#deep sea probe saga

[maareyas]

12:54 04:05:20XX - Mariana Trench Mission Objective: Investigate whale fall - An unknown creature was already present at the site when the deep sea probe arrived. He immediately fled from the probe's line of sight after seemingly recognizing what it was. - The probe was then brought offline by an unknown assailant; Most likely the creature.

My interpretation of a merhog Silver for Mermay ✨

[royalxiii]

I Day Till Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts - The Ist Game in the Series & the one that started it all

The Ist Playable Character in the Series - Sora

The Ist Apprentice of Yen Sid - King Mickey Mouse

The Ist Apprentice of Master Xehanort - Ventus

The Ist Apprentice of Master Eraqus - Terra

The Ist Apprentice of the Master of Masters - Ira

The Ist Union Leader - Ira

The Ist Apprentice of Ansem the Wise - Braig 

The Ist Replica - Xion

Xemnas - The Superior of the In-Between // Number I

Number I’s Weapons - Ethereal Blades: Interdiction 

Ansem’s Report I:

“Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge.

That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that.

I am blessed with people's smiles and respect. But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand.

I believe darkness sleeps in every heart, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have witnessed it many times.

Darkness...Darkness of the heart. How is it born?

How does it come to affect us so?

As ruler of this world, I must find the answers. I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the darkness.“

Secret Ansem’s Report I:

“My efforts these many years have come to fruition, with the world I govern having become a paradise worthy of being called "Radiant Garden."

Nurtured by the pure water that is the source of life, fragrant flowers bloom in abundance, and the people face each day with hopeful smiles.

But where there is light, darkness also lurks. As noted in my earlier reports, I must solve the mystery of this "darkness of the heart." This paradise depends on it.

I shall perform an experiment to probe the depths of a person's heart. One of my own apprentices, Xehanort, has volunteered to be a subject.

The young man has served me ever since I nursed him back from death's door some years ago.

He had lost all his memories at the time, but later showed remarkable intellectual curiosity and readily absorbed my teachings, gaining deep wisdom. Any mental immaturity is surely due to his young age.

If I explore Xehanort's heart with psychological tests, I may be able to recall the past locked away within. My apprentice Even has also shown great interest in Xehanort's memories.

But is he really the right subject? Xehanort does indeed exhibit extraordinary talents...

Too extraordinary...

Perhaps they are even superhuman.“

Xehanort’s Report I: “Much time has passed since I left the home of my youth behind, and in the myriad worlds I have since visited, I have gained much knowledge. On these pages, I intend to record a portion of that knowledge, and put the course of my life to paper.

Upon reflection, my life underwent the most considerable sea-change when I arrived at that place. Yes, it began when I found a Master, and another I would later call my brother—when I found a new home.

Then there was the Keyblade. For what purpose was it begotten, and by whom? During my training as one of its wielders, the precepts offered a clear answer: the Keyblade existed so that we who watched over the light could protect the world from the shadows.

But was that the TRUE answer? Could there not be more to it than that? My heart sought knowledge, and so I sometimes visited other worlds—though such travel was forbidden unless duty required—and found what my heart sought.“

Roxas’ Diary - Entry I:

“It's been a week since I got here. Saïx told me to keep a diary, but he said nobody would check it. What am I supposed to write about?

Today they told us to go to the Round Room, where we met our new member, No. XIV. Was I like that when I first got here? I think I was. But I don't remember too well.“

No. I

“The strongest Heartless of the bunch. It moves quickly and deals precise attacks.

Attack it to earn points! As soon as it performs Reversal, perform your own Reversal to catch it off guard.“

The Ist Summon in the Series - Simba

The Ist Playable World in Kingdom Hearts - Destiny Islands

The Ist Floor in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories - Traverse Town

The Ist Basement Floor in Kingdom Hearts: Reverse/Rebirth - Castle Oblivion 

The Ist Playable World in Kingdom Hearts II - Twilight Town // Data-Twilight Town

The Ist Playable World in Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days - The World That Never Was

The Ist Playable World in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - Land of Departure

The Ist Playable World in Kingdom Hearts: Coded - Destiny Islands

The Ist Playable World in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance - Traverse Town

The Ist (and only) Playable World in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: A Fragmentary Passage - Dark World

The Ith Playable World in the Kingdom Hearts: χ Saga - Daybreak Town

The Ith Enemy in each Game, as listed by the Journal

Shadow (KHFM)

Shadow (KHRe:CoM)

Shadow (KH2FM)

Dusk (KH2FM)

Shadow (KHDays)

Dusk (KHDays)

Flood (KHBbSFM)

Shadow (KHBbSFM)

Shadow (KHRe:Coded)

