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"usually always" C'mon Miranda. Pick one.
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Jul 15, 2013 20:39
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"Raptor's Raiders?" asked Detective Black. "Yes. One of Iron Raptor's many 'ideas' on how to keep up fear levels in the populace," Thunderbolt explained. "They're a group of thrill rides led by the roller coaster Freakshow. While Iron Raptor's other enforcers only go after you if you break the rules, the Raiders don't bother with such distinctions. If they decide you're finished, you're finished, no matter which side you support or what you've done." "The Raiders have done the most good and the most bad for the Resistance out of any of Raptor's creatures," Terry added as he stripped off his shirt. "Everyone wants to join up with us when they hear who the Raiders have massacred, but then they run away once they see it for themselves." The horn sounded again, and Detective Black watched bemused as nearly everybody on the ship began to take off their clothing. Black remembered Thunderbolt's earlier explanation that a naked body was necessary to safely transform into ride form, but the idea of a spontaneous mass orgy would've made Black laugh if it weren't for the terrified look on everyone's faces. "So what's happening now?" he asked. "Everyone's going into ride form. We're more durable that way. Might live long enough to get away. I'm afraid a lot of us will sink to the bottom of this river and never come back up, though." "Sherry knows. She's heading for the riverbank now." Black and Thunderbolt were both startled by the appearance of the monkey automaton who had booked their passage earlier. "It's a drat shame the river is so wide through here; it'll take us minutes to reach the shore. And if Freakshow spots us before then..." "Can't we fight them?" Black asked, reaching for his sidearm. "It's not like I'm unarmed, and if you can fight Freakshow head on--" "We can't, Richard!" Thunderbolt nearly shouted, gripping Black's shoulders. "Don't think I wouldn't if I could, but none of us here are a match for Freakshow. Look, you know we roller coasters have power over things the color of our bodies, right? Well, were you around for the late sixties? Hippies, psychedelics, tie-dye t-shirts? Freakshow was made back when that was the fashion, and a whole rainbow went into her chassis. Meaning..." "...Meaning she can control basically everything she sees," Black finished, the horror of her abilities seeping in through the vanished wound in his gut. "So is there anything we can do?" "Survive," Thunderbolt replied, barely keeping his face calm. "Even without Freakshow, all the other passengers are gentle rides. None of them know how to form a violent thought in their heads, let alone fight. There's nothing we can do for them; I'd offer to speed them away once we hit the shore, but my ride form is known to the Raiders and I'd be nothing but a moving target." "And we're out of time!" the monkey shouted, pointing upriver to where a second swinging ship, armored for inversions and patterned after a space shuttle, had just appeared from around the river bend. "Over the side, Terry!" Thunderbolt screamed. Terry obliged by leaping over the viking ship's rattling shields and transforming mid-jump, splashing into the water as a giant cream-white teacup, bobbing upside-down like a giant buoy. "After me, Richard!" the old man added as he followed Terry and dove into the river. Black took a moment to strip off his jacket, then toppled overboard as the shield he was propping himself on came loose in his hand. Coming up for a breath, Black watched as the multicolored shields all lifted themselves from the ship's railing and began to fly across the deck. Black paused as the first screams of agony began, but then ducked underwater and into the bubble of air Terry sheltered. Thunderbolt was already there. "Good. Now I'm going to lower us down." The detective grabbed hold of one of the inverted seats and felt the current of the river shift as the three of them submerged. Black grew nervous as the air bubble shrank, the growing water pressure compressing the air pocket to match. "So...how much air do we have, here?" Black asked. "Not much more than a few minutes, but it'll all be over by then. In case it isn't, I'm also moving us upstream right now. With luck we'll be past the Raiders' ship by the time we need to surface." Thunderbolt's voice quavered with every word. The two were silent for a time, but then a thought occurred to Detective Black. "Not to pry, but I get the feeling you've done this before." "We have. Terry and I have worked together since I joined the Resistance. He acts as my shield, and with my powers he's nearly invulnerable. Now please be quiet, we're wasting air." Black obliged, and for several minutes the only sounds came from splashes and impacts that reverberated from the battle site as it faded into the distance. Then Detective Black noticed a steady whimpering sound coming from Thunderbolt and recalled a fact regarding the psychic psychology of roller coasters. "Thunderbolt...are you giggling?" Thunderbolt took a deep, controlled breath, then responded, "Richard, have you ever found yourself forced to laugh when someone you loved died in front of you?" Black had to admit he had no idea what that would be like, but he did know just how terrible and guilty he would feel afterwards. "Because the moment I was forced to do that was the moment I joined the Resistance."
