>>359292
>>359298
A sequel is pretty likely after Slissa Quest... I could certainly save it for then and have a more modern design........

A sequel is not likely to star these characters since Slumber Party ended the last character arc Tezakia had with 'em, but they'll definitely be showing up from time to time unless there's this huge decision to skip WAY ahead to adult jiniki quest...

ALSO BOATFACE Slinkoboy 2012/05/22(Tue)16:04 No. 55119 ID: d6ae01
File 133772784252.png - (105.36KB , 500x400 , silly3.png )

BY THE WAY YOU CAN USE THIS THREAD TO DISCUSS BOATFACE IF YOU WANT.

Boatface is meant to fill in the gaps in Fish updates, or otherwise be updated when I feel super productive. Fish is on a temporary Hiatus, so it'll be updating more quickly for now, mostly being slowed by me also working on a huge comic commission on the side.

In general it's a NO WORRIES quest. All the things I refused to do, even in Venji, because they were "just too silly" ... well, that's not stopping me this time.

Let's see how incredibly dumb this ends up getting.

>>55119
So this is going to be the porn quest, then?

>>55122
I hope not! There's a child on board!

>>55122
Not that kind of no worries!!

Paused for a couple days Slinkoboy 2012/05/28(Mon)13:34 No. 55417 ID: d6ae01
File 133823725016.jpg - (30.11KB , 450x450 , That\'s_nice.jpg )

Trying to juggle Boatface and the very long comic commission has left me feeling overwhelmed and not wanting to do either.

So rather than have you guys suffer 2 or more days between updates as I juggle, I'm going to focus purely on the actually-paid-for comic and finish it, then go back to Boatface so it can be updated more quickly... at least, until Fish is revived. We'll worry about that later.

I've been adding characters kind of willy nilly, but I realize it would be BM to do so without giving people the ability to opt out (or to suggest under-appreciated characters they'd like to see).

So if you don't want a character or all characters from your quest(s) to appear in boatface at all, please say so here.

Understand that while I will glance through quests to get some idea of character, a lot of people will be wildly out of character. Right now the biggest offender is Kanela, who in her quest doesn't use all the pirate talk I've been writing for her.

All that said, I don't think I intend to add all that many more, and I'll be keeping a lot of people "off-screen" because I'm not drawing more than 4 people at a time if I can help it.

But I underestimate a lot of things I do, so...

Slinkoboy 2012/06/17(Sun)20:09 No. 56183 ID: d6ae01
File 133998897054.png - (76.79KB , 700x600 , 60.png )

A mishap in editing made it so I forgot to post this image in the boatface update. Thankfully, the update survives without it as you can still infer that boaga was shot out of the cannon.

BOTES PAUSED Slinkoboy 2012/06/29(Fri)14:43 No. 56586 ID: d6ae01
File 134100618107.png - (252.74KB , 600x399 , klissventuretitle.png )

I was hoping to approach a better ending point, but it's come to the point where I dread every single update I do of boatface, and it's a quest that relies almost entirely on having fun.

So Boatface will be paused for 1 week, resuming next monday. Between then and now, I will be focusing on commissions and general art practice, and I will also be working on some stories in preparation for a certain Very Important Quest.

I won't spoil what that quest is, of course. Hmm, I wonder what image I should use for this post...

Slinkoboy 2012/07/11(Wed)11:12 No. 57057 ID: d6ae01
File 134203032467.gif - (610.43KB , 498x258 , tumblr_m39hwuQRv41qbazc2o1_500.gif )

The Quest format makes it very hard to guess what people like or don't like, so I'm going to do the smart thing and ask directly. Time for some feedback!

I'd like to know what you guys generally think I'm doing well, or things I should have done differently or could otherwise improve on. Is Boatface, in particular, doing things well, or did it jump a couple of sharks?

This is your chance to offer some feedback and help me improve the quest, and hopefully future quests!

apparently I'm posting random images with my major posts. apparently that's a thing now.

I didn't like Boatface's gun. It just seemed awkward and out of place beyond the first unveiling. I would appreciate more arbitrary rulings as if there is some grandly eloquent machinations in the background, when in reality you're just railroading people. It could use more railroads in general. Railroading, and anti-railroading: completely and totally enthusiastic adherence to a suggester who probably could have just been ignored, discarding everything about the relevant plot.

@Slink
Wow, I just read kind of a thousand sites^^
I'm really happy I discovered your quests!
I saw an update on tozol-quest on Thursday or so and read through the complete tozol-quest to the recent point, wondering about tozols, so I read battle-quest and venji-quest, too, the later one letting me more investigate in Slink's quests and I read Tezakia-quest with you flashes you put on deviantart plus juniki's quest... I even researched a bit to get the accounts of other sites of you and went through those specials on live-journal^^
(just in case you would like to know how some people may get to you^^)
[Although I didn't got the joke of venji-quest's ending, so I'm currently ready journal-quest as it seems related^^]

I really have to compliment you on those quests, they are really thoughtful made and often very funny^^
I was also impressed that you made the flashes for tezakia-quest! Even the music and all the animations!
I try to make flashes out of weaver's divequest at the moment (got a bit busy last few weeks, though)... but I'm more a coder than drawer/musician, so didn't add much music or fancy animations, but more actionscript-thingis that let me make them a bit easier... As much as I enjoy reading all your quests (and some others like weaver's or largotrop's where I ran rampage with reading all within a week) I don't think I can be original enough to run my own quest, though, so I think about sticking to making flashes for other quests I really cared about^^
Well, but if you would like to pay my flashes for divequest a visit, I would be very glad if I could hear your opinion on them^^
You can find them on deviantart
http://dediggefedde.deviantart.com/art/Divequest-flash-chapter-1-280714266

By the way, did you already start with slissa-quest? I couldn't find it here... or are you starting after boatface? (I'm a bit Lagotrop-spoiled, having multiple updates in multiple quests multiple times a day^^)

>>57776
Reading this warms my cold, black heart*. It's things like this that make me feel proud of all the work I've put into each quest I've made.

