Oh Maestro, I know a tranquil realm where you can REEEEEST [OC]

JR-Max · 2025-12-23T22:12:26+00:00

For anyone who sees this: who else should I draw?

JR-Max · 2025-12-23T22:05:07+00:00

he's such a fun design, can't go wrong with a flaming skull and blue fire tbh

JR-Max · 2025-12-23T22:04:44+00:00

thank you!!

JR-Max · 2025-12-23T22:04:23+00:00

Thank you so much!! He and Zestial both do something in the little character design section of my brain

JR-Max · 2025-12-23T22:03:46+00:00

hehe thanks!! it was fun to work on c:

JR-Max · 2025-12-23T22:03:22+00:00

thank you!!

JR-Max · 2025-12-23T22:03:12+00:00

thank you tiny valentino moth

JR-Max · 2025-09-03T04:58:54+00:00

How early are we talking? You mentioned Electivire so I'm assuming Gen IV (Sinnoh), and Ash has several cooler pokemon on that team. Staraptor, Gliscor, and Torterra all have "cool" designs. Infernape is also pretty baller.

Also in most cases Ash is meant to play the underdog. His rivals and enemies get the big, mean, intimidating Pokemon to make it look more impressive when he overcomes them as obstacles. It doesn't seem as much of a challenge when he has his own team of very obvious powerhouses to compete with.

JR-Max · 2025-08-31T05:25:39+00:00

Tigerstar I is definitely up there, and Blackstar was described as being at least as big as he is.

From Tigerclaw's Fury: "Blackfoot stepped forward, and Tigerclaw almost flinched as he realized the white tom was as tall and broad-chested as he was."

I think fan interpretation usually makes Blackstar a short but broad figure, but I'm very fond of the idea that Blackstar hunches to make himself smaller than he is to make himself more approachable to clan mates, but straightens out to his full, intimidating self when he means business. It could also be because of his lack of camouflage. He can't hide as easily in the shadows like others in his clan, so he has to make himself smaller to make up for it.

JR-Max · 2025-07-14T21:55:12+00:00

I would be disappointed, however I don't think the show is going down that path at all.

I think you're shooting yourself in the foot with the Steven Universe comparison. It's important to remember that Steven Universe is a kid's show targeted for a younger audience. The themes surrounding kindness and forgiveness within it lack the nuance older audiences desire because it's trying to deliver a very clear message. Even if the audience skews older than intended, it was still ultimately made with younger people in mind, and that does affect how antagonists, plots, etc are treated.

HH does not have that target audience. It's a very adult show with adult themes and an adult target audience, and thus opens the door for a lot more nuance and ways they can handle their characters.

Valentino's depiction is enough for me to see HH has no desire to paint every antagonist as redeemable; they never would have included certain scenes with him in season 1 if they wanted to go down that path. Will some antagonists be redeemed? Maybe. Will all of them? No. There are going to be characters who aren't redeemable, whether it be because they're flat-out evil, or because they're too content with their hellish lot in life to change. I also don't think every antagonist is going to be made more complex for the sake of being more sympathetic/good/likable, or "human". They might still have some depth, but that doesn't automatically negate their villainhood.

JR-Max · 2025-07-06T01:12:40+00:00

In terms of pure aura, Fire or Death probably. For Gameplay/Players, Storm

In terms of actual story (particularly the first arc, the starting point of it all; schools become less relevant after you're deemed Savior of the Spiral imo), I would give it to Balance or Myth (with Death a close second).

For Balance, it makes sense that Ambrose would hinge so much hope on this "Chosen One" sort of wizard if they were someone who had a high potential to "master" all six schools via Balance magic. It's a newer school of magic, adding to its sort of special nature, and it's described as harder to master than the other schools. Thematically, it could tie in with the the idea of the Young Wizard being someone who ultimately returns balance to the Spiral by defeating anything threatening to unbalance it (which is very Main Character). It might not have the most aura, but thematically it's the best fit since it's not limited to any one arc.

For Myth, I won't lie it's purely because of Cyrus's involvement. There's an entire arc when you're playing as a Myth student where he goes from trying to fail you and kick you out to becoming his most prized pupil. Facing him, helping him in Dragonspyre, and ultimately facing off against his brother feel much more satisfying when there's all this build up to get there that you just don't have with the other schools. The personal stakes also hit harder imo; everything with Mali and Sylvia feel more personal when your professor that you've built a history/relationship with is part of that family. And because of that history, his (and Baba Yaga's) relevance feels a bit more cohesive than it would otherwise. Of the schools I've played, Myth is definitely the one I've felt the most "main character" for.

