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beedeewun · 3 months ago

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Lateron Arms: Greez Dritus edition

(thanks @cosmic-castor-canadensis for the idea!)

We're talking about arms today! More specifically, what do you do when you have a human actor (with two arms) playing a Star Wars alien with four arms?

The Cast And Characters Of Jedi: Fallen Order featurette shows Daniel Roebuck with two pads strapped to each side of his mocap suit. It's a simple, smart way to create space for Greez' secondary limbs, without compromising the actor's performance.

Cutscenes in the Jedi games are a mix of performance capture data (PCAP) and hand-key animation from the artists at Respawn. So Greez is created by two actors: Danny's on-set performance, and the additional performance from the animator. Greez' double set of arms is a perfect way to explore that teamwork.

Greez is an expressive guy, and his Lateron personality shows up in both his voice and his arms. It's not uncommon to see all four arms moving in unison - but there's usually a slight offset between the primary and secondary limbs. This keeps the smaller arms from looking like they're "on strings" and puppeteered by the arms above. Sometimes the gesture is the same, but the position of the hands or wrists differs slightly. It's possible the same PCAP data is applied to both arms, then re-timed or adjusted slightly.

Sometimes Greez' arms move with a left/right split, usually while piloting the Mantis as he keeps his left arms on the controls. Very occasionally he gestures with just one side of his arms, seen in the alt-angle cutscene here and at the start of the post.

More often, Greez gestures with a upper/lower split, creating two different poses with each set of arms. Why pick one expression when you can have two? It's possible the animator referenced an unused take of Daniel's performance for the secondary gesture, or it was created completely from scratch. The goal is to enhance Greez' character and not interfere/clip with his primary arms' movement in each scene.

There's some really thoughtful decision making that happens with Greez' extra limbs. I love how he clasps his hands both in front and behind his body here - and how his arms separately cycle through different gestures to show his increased frustration and concern.

When his primary arms are occupied (carrying a tray, grabbing a cup) Greez' secondary arms become more active (gesturing independently, adjusting his seat on the crate)

But the secondary arms are just as comfortable taking a break while the primary arms do the talking, which makes the animator's job a lot simpler too. Still, that slight adjustment in his second left arm keeps it feeling alive even when not actively "participating" in the conversation.

Greez has a lot to say and needs every available hand to say it, which is great synergy between his design and personality. It's a fun puzzle from a technical standpoint, and allows his character to have a unique silhouette compared to the human-shaped members of the Mantis Crew.

You made it to the end, so here's a four-armed hug <3

#greez #greeeeeeeeez #jfo #survivor

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beedeewun · 4 months ago

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Hiiiii! How about 'Grab the little one's for JFO for the requests? Thanks!

This one went through so many different versions in my brain and on paper omg. Excellent prompt picking, definitely gave me much to think about and many ideas!!

Waiting for a Light in the Dark

Febuwhump Day 22: "Grab the Little One" Words: 1718

Cal’s hand is sweaty where it wraps around the hilt of his lightsaber. He knows that it will make it harder to hold if he needs to use it, but he can’t let it go. There’s been nothing bad or out of the ordinary so far, not even a little fight, but there’s something off about this place. A mission to collect Separatist information goes awry. Luckily Cal still has Master Tapal to save the day.

AO3 Link

Cal’s hand is sweaty where it wraps around the hilt of his lightsaber. He knows that it will make it harder to hold if he needs to use it, but he can’t let it go. There’s been nothing bad or out of the ordinary so far, not even a little fight, but there’s something off about this place. It makes him uneasy, like he’s being watched, but a careful eye scanning the walls picks out no cameras, just a few small vent covers.

Around him the clones are either picking up on his nervousness or nervous themselves. Master Tapal told him that the clones could also be attuned to the Force like any other living thing, and that their gut feelings could be trusted. Even Sunny is tense enough that he’s either worried or has a stomach ache. The Force tells him which it is. All of the men are buzzing through the Force with their quiet anxiety. Contrary to that Master Tapal, wherever he is in the facility, is calm and steadfast as river stones through their connection. Cal wraps himself in the feeling of it, hoping that it’ll help him be braver.

“Thought there were supposed to be clankers here,” grumbles Gamut as they turn yet another corner into an empty hallway.

“It’s listed as a programming facility for Separatist droids, that doesn’t mean that there will be droids here,” replies Twitch.

“It kinda does,” says Sunny. “It is droid stuff.”

“Actually, they only manufacture the droid’s data chips here. They program them and then mass manufacture them. And since we’re updating tactics all the time, they keep updating the droids. Even the tactical ones,” says Cal.

Five painted helmets turn to him. It’s easy to hear the smile in Twitch’s voice when he says: “Well look who read the mission briefing.”

Cal blushes and rubs at the back of his head with the hand not wrapped around his lightsaber. “Of course, we need to read the briefings to prepare for the mission.”

“See,” Twitch slaps Sunny on the shoulder. “Even the little Commander knows to read the briefings.”

“You just sum it up for me anyways, why should I waste time reading when I could be getting extra sleep instead. A well-rested soldier lives longer.”

On Sunny’s other side Mulch giggles quietly, his shoulders shaking as he contains his laughter. Cal almost giggles as well but that nagging feeling of something being wrong stays too close like it’s stuck in his throat and won’t let the sound escape. So he just smiles at his men and leads on.

It’s not long before they come to the door they’ve been looking for. There are two central computing hubs in the facility, and Master Tapal is heading to one while Cal goes to the other. Together they would download any data they could find on Separatist intelligence before destroying everything. Simple enough, especially since it seems like the facility is briefly vacant for upgrades. A quiet mission for a young Padawan only a few months out of the temple.