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Jul 16, 2013 00:21
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Well, you managed to make Freakshow a credible threat while keeping her in the scope of the settings you created. And now she's not "hormonal and ugly". You know, despite the fact that I've gone through Twisted! more than couple of times because of this threat, I had entirely forgotten that Angeltrack had been Thunderbark's mate. So when I read that last bit I felt it was a bit of a cop-out and cliche that Thunderbolt lost lost a loved one. It took me a while to remember the fact that Angeltrack was not just Railrunner's mother, which was the most important aspect about Angeltrack even though it was Thunderbark who was the only one who spoke about her. All he said was how she was Railrunner's mother. Just another thing that Miranda is bad at.
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Jul 16, 2013 00:44
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If there was a secret project going on, there might exist a thing such as a teaser. The teaser might include reordered (but completely unaltered) fragments of the book, and may include an inserted commentary line or two.
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Jul 16, 2013 03:12
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Iced Cocoa posted:You know, despite the fact that I've gone through Twisted! more than couple of times because of this threat, I had entirely forgotten that Angeltrack had been Thunderbark's mate. So when I read that last bit I felt it was a bit of a cop-out and cliche that Thunderbolt lost lost a loved one. It took me a while to remember the fact that Angeltrack was not just Railrunner's mother, which was the most important aspect about Angeltrack even though it was Thunderbark who was the only one who spoke about her. All he said was how she was Railrunner's mother. I don't consider it too cliché under the circumstances. The way Iron Raptor's been killing anyone who dares to defy him and even those who don't, pretty much everyone has had someone dear to them die. For what I hope are obvious reasons, that goes double for anyone desperate enough to join the Resistance. The widespread hatred for Iron Raptor and pity for the Resistance are why Thunderbolt wasn't afraid of discussing Resistance details openly on the ship, too.
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Jul 16, 2013 03:40
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^^^ What made me feel like this was a copout was the fact that I didn't see it coming at all. No buildup to it as far as I could see. As I said, Thunderbark did have Angeltrack as mate in the original Twisted!, but I had honestly forgotten that little fact. When I read it, it just felt like "By the way -" I might have been just tired when reading it. my dad posted:If there was a secret project going on, there might exist a thing such as a teaser. Oh god this is priceless.  I had expected a general radio drama but this is much better.
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Jul 16, 2013 10:05
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Iced Cocoa posted:I had expected a general radio drama but this is much better. (Insert "maybe" or "hypothetically" where needed) Well, think of this as a trailer for a movie. It does not depict scenes in order or within context, it just combines some parts of the movie in such a way to encourage the audience to see the whole thing.
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Jul 16, 2013 11:00
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Somewhat related: http://weburbanist.com/2010/03/17/uber-creepy-tour-abandoned-six-flags-new-orleans-69-pics/
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Jul 16, 2013 13:17
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I gave up after 34 chapters and skipped to the last two. I'm sort of mildly surprised that crazy Miranda made the story go back into the normal world instead of keeping it all in Amusement Park Between (which is the most awkward name for anything ever). Also Rodney/Railrunner is the stupidest big baby of a homicidal maniac to ever be presented as a protagonist.
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Jul 18, 2013 12:10
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Foxhound posted:Amusement Park Between (which is the most awkward name for anything ever). Yes. What is it between? The real world and _______? 