I'm not too good at responding to compliments, but I appreciate this. Really I do.

Tezakia was my Flagship quest, and I loved it to death. I'm glad it and the other quests have brought some enjoyment to those who read them.

Slissa quest has had...delays, but intends to start some time after Boatface Adventures is over. Hopefully the lessons I've learned over the past two years will help it become every bit the flagship Tezakia was. No pressure!

Interestingly, I read a Flash Version of Rubyquest. Those flashes inspired the flash conversions of tezakia (though I lacked the ability to add additional comments), and looking at your dive flashes I do kind of wonder if you're the same person who did rubyquest 3 years ago. Wouldn't that be quite the coincidence!

Lagotrope is a superhuman who I think outpaces everyone else on the site by a factor of 2 or more. I tend to update every 1-2 days depending on size of update, making up for being a little slower with increased content per update.

Thanks for your words, and I'll continue doing my best to be as entertaining as possible.

(And yeah, Venji's ending was a big ol in-joke. I normally try to make my quests accessible to people unfamiliar with previous or other works, but that was one of the bigger exceptions)

*Heart may be warm and fuzzy and full of hugs

>>57816
Ah, thanks for your answer!
No, thank you very much, but the flashes of ruby-quest were made by tekstation (accounts on deviantart and FA available...dA inactive...)
I contacted him already for some advice and he even complimented me that he thinks I already did some things even better than he did... However, I think I'm still lacking something, so I try to get in contact with more flash-makes to get more feedback!

Say... I read Journal-quest yesterday and I still don't get venji's ending... without spoiling anything, could you please tell me the name of the quest it was directed at?^^

>>57819
Venji's ending was a reference to Journey Quest insomuch that Venji finds herself inside one of the caves Demesi is in early on.

http://tgchan.org/wiki/Journey_Quest

It's a highly recommended read (I'm assuming you read Journal Quest by mistake), and inspired some aspects of Tezakia Quest!


The Ruby flashes kind of inspired how I did my Tezakia flash conversions, so I guess it's a small world either way :x

Once again my update speed has been suffering, and with botes pretty much right at the climax, I'd really like to be able to get updates done with more energy and quality.

And faster than one per 3 days.

So I'm going to be pausing to recoup my creative juices and to catch up on commissions.

Boatface Adventures Paused until Friday.

Boatface Final Word Slinkoboy 2012/09/08(Sat)05:31 No. 60521 ID: d6ae01
File 134710749489.png - (134.43KB , 700x600 , 83.png )

Now to type some words about botes on the off chance anyone wants to read them!


Intro thingy
I was reluctant to do Boatface Adventures at first, because of the horrible failure* that is Venji Quest. I wasn't very excited to revisit this character.

But then I realized that in a way, this was a second chance. A chance to take all I've learned since then and prove that I could do things right this time.

And... I think I did.

Boatface is the first quest I've done without a huge mistake that makes me cringe looking back on it. Considering how easily I tend to worry about making mistakes, this feels like a major victory. Sure, I made some goofs here and there-- that's just what happens with a rough draft format. But I didn't do anything I flat out regretted.


Other quest characters
Including other quest characters was kind of a gamble. I had intended to do that in a christmas quest last year, but decided against it out of fear of drama. It either speaks well of tgchan or badly of my popularity that there was very little drama around who Boatface did and didn't include. This makes me confident that I could revisit the concept.

I know I didn't keep everyone perfectly in character (I think Kanela's much nicer than I portrayed her), but I did my best while still being able to keep the plot going and the jokes flying.

It might have seemed like fan-wank, but the only characters I included for my own benefit were Ashela (who never showed up in the end) and Dragoness (she's really cute okay). Nilaka and Boaga were suggested in irc, and the rest in the quest itself. My only regret here is having too many characters to start. The cast grew too big for me to do much with.


Ijnev and quest sexuality
At first, Boatface was going to be a completely nonsexual quest as a hard counter to Venji, but I realized that the true challenge wasn't in running away from it, but in handling it right. It's easy to have a sexless quest, it's much harder to have one where it exists, but doesn't feel forced or out of place. Some of the other authors have pulled this off wonderfully, but I was never quite able to do it myself.

...Besides, quests should be about having fun, and giving myself arbitrary limitations made it less fun. I guess I really am destined to draw people flirting, hugging, and blushing cutely. Stammering optional.

I was really proud of the early scene with Ijnev. In a way, Ijnev was me realizing that you don't have to strip a woman of all her sexuality to make her strong. She was the antithesis of original Venji, maybe more than Captain Venji was. She's strong, confident, in charge... everything the original probably should have been but wasn't.

