Added some free items to the store: in addition to a sample mini-issue of Free Feline Foundation, there are now three music albums of songs inspired by ongoing projects (Free Feline Foundation, Rabbits Rising, and Semi-Retired). leapingcatcomics.com/store

JEWEL: Why do you name all of your scripts after Japanese generals and warlords? STEPHEN: (distracted) Huh? Oh, bad habit I guess. My ex-wife used to get on my case about that, too. JEWEL: You were married? STEPHEN: (defensive) Yes. Surprised? JEWEL: That someone would leave you? No.

Funny thing... I fed the text of that prose into ChatGPT, which I had never used before so it had no history, and asked it to determine what it could reasonably infer about the story and what hooks a reader might find interesting. And its analysis was extremely detailed and picked up on every little detail I intentionally put in there. It's guesses as to where the story would go from there were reasonable based on the information it had.

Digging through some of my old documents, I found an idea I once had for a meta-campaign for TTRPG. The short version: "present day" is far into the future, and you are losing a war against "The Enemy" who seems to anticipate your every move. The only hope to turn the tides is to project back into the past and change history to affect the present. The overall campaign is run as a series of standalone adventures in different time periods. Possibly different game systems. Each era has its own stories and embedded within it is something the players can do that affects the future (possibly at the cost of the era's present). One group can play all eras. Or split the game up over multiple groups. Unlock inter-era communication over time. In the end, based on the choices made in each era, the overall meta-campaign ends against "The Enemy", with the individual era choices factored in. If anyone finds this useful and wants to try it, please do! Just let me know how it goes. #ttrpg ----- The tests you have undergone recently have been… odd… to say the least. At first you were brought in as part of large groups, but as many of the others were dismissed, for some reason, they kept coming around to you. Physical exams, psychological surveys, and many other tests that you can’t even begin to guess what they were trying to measure. And still you remained as the field around you shrank further and further and the equipment used got more and more outlandish. All the while, you couldn’t help wondering how any of this was going to help the war effort. You’re losing, badly, and high command decides to waste time and resources like THIS? Then, finally, you were only one of a handful left, and your entire group was led into the briefing room. The screen flares to life with a bare-bones presentation that catches your eye for the reddish orange UTLRA SECRET - CODEWORD ONLY marking blazoned across it. The really unusual feature of the room, though, is the presenter. Grand Admiral Toro herself. Not an aide or an underling, but the supreme commander of a fleet comprised from dozens of solar systems. “I’ll start by informing you that you have all volunteered for an experimental and dangerous mission, and that no word of any of it can ever leave this room. To be clear, YOU HAVE NO CHOICE IN THIS MATTER. Understood?” Without waiting for a reply, she pushes on. “Approximately 34 cycles ago, we had an extremely successful espionage mission against the Enemy. We believe the information was obtained without the Enemy knowing that they were penetrated, which may prove to be our only hope. Our original intent was to try to find out opposing strategy or identify weak points that we could exploit, but at first we were disappointed in what we learned because it sounded, well, like complete nonsense. However, we studied it anyway and have since discovered what we believe to be how the Enemy always seems to be one step ahead of us.” “Our strategies always seem to backfire. Post-mortem analysis could never find a satisfactory reason for this until coupled with the information we obtained from our agents. Only then did we discover the pattern - our plans always have a key component where they were based on knowledge that turns out to be completely wrong or a resource we relied upon turned out to be missing. Now, working under the assumption that we are not idiots and simply terrible at planning, we came to one unmistakeable conclusion:” “The Enemy is altering the past to affect the present.” “The concept of reincarnation has been debated for millennia. Well, for those of you who believe in it, congratulations - you are correct. But while certain schools of philosophy have speculated that one could access certain memories from previous lives, as far as we can tell only one person has ever had the knowledge and resources to link these lives together, bind the consciousnesses, and act in concert across the ages in common purpose. That person was Phillip Norman Neufel, a scientist researching temporal mechanics who was dismissed from his research post due to his experimentation with mind altering drugs. But you know him better as The Enemy.” “We now know the drugs were part of his research. He made unannounced breakthroughs in temporal physics, and through the use of hallucinogens and other drugs, was able to expand his mental presence across time, touching the minds of his former selves and using their collective knowledge and abilities to affect the course of time itself, nudging things along so that now, in the present, he has all of the information and resources he needs to take control over everything. When we do manage to surprise or outsmart him, he uses his former lives to affect the past so that our plans fall apart.” The admiral makes a wry face. “His records on the matter are quite detailed.” “Now, here’s where you come in. Part of the information we retrieved allowed us to partially reconstruct this technology. Our tests have determined that each of you is present - well, a former version of yourselves, that is - in the specific time and places as the Enemy. We are going to link you to these past lives, and your orders are to stop or hinder the Enemy in any way possible. That may mean disrupting his plans or discovering some weakness that we can exploit. Note, I say ‘his’, but there’s no guarantee the Enemy will be the same race or gender as the one in the present day.” A door opens to a side room. “This way. As I said, you have no choice in this mission, and there is no point in any delay.” You are ushered into a room not dissimilar from some of the testing facilities. “I am told there will be no pain, but the experience may be disorientating. In a matter of minutes, you will be functioning normally, but also linked to a former life. Good luck, and remember that even a tiny effect in the past may be magnified in the present and that secrecy is essential.” With that, you are seated in a chair, a device placed over your head, and you feel a needle enter your arm. Your mind swims and you grow dizzy… And then your senses clear, though the smell of incense still lingers. “Did the divination give you the knowledge you seek?” says the temple cleric as you slowly get up from your seated position in the circle and start picking up your weapons and backpacks...

