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Post by Celestial on Jul 13, 2020 11:26:02 GMT -5
Twillie, why are you apologising when everything is sheer perfection?!Aaaah, I love it!! I got a big massive stupid grin on my face when I saw it!! I love everything about this. You've translated Meallan's (admittedly very complex outfit) into a teen film boy outfit while keeping the essential elements. I also adore Malka's clothes, in particular that dragonfly handbag. Their expressions are also perfection, and that background. In general, the layout of this poster is perfect. I confess I have not watched many teen films. They never held any interest for me as a teenager or spoke much to my experience. However, I have been around the internet long enough to know the formula and do know a fair few of the darker examples like those you mentioned through pop cultural osmosis (Heathers is the big one, another one that comes to mind is Cruel Intentions). Meallan and Malka's relationship would fit perfectly into one of those, and you translated that in really well. That tagline too...*chef's kiss* Also, given the events of Saturday (wherein after a long time of being unable to let go of her, Malka finally got what she wanted and had no use for Meallan, thus dumping him), this is uber timely. Can totally see that twist happening in one of those films. Gonna save this to my computer so I do not loose it and can admire it whenever. Thank you so much!! I am in love. (Just a quick note for everyone, I will be commenting on everyone else's pieces in one big post when everything is completed. But I am loving everything so far and am excited to see them all. <3)
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Post by Twillie on Jul 13, 2020 16:03:37 GMT -5
Celestial Aww, haha I'm glad to hear! I'm admittedly the same, a lot of the classics I haven't watched but rather have just seen referenced. The "toxic relationship" description I guess led my mind down teen dramas, and with the added supernatural element I was sold on the genre xD I made a mood board of movie posters whose compositions I referenced throughout production (Cruel Intentions included actually!), and of them I've only watched Heathers all the way through xD Oooh, that is some fitting timing, would you look at that! And thank you!! That's great it hit the mark, that's really awesome that you love it =D
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Post by Liou on Jul 15, 2020 18:41:02 GMT -5
(Feedback will come one of these days~) I got to play with Twillie 's toys! After narrowing down my Idea Hydra, I ended up writing about beloved darling precious demonfriend! Bloody Mary and the Case of the Missing Keeper
The dark cleared up - well, it did for the rest of the world. Dark, light, they were all the same to Mary.
Bloody Mary, they called, to wake her. To Mary, they were all Keeper. She didn't call them. It was the trees that called to her.
Not in here. No wind, no leaves around her. Soft carpet under Mary's feet. She was in a small house space, full of paint, old food and soap smells and humming Things further from Mary.
Many people smells hit her nose. Mary fanned out her tail, unsheathed her teeth and bared all her claws. Even her mane stood on end. Mary didn't make a noise yet, though. She heard no people. The smells were fresh, but already fading. Wind was coming in through an opening.
Mary knew Keeper's scent as well as she knew the spaces between her own teeth. There was always some of Keeper's scent around her when she woke up. There was a trail of it behind her, that stopped on the spot where Mary stood like a drop into a ravine.
Not this time. The smell that led up to Mary was wrong. A stranger. They smelled scared. They had felt scared through the mirror, too. Good. They should not have been here.
Where was real Keeper? Had Keeper given Mary's mirror away? No, wrong Keeper must have sneaked in.
Mary leaned down to inspect the smells and took a small step. Hard bits clinked on the floor right next to her foot. Mary quickly stepped back. Gingerly, she ran a finger over the things. Mary's skin was tough, but broken glass bits were sharp, and there was no need to test just how much she could resist pricklies. Her hand found other things scattered. People's rooms had so many things in them for Mary to bump into. Mary brought her tail lower and swept it all around her, feeling for obstacles before moving.
The strange people smells had dirt and mud in them. And metal. Three different people had been here. Keeper's scent was mixed with them here and there. Keeper's things felt ripped and torn and tumbled under Mary's hands. The fight-mess went far into the room.
Mary found the door that led into the other rooms and twitched her nose. No fresh Keeper scent here. Mary let out a little whine.
Keeper was gone. With strange people who had broken in. An ambush. But they hadn't taken the mirror. Another had sneaked in to steal Mary's mirror. Why?
This was too much strange in one wake-up. Mary turned on the spot three times and sat down, curling her tail comfortingly around her legs.
She focused on the mirror-bond. What had wrong Keeper been thinking?
Scared, worried. But also... help?
Help for finding Keeper?
Mary was a lady of one mirror. A Keeper came along, Mary helped. As long as Mary got some good trees out of the deal, she didn't mind people's odd requests. If a Keeper wanted to hurt, now Mary knew how to make sure they never tried again. Ever.
And if Mary's Keeper was hurt? Mary didn't like it. The Fighting People could come back, hunt her down, hurt more. Steal Mary's mirror for themselves.
The scared sneaky person who had found Mary's mirror this time was different. They had no request for Mary to help them. Mary needed to stay awake and find Real Keeper. The scared sneaky person could be Spare Keeper for now.
Listening for pointy shards, Mary padded over to the windy opening. She climbed on a large soft thing that was full of Keeper's smell. It creaked under Mary's weight. She twitched her nose to remember the Fighting People's smell. Rust. Damp, mossy old stone.
Outside smelled like rain soon. Not many people noises or machine noises. Mary could hear the low buzz of the warm things people usually had where there was no sun. Night insects, too. Mary could go out.
The scent trail did not lead up to the roof. No one to ambush Mary from above, then.
She pushed the window open - plenty of clinky bits fell to the floor. She perched a foot on the tiny slab jutting outside, wobbled a little before hunching to poke her head out. She grasped the slab with her hands too. All claws out, for better grip. Mary fanned out her tail high, pushing back against every wobble. She felt the wall under her fingers. There was the long metal thing where rain drops trickled. She clasped it carefully to stop the rattle. Mary shifted her weight back and forth, testing, propping her feet against the wall.
She slid down the entire wall and landed noiselessly on the ground.
Mary twitched her nose. Two scent trails. One, older and faded, led Mary to the place where people left all their worst stinkies to rot in big boxes. Sometimes there was food to find in the stinkies. Mary had only eaten that when she was so desperate that her stomach was about to touch her back. People's stinky old food bits were mainly interesting because small animals came to eat, and Mary only had to swoop down and help herself, too.
