kitty

Yes, I know it is deplorable and disgusting to have soppy pet names for your significant other. But seriously, if you met this kid, you'd agree with me. He purrs when you pet him, and he bats at ponytails, and he makes disgruntled cat noises when he wakes up and realizes you were drawing him in his sleep.

I need more life drawing practice. I can do faces all day long, but god forbid I have to attach a body to them. I should take a life drawing class, but all of them are at 8am. Eeeeeeeew.

Oh, so last weekend we did a Savage Worlds one-off set in the Inception universe. It was pretty trippy. We started in the middle of a firefight in Columbia, everyone got killed, and then it turned out we were in a dream and we'd failed our objective. So we took this other job where we were supposed to get the plans for this phone app from a dude, and we had a crazy Russian ex-Mafia dude on our team who wanted to skip the whole dream thing and just torture it out of him, but luckily we convinced him to do the torturing in the dream instead. Poor Matt had to play the guy's Chinese girlfriend and get very realistically tortured in front of the guy, who held up remarkably well and just refused to break, but we did get it out of him eventually (turns out he was much more susceptible to personal injury than psychological torture. Always go for the kneecaps.) And then it turned out that the app was for mind control and the guy we'd stolen it for was going to sell it to China so they could control the world, so we got into a messy firefight with his bodyguards in the penthouse office of a skyscraper in... Dubai, was it? Anyway, my character got shot in the leg and still took down four of the six guards (two of them with a double butterfly kick) while everyone else was flailing around and Matt's cowardly scientist character was hiding under the desk. It was a good time, and I really like the Savage Worlds system - much simpler than DnD.

In other roleplay news, Magical Steampunk Gypsies is going swimmingly. Alex is finally participating again, which means that he's forcing us fussy writer types to slap down some words and move the plot along. We've started three new threads in the last two weeks, and everyone is posting with some regularity. I made an antagonist character, one Enderos Thorn, to interact with Marcus and Suvoi in their origin thread. He's a Crimson Hand pilot who's getting too old for the whole mercenary thing and just wants to go find his two daughters in the Ratways. He's a pretty easygoing dude, but he's also capable of laser focus and split-second decisions under fire. (In other words - he might seem like a softie, but he can still mess you up.)

little things/big things

I have some doodlies for you, as well as an announcement.

First up: Kunan from the Avatar D&D campaign, the ultimate grouchy old lady! We had such a great Halloween sesh this year. I chose the costume Mikasa from Attack on Titan, so I got 3D Maneuver Gear and swords and +10 to Teenage Angst and +15 to Dead Parents. Andrew made us crawl through a horrible Temple of Vaatu. Matt and I got trapped in this puzzle room yoinked straight out of Amnesia (the one with the fountain full of blood with the legs coming out of it) and I thought it was a good idea to climb into the fountain, which then swallowed me in the manner of a GIANT SQUISHY ESOPHAGUS. It was friggen awful. At least Andrew let me fire my maneuver gear at the ceiling and pull myself out before I actually drowned in blood. I still win, because I'm the only one who didn't get horribly cursed! (Matt's character is now a vampire for the rest of the campaign.)

And now, Birthright things. I feel bad abandoning these guys. It's Fidelio doing what he does best: reading.

And Andra looking vaguely pissed, as per usual. I think I'm getting closer and closer to a practical outfit for her. Also, I find it interesting that I tend to gravitate towards characters who have so many character flaws that they're almost unlikeable. Using Andra as an example: she's angry, bitter, sarcastic, violent, lazy, and slow to trust. (Of course, all of this is largely situational; her father tried to kill her and then her mother abandoned her. Her adopted parents just sort of ignore her. She has this physical disability to contend with, as well as emotional trauma stemming from past sex abuse, not to mention that almost everyone in the city hates her.) God, I love this girl.

Now some random doodles. Because this is what happens when I get bored in class.

Oh look, it's Clary! (Pre-City of Bones Clary, apparently. She looks about fourteen here.)

Teensy Mako doodle. Good god, his eyebrows. They are actually dragons.

Teensy Beast Boy. What a cutie.

And some not-fanart. This is Severine's mother Oriana from House of Arcane Treasures. I dunno what happened to her and the daddy, but neither of them are in the story anymore, so probably something bad. I peeked into Severine's nightstand drawer a few days ago and discovered a portable casette player with an old tape inside. The tape contained a recording of Oriana begging an infant Severine to "protect the House" while windows shatter in the background, telling her how much they loved her and that Hawksmith would keep her safe. It was all very exciting. I considered doing this story for NaNo, but then quickly realized that I'm in college and have papers and just nope.

