[Art Exchange] Covert Courtesy Commutation ~ 6/8 gifts are up.

[e_voyager]

fortunately boxy i have a habit of saying i have the patients of the eternal, just not the life span.

[Gabi]

Well, I'm glad you do because today has been a bit more hectic than I had expected. I'm sorry, I can't start the round right now. We'll start tomorrow (and of course everyone will have an extra day to finish their gifts). I apologize for the inconveniences.

(Don't worry, I'm fine, just a bunch of late homework and a father who complains that I never visit him, so I agreed to go and see him today).

[Gabi]

llearch, what kind of inspiration are you looking for? Why don't you just post something?

Anyway, Round 18 is here! Sorry again for the delay. I had to fix a few things in the randomizer and didn't have the time to do that yesterday. It's still not working perfectly, but I hope I'll figure it out at some point. At least it gives different results on different rolls.

[Edit: randomizer problem fixed by llearch. It was a server configuration issue. Thanks, llearch! ]

The deadline to submit your gifts is Saturday, 24th of September. But of course, you can send them to me earlier than that.

Oh, and Basilisk's gifter wants to know which character Bas would like something for.

While The1Kobra's gifter would like to know if he has a preference for type of art, theme or specific character involved.

And TheDXM's gifter wants to know what he would like to receive.

If they'd like something drawn, or written, I'd like to know what.

[Inumo]

Pre-emptive strike again, only this time it's not a quote!

I'm curious as to what your take is on one (or more, I suppose) of the many races I've created. Pick one, and have fun with it! They are listed below, sorted by source.

Akami:

• Aguashe - The aguashe are a people with faceted eyes, bowed legs, and a rather weird foot structure. Unlike humans, their feet consist of a small triangular bone with three toes extending from it, which provide all support necessary. They are rarely not part of a school, often wearing shirts emblazoned with a school insignia. These schools are an important part of the social hierarchy as well, and as such they always have straps, one attached to each hip looping around their waist, that denote their rank. The one attached to the left hip is colored in the style of the aguashe's school, and lays underneath the right strap from the front (it goes over in back). The one attached to the right hip denotes their rank in the school, and goes over from the front and under in back. They live in a rainforest in houses and other structures based on almond-shaped components.
• Mafide - The mafide look much like an upright triceratops, minus the two horns on the fan of the head and the tail. Their hands have fingers that can only just curl into the palm of their hand, and their feet are similar to an elephant's in appearance. Their society is based upon a person's merits, which are denoted by bright colors on articles of clothing related to their merits. For example, a talented unarmed fighter might have bright green fingerless gloves, or a skilled tailor might have an electric blue patch. In general, colors create a hierarchy starting at a Han purple and progressing through purple, red-violet, red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green, green, teal, blue, and finally white. They live in vast underground networks beneath a desert, where entire cities have been known to collapse when construction was improperly performed.
• Hakare - The hakare have many characteristics reminiscent of their frog ancestry. Their heads are very similar to a frog's, their hands only have four fingers, their legs are reverse-jointed, and their feet are akin to a loose Y, often drooping slightly when they take a step before spreading out when weight is put on it. In addition, running from their forehead to their lower back is a unique marking, which can be anywhere from scrolling to geometric to a few simple lines and can be nigh any color found in nature. It's said that one can read a hakare's future by interpreting their mark. Their society is very spiritual, placing a high emphasis on religious leaders, though nobody wears anything to denote their place in the hierarchy. They live in a savannah with a wet and dry season in homes made of adobe with roof supports sticking out from the tops of walls and woven grass doors.
• Damete - The damete are small, goat-like people with exotically colored eyes (purple, amber, etc; think fairies or elves) and hooves for feet. Their fur covers their body save their arms, where the fur extends to about the elbow before turning into a more normal skin. Often they will wear cloaks or capes, as well as a jewel of some sort suspended from a chain wrapping around their forehead. Their society is highly decentralized, forming scattered autonomous villages that meet annually at the center of their over-sized valley. Their village buildings are reminiscent of old Irish buildings, being made out of stones stacked one atop another which are bound/sealed with crude mortar, topped off with a thatch roof.
• Tarvande - The tarvande are man-sized humanoid dragons with clawed hands, mismatched eyes, and patches covered in something rock-like. It is extremely difficult to break, but doesn't impair a tarvande's movement. Their society is guild-oriented, though to a lesser extent than the aguashe's. Though many who are high in a guild will wear full guild regalia on a daily basis, more often people will hang a trinket or piece of jewelry representative of their guild on their shirt or around their neck. They live in tunnels carved into their home mountain range, their settlements and cities reminiscent of a spoked wheel.

