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justarandomguy

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Well, here's my first attempt at doing one of these after some testing. I'm pretty nervous about it (being a perfectionist is both a blessing, and mostly a curse), but it's better to say I tried than nothing.
After learning more of 3D and troubleshooting the software crashing as often as Alice getting mentioned in this forum, I think I can get the pictures out at a decent rate.
That being said, welcome to "The last days of a roman woman", a series of pictures I teased on my passion of the christa thread, with the challenge of doing photo manipulations with that production's actress, Bruna, who was recorded indoors and with dark lightning and bring her to an outdoors setting. Without further ado, let's start with:
Cover.jpg

Introduction
In a place lost in the middle of the ever growing roman empire, there is a small city with a really fortunate young woman named Kieara. She was a slave, a lucky one in fact. After years of serving, her owner, an important officer of that city, decided to free by his own will, with the chance of becoming a roman citizen. Not everyone had this blessing, and she knew it, after all, some people take freedom for granted, they forget what it feels to not have it, or even, they never knew the lack of it. But not Kieara, she was really thankful, with a big smile after hearing the news.
TLDRW_01.jpg
Someone was not smiling at all. The officer's wife became used to having what in practical terms was her personal slave, but since it was technically from her husband's, she could do nothing about this decision. Out of all the people in the empire, she was the (un) fortunate one to lose her slave. Why? They don't deserve freedom, how is this possible? How often do you hear about freed slaves, and freed slaves with a right to roman citizenship while we are at it?
TLDRW_02.jpg
All that anger and confusion would have to remain locked inside her mind, she could not do nothing, only a struck of luck could do this unlucky event...
And then, after a long time, the former owner of Kieara passed away. The authorities were shocked at his death, but Kieara was devastated, the man who granted her freedom passed away.

TLDRW_03.jpg
Kieara only could wonder why this happened to him for hours and hours.
Little did she know, that one of those sunsets she spent hours on thinking would be her last sunset where her former owner would be the least of her worries.
TLDRW_04.jpg


Stay tuned
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well, here's my first attempt at doing one of these after some testing. I'm pretty nervous about it (being a perfectionist is both a blessing, and mostly a curse), but it's better to say I tried than nothing.
After learning more of 3D and troubleshooting the software crashing as often as Alice getting mentioned in this forum, I think I can get the pictures out at a decent rate.
That being said, welcome to "The last days of a roman woman", a series of pictures I teased on my passion of the christa thread, with the challenge of doing photo manipulations with that production's actress, Bruna, who was recorded indoors and with dark lightning and bring her to an outdoors setting. Without further ado, let's start with:
View attachment 1388635

Introduction
In a place lost in the middle of the ever growing roman empire, there is a small city with a really fortunate young woman named Kieara. She was a slave, a lucky one in fact. After years of serving, her owner, an important officer of that city, decided to free by his own will, with the chance of becoming a roman citizen. Not everyone had this blessing, and she knew it, after all, some people take freedom for granted, they forget what it feels to not have it, or even, they never knew the lack of it. But not Kieara, she was really thankful, with a big smile after hearing the news.
View attachment 1388636
Someone was not smiling at all. The officer's wife became used to having what in practical terms was her personal slave, but since it was technically from her husband's, she could do nothing about this decision. Out of all the people in the empire, she was the (un) fortunate one to lose her slave. Why? They don't deserve freedom, how is this possible? How often do you hear about freed slaves, and freed slaves with a right to roman citizenship while we are at it?
View attachment 1388637
All that anger and confusion would have to remain locked inside her mind, she could not do nothing, only a struck of luck could do this unlucky event...
And then, after a long time, the former owner of Kieara passed away. The authorities were shocked at his death, but Kieara was devastated, the man who granted her freedom passed away.

View attachment 1388638
Kieara only could wonder why this happened to him for hours and hours.
Little did she know, that one of those sunsets she spent hours on thinking would be her last sunset where her former owner would be the least of her worries.
View attachment 1388639


Stay tuned
Wow! Excellent start! :)

I love your use of sunsets. And sometimes there just isn't an image of your subject from a certain angle and you have to be creative, which I think you've carried off splendidly so far!

'Watch thread' is well and truly on! :)
 
The unexpected
Kieara watched the sunset, just as any other normal day since the death of her former owner. The city was unusually silent, except for the local palace, a building that could be considered a monument to unnecessarily pharaonic projects to show power.

