The CHALLENGE continues!

[Glass Mouse]

Status time!


Glass Mouse passes with two drawings, 14 panels worth of mini-comics, and 184 words of short prose named "Music and Death".

C'nor didn't upload/send me anything.

HeadlessMermaid passes with six Lisbon photograph, including one with the "Music and Death" theme.

The Grimmace passes with four poems and a short story of 1014 words.


Thus, C'nor FAILS this round!

Glass Mouse, HeadlessMermaid and The Grimmace PASS this round!


Current standing:

Spoiler

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Glass Mouse
Current run: 96 weeks
Longest run: -

C'nor
Current run: -
Longest run: 1 week

HeadlessMermaid
Current run: 10 weeks
Longest run: -

The Grimmace
Current run: 10 weeks
Longest run: -

It's HeadlessMermaid's turn to choose a theme



Grimmace and Headless, you guys are great to have on board! Good job, both of you

[CheesePirate]

Oooh, this sounds like fun - I'd like to take part, please!

I'll post my works for the challenge over here if that's ok?

[Lady Serpentine]

Sorry about that. The deadline falls at around five or six in the morning for me, so remembering when I need to wrap thing up and get all my finished stuff sent in by can be hard at times (especially since the deadline is later some weeks than others). I'll try to actually get everything to you this time around.

[Glass Mouse]

Oooh, this sounds like fun - I'd like to take part, please!

I'll post my works for the challenge over here if that's ok?

That's absolutely perfect! Welcome aboard

I really like your drawing style. It's very distinct, almost... mischievous, you could call it.

Sorry about that. The deadline falls at around five or six in the morning for me, so remembering when I need to wrap thing up and get all my finished stuff sent in by can be hard at times (especially since the deadline is later some weeks than others). I'll try to actually get everything to you this time around.

Well... You could always keep the actual deadline, which is Sunday midnight

To be precise, the deadline is 11 a.m. GMT+1 which is the moment it stops being Sunday anywhere in the world. I rarely do the status before since I don't like to fail anyone if they could still theoretically make it. But sometimes, if RL is keeping me busy, it'll be a little later. You should never count on that, since I do my best to avoid it.
In any case, Sunday midnight is definitely your best bet. Or, if you really like to feel the clock ticking, calculate backwards from my 11 a.m. and aim for that

[CheesePirate]

That's absolutely perfect! Welcome aboard

I really like your drawing style. It's very distinct, almost... mischievous, you could call it.

Thank you, thank you! So excited about this, and curious about what the theme is going to be this time!

[HeadlessMermaid]

Welcome, CheesePirate!

This week's theme: Scandinavia.

[CheesePirate]

Welcome, CheesePirate!

Thank you!

This week's theme: Scandinavia.

Ooh, fun!

[Glass Mouse]

This week's theme: Scandinavia.

Someone noticed that the Challenge is now at least 40% Scandinavian.

Or someone is going to Scandinavia. In which case... Look out for the rain!

[HeadlessMermaid]

Someone noticed that the Challenge is now at least 40% Scandinavian.

This. :)
I could write something about it, though. Hmmm... <light bulb icon>

[Zjoot]

Dang it, just did my somewhat Scandinavia related story last week. Now I'll have to do another one.

(Scandinavia is super cool though, so it's no big deal)

[Neoriceisgood]

I'd like to join the challenge again.

[Glass Mouse]

Dang it, just did my somewhat Scandinavia related story last week. Now I'll have to do another one.

(Scandinavia is super cool though, so it's no big deal)

And it was a good one, at that. You kinda have a thing for birds, don't you?

I'd like to join the challenge again.

Awesome! It'll be good to have our good ol' sprite artist back

[Icewalker]

I'm back from traveling! And even more determined than inspired than I was before, which is to say, more driven than I've ever been in my life!

Which, in turn, is to say I'm retaking up the CHALLENGE! Seeing as I intend to draw at least 15 minutes every day and I'm in the planning stages of starting a novel, I'm not too worried about keeping up, although having just flown home a couple days ago I might not hit this Sunday.

...No, you know what? Screw that. I'll have six pages of drawings for you by midnight tomorrow. Bam. I said it. I'll do it.

[Neoriceisgood]

Quick question:

You technically only start on the week after you join, right?
Cause I'm pretty sure I've done more than 6 things this week.

[Lady Serpentine]

Actually, that's up to the person in question, so if you want to submit them, go ahead...

