Emma's M&M2E Builds: Sunstone (Ally and Lisa), Hawkeye

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Scots Dragon
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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: SHAZAM!, KIMOTA!, Kamala Khan

Post by Scots Dragon »

Davies wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 11:30 am My one bit of feedback is that Zatanna's Variable seems a bit overpowered at 20 ranks. 16 ranks, with the possibility of Extra Effort giving her 18, is probably more than enough.
I bumped her down to Variable 15. Mostly I wanted to ensure she had enough power at her disposal to do magic stuff that hit her power level while also having enough left over for protective powers, but it's not that important.
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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: SHAZAM!, KIMOTA!, Kamala Khan

Post by Ares »

Very nice Captain Marvel build. And I agree, DC's lawsuit was basically baseless, which was why DC had to keep getting it appealed to higher courts. Clearly Cap was inspired by Superman, but by the third story Cap had come into his own, going to Venus, fighting sentient frog troopers and giant alien tentacle monsters, building a rocket with the Wisdom of Solomon, and really embracing the fun aspect of the character.

It's also a shame because Cap is directly responsible for Superman's jump in power level. Clark started out basically being a Luke Cage that could run fast and leap far. Then Captain Marvel comes in and starts lifting hundreds of tons and flying. So then Superman starts flying, develops sensory powers, x-ray vision, heat vision, and does something more impressive. Then Cap does something more impressive. To the point both characters were surviving atomic explosions and moving planets. Their rivalry was why Superman went from Hugo Danner with John Carter's origin to being powered by the Sun and basically being a living god. Without that rivalry, Superman might be a mid-level hero at best.

Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to the individual, but it's telling that after Fawcett agreed to stop publishing Cap, DC gave Superman his own "Mary Marvel", we got to see the adventures of a young Clark Kent as a "Superman Jr.", and his stories actually went beyond the fun of Cap's Golden Age stories into full blown Silver Age Silliness (though that was in large part due to the Comics Code's implementation).

Overall, Captain Marvel is my #1 hero, with Spider-Man being a solid second, and I'm always annoyed by how DC never gives the guy a chance unless it's Geoff John's bastardized version of the character.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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006: Ally and Lisa (Sunstone)

Post by Scots Dragon »

Image

Sunstone
By Stjepan Sejic

For at least one Pride Month build, here we have Sunstone. First published online as several pieces of contextless fetish art and then as a series of short comics which eventually evolved into a fully-fledged ongoing storyline, Sunstone is a queer romance comic that follows the growing relationship between two women brought together by their mutual interest in bondage and domination/submission. It's simultaneously extremely sexy and adorably sweet with both characters being pretty likeable, and it's very much a direct lesbian love story that simply happens to be extremely kinky.

Naturally the comic itself is incredibly not-safe-for-work and I'm going to avoid sharing much of that artwork here. It's pretty easy to find online, though, and is posted periodically on the author's DeviantART account.

Image

Allison 'Ally' Carter

Power Level: 3 (60pp)

Abilities: Strength 12 (+1), Dexterity 12 (+1), Constitution 14 (+2), Intelligence 16 (+3), Wisdom 12 (+1), Charisma 16 (+3)

Skills: Computers 6 (+9), Craft ['Use Rope'] 4 (+7), Disable Device 6 (+9), Diplomacy 6 (+7), Escape Artist 8 (+9), Intimidate 8 (+11), Knowledge [Business] 6 (+9), Knowledge [Popular Culture] 6 (+9), Perform [Dominance] 6 (+9), Profession [Computer Scientist] 8 (+9), Sense Motive 6 (+7), Sleight of Hand 6 (+7)

Feats: Benefit 2 (Wealth 2), Distract (Initmidate), Equipment, Fascinate (Intimidate)

Equipment: (5ep)
Eyeglasses (buys off nearsighted drawback; 1ep)

Big House (headquarters; 4ep)
Size: Medium; Toughness: 5; Features: Computer, 'Holding Cells', Living Space

Combat: Attack +1, Grapple +2, Defence +2 (+1 flat-footed), Initiative +1
Attacks: Unarmed +1

Saves: Toughness +2, Fortitude +3, Reflex +3, Will +6

Drawbacks: Disability (nearsighted, -1pp)

Abilities 22 + Skills 19 (76 ranks) + Feats 5 + Powers 0 + Combat 6 + Saves 8 - Drawbacks 0 = 60

Complications: Fetish (sexual domination), Guilt (the incident with Marion), Relationship/Love (Lisa), Safeword (Sunstone)

Ally, who naturally goes on top of this post, is the dominatrix of the two and has something of an awkward note to her past as a dominant. Although pretty skilled at using them, she doesn't often go in much for ropes in her bondage set-ups, preferring latex and chains due to a particularly nasty incident with a girl called Marion, which is detailed in the second volume. This is something that's core to her eventual character development.

