The CHALLENGE continues!

[TheWombatOfDoom]

I made it to 18 weeks! Woooohoooo!

[HeadlessMermaid]

And this next week's theme shall be.... Relics.

[IncoherentEssay]

I made it to 18 weeks! Woooohoooo!

Yep. Congratulations:

The first time you pass the 18 week mark, IncoherentEssay will craft and mail you one figurine of your choice*.

PM me once you've decided what you want for your prize .


I admit that the 18 week prize process has been a bit of a mess between being busy with other stuff and mismanaging the free time i've had, but that's luckily changed and i should be able to sort out most if not all of the remaining prizes owed soon-ish.

[MeanMrsMustard]

sorry about being late again for the second time in like 3 weeks but I had a little freakout about a medical appointment I have tomorrow morning so I'm going to bed now and should have my stuff up tomorrow afternoon
also IncoherentEssay I'll respond to that PM when I put my stuff up
sorry

[Glass Mouse]

Statuuuus (theme-free week)! I’m sorry about all the late status posts, life has been pretty chaotic (in a mostly good way) for me lately, and I’m rarely at home before Monday evening. I expect I’ll be able to settle into more predictable habits come February.


Glass Mouse passes with an eight-panel comic strip and a poster design.

Lycunadari passes with two flower paintings, two photos and two more paintings.

TheWombatOfDoom passes with 1584 words of Annotated OoTS

MeanMrsMustard passes with six drawings, including ponies, portraits and a powerpuff-y girl.

D.KnightSpider passes with 1072 words of a puppet play and 585 words of RPG posts.

Neoriceisgood passes with six new comic pages.

HeadlessMermaid didn’t upload/send me anything.

Oblivion6 is out due to disappearance.


Thus, HeadlessMermaid FAILS this round!

Glass Mouse, Lycunadari, TheWombatofDoom, MeanMrsMustard, D.Knightspider, and Neoriceisgood PASS this round!


Current standing:

Spoiler

Show

Glass Mouse
Current run: 164 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: 1 week

Lycunadari
Current run: 50 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

TheWombatOfDoom
Current run: 19 weeks
Longest run: 3 weeks
Themes: 1 week

MeanMrsMustard
Current run: 35 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

D.KnightSpider
Current run: 29 weeks
Longest run:
Themes: 15 weeks

Neoriceisgood
Current run: 12 weeks
Longest run: 32 weeks
Themes: -

HeadlessMermaid
Current run: -
Longest run: 11 weeks
Themes: -

Oblivion6
Current run: -
Longest run: 1 week
Themes: -

This week's theme, chosen by HeadlessMermaid, is Relics.

Next week's theme is chosen by me.

[MeanMrsMustard]

Spoiler: Heat Miser

Show

Spoiler: Holly Short as a pony

Show

Spoiler: friend in a dress

Show

Spoiler: Dave Strider and Vriska Serket

Show

Spoiler: Porrim Maryam

Show

Spoiler: Equius Zahhak

Show

Spoiler: links

Show

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4
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6

[oblivion6]

Bah, sorry for my disappearing act. I got swamped by homework, essay's and everything else these past few weeks. However, it's looking like it should be relatively smooth sailing from now until January. Already started working on this week's work--about 1/5 of the way done.

And wait, RPG posts count? Hell, i'm consistently going above and beyond the call of the duty.

[HeadlessMermaid]

HeadlessMermaid didn’t upload/send me anything.

Yeah, I procrastinated at the start of the week and then got completely swamped. I'll aim for better time management this week. :)

[redfeatherraven]

Psst.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0f...it?usp=sharing

Who's got 1665 2083 2301 words about timekeeping and other things? That's this guy, right here. Hope you didn't miss me too much.

I'll officially declare myself back in the saddle if I can keep this up till the new year, but damn, does it feel good to be writing again. For the curious, job's over (contract position, contract ended, stockpiled cash in anticipation, we cool), so my time concerns are now minimal. The notebook failed as constraints at the job tightened, but I wrote a fair bit on a few additional topics before that occurred and got about 1/4 of the way through the pages.

As for this, this was a subject I'd been looking to tackle for weeks independently of this week's topic, and astute observers will note it remains unfinished. Could have more for you by week's end, some more of this, and some thematic, as the idea of "relics" has a lot of applications that I've been meaning to look into in IN.

[Stake A Vamp]

so, if i want to enter this, is there some sort of questionnaire, or an application form, or strange and arcane initiation ritual involving spider daggers and four gallons of earl-grey tea.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Just submit your work here or to Glass through PM, and that's it. You can send links, or the work directly, as long as Glass can see it. No strings attached. No paperwork.

[redfeatherraven]

Somewhere, somehow, I must now have an easter egg with spider daggers arranged tastefully around a four-gallon container of earl grey tea.

I'm already looking forward to SAV's participation.

[Rysc]

Um, so, I'm joining the challenge! (Since apparently there aren't any strange rituals involved in joining other than posting that you are.) Hopefully this will get me to draw more/ faster/ better?

