Young Jedi: Legacy's Shadow OOC

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Thu Feb 29, 2024 3:23 am

Added another post to basically wrap up the Jarus subplot and demonstrate that Kalja Sairu does things a little different.

And a little bit at the end to continue with Cadence.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Thu Feb 29, 2024 8:57 pm

Kalja and I have different opinions, like I'm all for second chances, but I do believe there's a line you cross where there's no redemption. And I might've discovered what that line is. Awhile ago I started reading this book, Shadow of the Conquerer and at first the main character was a bad guy sure, but it was all typical bad guy stuff. Then later in the story he talks about some of the other stuff he did and I was like whoa, dude. I was already struggling with trying to like this guy cause he's rude as shit and an asshole and then his list of crimes keeps getting longer and longer and worse and worse to the point where I'm not even sure I can finish the book. I'm supposed to like the main character, but all the author's been doing is making me hate him more and more.

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Thu Feb 29, 2024 10:55 pm

Kalja learned her lesson with Sivter. By the time of the War of Shadow, she had to admit that Sivter was completely irredeemable. There's definitely a line.

However, just because some people are irredeemable, it doesn't mean everyone is. Also, a case could be made that if someone had intervened in Sivter's life at a much earlier point, then maybe he wouldn't have turned out like he did.

One might even argue that if Akain hadn't met Kalja and Caitlyn during his formative years, then perhaps he might be a full-on evil force in the galaxy now.

That's what Kalja is trying to accomplish. Her approach is not going to work every time, but she thinks its worth giving everyone a chance to atone and find a better life.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Thu Mar 07, 2024 4:53 am

Before I showed up for work last night I was in a writing mode, ready to conjure up a post and put some words down on the page in my manuscript. Then some crazy ass shit happened and I just wasn't in the right mindset. ><

911 got called twice, once for two guys fighting on the street who came into the lobby to ask us to call the police and again by a guest on the 12th floor who told dispatch she was going to throw herself through the window. She got carted off on a gurney by EMTs. Then some lady showed at 5 am claiming to be the wife of one of our deceased employees. She was asking me if he had any left over money or anything and I was just like lady, what the fuck?

Anyway, that was my night. How are you? >.>

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Thu Mar 07, 2024 8:54 am

Get some rest!

Sometimes the writing is better when you're forced to wait because it means you can think about it a little more.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 5:25 pm

Hrmm, on second thought maybe I shouldn't use "Tony Stark" in the prompt. All I see is RDJ. ><

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 5:26 pm

I do like this pic, though.

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 5:52 pm

That is a bit close to RDJ. Let me dig up the prompts I used for Sigarr...

"middle-aged human male with black hair and blue eyes and a neat beard, short haircut, handsome, confident smile"

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 6:46 pm

This one's not bad.

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:13 pm

Pretty good... but Sigarr could be better. He looks a little tired and his beard should be a little more full.

If there's anyone who would try to look like he's aging gracefully, it would be Sigarr.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:26 pm

Getting it exactly right is gonna be tricky. ><

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:47 pm

No rush. I can also give it some tries on my side. What are the prompts you used for Faye?

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:48 pm

a middle aged woman with long brown hair in multiple intricate braid loops and brown eyes dressed in fancy futuristic clothes

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:51 pm

The difficulty is getting the right kind of hairstyle with a face that fits Sigarr and no funny business like 6 fingers or backwards hands. I've had several decent ones come up with complex hairstyles that totally fit Faye, but something else is wrong with them. ><

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:01 pm

Getting these a lot, too many fingers, too many fingers... ><

That's the one thing I miss about MidJourney, it's gotten a lot better at doing hands.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:02 pm

Also, that second one he's holding her right hand and her fingers are bent the wrong way.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:04 pm

This one's depressing, sooo close.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:06 pm

Kinda interesting how I didn't specify a gown, but it consistently keeps putting her in one. I honestly wasn't sure what she would be wearing so I just said clothes to leave it vague. *shrug*

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:15 pm

This one I might use if not for the whole index finger and middle finger of the left hand are clearly not part of the same hand thing.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:19 pm

Maaaybe this one? I think the hands are passable. >.>

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:30 pm

Almost there...

I really hate to point this out, but Sigarr's collar would never look that shabby when out in public.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:35 pm

Think I'll stick with "pretty good" for now. If I try to go for anything more than "close enough" it'll drive me crazy. ><

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:36 pm

Sometimes adding on different art styles can get you better results. I added "comic style" to this one. Not too bad, but the hands are still iffy.

