Herr D's CFLs

[Herr D]

Somebody said my three midgeteers were creepy. . .I’m trying to remember whether I planned that and can’t. . .oh, well.
These are definitely supposed to be a little creepy:
First up, Master Marionette. Somehow, no matter what people try, they can’t see where the strings go. They just variously continue up forever or stop in mid-air with no pattern or continuity, switching back and forth. Juggling is what he does. –So don’t let him too near those three kids over there–

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-MasterMarionette.jpg

*Okay. Now, some people would say I cheated, but I saved some time by creating two radically different pics for two different contests with the same general concept and items in mind.*

Kid Weapon has this peculiar power. He turns weapons in his vicinity into toys. None of the local warriors want to get too close, because some of THEM are considered lethal weapons . . .

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-KidWeapon1.jpg

I saw here the opportunity to invent the first ever plushie chainsaw!

[Herr D]

On a visit to G979, I got this still of a Sleeping Flyer. Wonderfully mysterious creatures. If you’re less than seven inches thick and under 110 pounds, the tourist board will still let you climb inside for a flight as of last season. You climb up through the rope-ladder-like tail right into the carapace. Most passengers agree to take video in exchange for ration cubes and breath apparatus. Barring accidents and poaching, none of these amazing creatures have died (or bred, fed, or even awakened) for the 3000-plus years since they were discovered. They just breathe, take off, and land in a three-hour cycle. (There are some reported to snore.)

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-SleepingFlyerOnG979-1.jpg

Universal Biologic did a fascinating story on G979. Mostly it was about the lost civilization known only as “The Watchers.” Not all of their texts have been translated, but they may be unique among known civilizations for the following: Their ENTIRE language appears to transliterate phonetically from nature sounds, ingeniously deduced by the first archaeologist team. They correctly predicted a nucleonic storm that would poison their atmosphere by an anionization process activating their natural mix of sulfur, arsenic, cyanide, neon, and fluorine–WITHOUT radiotelescopes, artificial satellites, space travel, spectrometers, or even radar. (No one knows how–the texts describe standing miles apart and comparing sounds of it arriving by ear, which is absurd.) Most unique of all, their entire civilization went calmly about their business for over a hundred years after the prediction was verified by several citizens, referencing that they would already be “gone.”
But, where?
Soundings have been taken and core samples verified. They didn’t tunnel downward. No digging besides their horticultural efforts was ever done. Sonar verifies that there are no artificial structures below the water. Their technology did not include space travel, in fact, it was limited to agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry (including ornamental avian,) archives, and sound recording. So approximately 400,000 of them vanished without a trace. The last words written were: Now we start away, reconciled. We go Crowuhtain [sic.] No one knows what that last word means.
Anyway, the rest of the episode had a rather sarcastic tone. When they disappeared over 5000 years ago, they didn’t leave detailed records of their anatomy, medicine, or general appearance. So, in theory, they could’ve been picked up by some other group. UB actually theorized that “The Watchers” were color-blind, because they never even mention the Sleeping Flyers, which have more beautiful plumage than any other species on the planet.
The Sleeping Flyers roost until dawn or twilight when breezes max out, their reflexes release their hold on the roost, they fly for almost precisely three hours ‘easterly’ toward Ygu, their red dwarf sun, and then roost for about seven minutes. They repeat this cycle until their crystalline eyes either cannot detect light, or detect more than half the sun’s strength. They appear to be neurologically recording and osmotically receiving calcium through their roosting limbs, but their digestive systems are in some sort of dry stasis, allowing passengers. The wings are partly reflective, partly translucent, and completely beautiful. No other limbs and only what appear to be reproductive organs, also in stasis. The brains are actually inside the wings, lightweight and plentiful. The species exists over the whole planet. No one has bothered with a close count, but it would appear they number over a quarter of a million.

[Vampyrist]

It’s beautiful!

[Herr D]

Thank you, Vampyrist. I wasn’t sure whether to use the flash or not–
These next few blocks are dedicated to Evil Lovelies. The first several were made for dblade’s contest–I am alarmed to realize I posted Gigantica TWICE already. Then again, she’s supposed to take up twice as much room, right?
[crickets]
Tough room. Oh, well. This first one is actually a mistake that turned out pretty well.
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-WoreKevlarMeetingMsManga.jpg
Based on the character description, THIS was closer to her description of Ms. Manga.
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-MissMangaDrewSnakes.jpg
Even an avid reader like me misses an important detail here and there. “Always–no–never forget to check your references.”
Anyone know that source?

[Herr D]

And this is my entry for dblade’s Evil M Henchwoman:

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-EvilMHenchwoman.png

Two-stick fighting is hard enough of a style–then make both of them billy clubs. That’s some skill.
And now, my entry for dblade’s Madame Malevolent. That Fury idea, interesting, especially since some myths have them change roles. I’m afraid my mask turned out less-than-fascinating.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-MadameMalevolent-1.jpg

Bound to be pretty enough under THAT though . . . the dress was less than I planned as well. Somehow the shred effect was easier to do in person. (?) I haven’t made many garments, and I’m a lousy enough tailor that I always require quite a few fittings.