So here are my first two (speed-paints/color-tests):

Spoiler: Specimen No. 1

Show

See, the girl suspended by the glowy blue ring somehow activated an ancient something (conveniently a relic?) and accidentally awoke the eldritch abomination. Actually, I have no idea what's going on.

Spoiler: Specimen No. 2

Show

Because a lot of artifact/ magic objects seem to glow, and they seem to always glow blue or something equally strange. Never plain old yellow.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

This is only your second post on the forum, so I'm gonna frist say WELCOME! and secondly, say these are awesome!

[Grozomah]

Hullo everyone!

I've been gathering up my courage to start participating in this thread for a while now, but it appears, surprisingly, that there aren't really any events that will by themselves change one's life course into saying: "I really should start The Challenge," apart from, you know, actually doing that. Even ISON flunked his chance for being the herald big time.

So here are my first entries. So far i haven't taken the time to practice being artistic quite as often as i'd like, but until i get better i hope my pencil doodles will be able to qualify as entries (ie. not sketches )

Pencil 1: The Luggage
Pencil 2: Molten maw

And a short (1000 word) story:
A new beginning

Spoiler

Show

Raindrops fell on the forest which opened in front of the cave. Many years ago someone wanted to pry out the mountain’s fortunes, but time and the elements have eroded almost all traces of the human hand. Just a few more years and a passer-by will thing of the old mine as of a natural cave. Mine or cave, the place was much different from the luxury that Tarina was used to. Damp dark walls were slimy on some spots and the floor was littered with the bones and excrement of animals which were hiding in it in days past.
It won’t be long until the bones of a human join them. Tarina shifted to a more comfortable spot on the cold stone ground and stared at the red stain that carpeted the entrance to the cave. On the parts where the rain got past the roof of stone the raindrops were gathering into tiny streams that slowly but surely washed the blood down the road. At the other end of the crimson stain lay its previous owner. Tarina judged the young lad – he claimed he was a knight – had been quite popular with the girls. He had gleaming hair as black as the night and blue eyes that were now turned blindly unto the stony roof above him. His left arm was twisted at a painful angle under his back and most of the leather straps that fixed his plate armour were torn. A shiny broken piece of armour was jutting out of his arm right above his elbow. However, while most certainly painful, none of the wounds were lethal. The same could not be said for the gaping hole on the right side of his stomach, which he still covered with his right hand. Despite the shiny breastplate that must have surely been the envy of his friends a large part of his stomach was simply missing. His intestines were squeezing through the fingers that held them back and blood was everywhere. In the cool and moist afternoon air there had been steam rising from the wound from the warm insides, but the corpse was cool now and the steam almost gone.
´A most senseless death´ though Tarina to herself and closed the eyes of the young knight. She was alone in the cave, and yet the mocking smile of her brother echoed in her head. Aloxaron always revelled in blood and battle and anyone who disagreed with him were the targets of his ridicule – or worse. He was the eldest, and strongest, which he, especially in the last months, exploited to get his way. Mother tried to control him for a while, but it was only a matter of time before she grew tired of it, or merely decided that her children need a valuable lesson about the order of the world. Whatever the reason it was long past. She left that life behind. Despite being small and lean for her age she wasn’t worried about herself. She was as fast as a snake and clever – definitely more clever than her siblings, maybe even her parents – despite lacking their experience of the world. She glimpsed toward the young lad and wondered what stories he would be able to share if he were still alive. She didn’t know him that well, actually. She only managed to catch his name – Ser Samuel – and that he was a knight of some sort. It all happened too fast for them to get to know each other. ¨Why did he have to be so reckless, so foolish! She begged him to wait, not to charge heedlessly into certain doom, but he didn’t listen to her.¨ “A trouly senseless death,” she said before returning to her place at the entrance of the cave.
After a while the rain stopped. When there were only a couple of droplets left Tarina slowly got to her feet. Apparently the weather is as good as it’s going to get today, and daylight won’t last for much longer too. Time is valuable. She stretched her limbs in front of the cave and took a look towards the top of the mountain that spanned above her. It was a considerable way to go, but Tarina was certain that she will be able to reach the top and be back in time. Her stomach growled. Dismayed, she thought of the knight’s destrier before it fled into the forest. While not exactly a tasty meal, even horsemeat would be a better meal than nothing. ¨Better luck next time¨, she thought to herself as she started to ascend towards the mountaintop.
She made good time. Despite her hunger and exhaustion it was worth the effort. A part of the coulds dissipated and soft evening sunlight illuminated the land below her. Lush dark forests spread on the side of mountain range where she came from. On the other side the land was cultured – lone houses were scattered in the midst of pastures and golden fields, and they joined into small settlements at crossroads. A river curved its way at the edge of the horizon and a lone boat sailed the curvy waters, the white sail occasionally gone behind the growth on the riverbanks. On the largest meander stood a city. The grey walls were built neatly next to the waters to allow for as many of the red brick roofs to grow inside them. Tarina smiled happily – finally. After all this time she wasn’t certain how long has it been since she fled home – twenty, twenty-five days, maybe a whole month? There must be a thousand miles between her and her home now. She travelled as fast as she could the first couple of days to outrun any pursuers. That urge lost its importance after a while – she only continued the travel because she was lost and didn’t know where to go next. But the view she had now was worth all the pain and suffering of the last month. This land offers her a chance for a new, better life.