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Mon Mar 11, 2024 3:10 am

Tried a couple more variations, including a few specifying Faye's dress as a cheongsam to emphasize that Bunduki heritage of hers and provide a little more color. The hands are a little odd on picture four, but it might be my favorite so far.

The AI inputs I was using: a middle-aged woman with long brown hair in multiple intricate braid loops and brown eyes dressed in fancy red and black cheongsam with lace gold accent dancing with middle-aged human male with black hair and blue eyes and a neat full beard, short haircut, handsome, confident smile, future black suit, large ballroom background, party atmosphere, humans and aliens dancing in the background with different colored clothes, stars in the windows, comic style

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Mon Mar 11, 2024 5:54 pm

Well, after many, many attempts, it doesn't seem like I'm going to do better than that. Bing just really has an issue with people holding hands. ><

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Mon Mar 11, 2024 6:46 pm

You know, back in the heyday of this place, I was unfamiliar with terms like third-person omniscient or third-person limited or even head hopping. These days, though, I prefer third-person limited with one POV character for the entire story and that has made things so much more challenging. Like not being able to describe that feeling of nostalgia from Caitlyn's perspective, because I chose to be inside Cadence's head. ><

I'm a bit out of practice with third-person, though. I keep confusing myself whenever I describe multiple characters doing things (or mention their names) in the same paragraph, especially if one of those characters is the POV I'm writing from. The book I'm writing is written in first-person, sooo most of my practice lately has been with that.

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Mon Mar 11, 2024 8:09 pm

I've always considered Exodus to be a great place to practice the craft of writing. For me, it feels good to be in the groove again after so many years of letting my skills get rusty.

I went ahead and uploaded the larger version of that Faye and Sigarr pic on the wiki. I just uploaded it over the smaller version. No muss, no fuss.

I'm going to see if I can generate a good picture of Faye and a younger Kalja Falanis sparring in hand-to-hand combat...

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Mon Mar 11, 2024 8:14 pm

Oh neat. Yea, that picture wouldn't let me save it as anything other than .webp, so I had to find something to convert it to jpeg.

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:07 pm

Just a quick reminder that the Windfall has a deckplan if the layout isn't clear: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki/Windfall

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:12 pm

Yea, I saw the deck plan and had to stare at it for thirty minutes to figure out how it all fit together. >.>

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Wed Mar 13, 2024 2:31 am

The best renders I've come up with for Faye training Kalja. Pick your favorite, Pryde, and I'll upload it to the wiki!

And then I have a bonus for you, if you want to use it - Faye doing her best Bruce Lee: "Boards don't hit back."

The prompts I was using by the end: Star Wars, a middle-aged athletic woman with long brown hair in multiple intricate braid loops tied back and brown eyes dressed in red and black gym clothes with gold accent with midriff and human female teenager with blue eyes and short black hair tied with a ribbon, wearing burgundy and purple gym clothes, gold hairclip, doing a flying kick and locking eyes with each other, martial arts pose, dojo background, training dummies in background, warm lighting, comic style

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Wed Mar 13, 2024 2:49 am

I think that last one is probably my favorite, but there isn't much of Kalja in it. The fifth is probably the closest match to the faces on the pics we've already uploaded and the second has the best poses.

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Wed Mar 13, 2024 2:54 am

The second one is my favorite, also for the poses, so I'll upload that one.

And I'll upload the last one that you can use as a picture somewhere on Faye's wiki.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Wed Mar 13, 2024 2:56 am

Not 100% sure, though. Kinda always pictured Faye as more lithe than athletic, myself. She's not quite as bulky, maybe? Iono... ><

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Wed Mar 13, 2024 3:14 am

IMO, Faye is sleek as well, but I feel like she would have more muscle definition just by the virtue of her being more well-versed in physical training. I know from past experience that if I had used "muscular" instead of "athletic" she would be really bulky, lol.

Go ahead and give the terms I used a go and modify them how you like. Since she's your character, I want you to be happy with how she looks too.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Wed Mar 13, 2024 3:46 am

Nah, it's fine. Darn AI is more likely to drive me crazy. You have no idea how many attempts I had to go through to get that latest image I posted.

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Wed Mar 13, 2024 11:23 pm

I added the last image of Faye to her wiki entry.

I'm just holding off on my next post until the new board is up.

Halomek · Post by **Halomek** » Sat Mar 16, 2024 1:49 am

That should work to send us off. Feel free to add a post from Cadence's perspective if you like.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:52 am

Kk, I'll have something up soon.

Pryde · Post by **Pryde** » Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:18 am

Ugh, that post feels kinda rushed. I didn't really want to post it before bedtime, but the boards were down or something last night. I wasn't able to browse them until this morning. ><

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