#quinn plays with hero forge

[quinn-of-aebradore]

CR + HeroForge: Fancy Dresses & Gowns

BONUS: Essek + Jester's C2E97 Dress

All dresses and poses are from the HeroForge community tab and have been modified by me to suit the characters better. All base character designs are my own.

[cat-buried-in-tall-grass]

All of them for Vesper......?

alright. cracks knuckles.

arsene: has your oc ever been wronged by those around them? how bad was it? does it still affect them?

yes, by their father. he was abusive towards vesper for most of their childhood and teenage years, forging them into a weapon, by which i mean traumatizing them into having an eating disorder and several heaps of trauma. they might never fully recover.

rest utc !!!

zorro: does your oc remember their past, if they have one? do they miss it? how do they feel about it?

they do, most of it. a few bit are blurry, and they don't wanna know why. it's a little messy, back when they were a kid, they didn't actually have any blood on their hands. but everyone around them was already shaping them into someone that would have it, so they'd... rather not relive it.

captain kidd: does your oc have any scars or injuries? where do they come from? have they healed? how do they feel about them?

yes! both scars from their work as a hitman, from overflow of their own magic, and a few from bartending. they don't really pay them any mind anymore, the magic ones feel like freckles at this point. and alee likes em, so-

carmen: what’s your oc’s relationship with their own body, in general? do they have any true confidence in their own appearance?

god it's BAD. they objectify themself fully, not only on a sexual level, but on an existential one. they're not a person, they're a gun. they know they're some degree of conventionally attractive, and they know they're a good gun, so in a way they do have some confidence; it's just completely misplaced.

goemon: is your oc partial to the arts? which ones? do they actually partake in them? do they see meaning in them?

they used to enjoy reading a lot, and they still do! they just don't read as much anymore. they know there's meaning in them, but they don't... fully seek them out.

johanna: what are your oc’s religious beliefs, if they have any? are these beliefs commonplace where they live? do they practice this religion?

they technically follow finalism on account of... being a sorcerer. and they've kinda absorbed the practices alee follows. but the mixtios could never afford to be finalists. they could never be kind enough. it's relatively commonplace not to practice anything, anyways.

necronomicon: is your oc skilled with technology? to what extent? is it appreciated by the people around them?

yeah?? like. average knowledge for a 26 year old??? people around them don't give a shit tho lol

milady: does your oc come from wealth, poverty, or somewhere in between? what’s their current situation with wealth? how’d their economic upbringing affect their current personality?

WEALTH. the mixtios GOT that bag. and they're not like. super rich right now, but they're pretty well off by virtue of being a hitman. they were, however, raised by a woman who wasn't exactly swimming on cash, so they managed to dodge the rich kid cloud. they're a little out of touch, but not due to money.

robin hood: did your oc have any childhood heroes, real or fictional? do they still look up to them now? why?

mamá... they still think she's... way stronger than they are.

cendrillon: what’s your oc’s relationship with sports? what affects it?

because of their upbringing they were always sorta athletic, they could manage, and they'd play ball with friends back in buenos aires, but they never really loved sports. it seemed... like the happier version of what was happening to them. it made them bitter.

azathoth: what formal education has your oc received? what other forms of education? do they have any relation to academia?

finished highschool! got extra ed. on mixology plus all the extra shit from their training. they fucking hate academia though. it took quinn away from them, after all.

satanael: has the system failed your oc? are they at a societal disadvantage? do they wish they could change it? would they? at what cost?

it has. the system has designated their family a place in which they're allowed and encouraged to kill and destroy others, ruining the lives of their own kin in the process. the system allowed and encouraged victor to abuse them, and to make them into a hitman. deep inside, they wish they could just... drop arms. but they wouldn't lead the revolution, should it come to it. they know they're not the one that should.

mercurius: does your oc believe in hope? in resilience? when everything seems doomed, what do they cling to, if they do at all?

in hope? they'd like to. each day beside alee, mieran, miya, everyone, it makes them believe in it a little more. resilience? they have to. if they're not resilient, they won't last another day, and they have to last. and when everything is going to fall apart? they remember that alee is waiting for them at home. that's enough to keep them going.

seiten taisei: does your oc feel indebted to anyone? who? could they ever pay that debt back? do they really have to?

alee, heidi, mieran, anyone who spared them a glance as anything other than something made to be used, anyone who helped, who helps. they could never pay them back enough. but really, they don't have to.

hecate: what’s your oc’s experience with sexuality? how do they feel about it? do they wish they could change it?

it is what you could call MESSY. sleeping around as a teen to discover themself as someone rather than something, sleeping around as an adult to give themself value. it's only when they settle down and attempt actual intimacy with someone they care about that it's something they can truly enjoy. they wouldn't change it though. it's shaped them into a more functioning adult, weirdly enough.

kamu susano-o: what’s your oc’s true passion? how do they pursue it? how did they acquire it? at what cost does it come?

right now? mixology. creation with no blood. they'll work overtime and spend a bunch of money perfecting it because it gives them so much joy, which is kinda ironic, because it only really started cause they wanted a job at a place safe for queer ppl.

anat: where’s your oc’s self esteem at? high? low? why? what, or who, does it depend on?

shawty got low low low low low low low......... again, machine to kill! depends on their utility to others, fully.

prometheus: how does your oc cope with guilt? with loss? with loneliness? are they able to reach out to others for help?

starve. work. do the job as perfectly as your body will let you. someday, they'll be able to reach out before their body forces them to. but that's yet to happen.

astarte: how does your oc feel about their bloodline? their parents? do they have a legacy to uphold?

poorly 😭 they're born to kill, almost bred for it. to keep up the legacy of the almighty mixtios, so, for most of their predecessors, they feel contempt. not for the younger ones, though. and definitely not for mamá. they love her.

loki: does your oc believe in revenge? in retributive justice? in punishment? at what cost? for whom?

yes, they have to, if they wanna sleep at night. they kill cheaters, rapists, killers, scum. sam taylor's drawn out death is proof; destiny has allowed them to shoot because these people deserve it. for their victims. for their conscience.

vanadis: has your oc ever lost someone they loved? an equal? how do they feel about this person? do they wanna go back to before the loss?

a young man that called himself quinn. destiny, academia, and darkness took him from them all too soon. and even though he's back, as sweet as the day they lost him, sometimes they wish they could go back, do something about it. they know it's no use, but at night, they still wonder.

adam kadmon: does your oc yearn for control? why? of what? do they have it, could they ever have it? should they be in control?

of their own mind. to wrestle it away from the cage and the pain it's been forced into. control of who they are meant to be. but they know that'll never be in their hands. someday, they'll make their peace with that.

[highmidvoiddemon]

Imaginary Monsters

Part Two: Teens to the Rescue

For one year, the thirteen children were together. After they graduated from Ms. Grace’s class, they went their separate ways. Going to different kindergartens, and setting off towards their own lives. Some of the parents tried to keep them together through play dates, but life got in the way, and they could never meet up as much as they would like.

The kids grew older, developed their own interests. Forged their own paths. Parents would get jobs out of state, taking the kids away from the only world that they have ever known.

A new teacher every year. By the time that high school came around, they were lucky if they passed each other in the halls. Only Alex and Jackson were able to stay together, and that was due to the fact that they were twins.

Each child lived their own life. Became unstoppable forces in their own right. Excelling at clubs, and making the honor roll, having long forgotten the battles that once dominated their lives.

Gone were the days of the shared battles. No longer were they united through a common purpose. Each had their own battles to fight. They didn’t have time to be heroes any more, they had to worry about getting into college.

They were sixteen years old when they were brought together again. Called to the police precinct as they heard the news of what happened to one of their own.

Detective Maxwell expected it to be an ordinary case. The tragedy of a death too soon. A child taken from the world before her time. A sixteen year old child was stuck down by a world that she was only starting to understand.

The cases with children were always the hardest. Facing the parents, never having answers save for the horror known to exist in the world.

He was called to the scene to investigate the death of a sixteen year girl, whose body was found earlier that morning. An unfortunate common occurrence as the world was a horrible place for any one to live. He prepared himself for that. He was ready to see the latest tragedy, willing to push himself for justice. May he work in a world where children were not taken from their parents. Many people wake up not to hear about the latest tragedy that will end up being lost to the noise of the next news cycle. It was not their current reality, but maybe one day that would be true.

There were many things unexpected at the scene. No clear sign of death, though that mystery would be solved through the autopsy. Another tragedy that high schoolers were able to find themselves involved in.

She was void of any color. Drained completely, as if she had never been alive in the first place. The shadows pouring out of her eyes created the stark contrast, the darkness was claiming her. Eating away at was left of the child, sending her into the battles she thought she had long since defeated.

In her hand she was gripping a laminated handmade id card. Written in a beautiful cursive: Agent Coral, Monster Hunter, Level 8. Toward the sides of the writing was the outline of elongated fists, representing the strength that she was known to call upon on the playground all those years ago.

He left the scene, taking the responsibility to talk to the parents. He would be able to break the news if it meant that he could gain a glimpse into what caused that.

“I just don’t understand what happened.” Quinn’s mom said. The emotion not fully hitting, stuck in denial. How could her daughter be dead? That just simply didn’t happen.

“I am sorry.” Detective Maxwell knew someone had to tell the parents. He needed the first interview, death was normally caused by someone who knew the victim. The parents were the first suspects. “I will do all I can to figure out what happened.”

Her father was staring at the pictures. Going over every detail. Shaking his fear away. It had to have been a mistake, an edited horror to capture their reaction. “This can’t be real.”

“I wish it wasn’t real.” Detective Maxwell said.

“What could have caused this?” Nothing about the photos were natural. People were not drained like that.

“That is what we are trying to figure out.” Detective Maxwell braced himself for what needed to be done next. The parents were still processing their grief, and he needed to push them if justice was to be served. “Do you know if Quinn was involved in anything or was taking anything?”

“She would never do that,” Her mother jumped to defend her daughter. She might not be able to bring her daughter back, but she was going to protect the soul of her child. “She’s on the school’s volleyball team and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize her future.”

Detective Maxwell studied the parents. They were shocked and horrified by the news. Showed no clues of hidden motive. Genuine grief, trying to find a way to move forward, gathering up the strength before they had to tell Quinn’s siblings. Looking for any moment where it would prove to not to be true. Wishing for her to come back. She was only sixteen, they needed their daughter, yet she was taken from them.

He did not think that they were responsible. Ordinary humans were not capable of the power that had struck down the Monster Hunter like Quinn. He pulled out the card, the final message left by Quinn, pointing to the truth. He placed the card on that table. Giving the parents a chance to read it over. “Do you know what this is?”

Quinn’s mom shook her head, then doubting herself she picked up the card. There was something familiar about it. “This was from her preschool teacher, given to all the kids in the class. They called themselves Monster Hunters, I can’t remember why.”

“Do you happen to remember the name of the teacher?” Maxwell asked.

“Miss Grace, I think.” She was unsure. The name was familiar, it was one that all her children had shared, though Quinn had finished that class over twelve years ago, and that a lifetime in the existence of a child.

The classroom was an ever changing constant. Art work was alerted based on the interests of the students and the projects they are creating. For thirty years, Ms. Grace had fostered and cared for the young minds, building the future. In all of that time she remained exactly the same, power by the joy of the youth, that she remained in the continued appearance of her first day of work. Always wearing her dress bearing dragons, she was ready to lead her students into the battles that were waiting for them.

Detective Maxwell made his way to her classroom, the morning after Quinn’s body was found. It took some time to trace down the teacher that stopped being involved in the girl’s life twelve years ago.

His suspicions had switched from the parents to the teacher. The one that called the children Monster Hunters, encouraging them to become the magnets of danger that lead to the tragedy. And that was if she did not cause the death herself. Why would the card be left out, if the teacher was not the cause? A warning to the fellow classmates that the class was just beginning.

He knocked on the open classroom door. “Hello I am Detective Maxwell, do you have the time to answer a few questions?”

“Hello detective, what could I do for you?” She sat at her desk, running the current set of ids through her laminator, her current class had chosen the name The Rainbows. She decorated the cards with the desired rainbow across the paper, and with a symbol that identifies each student. A tradition since her first class.

“One of your former students was recently found dead holding the id card that you made for her.”

“And you want to know what I had to do with it?” She asked, reading through the situation. “I don’t know how much help I could be. I don’t have much contact with my students after they move on to kindergarten.”

“What could you tell me about Quinn from your Monster Hunter class?” He handed over the id card, giving the teacher a chance to remember the time from over a decade ago.

He did not try to hide his actuation. She knew what she was doing, allowing her class to be called Monster Hunters.

She waved away the concern. Who was he to question her teaching ability? She had been doing that for thirty years, and knew exactly what she was supposed to be doing.

“That was the name chosen twelve years ago. You see we always start the year by voting for the name for the class. Sometimes it is Rainbows, Flowers, or Unicorns, while other years it is Spider-Man, Zombies, or even Monster Hunters.”

“And you let the children go by that?”

“Do you have any children detective?” She asked, not waiting to prove her expertise.

Maxwell shook his head, not sure why that would matter. He saw the danger of allowing children to believe that they could hunt monsters. Children already thought that they were invincible, and adding a name like that would be disastrous.