[Rysc]

@Wombat: ...yep, I finally came out of lurking.

Aaand here are the rest for this week:

Spoiler: Specimen No. 3: Pyromania

Show

Spoiler: Specimen No. 4: Creature 1

Show

Spoiler: Specimen No. 5: Creature 2

Show

Spoiler: Specimen No. 6: Ghost

Show

[oblivion6]

Hey Glass Mouse: My submission may be slightly late but you'll get it hopefully by Monday.

[MeanMrsMustard]

lying around bored after having teeth extracted is great for drawing stuff

Spoiler: Homestuck

Show

Spoiler: for a friend

Show

Spoiler: troll!

Show

Spoiler: lusus!

Show

Spoiler: Kankri Vantas. yet again.

Show

Spoiler: attempt at Porrim Maryam

Show

Spoiler: Tavris Egbert of Protostuck

Show

Spoiler: I just felt pretty and liked the outfit

Show

Spoiler: links

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[Glass Mouse]

Status! And a warm welcome to all our new (and old-new) peeps - may your skills grow strong and prosper


Glass Mouse passes with a four-panel comic, a card, and 699 words of worldbuilding about history and relics.

Lycunadari passes with two paintings, a flower photo and three ceramic birds.

TheWombatOfDoom passes with 1764 words of OoTS Annotations.

MeanMrsMustard passes with five Homestuck drawings and a self portrait.

D.KnightSpider passes with a four-person christmas drawing and an unlucky Indy-wannabe.

Neoriceisgood passes with two sprites (and animation of same), four comic pages and three more references.

HeadlessMermaid didn’t upload/send me anything.

Oblivion6 sent me 1,172 words of fantasy writings.

redfeatherraven passes with 2301 words on timekeeping.

Grozomah passes with two fantasy objects and a 1,000 word short story

Rysc passes with six paintings, from monsters to fire to ghosts.



Thus, HeadlessMermaid and Oblivion6 FAIL this round!

Glass Mouse, Lycunadari, TheWombatofDoom, MeanMrsMustard, D.Knightspider, Neoriceisgood, redfeatherraven, Grozomah and Rysc PASS this round!


Current standing:

Spoiler

Show

Glass Mouse
Current run: 165 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: 2 weeks

Lycunadari
Current run: 51 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

TheWombatOfDoom
Current run: 20 weeks
Longest run: 3 weeks
Themes: -

MeanMrsMustard
Current run: 36 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

D.KnightSpider
Current run: 30 weeks
Longest run:
Themes: 16 weeks

Neoriceisgood
Current run: 13 weeks
Longest run: 32 weeks
Themes: -

HeadlessMermaid
Current run: -
Longest run: 11 weeks
Themes: -

Oblivion6
Current run: -
Longest run: 1 week
Themes: -

redfeatherraven
Current run: 1 week
Longest run: 4 weeks
Themes: 1 week

Grozomah
Current run: 1 week
Longest run: -
Themes: -

[b]Rysc[/]
Current run: 1 week
Longest run: -
Themes: -

This week's theme, chosen by me, is Ho-ho-holidays.

Next week's theme is chosen by Lycunadari - let me know in PM or this thread, and I'll include it in the next status.

Psst.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0f...it?usp=sharing.

Woo, you’re back! And with an interesting read - I rarely consider timekeeping in much deatil, myself.

Now stay in that saddle, you hear me!

so, if i want to enter this, is there some sort of questionnaire, or an application form, or strange and arcane initiation ritual involving spider daggers and four gallons of earl-grey tea.

Hah! You’ll fit right in

Aaand here are the rest for this week:
*snip*

Lovely style. I’m definitely looking forward to more!

Hullo everyone!

I've been gathering up my courage to start participating in this thread for a while now, but it appears, surprisingly, that there aren't really any events that will by themselves change one's life course into saying: "I really should start The Challenge," apart from, you know, actually doing that. Even ISON flunked his chance for being the herald big time.

Hah, that’s amazingly accurate. Who would’ve thought one changed habits by… changing habits

[Rysc]

Not remotely holiday related:

Spoiler: Distant

Show

Counts for 3 pts (hopefully) since I saw somewhere that 1 pt ~ 30 minutes of work

And a bunch of sort of stylized fighters:

Spoiler: Knight

Show

Spoiler: Lady Alice

Show

Spoiler: Drow

Show

I like polearms too much...