[Glass Mouse]

I'm back from traveling! And even more determined than inspired than I was before, which is to say, more driven than I've ever been in my life!

Which, in turn, is to say I'm retaking up the CHALLENGE! Seeing as I intend to draw at least 15 minutes every day and I'm in the planning stages of starting a novel, I'm not too worried about keeping up, although having just flown home a couple days ago I might not hit this Sunday.

...No, you know what? Screw that. I'll have six pages of drawings for you by midnight tomorrow. Bam. I said it. I'll do it.

Haha, that's the spirit! Welcome back, Ice!

Quick question:

You technically only start on the week after you join, right?
Cause I'm pretty sure I've done more than 6 things this week.

What C'nor said

[densjak]

I'd like to try my pen at this.

[Glass Mouse]

I'd like to try my pen at this.

Great, welcome to the Challenge! (so many new and old faces this week.... )

Where can I find your submissions? And will you start next week?

[Icewalker]

Oh yes, I have to actually upload them before midnight too. Lemme go take photos and PM the pictures over. Thanks to a challenge from a very good friend, I ended up drawing a solid 10 pages today on top of my 2 yesterday, some of which probably count as a whole entry instead of a half-entry as I had been previously counting all of them. Woooo, visible progress!

Edit: and, sent! I think technically that's probably like 8ish entries. Whatever. I'm making progress on actual quality of drawing, significantly! Mostly because I'm taking some time drawing by eye instead of out of mind, for practice purposes, and am finding myself turning out things that look like things, instead of things that look like poorly drawn messes.

[Lady Serpentine]

Right. I'm going gathering now, so I'll edit in my stuff in a bit...

Edit:

1,695 words of RPing:

Spoiler

Show

[Free Port]

Anarya sat on the edge of a narrow bed, in one of Free Port's many inns, reading the note her goddess had left her yet again, wondering why it was taking so long for Savorla to come to her. She had, after all, done as she had been instructed several weeks ago, and yet, despite the promise to come to her once it was done, the goddess had been stubbornly absent, with not even the faintest sign to indicate anything other than normalcy.

Sighing, she crumpled the note and threw it towards the fireplace. Apparently, she'd been abandoned again. But she could deal with that; it was hardly the first time, after all. At least in this case, she had a pair of magic guns and some money...

Turning her gaze back towards the flames, not wanting to let the actual burning of the note go unremembered, she stared in bemusement at the crumpled piece of paper floating in midair, though her reverie was soon broken by the sudden feeling of a large weight appearing behind her, and a pair of arms wrapping themselves around her stomach.

"So, you thought I'd left you here on your own, hm?", Savlora asked, resting her head on her Chosen's left shoulder, and grinning impishly up at the woman. "I can't say I blame you. I'm sorry for the delay, pretty one; there were other things that came up, and then I lost track of time," the goddess went on, planting a gentle kiss at the hollow of Anarya's neck. "In any case, you've more than proven yourself, so you're now officially my Chosen. All that's left is the actual imbuing..."

Anarya frowned, pulling away slightly at the mention of imbuing. She'd heard rumors and legends about people turned into puppets by that, nothing more than a shell for the god - or goddess - to walk the world. Not that Savorla seemed the type to do that, of course, and if she were it probably wouldn't matter, but still. That sort of thing wasn't something she was at all eager to have happen to her.

"What exactly do you mean by that? I know it's putting god-stuff into something, but what'll it do to me? I kind of like being who I am, you know."

The Ghost Lover smiled reassuringly, softly caressing the mortal's cheek, and shook her head. "Nothing unpleasant, or altering in any way other than making you more powerful, I promise you. All the imbuing itself will mean is that you'll be closer to a deity in some physical ways, and I'm sure you'll have no objections to how it's done..."

The fact that it was obvious there was now only one layer of cloth between them where there had been two a moment ago, and the way Savorla was gently, but quickly, unlacing the mortal's clothing, made her intent quite clear...

[Dragonloft]

The morning after Anarya's infusion, while her Chosen slept, Savorla cast out from herself, searching for those she might aid. And, soon enough, the plight of a young girl, locked in a cage as a slave, drew her like a beacon.

As she gently insinuates herself into Jarla's mind, the Elthien girl likely gets the sense of being drawn into a warm, loving, embrace, though there's no physical manifestation to go with it.