Unnamed Fantasy Setting:

• Melorin - Melorins are serpent-necked and bow-legged people with three fingers and toes (the feet are the same as an aguashe's). Their society places a high value on knowledge, and as such often act as seers or wise-men. This is aided by their abilities with divination magics.
• Rieka - Riekas are people who take after an animal with one or two traits. This can range from having a cat tail and ears to a shark fin and tail to a snake's tongue and patches of scales. They are often religious devotees, having a common belief in acceptance of others and exploration, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As a result, it is hard to shock them with one's appearance. They are adept at manipulation magics, in part due to their shapeshifting nature.
• Hidraki - Hidraki appear to be made out of a reddish-tinted water, colored due to the dissolved magical stone which gives them life. They have no specialty, instead spending their relatively short lives doing as they please and hoping that, when they die and their water is returned to their home lake, the knowledge they learned shall be passed on to a later Hidraki, from generation to generation. As their life is dependent on what others use for magic, Hidraki are wary of magic and magic-users, believing that they will only be used for their supply of said magical stone. Of course, this also means that they do not use magic.
• Eyas - Eyas have the same red magical stone which gives the Hidraki life growing from their shoulders through their hide, which grow as they eat more and more of said stone. After a certain point, they begin to walk on two legs instead of four and eventually gain sentience, though some of their primal instincts, such as a power-centric hierarchy and natural capability with any and all magic, still show through. In addition, the level of power they routinely manage often makes the Eyas temperamental.

Forum RPs:

• Moloi - The Moloi developed a magical trait which causes them to turn to stone whenever a part of them is being viewed by a living source. This stone-shape isn't the same as their true-shape. However, this doesn't stop their mental activity, only their physical.
  Moloi are born blind, and stay as such until they are fifteen. At thirteen, they undergo a rite of passage, where they must pass through an obstacle course and, at the obstacle they fall at, they earn a blindfold of a specific color. Green is the lowest on the ranking, lying beneath the first obstacle, a series of platforms. If a Moloi passes that, they can either choose to take a teal bandana, or continue onto the next obstacle, a set of balance beams and trapezes over a pit with the blue bandana. After that, there is the purple bandana, and the option to continue on to the final obstacle. The last obstacle's pit is filled with illusionary spikes, though no Moloi coming of age knows that they are an illusion. To cross the pit, a Moloi must jump from pillars only wide enough to place a foot on, followed by a leap of faith onto a platform with the white bandana. Should they fall, they land on the ground and are given a red bandana. The bandanas are used to cover the adolescent's eyes so that they don't accidentally freeze anyone when their eyes open. The bandanas are enchanted so that they cannot be removed unwillingly.
  A Moloi's blind lifestyle has also granted them the ability to "see" by sensing the presence of an object or creature. A moloi can't tell the actual shape or appearance of an object or creature unless they (the object or creature) wait around for a few seconds. Beyond that, the Moloi are very much magical creatures in nature. In addition to their inborn magical abilities, they also absorb half of all magical energy that is directed them and use it as a supplement to food. They do require some nutrition, however.
  Due to their sensitive nature, the Moloi have been fearful of leaving the safety of their Valley of Stone. This has prevented them from ever dealing with any other creatures or cultures, so they speak their own language and have developed a lifestyle vastly different from those outside the Valley.
• Mish'Na - The Mish'Na have ropes of flesh that flow from their shoulders down to the backs of their knees, a natural cape of sorts. Their scaly skin is slick like a fish's, colored a deep green like an asparagus. Their hair falls in cords, like smooth dreadlocks. Though a very primitive society, they are physically incapable of "going through the motions" of anything, devoting themselves to whatever task they take up at any time.

Writing these all down, I realize just how little thought I have in most of the non-Akami races, despite having made the Akami races all the way back in middle school... If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, and if none of these races strike a chord with your muse, I can certainly offer you a small selection of characters to choose from.

[Noone]

For this round? Hmm... I'll repeat my previous request. Of course if you're more skilled at writing let me know and I'll try and come up with something for you.

