#TNMS Ticker

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anyway i stayed up until 7 am redrawing this storyboard with updated art n some new camera angles... i may or may Not attempt to finish this in some capacity soon. who knows!

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Here’s some new concept arts for Ticker, Edward’s bodyguard!! was thinkin about him earlier but never actually got a chance to put my ideas down on paper, so here we are

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so Ticker can bleed but he also has a more enemy like form?

Right!! It depends on the context of the situation.

Ticker works for Edward and does a lot of the heavy lifting and dirty work that Edward can’t be damned to do himself. At the worst days, that can mean some pretty violent things. 

But it also means Ticker is the one to help Teal unload boxes and lift the heavier things in the Pawn Shop, and as a result he doesn’t always carry that M-Rated air about him, not like Eddie does. At the end of the day, he’s a bob-omb. A wind-up toy that just happens to have a very short fuse.

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idk if this is Relevant but ticker from the new mario story? needs more art jfdshgklng i'm love one (1) bomb boye…...

I was actually trying to redesign him on my last stream to look more like a bob-omb

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9 hours is a reasonable amount to stream, right?

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How many Tmns villains are there? Do they each do evil in a specific area? Like I'd think Shift would be villainous during racing etc?

I’ve got a few, just to start. But don’t think this list is exhaustive, since I’ve only really begun scratching the surface in terms of world building jlaksfha

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Basic TNMS Breakdown

Mario: Player One

* he’s new in town

The comic begins with Mario and follows him throughout most of the narrative (there will be multiple times were the plot will break off and follow the viewpoint of a different character, but it’s safe to say that Mario is the main focus).

Mario arrived to Toad Town on a black and green train, with a single luggage bag and an ad for a roommate above a tavern. He now lives with Saul Toad, a retired royal guardsman turned bartender, and will continue to live with him as the story progresses. Mario is an only child, and doesn’t seem to have any family waiting for him anywhere.

As the main character, Mario is expected to encounter and solve many problems that, normally, he wouldn’t have much obligation to do so. This includes taking on tasks like saving the Prince from the Koopa Queen, retrieving lost treasures, and helping citizens with their day-to-day lives. However, Mario is a pacifist, and refuses to do complete any of these tasks through any means of violence.

This proves difficult.

Saul Toad: The Tutorial

* more than he seems

Saul is Mario’s roommate. Mario showed up at his doorstep with an advertisement for a roommate with his address written on it. Saul never put out an ad for a roommate. However, Saul allowed Mario to stay, and let him work as a busser in his tavern. At the beginning of the comic, Saul is incredibly distrusting towards Mario and will even act coldly towards him.

Saul seems to have a wide knowledge on many topics and objects of the world, even more so for someone his age. He’s very secretive about his past, and the most he let Mario know was that he used to work at the Castle as a guardsman. When he retired, he followed his dream of becoming a bar owner to cater to travelers and adventures in Toad Town.

Toad Town’s population has since diminished from its former glory as the Mushroom Kingdom’s “hub town”, and Saul’s business has taken a hit. As the story progresses, Saul and Mario’s relationship will change and develop and Saul will begin teaching Mario more about the things he needs to learn to become an accomplished adventurer.

Anything more is to be discovered as the story progresses.

Pit Toadstool: The Prince

* a glorified spokesperson

Prince Toadstool rules over the Mushroom Kingdom, next to his adviser, Toadsworth:

The Mushroom Kingdom is extremely well known across the mainland, known for it’s wide expanse of important and valuable resources and political powers. However, that makes Toadstool a very targeted autocrat, subject to threats (like kidnapping). 

Usually, Toadstool remains within the confines of the castle under Toadsworth’s careful hawk-like watch but recently the Prince has been getting restless, feeling as though he’s sitting back doing nothing to better his kingdom. So he’s been taking the matters into his own hands and sneaking out of the castle to try and find every day citizens that could need his help and assistance.

This stresses Toadsworth to no end and puts the Prince at an extremely high risk.

Bowsella: The Koopa Queen

* the end justifies the means

Bowsella is the ruler of the Koopa Kingdom.

The Koopa Kingdom and the Mushroom Kingdom have been butting heads for years now and are tiptoeing the lines of war between the two. Queen Bowsella has been endlessly trying to get the Mushroom Kingdom to absorb the Koopa Kingdom for land/resource purposes for the good of the Koopa Kingdom citizens.

