A child of unknown potential, destined to change that world, but this isn't just his story.".
Alfredo Ventura is a young boy who always looked up to be a Dreamer, powerful heroes of his bedtime stories. But after he got separated from his family, he discovers a power that already resides in him. Will it be enough to bring change to the World of Gaia, for the better?Tales from the Golden Garden is a fantasy/sci-fi webcomic series written by Fedriz Marini, and illustrated by Digitkame, released weekly on Tapas
, starting from January 9, 2021, and later on Webtoon on February 22, 2021.
Tropes that apply to Tales from the Golden Garden:
- Abandoned Mine: The "Outcast", presented in the Second Interlude, seem to be living inside one with the company of a Boogeyman, or even more as shown in "Forgotten Legacy".
- Action Girl: Both shown in her Character, and also specified in the Lorebook, Charlotte is a woman who loves sports, and enjoys also fighting, cue, Her desire to win a Holiday just to join some Pub Fight.
- Affably Evil: During his first brief introduction, We can see that "The Patriarch", might be one, as His plan to Clean the unite Gaia is to seal an Alliance between Ansia and Amnesia... Not even his Right-hand man, Beta is sure about it Although, as It can be seen in "De-Rezolutor Family", it worked with from what the "Phillips Calculator" announced. Later confirmed in "Starchild" as "King Morgante" reveal to have agreed to the proposal... after losing a fight with his former friend, and current General of the Republic.
- His encounter with Charles in "Forgotten Child" is another example of how He can act well-composed and calm, even while assisting to an attempt at the King's life. Although, some of him reactions may make it like He's mostly putting up a facade.
- Affectionate Nickname: Jadie usually calls Alfredo either with the diminutive "Alfie" or with the Nickname "Starlet".
- Jadie on the other hand is usually called "JD", by her husband Roger, who also calls Her by her real name "Giada", and "Sunny" by Charlotte. Jadie as well is a Nickname given by all her friends.
- Roger also as one from his aunt Charlotte, who calls him "Rodge".
- Starting from "Starchild", Alfredo is referred to by Ivan and Morgante with the diminutive "Fredo", while from Eva, He is called "Alf".
- All There in the Manual: The "Lorebook" entries give some in-dept info about the settings, and also a few backgrounds regarding the Characters, the Setting, and the Locations.
- Amazonian Beauty: Both Jadie and Charlotte are very tall and muscular girls, while Giantesses are this by nature, and the "Lorebook II" entry regarding Scaboddas, a few Models are said to be this.
- A Minor Kidroduction: The Prologue is set when Alfredo is six years old.
- Animesque: The style adopted by the series, courtesy of Digitkame.
- Arc Symbol: Stars, since Alfredo's nickname is "Starlet", and the "Gizmos" all sport a Star in their design, to further nail the point, everything related to the Dreamers has a star, especially the "Chocolate Stars Hunt" in "Starchild", and a bit of fridge of logic, Dreamer's Gizmos are Red and Silver colored, while the King And Alfredo's by extension, for possessing his Gizmo, has it Blue and Gold, Red Stars are the coldest, while Blue Stars are the hottest.
- Armor-Piercing Question: At one point, during their discussion, Alfredo asks his mother if there are others "Different" like him... Jadie's reaction implies something, as She proceeds to leave the room as She forgets to sing the usual lullaby.
- As You Know: How "The Patriarch" delivers a brief resume on the political status of the World following the "Dreamers' War".
- Roger proceeds to remind His wife, Jadie, of the Traumatic event that led them to leave their previous residence, and that separated them from Alfredo..
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite Roger being the target of many of their Jokes, especially Leonora's, the latter, and the rest of the Girls of the "De-Rezolutor Pub" really do love and care for the only Male member of their little group, Justified as they are His aunts.
- Awesome Mc-Coolname: There are a few:
- Alfredo Ventura, that almost sound like A. Ventura (Adventure).
- Ivan Naville Petranova is another example.
- "The Patriarch" true name, Frederick Right, also counts.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: While more Cute than Beautiful (Maybe a good 50/50), Jadie is by far one of the gentlest and nicest woman in the Series, despite Her being exaggeratedly emotional can be a flaw.
- Beneath the Mask: Despite her happy and joyful personality most of the time, especially when in the company of her loved ones, Jadie has a hard time keeping herself to cry when She hears words, or sees things, that briefly triggers her traumas, leading Her to shift from Her usual positive self, to a more negative and saddened one.
- Berserk Button: Never, ever, EVER, call Bells a "Pipsqueak"; She's very sensible regarding her short figure.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Alfredo, and his parents Jadie, and Roger respectively.