What I would like to receive?
If you are of artistic bent (probably a safe assumption here), I'd like to request a picture of one of my kobold characters. Their names are Kurchin and Saylgarix, who are nice and nasty respectively. I'll let you choose which one you'd like to do. Both are characters in an online NWN setting, D&D Forgotten Realms. Anyways, as to who they are:

Kurchin: Male Kobold, Chaotic Neutral, Rogue/Bard(29/1). In game he uses NWN's basic kobold A model.
His in-game description is:
Kurchin stands two foot six. He has large, beady red eyes that gleam in bright light. His tail is relatively long, and somewhat floppy, it moves around quickly when he's excited and droops when he's sad or inactive. He appears light, and his scales look as though they've been polished with much care, with a sun-kissed finish. The horns on his head, and the claws on his hands look like they've been filed down extensively, removing their sharpness. He appears rather clean and well kept, he certainly bathes regularly. His teeth, when he opens his mouth, appear sharp, clean, and quite orderly. They are of a clean white color. His eyes usually give off a look of innocent friendliness, and his face is rarely in an  expression that looks menacing.

Personality wise, he's friendly, extremely so. He likes cooking, baking, painting, hugging people and licking their faces, pretty much anything that a normal kobold wouldn't. He's rather juvenile and impulsive, however he does care about other people a lot, especially his friends. He dislikes violence, and while he's usually non violent, he used to be a prolific vampire hunter. (And I mean the extremely nasty variety. The VERY nasty variety.) Usually however, he prefers more peaceful and leisurely pastimes to such activities.

The other one is:
Saylgarix: Male Kobold, Neutral Evil (Formerly Chaotic Evil), Ranger/Assassin (11/19). In game he uses the model shown below.

His in-game description is:
This kobold stands at a height of two foot seven, he seems fairly muscular by kobold standards. His horns and claws are kept sharp, though the ends of his claws have a rough look to them, as if they've seen extensive use. His russet scales have a weathered look to them, and if one looks closely enough, they have hints of barely noticeable cracks at several points. His crimson eyes have an alert, if slightly feral look to them. His teeth are clean, sharp, and hint to a vicious bite when his mouth is opened.

Saylgarix carries himself with a demeanor that suggests that he is more a creature of the wilds than a normal kobold. His eyes often dart from side to side, alert, even when standing still. His clawed feet often look only loosely attached to the ground, ready to move quickly on a moment's notice. Very rarely does he look relaxed, even while sleeping.

Personality wise, he's vicious, ruthless, efficient, and out for himself. He often sees violence as the best way to solve problems. He can be rather sadistic at times, but while he is vicious, he isn't pointlessly evil. For example, he wouldn't kick someone's puppy out of boredom, especially if there are consequences for his actions. However he wouldn't have any problems doing so if he were paid well enough to compensate for the danger. He does, as fate would wind up, tend to work for two organizations that often fight people a lot more evil than he is. He likes having reliable alliances.

When in combat, he most often wields two kukris, or a shortbow. He keeps all of his weapons poisoned with custom made, and downright nasty poisons.

I hope this helps.

Edit: Kurchin uses NWN's base kobold A model. Sayl uses a different one. I'll upload the IG pics shortly.

   

[TheDXM]

Yes. I have been needing a study on clothe shading, with a focus on folded ribbons and stuffs.

Otherwise, I might want a design on an outfit for a younger princess. Which might work out better in a written description, not sure, and it is up to my gifter entirely. Something red and practical, pwease

[WhiteFox]

To my gifter:

I would prefer visual art, but it's all good. I have vision problems that can make reading difficult at times, but that's only an issue for long stories written in monolithic paragraphs.

To The1Kobra:

I never got a response to the gift I made for you last round. What did you think? If there was a problem with it, please let me know.

To anyone who owes me a gift:

Since Inumo brought it up...

I'm curious as to what your take is on one (or more, I suppose) of the many races I've created. Pick one, and have fun with it!

I'd like to state, for the record, that my gifters really shouldn't worry about trying to imitate how I draw. My "style" is a Frankenstine's Monster, an amalgamated abomination of influences, inspriations, and personal objectives. It works for me, but given how... individual it is, I can't imagine anyone else wanting to work with it.

Besides: I have an indefinite supply of art in my own style. I like to see what other people come up with.

[Lisky]

Well... Dear gifter... if you're up for something more sci-fi... i haven't seen anything done of darkshine in quite some time

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3546846/ or http://www.panicepisode.com/fanartgallery/gallery/fanart/images/darkshine.png for some of his references... i haven't really drawn him in forever. so i should really update.

He's a leopard hybrid, and most always seen in a suit of body-armor.  It's considerably more form fitting than most sci-fi armors, the inlaid plates are actually housings for various sensors and systems in the suit, while the mesh-sections are a reactive nano-engineered material that hardens upon impacts with sufficient energy.  It's a form-fitting body-suit that resembles a wet-suit.  There are small plates on the tummy, with larger ones on the shoulders, chest, neck, forearms and legs.  The forearms house blades as well. 