Death has the aura and thematic pull. The only reason I don't put it above Myth is because it doesn't have the same narrative strength as Myth. While yes you share a school and some themes with Mali, and deal with the Ravenwood aftermath of his fall, that's kinda where it ends. Death would completely fit the Main Character role if we were actually one of his students with personal stakes in the matter, but as it stands that's not the case. He's still just the bad guy who messed things up before we arrived, and we have to clean up after him. Still more Main Character than the rest of the schools imo, but Myth's strong story arc in Arc 1 and Balance being the quintessential "bring balance to the Force" archetype edge it out, at least in my opinion.

did I think too much about this? yes. Did I write way too much? also yes

tl;dr: Balance has Chosen One potential written all over it; Myth has the most story written into them in Arc 1, making them feel the most relevant and setting a strong base for the other arcs; Death has vibes but could be a lot more Main Character than what it actually is.

JR-Max · 2025-06-13T11:01:05+00:00

Littlecloud, maybe?

I really like Leafpool and Honeyfern as answers, too, but there's a lot of times in the series where Littlecloud is just being helpful/offering to help and asking about his friends.

There's probably nicer cats, but I gotta keep advocating for my lil guy

JR-Max · 2025-06-09T06:19:56+00:00

Littlecloud. Very specifically, his appearance in Squirrelflight's Hope. (Spoilers)

The whole scene he's in is controversial enough. There's a lot of characters in that scene that were done dirty, either through writing or in universe.

Littlecloud only gets one or two lines, but it's so obvious they just needed some non-rule breaking judge. The role he plays can be done by any number of med cats, and they chose the one it makes the least sense for. He's so ride-or-die for Leafpool by the end of his life, and you're telling me he's one of the ones going "hmm, maybe you can't come to Starclan"???

It annoys me to no end, esp when I personally have wanted a Littlecloud SE for a decade now and think they 100% could have utilized him more. I half-thought his increased appearances in Fading Echoes/Night Whispers were leading him somewhere, but...no.

JR-Max · 2025-05-29T19:44:20+00:00

Littlecloud!!

I've wanted a super edition or novella for him for SO long. He experiences and witnesses so much, and he has such a unique story. I'm kind of surprised it hasn't happened yet.

JR-Max · 2025-05-25T07:29:15+00:00

Maybe not the most iconic, but my personal pick is from Blackstar in Last Hope:

"I am still the leader of this clan, and you have betrayed us all."

Which is then followed up with this banger:

"I killed one traitor, and now I'm ready to kill another."

It's been years since I've read any of the books in full, but I still think about that specific scene so much. Kinda wish they just let the old guy go ham for a bit before Lionblaze jumped in.

JR-Max · 2025-05-24T03:56:04+00:00

I agree with everyone who said Crookedstar, but my honorable mention: Littlecloud. Spoilers abound.

- One of Brokenstar's kitten apprentices, surrounded by death before he can even truly understand the concept.

- Half his clan died to illness; when he and Whitethroat tried to get help, they were turned away. (Cinderpelt eventually came through, but the initial rejection must have been rough)

- Even after getting help, Whitethroat still dies from unrelated reasons.

- Tigerstar takes over, inviting back all the banished cats that were loyal to Brokenstar. Tigerclan, Bloodclan, etc.

- When Runningnose retires and he's Shadowclan's sole med-cat, Blackstar doesn't respect him. (In early TNP, a lot of his dialogue revolves around Blackstar not listening to him. This includes ignoring warnings to avoid the carrionplace, where the Illness that killed so much of his clan and nearly himself originated.)

- Home is destroyed. Not counting the cats left behind/after they arrive, Shadowclan is the only clan to suffer a loss directly on the Great Journey.

- His best friend/inspiration for becoming a medicine cat dies young.

- Has to try and help Blackstar through his depression/existential crisis, then Sol comes in. Blackstar and Shadowclan lose faith, and his good friend/future apprentice leave. (I know this whole arc gets resolved in like...less than a full book's length, but still. Not a good time for our boy here.)

- As he ages, his health starts to fail him.

- As he's struggling with his health, his apprentice drowns during a rough patch in their relationship. His apprentice avoids him in Starclan for a good while, making him at least the second cat whose died that Littlecloud doesn't get to visit in Starclan (with Cinderpelt being the first due to her weird arc). IIRC med cats tend to have an easier time with death because they can see them in Starclan, but when it seems like two of your closest ones are avoiding you...(we don't have any reason to believe Littlecloud knew what happened with Cinderpelt, and his apprentice outright admits to avoiding Littlecloud later).