[Grozomah]

No holiday-themed inspiration, so i'm adding the second part of my short story, which is now complete.

So if anyone is interested, the already posted first part:

Spoiler

Show

Raindrops fell on the forest which opened in front of the cave. Many years ago someone wanted to pry out the mountain’s fortunes, but time and the elements have eroded almost all traces of the human hand. Just a few more years and a passer-by will thing of the old mine as of a natural cave. Mine or cave, the place was much different from the luxury that Tarina was used to. Damp dark walls were slimy on some spots and the floor was littered with the bones and excrement of animals which were hiding in it in days past.
It won’t be long until the bones of a human join them. Tarina shifted to a more comfortable spot on the cold stone ground and stared at the red stain that carpeted the entrance to the cave. On the parts where the rain got past the roof of stone the raindrops were gathering into tiny streams that slowly but surely washed the blood down the road. At the other end of the crimson stain lay its previous owner. Tarina judged the young lad – he claimed he was a knight – had been quite popular with the girls. He had gleaming hair as black as the night and blue eyes that were now turned blindly unto the stony roof above him. His left arm was twisted at a painful angle under his back and most of the leather straps that fixed his plate armour were torn. A shiny broken piece of armour was jutting out of his arm right above his elbow. However, while most certainly painful, none of the wounds were lethal. The same could not be said for the gaping hole on the right side of his stomach, which he still covered with his right hand. Despite the shiny breastplate that must have surely been the envy of his friends a large part of his stomach was simply missing. His intestines were squeezing through the fingers that held them back and blood was everywhere. In the cool and moist afternoon air there had been steam rising from the wound from the warm insides, but the corpse was cool now and the steam almost gone.
´A most senseless death´ though Tarina to herself and closed the eyes of the young knight. She was alone in the cave, and yet the mocking smile of her brother echoed in her head. Aloxaron always revelled in blood and battle and anyone who disagreed with him were the targets of his ridicule – or worse. He was the eldest, and strongest, which he, especially in the last months, exploited to get his way. Mother tried to control him for a while, but it was only a matter of time before she grew tired of it, or merely decided that her children need a valuable lesson about the order of the world. Whatever the reason it was long past. She left that life behind. Despite being small and lean for her age she wasn’t worried about herself. She was as fast as a snake and clever – definitely more clever than her siblings, maybe even her parents – despite lacking their experience of the world. She glimpsed toward the young lad and wondered what stories he would be able to share if he were still alive. She didn’t know him that well, actually. She only managed to catch his name – Ser Samuel – and that he was a knight of some sort. It all happened too fast for them to get to know each other. ¨Why did he have to be so reckless, so foolish! She begged him to wait, not to charge heedlessly into certain doom, but he didn’t listen to her.¨ “A trouly senseless death,” she said before returning to her place at the entrance of the cave.
After a while the rain stopped. When there were only a couple of droplets left Tarina slowly got to her feet. Apparently the weather is as good as it’s going to get today, and daylight won’t last for much longer too. Time is valuable. She stretched her limbs in front of the cave and took a look towards the top of the mountain that spanned above her. It was a considerable way to go, but Tarina was certain that she will be able to reach the top and be back in time. Her stomach growled. Dismayed, she thought of the knight’s destrier before it fled into the forest. While not exactly a tasty meal, even horsemeat would be a better meal than nothing. ¨Better luck next time¨, she thought to herself as she started to ascend towards the mountaintop.
She made good time. Despite her hunger and exhaustion it was worth the effort. A part of the coulds dissipated and soft evening sunlight illuminated the land below her. Lush dark forests spread on the side of mountain range where she came from. On the other side the land was cultured – lone houses were scattered in the midst of pastures and golden fields, and they joined into small settlements at crossroads. A river curved its way at the edge of the horizon and a lone boat sailed the curvy waters, the white sail occasionally gone behind the growth on the riverbanks. On the largest meander stood a city. The grey walls were built neatly next to the waters to allow for as many of the red brick roofs to grow inside them. Tarina smiled happily – finally. After all this time she wasn’t certain how long has it been since she fled home – twenty, twenty-five days, maybe a whole month? There must be a thousand miles between her and her home now. She travelled as fast as she could the first couple of days to outrun any pursuers. That urge lost its importance after a while – she only continued the travel because she was lost and didn’t know where to go next. But the view she had now was worth all the pain and suffering of the last month. This land offers her a chance for a new, better life.

And the new, 1500 word second half. (wow, it's exactly 1500, and i only checked the number at the end. What are the odds of that.)