“I figured that.” Thirty years of anecdotes, any number of examples could prove her case. She chose to go with the facts. “The name of Monster Hunter reflects what they need to believe in. When a class comes, it all starts with the shadows that come out at night. They need to believe that they have the strength and the power to face what is out there. You need to look beyond the action to understand the why. Children always do something for a reason, and that reason would lead to teaching that needs to be done.”

“And you really think they needed the concept of Monster Hunters?”

“I do.” She stood from her desk. Facing the detective, seizing the power, it was her room after all. “I remember all of my classes. They are all my children, and I love everyone of them. That class of Monster Hunters became unstoppable. So brave, and so smart. They overcame everything that year, and were ready to face whatever came their way. I will always be proud of my little Monster Hunters.”

He took a step back. Needing to recalibrate. He thought he had the detective experience, but he did not know what world he just walked into.

He steadied himself. Taking the moment to reassess his thoughts. “When was the last time that you saw Quinn?”

“I had all of her siblings within my class. She is the oldest of four. I saw her the last time six years ago, when her little brother graduated.” The power she used to rangle children, perfected over the thirty years, was turned on the detective, who began to crumble under the stare. Never could he begin to understand the power that was lurking within the soul of that teacher. After all, someone had to teach those children how to hunt monsters, and she was the best that ever was.

“Thank you for your time.” Waves of anger poured off of Ms. Grace and into the detective. He felt her anger at the fact that she lost a student, that she falled to protect one of her children. He felt her plan to seek revenge. And he had to leave before she decided to turn her anger onto him.

Quinn screamed through the void. Calling out to anyone who would listen. She was caught in an unwinnable battle. Lost to the mortal word, and trapped in the fight to retain control of her soul. The shadows had surrounded her, she just had to remember what she was capable of.

She thought of her classmates, the first friends that she made, the other four years that helped her rule the world. They believed in themselves and became unstoppable.

She needed to recapture that magic. Growing up made the belief harder. She continued to fight alone, they all went on to their own lives, and she was left to fight through the voices that told her everything she was doing was a bit of imaginary fallacy. She was expected to look towards her future, plan a career and choose a college that would help her get there. Yet she still spends her free time playing the game from that preschool playground.

If only she had her friends. If they knew where she was the powers could be combined again, and they could destroy the shadows once again.

They were connected from the shared past. The void was supported by moments, the link between what once was and what was to be, the overlap between the remembered and the forgotten. Lost in those moments were information on her friends. She called out to them. Fighting through the walls of shadows that were cutting her off from all of reality.

Powers were channeled through belief. All she had to do was believe that she could win. Remember the confidence that she threw out into the world at four years old. At the age when anything was possible.

Her hands begin to glow. Taking in the strength she long forgot that she could possess. Containing the force that she could use to make anything possible. She attacked the shadows. Punching through the prison just enough for her to call out to her friends. Sending her memories of what happened, the warning of what to come. A signal to bring them all back together.

Alex heard the news that morning of breakfast. They all agreed it was a tragedy. His mother was the most affected, saying that the girl who died was in his preschool class. He wondered why he should care, he hadn’t spoken to any of them save for his brother in years.

Looking at the picture published in the paper, the memories came flooding back. He remembered playing with her on the playground. The leader, always deciding what they should do that day, cared about each student in the class, and found a way to take the responsibility of that decision so that no one felt left out.

He couldn’t believe it. She was his age. Once upon a time they were friends. And no she was gone. The tragedy that followed him around all day.

The shadows followed him around that day. He felt them closing in. a cold surrounding him. Hunting him. Crawling closer, needing to eat away at his soul. One Monster Hunter was already claimed, and the goal was to go for the whole set.

Even before Quinn was able to get a message out through the void, they all could feel the pull. Searching for the cold, checking for the windows that were left open. They needed every light they passed to be brighter. It was just their imagination they told themselves, shadows did not move. They were running on a couple hours of sleep in the last week, and hadn’t eaten that day, it had to have been just stress.

They heard Quinn’s voice. The desperate plea for help stopped them in their tracks. Like they ran face first into a wall, an invisible barrier appeared before them preventing them from moving. The world rushed past them, no other lives stopped. No one out of the remaining twelve was privy to the information being sent through the void. No one knew of the battles they had fought, the countless times that they had saved the world.

Conflict raged throughout them. They had discounted their pasts as childhood games. Remembering running around the playground, believing that they were heroes. When they were just children.

Still they saw the message. Quinn had managed to make it through the void. Sending the memories of her death out to the only people that could have helped. They watched through the battle that she had fought and ended up losing. Forced to live through her imprisonment as her soul fought to be allowed to exist while the shadows only gained more power.

They tried to pass it off as a dream. But they knew the truth. Not only were those childhood games real, that vision was a warning.

Spanning back to reality, the shadows only became larger. Their old foe of Scary Larry knew that the children were coming together. He had to officially end Agent Coral if he wished to power his reign of terror throughout the world. With the state of the world only decreasing, the fear was ripe for the picking, all he had to do was play with what was available. And to think a group of school kids were once able to stand against him. Never shall he fall so low again.

Alex made his way out of school. Jackson was already in the car, having claimed the driver’s seat as the rule of first arrival. Technically neither of them were supposed to be driving, they had their learners permit, but without an elder driver to supervise they couldn’t get behind the wheel. As long as they didn’t proclaim their illegal actions to the world there was nothing to worry about.

“What did you think?” Jackson asked, hands gripping the steering wheel, white knuckles, trying to stop himself from shaking. Jackson didn’t even go to the last two periods, he couldn’t process the vision, stuck in the unsettling truth that had managed to break through.

“With the physics test? I could have studied more.” Alex took a different approach. He needed the distraction. It had to have been a strange dream right?

“Yeah I kind of felt the same.” Jackson was able to read between the lines, call it a twin thing or maybe just gained from the practice of living one’s whole life with someone else, but the evasion was all the answer that he needed for confirmation.

Jackson drove out of the parking lot. A light appeared on the road, a highlighted path preplanned that he knew he was going to take. Following the chosen road, he made the necessary turns to end up at the police precinct, just in time to watch both Victor and Chuyu walk in.

Alex looked over to his brother. He wanted the vision to be a dream. He knew it wasn’t going to be. The memories they taught themself not to remember suddenly became real. “I don’t think this is going to be good.”

The remaining twelve did not know what had brought them to the precinct. Trying to convince themselves that it wasn’t real, when they knew that it was going to be.

They all came separately. Finding their own way. Following the signs given by the universe, someone wanted them together. They had to be the Monster Hunters once more, and unbeknownst to them, their agent id cards were already in their pockets once more, as if they had already shifted back into those childhood roles.

They saved the detective time, he was going to hunt them all down. The Monster Hunter was really the only lead, and he feared that this was the case that was going to break into the supernatural. If only he knew how to deal with superpowered children that devoted themselves to win against any monster that they came across. He was out of his league, but he knew he had the job to do, and he was going to try his best.

Before Detective Maxwell, stood twelve sixteen year olds, brought together by reasons that would remain a secret. No one outside of the class needed to know about the signs that guided them there.

There was a lot that Detective Maxwell did not know, still he tried to show off his authority. “I would like all of you children to remain calm.”

They all stared back at him with neural expressions. Nothing he was going to tell them would be able to say anything that they didn’t already know. Their visions were worse than any information that he had gained through his investigation.

“One of your classmates has been killed.” He started to summarize the case. Stating that it was an ongoing investigation and there was much that could not be shared with them. Explained his theory that the group in front of him might be targeted, since the id card was a prominent part of the crime scene.

Until more was known, Maxwell suggested that all of the twelve be under protective custody, since a group of cops would be able to fight off shadow monsters that had to be defeated through the power of imagination.

Victor had some rocks in his pockets. Starting out as a fidget when he was a kid, playing with the stones until it became a special interest for himself and he started to carry some of his collection around with him. He dropped a couple of the rocks to the floor. Lining up his angle. What was years of soccer if not leading up to this moment. He kicked the rock across the room. Shooting them in a rapid succession, sending enough vibrations to shatter the window. Enough of a distraction Maxwell to turn away from the group.

Jumping into the perfect team that was built through the battles. Within a couple moments, each of them were able to complete the necessary task: find the files of the Quinn murder, share the strategy to break anything around the room that could be used to track them, help to stall and distract while they ran out of the room.

Scattering to the wind. The mission was to get away. The purpose of coming to the police had been completed. Gained the information that was needed and managed to get away. They knew that they would be back together, as they still needed to talk amongst themselves.

Running in every direction. To all out of the group there was no order. But they trusted each other, and knew they would end up where there needed to be.

Meeting back up in a park. Trees created the canopy overhead that sheltered them through the nightmares that were determined to find them once more.

They sat on the grass, taking on the familiar positions that were determined all those years ago. The spots from the circle time carpet, finding comfort in the routine, even going so far as to leave two spots open: one for Quinn and one for Ms. Grace.

They sat for a moment in silence. In the past all the discussions were started by Ms. Grace, and they would jump in to say something completely off topic, but they had spent twelve more years being forced to learn social norms, and they were not quite sure how they were meant to interact.

Looking around the circle, waiting for one to begin. Wishing that the universe sent a sign and guided them what to say, or better yet just dropped them into the battle so they didn’t have to stop and think about what any of it meant.

“This isn’t real, we know that right?” Jennifer asked.

“What isn’t real, what’s happening now, or what we did back then?” Luca asked, seeing just where the misconception lay.

“All of it.” She thought back to the evidence. “I remember playing Monster Hunter when we were in school, but we also played Zombies and Huggy Wuggy, are any of them suggesting that those would prove to be real as well. And if those weren’t real, then logic dictates that none of what’s happening now is real either.”

“Logic is lies pushed to crush creativity,” Leia recited from the distant memory of Ms. Grace bringing them onto their fated mission. She remembered the days of power, the dreams of trying to recapture that magic, testing out every hobby as an attempt to find anything that could compete. Always coming up empty, as nothing save for the battles themself would be able to fill that void.

“Let’s vote,” Noah suggested. Raising his hand to follow through on his idea. “Who thinks that this is real.”

Chuyu, Leia, Jackson, Luca, Lucas, Jacob, and Noah raised their hands.

Alex looked at his brother, he didn’t want to disagree, since his twin was probably right, but he didn’t want it to be real. He ended up raising his hand half way.

More than half the group believed. They brought their hands down. Reconsidering, as they thought the others would bring up the logic that would prove this all to be a nightmare within itself.

“I saw her death years ago.” Chuyu spoke. Silencing the group before anything could be said. The quiet one of the group, showing her excitement through smiles and jumping, though never having much to say. Her speaking was an attention grabber within itself. “Before our year with Ms. Grace, those were the nightmares that I saw. I never knew who they were, but I would see so many bodies looking just like those pictures: colorless and shadows pouring out of the eyes.”

They stared at her. Processing the horror that was passed on the toddler. Yet she managed to be so joyful even as she was haunted by the deaths of her oldest friends.

“I think I was always seeing us. We could say it’s our imagination, but I think we all know the truth.”

Arissa raised her hand, signaling the change in belief. The others were able to follow suit.

They had to act as if it was real. Only they had the power to help, and arguing over semantics would hardly help Quinn or the rest of the world.

“Are we in agreement that we are going to help?” Jacob asked.

There were nods all around. They made an oath when they were in Ms. Grace’s class, they would be ready to help whenever nightmares attacked. They were Monster Hunters after all.

Lucas stood and moved away from the group. He saw the shadow form from behind the tree. Believing that all shadows would be connected, he called upon the void to grant them access, forming a gate so they could the monsters that haunted them.

Darkness surrounded them. A world of shadows they did not belong in. they heard the growls coming closing. The nightmares were growing excited, the children of imagination had come into their domain, what a wonderful day it was.

All of the children ignited. Glowing in their traditional color, ready to fight off the shadows with light sourced from within.

They had a three point plan: find Quinn, defeat Scary Larry again, and make it back out. Simple as long as the twelve of them stuck together.

Lucas held concentration on their exit. He was the one to open up the gateway, and he had to ensure that the door would remain when they needed to run. He pictured the park, the trees overhead, hearing the birds overhead, there was a squirrel running by, people biked on the path past them. He had to remember what was in the world. Needing to maintain that image. No one was going to be trapped within the shadows.

The shadows attacked. Pulling up the nightmares each of the children has worked hard to suppress. The childhood fears that would still shake them to their cores. They may have anxiety about failing a test and not amounting to anything in their future, but at their core they were lost children afraid that they would never be found, they were the tiny souls that would be crushed underfoot.

Fighting away the psychic attack, they had to remember who they were. Jacob in his endless positivity, and every changing dream messaged his friends of what they were capable of. Believing in what they each could do, sharing their victories from the past. There was power unimaginable within all of them. They just had to believe.

Xueqi painted the shadows pink, sending out a projected puppy to run throughout the space, spreading the joy that would overthrow the nightmares. Paw prints of a glowing pink appeared throughout the space. Breaking apart the shadows, returning the void to the source of imagination.

A glimpse of Quinn was able to be seen through the cracks in the shadows. Intangible though still very real. She flew through the cracks, joining the battle to fight alongside her friends.

Their power only strengthened thanks to her presence. Colors mixing together to form the purifying white light that would save them when the world was claimed by the void.

