#spark. starter

[emberglowfox]

the best part of finishing an asset that gave you trouble isnt like. being done with it its putting it in unreal and giving it collision and just beating the everloving fuck out of it

[melchinafan]

Massive kudos to the South of Midnight team for the attention to detail in environmental storytelling and character design! I know there's still a ton of stuff I can't even begin to guess at, but I've been able to glean a good amount just from the trailers, and it's all got me itching for more.

Some things I've been able to spot, just from these two screenshots:

I'd already kinda gotten the impression from Hazel's tattoo choker necklace and Lisa Frank-esque dolphin-rainbow tank top...but after seeing Lacey's half of a "best friends" heart necklace and jean jacket? I'd be shocked if this doesn't take place in or around the 90s. (Which is a solid choice, since it's a good way to limit having to worry about the question of cell phones.) Plus, if you take a look at their fridge, you can see magnets of the primary mythical creatures we'll run across! I listed most of them in the alt text if you can't tell what they are, but if I had to guess at the mystery cut-off one in the second screenshot...I'd say it's the Altamaha-ha from the announcement trailer. (Which I think is also maybe the purple-pink aquatic creature you can see for a split second near the end of the story trailer.) And...well, it's not visible in these screenshots, but in this scene Hazel also accidentally knocks a handmade mug off the counter. That mug has a bottle tree design on it, as featured in the game's logo and as important in-game magical elements!

Also fun is some of the detailing for Shakin' Bones:

His guitar has a Prospero license plate near the bottom (also seen on a half-sunk taxi that Catfish swims past in the gameplay trailer), which says CROS RDS (or "crossroads"). Below his arm you can see his name "Bones" carved into the face of the guitar, flanked by a couple Fleur-de-lis, and in a couple spots there's decorative blue paint (haint blue, I'd bet). Plus some short bits of bone (femur, at a guess), for both the bottom strap button and the tuning knobs. There's also a broken, rusted sawblade for a pickguard...which curiously has an elegant leafy design carved onto it. There's a similar leafy design carved along the top side of the guitar, too. Bones himself has a lot of different flora growing on him...at least two different kinds of leafy plants (small round leaves on his shoes, larger pointy leaves on his arms and neck), and some small brown mushrooms. And while I don't know enough about plants to recognize what those three might be, I'm pretty sure the flowers on his neck and side are swamp lilies. (The flower on his side is visible near the start of the announcement trailer, when you see him from behind. I'm also pretty sure I spotted some swamp lilies growing around Rhubarb's house in the story trailer, in their standard cluster form vs. Bones' unique singular flowers. Fun fact: for folks who play Secret World and remember a particular painting of some import in the Franklin Mansion, you may be amused to note that one of that flower's colloquial names is "seven sisters.")

There's also...well...these are a bit more spoiler-y, so I'll put them under a cut and try to keep it vague. But there's visual clues hinting at some secrets a few folks seem to have...

Less overtly secret, but still some story spoilers:

The most obvious thing at first glance in the first screenshot is the presence of Huggin' Molly's red yarn inside the broken wall. At second glance, and double-checking the start of the trailer to confirm the yellow paint and window style matches, this appears to be Hazel's house. But looking more carefully, one might notice that the exposed inner boards of the wall seem to have a little faded blue paint...suggesting that the house was protected with a hidden layer of haint blue (possibly in addition to the indoor wall paint that also appears to be blue), which wards off nasty critters. And with that ward literally broken, and Huggin' Molly being known in her real-world mythology to go after folks late at night, well... (Bonus fun fact: Secret Worlders may also be amused that the time on the clock in the first screenshot of this post is 10:10, as with Kingsmouth's clocks. Probably specifically 10:10 pm, not a storm-dark morning.)

And finally, a particular someone who seems to have deeper secrets:

(I linked the story trailer earlier, but the second screenshot is from the half-hour-long documentary.) The subtitles tell us this man is Laurent, and I'm curious about how significant his ear and nose piercings might be, given that he otherwise seems to be giving off airs of "responsible adult" (which typically does not permit such things). I have no idea who he is, exactly...yet his clothing choice and sense of decor are reminiscent of another design, which has shown up in the trailers and some promo/concept art that's been shared by the devs... But I'll let you dig up that connection on your own, if you're inclined to hunt down a bigger story spoiler.

[aether-link]

Having some dumb thoughts/hc for Amir once again. I really do love others hc of him having static hair, I adore that and like thank goodness I’m not the only one who thinks that. But after while of thinking about his hair and static, what if Amir could move his hair on queue? As well as static affect from emotions?