This was not eating time. Mary was hunting something much bigger. Her stomach would wait. The Fighting People must have waited in the stinky place to ambush Keeper. Mary could not tell where they had come from before.
The fresher trail went further near houses. It was mixed with the smell of one of the loud rumbles that sped up and down people's streets with hazy vapors behind them. This loud rumble had a similar scent to the Fighting People, though.
Mary hunched down as low as she could walk without her belly brushing against the ground. She hugged the walls. Every time a wall stopped, she paused and twitched her ears, before darting to the next wall. She let her tail sweep down to check for obstacles every now and then. The ground outside people houses was always very smooth, though. Sometimes Mary heard fuzzy Voices from inside, like many people in a box. The Voices never noticed Mary. Still, she skulked more carefully.
Fewer people houses now. Mary smelled trees, but they were behind walls. She had no time to climb.
There was a faraway rumble up in the sky. Mary felt tiny crackles in her mane. Rain would fall sooner. She had to follow the trail quickly.
The scent had almost completely faded and Mary paced, twitching her nose fast, around an open space surrounded by houses. A small fuzzy scavenger, one of those with tiny hands that grabbed lots of stinky people food, was chittering at her angrily from a corner. Mary did not like those critters. Not only were they not scared of Mary. They dared to touch her with their stinky little hands, for no reason. Mary spared it no more than a hiss. She needed her prey's scent trail! The critter should just let her find it.
What had ruffled up the critter so much, anyway?
Mary had an idea. She sheathed her teeth and hid her claws and let her tail droop. It was unusual for her to try to look non-threatening. She padded cautiously over to the critter. It chittered more, but did not scamper too fast for Mary to follow. She twitched her nose in search of the critter's scent trail instead. She stepped around it and would have fallen over if she hadn't heard her footsteps echo too far down. One of those downward grounds that people built just to trip her.
Mary climbed cautiously down into the critter's place. There she found her prey's scent trail again. The Fighting People must have disturbed the angry critter on their way.
Mary reached another patch of too-smooth, heavy resin-scented ground. The scent trail vanished into a fog of vapors left over from speeding rumbling machines. Mary threw her head back and sneezed a few times. Her nose was growing numb and tingly and tired after so much tracking.
Maybe she could still catch a faint whiff to steer her in the right direction.
There was a crack overhead. Drips and pitter patters started to sound all around Mary. She let out a groan. If she stayed in the rain, she would be a cold wet Mary without any smells left to find. She had to find a sheltered place to go to sleep.
A pleasant woodsy smell drifted from above Mary. She tilted her head back to inhale. There were a few good trees behind a wall of smooth wood. She could climb over it easily. She could smell a predator inside, one of the loud barkers. Mary could silence it with one growl. Spare Keeper might have trouble waking up near that predator, though. Keepers were much, much squishier than Mary.
Mary kept going past the walled-in trees until she sniffed a lot of dry wood. People kept their dry wood under dry shelters, she knew. Mary slinked in, picking at a latch with a long claw, and curled up. The drip drops lulled her.
All the spaces between people houses were strange for Mary to navigate. They were not made for her. Too many pointless smells. Too many things in the way. Machines that moved in ways that Mary could not guess. This was a place for Spare Keeper to explore. Spare Keeper had better move in the right direction, Mary thought before sleeping.
The dark cleared up and Mary's nose awoke - bwuh? So early. Spare Keeper hadn't let Mary get any sleep at all!
Out of here, Spare Keeper had been thinking before Mary even knew what here was. Out, out, get out. Mary's head felt fuzzy and wobbly. What had happened? Spare Keeper was hurt?
Fine. Get out, so Mary could go back to sleep.
First, Mary had to find Out.
She pricked her ears. No people near her. No beasties, either. No dirt. Only smooth not-stone under her feet. Definitely no trees, either. Why was there never a nice tree for Mary.
The room was small and very bare. There were no scattered things for Mary to bump into. Only a few people had been here, and Spare Keeper. Mary sniffed the floor. Her nose crinkled, her teeth came out and she held back a growl. Spare Keeper really had been hurt.
Footsteps outside. Mary followed the sound. She found the wall closest to outside. She ran a finger across its surface, found the cracks of the door. Footsteps coming closer now. Mary's hand found the door-creaking bits. She darted to the wall on that side and curled up as small as she could, bundling up her tail behind her. The door swung open. Mary was right behind it.
Person came in. Heavy steps. Mary inhaled. Person carried metal things. Had walked on bits of rust.
Person paused in the room.
The people after Keeper could hurt a lot, but they were no predators. That was Mary.
One pounce across the room. Her claws wrapped delicately around them. They fell together, Mary rolled. She knocked them out without a sound.
Mary twitched her ears. No more people coming. She slinked out through the door before it could swing shut.
Next was just a bigger room of not-stone with rusty metal, and dust. Mary hugged the walls. She could smell Outside, so close. Two more people there. They were talking. Their breathing sounded relaxed. They shifted their body weight slowly, lightly. Not alert. Mary decided to chance it and crept out. They never noticed.
Mary's feet found soft grass, avoided gravel. Then it was pricklies, and proper dirt, and then there were trees, trees all around.
Mary hopped up to one, brushed her cheek and tail across its bark, back and forth, then slumped against it, purring. Now all she needed was a meal and some proper sleep. None of these strange people problems.
Keepers came. Keepers went. Some panicked after the first place-swapping with Mary and lost the mirror. Some traded the mirror to a Keeper who wanted to hurt. Some showed Mary more places with different trees. The mirror had travelled so many times. Mary never knew who would find it. But she could always look forward to some good trees.
She inhaled blissfully. Spare Keeper's thoughts popped back into Mary's head. She grumbled. No breaks for Mary, then?
Help Keeper. Keeper needed Mary.
Fine, then. She dragged her feet and whimpered quietly and grumbled when yawns pulled at her teeth. Mary could travel a little further before letting Spare Keeper take over. But she had better get good sleep next time.
The dark cleared up and Mary yowled and snarled and fought to stay, nooo, why could she not get some sleep. Let Mary sleep.