Meow Wow (KH3D)

Shadow (KH0.2)

Shadow (KHUX)

The Ith Keyblade Collected in each Game (results may vary)

Kingdom Key (KHFM)

Kingdom Key (KHRe:CoM)

Kingdom Key (KH2FM)

Kingdom Key (KHDays)

Earthshaker (KHBbSFM - Terra)

Wayward Wind (KHBbSFM - Ventus)

Rainfell (KHBbSFM - Aqua)

Kingdom Key (KHRe:Coded)

Kingdom Key (KH3D - Sora)

Way to the Dawn (KH3D - Riku)

Master’s Defender (KH0.2)

Starlight (KHUX)

Images from KHWiki

[paladin-andric]

Blackheart Masterpost

It’s finally here! I’m putting down a comprehensive list of my work thus far. Bits of lore and short stories are up top, if you want to read the WIP itself the chapters are at the bottom!

About The World:

A map of Deaco and the kingdoms in it, with information of each race

The Kingdom of Geralthin: Humanity’s Home

The Animals, Economy and Food of Geralthin

Everything Else: The Races Without Borders

Deaco’s Magic: Power, Secrecy, Life and Death

The Magic of Deaco: More Spells

A Rainbow of Fury: Dragons’ Colors and Their Meaning

Nature of the Gods: God and His Children

Nature of the Gods: The Old Gods

Outcasts, Misfits, and Wanderers: Life as an Outsider

Ancient and Antiquated History: The Human Empire

On Bards and Music

Faces of History: Geralthin Monarchs

The New Continent: The Republic of Salisca

Legends of Deaco

The Creation Legend: Pseudodragons

The Creation Legend: Kobolds

Character Bios:

Alexander, Knight of Geralthin

Senci, the Kobold of Lannis

Leianna, Cleric of The Order

Tourthun, the Red Dragon

Andric, Paladin of Lannis

Lexius, Priest of The Order

Wurie, Captain of the Guard

Paul, Bounty Hunter

Razorwing, Wandering Hero

Charles the Half-Dragon

Moments In History (Short stories set in the world of Blackheart):

Gira Series: Featuring Gira, the Black Dragon with a tender heart and a kindly love for humanity!

Gira and the Blue Dragon

Desc: Now the guardian of Pasir, Gira is snoozing outside the city when a challenger threatens the people under her protection...

A Dragon’s Recompense

Desc: Against all odds, Gira stumbles across the dragon that threatened Pasir while out relaxing! He’s acting strange, so she probes...

Gira’s Secret

Desc: The black dragon has become an advisor for Godfrey, the first King of Geralthin. He catches her doing something strange...

The First King’s Passing

Desc: After dozens and dozens of years dutifully serving the king, Gira discovers her healing powers have their limits...and she must stand by and watch as her greatest friend says goodbye.

The Ball

Desc: Half a millennium after the events of Blackheart, a Great War has enveloped Deaco. At a royal ball, a descendant of House Angelus comes across some colorful characters and a purpose to push towards...

One offs and two-parters:

The Last Stand of the Ashishani

Desc: The sacred guardians of the Grove of the Prophet fight to the bitter end against rampaging wolfman hordes.

Kinship

Desc: A wolfwoman comes across a shellback slave captured by her tribe...and realizes they’re not the enemies she thought they were.)

A Past Life: Part 1 | Part 2

Desc: Two soldiers are captured and brainwashed by an evil dragon, and transformed into monstrous slaves. One night, one of them remembers bits of his past, and rushes to escape and find help before the dragon’s influence breaks his will...

Readjustment

Desc: Bartholomew and Cornelius have found themselves in an odd position. Though they successfully reached Cay City and purged themselves of the dragon’s mental hold, their bodies remain inhuman...even Cornelius, who’s kobold form should have been dispelled along with the mind control. With the bodies of beasts but the minds of humans, the pair begin the arduous process of readjusting to life as it once was after months of living in squalor, and looking for clues as to what sorcery can resist purging magic. At the same time, Bartholomew realizes his draconic form has its upsides...

An Unlikely Savior

Desc: A dragonslayer and a wizard are commissioned to slay a dragon...only to realize their mark isn’t all it appears to be.

Hearts of Gold: Part 1 | Part 2

Desc: A dragon makes the ultimate sacrifice, giving up his honor and sanity to demonic corruption while his friend rushes to rescue him before he’s lost forever...

Guardian Angels

Desc: Two sea dragons come across a drowning man, who is certain he is about to be eaten alive...though this turns out to be far from what they’re planning.