Question to fantasy authors: Is it normal to be writing something, you do your world building, and as a result you already have a "prologue prequel", a full prequel, and a sequel basically plotted out before you write the main story... ... and then you find yourself distracted from finishing the main story because you're filling in details or writing scenes for the prequel/sequel works? Or is it just me?

Since the Coyote and RoadRunner cartoons are trending, it's a good time to bring out this nugget: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E… Chuck Jones wrote that they used these rules (though a long-time collaborator claims there were no such rules), but regardless of if it was true in that respect, it is certainly true retrospectively looking at the cartoons. So, what does this tell us? To me, it says that contrary to expectations, a consistent set of rules for a writer (or illustrator, or animator) to follow for a particular setting doesn't constrain artistic expression -- it focuses it in a way the creates an unspoken contract between creator and reader/viewer. A sense of internal consistency doesn't have to be spoken, it just has to exist and it will be felt by the audience. When done well, any deviation from the rules as laid out will be immediately felt by the reader/viewer as being "wrong" (which itself can be an intentional indicator that something is indeed off). We all have these rules, they're just mostly in our heads. Taking the time to lay them out as a reference guide while creating helps keep the work consistent with itself.

Here's a little treat -- a prose version of the first five pages of Rabbits Rising: The young Rabbit made her way through the Garden of Iris toward the cathedral at the summit. The winding road, paved with cobblestones smoothed by the paws of many Rabbits before her, took her past raised garden beds where the assorted irises had just recently started to bloom. An early purple blossom reflected her formal robes that marked her as a member of the Order of Iris. Rose adjusted the robes as she walked briskly up the path, trying to make herself look presentable after being called on short notice. She paused at the heavy oak doors, laying a paw on one to seek reassurance and familiarity from the solid piece of wood before proceeding into the large chamber. Designed to accommodate hundreds of Rabbits for ceremonies and festivals, the main hall was much less crowded at the moment. Not empty, of course, as there was always business of the Order happening. Crossing in front of her, a white-robed older Rabbit headed to a side chamber where a group of young Rabbits were ready for school. She continued on her way, down the left side of the great hall, and stepped into a colonnade leading to a more serious and far less busy part of the structure. Passing through a small courtyard, she saw Marcus, her superior, a middle-aged Rabbit in similar purple robes, waiting for her. Not saying a word, she fell in beside him as he led her onward. They reached a private chamber, and Rose tried to steel her nerves, but she wound up hesitating and faltering slightly after seeing the Rabbit at the far end of the chamber. Iris. THE Iris. A woman in her early 50s, dressed in simple green robes, but still radiating a sense that she was the center of all of Rabbit culture and power. Rose scrambled to catch up with her escort, who never broke stride for a second. Upon reaching the seated woman at the end, she dropped to one knee, bowing her head. “You summoned me, Mother?” “Ah, Rose,” The Iris said, looking up from her papers. She signaled for Rose to rise, but with her eyes lowered, the signal was missed. Marcus gave Rose a nudge