#and the furthest arrow draws a line

[nhhs-jrlqj-brxwxeh]

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[rassicas]

Splatoon 3 artbook is coming! and they gave us hi res sample pages! so i translated them!

I’ve already preordered the book, and since I live in Japan I should be getting it very soon after release. mark my words I’m gonna go crazee translating it i need that Lore

In the meantime, some translations of the sample pages! take a look under the cut:

Page 44, IKIMONO (Living things)

yellow text: Among the living things in the Inkling world, a wide variety of species exist. There are creatures that can take on a humanoid form as well, called "Inklings" and "Octolings", the former being squids, and the latter being octopuses. white text in gray box: The old and the new mix to make the Splatland's youth culture The young people who grew up in Splatsville take pride in being born and raised in the Splatlands, and there is an extremely strong sense of solidarity in the community. They deeply cherish their old local culture, which is unsophisticated and simple, yet strong. At the same time, they like to make fun of urban areas such as Inkopolis for acting like they're "all that". On the other hand, many of them secretly yearn for that sophisticated, high-collar, Inkopolis culture. The current culture of chaos created by the youth with such a flip-flopping mentality is becoming increasingly global.

I’m going to translate these roughly. character select screen outfit, left: lines pointing to reflective goggles, a mask that blocks dust, and the cape. the cape is made from kelp, and is meant to block out sunlight. hero suit outfit, right: the “ultra light earpiece” is so light, it doesn’t even feel like you’re wearing it. The ink display is a digital screen. Boots are meant for rough terrain. Interestingly, agent 3 is holding a weapon called a “Hero Extinguisher.”

the gear on the left is called “hunting equipment”. The earpiece is based on an udon noodle. It’s small, but it has a deep sound (with bass i assume instead of sounding tinny?) Around the neck are cooling pads. The shirt is made from a seaweed fabric. apparently its wrapped around their upper body and kind of hurts to wear. you can see their underwear, but its the kind of underwear that’s supposed to be seen for Fashion. idk what its called but you guys know what im talking about. The ink tank is homemade. in the pouch of the backpack are snacks. to the right are very early concepts.

Page 62, Deep Cut concepts

It’s a lot of handwritten notes with a lot of pointing out what the drawing is, so I’m going to translate roughly.

bottom left is pointing out various things about frye’s head anatomy. small chin, forehead sticks out, thick neck, head curves like this and this etc. middle frye with the bit of green and red makeup is described as having a clown-like feel to it. tiny furthest right drawing is commenting on a specific nose shape concept as “bird-like.” she almost had the same nose as my main OCs what the

red arrows on the right: long arms, long thighs, squared shoulders are pretty. hand in the middle with black text: something like ‘if she has hands with ornamentation like this it makes her hands seem long’ bottom left: the little doodle of the face reads that her ‘mouth is kind of like this.’ the other text talks about how her eyebrows move asymmetrically, as having that kind of variety in the movement is key.

left: she’s saying something about sharks? apparently she was going to be associated with sharks with shiver being associated with eels instead. right: various sound effects. “looking around absentmindedly” “rocking back and forth” “dozing off.” on the bottom it shows her suddenly stiffening to attention.

left: in her left hand, it’s a sensu (japanese folding fan). in her right, its a harisen (the kind of folding fan used to smack people in slapstick routines) gonna be real here the text on the right is too cursivey i cant read it

shiver mask designs. neat stuff.

early design concept.

Page 198, Scorch Gorge

not a lot of text on this page, mostly images, have a look yourself. top right passage: A majestic canyon where the history of the Inkling world can be seen in the strata and rock formations. Many enjoy rock climbing here. There's a spawn point that was once used for ink battles that no-one has bothered to remove.

[okiesoapie]

come wind, come weather

kaedehara kazuha x reader

table of contents

TW/CW: descriptions of battle and warfare, implications of death, mentions of blood and injury

✧ iii. red string of fate

The rain is doing nobody any favors. Nearly every tent in the camp was starting to cave from collecting rainwater. You take mental note of that to bring up to the logistics team.

While your role requires you to remain stationed at Fort Fujitou, scouting the area entails a daily sweep of the whole Yashiori Island. Dendro does come in handy when everything is wet, turning your gift into a blooming explosion with each arrow that flies from your fingertips. It was a magnificent sight to behold, even drawing praise from Priestess Sangonomiya. Yet the feeling of your wet uniform plastered against the skin of your back made you wish that the rain clouds would hurry up and evaporate.

Most people are under the impression that wars are purely the clashing of blades. That is a misconception furthest from the truth. Most war “activities” include strategizing, politics, and subterfuge. Even now, Resistance members scattered within the city are slowly brewing dissatisfaction within the Inazuman people. Slowly but surely.

Ironically enough, change is the only phenomenon that is both inevitable and eternal.

You’re busy poring over a map of Yashiori Island under the safety of a canopy. Tracing over areas with ink, marking danger zones and other places for the strange new recruit: a handsome young man with sparkling golden eyes and a floating companion. It was surprising how he managed to become quickly acquainted with everyone in camp with charm that seemed almost otherworldly.

“Here you go! I marked everywhere that’s worth checking out but the squiggly lines are places you should avoid.”

The floating companion, Paimon, was a blunt one: “Thank you so much, Maple! Now, which lines are supposed to be the…not squiggly ones?”

Aether was quick to deliver a pinch Paimon’s side. She yelps and bounces around in pain, which is a strange sight since she’s several feet in the air. He gives you a warm smile before dragging his little friend away by the collar. While Aether isn’t a man of many words, his actions convey himself quite clearly.

You chuckle to yourself since he reminds you of an old friend. While the Young Lord always spoke poetically his actions were clearer than any prose. You could gauge his thoughts with even a slight movement of his brow. Snapshots float by in your memories like a steady stream of water and suddenly you find yourself missing him.

You can still picture the image of sunlight reflecting against his fair hair during the summer afternoons you spent in the garden. It was on a similar afternoon when you taught him that leaves could be used like a flute. He didn’t believe it until you demonstrated a few notes and sound rang through the air with crisp quality.

You hum an old tune, one that the both of you composed on a whim. A bittersweet feeling thrums in your chest and an old realization comes to the surface:

You would never stop missing Kazuha, perhaps that too was a phenomenon both inevitable and eternal.

…

“Remove all threats to Eternity—by order of the Almighty Shogun!”

Lighting crashes, thunder roars. Swords clash against each other. Nazuchi Beach is swarming with both friend and foe. Your boots are heavy with rainwater as your armor clinks with every movement you make. Your crossbow shoots bolts at every visage of a purple uniform. Arrow after arrow, shot after shot, there is no time to be idle. It is your life or theirs.

This is is the battlefield.

“Keep your formations!” Your voice cries out, hoarse but steady. “Stand your ground!”

How many have you taken down? Honestly, you’ve lost count at this point. The moment your target stops moving, you move on to the next.

You deliver a swift kick to a soldier who came too near, pushing him back with a burst of green light. Several of your blooms had already exploded in the rain, leaving dendro damage in their wake. Vines crawl up your arms and by the base of your neck, manifested by the exertion of your vision.

A stray arrow whistles past you. It felt like it tore through your armor, yet the pain hasn’t even registered. You can’t even tell if it’s rainwater or blood running down your arm, with all the injuries you’ve sustained. Weariness seeps through your skin. The Watatsumi Army is growing tired, and so are you.

Suddenly, iridescent bubbles float through the air with a resounding voice: “The wait is over my comrades, now is our moment!”

Her Excellency Priestess Sangonomiya brought forward a surge of troops, overpowering the Shogunate in mere minutes. Your knees buckle while you can watch in both relief and exhaustion. The battle is almost over.

You nearly collapse onto the ground when you catch sight of a familiar figure. A light breeze tickles your senses and makes the hair stand on your skin.

“All forces, retreat!” Shouts Kujou Sara to the Shogunate as they rush to the safety of their base. Your surroundings are a blur of blue and purple, but you can only see red.

Two pairs of eyes lock across the battlefield. Red rubies stare into yours, and thoughts ripple across his gaze like a skipping stone on a calm lake. Time stops, and now you aren’t in Nazuchi Beach. You’re in the forest behind the Kaedahara Manor, bathing in sunlight and the crooning of cicadas.

Kazuha rushes forward when you finally fall onto your knees. You can’t keep your eyes off of him when you finally get close enough. Kazuha has grown past his boyish looks, looking older and more weathered. His eyes seem much deeper than before, matured by loss and hardship.

You reach your palms towards his face and he lets you. Callused fingers graze his cheekbones in silence.

“Maple, are you alright?” Kazuha whispers. The solemn expression that spreads across his face makes you laugh despite the circumstances.

“I am now.”

[intermediateills]

My piece for @pjo-hoo-bigbang, annabethfavfics’ “Upon The Sunlight, A Curse.”

[Image Description: 5 thin digital drawings next to each other. The first one, furthest to the left, is Lee Fletcher. He is drawing back an arrow and aiming to the left of the viewer. He is wearing dark jeans and an orange shirt. The background is blue with various other shades of blue pointing towards Lee in lines/triangles. 

The second drawing is of Michael Yew. He is knelt down facing to the right and drawing back an arrow, aiming to the right. He is wearing light blue jeans and an orange shirt. The background is orange, there are 5 wavy lines behind him following the direction his is aiming. 

The third drawing is of Austin Lake and Kayla Knowles. They are standing back to back. Austin is on the left. He is holding the neck of a guitar in his hand. He is wearing black jeans, and orange shirt, and a un-done button up with the sleeves rolled up. Kayla is holding a bow. She is wearing black shorts and a n orange shirt. They are both looking at the viewer. The background is green with a sun doodle above their heads. 

The fourth drawing is Will Solace kneeling with his hands of an undetailed persons torso and facing in the direction of the viewer. He is wearing cargo shorts and an orange shirt with a red first aid bag around his waist. His hands are glowing and he is looking down at the body. The background is yellow with various other yellow shades coming out from his body to the edge of the drawing. 

The fifth drawing is Gracie cut off just below the knee. She has her arm outstretched to the sides. She is wearing light blue shorts and an orange shirt. She is looking slightly up with an open mouth, singing. The background is a light orange/pink with black lines resembling sheet music coming out from around her body. On the black lines are music notes. End ID.]

Individual drawings in read more

[dailyadventureprompts]

Dungeon: The Light on the Lake

“Wonder is the first step of wizardry: looking at something odd and fantastical and letting yourself be overwhelmed by curiosity. I still get that feeling sometimes, when I am on the verge of a great discovery, and it is why I have dedicated my life to uncovering as many of this world’s secrets as I can.” 

- Diary entry of the Learned Mistress Ilba  

Setup: Scenic though it might be, few people of the village make the trek out to lake plover in recent years. Strange magics are said to be afoot there, ranging from lights seen flickering above the water to strange skies sometimes being reflected beneath its surface. Old Loros the carpenter will gladly tell you about the time he drunkenly decided to cast his lines out over the lake’s waters, reeling back a fish half as long as his leg that turned to smoke the moment he went to gut it.  The center of lake plover’s oddness is the old tower isle, which seems just a short paddle from the bank but has been enchanted to stretch the surrounding space, never letting you get more than half the way too it. The tower purportedly belonged to a wizard by the name of learned mistress Ilba, who disappeared some twenty years ago leaving her enchantments behind.  

Adventure Hooks:

If the party are the goody-goody sort who need an excuse to burgle an abandoned wizard’s tower, at some point down the road Ilba’s name pops up in connection to the overall plot, apparently having detected some pending disaster before anyone else and was working on a means to subvert it while her colleges all thought her barking mad.  

Attempting to cross the water to the tower isle puts the party against a ward that draws extraneous space from the astral sea, resulting in the waters growing deeper and colder until the interloper is paddling across a midnight blue channel lit from beneath by unknown stars. When this point is reached, the wards determine the intruder has proven enough of a nuisance, and summons an astral beast to take care of them. A carefully observant party can notice that a bird or arrow can easily fly from one side of the channels to the other, and so could contrive a means to go OVER the spatial barrier. 

The internal layout of the tower seems simple enough, furnished for country comfort with a flare for odd portraits, depicting rooms of the tower in various stages throughout it’s history, with all those currently hung depicting different rooms in the present day. After a cursory exploration and more than one dead ends, the party will come to realize that there are almost no books or laboratories in this so called wizard’s tower, despite what are depicted in the unhung paintings, which also seem to contain a number of doors that are not present in the tower’s current build. Experimenting with hanging these paintings in different spots shuffles the content of unvisited rooms, leading the party to an an elaborate dimensional shuffling game as they explore the space. Treasures and hidden monsters are concealed within the paintings, and anyone in room that is taken off an easel finds themselves trapped in an isolated space, a trick the party might need to use to use to access the last few enchanted hangings and explore the furthest corners of the manifold tower. 

[singingshutin]

wow turns out two weeks off of school gives me time to go nuts with self-indulgent writing

Hilda is a nosy lady and Byleth doesn't really know how to flirt (which to be honest is okay she needs her one-crit-wonder* alive with no exploded arteries).

I have been consumed by Byleth/Ignatz brainrot recently and my two-week break before summer school has given me far too much time to indulge myself so here's a fic

also what even is dialogue lol

(*i realize this implies he was useful once and never again which is the furthest thing from the truth he CARRIED through my last maddening run but it sounds funny)

(**also no beta readers here boys my irl bestie/beta reader is an artist with a master's degree and i was not gonna go through the judgement of my attempt to write an artist as someone who cannot draw a stick figure lol)

Read here on a03 or down below the cut!

