Bayani

((ooooooo))

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Ren laid awake in bed staring blankly at the ceiling, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as he felt a malevolent presence battering the wards protecting his home. He could almost feel the presence’s gnawing, sinister hunger, which set it apart from the typical Salamancan paranormals. Ren had been content to ignore it, but the mysterious visitor persisted every night for the past week. The Filipino grimly noted that it was about the same time Courtney began spending her nights in his bed. Ren’s arms curled protectively around the slumbering red-haired angel, (self)-described as “adorably cute.” He found that difficult to argue against.

Ren slipped out of bed, deciding to investigate further. After rummaging through the apothecary table’s compartments, he fished a yellow sapphire amulet out, cut in the shape of a Filipino sun pattern and a fresh blue candle. eschewed a robe or jacket, but donned the amulet and a pair of Nikes before exiting to balcony and up the stairwell to the rooftop patio.

Leaves stirred in the autumn wind as he glanced across the patio cautiously for signs of danger. Ren normally enjoyed crisp fall nights, but the sense of impending conflict kept him on edge. The garden and iron-wrought furniture were undisturbed, so he hopped onto the roof and navigated across the wooden deck, steering clear of vents, furniture and potted plants. Upon closer inspection, Ren found nothing and scratched his head in confusion.

As if on cue, a numinous wave of cold dread washed over his skin. Ren shivered involuntarily, feeling it continue to slither across his bare chest like monstrous tendrils. The tendrils gave way to claws as the dread attempted to tear into his heart. In response, Ren breathed out slowly, then stretched languidly. The blue candle he carried self-ignited and cast a vibrant azure glow that expelled the invisible appendages with extreme prejudice. The invasive presence hissed viciously as it retreated several yards away.

“So, did you want to try that again, or will you just come out and tell me why you’re here?” Ren asked aloud.

The shadows swirled seductively before his eyes before coalescing into a ghostly image of a haggard Filipino crone. Her long, black nails curled wretchedly. Her matted hair was a writhing nest of wispy locks. Her sunken bloodshot eyes bore into Ren, sizing him up as a potential meal. Her snake-like tongue, black as oil, flickered out at the hero, tasting the air. Ren grimaced, realizing that those claws and tongue were responsible for the vile sensations he felt moments before.

“Little Pinoy, what a pleasant surprise to find you so far from our ancestral home,” she crooned. Her sly smile revealed serrated, broken teeth.

“I can’t say the same about you, aswang. I thought my parents destroyed all of your kind during the Manila ghost purges,” Ren frowned.

“My poor sisters, such few in number we are now…” The crone’s eyes glinted as Ren circled carefully. "But wars have led to a resurgence in what few of us are left."

“That’s a shame, but I suppose even the undead need their vultures and hyenas that prey on the sick, elderly, and pregnant,” he replied dismissively.

“Then you know I’ve come for the tasty morsel you protect behind those wards,” she grinned sickeningly, tongue coiling and uncoiling as she savored the idea. Ren’s eyes widened, and the aswang cackled gleefully. “For the record, she is sick, not pregnant.”

“Irregardless, she will not be your next snack so if it’s all the same, I’ll just return to bed now.”

“Oh little Pinoy, so cowardly and unlike his father. Will you turn and run instead of facing me?”

Ren's eyes narrowed dangerously, his chi rising as his patience gave way to defiant fury.

“Ah, so you are a member of the Order. I sense your spirits rising, boy, but I see no apoy,” she continued, licking her lips in anticipation.

“I don’t need Fire to banish the likes of you.”

“Prove it then, little Pinoy,” she hissed. “Greater warriors of the Order than you have challenged me and failed.”

“Very well,” Ren replied as he blew out the candle and used his amulet to lower the ward protecting the rooftop.

Sensing vulnerability, the aswang sprouted wings and screeched a terrible warcry. Her impressive wingspan blotted out the moon as she harnessed her dark powers and cast a shadow over Ren, enveloped him in complete darkness. The aswang then glided toward her prey with silent precision, claws extended to shred him with horrible violence. Though blind in the ordeal, Ren countered her advance by springing his trap. The vent at Ren’s feet snapped open and unleashed searingly bright light through the openings. The monstrous creature shrieked in agony as the light ensnared her mid-flight and sucked her spirit towards the light source in a merciless downward spiral. The aswang continued to wail with fear, her claws carving deep grooves into the rooftop deck before the vent snapped shut and sealed her in.

The Salamancan night reverted back to peaceful tranquility, but nevertheless, Ren raised the ward again and Ren hurried to the vent. After some careful manipulation, he managed to remove the vent and to his surprise, drew out a replica of a Ghostbusters ghost trap.

Hm, I guess Bysshe has a sense of humor after all, Ren mused to himself. A green light on the device signaled that everything was functioning in working order, so Ren tapped on the device door, to catch the inhabitant’s attention.

“Told you so.”

((didn't really get a chance to proofread this...I'll have to read it over again later but I wanted to post something before the next prompt.))

I'll try to post something hopefully before the weekend's out. Took awhile for me to figure out how to plot for this.

Asian/Asian-American characters mostly, though I like to think the characters end up being portrayed more well-rounded than the stereotypes in media.

You're welcome, Rae.

Hm. I might get in on the next run.

Collaboration between Eddy and Vrykon. John Lennon tribute.