A Bard’s Tale: Part 1 | Part 2

Desc: A bard stops an evil black dragon from slaughtering a village by playing magic-infused music for him, the beast struggling with the concept of feeling emotions for the first time. Constantly battling the beast for control of his mind, she must keep the dragon under control long enough to help him understand the emotions confusing and conflicting him.

Rise of the High King

Desc: Seigot Ironheart, newly named chieftain of the Oakwall Tribe, finds himself surrounded by a coalition of several rival tribes, each one larger and more powerful than his on their own. Together, it seems they are about to destroy the Oakwall Tribe once and for all...but Seigot is an inspiring commander, skilled leader, and cunning tactician. The enemy moves into the forests, and Seigot lies in wait...

Beachside Memories

Desc: A group of unusual friends enjoy their day off by traveling to the beach, ready for a day full of relaxation and fun...and while they are given an experience they’ll never forget, it isn’t for the reasons one would hope for.

A God in Exile

Desc: Cuan, the trickster god of the koutu pantheon, is punished for turning his uncle Cabrus into a griffin. He is forced into the form of a lowly serpent, and exiled to the mortal realm for a century. Cabrus feels some remorse and offers Cuan a second chance...but one should never trust the god of trickery to behave.

The Way of the Dragon

Desc: Theo, a man hopelessly lost in a world full of mythical creatures, gains access to the emperor’s court and discovers a possible way to get home...but the road ahead is long and perilous.

The Plan

Desc: A dragon’s soul, stuck inside a kobold’s body, puts into motion his plan to find his old lair, bringing his new friend Iki along to discover what secrets his past has in store...

A Matter of Perspective

Desc: A dragon finds another one of his kind locked up in a tower, rolling around on his back and begging for food from humans like an animal. Filled with righteous fury, he breaks in to free the dragon the humans have obviously brainwashed...only things don’t progress as he expected.

An Even Game

Desc: A mercenary company with little to do play a game of pen and paper! Inspired by games like Crusader Kings and Medieval: Total War!

Darkest Hour

Desc: In an alternate timeline, a horrid villain’s scheme succeeds. The entire continent is covered in a fog that turns all within it into monsters utterly loyal to the cruel tyrant, who becomes master of the known world. In this dark future, in a world without a sky, only a small underground base full of humans remain. When they must leave, they do so in sealed suits with gasmasks, so that they will not become one of them. Is there any hope left?

A Heist Awry

Desc: A master thief takes on an extremely dangerous heist for the chance at enough gold to retire for the rest of his life...but things take an unexpected turn as his target is an unexpected source, and a rogue element threatens everything!

Emergency Hearing

Desc: Hundreds of years in the future, at the dawn of the industrial era, the power of dragons begins to wane. Artillery pieces, modern combat tactics and more widespread magic has allowed humanity to impose their will on the land with wild abandon. Seeing the writing on the wall, the elder dragons call a meeting with the rest of dragonkind to discuss the fate of their kind, and humanity...

An Enemy Within

Desc: In the “Darkest Hour” timeline, the story continues. It turns out one of those soldiers did in fact survive, at a cost. A friend of his comes to discuss things with him...

Sorcerer Series:

A Snake in the Grass

The Long Con

The Unwitting Volunteer

The United Front

Justice and Spite

Desc: An upstart sorcerer obsessed with the might of dragons unleashes cruel and cunning plots against everyone he meets in an ultimate bid to steal the form of a dragon for himself...no matter how many must suffer and die in the process.

Chronicles of Logan:

Something Better

Public Enemy

The Sting

A New Beginning

Desc: Originally a human magician, Logan seeks out the blood of a dragon, to turn himself into one of the powerful and illusive half-dragons. Thus, his lengthy and accomplished career of sorcery began...

Zaphontilku’s Tale:

Joy and Ashes

Breaking Point

Desc: Zaphontilku is but a child when the war between dragonkind and humanity begins. For his own safety, his father traps him deep underground for centuries, where no humans can hurt him. The dragon toils and suffers in darkness for hundreds of years, his sanity waning, until a mysterious soldier somehow slips past the barrier...

Jotober 2018

Desc: During October, I made a short story every day. A collection of 31 short stories themed around a single word, assigned every day.

