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twistedtummies2 · 1 year

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The Price May Be Right - Number 13

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” I’m counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media. Today we focus on Number 13: Dr. Phibes.

So, here’s a random fun fact for you Batman fans out there: apparently, this character was the inspiration for the version of Mr. Freeze that appeared in the seminal animated story, “Heart of Ice.” And, of course, that version of Mr. Freeze would become the inspiration for the character in nearly every other interpretation – both in and out of comics – to date. So, yeah, if you’re a Mr. Freeze fan, you can thank Egghead for it. :P ANYWAY…while Vincent did many, MANY horror movies – both serious and comedic alike – the one thing he never got was the chance to play a horror icon, so to speak. Which is to say, when you look at other great classic horror actors over the years, whatever else they do there’s always one specific character for whom they’ll always be remembered. For Christopher Lee and Bela Lugosi, it was Count Dracula; for Boris Karloff, it was Frankenstein’s Monster; even with more modern actors, like Roger L. Jackson and Robert Englund, they have specific horror roles (The Voice of Ghostface and Freddy Krueger, respectively) for which they will always be most chiefly recognized. Vincent never had that; he never got that recognition of having a specific, classic monster he could be identified with. The closest we ever got was that he was so well-known for his work with the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, but that’s a bit of a different issue. However, in the 1970s, Price DID get a chance to ATTEMPT such a feat, in two films that were part gruesome, gory nightmare fuel and part witty, satirical humor-fests: these were the Dr. Phibes films. The titular character was a deranged musical genius, who wore a mask to hide his hideous skull-like deformities – all elements taken from the timeless tale of “The Phantom of the Opera.” However, the story of the good doctor is rather different: Phibes’ descent into evil began when his beloved wife, Victoria, was stricken with some unholy medical condition. In order to save her life, a risky surgical operation was needed, which was so tricky it required the aid of no less than nine people to even hope for a success. Unfortunately, something went wrong with the operation; as soon as he got the news, Phibes hurried in the direction of the hospital…but was ironically caught in a terrible car crash, and apparently burned to death in the wreck. Husband and wife were then interred together. The rumors of Dr. Phibes’ death, however, were greatly exaggerated. Phibes miraculously survived the crash, and later rose from the grave hideously disfigured by the accident. He brought his wife with him, and kept her body imprisoned in a sarcophagus filled with honey and special fluids, so that her beauty would forever remain intact. In the first film, “The Abominable Dr. Phibes,” the mad maestro goes on a killing spree, attempting to get revenge on the nine people he blames for the death of his wife and the ruination of his existence. In the second film, “Dr. Phibes Rises Again,” the musical maniac returns, now seeking to resurrect his beloved bride. The Phibes films were a bizarre sort of pair. In a way, I sort of see these as the precursor to both the Scream films and the SAW movies. Like the former films, the movies combine elements of parodical dark comedy with real chills and gory, brutal death scenes. Phibes, himself, is treated as a serious and tragic character, and the fear factor is upped by his appearance. The mask he wears to hide his deformities is basically just Vincent’s face with some uncanny valley makeup added to enhance the effect, giving Price a particularly ghoulish appearance. This combined with the special voice box Phibes uses to speak after his accident – which causes Price to speak in a robotic, mechanical, droning sort of way that is both odd and genuinely unsettling – makes the character truly chilling. At the same time, however, he’s a sympathetic villain, as everything he does is in the name of his precious Victoria, and while one recognizes he is the bad guy of the story, it’s hard not to feel sorry for him and understand his motivations. The methods through which he offs his victims are pretty messed up even by today’s standards, too. In all, I would say most of the scares from the film come from Phibes himself. The humor generally is the result of the other characters around him, as well as some the intentionally contrived elements of the plot that are meant to satirize various horror movie tropes. I’m a little surprised there weren’t more films in the Phibes franchise; if there had been, maybe Vincent could have had that one iconic horror character to be recognized by…but, on the other hand, one of the things that made Vincent so fascinating was that he wasn’t someone who could fit into a singular mold, so to speak, and instead had MANY roles for which any given person could recognize him for most keenly. Dr. Phibes was ultimately just one of those parts, but it’s a part well worth remembering. Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 12!

#list #countdown #best #favorites #top 31 vincent price performances #the price may be right #vincent price #actors #acting #horror #comedy #dark comedy #dr. phibes #the abominable dr. phibes #dr. phibes rises again #number 13 #movies #film

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gresidentdoorkicker · 8 months

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//I took inspiration from a character driven creative writing class on Skillshare, though it's morphed into something more

//please enjoy

There are effectively two ways of thinking when it came to choosing one's companion animal. Practicality and aesthetics. Each one broke down into different hyper specific sub-thoughts and niches but it boils down to practicality and aesthetics.

Alex fell into the latter. You'd think that somebody like him, tall, stout, darkly clothed, quiet, would have a badass guard dog, something large and protective, meant to act as the big brother to groups of stoned sheep, sluggishly bumping around the pasture. No, Alex rejects such stereotypical norms. He settled on a much more spiky path of reasoning when it came to choosing a companion animal.

Fireball was her name, being pissy was her game. Alex had a sticker in his truck window proudly proclaiming to the rest of the world 'my pet can eat your pet'.

While most would think it was ironic, be assured, it wasn't. Fireball is a four foot long Savannah Monitor lizard. She weighed about 60 ish pounds with an attitude to match. The lizard was surprisingly smart, she knew her own name and a few basic commands.

It was with these musings fresh on Alex's mind that he met the anthesis to his hypothesis.

Fireball was doing her thing, stalking some hamster in its temporary holding tank, in the main lobby of the specialty veterinary office near my house. Alex was filling out a release form at the front desk, occasionally giving a pull on Fireball's leash, reigning her back to reality and out of feral hunting mode.

Alex had an earbud in his right ear and leaned over the counter, using his left arm as a rest for his upper body. Rather shamefully, if he had to admit, Alex was absorbed within his own little bubble. Ignorant to the workings of the environment around him. Not completely, mind you, but primarily. Years of conditioning and military service kept his head on a swivel, but blaring metal music and the hills and valleys of signing your name at the bottom of the page had taken precedent.

It was with these considerations in mind that Alex turned around and powered forward in his typical way of making everyone think he had somewhere important to be and that they were all in the way, right over a spectacularly short individual who had been struggling to carry a stack of boxes.

"Gah!"

"Damnit! You ass! Watch where you're going,"

Alex had fallen quite comically over after losing his balance as he tried to recover from banging into the short individual, who he quickly realized was a woman.

"Sorry...Sorry,"

Alex quickly collected himself, sheepishly picking up the stack of packages that he'd dubiously knocked over while simultaneously keeping a handle on Fireball.

"You big dumb oaf! You think you can just do what you want because your head is all the way up in the clouds," Her face was a beet red as she took her packages in their stack "It's just perfect!"

"Uhh?"

She couldn't be any taller than five foot and 4 inches, but she had a bark that made her seem eight foot tall. She seemed like the type of person who had a cat, or a goldfish. She made Alex, six foot and then some, seem small.

"Yes! Perfect! You army guys are all the same. Clumsy and obnoxious. Aware only of however far their eyes can see,"

She ranted and raved to herself, oblivious of the eyes that were now angrily turning their way, marching off toward the door marked 'employees only' clearly delivering the stack of packages he'd sent across the floor.

Speechless, bewildered, and flustered Alex nervously waved an apology before scooping Fireball up and tossing her over his shoulder, as if she were hugging him, and walking out the door.

Alex gently guided Fireball into her custom harness in the back seat of his truck, cheeks flushing as he heard the voice of the small delivery woman approach and then recede behind him as she went for another armload of packages.

Alex paused as he risked a glance over his shoulder, smiling slightly. He'd never had anyone, outside of the irate officer back in the army, speak to him that way.

Alex thought he was in love.

#writing #had this in my drafts #need to become a better writer #short stories

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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You have done an (excelent) post on how to reinvent Batman as a Pulp Hero. Do you think you could do one to Superman as well? Or do you think it is impossible to do this with the progenitor of the Super Hero genre without transforming him in a totaly diferent character?

Well, you saying it as impossible only makes it seem ever more tempting of a challenge, but yes, it is a bit harder. I'm gonna link my Batman post here as a reference point.

Partially because Batman's a franchise I've thought extensively about for a long time in regards to what I like about it or how I'd like to approach if given the opportunity, which is not something I can really say for Superman until more recently the Big Blue to start orbiting my brain. I don't have years worth of redesigns or fan concepts saved on my galleries and files to comb through to pick and choose here, and my experience with Superman as a character is considerably different, in some aspects more deeply personal, and not really something I'd like to go into in this blog, at least not now.

Part of the reason why it's harder is also because Batman and Superman have very different relationships with their pulp inspirations. Batman was, ostensibly, a pulp character adapted to comics, a dime-a-dozen Shadow knock-off who picked up and played up diverging traits from other characters and gradually ran with them to gradually forge a unique identity. Superman right from the start was rooted in a much stronger conceptual underpinning: the Sci-Fi Superman and Alien Menace who, instead of being a tragic monster or a tyrannical villain, becomes a costumed adventurer and social crusader. Even the name Super-Man was taken from an early story of Siegel and Shuster about a telepathic villain who ends the story lamenting that he should have used his powers for the good of mankind instead of selfishness. I hesitate to call what Siegel and Shuster were doing “subversive” because that term's picked up a real negative connotation, and it's not like Siegel and Shuster were out to upend their influences (they were pulp aficionados themselves), but rather putting a more positive, new spin on them.

Which is why it also becomes a bit harder to do what I did with Batman and align Superman with some of his pulp-esque inspirations, like John Carter, Flash Gordon or Hugo Danner, without just making it "Superman but he's John Carter", "Superman but it's Flash Gordon", and "Iron Munro / Superman but everything sucks" respectively. It's harder to create a character that wouldn't feel reduntant and derivative at best, and actively contradictory to Superman at worst.

I guess if I had to come up with a "Pulp Hero Superman" take I liked, well first of all I'd have to take steps to distance it from the likes of Tom Strong or Al Ewing's Doc Thunder, those two are as good as it gets in regards to Pulp Supermen. I stipulated for Batman a "No Guns, No Murder, No Service" policy partially to distance my takes on Batman from all the "Pulp Batmen" that just add guns and murder and take Batman back to the barest of basics. Likewise, I'm adding a "No Depowered Science Hero" rule here, which means it's a take that's likely going to veer off a lot more into fantasy and probably enough tampering with Clark's character that it does risk becoming a different character.

Frankly I don't think I'm gonna succeed at doing these without just making it a new character entirely, because with Batman you can get away with just upending the character's aesthetic and setting and even origin and still keep it recognizably Bruce Wayne (in fact Batman does that all the time), which isn't really the case with Superman, who needs those to remain recognizably Superman as he goes through internal changes and character shifts. I guess what I'm gonna do here is more taking the building blocks of Superman/Clark Kent and see a couple new ways I can rearrange them to create a Pulp Superman

Perhaps something we can do is to scale back or recontextualize the "superhero" parts without diminishing Superman's role as a superpowered fantasy character.

One way we can start is by picking on that connection between Superman and the sci-fi supermen/alien monsters of pulps I mentioned earlier and play it up further, to create a Superman who's deeply, deeply alien in a way that no mild-mannered disguise or colorful outfit can really disguise, something so dramatically powerful and alien, that instead you could get tales about the kinds of ensuing changes and ripple effects this has on the world upon the The Super-Man's arrival. And for that I'm gonna have to quote @davidmann95's concept for Joshua Viers' absolutely stunning Superman redesign on the left side of the image above

The red, the goldish-orange and white, the alienness, the angelic, sculpted feeling, the halo, that innocently curious expression: it’s genuinely beautiful. Superman as a redeeming science-angel from beyond our understanding, as much past the uncanny valley of limited human comprehension as a Lovecraftian monster but tuned to the opposite key - you could spend an endless procession of human lifetimes trying and failing to understand this being, but all you’ll ever know for sure is that it is beyond you, and it knows you, and it loves you.