"They're doing this because they don't want to work themselves, Jarla. They don't care that you don't want to be here, or that they took you from your family and your friends.

Now... Speaking of friends, little one, would you like some company? I can't risk setting you free, but I can talk to you no matter where you are, and send feelings, give you a shoulder to cry on, even if it's just in your mind. And if you ever manage to get some privacy, I can actually show up in person for that."

"Hush, child," Savorla said gently, sending the impression of a soft smile to Jarla as she did. "Don't speak aloud, or they'll think you're crazy, or plotting to get out. Just think what you want me to hear, and imagine anything you want me to feel.

As for who I am, I'm Savorla, goddess of protection... And seduction, too, but I hope you won't have cause to learn about that aspect for at least a few more years."

"For now? Wait. There isn't much else you can do, really; I could make you invisible, but someone would notice you weren't where you'd been a moment ago, and you'd be caught, or your companions punished. And if I give you the means to fight free, killing would do as much damage to you as staying here. Or turn you into a a Deathdancer, which I could ensure, but I'd not choose hat path for one so young, who can have no true conception of what it means.

Unless, of course, you have any special skills? Those could be worked into-"

There is a brief pause as Savorla appears next to Jarla, in her true form, taking them out of time as she does, and going to gently pull the girl into her lap, so that the mental embrace she was in is now physical.

"-a means of escape that you couldn't use otherwise, perhaps," she goes on smoothly, smiling playfully at the Elthien.

Savorla smiles gently at Jarla, stroking her hair.

"Deathdancers are those who make killing, or at least fighting, an art form. They are some of the best warriors in the world, and to see them fight is a beautiful thing; the grace and skill they use dazzles the eye, as the best performance always does. Some of the swordmasters can even even time and place their cuts so that they paint with the blood as they fight... All you would have to do to become one is fight your way free of here.

You will be a very good one, if you choose that path."

Savorla gently held Jarla as she made her choice, wishing much the same thing for her that the girl desired. The Elthien deserved to have a true childhood, one where she could preserve some of the innocence she had for a while. But she couldn't risk angering Dralcor directly by simply returning the girl, especially as it was quite possible that Kipt would take the blame, thus inflaming an already poor situation.

Besides which, based on her reading of matters, the place Jarla came from might be under attack by a horde, soon enough. All returning her as she was would do in that case would be give a brief respite before she was enslaved again. At least this way, she and her family would have a fair chance of escape, should it come to that.

A pair of blades, perfectly made for Jarla, slowly fade into view; the blade on the left hand one has dozens of small hooks along it, and a barb on the tip, as well as a thin spike descending from the pommel, while the right sword is smooth and gently curved, far gentler-seeming than its counterpart, though still quite lethal.

"The left one is Hatred, the other Sorrow. Both also have another side; Solace and Cruelty, respectively. They will serve you until you die, growing and changing with you, physically and mentally. Heed their warnings, in and out of battle.

They will guide your hand on your first kill, if you need it, for it may be hard to take a life at first, since you must have killed for me to ensure how you see having done so.

Would you like to start now, or take a few minutes to prepare, at least as much as one can?"

[Dragonloft]

"Hatred! Enough! She is to be a deathdancer, not an assassin!", Savorla raged, glaring at the weapon, which slowly shifted into Solace, slipping out of the wound now that it was no longer caught on his flesh.

Turning to Jarla, she gently pulled the tearful girl into her arms, stroking her hair, and smiling gently at her.

"That is not how I meant for you to kill your first foe in any case, little one. To when you must to protect yourself or those you love is a very different thing than to cut down someone helpless, and I am glad that you would not do the latter, even with Hatred urging you to, and reasons of your own."

[The Athenaeum of Nightmare]

"We are at peace, then. I thank you for your aid. In the future, should you wish it, I will tell you of what goes on in the Comely Court, that you are better placed to intervene," Kansheri says, standing, and going to embrace Eosa, most of her more combat oriented modifications returning to normal as she does so, though the fangs remain. "For now, though, I must see to my daughter. If you will give me but a moment..."

With that, she pops her left index finger into her mouth, and bites down, severing it, another growing in its place even as she does, which she uses to remove it, before casting it away from them, sending it floating off through the caverns, apparently of its own volition, once the initial push was supplied.

[Darting To And Fro]

"Haruzar resides in Kansheri's domain, however. After all, the air changes every instant, does it not? So since he is encompassed by her, and we serve her, we are not trespassers."