Take a deep breath. Hold for five heartbeats. Exhale for three.

The sun beat down hot and hard on the Garreg Mach training ground. Heavy air buzzed with the sleepy hum of summer beetles. Steaming warmth rippled off the packed dirt in waves, casting a dreamy haze of heat across the spectacled vision of its lone occupant.

Ignatz pulled his glasses off and wiped the crystal lenses on the thin linen of his undershirt.

No matter how many times he had marched out to the battlefield, it was always the same - stomach burning tight and hot with the secret dread that he might not make it back. That one of his friends might not make it back. That the professor might not make it back.

Breathe. Hold. Release.

If he couldn’t even shake pre-battle nerves before training, what kind of protector could he really be? Not one worthy of the professor, surely- but no.

Ignatz pushed his glasses securely back onto his nose with a shake of his head.

He couldn’t do this. Not today. Not now that she had returned to them. Five years of desperate prayers finally answered by the Goddess-

Breathe. Hold. Release.

The archer lifted his bow and pulled back, peering down the shaft of his arrow. At the end of the training yard, the brightly painted target blinked at him in the afternoon sunlight; red and blue rings stood stark against the wooden stand's light burlap skin.

He would begin practice like he always did.

Take a deep breath. Hold-

-and release!

Schick!

Thunk.

One perfect shot: dead center of the target.

Ignatz huffed quietly to himself, a half-smile on his lip as he pulled a handful of arrows from the quiver at his waist. A loose roll of the shoulder, an easy shift back of the foot-

One!

Two!

Three!

Almost faster than the eye could perceive, the arrows shot one after the other from his bow, whistling in harmony through the air as they hit the target with a thunk, a thock, and a splitting, splintering rip!

Torn goose feather fletching drifted softly to the packed dirt ground of the training yard. A scattering of splinters ringed the target, and, split straight down the middle, the very first arrow of practice was peeled back and open like a morning glory to face the man who had so meticulously stripped and bound and sharpened it.

A direct hit.

Thock! - Thud! - Thunk! Three more arrows found their marks in the training dummies lined up along the wall - shoulder, chest, and head. 

Ignatz sucked his upper lip against his teeth, grabbing another handful of arrows.

One kill shot out of three? Not good enough. This time, he had to pull stronger. Shoot straighter. And always faster, faster, faster-

Hilda’s voice cut across the training yard. "Apple incoming!"

The archer whirled, dropping to one knee, arrow trained to the azure sky. A glint of brilliant scarlet flickered against the glowing sun- and he fired.

A juicy thud echoed across the training ground as the fruit in the sky jolted back, before beginning its rapid tumble back to earth. Ignatz tossed aside his bow and dove forward into a headlong dash, hand extended, reaching up, up, up-

-and he caught it.

He caught the arrow, dripping with sticky juice, and weighted by the speared fruit. Ignatz let out a quiet sigh of relief, a tiny smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

A round of applause broke out behind him. Ignatz turned to greet the two women at the training yard gates, a pleasing warmth tingling in his stomach at the praise. Hilda and Byleth clapped harder as he approached.

"Thank you, Iggy!" Hilda hummed, skipping up to throw an arm around him. "That was amazing!"

Ignatz gave his bubbly friend a good-natured eye roll. "It’s been a while since I last performed that trick, Hilda. I’m lucky I didn’t miss."

"Oh, nonsense!" Hilda held out her hands. "Split it for me, will you?"

Ignatz wrapped his fingers around the apple. "I can give it a try, at least."

Deep breath. Hold. And-

He exhaled and gave the fruit a sharp twist. A loud crack, a splatter of juice: two clean halves of the apple rested in his palms as the arrow dropped to the ground.

"Ooh, good job!" Hilda beamed, taking the proffered snack and retreating back to the shade.

"Very impressive. You’ve kept up with your training." The professor added, rewarding the archer with a small smile. "But let me see…"

She reached up to his face. Light fingers tickled against his cheek, and for one short moment, Ignatz let his heart buzz at the sensation.

 "You’ve got some juice… there."

A happy warmth flickered in his face and he smiled back. "Thank you, Professor."

"It’s just Byleth," she corrected him gently, wiping her hand on her sleeve.

"Sorry- Byleth." A tiny blush broke across Ignatz’s cheeks. Oh, how easily her name slipped off his tongue, sweet as the nectar of dripping honeysuckle. "I can finish up if you needed the training grounds-"

"No, actually." Byleth shook her head. "I was hoping you would work with me."

"Of course! Let me get my sword-"

She held up her hand. "I meant archery. I want to brush up on my bow skills, and I’d like you to coach me."

"M-me?" Ignatz squeaked. "That would be an honor, Professor-"

"Byleth."

"S-sorry-"

Ignatz just about choked on his own heart as Byleth’s hand came down on his shoulder with a gentle squeeze.

"No more apologies."

"Yes ma’am."

Byleth smiled. "That’s better."

If only to hide his steaming face, Ignatz looked away and over at Hilda. "Will-" Deep breath, hold, release- "...will you be joining us, Hilda?"

"Oh, no- I’m just here to cheer from the sidelines!" She gave him a lazy wave and a foxy, mischievous, all-too-knowing grin. "Go, Byleth!"

The former professor clicked her tongue and shook her head- oh, Goddess, her hair had brushed his shoulder. Was brushing his shoulder. Even through his shirt, the sensation was like magic exploding beneath his skin, a spiderweb of spells racing up his neck and down his arm into his hand-

Snap out of it, Victor!

He swallowed hard and pointed over his shoulder to the weapon rack.. "I- I’ll go get a training bow."

"Thank you," Byleth nodded, stripping off her coat and tossing it aside. Freckles and silver scars co-mingled on her skin in an intricate dance, the faint patterning stretching across her shoulders like fading sunlight through leaves. She was cool and soft like the evening breeze, but with a strength in her stoic quietude that radiated from her minty eyes. Dangerous eyes, she had.

Dangerous to the painter’s heart, anyway.

Pull yourself together!

Ignatz spun on his heel and darted across the field to retrieve the weapon. He shouldn't be thinking this way. He couldn't be thinking this way. He wouldn't let himself be thinking this way.

Oh, Goddess, forgive him. Forgive him and his stupid fantasies of love.

"Need any help?" Byleth called after him.

Yes. Help my heart to stop pounding, help me to let go. I’ve grown weak, I’ve given up fighting this - even allowing myself to think of you this way.

"No-" was what he called aloud as he dug furiously through the rack of weapons, "just- looking for the right bow!"

"I’ll clean up the target, then."

"Thank you-" Deep breath. Hold. Release. Banish the blush from his cheeks and the butterflies from his stomach. Spend a moment to calm his heart, to let the crowding thoughts subside.

With one last quick shake of his head, Ignatz grabbed a training bow and made his way back to his former professor. She offered him his own weapon with a smile.

"I figured you didn’t want this left on the ground."

"Yes, thank you."

He pretended very hard that he didn’t notice the brush of her fingers against his as they exchanged bows. He wouldn’t dwell on it. That would only make the ache stronger.

"Now," she gave the weapon an experimental pull, "shall we begin?"

"Yes! Yes- of course." Ignatz cleared his throat. "Um- what did you want to work on, specifically?"

"My form could be better," Byleth looked up at the archer beside her. "Accuracy depends on a strong foundation, right?"

"Just like the textbooks said."  Professional smile, just like his father and brother. Warm and friendly and inviting- but never too close.

It made business complicated.

Not that he wasn’t already dealing with complications of his own making.

"Then, if you don’t mind- will you demonstrate for me? How you shoot?"

Byleth nodded. A tiny puff of dust sprang up at her boots as she shifted her stance apart, a ripple of strength running down her arms as she pulled back on the bow.

The sleepy chirp of birds slowly faded out, the nervous ache in the painter’s chest dissipating with it. He could see it as clearly as if he had the canvas in front of him: the very portrait of the Goddess was standing before him now. The brushstrokes of nature depicted the calm dignity on her face as she trained her eye on the target, her shoulders painted square and strong to bear the prayers and fears and worries and hopes of her children. Hands, soft and gentle for those who sought solace in her arms, were clasped fierce and firm over the grip of her weapon to protect those who cried out to her for help.

Her posture, though- it was a bit awkward. Her shoulders were too high, too tense- her bow arm angled a little too far toward the sun. Without thinking, Ignatz reached out, laying a hand on Byleth’s arm.

The surprised shiver underneath his fingers brought him screeching back to reality.

"I-I’m so sorry-!"

Ignatz sprung back like he’d been burned, face white as a sheet. She was red- oh, Goddess, like a rose. He had embarrassed her. She was embarrassed and he was the one to have done it-

"I should have asked- I’m so sorry-"

Byleth lowered her bow and looked him in the eyes. "No, go ahead."

"...what?"

The former professor shook her head "Correct my form as much as you need to. You are the expert here."

"W-well, I'm no Claude, but-"

"I don’t need fancy tricks." Byleth’s solemn face twitched into a small smile, blush fading. "He may have the energy to spare, but I don’t. I prefer your style of shooting. Clean. Efficient. More accurate, to be honest."

"I won’t tell Claude you said that," Hilda giggled.

"You'd better not," Byleth called back.

Once again, she drew back on the training bow. The wood creaked, string taught and vibrating against the tension in her strong shoulders.

"Go ahead," she nodded, "fix my form."

Deep breath. Hold. Release.

Ignatz swallowed and stepped forward. "Okay."

With a timid care that mimicked the handling of a porcelain teapot, Ignatz held Byleth’s elbow, tilting her outstretched arm ever so slightly down.

“More like this-” he murmured. “Then-” His free hand gently pushed her arrow arm up. “In a line with your shoulder-”

This was something he knew. Something he could do and could do well. Ever so slowly, his stomach began to untie itself as he tapped his old professor - no, her name was Byleth - into proper form. One hand on her arm, the other on her shoulder-

Hilda chuckled quietly to herself. It was a shame that, even with glasses, Ignatz was so blind. Was he really the only one who couldn’t see the way their old professor looked at him? The blush dancing across her face as his hand cupped her arm, the smile twinkling on her lips as he leaned over her shoulder, his cheek pressed against her pink ear.

"Now, deep breath.” Ignatz said. “Hold.”

Byleth’s smile could have melted the sun.

“And release."

[botwstoriesandsuch]

How to Play as Teba AKA Birb Favouritism By Kip

This was too big to fit in an ask so here ya go anon!

A handsombe birb with a bow and a little patience, constantly in a power squat with enough spite to rival Ganon: Here’s your guide to the best main in Age of Calamity 

Teba is so good he’s so fast and so quick like omfg holy shit those strong attack damage output fucking crowd control AND is faster than Revali and pretty much everyone else at breaking weak point gauges like holy FUCK man So don’t let the chaotic attacks fool you! 

Considering you are here and asking yourself: How the fuck do I play as birb dad? You’ve probably encountered one of two problems that prevent you from taking advantage of him. 1) wth are these attacks is he even doing damage to this moblin??? I can’t comprehend these combos because I don’t know what is going on plz I just want to shoot arrows or 2) Where the fuck IS he I can’t fucking SEE anything?!?! where did he GO I’m getting motion sick

Well friend, here I am to help you with both of those problems to help you 1) Understand what the fuck is going on and 2) Find out where the fuck he came from, and where the fuck he go, cotton eye joe

His Y stream is straight forward, quite literally. You’ll notice very quickly that his attacks move his character forward, rather than being more still and stationary like Revali or Zelda(slate). I’m pretty sure his Y stream (as in, a pure Y combo with no X/strong attacks) has the furthest distance in the game, perhaps rivaled only by Riju. So basically, save your big Y combos for crowd control and NOT bosses like Moblins and the such. You don’t want to move your directional input too much, since his attacks have incredible distance and range already.

Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y: Sweep left, sweep right, charge forward, mid-air arrows forward, stomp land, large spiral forward, flash stomp to ground, to an ending backflip. 

You can see the distance here, again, with no directional input at all. Just pressing Y.

So just remember that even though the attack looks very chaotic, it’s really just a big fat straight line. 

In all honesty though, you could forget about his Y stream all together. Any benefit to them is basically trumped by his different combos which are superior in both one-on-one battles, and crowd control. 

Technically on it’s own, Teba’s combos are just good. He’s got a wind stream here and a loop twirl there. But what makes his combos arguably one of the most powerful in the game, is this ability here

This is pretty much the single handedly the most powerful perk Teba has, and it’s not even his Unique Action! It’s slightly similar to Link’s additional X action, but better in everyway. One of the draw backs of many strong attack combos are the slower speed it takes to dish it out, but this perk basically makes that draw back obsolete. It not only gives you insane additional damage, but also doubles, if not triples the length of a combo. Not to mention that half his move set is in mid-air, so the longer your combo is, the more time you’re off the ground and not taking damage. Basically, this equals fast damage for as long a length of time as you want. So! Onto the specifics

= = = = = = = = = = 

Y-X: Wind Stream. Functions essentially the same as a Y5 (spiral forward) combo, except slower. Its strength, however, lies in your additional X input, which puts you in mid air and allows you to do what I like to call an

Additional X: Arrow Pivot. You’ll know when you do it when the “Press X repeatedly” option comes up. And the end of his wind stream, Teba flies into the air and, with directional input, fires a barrage of and enemies below him up to a 360 degree movement. Final shot will be of a bomb arrow dealing additional AOE damage. You can spam the arrows for around 4 seconds in midair before it forces the bomb arrow finisher, but you can force it early by not pressing X or pressing B. In fact, for all future additional X inputs (I’ll be shortening that to AXs from now on) you can stop anytime you want but just pressing B to hover in the air. All his combos have the ability to lead into mid-air state, which can let you ride the wind and do more damage, but I’m getting ahead of myself. 