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Jul 18, 2013 14:37
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When he and Detective Black were gasping for air, Thunderbolt caused Terry to resurface. They stayed up just long enough to refresh their air, then submerged again. Thunderbolt repeated the process twice more before risking a look, and what they saw shocked them. The fight had been over since the first time they went up for air. Not far from where they had left the ship a dark plume of smoke rose from the shore. Debris bobbed in the waves, some of it from man-made objects and some from trees and underbrush uprooted during the melee. The Raiders' ship was now almost out of sight, its horn blowing a warning once more. "Come on. We have to see what's left," Thunderbolt said, his voice drained of emotion. With a wave of his hand, Terry flew toward the shore. Upon reaching the scene, Detective Black was reminded of the dark night he had first confronted Railrunner. Then as now, bodies were scattered throughout the area, limp and lifeless. Admittedly the parts had been organic and the fluid blood back in Black's plane, but the scrapped steel and fiberglass and the splashes of lubricating oil no less marked the violent end of living beings. After a moment of silence, Thunderbolt picked up a slightly curved piece of steel and began to dig. Terry resumed his human form and did the same, not bothering to put his clothes back on. Finding a likely scrap of his own, Rick joined their efforts. As Richard Black dug into the dark soil, he began to notice that Thunderbolt was muttering to himself. Although the area was quiet beyond the sound of digging, it still took Black some time to realize what Thunderbolt was saying: "Merciful God, hear the cries of our grief, for you know the anguish of our hearts. It is beyond our understanding and more than we can bear. Accept our prayer that as these fallen have been released from this world's cruelty so may they be received into your safe hands and secure love. We pray that justice may be done and that we may treasure the memory of their lives more than the manner of their deaths. For Christ's sake. Amen." "Amen," Black echoed. Thunderbolt paused to regard him, but then resumed his digging. The long day was nearly over by the time they had finished burying the dead. Fortunately, the group was not far away from a campground clearing, which had naturally occurring dome tent bushes, canvas trees, log shrubs that concealed kerosene mushrooms, and empty fire-pit burrows. As the three men sat around their fire toasting marshmallow and hot dog reeds from the nearby riverside, Black finally spoke up. "You know, I joined the police force because it meant I wouldn't have to run away when things like this happened." Thunderbolt brought his marshmallow out of the fire and carefully turned it until every side was charred black. "I may not have been a cop, but I understand. I became a contact because I couldn't let lost rides remain lost the way I was. I joined the Resistance...because... "There was once a roller coaster I knew named Railway to Heaven. I called her Angel. I used to joke she was named after the song, but we didn't really know. It's an old enough phrase it could have been from anything. "Roller coasters don't often hunt together thanks to our psychic empathy. It's exhilarating to chase down a fat pig or a frightened deer, but when you feel that excitement from a hunting partner, both will get a sense of fear and suddenly it's all a bit less fun. But for Angel and me, it was worth it. A little fear is good for the soul, and it was like we were flying down the lift hill every time we...well. "We thrill rides may not be suited to hunting together, but fighting each other is another matter. It's all great fun, and a good way to establish dominance. Occasionally someone would die, but so what? Accidents happen. Heck, I've been a few tussles in my time, but that all ended with Angel. I couldn't stand to lose her, or to hurt her by losing myself. So we became contacts. Things were good, and for a good long while. "We found out about Iron Raptor when we climbed out a portal he had secured while we were away. He gave us the usual choice: obedience or death. Angel...she knew it wasn't right. We both did, but she came through first and she was always the louder one. It was a dark night, but Raptor brought in torches just so I could watch as he killed her." The reed snapped in Thunderbolt's hand and his forgotten marshmallow fell into the fire. "He put her through so much pain I couldn't help but laugh. I couldn't. I couldn't...help her. They bound my chest in steel so I couldn't change. And the last thing she ever saw...was me. Laughing at her." Detective Black couldn't see well in the flickering light, but he didn't need to see to know Thunderbolt was sobbing. Terry had remained respectfully silent throughout Thunderbolt's story, but he now spoke up. "He escaped by swearing allegiance on the spot, then tracked down the Resistance the next day. We crossed paths a few months later when my community was attacked by the Raiders. We were a dozen before, but I was...I was the only one he could save." "This has to end," Thunderbolt managed, slowly calming himself down. Detective Black could only nod.
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Jul 19, 2013 03:35
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Holy gently caress Bobbin.
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Jul 19, 2013 06:11
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As always you make amazing things. If there is some sort of mailing list/tumblr/whatever where I can read samples of your upcoming book (The "Show other people" phase), I would very much want to subscribe. Also, more insert illustrations from the new version (click for larger if you are sadistic):  Rodney having some problems, before he got taken over by the beast called Railrunner   I guess instead of closing books dramatically, that laptop lid is going to be closed dramatically couple of times.   Apparently swamps in Amusement Park Between are filled with non-Newtonian fluids and nothing else! Poor Thunderbark forgot to keep running in order to stay afloat.
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Jul 20, 2013 01:48
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Why is the man on the right's arm so wrong
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Jul 20, 2013 04:58
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Kjoery posted:Why is the man on the right's arm so wrong Same problem as the earlier picture of Railrunner, I think. The torso is drawn as if it's flat against the back of the chair, but the front shoulder is placed as if he's leaning his other shoulder against the chair, so it seems too far forward of its position. That, and his wrist is wrong. It looks as if he's got no wrist, and on top of that, his forearm is a bit too long. Elbow to knuckles should be about the same as elbow to shoulder (at least it is on my body) but it's a lot longer. That's not the only thing wrong with that particular one, though. She's using one-point perspective but consider where the vanishing point would be and try to reconcile the perspective you see on the laptop and the book. Hell, just the laptop and the books make no sense at all, and don't look at where Rodney's legs disappear off to, because if you look there, you'll notice that the chair has no seat and he's apparently standing with his butt up against the back of a seatless chair.
