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ahillamon β 2008: Arkasta
Published: 2010-08-29 17:21:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 1886; Favourites: 51; Downloads: 15
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Description
First things first: never again shall I make a digital painting that involves excessive smudging. With a frigging mouse. Ten layers and three or so hours culminated not only with this lovely piece, but also an aching hand.
But enough about that, you're probably wondering who is depicted here (or maybe you aren't, but that still doesn't stop me from telling you
).Tell me, did you ever have a super favorite toy or an imaginary friend, something that really influenced your childhood, that even years later, just thinking about it/them makes you feel all warm and happy inside?
For me, the loner girl often bullied in school, there was Arkasta. She was one of the many characters I created along with a whole fantasy world (loosely) based on the Neopets.com virtual pet site. I've always had a good imagination, so it was easy to loose myself for hours in that world, coming up with wild adventures and sinister plots for it's inhabitants to trump. And the central figure in most of those stories was the magical white kougra/tiger you see above. Although I've long since realized that she was largely a Mary-Sue (aka overly perfect and flawless character), to this day she holds a special place in my memories.
There, sappy story over.
Media: Pencil sketch, digital painting with Gimp
Time: roughly 5 hours total
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Comments: 41
This is a gorgeous peice..it really resembles my character Stormbreak [link]
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Thank you, and I guess the do look similar. Your's is beautiful too.
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No prob. Lol when I first saw it I was like "Stormbreak?" and then I saw it was different lol it's so awesome though
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I have the same thing with other peoples' characters. I'm like "Omg, the thumbnail looks just like chara X, oh no wait, they look nothing alike."
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Your art is so beautiful, I can't wait to see your half of the AT. 
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Aww, thank you! <3
I'm working on my half, it's getting there (background done, first coat of color on Taz). Watercolors take a lot of time.
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Oh, it's fine! 
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I posted it! Hope you like it! [link]
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Thank you so much! It's gorgeous!
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Thank you!
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You're welcome.
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Great pic
I really relate to her story
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Good luck on turning it into a novel, I'm currently trying to write down as much as I can remember about that world, the stories and the characters, so I could preserve them before I forget. God, so many terribly clichΓ© plots.
I had neo accounts from 2002-2007, though most of them got frozen sometime in 2005. I ran into trouble with the multiple account rule; I think they only allowed four or five. I had 16. 
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16!! Oh my
As for the clichΓ© plots...I totally agree
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I stopped playing the day they changed the layout and the pet appearances. I was going to try and save up to buy a second labmap for fun (and to give unwanted pound pets a second chance), but since now all the pets pretty much look the same (remember the special Darigan, Faerie etc poses?), I stopped caring about the site.
Also, I was (un)fortunate to have the Boochi random event, the one that turned one of my pets into Baby. The pet in question being Arkasta. 
Yeah, well, I bet my plots were more clichΓ© than yours, being age 8-13 when I played it. I usually listened to music while imagining all the stories, so I was really influenced by the changes from song to song. Depending on the music I had to come up with fitting themes on the fly. Fast and somewhat aggressive feel - battle scene. Slow and mournful - either someone got badly hurt, or aaangst. This led to a lot of pointless and haphazard drama. I'm almost glad I had mostly put that specific fantasy world on hold by the time I started liking hard rock and metal.
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LOL hard metal playlist might have killed everyone!
I have that music influence too! Thats why I always choose what I'm going to write about first (either a happy energetic scene or a sad scene) and then I pick my music
To tell you the truth, I've been working on this story since I was about 8. So about 10 years. Characters have changed a lot, and the plot too, but the basic idea remains
So you had UC (un-changed) pets? thats so cool! I had an account with those too around 2000, but I forgot the password and eventually got frozen 
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Hehe, actually I've started to imagine that world once more and I've discovered that it's still possible even while listening to metal. Things just get very edgy and tempers flare.
The best thing about these fantasy worlds is that they can be so interesting to examine from different standpoints, aren't they? They are our private playgrounds to observe the effects of different social situations and how various psychological factors contribute into character interaction.
For instance, all of the pets from my various accounts (roughly 80 in total) are part of a large group/pack/tribe/clan/whatever you call it, so their leader(s) need to be very politically astute, otherwise there would be crippling power struggles and insubordination. It's so interesting to try and accurately map out all the consequences a character's action might have and how it would affect the overall story.
I sort of began drifting away from the site even before the big change, the new layout and pet appearances were just the last straw. For instance they haven't added a new neopet species in over three years, but the added them quite regularly before they got sold to Viacom.
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You are absolutely right
I find myself very attracted to this kind of story, but I have not tried to make it a part of my neo-life. Maybe I will
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Haha, it's even harder to have consistent magical powers, because they tend to seriously alter their potency and effects throughout the story. This leads to really bad continuity. Therefore I try to keep most of my characters without magical powers, it's just simpler that way.
What is the main plot of your story? If you could summarize it in a few sentences.
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SUMMARIZE!? This is going to be hard
First of all, all my characters are inmortals (though they can be killed by others, they don't age) and have some sort of power. Mortals are just to boring hehe...