She rubbed at her face, snorting groggily, and stretched her long long back, bristling her entire tail. A yawn shook her so hard that all her teeth and claws came out.
What this time? A place to sneak into. Spare Keeper had rudely interrupted Mary's sleep near a scent. It reminded Mary a lot of the Fighting People. She followed it. Like a good hunter. Real Keeper would let Mary get some sleep, and she would be rid of useless Spare Keeper. There were still trees around, at least. And something ahead with lots of damp, mossy old stone.
Maybe because Mary's head was so sleepy and fuzzy, it took her a long time to pick up on the other scent. Too long.
When she noticed the presence, she froze on her path. Presence had frozen, too.
Mary twitched her nose. Person, five trees away from her. Female.
Maybe because Mary's head was so sleepy and fuzzy, she decided to make herself big. Her tail fanned out, her teeth and claws came out. She unwound her back to draw herself to full height. That usually gave creatures a jolt of surprise.
Female's breathing sounded calm. Mary could tell from her smell and heartbeat that she was alert, though. She shifted her weight more carefully than other people. She did not move like prey. She smelled of animals. Meat, hide, fur. She smelled of trees. Something about her reminded Mary... well, of Mary.
Female moved. Slowly. Perpendicular to Mary's direction, keeping her distance. Good. She was not running, so Mary would not chase.
She handled a Thing and out came a smell of meat. Mary's nose twitched and her ears perked up and she couldn't hold back a little hum. Female was rummaging with more things. Mary thought she might speak words, but she didn't. Something about her attitude seemed to say, hunt together?
There was a click and a swoosh. Something fast poked Mary. It bounced right off her thicker bark-skin and thumped on the ground near her feet.
A deep growl rumbled out of Mary. She let it. She made a show of sheathing and unsheathing her teeth.
Mary heard Female's arm shift even before the second click. Her tail swept in front of her and the second flying-poke was caught in her thick fuzz.
Mary sank into a deep crouch and cleared the ground that separated her from Female in two bounds. Before she could grab and break the clicky stinging things, Female was running. Good.
Now Mary could chase.
Female was fast, for a human. Not fast, for Mary.
Then the ground zoomed out from under Mary's feet. She threw her arms out, caught in mid-air. Things snapped tight, so tight around her and bundled her up, legs and tail all tangled. Mary dangled. Below, Female had stopped running. She knew. She waited.
Mary pinched and snipped with her claws and hacked and chewed with her teeth and struggled even though she knew better. The stringy bits wrapped all around her were too tough for her to even fray. Mary still dangled. Her head felt even heavier upside down. She fought the sleep. It hung heavier and heavier, so heavy Mary thought she might drop.
The dark cleared slowly, gently this time. Mary inhaled.
Spare Keeper's thoughts were clear in the mirror. Slow, deliberate.
Enemies, waiting. They want Mary. Want the mirror. Doing bad things to Keeper. Trying to make Mary come out.
They had made Mary come out.
Bad, Spare Keeper had thought. Go all out. Do anything.
Spare Keeper had been running. Had been hurt more. Had picked a place carefully. No fuzzy airy warmth on Mary's skin. Dark, then. Distant sounds from far, far above. They were underground, Mary could tell, from the way things echoed and didn't.
Behind Mary, very strange smells. Pungent, bitter, fuming, poisonous. Clinks of glass, bubbling.
And ahead, through a door, Fighting People. Eight, maybe ten of them, Mary could already hear. Scattered around a bigger space. Searching, but not gathered near Mary. She had an edge. She could surprise them. She waited.
One went flying across the room when she broke through the door. A second later, stingy bits flew through the air, bouncing off the door that Mary still held. She threw it, heard it hit another prey. She stood in the dark opening from which only her eyes glowed. Her claws came out.
Bloody Mary, they called, to summon Mary. She didn't mind. It was true, sometimes.
She left them behind in the room. Some she had knocked out. Some had swung sharp metal bits at her, and she had heard them, and swung her claws faster.
No more people noises in the rooms around her. Mary only heard the steady buzzes and hum of people-made trinkets. She trotted past them, focused on only one thing. Keeper's scent. Her own Keeper, one corridor away. One door away. Keeper. There.
Mary was too sleepy to stay awake much longer. Spare Keeper would probably take credit for much of the work once she was asleep. Mary gave Keeper a good, long sniff, a nuzzle and a bit of a purr, before returning to the mirror.
From the darkness beyond the mirror, she smelled not, heard not.
But there was a warmth like a purr nestled between Keeper's hands.
Notes: as you included Mary, but not necessarily Liz, I tried to keep Mary's current Keeper vague. Maybe AU!Liz? Maybe a previous modern era Keeper? I tried to keep the style of Mary's thoughts, though it might not have been consistent all the way through. Also may have taken liberties figuring out how the mirror bond works and feels between Mary and Keeper. I knew that Liz is the Right One and wanted this to sound edgier and slightly noir-ish overall. Mary PoV was an exercise in "describe things without naming them". Had much fun with this~ Among the many ideas that did not happen: high fantasy Mary subverting all the tropes just by being Mary, spy thriller Mary somehow carrying around a shoe phone, Jonathon and Zathandria in a western (I don't knooow it looks real good in my mind, honest), lone space ranger Zathandria, super magical boy Jon you've got that one covered thoughWelp, good thing I narrowed down those ideas eventually - OOOOPSIE-DAISIE Me, checking Mary's references yet again: hehe, Mary's hair looks so glam rock, truly outrageous Ordinary Keeper by day....... secretly a rock star by night!! how to keep her secret identity while touring? Iii don't know how this happened Totally chickened out of giving her more accessories because she might not like it but this sure happened.