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Jul 20, 2013 05:36
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Iced Cocoa posted:
Apparently one of his problems was getting his right hand smashed with a hammer.
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Jul 20, 2013 07:20
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Iced Cocoa posted:
Also I still like how all of these take place in featureless brown crosshatch hell.
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Jul 20, 2013 13:32
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Iced Cocoa posted:As always you make amazing things. If there is some sort of mailing list/tumblr/whatever where I can read samples of your upcoming book (The "Show other people" phase), I would very much want to subscribe. This is way better  And where's Clare with her beautiful neck and horrible plaque and periodontal disease?  STUPID loving DRAWINGS posted:
GODDAMNIT why do they always look so goddamn smug? I loving hate their stupid eyebrows and their stupid mouths and their stupid cheekbones and UGH.
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Jul 20, 2013 19:22
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Iced Cocoa posted:
quote:
Pick fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Jul 20, 2013 |
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Jul 20, 2013 23:00
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Pick posted:That's okay, his huge floppy bordello tits will keep his head above water. Man, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who saw that. I had to look at it for a good minute or two before I figured out it was his chest and arm and not Thunderbark's huge rack.
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Jul 21, 2013 00:18
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:Man, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who saw that. I had to look at it for a good minute or two before I figured out it was his chest and arm and not Thunderbark's huge rack. Same. On another level, I've been wondering how the hell those legs/arms twist to make them functional coasters without breaking every bone in their extremeties. Ranks up there with 'how does Shadowtrack ride an actual track without her (thanks for that completely unnecessary detail miranda!) boobs hitting the slats.' New powers: doublejointed contortionist; retractable boobs (and potentially babies if obviously pregnant)
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Jul 21, 2013 03:52
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~Fanfictions~ posted:Vicks ran towards Mystic Park's main plaza. The plan was simple: get his men into position after finding Railrunner, lure him into an open area and then unleash everything they got. Seraphic Neoman fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Aug 9, 2013 |
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Jul 21, 2013 06:05
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For some reason I've just marathoned this thread. Apart from the horrible characterisation, nonsensical plot and psychotic 'heroes', you know what really bugs me? Those loving wheel-fingers. They're useless as fingers. They're useless as wheels - just look at those loving things, there's no way they could turn. They're useless as weapons as they're described - claws out of the middle aren't going to work unless you're rolling forwards and scrapping against your opponent's side. Maybe if they had sharpened centres or something? Like those pizza slicing things maybe.
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Jul 21, 2013 12:51
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More stuff from the new book. Yep, that's fooling everyone.  quote:Red roller coaster, Railrunner, has made quite a reputation among humans during his few violent "rampages" Clare is the only human that he truly trusts.  quote:Swinging ships are the largest rides in Between. They come in many shapes and sizes with the "reptilian" style being the most common. These ships are perhaps the most primitive of all the rides without the gift of speech (So intelligence is dependent on ride species, or swinging ships are hopelessly mute). The swinging ships are used to carry goods down the Achterbahn and other rivers from city to city and sometimes have sails hanging upon their pendulums. They are docile and feed on fish by diving down (They live in rivers, how huge has the river to be for them to dive in it?!) and the trees overhead like giraffes. Ships are smart enough to obey complex commands (Smart but not too smart, can't have anything that dares to attack a roller coaster because that thing looks like it can eat one whole) and their insides are spacious enough for many crew members - their organs being in the lower most part of the ship's underside. The giants propel themselves by their giant sea turtle like flippers, thus they spend most of their life in the water and very rarely come upon land to rest.  "Why am I in so terribly foreshortened piece?"  Can anyone figure out just how loving HUGE this is? 
Iced Cocoa fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Jul 21, 2013 |
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Jul 21, 2013 22:49
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This might be relevant to this thread:http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/person-thrown-from-six-flags-texas-giant-ride-killed-dies-216239501.html posted:
GBS thread about this - http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3560758
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Jul 22, 2013 00:00
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Railrunner strikes again
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Jul 22, 2013 05:46
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The seats still look like raised sunglasses, the necklace still looks like bling.
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Jul 22, 2013 05:51
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JosephWongKS posted:This might be relevant to this thread: Did they at least try to bring her back to life as a rollercoaster?