= = = = = = = = = = = 

Y-Y-X: Bomb Arrows. Teba sweeps left to right before launching into the air to fire seven bomb arrows (with his LEGS BY THE WAY) in a wide area in front of him. Deals AOE damage, of course.

AX: Instead of immediately going to bomb arrows, Teba will rapidly fire normal arrows (at your X mashing input) and can (optionally) fly forward while doing so at your directional control. This is honestly his best combo in my opinion because it not only is the best for crowd control, but is also one of the quickest ways to deplete any weak point gauges. Just remember to keep him stationary and not fly forward if you’re doing one-on-one, as you might just accidentally fly away from your enemy 

= = = = = = = = = = 

Y-Y-Y-X: Wind Bomb. Not to be confused with the speed running strategy Teba hovers in mid air and fires one massive stream of wind with a bomb arrow. It’s trail also does damage and drags enemies. Deals a LOT of damage, I believe it’s his strongest?

AX: Instead of immediately firing the wind bomb, he will fire normal arrows, but still enhanced with the wind effect. You can control the direction of any of the arrows with the controller. The finisher will be the wind bomb. While this combo deals a LOT of damage (like two normal arrow streams can take out a solid chunk of weak point gauge) It’s the slowest attack in his arsenal. There’s a larger time between each arrow strike, and if you use the full AX combo it keeps him hovering in the air for like 5 seconds, which leaves Teba pretty vulnerable. If you’re using this attack, don’t bother waiting for the wind bomb finisher and end the attack early. So while it’s technically Teba’s “strongest” in terms of damage, I wouldn’t call it his best

= = = = = = = = = = 

Y-Y-Y-Y-X: The Teba Tornado. Ok THIS is the move that has been ridiculed to death because of how chaotic it is. Teba basically swirls around in a circle and sucks any enemies into his little tornado, and then finishes with a gust of wind upwards

AX: Extends the time of the Teba Tornado, and control it’s direction, lasts for about 9-10 tornado swirls. 

DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT LOCK ONTO AN ENEMY WITH THIS MOVE. You will DIE of motion sickness, probably. Ok I mean, you could lock onto an enemy, but that’s not what this move is for. It’s intent is for gathering huge swarms of enemies into one place. The camera zooms out for a reason! It’s great for crowd control, but terrible for one-on-one. Control the movement of the tornado by moving based on the “eye” of the tornado, and not based on where Teba’s character actually is. I still stand by the fact that YYAX combo is superior, as it has better control and is much faster, but hey, this move aint all that bad once you learn how to use it

= = = = = = = = = = 

Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-X and Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-X: Arrow Strike. This is the only combo that forces you into the AX “Press X repeatedly” state. Teba does his little Y stream thing, before launching high into the air, where you are then given a circle. Move the circle around while rapidly pressing X to fire arrows wherever you choose. Ends with a bomb arrow

Note that this attack will basically make Teba invincible. This is his highest attack, and even mid air attacks won’t reach him in this state. It’s also the longest lasting combo, giving you about 7 seconds to deal as much damage as you wish. Take full advantage of this. Excellent for weak point gauges, but the set up Y attacks do take time, so make sure to use stasis. 

= = = = = = = = = = = 

Dash-Y: Small AOE stomp. Nothing to write home about, not that much damage. Just your average set up for the combos that will actually do damage

= = = = = = = = = = 

Dash-X: Flips over enemies and fires arrows before continuing forward. Honestly looks pretty badass, similar to that backflip Revali does when he was about to assassinate Link. Anyhow, good for when you just want to kill something small but have places to be so it keeps your momentum forward.

= = = = = = = = = = 

X/AX: Fires arrows high into the air. After some time, the arrows will rain back down in front of you in an amount dependent on how badly you mashed X. (Note that the arrows will always land in front of you, so if you shoot off the arrows in one direction, but then turn around in another direction, the arrows will still land in front of Teba) Ends with bomb arrows. Pretty good if you want to stack the damage with a timed combo. Also automatically strikes onto big enemies if you’ve locked onto them. Good for one-on-ones but don’t rely on it solely. 

A really good thing about Teba’s strong combos is that ALL of them are mid-air, meaning you can instantly continue any combo with your aerial attacks. As usual, your aerial combo is just Y-Y-Y-X

= = = = = = = = = = 

Aerial Y: Fires arrows in front of you. You can press Y up to three times before you’re forced into the ground

= = = = = = = = = = 

Aerial X: Teba stomps onto the ground with his talons with the aide of a gust of wind. Deals AOE. 

= = = = = = = = = = 

Special Attack: Teba gives a thumbs up of encouragement before murdering everything in his line of sight. (Damages enemies in a direct line in front of him, plus AOE)

So that’s all of Teba’s attacks. Teba’s combos are really fast with that AX damage. A good stasis plus a barrage of YYX will guarentee you a weak point break, and even if you’re slow on it, just tacking on the aerial combo will definetly break it, or at least deal headshot damage cause again, everything is midair. 

Speaking of stasis, here be the Sheikah Rune set, which is ALSO arguably the best in the game.

Stasis: Upon activation, little crosshairs will appear on your screen. Use the controller or motion controls to highlight as many enemies as you wish, and when you press X to activate, all will be stasised. Not only is this overpowered considering you can stasis as many enemies as you wish, but you also can automatically head into a combo as there is no attack animation that you need to dash cancel out of. It is also the longest lasting stasis in the game. 

Cryonis: ITS A FREE FORCEFIELD! Unlike other characters, this doesn’t spawn a usable cryonis block for you to jump off of (because *stares at Teba’s pretty much pure mid-air move set* he doesn’t need it) but instead, spawns three ice blocks that encircle you. I know that it might seem like you have to position yourself so that you have to wait until the block goes directly in front of you for it to properly counter, but don’t worry. It’ll counter all cryonis weak attacks, (by EXPLODING >:D) even if it looks like an enemy is striking you in the gap between the blocks. 

This is the quickest cryonis spawn in the game, capable of countering enemies even the singular second before they hit you with their cryonis weak attack. But other than countering those ice attacks, doesn’t do anything. Still pretty great though! 

= = = = = = = = = = 

Bombs: Teba gets a fancy Sheikah Bow, launches into mid air, and you can aim with the controller/motion to launch a powerful bomb at an enemy/horde. It is guaranteed to expose an enemy weak point gauge, regardless of whether the enemy is using it’s specific bomb counter attack. Like the Y5X combo, this positions Teba at the highest point in the air, making him immune to damage. SO not only is this a good rune for great damage and countering, it’s also a quick dodge for  if you’re in a lick of trouble. You can move out of this rune into an aerial combo/riding the wind as well. 

= = = = = = = = = = 

Magnesis: eh. It’s there. It counters weapons. It does its job. If your enemies have metal weapons it makes a little magnet storm. I was too lazy to bother getting a group of enemies with metal weapons because I killed them all with one Y sweep and didn’t feel like restarting the level. It’s magnesis. What do ya want from me. Nothings gonna rivals Slate Zelda’s magnesis combo anyhow. 

And last but not least, Unique Action! Teba can charge up his bow with ZR to deal arrow attacks that get stronger the more you charge. There are four stages indicated by a little “ding!” and also the visuals showing wind forming around Teba. 

Charge one: Fires three arrows. Pretty basic, although it has a longer range than a normal attack

= = = = = = = = = = 

Charge two: Fires five arrows, again with a large distance and higher damage than a usual Y attack

= = = = = = = = = = 

Charge three: Fires a LOT of arrows covering 180 degrees in front of Teba. Very good for clearing out crowds if you couldn’t tell

= = = = = = = = = = 

Charge four: Fires 180 degrees of bomb arrows, as well as bomb arrows into the air AS WELL as bombarding the battle field with bomb arrows from above for the next 8-10 seconds or so. 

Charge four is really what you’re looking for, although three isn’t so bad either. But there really is no excuse to not use Charge four because Teba’s Unique Action can charge at any time. So long as you’re holding ZR, whether you’re in the middle of a combo, doing aerials, blocking, running away-- the attack will be charging. And you can hold it for as long as you wish. Charge four is very very very good so always be holding down that ZR and releasing it and recharging and re-releasing. You can’t be damaged by your own explosions and you really have nothing to lose.

SO what now? Well know that you fully understand what my birb dad is capable off, here’s what to stick to. 

If you got a giant horde of bokoblins or something, just us a Y-Y-AX and go ham. It’s like a giant broom that sweeps the battlefield, doing a lot of damage. 

Stasis is your friend and your best friend and your only friend. IF you’re fighting two bosses, it’s in your best interest to use stasis to halt both of them and more. Use stasis during weak point gauges to lengthen your time which, combined with Teba’s AX attack speed, with guarantee you a break pretty much every time you use it

Even if you don’t stasis during a weak point break, stasised enemies are a good enough time to use that YYYX combo as even though it’s more vulnerable and slow as I said, when you have the ability to stasis all of your enemies, it’s as good a time as enemies to deal that big damage.

Don’t use your Charge four on stasised enemies. I mean, you can, but it’s really better for when you’re in the middle fo battle, clearing the battle field, and dealing damage even while you’re dodging. 

Don’t lock onto enemies. It just makes it easier all around. Teba like to move, let the birb move. Don’t limit him to the bird cage of the focused camera movement, it’s just easier for everyone to move the camera manually. You can snap it on and off just to focus if you want. But personal experience says it’s easier just to learn how to move the camera you lazy bum

Bomb rune is very good. It’s a free weak point stun, and a free dodge. Use it

When breaking weak point, just use the YYX combo. Yes, the Y5X is good, but honestly they’ll both get the job done, so might as well do the quicker combo and save Y5X for crowd clearing. Besides, even if your YYX doesn’t immediately clear the guage (becuase you’re SLOW at button mashing for some reason) you can continue with an aerial combo

Ending a combo and letting the final animation fully finish will drop you to the ground. Don’t. Let the final animation finish and then immediately press B, or B cancel before the final attack starts. This is because you suck on the ground cause you’re a bird. Pressing B allows you to automatically go into glide state/”ride the wind”, giving you better time to glide away to safety, or lead into an aerial combo

Your unique action charge attack can be fired even in mid air. Note that weak point smashes, special attacks, and runes will cancel any charges you make

My personal favourite combo for levels are using stasis, YYX sweep for damage, then while stasis is still going, charging and releasing a Charge Four arrow, then finish by setting up a 5YX combo. That pretty much clears all hordes, then just stasis a boss’ gauge, hold ZR while I do a YYX plus aerial, boss is stunned, use the Charge Four arrow, fall back and do some normal X attack or Ys, then finish off with the weak point.

For his seals, I’d say invest in mid-air attack damage, strong attack damage, or attack speed.  

Teba’s final Falcon Bow seal bonuses are:

Midair attack damage (Star)

Damage to foes with status effects (Star) [this is pretty useless ngl]

So I’d say stick with mid-air attack just to get the seal bonus, but don’t put all four as it, as it’ll just waste a seal slot as there’s no bonus for 5 of the same seal. So I say 3 mid-air attack, and 1 strong attack damage. But then again it’s all up for preference! 3 strong attacks plus a single star seal isn’t gonna be a bad match either

Pretty much the most powerful thing about Teba is his ability to smash a weak point pretty much the instant an enemy is down. So use his stasis and combos often. 

Although obvious his general crowd control is pretty great too! He’s jut a really well rounded character that is pretty broken and honestly rivals Impa imo

The more arrows on screen, the more chance that fps may tank...just saying. BUT! It’s not really to a rate that’s that detrimental to the experience of playing as him. Just goes to show how overpower he can be if you push yourself enough

Congrats! You have learned the ways of the bird. Now get out of my face, I’m in the mood to post more Teba gameplay....

[bonjour-rainycity]

Double Heart | Chapter Seven ~ Haldir

|previous part|

Pairing: Haldir x OFC

Rating: PG-13

Word count: 2738

Warnings: Canon-level violence, injury, blood

**Read on Ao3 under the user “bonjour_rainycity” if you prefer!**

A/n Happy Monday! I’m so thankful for each and every one of you <3

We rise with the first rays of the sun. As much as I hate to admit it, I feel refreshed after a full rest. I slept soundly, trusting my brothers to do their job well. They did spend the whole night awake though, so I make a note to ensure that they sleep tonight, even if they will need to get up for second watch. As helpful as it would be to have two others on the watch rotation, I can’t risk putting the humans to the job—their senses are so inferior. I’ve snuck up on them nearly ten times by now, all without meaning to.

Rumil brings Roch into line behind Faervel. Farther on Roch’s back sits Cosima, her arms wrapped around my brother’s middle. She’s much more comfortable on the horse now, and if the mountains weren’t so rocky and full of steep drop-offs, I would suggest that she lead the horse—the experience is important. Alexander has expressed zero interest in learning how to care for or ride a horse, or learn anything about Arda, really. I will allow him the journey to adjust, but if he decides to return with us to Lothlórien, he will have to acquire skills to become more self-sufficient. Though, I have a feeling Alexander will attempt to leave this realm, or, at the very least, seek out a human settlement. I just don’t know if Cosima will go with him. She seems to have accepted our world and has taken steps towards making it her own, but she is tied to her human friend. The hold he has over her concerns me, though I do understand it. They’re each other’s only tie to the world they left behind. It would be hard to break that bond.