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Post by Thorn on Jul 15, 2020 22:22:27 GMT -5
Sliding in to post last minute...it is I, Thorn! Funnily enough: like Moni, I had a bit of trouble settling on a concept! At first, I tried a more detective-noir type story. That wasn't really working out, so I started thinking about what would be fun to write and...well, settled on a high school AU of sorts! Managed to use 3/4 of Moni's suggested characters as well. Here ya go. Hope you like it Moni, because I sure as heckity had fun writing this. <3 It was the end of the day. Gym had been great. Drama had been great. Khamet liked maths as well, but Cepith didn’t, not since that accident stopped him from being able to do the best parts of it, and so that tended to bring down Khamet’s enjoyment of the topic as well. But. Maybe Khamet could cheer him up? With some nice cheerful thoughts of fun student activities! Especially since his bestest friend was away in Spain, and his second-best friend was an adult, and probably not the sort to attend school dances even when she was at school.
(It was hard to imagine Raia attending classes and having school friends and stuff. So weird.)
Khamet turned to Cepith. "Will you go to the dance with me, number-three best friend?"
"Raia doesn't count," the other automatically replied. “She’s like your sister or whatever.”
"Do you really want to be my number two best friend?"
"Point taken," Cepith adjusted an overly spiky wristband. "I’m not interested. School dances are stupid. I have much better things to do with my time."
Khamet shrugged. "Okay!"
"I can't walk home with you today either. I have detention. Again."
He sighed, flicking back his hair. "Apparently spiked shoulder pads go against dress code or... something. And I said, that won’t fly and you’re impeding my freedom, man. And then some short kid got poked in the eye and I. May have laughed, as they cried. So I have detention. For the rest of the week."
"You are. The worst," Khamet was already making for the door. "Demoted to number-five best friend, for sure."
“Whatever, dude. See you tomorrow.”
**
It was getting ridiculous.
Khamet had spent the whole day asking around but, apparently, nobody at school wanted to go to the dance with him! It was lunch time now, and he still hadn’t found someone. Khamet had tried his number four-through-three-hundred best friends, but they were all partnered up already. Even that spoiled rich kid Lyrelle and Crezonis, the loner bully who literally nobody liked.
How dare they.
(they weren’t going together- that would be weird even by Khamet’s admittedly high weirdness-standards, given Crezonis’ liberal ‘what’s yours is mine’ approach to Lyrelle’s lunch money- but the point was they both had people to hang out with and he did not.)
"I heard you were looking for someone to take to the dance? That can be arranged."
Khamet blinked. He vaguely recognised Neferu from calculus. He didn’t rank her in his top thousand best friends because, simply put, she didn’t seem the sort to have friends at all. Even now, as she stood staring at him and smiling slightly, multiple bangles jangling against her wrists, it felt more like she was offering a transaction than an actual attempt at bonding.
“I was,” he said, and nodded. “Did you want to go with me?”
“I would love that. I think this will be good for us both.”
Unlike his dance partner of the previous year, she didn’t loop her arm through his. She didn’t smile brightly and squeeze his hand. Instead Neferu nodded, gave that small polite, tight smile, and vanished back into the crowd of students. For a moment, he could see the flash of her bright pink dress through the masses, and then she was gone.
“Huh,” Khamet muttered aloud, as he continued on his way to lunch. “Could be nice, I suppose. She has really pretty eyes. Also I bet she loves corsages. Because all the cool people do. But most importantly, her eyes will look really good in photos. Maybe even her whole face will.”
Cepith was at their favourite table again, leaning on the wall, not actually eating. With his number-one best friend on holiday and the Disaster Squad trying to manipulate the student council again or whatever, Cepith was all Khamet had left. He scooted in beside him.
“Hello.”
Cepith didn’t even glance up, the jerk. “Hi.”
Khamet noisily bit into an apple. “Whatcha doing?”
“I’m brooding.”
“Like a hen?”
Cepith blinked. “What? No. Uh. It’s like...when you’re thinking about something really intense, and you kind of get this...look? Like being inwardly focussed? But there’s a certain skill to it. You have to look really cool while doing it.”
“I can be cool,” Khamet put down his apple. “Watch this.”
His parted his lips slightly, staring into the middle distance, brown eyes wide and bright and vulnerable.
Cepith shook his head. “No, that’s not right. You look like you’re frontman in a boy band. There’s a certain skill to it, you see.”
He flicked back his hair, squinting slightly, jaw tensed. “Like this.”
“Won’t that give you a headache?”
“What?”
“Clenching your jaw all the time is bad for your health, Cepith! It’ll either give you a headache or it’ll damage your teeth. Probably both.”
The shorter boy ground his teeth defiantly. “Go lecture somebody else.”
“Grinding your teeth is probably even worse.”
“I’m just going to ignore you.”
Khamet couldn’t immediately see anyone else to lecture, but two of the less annoying rich kids, Lu’hais and Murai, were nearby drawing up plans for a special Halloween event. So he went to see them instead.
**
“I think you’re nicer than people give you credit for, Neferu,” Khamet said.
She smiled thinly. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, for one, you’ve spent this whole lunch break listening to my story about the mighty Mankarah, and asking all these great questions about it. Like why he isn't president of the student council, and why he hangs out with Weylin. You're legitimately interested in my interests. That’s surely the mark of a really nice, friendly person.”
“I just want you to do well,” Neferu insisted. “You’re so creative, Khamet. It would be a shame if that talent went to waste.”
“You really think so?”
She nodded sharply. “Of course. Anyway, I had best get to class. But I'll meet you before the dance tomorrow so we can ensure we match.”
“The shoes as well.”
She grinned, probably for the first time since he’d known her. “Especially the shoes. Don’t worry, I’ve sought out the glitziest, bluest possible pair.”
**
It was finally the day of the dance! Khamet really liked dancing. Neferu was probably a super great dancer too. She looked like it from the way she moved, poised and elegant. At any rate she had to be better company than his dance partner from the previous year, who was chased away after an older student realised she was a spy sent from a rival school to steal their ball theme for...some reason, and to make Khamet fall hopelessly in love with her for...some other reason.
It had been super weird. He wasn’t keen for a repeat.
Khamet’s heart sank the moment he saw Raia standing out the front of the school, arms folded, Neferu nowhere to be seen.
“You are not going to the dance with that girl,” she said.
“But we bought matching shoes!” Khamet cried. “It cost all my savings.”
“Too bad you matched shoes with a juvenile felon, kid. And no, I won’t explain. Go enjoy your teenage angst-ridden dance...thing. We’ll talk about it after.”