Story Time (Mini-stories about the characters of Blackheart):

Senci and the Blacksmith

Andric: Against the Demons

Alexander on the Battlefield

Alexander and the Knight

Leianna and the Fugitive Hunt

Razorwing and the Party Crasher

Senci and the Pseudodragon

Leianna: Spiteful Justice

Andric and Senci: Breakable

Andric and Senci: A New Homestead

Charles: Gift

Charles: Day One

Wurie: The Swords of Justice

Senci & Andric: Southern Secrets

Alexander & Tourthun: Hunted

Leianna: Survivor

BEST BOYS (Shorts of Eignach and Razorwing)

A Chance Meeting

Razorwing and the Party Crasher

Respite

Flowing

The Marathon

Day of the Roses

Hope in These Dark Times

Together

The Tourthun Sadness Saga™

Bliss

The Promise

An Innocent Query

Heartache

Tranquility

Come Fly With Me

Tragedy Breeds Bias

Cold Skies, Warm Hearts

Bonus: Redemption (Indirectly includes Tourthun)

Desc: Tourthun, a young dragon who lives by a strict set of morals dictating peace and kindness towards others, is stricken by misfortune time and again...

Miscellaneous Stuff:

Picture of Alexander by the wonderful @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword

Moodboard of Tourthun courtesy of the great @theguildedtypewriter

Moodboard of Paul

Moodboard of Senci

Moodboard of Razorwing

Moodboard of Charles

Moodboard of Alexander

Moodboard of Andric

The Characters of Blackheart in Dark Souls 3

Picture of Andric by a very good friend of mine

Dark Souls Inspired Item Descriptions

High Quality Wurie Shitpost by @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword

Story about two London kids secretly raising a baby dragon, requested by @kainablue (Yeah never titled it sorry. Technically Deaco related since the dragon came from Deaco into our universe)

The National Flag of Geralthin

Blackheart - The Story So Far:

Chapter 1, Into the Abyss: Introduction

Chapter 2, The Citadel: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Chapter 3, The Dragon: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Chapter 4, The Return: Part 1 | Part 2

Chapter 5, A Test of Mettle: Part 1 | Part 2

Chapter 6, A Change of Plans: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Chapter 7, Lowly Times: Part 1 | Part 2

Chapter 8, Winged Angel

Chapter 9, Birds of a Feather

Chapter 10, In Calamity, Hope

Chapter 11, A Bow, A Blade, and A Mind

Chapter 12, Come Together

Chapter 13, Enemy Within

Chapter 14, Back From the Brink

Chapter 15, A Light in the Dark

Chapter 16, The Insurmountable

Chapter 17, Melancholy

Chapter 18, Field of Dreams

Chapter 19, Reunion

Chapter 20, Discontent

Chapter 21, Second Wind

Chapter 22, Revelations

Chapter 23, Sins of the Father

Chapter 24, Shattered Memories

Chapter 25, Farewell

Chapter 26, Tourthun’s Legacy

Chapter 27, In Grief, Conviction

Chapter 28, Hope

Chapter 29, Awakening

Chapter 30, The Black Dragon

Chapter 31, A Final Respite

Chapter 32, Tarnished Legacy

Chapter 33, Heart of Darkness

Epilogue: Sunrise

That’s all he wrote! This post will be updated whenever something new is posted! I must stress how much I need feedback, if you haven’t read Blackheart over, please do, and let me know what you think! I really hope you all like this collection of information on the world thus far!

Want to be tagged whenever I post about Blackheart? Just ask and I’ll add you to the list! 

[tastydregs]

Mad Scientists Revive 100-Million-Year-Old Microbes

This is the strange saga of how scientists went to some of the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, dug 250 feet down into the sediment, collected an ancient community of microbes, brought them back to a lab, and revived them. And you’re going to think: Why, in the already-horrible year of 2020, would they tempt fate like this? Well, it turns out that not only is everything OK, but that everything is in fact very, very excellent—at least far away from humanity in the deep-sea muck of the world’s oceans.

This story begins over 100 million years ago in the middle of what we humans now call the Pacific Ocean. Volcanic rock had formed a hard “basement” of seafloor, as geologists call it. Over this, sediment began to accumulate. But not the kind of sediment you may expect.

Elsewhere in the world’s oceans, much of the seafloor sediment is organic matter. Dead animals, from the tiniest plankton to the biggest whales, die, sink, and form a muck that scavengers hoover up and excrete. The western coasts of the Americas are a classic example: Upwelling currents bring nutrients from the deep, which feed all kinds of organisms nearer the surface, which in turn feed bigger animals, and on up the food chain. Everything eventually dies and drifts down to the bottom, where the detritus becomes food for bottom-dwelling critters. The seas are so packed with life, they’re downright murky. (Think, for example, of California’s hyper-productive Monterey Bay.) Organic matter accumulates so fast on the seafloor, much of it gets buried under still more layers of organic matter before the scavengers can get to it.

The sediment core samples

Courtesy of IODP JRSO

By contrast, in the middle of the Pacific, there’s surely life, just a lot less of it. Accordingly, the water far off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand is among the clearest in the world. There’s no upwelling and much less life at the surface, so much less organic matter is sinking to the seafloor to form sediment. What little does sink is immediately hoovered up by scarce bottom-dwellers like sea cucumbers.