The sun rises above one of the higher peaks, blinding me for the brief second it takes for my eyes to adjust. Looking up, I see the morning sky is decorated with thick stripes of pale pink and brilliant gold. I take a second, and only a second, to enjoy it, then return to scanning my surroundings. This level of vigilance used to exhaust me, but by now, it’s as natural as breathing. Even when I am off duty, taking my leave in Caras Galadon or vacationing in Imladris or elsewhere, I never fully relax my surveillance. It is better to be prepared. Advanced warning can mean everything.

I hear the sound of a canteen rattling and Cosima clears her throat. “Hey, Haldir?”

“Yes?”

“When did you say we would reach that stream?”

I stretch my eyesight as far I can. It’s difficult in the mountains, where boulders and peaks and valleys hinder a proper line of sight, but I make out a slight glimmer on a rock far ahead of us—sun glinting off the surface of water and casting light on the boulder. “By tomorrow morning, I’d wager.” Then, the pieces click together. I narrow my eyes. “Why?”

I can hear the forced nonchalance in her voice. “No reason.”

I sigh. She really should have been more careful with her rationing. “Rumil and I will share water with you.”

Rumil protests at the same time Cosima calls out her thanks. I leave them to their good-natured bickering and return my full focus to guiding my horse and my company.

A slight movement registers in the corner of my eye. “Draw arms!”

I unsheathe my sword and swing it to the right just in time to stop the arrow finishing its flight to my youngest brother. I block another one aimed at my neck. I hear Orophin and Baranor free the swords at their hips, as well as Rumil hurriedly instructing Cosima to take the reins. She protests, likely not yet fully registering the attack, and I cover them as they argue. “Cosima, do as he says,” I call back. I need Rumil and his bow to take out the attackers on the hillside to our right. Orcs, likely.

My suspicions are confirmed when twelve of them descend from the peaks to our left and right, converging on us in the middle. Rumil has evidently persuaded Cosima to take control of Roch and has put his bow to good use, killing the orc that focused its fire on us from above. Sharp clangs and the shouts of battle create a chaotic cacophony that is all too familiar. I urge Faervel forward, cutting through the middle of an orc as I go. One chances a blow to my leg but before it can carry out the act, I sever its head from its neck. By my count, ten more to go.

Arrows rain from above, this time coming from our left. Alexander shouts, and I risk turning around to see if he’s been hit. Thankfully, he hasn’t — an arrow had only come relatively close to him. I have to remind myself how frightening this must be for humans who have never experienced an orc ambush, or even an orc. While unpleasant, an attack like this is part of the job for myself and my wardens — even Baranor, who frequently heals others on the battlefield. With that in mind, I cut down another orc and bring Cosima into view. She grips Roch’s reins with an intensity that turns her knuckles white and whips her head around, trying to keep all the beasts in her line of sight. It pleases me to see that she’s attempting to be observant, even if her already weak senses are untrained and thus dilute her efforts.

While Rumil focuses fire on the orcs attempting to fell us with arrows, an orc in the infantry rushes Roch. Cosima jerks the reins to the right, spurring him into movement. The motion catches Rumil’s attention, and, with deadly accuracy, he hits the orc in the eye. He turns his attention back to the skies, attempting to locate those that still assail us with arrows.

Concussions sound to my left — the beasts have dislodged a pile of rocks, trying to crush us. Faervel is an intelligent steed and dodges the boulders skillfully, allowing me to keep my attention on beheading one of the orcs who jabs towards my middle. As I kill another, the arrows cease falling from above—Rumil’s done his job, then.

Six orcs left.

Those remaining attempt to surround us. Can’t have that. I guide Faervel past the furthest beasts and then turn, swinging my sword, forcing them to fall back. From the rear of our line, Orophin follows my lead, blocking an orc’s blow and returning it with a fatal one. Baranor rears his horse to narrowly avoid being knocked off by an axe. I tighten my jaw. It is risky forcing the orcs into the middle when four of our company must share that space with them. I shake my head, firm in my original decision. It is less risky than allowing the orcs to encircle us.

Alex yelps and directs Baranor to an orc approaching them from behind, having snuck past Orophin. They keep coming. They must be hiding in the rocks. My youngest brother recognizes the urgency building at the back of our line and concentrates his close-range fire on those that attack there. He has also noticed the threat hiding in the rocks and kills the beasts as quickly as he can identify them.

The noises of battle are loud, but any experienced warrior knows it’s the quieter sounds—the ones out of place—that are the most important. A boot scuffs against stone and I raise my sword just in time to meet the massive orc that throws himself from the rock above me. We collide, falling to the ground. The impact knocks the breath from me and the colossal weight on my chest definitely doesn’t help. With my left hand, I retrieve my dagger, slicing towards the beast’s neck. He stops me with his sword, pressing the blade to my own throat. He’s strong, but I’m stronger. I push against him, using the leverage from my movement to flip us over and, before he can register the change, I plunge my blade into his gut.

A fiery sting shoots up my leg and I kick my uninjured foot, knocking the newcomer in the head. He falls to the ground, stunned by the blow, and I draw myself to full height. His rotting flesh squelches when I stab him in the chest. In the second I have before another beast attacks me, I check the weapon that sliced my leg. Not poisoned. Good.

A scream pierces the air.

Cosima.

I whip around, locating her quickly. She gasps, gripping below her left shoulder, staring at the blood between her fingers in shock. I switch my dagger to my dominant hand and throw it forward. Within a second, it is buried to the hilt in her assailant’s chest, and he falls to the ground with a thud.

A blow from behind sends me sprawling, and I catch myself just before my face collides with the dirt. Coughing violently, I twist, jabbing my sword under the orc’s chest plate and in between his ribs — a fatal strike. Mentally, I reprimand myself for getting so distracted, and let my eyes wander around our surroundings, checking for any enemies we have yet to eliminate. Only one remains, and Orophin ends its life with a deliberate slice to the gut. Everyone is alive and accounted for, thank the Valar. I run to them.

Cosima’s face contorts in pain — she’s gone sickly pale. Panic I didn’t feel during the attack sears through my chest. How much blood can humans lose before it is fatal? “How badly are you hurt?”

“It’s just her arm,” Rumil answers for her, looking quite distressed himself. “It’s deep. I do not think the sword was poisoned, though.”

“You don’t think or you know? How sure are you?”  My voice is harsh—harsher than it needs to be, probably, and I try to de-escalate. I’m likely still fired up from battle.

Rumil sets me with an even gaze, nothing but honesty in his eyes. “I know. The sword was not poisoned.”

I nod, feeling my breathing begin to slow. “Good.”

Alexander calls worriedly from the edge of the group. “What happened? Is she okay? Cosima!”

“I’m fine,” she grits back. Her voice is scratchy, strained, so obviously speaking through the pain that it makes my stomach hurt.

But the pain will pass, I remind myself. But for now, I can’t say for sure if the threat has. And I need to be sure.

“Baranor,” I gesture to my friend. “Bind her wound so it is secure for travel. Orophin—search back and make sure we are not being followed. I’ll scout ahead.”

Before turning to leave, my eyes seek Cosima’s of their own accord. Hers are tight, squinted against the pain I’m sure she’s not used to feeling. In them I see so much fear—terror, even—and I feel resolve settle within me. An attacker won’t get an opportunity like that again.

I pull my gaze away. There’s still work to do.

{***}

Thankfully, no orcs hide ahead. Though I am reluctant to leave the group for long, I spend a handful of moments retracing the trail our attackers took. It leads to a shallow, empty cave and an abandoned fire pit. Just to be safe, I stomp the pit under Faervel’s hooves. That will discourage other orcs from sheltering here.

In this rare moment of privacy, I roll up the edge of my right legging, assessing the injury to my leg. It’s shallow, just a slice, really, and the sting is minor enough that I’ve nearly forgotten about it. Satisfied that it’s not serious, I decide to wait to have Baranor look at it until we’re settled for the night. Right now, my top priorities are Cosima’s wound and getting moving again. Now that we’ve encountered a pack of orcs, I am even more eager to reach the safety of Imladris.

I ride back to where I left the others, arriving not long after Orophin. No orcs on his end, either. Good. I dismount, leaving Faervel in Rumil’s care and join Baranor where he crouches on the ground next to Cosima. Behind her, Alexander paces anxiously.

Baranor smoothes a salve over the torn skin. It seems he’s already cut away the excess cloth of her tunic sleeve and cleaned her wound. Part of me is grateful I was gone for it—by the haggard look on Cosima’s face, it can’t have been a pleasant experience. Like Rumil said, the wound is deep. Orcs don’t typically use well-crafted weapons, and this one was no different—a jagged blade had been used to injure Cosima, possibly an old knife or a scrap piece of metal fashioned into a rudimentary sword.

I raise my eyes to hers and find her already looking at me, watching my expression intently. Looking for signs that she should be worried, probably. I say a quick prayer of thanks to the Valar for my natural stoicism that gives nothing away and for our safety. Then, I address my obviously shaken friend. “Baranor is one of the best healers in Lothlórien. The cut looks frightening and hurts, but it will heal.”

She nods, keeping her jaw tightly clenched.

My heart aches. I look to Baranor, at a loss. His bedside manner comes much more naturally, and he gives an easy smile as he wraps a clean bandage around Cosima’s upper arm. “There, that will do the trick until we reach Imladris. I want to redress it tonight though, and again in the morning. I’ve used some of my power to aid the healing process begun by the salve—we’ll see where it’s at tonight. Don’t you worry my dear friend.”

Cosima bobs her head again, murmuring her thanks to our healer. The look on her face—stricken, fearful, pained—both hurts me and draws attention to the steadily growing guilt. I should have been faster. I should have looked out better. I should have—

I jerk my head to the side, trying to free myself from these thoughts. As leader of the group, all faults are mine. But dwelling on that now won’t keep us safe, so, for the time being, I stand, gesturing for the others to do the same. “We should get going. I don’t want to lose more time.”

Rumil nods and hands me Faervel’s reins, reaching down to help Cosima stand. I hear him whisper a heartfelt apology to her, sounding as if he feels just as much guilt as I do.

She waves it off, wincing when she moves her injured arm. “It’s not your fault. I’m okay.”

But her voice sounds fragile, devoid of the liveliness that characterized it this morning. Rumil also notices the change in our friend and is extra gentle when he grips her foot to lift her onto Roch’s back.

Something pricks at the edges of my mind, bothering me. “No.” I hear my voice ring out over the silence. I’m met with five pairs of questioning eyes. I clear my throat, hastening to gather my thoughts. “Rumil, I want you to guard the back with your bow. I’ll take Cosima on Faervel so you can focus on shooting if there’s another attack.”

Seeing the logic in this, Rumil nods, releasing Cosima and mounting Roch alone, leading the horse to the back of our company. As Alexander passes to join Baranor, he takes Cosima’s hand in his, squeezing. She gives him a tired-looking smile then walks to join me at the front of the group.

Automatically, I kneel, locking my hands together as I wait for her foot.

She hesitates. “No orcs in Imladris?”

I hold her gaze, wanting her to see the honesty in my eyes. “No orcs in Imladris.”

She swallows and places her boot in my hands. “Good. Let’s get going, then.”

I help her up, taking the opportunity to assess her face. The fear remains, but it is now eclipsed by a hardness, a determination. She’s putting up a wall. I know. I’ve been there.

But there’s nothing we can do about it now. We’re still in the orc-infested mountains and we need to reach safety. So, I grip Faervel’s mane and pull myself in front of Cosima. I give the order and we continue our journey.

A/n Thanks for reading! Likes, comments, and reblogs are the best :) Let me know if you would like a tag! And if you’re having trouble being tagged, try subscribing on Ao3. That will notify you automatically when I post there!

|next part|

|masterlist|

Tolkien tag list: @anangelwhodidntfall @eru-vande

Double Heart tag list: @lainphotography @fangirl-nonsense @themerriweathermage @thophil2941btw @kenobiguacamole @wishingtobeinadifferentuniverse @from-patroclus-with-love @boywivlove @tolkien-apologist @ordinarymom1 @sam-was-the-true-hero @sweet-bea-blossom @moony-artnstuff

**Strikethrough means Tumblr won’t let me tag you**

[stardust-specks]

Pixel art seamless pattern tutorial!

Since I got an ask about how to make my seamless patterns I decided to make a full length tutorial. Sorry if my instructions aren’t great but this is the only way I know how to make them so I’m going with it!

So first lets start with our image. I’m using my old ouija planchette drawing since it’s smaller and easier to work with, and I made this tutorial using piskelapp.com, my go-to place to make pixel art. You’ll want to leave a bit of empty space around it, and crop it down to a perfect square. My canvas here is 70x70 pixels. The length and width has to be the same size and both have to be an even number! If they’re not, your background won’t come out right.

Then draw a black square around the edges of the canvas on the same layer. Make sure your art is centered within the square as close as possible. If your art is an odd length or height and can’t be perfectly centered it’s not a problem!

And now you’re gonna wanna make your canvas quite large. (I upped mine to around 400x400). And move your drawing to the center of the canvas.

