to them; this was NOT the way Weisgard made them, I should point out, but they feel like paper collages that have been photographed. You can almost reach and feel as if you could peel them off the page and pull them into your hand, like a collection of paper dolls. The most striking thin about Weisgard’s style, and it’s especially prominent in “Alice,” is the colors. The colors here are breathtaking: bold, electric, vibrant, and intense, yet somehow they never feel overly garish. The art style actually reminds me a lot of Mary Blair, the artist who was responsible for crafting the look of the Disney film. It is entirely possible Blair and Weisgard knew each other, given their respective backgrounds and similar artistic feels, but Weisgard’s Wonderlandians stand on their own, somehow being both blocky and detailed at the same time. I would argue that, of all the Wonderlands I’m talking about on this countdown, Weisgard’s world feels the safest. There’s no real menace or danger to this world, instead it’s more like a vivacious, childhood playground. The characters feel comical and, despite the geometric angles, at times downright cuddly. It’s like a crayon box exploded, and the wax took the shapes of the characters: no threat, no fear, just colorful imagination, splashed across every image in the story. It really is like a Little Golden Book edition of “Alice.” As somebody who grew up with those books, that’s not a bad thing for me to say.

Come back down the rabbit hole tomorrow as I present Number Seven! Don’t be late! ;)

#countdown #list #favorites #best #top 10 #4th of july specials #alice in wonderland #alice's adventures in wonderland #lewis carroll #literature #art #illustration #illustrators #artists #leonard weisgard #artists in wonderland #number 8

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itsvs · 3 years

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CASSANDRA CAIN in BATMAN: WAYNE FAMILY ADVENTURES (2021)

#dcedit #cassandra cain #comicedit #comicbookedit #dcladies #userobiewan #tusergaya #batman: wayne family adventures #cbnetwork #cassandracainedit #dc #wednesday spoilers #myedits #*#it truly has been a while since i made comic edits....

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mylifeincinema · 2 years

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My Best of 2021: My Top 10 Films!

It’s time! This was really tough for me, this year. I had a handful that I was really in love with, but outside of that, there was just a bunch that I really liked and had to do the impossible by narrowing them down and sorting them into something that captured 2021 as a whole. I think I did it... I think. A quick reminder that My Top 10 Films isn’t necessarily a list of the ‘best’, or ‘my favorite’, but rather a mix of the two that takes both sides of the A&E into as equal consideration as humanly possible.

Before we dive into things, here are some Honorable Mentions, a few of which spent some time in the Top 10: Florian Zeller’s The Father; Denis Villeneuve’s Dune; David Lowery’s The Green Knight; Ilya Naishuller’s Nobody; Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel.

And finally, without further ado…

My Top 10 Films of 2021!!

10. James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad

James Gunn delivers the ultra-violent, silly, hilarious, insane celebration of lower-tier DC villains that comic book fans deserved. His unique mix of over-the-top violence and wholly genuine heart works wonders, here, and turns this one from an all-out assault on the senses to a stylized love letter to some of DC’s more absurd creations.

9. Pablo Larraín‘s Spencer

I’d be fine if we just had Pablo Larraín do all the biopics from here on out. Between this and Jackie, he’s showed how much more effective and interesting a more intimate or even surreal approach to the biopic really is. He and Kristen Stewart do what I thought was impossible, here, and make me genuinely care about Princess Diana.

8. Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth

Pretty much every single decision made on this project works. From the sparse production design to the rich, shadow and fog filled cinematography; from the editing choices down to the approach to the performances. Everything just works. Coen takes this masterwork and translates it in a way that strips it down to its core, making for a striking, emotionally impactful piece of cinema.

7. Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast

Beautiful. A powerful coming-of-age story about change and what home and family truly mean. Ciarán Hinds and Caitriona Balfe are magnificent, Judi Dench steals many a moment with brilliant delivery, and newcomer Jude Hill shines, giving us the rare child performance that goes beyond precociousness and cute line delivery. Branagh’s direction is his best since 1996′s Hamlet, mixing a sense of nostalgia with the warped point-of-view of childhood and the harsh acceptance of reality, all while beautifully utilizing the transformative production design.

6. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch

Unsurprisingly delightful. This is indeed a love letter to journalists of a lost era; one that only Wes Anderson could possibly deliver. It’s cleverly and creatively constructed to maximize not only the truly fantastic cast and screenplay, but also the always beautiful Yeoman cinematography, the trademark mind-blowing, meticulous production design one has come to expect from a Wes Anderson film and yet another magnificently whimsical score by the yet-to-disappoint Alexandre Desplat.

5. Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home

Brilliantly utilizing nostalgia, themes and plot devices already teased/established in other Phase Four projects, as well as this new Phase’s willingness to completely dismantle and restructure everything that came before it, No Way Home succeeds so completely by so gleefully giving in to the fans. Fan-service has long been one of the ways Feige and Marvel Studios has delivered such popular, well-received films. Taking that fan-service and toying with it to create something the fans didn’t know they wanted is how they’ve been able to build such a rock-solid, interconnected MCU. No Way Home is all of that at it’s best. On top of that, it delivers a story that’s emotionally resonant, bringing Peter Parker to a turning point that completely reshapes the character within the MCU.

4. Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story

Steven Spielberg really is the greatest to ever do it, folks. That’s more than evident with this, the remake of one of Hollywood’s all-time great musicals and Spielberg’s first time tackling the genre. There’s absolutely no reason a remake of West Side Story should be this damn good, and yet, here we are. Spielberg moves the camera through these scenes as though he’s the first to bring these brilliant songs to life on screen. His work is immersive and emotional riveting in a way that would have you think this wasn’t his first musical, but his fiftieth. The ensemble only add to Spielberg’s fresh, relevant vision and instill each and every number with the thrills, chemistry and humor with which they were already teeming.

3. Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley

An incredible, dark, unforgiving film noir with a vicious bite that would make its source material proud. Guillermo del Toro directs the shit out of this, the screenplay is wonderfully twisty and shocking and completely willing to go pitch-black, the cast follows suit, exuding a pitch perfect vitriol throughout, and the cinematography and production design set the tone of it all so impossibly well.

2. Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog

Expertly paced and powerfully ambiguous, Jane Campion’s adaptation of Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel explores the story’s themes with such tense patience and understanding of the characters and their world. The Power of the Dog is the Best Film of 2021.

And My Favorite Film of 2021 is…

1. Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza

Holy shit, I loved this movie.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza is a hilarious, reminiscent, and cleverly honest coming-of-age story about the sloppiness of first love. It never abandons any of what it has to say about coming-of-age in favor of wisdom about first love, and vice-versa. It’s so impossibly balanced and smoothly weaves in and out of anecdotal scene after anecdotal scene the way one may navigate through treasured and painful memories alike.

Thank you for reading…

Enjoy!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

More of My Best of 2021...

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ponett · 2 years

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curiouscat has been weird lately so i am going to take this opportunity to archive some more SLARPG-related Q&A stuff in case it goes down again. here's a big dump of questions covering a wide range of topics from throughout 2021:

How much Sonic influence would you say SLARPG has?

there's definitely sonic influence, but it's less specific references or even an intentional desire to make something Like Sonic and more just... sonic was the first game series i really got into as a kid. there's probably gonna be some level of sonic influence in everything i make because those games and the archie comics were formative media for me

i started drawing furries because of sonic. melody is a fox because my first fursona started out as a sprite edit of sonic advance tails, and working off of those sprites (as well as mega man 7 ones because i read bob and george) influenced my pixel art style. the wasteland is on a floating island because angel island made me think floating islands were cool - although it's not intended to just be a reference to that, since obviously sonic isn't the only thing with sky islands. i didn't intentionally set out to make a game about colorful anthro characters going on adventures in a world that blends fantasy, sci-fi, and modern earth elements because i wanted it to be Like Sonic, but i probably like that kind of thing in part because of sonic

beyond that kind of thing there's very little in terms of intentional nods to sonic, but i will say that there is one (1) easter egg referencing idw sonic. but you'll have to play the game to find out what it is!!!!!

SLARPG gets a movie with an all a-lister ensemble cast. Who does Jack Black voice?

i can't say because said character is a spoiler

Do you think any members of the zany cast of SLARPG would make good parents/parental role models? Why or why not.

i mean there are multiple characters on the cast who are literal parents. beyond that, jodie and faith would make good parents for sure. and beverly. probably holly too. they've all got that nurturing nature in their own ways while also having their shit more or less figured out

i am normally not invested in shipping but that tiger and unicorn need to kiss more often

i regret not actually having any scenes where jodie and faith interact in the demo but you will be pleased with the full game

is it possible for the different sapient (are they different races or outright different species?) in Reverie to interbreed? Would an Elf/Beastfolk mix have the potential to basically be a kemonomimi?

we don't currently have any hybrid characters in the game, but it's definitely possible. a lot of traditional fantasy creatures would probably just be part beast folk and part elf/whatever on reverie. centaurs, fauns, that sort of thing. and yes, kemonomimi are probably a possibility

(note: this was answered in june, we now have a couple characters that could be considered species hybrids in there)

if you could add one thing to the game, regardless of potential cost or dev time, what would it be?

i've heavily considered adding alternate costumes, but i just don't think it's feasible. given unlimited resources i'd love to go for that. rpg maker's sprite sheet requirements mean that all of the sprites for the party members (their normal walking poses, specific actions, bespoke poses for story scenes, lighting variants, etc.) are split across a bunch of different sheets, and it'd just be a total pain to have to juggle costume variants on top of that. especially when you get into combined sprites for stuff like two characters hugging, which would then need alternate versions for every possible combination of costumes

on future projects, though, when i'm not working under rpg maker's restrictions, i'd love to do alternate costumes

i mean i'd also love for the game to have a full blown anime-ass opening so that it could truly become the shounen anime for sapphic furries that it exists as in my heart, but the costumes are a thing i've thought about a lot

you mentioned implementng ff6s relic system, are you gonna add any kind of deliberately overpowered BS?