Most of her skills are representations either of her computer expert stuff that gave her the wealth, or the necessary skills to make a proper kink relationship work.

The intimidation and distract/fascinate is basically just Domspace stuff.

Image

Lisa Williams

Power Level: 3 (55pp)

Abilities: Strength 12 (+1), Dexterity 14 (+2), Constitution 12 (+1), Intelligence 14 (+2), Wisdom 14 (+2), Charisma 16 (+3)

Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+6), Bluff 6 (+9), Craft [Writing] 8 (+10), Diplomacy 6 (+9), Escape Artist 2 (+4), Gather Information 8 (+11), Knowledge [Popular Culture] 4 (+6), Profession [Barista] 4 (+6), Perform [Submission] 6 (+9), Sense Motive 4 (+6)

Feats: Distract (Bluff), Endurance, Fascinate (Bluff), Taunt

Combat: Attack +2, Grapple +3, Defence +2 (+1 flat-footed), Initiative +2
Attacks: Unarmed +1

Saves: Toughness +1, Fortitude +5, Reflex +5, Will +3

Abilities 22 + Skills 13 (52 ranks) + Feats 4 + Powers 0 + Combat 8 + Saves 8 - Drawbacks 0 = 55

Complications: Aspiration (becoming a novelist), Fetish (sexual submission), Jealousy, Iconic Tic (lip-biting), Relationship/Love (Ally)

Lisa is the submissive in the story's main relationship, and is also our point of view character and main narrator, with a framing device being that she's writing the story as an after-the-fact memoir with her already being married to Ally. She kind of nearly tanks the whole relationship in the fourth volume when suffering a stab of the green eyed monster, though this is ultimately overcome in the fifth volume.

Most of her traits aren't all that different to those of Ally, but more or less in reverse. The bluff stuff is largely for brattiness and subspace stuff, but the majority of her high-level skills are in research and writing, given her role as narrator and author.
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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: Kamala Khan, Sunstone (Ally and Lisa)

Post by Woodclaw »

I love Sejic, but Sunstone felt really weird when I first read it. On one hand, is a one of the few really good representation of a BDSM relationship, on the other I really can't get behind the characters.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: Kamala Khan, Sunstone (Ally and Lisa)

Post by Scots Dragon »

Woodclaw wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 5:20 pm I love Sejic, but Sunstone felt really weird when I first read it. On one hand, is a one of the few really good representation of a BDSM relationship, on the other I really can't get behind the characters.
It's not for everyone. I personally dig it for some decent queer inclusiveness and BDSM rep that doesn't verge on simply being lesbians-are-hot fetishisation, which is kind of impressive given the fact that it's literally a fetish comic.
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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: Kamala Khan, Sunstone (Ally and Lisa)

Post by Jabroniville »

Oh neat- forgot to reply to this, since I'd checked it out at work. My bad.

I found the comic pretty interesting, and certainly the most well-written "Sexual Fetish/Smut Comic" out there (um, not that I've read a lot of those. Or anything), given that it would let the story breathe instead of cramming the smut onto every single page. The art and poses were very well done, and the expressions funny, though Sejic is definitely one of the worst modern-day artists for "SameFace"- his very detail-short face style (contrasting his HYPER-detailed outfit/scale style) puts a lot of the same shorthand on everyone's face, making the women look near-identical (this is at least diminished by him carefully making sure every female had different hair colors and styles, and by giving one character glasses). Thankfully his follow-up comic features a VERY different-looking woman in a big role. Plus had Wicked references that one time.

I did appreciate how the relationship developed- how Lisa got suuuuuuuper jealous over Ally flirting with Cop Girl (ugh I always forget the names of his characters- they use them fairly infrequently in-comic and the updates are so very far apart) and assuming she just slept around like nuts. Part of me wonders if there's a real "Kink Community" out there where everyone is as hot as these characters, though- a friend of mine was always dipping his toe into various groups like these, and the average person was more like something out of a Comic Con, not Vogue like these two were.