Spoiler

Show

Tarina stayed at the mountaintop until the sun turned orange and the cold evening winds started to chill her. Then she started her slow descent towards her cave. “It desperately needs cleaning” she thought as she approached the cavemouth but another voice broke her chain of thought, “… have to do. We can’t just pretend nothing happened!” “Yes, but in this moment it would be wiser to just leave everything as it is. We don’t want to expose our presence.” Approving murmur followed. The voices were coming from Tarina’s cave. She huddled close to the ground and stealthily slid closer to the cave to better hear the conversation. “Poor fella. All heart and no brains. At least it was a quick end for him.” A moment of silence followed, then: “We still need to be very careful. I mean look what she did to him.” Tarina’s heart started beating faster in anger. What she did to him!? It was his own damn fault. Him and his hot-headedness. If he knew how to listen he would still be alive. She wanted to scream in rage at the injustice but knew better than that. The voice continued: “She will pay for what she had done.” Approving murmur followed again. “Do we have a plan?” another voice asked. “I’m almost certain she will come back. We shall hide around the entrance and when she does return, she will be surrounded. Then it will be easy.”
Tarina stiffened. They plan to murder her. She considered how easy it would be to just go away again. No. She has run away for too long. She will stay and fight for her new chance, her new life. She handled herself in a fight before, even against two opponents, and here she had the element of surprise. The terrain around the mine entrance was steep and full of rocks providing cover. She could climb better and move faster than knights in heavy plate armor and the terrain would protect her against their arrows. Every little bit was in her favour. And after all, how many would-be assasins could there be.
Fourteen armed men walk out of the cave.
Tarina’s heart sinks and she just dumbly watches how orders are given and half of them return to the cave and the other seven start their clumsy climb on the rocky incline. She carefully slides far enough not to be seen and fids a good spot that allows her to observe her enemies scattering on the hillside. She feels her heart fill with anger and hate. She never saw the men once in her life and yet they want to murder her. The thought itself made her heart beat faster and her muscles tensed. No. No more running. Whether it be one, two or fourteen, there was enough running. This ends today.
In the near darkness she watches as the climbers find their hiding spots. Not so hidden, once you know where they are. They are scattered. Of course, this way I couldn’t possibly avoid all the arrows if I returned along the road. In the twilight Tarina smiles a deadly smile. Your mistake.
She got so close to the first fighter that she could hear his breathing and still he failed to notice her. He truly doesn’t deserve to live. When he finally tuned around his scream died as soon as it began. Did someone hear that? “Algor?” came from the darkness. Apparently someone did. She saw three silhouettes leave their hiding places and carefully feel their way through the ever darker terrain towards her. Three more steps,… two… Of course she wasn’t nowhere near Algor by the time the other three reached his lifeless body. She was considerably uphill already, watching the men panic as they saw their dead comrade. Too easy. She pushed an already loose boulder and watched how it rolled downhill, letting another one loose, and then another still. By the time the men realised what was going on it was too late. Algor was the only one stupid enough to hide in an area exposed to avalanches, but it would be a waste of a good trap to remove only one. She could always count on the curiosity of men. Four down, ten to go. In the darkness and chaos caused by the landslide she sneaked up on the fifth without ever being seen, but the sixth turned around right as she was sneaking up on him. It was too late for him, of course, but he did manage to scream a warning to the others before dying. Eight more.
She heard a rock shift on her left and she barely dodged the sword. Before the knight could swing the second time she slammed at him and heard the air pushed out of his lungs. She used the moment of stunning for a second strike and the knight fell on the ground hard. Tarina leaped on him, pinned him on the ground and bit into his unprotected neck. She heard his panicked screams and tasted his warm blood and her long dormant killer instinct was awakened in her. Next! Where is the next one?! Drunken on blood and the thrill of battle she raised herself above the rocks and screamed: “WHO CHALLENGES ME NEXT?!” In response she heard the characteristic thud of a snapping bowstring and she saw the arrow veer unerringly toward her heart.
With a soft klenk the arrow deflected of her scaled armour. You! She moved across the rocky slope as fast as lightning towards the bowman that still watched in disbelief the useless deflected arrow. Tarina’s claws pierced his armor, skin and crushed his bones in a single powerful strike and turned his scream of panic into pitiful gargling. Six more. As she slowed her charge she found herself on the road leading to the entrance to the mine. The rest of the group, who went back to the cave just a few minutes ago charged out, weapons drawn. But as they saw their slain companions they stopped in shock. Even easier. Tarina raised herself on her hind legs and spread her wings far. Even though she was small for her age, she was still larger than a horse, let alone the few fighters facing her. She enjoyed the last looks of macabre horror on their faces as they saw her silhouette blocking their only escape. So this is the feeling that Aloxaron likes so much. I could get used to it. As she almost lazily dropped back on her front legs she opened her maw and the inferno engulfed the hillside. The flames were beautiful – their colour as blue as the summer sky when they left her mouth, then yellow as the warm sun before turning the dark red and black of searing flesh.
Armours and weapons lay on the ground deformed as a soft clay pot handled by a child. They were still glowing in the new night, but the light was fading quickly. Five blackened piles were all that remained of the people that wanted to kill her. Five. One left.
In the deathly silence she heard a muted sob from the cave. Tarina stood for a moment and then said in a soft but imperious voice: “You in the cave. Step out.” Sobbing stopped for a moment and there was the sound of leather on rock. Tarina continued: “If you don’t come out, I’m coming in. You will like the latter less.” There was some more sobbing from the cave, but in a few moments a boy of no more than sixteen appeared at the cave mouth. He nursed his badly burned left arm with his right. He took a deep, shaky breath, gathered his last drops of courage and looked into Tarina’s eyes. He has the same pretty blue Eyes as Samuel.
Tarina approached him. “Today is your lucky day. Why you ask? Because you get to see tomorrow. I will let you live, so that you can return to that town and tell them what happened here today. You will tell them that I expect tributes of food and gold. You will tell them that if their tribute pleases me, they will enjoy protection unlike any they have seen in their lives. You will also tell them abuot the fate of your companions. You will tell them that all, who will oppose my rule will meet the same fate. And finally, you will tell everyone that this land now belongs to Tarinaglia.”
The last words she said right in front of her face and watched him as he nodded and swore he would do as he was told. As he descended the stony road, still sobbing, Tarina spread her wings and flew again to the mountaintop. She watched the orange lights of the villages and the town in the distance and with satisfaction she realised that the land looks beautiful. This beautiful land, her land, is her chance for a new, better life.