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Jul 22, 2013 09:12
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Behold, our secret project come to life! (Part 1 of 3). The rest will be forthcoming before too long, but I figured ten minutes is more than enough for a single dose.Iced Cocoa posted:As always you make amazing things. If there is some sort of mailing list/tumblr/whatever where I can read samples of your upcoming book (The "Show other people" phase), I would very much want to subscribe. I don't have a mailing list or anything, but I do have a Twitter account, @threadbaretales, which I update on occasion with status reports.
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Jul 22, 2013 16:47
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Bravo to all involved in that project. It felt to me that you all had the "feel" of each character spot on. I... can't say that I can't wait for the next bit, because it is still Twisted!, but at least you've made something good out of it.
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Jul 22, 2013 19:02
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Oblivion4568238 posted:Bravo to all involved in that project. It felt to me that you all had the "feel" of each character spot on. I... can't say that I can't wait for the next bit, because it is still Twisted!, but at least you've made something good out of it. You haven't seen anything yet. It gets better. Soooo much better.
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Jul 22, 2013 19:58
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The racist spiders are still the funniest poo poo ever. They were never important in the least either, were they?
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Jul 22, 2013 20:43
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Angrymog posted:For some reason I've just marathoned this thread. It's really loving weird because of how glaringly obvious it is that the wheels should be in the opposite orientation. Then he could roll around like they were roller skates or something instead of looking like a dumb loving frog. Pick fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Jul 22, 2013 |
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Jul 22, 2013 22:16
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:Behold, our secret project come to life! (Part 1 of 3). The rest will be forthcoming before too long, but I figured ten minutes is more than enough for a single dose. It's official -- if there's every a live action movie, Railrunner will be played by Gilbert Gottfried. I can't imagine it any other way now.
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Jul 23, 2013 03:56
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Pick posted:It's really loving weird because of how glaringly obvious it is that the wheels should be in the opposite orientation. Then he could roll around like they were roller skates or something instead of looking like a dumb loving frog. Or given that they're supr magical anthro-coasters, why not just give them the ability to morph their hands and feet into wheels at will? Or you could have them going throug the palms and soles - I'm thinking something a bit like those heely shoes. I have now spent more time thinking about the design of these things than Miranda has. 
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Jul 23, 2013 04:06
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Pick posted:It's really loving weird because of how glaringly obvious it is that the wheels should be in the opposite orientation. Then he could roll around like they were roller skates or something instead of looking like a dumb loving frog. There's a ton of way more sensible options to do it. So of course Miranda goes for the dumbest one. Also the secret project is glorious. Can't wait for parts 2 and 3. 
Focacciasaurus_Rex fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Jul 23, 2013 |
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Jul 23, 2013 20:55
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Ohboyohboyohboyohboy  IRONWHEEL!!! loving FINALLY! This is the first goddamn time Miranda has drawn him. And when I saw the thumbnail I seriously thought it was yet another Railrunner piece. Let's see what she has to say about him. quote:The very character that many of you have been bugging me about. Railrunner's nemesis, Ironwheel. He is truly a monster indeed, feeding on suffering - and sometimes his servants if he feels like it. Ironwheel is a large, black roller coaster whose face is painted to resemble his skull and his metal and leather is torn and scarred from past encounters with reds, who unfortunately lost their match with the leader of the Fallen race. Bloodthirsty is perhaps the best definition to describe him. He vile, ferocious, and will seek to kill anyone or anything that disagrees or goes against him. Ironwheel is one formidable opponent indeed. quote:Bloodthirsty is perhaps the best definition to describe him. He vile, ferocious, and will seek to kill anyone or anything that disagrees or goes against him. Bloodthirsty is perhaps the best definition to describe him. He vile, ferocious, and will seek to kill anyone or anything that disagrees or goes against him.  Reminds me of another character in the book. You all probably know whom.
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Jul 25, 2013 18:32
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lmao that goofy motherfucker has a seat piercing, that's the dumbest detail ever.
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Jul 25, 2013 18:43
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He also has a really weird eyebrow piercing. I don't think Miranda knows how piercings work or why people get them. She just throws them willy-nilly onto her characters. I can see Freakshow having a bunch of piercings, but I don't see Ironwheel having any and I certainly don't know why Railrunner has one when the only other pierced characters are villains...wait...no, I see exactly why Railrunner has one. Also piercings on roller coasters look loving stupid. I kind of like his little wrist things, though.
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Jul 25, 2013 18:53
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 01:04 |
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Voltin Bolt posted:lmao that goofy motherfucker has a seat piercing, that's the dumbest detail ever. I almost cried with laughter when I saw it. A loving seat piercing.
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Jul 25, 2013 19:31
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