January 31, 2007

Useless Information Kiosk

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Filed under: Pencil, Uncategorized — Tags: — Illinia @ 4:51 pm
Grass is usually green. Did you know that?

Grass is usually green. Did you know that?

Useless Information Kiosk
drawn Apr 18, ‘04
posted for Jan 31, 2007
(62)

zelaavatarsm2This picture is from Roller Coaster Tycoon I, which is pretty fun (but not as fun as RCT III). We had just bought the game, I believe inside a box of Cheerios, and Dad was playing a desert level, and built a number of odd attractions, including the Hercules Gut-Wrencher upside-down spinny ride and also the 3D movie theatre playing “Honey, I Squished the Audience”. Can’t remember any more names right now.

Anyhow, he built an information kiosk like you’re supposed to do to keep the little people happy, but he figured it was pretty useless, so that’s how this picture came about. He only remembers it hazily now, but is pleased I remember something. This picture is not valued for its artistic quality, but for the amusement it gave me. The generic woman is asking where “Honey, I Squished the Audience” is, and the generic info guy is telling her: “Grass is usually green. Did you know that?”

I like RCT III better, because the graphics are prettier, I can actually go on the rides, and I can actually design - to some degree of accuracy, pretty low, really - my own characters! More on that later. Some other day.

Here’s a bonus picture, but it’s not of a game. It’s of some pretty little spring flowers beside the sidewalk I walk on to get to organ practice, and they made me think of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for some reason… But they’re really pretty on their own, so don’t go looking up Harvest Moon screenshots just to know what I’m talking about!

snowdropthings

January 30, 2007

Ceniro’s Life

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Filed under: Ceniro, Miscellaneous Writing, Writing — Illinia @ 4:50 pm

The tactician’s dates and life from a scolarly point of view, and his own. The Scouring is Year 0.

 

Ceniro
(956 - 976)

son of Caro son of Conrad
and Patsi daughter of Hofman

brother of younger brother Drew (961 - ?)
and older sister Anlie (954 - ?)

born in Araphen in early summer 956
moved to Santaruz at age two (summer ‘58)

sent to elementary school on Pheraen border (’63 - ‘69)
slept in school attic during week
visited family on weekends

sent to Ostia for further education, fall ‘71
given primary course in tactics by Sir Venedan same year
apprenticed by Lord Garlent ‘72 - ‘74

began wanderings summer of ‘74
quarrel with parents
journeyed extensively through Lycia (summer/fall, ‘74) and Etruria (winter ‘74/spring ‘75)
traveled through Bern to Sacae ‘75
met Lyn and helped defeat Lundgren

ventured to Ilia fall ‘75
returned to Pherae ‘76
met Eliwood and assisted in quest to find Lord Elbert
traveled through Lycia, Bern, and Nabata
shot through the heart on Valor
buried in Pherae 976