If you need anything else beyond that bit-o-ramble, lemme know and i'll write something a bit more coherent

[Gabi]

Whitefox's gifter says: "I'd be happy to draw something for you, if you have anything in particular in mind."

Corgatha's gifter asks: "Corgatha, you got anything in particular that you'd like drawn or written? Settings, races, characters, themes, genres, anything like that?"

[WhiteFox]

Anyone from DSOF or Gabriel's backstory comic would be fine. There's also my avatar, as seen in HTTTA.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Hmm, I'll fully admit I'm not the easiest person to make a gift for.

For the drawing/writing divide, I enjoy both equally, but in different manners. Something that's written...... I'll dissect it up and turn over every word choice. This bothers some people, even though I'm really not trying to be mean spirited about it, I tend to come off that way.  If it's a split, just go with whichever form you're more comfortable with.


As for subject, there I've got a bit of a shortage. I tend to keep my characters close to my chest. However, I have three major ones that I've used here.


Corgatha himself, has been depicted several times, mostly in this own thread.

description

picture one

picture two.

There are a few more, and if you want the links, I can dig them up.


Kedered is an RP character I used for the (seemingly sputtered) Shattered innocence RP.

Bio


Aisha Decabre did a tremendously good picture here

I had a few more lying around, but my apologies, I'm in a hurry as I write this and I can't go link hunting.


Lastly, Sss'ra is a character of mine from a book I'm writing, and I only have one picture of the guy, from a previous round.

description

picture.

I don't have anything else of Sss'ra, and because of that I have a slight preference for something with him, but really, do what you think you can make best.


Hope this helps.


EDIT: Sss'ra is part of an ongoing story that's still under construction. If you're going to write, I'd prefer if you didn't touch him.

[Noone]

To The1Kobra:

I never got a response to the gift I made for you last round. What did you think? If there was a problem with it, please let me know.

Sorry for the delay in my response, been rather busy... anyways, as for feedback...

Sayl's height is actually 2'8, not 3'4. Kobolds are little, though they make them larger in 4E. Though that's a minor nitpick really.

To touch more on the details though,
What first comes to mind is that the head looks a little off. It's probably because I'm used to seeing the NWN model kobold heads rather than the Monster Manual ones, and the NWN ones look a great deal less monstrous, still I think the horns were a bit too pronounced and the muzzle seemed smaller than what I'd expect, also the neck was rather thick. I like the detail on his outfit though, particularly I thought the belt pouch was well done. The person he's standing on also looks a little weird though,.. particularly below belt, but the lack of a second eye and a mouth does look a little creepy, which may fit in because he tends to stab creeps anyways. The blades also jumped out at me, though again NWN doesn't really portray them realistically and that's what I'm used to seeing. Still, I suppose they are supposed to be smaller than the NWN model, which makes them unrealistically large (and doesn't scale down for small characters). The defined muscle structure is nice, and the toe-claws are reasonably well done, but the lack of scales makes him look a little off. Oh, and he's also missing a bracelet on his right hand, but that's probably my fault with the screenshot not displaying one clearly.


Still, despite all that, I appreciate the effort. I know I wouldn't have been able to do as good of a job.

[Gabi]

...And here we are!

-TheDXM drew this gift for WhiteFox.

-Corgatha Taldorthar wrote the following gift for Basilisk:

Drift

The artificial gravity on the spinning sections of the Aggregator wasn't quite up to the level that Darkshine was used to, but it was close enough to standard that he felt a slight disorientation, nothing more. Damn Rhone arrogance, with their ugly pale skins and their stupid cephalic fur; Captain Thul insisted that the slowdown in rotation was merely due to a slight technical problem, but in his darker moments the feline mercenary was sure it was some kind of idea to throw him off his game, make the outside species look bad.

   Still, it was going to take a lot more than a bit of a gravity differential to throw him completely off his game, and as his heavy boots clanked against the hallway plating as he headed toward the armory for the final suit-up, Darkshine supposed he should be a little bit thankful. He had never fought on a Yester world before; while rebellions were cropping up throughout Sectors Two and Four, most of his own action had been in the underground Piorad warrens, and not against the bird people. So it was more than a little surprising that he had been called halfway across the empire, to help suppress a breakout on Cormyrm 6, a primarily methane gas giant.

   The mission profile was fairly simple. The rebels had infiltrated  the local population, and set up  their usual network of terror cells. Intel's best guess was that some of the core leadership was still on the planet, arranging final details; and this was to be a quick, hard, strike, hoping to catch them while still on what passed for the surface of the planet. A large enough strike force to occupy and search a planet with an inhabited area close to 50 times the size of most inhabited worlds would have sent off enough of a hyperspace flux to alert them that something was up, so the troops were being sent in piecemeal.