TLDRW_06.jpg

The guards moved from one side to the other, after one of them discovered an attempt to murder the local governor. As if the city being half empty wasn't enough, a lockdown of the city was ordered in order to find who would dare to challenge the power of the empire like that.
TLDRW_05.jpg
Kieara, not used to getting visitors, heard people at her door.
TLDRW_07.jpg
Once she got out there, the sight was an unsettling one.
TLDRW_08.jpg
The guards didn't wait to tell her she was under arrest, they got the information that she was behind the murder attempt, and would be taken immediately.
TLDRW_09.jpg


Stay tuned
 
That was a lot to process in such a short amount of time, time that the guards didn't want to waste.

TLDRW_10.jpg

Kieara could only think what was going on, why her, why now, how if she had done nothing but stare at the hills for days.
TLDRW_11.jpg
The answer might have been closer than she thought.
TLDRW_12.jpg
No questions asked, no nothing, just thrown violently into a cell to hold her until the next day.
TLDRW_13.jpg
What could be more painful? The fall? The sudden thought of being accused of attempted murder?
TLDRW_14.jpg
She could only wonder while being left alone, any questions she made would be met with silence or complete indifference.
Sometimes, uncertainty can be worse than one thinks, at least a known fate is something that can be accepted... eventually...


Stay tuned
 
That was a lot to process in such a short amount of time, time that the guards didn't want to waste.

View attachment 1389932

Kieara could only think what was going on, why her, why now, how if she had done nothing but stare at the hills for days.
View attachment 1389933
The answer might have been closer than she thought.
View attachment 1389934
No questions asked, no nothing, just thrown violently into a cell to hold her until the next day.
View attachment 1389935
What could be more painful? The fall? The sudden thought of being accused of attempted murder?
View attachment 1389936
She could only wonder while being left alone, any questions she made would be met with silence or complete indifference.
Sometimes, uncertainty can be worse than one thinks, at least a known fate is something that can be accepted... eventually...


Stay tuned
I will stay tuned!

Love the action in TLDRW_13 :)
 
The night passed, with the streets still oddly empty, making the situation all the more unnerving for Kieara.
TLDRW_15.jpg
The sun began to rise, and so would Kieara, by force. The girl who had just stared at landscapes was restrained and dragged while she was still waking up.
TLDRW_16.jpg
No time to think or even put her own sandals, one of her few remaining possessions, she would have to just walk barefoot on a harsh terrain.
TLDRW_17.jpg
As she was finally gaining full consciousness after that abrupt wake up, she saw the place she used to work at, but now with other eyes.
TLDRW_18.jpg
She may be clueless to the actions of the guards, but the aim is becoming clear. At this point, her only hope is that all of this was a mistake, something that will just be an anecdote in some years.
TLDRW_19.jpg
 
The night passed, with the streets still oddly empty, making the situation all the more unnerving for Kieara.
View attachment 1390305
The sun began to rise, and so would Kieara, by force. The girl who had just stared at landscapes was restrained and dragged while she was still waking up.
View attachment 1390306
No time to think or even put her own sandals, one of her few remaining possessions, she would have to just walk barefoot on a harsh terrain.
View attachment 1390307
As she was finally gaining full consciousness after that abrupt wake up, she saw the place she used to work at, but now with other eyes.
View attachment 1390308
She may be clueless to the actions of the guards, but the aim is becoming clear. At this point, her only hope is that all of this was a mistake, something that will just be an anecdote in some years.
View attachment 1390309
Brilliant, creative use of the pictures we have of Bruna! :clapping:
 
A very personal trial

That huge building where she used to work for her owner... in theory, in practice she was his wife's slave, one person she'd rather forget.
TLDRW_20.jpg
She was taken inside by the guards.
TLDRW_21.jpg
To her surprise, someone was waiting for her.
TLDRW_22.jpg
The governor who was almost killed was there, doing his best to stand up and confront the person who tried to poison him. The guards left Kieara in the middle of the room, alone with no one to defend or help her.

A sort of interrogation would begin.
TLDRW_23.jpg
"It's a shame that you out of all the people, you would be the one who attempted to murder the governor of this region. Felix, one of the greatest generals of this region told me such great things of her slave, to the point of moving the sky, sea and the earth not just to make you free, but a citizen. Do you have any idea of what that means?"

After a silence, she replied
"I know it, and I'm forever grateful to him, but you got the wrong person, I would never dare try to kill anyon-"
TLDRW_24.jpg
The governor interrupted her.

"Enough with your lies, I have witnesses that as soon as you were freed, you tried to start an underground revolt, and the first step was to kill me and then take the throne, what's next, wanting to become the empress of Rome? Felix would be ashamed of you, at least he died peacefully after retiring, not having to witness how you betrayed his trust".