to get her attention. As Rose stood, she still kept her head lowered in respect as The Iris continued, “We have read your theories on why the wards at the frontier are showing weaknesses.” Encouraged by this, Rose volunteered with a confidence and exuberance slightly out of place in the setting. “Oh, yes! For instance, it’s possible we’ve expanded further than the Great Mother originally intended…” At Rose’s side, Marcus cleared his throat meaningfully as he stepped in front of Rose to cut her off before she could finish the mild heresy. Rose, realizing her error, blushed furiously and lowered her head further in embarrassment. “I’m sure Rose means no disrespect to the Great Mother,” Marcus said diplomatically. “Indeed,” The Iris dismissed the situation and redirected the discussion back to the point. “We did not summon you here to discuss your research. We have a mission for you.” Her voice adopted a formal, official tone, “Rose, you are charged to investigate these weaknesses in person and to report your findings directly to Marcus, Our servant and Petal of Strength. Thus is the command of Iris, eleventh of Our name.” Rose’s bow shifted to fully formal as she replied. “Of course, Mother.” She straightened up and, understanding herself to be dismissed, turned and left the chamber, trying hard to stay calm and in control. After Rose departed, Marcus gave The Iris a sly look. “May I speak freely, Mother?” “Of course, Marcus. You are one of Our Petals. We require your unrestrained insight.” “Do you think Rose is ready to wear that chain?” He indicated the silver chain around The Iris’ neck. She brought her paw to it, her fingers almost caressing it. “Not yet. But We believe she has the potential. Give her what she needs to succeed, but let her do this on her own. We shall see if Our impression of her is correct.”

Whiskers: "That's silly. Why didn't she just go to the kitchen and cook?"

Time for another short concept video for my children's animated series idea: "Los Patitas", a soccer-themed show set in central Costa Rica filled with humor, heart, and music. This time, we get to see several of the characters from the show. (Proof of concept, not production artwork. Music and artwork generated with AI assistance)

Here's a short concept video for my children's animated series idea: "Los Patitas", a soccer-themed show set in central Costa Rica filled with humor, heart, and music. In this video we just get a tease of the town of Valle Pura Vida, where the series takes place. (Proof of concept, not production artwork. Music and artwork generated with AI assistance)

Hazel, the librarian, on their forefather's native language (English): "Wild language, though. Absolutely bonkers. At first we thought he was writing in code. But a code would have had, you know, rules. And most of his first drafts were in it, so it had to be native. No one chooses this on purpose." leapingcatcomics.com/project…

Will: "I have no regrets."

I've been continuing to work on this. If anyone has an insider lead for me in children's TV animation, please shoot me a DM.

Lily: No, that’s not where we come from. leapingcatcomics.com/fff-m1.…

Meant to post this one here ☺️ nitter.cf/LeapingCatComix/status…

"Fable", a short story set in the Free Feline Foundation world, is a lighthearted look at the origin of catgirls, at least as told by catgirl mythology. This mini issue was released on May 2 for Free Comic Book Day. It'll remain as a free download permanently, so please enjoy. leapingcatcomics.com

Today is the day! Free Comic Book Day! Visit your friendly local comic book store, and also enjoy the completely FREE mini issue of Free Feline Foundation. leapingcatcomics.com/store