There are several different races, some can fly, some can control elements, and so on. Each race has way more things to add, but you said summarize.
The plot is based on a female character, Serena. She is inmortal and controls fire (among other things) and the story is about her entire life, so it has several different plots. Thats why I'm thinking of writing more than one book, like a trilogy or something. There's just so many things that happen to her in the rough 500 years she has lived
So that's basically it
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I really like your story, especially the part about it spanning her 500 year lifetime. Must be hard to keep track of everything!
Jeez, my story is going to be even harder to summarize, because it spans many different large story arcs. It used to be very heavily influenced by Neopets world and "game rules", but it has loosened a lot since I left the site. For instance, characters were unkillable at first (except by a very rare and potent poison), so they were only knocked out and injured during a fight. Now it is possible to kill someone, though it's still rarely done.
Anyway, it's about a large group of animal characters who live semi-feral lives on some plains near a lake and a forest. They had different leaders over the time, but Arkasta was by far the most powerful and beloved. She was eventually betrayed by her evil-turned-good-but-secretly-still-evil-mate, who cast a powerful but forbidden magic on her and the rest of the group that banished them into another realm (haha, my explanation to having all my accounts frozen
The latest story arc that I just finished had a small splinter group leave the others, led by a ruthless and manipulative red kougra who had mind reading and control powers. The plot ended with her death, but not before she had forced Arkasta's daughter to almost kill her mother (the two never got along before that either). Everyone is left shocked (both at the attack and the murder), the daughter fled somewhere and Arkasta feels bitter and unwilling to lead, although she suspects that the absence of her rule actually led to such state.
And that's only the latest plot I finished. It was a lot more in-depth, but you only wanted a summary (and that too was super strong, oh god I need to stop typing).
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Oh believe me IT'S HARD. But that's the price to pay when you don't want your characters to age
LOL at neo-rules
Your story reminds me of Warriors by Erin Hunter. I mean, its very different in some points, but it makes me wonder if you have read the series...Because I'm a great fan. I MEAN IT! 
I like that she doesn't get along with her daughter. It takes away the horrible Simba-Kiara relationship problem, it makes it less perfect and more real
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I know about the stupid rules, but there's a reason why I still keep them.
Hmm, come to think of it, it really DOES resemble the Warriors series. I've read the first two book series, though only a couple of years ago, so they didn't influence my stories that much. I liked the books, and though they weren't the greatest masterpieces I've ever read, they were a fun way to spend time. I really liked the setting the two authors had created, but some of the later characters felt a bit one-dimensional and boring.
Lol at the Simba-Kiara relationship, I've never understood what the writers were thinking when they came up with that. It just felt so... unnatural and weird.
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I think the way you do about the childhood stories that can't be forgotten. I mean, they helped us go through so much that we want to keep them the way they are
And I agree with your Warriors opinion. I too have read better written books, but the story of these ones kind of sucked me right from the start. I have read all...*mind counting*...25 (oh my!) books, super editions and all
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I would totally understand if you didn't decide to publish it. After all, we also write for our own pleasure and satisfaction, not just for others to judge our work.
The Warriors is really recycling plot lines from what I've seen. Sort of like "Oh no, looks like Shadowclan is plotting evil! Again! How surprising!" 
Haha, I have no idea who Firepaw is, but if it's that bad that you're literally waiting for him/her to die, then I'm with you.
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Wait, I'm confused...If you read the first two books you shouldn't know who Leafpool and Crowfeather are O_o And by Firepaw I meant Firestar, he was a -paw back on the first 3 books. And yes, I'm waiting for him to die muahaha!
I don't particularly like the romance parts of the books. It got a bit boring after Silverstream died (you probably don't know who she is, but what the heck). I prefer battles way more 
The plots do get a bit repetitive. It seems like there is no medicine cat that can refrain from having kits anymore. And Tigerstar has been dead for over 10 books and he's still plotting against Firestar! Let it go for Starclan's sake!
Im kind of glad that I can talk about the books like this with someone. All the other fans are way too obsessed to notice this flaws in the storyline. I mean, Im obsessed too, but that doesn't mean that the characters are prefect and the writting deserves a Nobel Prize!
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No, I think you misunderstood me, I meant that I have read the first two book series (as in the first twelve books, plus Firestar's Quest and the first book of the third series, The Sight I believe it was called). So yeah, I know about Crowfeather and Silvestream and all the others.
I think the only character whose death I ever felt sorry for was Whitestorm's. I really liked him for some reason. Yellowfang was cool too.
Haha, I think I know what you mean by obsessive Warrior fans! They usually only argue over the minutest of details and seem to forget about the big picture. And should you ever forget or mix up anything, they'll call you a complete idiot and tell you to read the books again.
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LOL I see. Then I can talk openly to you
I get really attached to the characters, so I cry when they die (not on scourge death obviously) But the most painful deaths I can remember are Silverstream, Feahertail 
Oh jeez, too many!
