These images and the main part of the text were created by ChatGPT, with a healthy dose of revision, addition, guidance, recombination, and of course, laying out the basic story elements by… some silly person. That said, GPT absolutely did the lion’s share of the heavy-lifting here, and I’m quite impressed by the results(!) Note: the other two “Tintin” images are simply earlier models that I was unsatisfied with; just thought I’d include them for fun’s sake.

TBC-- this little exercise was conceived as an answer to the challenge posted here.

EDIT: For those downvoting, could you explain why you just did that? The reason I ask is mainly because I’ve busted my arse on this community for well over a year, with hundreds of my best content and mini-review posts shared for what I thought was the public good.

Indeed, have you read the side-bar and do you understand the mission of this sub? Thanks for explaining, if you choose to.

---

The Case of the Vanishing Vintage

The morning sunlight filtered through the antique windows of Marlinspike, catching on rows of mismatched gadgets cluttering the Professor’s workshop. The Captain paced the drawing room, clutching his hat as if it might float away. “Gone! My last bottle of 1927 Herringbone Reserve!” he bellowed. “Do you know what that means, lad?”

Tintin adjusted his cap, surveying the Captain with calm curiosity. “It means someone here has suspiciously good taste in whiskey,” he quipped.

“No, it means calamity! It means treachery!” The Captain leaned close, his voice dropping to a whisper. “And it means I’ll have to drink… gin,” a look of plain contempt on his face.

The boy detective sighed. “I’ll find it, Captain. Start from the beginning.”

Before the Captain could stammer out a reply, the Professor bustled in to the room, holding what appeared to be a metal umbrella with a whisk attached to the tip. “Ah,” the Professor exclaimed. “I’ve just solved Cutts’ problem of pigeons on his chimney. All it took was a spot of clever engineering!”

“What kind of engineering?” asked Tintin, tilting his head.

“Oh, nothing special—magnets, gears, a bit of wire…” The Professor trailed off and tapped the umbrella’s handle thoughtfully. “And a vessel of a certain, shall we say, vintage quality to balance the structure.”

The Captain, oblivious to the implication, waved a hand. “Yes, yes, but what about my whiskey?”

“I’m sure it’ll turn up,” the Professor said cheerfully. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a blueprint that needs refinement.”

The boy detective watched the Professor leave, his brow furrowed. Then he glanced at Snowy, who cocked his head expectantly. “Hmm…” the lad muttered.

It wasn’t long before Tintin and Snowy were on the cobblestone streets of the nearby Belgian town, weaving through bakers, bicyclists, and buskers. They found Cutts standing outside his shop, eyeing his roof with a mix of awe and terror.

“Cutts,” called the boy detective, “where’s the Professor’s invention?”

“Oh, it’s up there,” Cutts replied, pointing to a rotating monstrosity on the roof. The umbrella whisk twirled energetically, flinging breadcrumbs into the sky at intervals. “Thing scares off pigeons but attracts swans. I’ve got three nesting in my chimney now.”

Tintin tilted his head, observing the contraption as Snowy barked sharply. His eyes darted to the base of the device, where a faint glint caught his attention. “Great snakes!” he exclaimed.

Scrambling up the drainpipe with Snowy close behind, he finally reached the mechanism. Wedged in a tangle of wires, unmistakable amid the absurd construction, was the Captain’s whiskey bottle.

“Got it!” he shouted triumphantly. Snowy gave an approving yap, his tail wagging.

But just as he reached to grab it, the mechanism sputtered and roared to life, flinging the bottle skyward. Snowy barked furiously, and the boy detective muttered under his breath, “Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.”

Just then, a despairing, spine-chilling wail met their ears from the street below, as it seems Captain Haddock had been surreptitiously following the investigation, finally understanding what had happened and what had just occurred.

EDIT: Days later and damn, I see I made a major ‘fox paw,’ here. As in, the professor would be nowhere near able to communicate so easily with the others. Also, it seems like the ending’s just a little inadequate. Hmm…