    Hi. I’m Ceniro. Sometimes I misspell my name Cenrio when I’m using this funny electric thing that works sort of like a piano. To start at the beginning, I am the son of Caro son of Conrad son of Carson, and my mother is Patsi daughter of Hofman. My older sister, two years older, is Anlie. My brother, younger by five years, is Drew. Anlie is my confidante at home. She likes gardening. Drew wants to be a knight, but he’s too arrogant, in my opinion. Mother is pretty critical. She supports Drew all the way. Seems like I’m just too intelligent for my own good sometimes. Not that I’m criticising my mother. I love her, but she’s not as educated as I am. She’s also a little large. Father seems out of it, but he works very hard so doesn’t have much time for us children. He’s a carpenter.
    So much for my family. Now for me. I have light brown hair and grey eyes, called piercing by me, ‘eagle’s’ by Wallace, and mournful by Lyn, Eliwood, and Ninian. Same thing in the end, I suppose. I was born 956 years after the Scouring, in Araphen. When I was two, we moved to Santaruz in the summer. When I was seven, I went to elementary school in Pherae, across the border, with Anlie. School lasted three years. I was always a loner; I was always reading. Some of the girls flirted with me, but I never had a real friend besides Anlie. The boys seemed to be always picking on me. When I was fifteen, I won a scholarship and went to Ostia for more education. My mother was outraged; Ostia is very far from Santaruz. I signed up for a primary course in tactics by Sir Venedan and loved it. For the next two years, I was apprenticed to Lord Garlent. In the summer of ’74, he said I was good enough and sent me on my way. I went home first. That was the biggest argument I’ve ever had in my life. Mother couldn’t believe I’d wasted my hard-earned education on something as fluffy as tactics. Anlie tried to help me, but I just tore out of the house and set off for Tuscana then and there. Poor Anlie.
    I journeyed throughout Lycia for half a year, living on my wits; no one would hire an untested boy like me. I went to Etruria; same thing. Still, I was seeing the land, and that for me was rather more important than filling my belly. I passed through Ostia to Araphen to Bern, next, and then to Sacae. It was there that I met her.
    The girl I’m talking about is Lyn, of course. I was chased by bandits… again. They knocked me down and out, but ran away when she heard and came. That story’s been told elsewhere, how I accompanied her to Caelin, where she bade me farewell. By then, I had fallen in love with her. And if you saw her, you would know why. She is both beautiful, graceful, and also very smart.
    For a time in the fall of ’75, I went to Ilia to see more of the land of Pegasus knights. I had fought with Florina, of course, and knew what she could do, but by her own account she was a novice. I came back dazzled. Then I executed a short campaign in Etruria, recovering a magical artefact for a mage noble. I returned to Pherae in spring of ’76, and saw Anlie again. I stayed away from my parents’ home, though. Anlie was 22, I was twenty, and Drew was fifteen. Then, bandits (it’s always bandits, isn’t it?) attacked the village I was staying at. Lowen, good old nervous, self-conscious Lowen rescued me and Becky and brought us to Eliwood and Marcus. That story, too, is told elsewhere, how we travelled through ever-increasing danger and difficulty, though with more and more friends and allies. I don’t think Raven ever got past the distinction of ally, though he was pretty thick with Lucius, Priscilla, and Wil. There was just something about him that kept others away. Karel, too. He only talked to his sister, Karla. There were others, but this is not about them. It’s about me, and there’s not much more to say. I was shot on Valor, the Dread Isle, just in front of the Dragon’s Gate. Annoying, isn’t it, to get your friends all the way to the end, and yet not be able to go with them yourself? Anyway, I’m glad for Lyn, because she married Hector in the end, like I said she should. They took me back to Pherae, and gave me a nice burial in the castle garden. Eliwood and Ninian had their wedding there. Hector couldn’t, as he was Marquess Ostia by then and not really allowed to have a wedding in any place other than his own territory…
    My family came to my funeral. Poor Anlie, she became good friends with Lyn in order to talk about me to someone properly. Drew just stuck around with that bored look he cultivated. My father was openly regretful, but my mother said something along the lines of I-knew-he’d-come-to-a-bad-end. Even though three powerful lords of Lycia were my best friends, she just could not be reconciled to the idea of a ‘battle-thinker’ in the family. Hah… I laughed after she said that. Hector didn’t; gave her a death glare as Lyn sobbed some more into his shoulder. Mother was looking the other way. Ah well.
    Wil and Florina named their son after me. He’s a year older than Eliwood’s son and Hector’s daughter, Roy and Lilina. He’s gonna be a tactician too, someday; I can see it in his eyes as his parents tell him of their adventures in their youth.
    For my part, I’m dead, but I’m happy to have found a place in certain people’s hearts. Especially Lyn’s.
    Especially not Nergal’s.

Spying on Bern

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Filed under: 4. Fire Emblem fanworks, Ceniro, Fire Emblem 7, Pencil — Tags: , , , , , — Illinia @ 4:45 pm
Spying on Bern

Spying on Bern

Spying on Bern
drawn Apr 26, ‘04
posted for Jan 30, 2007
(61)

rinakoavatarWhoo! (cheers) This is a terrific picture! And not just because I messed up the perspective, left out King Desmond’s hands because they’re too hard for me to draw and have them look like hands, covered the three heroes with cloaks because a) they’re wearing them in the game and b) I hated drawing from this angle! Ha! Ahaha! No, this picture rules all other Fire Emblem pictures becaaaaauuuuse… it has the very first appearance of Ceniro, my tactician! Pronounce his name either Japanese or Quenya, it doesn’t matter - keh NEER row. It’s from Quenya, though that might not be too obvious at first - I had a friend named Jessica, and her name is supposed to mean “she who sees” although some people say Shakespeare coined it to mean “wealthy woman”. I looked up her name, along with other people I knew, and kept that little bit of trivia in the back of my mind. When I came across it again, I thought… that would be a great name for a tactician! I changed it to Ceniro from Cenira, because… I forget why, and the quiet little green-cloaked man in brown took to the field, to accompany Lady Lyn, Lord Eliwood, and Lord Hector on their epic quest. I’m not sure how I imagined him to draw him this way… all I can remember is the finished version right now.