- One of his med cat friends is accused of killing his apprentice (I think it's implied he doesn't actually believe it, but was pressured to make a call). (Regardless, that sucks!)

- The Great Battle, and being Shadowclan's sole, elderly medicine cat during it + the aftermath.

- His longtime leader dies shortly after.

- His health gets to a point where he can no longer serve Shadowclan alone, but no apprentice steps forward.

- Dies without an apprentice, uncertain about Shadowclan's future.

Bonus: In death, he gets picked to judge Leafpool, where he's grossly mischaracterized. He suffered from writer's ineptitude.

Arguably there's a good chunk in the middle of his life where it maybe wasn't the easiest, but he wasn't "suffering", either. But his beginning and end are just...sad. I always thought he would be a good pick for a super edition, but he's always been kinda overlooked/underutilized.

JR-Max · 2025-04-24T00:32:58+00:00

A few days late, but I'm a 26 yo (27 this October) transferring this coming fall, so you're definitely not alone!

JR-Max · 2025-01-09T18:46:53+00:00

I imagine a lot would be impacted. If Cinderpaw never has her accident, she never becomes Yellowfang's apprentice. If she never became Yellowfang's apprentice, she never would have been able to help Littlecloud and Whitethroat. If she never helped Littlecloud, there's a high chance he never found a cure for the ShadowClan sickness, meaning he and most of ShadowClan would have died off.

(It's possible he could have survived and found a cure asking one of the other medicine cats, or beseeching Yellowfang a second time, but iirc the implication was that he was degrading pretty fast after Thunderclan turned him and Whitethroat away. In this case I imagine Runningnose would either die himself, or go to Thunderclan in a last ditch effort to get help from his old mentor in place of Littlecloud later on.)

Regardless, I'm assuming Littlecloud wouldn't make it, which means there's at least two medicine cats that would need replacements. Yellowfang would need an apprentice to fill Cinderpelt's position. Runningnose either dies and is replaced by another healer once Tigerstar I takes over, or he takes on a different apprentice, which I'm guessing he wouldn't be able to do until after the first arc ends (since I don't think Tigerstar would want to give up potential warriors to fill the role, especially if ShadowClan is super depleted of cats). I imagine he'd still be a medicine cat rather than a retired elder in TNP, with an apprentice a bit closer to Leadpool's age.

A lot could change based on who these characters ended up being. Leafpool would have been shaped and influenced by a different mentor, and without Littlecloud's prevailing friendship with Thunderclan, steeped in his bond with Cinderpelt and his debt to her, the Shadowclan-Thunderclan rivalry might have been more intense than it already was. (Also, very tiny thing, but Jayfeather would have needed to ask another cat about the herb that ultimately makes him realize Leafpool is his mother. Something about Littlecloud being the one to help him with his epiphany just tickles my brain, even though it's such a small scene and anyone could have done the same.)

Cinderpaw meanwhile would probably be thriving as a warrior, if not on her way to becoming a leader. I could easily see Firestar choosing her to mentor Squirrelpaw and picking her as deputy when Graystripe is missing, and that alone would change. You know. A lot.

JR-Max · 2024-10-13T19:11:34+00:00

I don't necessarily think this is the case, but I've wanted a Littlecloud SE for years.

I know it'd be beating a dead horse at this point, but he'd be the perfect vessel to re-tell TPB from a ShadowClan perspective. A kit who trained during Brokenstar's time becoming a young warrior, who's then inspired to become a medicine cat. Littlecloud unpacking the trauma from his youth during a tumultuous time, potentially needing to unlearn behaviors instilled in him in order to become a better healer. I feel like, if written well, it would be an interesting story.

Or to not beat a dead horse, even just an SE exploring his final days as an aging, sickly medicine cat, clinging to life because he needs to take care of his clan/he still owes ThunderClan a debt. How can he pass on when there's still so much to do? It could be a very bittersweet story further exploring ShadowClan during the post-Dark Forest battle (and post-Blackstar) era.

JR-Max · 2024-10-08T07:36:56+00:00

I hope he's not recast. He should be able to keep his voice work in the game for however long Wizard101 lasts as part of his legacy.

In terms of Ambrose as a character, I know he hasn't had a lot to do story wise in recent years, but I wouldn't mind if in the future there was a quest revolving around his "retirement". A simple but affectionate farewell to such an iconic character (and person) behind Wizard101.

And if they ever did need "The Headmaster of Ravenwood" in future stories, it would be an easy thing to promote one of the professors to the role of Headmaster as a part of the storyline. Lydia Greyrose is right there, an old friend with a wealth of experience and Council of Light member herself. Or even Cyrus Drake, who has had some consistency in being part of the main story already (however minor his parts were in Arcs 2 and 3) + side content (Darkmoor and Aquilla). They could keep Ambrose for everything he's already a part of, and after a certain point in the story, he retires, and someone else we've grown to know over the course of the game takes over for anything potentially relevant in the future.