Superdoomsday from Earth 45, healed and transformed into the savior it was originally envisioned as? Some descendant of his, or a future of the man himself? An alien who picked up on a broadcast of Superman from Earth, and so inspired reshaped itself in his image to spread his ‘gospel’ to the stars?

Alternatively, to come back to Earth a little, many, many pulp characters and series were built off the antics and personalities of real people, celebrities getting their own magazines or serials or fictionalized takes on them, so perhaps one way to make a "pulp" take on Superman would be to emphasize a bit more of Superman's real-world roots, trends that inspired his creation directly or indirectly at the time. The Jewish strongman Sigmund Breibart and Shuster's interest in fitness culture, Harold Lloyd's comic persona, the rising "strongman" film genre in the early 20th century, actors Clark Gable and Kent Taylor that supposedly named his secret identity, Clark Kent being a socially-awkward journalist based of Siegel's own school experiences.

Maybe one start to an authentic Pulp Superman, who would still be Superman, would be to just ask the question "What if Superman was a real person and/or a celebrity, and they started making pulp magazines and serials dedicated to him? What would those look like?". You wouldn't even have to restrict it to just a story set in the 1930s, in fact you could even play around with the rise of new mediums over the decades.

This third one is a little closer to some plans I have for my own take on a Superman character, not necessarily what I would do with Superman proper but one of my ideas for a Superman analogue. Superman's a character I'll always associate strongly with childhood and childhood fantasy, and to tap into that I would emphasize the other end of the fiction that influenced Siegel and Shuster: comic strips, in their case specifically Little Nemo and Popeye.

In my case I would bring additional influences from some of the comic strips I personally grew up reading like Monica's Gang and Calvin and Hobbes, and I already talked a bit about Captain Fray in terms of how he’s a Superman character despite being a villain. I guess you could call this one "What if Superman was a public domain comic strip character, stripped of the importance of being the founding figure of a super popular genre or extended universe, and also was kind of ugly?".

He's not "Sloth from the Goonies" ugly, I swear I didn't actually have Sloth in mind when typing out this idea, I've never watched that film nor did I know until now that he actually spends the film in a Superman shirt. That's not really what I'm going for. Visually I was thinking of modeling my take on Superman heavily after Hugo from Street Fighter and his inspiration Andre the Giant, to really emphasize the “circus strongman / freak wrestler” aspect of Superman’s inspiration, particularly in regards to how Hugo’s SFIII version strikes a really great balance in making Hugo ugly and both comedic and fearsome in battle, as well as lovable and even a little dopey (without being outright stupid, like his IV self) in his victory animations and endings.

He's still Superman, he still goes on fantastical adventures to help people, he's still a deeply loving and compassionate soul whose face beams with joy and affection and who's got wonderful eyes and a great smile. It's just that this smile has a couple of mismatched stick-out teeth or some missing ones, and he's got a crooked smile some people take as smug or malicious, he’s got a strongman’s gut instead of a bodybuilder’s abs, his nose is a little busted (maybe he’s had too many crash landings), and his hair is a little wild or greasy, and he doesn't exactly have very good people skills because of how others usually react to him and, y'know, he doesn't get the kind of publicity Superman would get despite doing ostensibly the same things. He’s not deformed, he’s incredibly intelligent and capable, but in comparison to how superheroes are usually allowed to look, he might as well be Bizarro in the public eye.

It becomes a running gag that people tend to assume some nearby fireman or cop was the one who rescued the hundred orphans out of a burning building single-handedly, meanwhile he's getting accosted off-panel by police officers who think he set the building on fire, or think they can bully this weird man dressed funny. He goes to rescue old people in peril and occasionally they yell at him that they don't have any money. He doesn't get asked to lead superhero meetings or teams even though many in the community advocate for just how much he does for the world, he gets censored out of tv broadcasts or group shots (even his face is sometimes pixelated when they do show him), people invite him on talk shows and don't really let him talk or assume they got the wrong guy. He goes to rescue a woman dangling off a building, and then he gets attacked by like three different superhero teams who assume he must have kidnapped the poor damsel. He was the first superhero, he is the strongest of them all still, but he never really gets credit for it, it nor does he even want to. None of this at all stops him or deters him, except for some occasionally funny reactions.

This never really changes for him, he doesn't really earn people's approval nor does he have to, instead the stories, outside of the gags and adventures you’d expect from a comic strip, veer more towards others learning to be less judgmental and him learning ways to better approach people. He isn't any lesser than Superman just because he doesn't look like most people would want him to look and he doesn't have to look like Superman. Really I think we could use more superheroes that don’t look all so uniformly pretty.

Again, probably not a take that would work for Clark proper, but it’s one way I would take a shot at doing Superman with my own

I have other stuff in the works for this character but I'd like to keep them to better work on them for now, but yeah, these are three of my shots at developing a Pulp Superman.

Alternatively here's a fourth idea that's more pulp than all of these: Join up Nicholas Cage with Panos Cosmatos again, or whatever weird indie director he decides to pair up with next, and let them do whatever the hell they want with Superman. Give us Mandy Superman. Superman vs The Color Out of Space. Superman vs Five Nights at Freddy's. Superman’s quest to find THE LAST PIG OF KRYPTON. Anything goes.

#replies tag #dc comics #superman #clark kent #superheroes #comic books #nicholas cage

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htmlerror · 3 years

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Historical Inaccuracies in Dark Knights of Steel #1

This is going to be a beat-by-beat examination of Dark Knights of Steel #1 and therefore will contain heavy spoilers.

In the summary for this book, the world is described as “medieval.” While this is a very common period to set a high-fantasy story in, it doesn’t do much to help us contextualize what we’re about to read. The medieval era, sometimes referred to as the middle ages (a term coined by 15th century scholars to refer to the time since the abdication of Romulus Augustus), began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. Sources across Europe vary on the end date of the period, some sources putting a precise end point at 1520 while others dispute this, placing the end in the final years of the thirteenth century. Most likely, however, the High Middle Ages (1000-1250) would have been a primary inspiration for this comic, as it’s the most popular period to draw from, even if the perception of it has been highly skewed by pop culture. While this is obviously not an exact framework and doesn’t lend itself to precise analysis of the text, nor is it the time period I’m most familiar with, it seems like the best option for anchoring a historical analysis.

The High Middle Ages is characterized by rapid population increase around Europe, leading to and facilitating the growth and technological development of urban centers such as cities, the beginning of the Cathiolic Crusades, rural exodus, and an abundance of wealth that would not be paralleled for another 500 years. Some notable historical events from this period include the Norman Conquest of England, the Christianization of Scandinavia, and the Christain conquest of Toledo. Chivalry developed and evolved during this time as well as militarization spread. The Templar Knights belong to this period of history, as well. This historical context is important to understanding the time period so we can better examine what Dark Knights of Steel got right and, more entertainingly, got wrong.

One of our first indications of the time period as presented in the comic is Jor-El’s confrontation with mounted archers, and this is where we encounter our first problem. Another important piece of information to take into account when examining a medieval-inspired world is the likelihood of English inspiration. While many fictional countries or territories are not explicitly English, denying the influence would be irresponsible. Much of our modern understanding of the medieval period as a whole stems from an understanding of medieval England that has been superimposed over the rest of Europe.

[ID: Jor-El, with his back to the reader, holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender saying “We’re not a threat.” Eight mounted archers enter from the right. In the bottom right corner a text box reads “They will sound like us.” End ID]

Mounted archery (not to be confused with mounted archers) is a highly difficult and specialized skill that has a long history. As early as the Iron Age, mounted archery was beginning to replace the increasingly-impractical chariot. Neo-Assyrian artwork from the 9th century depicts early mounted archers, though they may have existed longer than that. Evidence of the technology needed to facilitate mounted warfare has been found in Kazakhstan dating as far back as 1200 BCE. 400 years later, reliefs from the reigns of Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE) and Shalmaneser III (859–824 BCE) would show Assyrians going to battle with mounted archers, possibly Perians. By the 8th century BCE, mounted warfare had spread throughout the Eurasian Steppe and into the Middle East, and into Northern Africa and Eastern Europe by the 6th. Meanwhile, It was spreading East as well, as far as the Yellow RIver Valley. Mounted archery continued to develop and spread over the following centuries, though the tactic never spread past Germany and Scandinavia (as a side note, it’s difficult to say for certain if the Norse developed mounted warfare independently or through cultural exchange. As someone who has been on a fjord, my money is on the later.) While it eventually became popular in Germany after the medieval period, it never reached England.

As an aside, mounted archers were used by the English army during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) over a century after the tail end of the medieval era, though more than a century after the High Medieval Period. According to MI13 on Reddit in response to the question “What was the significance of English "mounted archers" during the Hundred Years' War?”

Good question! There's no direct evidence to indicate that English mounted archers shot from horseback. Now, medieval chroniclers were as a rule not interested in recording minor tactical details, so there's no evidence to say that English mounted archers never shot from horseback either, but if it happened, it would have been a rare occurrence. Mounted archers sometimes fought from horseback, but seem to have used their swords to do so.

The full post can be read here, and I definitely recommend it if that period in history interests you.

Our next scene of note shows John Constantine in the throws of, presumably, a prophetic trance. This peaks my interest for a few reasons. The first being the discarded bowl and apple beside him.

[ID: John Constantine lays on his back on the floor with his eyes open. To his left is a partially-eaten apple and an overturned bowl. The bowl’s contents are splattered on the floor. End ID]

The intention here was likely to represent a potion Constantine took to access this prophecy. The historical legitimacy of magic allowing for seeing the future is uncertain at best and fully fabricated at worst. Figures like Mother Shipton imply a cultural willingness to entertain such ideas, though her methods are uncertain. This willingness is backed up (however dubiously) by the future-seeing abilities of mythological figures like Fryja. Looking at historical accounts, foresight would have most often been gleaned from astrological means, not from usually from potions, which were generally reserved for medicinal purposes.

There’s a common misconception that magic was outlawed during this period by the church and king, and those found guilty of practicing it would be burned at the stake. In reality, it was a facet of everyday life, even among the church authorities. Magic was used daily across Europe for healing (though considered to be magic, the use of herbs and plants to treat wounds and illness was a highly sophisticated medical practice), information gathering, trying to bring forces of the natural world into control, personal and familial protection, and astrology. As time went on, folk magic became part of Christian practices and the two became so intertwined that separate branches of Christianity formed to better incorporate them. “Witch hunts” as we know them today didn’t begin in earnest until the mid 16th century, ironically when Europe was said to be becoming “enlightened.”

(Side note: Constantine’s use of the work “fuck” in thei scene is not historically accurate tot he time. You can read up on its etymology here and here.)

The other aspect I find interesting is the hatred of magic by certain members of the ruling class (and don’t worry, we’ll get to them later). While the lack of such practices makes sense in-narrative with the Kryptionian vulnerability to true magic, a complete lack of its usage within the court would be completely bizarre. The medieval person did not distinguish between useful folk magics discussed above and what we would consider to be magic (superpowers, supernatural forces, etc). Rejecting magic would mean rejecting medicine, not to mention other courtly magics. As Meaghan Zarb writes for Medievalists.net (linked below),

“Astrologers delivered a calendar of ideal times for rulers to make political decisions and alchemists, the possibility of riches and prolonged life. A knowledge of chemicals and herbs would have proved useful in intrigues where poisons and love spells were in demand. As fear and usage of magic was ever present, courtiers engaged in the practice of possessing precious stones whose properties protected them from such inflictions.”

Courtly magic was just as much a part of day to day life as gossip and etiquette for the ruling class of Europe. It was a part of the very fabric of court society. By eliminating it, life becomes much more dull and much less easy.