The shadows took form. First was the creature of claws and fangs, the first monster that appeared at children. Morphing to adjust for the changing mentally of his adversaries. He took the form of a corporate entity, believing in capitalism at the expense of humanity. So what if he took away rights, he made money and that was all that matters.

Arissa and Jennifer combined their efforts. Together they launched bolts of electricity. The strength of two, breaking Larry apart from within.

Noah joined in on their efforts. Sending out shock waves to push the shadows of Larry further apart.

He came back together. Growing angry. The children were an annoyance that needed to be taken care of. He called upon the shadows to feed him. Taking in the fears deep within the world, releasing them to the children. Building the walls to separate each of the class. Trapped in their own nightmare, custom made for what made them afraid at that moment. Being disappointments to their parents. Not making the team. Failing the test, then the grade. Losing their friends. Learning that they were never liked in the first place.

For twelve years that had been broken by the world. They saw the dangers of what waited for them when they grew up. They heard the adults tell them to forget their dreams in order to make the practical choice. Piece by piece was ripped away from them. And yet they were still expected to not only believe in themselves but in the future that was no longer waiting for them.

The children felt despair. They already struggled to have hope for their lives. They knew there was the ever growing slim chance that they would survive, and even if they made it through the tragedy of school their life would be built around productivity. They would fight with every ounce of power within them, and it would never be enough.

The shadows provided a comfort. If they gave into their fears, they would never have to be true. They could accept the unwanted fate, ceasing to be as they chose to give up. Gifting the power of dreams over to the all encompassing domains of fears.

“None of that is true.” Xueqi yelled out. She needed her friends to continue to believe. She wasn’t ready to give up. Her dreams were beautiful, her fashion designs were one day going to be known by all. They all deserve a chance to live out their dreams.

She yelled out again. Fighting for their attention. Her voice sent out a banshee wail that broke down the walls of shadows.

“Together until the end.” Luca yelled out. He took in the fact that all of them had found themselves forming the tradition circle around Larry. The distance was too great to hold hands like they did when they were four, but that didn’t mean that they were out of the game. “Let’s give it everything we have.”

Each of the children shot out rays of their power. Beams of light poured towards the center of the circle. Hitting Larry, and combining to form the magical white light.

Maybe Larry wasn’t so scary anymore.

Part One:

https://www.tumblr.com/highmidvoiddemon/744605109006303232/imaginary-monsters?source=share

Part Three:

https://www.tumblr.com/highmidvoiddemon/744606220484214784/imaginary-monsters?source=share

[dropbear42]

My halfling barbarian Yorri and my halfling rouge Quinn from the two different campaigns I play in, made on hero forge.

[popculturebuffet]

Final Space Reviewcaps: The Hidden Light or Beelzbub’s Dad and Death Himself

Welcome back all you happy people! My regular coverage of final space continues as our Team Squad continues to be split up. Team Gary heads to the ruins of France and while HUE lives the dream, Gary finds the architect of his misery might also be the archtetcht of hope when he meets KVN’s creator.  Meanwhile Team Avacato find some friends of some friends... and an old enemy horrifically reborn and just as pants crappingly terrifying as before. Find out whose back, whose just been introduced, and whose resting under the cut!

So once again i’ts time for roll call, as our Team Squad has been split into three groups so Team Gary: Gary, Quinn, KVN, HUE Team Avacato: Avacato, Little Cato, Ash, Fox, Sheryl.  Team Bollo: Bollo, Mooncake

Same as last time and if your wondering why some names are missing from Avacato’s team, we will get to that. And since our three plots are entirely seperated from the start this time...

Team Gary: The Father of Beelzbub is A Moderaltey Tolerable Guy Picking up where we left off, Gary and Quinn gaze at earth though we do find out, naturally, the other half of the team is okay when Avacato buzzes in, confirming he’s alive at least. So with half the team stranded in the depths of final space, Gary’s next idea is naturally to plummet to earth and pick up a ship to pick them up. HUE has some flaws in the plan, i.e. the earth’s gravity field but KVN proves useful for once and helps carry them down to earth, our heroes ending up in Paris. 

We get a fun subplot of HUE thoroughly enjoying his dream of visiting Paris in a body.. even though Paris itself is pretty fucking horrific, littered with floating corpses and with a smokey, unnerving atmosphere. But the contrast works.. what dosen’t is the ships our heroes fine, which are junked, likely due to months of having no mainteince coupled with the destruction brought on by the titans. 

Gary does find something.. his worst nightmare.. a bunker FULL of KVN’s “I always thought i’d die like this”. They thankfully don’t want to kill him, and he finds a dwarf ventrixian whose a fan of his as are the KVN’s. As it turns out they somehow watched all his video logs to Quinn, and the little guy saying Quinn is even more beautful than he imagined lets him live when Quinn shows up. Gary is naturally puzzled why someone would create his worst nightmare, an army of kvns who know his personal details... until we find out who created the bunker: Kevin, the genius scientest who created the KVN’s. 

Naturally Gary has as mature, sensible and calm reaction as you’d expect and he goes to see Kevin’s dad without innocent....

Had you there for zero seconds. No he has a fairly fluid and incredibly well voiced freakout ending in him wanting to burn the place to the ground in cleansing fire. It’s.. actually a very good thing Quinn’s the one who went with him as everyone on the other team except MAYBE Avacato would’ve gone with operation BURN THEM, BURN ALLL OF THEM. 

So while Gary can’t burn them he does go to shoot Kevin’s creator in the head after finding out he’s alive and still in the bunker. And.. he actually is alive. It’s a nice change of pace as in most sci fi stories where we find the robot first the creator is long dead. But no Kevin.. is alive. It takes a bit for him to accept this is really happening due to a combination of Gary’s transmissions..and Nightfall having contacted him to make a ship. I’ts only when he tries throwing something at Quinn does he realize that nope these are real peoples and gladly welcome them for some rest so theyc an go find the ship he made for Nightfall. Relately the one major flaw I have with this episode.. is that it takes Gary and Quinn an embarassingly long time to put two and two together. Gary I get, he’s kind of distracted being caught in a waking nightmare and finding out he needs to rely on the man who ruined 5 years of his life. He’s also Gary. It’s okay. Quinn though, even with months of trauma stuck in a hell dimension.. is still the resonable one and still should’ve figured “Hey maybe the alternate future verison of me who was around back then did this”. The reveal is well done towards the end when it happens.. it’s just very weird it didn’t happen sooner. 

So the couple are FINALLY alone.. for about 5 seconds because Kevin gets into bed with them. And while part of his loopiness is probably the horrifying isolation for the last few months, after all Gary wasn’t exactly the most coherent after his stint in prison, I do feel that at least part of it is just him. It just makes the most sense: the infinity guard massed produced the guys and Kevin was one of their top scientests. He likely didn’t half ass a project of this size or importance.. so it’d make sense that instead the KVN’s suck at their job because the person who made them really dosen’t get humans, or personal space and the KVN’s are simply degraded copies of him. 

We do get a sweet moment with Quinn and Gary before Kevin decides they’ve rested enough time to go. They use the KVN’s to head to belgium, where the ship is, but have to fight Landfish, horrifying monsters that feast on the remains of dead worlds. So we get a fun and tense action sequence as our heroes sorta zipline through the monsters and KVN suprisingly turns out ot be useful twice in one episode. Our heroes make it to the ship, though HUE is down two arms and his self esteem, with Kevin asking why an AI would WANT to put themselves in a garbage bot. HUE admits he just wanted to experince life but it comes at a cost.. which granted the loss of arms seems rushed.. but it’s not like pre-AVA most of his life as a robot was that happy or fufilling so it dosen’t come out of nowhere and the person who MADE it better... is now dead and gone. He has no real reason to stay in the body anymore: He’s tasted life, he’s loved, and he’s lost. 

So naturally he goes back to being the AI on their new ship, which Quinn Dubs the Galaxy 2 because naturally Gary’s name tries too hard and Kevin’s is nonsensical.. though really Galaxy 2 itself just.. isn’t a great name. Seriously call it the purple rain or something. Still it’s a cool looking ship and while i’ll BADLY miss the crimson light as Olan designed a really fucking cool ship there, the Galaxy 2 is none too shabby. So our heroes have there ship, HUE has his old Job back, and we get a sobering scene as Quinn and Gary finallyg et the nightfall thing, and Kevin leaves to go get the portal up and running and he’ll call them.. they don’t have his number but he’ll be in england where the project is so it’s not like they can’t find the crazy man when the time comes. So we end with Team Gary heading off to a huge energy signture to hopefully find someone. Who it is, if it’s even one of our groups, is unknown.. but given the stinger it’s probably Bollo and Mooncake.. but we’llg et to that. First

Team Avacato: FUCK

So on their astroid Sheryl wonders if the plan is to just stand around and wait for Gary. Tribore however.. wants to leave again. Despite being in an edltrich space nightmare, he decides to take some paternety leave and cuts off part of the asteroid to go bond with his son leaving us with five heroes who all quickly get abducted by teleportation. 

Their abductors.. are Arachnitects, the last ones left in final space who intially confuse them as part of of Invictus unholy horde before Little Cato brings up Jeremy, and thus they free them and explain what’s up: as said their the last ones left in final space, the only ones who weren’t slaughtered or escape and try to offer our heroes hope and shelter.. before brutally being slaughtered by telekensisis... and it’s with that... HE has returned. While the trailers made no attempt to hide it and it was blatant from the start of last season he woudl return.. it dosent’ make his return any less chilling or impactful or David Tennant’s performance any less terrifying after being gone for a bit: Lord Commander HAS RETURNED

And make no mistake, hopefully, this is OUR Lord Commander, as he comments on the new additions.. and is GLEEFUL to have new toys to play with. Avacato is naturally horrifed he’s back and tries to just shoot him but that’s as effective as it’s always been, and he simply force lifts all of them, and naturally, being a sadsitic bastard, brings LIttle Cato forward as he wants to know where Mooncake is, though Little Cato makes a valid point: he dosen’t know where Mooncake is and even if he DID he wouldn’t tell him. And.. that’s where this part of the plot ends till next week. I”m fucking terrified. Nice to have David back though. Especially with Ducktales over. And as a side note... it’s notable Ash doesn’t try triggering her powers. Either she can’t and Lord Commander’s even stronger than her, or she just hasn’t yet. Or third horrifying option i’m going with thier powers come from the same source. 

Team Bollo:The Forge

So with Gary hopefully coming to the rescue and the rest of our heroes trapped by a sadistic bastard who will likely gleefully kill at least one of them.. we find out where Bolo went after getting his ass kicked. He surivived.. but clearly needs a leg up.. so naturally for a charcter voiced by Keith David he goes about it in the most badass way imaginable: he has mooncake do the thing on a dwarf star so he can FORGE IT INTO A FUCKING BADASS SPACE SWORD TO SLAY THE TITANS WITH. My.. my body is ready for next week. 

Final Thoughts:

This episode was excellent. The premire while not BAD had some issues with pacing and tone, where as this one found the perfect places to inject the series humor.. while keeping the stakes incredibly high and having the chilling return of it’s most terrifying antagonist. and yes tha’t swith the people posseing murder face out there. This episode returned Season 3 to the right track. It also continues to be seralized like season 1.. but I feel at least so far they’ve learned their lesson from Seasons 1 and 2 and combined the two better, having basically one big story, but having the pacing be more on par with Season 2 where things move along at a nice clip and we get more character stuff peppered in. It’s a nice combo. if it’ll hold out I do not know, especaillly with a longer runtime but we’ll see as we go won’t we. For now.. this episode was fucking awesome. 

If you liked this review join my patreon, my current stretch goal is for a darkwing duck episode a month and i’ll be putting up a patreon exclusive review soon for 5 dollar or more patreons so check that out, follow me for more and if there’s any episodes of the show from seasons 1 or 2 you’d like me to cover we can discuss that in my ask box and dm,s only 5 bucks an episode. See you at the next rainbow. 

[davidmann95]

Got a handful of DC-solicit asks, so I’ll just write up my thoughts on the whole batch again.

Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom #1: The BALLS to not only do the next Mister Miracle thing after King and Gerads, but to do it with Shilo Norman and therefore invite Seven Soldiers comparisons as well. I wouldn’t be that interested, but the preview art that came with the announcement looked fun so this is a maybe for me.

Wonder Girl #1: I got a Yara Flor ask so I’ll go more into detail with that, but this sounds...not good.

Future State: Gotham #1: Hahaha, thanks, call me in six months if the next team does something there’s a reason to give a shit about. Except...wait, Dennis Culver cowrote that E Is For Extinction Secret Wars mini, dammit this might be good. Either way though, god willing we get a Future State: Metropolis book by Dan Watters too.

Legends of the Dark Knight #1: Hopefully this going with Sensational Wonder Woman means there’s a similar Superman anthology in the cards too, but I won’t hold my breath. Darick Robertson doing Batman is enticing, but I’m not familiar with his work as a writer and the premise doesn’t sound that gripping so I’ll wait and see. That Francavilla variant though? DC, blow that up to poster size and you’d make a mint.

Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0: Hmm. I got love for Static, but I might wait for further announcements and/or buzz before taking the plunge on this one.

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1: This is a SERIOUSLY stacked lineup, definite buy.