Khamet rubbed goosebumps from his arms. What was he supposed to do now? The annual dance was the highlight of the school social calendar. But his number-one best friend was out of the country, and while his new number-seven-best-friend had seemed too good to be true she...apparently had been, in all actuality.
It was the single worst night of Khamet’s young life. Until he noticed his number-five best friend, sporting a characteristic abundance of hair product and uncharacteristic lack of brooding-ness (although he was still sporting an impressively unimpressed scowl. Khamet supposed you couldn’t have it all.)
"Cepith? What are you doing here?"
"Go away,” Raia interjected.
Cepith ignored the barb. "I am here because my father wanted to get rid of me, basically. But as for why I am, specifically, here in front of you: that's what friends do when their buddies were so excited for tonight's event, only to have their hopes dashed. With bad news carried by their sister, no less. So sad."
"But you don't dance?"
Cepith forced a smile. "I do not. But trying new things for the sake of the other is what friends do as well. Apparently. When they’re out of options."
Khamet started forward. Cepith held out a hand. "Don't you dare hug me."
Khamet started backward. “Coolcoolcool. That’s fine. Should we go and like...get some weird fruity punch or something then?”
“Weird fruity punch sounds good.”
“Ohmygosh yessssss, thankyouCepith. You can be my number-three best friend again, for sure, forever. Love you Raia, got to go.”
"You shouldn't hang out with the edgy kid either!" Raia called after him.
"Well, I am, so goodbye!"
Muttering to herself and shaking her head, Raia stalked away, as her excited little brother and his less enthusiastic friend went to join best friends four-through-three-hundred in drinking punch for three hours, while standing around awkwardly watching the handful of teenagers whose rich parents had actually paid for dance lessons.
Raia had no idea why Khamet enjoyed this so much. Small comments: The moral of this story: the power of friendship reigns supreme!! Or something idk.
You said 'no romance', and I did refer to a couple of Khamet's horrible exes, but it's only at all romantic if you squint. So hopefully this is okay! Imagining what your paladins would be like as modern teenage dudes (and a modern exasperated adult sibling!) was a lot of fun.
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Post by Pixie on Jul 15, 2020 23:03:22 GMT -5
Ginz ❤ I was a bit giddy to be assigned you for two art swaps in a row, since drawing for you is such fun! I present the ever-marvelous Dossier Dame, as a steampunk detective!
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Post by Ginz ❤ on Jul 18, 2020 17:12:10 GMT -5
Pixie I'm sorry it took me so long to write a proper reaction to this. I saw it the night you posted and thought it was FANTASTIC!! I was also very excited to get more Pixie art!! <3 I love that you chose steampunk for DD, I think that's a great fit! Her outfit is super cool, and I love how much detail you put into it! The hat in particular I think is a great addition. She looks so fancy! I also really like her pose, it is dynamic and still feels heroic, even though she's a detective in this universe. I would absolutely want to follow her adventures solving mysteries! Thank you so so much for drawing this for me, I love it!! <3
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Post by Moni on Jul 18, 2020 20:13:24 GMT -5
Commentary part One June Scarletyes!!! madge! i love madge so much, and was so glad to see you picked her. her having many forms fits her character quite well. anyways, onto the art itself: i really like how you manage to render things very simply: in the first picture, really like how you draw the hat and heels using just a few lines, and in the second picture, the way you imply transparency through the potion bottle just by omitting the lines is just kind of neat, and it totally makes sense that she'd be peddling all sorts of weird potions in a fantasy AU! Celestialthis is an excellent idea for astrophelle! i like how you actually made a bona-fide comic-book cover with her; the font and general outfit match it very well. it even has a little price thingy! (there is a typo on "heroism"; you typed it "herosim" instead!) astrophelle's wings are really pretty and they do look... unphysical... which is really fitting conceptually for her. there are a lot of little details, but i like the little greek-ish tracery on her skirt the most; i thought it was a nice reference to her actual name. Ginz ❤nice animal crossing theme! i don't particularly play the games much myself, but i was still able to appreciate the art-style, and i think you totally knocked it out of the park here! zenith's posing is so in-character for them, and the icon you picked for them really fits! ditto for tally and yzzy; they look like such a cute couple together. you incorporated shading into the style nicely! it's very soft and doesn't really detract from the simplicity of the overall design, i don't think! just two very solid pieces that do the characters a lot of justice! Lizicai love the style of this comic! you've already noted that scaletta doesn't need masks in this au because the shadow her fedora casts is good enough, and that was exactly my first thought about the way you used the high-contrast shadows here. x) the structuring of the panels flows really well and is easy on the eyes--just the one "panel" showcasing all the gambling games, the way you show the spotlight... just well-done generally! the punchline is really great and it just ties into that bonus comic. nobody expects... the spanish inquisitionscaletta! Twillietwillie i'm sorry to tell you but i cannot get over aytal's shadow being in the foreground... it was the last thing i noticed and i can't help but find it amusing every time! it's a nice reference to aytal without directly including him and adds a lot of *mystery* to the weasel silhouette... it's cool and funny at the same time. anyhow, this is definitely a very evocative poster of a 90s high school drama-film-thing! you adapted meallan and malka's styles pretty nicely--my favorite little bit are malka's socks--which is a really weird thing to point out, but i'm always on the lookout for how you design clothing, that this stood out to me as a particularly cool detail of her outfit. meallan's mullet-hairstyle-thing... is so 90s it hurts! anyways, excellent work.