“It's the least-explored large biome on Earth, because it covers 70 percent of Earth's surface,” says Steven D’Hondt, who co-led the expedition and co-authored a new paper in Nature Communications describing the findings. “And we know so little about it.”

Dropping drills up to 19,000 feet deep some 1,400 miles northeast of New Zealand, D’Hondt and his colleagues were on a mission to probe these ancient deep-sea sediments for life. Much of the seafloor could be volcanic ash blown from the land, as well as metallic bits from space. “There's a measurable fraction of it that's cosmic debris,” says D’Hondt. “If you trawl through the shallow clay with a magnet, you'll pull out micrometeorites.”

[svetliysudarworkshop]

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi

Each costume is a Story…a story that tells about Who wears it. Recreating them, we try not to miss the slightest detail. Today let’s fly to a galaxy far, far away… to the 8th chapter of the Star Wars saga…to tell you about the legendary Luke Skywalker.

“Fulfilling Master Yoda’s last will, Skywalker has begun training the new generation of Jedi, passing on to them all that he learned during his own training. He had several beginner Jedi in training, including his own nephew Ben, son of Organa and Solo. Ben’s parents knew about his craving for the dark side of the Force and were afraid that he was too much like his grandfather, so they sent him for training to Skywalker, hoping to rectify the situation. However, Solo the Younger was nevertheless subject to the corrupting influence of Snoke, who controlled the Dark Force and led the First Order, being its Supreme Leader and believing that a new generation of Jedi would be able to destroy the war machine reborn from the ashes of the Empire. Ben took the name Kylo Ren, killed all the new Jedi, destroying everything that Skywalker built and all his work in training them. Feeling responsible for what had happened, Luke disappeared without a trace, leaving for exile. No one knew exactly where Luke was headed, but those closest to him believed that he had gone in search of the First Jedi Temple. In the end, the hermit Jedi found himself on the water planet Ahch-To, where he remained in austerity.”

From space, Ahch-To appeared to be a world of nothing but deep blue oceans orbiting twin stars. Dotting the oceans, however, were rocky island archipelagos covered with green trees and grass. …A stone world, scattered with sharp rocks; mountains, stairs engraved in bare stone, cliffs, stacks, fjords and stone walls to be climbed. Sharp wind, saltiness, harsh weather, biting cold, sand, dust, mud and persistent rain…

Ahch-To – Star Wars Places

All these elements paid a crucial role on the choice for Luke Skywalker costumes.

In the official movie guides, where all the sketches are collected, the costume designers  stated they designed Luke’s clothes as working outfit.

First of all, in order to not impede Mark Hamill while climbing the steep stairs of the Skelig-Michael Monastery, they decided to equip him with short and practical vests, very different from the long, uncomfortable Jedi robes.

Secondly, Luke’s clothes were supposed to personify his solitary life on the island, keeping traces of all his adventures: climbing mountains, jumping from one side of the fjord to the other, milking thala-sirens, fishing, hunting…

All these factors determined not only the choice of clothing style, but also the choice of materials, methods of aging, impregnation and dyeing.

Costume designers had to use:

heavy cotton fabrics soaked in oil or wax to ensure water resistance;

thick woolen fabrics of coarse hand knitting;

oil-soaked skin;

and even a tree aged by the sea.

Luke’s costume was definitely inspired by the fishing clothes worn by Norwegian and Icelandic men and women from the Viking era until the 1930s.

Such clothes were made mainly from the hides of various animals (horses, cows or sheep). The hides were prepared by rubbing cod liver oil in them. Then they were soaked in fish oil from time to time so that they remained soft, supple and waterproof. Warm woolen clothes were usually worn under them, since the main fishing season was in winter and spring.

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But lets go back to Luke … The most noticeable and characteristic item of his clothes in this episode, of course, is an aged and worn leather jacket. Costume makers from Star Wars called him the “poncho.” Luke wears it over a warm, hand-knitted wool sweater.

In accordance with the mythology of the film, the poncho was sewn by the Caretakers, aliens belonging to the Lanai race.

Lanais were an avian sentient species who lived on temple island on the ocean planet of Ahch-To for thousands of years. The females of the species took on the role of Caretakers and attended to the ancient structures on the sacred island, while the males were known as the Visitors.

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Centuries later, the Visitors still continued to assist the Jedi in hard work, such as fishing and hunting. While the Caretakers are cleaning, making clothes and cooking for the Jedi.

The Caretakers probably used pieces of the hides of a sea creature as the main material (this can be guessed by looking at some illustrations from the official artbook). Some parts of the jacket really look a bit like the skin of marine mammals.