   Which meant that that operational failures were almost certain.

   Which meant that they needed  a small, elite group to run around raising racket to keep the hostiles distracted while the fleet hid in the system's outer belt and set the blockade up. Darkshine had been selected, along with 5 others, who would be coming in on separate ships and being fired at the planet from different points in the local system.  A nod to the pimple ridden clerk at the storage unit, and the walk in closet that housed the power armor opened silently.

   He had been doing sims of the suit for close to three weeks; but there was something about the presence of an X-41 combat suit that just took the breath away. Pale blue, and made out of  multiple strips of organic plastics that undulated randomly without a mind to direct them; Darkshine had only worn it once before, to imprint his identity on the cells, and he knew as soon as he put his hand on the writhing mass again it would sculpt itself around his body, encasing him in the finest protection and mobility Doctor Maraeg could come up with. It was both his instrument in the mission, necessary to survive and maneuver in the icy methane fluid that was the bulk of the planet's atmosphere, and his fee, should he survive it. And at odds of a million and a half to one, I'm going to earn this thing when they scoop me up.

   Pushing out the breath he found himself holding, Darkshine walked up and tapped the suit in the center of it's mass, feeling his paw sink into something that had the consistency of warm putty.  It took about seven seconds to crawl over his body and face, holding him snug and bending the light so that there was a faint greenish tinge to his field of vision. Pressing down with the middle digit in his left paw, he activated the comm.  
   "This is Darkshine, to Bridge. Suited up, awaiting hydrogen transfer."
   "Bridge here. Hydrogen pump activating."
   He thought he could feel the hiss of gas entering the room, even though he knew that it was just an illusion. Already programmed to inhale the stuff, the bands in the suit separated to allow the gas to flap between layers of the bio-plastic, inflating the suit while the cells warmed up the gas. It was fortunate that he was going to be fired directly from where he stood; he was quite certain that no matter how deadly the figure, someone resembling a one-man blimp looked ridiculous at any time.

   So after that, it was just a matter of steeling himself in; as the Aggregator disengaged the room he was in and fired it at the planet. With the loss of the ship's spin, gravity vanished and Darkshine pinwheeled in place, his earlier momentum carrying out as he gently drifted across the tiny pod. He could have used his thrusters to compensate for it, but it was a five hour burn into the atmosphere, and no telling how long he'd have to be awake once he hit "surface". Instead he just applied one of the sedatives pre-installed for the mission, and drifted............................

   When Darkshine came to, he was alert and awake within a few seconds, stimulants already pumping through his bloodstream. External monitors showed steady acceleration, and the rate of fall had dipped slightly, which meant that atmospheric drag was slowing him down. A few nervous minutes later, he raised his right arm, and used his wrist mounted energy torch to burn a hole through the thin hull, and vaulted into what should be the habitable zone.

   He smiled. 52 degrees outside on the nose. No evidence of storms in the vicinity, and his optical filters were making a reasonable attempt to help him peer through a mass of green methane and ammonia crystals suspended  in chlorine.  Off to his left was the clustering of lights that marked a Yester military outpost; suspended at their elevation in a similar method his was. He thrust off towards it, and though it looked only about five kilometers distant, Darkshine had been briefed that the curve of the horizon was deceptive here; it was probably closer to thirty.

   Fortunately, nothing seemed to notice or at least challenge him. The toughest part in combat  on a gas giant would be direction. His buoyancy would tend to push him back towards his current height, but threats could come in three dimensions, and it was a nervous burn towards the installation, leg jets capturing and expelling puffs of gas in a fuel-less cycle. The strike itself was simple, his twin lances having a range of well over 50 kilometers at maximum, and by the time he was within 20 he could identify the sacs that kept the massive ferrous cube in the sky. It only took three bursts to play over the structure and rupture the tanks before the massive edifice started to list and sink towards the core. A minute later; two of the giant bird creatures tried to flee; and he blasted them both apart before they ever knew who killed them.

   Unfortunately, someone inside must have gotten across a message, because the sensors in his suit suddenly came alive, recording transmissions and static all about him. Time to leave before the locals could converge, but at his altitude alone there was some twenty five billion square kilometers to move in alone; and if worst came to worst, he could drop his hydrogen and fall. So he zipped off, laughing at the slowness of the Yester response times as he hurtled from base to base, popping them like balloons and darting out before any effective response could be realized.