- Big Eater: Bells seems to be known as one among the "De-Rezolutor" group Although in the past this came back to bite her in the back, as She was Diabetic before becoming an Elf following the Stimulant injection.
- Roger as well seems to be considered one, although the "Lorebook" implies that it is more "Stress Eating".
- Big, Thin, Short Trio: Charlotte, Leonora, and Bells are quite an example if We exclude Roger and Jadie.
- Ivan, Eva, and Alfredo as well fit this trope respectively.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The Prologue is the subject of this, especially after the first transition, where "The Patriarch" informs Beta about his plans for an "Alliance", while also mentioning a certain "Dr. Plague".
- The Second Transition implies that the "Outcast" might be a bigger threat due to being more insane than the more reasonable and calculative Beta, or the Mysterious Dr. Plague. Turns out He's the King's forgotten son, and Ivan's twin, Lloyd, and the reveal comes with dark undertones regarding his upbringing, and the resulting mental state.
- In the middle of "De-Rezolutor Family", We learn that not only Jadie lost track of Alfredo after a traumatic event, but also that a few of Her friends died, among them, Her best friends, and Roger's parents, after one of them betrayed them all, and in addition of her behavior from the Prologue, further confirming that Jadie may be depressed because of something regarding her family.
- Cute Monster Girl: Harpies and Giants are an example, being both respectively races of mutants
- Crystal Landscape: The Capital of Ansia, Paranoia, seem to have this in the Elité districts, as shown in its brief appearance in the Prologue.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Quite implied for Alfredo, especially after the "6 Years Timeskip" following his "explosive" tantrum, in which He briefly find refuge in his own "Golden Garden".
- Jadie as well seems to have one, mostly related to her Family.
- In the Prologue, it is mentioned that Nicholas made a great mess that "The Patriarch" had to fix. Later revealed in the Lorebook Entries that He, along "The Goliath", is the one behind the birth of the "Dreamers", and the start of the "Dreamers' War".
- The Outcast seems to have some "Bad blood" toward the king and the kingdom. It is later revealed that He was Morgante's son, and was harshly raised to be a King, at the same level of His heroic uncle, only to be exiled as He ended up attacking Eva for no reason..
- Whatever happened during the war, it must have strained the relationship between Morgante and his friends Lora Who was then confirmed to have been a Republican Mole, and partially responsible for the events of the "Last Battle".
- Frederick Right entry in the Lorebook mentions a few details that may imply He has well had one.
- A Day in the Limelight: Each Chapter of Book 1 so far focused on one Character in particular of the Main Cast.
- Deadpan Snarker: Among the Staff of the "De-Rezolutor", Leonora is the true embodiment of this trope.
- Ivan shows bits of this.
- Death by Childbirth: This was the fate of Ivan's mother, Paula Ventura, as revealed in the Lorebook entry.
- Death of Personality: The Lorebook reveal that this is what happens to Scaboddas everytime they "Regenerate", as each new Iteration start with a new personality, and no memories of the previous one, if not as "Datas" archived in their Core.
- The Dragon: Beta is one for "The Patriarch"
- Drama Bomb: Every Story starring Jadie is subject to one.
- This seems to be a trait Her son tooe as well.
- The Reveal of the Outcast identity as "Lloyd" comes with drastic changes in the Story, starting with the death of Morgante by his own hand!.
- Dramedy: The Series seems to feature a mix of heartwarming and wholesome moments, combined with comical shenanigans and jokes, with bits of Drama.
- Early-Bird Cameo: There are a few of this, most of the time to anticipate the next story:
- Charlotte and the rest of the "De-Rezolutor" staff make an appearance in one of Beta's Holographic screens, as well José, Charles, a Regenerated Eva, King Morgante, Ivan, Ferdinand, Greta, and Brody, Camy, Toby, Gordon, Pamela, and as well Dr. Plague.
- Eva makes another cameo in the "De-Rezolutor Family", as she attends the "Bonds Celebration Day" with a Guy, possibly Her Ex-Boyfriend "Jeremy" Later revealed to be Lloyd in disguise..
- Lora first appears in her Regenerated state along with a young Ulrich and Morgante in a brief flashback of the latter.
- Eating Optional: Elves, despite being Human, just evolved, actually have no need to eat or drink, thanks to their advanced metabolism... This doesn't refrain Bells to be a Big Eater, while Leonora opts to not eat at all.
- In the Lorebook, Scaboddas are stated to have "Humps" in both the Pectoral and Gluteal area, that store all the sugar they mainly crave, allowing them to work uninterrupted, and so, making the option of eating optional for long cycles.
- Exotic Eye Designs: Alfredo and his Mother seem to be the only character to have Diamond-shaped Pupils, with Alfredo who as well as Golden Eyes.