Stargirl Spring Break Special #1: Impeccable timing, DC. It feels like it must be some kind of statement that there are no Morrison members of the Seven Soldiers in the mix (even swapping out Ystin for the original version of Shining Knight no one cares bout) - we focus on the Moore fixation, but there’s enough tidbits that I really do feel like Johns probably flat-out hates Morrison. And what’s this ‘secret eighth soldier’ nonsense? There’ve always been eight soldiers, people have been joking about it forever!

Justice League: Last Ride #1: Discussed that announcement here.

Batman: Earth One Vol. 3: *blinks*

*blinks again*

*squints at the cover art*

...Geoff Johns are you seriously trying to step to Morrison and use the Miagani tribe? YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN PEOPLE

I Am Not Starfire: Interesting concept that seems like it pushes into indie-flavored territory as much as DC’s superhero output just about ever has, if word-of-mouth is good there’s a decent chance I’ll get this.

Action Comics #1031: Wonder if this is serious about the potential of Kryptonian refugees, given PKJ suggested the idea in Worlds of War and that could play a significant part in the New Krypton stuff from Bendis’s Legion (with Johnson being clear he’s following up on a lot of Bendis’s ideas with his own Superman run).

Superman #31: This sounds big-time like Johnson hammering Superman into a swords-and-sorcery shape for an arc since that’s his bag, but Superman’s malleable enough for that to work so I’m not complaining.

American Vampire 1976 #8: Still not getting, so.

Batman #108: Tynion’s well and truly figured out how to game the direct market’s dopiest instincts, hasn’t he? Well, as long as that’s in service of him getting to continue doing weird Batman stuff with Jorge Jimenez like introducing whatever the ‘Unsanity Collective’ is, that’s fine with me. And more Ghostmaker!

Batman: Black & White #6: Not as packed for the finale as some previous issues, but still looking good. And there’s really never gonna be a ‘last’ Scott Snyder Batman story, is there? Sure it’ll be good but that’s kind of a shame, his Detective #1027 feature really felt like a nice full circle.

Batman: The Detective #2: Guess I wasn’t the only one wondering if it was a stealth DKR prequel and they wanted to cut that notion out at the knees.

Batman/Catwoman #6: Still very down for it, but BOY that Batwoman costume Mann debuted on Twitter.

The Batman & Scooby Doo Mysteries #2: I recently finally started reading Sholly Fisch and companies’ Scooby-Doo Team-Up! recently after getting the whole run for free on ComiXology earlier this year and have fallen in love with it, so I’m totally grabbing this digitally.

Batman/Superman #18: “The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel are on a mission to stop the godlike Auteur.io from destroying the pocket worlds he’s created...but where on Earth did Auteur.io even come from? The answer starts not on Earth at all, but with an ancient cult of World Forger worshippers on a planet far away—and if our heroes are to have a prayer of stopping this mythic behemoth, they’ll need to get to the bottom of his power source, and quick! It’s a race against time as the parallel lives of entire worlds hang in the balance!”

Anonymous said: Haha is Yang really doing Superman & Batman vs. Zack Snyder and the Snyder Cult (look up “auter” if you don’t know what I mean)? That’s fucking hilarious, especially since he apparently comes from the World Forge which is where all the shitty Earths full of bad ideas are made. Pretty pointed criticism there if I’m reading it right.

I’ve seen two or three people other than this anon independently conclude this arc is about the Supermen and Batmen of the Multiverse teaming up to stop Zack Snyder from destroying them all and at this point I’m ready to ask my LCS owner if I’m allowed to pay more than cover price for this run.

Batman: Urban Legends #3: Much more into this after the Grifter and Outsiders stories in Future State.

Catwoman #31: No reason not to assume this’ll continue to be great.

Challenge of the Super Sons #2: Good for the folks who want this, and that Nick Bradshaw variant is fun.

Crime Syndicate #3: I wanna be convinced to get this book, but the interviews are not persuading me.

Detective Comics #1036: How long is Mora sticking around?!

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #10: Another one I’ve got nothing to say about because I’ve never been getting it.

The Flash #770: Actually really excited to hear about how bad this run will suck now that I know it’s by the mind behind that “Geoff Johns’ OC - do not steal - beats up the Grant Morrison DC future” catastrophe from Future State.

Green Lantern #2: Really couldn’t wait a month for Far Sector to wrap up, huh?

Harley Quinn #3: Still not interested, but that *is* a nice cover.

The Joker #3: There’s a very real possibility I’ll have dropped the book by this point if it turns out to be the illustrated editorial mandate I get the feeling it could be, but fingers crossed.

Justice League #61: Not complaining, but wow, this really is Naomi 2 since Campbell’s busy in order to provide the necessary material for the CW show.

Looney Toons #260/Mad #20: Were these grouped with the rest of the solicits before?

Man-Bat #4: Very curious how this’ll be received, given nobody much cares about Man-Bat but Wielgosz seems to be quickly becoming a favorite.

The Next Batman: Second Son #2: Hadn’t realized this was only 4 issues - guess for at least one of them it’ll be the Luke Fox book everyone expected in the first place.

Nightwing #80: Dick Grayson vs. Heartless, not how I expected the DC/Kingdom Hearts crossover to happen but I’ll take it. That variant though? ALL TIMER:

The Other History of the DC Universe #4: I was trying to figure out who the focus of #4 would be since we know #5 is about Thunder and Lightning, forgot Montoya was confirmed.

Robin #2: Wanna care, so don’t care.

Rorschach #8: I will get it and probably like it.

RWBY/Justice League #2: My thoughts here will be their own post because there’s something particularly notable, but:

Anonymous said: Have you seen the BATtleaxe from the new art for RWBY/Justice League?

Yes, anon. Yes I have.

Sensational Wonder Woman #3: Eh, premise doesn’t grab me but maybe.

Strange Adventures #10: God I love the book about how Adam Strange sucks.

Suicide Squad #3/Teen Titans Academy #3: Hahahahaha

Superman: Red and Blue #3: Fiffe and Stokoe doing Superman stories!!! And...Nick Spencer. With Christian Ward art?! Sigh, fine, hopefully it’ll be Nick Spencer doing a nice little comedy, and not having Grant Morrison Superman throwing his t-shirt away because he grew up and realized changing things is too hard. A horrible shame Pope is doing the main cover though, the allegations against him I guess never really got any attention. At least there’s this JPL variant:

The Swamp Thing #3: Swampy will never be my guy but very happy for those who dig him, because I imagine this’ll be terrific.

Truth & Justice #4: Normally I wouldn’t care at all, but what I’m hearing on Twitter about this is a crying shame - that Jeff Trammell is really talented and Red Hood is a favorite of his and this is likely to be one of Jason Todd’s few Actually Good comics, but that artist Rob Guillory is a bullying transphobic piece of shit. Sucks all around.

Wonder Woman #772: I was so excited for this run, and then Immortal Wonder Woman had to go and suck.

[dakotacrisis]

Transferred (12)

FRESH BAKED JUSTICE!

---

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the leaves in the trees were changing color, Marinette had all her assignments done, Kagami’s dress was coming along beautifully, Alya and her were talking again, and Quinn had finally purchased a real planner.

Marinette now sat in a window seat of Nanette’s moms’ cafe sipping a mug of warm tea and listening to the excited and funny ramblings of her friends.

“You’ve been awfully quiet today.” Nanette noted. “Everything okay?”

“Everything is pretty much perfect.” Marinette sighed, “I’m enjoying the moment while it lasts.”

“Here, here,” Nanette clinked her mug of cocoa against Marinette’s. “Heard anything from Adrien?”

“Nope. I don’t know what is going on anymore with him.” After Marinette’s confrontation with Lila at the fabric store she called Adrien to vent. He couldn’t talk long as he was on his way home and had something important to discuss with his dad when he got there. She kept her complaining short and tried calling Alya instead but was met with an even more abrupt end to the conversation as someone in the background made a bunch of noisy complaints about deadlines and narrative flow.

She tried talking to both of them the next day and again was met with quick dismissals and apologies. Something was going on but Marinette for the life of her couldn’t tell what it was. Were those two in cahoots for something? If they were, why couldn’t they tell Marinette?

Marinette’s phone beeped. “This may be him.”

“And I am telling you, Tsurugi!” Quinn was nose to nose with Kagami, “I don’t care how powerful a ninja Pucca is, she could not defeat the kraken!”

“It is essentially a giant octopus. She could totally take it!” Kagami argued.

“I will physically fight you on this!”

“Children,” Nanette’s mom approached the table and swatted Quinn on the top of their head with a menu, “No shouting in the cafe. You’re disturbing the other customers.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Labelle,” Quinn and Kagami muttered. “Hey, Marinette, can you settle this for us?”

“In a minute, I got a message from Chloe.” Marinette opened her messages.

“What is it?” Kagami leaned over her shoulder.

“She sent me a video. Geez, twenty minutes? What is this?” Marinette recognized the thumbnail as her old classroom.

“Fresh Baked Justice.” Kagami read out the title, “Was the caps lock necessary?”

“Let’s see what’s happening.” Marinette propped up her phone and pressed play.

---

“Why am I the one recording?” Marinette recognized Alya’s voice behind the camera.

“Because I, unlike you, never doubted her. So I get to present the information.” Chloe was standing at the front of the classroom as the other students entered. “Now wait for my cue to start recording.”

“I’m already recording.”

“You incompetent--”

“Watch it, Chloe.” Alya warned.

“Fine, whatever,” Chloe huffed as she waited for everyone to get seated.

Ms. Bustier entered the room and gave Chloe and Alya a confused look. “Girls, what are you doing?”

“I knew we were presenting our projects today and I wanted to be the first.” Chloe said.

“And Alya is recording because?”

“Because I want to relive everyone’s jaw dropping reactions to my perfect project.” Chloe boasted but there was something slippery about the way she said it. Something she wasn’t letting on about.

“Alright then,” Ms. Bustier smiled, “Since you are so eager you can go first.”

“Perfect,” Chloe cleared her throat, “My dear plebeian peers, may I present my wonderful project of a modern retelling of an ancient story. The story of Dolos and Aletheia.”

Chloe hit a button on the remote she was holding and the slide on the screen changed to a picture of Lila with little devil horns photoshopped on her forehead.

“Now, in ancient myth Dolos was a either a lesser god or simply a personified spirit of trickery and guile depending on your interpretation. A master of cunning deception, craftiness and treachery.” Chloe continued on unbothered by the mean looks she was getting from her classmates, “The most well known story concerning Dolos is while under the apprenticeship of the Titan Prometheus he forged a copy of a statue Prometheus was sculpting.”

The powerpoint changed slides again. This time a picture of a statue of a woman with sad eyes and holding a tablet of some sort filled the screen.

“The statue Prometheus was sculpting was of Aletheia, or her Roman name, Veritas. Aletheia is the goddess of truth in ancient myth. Prometheus decided to create a statue of her so to help regulate the behaviour of people.”

Again the slides changed this time to a picture of an incomplete statue of a woman that had Marinette’s head photoshopped on it.

“Now in the myth, Prometheus was called away from his shop leaving Dolos alone. In his ambition the trickster decided to use his free time to fashion a forgery of the statue Prometheus was making. So good were his skills and in the details of the forgery that when Prometheus returned to the shop and saw the copy he decided it was impeccable and put both statues in the kiln.”

Slides changed and now stood a regular picture of Marinette with a little halo around her head and next to it was a shopped photo of Marinette twisted to give her an evil smile and a burglar mask. The devil horned Lila picture stood between them looking awfully smug.

“The only problem was that before Dolos could finish the Aletheia statue he ran out of clay and could not add any feet. Thus when the statues were done the true version of Aletheia awakened and walked with measured steps but her incomplete twin was stuck in place unable to move forward. This product of subterfuge thus came to be known as Mendacium, or Falsehood. Standing in place as a reminder that while something false can start off successfully, inevitably, Aletheia, or Truth, will prevail.”

“Well, Chloe,” Ms. Bustier looked put out, “This is well researched but how is this a modern retelling? You’ve only repeated the original myth and put your classmates faces over the pictures.”

“I am aware, Ms. Bustier.” Chloe nodded, “I was merely informing everyone of the original story. Now we will be moving onto the modern retelling. In this version the personifications of Dolos and Aletheia have been changed to Lila and Marinette respectively.”

At this the students in their seats started to squirm and exchange bewildered looks.

“Ahem,” Chloe cleared her throat and hit the button to change slides once more. This time instead of a shopped photo it was the class picture. “Once upon a time there was a normal high school class. In this class there was a pillar of truth and justice, almost to annoying degree, known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.  All was well in the class and many people liked her. Until one fateful day when a dark power of lies and deception crept into the school. A miss Lila Rossi.”

The screen now showed a still from Alya’s interview with Lila the first day she came to school.

“Lila charmed the people around her with tall tales of interest and famous connection in order to impress the students. While this irked Marinette she could not prove her lies were in fact such and so suffered in silence. Any time she tried to call out the falsehoods being fed to her peers she was met with resistance and, in extreme cases, hostility.

“What Marinette did not realize at the time was just how much her attempts at uncovering the truth angered Lila. How if Marinette could provide concrete proof to her claims then Lila would be powerless to stop it. Unfortunately for dear Marinette, she was stunted in her mission of justice by Lila with sabotage and manipulation of her classmates.”