It wasn't the funniest scene by a long shot, but it's easily the one I'm most proud of. Well, it and the starting joke. Sorry I couldn't make them all that golden :<


Learning
The biggest lesson of all for me was that it's okay to accept help. Except for the last thread of Venji (and Hugs, if you wanna be technical), every quest I've done had been strictly solo, with nobody knowing my plans or seeing the text until it went up. This lead to some pretty big mistakes!

Unlike those quests, this time I had a friend to bounce ideas off of and to help me revise my text. Unlike Venji, I had the confidence to defend or work around ideas I wanted to keep (for example: they wanted Roz excluded completely. I insisted on keeping him, and then had the idea: "let's have Roz, but he's a bird and all he can say is peep").

Over time I might try and accept help from more people, but it's so hard to overcome that feeling that I'm lessening the enjoyment of the quest for them. But, I guess it's worth it if the end result is a quest more enjoyable in general, huh?

So there you have it. I think this is my strongest quest post-Tezakia, and a good showing of every lesson I've taken to heart the past 2 years.



FUTURE PLANS
I'm going to be in the background for a while. I'm going to be drawing TIAS/FISH for Typo, but I won't be running anything myself. I think something I really need to do is spend time as a suggester. I've spent all this time making rough guesses at what suggesters enjoy without ever getting first-hand experience!


But don't worry, I'll be questing again-- It's just going to be a little while. Maybe a couple months? I really hope you all enjoyed boatface, and I also hope you enjoy what I run next.

Hmm? What am I running next?

Well, that's my little secret. But I've left a very subtle hint somewhere in this post.

See you then.

*yes i realize some people liked Venji, but it had a lot about it that I'm really not proud of and wish I had done differently. Botes is closer to what I should have done back then.

i dunno if i can be comfortable with slinkoboy just lurking the quests and offering suggestions. How am i supposed to know that he isn't going to keep suggesting my characters to do sexual things or try to murder each other?

>>60525
Because you can know with 100% confidence that he's going to suggest both of those at once.

You know, just like everybody else here.

Below is a short story that takes place in the Slissa world of Shai, starring the Ski-thra race.

I originally intended to write one of these for every race, but this was so much work (in my weakest field) that I'm not confident I'll be able to do more.

Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it!

Slinkoboy 2012/10/02(Tue)16:54 No. 61614 ID: d6ae01
File 134922204506.png - (281.94KB , 700x600 , ski1.png )

Well, that couldn't have gone much worse.

Grelik watched his companions silently under the light of the campfire. It was a cool night, and the stars were shining brightly in the sky. It was the perfect night to end a terrible day. The day's hunt had been a complete disaster, and it was thanks to Sh'ka that they had any food at all.

Neish was sleeping soundly next to the campfire a few feet away. He wasn't as strong as most, and Grelik worried for his future. Neish had failed to make any kills that day, and inadvertently caused Grelik to come up empty himself. He wouldn't be able to make a place for himself if he didn't learn how to catch prey. The hunt was everything for the Ski-thra. A good hunter could survive and provide. A good hunter could attract a mate. A bad hunter could do neither.

Grelik's eyes shifted to his other friend, who was finishing off the last of the food. Sh'ka was almost the exact opposite of Neish. She was strong. She always brought back good prey. They had known each other a long time, and their time together had convinced Grelik that she would be the perfect companion. Their hunts would be plentiful and their children strong. But he couldn't tell her how he felt. He had to be sure he'd be a good companion to her as well. She had more skill than he did, and her haul was always bigger than his. Would she be content with someone less capable than her?

He noticed her looking toward him and turned away, feeling sheepish. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yes," he mumbled, still looking away.

"Don't worry about what happened," Sh'ka said. "We all have days where the prey escapes us. I'm more than happy to share my catch with you two." She smiled. "And you two won't catch anything if your empty bellies make you weak tomorrow." She was trying to cheer him up, but her words only made him feel worse.

He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. His friend had set up a... something by looping a thin rope around some low-lying branches and tying it to a rock barely held in place. Neish said that if it worked like he hoped, it would make it much easier to catch food. How is that even possible?. It can't even be wielded in combat! Grelik shrugged and left him to it. He continued on his own, eventually finding the perfect game to attack with his spear. Right before he pounced, a loud snap from Neish's direction startled him.

Grelik froze, assuming a new threat had caught him off-guard. The creature escaped before he could recover and realize Neish's creation had made the sound. Whatever Neish had been trying had failed, and if not for Sh'ka pulling through they would have all gone hungry. Grelik wanted to blame Neish, but he was the one who'd frozen. He should have had a better idea of his surroundings. The fault was all his own.

Grelik considered telling Sh'ka his feelings in spite of his failure. She'd seen him hunt before. She knew his failure was a fluke. But Ski-thra tradition insisted he present her with a gift, an offering to say they would share their meals until their dying breaths. He almost had such a prize, but he'd lost it. He sighed to himself.

Sh'ka could tell he was distraught, and walked over to embrace him. "We've all had days end with failed hunts," she said, "but that's why the three of us hunt together. I bet tomorrow you'll be sharing your food with us!"

And just like that, Grelik knew what he had to do.