[Stake A Vamp]

so, a little late (an hour left) but here are two stories in an original setting, sorry for grammer and conventions, (or the conspicuous lack therin). i hope you all enjoy them, feedback is welcomed (wait, do we do that in this thread? if so, feel free to be brutal with me, i want to get better at writing, not a massive ego)

Spoiler: Story one

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I was running. I thought I could make it but I had broken the cardinal rule. The voice of my master echoed in my head take what’s in the chest, they are trusting its lock. take what is hidden, they don’t think it will be found. take what is guarded, they think the guardian will protect it. but never! ever!, as long as you live, take the treasure that is obvious it is always trapped. I couldn't resist the gem, i was mesmerized by its many faceted azure beauty and that. I smiled as I remembered the look on the old geezers face as I stabbed him in the gut. What can I say, it’s a dog eat dog world, and in my profession you can tell how many apprentices you’ve had by the knife wounds in your back. but that didn’t matter now, I was to be devoured by a damn over-sized undead wolf in this godforsaken hole of of a tomb. My dog-eat-dog world metaphor is seeming a little to literal right now.I just couldn't resist the gem, I was mesmerized by its many faceted azure beauty and that had probably killed me. it was closing, i had to run faster.I tried throwing some rations standard clan Tetra field rations at it (I’m not a member of the Tetran rangers, but they do know how to pack) it ignored it. it’s sole purpose in life (undeath?) to kill me. I swerved and got behind a sarcophagus and as the beast rounded on me i drove my knife tip first into its jugular and with the curved spike on the pommel, largely used to deal with locks (you inserted it into the lock and twisted it until the inner workings were utterly destroyed it almost always opened them) i tore it’s shoulder open. it had no effect, damn undead they are incredibly difficult to kill as they’re already dead. its maw lunged at my throat, my heart beat faster time seemed to slow, and i kicked my heel into the beasts ribcage sending is sprawling with the strength of desperation. it his a sarcophagus that toppled onto the beast, that bought me a minute, two at most. so i ran flat out desperate to put some distance between me and that thing. one of my borrowed minutes had elapsed when I came on a side chamber. I whipped the door open and dodge inside, despite not being able to see (the main corridor is lit by crystals, but there were none in the chamber) just then the gem, still clutched in my hand, shone as if it was ablaze, and sent jets of cyan light to various points in the chamber, most of them torches which promptly caught fire, but also a sarcophagus which began to rattle before the lid fell off shattering with a crunching sound. An embalmed horror shambled out of its coffin, its eye sockets, eyes replaced by crystals, seemed to burn with malevolence it approached, i briefly considered running out the door but a burst of primal sound and a resounding crack quickly informed me that the dog was an active threat again, i had taken my eyes off the two legged walking corpse for a few seconds and it was mere feet away and closing quickly, to my back was a lit torch and to its back was its coffin i moved with the haste only one who knows that they are either swift or dead can. i almost switched places with the abomination, my back now facing its coffin, its back now facing the torch. it reached for the scabbard at its hip, the blade still within. i slashed the zombies stomach out of desp momentary inferno, its sword had also survived the blaze, and seemed a better weapon than my knife, so i picked that up too, and i went over to the sconce and pried a torch away from its icy steel grip, i then turned to walk out of the chamber and face the undead beast waiting to devour me the flames giving me new confidence as i opened the door torch first, the beast made a fatal mistake, it lunged right into the flames and was consumed in less than a second, like its bipedal ally, with the flames in my grasp i felt that ieration, my blade easily parting the dry embalmed muscle (its internal organs were removed as part of the embalming process) it had no effect though and i was cornered by an armed nearly indestructible moving corpse, so i did what would be either the most brilliant move or the least intelligent move of my potentially quite short career, i threw my knife i threw it perfectly, right square in the chest hoping that it would fall or be knocked back. it stumbled back right smack into the torch. it immediately burned up one second its a shambling corpse, next second it’s a fireball, and the second after that it’s ashes. my knife survived the imprompyu inferno, and i retrieved it, thinking “I should explore the tomb and see what merited such high guard” take what is guarded, they think the guardian will protect it.