And then start copying and pasting your art and its square until you make a sort of grid with it like so:

And make sure you combine all layers once you’re done. You can really make this layout as big as you want but I feel like surrounding the initial drawing twice works well. Make sure the edges of your squares are overlapping! 

Now you can crop down your canvas until it’s just outlined buy the outermost black lines with no extra empty space. Make sure your canvas is still has a length that matches the width and that both numbers are even! If they are not then something is wrong and the pattern wont come out right.

Now on only the corner drawings you’re going to want to mark the middle point of both the top and side that touch the edge of the canvas. Confusing, I know. And since our squares are even, our middle point will be two pixels instead of one. Just follow the brown arrows!

If you can even see those tiny little red dots, those are the markings for each center point. Remember, they should be two pixels long because our squares are even. Now! Of each of those two red pixels, you’re going to want the one that is furthest away from the center of the canvas if that makes any sense. Then draw a line between them.

Here is a very simplified version to better show the dots and the lines that hopefully clears things up:

Now you’ll want to crop the canvas so it just cuts off the red lines and nothing passed that. Again, your canvas should still have a length and width that are the same even number.

And that’s really it! Delete your black lines, add a background, make sure everything lines up right. 

If you want your design to have more stuff in it, you can also add something into the squares I left empty! 

[thenameofaslan]

TNOA’s 100 Verse Challenge - 80/100

Joshua 2:14a “Our lives for your lives!”

“This will stop!”

Edmund, hearing the captain’s hoofbeats and voice echo down the hall, rose to his feet. He was still pale, one shoulder thicker than the other because of the swathing of bandages underneath his linen shirt. His brother and sisters had been gathered around him, talking softly, but now they all turned to face the captain.

“Don’t lecture him,” Susan said, “not now.”

Lucy didn’t speak, but she was in clear agreement, her eyes narrowed at him.

 “Don’t think I am only talking to King Edmund,” the faun said, wagging a finger at them. He wondered why this was falling to him rather than the High king’s advisor and second-in-command. Surely the centaur agreed with him, would see the wisdom in practicality? But you never could tell: a centaur’s sense of nobility was certainly beyond him. “You all are guilty, and you can’t keep risking yourselves like this. You are the king and queens of Narnia!”

“That is exactly why we risk ourselves,” Peter said, his arms crossed. “Of what value is a king who isn’t willing to give up his life for his people?”

“Or a queen,” added Lucy. Edmund and Susan nodded; during some unnoticeable point in their discussion, the four rulers had unconsciously shifted so they were now standing shoulder-to-shoulder, tall and firm in their agreement.

It was daunting.

While he would never, never dream of disobeying their orders or undermining their authority in front of others, upon first ascending to the throne they had been willing to heed some extra advice beyond that which a captain would usually give his king, even accept his scoldings with fond impatience and eye-rolls. He wasn’t elderly, but he did have quite a few years under his belt and liked to think that he had made the mistakes of his lifetime worthwhile by learning something from them. And while extraordinarily brave children, they had, after all, been...well, children.

Just a few short years later, and they didn’t look like children now. Or sound like them.

Humans grew up so fast. Or maybe he was just old after all.

He sighed. This selfless determination and loyalty were how the four children had first won his heart and the collective heart of Narnia, but it seemed that they were destined to give them a heart attack in the same way. 

It was right for a captain to sink with his ship, for a king to lead his country’s last, desperate charge in desperate times. But these weren’t tragic, dark times. A king shouldn’t be felled by a common hag with a common arrow while defending a common guardsman. The faun cherished the lives of each of his soldiers, grieved for each one when they fell, but without the king...

“Who would guide Narnia?” he asked desperately, spreading his hands out and offering a final plea.

“Aslan, as he always has and always will. He’ll provide,” Edmund said. 

He spluttered. “Yes, of course! I certainly would never imply otherwise, your majesties, but--”

“I do know what you mean. We don’t want to worry you,” Edmund said, quieting him instantly. “We won’t hesitate to give our lives for yours, but neither will we be foolish.”

Our lives for yours--that was supposed to be his line, his guards’ and soldiers’ line. Their heartbeat. He wished that their Majesties would not turn it back on them and would limit the giving of their lives to the hours and devotion channeled into championing the Narnians in policy and trade.

“No foolish risks I can promise,” Peter agreed, drawing him out of his thoughts.

 Like leaving the Queen Lucy’s cordial at Pair Caravel except for times of “great need”? Like not having it on hand for when an easy quest goes wrong and the king is shot? 

The captain decided not to voice this. The High King was very firm about the cordial. 

“We will make sure that one of us always stays out of battle,” Peter said, “so that all four thrones will never be empty.”

He was only slightly mollified by the High King finally displaying some good sense. His sense of duty rebelled against the idea of Peter, or Edmund, or Lucy possibly dying to save him when his sworn oath was to die for them, against the idea of leaving Narnia bereft and stealing her sovereigns’ lives from her when he had sworn to give all he had to serve her and see that she never lacked.

The others had already turned away, considering the matter settled, but Edmund--slumped back tiredly on his bench--saw the discomfort in his face.

“Captain,” he said quietly. “What else can I do? It was once His life for mine.”

“They told you?”

“I had gathered some. For a long time, my sisters had resolved not to tell me the rest, about what they saw that night. But eventually they decided I should know; Lucy had always thought so. I don’t feel guilt--He wouldn’t want me to, not now--only gratitude. But when He has done so much for me…”

“Our lives for yours,” the captain echoed the king’s words from earlier, his tone resigned and weary but finally accepting. 

King Edmund smiled, just a small quirk of his lip. 

He offered a silent bow to the king and thoughtfully went on his way. 

They were the furthest thing he could imagine from the Witch with her heart of ice and her wand of stone. The memories of how she would betray or sacrifice the very people she called herself queen over in less than a blink still turned his stomach. 

As much panic as the kings and queens might cause him with their nobleness and selfless devotion, deep down in his heart, he had to acknowledge that he wouldn’t want it any other way.

Although...just the tiniest hint of more instinct for protecting their own health and safety would not be amiss....

[askmerriauthor]

@techmomma upon request for critique and advice.  This is basically just me going into troubleshooter info-dump mode, so please pardon any abruptness in tone or phrasing.

So when drawing for animation, simplification of design and silhouette is key because you’re not only going to be doing the same overall drawing SO MANY TIMES in a row, but also need to ensure that the visual remains instantly recognizable to the viewer’s passing glance.  Consistency in silhouette is a big thing to work into the overall design of any character.

I’ve put up some solid examples above from Bruce Timm’s Batman, Disney’s  Kim Possible, and Disney’s Lilo & Stitch.  The highlights accent how a character’s overall outline - or even just key elements that are most prominently used in gesture and expression - and form remains basically the same no matter what angle they’re viewed from.  Notice how the shape and position of the various angles remain in basically the same spot regardless of the angle.  Notice how even when features are different in anatomy - such as an ear versus a cheekbone - they still tend to occupy the same general shape and position in the turnaround.  There’s also cases like Ron Stoppable where his hair is essentially always in the same shape, angle, and direction relative to which way he is facing no matter what angle he’s viewed from.  If he’s looking left, his hair shape is always left.

Another concept to always hold in mind with design is subtraction.  One of my teachers - Art Leonardi - gave the advice that “a lazy animator is a good animator”.  This isn’t to say that you should be sloppy, but that you should be efficient.  Every line you put down once is a line you’ll have to put down a million more times, so figure out exactly what needs to be on the page to convey shape, expression, and meaning, and REMOVE EVERYTHING ELSE.  If a character’s clothing or hair shape can be fudged so that a portion of its shape that would logically be visible in the real world isn’t there on the drawn version, and doing so doesn’t disrupt the presentation of the character?  Then don’t draw it.  Look at Harley Quinn’s design where her headpiece, collar, and ankles are in play.  We should logically always see both her “horns” even when she’s in profile, her collar should logically have more volume and thus appear lifted away from her body with a visible ridge, and we’d logically see the pointed flares at the back of her ankles more often.  But those are more details for the animators to draw, so they’re shuffled out.  Whichever “horn” is furthest from the viewer remains exactly the same position and angle in a 3/4th’s view as it is in head-on or from behind, while in profile it’s removed entirely.  Her collar is flush with her shoulder line in all positions and extra detail only appears when she’s in a total profile, which is actually rare in the cartoon itself since characters are infrequently shown fully from the side like that when a 3/4th’s angle would better serve the scene.  If we don’t need to see her ankle flares, we don’t see them.  If we do, they’re identical in profile as from behind, same as her “horns”.

Moving onto TB’s specific design here, this all leads into some fundamentals that can be applied to make the figure easier to animate.  TB’s age gives him plenty of wrinkles and lines, but too many causes clutter for the viewer and tons of extra work on the animator.  Compare Alfred to TB - both are wizened (albeit to different degrees, admittedly), but Alfred’s deforming facial details (lines above and below his eyes, and his mustache) are limited to a total of six lines that remain fairly parallel with each other.  TB, on the other hand, has twice as many in order to convey his age, expression, and depth of his facial structure.  Those can be reduced a lot in order to simplify the design.  TB’s signature elements would be his cheekbones, smile lines, and heavy-lidded eyes.  Things like the extra brow wrinkles and the wither lines on his neck aren’t necessarily as important to convey.

I marked a handful of points that I felt needed attention or removal.  The arrows indicate parallax errors; places where exterior lines meet in a way that makes their shape confusing.  You want to generally avoid that on the silhouette - it can be okay on interior elements, but you want to keep your overall outline as clean and easily readable as possible.  In the basic outline - and especially with the parallax errors in play - we don’t really get a sense of how skinny TB’s neck is because the outline of his high collar and fluffy hair all come together, appearing much bulkier than he actually is.  Some easy ways around this would either be to tighten the collar flush along the neck (like Harley’s, as per my previous example) or to lower it away from the jaw and hair line to make the thin neck visible while keeping the sharp angles of the collar itself.

In the profile image, I marked a spot at the neck with an arrow.  That’s because you changed the shape of TB’s neckline where it meets the underside of his jaw.  In all other angles his neck goes straight up, but in the profile it now has a subtle slope.  That’s one extra line and one change in silhouette you don’t need.  Similarly, we don’t need to see the fluff of TB’s hair that’s furthest from the viewer in that same profile, as it obscures the shape of his nose and face.  It can be removed, thus freeing him up for more expression in profile while speaking or emoting.

The X marks I placed are elements that simply don’t need to be there.  Things like shoulder creases or the fluff of his hair from behind are nice in illustrations, but superfluous in animation.  Same goes for being able to see TB’s chin at a 3/4th’s rear view, which clashes with the fluffy curve of his hair.  Again, more lines and more work.  That sort of volume can very easily be done via shading or with far more simpler incidental lines.  You don’t need to draw three or four dips to show the volume of his hair when two would suffice.

The final image I placed is a general breakdown of TB’s anatomical structure and outline.  In this case I mirrored the general silhouette of his hair, collar, and shoulders, while also mirroring the interior detail of his jawline and neck.  Your knack for making good illustrations can work against you when drawing for animation, as every element that differs from its opposite side (such as TB’s hair having slightly different heights and slopes on its right or left sides) makes it that much harder to maintain their relative volume in movement.  It’s better to simplify the shapes, mirror them, and match their placement relative to one another.  You’ve got a solid hold on anatomy already, so it’s clear TB’s general physical features line up properly as drawn, but when animation is in play you want to anchor features to one another.  I picked the base of his collar line as a radial point and drew outward - his physical elements should follow those general lines in order to make for a design that’s easier to replicate consistently.  So the same line that starts at the primary dimple in TB’s hair should always go straight down through his eye, along the edge of his nose, along the edge of his mouth, down the shape of his jaw, to that collar base.  The center-line of his shirt should go straight up through the center of his jaw, the center of his nose, and the center of the space between his eyes.  You should be able to draw a line straight from the point of his lower-most hair curls directly down the outline of his collar, as that makes it easier to maintain their volume and position as well as keeps his overall shape easy to read at a glance.

[jinruihokankeikaku]

I love your classpect analysis style, you’ve got a great framework for explaining things! I’d love to get your take on the Prince of Time if it’s not too much bother?👑🕰

Hey thanks!! I’m really glad u like my methodology ::::) And it’s not too much 8other at all!! Here’s my take on the…

Title: Prince of Time

Title Breakdown: One who actively destroys or destroys with [threatens, breaks, annihilates] Time [endings, death, rhythm, narrative, literal Time]

Role in the Session: Destruction Classes are always a volatile force in a session, but where Bards are capricious, Princes are simply explosive. The Prince of Time, as a Culminative-Conclusive Aspect with heavy themes of death, fire, and inevitability, is rendered further explosive by this harmony between their Class and Aspect. Nonetheless, like any other Prince, they will begin with a deficit of Time – they are, much like the Thief of Time, simply running out of it.

The Prince will feel, at first, paralyzed, trapped in any given moment, unable to take decisive action no matter how much they want to. This may not last, but it is certainly the case at first. As such, they might be compelled towards numerous creative endeavors, as a Space player might be, but because they are merely ghosting the Aspect these creations are unlikely to ever reach completion, or even come particularly close. The Prince will be therefore driven towards increasingly reckless courses of action, but might at first choke or freeze up at the deciding moment, and lose their opportunity. In order to overcome the absence of Time that’s stymieing their efforts, the Prince will have to act at the right moment, intervene in Time to prevent catastrophe. If the Prince of Time fails to break through this disorganization, this lack of rhythm, structure, and organization could send them into a downward spiral of continuing to ghost Space while further destroying Time (that is to say, wasting their time!) within themselves. They might go so far as to refuse to participate in the narrative of the game, attempting some novel personal project, doomed to failure, and abandoning their duty to the Alpha Timeline.