I can mentally see him sitting around on the couch with my drifter going “ooOOooOOooOOoo” making his own hair flare up for some giggles. Specially the back of his head and neck area having the most effect. Like he’s some exotic bird showing off. And for static, I mostly think that experiencing high emotions mixed in with an ability like that would make his hair outright go all over the place. Maybe even having a fine current higher then static coursing through his hair making pretty loud zaps that’s a little intimidating to a point.

[clochanam-archive]

" you're a good person, you know. "

OPEN STARTER. / OPEN TO MUTUALS ONLY!

[lemons-pens]

⠀

⠀ 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 @spark-took-flight .

⠀

⠀ ( optics glance over at the seeker . a sneer over his features before he rolls his helm back, optics fluttering shut as he rests servos over the plating of his hips . )

⠀

⠀ '' seeker's on the menu tonight ? boring . i've hunted you all before . . . ''

⠀

⠀ ( optics open once more as he rests his cheek plating against the palm of his servo that had shot up . when did he get so close ? he's standing right beside the seeker now . letting out a cackle as the other tries to swipe at him . too slow ! )

⠀

⠀ '' let's make this interesting . . . no - name . i'm gonna give you . . . 10 seconds . run, and i'll chase . doesn't that sound nice ? i'm being generous . i'mgivingyouaheadstart ! ''

⠀

[the-vagabond-decepticon]

[ starter for @spark-took-flight ]

He didn't know how long he'd been adrift in space. He didn't want to be returning to the fleet like this, not really. It was just he finally, finally had a design in his processing unit he was guarding so, so carefully, that had passed every simulation he could possibly put it through based on the data he had stored, and he didn't have the materials to make it himself.

He was precious cargo, but he was also self-moving cargo, and so, he got going.

Back to the Decepticons.

His one mission was reaching Decepticon High Command, and he knew, of course he knew, he had tunnel vision. He knew that once he had his sights on something, he would stop at nothing to get there, and would often turn off his risk assessment module to do it, though he paid for it, every time.

Which was why he was here now. He had been so close to the planet called 'Earth'. He had been so incredibly close, just in the solar system, when his ship finally succumbed to the damage it had, and he was also succumbing to it as he crash landed on Earth's moon, unhelpfully called 'Moon'.

He had sent out a distress beacon, and his optics were glazing in and out of focus. He had tried to go into 'Numbers' mode to offset all the energon he was losing, but it wasn't working. Error codes were piling up, screaming in his processor, making his helm feel an imaginary ache, and all he could think was I hope they'll be able to pull the schematics out of my corpse.

It didn't occur to him in the slightest how ghoulish that might be. After so many 'modifications', most of them successful, he didn't really see his body as something capable of being violated. Thus, it didn't occur to him to download the blueprint onto something else. After all, that took time and energy, which he had precious little of both.

Just as his optics began to go from blurry to dark, he saw a shadow, a shape, outside of his cockpit, and he couldn't even muster the energy to check if it was friend or foe. Given the fact his scanners didn't pick up the Cybertronian outside, it didn't matter either way. He wouldn't be able to put up a fight if he tried.

Well, Autobots wouldn't think to pull off my processor, he thought to himself, and then there was a pang. But... I didn't finish... the mission...

Ah, well.

They'd get his body eventually.

Didn't really matter who got him first, now did it?

[spidersins]

and if i told you angels muse is back full force...what then huh

[flameleads]

"I'm going to identify as a problem."

[evanave]

OPEN TO: mutuals

“I can’t believe we’re trying to climb through a window to get back your underwear.”

[kowtownart]

I think a good 98% of any doodles i've done at work have been Birb and i being all affectionate

[flameleadsarc]

"If the humidity could calm down, I'd be happy."

[spiderweb-stims]

Tepig in celebration of making it to the starter roster for Pokemon Legends ZA

🔥|🔥|🔥

🔥|⭐️|🔥

🔥|🔥|🔥

[polly-pancakes]

Still very much a starter but much homier than the original and has lots of green for Miss Bea! She has a whole 33 simoleons left to her name.

I put it up on the gallery if anyone wants it. ID: PollyPancakes

[rhaigal]

open; to anyone really.

"Yeah. Sorry, this seat is taken."

[atomiqueen]

a random bg3 au starter for @radiaking

        It's one of those rare occasions where their fearless leader has elected to bring Lucy along, and she's managing to hold her own...mostly. The Shadow-Cursed lands are just exactly that, and every so often the darkness takes shape and strikes out at her and the others. She's distracted trying to keep an eye on the shadows when a possessed Harper leaps forth and knocks her to the ground. She looks up, wide-eyed, as the dead-eyed corpse hefts its weapon high to strike you down.