The strangest part of this world, for me, is the presentation of courtly life. The House of El is not given an explanation for being in power. The closest we get is reference to the late Waynes in a short moment between Bruce and Lara:

[ID: Queen Lara is bent down to hold Bruce’s hand saying “Bruce. For the last time, your parents were our monarchs and our friends. This is as much your home as ours and you do not need to kneel in it.” Bruce is kneeling in front of her, to her right from the reader’s perspective, with his back towards the reader. End ID]

While not a hard rule, lines of succession have been heavily refined and mapped out. Throughout large portions of Europe (though not exclusively, as it is important to remember Europe never has been and never will be a monolith), hereditary monarchies were/have been in place for centuries. Primogeniture is most common in these systems, though seniority is used as well. In the event a monarch died with only one living relative (Bruce, in this case), that child would inherit the throne, regardless of how young they were at the time. A very young monarch would have a council of trustees rule in their place until they came of age, but their ultimate power would not be legally disputed. This does become more complicated in the instance of illegitimate children. Though a king propping up an illegitimate heir would hardly be anything new, an illegitimate child from the maternal line is more controversial. A claim could definitely be made that as the king’s last remaining relative, the illegitimate son of his wife, would take the throne, and in some cases should. However, religious prejudice could certainly interfere. Especially if the child is seen as too young to rule, even with the guidance of a council, a dynasty change may be pending.

Dynastic changes have often been bloody, chaotic, and militaristic. Challenges to a new dynasty or even a well-established one were common. The collapse of the dynasty meant chaos for the court and reasserting stability was crucial. Personal ambition and familiar offshoots posed a constant challenge to erecting a new monarch. A dying king with no apparent heirs would want to elect someone to carry on his dynasty, as the dynasty wasn’t just a show of personal power, but a political strategy ensuring allyship with other nations, trade, and religious stability. But in the comic, no one seems to question the House of El’s right to the throne. This seems to indicate that one family was absorbed into the other, but if that were the case, their surname would have changed to Wayne. And the question of why exactly Bruce is not on the throne still remains, especially since it seems to contradict the will of the king.

[ID: King Jor-El holds a fist to his chin and says “If I had my way, you would be seeing here instead of us.” To the Right, Lara holds Bruce’s hand with her other hand on his bicep. Bruce says “They see you as a god. And I am a bastard.” Kal-El stands to the right (Bruce’s left) watching. End ID]

That brings us to the second problem with this scene: royal etiquette. When greeting the king and queen, one is expected to bow/curtsey/kneel/prostrate/etc based on the rules of etiquette for that nation and culture. There is no exception to this, not even for the heir apparent. Not doing so could be seen as an insult, or even an indicator of treason.

The final major problem with this comic is something that could have been fixed with a few more years allotted to the timeline. According to Mark Cartwight for worldhistory.org (linked below), a young boy would go through a general route to becoming a knight.

Page - from age 7-10 to 13, become familiar with horses, hunting and the use of mock weapons by serving a local knight, baron, or royal court.

Squire - from age 14 to 18-21, assist a full-knight, learn to use the weapons and armour of war, and improve one's general education, especially the code of chivalry.

Dubbing - When aged 18-21, the ceremony of being made a knight performed by another knight.

Service - Act as a guard for a baron and his castle, fight in wars for one's sovereign and the Church, and perform in medieval tournaments.

The ability to become a knight was often determined by paternity. Sons of knights would become knights. While there were exceptions on a case-by-case basis, and the rules varied across borders, knightly lineage became more important as time went on. In the comic, Bruce is most likely eighteen years old. In reality, he would most likely be completing his training under a knight, perhaps Alfred. All that taken into consideration makes this exchange much stranger.

[ID: Kal-El, approaching Bruce from the upper right says “You rely on children but you won’t have me by your side? You think me incapable?” Bruce responds as he puts on his helmet, “You’re practically a god, Kal-El.” Kal-El says “I’m not a god.” End ID]

Another thing to note in regards to this is that at eighteen, Bruce would be considered a child himself. Marital consent could generally be given starting at fourteen, though boys would not be seen as men until the age of twenty one, which raises the question of why the House of El has a child knight in their employ. In theory, the Robins would function as squires to Bruce, but again, he’s not yet old enough to be a knight himself.

Miscellaneous historical nitpicks:

Knighthood was reserved for men only. Women very likely did secretly serve, as they always have, though it was either unspoken of or unknown to the ruling class. It’s awesome to see Stephanie counted as a Robin, but it’s inaccurate and I’m a massive nerd

Banshees are Irish though have been so thoroughly butchered in pop culture I don’t have the energy to get into it. I do encourage looking into the commodification of Irish tradition, if your interested

Kal-El’s short cape did not become a popular fashion until the Late Medieval Period. I didn’t want to get into fashion history though because at the end of the say this is a DC comic

The prophecy dubbing the House of El to be demons is more accurate to how they would be received than as “gods” as the narrative says

How the hell did they build that castle

The Pullman Inn shows an image of a distinctly post-medieval carriage

I can;t find evidence to suggest medieval people understood brain injury

Ollie honey please get sleeves

Despite everything, I did genuinely enjoy this comic. It’s interesting to see these characters in a pseudo-historical setting and I do look forward to seeing how it expands on the ideas it established here, but as a history nerd I wish more attention was paid to this kind of detail. I find it distracting and a disservice to the potential of the narrative. If only someone other than Tom Taylor was writing it.

Sources

High Middle Ages

Mapping the Spread of Mounted Warfare

The invention of satanic witchcraft by medieval authorities was initially met with skepticism

Everyday Magic in the Middle Ages

In medieval England magic was a service industry used by rich and poor alike

Courtly Magic in the Middle Ages

How to Become a Medieval Knight

Medieval Knight

WRITERLY — Fantasy Guide to Court Etiquette

Manners, Customs, and Dress During the Middle Ages, and During the Renaissance Period, by Paul Lacroix

Hereditary monarchy

How the Tudor dynasty shaped modern Britain

Medieval Millennials

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winterironbang · 3 years

Text

Art Preview:

Below you will find the art previews for this year, remember authors that its not quite time for claiming yet!Take a good look and pick 2-3 favourites and remember their Title for when claiming does begin.

If you’d rather see the art as a google doc click here

Title: Kissing under the fireworks

Description/Prompt: what it says on the tin. Kissing under the fireworks.

This one is a pretty open universe, could be a first kiss, a regular kiss exchanged at New Year's Eve, the fireworks are celebrating that one of them have been crowned King or them finally getting married. Or maybe a romantic proposal at a holiday celebration.

Warnings: None

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

A/N: The art is not finished I am open to reinterpretation and/or taking the prompt a different way then the one I have outlined or changing the art a bit to better fit the story like Bucky (not) having the arm, short hair or long and similar

Title: welcome back / welcome home

Description/Prompt: Bucky pulls Tony into a bone crushing hug, extremely relieved that Tony is back home and alive. Bucky doesn't plan to let him go, ever again.

Open verse, could be a no-power AU, or pre-Afghanistan, or maybe sometime when Tony is IronMan. It could be focusing on Bucky's anguish at not knowing where is Tony if he is alive. Or could be the celebration that Tony is home. Maybe how is their life is being affected after.

Warnings: None

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

Title: 19th century AU

Prompt: 19th century-vibes AU (or can be Bridgerton AU), with behaving one way in private and another way in public to save face, love, and searching for one's freedom. (Can be ABO or not)

Limitations: dubcon/noncon between the OTP, eye gore, MCD, D/s verse (a normal universe with a D/s relationship is fine though), unhappy ending, pwp. I would prefer if it was not simple love at first sight.

Title: Sweethearts

Description/Prompt: Punk!Alpha!Bucky gets into a fight, not on purpose - this time - and while he does win, he gets beaten badly.

He tries to walk it off, but he runs into his Omega classmate Tony who is heading home from a late night lab-session.

Tony sees him and is very adamant to treat Bucky's injuries - he lets slip by accident a couple of details about Bucky, showcasing that he pays more attention to Bucky than a "proper" Omega should.

Tony patches Bucky up, and they fall asleep on the couch, Bucky relaxing after a long while.

They end up becoming friends and Tony offers to tutor Bucky.

They end up falling in love with Tony, and Bucky stops skipping class and getting into so many fights. Though Tony patches him up, every single time.

In the end Bucky's grades improve enough that he finishes in the Top 10 of the class.

Warnings: none

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

Title: Iron Man Noir AU

Prompt: Iron Man Noir AU with influences from Spider-Man Noir. It is 1939, Tony Stark is undercover in Berlin in his hidden Cabaret, to gather intel, and help where help is needed.

Why is Bucky there? Is he sent for undercover work, ready to meet some secret contact? Is he a Russian spy sent to gather information about America's plans? Or is he just some normal guy who wandered into the wrong Cabaret at the wrong time?

(These are just some ideas for Bucky, if you have others, let's talk! Bucky could be MCU-inspired or comic-inspired, or a mix or something else.)

Limitations: noncon between Bucky and Tony, MCD, ABO, D/s verse (a normal universe with a D/s relationship is fine though), eye gore, eye things in general, unhappy ending, pwp, smoking except pipes.

Title: BDSM AU

Description/Prompt: I was definitely thinking praise kink and rope play, but feel free to include others as well. Who is being tied up is the Author's choice, I will adjust the art accordingly (like including Bucky's metal arm)

Warnings: BDSM, Rope play and I guess other kind of kinks if they get included.

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

Title: Sea AU

Description/Prompt: Siren/Mermaid Tony and Sailor/Pirate/Privateer!Bucky - Tony visits his land bound lover, Bucky.

This one is open verse, I have already listed couple of options for them, but feel free to change that.

The world can be dark - Siren!Tony attracts unsuspecting ships (and sailors) to their death. Either by Bucky's sword or by shipwrecking them.

Could be angst - ala Little Mermaid style (original or Disney version) or a completely new one

Could be hurt/comfort - Bucky is the only survivor of his ship, because Tony saved him. But Tony could only bring him to a lonely Island, where the only way out is for Bucky to build a raft, and Tony provides company whenever he can stay above water.

Could be fluff - Tony and Bucky deeply in love, where in the end Bucky follows Prince Tony into the depths of the ocean, never to be seen again by human eyes.

Or any other combinations! Go wild!

Warnings: None, I would say

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

Title: Vampire Bucky

Prompt: Vampire Bucky AU with Bucky. How does Tony find him like this? Let’s brainstorm together.

Limitations: noncon between Bucky and Tony, unhappy ending, pwp, MCD, ABO, D/s verse (a normal universe with a D/s relationship is fine though), eye gore, eye things in general, smoking, evil Tony, evil Bucky

A/N: It's still very sketchy, total WIP.

Title: Knight in shining armour

Description/Prompt: The Winter soldier is pulled from a burning HYDRA base by IronMan.

Open verse, it could be that Bucky is slowly methodically taking his revenge on HYDRA, and everytime he is injured IronMan comes and rescues him, but Bucky never stays, all the way until the end.

Or maybe Bucky was kidnapped and wiped, and IronMan wiped out the HYDRA base in revenge and now he is taking Bucky home.

Maybe IronMan finds HYDRA during Avengers one and decides to do some recon on his own and comes face to face with Bucky Barnes.

There are sooo many possibilities!

(While the IronMan armour is intended to be the Bleeding Edge armour, this can be changed)

Warnings: Hurt/Comfort? Possibly darker themes

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

Title: Dragon Shifter AU

Description/Prompt: Tony and Bucky are dragon shifters, Tony with fire magic, Bucky with ice magic. They can't stand each other, but they have to get along now... (Basically any enemies/ frenemies to lovers story you can thing of will make me happy, maybe with arranged marriage or a common goal/ enemy?)

Limitations: no A/B/O, no Civl War salt, no non-con between bucky/ tony, no mpreg

A/N: This art is purely self-indulgent. Anyone who wants to just have fun with the idea feel free to pick it up!