It does say something that he wrote a sex comic with tons of nudity and sexual fetishism in it, but still ended up with a very large female fanbase, AND a highly "Yay, respect women!" one, given how most of these end up. Goes to show you how you can go a long way if you create female characters who feel real or properly developed instead of one-note fetishists.
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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: Kamala Khan, Sunstone (Ally and Lisa)

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 12:12 pm I found the comic pretty interesting, and certainly the most well-written "Sexual Fetish/Smut Comic" out there (um, not that I've read a lot of those. Or anything), given that it would let the story breathe instead of cramming the smut onto every single page. The art and poses were very well done, and the expressions funny, though Sejic is definitely one of the worst modern-day artists for "SameFace"- his very detail-short face style (contrasting his HYPER-detailed outfit/scale style) puts a lot of the same shorthand on everyone's face, making the women look near-identical (this is at least diminished by him carefully making sure every female had different hair colors and styles, and by giving one character glasses). Thankfully his follow-up comic features a VERY different-looking woman in a big role. Plus had Wicked references that one time.
Looking at some of his most recent stuff, he's getting better and, at least, he was never defensive about it.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: Kamala Khan, Sunstone (Ally and Lisa)

Post by Scots Dragon »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 12:12 pm
I found the comic pretty interesting, and certainly the most well-written "Sexual Fetish/Smut Comic" out there (um, not that I've read a lot of those. Or anything), given that it would let the story breathe instead of cramming the smut onto every single page.
I think that's because, ultimately, it isn't really an erotic smut comic so much as it is a romance comic with some light nudity and sexual content; by the standards of more dedicated sexy comics it's practically chaste.
I did appreciate how the relationship developed- how Lisa got suuuuuuuper jealous over Ally flirting with Cop Girl (ugh I always forget the names of his characters- they use them fairly infrequently in-comic and the updates are so very far apart) and assuming she just slept around like nuts. Part of me wonders if there's a real "Kink Community" out there where everyone is as hot as these characters, though- a friend of mine was always dipping his toe into various groups like these, and the average person was more like something out of a Comic Con, not Vogue like these two were.
The kink community varies from group to group. It overlaps a lot with both the queer community and in fact the Comic Con going nerd community. Turns out making cosplay is a transferrable skill to making fetish outfits and vice versa, and BDSM itself is a very nerdy set of kinks. Hell, it's literally private live-action roleplay with benefits.

There are also a lot of nerdy works that centre pretty heavily on kink elements, some better than others. Probably the most infamously bad is John Norman's Chronicles of Gor series, which is like a heavily misogynistic rip-off of John Carter of Mars.
It does say something that he wrote a sex comic with tons of nudity and sexual fetishism in it, but still ended up with a very large female fanbase, AND a highly "Yay, respect women!" one, given how most of these end up. Goes to show you how you can go a long way if you create female characters who feel real or properly developed instead of one-note fetishists.
It's also notable that most of the fans are queer women. Turns out if you drink your respect women juice and write lesbians with more than just 'girl on girl is hot' in mind, it won't be dismissed as pointless fetishisation.
Last edited by Scots Dragon on Tue Jun 23, 2020 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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007: Hawkeye (Clint Barton)

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Hawkeye (Clint Barton)

Power Level: 11 (175pp)

Abilities: Strength 18 (+4), Dexterity 20 (+5), Constitution 18 (+4), Intelligence 12 (+1), Wisdom 16 (+3), Charisma 16 (+3)

Skills: Acrobatics 10 (+15), Bluff 8 (+11), Climb 8 (+12), Computers 8 (+9), Craft [Bowmaking] 12 (+13), Disable Device 8 (+9), Drive 8 (+13), Gather Information 5 (+8), Investigate 5 (+6), Knowledge [Streetwise] 8 (+9), Notice 12 (+15), Pilot 8 (+13), Sleight of Hand 8 (+13), Stealth 8 (+13)

Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Specialisation [Bows], Connected, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 4, Improved Aim, Improved Block, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative 2, Inspire, Instant Up, Leadership, Move-By Action, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Swift, Takedown Attack, Taunt, Teamwork, Ultimate Aim

Powers:
Device 5 Bow and Trick Arrows (easy-to-lose; 15pp)
Super-Senses 1 (Extended Vision; 1pp)