When we just started working with this jacket and faced with the question of choosing a leather, we were going to pick up “ready-made” leather for factory dyeing and then work on aging.

But the longer we searched, the more we became convinced that we were unlikely to find something similar.

At first glance, it seems that any of these samples could be used… But in fact, the material had to satisfy a fairly large number of criteria:

be thin enough, but durable at the same time;

have good elasticity and drape well;

the coloring of the outer and inner sides should be approximately the same (a bright inner side is not permissible, since the cape is unlined);

the front side should have a slight sheen.

And this is not to mention the fact that you need to get into the right color…

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And there was a slight technical complication: our customer’s growth (195 cm) was very different from Mark (175 cm). And this, given the features of the patterns, did not allow us to consider sheepskin as a material (the length of the hides would simply not be enough for some details).

So in the end we had to make a non-standard decision. We chose the undyeing cowhide…in the hope of dyeing it the way we need.

So, no matter how we tried to avoid this, we had to repeat the technology that Star Wars costume makers used.

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Honestly, we did it for the first time…so we decided to start with experiments… We mixed paints in different proportions and painted the probes for 5 hours in order to finally get the most suitable recipe.

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The dyeing process itself took us a little more than 4 hours. Already cut parts were painted on both sides. Moreover, each side had its own individual composition. When wet, the colors were mixed and as a result the same spots formed that we can see on the original jacket.

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And since we decided to repeat the technology from the movie, we had to process parts from the outside with synthetic oil, and some (for example, a collar) even inside to create a worn effect.

As for the cut of the jacket, the designers as always were inspired by elements of Japanese costumes (in this case, “kimono”), paying tribute to the traditions of the saga, but slightly modifying them to their plans.

The jackert is just below the knees; double-breasted, both sides are asymmetrical. The collar is quite wide. A characteristic feature of this cape is the wide 3/4 bat sleeves. Each part of the jacket is sewn from several pieces with a simple stitch. The allowances are left in the inside, where they are turned, glued and pressed to the inside of the leather, in order to obtaining flat finishing.

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The patches create the feeling that the jacket is quite old and has been repaired several times. We found three patches: below on the front part, on the inside of the collar and on the shoulder. Silk fabric was chosen for the patch on the shoulder.

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Working with this project from scratch took us about 80 hours, not counting the time of choosing the leather. Due to the urgency of the order, all these 80 hours went almost in a row… Something (for example, a collar that turned out to be too tight and draped poorly) had to be redone. After the main assembly, we several times added the dyes, aged jacket and soaked in oil. It was a whole new experience for us! But in the end…we made a thing that can tell its own story…

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Special thanks to our customer – Luca Bergamaschi – for help in finding references and additional materials. Without your support, this project would not have been a success! May the force be with you…

P.S. If you liked our story – share it, like it or leave a comment – so we can see that you are interested. And we will try to write articles more often and better 🙂

Alex & Anastasia Svetliy Sudar Leather Arts Workshop

  Star Wars, its characters, costumes, and all associated items are the intellectual property of Lucasfilm. © & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd. & © Disney

Luke Skywalker Leather Jacket Replica (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) Each costume is a Story...a story that tells about Who wears it. Recreating them, we try not to miss the slightest detail.

[63824peace]

Monday, 28th of november 2005

The Japanese space probe Hayabusa has done it!

It finally landed on the asteroid Itokawa, three hundred million kilometers away! It has successfully retrieved deposit samples too.

Japan has used robotic technology to prove its excellence with asteroid probes, even though we have lagged behind the rest of the world's space development. The world's first ion engine has defied expectations and proven itself operable. Hayabusa has successfully answered our hopes, and Japanese space development has taken a huge leap forward.

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) should now take pride in its work. It stared down the excessive criticism lobbed at it. It must have given dreams to nourish the gumption of students and scientists for a long time. I hope that this success inspires them to catch up on their work.

The father of Japanese rocket engineering, Professor Hideo Itokawa, gave his name to the asteroid Itokawa. Both the asteroid and the probe bear Japanese names, which highlights how thoroughly Japan's strengths define this project - its people, wisdom, intellect, and resources.

Hayabusa will depart for Earth from Itokawa in December. Apparently it can't travel straight home. It must deviate from a straight trajectory and travel an extra billion kilometers in order to return. We expect it home next June.

I feel as though I can almost identify with Hayabusa. Hayabusa seems less like a machine engineered for space, and more like a solitary traveling hero whose extraterrestrial sojourn elicits deep pathos. I absolutely want him to return safely - I wish him a safe trip.