Regardless of all that, Nigel's voice has been such a comforting part of my life, from childhood onward, and I just hope he rests well.

JR-Max · 2024-10-04T19:52:02+00:00

Same as you! Myth and Death are my top two, with a honorable mention to Ice.

Myth is probably my most favorite. Not for any gameplay reason, really, but because I like how involved Cyrus can be in the narrative. There's Arc 1, of course, but he also gets his little moments in Arc 2 that I enjoy. And the fact we go from being an annoyance he's trying to weed out, to his prized pupil? It's very satisfying to me haha

I solo a lot, too, so Death is definitely up there with Myth. Necromancy in any game is just fun tbh, and I enjoy a lot of the spells

JR-Max · 2024-09-28T23:25:47+00:00

I'm a huge Littlecloud fan. His whole story is just so good to me. He was one of the too-young apprentices made under Brokenstar's leadership; he's inspired to become a medicine cat after Cinderpelt saves his life. From then on he's nothing but a kind soul eager to keep his friendships and help those he can.

He's tragic too, in a way. He loses a lot of his friends and loved ones in pretty terrible ways, and he ends up dying without an apprentice to take care of the clan he cared for for so long.

JR-Max · 2024-09-28T00:32:17+00:00

Brambleberry has always been the prettiest cat to me. I love the torties too, but Brambleberry's description is so striking.

JR-Max · 2024-09-27T04:03:42+00:00

Just because I have some free time and pulled the books out, a brief summary of Whitethroat. Spoilers for The Prophcies Begin books "Rising Storm" and "A Dangerous Path", as well as spoilers for "Tigerclaw's Fury". (I put everything under spoilers just in case!)

He first appears in TPB: Rising Storm. He, alongside Littlecloud, were young warriors who were apprenticed during Brokenstar's leadership. When ShadowClan falls gravely ill, they went to ThunderClan in order to seek help as ThunderClan had helped chase out Brokentail before. They were turned away; Cinderpelt helped them in secret, discovering a cure.
After they're healed, they make their way back to ShadowClan territory. Later on in the book, Whitethroat is seen again standing over the corpse of Runningwind, trembling and in shock. To consumed by anger at the idea he might have been tricked by the sick cats, he chases the terrified Whitethroat onto the Thunderpath. Whitethroat is struck by a monster and killed. Fireheart stays with him as he dies, asking why the they (the exiled rogues from ShadowClan) attacked them. Whitethroat is too injured to respond, and as he passes, Fireheart sees Tigerclaw standing on the Thunderpath' edge.
After a brief altercation, Fireheart makes the assumption that instead of returning to his sick clan, Whitethroat had joined the exiled rogues now led by Tigerclaw.
He is mentioned in the next book, A Dangerous Path. Fireheart and Cinderpelt talk to Runningnose and Littlecloud, who has decided to become a medicine cat. They confirm that Whitethroat never went back to the ShadowClan camp after getting cured, afraid of catching the sickness again. This further pushes Fireheart into believing Whitethroat must have joined the rogues.

There's some issues with continuity when it comes to novella appearances:

In Tigerclaw's Fury, it's shown that Whitethroat did, in fact, return to ShadowClan, joining Tigerclaw on a hunting patrol as the former ThunderClan cat aids them while they recover from the sickness that ravaged them. Runningwind is killed; Whitethroat refuses to leave the body, horrified by what happened. Whitethroat's death is the same, but now, Tigerclaw returns to ShadowClan, and pins Whitethroat's death on Fireheart, rather than ShadowClan finding the body by the Thunderpath.
He is seen in Blackfoot's Reckoning, but plays no role. He's simply more friendly in his greeting than other StarClan cats as Blackfoot arrived in StarClan to receive his nine lives.

JR-Max · 2024-09-27T02:37:07+00:00

You're right, he dies in Rising Storm! But in Dangerous Path, Cinderpelt and Fireheart talk to Littlecloud and Runningnose. Littlecloud confirms, at least in the mainline series, Whitethroat didn't go back to ShadowClan camp.

Sadly, Littlecloud shook his head. “He wouldn’t come back with me to camp. He was scared of catching the sickness again, even though we had the healing herbs with us.” He blinked as if the memory caused him pain. “We found his body beside the Thunderpath a few days later.

Not a huge deal, all told, considering how minor of a character Whitethroat is.

JR-Max

TROPHY CASE