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Post by Thorn on Jul 19, 2020 0:52:12 GMT -5
And here are...Thorn's reviews: part one!!!! Part two to follow another day. =) Moni I love Taffy's hopeful lil' guinea pig face in that first piece! Jess looks like she's right about to give her a hug or something. The stylised stars and planets in the background make me think of wallpaper in a kid's bedroom, which makes sense since The Little Prince is (from what google tells me) for kidduns, even if it was also an Insightful Piece! Very nice. You already know I adore Beatrice's hair in the second piece, and just...this colour scheme and aesthetic, dang. So nice! June Scarlet Both these pieces are so fun and whimsical! The bubble pipe is a great creative touch, and her expression and outfit are appropriately Glamorous Secret Agent Lady (TM.) Love the speckly background in the second piece, really helps draw the observer's focus. Her expression, the bag with some of her wares clearly poking out, the way she's gesturing and very obviously trying to make this potion sound Extra Awesome for someone...how very Madge! Ginz ❤ Oh my gosh, my (I mean, Nyx's) nemesis looks so adorable here!!! What a nice confident pose- nice to see Jun getting a chance to be Proper Cheerful! <3 The star is a cute extra touch. Tally and bae...I will admit, I squeed very much, look at them!!! So cute, I love!! <3 Yzzy's lil' blush, Tally's flirting, the little heart and flower...so nice! And their clothes translated so nicely, I've already mentioned Yzzy's sandals but really all of this is great. Lizica Oh gosh that angle in the last shot...incredible!! =O Such a cool outfit as well! So much going on in that second panel...the roulette wheel, the descending poker chips, the bullet...and then below that, the drifting smoke coming from the audience and framing the figure on the stage is so cool. I love this! It's just so visually interesting. Laughed at 'BWAH ISN'T A WORD!', what a cute bonus comic. xD Twillie I first saw this on my phone while walking home from work, and even just seeing the teeny version was SO HYPE! The colours! Modern Malka is so pretty and WOW, I'm love her (even though I know she is a terrible not-person!!) The colours are so bright and attention-grabbing, and I absolutely LOVE how you turned Meallan's usual outfit into a rad modern jacket. Is the figure on the bottom left someone I should recognise, or just a Sad High School kiddun? If it is someone specific, my best guess is Aquilian based on the colour scheme and backpack. Which is great, because Meallan moved from hanging out with Aquilian (less dangerous influence, generally a goodboi) to hanging out with Malka (*TERRIFIED SCREECHING NOISES*), after all!
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Post by Liou on Jul 19, 2020 16:17:25 GMT -5
Firstly, GIIINZ Ginz ❤ I'm so glad you picked that option in my genre list! Everyone's looking so cute aaaah Zenith's pose is so eager and energetic, they'd love to see themself smol and cute like this. Well done sticking to the outfits from my blobby references and converting them to the neat geometry of AC style. The gfs' hair textures and clothing folds translated well and their lovey-dovey expressions are spot on. (They've only been mentioned on EuroAtlantis thread so I was very pleasantly surprised that others found them precious ;A; ) As villagers I can totally see them sending the player character to get gifts for each other. I'm not familiar with the game but those icons look really cute. This is actually really inspiring because AC is totally the kind of game that Zenith would play in-universe and they'd love this avatar design, and I'm sure they'd do friendly celebrity things like visiting other people's game worlds and leaving autographs and special hero gift items. But since they still keep their hero identity from their family and most friends... they might have two games for secret identity purposes! Moni I love that first piece and am familiar with the Little Prince (got 3 copies of it at work, not including graphic adaptations, and did a dramatic reading of the fox taming scene with a coworker last year. xD) The background and facial expression, in particular, remind me of the naivete of the original illustrations. Even the irregularity of the star shapes plays an important part in matching the style. The white satellite orbiting the planet - planhat? - gives it more depth and its shadow makes me imagine the orbiting motion. A hat planet absolutely makes sense in that 'verse and is a wonderful parallel for the sweet and magical meeting between Jess and Taffy. It's really touching. I like how you shifted Beatrice's original palette into more coppery tones for this style and shifted her hair's fluffy texture into a more geometric but still fluffy pattern. The pose, composition and all the neat shapes look very art-nouveau overall. Oooh and the featherquill on the hat is a cool touch. June Scarlet Hahaha yes Madge makes for the best spy, in a fast-paced spy comedy. I like how you drew her hat, it looks wonderfully wobbly. I always love bubble pipes used as kid-friendly alternatives for detective costumes, but this is the first time I've seen it used as an alternative for a long, glamorous cigarette holder and it's my new favourite thing.
And the witch version is. Yes. Excellent witch. She can hurtle around on her collapsible broom while narrowly escaping disasters and exasperated law enforcement, and stash her potions in hammerspace Mary Poppins-style. Celestial Aaww she's so cute and fluffy and sparkly, her expression does look very gentle! Those little twinkles are so nice, - so many sparkles! - and the placement of the individual feathers on the wings is boss. Their transparency is subtle and the cloud texture shining through gives them a soft look. I like all the soft yellows you used and the silver and white bands, that's a real nice dipping pattern over her chest and shoulders. Nice flare of her skirt-fringes and cape, and the geometric blue pattern over the fringes is neat and in theme with the Greek roots of her name. Part 2 coming RIGHT NOW I CAN'T STOP Lizica Aaah this made me nostalgic for your Winter's Wrath art ;u; Amazing use of black and white and dramatic shading, once again. You actually incorporated all four suits of cards into that second panel, whaaat. The typewriter-like font quickly sets the mood with the emphatic italicised words drawing attention to wordplay. The final panel is extremely dramatic, not only is Scaletta posed at a angle that lets her dominate the viewer, but the perspective of the piano keys means that her weapon is effectively aimed at us. Bwah is a perfectly valid word thankyouverymuch. Twillie I would never have thought of this genre, it is genius, Meallan is totally the idiot teen who gets in way over his head with way too supernatural things in one of those movies, it works perfectly. Good outfit design, I especially like the chain, as it's still a really common edgy teen accessory but also fits into warlock aesthetic. The preppy teen look works really well for Malka, keeping with her unsettling too-perfect-to-be-true vibe. Kudos for balancing a lot of different colours that are not easy to balance. The yellow parts offset each half and connect them nicely, in my eyes. Good job occupying space with the book and with Aytal's silhouette especially, that was a really good call, a small-sized Aytal might have got in the way of the composition but this shadow really adds to the ~mystique~ while enclosing the main image. Thorn A fic!! \o/ Right off the bat