Tomorrow, he would provide food enough for all three of them. It would be his offering, and his confession.

Slinkoboy 2012/10/02(Tue)16:54 No. 61615 ID: d6ae01
File 134922208791.png - (321.47KB , 700x600 , ski2.png )

It was still dark when Grelik awoke, but the sky was showing signs of the coming day. He made his way to the river that ran behind their encampment and drank his fill. It was crisp and cool, and there were subtle signs of life underneath. A leaf floating gently in the water caught his attention. He stared at it intently until it left his sight, never once dipping below the water's surface. A leaf that doesn't sink meant good luck. Today would definitely go his way.

His flask filled, he returned to the others who were preparing for the day's hunt. Sh'ka smiled at him, and he found himself smiling back. He felt his spirits lighten, as if he could float alongside that leaf on the river. The three of them said their morning prayer, asking the spirits of the wild to guide them that day. Sh'ka bade them farewell and headed off into the expansive forest that lay west of camp. Grelik grabbed his spear and turned to face Neish, who picked up a piece of rope.

"Where's your spear?" Grelik asked.

"Don't need it," came Neish's reply.

Grelik stared. "Don't need it? The spear is the heart and soul of a Ski-thra. It is by the spear that we eat, and it is by the spear that we live. How can you say you don't need it? What, do you intend to hunt the old way with nothing but claw and tooth?"

"The old way is just that, and so is the spear."

Grelik could hardly believe what he was hearing. He knew Neish was young and naïve, but to think he would deny the very tool by which the Ski-thra had survived for generations!

"This is all I need," he said, pointing to his rope.

Neish was smaller than most. Weaker. He needed the spear. Why did he insist he didn't? Grelik sighed, rubbing his nose lightly to calm his nerves.

"What are you going to do with that?" he asked.

"The same thing as yesterday, only bigger."

Grelik buried his head in his claws. "The same thing as yesterday."

"Yes."

"Only bigger."

"Yes, and it'll work this time. I know what went wrong last time."

Grelik's soul sunk like a rock. He was now miles underwater, suffocating, his attempts to swim back up thwarted every time he looked at the rope in his friend's claw. He was trapped down here, and nothing he could do would free him. He was losing himself to the depths, and prayed to the spirits to take him away from this suffering. Then, at long last, Grelik felt release. He lived a good life, and he hoped he would be remembered fondly.

"You doubt me," Neish said.

"Of course not," Grelik replied.

It wasn't long before they were deep inside the forest. The area was dim, lit only by an occasional beam of morning light. Aside from a gentle breeze moving the leaves above, there was no movement or sound anywhere. Grelik knew it wouldn't be long before the prey woke, and he had to be hiding in wait before then. The element of surprise was nearly as important a weapon as the spear in his claw. He scratched a nearby tree with his claw, marking the way back to camp as he had been.

"So are you going to hide now?" a voice asked far too loudly from behind.

"Neish, lower your voice!" Grelik growled.

"Oh, forgive me," he said at a normal volume. He moved closer and raised a claw to his mouth. "Is this better?" he whispered.

"It's too late now," Grelik said. "We split up here. Try to stay close to this tree," he motioned at the mark, "So I can hear you yell, should you get into trouble."

"You don't have to keep watch over me," Neish said. "We've done this enough times for me to be seasoned."

"Seasoned enough to know the importance of a spear?"

Neish grunted. "Seasoned enough to not need one."

"We'll see by day's end. Good Hunt," Grelik said before leaving Neish to his own devices. It didn't matter in the end what Neish did or didn't capture with his tiny piece of string. Grelik was going to bring back so much food that they would eat for weeks.

Slinkoboy 2012/10/02(Tue)16:55 No. 61616 ID: d6ae01
File 134922212135.png - (205.66KB , 700x600 , ski3.png )

The sun rising in the sky marked the passage of time. Grelik found a small clearing in the forest and settled in for the wait. Animals would often go to clearings to graze. The element of surprise was key, as most prey can easily outrun a Ski-thra. Patience was the most important part of hunting, above strength or ability with the spear. Grelik had learned to be quite patient, thanks in part to dealing with Neish on a daily basis. He could lie in wait for hours if need be.

Grelik's slumber was interrupted by the sound of a sharp crack. He looked out past the bush. Before him stood a great beast, easily as big as he was. It stood on four thick legs, its tusks swaying in the air as it searched the ground for food. His tribe called them the "kshar", and they were one of the toughest kills to make. It was unaware of his presence. Perfect. He slowly readied his spear, making as little noise as possible, and continued to wait. Once the kshar's back was turned, he slowly made his way forward. The beast's ears perked up. It was now or never!

Not confident he could reach its heart in one blow, he aimed for the leg and pierced the giant creature. To Grelik's dismay, the kshar showed no signs of being crippled, and it wasn't afraid of him. It turned before Grelik could react, and he was thrown back by the creature's weight. It pointed its mighty tusks at him, and began to charge. He tried to roll out of the way, but the kshar caught him with a tusk. Grelik's armor prevented any deep penetration, but he found himself lying on his back. He scrambled to his feet, just in time for it to make another charge. He sidestepped and grabbed his spear.