A video appeared on the screen of what was clearly Lila sneaking into the janitor’s closet early in the morning and leaving with a large white jug of chemicals before ascending the steps into Ms. Bustier’s classroom. The time stamp on the video read about a month ago. The day Marinette sat in bleach.

A minute later the door to the classroom opened again and Lila stashed the bleach back in the closet before integrating herself with the arriving students.

“Thankfully for Dupain-Cheng, another hero rose to the challenge. One detective Chloe Bourgeois.” Chloe smirked. The camera panned to Lila. She looked more composed than she should have considering Chloe was going to expose her for the lying worm she is. Adrien, who was forced next to Lila, looked absolutely delighted by Chloe’s project.

“This day would mark the first in a long line of pranks and lies that Lila would use to break down Marinette and drive her away from her friends and the school.”

The next video took place in the library. The time stamp read about a week after the bleach incident video. Marinette was sat at one of the computers furiously typing away on a document. A couple feet away at the printer Lila stood taking the paper out of the printer and shoving it back in all bent and crushed. She walked away and a minute later Marinette stood up from her desk and crossed to the printer to collect her paper. Only the printer was now jammed due to Lila’s sabotage. Unaware of any foul play Marinette went about unjamming the printer while Lila now snuck to the computer Marinette had inhabited and started clicking at things on the screen. She ran back into hiding as Marinette got the printer fixed and returned to send her report to the printer again. Only this time Marinette started to freak out and frantically click everywhere on the screen trying to find a now permanently deleted document.

Chloe described what was in fact happening in the video to the class so they had the proper context before reminding them of Marinette’s ‘excuse’ for not having her report done. Her ‘excuse’ that someone had deleted the document and all her notes.

A few students started to look at Lila with suspicion.

A newspaper clipping now occupied the screen. It was the article about the art students and the picture of Lila wearing Marinette’s ballgown. In the article the false name Lila gave the reporter for Marinette was highlighted.

“Now thanks to the incredible work of Detective Chloe, I was able to find the reporter of this article and ask them about the misinformed name.” The screen changed to a video of a journalist sitting in their office. The name on their desk matching the name on the article.

“Now,” the video version of Chloe said, “What can you tell me about the person who gave you the name Margaret Dubois-Peng for this article.”

“It was this girl pictured in the center of the photo I took,” the journalist held up the picture, clearly pointing at Lila, “And I did not mishear her. She told me that the name of the girl that couldn’t make the picture was named Margaret. I remember because I thought the dress was beautiful and wanted to get the name perfect since the talented designer was absent from the photo.”

“I am sorry to inform you but there is no Margaret Dubois-Peng that attends Francoise Dupont. The actual designer of that dress was a girl named Marinette Dupain-Cheng whom Lila is in the same class with and knew the dress belonged to.”  Video Chloe said.

“Really? Doesn’t she know what kind of exposure an article in this newspaper can give to young artists? Especially considering that the Next Big Night Fundraiser is approaching. This is when the organizers and founders of the event start looking for possible recipients for the Next Big Thing title.” The journalist asked. “What kind of petty high school drama would make her lie about that?”

“What indeed?” The in class version of Chloe asked as the video on the screen ended. “I’m sure we all remember Marinette’s little freak out that day when she tried to vault a desk to get to Lila. Her outlandish claims of sabotage have more weight now, don’t they?”

Oops. Looks like Lila’s stone face started to crumble. Only slightly. She wasn’t about to give anything away yet.

“Now, I could go into all the other interviews I managed to accumulate with other famous contacts Lila claimed to know like, Jagged Stone, Prince Ali, and Clara Nightingale. So I will!” Chloe pulled up another video. This time a short montage of said celebrities holding a photo of Lila and stating that they had no idea who this person was and debunking whatever claim she made about them right then and there.

The quiet whispers passed around the class were now getting louder before Chloe called their attention back to her.

“Now, for the final nail in the coffin of Marinette’s departure from the school,” Chloe clicked the remote again with a list of items appearing on the screen. The stolen items Marinette was framed for stealing. “Her supposed theft of various objects from the rest of the class. Like Nino’s headphones,”

The screen changed to a picture of Lila grabbing the headphones out of Nino’s bookbag while his back was turned.

“Or Max’s charger.”

Another photo of Lila snatching the charger off of the table in the library Max was sitting at while he was reading.

“Mylene’s headband and Rose and Juleka’s pencil toppers.”

Two more photos both of Lila clearly reaching into the girl’s lockers and pulling out the objects.

“Unfortunately I have no evidence of her putting these in Dupain-Cheng’s bag as there are no cameras set up inside the classroom but I think the evidence of her initially being the one to steal the items speaks for itself. Lila Rossi is Dolos. Spirit of trickery and deception that drove away the Truth.”

All eyes were on Lila now. Unperturbed Lila stood up and walked to the front of the class next to Chloe. “Chloe, I will be the first to say that this is a very nice project. You obviously put a lot of work into it. Not only trying to create a parallel of high school drama to an ancient tragedy. Spectacular work. I can’t believe you even got all those celebrities to play along for it with those fake interviews. I’m sure that as the mayor’s daughter they were only too happy to help you with your project.”

Oh no. Lila really didn’t think she was going to lie her way out of this, did she? There was no way! There was video and photographic evidence on all accounts!

“These photos are some of the best photoshopping I’ve seen. You must have worked with Alya over there to create them.” Lila waved at Alya recording. “But I think there should be a helpful disclaimer to remind everyone that this is in fact a work of fiction twisted to look like real life events.”

“You are not that lucky, Rossi.” Chloe made a come hither motion and Adrien stood up. “While I know everyone in class has got to be at least speculative about me, I know they all believe Adrien. What reason do they have not to? He’s done nothing wrong ever in his life.”

This time it was Adrien who addressed the class. “I can confirm that what Chloe has said this morning is true. All of it. I knew Lila was a liar from the beginning and that she was hurting Marinette. I thought that she couldn’t cause such horrible damage to our class with her lies but I was wrong. I made Marinette ignore the problem like I did and it cost me dearly. Cost us dearly.”

He wasn’t smiling as he turned to Lila. “After what you did to Marinette and how I saw her cry because you had managed to turn the entire school against her I offered to come back and expose you for the liar you are. It was Marinette who convinced me not to so that the class wouldn’t turn against me next. It may have cost me some good friends but there are times that I look at this environment you created with your selfishness and think that maybe getting pulled from school altogether wouldn’t be bad if it meant getting away from you.”

At this the class got into a frenzy as they tried to attack Adrien for knowing the truth and not exposing Lila earlier if what he said was true. Chloe whistled loudly drowning out the frantic voices and restoring order once again.

“I’m not done.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “To close out my project I wanted to bring special attention to this particular parallel

“In one of Aesop’s fables he tells the a tale of a man that found Alethia in the wilderness away from civilization and asked what she was doing there. I believe this ties in very well with the treatment that Dupain-Cheng received during her tenure here. The quote is as follows: “A man was journeying in the wilderness and he found Aletheia standing there all alone. He said to her, ‘Ancient lady, why do you dwell here in the wilderness, leaving the city behind?’ From the great depths of her wisdom, Alethia replied, ‘Among the people of old, lies were found among only a few, but now they have spread throughout all of human society!’” Chloe read dramatically, “Now if we were to take the people of old referenced here and imagine it as the people of this class and the little white lies we all have told from time to time that would be a fair comparison. But when Lila Rossi started to attend our school her lies infected our peer group and her influence has been felt throughout the entire establishment. Thus the lies found among only a few have spread throughout the whole school and with it has also driven away the truth...and a friend.”

Lila wasn’t smug now. Her hands shaking slightly out of either fear or anger.

The entire class was stunned into silence for about ten seconds before everything exploded. People were launching up from their seats and pointing at Lila with anger and disbelief. It was hard to make anything out with all the noise but a very distressed Lila stood in the center of the storm trying to fix everything before getting overwhelmed and running out of the room.

After that the camera turned to Chloe and Adrien wearing matching smug grins before the video ended.

---

“That was glorious!” Marinette tried not to be one of those people that revelled in other people’s misery but Lila had this coming. And Marinette loved every second of it.

There was a message along with the video that Marinette had failed to see prior to pressing play.

You are gonna get a lot of our lame classmates texting you apologies. You should ignore them. They aren’t worth the energy.

“Chloe…” Marinette’s giddy grin softened. She would never have guessed that her long time childhood bully could ever be so...nice.

Another message popped up. This time from Adrien.

Did you get Chloe’s message?

Yes I did. She texted back. It was amazing! How are things over there now that the storm has passed?

The storm is still going. After Lila bolted no one could keep quiet so Ms. Bustier left everyone to chat and get it out of their systems while she went to look for Lila.

Are you okay? I saw how everyone tried to lay into you.

No worries here. You know how Chloe is. We’re standing in the back rn watching the chaos. I keep hearing people say: Marinette was telling the truth

VINDICATION!

You deserve it!

Chloe told me not to respond to the apology texts I’m bound to get any second now.

You know me. I’d at least hear them out but I understand how they hurt you. Forgive but never forget and all that.

You’re right. In time yes but for right now I’m gonna leave them unread. Let them squirm a little.

Marinette no!

A text from Chloe.

I’ve been reading over Adrien’s shoulder and my response is, Marinette YES!

“I may have been slightly wrong about Chloe.” Kagami smiled, “To go to all that trouble just to prove your innocence? It is commendable.”

Marinette saved the video to her phone. “That’s why she’s Queen Bee.”

---

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (13)

---

(tagged) (idk why some of the tags aren’t working. I tried guys.)

@northernbluetongue @heredemaquam @zazzlejazzle @lady-flora-of-slytherin @ladylb @immatureidiot101 @kristycocopops @schrodingers25 @sublimemagazinestarlight @shamefullove

[heroicadventurists]

Detective Comics 1000

Top 5 stories

Detective 1000 was comprised of eleven short stories written by some of the biggest names in comics.  All of the stories were really good (as expected) and 1000 was definitely worth the read.  Below is my ranking of the top 5 stories in Detective Comics 1000

05. Batman’s Greatest Case

Writer: Tom King

What’s a Batman celebration without the batfamily?!?  This story begins with Bruce arriving at the cemetery to visit his parents gravesite.  During his walk in the cemetery, various conversations between the batfamily are displayed on the page.  Hilarity ensues as several members of the family try to figure out why Batman has summoned them on a roof top.  When Batman finally arrives, it was to take a group portrait so he can place it on his parent’s gravestone. 

This story is a reminder of how much Bruce has healed and how the batfamily has played a big part in that.  Thru thick and thin, they are family; and you don’t get kicked out of family.

04. The Legend of Knute Brody

Writer: Paul Dini

This story featured a who’s who of Batman’s Rogues Gallery.  This was an extremely fun and lighthearted read.  This story documents the legend of Knute Brody, a henchman for hire.  Each of the rogues recall their disastrous experience working with Knute.  There are appearances by Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Mad Hatter, Two Face, Ventriloquist, The Riddler, The Penguin, Joker, Mr Freeze, Kite Man and …..wait for it…….Condiment King. All of the stories have the same outcome; Knute ruins the caper of the day infuriating the rogues. 

At the end of the story, we learn that Knute was actually various members of the batfamily; with Bruce, Dick and Barbara reminiscing about playing him.  The family decides to retire Knute since he is believed to be dead (by the hands of Poison Ivy) but Damian has other ideas………..Knute Brody Jr.

Again this was a feel good story that paid homage to Batman’s wonderful rogues gallery.  Long Live Knute.

 03. Batman’s Longest Case          

Writer: Scott Snyder

This is the first story in Detective 1000 and one of my favorites.  This is a classic Batman story that focuses on “whodunit”

The case in question was Batman’s first.  A business magnate supposedly killed by his son and a missing looking glass from Hellenistic Rome.  The case took Batman from Gotham to Osumi, Japan; to Egypt; to the frozen peaks of Dolomites; to the bottom of the Pacific; to the jungles of Brazil….and on and on right back to an apartment in Gotham owned by Peter Sawyer Ignacious (P.S.I).  This case took Batman years to solve.

And what was the answer?  The Guild of Detection.  A place that has existed for eons, with only a few members .

“You see, it’s where we detectives work on the Universe’s great unsolved cases.” –Detective Slam Bradley

The Guild houses the Celestial cases, Cosmic Phenomena, the Supernatural and the Mysteries of Science. I would absolutely read a comic book based on The Guild of Detection.

02. I know

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

This story is narrated by The Penguin and begins with him proclaiming that he knew Bruce Wayne was Batman the entire time.  He states that the Joker or Scarecrow would try to unionize the villains so they could take down Batman once and for all.  The conversation always turned to: who is Batman.  After extensive research, The Penguin came to the conclusion that Batman was Bruce Wayne.  The rouges shot down his “theory”.

“I once held that ridiculous man for ransom.  Really! I was trying to use Wayne to, you know, lure the Batman, you know the deal….This man, Bruce Wayne, as I held him in my arms, cried like such a baby that I was embarrassed to do what I do for a living.  Wayne was literally ruining it for me.” –Rogue Unknown

The Penguin begins to detail how he planned an attack on Wayne Manor; how he strapped every bomb on every penguin he could get his hands on.  The Manor was filled with all of the important people in Gotham.  Just as he was about to give the order to attack, he realized that Bruce Wayne was the only thing keeping him alive.  If he missed the mark, and destroyed Wayne but not Batman….Batman without Bruce Wayne?  Without the tether to actual humanity, The Penguin would be dead.