Cal stands to the side and fidgets with his lightsaber as Tuner fiddles with the door locks. The others unholster their blasters and hold them at the ready. The facility is supposed to be empty but if anyone is there, they would be in the control hub. Other than Tuner’s armoured fingers typing away at his datapad while he hacks the door the hallway is quiet enough to hear a pin drop. It does nothing to ease Cal’s nerves.

“Okay, I think I’ve got it,” says Tuner. Despite the quiet of his voice they all jump. A moment later the door slides open.

Chaos greets them with a mechanical screech.

The first time Cal encountered a battle droid he’d thought it sounded funny. The robotic quality of its voice mixed with its general inability to think for itself made it say funny things in a weird voice. Then the droid had pulled a blaster and shot Fifty through the chest and suddenly they weren’t funny anymore. So despite the screeching and garbled words coming from the battle droids in the room Cal feels all his anxiety pool into icy dread in his stomach.

There are at least twenty droids in the room. What they were doing there is beyond Cal’s ability to decipher. Instead he feels that same fear he felt then and tries his best to let it go as he rushes in with his lightsaber raised.

A shot from his left has Cal spinning to block and send it right back to the droid that fired it. His men also jump into action, sliding down behind empty desks for cover and returning fire. Cal follows only half a heartbeat behind and ducks down beside Twitch. He’s close enough to hear Twitch’s distress call to Captain Key, Master Tapal’s second in command for this mission. Unfortunately, he can’t hear the reply. He tugs on his bond to Master Tapal through the Force anyway. He knows he’ll get a lecture about controlling his fear, but that’s preferable to being dead.

Somewhere to his left Cal hears Tuner yelp and feels his spirit waver in the Force. He grips his lightsaber tight. He can’t lose any of his men. With barely a thought he pops up from behind the desk and begins reflecting back as many of the droid’s blaster bolts as he can.

“Commander! Get down!” Twitch yells and tugs on his robes. Cal ignores it. They aren’t going to make it if they stick to hiding.

With the chaos in the room Cal must rely on the force to warn him of the incoming shots. He can barely see through the dust and sparks in the air. But he holds on even as his arms grow heavy with the effort. Then the droids clue in.

“A Jedi! Get the little one!”

Cal’s heart drops into his stomach as the shadowy figures of the droids in the dust all turn to face him as one unit. He shifts his weight and raises his lightsaber in a defensive stance, but knows in his gut it will not be enough. He should run, or hide like Twitch is screaming at him to do, but instead an odd peace surrounds him and he stands his ground. When the droids fire he spins his lightsaber in wide arcs in front of him. The ‘saber feels oddly distant, moving faster than ever on its own accord. Cal feels like he’s a passenger in his own body watching the blaster bolts be reflected back to the droids. At least until the sensation of white hot pain sinks into him.

Cal staggers and Twitch takes the opportunity to yank him down beside him.

“Karking hell, Commander,” Twitch growls.

Looking down Cal spots the singed side of his robes and the charred flesh across his ribs. It hurts more to see it and Cal swears he can feel the frayed edges of his robes catching in his flesh and dragging thin lines through it. He breathes in sharply through his nose and tries not to cry. They’re still in the middle of a firefight, he can’t cry and distract everyone.

“I’m fine,” Cal gasps. “I’m good.”

“With all due respect: that’s bantha shit, Commander,” says Twitch.

Cal frowns at him, then flinches as a blaster bolt pings off the desk above their heads. On Twitch’s other side Sunny returns fire and another droid falls with a metallic scream. It won’t be enough though. Though they’ve reduced the numbers down by half at least, Tuner is down and only Sunny and Mulch are firing back at this point. Twitch is too busy fussing at Cal when he should be helping take out the droids. Cal isn’t going to die right then and there, though even breathing hurts at this point. The blaster bolt had gone straight through the soft skin over his ribs below his armpit. He can’t even move his arm either, instead frozen with it held out to the side awkwardly.

They’re going to lose. Cal squeezes his eyes shut to stop the tears from leaking. They’re going to die here and it’s going to be all his fault. He’s going to watch his men die while he struggles to breathe through the wound in his side. The heat of it radiates through him in waves, numbing and burning in turns. Twitch is trying to peel a bacta patch to put on it but his hands are shaking and the armour is making him clumsy. It doesn’t matter, they’re going to die anyway.

Then there’s a shout from the doorway. Familiar and deep and full of challenge. Cal looks up to see Master Tapal and his team step through the doorway, the bright light from the hall framing them from behind. For a moment Cal forgets the pain. Relief floods him as Master Tapal and his team charge into the battle and make quick work of the surprised droids. This is how the rest of the galaxy feels when the Jedi come to the rescue, Cal thinks. Then the pain starts creeping back in to the edges of his consciousness and he shrinks down against the smooth metal of the desk.

Twitch takes the opportunity to slap the bacta patch on Cal’s wound and the mix of pain and relief makes him jump and reach for the patch. Twitch catches his hands and gently holds them away from it.

“Let the bacta do its thing, Commander,” says Twitch as gently as he can to be heard over the sounds of battle. “We’re good, General Tapal’s got it from here.”

And that is true. In the span of only a few minutes Master Tapal and his men have cleared the room and are getting started on the half of the mission Cal’s team was supposed to complete. Guilt flares in Cal as he watches the clones get to work on copying the Separatist intelligence and check over Tuner. He watches Master Tapal approach him. Or watches his feet pad closer. Between the pain burning through his side and the guilt Cal isn’t sure he can look his Master in the eye. He takes as deep a breath as he can and waits for the inevitable lecture.

#wahhh poor baby #fics #cal #clones #jaro tapal

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