Time and Space, unlike the other ten Aspects, are given very specific duties by the game – the Space player must breed the Genesis Frog and create a new Universe; the Time player must preserve the Alpha Timeline’s integrity through strategic use of their ability to travel through time, and create, destroy, understand, exploit, manipulate, or appropriate doomed timelines. The Prince of Time, being as they are so volatile, is going to require some pressure to step into their role in the Game, but if and when they do, they will be remarkably good at their job. We’ve already covered “Destroying Time” and its possible negative consequences, if the Aspect-inverted Prince declines to change their ways and attain some focus, but “Destroying through Time” is a decidedly more positive function, and could mean any number of things. They might destroy Doomed versions of themselves, drawing on their power to prune down the number of Timelines and assure success at a particular class – or they may take the greater risk of creating and immediately sacrificing doomed clones of themselves, literally using these already-dead versions of themselves to attempt suicidal (but effective!) attacks, or to gain a few extra shots at destroying an enemy that won’t stay down. As soon as the Prince realizes that they can be the ones in control of what Time they do have, rather than fixating excessively on their (past or present, perceived or actual) deficit of Time, they will truly come into their own, becoming a Machiavellian plotter-extraordinaire with the power to decide which Timelines keep going, and which ones must die for the good of the team. As a side-note, I think this class, even more so than other Time players, would be inclined towards self-prototyping (for the sake of the team, one would hope they’d have the good sense to do that post-entry, as opposed to “the moment they see the Kernel”.

Speaking of Hope, Hope players tend to work well with Time players, and our Prince is no exception. The Prince would work especially well with a Seer or Sylph of Hope, I think, both of whom would be players inclined towards showing the Prince (and the rest of the team) that they have a chance of success within the Game’s narrative, and that there are things even in this grim post-eschatological landscape worth believing in. On the other hand, a Knight of Doom in cahoots with the Prince, while perhaps… less than beneficial during the early stages of the Game, would wreak havoc in the climactic confrontation with the Black King and/or Queen, by combining the Knight’s pragmatic attitude and strategic acumen with the Prince’s reckless, but certainly explosive, weaponization of Doomed clones.

Opposite Role: The Sylph of Space. Here we have a role that’s decently well-developed within the canon, through Kanaya Maryam. The Sylph of Space will likely try their best to guide the Prince, at first, but could quite possibly inadvertently guide them in the wrong direction, towards Space-inversion and unwitting self-sabotage. The Sylph of Space “heals or passively generates possibility, expansiveness, and … beginnings” which is… rather the opposite of what an under-developed Prince of Time needs. Sylphs are almost always well-intentioned, but in situations of direct or near-direct opposition like this, their meddling has the potential to do more harm than good – and even if they are sufficiently knowledgeable and well-realized as to do the right kind of healing (that is to say, excising the Prince’s excess Space rather than encouraging it to run rampant), the Prince’s backlash against said meddling would certainly do more harm than good. Player-versus-player violence is almost unequivocally Bad News™ for a Session’s chances at success.

God Tier Powers

I’ll keep it brief since this analysis is already running a bit long – Time is the Culminative-Conclusive-Actual Aspect, and it has strong associations with fire, rhythm, and the concept of doomed timelines (and death/narrative conclusion in general). Here are a few ways to bring those notions together…

Temporal Flames: The Prince induces imperceptible fractures in the timeline and grinds them together, generating both literal heat and an increasing rate of Temporal Anomalies (interpret that as you will), the longer they concentrate on this ability. Set enough of a Timeline on fire and you get a hole in the Timeline through which entities from the Furthest Ring, or more likely, another (Doomed) timeline might enter, and through which anyone else might fall. These ruptures would be localized – they aren’t instantaneously dooming the timeline they happen to occupy just by using this ability – but if it sounds disruptive, that’s because it is. Use With Caution.

The Killing Time: The Prince burns through Doomed clones like they were kerosene, unleashing a barrage of inter-timeline assaults against their hapless foe. Each Doomed clone sacrificed fuels the Prince’s own access to their Aspect, but reduces their control over it, given that they are, in a metaphysical sense, “killing the hostages” and thereby surrendering some of their leverage. In addition to being a line of attack in its own right, this self-destructive maneuver also fuels the Prince’s Temporal Flames, damaging the timeline and entities nearby at a frightening rate.

Cutting Room: Reality starts to drop frames in the presence of the Prince, allowing them and their attacks to occur at an accelerated rate due to the falling-away of infinitesimal bits of the timeline. This would be especially effective with firearms, and ranged weapons in general, as it would greatly magnify the rate and accuracy of projectiles’ connecting with their respective targets (at the cost of the occasional arrow, slug, shell, or laser-beam disappearing outright, from Time to Time.

Personality: The Prince of Time is likely to have an interest in music, but be unsatisfied with their own progress and lack the patience, at first, to deeply commit themselves to it. Their personal life is bound to be fraught, even by Time-player standards, and it wouldn’t be unlikely for the Prince to have experienced some childhood trauma that left them feeling as though they’re constantly racing against Time, or that wasting too much Time on any one endeavor is too great of a sacrifice. They might, unfortunately, grind away slowly at the patience of their personal friends or romantic interests, due to their initial lack of focus and extreme impulsivity. These are the main issues that our Prince will have to work past – their failure to engage with their Aspect due to trauma or isolation, and their inability to commit, not only to hobbies or relationships, but to their own plans and schemes post-Entry.

Songs: Well, as it happens, a couple of weeks ago, before I even started doin this Classpectin thing, I made a 10-track Prince of Time playlist, linked here. It shares one or two songs with other Time classes I’ve covered on this blog, but there’s also some new stuff there if you’re interested in checkin it out!!

Thanks again for the request!! As you can probably discern from, uhm, how very long I’ve gone on, I’m a big fan of this Classpect, and in fact suspected that it was my own, for a minute. Princes and Thieves do have a fair few things in common. As always, requests remain open (as of time of writing), and do send any questions you have re: this Role or others!!

~ P L U R ~

[wholelotofweird]

Hi! Hello!

I recently had the huge privilege of working on the Season 4 Cover Art for the Actual Play Podcast @crudelydrawnswords​ (listen here!! or on your podcatcher of choice).

Part of that process was helping design new outfits for The Hawks and I just want to talk about my thoughts through that process! 

First, I think the evolution of my personal designs for them is important because it fully informs where we ended up, I think. 

When I first considered doing fan art I looked around for any existing fan art, this is something I always do, I think maybe to feel like I’m not WAY off base? (Which is super silly, get off base with fan art! That’s why it’s fan art!) But I do it. 

I think this piece of art by CDS’s own Magnus (follow Mag on twitter!) was if not THE first, one of the very first pieces I saw:

This image really heavily played into how I drew The Hawks. ESPECIALLY the color pallets. There are some real obvious similarities between this and where I ended up for a couple reasons. 

Despite the changes I’ve made to their designs I’ve always thought it was important to keep their main colors intact, Bambari in browns, Tristan in reds, Percy in stark silver, and Enigma in green. 

Keeping their colors consistent has been a specific choice on my part, largely to pay homage to this specific image, and partially for visual consistency. Meaning, even if I messed with the structure of the outfit, the vibe would remain (hopefully). 

I think this is most obvious with every group and “special” group art I’ve done of The Hawks. Here’s a couple examples of what I mean by “different structure, same vibe”:

The two pieces have very different fashion choices, but the intent was to remain true to the characters through the use of color. 

Percy: Well put together with colors that invoke the sky just before a storm, combined with over-polished silver. 

Tristian: Reds and blacks, with pieces that are very flashy. 

Enigma: Green and simple, something easy to move in. The one time I drew her in a skirt I tried to make it obvious that it was as easy to move in as possible. 

Bambri: Browns, simple, fabric textures that are basic, no attempts to evoke fancy fabric. 

Color, for me, does a lot of heavy lifting when I draw The Hawks, the colors are always a conscious choice, even down to the little stuff like “How sunburned should Tristan be?” “Which of them should have similar eye colors?”. I mention this, because it was a factor I very much kept in mind when designing the Season 4 art. 

Sooo, with all that in mind, let’s chat about the outfit drafts I came up with! Shout out to Ben (twitter here!) who was my point of contact for all of this. He had a very clear vision for what the energy of the cover art should be, as well as passed on the style references from The Hawks. 

We’ll start with Percy, I’m just going to cut and paste the brief I got from Ben: 

Percy will look less the knight in shining armour. The armour is tarnished, he is wearing tattered robes over it, he perhaps looks a little careworn but there is focus in him as well. 

He also sent a couple of reference pics that were very influential. With those together I ended up with these 4 variations: 

There’s some real difference from 1 to 4. The thoughts I had were along the lines of:

1: Very close to the reference image I liked most

2: Fun, funky, more visual interest and still very much showing off his Paladin garb.

3: Low key, with still a touch of the regal vibe I try to insert into him (it’s the cape.)

4: VERY MUCH PALLY, despite liking this choice, It is def the furthest from the reference I was sent. I included because I wanted to make sure there was still the option of showing off his Pally side. 

In each of the 4 designs there is either an obvious scarf or (in the case of 1) the hint of a scarf shape. A scarf was not a feature of his design before this, it was a feature of the design I had most recently landed on for Bambari. It was VERY important to me to have SOME sort of visual touch that connected the two. 

You can also see I went for similar brown shades and Fabric Styles, again, it was absolutely on purpose to draw a connection between the two. 

Onto Tristan!

Again, from Ben:

I think we have already raised the likelihood of Tristan being dressed absolutely in the style of "Welcome To The Black Parade" era MCR.

I wish I could describe the feeling I had when I read this. It was intense, visceral, joy. Not only were MCR a part of my heavy rotation through High School, but The Black Parade is so visually “my shit” it’s not funny. If I could draw every character in a Marching Band Inspired Outfit I would 1000% do it. 

The downside of this specifically, is there aren’t a TON of variations to play with. So, I mostly went wild with Jackets. 

I wanted to make sure I kept the very ornate feel, while also staying true to marching band. For folks that were part of marching band (waddup), you’ll notice that the pants in 1 and 3 are absolutely the baggy look that that is the most true to the vibe, but they aren’t the most true to Tristan T. Wilde, world famous bard. 

One of the extra variations of this I sent off for approval had red accents, but I’ll be honest, I’m glad that the final choice was for all sliver and white. Choosing to remove the red from his outfit completely sends a big visual message about where his character is at currently. 

You can see in all 4 options the coat has some form of sharp arrow style cut. I was important to me to keep him from looking boxy, and keep his outfits looking very specifically Fit For Him. 

And Enigma! Once more from Ben:

I don't have a definite visual reference for Enigma yet, but she is a Ranger now.

And she has a magpie.  

So. Uh. Initially that isn’t a lot to go on. But, I’ve been drawing Enigma for A WHILE, I felt confidant that I could direct myself to something that was very “Authentic” Ranger. 

After about 9000 google searches, I came up with 4 ideas. 

Boy howdy. I think her’s may be the most diverse, style wise. I’ll be honest, I love all of these. There are certainly a couple who are less Her than I would normally go for, but in each of them, I tried to make sure there were Obvious Engima Touches.

3 is perhaps the least interesting, as it was the most similar to how I had already been drawing her. 

1 & 2 (and a little bit 4) were an excuse to draw muscle definition, no doubt, don’t @ me, I think it’s important to note that by this point I had been binging F@TT, so 1 is ABSOLUTELY inspired by art I have seen of Hella, you are free to @ me about that. thank you. 

ANYWAY, with all of these I again considered the fact that even if she was no longer a rogue, she wouldn’t be giving up her amazing parkour skills, so she would still need to flip about. 

2 & 4 were designed specifically with that in mind, as in: What will look coolest when she’s flippin’ around? 

And if you’re looking at any of these and thinking: Hm, there are some design elements here that I used for Bambari’s design, again you are correct. I was less concerned with making the connection obvious here than I was with Percy, but I still wanted to insert some of that. 

Later, Ben mentioned that if we could a little more Aloy from HZD that would be ideal. 

SO! HOW DID ALL OF THAT COME TOGETHER?

I’m glad you asked. 

I’m so glad that even with these changes I was able to keep most of the color standards for The Hawks. 

Enigma is still in green. 

Percy still has that silver, even if it isn’t as bright. 

Tristan no longer has red, but my hope is that his attitude still stands out. 

They’ve been through a lot, but they are still them. 

I will admit, there was a selfish part of me that was truly glad with the choices the players made here. Despite really loving all of the outfit choices, these were my favorite from a narrative arc standpoint and also from a re-draw-ability standpoint. 

If you’ve made it this far... Shit dude. 

Thank you. 

I have a lot of feelings about this show and I still can’t really believe I was asked to do this. It was a delight working with Ben to make this vision into a reality. 

The Hawks truly are rad as heck. 

[darkelfshadow]

Session Summary - 90

AKA “Followers Of The Serpent Mother”

Adventures in Taggriell

Session 90  (Date: 24th July 2020)

Players Present:

- Rob (Known as “Varis”) Elf Male.