"Any sleep at all sounds like it would be an improvement for you, honestly," he pointed out softly, pressing his thumb lightly into her neck at the base of her skull, and running it down her spine, until he reached the small of her back, which, if elves are reasonably similar to humans, should help quite a bit with her efforts to sleep. "At least, I certainly wouldn't define the type of 'rest' you've been getting as anything remotely similar, except for what you got right after the surgery," he went on, starting to gently, but deeply, massage her back and shoulders.

[Glass Mouse]

So many people this week! And passing


Glass Mouse passes with 2415 words of writings, including a short essay about Danish nature, plus one Challenge prize.

C'nor didn't make it to the deadline.

HeadlessMermaid passes with 1650 words of Scandinavia-related novel and two photos.

The Grimmace passes with one poem and a 1441 words short story about mice.

CheesePirate passes with three avatars, a self-portrait, a three-panel bear comic, a bear drawing and a drawing of the Norwegian westcoast.

Neoriceisgood, where can I find your drawings? Edit: Neorice passes with eight sprite pictures, three of them animated.

Icewalker passes with eight pieces worth of practise drawings.



Thus, C'nor FAILS this round!

Glass Mouse, HeadlessMermaid, The Grimmace, CheesePirate,Neoriceisgood and Icewalker PASS this round!


Current standing:

Spoiler

Show

Glass Mouse
Current run: 97 weeks
Longest run: -

C'nor
Current run: -
Longest run: 1 week

HeadlessMermaid
Current run: 11 weeks
Longest run: -

The Grimmace
Current run: 11 weeks
Longest run: -

CheesePirate
Current run: 1 week
Longest run: -

Neoriceisgood
Current run: 1 week
Longest run: 8 weeks

Icewalker
Current run: 1 week
Longest run: 3 weeks

It's The Grimmace's turn to choose a theme



I'm pretty psyched about the popularity of the Challenge right now! It's great to see so many people taking up the mantle and wanting to push themselves
Headless, I love your photos, and much respect for taking up a new medium, and being kind enough to help me with cameras!
Grimmace, your amount of writing is inspiring, and your short stories in particular are great!
Cheese, I adore your drawings, and I want to see more!
Icewalker, learning to draw is hard - it's great to see someone taking up that challenge!
Neorice and C'nor, you don't count, because I can't see any works by you this week
Thanks for adding to the world's amount of pretty and enjoyable things, guys!

[densjak]

I'll add my DeviantArt link to my signature when I get home tonight.

[Lady Serpentine]

Completing that edit now would be pointless, wouldn't it?

[Glass Mouse]

I'll add my DeviantArt link to my signature when I get home tonight.

Perfect

Completing that edit now would be pointless, wouldn't it?

Do it for your own sake. Honing one's works and skills is never pointless

[Neoriceisgood]

Whoops sorry!

I made a little gallery just for the Challenge, but forgot to post it.

http://imgur.com/a/a9w7H#0

3 of the images in there are animated, lol.

[Lady Serpentine]

Do it for your own sake. Honing one's works and skills is never pointless

Collected posts are up now, then.

[Glass Mouse]

Whoops sorry!

I made a little gallery just for the Challenge, but forgot to post it.

http://imgur.com/a/a9w7H#0

3 of the images in there are animated, lol.

Alright, got it. Will you keep posting your Challenge works there?

Collected posts are up now, then.

Good job

[Zjoot]

Hmm, theme, theme, theme...Alright, there was a little zine I wanted to submit to, but I didn't finish any of my pieces in time (family vacation/general put-off-ery). Their theme was hunt. And so it shall be ours.

On another note, I would be really interested in seeing your photos, Headless. I think you've been sending them privately to Glass Mouse, yes? Would you mind showing me a couple. Sure it would ruin the sense of mystery, but on the other hand I'm very very intrigued.

[HeadlessMermaid]

On another note, I would be really interested in seeing your photos, Headless. I think you've been sending them privately to Glass Mouse, yes? Would you mind showing me a couple. Sure it would ruin the sense of mystery, but on the other hand I'm very very intrigued.

Well, the problem with mysteries is that they rarely live up to the expectations, but here you go. :)

[Neoriceisgood]

Alright, got it. Will you keep posting your Challenge works there?

Yeah I think so, might as well try to keep everything in one place.