Title: Warlord Tony AU

Prompt: Everyone has heard of the warlord Iron Man, a cunning monster whose troops mercilessly slaughter his opponents on the battlefield and who has never lost a single battle. According to some he's not even a man at all: After all, he can cut through weapons and people alike, and survived direct hits that would kill a normal man. His army turns wins fights against superior numbers and his cannons never miss their target. Very few people know that he also hides quite a number of secrets in a calm little valley at the heart of his territory, in a town called Arc.

For Bucky, you can go wild - whether he's part of a tribute, an enemy soldier, an assassin or something else. We're looking forward to talking about plot ideas!

Warnings: implied violence, blood

Limitations: no non-con between Tony/Bucky, no fully evil Tony, no MCD, no ABO, no mrpeg, no team cap bashing pls

Title: Alpine

Description/Prompt: Biker Bucky finds Alpine on the side of the road, abadoned and hungry. Bucky decides to take Alpine to the vet, unfortunately this being - your choice of holiday - there are not many vets are open and most of them is for emergency only.

Bucky worried that the kitten won't survive the night, runs into vet!Tony who is about to head home. However seeing the kitten, Tony decides to help and nurture the kitten. Alpine survives the night and becomes a bike-riding cat, usually traveling on Bucky's shoulders or back pack.

The story could be a falling in love at first sight, or Bucky bringing all kinds of animals to Tony, because Bucky trusts Tony to take care of them. (There maybe a cracky story hidden in there somewhere too *wink*)

Warnings: no kittens were harmed in the making of this prompt - none

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

Title: Late night dance lessons

Description/Prompt: Bucky is baking late into the night as a super soldier he doesn't need much sleep and baking is a relaxing hobby. It's 2am, the night is quiet no people around and his favourite music is playing from the stereo.

This is the moment when Tony arrives (could be a long night at the 'shop, or maybe just coming in from an overnight flight, maybe this is the time they regularly meet), they get into a small talk which slowly evolves into Tony staying and talking and Bucky reminscens of old times and what he can remember. It's a soft and tender talking the one people only have at 3am. Then an old times music comes on, reminding Bucky of nights when he went out to dance. And Tony seeing the look on his face offers to dance with him.

Warnings: None

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

Title: Feats of Flexibility

Description/Prompt: Bucky is doing push-ups, and someone accuses him of showing off - he had been in the gym for hours now - and Bucky claims that this nothing challenging to him, so naturally he is challenged into proving it.

This is escalated into more and more complicated and complex tasks ending in Tony sitting on Bucky's back while he is doing push ups, with his feet in the air

Poor Tony who only come down to keep in shape and tries valiantly to not stare at those feats of muscles and flexibility gets roped in

Can end in a kiss/confession or more sexy times *wink*

Warnings: None

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

Title: Untitled

Description/Prompt: Open to any ideas for some steampunk shenaniganry! Skyships, pirates, dashing captains, scrappy inventors, swash*buckly* adventures?

Warnings: none?

Limitations: DNWs include a/b/o, mpreg, noncon, dubcon between major protagonists, death of major protagonists, unhappy/ bad endings

Title: Fantasy Secret Identity AU

Description: Bucky standing in front of a wall plastered with posters of all sorts, among them some wanted posters, one for Iron Man, one for the Winter Soldier.

Prompt: Tony Stark is a well-known noble and mage, and Iron Man is a well-known villain. Of course, the two aren't connected at all. Until Tony Stark takes on a bet to figure out the identity of the man in the armor - and hires James Barnes, a washed-up mercenary to find any clues possible. It's just as well James has no links to the feared assassin called Winter Soldier, because that would be making things complicated.

I'm always open for other ideas but am really hoping for some identity porn :D

Warnings: None

Limitations: no A/B/O, no mpreg, no CW salt, no MCD

A/N: I haven't inked most of the posters in order to leave the author some freedom for the AU they want to make - I'm open for suggestions about adding stuff in!

Title: Promise of the Desire to Live

Description/Prompt: This is a Pokémon crossover piece. The Pokémon egg on the left belongs to Magearna and will hatch in her original coloring (which are pretty much Iron Man colors). This Magearna will be the partner of Tony. The Pokémon egg on the right belongs to Mewtwo and will have almost the same coloring as Shadow Mewtwo except that his tail will be navy blue. This Mewtwo will be Bucky’s partner. Here’s the prompt –

The Avengers are called to deescalate a situation involving a young and semi-inexperienced Inhuman who lost her family due to a suicide bomber. After receiving her powers mere days after that traumatic event, this young girl, no more than 12, is able to sense who has a strong desire to commit suicide and send them to places/people/beings that need help and are able to bring them back from the brink of suicide.

Omega!Tony and Alpha!Bucky are sent to a Team Plasma lab with an egg incubator in the center of the room with two eggs in it. They take the eggs.

Warnings: Discussions of depression and suicidal thoughts

Limitations: Story cannot be ended with the Pokémon hatching. I want a full-length Pokémon journey from Bucky, Tony, and their Pokémon. I want them to find a way to travel between the Pokémon world and their home world. Also, must have A/B/O. No rape.

Title: Bunny Tony/ Wolf Bucky

Description/prompt: No matter what the media and Hollywood tried to say, there wasn't really that much difference between predator and prey presenting people. A jaguar wouldn't love climbing trees and napping all day anymore than a squirrel would hoard nuts and play deadly games with cars.

But whenever Tony's gorgeous rear and fluffy tail wind up in Bucky's line of sight, he has to clamp his teeth against a strong urge to bite. And when Tony comes down to the kitchen each morning, hair a mess and silky, floppy ears on display, Bucky has to fight more possessive urges. He's sure neither the team or Tony would appreciate Bucky dragging the bunny off to his territory...Would they?

Warnings: N/A

Limitations: Happy Ending, No Civil War, No AoU, No bathroom kinks, Prefer Team as family, Explicit welcome

A/N: The sketch will be colored and have at least one more piece featuring a Wolf Bucky. And maybe a shot of Tony's fluffy tail.

Title: Untitled 2

Description/Prompt: something based on the John Wick tailor scene or James Bond-Q outfitting or just general spies or mafia?

Open for brainstorming or alternate interpretations or anything really! Assassins/Spies not up your alley? image can be edited/background removed if your idea is for a non powers tailor au instead!

Warnings: canon typical violence for story (john wick levels or mcu levels up to author?)

Limitations: DNWs include a/b/o, mpreg, noncon, dubcon between major protagonists, death of major protagonists, unhappy/ bad endings

Title: Hold out your hand

Description/Prompt: The only thing I feel needs to be heavily included in the fic would be about Bucky's relationship with his arm and how Tony helps him with that (though it doesn't technically need to be the main storyline)

If you want other input then I love tropes especially soulmate type situations and Bucky recovery fics, but pretty much any trope is good.

Warnings: NA

Limitations: Character death, age play (I am pretty much open to anything else, any rating is cool with me as is including smut or not)

A/N: I am still messing with the composition and finish on this so if you have any input then let me know :) (for example the smaller images of the hands and Tony could be used individually for page breaks in the story rather than being the main art?)

Title: Porcelain and Metal or maybe a Toy au?

Description/Prompt: This particular piece was created because I really wanted a porcelain ballerina tony and nutcracker-ish bucky.This could be a first meeting scene of sorts with bucky being a shameless flirt but the writer could expand and add more scenes of course! I mostly just wanted a very cute and magic realism-ish vibe.

Warnings: N/A

Limitations: No unhappy endings. A bit of angst for the sake of the plot is fine. Non-consensual acts of any sorts is also a no

Title: Scheherazade AU

Description/Prompt: Based on Thousand and One Nights, war chief!Bucky refuses a spouse and threatens to kill anyone he's set up with. Tony ends up married to him and talks every night, leaving off right before bed so Bucky has to keep him around another day

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Limitations: no noncon/heavy warnings. Also really not into stucky, even as background influence/past feelings. Also don't want any feminization of Tony by having him as 'weaker' or a damsel. I don't like infidelity or overcomplicated drama because of simple misunderstandings. Some smut is okay, but no hard kinks, PWP, or A/B/O.

A/N: Besides inspiration of original story, I don't have much planned. While no warnings, it would include arranged marriage, but no actual noncon please. I like slowburn so totally down for a long fic. Also pretty relaxed with background ships and always here for some epic friendships (tony and rhodey, bucky and nat, etc).

Title: Mirror images

Description/Prompt: Bucky and Winter got separated into two bodies by accident or on purpose, which helps greatly with them getting along better (or at all), until they decide independently to woo Tony

Both of them show how much they care about Tony, even if it's very very different from each other

Tony appreciates and loves both and absolutely can't decide between the two (nor does he want to because both are important to him) and it ends in polamory either a triangle or v-shaped

Warnings: N/A

Limitations: No unhappy/ambiguous ending, no alcoholism (but recovery or past mentions are fine), no watersports (kink)

Title: College au meet cute or something

Description/Prompt: No specific plot, maybe Bucky and Tony like each other but both are oblivious to the others feelings. Steve and Rhodey as the "Why am I bestf riends with an idiot" best friend. With minor thundershield please

Warning: N/A

Limitations: No unhappy endings. Bit of angst for the sake of plot is fine.

A/N: Will color and clean this up a bit. I'll also be willing to make more art for the story if ever.

#winterironbang #winteriron reverse bang #art preview #winteriron #ironwinter

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rpgsandbox · 4 years

Link

Welcome to The Troubleshooters, an action-adventure tabletop roleplaying game of international mystery. Inspired by European comics, The Troubleshooters will take you all across the world for exciting adventures!

Et maintenant, en français !

Thanks to our co-publisher Arkhane Asylum Publishing, The Troubleshooters will also be available in French as The Troubleshooters – Les Risque-tout! Version française en bas.

The Troubleshooters core book is a gorgeous hardcover book in full colour, about 200 pages. Richly illustrated, the core book is all you need to participate in the adventure of the Troubleshooters. The book is available in the standard edition, or in a deluxe edition with a beautiful embossed cloth-cover. The Core Book is available in English and French – you select what language you want in Pledge Manager after the Kickstarter.

The U-Boat Mystery is the first Troubleshooters adventure. It will take your players’ characters from Paris via New York to the island kingdom Sitomeyang and its tropical archipelago in South-east Asia, chasing a lost German submarine. The book will be a hardcover and about 48-60 pages.

This book is available in the standard edition, or in a deluxe edition with a beautiful embossed cloth-cover. The U-Boat Mystery is available in English and French – you select what language you want in Pledge Manager after the Kickstarter.

We also offer a number of accessories like dice, passports (the character sheet of The Troubleshooters), equipment cards, and many more items.

You can get a taste of some Troubleshooter action today! Just download the Quickplay scenarion "The Minoan Affair" from our web page:

https://helmgast.se/troubleshooters/the-troubleshooters-archive

The Troubleshooters tabletop roleplaying game will take the characters to the mid-1960s all over Europe and across the world. They will find themselves at exotic locations, glittering metropoles, deep in the wilderness, or even in cozy country villages, where they face horrible foes: spies, wild beasts, mafia, mad scientists, villains, and relatives! The characters, ranging from athletes and explorers to journalists and inventors, are drawn into other people’s troubles and band together to solve them.

The Troubleshooters starts in 1965 in a world similar to but not exactly like our own. There are extra countries like San Angelo, Sitomeyang, Katsuichi or Arenwald. There are valleys that time forgot, mysterious temples hidden in the jungle, and secret laboratories beneath museums. The Concorde is already flying and carrying passengers, France is planning for high speed railways, Americans and Soviets have space stations in orbit around Earth, and a Japanese-French atomic rocket landed on the Moon in 1964. Still, Europe is divided by the Iron Curtain, there is no internet and no Google (you have to go to a library or an archive to look up stuff), and most people have just one telephone connected to a landline.

This world is threatened by the evil organisation The Octopus, trying to upend the fragile balance between the Eastern Bloc and the Western Alliance. Led by graf von Zadrith, The Octopus is just emerging from the shadows, ready to shape the world in their image.