He stood ready to face the kshar, grinning. It had been ages since a beast shrugged off one of his attacks, and the ones that did usually ran away. This one wanted a fight, and he was more than happy to deliver. The kshar lowered its head and began to charge again. Striking it head on would be risky, so he darted to the left and narrowly avoided the beast's tusk. The key here was to disable the beast's most dangerous method of attack. He turned and stabbed its hind leg.

That only made it angry.

It charged without a moment's pause. Grelik grabbed onto its tusk and used the momentum to swing around and land on its back. It was now charging mindlessly, fueled by rage and instinct. He readied his spear for the killing blow. Was his spear strong enough to pierce its skull? There was only one way to know for sure. This was it. This was the moment he would prove his worth to Sh'ka. He felt the marching of time slow as he tensed, oblivious to the world around him. Ready... and...

A low-hanging branch slammed into his chest. His spear was knocked out of his hand, and he tumbled backwards. His instincts kicked in, and he grabbed hold of the kshar to avoid falling off. He cursed himself. That was a mistake young ones like Neish made, not seasoned hunters like himself! This wasn't the time to be thinking about Sh'ka!

They entered the forest, the danger increasing with every tree. He clawed his way towards the beast's head. If nothing else, he could try to blind it. That would afford him time to recover his spear and finish it off. The beast tore through a bush. Leaves clung to his face. He was blind. His claws no longer grasped flesh. Frantic, he swiped the leaves from his face in time to see a tree rapidly approaching.

The impact knocked the wind out of him; he gasped for each breath of precious air. As he recovered, he looked back at the kshar. It was struggling, unable to move. Around its legs was... rope? His eyes followed the rope from its legs to the nearby branches it was looped around. The harder the kshar struggled, the tighter the rope became. What in Sh-rath's name was going on?

"Ha-HA! It worked!" came a cry from above. It was Neish's voice.

"What?" was all Grelik could think to ask.

"That kshar was having its way with you, but my snare held it in place. Looks like it was just in time to save you a gruesome fate!"

"It didn't have me where it wanted me. I was in control," Grelik protested.

"In control, you say? You don't even have your spear. What damage would you hope to cause with claw and fang alone?"

"I was going to blind it and recover my spear."

"So you intended to poke its eyes and hope it'd let you off? You're truly useless without that weapon of yours, aren't you?" he snickered.

Grelik growled. "How did you expect to end it? You don't have any weapons either."

Neish scratched his chin. "I... must confess I did not think of that. I was expecting something smaller."

The creature continued to struggle, but its injuries were taking their toll. It was panting and growling, showing signs of extreme fatigue. Grelik would not give it a chance to rest. He darted back to where he had dropped his spear.

Slinkoboy 2012/10/02(Tue)16:55 No. 61617 ID: d6ae01
File 134922215449.png - (172.29KB , 700x600 , ski4.png )

He returned to see Neish taunting the creature.

"Battles aren't won by strength of arm," Neish said, "but by strength of mind. My mind is strong, and you are just a dumb beast!"

As if in response, the animal made one final attempt to break free. The rope finally tore under the pressure. Startled, Neish jumped back.

The creature fell to the ground as Grelik's spear penetrated its skull.

"Are you not sound of mind!?" Grelik shouted. "You could have died this day!"

"I didn't expect it would be able to free itself."

"That's no reason to test faith with idle taunts!"

"Perhaps, but the beast is dead now. We'll be eating well for days with this."

Grelik's anger turned to joy. "Yes we will, my friend. More importantly, this would be a perfect offering."

"Offering?" Neish asked, a bit hesitant.

"Yes. I, well..." Grelik rubbed a claw idly on his head-plate. "I am very fond of Sh'ka. I hope to offer this as a blessing and ask her to accept me as a life-mate."

"I see," Neish said. "That is unfortunate."

"Unfortunate? Why do you say that?"

"I made a promise to the gods of fate. If my trap worked today, I would offer the catch to Sh'ka. Had the trap failed, I would have known it was not meant to be."

"You...fancy her as well."

"I don't think I can be blamed, can I? She is strong, and a great hunter. With my traps and her skill, we would bring home food enough to feed an entire village."

Grelik frowned. "I see. Well, the kill isn't yours, so I guess that's—"

"Of course it's mine!" Neish said, stamping a foot to the ground. "My trap held the beast in place!"

"Yes. Temporarily. The beast eventually broke free and if not for me, you'd be wounded, or worse."

"It is you who would have been hurt or killed if my trap hadn't snared the thing to begin with!"

"I would have gotten out of it either way. You didn't even have a way to fell the beast if it had worked."

"There's no 'had worked' about it—it did work! I would have had time to come up with something!"

"Like what, calling it names in hopes that it would submit to you out of shame?"

Neish growled. "What do you know? You cling to the old ways thinking there is nothing better, blinding yourself to progress!"

"You are naïve—a child. You know nothing of the world. You appreciate nothing of our ways." Grelik said.

"Our ways would see us die out. Each Ski-thra can only feed themselves, maybe their family if the leaf floats that day. I see the future. I see ways to feed entire villages. You just can't handle the idea that your 'ways' would be made obsolete by a piece of rope."

His words stung. The wound was made deeper by the realization that this is what Neish had believed all this time. His bored looks at spear training, the way he shrugged off discipline, it all came from this ideal. Grelik saw red. Before he realized it, he had taken a swipe at Neish with his claws. Seeing the blood on them, Grelik realized he had gone too far.