- Bob (Known as “Sir Krondor) Dwarf Male.

- Paul (Known as “Labarett”) Elf Male.

Absent Players

- Travis (Known as “Trenchant”) Human Male. <Played by Paul>

- John (Known as “Ragnar”) Dwarf Male. <Played by Rob>

- Arthur (Known as “Gim”) Dwarf Male. <Played by Bob>

NPC

- (Known as “Naillae”) Elf Female. <Controlled by DM>

Summary

- Fireday, 12th Gozran in the year 815 (Second Era). Early Summer.

- The party begin this session, late in the evening, still exploring the sewers of port city of Phlan.

- Having dealt with a large group of Yuan-ti ambushers last session, the party are in desperate need of a short rest. They close the portcullis that leads somewhere below, and move round to one of the nearby side passages. The hour passes and thankfully their rest is not disturbed.

- Returning to the closed portcullis, the two flanking golden snake heads are once again forced downwards until they click, causing the portcullis to raise silently upwards. Trenchant pulls up his hood on his Elven Cloak, and walks down the lit dimly lit stairs that descend just beyond the portcullis; the smell of cooking meats raising upwards.

- Thanks to his Boots Of Elven Kind, he walks silently down until he comes to a closed sewer gate. He can see a long well lit corridor that lays beyond the gate. Numerous doors lead off it, with light and the smell of cooking coming from one open door at the far end. At the midway point one large, impressive looking circular metal door with snake motifs draws his attention. Another two golden snake statues flank this metal door as well, and two Yuan-ti Purebloods stand guarding it at attention. At the far end of the corridor a rope dangles from the ceiling.

- Trenchant sneaks back up and informs the party, who then discuss how to approach this. Trenchant, Naillae and Varis sneak down the stairs, using the dim light to hide their presence, weapons already in hand.

- Varis, his assassin training kicking in, releases a single arrow and kills the furthest Pureblood immediately. Trenchant and Naillae though do not have the same luck, and though having injured the closest Pureblood, this foe manages to run back behind cover of the open door and shout out in Draconic “Intruders!”

- Naillae attempts to open the sewer gate but it is locked and she trys to pick the lock without success. Varis hurries to pick the lock instead, and after successfully doing so, pushing it open and he leaps through to the other side; just as Labarett and Ragnar join the others down below. Gim begins to move down too but is held back by his cousin Sir Krondor, who looks around the stone corridor, “That would be a perfect spot to place a trap for intruders.”

- Just as he says this a Yuan-ti Malison (Type 3) swiftly slithers out from the far lit open doorway.

- The Malison moves to the nearby rope to pull it. Immediately the roof above the spot Sir Krondor was suspicious of falls and drops onto Trenchant, Labarett, Naillae and Ragnar. All are injured from the large stones.

- With the gate open the party slowly push forward as another Malison appears, both firing arrows from long bows. Labarett leads the charge towards the far open doorway and kills the injured Pureblood quickly. Labarett can see through the open doorway into a well lit kitchen area.

- With only two Malisons left, even though the creatures are strong, under the combined onslaught of the party the two foes are dropped quickly with the party receiving only minor injuries.

- With all the foes now dealt with the party search the kitchen but find little of value. They move to a wooden door across from the kitchen and open it to reveal a storeroom filled with boxes, barrels and sacks.

- The room is searched but again little of value is found. Labarett does take some oil flasks. The party move back to the middle of the long corridor and now look carefully about. A large iron key is found hanging on the wall, presumably for the locked sewer gate.

- Two large imposing doors, opposite and facing each other, are in the middle of the corridor.

- One appears to be a thick metal circular set of double doors, engraved with snake motifs. Two metal handles are set on each door in the centre. No keyholes are visible. Elaborate raised circular discs on the lower portion, set with colourful stones, are positioned left and right. Flanking this door, just off to the side on both the left and right, are two golden snake statues identical to the ones that flanked the portcullis entry to this lower level.

- Directly opposite this metal door on the other wall, is a set of large wooden iron bound double doors, with no obvious door handle or key hole. Each of the double doors has a large circular grove. Protruding from this grove are thick round iron rods with a two inch gap from the door.

- After the doors are checked, no traps can be detected on either, but Varis can hear the faintest sound of movement from behind the wooden doors.

- Sir Krondor puts away his shield and weapon and grips onto the thick metal bar of one of the wooden doors and twists it with all his might. The bar resists but the Dwarf Knight manages to move it until the bar is vertical and he can hear a click. Sir Krondor, still holding onto the metal bar, then pushes the four inch thick heavy door inwards, straining as he does so, and having to walk forward to force the heavy door to move.

- The well lit room revealed beyond is an armoury and training room. Weapon racks and shields adorn the walls. Mounted animal heads line the walls but more shockingly so too are human heads mounted onto the walls. A training dummy and archery target are visible, along with a lit torch on one wall and a lit brazier in a corner. On the far wall are two closed wooden doors.

- Sir Krondor stops pushing the door with a grunt, as three Serpentine Monks stop their training and fall into defensive stances.

- Battle erupts immediately as Varis steps towards the open door and kills one Monk immediately with a well placed arrow. One of the Monks turns and raises his hand toward one of the rear wooden doors, and the door opens as an invisible Psionic Hand opens it. The Monk shouts out an alert in Draconic to a group of Purebloods in the next room.

- Ragnar rushes to the door and hurls a Fireball into the room, exploding it at the far open doorway. The Fireball explodes, half of it in the armoury and the other half in the next room. Both Monks are engulfed, one is killed and the other is badly burnt. Screams of agony can be heard coming from the next room, which now has small fires around it.

- The party rush in, using the chaos and shock of the Fireball to kill the injured Monk and continue forwards. Gim runs into the next room, as he looks around a long room with wooden floors and numerous beds, bunk beds, and sleeping rolls. He can see nine of the Yuan-ti Purebloods around the room and half of them are badly burnt from the Fireball. Some of the mattresses have small fires on them.

- The Yuan-ti rush Gim and he is soon surrounded by scimitars flashing towards him. One of the Purebloods races to a side door and opens it, yelling an alert, whilst the remaining Yuan-ti begin to take out their bows and form a defensive line.

- However, before they can even get a single arrow off, the party rush in with no hesitation take them down. The badly burnt Purebloods surrounding Gim are quickly brought down too as the party push onwards.

- Labarett moves towards the open side door and looks inside to see a well furnished smaller bedroom with three single beds, a chest, and three Yuan-ti Malisons (Type 1) standing around the room with weapons ready.

- The party are fighting on, pushing their way into the small bedroom without pausing. The three Malisons fight back, and manage to injure the party badly, but under the might of the party are soon dispatched.

- There is one set of large double wooden doors at the far end of the long sleeping quarters but the party take a pause and decide to stop and search the bodies and the three new rooms.

- The large sleeping quarters, armoury and side bedroom are searched. The chest in the side bedroom has an acid trap but luckily does not injure anyone as Labarett uses his Mage Hand to open it. Within the chest are 500 gold coins, made up of 50 bundles of 10 coins tied together in piles. A journal is found tucked under the blankets of one of the single beds and contains working notes on keeping order of the guard patrols and also talking about having to search the city for the “stolen eyes of Dendar”, something the party are not familiar with.

- Labarett takes this opportunity to perform a Ritual of Detect Magic. He looks for sources of magic. He can see one of the weapons in the armoury is glowing, a well made and elaborate silver mace. The head of mace is styled as birds in flight. Engraved on the handle, in Dwarvish characters is written something in the language of Auran, the language of the Plane Of Air. The language is used by many flying creatures. The mace is surprisingly light, weighing only half as much as a normal mace.

- The mace is taken by the party, so it can be inspected by MacCath The Crimson back on the Frostskimmr. Labarett can sense magic from beyond the closed double wood doors.

- The party prepare themselves to enter these large double doors. Naillae checks it for traps, not finding any, but sees that there is a metal bar on the other side. It would be very difficult to force entry unless the bar was removed but there is insufficient gap for her to do so. With no other option, Labarett prepares to bluff his way through using Draconic. He knocks on the door and a few seconds later, the sound of a bar being lifted can be heard, and the door opens a few inches. A raspy voice in Draconic speaks, “What is it! Znar-hish does not want to be disturbed …” but the voice stops abruptly as a face of a Serpentine Monk appears looking out. The face turns into a scowl as it sees Labarett’s unfamilar face.

- Ragnar leaps forward, “I think the jig is up!” as he pushes the door back and open, forcing the Serpentine Monk back before he can reset the metal bar. A narrow, bending short entryway, leads into a bigger room. The entryway allows only one person to pass and it is an easily defendable spot.

- In the room beyond, partially visible, is a tall, muscular figure of a Yuan-ti Abomination. The massive creature towers above the heads of everyone else and it slithers towards the entryway.

- The party are struggling to enter the room, and only the forward most few of the party can attack. The Monk is attempting to pull and throw Ragnar into the smaller room behind him but Ragnar is able to resist. Moving forward the Abomination emits a forward cone of Fear, which only Sir Krondor succumbs to. The Dwarf Knight immediately drops his weapon and shield and then runs away, moving at speed and bolting for the hideout exit. With the Abominatiion now closer the party can see a thick leather cord around its neck with a gold and silver snake key. Rather than just one, the key ends in four extending grooved blades, forming a cross design.

- Slowly the party manage to kill the Monk, but not before the foe manages to inflict some injury back. Varis is the only one capable of attacking the Abomination, the difficult shot through the bending narrow passageway, not challenging him at all.

- With the Monk dead and the way now clear, Gim rushes into the room, only to discover there are two Abominations present. The second Abomination also has a gold and silver snake key on a neck cord. They both turn on the Dwarf and their scimitars flash in air, critically injuring Gim. The Dwarf Fighter knows he won’t stand another attack like that.

- The rest of the party rush in, concentrating on the one already injured Abomination and killing it. As the creature dies, Sir Krondor who is still running and two rooms away, is now no longer under the Fear effect. The Dwarf Knight turns back, empty handed, and begins to run back towards the sounds of battle.

- Labarett looks around the room but can not see any glowing magic sources but he can still sense something magical in the room. The Barbarian stands beside Gim and directs the Abomination to attack him, sparing Gim’s life from another deadly blow. Labarett, even with his Rage, gets badly injured.

- The party concentrate on the last remaining Abomination who takes a tremendous pounding, bleeding wounds all over its body. The large creature slithers over to a writing desk, covered in a leather bound journal, a rolled up parchment, and a golden container of intricate design. The Abomination picks up the golden container and lifts it up, removing the lid. As the lid comes off, Labarett sees a bright glow coming from within, indicating a strong magical source. The creature pours the contents of the container, a green liquid, all its body as it speaks in Draconic, “Dendar bless me!”

- The green liquid begins to boil and evaporate, green light and sparks start to whirl around the creature as it begins to grow in size. The air spins and black smoke swirls around the floor of the creature. Its skin loses all colour becoming grey and cracks appear, as the creature turns to living stone. It now towers over the party, almost twice the size it once was. This behemoth, a Divine Abomination, now faces the party renewed, with no injury or damage done to it.

- The creatures arms are thicker than a man. It turns towards Gim and punches him again, and again and again; sending him flying to smack into the far wall. Gim, barely alive, looks back in terror at the horror.

- The party hold nothing back, throwing everything at it. Blade, arrow and spell all strike towards it. Labarett gets smashed, but his Rage absorbs most of the damage, saving him from death. The Divine Abomination punches back and forth, now with multiple targets all around it, its deadly blows are shared amongst the party. Large sections of rock are breaking off the creature, from the battering it is taking.

- Sir Krondor has reached his dropped weapon and shield and stops to retrieve them, strapping his shield back on. He can hear the sound of frantic battle in the next room. He then rushes forward, pushing through the narrow bending entryway, and jumps into the small chamber. He prepares himself for battle, as he sees Labarett swinging Anarchic (long sword) into the upper torso of the Divine Abomination, breaking off the shoulder and arm. The creature begins to topple over, breaking into chunks of stone, coming to rest on the ground in a cloud of dust and stone chips.

- Trenchant turns to Sir Krondor and with a smile says, “Good of you to join us.”

<And as the party stand catching their breath after that frantic battle, that is the end of the session.>

XP Allocation

Group - Combined (This is equally divided by the number of players who were involved)

Quests (Only quests that are completed or rendered undoable, during this session, are shown here)

- Nil

Creatures Overcome

- Yuan-ti Purebloods = 2200 XP

- Yuan-ti Malisons = 2800 XP

- Serpentine Monks = 1800 XP

- Yuan-ti Abominations = 5800 XP

Individual (This is only given to that person and is not divided amongst all players)

Special Bonus (Outstanding Role Playing)

Nil

XP Levels and Player Allocations

Player : Start +  Received = Total  (Notes)

Rob : 115426 + 2250 = 117676

Arthur : 92627 + 1350 = 93977

John : 86849 + 1350 = 88199

Travis : 106224 + 1350 = 107574

Paul : 93807 + 2250 = 96057

Bob : 104371 + 2250 = 106621

NPC (Naillae) : + (900)

[thinkingaboutsanfrancisco]

Dodging my way through this drunken and dangerously inattentive congregation with only one guy backing up and almost bumping his drink into me, my eyes fixate on the white, retro-futuristic, chair on the corner by S and I rush to claim it as if the one to his right wasn’t also available. There’s a couple open, actually. It’s a long counter and more customers are concentrated on the other side, where there’s a spot designated for people standing around while waiting to get their not-free-at-all refills, and I’m grateful S picked a good spot. It’s a stretch to say it’s quiet over here, but it is quieter; the buzzing of voices is audible at least, so I think we’re further from the speakers, and we’re certainly tucked safely away from those godforsaken strobes. The soft violet and blue lights drenching the bar in dark calamity are enough to lull me into closing my eyes, briefly rubbing my lids and temples with my fingers as I try to calm down that raging headache and take solace in my resting spot. Thank God I’m not here solely to socialize with strangers, because I’m sure if I was sitting next to someone else, they’d probably be so offended by their proximity to my godawful posture that they’d make a point to comment on it and, while I wouldn’t do a damn thing about it, I wouldn’t bother blaming them either. Hunching my upper body over this counter like this is unsightly and the furthest from impeccable table manners, but it’s the only thing that’s comfortable to me right now. 

