Leila's Content

#450423 Ask the Betrayer

Posted by Leila on 31 May 2009 - 09:58 PM in Layers of Reality

Fuuun. Sundays just got got better.

#444639 Epantiras parody comics

Posted by Leila on 22 April 2009 - 12:22 PM in Layers of Reality

xD That threw me off so badly! But it makes quite a bit of sense, except for well, Gann--but seeing Gann as L made me giggle profusely. I feel both proud and stupidly fangirlish that I know who everyone is supposed to be. :3

#450385 All My PCs

Posted by Leila on 31 May 2009 - 07:14 AM in Layers of Reality

Do you use copic markers? Because that might look nice, if the ink you use can withstand the bleeding. If not, I'd go for digital. An unfortunate side effect of coloured pencil, as much as I love using them, is that it overlaps the lineart.

#453088 Challenge #60: <CHARNAME> before-and-after

Posted by Leila on 18 June 2009 - 12:39 AM in Fanart Challenge

Before: 'Oh, Imoen, you child, my arrogant cynicism is justified without a doubt! Spending nigh on twenty years doing nothing but reading books has taught me much about the real world and how cruel it is. Why must you be so naive?'
After: Events that actually induce paranoia tend to have more of an effect than a few weeks on the road does. Also, I imagine losing the taint made her a good deal weaker, so thinner hair, paler skin, etc.

#446147 Chanter [Priestly Bard Kit] v1.4a

Posted by Leila on 03 May 2009 - 10:50 AM in Miscellaneous Released Mods

What do you do about choosing your spells with a new game in BG2? I couldn't pick any, obviously enough, and I couldn't move on without picking any, and telling the game to Pick For Me made it freeze up. Am I missing something?

#437209 Challenge #50: Favourite Mod Banter

Posted by Leila on 06 February 2009 - 01:19 PM in Fanart Challenge

Heh, Kivan there reminds me of Trent from Daria.

#436863 Challenge #50: Favourite Mod Banter

Posted by Leila on 03 February 2009 - 07:30 PM in Fanart Challenge

From Crossmod Banter Pack... Keto and Xan are my favourite NPC mods, with Keto being my favourite OC, and all of their banters made me giggle.

In case you can't read it, cause my handwriting resembles chickenscratch:
'Everytime I look at you, I think of kobolds. Again, and again.'
And although I didn't scrawl it down, she replied,
'That's possibly the most unromantic thing I remember ever being said to me. Congratulations.'

#438516 Challenge 51: Weddings

Posted by Leila on 19 February 2009 - 07:16 PM in Fanart Challenge

Wowee, Epantiras, that first painting is amazing. O_O The detail is amazing, especially how you managed to make the crowd in the background both extremely vague and very detailed. (On a related note, those goblets are so pretty. n_n)

#438636 Challenge 51: Weddings

Posted by Leila on 20 February 2009 - 09:56 PM in Fanart Challenge

Kivan and Deheriana's wedding, because I can never really imagine my own Bhaalspawns' marriages. I know absolutely nothing about elven weddings, much less each individual subrace, so I borrowed from the now pagan practice of Handfasting for wood elves, as I imagine they'd have a Celtic-inspired culture.

And yeah, I hate backgrounds. :S

#459010 Least Favorite BG2 NPC!

Posted by Leila on 13 August 2009 - 12:12 PM in Baldur's Gate Series

I voted for Minsc, but really, it's a tie between Viconia, Cernd, Haer'Dalis, and him. All of my reasons for Viconia-hate have been listed. Haer'Dalis' character I'm fascinated with, but as a person I just can't stand him. He was pretty useful against ilithids, though. And Minsc was really cute at first, just like Jan was, and then I got very bored and now I never have him in my party. Cernd is a terrible person, although I do find his manner of speech amusing.

I actually am not fond of many vanilla characters at all. I'm quite grateful for all the terrific modders out there, and even more so because of the crossmod banter pack. Now that most of my favourite mods are on there, I no longer have to have only one mod NPC at a time due to the lack of dialogue.

