TRADE ART FOR @marmakar

This was originally a sketch, but I liked it so much that I turned it into a more detailed drawing. The scene is set in 2001, which is why the idiot Donald and Toni look like they do in their GTA 3 artwork. I was going to include Toshiko, but creative block got the best of me, so just imagine her waving at Donald.😛

(This is obviously not happening in Liberty City — we all know Toni would be a dead man if he had stayed with Toshiko)

20th Anniversary, GTA Liberty City Stories

🖤I wanted to make a drawing for the 20th anniversary of GTA LCS. At first, I only wanted to draw Toni, Donald, and Toshiko, but then I decided to step out of my comfort zone and include more important GTA characters. I also wanted to try a chibi style, since honestly I’m really bad at drawing in that style. I think the result turned out cute.

I'm back! I was busy, but now I think I have time to do some drawings. I'm sick at the moment 😭, but I wanted to do a sketch for Halloween.

Antonio ~ <3

Why the hell is Toni the only GTA character who can wear a mascot suit? I don’t know, but it’s so cool. The clothes Toshiko and Donald are wearing are the Cox shirt, but from the HD universe.

Manhunt 2 and Biblical References

So I was digging around and noticed something interesting: Manhunt 2 actually has references that directly echo the Old Testament. The main character is called Daniel Lamb, and in one of the endings he becomes David Joiner — both first names straight out of the Bible. Looks like someone on the dev team knew their way around these themes and slipped them into Rockstar games — sometimes as allusions, sometimes as satire, or just to add depth, mystery, and irony.

Daniel — a prophet who interpreted the dreams of kings, remained faithful to God, and even survived being thrown into the lions’ den (and yes, that makes the name Leo Kasper pretty amusing in context (Leo=lion, you know)). Daniel symbolizes faith and resilience.

David — the second king of Israel. He committed some heavy sins, but repented and was forgiven. His story is one of downfall and redemption.

There are more layers too. The last name Lamb literally means «young sheep». In the Bible, the lamb represents innocence and sacrifice. In the Old Testament, lambs were offered as atonement. In the New Testament, Christ is called the «Lamb of God» who takes away the sins of the world.

The second last name, Joiner, means «carpenter» or «one who joins things together». That’s symbolic for a protagonist with a «split personality» — he’s literally piecing himself back into one whole.

So yeah, that’s the kind of stuff.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But Rockstar’s Biblical nods don’t stop there.

When I was looking into LCS, I found a few interesting moments as well — even though the game frames them in a satirical way, which makes it even amusing.

Donald Love, after his mayoral campaign tanks because of his friendship with Toni Cipriani, ends up completely ruined. In one cut scene with Toni he drops the word hubris — the classic concept of downfall caused by arrogance. So while he doesn’t apologize directly, he basically admits defeat and weakness in front of Toni — which is actually kind of powerful.

On top of that, in an early cutscene where Love is holed up in some temporary hideout, he quotes Toni’s line “How the mighty have fallen.” At first glance, it’s just a cliché about downfall — but it’s actually a biblical quote (2 Samuel 1:19), where David mourns the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. The next verse is even stronger: “I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan… thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.”

And that’s just hilarious — moments like this sneaking into a satirical GTA. Rockstar might fumble big-picture storytelling sometimes, but when it comes to details, they’re brilliant.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So I have an idea of how Donald Love's business relationship with Valiant Video Enterprises and The Pickman Project:

(Keep in mind that this is only a headcanon/theory, so please take it with a massive grain of salt)

Because Donald Love was able to get away scot free in the end of both GTA 3 and Liberty City Stories, it would make sense for me to believe that he had connections from all over the country.

Therefore, I'd like to think he left to Carcer City after the events of LCS to make business deals with Nr Nasty and Lionel Starkweather. Given how he enjoys his "morgue parties", I'd say it's canon.

As for his disappearance in GTA 3, my take is that he went back and forth between Carcer City and Cottonmouth for his special deals with Mr Nasty, Starkweather and Pickman.

In 2001, after the Pickman Project was abandoned by the government, Donald Love would become one of Pickman's private funders. And after the events of Manhunt 1, Donald Love would cut all ties with Mr. Nasty and covered his own tracks, prioritizing The Project. Due to the condition of Cottonmouth during this time period, Love would keep a necessary distance while maintaining the business relationship with Pickman until 2007.

Thank you so much for tagging me, I really enjoyed reading your theory! <33

I’ve also come across an idea that Mr. Nasty could actually be Donald Love (from GTA 3). Considering his vibes and the way he obsessively bought up businesses, it’s definitely an interesting theory — but there are no solid facts to confirm it.

What we do know for sure is that Donald disappeared after the events of GTA 3. Where exactly he went remains unclear, so that’s where different headcanons and speculations come in.

As for his disappearance after LCS — this part is a bit more complicated. On GTA 3’s official promo site Liberty Tree, there were interviews with Donald Love, where it’s stated that he returned to the city to buy out businesses (since he had a competitor named Barry mentioned in the articles). Before that, he had been in the Caribbean, and it was Mayor O’Donovan (who beat Love in the elections and was backed by the Forellis) who persuaded him to come back — and these are facts, canon. But for some reason, this is almost never discussed (btw here's something https://www.tumblr.com/marmakar/785230117933858816/a-gta-lcs-based-headcanon-with-canon-support-from)

And considering the location of the Caribbean, it makes sense that after Liberty City he would first go to Vice City and then set off to the Caribbean from there. Why? Because Donald Love is at least from Vice City (according to its lore), plus it’s a port city, so it would be logical for him to sail away from there on a yacht. This part is more of a headcanon, since there’s no direct confirmation — it just feels like a missing puzzle piece.

As for everything else — maybe, maybe not. I won’t argue, since I don’t know the full picture of Manhunt’s lore :)

This definitely had the opportunity to tie the 3D GTA timeline with the Manhunt timeline.

When JD said "catering to specialists", who was he referring to? Was it Donald Love? Was it Starkweather? Mr Nasty? The Pervs on behalf of the Pickman Project? All of the above?

‎Does anyone else see the connection between LCS and Manhunt? Perfect! I can share a few facts I’ve noticed:

‎

1. ‎JD filmed a snuff video with Toni when Toni was sent on a mission to kill a member of the Sindaccos.

2. ‎JD also wore a gimp suit, just like the pervs in Manhunt.

3. ‎Most interestingly, JD had his own website as part of the LCS release campaign (something Rockstar often did), and the posters shown there later appear in Manhunt 2 as background details in the city.

4. ‎Manhunt 2 literally features its own Red Light District.

5. ‎At one point, Salvatore Leone actually calls Toni Cipriani «Lionel», when Toni steps in as his lawyer during a mission.

6. ‎Among Toni’s outfits, there’s one very similar to a costume from Manhunt (I’m not 100% sure here). There’s also a side mission where Toni kills enemies on a ship, shown entirely from a top-down camera view.

‎A small detail: it looks like the devs weren’t sure whether to give Danny Lamb a chin dimple in the textures. The same inconsistency appears with some of Toni Cipriani’s outfits. And the funny part — both of their «partners», Leo Kasper and Donald Love respectively, do end up with a chin dimple.

‎I honestly think Manhunt 2 was developed right alongside LCS, which is why they feel so closely connected. My two favorite Rockstar titles 🥰

This drawing wasn’t really planned. I was going to go with a different theme, but I felt like making more sketches of Toni and Donald together. I also added a quick sketch of Toshiko, which kind of works as a continuation of the Donald and Toni fanart.