ROMA: Loki: One
You guys vote us up to number two and THIS is how I repay you? With a late update? I hang my head in shame. (There were extenuating circumstances: I spent most of the morning in a dentist chair, and the rest of the afternoon in pain. Kids, don’t go eight years between cleanings. It will not end well, trust me.)
I have lots of thoughts on this page! I will share them with you in handy list format:
1) In D&D terms, Virgil’s a lawful neutral, looking for a chaotic neutral partner.
2) I swear, this will get sillier. This will also be a lot longer and more epic than the last ROMA, with the emphasis on the adventure aspect.
3) Despite what a struggle it was to write this (and thank you to Bethany for helping me get it straight), I’m happy that it answers at least a few questions about Virgil’s role in the scheme of things.
4) … I’m also happy that I got to draw Dante looking like a Mafia don. OH AND SPEAKING OF. There was meant to be an epilogue to the original ROMA, in which Dante is actually made an honorary Guardian Angel for all his service to the side of good. So, basically, he gets to hang out in the Otherworld for eternity and be BFF (literally) with Virgil. :D
… You remember how I said I had that epilogue all out of my system? Well, I LIED. Here’s the epilogue to the epilogue to the epilogue to the epilogue. AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR NUMBER TWO. <3~~~

November 18th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
=O !!!! *loves Norse and Greek Mythology* i feel so smart ! I believes our lovely smexy blondie might be Loki/Chaotic balance. or then maybe someone we don’t know. but Loki, the trickster. ohhh yay so much fun !!!
and i LOVE the info you’ve started here =3
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Brinson Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Tricksters are my very favorite gods. I’m so happy I finally get to do a story about them. :D
And thanks! I really struggled on how to make it clear and understandable.
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Saera Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 11:51 am
you did great ! i only think smexy blonde is an obvious choice because of how he isnt’ a devil or angel =3
and yes ! i tend to like weather gods or tricksters…also night or magic ones !
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Tabitha Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 2:07 am
You mean hypno bishie?
Saera Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 3:52 pm
yes, but i have long since been the M.H.M.C (mysterious Handsome Man Club) president(my friend Alyssa the V.P.) so i switch off between the M.H.M. and Smexy Blondie
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/sue-chan/Mysteriousmanclub-1.gif
Tabitha Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 12:12 am
I thought he was talking about diva.
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Mike Leung Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 5:34 am
Maybe there’s a Ragnorak story in the works? “Diva for Vendetta?”
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November 18th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
YAY OLD MENS.
But there’s something wrong with the last dialogue bubble in the 5th panel…i think there’s a word missing O_O
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Brinson Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Thanks!
Which panel? The one after the title panel? The bubble that goes “Life isn’t very glamorous”? :F Sorry, having trouble seeing what you mean. (I know there’s an error on the fourth panel after the title, an extra comma, but I’m too tired to fix it right now.)
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Chicken Ice Cream Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
nvm i am insane and misread it.
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November 18th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
E-ris!
E-ris!
E-ris!
Is that a golden apple in panel one? Hmm… on closer inspection, maybe a rrrrrreally old bottle of Martinelli’s. (Get it? Golden, Italian, dante? oh, forget it) Eris! . . . Eris! . . . Eris! . . . (John Stamos!) Eris! . . . Eris! . . .
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Dusty Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Okay, so no one gets it. (Kids these day!) After all, who needs Greek mythology?
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Discordia Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I got it. ;)
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Dusty Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Okay, now if *that* wasn’t the funniest reply–EVER!! Then we really need to fix our education system. I <3 Discordia (instant fan)
November 18th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Um, FTD floral company uses Hermes Image as their logo too Brinson-sama. You could have had him go to work for them instead of making handbags. anyway, You could also use Tiamat (not diva’s sister, the original Early babalion deity but Diva’s sister could also work), The great Coyote spirit from Native Amarican Indien faiths, Hera is also known to be a trickster, Bes from the Egyption pantheon are also good choices for a “trickster” partner.
Hypno-Bishie cover in glitter? it could have been worse. ;-)
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Dusty Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 7:23 am
(ahem… pulls out spectacles, wpies them off, puts way handkerchief–aren’t old guys a pan in the butt?)
Alright class: Hermes *is* (not was, as most people might at first think) the messenger god of Greek Mythology, but also given the gift of flight, and possessed amazing dexterity and a mind far sharper than most (Ares, put your hand down–this does not apply to you, and Aphrodite, PLEASE STOP applying mke-up in class).