   About eleven hours and fifteen outposts later, awareness kept up by a steady inflow of stimulants that the suit had been supplied with, and the motion detectors picked up something absolutely massive; as big as the Eternal Will, about a thousand klicks away. He darted off toward it, and as he closed down the distance, the motion sensor resolved into a dozen separate large ships, burning up from the core towards the outer atmosphere.

   It had to be the rebels, trying to get out; but there was no way he could take on a dozen drop-ships on his own, and signaling would mean that the Yester local forces would be all over him. Still, rebel equipment was often out of date and poorly maintained, and at the very least every minute he held them up was another minute for more patrol and line ships to gather; have a chance of blasting them while still in the gravity well and unable to jump.

   Still, he'd have to get in close; taking down something that could take off from the lower depths of the gravity well here would require some pounding. Darkshine tried to keep to ammonia deposits as he ghosted closer towards the convoy, but they were already in the upper reaches of atmosphere, and be out in open space soon enough.

   So Darkshine gathered his breath ( it did nothing in the tight confines of the war-suit) and fired up his thrusters, abandoning stealth entirely as he fired a long, continuous blast at the engines of the closest transport. He was in luck, whatever titanium-ferrous alloy they were using was weaker than standard military; or was perhaps just old and pitted to an extend that he couldn't see through the slight greenish haze that he still had to look through. He couldn't directly see the effects of his fire, but as he kept up the lance, the transport slowed, ever so slightly.  Definite engine damage. Just a little more.....


   An impact, some kind of projectile; recoiling against is right pectoral plate. It didn't breach the suit, but inside the helmet, warning lights flared to life and let him know just how thin it pared his armor down. Another similar impact could breach even a pristine area; if it hit the damaged he was done for. Frantic, Darkshine jetted over to the left and switched off motion, and switched on the thermal sensors, looking for some kind of weapons port. After an agonizingly long second, he found it; a small figure, solid, moving erratically, twelve kilometers distant, and about two above him. Probably hopped off one of the transports. The software identified it as an "obsolete battle-suit", but he had already demonstrated the capacity to hurt him.

   Still, this figure shouldn't be able to maneuver as rapidly as he could in an older suit. Arcing off a pair of lances at the foe, he jetted closer, where his technological advantage would mean more. Both shots missed, the early warning systems of his opponent apparently being up for the task, and the bright spot on the heat map, tiny against the backdrop of the transports, was moving in a lazy ribbon, arcing so that if Darkshine approached the transports directly, he'd be able to get a shot at the already damaged flank.

   The feline made a quick burst towards the 'sports, but then as his suit recognized a lock on, about time it recognized it as such he shut down the thrusters in his left leg, spinning rapidly before taking off at top speed towards his assailant.  He was close enough to see his foe now, a Ssauran, judging by the long, tapering tail that extruded out of the suit, dull gray with a faint tinge from the atmosphere. He could almost see the lizard-man widening his own blast nozzles, to hit a wider area, but as Darkshine got to within three kilometers, it was very clear that the blast type would be wide, too scattered to hope to getting through his own armor. Somewhat nonplussed, he raised his own tight lance up to aim, when the Ssauran fired.

   Instantly the methane lit up around him, exploding into a conflagration that blinded his thermal sensors. There was barely any free oxygen to sustain it, but in that second and a half of virtual blindness, Darkshine jetted to the side madly, trying to get to an advantageous position.

   No such luck. The Ssauran must have been using a motion sensor with the transports screened out or something, because Darkshine felt a tangible impact, a coil around his left arm.  Darkshine spun, seeing a snarling toothy mouth in a bubbled clear head-space of an archaic battle-suit. He raised his right arm, trying to blast at point blank, but the Ssauran caught his wrist and forced the nozzle away from his body. He was damnably strong, and Darkshine cursed the engineers who didn't think that enhanced muscle power would be useful in a modern battle situation. The Ssauran had a vibroblade clenched in his right fist, and Darkshine tried to block, but the tail around his wrist hampered his movements, and while he checked the first push, and the second, it was only a matter of time before he got through and perforated the armor.

   Darkshine fired his maneuvering jets, sending the pair of them pinwheeling through the green sky, and as they vaulted through the soupy atmosphere, he saw one of the transports sinking back towards the core of the planet, where it would probably never rise again. Still, while the sight distracted his opponent for a moment, it would be a cold comfort if he died here. All of his weapons were at the wrists, and his mind raced as they drifted through an ammonia and chlorine cloud. Chlorine.

   Gulping desperately and wishing he had broader options, Darkshine instructed the suit, and then overrode its objection, to vent the hot hydrogen keeping him aloft.  It actually melted a few plates of whatever armor the Ssauran was wearing, but more importantly, it reacted with the cloud that they drifted through.