- Subverted later with "De-Rezolutor Family", as Elves seem to share this trait.
- Fake-Out Opening: The first pages of the Prologue features the tales of the "Dreamers" and the coming of the "Hollows". It later turns out to be a young Alfredo reading the comic of that story in particular.
- Great Offscreen War: The "Dreamers' War" is said to be one for the World of Gaia.
- Good Parents: Jadie is one toward Her little child "Alfie", other than giving Him the Nickname "Starlet", She proceeds to finish the story with him despite being past His bedtime, gave Her interpretation of the story instead of straight telling Him that it's not real, and comforted Him with their Lullaby when He felt down about being forbidden to interact with other kids of his age..
- As His father, Roger might as well be one due to his supportive and gentle personality, although no direct interaction between Him and Alfredo was shown so far.
- Morgante appears to be one due to his charismatic personality, even though Ivan seems to not be much trustworthy of his choices. He was proven right as We learn what He did with Lloyd during his upbringing and the drastic choice He made to "Discipline" him.
- Hard Light: Known as "Solid Tone Echo Hologram" of the Echotech, as revealed in the Lorebook.
- On further inspection, the "Blades" of the Gizmos seem to be made of this a-la Lightsaber.
- Horns of Villainy: The "Hollow" shown in the Prologue is sporting these, made out of a Purple Cristalline Material.
- Inverted in general, as Giants and Giantess both sports horns, even King Morgante.
- Magitek: Or "Manatech", is what most of the Technology is developed in the world of Gaia, as revealed in the Lorebook, even things that look like Nowadays Tech is powered by the Mana thanks to it, with the "Ansia Republic" that doesn't seem to hide the fact that it makes heavy use of it, while it is presumed that the "Amnesia Kingdom" makes it pass for "Magic" with its more Fantasy-esque setting... or so it seems.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: There seems to be a slight Subtext of this between Ferdinand and Charles, although it's not completely confirmed outside how the two of them look at each other, although Ferdinand tends to get much more agitated than Charles.
- Confirmed in the "Lorebook Entry II" where it is said Charles and Ferdinand live together on a farm, and are the adoptive parents of Kimberly Ara.
- Mood Whiplash: The Series seems to have a tendency to have these by how it alternate funny, heartwarming, and wholesome moments with sadder and dramatic ones from one panel to another.
- Noodle Incident: Ivan reminds Alfredo of the time "Someone" forgot to divide the aluminum wrapping from the chocolate stars last time they had a "Star Hunt", implying that the latest cake was, in fact, with aluminum inside.
- Obviously Not Fine: In both Her appearances in the "Prologue" and in the "De-Rezolutor Family", Jadie showed signs of Depression, by trying to act fine in the initial parts, only to break down later in both the stories, both cases due to recollecting hurtful Memories.
- Her son Alfredo seems to show similar signs as shown when He lashed out during his tantrum, its aftermath as He briefly found refuge in his "Golden Garden", and later after seeing the Patriarch at the capital.
- Parents as People: Despite being a good and caring mother to Alfredo, Jadie has shown a few times to have as well her own weaknesses, and that She, as well, need help and support from others in order to be happy, with Alfredo himself being a reason for Her to live, even after everything that has been implied to have happened in Her past. Good thing Roger is by her side.
- Production Throwback: Jadie originates from Fedriz's previous work Stuffed 2: Five Nights at Fedetronics. This time as a human instead of an Animatronic.
- Philipps Calculator, Bells, and Pamela O'Flynn are confirmed to be reworks of Lucatronic, Teddy the Bear, and Pup the Fox from Stuffed.
- Charlotte has her origins as The Strongman from the aforementioned Stuffed series. This time with a Gender Flip.
- Science Fantasy: The existence of "Manatech", and so, of the implication of using the "Mana" as a power source, might put the Series under this trope, as it mixes Fantasy with Science-Fiction, or further, a Fantasy deconstructed.
- Sweet Tooth: Bells appears to love Sweets, to the point that even admit to going out with the rest of the "De-Rezolutor" Staff just to eat some at the kiosks.
- The Dreaded: Just mentioning "Him" seems to scare Roger a little.
- The "Patriarch" takes the cakes, as it is implied that He is rarely mentioned due to his infamy, despite being an authority figure.
- Time Skip: Between the "Prologue" and the "De-Rezolutor Family" story, Six years have passed.
- Each story is separated by a few months apart.
- Title Drop: Each Story/Chapter tends to Drop the Title in the dialogue, with the sole exception of the Prologue and the "Forgotten Child", with the "Prelude" that instead Drops the Series Title.