Your character is part of a group of friends to whom adventures happen – and you gladly participate. No matter if it is a hunt for a lost treasure, helping someone get their inheritance, stopping spies from stealing military secrets, or foiling The Octopus’ evil plans for world domination, you just go on adventure.

The Troubleshooters is designed from the ground up to fit the genre. It has a skill based system where task checks are made by rolling a d%/d100 and compare against a skill value.

There are no classes or levels in The Troubleshooters. There are about a dozen templates which showcase typical characters and assign appropriate skill values, Abilities, Complications, and gear kits to your character.

A smart plot hook system is used to kick off adventures, all but guaranteeing that at least one character has something to do with the plot from start. Much of the game is centred around the Story Point economy. You gain points from making extraordinary rolls, activating Complications, and getting captured by the villain. You spend points to flip task checks, establish new things in the game, and to activate Abilities.

It is hard to die in The Troubleshooters. Instead, you choose between being Out Cold, Wounded or in Mortal Peril. It’s only when you’re in Mortal Peril that you actually risk dying. However, it is easy to get captured by the evil villains and have to suffer their gloating while they tell you their evil plans.

Your character’s stats are noted in your Passport, a 32-page booklet made to look like a passport. Only a few pages are for stats and personal data. The rest of the booklet is for visa stamps (or notes if you prefer). Speaking of visa stamps, each adventure will include a sheet of transparent stickers with facsimile visa stamps from the locations of the adventure, which you can put in your passport. An “emergency passport” – a printer-friendly double-sided form – is available for download.

Helmgast AB is a Swedish publisher of quality tabletop roleplaying games, known internationally for their award-winning roleplaying game Kult: Divinity Lost.

Arkhane Asylum Publishing is our French partner. Arkhane will co-publish the French edition of The Troubleshooters, with the subtitle Les Risque-Tout.

Modiphius is our English partner. Modiphius will handle international distribution of the English edition.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, June 4 2020 9:59 AM BST

Website: [Helmgast] [facebook]

#RPG #kickstarter #The Troubleshooters #Helmgast

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coindraws · 4 years

Text

just a random text post 😪

This is just going to be another rambling post because I don't really have anything better to do right now 😂 It's probably going to be a lot of whining, though.

Anyway, I'm moving to France on Tuesday and starting university there on September 7th. Not sure how long it'll take me to get used to my new situation but at least it's only a 4 hour drive to my hometown instead of a 7 hour one like it was before. I think the biggest problem I'll be struggling with is the language and even though I had French in school and also graduated in it (written exam, that was always said to be the more difficult one and I agree, out of 154 students only 5 chose to do that and I only got a B-. I know, sad life and all 😔) that was back in 2017, so three years ago and I haven't really used French ever since. I might also be the only foreign student there that studies history, which has the potential to really suck.

Apart from that I (almost) finished my Middle Ages essay and I just hope it still gets accepted but the prof never told us an actual date when we had to hand it in. The last information we received about that is from March, right before everything went down, and it said we'd have time until June but even that with some form of relaxation because nobody knows how the current situation is going to develop. The guidelines of my university propose a 2 week span of working on a 11 to 12 pages essay but I did it in the span of maybe three days, I just wanted to be finally done with it before I move to another country and I've procrastinated long enough on that one 😂 For studying history this one was way too philosophical and theological but that's the fault of the Middle Ages, not mine. Spent 11 pages talking about religion because the dude I wrote about was a churchman who did all sorts of stuff.

There's still a lot of stuff for me to sort out, apart from two other essays that I won't be able to finish before September 30th with everything that's coming up in my life and then also some bureaucracy things that I really don't want to tackle but I do need the help from the state to pay rent etc.

I can't wait for 2020 to be finally over with, this year sucked hard for almost everybody and I remember how I thought in 2019 that 2020 was going to be a good year. Kind of ironic now that I think back but who could've known that things would turn out this way.

And because I'm a loser I'm still into Stardew Valley and excited for the new update, I've been playing it a lot on my Switch just to escape since all that stress really killed my desire to draw and it's kind of hard getting back into it. Maybe having a normal university schedule will change that because it was almost impossible for me to feel inspired when all I did for the past few months was sit at home and endure zoom meetings and boring lectures. I know that moving to a different country isn't the best idea during this time but I can't really change it since it was planned to be like this from the very beginning, I was just unlucky for it to happen right now. Germany's doing fine so far but some of our neighboring countries are starting to struggle again and I'll have to keep an eye out on what the German government declares as risky regions to go to or not but so far the region in France where I'll move to is fine.

Yadda yadda, real life problems aside, I'm still very glad that I decided to join the sdv community on here. Everyone's super nice as ever and while I have a lot of followers, there's still some names/icons that I recognize because I see some of you guys regularly in my notifications and I couldn't be happier about it 😤 After all this time the same people are still interested in the things I post and I'm so, so thankful for this. I know I've strayed away from making comics but that's mainly due to the fact that I tend to pull those from my real life experiences when I get inspired by something but that hasn't been the case this year. I don't know what makes you all still interested in Harvey and Coin but I'll take it.

And as if this post hasn't been random enough already, I sometimes still think about all the support I received when I made Coin ace, that really means a lot to me. I don't know, I'm still not very open about that topic (in real life not at all) but it did encourage me to accept things that I maybe haven't in the past.

With that being said, I'll end this post here it's way too long anyway but for everyone who made it this far, thanks. My ask box/messages are always open if you need somebody to talk to, I'm not intimidating I swear

#laber net

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glapplebloom · 3 years

Photo

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting!

Since I researched Iron Fist, let’s start off with some Kung Fu Panda trivia. My favorite character of the series is Master Viper. I always love unusual designs and it is rare to see pure snake characters. And here is one who actually practices the Snake Fighting Style. She’s nice and even without fangs she can protect the valley. But the one thing that bugs me is the lack of appearances. If you add all her appearances together, you probably wouldn’t get two hour’s worth of content. Meanwhile others like Master Crane and Mantis got multiple episodes about themselves as well as a lot of screen time.

As for why I was the one researching Iron Fist, I grew up reading the old comics. Him and Power Man (Luke Cage for those who don’t know) were entertaining to me as a kid. And now that I re-read them as an adult, its even better. If done proper in the MCU, I can see it being a fun buddy cop movie type thing.The two bounce off each other so well and I fear watching the Netflix series because I don’t think it’ll do it justice. In comparison, I expect their interactions being similar to Sam and Bucky from Falcon and Winter Soldier.

As for those thinking Po would be weird for Iron Fist, he wouldn’t be the first fat yet incredibly skilled fighter. Fat Cobra is one of the Legendary Living Weapons of the Ancient Cities, being on the same level as Danny himself. Granted, he did beat Danny one time as well as enjoy things Po’s PG ratings wouldn’t allow him.

You would think punching and defeating a Fire Deity would make Iron Fist super impressive. I thought so too until I found out the best they could lift is about 30 tons. So basically people like Spiderman and Iron Man are stronger than this guy.

Thanks to Danny, Luke Cage was the owner of the Avengers for a while. Tony asked Luke for a dollar, Danny lend him it, and through that Luke became the owning member of the Avengers.

Danny is one of the many Poker player of Marvel Comics.

Danny also had a midlife crisis in the 2016 book. He wanted to restart the Heroes for Hire saying he misses thing meanwhile Luke Cage is happy with his wife and kid. Even trying his best to avoid naughty words.

Danny also has a kid. Technically. She’s actually the next Iron Fist since she punched the Dragon heart as well and Danny is her Thunderer, training her to be a Living Weapon. I really like the dynamic. It sort of reminds me of Darkwing and Gosalyn.

Both Luke Cage and Danny Rand do not like Deadpool. It is because they had a bad experience with him back when they face the White Man. Yes, its real. The 2013 Deadpool Series issue 13 and 14.

This is Orson Randall. He was the Iron Fist before Danny. It is thanks to him Danny got to where he is today, as he inspired his father to go to K’un Lun and want to be the Iron Fist himself. He even was the one who got the Rands the money to start a business.

And that’s my bits of Trivia for Danny. My next match should be the Mid-Season Premier. See you next time.

#other

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thinkingishard · 1 year

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Blossomvale: Spring 1. Page 10.

<< First Page || < Previous Page | | Next Comic >

£1+ Patrons get pages a day early!: patreon.com/ReniDraws

Blossomvale is based on my playthrough of M. Kirin’s TTRPG ‘Iron Valley’ (which is pay-what-you-want!: https://mkirin.itch.io/iron-valley)

Thanks to @a-tired-space-ace and @theforestspiritplaysironvalley for creating image IDs for these, I’ve made some slight edits and will include them myself when I get Spring 2 out!

[Image ID: a comic drawn in a cute, cartoony style.

1. Gumi, a koala in a rainbow sweater, and Mo, a brown bear in a black hoodie, walk side by side. Mo says, “Hm, it’s getting late...”

2. They both smile as Mo leans over to Gumi. Mo asks, “Dinner?” Gumi pumps their fist and says, “Yeah!”

3. A cut to Mo cooking several veggies in a frying pan while Gumi sits at a counter talking.

4. Another cut to Mo and Gumi sitting across from each other at a table, eating with chopsticks, talking, and laughing.

5. Gumi and Mo stand in front of a bedroom door and say in unison, “Goodnight!”

6. Gumi has changed into pajamas, yellow plaid pants and a purple shirt that says “Sleepy” above a yellow rabbit. She is getting into bed.

7. Gumi is tucked into bed with their eyes closed. Several Zs float above their head.

End ID.]

#comic #comics #blossomvale #laura renfrew #cute #cute comic #furry #furry comic #furry art #koala #bear #stardew inspired comic #iron valley inspired comic

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fancyfade · 4 years

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Batfam Height - core members and batfam height - everyone else by Fade31415

This has been in my WIPs for months, but I’m finally done! Technically I’m not sure if everyone here is “officially” batfam, since I view Renee as more of an independent agent but I’ve heard her be listed as Batfam and I wanted to draw her. so :P

okay so this is going to be a super long post, so the decisions for why I drew who with what is just going to double as an image description, since I’m not sure it makes sense to write [image: barbara gordon wearing her armored new 52 batgirl costume end image] and then follow it with “I decided to draw the Batgirl version of babs in her new 52 costume because I liked it better because of the armoring.

anyway: everyone’s heights and outfit decisions under the cut!

Alfred Pennyworth: (first Alfred is present day, balding and 65, second Alfred is when he just met Bruce, with a full head of black hair). Alfred is 6'0" like it says he is on his wiki page. He’s got his regular butler outfit, which seems to be a suit with those two hanging down things on the back? IDK what its called.

Cassandra Cain/Batgirl: Cass is 5'5" like it says she is in the back of Batgirl: To the Death. I combined her Batgirl and Orphan suit because I love the lightly armored aesthetic on Orphan, but I also prefer her as Batgirl. Her civilian outfit is just an outfit she wears in I think the start of Batgirl: To the Death? A crop top and black pants basically.

Bruce Wayne/Batman: Bruce is 5'7" which is NOT canon, but I put him a little short in my headcanon. This isn't for any real reason but last time I drew him not tall I got a whiny fanboy complaining he wasn't physically intimidating enough, so I'm specifically not changing it because of that I still do try to draw him with like... actual muscles so he can do stuff, because he's a very physical character. His outfits are just batman outfit and then the regular suit he wears all the time. Nothing exciting there.

Dick Grayson/ Nightwing/ Agent 37: Dick is 5'10" like it says he is on the wiki. He's got his nightwing rebirth costume for the superhero version, which is mostly all black with slight blue accents and fairly skin tight, cuz that costume was just beautiful, though I did add a little bit of armoring like he has in teh animated movies for practicality. Then he has his Grayson outfit for his 'civilian' clothes (even though it's not really civilian clothes I like how it looks). Khaki pants a gray T shirt and some pouches for spy stuff. He’s also got his escrimas in both forms, cuz signature weapon.