Spoiler: Story two

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I crepped along the forest floor trying not to make a sound, I was desperate not to be heard, or seen or detected at all, and there was a camp that did not want uninvited guests, I was hard pressed to sedate the alarm dogs before they began barking, but high end fast and long lasting, they had given us some clan Mazor sedatives for once, they had also outfitted us with clan Dolber hatchets and armor from clan Chevail, and they had given us Waagas in case we really needed a fast escape. Mine was with the guard dogs ready to run if need be. I came I heard a gruff indistinguishable voice and wheezy laughter. i peered though the bushes and caught sight of three figures, one is a figure wearing a skull mask and holding a sythe Drayzak, the mastermind behind this group, i have read his dossier, he was highly dangerous, most people in the highly dangerous files were labeled kill-on-sight, he was labeled “do not attack without overwhelming numbers” that scythe had killed a lot of good men and whats worse one of our best rangers, the mcaul-lien had joined him. he was young, but incredibly talented. then next to him stood a woman sharpening two knives, she was labeled highly dangerous and she was labeled “do not attack without overwhelming numbers” she was the sister of one of my best friends and commanders i had ever met, and Statells mcaul-lien. my friend had asked me if i could to talk some sense into Selena, i was determined to do so. then there was a hunched figure near the proper entrance to the clearing, must be Herezin, the mcaul-lien of chevail, he shared the warnings of Selena and Drayzak and was fiercely loyal to the Drayzak. this meant that Darkiin and my comrade were patrolling the camps border. i knew i needed to run then as it hit me that an arrow could be flying at me at any second. so i turned and was staring straight at Darkiin,then to make matters worse my comrade walked in from the direction of the dogs, “the waaga” darkiin asked casually “dealt with” my comrade said coldly then both the their gazes turned toward me, “may i do the honors?” said my comrade, his words more oiled than mazor cooking. then he said “33-4-silent”. he was saying, in the code of the rangers, that he would bash Darkiin on the head and when he does knife him., he bashed him in the back of the head and i whipped by dolber knife into his gut, i exulted, i knew he wasn’t a traitor, he couldn’t be, he was a double agent, and with this realization i whipped out my bow, we had suprise, we could take drayzak and Herezin then talk sense into Selena, it was all we needed to end this here and now, i shot herezin in the leg, he yelled out in agony and fell to the ground out of action for the moment. then my comrade, (I called him mcaul), grabbed my knife out of darkiins gut and drew his own, saying cover me, selena rushed to meet him, screaming traitor, he responded with “stay back i don’t wish to hurt you”, both phrases carried the power of a mcaul-lien, and both were compelling making the two both hesitate before they recovered and came at each-other their knives swirling, dancing streaks of silver in the twirling of mcauls green cloak, and Selena's blue-gold cloak, i focused on keeping drayzak down, giving glancing arrow shots and trying to shoot his mask which arrows bounced off of, then mcaul disarmed Selena slammed his shoulder into her solar-plexus and flipped her onto her head, apologizing as he did so, and turned to face drayzak telling me to run, i realized he was going to sacrifice himself to stop drayzak, i started to leave, but drayak spoke and i needed to see this. “ it seems we’ve got ourselves a dissenter, but a skilled dissenter. i can’t kill you or i will be set back years, so i think i will start blank, he said splashing mcauls face with a steaming liquid that made him pass out. then i obeyed i ran to my waaga, and a only looked back to see that darkiin was getting up, we had accomplished nothing, i cursed as i rode to warm my comrades.

[MeanMrsMustard]

Spoiler: Secret Santa presents!

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Spoiler: Chiaki Nanami

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Spoiler: Jane Crocker

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For these two, the lineart in each folder is the same, but the coloring was done differently – does this count as separate submissions?

Spoiler: babby

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Spoiler: randomly generated palette

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Spoiler: regular coloring

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Spoiler: don't know what went wrong

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Spoiler: randomly generated palette

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Spoiler: regular coloring

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Spoiler: Braixen

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Spoiler: links

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[redfeatherraven]

Was afraid the holidays would take their toll, and for good reason. Not a peep out of the muse since last week's entry - even on the next part of that topic, which I'd hoped to cover.

Catching up with friends and family was magnificent - especially I anticipated I would be unable to until the new year at minimum - and I can't say I've spent the week poorly.

That said, my R&R period is solidly over. I intend to complete this week's entry later today - part will no doubt be the extension of the previous timekeeping notes, but I look forward to seeing what the forthcoming topic will spark as well.

[Glass Mouse]

Status!


Glass Mouse passes with two comics, some 2k words of RPG writings, and a grumpy Christmas dude.