He started to apologize, but Neish didn't give him time to do so. He lunged at Grelik, knocking him to the ground. They went at each other for a while, hitting and clawing and biting. Grelik was obviously superior in combat, but Neish fought with a tenacity he hadn't seen before. He fought as if defending his life. In the end, they lay beside each other, panting and worn out.

Grelik kept thinking about Neish's words. It hurt to admit, but if not for that contraption, Grelik might be dead right now. There was a chance he could have escaped, but there was an equal, perhaps greater chance that he would have been trampled or impaled. He gave a heavy sigh.

"I guess my life is owed to you," he said.

Neish panted. "And mine to you. In truth, I... didn't actually have a plan for finishing off the prey. I wasn't sure the trap would work. Maybe I was wrong to think it alone would be enough."

"I'm still pretty sure I would have made it out, but on the off chance I was wrong, that thing saved my life." Grelik panted a few more times as he collected his thoughts. "You really think that could feed entire villages?"

"On a large enough scale, I think so. It would also put fewer lives in danger."

"I see." Grelik turned and picked himself up off the ground. "But we can't just abandon our traditions." He lowered his hand toward Neish.

Neish took Grelik's hand and rose to his feet. "We don't have to abandon them. They would be changed as we discovered new ways, but they would never vanish entirely from our hearts."

"Perhaps. But rather than think on the future, we should settle the current moment. This kill is both our doing. How do we decide who presents it to Sh'ka?"

Neish thought for a moment, and then clapped his hands together. "Why don't we both present it? We'll profess our feelings to her and let her choose if she finds either of us worthy, or turns away us both."

"That's not how the traditions work. Two people can't make one offering."

"The traditions don't strictly state we can't do it this way, do they?"

Grelik thought back to the teachings. It didn't feel right, but there was technically no falsehood in what Neish was saying. Besides, it would not be fair to Sh'ka to offer the kill on a half-truth. "All right, we'll do things your way. Let's get this thing back to camp and clean up. It would not do to make an offering while covered in dirt and blood."

Slinkoboy 2012/10/02(Tue)16:56 No. 61618 ID: d6ae01
File 134922220528.png - (235.91KB , 700x600 , ski5.png )

Grelik and Neish could only stare. Their mouths hung open, unable to form any words.

"Impressed, are you?" Sh'ka asked, grinning widely.

Before them was a corpse twice the size of the prize they brought home. Sh'ka was sitting nearby, dressing her wounds. Grelik looked at their own kill and felt humbled.

"Amazing!" Neish said as he ran up to Sh'ka. "You could feed a family for days with this! But... isn't this a drengr? They're notoriously dangerous. You could have--"

Sh'ka silenced him with a claw placed against his mouth. "The ground won't feed on my corpse for a very long time. Besides, if we do not challenge ourselves, then we are not truly alive."

Grelik nodded. "Neish could learn much from your example."

Sh'ka turned her attention to Grelik. "You need not be so hard on him. I'm sure-- oh! Is that a kshar? What a fine kill you've made!"

The realization that their confession was nigh made Grelik stumble for words. "Oh, um. yes. It's nothing compared to your drekor, and I—we—" He took a moment to regain his composure. "This kill was...not mine alone. Neish and I both worked together to fell this beast."

"Really!?" She asks, suddenly excited. "Neish, does this mean your 'traps' finally worked?"

She'd known about this?

"Yeah!" Neish said, sharing her enthusiasm. "Well, mostly. My aim was to catch something small to prove it worked, but Grelik felt need to give it a real test. And it worked wonderfully! Except I didn't bring a weapon so he had to put it down for me. But it worked nonetheless!"

"It warms my heart to see you so proud," she said before turning to Grelik. "He's been working to perfect his traps for a while now, seeking advice from me."

"You've both been at work at this?" Grelik felt his leaf sink.

"I'm sorry you found out this way, but Neish really wanted to impress you with a fine kill, and I wanted to see the look on your face when he did!" She chuckled.

"D-don't tell him that part!" Neish stammered.

She tapped him lightly with her fist before taking on a serious look. "You're taking this better than I thought you would. I know how strongly you believe in the old ways."

Grelik was too stunned to move or emote. "Nonsense."

"Neish is bright, and he always thinks of the future. That's why I think..." She brought out a small cutter and etched a symbol into one of her shoulder plates. Wait, was she—?

"Sh'ka?" Neish asked, sharing Grelik's surprise.

"Neish, I present this beast to you," she said in an official tone, her voice quivering slightly. "This mark I've made represents my desire, this beast my strength. I wish to hunt with you, and one day make a family with you. I've always admired your passion and your desire to make new ways to mend the old. Do you wish the great creator of all life to bless us as one?"

Neish's mouth hung open. She smiled—that smile! Grelik could only stare as she placed her cutter in Neish's hand and presented her shoulder to him, guiding him toward it. Neish took a deep breath and made a mark of his own, finalizing the creation of their family symbol. "Nothing would fill me with greater joy." He then carved a similar mark into his own shoulder, with her completing it. With that, they were bound together.