This picture is of the part where the heroes sneak into the enemy’s castle to find out what he’s plotting. The wicked king of the country of Bern is talking to the sinister and sexy Sonia (who seriously needs to brush her hair) who is the servant of the evil mad nemesis, Nergal, who is somewhere else. Fortunately, with the clues they get from the baddies’ incriminating conversation, the good guys (L-R Hector, Lyn, Eliwood) can save the day!

Ceniro’s bio:
Name: Ceniro
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Hair: Light brown
Eyes: Light grey
Age during the game: 20 at Eliwood’s story
Weapon of choice: staff - well, it’s more for climbing mountains.
Other equipment: Between Lyn’s story and Eliwood’s story, obtains a ‘farseer’, a magical device to aid tacticians.
Personality: quiet, compassionate, responsible, friendly, quick to blame himself. Finds it difficult to deal with antagonism. Tries hard. Has wanderlust, and tries to see as much of Elibe, the continent, as he can.

Favourite units: Blade Lord, Knight Lord, Pegasus/Falcon Knight, Cavalier, Monk, Sage, Swordmaster.
Also relies on: Archer/Sniper, Bard/Dancer, Great Lord, Thief, and Canas.
In other words, his favourite buddies are the three lords, Florina, Fiora, Kent, Sain, Lucius, Pent, Wil, Ninian and Nils, Matthew. I think that covers it…

Likes: Pretty views, his friends, his sister, flowers, riding horses (fun! but scary), watching Pegasus Knights fly in formation, successfully surmounting an obstacle, watching Lowen lecture on food, travelling. Favourite countries: Lycia, Etruria, Ilia (the ones with the most pretty views).
Dislikes: loud noises, headaches, overly-gory battles, near-death situations, making mistakes, hostages, the flu, bandits, dunked in cold water while sleepy, Nergal.

Do you get some sort of picture yet? I think the anxiety in his eyes in this picture does say much about him, besides all the other stuff. I also like his hair. Can’t think of what he likes to eat.

Today’s been tiring. Oh, well, I don’t think I messed up anything too badly.

January 29, 2007

Link and Epona

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Filed under: 3. Legend of Zelda fanworks, Link, Pencil — Tags: , — Illinia @ 4:41 pm
Off on Epona

Off on Epona

Link and Epona
drawn Mar 12-14, ‘04
posted for Jan 29, 2007
(60)

ranaavatarThis picture was inspired, at the end of a chain, by my piano teacher. She’d been to California or somewhere… I’m hazy on the details… and recommended we visit this place called “Medieval Times”. It’s a horse and knight show and also dinner. It’s pretty stupid, really, in my opinion…

Here’s the plot: the king won a great war, but his little bro was killed, possibly by a traitor, so he holds a big tournament in which he hopes to find the “champion of the kingdom” among the six greatest knights of the war and also the traitor. The princess has a crush on one of the knights, too. So, part one: each knight shows off, spearing ribbons from poles and things. They get a prize, which they then give to some random person in the audience (flowers, for the fangirls - one girl right beside me stood up and whistled). Part two - a horse show. Part three - the knights face off, two at a time, and the loser is ‘out’. Except for the princess’s boyfriend, and the ultimate winner, everybody gets killed. Some reward for valour… Then the guy who’s supposed to award the winner his big prize turns out to be the traitor, so he kills the winner, and then prettyboy has to come out and desperately fight for the honour of the kingdom… And then they describe the torture machines they have in the museum, because they’re going to use them on Mr. Evil, blah blah blah… Also, one is supposed to cheer for one’s knight, and they are known by their colours. Ours was Red-and-Yellow. It’s a bit fun to cheer, but later I realized it was choreographed and so it doesn’t really matter. Oh, well, that bit was fun. The food has to be eaten with the fingers, so if you go, you might want to dress up in period costume so you can wipe your hands on your clothes like they did… or maybe you can bring an extra napkin or three… It’s also very expensive and the grumpy waiters’ tips aren’t included in the cost.

So! After watching all these choreographed knights, I thought… Link could take them all on. No problem. He even has a horse! He practices his technique, but spontaneity rules over choreography every time in this sort of thing - predictability gets you killed, duh! I added the sword later, when I was feeling more confident about it. Epona is a bit stretched… I have a problem with horses, not least of which is that I learned to draw them by a formula. Epona’s actually pretty good here. I have sizing problems, though. I can see this now.