After this proclamation, we see an old Penguin talking to an old Bruce Wayne. 

“That’s why I let you live, Bruce.” –The Penguin

The Penguin wanted to let Bruce know that he knew the truth.  Of course Bruce already knew that Penguin knew his secret identity.  And to add insult to injury, Bruce electroshocked the penguin with his wheel chair and called him a coward.

I liked this story a lot because it hit on the dichotomy of Batman and Bruce Wayne.  They are one and the same but separate at the same time.  What would happen to one without the other? 

01. The Precedent

Writer: James Tynion IV

The Precedent takes my number 1 spot for best stories in Detective Comics 1000.  This story was absolutely beautiful and paid homage to not only Bruce’s legacy but Dick’s as well.  The story begins with Bruce questioning if he made the right decision by bringing Dick into his vigilante lifestyle.  Alfred tells him it’s a little too late for regrets, but Bruce is worried about the precedent he is setting.  Alfred tells Bruce that Dick is not the first orphan with a haunted look in his eyes to be brought back to the Manor and everything turned out well for Bruce?!?  Bruce is still not convinced he made the correct decision.

“Your path to Batman was a dark one, Bruce.  Years of agony and loneliness fighting what you needed to become”. -Alfred Pennyworth

Alfred tries to reassure Bruce that they will make sure Dick has the little things like friendship and romance; things that were hard for Bruce to obtain. Alfred tells Bruce that Dick can make him better;  Dick can be better. Dick can be a hero forged in the light.

After Alfred’s declaration, Bruce asked him about the others.

“We can’t fool ourselves into thinking this will be the only time we’ll see that look in a young person’s eyes, and know we have to do something.  Why take him in, and turn the rest away.  That’s the precedent Alfred.” – Bruce Wayne

At that moment Dick drops down from a chandelier and says that he is not the precedent, Bruce is the precedent.  Bruce is showing everyone a different way to fight and people are going to act.  They will show people how to do it right.

This story was a nice celebration of the original Dynamic Duo.

[ramajmedia]

Teen Harley Quinn Gets New (& Better) Origin in BREAKING GLASS

Harley Quinn may have been created as the Joker's girlfriend, but she's built a legacy and role in the DC Universe all by herself. It's about time Harleen got an origin story that focused on the young woman she always was, and the battles the forged her - as opposed to the man who 'broke' her. Which is exactly what Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is here to deliver.

The new graphic novel for young adults is traveling back to Harley's own days in that demographic, as a fifteen year old kid from Gotham poorest neighborhood. Eisner Award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki (Supergirl: Being Super) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Steve Pugh (The Flintstones) are telling the tale, re-imagining the circumstances that led Harleen to become the Harley Quinn. Only this time, it's based on family, fairness, and what one girl can prove capable of when her friends are put in harm's way. And any fan who reads Breaking Glass is likely to wonder how her origin was ever any different.

RELATED: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy Begin Their New Team-Up Series!

Screen Rant had the chance to speak with Tamaki and Pugh about creating this new graphic novel, the new drag club origin for Harley Quinn, their brand new incarnation of The Joker, and more. Read on for our full interview, along with preview pages showing Pugh's work, and the official trailer for Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass.

I'll start by asking how you were approached for not just a young adult graphic novel from DC, but one giving Harley Quinn a new, teenage origin story. Was it easy for you to sign on?

MT: For me this is kind of a follow up to Supergirl: Being Super, in that I was in a conference room with a bunch of DC people talking about what I might do next. A similar project was offered up as something that I might do, and then when they asked me I had two very obvious questions. The first was who is the character I wanted to do, and I immediately wanted to do Harley. I get the first pick of everybody so I got Harley right away. Then when we talked about illustrators I was like, 'Steve Pugh, it has to be Steve.' Part of it is because I had just read The Flintstones series. I just thought that kind of physicality that he had in those comics I thought was something that would keep it in a style that felt real. Which was really important to me. It was ridiculous. It took a year to get approved but in terms of selection process, it was very simple.

Was Steve hard to convince?

MT: Steve was about to do something else when he agreed to do this!

SP: Yeah! I was lined up to go on rotation on one of the big DC monthlies, but Marie Javins, the editor showed me the script and I very ungraciously backed out. And DC were lovely about it, they totally supported me but they were surprised. I utterly loved the script, utterly loved the characters. And I wanted to be involved immediately. So it was a no-brainer for me.

You both got the chance to answer a question that most Harley fans have never even though to ask, which is: 'Who was Harley Quinn in high school?' Or even, 'What if her origin story had started while she was still in high school?' How did you land on this version of the story?

MT: To me it seems like a standard teenage story, and high school is part of that. I think it was a natural place to start to think about, in terms of the origin of someone's hero story, in terms of deciding to be a hero. And I think that school seemed like a great place to put her to encounter a bunch of different influences. She has multiple influences in this book. She has the drag queens that she lives with. She has this girl, Ivy, who she goes to school with who is incredibly smart and knows a lot about history and things that Harley is not very interested in. Then she has this other influence of the Joker. I think the thing about high school is it's a nice melting pot to put people in where they naturally encounter certain things. And especially because I wanted there to be a history of activism and a place for her to learn and talk about that stuff. That seemed like a natural setting for it.

In terms of this style of Harley and the rest of the characters, was that something you two took a lot of time to sort out. It's a different version of a lot of things readers will both recognize from DC Comics, and their real world high schools. Was that also a natural process?

SP: I really took my cues from what Mariko had put on the page. My planning stage is quite poor. I read the script and I imagine how it looks, I see it as a movie. But when I'm doing sketches and things, it never really works. Everything that I find works for me gets kind of designed on the page as the characters are moving about. I'm very much a sequential artist, I'm not very good at coming up with pin-ups or covers or things like that. I kind of find the characters as they're performing, and saying the lines, and emoting. That's how it worked, so it was very much script first and then I kind of ran with it and checked in to make sure I was on beat and in the right area of what everybody wanted.

It feels like these graphic novels are different from the regular ongoing comics, where you go in knowing that you're following someone, and will likely pass to someone else. Here, you get to design from the ground up, both in story and artwork. Do you start by asking what the version of Harley is that YOU want to make, or something you want to see in the character that you maybe haven't before?

MT: Yeah. Yeah! It's funny because I do feel like it's a narrative process: the first thing that I pictured was Harley Quinn on the bus on her way to Gotham. And what that character looks like, and really imagining a past and present and future for this character. I think the way she's designed is in terms of what she would have. She has this kind of knapsack type thing, jeans and a sweater, and her cap. It's what she would have on her. But at the same time, it's also us trying to get her to that place of the iconic Harley Quinn. What are all the things that she's narratively going to encounter that will take her to the place where she looks like the superhero that we know?

It was a matter of finding those things, and when I first saw Steve's character sketches for these concepts that we were looking at, it was really helpful. Because I could imagine this very excited and excitable kid, and what she would be like. It really helped because it gives you a personality, and a visual to go on that then feeds you for the rest of the story. Also we had the scripts but then we were editing in little chunks, so I could see her becoming more of a person on the page.

I imagine it all has to be in service of that core question of who Harley is, no matter what else you change. Was that something you each had in mind when entering this project, or something that you had to discuss to arrive at together?

MT: I think Steve and I mostly worked--like these last two days are the only times that Steve and I have ever spoken!

SP: [Laughs]

MT: We work through our editor Marie Javins, and I will say, she was a really good rudder for keeping us on track. That's a really amazing part of the DC Comics Editors, because they are so well acquainted with who these characters are, and the vast histories of them. They kind of keep you on track. They're the guards in the bowling alley, when you're playing in the little kids' bowling alley... Just making sure that you don't go so far out of what's legible as this character. But I feel like at the same time, Harley is such an iconic personality. That kind of playful strangeness of her is so pungent, that it was really easy to stay within who that person was. Or who she is. For me.

SP: Yeah, she's just endless charisma, enormous potential, looking for something to aim herself at. That quest for a purpose for family and for someone to care about her, and someone for her to care about. I feel like that's the common thread that's always been in Harley's journey. Falling in with the wrong sort, and falling in with the right sort, and which side grabs her destiny.

MT: Yeah. Yeah.

It seems a unique challenge, to decide who is this Harley and what is this story about.... now what does she look like? Because you know there is a whole army of cosplayers just waiting to show their love by bringing these looks and personality to life. I am so eager to hear any insight you can offer about developing that wardrobe--I imagine it starts with the natural progression you spoke about, but where do you go from there?

MT: Did you just read a lot of teen magazines Steve, what was the process there?

SP: [Laughs] Just observation, I suppose. I just remember people from college and how they carried themselves, and how they kind of experimented with looks. Harley is just exactly at the age when you're trying to find yourself, and the costumes were about--as Mariko said--she starts with what she's got. A gym bag that she's hooping her arms through and using it like a haversack, and the woolly hat. Then she picks up things along the way and creates looks. The drag queens help her out and widen her horizons. It moves organically and in many ways, a lot of this stuff is made up on the page. There is an enormous amount to be said for planning ahead. But what I tend to find is if I do character sketches and work it all out beforehand, the things that work in the character sketches almost never translate to the sequential panels. Because you don't see the character from that front-on, side-on view, you see them doing things. And things that work in a design in those kind of character sketches don't really flow when the character's leaping onto a ladder, up the side of a building, or something. It's really just kind of instinct.

Well you touched on what has to be one of the best changes you make in this origin story, which is to give Harley Quinn a drag mother. And I will now not be able to to ever see it any other way...

MT: Yayyyy!

SP: [Laughs]

So where did the idea of MAMA and her crew come from, and what was that like, bringing this drag paradise to life?

MT: I am an obnoxious fan of RuPaul's Drag Race, and drag. Certainly for me, my introduction to--my own personal style really evolved when I was a teen going to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Meeting a group of people who are incredibly theatrical, and playing with gender, was definitely something that was very fundamental to me. I wanted to have a figure that was a caring, loving figure for her. The head of an atypical family. I don't know, sometimes I think Mama looks like... relatives that I have? [Laughs]

We really wanted to surround her with people who were very comfortable outside of the status quo, so to join her there and give her a group of people to fight for, was really important for the story. Then coming up with drag names is one of my favorite things to do for this book. One of the drag names is--my friend Billeh Knickerson, who is a poet, Mia Culpa is the drag name that he came up with--and then I asked him if I could use that. Then for me it's also my history with queer theater, having them really embrace Maxima Impact. This really big, over the top drag. Which I think is the perfect place to put somebody who is figuring out their superhero persona.

 SP: It was just so great. It was so great to be doing a book where the characters were emoting, and acting, and not just kind of doing the "grrr" face for 22 pages. Designing them was a challenge, but it was also a lovely experience, you know? I always work out from the yes. Like on The Flintstones, with Fred, I wanted a big slab of a man. But the eyes had to be like super, super kind.

MT: Yeahhhhhh.

SP: That's where I started with Mama as well. Working out from the eyes and then just seeing a face that you could trust. You would put your life in her hands. And at the same time, wanted to make sure that the world looked after her. The other drag queens had their own personalities in and out of drag, and Mariko wrote very specific bios for each of them. I worked that into their designs, their facial structure, and the style of cheekbone or how hooded the eyes were. There is a certain Scottish character in there, and I've got a lot of Scottish friends, I made sure... There is a very specific look around the eyes and the cheekbones of a Scottish man, and I worked all that in. Just a fantastic cast to work with, I love these characters. And I've been them quite often in the mirror! [Laughs]

MT: [Laughs]

SP: To work out how each of them look. They've each got a specific body language, a specific way of moving around the scene.

MT: I was saying to Steve later, one of my favorites scenes is when you see the drag queens out of drag, and you can see their physicality our of drag, and connecting that to them in drag. I think that's really fascinating in the comic.

When you're taking this story into that community, is there an added sense of responsibility to portray those people, that style, that culture, in a respectful way?

MT: I think there is a responsibility when you're representing people to be accurate. I definitely have a lot of amazing people who helped me and gave me advice and answered questions that I had, so I wasn't just going on the fact that I watch RuPaul's Drag Race every day [Laughs]. I don't think that makes me an expert in anything. I certainly felt a responsibility to make sure that people were being well-represented, or that I was considering what was going into their presentation in this. I mean the point is not just to make the story diverse, but to make the story interesting. I think that multiple perspectives in this story is what makes it interesting. It is very much a Harley Quinn story, and I hope Harley Quinn fans enjoy it, but I also think there is a story that is about all of these influences on her, that make her a more interesting character as a result.

SP: Yeah. I definitely felt the weight of responsibility. Because you know that when communities don't see themselves in particular media very often... you've got a responsibility to do it right. But at the same time you've got to put that responsibility to one side so you can do the work, and make the characters people, and not worry about making them too perfect, or too this, or too that. They've got to be allowed to breathe, and be empathetic, and live, and... You know, I took it seriously. I took it very seriously.

We all know that it is historic moment when a new version of the Joker in introduced. Without spoiling anything, what can you tease readers with for this new Joker? I don't even know where you would start in conceiving a new version, but from his first appearance, this is a Joker a lot of people will never be able to forget.