Also from House of Arcane Treasures, it's Abigail the trigger-happy American! She looks so deceptively sweet and even-tempered, doesn't she? Well, it's a trap. She will mess you up. With her machine pistols.

Drew this chick with dreads in my Great Con notes, and now I want to make a character out of her. She looks like she's got personality. Dunno where to put her though.

Liked her so much I even turned her into a real drawing. I think dreadlocks are fascinating, but I don't think I ever want them on my own head.

You knew this post would devolve into Magical Steampunk Gypsies if we waited long enough, didn't you? Well, you were right. Have some sultry Suvoi. (E'rebody wanna piece o' dat. Unfortunately for her.)

Everybody except Marcus, that is, despite all her efforts to the contrary. As it turns out, he did like her originally, but then he remembered that everyone he's ever loved has died, so he pushed her away. Being her stubborn self, however, she decided to stay with him anyway.

This is what happens whenever she tries to seduce him. OHGODOHGODOHGODHOWDOIGIRLS. (Ian really appreciated this picture.)

D'aaw, look, it's Gideon the gypsy sky pirate! My god, he's adorable. And apparently he's also the incarnation of one of the mythological heroes of the Surlinds, known as Constellations. So this should be good. (He is also hopelessly in love with Suvoi, as is EVERY MALE, along with some of the females, in the story. Except Marcus.)

Speaking of Constellations, a few weeks ago, we sat down and hammered out a new (very ancient) species called the Progeniteans. It would seem that Gideon's Constellation was a Caelian man who fell in love with a Progenitean woman and then went off to fight the Vile and got himself martyred. More on that later. Meanwhile, have a generic Progenitean lady.

And while all of the shenanigans in Guaren are going on and everybody's biting off way more than they could ever hope to chew by invading the Asylum with a bunch of loony professors (oh god Anna), our Meran characters have massive catfights and the plot goes nowhere. Have some gloomy Verdigris, reflecting upon her past sins. (After all, she did participate in the conversion of Ashes' sister Chiara, who then proceeded to go feral at four years old. God forbid we ever put Ashes and Verdigris in the same room.)

So that's all the billions of doodles. On another subject entirely, this is mah boyfriend. I am showing you his picture because he is a sexy, sexy Vulcan and because today is our one-year anniversary.

Thanks for being so awesome, love.

Whoof, now I must go put on a dress and go to dinner. Bye dudes.

Commander Kip
You are a terrible. But you're my terrible.
Normal is overrated!

the useless one

So this is my sketchy sketchy Attack on Titan cosplay. There is no chest harness and there are no swords and the jacket is the wrong color, but considering that the only thing I spent money on for this costume was duct tape, I'd still call that a pretty solid win.

The gear actually didn't bang around as much as I was expecting, although I did have to carry my books under my arm instead of wearing my backpack, and sitting down was quite the adventure. Also, people kept asking which character I was, so I finally decided Armin, because I am useless and I have no swords. (I like Armin though. He's a cutie and he reminds me of Mana from Magical Steampunk Gypsies.) In any case, Ian and I were quite popular and got lots of "for humanity!" salutes from random strangers, which is always the best.

There will most likely be more pictures of this costume eventually, because Ian and I want to drag Alex and his fancy camera down to the Natural Lands and leap around in our 3D Maneuver Gear like a bunch of badasses. 'S gonna be great.

Commander Kip
"So sorry... to attack... from... behind..."
Normal is overrated!

that sort of night

You know what's awesome? Well-timed fog.

This is my college campus, as of last night, October 30th. Are we winning at weather or what?

I love creepy fog. Happy Halloween, dudes!

There will eventually be pictures of my costume, because Ian and I were both Survey Corps soldiers from the delightful anime Attack on Titan, and people recognized us, and it was brilliant. (I use the word "delightful" in the sense of blood spatters and wrenching angst, but y'know, for us writer types, that sort of thing is actually delightful.)

On the subject of blood, we also went to a haunted house in the basement of another dorm, and it was an insane asylum full of screaming people in bloodstained hospital gowns. It was quite good. I enjoyed it immensely. Haunted houses are way better when you go with people you know well, rather than near-strangers. Duly noted.

I just love Halloween. I think I will always love it, even when I am an old grouchy lady. It's just the most spectacular crazy holiday and people don't look at you funny when you go to all your classes in costume. I love it.