this is in-character even with something as simple as the school subjects mentioned - theater jock, yes! The voice sounds super in-character to me, so friendly and enthusiastic and thinking of friends' needs! And interested in people and open-minded enough to see Neferu's qualities in one conversation. The friend-count is as funny as always and right at home in this high school AU. Loved the brooding lesson (and the little hen brooding reference x3) Aaww his plan falling through is so sad. Nice job incorporating the terrible dating history. Yay for friendship saving the day! ;u; Only unrealistic thing is that nobody wanted to go to the dance with him before Neferu asked... but then again he might have asked people to the dance in such a way that nobody understood he wanted to go to the dance. =o Pixie Steampunk detective is so fitting for Deedee! Liking the flow of her skirt, and the way her bodice stands out from the poofy white shirt. The brassy buttons on the bodice go nicely with the gadgetty pouch on her belt, and the frills of the shirt seem like a clever way to draw attention away from the pendant that is probably also a gadget. Really liking the highlights on the glossy hat, and the way she tilts her head while handling the goggles serves as a reminder that the goggles are Full of Secrets and by now she has already parsed an entire file on you. :3
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Post by Lizica on Jul 22, 2020 0:07:15 GMT -5
Hnngh, everyone is super talented, and all of these were so unique and so much fun!! I loved them! Whenever this thread updated, I got really excited. <3 Thank you again, Moni, for running this event, and thanks everyone, for making so much great stuff. ;w; Moni: The colors, composition, and atmosphere in this!! It’s so soft, calming, friendly, and comforting. I want to curl up under the covers as someone reads to me the bedtime story of Jess on Planet Tophat. <3 The shading is so gentle, and all the stylized stars really add to the soothing, nostalgic warmth of this. Jess’s simple, sweet smile and welcoming hand are perfect. Beatrice’s haaaaiiiir!! *_* All those interesting, dramatic swoops and curls! Really goes awesomely with the boss steampunk outfit--star patterns, excessive belts, a flowery skirt, hat-goggles, all the best steampunk stuff, and all of it looks amazing here. The quill/feather for a reporter is especially a nice touch, too! The design is just fantastic overall, and your colored lineart always brings out your smooth details. =DD June Scarlet: I’ve already commented on these, but eeeee still! =DD Still loving these designs! The high heels, the hats, the poses. It all comes together so well for both of them. And I just really love the color schemes you’ve chosen, too--spy!Madge has this wonderful summery feel (also aided by the sunhat and bubbles), and for fantasy!Madge, I wouldn’t have thought dark forest green would go so well with the more vibrant purple, but it really does! It works so smoothly and really has that added flair of the new meeting the old , come buy her potions. Thank you again, June!! ^^ Celestial: The superhero idea was already fantastic, but to then go and make it look like an old comic book cover is just genius! xD All your font choices and the composition feel exactly right. The translucent, ephemeral wings are so detailed, and her colorful outfit really exudes that brilliant, heroic energy. Also, much appreciation and admiration that you were able to make Astrophelle’s face look so warm and friendly, without making it look crowded at all with all the lovely starry details! From her star and sunset motifs to the wings and clouds and her light posture, everything in this just works so well. =D This is definitely a hero of the sky in all its forms! Ginz ❤: I can’t not first say that these are so cute, oh my gosh. =DD I don’t play AC, but I’ve seen enough to know that these are wonderful and that you absolutely nailed the design aspect! They’re all so smooth and bright, with a bubbly, friendly vibe that just makes me want to bounce up and go on an adventure with all three of these characters. The painted detail in everyone’s hair really makes the texture jump out, and the folds on Tally and Yzzy’s clothing drape so perfectly with your soft shading. Your shading highlights and shadows are just so glossy and elegant in general! I love these. ^^ Twillie: Amazing. XD I love the whole concept of this, turning Meallan’s situation into a teen drama movie. It’s so much fun, and brilliantly executed! The composition is great in each part of this, and I love the tag line, dark corners, the poses, the designs. (Much agreement with everyone--your adaptations and clothing designs are always exciting to see!) I love Malka’s perfect ominous smirk. xD And the way you split the poster’s background colors in half is visually gorgeous and really sells the atmosphere of an uncertain and possibly discordant supernatural union. (It also vaguely reminds me of old 3D glasses--how each eye sees a different color, but it’s when you put them together that the magic happens.) It all comes together super well! Liou: That was intense! Your descriptions are superb (nighttime especially stood out to me), and the vivid smells and sounds really put you in the piece and built the suspense. Also, “Bloody Mary, they called, to summon Mary. She didn't mind. It was true, sometimes.” Dang. 8D; A really good, chilling line, and without having to describe that part in depth at all. …And then hard-rocking Bloody Mary. XDD Fantabulous. I feel like her fans would be half-convinced that she’s just got the greatest prosthetics and makeup and costume somehow, and an AU filled with Mary merchandise and rock albums makes me smile. But how does AU!Liz feel about the music? Anyway, I love the little glimmers of texture on the tail and arms, and the wild rock hair and star motif. And you can even tell through the teeth that she’s smiling! X3 Also, major props for perfectly managing her long spindly fingers against the guitar. Thorn: High School AUUUU! XD That was a great read! It was very fun and feel-good, but also very nicely frank in several parts about high school and its massive abundance of Awkwards. xD (Like the last couple paragraphs.) High School!Khamet is super sweet and friendly, and I want all the best things for him and all four hundred of his best friends. <3 I’m glad Cepith came around. I especially got a kick out of the Brooding Tutorial and “But we bought matching shoes!”; and “But most importantly, her eyes will look really good in photos. Maybe even her whole face will” kinda made me gigglesnort. xD I don’t know enough about the EuroAtlantis lore to understand all of the references, but I appreciate all the effort and fun that went into including them! =D Pixie: Dossier Dame as a steampunk detective is just, like, absolutely spot on, and it’s fantastic. 8D I love your design and how much all your colors pop and complement each other, from the bright red bricks to her soft blue skirt, to the clean white shirt, grimy pipe, colorful tool array, and traditionally classy steampunk browns. Deedee’s pose and composition is dynamic and theatrical in all the right ways, and I really like how her casual head tilt and her hand against her goggles sort of double as a self-assured glasses adjust and also as a “let me do some quick tech maneuverings before you even notice.” Definitely an action hero I’d want to watch!! =D
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Post by Celestial on Jul 22, 2020 14:05:56 GMT -5