MT: I mean I don't know where Steve came up with the actual design of the Joker, but I was visually taken aback when I first saw it. Just, 'Oh my God!' It's so weirdly terrifying when you first see the Joker in this book. And again it really fits in with the story, it's not about taking an iconic character and putting him into the story, but this is the story of Harley Quinn, and who the Joker ends up being in this version of her life. It was kind of the x factor for me, because I had no preconceived visual of what the Joker would look like. And now I'm totally obsessed with this version of the Joker.

SP: Oh wow! That's very cool [Laughs]. Again, he was designed on the page. The Joker has a silhouette, we know what the Joker is supposed to look like, but I was trying to create this... it's a weird thing to say, but he's supposed to be a ransom note. You know when you cut out letters from a newspaper and paste them on a page? He's supposed to be a little bit like that. Just like Harley, he's finding himself and he's moving forward. He develops, over the story, and gets a little bit odder and little bit weirder, and his t-shirts get a bit more sinister each time. That was the thought process really. I won't describe what he looks like fully, but it's just a shopping bag full of ideas.

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is available now at most major book retailers. Head to DC's official page to order your own copy today, and read on below for the official cover and full plot synopsis:

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is a coming-of-age story about choices, consequences, justice, fairness, and progress and how a weird kid from Gotham's poorest part of town goes about defining her world for herself. From Eisner Award and Caldecott Honor-winning author Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer, Supergirl: Being Super).

Harleen is a tough, outspoken, rebellious kid who lives in a ramshackle apartment above a karaoke cabaret owned by a drag queen named MAMA. Ever since Harleen's parents split, MAMA has been her only family. When the cabaret becomes the next victim in the wave of gentrification that's taking over the neighborhood, Harleen gets mad.

When Harleen decides to turn her anger into action, she is faced with two choices: join Ivy, who's campaigning to make the neighborhood a better place to live, or join The Joker, who plans to take down Gotham one corporation at a time.

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is at once a tale of the classic Harley readers know and love, and a heartfelt story about the choices teenagers make and how they can define--or destroy--their lives.

MORE: Harley Quinn is PREGNANT in Batman: Curse of The White Knight

source https://screenrant.com/harley-quinn-breaking-glass-book-novel/

[quinn-of-aebradore]

M9 Duo Hero Forges

In honor of the Mighty Nein's return tomorrow/Thursday night, have a collection of Hero Forges of our favorite chucklefuck adventurers and some of their lovely friendships :3

[mitangy]

I am thinking maybe individuals for each of my players, or possibly a group picture of the 3 of them! Right now we play on talespire and they just linked with hero forge so you can import minis from there now its really fun!! But for sure that does sound reasonable!!

woaaahhh that's awesome!! we've been playing on roll20 for forever, but i'd love to try talespire out one day 😭

i can certainly draw your characters for you!! you can send me an ask here off of anon if you'd like to discuss further, or add me on discord via Quinn#5168 and we can talk about it there!! if you'd rather discuss via email i can absolutely do that, but i'd rather send my email privately than post it publicly if that's alright ;w;

IM EXCITED !!!!

[aion-rsa]

DC’s Wonder Twins Have Always Been a Joke. That’s a Good Thing

https://ift.tt/EDSvnrX

Warner Bros. is making a Wonder Twins movie for HBO Max. Yes, you read that right, the Wonder Twins. As in, the two purple-clad alien teenagers who can shapeshift when they touch hands and shout “Wonder Twin powers, activate!” Of course, their shapeshifting is somewhat limited as Jayna can only transform into animals and Zan can become water…as in liquid, solid, or vapor. Basically, they’re just useful enough to be the equivalent of interns with the Justice League without overshadowing any of their more traditionally superheroic teammates.

They seem like an unlikely pair of candidates for a superhero movie, don’t they? Adam Sztykiel is writing and directing a film that will go directly to HBO Max, and the studio has tapped KJ Apa (Riverdale) and Isabel May (1883) to play Zan and Jayna. For ’80s kids, the Wonder Twins are almost synonymous with their early experiences with the DC Universe. For everyone else? Well…

So how can “form of/shape of” curious folks learn everything they need to know about these fairly obscure DC heroes? Well, for one thing, every episode of Super Friends, where they were first introduced, is currently available on HBO Max. If you need your Wonder Twins fix, they appear in the seasons The All-New Super Friends Hour (season 2 on HBO Max), The World’s Greatest Super Friends (season 5 on HBO Max), Super Friends (season 6, 7, and 8 on HBO Max), and Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (season 9 on HBO Max). But honestly, unless you grew up with these shows, they might not connect for a modern audience.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

But the real place to start for modern audiences, and the piece of DC history that feels like it’s most likely to influence the movie, would be Mark Russell and Stephen Byrne’s brilliant and thoroughly hilarious Wonder Twins series from DC Comics, which more explicitly outlines their roles as Justice League interns while also exploring the “reality” of two alien teens trying to have a normal high school existence. Imagine something as irreverent about its place in the DC Universe as HBO Max’s Peacemaker or Harley Quinn shows (albeit far less filthy and violent) and that is packed panel-to-panel with background gags and jokes that enrich its storytelling world, and you’ll start getting an idea of what’s in store for you there. The Wonder Twins movie would do well to draw inspiration from this comic.

“Their super powers are so limited, and minor, means they’re not the people you’ll call when there’s an asteroid hurtling towards the earth, or when Doomsday is attacking,” Wonder Twins comic writer Mark Russell told us in 2019. “They’re the people you’ll call to break up a forging ring, or shoplifters, or something small.”

As a result, this comic features Zan and Jayne squaring off against primarily annoying bad guys like Drunkula and Red Flag, whose codenames may seem self-explanatory, but whose jokes never get old on the page. In fact, perhaps the closest parallel to how this particular Wonder Twins series portrays the DC Universe isn’t in the comparisons to those aforementioned HBO series, but rather in the way The Venture Bros. so effectively deals with the mundanity of superheroics and supervillainy. And it’s every bit as funny, too. The series has been collected as two volumes, Wonder Twins Volume 1: Activate! and Wonder Twins Volume 2: The Fall and Rise of the Wonder Twins. The entire series is also available on DC Universe Infinite.

There’s no release date yet for the Wonder Twins movie, but it will probably arrive on HBO Max in 2023.

The post DC’s Wonder Twins Have Always Been a Joke. That’s a Good Thing appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Comics – Den of Geek https://ift.tt/fhiznAO

[acephysicskarkat]

@athetos​ And here we go!

Trigger warning for anyone who has a fear of eyeballs, the first picture is an eyeball monster.

10: Vel’koz

Nothing says a fun time like an eldritch horror who likes to do Science to things, where “things” is generally “people” and “science” is generally “firing death rays that destructively analyse them”. It’s not impossible that he’d turn on the Void just because he isn’t done inflicting science on people yet.

9: Jinx

Jinx is LoL’s Harley Quinn, and boy does she have fun with it. I also like that, for once, League designed a female character in skimpy clothes and did not go for the largest cup size possible, in stark contrast to (deep breath) Miss Fortune, Nidalee, Katarina, Caitlyn, Janna, the list goes on. I’ll also give props to her look from the Space Hijinks skin line that is Odyssey, which reimagines her as a fun instigator kind of sci-fi protagonist as opposed to the erratic bomber on a constant adrenaline high she is in the main universe.

8: Poppy

Poppy actually has a really engaging story: she’s looking for the rightful bearer of her magic hammer, and she’s too humble to realise she is that rightful bearer, so she tends to wander around saving people while searching for a legendary hero that she will never understand that she has already found.

7: Ornn

Ornn is a cranky forge god whose work is so good that several other characters would logically owe him a favour for creating the items they use: the magic door Braum uses as a shield, the dining fork Fizz uses as a trident and so on. It is admittedly ironic that a gruff loner like him is only ever really effective mid- to late-game as part of a team. Also, when I play as him I need to tell the other players on a regular basis that Goat Santa doesn’t arrive until level fourteen so could they stop pestering me for item upgrades please.

6: Braum

Braum is just a great character concept and design. He’s a folk hero in the Scandinavian-esque Freljord who wanders around saving people and pulling off heroic deeds. He got the magic door he uses as a shield by punching his way through a mountain to rescue a child trapped inside the room protected by that door. I only wish he could punch like that in-game, he might be more useful.

5: Mordekaiser

I can’t listen to Dragonforce’s Operation Ground & Pound any more without hearing half the lines in this dude’s ridiculously deep voice. Try it yourself! “RISING THROUGH THE DARKENED ASHES.” It’s fun! Anyway his lore is that when he died in battle he found that he wasn’t going to get a warrior heaven after all and decided “you know, screw this actually, I’m gonna make my own with blackjack and hookers” and now he’s an ancient, reawakening evil kind of fantasy campaign BBEG.

4: Pyke

This dude is just a really cool ghost story. He was abandoned and left to die by the crew of the Terror, the ship he’d signed onto, and returned from the grave to seek vengeance...but his list of targets, and his memory of the events, changes as he kills, and no record of a ship called the Terror exists...

3: Riven

Riven is a wandering swordswoman seeking to make up for the harm she did both as a soldier of the expansionistic kingdom of Noxus, and in the early days following her defection. Also, the Awaken cinematic tweaked her design to give her obvious muscles and a cool sequence where she beats people up while chained to a pillar, then does a mic drop with one of the chains.

2: Veigar

Veigar is basically a tiny Megamind: he is entirely convinced that he is the Greatest Evil Overlord To Ever Live, and to prove this, he goes around killing other Evil Overlords and committing entirely symbolic acts of supervillainy, meaning that his Campaign of Atrocity is, in general, actually making Runeterra a slightly nicer place to live. In his one story, the village he “conquers” tells him that it will very definitely fear him a lot and also there’s this other evil overlord over near the next village if he wants to go check it out. He’s so much fun.

1: Kled

Kled is my trash gremlin son. He is an awful person, a selfish, drug-addled, ambiguously cannibalistic hillbilly creature who enjoys murder and robbing corpses, but I have to give him props for being just so darn funny with it. His M.O. is that he rampages around the world with an axe, riding on a stupid cowardly lizard, claiming the titles of officers he kills (regardless of side), talking about events that never happened at battles he wasn’t at, and demanding that everyone respect the authority he’s made up that he has. Also he likes tacos.

And as a special treat:

Minus Infinity: Teemo

Top 10 league of legends characters I’ll pretend I understand

This is going to be long and have lots of pictures so I’ll do this just as an establishing thing and then fill out a reblog so I can put it under a readmore.

[nfcomics]

Night Flight Comics—6222 South State Street Latest Arrivals: Wednesday—August 9th 2017

ACTION COMICS #985 ACTION COMICS #985 VAR ED ADVENTURE TIME #66 [R] ADVENTURE TIME #67 ALL NEW GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #6 [R] ALL NEW WOLVERINE #23 ALL STAR BATMAN #12 [R] ALL STAR BATMAN #12 ALBUQUERQUE VAR ED [R] ALL STAR BATMAN #12 FIUMARA VAR ED [R] AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #31 SE ANNO DRACULA #5 (OF 5) CVR A MCCAFFREY ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 [R] BABYTEETH #3 BACK TO THE FUTURE #22 CVR A FERREIRA BACK TO THE FUTURE #22 CVR B WHALEN BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #13 BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #13 VAR ED BATMAN THE SHADOW #4 (OF 6) BATMAN THE SHADOW #4 (OF 6) SALE VAR ED BEN REILLY SCARLET SPIDER #5 BLACK PANTHER #16 MCKELVIE CONNECTING VAR [R]