Don’t worry S, I won't kill our prospects. Just give me another second and I’ll leave.

Well, another two, but I realize that he’s been too occupied to keep count; adjusting himself in his seat and turning to reveal the slim menu he swiped from a spot or two down from him while brandishing a playfully large and bright grin like he’s committed the heist of the century before he catches my squint. I was only trying to figure out what the fuck he was doing, but he has the audacity to think I’m actually judging him for snatching it and I roll my eyes. 

That’s about the last thing anyone’s going to call the cops on here, man. 

Especially since he has to elaborate on what would draw the attention of any authorities, tapping his nose to unnecessarily further the point and...yeah, now I am judging him because that’s discreet, that’s real fucking discreet, S. Let’s flippantly announce to the entirety of this uncharted territory our mission statement before I can even pull anything off so we can either get kicked out, threaten anybody else who could be selling here, or, worst of all, have me thrown in fucking jail since I’m the one holding an 8-ball in my pocket. It’ll be quite the joking matter then, won’t it? 

I don’t know.

I don’t want to know and...and I’m not going to. I swear that I’m going to calm down, I’m going to get up out of this chair and take advantage of his gracious hint since...well, it is the best place to start and I’m going to make a lot of money and survive. I’m going to be okay, I will be, I just…need another second... 

Not like S cares. His job for the night is done. He’s gotten me here, he’s gotten me in, and has more than fulfilled his quota of embarrassing me for the night. Now his nose is deep in this menu, trying to find the perfect drink so he can celebrate. Lucky him. 

At the rate I’m going, I need a drink to even start mine. 

I scoff at my sardonicism because yeah right, I don’t drink. The mere scent of alcohol’s always made me gag and I’m nauseous enough as it is, but my throat is dryer than a desert from all of my hyperventilating so...I should at least get something else to drink. What that’s going to be is undetermined, but I’ll figure it out once he’s done with the menu. For someone as impulsive as S is, I’m surprised he didn’t go with the first thing he saw instead of engrossing himself in it like it’s a textbook like he has. Frankly, I’m surprised he bothered to look at all since he was so eager to get over here, but then again...this place is as new for him as it is for me. 

Sensing that, he brings the menu a little closer, angling it my way so we can look together and that’s when I get why he’s still studying. This thing is a textbook, filled with so many sections of different liquors that it’s rather overwhelming for someone who wants none of it. Merely reading about their beer and expensive wine offerings makes me sicker, whiskey sounds old and disgusting, I have no idea what the hell a cognac is, and the names of the cocktails are enough of a hieroglyphic on their own, much less whatever’s in them. The only thing that sounds remotely good is a rum and coke, but without the liquor so...basically a Coke, which, at least they have...

“What can I get you started on?”

Both of our eyes fly up at the bartender’s genial, patient but obviously expectant, smile but she’s focused directly om S, who’s beaming with excitement to tell her what he wants: a round of tequila shots...and whatever I want. 

Oh. 

Well, uh, I wasn’t...entirely ready, but he’s already directed her eyes towards me with his neon arrow of a finger and the pressure of the attention...fuck....what is he doing this for? What is he expecting me to say? What is he expecting me to make him pay for? What could I order to make it worth his while? What is she expecting me to have her make? A round of shots of my own? Something harder to ease how miserable I am? An actual rum and coke?  Why am I even contemplating it? I don’t drink. I fucking can’t…

“Yeah, uh…just a Coke, thanks,” I eventually order, flashing her the biggest grin of assurance that I can muster so she doesn’t press me on it. Ironically, this is one the most legal things I could do here, yet something about it feels almost felonious.   

I really don’t belong here, do I? 

S unintentionally points it out further with a joke at his own expense and my lips twist briefly in amusement because he does look like a real drunk in comparison, but I don’t have their capacity to find it that riotous. After all, he picked his own poisons here so I’m not going feel sorry for him for that and, ultimately, the bartender doesn’t either as she assures him that he’s far from the worst she’s seen before providing him his set of shots on a silver tray that already makes my modest Coke look even more silly and I haven’t even received the damn drink yet. Promptly, he takes out his wallet and pulls out a sleek credit card to formally arrange this tab, which she whisks away to do and leaves him to down one of the shots all while I just...sit here aimlessly, like the out of place kid I always am. 

It’s not that I want to get plastered nor that anyone outside of myself is necessarily preventing me from it, I just want to get it the fuck together and feel better so I can focus. I wish I had something to expedite that, something to make me feel easygoing and sociable like S and everyone else is here, something to bring me back down to Earth from my detrimental funk and get me through this night. Ideally, that little something would be a cigarette. My permanently festering craving’s worsening and I need to head out to the alley to satisfy it, but then I’d have to go through all of those people and have to get in the door again and God, that thought only makes me feel worse.  

“Well…” S begins and I look up at him right as he’s in the middle of downing another shot, which provides me a second to brace for the inevitable. Ready or not, this has to be my cue...

“If at any point in the night, you get tired of waiting for your Coke, I clearly have an excess of alcohol...” He offers, his shrug of nonchalance buying me just a little more time.  

Thanks, that’s very generous of you, but I don’t drink. I never have. I never wanted to...

Seventeen years of assurance primes the tip of my tongue with those words, but my eyes turn traitorous when they wander down to those remaining four tiny glasses of clear, clean, liquor that openly await my answer to his invitation. 

Before now. 

Their transparency is deceptive of what their true collective power can be, but individually they’re so small and can’t be too much to commit to. All it’d take is one quick swig and I’d get a taste of what I want. I’d get what I need...

“Thanks, that’s very generous of you, but...I’ll just take one. For good luck, y’know?” I tell him while I pick up my glass, attempting to still the nervous waver in my grin so he can see the gratitude beneath it. He didn’t have to share. Why did he? Is my misery that fucking noticeable? 

Must be. 

That would disgust me more if it weren’t for the tequila’s pungent smell wafting up my nose as I bring the rim of the glass to my lips and God...God, God, God, God... it’s---oh Christ, it’s that awful. How the fuck can S stand this? Not only that, how can he drink it without the slightest flinch? It’s so acridly acidic that I have to pinch my nose, which leads to my eyes closing as tight as I can when the bittersweetness cloaks my tongue and burns all the way down my throat. Not in the rough but ultimately benign way that carbonation does either; this lingers until it blisters, setting all of my senses ablaze with all of the raw, cutting, clarity of a slap in the face. My cheeks are boiling...everything in my body is and my first gasp for air fuels the pain like salt piling in the venomous bite’s wound.

The clink of my empty glass against the counter startles my eyes open again and I’m met with this unexpected sea of orange and yellow ravishing the pillars and bar like flames. I’m so hot that they feel like real ones to me, but it’s only the lights, which have changed to match the next song and... I groan when I recognize who’s responsible for the awful noise. It’s not hard since he fucking announces his presence with the stupid and inaccurate nickname he gave himself in the first fucking line. Mr. Worldwide? He’s been stuck rapping about  Miami and fucking every woman in it for the last decade! Yet, out of all of the artists, I don’t think there’s anyone more unfortunately appropriate than Pitbull to accompany my gross reeling:

Tell her, tell her baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby I'm on fire.

[portraitoftheoddity]

LESSON THREE: GETTING IN SHAPE(S)

Today’s lesson will focus on geometric shapes and forms, and how to render them with light and shadow.

Now granted, very little of what you may want to draw will consist of perfect spheres, cubes, or cones. But almost every complex, organic shape? Can be reduced to basic geometric components. A nose might not be a standard geometric form, but you can build one by combining spheres for the tip of the nose and nostrils with a rectangular prism for the bridge -- and if you know how to render and shade those forms, then shading a nose gets a lot easier.

Now, a sphere with no shading at all, just looks like a circle. It’s a little easier with boxier shapes to convey 3-dimensionality just with contours, but it’s still tricky sometimes to convey depth. You can convey a lot with just contours and linework, but we’ll be talking about the technique involved in that in a later lesson. For today, dealing with light and shadow to communicate shape and depth will be our focus. We’ll be concentrating mainly on simple geometric forms, because these are our building blocks for constructing more detailed, complex images as we feel more comfortable with our skills.

To start, let’s make sure we have some terms defined:

SHAPE: A two-dimensional figure. ie, a circle, square, rectangle, triangle, etc.

FORM: A three-dimensional figure. ie., a sphere, cube, prism, cone, etc. 

Technically nothing we draw is three-dimensional, since the page itself is two dimensional, but with shading and depth indicators, we are able to create the illusion of three-dimensional space in a two-dimensional drawing. 

So, there’s our terms as far as shape. Now, for light and shadow, let’s look at some more terms:

HIGHLIGHT: The area of a form that faces the light source and reflects the most light.

MIDTONE: What it says on the tin.

CORE SHADOW: The area of a form furthest from the light source which has the deepest area of visible shadow. 

REFLECTIVE HIGHLIGHT: An area of dimmer light where the form catches light reflected by other surfaces.  

CAST SHADOW: The shadow the form casts on the surface it rests on, or on objects around it. 

On a curved surface, such as we see in the sphere above, and also in cones and cylinders, we see shading in a gradient. There is a gradual shift along the same continuous surface from an area of highlight to an area of shadow.

On flat surfaces, such as on cubes, prisms, or the flat top of a closed cylinder, the light hits all points of a surface at a more similar angle, making each visible side a comparatively flat area of highlight or shadow. (You may see some gradation, depending on proximity of the light source, reflections, or small variations and imperfections in the form -- but not to the degree you would on a sphere).

Now, the most important step in drawing shaded objects? Is IDENTIFYING YOUR LIGHT SOURCE.

On each of these cylinders, the light is coming from a different direction. On the second cylinder to the left, the light is coming from the front; the area of brightest highlight is visible; the area of deepest shadow is on the far side of the cylinder. On the cylinder immediately to the right of it, the opposite is true -- we can see the deepest shadow, and the highlight is on the far side. 

Now, in reality, there are often multiple light sources -- two lamps in a room, natural light through a window plus indoor light, lights reflected off multiple surfaces, etc. But for the sake of our drawing exercises, we’re really just going to focus on a single primary light source in a given drawing, plus some slight amount of reflected light.

When you have multiple objects in a drawing, or a complex object made of multiple geometric forms, keeping track of your light source is important! It’s logically consistent, and makes everything in your drawing appear to occupy the same space. I often make a little arrow to remind myself of the angle of the light, which I can erase later.

Recommended Media:  If you have gray-toned paper and drawing chalks/gray pastels, this is a great time to break them out. Otherwise, charcoal is great, or pencil and paper is fine. 

EXERCISE ONE: VALUE SCALE

When we talk about values in drawing, we are’t talking about our moral principles (though there is a fantastic quote by G. K. Chesterton that “art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.”) Instead we are talking about light and dark in very literal terms. 

Before drawing any shapes, let’s take a minute to explore the full range of your value scale. Draw at least 9 to say, 12 boxes of equal size, all in a row with touching sides. 

Now, starting on one side, fill in the first box as dark and black as you possibly can. 

Using your materials, in whatever medium you’re in, try to fill in the boxes from one side to the other in a gradual scale, with the opposite box being white (if you are drawing on gray-toned paper, you will want to fill in that box with white chalk, conte or pastel). Make the transition as even and gradual as possible. In the end, it should look something like this:

The value of this exercise (ayyyyy see what I did there?) lies in making you explore the FULL range of value available to you, so you’re aware of just how deep you can make your shadows in comparison to your highlights. A lot of folks go light on their shading instead of really getting in there with a full value scale. Pin this up as a reminder of what you have at your disposal! 

EXERCISE TWO: DRAWING FORMS

On different pieces of paper, draw, and then shade:

a cube 

a sphere

a cylinder

a cone

and a pyramid

(links provided for example -- you can use them as reference, or you can find your own, online or in real life!) 

For each form, identify a direction for your light source. Figure out your area of highlight, your area of core shadow, and your cast shadow. Refer to your value scale! If you’re feeling ambitious, try drawing the forms more than once, with your light source at different angles.

EXERCISE THREE: GET IN FORMATION

Now, on a new sheet, try combining and overlapping the forms, maintaining a consistent light source. 

If you want to do this with references, you can look online, OR -- look in your pantry. Canned goods and boxes make great simple geometric references. Eggs, while ovoid, shade similarly to spheres. Shine a desk lamp on your composition for a clear light source, and then draw away!

As always, my askbox is open, you’re welcome to @ me, and I’m happy to provide feedback via message if asked.