Barbara Gordon/Oracle/ Batgirl: Babs is 5'11" like it says she is in the back of Batgirl: To the Death. Even though she never got magicured in my headcanon, I drew her new 52 batgirl outfit because i like the armored aesthetic better. Her civlian clothing is just the skirt and black turtleneck she wears in BTAS. Her Oracle outfits are a tanktop (so we can see her buff arms) and then my favorite outfit she wore in the comics (jeans and a leather jacket). She has buffer arms and thinner legs as Oracle, because she is using her arms way more than her legs.

Damian Wayne/Robin: I drew Damian once at 10 years old, when he just started being Robin, and then at 13, like he is in the present. I chose his Batman and Robin (2011) costume over the 2009 one, because i liked how it looked better, and Robin: Son of Batman costume over Rebirth because Robin Son of Batman is my FAVORITE costume for him. both costumes have a red tunic and black pants, the batman and robin 2011 one has a yellow cape and black hood but the son of batman one has a black cape with gold trim. He's 4'6" at 10 years old and 4'11" at 13. His civilian clothing is a simple suit at 10 and the yellow sweatervest he wears in Robin Son of Batman #6 at 13.

Onyx Adams: Onyx is 5'9" like her wiki entry says. Her civilian outfit is the monk outfit (a long loose orange robe). Her superhero outfit is what she seems to fight in, which is just a crop top and black pants.

Kate Kane/ Batwoman: Kate is 5'11" like her wiki entry says, and I let her be a little broader around the shoulders and hips after seeing a broader Batwoman drawing I really liked. She's wearing her rebirth costume, mostly black with a red bat symbol and red trim, and got her rebirth short hair on her civilian outfit. her civilian outfit is black pants, a black vest, and a button up white no sleeve shirt.

Stephanie Brown/Batgirl: Stephanie Brown is 5'5" like her wiki entry says. I can't remember why I put her in her Batgirl costume instead of her Spoiler costume (maybe because I haven't drawn her as Batgirl before?) Either way, her Batgirl costume is black with purple trim. her civilian outfit is jeans, a purple shirt, and a leather jacket, which I think I saw her wearing in one of her batgirl issues but it’s been a while.

Tim Drake/ Red Robin: He is 5′6″ like his wiki entry says, though that might have been referencing when he was younger because it also listed his weight as 125 pounds. But I figured some guys are allowed to be short :P he has his first red robin costume (black pants, red tunic, cowl that covers his face except for his mouth and chin like batman’s) and his civilian outfit is just jeans and a white button up shirt.

Duke Thomas/Signal: I couldn't find Duke's height on the wiki so I guessed and put him at 5'9". He’s a little lean cuz he’s 16 and still growing. his superhero outfit is his bright yellow and black signal outfit with the motorcycle helmet with bat ears. His civilian clothing is an outfit he wore in Robin War (jeans, red shoes, a red hoodie).

Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael: Jean-Paul is 6'2" like his wiki entry says. In Batman: the Sword of Azrael, he seemed to be drawn leaner before becoming Azrael and buffer afterwards, so maybe his Azrael training/programming gave him guns? IDK that's why I drew both a thin version and a buff version in the civilian clothes, which are a white T shirt, leather jacket, and jeans.

Azrael outfit only gets the buff version though. I combined the 90s outfit and his new 52 outfit because... I'm gonna be real I LOVE his 90s outfit, even though it is very 90s. But I also had a hard time drawing it in my style, which is why I borrowed some from new 52. so he’s got golden boots like in new 52, but otherwise red, mostly skintight outfit, a golden chestplate, large shoulderpads and large gauntlets, like in the 90s. with his cool wrist sword. obviously.

Jason Todd/ Red Hood: I was actually conflicted as to whether include Jason because my all time favorite appearance for him (after his intro, when he whacks batman on the stomach with a tire iron) is the Red Hood movie, where he is decidedly not batfam and rather an enemy. But lots of people count him as Batfam and he’s an ally in the current continuity, so I drew him. Jason is 6'0" like his wiki entry says. He's just got an outfit inspired by his under the red hood movie outfit - black cargo pants, brown leather jacket. his civilian clothing has a grey T shirt and his red hood outfit has a black chestpiece with a red bat symbol and a red face covering helmet.

Helena Bertinelli/Huntress/Matron: Helena is 5'11" like her wiki entry says. She’s got her dark purple hooded Rebirth costume, and her tiny crossbow. I drew her as she appears in Grayson for the "civilian" version (black shirt with a white cross on it, reddish pants), to match the Agent 37 Dick on the other chart.

Renee Montoya/ the Question: Renee is 5'8" like her wiki entry says. She was very inspired by how Cully Hamner draws him in Pipelines, because I love Cully Hamner's art (reffed her outfits here: link). her civilian outfit is a white crop top and blue work out pants, and her question outfit is a leather jacket, black t shirt, fedora, and jeans. she’s holding a nunchaku in both.

Renee is a member I'm not sure "counts" as Batfam, because i view her more as an independent agent, but I've heard some people count her in it and I wanted to draw her anyway

Luke Fox/ Batwing: Luke Fox is 5'10" cuz i messed up and made him 1 inch too short (his wiki entry says 5'11"). He's got the blue polo he wears in Batman: Bad Blood in his civilian clothes, even though I consider comics Luke to be more "canon", but I couldn't think of what to draw him in from Comics luke's civlian outfits His batwing outfit is comics luke's batwing outfit as well -- all black and armored, covering every inch of his body, with the blue bat symbol and shiny blue eyes.

David Zavimbe/ Batwing: I like Luke, but David will always be the Batwing of my heart :P David is 5'8". It didn't say his height on the wiki so I had to guess, and I guess I let him not be super tall because there are already a ton of tall people in the Batfam. His civilian outfit is the uniform he wears in his day job (police officer), kind of green almost army looking clothes, and a black hat, and his batwing outfit is his first batwing outfit from the comics -- dark grey armor, domino-esque mask that has giant wing motifs coming from it, etc.

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i-ghd · 4 years

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Pembrokeshire, county of castles, coves and film star sands.

The eye was piercing. The gaze was imperious. The message an unspoken “Do you know who’s in control around here?” Eventually, of course, the human in boots, inching forward as quietly as he could along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, prevailed over the haughty feathered hunter perched on a fence post.

I was no more than 15 feet away, with the summit of nearby Carn Llidi as a backdrop, when the sparrowhawk very reluctantly gave way. It lifted off and, after a few grudging wing beats, alighted again about six posts along.

In the space of ten minutes, as I moved slowly forward, it repeated this procedure: lift off, lazy flutter of wings and perch again, about fives times, before cutting back in a wide arc across the field to roughly where I first met it.

The guidebooks tell you to look down from the cliffs for seals, porpoises, dolphins and to the windy space between land and sea for choughs, those comical blackbird-size birds with red legs. But not a word about this top predator, which had clearly dined so well on the local singbirds that it scarcely needed to move. (The birds sang on, despite the predations.)

Approach this national trail as you might a long, detailed menu in a restaurant, one with a wide choice of starters, many of them a meal in itself. There are also some main courses, specialities of this county, and you will want to sample one or two of them. However you would need a giant’s appetite to consume the whole 186-miles, still less the entire 870 miles Wales Coast Path, of which this is only a section.

Let’s start with those appetizers. (The sparrow hawk would be in the “today’s specials” section.) I stayed at the county’s western end, on its final thrust towards Ireland. As the chough flies, Waterford is closer than Cardiff.

Hearabouts any three to five mile stretch contains many permutations. The trail twists, it lurches, it plunges, it turns severely back on itself then climbs steeply down into and up out of tiny coves. Little tumbling streams cross your path. Banks dense with foxgloves enclose your way. A flower strewn meadow ends in a sudden sheer drop down to waves boiling over jagged rocks. The view constantly changes. Nothing stays the same on this path for more than a few minutes.

I did an idle measurement on Google Maps afterwards. Made into a straight line the Pembrokeshire Path would stretch here roughly from London, 198 miles away. In 2010, duly impressed, National Geographic Magazine judged this the second best coastal destination in the world, just behind the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada.

Every three or four miles, over much of the western end at least, there is a convenient pause, in the shape of an attractive little harbour, and there’s a fair chance it is served by the coastal bus.

This part of the coast was bristling with unexpected, at least to me, industrial history. We think of the Welsh valleys studded with smokestacks and pit heads, but there is the evidence of long and serious industry in this quiet backwater. The clues that somewhere, such as Abereiddi, was once very busy is in the eroded remains of labourers’ cottages. In other places those that stood up long enough after the decline are now holiday cottages.

We dropped down into Porthgain, an industrial powerhouse in its day. The roads of England were paved with crushed dolerite processed here. Now gentrification is complete. The main industrial building is now the Shed Fish and Chip Bistro. On our visit no fewer than ten Norwegian-registered vintage MG sportscars were neatly parked on the quayside.

The drivers and passengers were in the Shed, where they may well have been enjoying the exquisite if expensive fresh crab sandwiches, sold at prices Chiswick visitors would recognize. We ordered the same at the Sloop Inn opposite. We were perfectly positioned, some time later, to see the MGs set off in orderly convoy on the road to Fishguard.

The coast continues like this for miles, with a spot of strenuous striding, frequent heart-lifting views, tantalising glimpses of islands big and small just off the coast. Here and there an encounter with a profound religious past, in the ruined chapel and well of St David’s mother St Non, for example.

There are other, bigger harbours. In Solva the man in the car park handed out leaflets promoting all the little art craft shops, restaurants and guest houses. The Dutch and German cars underline the county’s appeal to a discerning international market – the drivers were not there for the weather.

And so to those landscape “main courses” I mentioned. On the path from the lifeboat station at St Justinians, heading north, I am suddenly above a wide, flat, sandy beach where somebody had expertly drawn a vast jellyfish, so big it could only be seen to proper effect from 200 yards up, on the footpath.

Pembrokeshire’s beaches are now an international hot property. Hollywood could have chosen some enchanted strand on Bali or Hawaii as the location where Kristen Stewart thunders through the surf with 80 muscular extras on horseback in the 2012 movie ”Snow White and the Huntsman”. Instead the studios chose the wide, flat, golden film-star sands, perfectly smoothed by the outgoing tide, of Marloes Sands, on southern Pembrokeshire, even if they did computer-generate an extravagant outburst of fairy-tale towers on the conveniently flat-topped Gateholm Island, which stands just yards off the headland.

Marloes first broke into the movies in 1967 when The Lion in Winter was filmed here. Whitesands was used in the BBC4 Richard II.

In 2010 Hollywood came to another Pembrokeshire beach, Freshwater West. Ridley Scott had filmed Robin Hood there, with Russell Crowe. The filmmakers built higgledy-piggledy Shell Cottage there for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The beach is clearly visible in the film. You will find no trace that the scrupulously tidy film makers were ever there. It’s the same at Marloes, left just as they found it.

You could easily construct a week or ten day holday around this sublime coastland, mixing up walks with boat trips to Skomer or Ramsey, dining out in the many harbour pubs on fresh local fish. The coast path has been conveniently cut up into 200 bite-size local walks, some of them circular.

One took us a few miles inland to St Davids, which is Britain’s smallest city, by virtue of the cathedral. We arrived early to benefit from its remoteness. Most day trippers, coming from afar, don’t get there until well on in the morning. We came across the intimate little cathedral, nestling in a green valley, well before the throng.

In the nave we had plently of room for some entry-level surveying, measuring the startling incline on the spirit level app on my daughter’s smartphone. It is almost two degrees.

St David’s has an understated nobility, because of its size and unusual position. On a scale of conspicuous cathedrals, Lincoln would be a 10. St David’s would be a 1. It was a steep climb up to the city, in reality a pleasant little town, where we gave in to the Italian charms of the Bench cafe for coffee and ice cream.

Until the early 1800s Pembrokeshire would have been as remote by land as some European cities were for a traveler starting out from London. Railways opened the county up, and oil at Milford Haven and the Irish boat traffic through Fishguard Harbour ensured the rail links survived even in the bleak post-Beeching era.