CAPTAIN AMERICA #25 KIRBY VAR SE CAPTAIN AMERICA #25 SE CAPTAIN AMERICA #25 STERANKO VAR SE CAPTAIN AMERICA STEVE ROGERS #19 SE [R] CAVEWOMAN STARSHIP BLISH #1 CVR A MASSEY CLUE #2 CVR A CHARM [R] CLUE #3 CVR A SCHOONOVER CLUE #3 CVR C GARBOWSKA CONAN THE SLAYER #11 [R] DANGER DOLL SQUAD #0 CVR D MENDOZA RISQUE DARK DAYS THE FORGE #1 2ND PTG DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE AGAIN #3 (OF 5) DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE AGAIN #3 (OF 5) CAM DEFENDERS #4 DETECTIVE COMICS #962 DETECTIVE COMICS #962 VAR ED DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA #3 DOCTOR WHO 9TH #15 CVR B PHOTO DOCTOR WHO 9TH #15 CVR D MYERS DUCKTALES #0 CVR B GHIGLIONE [R] EDGE OF VENOMVERSE #4 (OF 5) EQUILIBRIUM DECONSTRUCTION #1 MAXIMUM CASUALTIES H FANTASY ART OF LUIS ROYO 2018 WALL CALENDAR FIRST STRIKE #1 CVR A WILLIAMS II FIRST STRIKE #1 CVR B DUNBAR FIRST STRIKE #1 CVR C RONALD FIRST STRIKE #1 CVR D DUENAS FIX TP VOL 01 [R] FLASH #28 FLASH #28 VAR ED GENERATIONS PHOENIX & JEAN GREY #1 GENERATIONS PHOENIX & JEAN GREY #1 DODSON VAR GHOST MONEY #1 GODSHAPER #4 [R] GOTHAM ACADEMY SECOND SEMESTER #12 GRASS KINGS #6 MAIN & MIX GROO PLAY OF GODS #2 HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #26 HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #26 VAR ED HARBINGER RENEGADE #6 CVR A LAROSA HARLEY QUINN #25 HARLEY QUINN #25 VAR ED HEAVY METAL #287 CVR A KILIAN HEAVY METAL #287 CVR B JONES HEAVY METAL #287 CVR C RIGGS HELLBOY AND THE BPRD 1955 SECRET NATURE ONE SHOT HULK #9 INHUMANS ONCE FUTURE KINGS #1 (OF 5) INHUMANS ONCE FUTURE KINGS #1 (OF 5) DUARTE LOCKJAW INHUMANS ONCE FUTURE KINGS #1 (OF 5) TELEVISION VAR [R] INVADER ZIM #22 INVADER ZIM #22 VERMILYEA VAR INVINCIBLE TP VOL 01 FAMILY MATTERS [R] INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #9 [R] JEAN GREY #5 JIM BUTCHER DRESDEN FILES DOG MEN #3 JUDGE DREDD BLESSED EARTH #4 CVR A FARINAS JUDGE DREDD BLESSED EARTH #4 CVR B WHALEN JUSTICE LEAGUE #25 [R] JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #11 VAR ED [R] JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12 VAR ED JUSTICE LEAGUE POWER RANGERS #5 (OF 6) KILL 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ONGOING TP VOL 02 PAPER GIRLS TP VOL 03 [R] PETER PARKER SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #1, #2 [R] POP TWIN PEAKS AUDREY HORNE VINYL FIG POWERPUFF GIRLS TIME TIE #3 (OF 3) CVR A MURPHY PREDATOR HUNTERS #1, #4 [R] REAL SCIENCE ADVENTURES FLYING SHE-DEVILS #5 (OF 6) RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #13 RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #13 VAR ED RED SONJA #7 CVR B CALDWELL RED SONJA #7 CVR C KIRKHAM RED SONJA #7 CVR D COSPLAY REDLANDS #1 RIVERDALE (ONGOING) #5 CVR A FRANCAVILLA RIVERDALE (ONGOING) #5 CVR B MATTHEW DOW SMITH ROCKET #4 ROSE #5 CVR B PEREZ SACRED CREATURES #2 CVR B JANSON SAGA TP VOL 07 [R] SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #16 SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #16 VAR ED SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #84 SECRET EMPIRE #8 (OF 10) SE SECRET EMPIRE #8 (OF 10) SORRENTINO HYDRA HEROES VAR SHADOW #1 CVR B KALUTA SHADOW #1 CVR E KIRKHAM EXC SUB VAR SHADOWS ON THE GRAVE #7 (OF 8) SHERLOCK THE GREAT GAME #1 (OF 6) CVR A TAKEDA SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER #1 (OF 5) 2ND PTG SISTERS OF SORROW #1 [R] SKIN & EARTH #2 (OF 6) CVR A MASK SKIN & EARTH #2 (OF 6) CVR B VERTIGO SONS OF ANARCHY REDWOOD ORIGINAL #12 [R] SPIRIT HUNTERS #9 (OF 12) CVR A LUIS SPIRIT HUNTERS #9 (OF 12) CVR B TOLIBAO SPIRIT HUNTERS #9 (OF 12) CVR C SALONGA SPONGEBOB COMICS #71 STAR WARS DOCTOR APHRA #11 STAR WARS ROGUE ONE CASSIAN & K2SO SPECIAL #1 STAR WARS ROGUE ONE CASSIAN & K2SO SPECIAL #1 LARR STARGATE ATLANTIS HEARTS & MINDS #2 LAROCQUE CVR SUICIDE SQUAD #23 SUICIDE SQUAD #23 VAR ED SUPERGIRL #12 SUPERGIRL #12 VAR ED SUPERMAN #27 [R] SUPERWOMAN #13 SUPERWOMAN #13 VAR ED TANK GIRL WORLD WAR TANK GIRL #4 (OF 4) CVR B WAHL TANK GIRL WORLD WAR TANK GIRL #4 (OF 4) CVR C PARS THINK TANK VOL 5 #4 TITANS #14 TITANS #14 VAR ED TMNT UNIVERSE #13 CVR A WILLIAMS II TRANSFORMERS TILL ALL ARE ONE #12 CVR A PITRE-DURO TRANSFORMERS TILL ALL ARE ONE #12 CVR B TRAMONTANO TRUE BELIEVERS KIRBY 100TH GROOT #1 TRUE BELIEVERS KIRBY 100TH INTRODUCING MIGHTY THOR TRUE BELIEVERS KIRBY 100TH THOR VS HULK #1 UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #23 UNCLE SCROOGE #28 CVR A LOTER [R] UNHOLY GRAIL #2 CVR B  FRANCAVILLA UNSOUND #3 (OF 4) VENOM #153 VISION TP VOL 01 LITTLE WORSE THAN MAN [R] VISION TP VOL 02 LITTLE BETTER THAN BEAST [R] WAR OF THE INDEPENDENTS #4 WAYWARD #22 CVR B SEJIC [R] WICKED & DIVINE #30 CVR A MCKELVIE & WILSON WWE SUMMER SLAM 2017 #1 X-MEN BLUE #8 SE  [R] ZOMBIES ASSEMBLE 2 #1 (OF 4) SAMNEE VAR

Night Flight Comics—6222 South State Street Latest Arrivals: Wednesday—August 9th 2017

[demonbabeocdump]

Olivia Keen

Age: 18

Song inspiration: Darkside

Height: 5’2”

Gender: F

Hero Name: Controller

Quirk: Non-sentient Manipulation

Any item forged by her own hand can be manipulated at will, leaving her with no limit to the number of items currently being manipulated. In tough situations, she can add a drop of her blood or a lock of hair to an object to forge a connection, limiting her to the use of 5.

Companions

Nana: Saint Bernard construct. Extremely durable, made with heat and cold resistant materials and a strong metal skeleton. Used to provide aide in disaster situations. Capable of carrying 500 pounds.

Amazon: Reticulated Python construct. Works as a capture item, measuring in at 25 feet in length. Newly remade, it can withstand great forces and is said to even be able to stop All Might in his tracks.

Quinn: AI construct. Appearing as a small fairy, this construct houses a super computer and is able to scan and gather data on an area and the people within. Nearly as annoying as Navi, but way more adorable.

Hounder: Wolfdog construct. Capable of performing tasks much like a police dog, aiming to slow and incapacitate targets without causing critical injury or killing. Can also perform defensive duties for Olivia and allies.

Swiper: Red Fox construct, excelling at stealth objectives. With a command, it can be activated to send electricity through its claws and teeth to short circuit and disable a wide array of electronics and systems.

Draco: Dragon construct. Can carry up to 2500 pounds and has a flamethrower installed in its mouth. Flies up to 60/mph and has oxygen masks for fast, long distance flights.

Shoo: a tiny fly construct. Works as a spy cam, recording sound and video.

Bio

Born to two loving parents, Olivia was a tech prodigy from a young age. When she was 7, a lab accident took her left leg from the knee down. Her father has worked tirelessly to give her the best prosthetic he can. Due to the normal growth of a child, she has undergone 15 surgeries since losing her leg to replace and repair the new limb. Olivia is a geek, spending most of her time confined to her workshop or office, either tinkering with new tech or playing video games. For a majority of her life, she believed that her mother was overseas for business. Upon her father’s death, she learned that her mother had died, leaving her as the standing CEO of Keen Technologies.

Likes: Video games, technology, learning, spying

Dislikes: explosions, liars, secrets, business

[rpgsandbox]

Torg Eternity is a table-top roleplaying game based on the original 1990 version of Torg created by West End Games. It has been re-imagined and updated for the Near Now.

The "High Lords" came from other cosms—other realities—conquerors joined together to steal the Earth’s living energy…to consume its very Possibilities!

Each Reality Raider brought his or her own reality, or "cosm"...

...from the dark fantasy of Aysle...

...to the technological oppression of the Cyberpapacy...

...the savagery and exploration of the Living Land...

...the diabolical pulp villains of the Nile Empire...

...the Gothic horror of Orrorsh...

...the action and intrigue of Pan-Pacifica...

...and the terrifying, demon-ruled wasteland of Tharkold!

The High Lords impose their reality and transform everything within, draining the Earth of its Possibilities in the hopes that one of them will become an ancient and all-powerful being called the "Torg!"

Axioms and World Laws

Each cosm in Torg Eternity doesn't just feel different, it plays different thanks to its Axioms (Magical, Social, Spiritual, and Technological) that define what can exist there, and most importantly its World Laws, rules that reinforce the genre and trope of the place.

Here are a few examples:

Core Earth is a cosm of die-hard action and adventure.The Law of the Underdog allows Storm Knight player characters to use their Destiny cards a little more often--but only when they're outnumbered or at a disadvantage!

Aysle's Law of Enchantment generates magic items when characters get certain lucky rolls, granting them weapons, armor, or more powerful abilities!

The Living Land's Law of Savagery grants a Bonus Die to damage--if a character performs a risky All-Out attack!

Heroes in the Nile Empire use the Law of Action to spend additional Possibilities, improving their skill or attribute rolls and allowing them to perform thrilling feats that are near impossible elsewhere!

Earth is not defenseless. The player characters are "Storm Knights," heroes from all the cosms who fight against the High Lords. They use magic, technology, miracles, and even super powers against the Reality Raiders and their endless minions.

The Storm Knights are agents of the "Delphi Council," an international organization led by Quinn Sebastian to counter the High Lords and their many forces.

Join the fight and you can play a....

...monster hunter from Orrorsh armed with alchemical creations, magical medals, or a "Slayer's Gun" loaded with various bullets carved with cryptic runes...

 ...heretical cyberwitch, valiant priest, or resistance fighter decked out with stolen cyberware, battling the Anti-Pope in the technologically oppressive world of the Cyberpapacy...

 ...knight, wizard, or elf of Aysle, including the fantastic dwarven "Dragon Warriors" who wear armor forged with amazing enhancements and steam-powered devices of doom...

...hard-boiled hero of Pan-Pacifica or an "Electric Samurai" armed with high-tech "Ion Gusoko" armor and ion-charged katana...

...psychic survivor or irradiated scavenger of Tharkold, using Occultech against the cruel demon masters who once enslaved you...

...savage human of the Living Land accompanied by a saber-toothed cat, or a mystical edeinos who can call on the miracles of a fierce and powerful goddess whose interventions are very real...

...pulp hero of the Nile Empire, racing through the skies with a rocket pack or firing your ray gun at the dastardly shocktroops of Pharoah Mobius...

...stalwart Core Earther, a realm runner who can negate your enemies' powers or summon phenomenal reality storms to strip foes of their very Possibility Energy!

And so much more!

Characters of each realm choose from different "Perk" sets generally only available to certain realities. Every character stands out and is just as valuable as any other. Edeinos of the Living Land might have Death Claws, Star Eyes, or Whip Tails, for example, while heroes of Pan-Pacifica can call on Ki Powers such as Unflinching or Focused Strike.

Check out our updates for more previews of Perks and how they'll help YOUR Storm Knight resist the High Lords!

D20s and Bonus Dice

As with the original Torg, the central mechanic of Torg Eternity is a d20 roll on a "Bonus Chart." Rolls of 10s and 20s "explode," allowing another die to be rolled and added to get a result. Something new for Torg Eternity is that a high enough number on an attack generates extra damage from 6-sided "Bonus Die."

Possibilities

Storm Knights (and some villains!) have a resource called Possibilities they can spend to roll extra dice or absorb incoming damage, allowing them to bend reality to their will. More Possibilities can be earned by playing roleplaying, achieving objectives, or playing the all-new Cosm cards (see below!).

The Drama Deck

Initiative is controlled with the Drama Deck. Each card features a Conflict Line that grants benefits or hindrances to either side as the tide of battle ebbs and flows.

Players also have a hand of Destiny cards that help them pull off spectacular maneuvers or add new elements to the game.

Cosm cards are a new addition that help reinforce the World Laws and sometimes grant Possibilities or other advantages--though often with consequences!

If you're a fan of the original Torg like we are, you're probably wondering exactly what's changed. We stayed true to the spirit of both the setting and the rules, but this is a new edition from the ground up so there are definitely some big ideas in this gorgeous, full-color book.

Here are a few highlights:

Perks are a system for buying and balancing all those awesome special abilities characters have!

Characters from cosms like Core Earth now get their due, with unique Perk sets for everyone! Medals, Occultism, and Alchemy for Orrosh! Electric samurai in Pan-Pacifica! Cyber witches in the Cyberpapacy! Outsiders for Aysle!

Tharkold--right from the start!

Streamlined reality rules that make some of the strange edge cases a little more clear!

Edeinos are MUCH more savage and frightening!

Damage is simpler and doesn't need a chart. The change also fixes the "glass jaw" problem!

Interaction results are much simpler, with no chart needed!

Every cosm got an overhaul from the ground up, updating those that were out of date given the 30 years that have passed since the original game was released, refocusing some that had gone a little astray as the original game grew, and generally making each realm tougher! We had the luxury of all the development the original team did on the original cosms, so we consolidated some of the most beloved material and worked it in right from the start.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Sat, July 1 2017 2:00 AM BST.

Website: Ulisses Spiele US