Thanks, Larissa. =)

Here's Vrykon's update, drawn in honor of the late, great John Lennon. October 9th marks his birthday. He would be 70 this year. Colors to come by Eddy Swan.

Battle: Ribbon voting has been completed. The winner of the abridged 2010 FArt Competition is...

SHIA

Below is the final tally for all votes submitted before October 7th 5:00pm ET.





The prize money has been sent, so my obligations here have been completed in full. Congratulations, Shia. Enjoy your booze and destitute hookers. I encourage everyone to follow Shia's shining example and support their local economies. The booze won't drink itself and hookers would get lonely.

Just a reminder, voting ends at 5pm on Thursday, October 7th.

Battle Ribbon submissions have been submitted so it's time to vote. No 1,2,3 format here. The artist with the most votes will receive the cash prize and title of 2010 FArt Champion.

- Christopher Robin's Entry -








- Shia's Entry -




Voting ends on 5:00pm October 7th. Good luck to both contestants. 1 vote per poster. Only votes placed in this thread will count.

I did send a note via the Forums and via e-mail regarding the contest before I started this thread and left to attend to a few important family matters. I still haven't received response to either inquiry. The way CR last left it, I was under the impression he was willing to go through with the continuation as ruled by Wassy so I made the formal announcement as some folks were itching to get this started. Usually, the FArt contests were 3 weeks to draw, 1 week to vote; I believe i gave through the end of the month and left the voting period longer than that.

Oo. Neat stuff.

A flurry of new activity...

Wassy's Weekly Sketch features her second Secret Invasion sketch of Captain Chicago. Both this sketch and the StormVyxen sketches are actually going to be featured in a special limited edition Wizard Magazine Donation Drive book to be published and offered exclusively at Wizard World New England.







Eddy's got two pieces submitted this week, an original sketch requested by Beserker Fan on dA of his character Shturmovik. The second submission is Eddy's colors over KatRose's sketch, Sky Dragon.

The last two images are recent Bayani and Planet Girl commissions completed by Marvel Comics artist David "Brohawk" Williams. This is the 98th art piece of Bayani drawn to date.

Vrykon's Friday Sketch. He's been creating and testing new brushes in an effort to refine his process.





Some familiar faces here. This is the cover to the 8 page story "Community". Special cameos by Celtic Bolt, Planet Girl, and Killer Whale on the cover.

Impressive snags, Airhead. That Chamba piece is lookin' awesome.

Wassy's ran into a few technical difficulties so her Wednesday update's running late.

In the mean time, here are two recent commissions completed for Planet Girl by Shaun O'Neil. Shaun's currently recovering from serious illness, but is scheduled to be at New York Comic Con doing sketches and selling his new book, WMP! It's 86 awesome pages of work collected over the past year. If you can't get to NYCC, WMP and his other book, Our Victory is Imminent is also available online at Lulu.com. His stuff is really fun and energetic so give the man some love.

Thanks, Comrade.



Vrykon's Friday sketch. He's been struggling the past week or so in developing his personal sketch style and fine pencil customizations in Photoshop, but he's made alot of progress over the week and has found something he's happy with.




As an added bonus, here's the finished pencils of the model-sheet for Division-401's resident eccentric scientist, Dr. Artiface. Pencils by Brandon McKinney.

Wassy Wedenesday Update: Prelims for the Secret Invasion Commission.






Also got the ppencil shading on a Chamba commission inked and refined by Markl McKenna.

From Wassy via hivemind: "My recent sketches were from an Earthbound sketchbook. The paper is recycled. I like it because (as with any toned paper), your midtones are done for you, so you can do shadow and highlight easily. I used a mechanical B pencil with white chalk."

Well, Caemgen, I've largely ignored your gestures because quite frankly, I don't believe in your sincerity. You claim repeatedly that your expressed opinions of me or Wassy or anyone else you don't think highly of aren't at play but your behavior and actions indicate otherwise. For instance, at one point, you vehemently disagreed with me regarding the usefulness of model sheets. A few weeks later, you're looking to get model sheets of your own, and even funded a contest with the prize being model sheets. And what about the time you said that Nei Ruffino did a fantastic job coloring your Nema artwork? When Wassy expressed that she didn't believe you got fair value for those colors...you disagreed strongly, but then went around a few weeks later and hired Swanzy to re-color it for you. I also recall expressing my opinion that presentation is important and that a well organized gallery works towards those ends. You also disagreed with me there, saying that it doesn't quite matter because you're not going to be a hardcore collector, but then a few months or so later...your gallery's organized into folders by character. I don't think I need to point out either your rather long argument with Suichiro and Wassy regarding the suitability of my credentials for writing a guide on collecting original comic art before I actually finished it.

By sharing your opinions in a forum, you're inviting discussion about it. There are enough people around who care enough about art to discuss, comment, and debate. I personally don't care if people agree or disagree with my perspective. My only contention is that if you're going to express/argue a counterpoint and want anyone to take it seriously, at least have a little courtesy to do so in logical manner. From what I've observed, Caemgen, you determine what you want to believe before looking at any of the facts/evidence, then look for anything to back up your opinion while largely ignoring the other party's line of argument. Which is fine, I suppose, if you don't want to contribute positively to anything resembling a good discussion. However, it's fair to point out that "Your mileage may vary, God bless you" doesn't grant you a reprieve from people expressing their views as to why your arguments may or may not be valid.