Moni Both of those pieces are wonderful. Jess and Taffy are adorable, and they fit so neatly into a book like The Little Prince. You've also captured the book's whimsical art style really well. The colours of the background and the hat are very soft, which draws attention to Jess and Taffy as the brightest things in the picture. There's such a happy, calm feeling about this picture. They both look like they are about to go on an adventure. Beatrice, meanwhile, looks incredible. The level of floof and detail in the hair makes it look soft and gives it real weight. Her outfit is also pretty, with that classic steampunk top hat, goggles and belts. However, it still looks like Beatrice's original outfit. You've married her style with the steampunk style really well. Again, your colour composition here is spot on. All attention goes to Beatrice's face, framed by that lovely hair, and from there, the eye picks out other details like the bright patterns on her sleeves, her boots and the feather. She is going to get her scoop, no matter how many zepplins she's got to ride. You did a great job! I love both of these pictures a lot. June Scarlet You got to love Madge, and seeing not one but two versions of her is a treat. The spy one, I love for how silly it is: you are right, Madge would be a terrible spy, but I can imagine her getting into shenanigans where she has to pretend to be a spy. I love her dress and the contrast between it and her floppy hat, as well as the bubbles. You're right, those do make a good alternative. Maybe it's some kind of gadget that can distract the bad guys? Either way, really fun. Madge the potion seller is also a very fun idea, and again, nicely executed. Of course she would sell all sorts of funky potions: got to rake in that money and that merch. Her background is simple but fun, nicely matching the colours of her broom and ribbons, but the green dress makes her stand out. I bet she loves that bag of holding too. Genius touch, I can see Madge having one for all her various knick-knacks. For both of them, you capture her expression and personality really well. Ginz ❤ I will start right off the bat by saying I do not play Animal Crossing. However, I can still appreciate these. It is such an iconic style, and you managed to capture it really well. Not only that, but you got the personalities of the characters spot on. Zenith is such a cutie, and they look so good in that suit! From the description, it would suit them a lot. Though I can imagine that beneath that smile, they are being all anxious and insecure, bless them. Also, Tally and bae. ;.; The best drow baes ever! I love the little details you captured, from the patterns on Tally's boots to Yzzy's sandals, to how incredibly floofy Tally's hair still looks despite the blocky style of Animal Crossing villagers. Their expressions are also priceless, and I would love to know what they are talking about there. I bet Tally is paying Yzzy some really cute compliment, judging by the blush on Yzzy's face. Gosh, I am getting a sugar rush just from looking at these, so let's move on. Lizica Oh my gosh, the atmosphere! The narration! The deep shadows! The smoky club! You have captured the very essense of film noir in this comic. I am always in awe of how you manage to do sequential art, from the pacing to the complex backgrounds to the angles you do. Speaking of details, my goodness, so much detail. I keep finding new things every time I read this comic. Major kudos to you for drawing the hands so well (and kudos to your mum for striking the pose). Scaletta does fit nicely as a hardboiled noir detective, bringing justice to a seedy town. I love the concept and execution. Plus good integration of Scaletta's logo into the comic. The little bonus doodle is also brilliant. xD Where did she get that tuba? The world may never know but we are glad she did. Liou The richness of the description of this piece is certainly something to behold. It was a sensory ride from start to finish, giving us a great glimpse into how Mary sees the world, especially on her own without her Keeper. It really does feel like reading a post Twillie wrote during Wrighton. Mary's emotions, her senses and her navigating through the story were excellent. And did I mention the description? I will, because it deserves repeating. Everything about it was so tactile. You constantly found new ways to describe mundane things from a totally new point of view, one that made sense from Mary's perspective. I would honestly read you writing Mary going through the world and describing it, plot or no. Also, rockstar Mary is genius. She already looks like a rock star with her outfit, so the highlights in her hair and the stars on her shirt and face are an excellent touch. They look perfectly in place. Plus the pose is great, and I love how you capture the fact that Mary is huge with that tiny guitar. Nevertheless, she is owning it. I love how much fun she looks like she is having. <3 Thorn I am so happy that all our talk of high school AU EuroAtlantis has paid off. That was fun throughout, and it made me smile a lot. You captured Khamet's character and his rather special way of talking and narrating exceedingly well. And Cepith as well, oh my gosh. So much Edge. Their banter was brilliant throughout. Raia is also an excellent big sister who protects Khamet from his own disasterous dating choices. Which you also captured brillantly. Poor Khamet, foiled in going to prom with Neferu so he has to go with his best friend instead. And this is where in a high school drama, they would be 'shipped together. This was joy from start to finish. You integrated the characters into the setting, made a fun, light narrative and everyone fit into the role. Also enjoyed all the cameos from all the EuroAtlantis NPCs. All very good. <3 Much love. Pixie Dossier Dame looks fantastic here! I love how you kept the glasses and DD's generator but integrated it into the steampunk style seamlessly. The costume is also nicely designed, keeping DD's colours while still being very steampunk-y and swishy. She looks like she is about to go on a grand adventure. Being a detective also seems fitting for DD, given that she is an info and tech person. The background is also great, having some of that good Victorian steampunk flavour. You should be proud of this!
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Post by Thorn on Jul 26, 2020 3:17:25 GMT -5
Thorn's Responses: the epic conclusion!!!Liou I love the Voice here! It's so distinct from when you write your own characters, and so very Mary. The little touches, like 'stinky food bits', really make the whole thing. I had fun trying to piece together what was going on and what had happened to Keeper! And even having seen Twillie quote that line ("it was true, sometimes") I didn't have context, and it gave me chills when I read it. The perfect amount of subtlety, while being clear enough that I could very easily imagine what was going on! You can say so much with so little, and it's wonderful. And I love how the teef, tail and hair turned out on the artsy piece. Ahhhh. Such a cool pose too!!! <3 Pixie She's brandishing that magnifying glass with such energy- love it! xD The idea of a tech hero in a steampunk style is fantastic. Maybe not as fancy schmancy as modern technology, but so cool and fantastical to imagine the possibilities! The pose is wonderful too, I feel I recall her adjusting her glasses just so several times during Hero City. Lovely swooshy skirt as well! (Also I am particularly weak for this corset/frilly shirt combo. So lovely!)
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