[Herr D]

This Evil Lovely was my entry in the Manga Mage contest.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-KronaTheMage.png

Krona walked out of Stonehenge one day without anyone seeing her go in. She wouldn’t say what she was up to or how she got her scar . . . I’m a little worried . . .

[Herr D]

Last, and DEFINITELY LEAST, because I find her the least lovely, there’s Metalhead.
It all started as a piercing fetish and near-terminal boredom with her job as a bookkeeper. No one who kept any records of the interim has been allowed to live. She is now a highly-paid mercenary distinguished by the following: She does take jobs to severely injure for triple the cost of a hit. She never hides her face. She occasionally can be paid to put poison on her boot spikes. She ALWAYS uses peroxide as her shampoo. And conditions with WD-40.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-MetalheadVaultsForAHug.jpg

A cameraman, now deceased, got this shot of her before dying as she vaulted toward him for a hug. Her spiked Kevlar did ruin the camera, but he was streaming before she made it to him. This is the only good shot the techs were able to get from their downloads.

This is a rendering by one of the few witnesses willing and able to ID her.
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-Metalhead_zpsaf174caa.png
Considered haired and dangerous.

*Thanks to Hammerknight for prompting this bold noob to dog some tricks. I had not known about screen captures until you mentioned them. Ask.com had a nice tutorial.

[Herr D]

The DEA didn’t want Naylem Sune freelancing, so they sent her to some ‘entertainment spots’ frequented and owned by cartel members. Very few innocent people died after her first week. They’re going to insist on more training.
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-NaylemSuneDodging.jpg
Not to worry, she wasn’t a mercenary before, just might have put down a few undercovers that were too convincing when she meant to get bad guys. Hazardous work, right? Generally speaking, I’m probably going to leave, even if I love the floor show, if I see HER come in . . .

[Herr D]

*The above was for the Manga Archer Challenge. The next one was for the Tiles Challenge. Next block will be the Coin Challenge, to finish out the 5th page.

I actually won this one. Doesn’t happen often.
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/hm3/HerrD-DungeonCrawl.png
I’ve always favored the modules that are open enough to allow multiple solutions and reward creative thinking.
–Sure, you could pull the curtain and slay the dragon. You could try to poison the living pit.
But what if you tiptoed in and pulled a fast one? If you didn’t wake the dragon, and found the ‘pointless’ cracks in the walls, other solutions come to mind.
Maybe a party member or two could shrink down and roll the coins out the back way? Maybe somebody has a spirit familiar or other such thing that can travel a passage a quarter-inch thick? Maybe the living pit’s tongue could be induced, by flooding something through the crack, or by hypnotism or something, to ‘save’ the gold by passing it across? Or to cram it in the crack, widening at least that end?

[Herr D]

This is a specimen of the Andromeda Consortium Gold Standard.
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-AndromedaConsortiumGoldStandard.png
Core of 12k gold. (50%, alloyed with iron, sulfur, nickel, and deuterium.) Luckily the pocket I had this in was the ration pocket of my suit. The core would melt here. Deuterium ice melts easily, even when mixed right.) You’ve heard of cold, hard cash, right?
Plated with gold and coated with a hardened plastic similar to clear acrylic.

The triumvirate of regulators aren’t always the same species. The coins ARE always made with the same language, however: Hairbrush Nebula Runic.

[Herr D]

[whistles casually] Suppose you’re having an otherwise ordinary day, and suddenly you find a dying alien. It obviously comes from somewhere of higher gravity and temperature because it’s suit is ready to burst and the poor thing is violently shivering.

Lucky for you your granddad had a sturdy, old-fashioned pressure cooker! So you go about saving the thing, wondering if it’s trying to tell you “thanks” or “more” or “lift me up.”

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-SavingTheThing.jpg

[Dionne Jinn]

Hilarious! Very funny! I love that little story.

[Herr D]

Thank you. When the time is limited and the skills aren’t there yet, you gotta go for content.

If Plato was right when he wrote about them, the Atlanteans were regular people who were natural catastrophe victims, so they should look like this:
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-AtlanteanCitizen.png
*
If they could have survived, by virtue of ‘little footprint’ knowledge, intellect, and adaptability, they would look like this:
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-CleitemnaFile.jpg
Our navy would never be the same.
But I really believe that Plato, were he alive today, would be one of us hm-ers, and that the Atlanteans would look like THIS:
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-HowToMakeAtlanteansByPlato6969-1.jpg

[Weilyn]

Really cool stuff!

I needed the text to figure out what was going on. Last picture made me laugh

[Herr D]

Thank you, Weilyn. Laughter is the best goal I have.

This next was a departure for me. I don’t normally do redesigns of other peoples’ work. Okay. I don’t usually redo my OWN work, either. Too many ideas, too little time. But I was involved from the beginning on this thing. I judged it as an entry in the OPMC contest, I critiqued it on OCD, so I couldn’t help jumping in.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-redesignForKeric-1.jpg

Stealing and playing with your main squeeze’s underthings is a sure source of a squabble. On ANY planet. Some things translate really well.

[Author]

Posts