Due to Prince Toadstool’s constant refusals, Bowsella has begun to take the matters of the kingdoms merging into her own claws. There’s talk of forced arranged marriage to force the two kingdoms together.

She, however, holds no romantic feelings for Prince Toadstool, and is doing this strictly for the benefit of her own kingdom.

Teal: The Kleptomaniac

* no damsel in distress

A Shy Gal who lives in Toad Town with their younger sibling Gold:

They work for Edward in his pawn shop behind the counter, and becomes interested in Mario after seeing him in passing in downtown Toad Town. Teal cares for Gold and makes sure they stay fed and in school, since moving to Toad Town alone with them was strictly for Gold’s best interest.

Edward and Teal have been dating for quite some time now, but with the way their relationship has developed, Teal has been caught stuck in an abusive relationship, not leaving him in fear of the unknown (whether he lashes out at Gold or completely pulls the plug on Teal’s steady income). She is more afraid of what he could do than what he already does, so she takes what Edward gives her in hopes things never escalate.

After meeting Mario, she slowly begins to let herself feel safe again.

Edward: The First Antagonist

* an unstoppable force  

Edward owns the Lucky Pawn and is the first nuisance Mario comes into contact with.

He’s a manipulative and smooth-talking abuser who will do whatever it takes and step on anyone he can to get to the top. Including using others to do his dirty work, like Ticker the Cherry Bob-Omb, who he uses as a bodyguard:

After learning Mario has made it to town, Edward begins to hyper-fixate on him and the implications of what it means that the Player One has finally come back, resulting in a complicated situation between Edward, Mario, Ticker and Teal. And once Edward’s threat is taken care of for the first time, we’ll be seeing more of him (and his father, Winston):

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More of the Friggin Confused Expression meme, this time now with my old Mario OCs to get me back in the swing of things!

I guess generic asks are open for them, now, too??

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Yo did you make ticker latino all of the sudden??? If so I'm into it

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may i introduce you all to...

THE CHART

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obligatory mario doodle dump to prove that i am in fact back from the dead

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hey pop can you tell me about your charaters? im super intrested in your shy gal and your bomb omb

It’s really interesting that you asked about them at the same time, since they’re kind of connected in a way. They’re both connected to one guy: a Big Bandit named Edward, who runs a Pawn Shop in the shady part of Toad Town.

Teal is Eddie’s “girlfriend”. I use the term very lightly because their relationship is unstable in the fact that Edward is violent with her. But that’s a separate story all together. She’d much rather spend time with “Mr. Mario” than Edward.Teal is, in a word, a kleptomaniac. She steals things without realizing it, and comes home with things in her hands she doesn’t recognize.

One time, she left Saul’s apartment with the television remote. Mario and Saul damn near lost their minds looking for it, tearing the apartment upside down, only for Teal to bring it back a week later, apologizing profusely.

Ticker, on the other hand, works for Edward as his sort of “meat shield”, for a lack of a better term. Kind of like a bodyguard, or an attack dog. Ticker has an awful temper. A “short fuse” so to speak. He’ll chase someone down the street for looking at him funny.

The fuse attached to the back of his head can ignite and burn out, causing an intense explosion that takes anything out within a 4 foot radius of him. This doesn’t necessarily hurt him in any way, just leaves him covered in ashes and embers (and maybe stuck with the bill for any property he destroys doing so).

Ticker is a Big Boy™ and because of this, is very imposing and intimidating. Edward pays him nicely, so he sticks around and does most of his dirty work so Edward doesn’t get his nice white pants dirty.

Edward is, and I’m putting this lightly, a fucking asshole.

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What is Winston & Edward's personality's like? I'm really interested in them!

Edward is manipulative, has violent tendencies, and drips honey when he speaks. He’s charming when you first meet him. He’s got a big smile and a voice like a warm fire.He can and will sell you your own belongings that he or his workers stole. 

 He’ll call you pet names that you’ll resent later. He’ll get you on his hip for the look of it and grip your shoulder so tight you bruise. He’ll grab the back of your neck, pull you close, and hiss through the teeth of his mask, “You belong to me.”

Anyone smaller than him is a toy for him to abuse and anyone bigger than him is a meat shield for him to stand behind.

And he learned it all from his father.