Lycunadari passes with six Christmas-y photos.

TheWombatOfDoom didn't upload/send me anything. Edit: passes with 2,179 words of OoTS Magic Compendium.

MeanMrsMustard uploaded four drawings and two recolors.

D.KnightSpider passes with a 7-drawing holiday meme including Christmas costumes.

Neoriceisgood passes with five comic pages, a bigass banner and two new sprites.

HeadlessMermaid didn’t upload/send me anything. Still in?

Oblivion6 didn’t upload/send me anything.

redfeatherraven didn't upload anything.

Grozomah passes with exactly 1,500 words of short story.

Rysc passes with three stylized fighter people and a detailed painting.

Stake A Vamp passes with two short stories at a combined 1,662 words.



Thus, TheWombatofDoom, HeadlessMermaid, Oblivion6 and redfeatherraven FAIL this round!

Glass Mouse, Lycunadari, D.Knightspider, Neoriceisgood, Grozomah, Rysc and Stake A Vamp PASS this round!


Current standing:

Spoiler

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Glass Mouse
Current run: 166 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: 3 weeks

Lycunadari
Current run: 52 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

TheWombatOfDoom
Current run: 21 weeks
Longest run: 3 weeks
Themes: -

MeanMrsMustard
Current run: 36 weeks (pending)
Longest run: -
Themes: -

D.KnightSpider
Current run: 31 weeks
Longest run:
Themes: 17 weeks

Neoriceisgood
Current run: 14 weeks
Longest run: 32 weeks
Themes: -

HeadlessMermaid
Current run: -
Longest run: 11 weeks
Themes: -

Oblivion6
Current run: -
Longest run: 1 week
Themes: -

redfeatherraven
Current run: -
Longest run: 4 weeks
Themes: 1 week

Grozomah
Current run: 2 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

Rysc
Current run: 2 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

Stake A Vamp
Current run: 1 week
Longest run: -
Themes: -

This week's theme, chosen by Lycunadari, is Success.

Next week's theme is chosen by TheWombatOfDoom - let me know in PM or this thread, and I'll include it in the next status.

Not remotely holiday related:

Spoiler: Distant

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Counts for 3 pts (hopefully) since I saw somewhere that 1 pt ~ 30 minutes of work

The "~30 minutes of work" is meant as a rule of thumb for figuring out minimum requirements in different mediums. We can't use it for everyday status, since it's downright impossible to measure/qualify on my end.

That said, you can make a case for splitting your piece up in "person", "dove and tail-spiral" and "background", but the background is severely borderline (due to simplicity). It's a pass, but mostly due to the kinda-misunderstanding regarding pt quantification

For these two, the lineart in each folder is the same, but the coloring was done differently – does this count as separate submissions?

I'd say no unless serious shading/highlight/pattern work has gone into both pieces. In my experience, flat colors rarely take more than a few minutes.
But feel free to argue your case, or to upload something else in their stead. It'd be a shame to lose a streak to this

[Neoriceisgood]

I wish you all a happy new year in advance btw.

And thanks for always keeping the thread & contest active for us Glass Mouse, it really helps stay motivated to keep production steady every week!

[D.KnightSpider]

I feel a bit rotten coming in and spoiling everyone's New Year with a small problem, but... I need some help.

There are a few long-term projects on which I've been working for quite a while. They're the sort of big things that you don't want to release until you have all your ducks in a row and something worthwhile to present (and some proof that you're actually going to finish them), which requires a lot of front-end work.

The problem I'm running into is that, ironically, the CHALLENGE is drastically cutting into the time I can spend working on those long-term projects. Over the past month and a half, I've found myself staring at the computer screen going: "Y'know, I'd really like to be working on Long Term Project X, but I can't because I've got to get something done and in before deadline." The end result is that Long Term Project X goes nowhere while a fluff piece for the Challenge gets done just to meet quota.

Anyone have any time management thoughts on this?

[redfeatherraven]

I have exactly zero time management thoughts on that. Time management, as we have so very thoroughly established, is not my strong suit. But if I may.

In my case, at least, breaking up my long-term project into measurable chunks has provided steady progress (some of admittedly dubious use, but always progress). If the project can be thus divided - and you're unafraid of releasing at least a few ducks before they're properly queue'd - perhaps it would be worth a few weeks' fair shake.

And though it goes without saying, nothing spoiled. We all came into this seeking, right?

[TheWombatOfDoom]

My bigger projects I tend to only release to Glass Mouse for review, and keep it private. Sometimes it is fully formed narration, sometime notes on characters and so on. The challenge has helped me pace my bigger projects well, as I can use those projects toward this, when I'm working on them.

Also, Glass, it seems your list has some bolding and underline errors in the user names.

[Lycunadari]

I have also a question. Can I count translations as writings for the challenge? Specifically, I'm planning to translate my stories from German to English, with a few changes for things that work different in both languages due to German being so heavily gendered.