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Apple-Cake — The Darkest Hour
Published: 2012-02-07 03:16:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 3445; Favourites: 110; Downloads: 0
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Description
Fifth commission done for ~pip25 illustrating a scene from his Slayers fanfiction, Order in Chaos: [link]It took a lot of time and work from both Pip25 and me, but the image is finally finished and I couldn't be happier with the final result!
I hope you guys like it!
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Comments: 39
who would win the fight? xellos or lina? i honestly don't know . they're both powerful
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I'm just so floored by the fanfic -- sadly, it seems it stops at chapter 9 with promise of more that I guess never got written 
Nice use of overall color. Xellos's hair being all mussed is perfect for a fight scene this serious. I'm loving the decorations on Lina's clothes. The expressions on both characters are quite good. Love the detail in the gem on Xel's staff. Lina's swirling hair makes the wind whipping through this place feel more real, and I like that you've got some light effects in the back of her hair different from the overall -- adds to that weight/realism of the spell being near it. Got good things going with the metal parts on Lina's shoulders. The wood of the staff looks good, as does the overall curve of the headpiece. The fire spouts look really neat.
Critique-wise, the twist of wrist on Lina's left arm doesn't seem right, and when I try to mimic her movement, I get a very awkward feel from it being twisted in (or the top of the hilt) -- feels like it should be twisted out (underneath the hilt) for a good motion. Also I think the hands should be reversed -- think swinging a bat, you have the side you're starting with on top, the side you're ending with underneath. (I don't know that much about sports, so maybe that's not the only way to do it, but it's the only way that feels natural when I try it right now.) Lastly, the swing being the same direction as Xel's staff feels off, because normally you block sideways to a swing (is it described in this way in the fic? my head's still not wrapped around the specific details of that fight, just wowed by the overall wow).
All of this is making me really wish you did an illustration of Xel's emotions as he realizes the battle is over. I think you could really do justice by it -- whether one single pic at the right time snapshot, or a small set of "photos" going through different emotions.
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Thank you for your comment! I appreciate the critique, I wish I could've realized these things five years ago though lol I remember I struggled with Lina's pose for a while back then.
Looking back on it, I'm particularly proud of the lava more than how the characters turned out!
I absolutely loved the fic, and I'm also sad it was never completed. The author was pretty nice, but we've lost contact over the years : (
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Well, I'm still alive. 
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*blinks*
!!
Glad to know you're all right and still around, and I can fully understand the frustration of not being able to make a thing work out the way you envision it (like an itch you can't scratch). I'm actually super sympathetic right now, because I just finally managed to push through my writer's block today (well, it's after midnight, so: yesterday) after struggling for like a week, so now I've got the chapter written that I need to have posted on Monday (phew!). (Person of Interest fic, the start to a little (slightly over a dozen participants) group event all through October on AO3.)
I've got my own Slayers fics in the works -- two of them, though that's likely to be all I ever write for that fandom, if I ever get around to even those -- but the POI stuff takes precedence right now. Way too many open fics to be opening new fics for a completely different fandom.
I wish you all the best in your current projects, and I hope that maybe someday you do end up fixing up the finale. Unfinished fics are just so... melancholy? and it's worse when it's an awesome epic tale like yours. But life happens, and people fall out of fandoms, and all that. Understandable.
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Pip!!!!! It's so good to hear from you again!! I'm sorry to hear that you're stuck with the story! Do you have any other writing projects atm, original or fanfic for other fandoms? I would love to read more from you.
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Well, I am not currently working on other stuff aside of going back to this fic from time to time, but I did write a fanfic for the visual novel "Katawa Shoujo" a few years ago, under a different (although unsurprising) ff.net username, "pip25".
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Ahh, I've heard of that game but never played it. I heard it's good!
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kick ass! I like this! Soooo I assume they broke up? LOL
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Nah, this is just their everyday squabble
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You should draw Lina on her PMS XD
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Amazing! I love the movement in this pic. ^^
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Thank you very much!
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Look at the happy couple!!!
Seriously though love the art, pairing , and sheer emotional tension of this!
WAY TO ART DUDE!
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Wo wo está genial! muy epic, me encanta la composición en general y como has dado el color! : )
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Gracias! 
Me alegra que te guste!
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jeje bueno supongo q todos los artistas encontramos siempre fallos a nuestros trabajos por todas partes jejejeje
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Si no notáramos nuestros errores no mejoraríamos nunca supongo!
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I think Xellos's face is much more convincing here than his description in the fanfic (whether it's a good thing or not 8))) )
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Heh-heh. XD I guess that's no surprise, considering a picture can speak a thousand words. I'm at a big disadvantage here.
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Well, since I'm not a great fan of this fic, I don't see much disadvantage 8)
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Well, thanks for reading it anyway.
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You're welcome 8) If you ever write anything where they DON'T fight, tell me, I'll be the first one to read 8)))
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OMG IT'S FINALLY DONE
holy crap. Just Holy crap. This is just fantastic
I can't form words. I legitimately cannot
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I'm glad you liked it that much!
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Love the details in the clothing and the intense emotion in the redhead's expression as well!
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