The trains helped build Tenby into as gracious a Victorian resort as Whitby or Ilfracombe. Novelist George Eliot was inspired enough by her visit to this perfect little resort in 1856 to take up writing. It has been a destination of rare distinction ever since.

A cordon of high, narrow Georgian and Victorian town houses in delicate pastel colours still wraps around Tenby’s sea front. To dodge the wind you either head to the sandy beach on the town’s north flank, or, if it’s blowing from the other direction, seek out the little harbour to the south.

Praise, then, for frequent services direct from Manchester deep into Pembrokeshire, connecting with services from London and the west and south.

It’s still the case, of course, that most visitors drive here. They will find the car necessary for visiting the centre of the county where the excellent bus service doesn’t reach.

Pembroke, is technically on the coast. The tide probes almost under the walls of the castle where Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII, was born in 1457, (It was restored to its formidable Norman pomp after a crumbly, ivy-covered interlude in the 1900s.) But it feels like an inland town.

The castle, proud and imposing above this ancient town, is just one the county’s rich crop of citadels, The list includes Manorbier, Cilgerran, Haverfordwest, Lamphey, Llawhaden, and Picton castles. There are over 50 all told, if you include forts and the reconstructed 600 BC Iron Age citadel Castell Henllys. Leading the list is Carew Castle. It overlooks a serene millpond, with a 11th century Celtic Cross and Wales’s only restored Tidal Mill. Narberth is another appealing little castle town. If you buy the Welshcakes in Waitrose, they come from here.

#pembrokeshire #west wales #walescoastpath #tenby

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miss-nerd-alert · 4 years

Text

10 Questions Tag

I got tagged by @sophielovesbooks, thanks for the follow!

Rules: answer ten questions, ask another ten, and tag ten people

1. Do you have a writing routine?

Not really, I just make a point to try and write something every day. It doesn’t have to be long, doesn’t have to be part of whatever story I’m working on, it doesn’t have to be good, it just has to exist. I have a notebook set aside for jotting down whatever random Idea comes to me throughout the day, you never know if it could be just what your story needs.

2. Music on or off?

Depends on what I’m writing, what kind of mood I’m in, and what I’m listening to. For more action-packed scenes, I’ll listen to stuff like Barns Courtney, Skillet, or Two Steps From Hell; for more dialogue-heavy scenes I might listen to classical music or ambient soundtracks (I reccommend tabletopaudio.com, if you’re interested). For romantic scenes, I’ll break out Adele, Alesso, or Boyce Avenue.

3. A genre you’d never touch?

I tend to have pretty eclectic taste, so that’s a tough one. I’m tired of dystopia and urban fantasy, to be honest. Sure it gave us stuff like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and The Hunger Games, but the genres have so saturated the mainstream audience that there hasn’t been as much variety the last few years, and I’m ready to see something else.

4. A piece of media that inspired you?

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett is my all-time favorite book. It and The Host by Stephanie Meyer feature protagonists that aren’t fighters in the physical sense, but have a gentle inner strength that allows them to endure anything and do anything with the skills they have. Wanda and Sara are my gold standard for strong characters, especially since I know people like them in my own life, and they are my heroes.

5. A writing rule you always follow?

Happy Endings are a requirement. It can be a bittersweet ending, like in the Hunger Games, but a happy ending is an absolute must. Happy Endings are subversive, and everyone deserves one. Your characters get put through one form of hell or another during the story, why should they tough it out if they aren’t rewarded for their struggle. Happy endings do exist, I’ve seen it firsthand. If your characters have earned happiness, let them have it.

6. A trope you hate?

The villain has a point/Every villain gets redeemed. I know I’m cheating, but the two have been used together enough times that it counts. When they’re well written, these tropes are fantastic, but they don’t need to be a requirement. Some of my favorite villains are the ones that are pure evil and are doing evil because they want to and it’s FUN. Ursula from the Little Mermaid, The White Witch from Narnia, the Joker. Complex villains are great when handled properly, but over-saturation leads to trope fatigue. I’m looking forward to a return of the classic Disney villains that are evil and own it.

7. Do you think characters have to suffer for a book to be good?

No, I don’t. Struggle isn’t the same as suffering. Struggle means to make strenuous effort in the face of difficulty or opposition, to proceed with difficulty and effort. To suffer means to submit to or be forced to endure. A book is about a character trying to accomplish a goal despite opposition of one form or another; they struggle towards a goal, but they don’t necessarily suffer for it. For example, in The Martian, Mark Watney struggles to survive on a deserted planet. Andy Weir focused more on the problem-solving, rather than the psychological trauma any other writer would’ve prioritized. The character does suffer, sure, but it’s the struggle that matters.

8. What is the aesthetic of your current WIP?

I’m sure there’s another name for it, but I’ve been calling it Necrobotany or Persephone. Poppies, bones bleached white, lily-of-the-valley, pomegranates, dead leaves on cobblestone, a weeping willow, black lace, wisteria, deadly nightshade, white chiffon, a wrought-iron gate, the singing of a monastery choir, ravens, a crown of thorns, a full moon shining on a lake, the ringing of a lone church bell, and leaves rustling in the wind.

9. Planner or pantser?

A bit of both; you should at least have an idea of where you’re going and what will happen next, but you shouldn’t be afraid to let different ideas in. You can have a really good idea, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way you expected; maybe someone suggests something better, or maybe you realize something you hadn’t thought of before. If you focus on just what you’d planned to do, you might miss some really great opportunities.

10. Do you write only original works, or also fanfiction?

Fanfiction is great writing practice, a way to enjoy the fandoms you’re a part of, and hives of creativity. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across fan works that are as good if not better than the actual canon. If you have the energy to write, but have hit a roadblock on your original work, fanfiction can be an excellent way to keep your creative juices flowing without beating your head against writer’s block.

Some questions I’d ask:

1. What’s your favorite trope and why?

2. What’s your favorite romance from a story (book, movie, show, comic, etc.)?

3. What’s one character from a story that you DESPISE, and why?

4. Is there a bad trope you’ve seen done well (man in a dress, love triangles, etc.)?

5. Why do you like your favorite book (it can be a theme, a character, a quote, or a scene)?

6. Do you ask friends or family to read and review your WIP?

7. What’s one thing you think a retelling or remake did better than the original story (Disney’s live-action remakes, twisted fairy tales, etc.)?

8. What’s your favorite movie based on a book and why?

9. What’s one book or story you’d love to see get a good movie adaptation?

10. Which is more interesting to you, a ruthless hero or a benevolent villain?

I’m gonna tag @damngoodcookies @alsoaleteia @selfdestructivegirl13 @wordsnstuff @ancient-depressed-druid @jamesmarchioriblog @angrylamapirate @asiaredgrave @thecaffeinebookwarrior and @katsens-writing

You don’t have to, of course, but I’d love to see what you guys think.

#10 questions tag #writing tag #tag games #writing

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allbeendonebefore · 5 years

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ahhh I love the OC ask thing!! Would you mind doing 9, 15, 17, 26, and 34?

9. Do you have a faceclaim / voiceclaim for your OC?

Not at all (beyond me creating them in a time I was voice acting for IAMP and I vowed I could not be the one to voice them because I was already using up all my voices for other characters lmao)

and no calvin doesn’t have the Rural AB High School Boy voice EVEN THOUGH he was inspired by rural ab high school boys i knew. maybe mac does

and i don’t have face claims but sometimes I randomly encounter people that look like my ocs like that time it was a hot summer day and I was walking home from the grocery store unintentionally following this guy like ‘is that ed’ (AND SOMETIMES they interact with me and I die like that time i accidentally met IRL calvin on a plane)

15. If your OC could have any pet, what would they choose? Why?

Edward has been a dog person since birth. Aside from the passage in Cecil E. Denny’s memoir that I based this comic off, I was recently reading a passage from Alexander Ross’ accounts that was basically like “the wife doesn’t need her blanket but GOD FORBID the husband doesn’t have his dogs and the dogs don’t have their ribbons and bells” and thats ed lmao. However, he doesn’t have dogs at the moment because he no longer has the excuse that dog sledding is a Necessary and Important activity, so in his quest for Necessary and Important tasks he’s currently looking into urban chicken keeping (which is a legal loophole he has been flouting since the 1920s that livestock aren’t supposed to ‘run amok in the streets of edmonton’... which they won’t do if they’re in his backyard...

Calvin has owned animals of many kinds since he was a sprout as well and while he loves them all and has said goodbye to many, his current lifestyle of penthouse living and travelling often isn’t super conducive to having a pet (his ideal would obviously be sugarfoot from heartland lmao). However, he does have at least one horse, possibly dogs and a barn cat here or there (which Caroline keeps track of) and though cattle aren’t pets Calvin will still act like his are (which Bert takes care of)

17. How do they make a living? What kind of job do they want / not want? What is their dream job? What do they think of their current job?

This is a good question because there’s not really any hard and fast rule about how an avatar Has to make a living. Edward currently is working in some capacity for the City (as mentioned in chapter 1) because for him it’s a form of self care (even though it also stresses him out). It’s something he had been avoiding for a long time because he doesn’t perceive himself as a “responsible” person. I like to think that he’s an anonymous person on the 311 line every so often, but he might be doing other stuff like the odd temp work or bus driving. Ed also sells produce at local markets (but he usually gets his sister to do that for him... or she takes the initiative without telling him maybe).

Of course, both of them have had jobs in O&G (usually Ed being the O and Cal being the G, one blue collar and one white). Ed was on the rigs for a couple seasons during a recent economic boom slash depressive episode and has been many times before - while he won’t disparage the work or the pay he certainly doesn’t enjoy it. Calvin has always been more in the business of speculation and administration and it’s assumed that he gets the vast majority of his income through this and related sources, he also loves to talk and present and to build relationships with people so he really likes his cushy office job. Somewhat ironically he doesn’t always bring that aspect into his municipal/government work because he’s too busy with his “real job”, and when his “real job” falls through in a recession he can either be everyone’s worst nightmare or he can finally redirect all his positive energy towards them (sometimes those overlap) (it depends on the weather).

26. Who is the most important person in their life? Why? Who is the least important to them (that still has an impact and why?

For Ed and Cal the most important people are always each other. I tend to find it weird when they’re not portrayed/perceived as interdependent to the point of being inextricable from each other’s identities. Sure they ignore each other a lot and step over or on each other depending on the situation, but if one ceased to exist the other would probably be thrown into an absolute identity crisis.

Least important is harder, not sure if it’s intended in more of a “couldn’t care less maybe” or “hate this person so much i wish they’d get out of my way”. I’d have to think about that a lot more before I could come up with a good answer, because even people they rarely see they might still care about in one way or another.

34. What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually?

Just from skimming Calgary histories, marching bands come up a lot so I always laugh at the idea of him in one of those (I always think of that time that Nenshi literally called in the Stampede marching band in to help him sing Let it Go when he lost a hockey bet with the mayor of Anaheim). Calvin would have played every possible role at one point or another in that so I’m not sure what his usual would be. But he likes pomp, circumstance, instruments, uniforms, marching, all that stuff. And then there’s rodeo on top of that too which is a whole other can of worms.

Ed tends to be more anti-social than Calvin and has tried to avoid a lot of things, but he still has his own interests and groups I’m sure. The ski club for instance has been a big deal and I think he’s definitely the sort of person who does guided walks in the river valley or trips out to Elk Island etc. He also gets roped into Fringe and other arts events on occasion by his sister, or he’ll do some volunteering at festivals such as Heritage Days (and performing at them if you’re very very lucky).

#hapo replies #projectcanada cities #pc headcanon #pc: edmonton #pc: calgary #ask meme #meme-too

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gumroad · 5 years

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Bad*ss product ideas that have turned into giants on Gumroad.

One question we get again and again over here at Gumroad is... What are some product ideas that will make me some moolah?