        And then its head just...explodes.

        Lucy is covered in blood and corpse gore that's definitely going to take several washes to get out of her hair and clothes. But there is a familiar silhouette striding out of the darkness, as though the Shadow-Curse doesn't even phase him. “It's you...” She scrambles to her feet, hefting her crossbow and aiming it between the Ghoul's eyes.

        The last time Lucy saw him, she did him a kindness. She's not entirely sure if he's come to return that favor or not. “What are you doing here?”

[andromecha]

✦ in a life threatening situation with @spark-took-flight

⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀Soundwave lets Starscream's question hang in the air, the silence filling itself with more gravity the longer it is left unanswered, a lull that condescendingly intends to remind Megatron's aversion of what happens when he assumes a leadership role; he reaches heights that thwart himself and those around him.

Perhaps if Starscream put more thought into the limited number of troops for this mission, he would have foreseen that the area they were meant to scavenge was one they would have to be overly cautious about in every move. Or if he considered the fact that he was paired with another bot of high ranking, that the reward held more pristine, and required utmost precision to retrieve. Maybe if Starscream stayed quiet, he would have thought.

But Starscream is not a creature that honors silence; he tramples all over it with the sound of his voice, desperately needing to silence the silence. All this disdain that fumed in Soundwave's cerebral processor kept them motionless.

In the same leaf, Soundwave cannot process an answer for him.

This wasn't like them, without a solution.

The cold must've nipped at their energy earlier than Starscream realized his cog was neutralized, or else this outcome would've been anticipated and ensured it didn't come to be in the first place.

An answer didn't come at the forefront of their mind, no, but something far more valuable survived this damned temperature, the thought of their cassettes. Soundwave peeks down at them, their visor reflecting their heart-shaped chest. They've begun hibernating in their enclosure; Soundwave detected a decrease in their vitals, enabling them to enter 'sleep mode'. A sure sign that they needed warmth, desperately.

It's the only thought that outmatched this frostbite. But if Soundwave wanted to survive with all of their little companions, they needed to ensure Starscream's survival. He is sturdier. A flying jet that will certainly guarantee their escape. What good is a little music box like them in comparison? Starscream, a cockroach that survives no matter how many times it's stepped on ... It wounds their pride that it comes to this, but they must serve their purpose to Starscream in this moment.

Except, Starscream gets no hint about this.

Their pedes, always in a constant tiptoeing nature, skate through this thin sheet of a floor like a ballerina gliding across the stage, one pede sliding after the other. This graceful footwork was never absent in Soundwave. But this was no dance recital. They were on a tightrope. Starscream in it. And whatever mistake they make in this stride will thwart itself, and those around it.

Soundwave: Must make this right.

Soundwave stops.

They stand close behind the seeker, the 'covering the distance between them' sort of close.

And then there's this pause. A loud gust of silence ensued around them, a perfect note of anticipation. Too dramatically drawn out, it carried, at the same time, a heavy amount of reason. Yet, to the unaware, this must be the worst assurance. Starscream deserved better than being part of a plan over which he had no say.

But Soundwave needed to build the tension, and needed his attention much more. The next part required it.

A prey's blood is richer and warmer, boiling, when its heart has been stimulated by threatening elements, such as a predator. Soundwave reads Starscream's pulse mentally, but whether they achieved this effect or not, it does not wait for; their tentacles reach out for the other body. These slender coils do best to wrap themselves around his waist. The ends of these tentacles, the magenta feelers, wiggle in greeting before they leech on the surface above where his t-cog would be. Except, instead of bloodsucking, they do something ... interesting.

The feelers, collecting themselves and puckering on the spot, transmit a much-needed source, warmth. In this abnormal process, the tendrils tend to the situation. While this trumpet-shaped flower was entirely delicate and harmless on Starscream's mesh, it began threatening the stability of Soundwave. They sway like a flower in spring. At least, Soundwave thinks they are.

Except that they don't believe it when they stumble so soon, their chest scrapping against his back, their hand instinctively clutching on Starscream's shoulder. How embarrassing! Starscream isn't supposed to see Soundwave like this!

With quivering strength, they attempt to stand upright. Anything to get off of him. So when they back away from the seeker in a step or two, it's the legs doing the effort, and so their knees buckle, shivering for their legs to stand upright. This was not Soundwave's best presentation, but it was an idea that tried its best to yield optimal results.

Soundwave must serve its purpose to Starscream, for the casseticons.