Hermes, being far more intelligent than the gluttonous oafs he served, got bored very easily and found great pleasure in twisting or even thwarting the will of the gods. This originally came from being the middle man between the primary gods (Zeus, Poseidon, and that troll Hades), who were often at odds. Zeus also used Hermes as his lackey, most often to fetch young, hot girls, and then hide them from his wife Hera. So yeah, Hermes was a smart-ass and a trickster, an instigator, and a highly-versatile god.
His rulerships include: (to this day) communications (including forums and websites), TEACHING, corrections (but not “corrections facilities”–that would be Saturn, with help from Mars), portable containers **including handbags,** shoes, and the various accouterments of fashion.
Finally (pompous lecture is almost over everyone), he moved to Rome, changed his name to Mercury so he could enjoy dating hot Italian women. Tiring of that eventually (remember, he does get bored) he moved to Paris (yes Aphrodite, we KNOW you founded Paris), home of fashion, food, and refined hedonism, where he has grown to a “large girth and loin” enjoying food, women, and making TONS of money feeding the fashion beast. Currently his fashion accessories can be found all over the globe. From his official website:
“The Hermès Group, founded in 1837, designs, develops and markets high-quality products in more than fourteen departments and distributed over 11 main countries . . .”
Leave my Brinson/Pete alone!
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taxil Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 11:46 am
(blinks) i think you completely misunderstood what i suggested. Hermes has options other than hand bags. On the note of Roman pantheon / Greek pantheon is that (to me anyway) the Roman’s are like the cheap China knock-offs of the orginal ones. The Romans put as much faith into their mortal emperors as they did their gods.
for the life of me, i can’t think of any “trickster” gods in the Hindu pantheon or the mired ones of the Shinto religion.
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chironex Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 1:22 am
Trickster in Hindu mythology? ‘Narad’ comes to mind
November 18th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
I can’t decide if this one or the Dad in Undies incentive is better…
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taxil Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 6:33 am
AUGH! the memory burns! ><
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Dusty Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Thank you Brinson for giving us closure on the cupcakes. This was important to me. I feel “complete.”
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November 18th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Mr. Virgil is so sexy with piggytails.
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November 18th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
@incentive: Man, the morning after is always the wost. I can’t remember how many times i’ve woken up the next day with no recollection of the nights events.
I mean it. Memory Loss is the pits! (say no! to too much drugs at once, kiddies)
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Tabitha Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 12:19 am
Especially if you wake up to find pigtails in your hair, glitter on your person, and an unusual urge to make cupcakes first thing in the morning. (hey, we always baked the next day before the girls went home)
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taxil Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 6:27 am
it could have been worse. Hypno-Bishie could have woken up in a diffrent town, on a pile of stolen loot with two other strangers with the cops about to arrest him. ;-)
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xIsamuTM Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
so i’m not the only one that’s happened to? good to know.
November 19th, 2009 at 12:24 am
Honestly, I half expecTed this convo to happen about twelve years ago and the last panel have a crying newborn and a doctor saying, “congratulations mr and mrs beelze! It’s a girl!”
speaking of births, do you think diva has an evil bone in her body? Or was she good since birth? Cuz I thinkthat her parents would have sent her to therapy if they had seen too much goodness (like an easy birth, not crying without a reason, sharing, etc.)
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Dusty Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Good points (IMHO) as always Tabitha, but I am seriously beginning to wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Beelze are just too self-absorbed (and into each other) to really notice. They seem to see their kids as accessories, and not in a bad way, but definitely in the way an “evil” (loving) parent might. Mr. Beelze seems especially ignorant of anything but his job and his wife’s incredible hotness. Perhaps mom is in denial, since Tia turned out so well, and dad is, well… he’s just dad. Just stuff to chew on.
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November 19th, 2009 at 12:24 am
Is the halo in panel 10 supposed to be horns-y looking? IF NOT it’s still a cool effect |D
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November 19th, 2009 at 6:39 am
I think the “extra epilogue” strip works very well… You get a sort of closure, if nothing else :D
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November 19th, 2009 at 7:53 am
What is Loki smoking? It looks like a mix of a Cigar and Weed… Oh, hey It’s Loki, maybe it is! :D
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Brinson Reply:
November 19th, 2009 at 11:22 am
It’s actually meant to be Dante, but that would be pretty appropriate for Loki. XD
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November 20th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
this should be good!!!
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November 21st, 2009 at 6:06 am
YAY NORSE!
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November 23rd, 2009 at 10:38 am
Virgil as Order and Diva as Chaos? And both of them neutral in the angel/devil conflict? That explains a lot!
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November 25th, 2009 at 12:49 am
As a proud Italian man I’m really pleased by the appearence of Dante. Less pleased by the mafia thing, but it’s funny. :)
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