#452819 Das Neues Legion Sketch Thread

Posted by Leila on 15 June 2009 - 10:31 AM in Layers of Reality

Much better. ^^ Good job!

#452371 Das Neues Legion Sketch Thread

Posted by Leila on 11 June 2009 - 10:54 PM in Layers of Reality

The armor is great, and overall it looks well done, even if the lighting is a bit too stark for a baldurised portrait. Or at least, a BG2 portrait. It fits in very well with the BG1 style.

#452745 Das Neues Legion Sketch Thread

Posted by Leila on 14 June 2009 - 02:43 PM in Layers of Reality

Ooh, that looks great! Once you fix the eyebrows I may have to replace Mazzy's portrait. :3 Some minor nitpicks, if you don't mind... you might want to reflect the green/orange lighting in her eyes. Also, the right side (our right) of her neck looks odd. I don't know if it's her hair blocking it. If it is, it needs to be shaded much more. If there isn't anything blocking it, it needs to be thickened a little on the top. As it is, it seems to have an unnatural bump. o.o

But aside from that... -swoon!- Looks awesome. I love your use of coloured lighting. It's reminiscent of the BG1 portraits, which I prefer immensely. :3

#451472 Comments on "Malleus Animorum"

Posted by Leila on 05 June 2009 - 01:16 PM in Scribbles on the Wall

Moira is Neutral Good. That said, just being cryptic and having a plan doesn't mean she's out to hurt anyone.

That's true. I guess I'm just always expecting the worst. :S

#449257 Comments on "Malleus Animorum"

Posted by Leila on 25 May 2009 - 08:05 AM in Scribbles on the Wall

Unfortunately, I'm not all that great at expressing myself when it comes to these things, one of the reasons I haven't commented yet, so please bear with me.

I can't say I like where the relationship between Moira/Alex is going--not because it's fem/fem, but because they seem so incompatible. I don't know what it is, but if I were to see them on the street I'd assume they had a sisterly relationship. There's no real chemistry. If that's what you were going for, you did great, and it'd make much more sense for the two to get into a relationship that wouldn't really go anywhere simply because they find each other attractive; it happens far too often. If not... my apologies. :S

The last chapter did come off as preachy, and was remarkably short at that, but that doesn't make it worse than your previous work. It was a pleasure looking into her mind, and to be honest I didn't think you were trying to tell the readers something until you explained yourself.

As for the general story, I really do enjoy it, and I like the twists you give to quests we've all done a thousand times. The only thing that's really stood out to me is the use of firearms. Don't get me wrong, it makes sense to the setting, it's just a bit to get used to. And the only thing I can say I truly dislike are the numerous battle descriptions--but that's -definitely- just a personal preference, and I know many enjoy them. It makes the peeks into Alex's thought process all the nicer.

#451455 Comments on "Malleus Animorum"

Posted by Leila on 05 June 2009 - 11:56 AM in Scribbles on the Wall

Your sister most certainly suffered that damage, and she?s not as useful anymore.

Eh..? Forgive me for not remembering, but does Alex know about Imoen? That implies quite a bit, and I was surprised she didn't say anything about it.

I really like your portrayal of Nalia. It's a pleasant mix of her SoA and ToB personalities. Also, I'm always curious as to why Bioware made Bhaal seem so... I dunno, unsophisticated, when his descriptions implied he was very ritualistic. So, I'm glad you've made him as such, and that he has much more control over Alex than she initially believed. It would be a rude awakening to know that your fate is to turn to darkness, especially when you've done so much good.

I'm curious as to what Moira's alignment is. To be honest, ever since your last comment I've been feeling a bit of dread with regards to her 'intentions.' And now with the emphasis on Alex being vulnerable... or perhaps I'm looking too much into it?

This was a good chapter. ^^ It really shows off your skill at keeping personalities balanced; too many people fall into the caricature trap.

#451177 New respect for Anomen?