Commander Kip
"Look at Ian. He's stabbing absolutely everyone."
Normal is overrated!

funtiems

Just got done with Fall Break here at St. Olaf College. What a party. (By which I mean we sat around and watched tv and woke up at noon all the time.) Although I gotta say, Bastion is a gorgeous gorgeous game. Also, Attack on Titan. I need to see more of this. Also, Ian and I are totally building 3DM gear for Halloween, and it's gonna be awesome.

We did take a break from sitting on our butts to take a walk in the Natural Lands. And Alex remembered to bring his fancy camera.

Yes, we are all five-year-olds. It's fine.

Now, back to all the homeworks.

Commander Kip
"Kid just rages for a while."
Normal is overrated!

roleplaying fun (mostly gypsies)

Meet the human version of Huiva, Suvoi's first love. (I just can't stay away from the scruffy gypsy boys. Saw one at the ren fair yesterday. Mmm.)

And little babby Suvoi. Not really. She's probably in her late teens here.

More young Suvoi, but with less clothes.

Post-Huiva's transformation, but pre-Crimson Hand adventure. This would be around the time she meets Marcus while stealing information for the Morfstarn. She went into the secret-dealing business after losing Huiva, needing a profession dangerous and exciting enough to keep her mind off her lover.

And present-day Suvoi, who is still struck from time to time by bouts of misery over Huiva's crow form. (And Kip cannot draw birds. Ech.)

And there she is in full Dealer of Secrets badass mode. Tried to do a nice portrait to replace the last one, which was wonky and not quite spot-on. Think I nailed her down much better this time, particularly her nose. (Although her arm is weird. Don't worry about it.)

And this plot bunny got vetoed by everyone right off. I suggested that when Lotus tries to possess Suvoi's body and make Marcus fight against her in the Mage battles, maybe Suvoi poisons herself first, swallowing the Rom venom in her poison ring and dying to save Marcus. Nobody was down with it.

Ian: "Marcus will be so destroyed, he'll be useless for the rest of the Mage battles and get killed anyway."
Katia: "Forget Marcus, Erik won't let it happen! He'll offer himself instead."
Anna: "Stop it."
Evan: "Hm, I'm almost sorry we can't use this."

But I wrote the scene for my own personal files anyway because it was too good to pass up. (And that's Marcus in the corner, being all consumed by the Vile.)

And still on the topic of MSG but not on the topic of Suvoi, this is Verdigris. She used to work for the Morfstarn as a researcher in the underground facility, but she hated what they were doing to the fabrants and managed to escape. She's been hiding in the Market ever since. Then, when Mana and Liriel wandered into the Market, Verdigris felt for them and decided to risk being caught and killed by the Mages in order to help them. Because she might look like a cantankerous old lady, but she's actually just a huge softie.

And speaking of cantankerous old ladies, my Avatar D&D character actually is one. I'm still working on her aesthetic design, but Kunan is a grouchy old earthbender whose village was destroyed by firebenders when she was a little girl. In last night's session, we met this bloodbender who was pissing us off, and Kunan yanked the jerk off the ground by his armor, discovering that she had metalbending abilities. It was pretty badass.

And not even on the topic of roleplaying, I doodled Juniper the shadowkind in my music history notes the other day. Not sure why she popped into my head.

And finally, Abigail the trigger-happy American treasure hunter. (With the distinction of being the only American on the expedition, and the only member under thirty.)

Now, to homeworks!

Commander Kip
"Thanks, Mako. Good thing you're so good at breaking girls' hearts."
Normal is overrated!

more from Arin's

The lovleh ladeh herself! We took several nice ones with her fancy camera. 

And now, us derping.

She tried to kiss my cheek first, but in every picture it looked like she was trying to swallow my face.

Don't worry, I got her back.

Also, a mushroom.

I haven't done much drawing besides the perpetual doodles in my notes, but our Avatar campaign is starting up this weekend, so you'll be hearing more about that if nothing else. I'm playing a grouchy old earthbender lady who hates firebenders and drinks a lot. Should be quite the party.

Also drawing ANOTHER picture of Suvoi. Because she's the best. Also, Ian and I decided to start a new thread detailing the first meeting of Suvoi and Marcus, and so far, it is shaping up to be epic. Seven or so years before the Crimson Hand job (that's 7 BCH, pronounced Bee See Haych, according to Ian,) they come into conflict while both attempting to steal the same piece of secret information from a Guaranian megacorporation. Much smartmouthing and comparing of weaponry ensues.

Commander Kip
"It's on page 69, after the word 'breast', and it's either a continuous or sexual variation." Music theory ftw.
Normal is overrated!