Bow and Trick Arrows
Trick Arrows 8 (Array; 16pp)
- Base: Nauseate 4 Gas Arrow (Extra: Area [Cloud, +1], Ranged [+1]; 1pp)
- AP: Blast 5 Explosive Arrows (Extra: Area [Explosion, +1]; 1pp)
- AP: Blast 3 Standard Arrows (Power Feat: Mighty 5, Variable Descriptor 2 [any technological]; 1pp)
- AP: Dazzle 5 Flare Arrow (Visual; Extra: Area [Burst, +1]; 1pp)
- AP: Obscure 5 Smoke Arrow (Visual; Extra: Independent [+0], Total Fade [+1]; 1pp)
- AP: Snare 7 Net Arrow (Power Feat: Tether; 1pp)
- AP: Stun 5 Boxing Glove Arrow (Extra: Ranged [+1]; 1pp)
- AP: Trip 5 linked with Snare 5 Bola Arrow (Power Feat: Tether; 1pp)
Super-Movement 1 (Swinging; 2pp)

Equipment: (20ep total)
Avengers Communicard (as Comlink; 1ep)
Costume (Protection 2; 2ep)
Hearing Aid (buys off disability; 3ep)
Motorcycle (9ep)
Sword (Strike 3 [Improved Critical, Mighty]; 5ep)

Combat: Attack +13 (Bows +15), Grapple +18, Defence +14 (+6 flat-footed), Initiative +13
- Attacks: Unarmed +4, Swords +7, Standard Arrows +7 (or by Trick Arrow)

Saves: Toughness +8 (+6 flat-footed), Fortitude +8, Reflex +13, Will +7

Drawback: Disability (deaf; Common, Moderate; -3pp)

Abilities 40 + Skills 29 (116 ranks) + Feats 27 + Powers 16 + Combat 50 + Saves 16 - Drawbacks 3 = 175

Complications: Relationship (Mockingbird, usually), Reputation (past crimes)

Notes
Here we have Hawkeye, one of the most notable members of the Avengers, 'cause I figured it'd go with Jab's build of him.

Although most famous from the films these days, I have to admit that I kinda dislike the MCU's take on most characters and Hawkeye is an especially egregious offender there. They turned the dedicated working class everyman hero into the Ultimate Marvel version where he was a SHIELD Agent, but filed most of the edges of that off until the whole thing had about as much sharpness as a nerf bat.
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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: Kamala Khan, Sunstone (Ally and Lisa)

Post by Jabroniville »

Woodclaw wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 4:05 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 12:12 pm I found the comic pretty interesting, and certainly the most well-written "Sexual Fetish/Smut Comic" out there (um, not that I've read a lot of those. Or anything), given that it would let the story breathe instead of cramming the smut onto every single page. The art and poses were very well done, and the expressions funny, though Sejic is definitely one of the worst modern-day artists for "SameFace"- his very detail-short face style (contrasting his HYPER-detailed outfit/scale style) puts a lot of the same shorthand on everyone's face, making the women look near-identical (this is at least diminished by him carefully making sure every female had different hair colors and styles, and by giving one character glasses). Thankfully his follow-up comic features a VERY different-looking woman in a big role. Plus had Wicked references that one time.
Looking at some of his most recent stuff, he's getting better and, at least, he was never defensive about it.
I do recall one pic of a TON of DC/Marvel heroines all smirking at the viewer, a lot of peopled noted how bad the SameFace was, and he kind of defended it with an "LOL people just see that with simpler drawing styles" and his fans of course jumped on those people, but more recently he kind of admitted to it- fans joked about the newer women looking different and he said "Yeah, now not everyone is just Ally with different hair!".

I REALLY noted it with his "Grim Reapers" comic, where the main female was clearly "Every Sejic Woman, but with white hair" and the male lead was making identical expressions to his- he's a wonderful artist for expressions, but uses the same 2-3 so often that it comes off as SameExpression in a very odd way, particularly with stuff only Sejic does, like the "wide-eyed nervous stare with the long, drawn-out, lipless mouth" look.
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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: Sunstone (Ally and Lisa), Hawkeye

Post by Scots Dragon »

I actually tend to have issues with faces in artwork at times, so I kinda use the other signifiers to keep track of characters anyway.
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Re: Emma's M&M2E Builds: Sunstone (Ally and Lisa), Hawkeye

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Scots Dragon has officially been banned from Echoes. Her posts and contributions will remain, but I am locking this thread as its creator is no longer here.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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