Posted by Leila on 03 June 2009 - 11:25 PM in Baldur's Gate Series

I really didn't think Anomen treated the PC as unequal. He looked to her for a lot of support and basically put his fate in her hands. The 'fair lady' act was just that: an act. His father was a drunkard and crude as can be, and he was probably overcompensating for that by acting far beyond what chivalry calls for.

#451239 New respect for Anomen?

Posted by Leila on 04 June 2009 - 07:28 AM in Baldur's Gate Series

I'm uterus-impaired, but curiously I find the perspective that comes most easily to me in much of my writing is that of an androgynous woman. From this perspective, there are a few elements of Anomen's dialogues I would find quite patronizing - his contually comparing you to his sister comes to mind, and the fact that throughout the romance you're essentially asked to play the role of "the woman behind the man." I remember a few holding/cuddling related comments that struck me as curiously one-sided. I don't know how a more typical femalish perspective would interpret that sort of thing, though.

I'm sure your assumed role gives you much wisdom on the subject.
A few questions, though:
1. How is being compared to his sister patronising? He incessantly refers to her as determined. The only thing I could ever mistake for it is that he refers to her as 'young,' which as far as I know is a generally accepted way to describe someone younger than you, and when he says he was not there to protect her, which makes sense for as far as we know, Moira is an unarmed noblewoman.
2. I just finished playing through the romance, but I don't remember anything coddling beyond what the flirt pack decided to assume. Could you be so kind as to point these out?
3. Are these comments that are so patronising only spoken so, or did you analyse them to be so?

@Tempest: Well said, and I agree completely. I also believe class plays into his character. He comes from a 'noble' family with little money, and I think he may view it as Napoleon viewed his own, with the way his father acts. I think far too many people prefer to stop at the surface rather than actually read into what NPCs say.

If you notice, the only times he acts so, ah, 'coddling' is when his temper hasn't flared yet. When it has, he brings up CHARNAME's strength and resents that which he lacks. The only reason I would dislike him if I met him is that I don't appreciate false visages, even when they're probably for the best.

#446333 Your 5 favourite games.

Posted by Leila on 04 May 2009 - 04:08 PM in General Gameplay

This is going by unmodded gameplay (besides patches, fixes, etc).
1. Fallout 1
2. Baldur's Gate
3. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
4. Diablo I
5. Mask of the Betrayer

Honourable mentions for Baldur's Gate II, Diablo II, Tales of Destiny, Dawn of War, Planescape: Torment, and Starcraft

#446812 Your 5 favourite games.

Posted by Leila on 07 May 2009 - 03:29 AM in General Gameplay

To be honest, I can't believe so many of you have finished MoTB. I haven't finished it so I don't know how good the game is. But NWN2 camera system was enough to drive me insane, I gave up midway. Such a shame. There are so many NWN2 mods out there I want to play (Planescape, Bishop and Casavir romance!)

Mask of the Betrayer is definitely worth -everything- wrong with the engine. I agree, the camera system drove me up the wall. Also, the graphics are shoddy, it's one of the more unstable engines around, and it lags me even at lower settings. The OC's story isn't enough for me to get through that more than once, but MotB has such a good storyline, and the npcs are 5x better than the OC's.

[/rant]

#445979 Comments on "Hungry Dreams"

Posted by Leila on 02 May 2009 - 04:03 AM in Scribbles on the Wall

Heh, is it wrong of me to feel good about Kaelyn not really getting her way in the Crusade? With your description of Aneele's pre-soulless self I'd imagine even after getting it back she still wouldn't participate.

I actually like that you don't describe battles. Especially when it comes to games, where the action is frequent but without much variation, it can be very tedious to try and describe all 50 ways to hurt someone, and still sound realistic. It can also be very tedious to read it.

Should anything be changed?

#452318 Challenge for any artists out there

Posted by Leila on 11 June 2009 - 12:20 PM in PS:T UB

I appreciate all the input, and I made some changes.

Posted Image

I found a relatively better background. Also made the cheeks a bit fuller, and realised she had one heck of a chin, so I brought that back a bit. Nose was reduced as well. Any better?