I know that when Firestar dies I'll cry my eyes out. But he's been alive for long enough, I think his time is close
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I wasn't worried about Graystripe because by then I had already been spoiled a bit (not too much, I just knew that there existed a Warrior's manga that was about 'Graystripe's journey').
I can only think of two ways for Firestar to die: either it's near the end on the very last book, so that the Warrior's series concluded with his death (because lets admit it, Firestar is the one character who ties all of the books together). The other option is that the final book ends with something like "And they all lived happily ever after..." and Firestar is shown as an elder and it's hinted that he's near the end of his days (though his death is never mentioned).
Of course, I have absolutely no idea what the plot of the third Warriors series is apart from The Sight, so maybe there won't be a happily ever after.
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Oh no, when Vicky was on tour in San Francisco I asked if she had written Firestar's death and she said YES! She said it was the coolest battle she had ever written
BTW, that day was one of the happiest days I have ever had. Call me shallow but I had the greatest time waiting for her to show up. Being from a spanish speaking country I have trouble getting the books and also getting to know fans that speak my own language 
Oh yeah, if the ending is a happily ever after Im going to puke 
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Oh wow, you've actually met her? 
It's good to know Firestar's death will at least be an awesome one. Though imagine if it had a really crappy ending regardless. Something like:
Starclan: Everyone, stop with this nonsense! From now on all clans must promise to behave better. Promise!
Shadowclan leader: OMG I promise we're ttly gonna be BFFs now!11!
Windclan leader: I promise Windclan will be more friendly towards kittypets.
Riverclan leader: I promise Riverclan will be more... yeah whatever.
New Thunderclan leader: Thunderclan has always been awesome, so we're perfect already!
Starclan: Epic Fail
And while we're on the topic of writing (both good an bad), have you ever roleplayed online? Either in an established fandom or something original?
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And yup, I met her 
BTW, Estonia is like the last place I pictured you from. Whats your mother language? (and forgive my ignorance please...) When I think of a far away place I think of Timbuktu, Singapore and Estonia lol. Its great how people from al around the globe can connect like this. So simple, the magic of the internet...and now Im just rambling on
Anyway, no, I have never roleplayed online before. Its not that it doesn't interest me, to tell you the truth: It scares me a little. Not because is creepy or pathethic or any of those stupid things "normal" people say. Its just that I have never done it before and when I log on somewhere everybody is already in the middle of a storyline and I can't find the courage to just barge in like that...Call me shy but thats how it is. I have read some great roleplays though. A friend of mine was the moderator of the Harry Potter fanclub in my city and she was a really good roleplayer, she even won a roleplayer contest with her roleplaying friends! I didn't even know they did contests
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Being from Estonia, my mother language is Estonian, haha! It's really close to Finnish, if you've ever heard it. But if not, here's a song in Estonian from last year's Eurovision Song Contest (I just really love this song): [link]
But really, life in Estonia is very much like life in Western Europe. I think it's funny though that when I think about far away places, Colombia would be pretty high in that list.
Aww, you really should try roleplaying sometime.
During my year or so of roleplaying, my English vocabulary expanded immensely. After that I've had no trouble reading or even writing in English. And it's just such a joy to find a few really dedicated fellow members and coming up with amazing characters and plots. I think the best part is that you never fully know what's going to happen next, so there are always some surprises.
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Sorry about the late response, I've been busy
Never heard Finnish, but I listened to the song and WOW! That woman can sing 
I have never been to Europe before (only those 8 hours I waited in Madrid's airport) but I know what you mean about the lifestyle
About the clichΓ© names, 
What a coincidence that we both learned english the same way. My school did taught me a bit of the basics (in fact A LOT), but you never really learn to write or speak a language until you practice it enough and with real people in real conversations. Not those book phrases like: "Where can I find the library?" and "My name is Catalina".
I'm curious about estonian, so lets do this:
I'll teach you how to say something in spanish (if you don't already know how to speak it) and in the next post you'll teach me how to say the same thing in Estonian!
English: I love you
Spanish: Te amo. ("Te" as in TErminal, "a" as in Attitude and "mo" as in arMOr)
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You can find both Estonian and English lyrics to the song here: [link]
I've never been outside Europe, only to Finland, Sweden and Spain (we visited Catalonia for a week, it was awesome). I'd really like to go to England someday. So many great museums.
Estonian schools have mandatory English classes since third grade (some start even sooner) and pretty much everyone in Estonia can speak and understand at least some English; also, everyone over 25 or so can speak Russian, due to Estonia once belonging to the Soviet Union, though few young people speak it nowadays.
I wish I had someone to practice talking with in English here, I can think, listen, read and write very fluently, but as soon as I open my mouth I
stutter and make lots of grammar mistakes. I've also discovered that I have an interesting accent when I speak English normally, though I can imitate other accents when I want to.
Sure, I'd love to learn a phrase or two in Spanish. I'll teach you some Estonian in return
I love you
Te amo
Estonian: Ma armastan sind.
("Ma" as in MAma, "ar" as in "cAR" with a strong r, "stan" as in KazakhSTAN and "sind" as in the name CINDy). The stress is almost always on the first syllable in Estonian.
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np! its does looks great
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