   The explosion tore him from the Ssauran's grasp, but he couldn't see where the enemy went. Maybe it breached his weaker suit, let the poison in; maybe he just lost track in the blast. Either way, his altimeter was reporting vastly increased pressure, he was falling at a rate accelerating nearly 20 meters a second, per second. Working rapidly, he shunted what hydrogen remained into one of the pockets, and then opened the other three, trying to gulp in whatever atmosphere he could and heat it up with the suit's reactor.

   Slowly, the numbers ticked slower, slower, stopped. He was almost a quarter of the way in, far deeper than any of the habitable zones. But he was drifting at a stable orbit through the far denser "floor" of the planet, and away from fighting. The suit carried enough food, water, and energy to keep him going until the planet was secured. He had knocked out a rebel transport; those things carried at least 50,000 of their top troops. The Empire wouldn't begrudge the effort of a rescue operation. After weighing the dangers of some hostile looking for him this low against the boredom of being trapped in a skintight suit for a week, Darkshine instructed the machine to give him low doses of sedatives at a regular intake and then just drifted.....................

-Inumo drew this gift for Corgatha Taldorthar.

-The1Kobra wrote the following double-quote gift for TheDXM:

Dress Request Letter
From: Princess Alora Dilhanna.
To: Office of Dressing/Fancy Clothing

Dear Whomevergetsthis:

   I would like to order a nice dress. I would like the dress to be red colored, and tailored to fit my height of 5 foot eight. The skirt of the dress I would like to be of a flowing, but loose design, made of silk. I would like designs resembling loose flames streaming along the dress, most intense at the ends near the ends of the dress, lightest near the belt. I would like the I would like it to be made of silk if possible, and finished with exquisite red dye. I would ask that underneath my skirt I would have some close-fitting shorts that are comfortable to the touch. This part needs not be decorated, it is merely there for comfort and should not be looked at under regular circumstances.
   For the top of the dress, I would like there to be elegant designs along the torso region. I would also like it to extend up to my collarbone, and have the dress designed so that it fully covers my chest. I would like there to be no neck piece. I would also ask that the waist be sized accordingly so that I can actually breathe while wearing this dress. Also, I would like the sleeves to be short, flowing and elegant. I would also ask for two corresponding bracelets to go with the dress, decorative of course. I would like the patterns to go along the circumference of the bracelets, and have them be of riding and rushing red winds.
   I hope this request is reasonable and I hope you can get back to me soon.

Princess Alora Dilhanna

Reply Letter Form 23849-D
From: Sammy D, Office of Dressing/Fancy Clothing
To: Princess Alora Dilhanna

Dear Ms. Dilhanna

   I am afraid your form could not be completed and processed to your liking as it lacked the necessary paperwork to properly request a dress from our department. In order to properly request a dress you need to first apply for an application form D-4800S by filling out form 56-78H. Please read all necessary 1200 pages and fill out all 674 signatures needed as well as all other information required including 465 sections for your address and other personal information as required by law. Please also submit any identification as is specified within the 1200 pages of the form. Also note that filing and receiving dates must be exact or the forms are declared null and void. Once this is completed you will receive your D-4800S form which will allow you to send us the specifications of your dress.
   I feel I must point out that some of the things you have requested will not be available for what can be possibly selected in the D-4800S form. I should note that your request to cover the entirety of your torso and by extension your cleavage is not permitted by local regulations as such requires that as much as reasonably possible shows, with reasonably defined as not inhibiting the ability for the rest of the dress to stay on. We also have to address your concern for the neck piece, as there is no option to have no neck-piece in the D-4800S form, however the piece for this is required by law to be a standalone piece, such that in most options the shoulder region will remain bare as in accordance to modesty law. Please submit to the options presented in the D-4800S form. There should be many, the form is 1500 pages long, most of which require signatures or the filling out of information. Furthermore, dresses are prohibited of having undergarments as part of their bundling, as compliance with the lack of modesty act 82-T provision 15 paragraph 4 line 3.
   I should also comment that requesting such bracelets as the ones you have described would not be allowed. Such will require a different form, the B-5324, which itself will require request form 76-54-3R. Form 76-54-3R requires a total of 362 signatures and other information as stated on the form. The bracelet request form must be processed and the type of bracelet requested can be selected upon filling form B-5324. All decorations will be determined by selecting the necessary check-boxes in the appropriate locations. As it stands with your current request we would process it as requiring hidden knives within the bracelets as an anti-assassin measure.  
   Also, due to recent regulations, the length of the skirt piece must be at most 3 feet long, and usually less depending on the height of the person ordering the dress.
   In addition, a mis-filing of this request bills $20 to you for not sending a letter through the proper forms. Proper request forms and complaint forms are available by filling out form F-3245. I should also inform you that filing any papers through our office has a $20 application fee.
   Thank you and please fill out more forms, as it gives us more money. Our office promises to process and deliver all packages and products in a timely fashion, timely being described as sometime within the next decade.