I noticed both the other people in my Telemann chamber group have very blue eyes.

January 28, 2007

California Screamin’

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Filed under: 4. Fire Emblem fanworks, Fire Emblem 7, Pencil — Tags: , — Illinia @ 4:36 pm
I think Sain is slightly drunk with excitement

I think Sain is slightly drunk with excitement

California Screamin - A Fire Emblem Holiday Part I
drawn Mar 12, ‘04
posted for Jan 28, 2007
(59)

firetempleavatarFire Emblem! Finally! Now I can start filling in that massive gallery of only one (1) picture! Yes!

Also, Aja has given Elfinessé a ‘unit class’ subtitle… Art Gallery! I kinda didn’t figure that out… My bad… Anyway, Elfinessé is an art gallery, which I didn’t realize until yesterday, and it is full of art. And stuff. Thank you, Aja!

She also has a snazzy new layout.

About the Fire Emblem picture: This month (March ‘04) we went to Disneyland and California for a week and a half. We had a great time. Anyway, my brother gave me Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken for my birthday in February, and we took it on the trip, so I had lots of inspiration for drawing! That’s Kent on the left and Sain the goof-ball on the right… the ’social knights’, red and green.

Social Knights Definition: FE always has these two horse-mounted knights, one red and usually strong, one green and usually fast (Kent and Sain make exceptions - Kent is fast and Sain is strong), and they’re buddies and partners and work together and are the main supports of the hero, and they’re usually somewhere around the hero’s age, too.

Sain is clearly over-enjoying himself… I went twice on the roller coaster, but I didn’t wave my arms in the air. I did giggle my face off. Sorry about the quality; this was basically the first picture I ever scanned for this website project.

Unfortunately, with the scanner not working, I can’t show you the other two pictures that are from this time period: Eliwood and a badly done Ninian on the ferris wheel, and Matthew, Lyn, and Hector on the Grizzly River Rapids. The Grizzly one was terrific fun… Dad and my brother and I went on about ten times, since we were already wet and the line-up was short. We even convinced Mom to go on. Another FE picture you’ll probably miss for now is the tracings I did of these important characters to find out ‘how to draw them’. Well, that’s not that interesting, is it? Actually, Fire Emblem pictures are pretty sporadic. Darn.

I found two short new amusing D&D webcomics via True Magic’s forum: Undertow and Poultry Arisen. I like Poultry Arisen because it has a super cool elf ranger.
Flairé: I want to be his buddy. He looks like me except different.
He’s too serious for you.
Flairé: He’d get along great with my father, then.

Oh, yes, and I’m onto page 3 of The D&D Chibis. Hector is so cute! I managed to fit three ideas/plot points/jokes in one page… I think this will be shorter than I thought it would.

I switched my desktop from an Alex screenshot because I wanted something more cheerful, even if he is great and the screenshot included that great line “the sea of clouds is calling, calling the stars”. Now it’s an official FE9 one, which I got from Fire Emblem Planet, and it has Sothe and Elincia and Lucia and Geoffrey, and the last two are a brother/sister knight team who rule battlefields and are beautiful. The wallpaper also has Bastian, though, and I put an icon on his face because I don’t like him… Dork…

Eh, executive decision about the writing page… my fanfiction of Zelda, which is better written now, is still a dumb idea because there are all kinds of fantastically written official manga and things (which I have not read). Also, although the new one’s better written, my heart still leans towards the bad one because it’s old and ingrained and all that and I like it. I like the new one too, but already in chapter one, it’s changed from the old version and although the new one makes more sense plot-wise etc, I like the old, dumb one better. So, I’m thinking of keeping the bad version on my computer, rewriting a better version on my computer, and just putting a (detailed) synopsis up here so you people know ‘who’ Rana is. Hey, maybe I’ll do it in comic form! That seems to work for stuff, for basically everything except for Zela. Zela, by the way, has put up the prologue of her revised story, Elfin Dawn, which I wrote a lot more recently, but I decided that I wanted to put it up right away to prove I’m not an idiot… even though I am! Neh-heh. I’ll wait on the other chapters. I’ll probably finish the whole first book or something and then go all the way through it and revise it just so I can put up a finished, polished product.

Hey, maybe I should go Dark Meridian style and poke fun at my beginner’s writing! Yeah! Okay, I feel better now. I’ll work on Ocarina, even though I think it’s dumb… Gotta make up my mind for myself sometime…

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