i'm trying to keep the charms fairly balanced so that they all feel useful in their own way, but there's an optional one in the late game that you can only find one of that has the potential to be a little broken. if it suits the build style you're going for, anyway

Would Claire eat a hamburger, with no one in Greenridge (or anywhere with a beastfolk heavy population) thinking it's weird?

there is a very clear delineation drawn between beast folk and regular animals on reverie, so in-universe i don't think these sort of things bother anyone. melody is not a literal fox, she is a beast person who looks like a fox, and so on and so forth

but i just kind of avoid touching on that kind of thing because people can get fixated on it. most of the food items in the game are sweets and drinks or vague things like "picnic sets" lol. if i depict any meat it'll probably just be fish or something made up just so people aren't weird about it

Tell Melody that I said her knees are cute n sexy

i will not tell her that

claire would definitely try to run a speedrun of her own video game just to prove she can and to hold a world record for a day or two before its beaten

claire would absolutely do this

you've mentioned that Melody came out when she was 16, but when did Claire's egg crack? at a similar age, or later? pre or post moving to Greenridge?

claire started to figure it out around 16 or so, but it took her a bit longer to come out. the details will come up in the game

As the creator of SLARPG, do you or anyone you know well enough that have already had opinions formed of all the characters, have any headcanons you kept yourself from fully implementing, or scrapped before finalizations? Or maybe just stuff you would never implement but would keep in your head because it didn't for the narrative or was too spicy?

i think it's natural to have lots of little ideas about your own characters that you can't quite fit into the actual story, yeah. although i'm not sure how much of that i'd wanna share here. given the writing style of slarpg a lot of my fun little character ideas make it into the game as optional dialogue and sidequest content and that sort of thing

like i've been asked if the party plays any video games, and if so what, and now allison's got a fightstick in her house for a little extra flavor. or i decided faith would probably read schlocky romance novels in her spare time, and so you can inspect her bookshelf in her office and there's dialogue about finding one of those

Are there dwarves in SLARPG? Are they the type of dwarf where even the cis women have full blown beards?

i won't rule out the possibility that they exist somewhere on reverie, but there aren't currently any in the game. but because of this i can't comment on what they'd be like

Will you release an image of the world map you made (even it if turned out to be a work in progress when you scrapped it) after the game comes out?

i mean the thing is that the overworld was cut so early that it only ever had proper locations for melody's house and greenridge. the rest is just a vague archipelago where i figured i'd stick the other locations later. (and it's not a huge game, so it's not like there'd be that many locations to visit on the overworld - which is the main reason why it got cut)

right now what's left of the scrapped overworld just looks like this

(note: the overworld was cut from slarpg because i chose to make the areas connect directly to each other pretty early on. the assets made for the overworld are now used for other things)

Is there any antagonists happen in SLARPG? I wanna see the boss fights in the game

the game does have villains, and quite a bit of the story revolves around them. to say there's a lot we haven't shown would be an understatement. we're keeping them under wraps for now because i think it'll be more fun for players to discover that side of the game for themselves. you'll see what i mean

folks are gonna like them, though. they're fun

What's the Watsonian reason why beastfolk are part animals? Do they share a close common ancestor to Orcs/Elves/other sapient races? Are they technically primates?

the origins of beast folk and the other sapient species on reverie are kind of foggy in-fiction because of all the business with magic and gods and whatnot. it's unclear what's due to natural evolution and what's the gods being like "hey wouldn't it be cool if our planet had cat people?" all beast folk are technically members of the same mammalian race, though, even the ones that look like birds and reptiles and whatnot. and yes, they're presumably closely related with all the other sapient species

Would Paula and the Fortune Teller get along? I'm envisioning Paula overhearing Allison saying that the guy was a jerk and thinking "well if Goleta doesn't like him there's a chance he ain't that bad"

i had to ask anthony and he says: "I think it'd be one of those things where, no matter when or where you ask him, he'd be like, 'Which one is that?' or 'Who?' and then the person would explain and he'd be like, 'Oh, erm right right, she's good. I like her a lot, she's a great friend.'"

personally i think they would get along but they aren't really Friends. acquaintances though, sure. but also paula would definitely be too scared to get a reading from him

we know about the other 2 but what breed of dog is Holly?

holly is a sheepdog, but anthony only decided on this long after designing her so she doesn't really look like a sheepdog

we built this city but the three cows is just claire in different outfits

this is the secret ending of slarpg

#ask #slarpg #slarpg asks

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