Slinkoboy 2012/10/02(Tue)16:58 No. 61620 ID: d6ae01
File 134922229416.png - (280.64KB , 700x600 , ski6.png )

Grelik was quiet as they filled their bellies, his mind full. He'd focused so hard on proving his worth that he hadn't even noticed Sh'ka's growing fondness for his would-be apprentice. His leaf fell deeper and deeper as his mind connected events that had passed. They'd often run off together. He always assumed she was also teaching Neish. Of course Neish would have told her about his stupid visions, his grand schemes of destroying everything of worth about their culture, replacing it with pieces of string and never planning for the future. Why did she encourage that? Why did she agree with his ideals? Why...why him? Grelik was a thousand times the worth of Neish! He'd felled many creatures! Neish couldn't even fell one!

Grelik could only glare in the darkness as they held claws and joked around with each other. Jokes? At a time like this? Grelik wanted to yell at them, to tell them both that they'd never work together! He wanted—

That smile.

He wanted to scream, but her smile kept him paralyzed. His rage succumbed to clarity. All the times he shared with Neish, the frustrating times and the great times...she shared them too. She knew Neish just as well as he did, if not more so. She saw a strength in him that Grelik himself was blind to. Or maybe he refused to see it.

But Grelik could not blind himself to the bond they were sharing and creating that night. They made each other smile and laugh. His mind screamed about how they were both foolish for not focusing on the hunt and improving themselves.

But even if he had caught the kshar solo, Sh'ka's kill still surpassed his.

Maybe his ways truly were dying out. He closed his eyes, wanting to fade away alongside them.

"Grelik," he heard Sh'ka say.

"...Hm?" was all he could muster in response.

"Why do you sit all alone? This has been a fine day, and you should join in the celebration of it."

"Hm. I wouldn't dare impose on a day of such importance for you two."

"We aren't just celebrating our joining. We want to celebrate you, too. I helped Neish hone his methods, but it was you who kept his mind on the ground."

"Ah." Grelik paused. "Do you agree with him? That the old ways are inferior to his?"

"A ski-thra should not be trapped in the old...or the new. The focus should never be on how to keep or forsake tradition. What matters most is putting food in the bellies of ourselves and our children, and succumbing to death because we focused on tradition would leave those bellies empty. I always hoped that you and Neish would work together to find a new way to hunt that used both your ideals together, and tonight it finally happened.

"Neish told me about how you had gotten yourself in trouble with the kshar."

"I got... distracted, is all."

"He also told me that his trap would have failed had you not weakened it first, and you made the finishing blow, right? Both of you used your ways together and got a fine kill out of it. That's no different from how I took down the drengr. I used one of Neish's ideas, and then combined it with my own skill."

"You are wise. Neish is...very lucky to have you."

"He is lucky to have both of us. He would never say it to you, but you command much respect from him. You pushed him in a way I never could. He'd look at me with those sad eyes and I couldn't help but relent, but you remained stern. We are both important to him, and him to us. More than celebrating our joining, I wish to celebrate all the times we've had together. We are, in a way, a family in our own right."

He wanted to object. He scoured his mind for the words that would change how she felt about Neish, but they didn't come.

"She's right, you know," said Neish as he walked over to them. "I didn't...expect a confession upon my return. I hope you're not upset at me."

"Why would it cause him grief?" Sh'ka asked. "Wait, Grelik, do you...? Oh Ns'kra, earlier must have been very hard for you to witness. I didn't mean to cause you—"

Grelik embraced Sh'ka. "No, don't be upset. It's nothing like that. We had a...heated argument earlier, and I was unsure if Neish would be a worthy mate. But I see now that he has grown, just as you have. You two will live a long life filled with feast and joy."

Neish moved to interject, but Grelik shook his head. It was clear to him now. He clouded his mind with tradition just as Neish seemed to cloud his with forsaking it. But Neish never meant to forsake them. Just as he'd said earlier, the way to move forward was to take the new and the old, and make both a part of who they were.

"Then, will you be our Gen-grish?" Sh'ka asked. That question shared importance with the one she'd asked Neish. If both of them were killed, it would fall on Grelik to raise their children to adult-hood.

Grelik couldn't help but smile, something he realized he hadn't done in a long time. "I would be honored. But I don't see the ground feeding on either of your bodies for a very long time."

Neish joined the embrace. "I'm so relieved—happy. I was worried—Don't mind me. My heart has been trying to escape since we've come back. I feel like a kshar's been chasing me."

"I'm the one who was being chased," Grelik said in some weak attempt to play on the phrase.

"Was that a hint of a joke?" Neish asked. "Today truly is full of surprise and wonder!"

They stayed up into the night sharing stories and jokes (or attempts at jokes). They even tasted of the finberry wine Sh'ka had been saving for the occasion. At the end of it, Grelik found himself back at the river, collecting his thoughts while giving them time to be alone together. His heart still ached for Sh'ka, but he trusted in her judgment and wisdom. If she believed Neish was worthy, then he was.

Grelik was every bit as foolish as he believed Neish to be. There was more to a Ski-thra than the size of their kill and the strength of their spear. Sh'ka understood this, and if Grelik was to ever start a family, he would have to understand it as well.

Slinkoboy 2012/10/02(Tue)16:58 No. 61621 ID: d6ae01
File 134922232851.png - (159.74KB , 700x600 , ski7.png )

He caught a glimpse of a leaf floating down the river, as if confirming his thoughts. It was settled.

