The Badger retaliated for the dice bag by sending to me a copy of The Brony Handbook: One Path of Many. In print. It arrived in the same package as a bunch of really good RPG books that were a gift, but it was a well-aimed blow.
So I began plotting my revenge.
Some of you may know +Dyson Logos - by reputation if nothing else. Dyson does RPG maps in a very particular style. In fact, I'd say that Dyson is the best at doing so. Check out his blog for some really good maps (and today's Big Reveal).
So I contacted him, asking if he'd take a commission. I was told that he's only occasionally taking commissions, if the project really "turns his crank."
See, he has a Patreon to fund his map-making habit. One that I'm currently only supporting for $1 per work, but which I desperately need to throw more money at, because - again - Dyson does awesome work. He was (in part) afraid that my commission would get in the way of his being able to create for the Patreon. I quickly reassured him that this was not the case, and that I would be more than willing to have him share his work with the world - once completed. He also didn't want to half-ass this, and he had other commissions, so his plate was more-or-less full.
But when he heard my overall plan, he was interested.
The initial plan was a large map - large enough that the overall pony shape would be obscured.
Dyson did me one better. Seven separate maps. Here is "The Flanking Passage" (one of the seven) for reference:
Seriously: Go to Patreon and throw money at Dyson. You will not regret your decision to do so in the slightest. |
It's nice, isn't it? In fact, he posted all seven maps in his blog yesterday. They are amazing and beautiful. Go take a look when you have a minute or two.
The names are perfect. "Main Halls" are the mane. The Watchtowers are eyes. Temple of Vosto for the tail ("Vosto" is Esperanto for "tail," by the way). Dyson has absolutely outdone himself, here.
He then shipped the maps to the Badger in three separate envelopes. The day the first one arrived, the Badger was very excited. Because not everyone gets to own actual +Dyson Logos maps sent from the hand of Dyson himself.
But the Badger got suspicious very quickly. Because he knows me. And he doesn't trust me. With good reason, of course.
So he messaged me, and I was honest with him. "I asked Dyson, but he isn't accepting commissions." A true statement.
In fact, if you were to ask Dyson right now, he'd tell you: He isn't accepting commissions.
The Badger pressed, and so I finally told him that I would neither confirm nor deny involvement, not because I was necessarily involved, but because knowing for sure one way or the other would set his mind at ease.
And I've spent the last week or so quietly chortling.
Ball's in your court, +Jason Paul McCartan.