We can read about Hayabusa's latest news on JAXA's website. They show how he has fared today as well as his position relative to Itokawa. I can't really believe that he's hundreds of millions of kilometers away when I look at the web site.

I've bookmarked the site, and I check it every day. I'm glad that we can use the internet this way.

I bought the Limited Edition of HIM's latest album, Dark Light. I had listened exclusively to HIM during October and November, especially the hits album And Love Said No. I think I listened to them every day.

I already have the imported version of Dark Light, but the Limited Edition's B5 standardized publishing format caught my eye. I was standing in front of the cashier before I knew it.

I tore into the Limited Edition's shrink-wrap immediately. It's a superb deluxe package. I made a good decision when I bought it.

It features a full-color, twenty-four page hardcover booklet that contains lyrics handwritten by vocalist Ville Valo. It also includes a bonus track (The Cage) that hasn't come on either the Japanese or the imported versions. They packaged a flyer inside with a secret code for HIM's website. We can apparently download cell phone ringtones for Wings of a Butterfly, Killing Loneliness, Under the Rose, Vampire Heart, and Dark Light.

The ringtones might only work on Nokia phones though. HIM is Finnish after all. I suppose my cell phone won't work then.

I have a weakness for limited editions, box sets, and limited first-release versions. I relish the bonuses and extras packaged with special copies. I likewise prefer limited edition DVDs.

Movies, music, and games all run off digitally reproduced copies. We can mass-produce them without compromising the content's playback quality. Yet limited editions give the impression that they have been handcrafted because publishers release so few of them.

I must be old-fashioned. I feel greater respect for the contents of a given work according to the physical artifact's material value.

I intend to do the same for Subsistence's first release. Only first-time limited editions will carry all three discs. The normal version will carry only two discs. The third disc (Existence) holds about three and a half hours of footage, and its name really reflects the idea behind a limited edition. Subsequent packages won't have the disc, so it really only exists within the limited edition.

You can make a first-run limited edition simply by adding material value to the physical artifact. It won't matter if the digital content can be reproduced flawlessly.

I ate kakesoba and butadonburi-kuro for lunch at Kurosawa. On my way back to the office I detoured down Keyaki-zaka Street and passed in front of the Hills Arena. They had an unusually heavy amount of security, perhaps in preparation for an event.

I wonder who will come today.

I considered this in light of recently released movies. I remembered having heard about a promotional event for the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and I realized that it might happen today. Did that mean that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie would come here? Was everyone rolling out the red carpet for Brangelina?

They've already erected a number of barricades, and they haven't even finished yet. That's unusual for this time of day. The guard plates have formed a labyrinth inside and out. I suppose they set it up to separate the excited crowd, disrupting the chaos of their collective energy.

The sight reminded me of breakwater dams that restrain the force of the sea. I saw that the Hills Arena guards had prepared as though executing a war strategy.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith had a huge delay between its Japanese and American debuts. It will finally run in Japan's theaters starting December 3. I always look forward to watching that kind of movie around the year's end.

Doug Liman directed the film. He had worked previously on The Bourne Identity, and that turned out excellent. He also produced the exceptional sequel, The Bourne Supremacy. We don't have many directors like him in our times... he can actually make an action movie that retains a measure of self-possession.

I've seen the trailer many times already, and I think that Mr. & Mrs. Smith will justify my eagerness.

I like the movie's plot too. An ordinary couple had married for true love, but they were really a pair of professional killers hired by competing companies.

They share a dull but peaceful home life. Meanwhile, they hide their true work as assassins from each other. They learn each other's secret one day when they receive separate assignments to kill each other.

What will they choose - the mission or their marriage vows?

We assume that we know our spouses well since we're married. We trust that we know about his or her birth, profession, and so on... but I wonder if we really know so much. Does the husband who goes to work every day really hold an honest job?

A man might hide his true profession and live his marriage without ever breaking the lie. It's not uncommon to hear about a husband who gets fired from a company and then eats lunch in a public park to hide his unemployment from his wife.

As a matter of fact, I think that a lot of married couples withhold secrets from each other. Their relationship endures because they have mysteries left unexplained.

I started thinking... what if my wife had such-and-such a profession, or such-and-such an identity?

What if she was the President of a big corporation? A Yakuza boss? A princess from some other country?

What about a murderer? A criminal? A phantom thief? A ninja descendent?

Or a vampire? A ghost? A zombie? A time traveler? A resident from Atlantis? A clone? A reincarnated spirit? A Grateful Crane from the folktale?

Maybe we could pick up a few ideas from movies. Could my wife turn out to be a runaway princess like Audrey Hepburn's character in Roman Holiday? Or could she be a secret agent hiding her identity, caught in romance and political intrigue as in the Korean action-romance Shuri? Or perhaps an adept criminal such as one of the sisters in the anime Cats Eye?