The next time Neish wanted to show him his new ways, he would listen.

this story is great, thanks slinks

Yay you finally posted it.

Oh man a sorta-kinda-almost chargen Slinkoboy 2012/10/15(Mon)13:42 No. 62134 ID: d6ae01
File 135033372506.png - (500.79KB , 1145x2217 , Slissa comparison.png )

As some of you may know, I recently made a joke image about a fluffy, feathery Slissa. Problem is, I liked it so much that I'm actually considering making it the finalized design for the quest. This left me torn!

So now we get to experience the closest thing Slissa Quest will have to character generation.

I present to you both versions of the current Slissa: Lizards on the left, fluffy on the right. Consider the first row the most accurate benchmark of their design.

Which version do you like better? Feel free to give thoughts and opinions on either or both designs.

Things to keep in mind:
-Only male Fluffy Slissas have the feathery crests on their head. It was noted that the crest on my original sketch looked like I was trying too hard so they've been changed. Feel free to comment on any of this.

-Male slissas have more spikes than females. Only the males have back spikes.

-I don't like the original design, so it's being scrapped either way. I just can't draw it in a way that I'm happy with. If you really prefer the originals, go ahead and tell me what you liked about them that these new ones lack.

-I'm very reluctant to go with a "sub-species" option that uses both, unless they are both sub-terranian. Slissas being above-ground would hurt the plot.

-Slissa Quest isn't starting yet. We're still in pretty early stages here.

>>62134
I like both designs, so whichever one you want to use!

Slinkoboy 2012/10/15(Mon)13:47 No. 62136 ID: d6ae01
File 135033404725.png - (90.22KB , 649x545 , Kliss.png )

"Golly Slink, whatever do you mean by 'original design'?"

This one. Slissas predate Tezakia Quest.

>>62136
They sure do!
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2708138/

I vote non-fluffy, if you don't want to go with both.

I think they look better with feathers in the first two, but better without in the others. The reason for this I think is related to why I liked the original ones far more than these. They look great lying down or standing up, like the original slissas which mostly seemed to crawl around or stand up straight, but I just don't think they look very good in the leaned-over raptor standing position. Incidentally, when they ARE in this position they look much, much better with the actual raptor feathers.

No feathers!

Fluffy ones, cause then you can give them silly feather-hair styles and they'll look super silly slightly skinnyer if you toss them into a river. Also makes the last frame better.

I'm in favor of Fluffy Slissas if there can only be one type

Non-fluffy Slissa is the best Slissa!

Don't turn them into tiny Tezakians that would be wrong

Non-fluffy Slissa is the best Slissa!

Don't turn them into tiny Tezakians that would be wrong

Everything Slinko is gradually turning into birds.
I am okay with this.

If you are going with feathers, you might want to consider tail-feathers: http://dinopedia.ru/img/dinoid/microraptor/microraptor_art/tr/big/microraptor_04.jpg

I would really really really prefer the original design for a number of reasons.

First off, slissas live in burrows underground and rarely go topside. This means that the newer raptor-like design is ill suited for that particular life, since raptors were ambush-and-chase predators, a tactic that does not exactly do so well underground. Furthermore, this means that the feathers likewise have no reason to be present, since they were based on those of feathered raptors.

The original design was cute, nonthreatening, and fit its environment well, something that the new design only has 1/3rd of. And, as >>62140 has stated, the raptor-like design does not look good when on all fours, which is kind of a big thing about slissas. This new design just looks... awkward in general. The random somehow-fluffy raptor feathers do not improve on this.

>>62135
Oh, I'll add that I vastly prefer the redesign options to the original. :V

Slinkoboy 2012/10/16(Tue)01:20 No. 62161 ID: d6ae01
File 135037560509.png - (207.09KB , 1332x996 , slissa modernization7.png )

I've taken some of the improvements (or what I feel are improvements) from the raptor-slissa, and applied them to the original body. So while I don't want to use the original design itself, you can totally vote for this slightly improved new-old design now.

This also allows an additional option: Use this version of the old design, and convert fluffy slissa into its own, unique race to be seen later in the quest?

I already have in mind which of the old generic races (boring furry race) they could replace.

>>62161
If you put fluffy slissa in as a separate race, how would that be explained? Would they look far different? I think it would be weird to have some unrelated race look basically the same plus feathers.

I like this design. It allows for a more upright posture which is generally more dynamic.

>>62162
They would be changed a bit, most likely losing the horns among other things. They wouldn't be too hard to explain beyond just coming up with their culture and stuff. just... one of the races run into later on. They don't look like they'd have much higher tech than Slissas, and when they show up I might be able to make a joke about it that we'll all find incredibly funny.

Of course, if people don't think they'd belong in this quest they can say that and I'll cry

Oh man I'm liking this one. Stick with this one.

Fluffsas would work if you make them much, much much more visually different from slissas, so there's no possible confusion between the two.

>>62165
Personally I think it'd be pretty amusing if Kliss and co. ran into an eerily slissa-like race somewhere on the other end of the world. It's not like it's likely to visually mix up the races as is -- one has brightly colored feathers all over the place. :V

Anyway this re-re-redesign is acceptable.

I love this one. Go with it.

Well humans in fantasy settings have inexplicable variant versions* all the time, so I don't see why it should be any different for other species.

*See: all the standard fantasy races to varying extents