It is a great question, a lovely question. It is the type of question we like to hear. In fact, we like the question so much that we created this massive article to better answer it.

But, let’s hit pause for a moment.

For those of you who have never heard of Gumroad... we don’t sell bubble gum. But, we can certainly help you sell your bubble gum. That is... if you are a bubble gum craftsman.

We can help you sell anything, actually.

We are a super simple e-commerce and audience building software for creators, educators, writers, designers and influencers looking to make money doing whatever it is they love.

Thus far, we have helped thousands of creators collectively make over $200 million (that is million with an “M”).

Now, where were we?

Oh. Yes. Product ideas to sell on Gumroad.

5 product ideas selling like crazy on Gumroad that you can draw some serious inspiration from.

It doesn’t matter how sweet Gumroad is. If you don’t have a product idea you are crazy about, then our platform isn’t going to do you much good.

Fortunately, we are going to play cupid for the next fifteen minutes and introduce you to a few creators on our platform that have created wildly awesome things that are now selling like hotcakes... Chocolate chip hotcakes.

(Side note: who the hell calls pancakes, hotcakes?)

While we would prefer you don’t just outright steal any of these product ideas –– that’s a big no-no–– we are extremely confident they will spark some serious inspiration in you.

Or, at least we hope so.

Without further ado, here are some product ideas on Gumroad we ourselves are chomping at the bit to buy...

1. A series of illustrated essays about The Office (the TV show not the actual office, that would be boring).

Shea Serrano is a former teacher that today makes his living slinging words as an author and journalist. He is extremely well known for his works over at The Ringer and ESPN’s Grantland (RIP).

In his spare time, he will entertain the Twittersphere with his hilarious thoughts on sports, culture and everything in-between.

And, when he isn’t doing that, he is writing essays about The Office.

In July of last year, Shea chose Gumroad of all places to shower the world with his Dunder Mifflin riffings. We were beyond flattered.

Shea’s ten brilliantly illustrated essays about The Office made its debut with a single tweet...

“we made a thing it’s 10 illustrated essays about The Office and you can pay $20 and then own it and look at it on your phone or computer or whatever it’s beautiful go get it... http://scrantonproject.com”

And, it was all history after that as Conference Room, Five Minutes took Gumroad by storm.

You can buy this digital product for the paperless world, here. Or, you can start selling a digital product (or a paper product), here. Decisions, decisions.

In all seriousness, what product ideas can you pull from Shea Serrano’s recent essay series?

If you have a favorite TV show (and don’t we all have a favorite TV show?)... share your thoughts about it, craft some pretty pictures and illustrations around it and then just make it into a digital downloadable product like an ebook. Chances are if you love the show, others do, too.

And, in Shea’s experience, people will pay a pretty penny to read things about things they love.

2. A comic book about falling in love with a vampire at a blood drive.

Marketing gurus adore firing off phrases like “find your niche”... “niche down”... “there’s money in the niches”.

If you are one of the lucky few that have never heard these phrases, what they mean is to find a small segment of the human population that is willing to cough up their hard-earned money for whatever the heck it is you are selling... and market to them.

The problem many creators run into is attempting to create a product that appeals to everyone. And, in doing so, they end up creating a product that appeals to absolutely no one.

But... but... what if there aren’t enough customers in my niche for me to make a living (or half of a living)?

Our answer to that is... My Very First Vampire Blood Drive... a comic book about a girl that goes to a blood drive and ironically falls in love with a vampire.

Who is the target market?

Folks who enjoy comic books about mortals falling in love with vampires.

This little masterpiece has sold like crazy and it’s proof to the Gumroadsphere, and really the world as a whole, that there is money in the niches.

If comics about vampires make your mouth water, you can get your hands on My Very First Vampire Blood Drive, here. Or you can sell a comic book of your own (or really anything for that matter), by gently rubbing your thumb, here.

Vampires aside, comic books tend to do really really well on Gumroad.

If you tore through comic books as a kid and have a cool niche obsession... create a story around it, turn it into a comic book and sell it on Gumroad. There is a good chance others have that cool niche obsession, too.

As Fred, the serial-entrepreneur, says in the tightly packed coffee shop in Silicon Valley to the young aspiring wide-eyed entrepreneur... “there is money in the niches, young blood.”

3. An alternative indie comedy channel with a cult following.

Sam Hyde is a comedian birthed from the Rhode Island-based comedy group, Million Dollar Extreme or MDE. The three-man comedy squad ignited the web with giggles during the early 2010s as they captured videos of themselves hilariously screwing with random unassuming folks.

Hyde, in particular, gained a cult following as he pulled bigger, badder, much more public facing stunts like his “2070 Paradigm Shift” TEDx Talk speech at Drexel University. Give it a watch. It’s incredibly uncomfortable.

By 2015, Hyde’s career had reached an all-time high after he sold a show to Adult Swim. Unfortunately, what goes up... has a way of eventually coming down. Shortly after it aired, Adult Swim decided to cancel the show due to Hyde’s extremely controversial humor.

Hyde is still chugging, though. The comedian has now thrown a price tag on his giggles and has placed his shows and stunts behind a paywall on Gumroad, charging his fans $5 a month.

While here at Gumroad we certainly don’t support Hyde’s more controversial humor, we do support creative expression.

Regardless of your stance on Hyde’s humor, his success on Gumroad’s platform is hugely inspiring, which we will touch on in greater detail here momentarily.

But, first, if you have a dark twisted sense of humor, Hyde can be found here. And, if you want to create your own comedy show, you can get the ball rolling over on Gumroad, here.

Now, back to the inspiration. Whether you’re the next Kevin Hart or the least funny person in the world, there is one major lesson that can be pulled from Hyde...

Youtube Channels, podcasts and blogs have allowed creators to build large followings... but they have made it very difficult for these creators to monetize these followings.

Whether you’re a comedian creating skits on Youtube or some thinker that is sharing her insight on her blog, why not offer exclusive content to your audience behind a paywall on a platform like Gumroad?

You can still record your regular show or write your weekly blog post... but maybe, in addition to this, you offer exclusive content just to your paid subscribers.

Mark Manson, the author behind the New York Times Best Seller, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, does this on his website.

He has published hundreds of articles for free. But, offers exclusive content to subscribers who are willing to cough up a few extra dollars each month.

It seems to be working well for him. It probably would for you, too.

4. A digital handbook that teaches folks how to sketch like an architect.

Besides having a name right out of a 007 movie, David Drazil knows a thing or two about architecture. And, more specifically, sketching architecture.

Drazil is a budding architect, graphic designer and CG artist from the Czech Republic currently living, working and creating really awesome Gumroad products in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Somewhere on Drazil’s path as an architect, he had a very exciting and lucrative realization... architects can draw really well and there are probably a few people out there that would be willing to pay to learn how to draw like them.

No, we aren’t for certain if his realization was this long-winded nor worded quite like this (we can’t read minds, after all)... but you get the idea.

Ultimately, some thought of Drazil’s led him to create the hugely popular digital handbook, Sketch like an Architect, where he teaches both aspiring architects or just folks looking to draw like them, how to breathe life into beautiful architectural pictures.

What product ideas can be inspired from Drazil’s work?

If you’ve lived on this Earth for at least a decade, there is a good chance you have a hobby or a skill or a passion that you are better at than 99% of people.

So... make a handbook.

If you know how to whittle wood… make a handbook.

If you know how to care for succulents... make a handbook.

If you know how to make delicious homemade ice cream... make a handbook.

If you know how to make backpacks out of recycled cement bags... make a handbook.

Sometimes, the best product ideas are simply sharing what you already know and slapping a price tag on it.

Heck, you don’t even have to slap a price tag on it. Drazil, for example, let’s his customers choose what they want to pay for his Sketch like an Architect handbook.

You’re a good guy, Drazil. And, a gosh darn good architect.

Anyway, if you’re a horrible drawer and want to change that, you can get your hands on Drazil’s handbook here. And, if you have a handbook you want to create yourself, why not sell it on Gumroad?

5. A piece of software that helps writers (and non-writers) write better.

We are sure you have probably heard of the acronym “K.I.S.S.” before... and no, we aren’t talking about the iconic 80s rock band.

It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. We like to play nice here at Gumroad so we use the word “Silly” rather than “Stupid”. But, you get the idea.

Anyhow, it is advice often given to novices overcomplicating things that don’t need to be complicated.

When it comes to writing, both writers and non-writers tend to struggle with the acronym, using big complex language and jargon that is difficult to understand.

If you are in business, you’ve probably been a victim of this.

Do any of these ring a bell?

Circle the wagons.

Low-hanging fruit.

Move the needle.

Core competency.

Open the kimono.

Put out some feelers.

Thankfully, there is an app for that. Brothers Adam and Ben Long created Hemingway, an application that proofreads writing for wordy sentences, adverbs, passive voice and other horrible lexical atrocities.

In a lovely interview with The New Yorker, the Long brothers shared some of the back story behind their creation…

“After spending our days writing, we realized a common mistake: sentences easily grow to the point that they became difficult to understand. The worst part is we didn’t realize we were doing it. Our text was more clear and persuasive when we kept it simple. While complaining about it on the phone, we decided there should be an easy way to help people realize when their writing was too dense.”

The duo decided to create a product that would scratch their own itch. And, thus, the Hemingway App was born. Obviously, named after Ernest Hemingway, the author known widely for his tremendous brevity.

While not everyone is capable of creating a software application, the Long brothers are certainly not technology whiz kids. Nope. Adam works in marketing in North Carolina and Ben is a copywriter living in the big apple.

A lovely aspect about being alive in 2019 is that it is possible to create a software application... even if you don’t have the chops to built it yourself.

If you have an idea, sites like Toptal, Guru and Upwork allow you to breathe life into that idea... and sites like Gumroad let you sell it.

If you tend to get a bit long-winded with your writing and are guilty of getting a little fancy with your language, you can check out the Hemingway app right here. If, on the other hand, you have an idea you’d like to turn into a piece of software, get set up on Gumroad so you can sell it once it is alive.

Which of these product ideas are right for you?

Gumroad is wonderful in that it offers everything you need from an e-commerce and audience-building standpoint whether you’re selling software or coloring books.

However, this makes coming up with the perfect product idea to sell on the platform, challenging. Hopefully, you were able to draw some serious inspiration from the product ideas we just shared that have turned into giants on Gumroad.

Quickly, let’s do an episode recap before you dive into ideation mode, shall we?

One...

Product ideas don’t always have to be crazy original. They can simply be you sharing your thoughts on a popular TV show, movie, book or sports team in pop culture. That’s what Shea did with Conference Room, Five Minutes.

Two...

Product ideas don’t have to appeal to everyone. In fact, it might be better if they only appealed to a select few people. Niching down (oh lord we hate that word) is good for business. If you’re skeptical, My Very First Vampire Blood Drive should dissolve this skepticism.

Three...

Product ideas can be as simple as offering great exclusive content to the audience you’re already giving away free content to. If you have an audience, be it large or small... there is a good chance you have some super fans existing somewhere in there. Ask those fans to pay for exclusive content... they just might. Ask Sam Hyde.

Four...

If you know how to do something reasonably well, you know how to do that something better than 99% of people in this world. Why not charge to teach that skill by making a handbook like the architect that might be an undercover 007 agent, David Drazil. Better yet, if you don’t know what to charge, just ask customers to pay what they can...

Five...

Scratch your own itch. And, if you don’t know how to make a back scratcher yourself, you can always hire someone else to make it for you. The Hemingway Editor is a great example of a marketer and copywriter deciding they were fed-up and downright tired of long-windedness, jargon and complex language. So, they created a back scratcher. And, if you by chance aren’t technically savvy... find someone who is.

And, once you create a product that just might change the world, don’t forget to sell the damn thing on Gumroad.

By Cole Schafer.

Cole is a marketer and ink-slinger that runs a tiny (but mighty) creative writing shop called Honey Copy that helps brands grow with pretty words.

#gumroad #marketing #design #productdesign

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