Sammy D, Office of Dressing/Fancy Clothing

/** Author's Comments:
* Personally, I was really unsure of what to make this round. I have absolutely no talent in clothes shading, or art, or dress design for that matter. So I tried
* to make a written description, and this came to mind, the whole bit about dealing with infuriating bureaucrats. It was probably a lot more funny in my
* head, but I hope my recipient gets a good chuckle out of it. Call it inspiration striking in all the wrong ways.
* Oh well, I hope you enjoy it regardless.
*/

WhiteFox has been delayed by some issues, both personal and technical. He should post his gift soon.

And so should Basilisk.

[WhiteFox]

DXM... That is just epic. I swear, you got the look and feel spot on perfect. All the details, too.

[Gabi]

Quoting WhiteFox, who has done a lot of work, as Inumo has accepted this as his gift (gifts, actually):

I thought I'd send along a few sketches of what I've been up to so far. Original concept was for a single page comic sorta thing with a few of the Akami races.

Lily and a Damete. (Third panel.) Lily is a young Hakare on a coming-of-age pilgrimage, who has an especially significant marking. She's under a lot of pressure, and it's been a hard journey for her. The Damete is one of her traveling companions.
   The knot is a mostly final design. It could use a few tweaks for aesthetics.
   This is a draft: for the actual comic page, I would have put her right hand up on her left shoulder, and moved the Damete closer to her.

Dev Sketches of Lily's marking. The top half is supposed to look like a waterlily.

Initial Tarvande Sketch for Panel 1: "Still you persist in this fools errand, woodsman?"
   "You would follow this hakare girl to the boundaries of the world on nothing byt her blind faith and fanciful mysticism?!"
   I must have redrawn that shoulder a dozen times. I have a whole bunch of sketches for the stony skin patches... they aren't particularly legible or presentable, tho. 

More Knotwork Sketches. I've got about 3 more pages of this.

Initial Mafied Sketch for panel 2: "I put no stock in omens and prophecies! Whatever destiny she believes is charted on her back, it shall come to pass only if there are those who would walk the path to it's fruition.
   "For all journeys, there is a destination, and there is a purpose.
   "As I am a guide to her, she is guidance to me."
   Triceratops don't have spikes on their crest... this is why I shouldn't work without refs. I've done some studies of triceratops skulls since, but the round crest doesn't look particularly good. Yet.

Dev sketches for the Mafied woodsman.

At any rate... I don't know how much more work I'm going to be able to put into this. I've got a lot more studies to do on triceratops', and I'd have to put some substantial development work into the Tarvande (there is such a wide variety of looks and styles for dragons that it take me a good while to settle on one). I hope at the very least to do a final rendition of Lily and the Damete.

These guys have been all kinds of fun to work with, though, thanks to some rich source material. 

[Lisky]

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e268/EWork88/KobraCCCSketch.jpg

Apologies for the lateness... i've had exams... finished this up like 2 weeks ago and forgot to post.

Anyways... we see a kobold taking advantage of his small stature... while some might mock their lack of height, picking locks is certainly a lot easier when you're small, hard to see, and have tiny hands for precise tools

[Arroyo Milori]

I'm interested in joining for the next round

[Inumo]

I might be able to power out a gift after November's done. Count me in!

[Kipiru]

If there is new round soon, I'd like to join in 

[Merlin]

New CCC round?! I am so in

[e_voyager]

the new round starts in December right? if that's so that i should be able to join.

[Lisky]

Depending on when this starts, i should be good to go :o

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

I'd also like to know when it starts, I've been in a muse-less mood, and finals are coming up, but if it starts in early or mid December, I should be reasonably good.

[Gabi]

OK, by popular demand, let's start it in December. Would the 4th be OK?

[Kipiru]

OK, by popular demand, let's start it in December. Would the 4th be OK?

Fine by me   

[Inumo]

Works for me.

[e_voyager]

sounds like a plan

[Arroyo Milori]

No objections here.

[Merlin]

Joining in the chorus of 'that works just fine'!

[WhiteFox]

I'll throw my name in the hat.