Or perhaps she's a disoriented amnesiac who stumbled into a web of mistaken identity, like in the movie Ima-ai-ni-yukimasu? Could it be that my lover is Santa Claus? No, no, that's not a movie… it's a song!

How about Samantha from Bewitched? No... that's too obvious....

I considered a whole variety of different ideas. Men seem to enjoy speculating on these kinds of things.

But the speculation should probably stay close to fantasies. I would feel uncomfortable if my imagination hit too close to my actual circumstances. I wouldn't like to muse, "Perhaps my wife is a famous game designer." Or, if I considered if from HIDEOBLOG's perspective, "Perhaps my wife is an incredibly popular and charismatic blogger."

KojiPro staff met at lunch to discuss arrangement for MG Saga. We all met in one of the fourteenth floor reception rooms. People attended whom I hadn't seen in a long time. We finally have another chance to work together.

I could see the Tokyo Tower from the fourteenth floor. It seemed different from its depiction in the movie Always, as it had appeared during the Shōwa Era. Perhaps it's because so many skyscrapers surround it now.

The Tokyo Tower changes with the times. The Heisei Era's Tower goes well with smog.

We discussed MGS4 in the glass room until evening. The air conditioning made the glass room extremely cold. I had stayed in there for a while, and now I feel a bit feverish. I wonder if I've caught a cold. Just in case, I poured a Kakkonto herbal drink down my throat.

We have completed MGA2's desktop accessory - an interactive, Touch-and-Play screen saver! I had asked Power Graphic to make it since they also made the super-cool AC!D2 Trailer.

I have already named the program....

Behold! UchidAC!D, the Interactive Screen Saver!

Users can download it from MGA2's official site starting December 2. It's trendy and entertaining!

Now users won't see what we have designed for them to play… they'll play with the design instead!

We don't see things like this very often. Our screen saver serves as an ideal medium for fingertip exercise combined with mental engagement.

You should try it too! Let's AC!D up our brains with UchidAC!D!

I stood on the Roppongi station platform and waited for my subway home on the Hibiya Line. I noticed two billboards positioned between the inbound and outbound train tracks. It had been left bare of advertisements.

I've rarely seen them like that, if ever, because that's such a popular place to advertise. The posters rotate pretty regularly. Advertisement demand should be high for the popularity.

I can't believe that anyone left those two billboards totally white, as though they had no advertising clients. I've even seen subway employees working quickly between the tracks to change the posters on those billboards.

You just hardly ever see blank ad space there.

I even suspected that it was an optical illusion. I also considered that advertisers might have deliberately expressed the idea of plainness or vacancy. I even allowed that it might hold an eccentric advertisement for a modern art showpiece.

I stared and stared, but no hidden script appeared. I concluded that the white surface hadn't been lettered with reflective paint.

I finally resolved that the billboards definitely weren't ads in themselves, but only bases for future ads. Did the station finally get caught without its ads ready? Or was this all somehow intentional?

I wonder if the little girl shutterbug would have snapped a photo. How would her eyes have seen this?

I read the morning edition of the Asahi Journal in the evening because I hadn't had time for it when it first circulated today. The information was obsolete of course, but I still ritually read "Vox Populi, Vox Dei."

Today it addressed the End-of-the-Year Jumbo Lottery tickets that I had written about in last Friday's HIDEOBLOG entry. The column addressed the same topic as my aforementioned blog, but it was written so much better! I could hardly believe we had written in the same language!

The column opened with an explanation of the lottery's beginning. The Jumbo Lottery started when Victory Tickets had been sold to finance the war during its final days. The column then connected that story with the annual salary of Hideki Matsui, the baseball player for the New York Yankees. The writing was so skillful that I had to tip my hat to it.

Now I feel pretty low. HIDEOBLOG isn't much more than a diary. It's not really worth others' time to read.

I feel like quitting.

The distance between the asteroid Itokawa and Earth is the same as the difference between HIDEOBLOG and "Vox Populi, Vox Dei."

[maareyas]

the deep sea probes seem to have picked up more footage of unknown creatures! rip to the first one, it got broken apart

a spiritual sequel to this! featuring @son1c ‘s Bermuda/No Place Shadow, and @genotaurus Dismas ✨ I was in a merhog mood, what can I say?

[maareyas]

A strange creature was spotted on one of Edea’s underwater cameras...

MERHOG COMET BABYYYY!!! I made this design + art spur of the moment and am genuinely surprised how neat it turned out!! anyways. Here’s my contribution for Mermay lol. This design takes inspo from oarfish and angler fish ✨✨