He seemed to be getting angrier and angrier, almost as if he was taking all of the anger he held against his enemies on Kieara, all of it falling on her shoulders.
 
A very personal trial

That huge building where she used to work for her owner... in theory, in practice she was his wife's slave, one person she'd rather forget.
View attachment 1391607
She was taken inside by the guards.
View attachment 1391608
To her surprise, someone was waiting for her.
View attachment 1391609
The governor who was almost killed was there, doing his best to stand up and confront the person who tried to poison him. The guards left Kieara in the middle of the room, alone with no one to defend or help her.

A sort of interrogation would begin.
View attachment 1391610
"It's a shame that you out of all the people, you would be the one who attempted to murder the governor of this region. Felix, one of the greatest generals of this region told me such great things of her slave, to the point of moving the sky, sea and the earth not just to make you free, but a citizen. Do you have any idea of what that means?"

After a silence, she replied
"I know it, and I'm forever grateful to him, but you got the wrong person, I would never dare try to kill anyon-"
View attachment 1391611
The governor interrupted her.

"Enough with your lies, I have witnesses that as soon as you were freed, you tried to start an underground revolt, and the first step was to kill me and then take the throne, what's next, wanting to become the empress of Rome? Felix would be ashamed of you, at least he died peacefully after retiring, not having to witness how you betrayed his trust".

He seemed to be getting angrier and angrier, almost as if he was taking all of the anger he held against his enemies on Kieara, all of it falling on her shoulders.
it just keeps getting better and better. Kieara has no idea what she’s in for.
 
TLDRW_25.jpg
"I will revoke your roman citizenship, you will get the treatment you always deserved as just another slave. And for trying to overthrow a roman authority, you will be condemned to death...! by crucifixion."
TLDRW_26.jpg
...this is a mistake right? Or a nightmare? Or anything? After being possibly one of the luckiest women in the empire, was this really happening?
TLDRW_27.jpg
It didn't even seem like the governor was poisoned, either that or he was using his remaining forces to yell at the guards to take Kieara to be whipped.
TLDRW_28.jpg
While being dragged by the guards, Kieara noticed something, she looked that hidden there was what she seemed to recognize as the woman that tormented her when she was a slave.
TLDRW_29.jpg
It makes sense... way too much sense, could it be that she... no... could she go to the extreme of plotting... but that's too much even for her, or is it? She was cruel but... resentful to that point?
 
The nightmare is just starting
No, maybe this IS a nightmare, she's just still on her cell and soon she will wake up and get released because she got arrested by mistake... right?
TLDRW_30.jpg
These remaining optimistic thoughts would begin to fade once she was dragged outside. Oddly enough, there was some people appearing on the place. Almost as if the ghost town suddenly said "hey, there's an execution, let's go and watch it".
TLDRW_31.jpg
It wasn't a lot of people, but it was more than Kieara expected.
TLDRW_32.jpg
The constant thoughts kept moving back and forward while she was dragged.
TLDRW_33.jpg
Until a violent stop, both physical and mental. The guards just dropped her on her face, and the pain from such a fall made her leave the sort of safety she had in her mind processing all of this, back to the real world thanks to the pain that would soon be nothing but a small taste of what would come.
TLDRW_34.jpg
 
The guards just dropped her on her face, and the pain from such a fall made her leave the sort of safety she had in her mind processing all of this, back to the real world thanks to the pain that would soon be nothing but a small taste of what would come.​
View attachment 1393173
Did you know when illustrating one of your stories the picture limit is ten per day?

Great story, by the way!
 
The nightmare is just starting
No, maybe this IS a nightmare, she's just still on her cell and soon she will wake up and get released because she got arrested by mistake... right?
View attachment 1393169
These remaining optimistic thoughts would begin to fade once she was dragged outside. Oddly enough, there was some people appearing on the place. Almost as if the ghost town suddenly said "hey, there's an execution, let's go and watch it".
View attachment 1393170
It wasn't a lot of people, but it was more than Kieara expected.
View attachment 1393171
The constant thoughts kept moving back and forward while she was dragged.
View attachment 1393172
Until a violent stop, both physical and mental. The guards just dropped her on her face, and the pain from such a fall made her leave the sort of safety she had in her mind processing all of this, back to the real world thanks to the pain that would soon be nothing but a small taste of what would come.
View attachment 1393173
Let the nightmare begin!
 
Did you know when illustrating one of your stories the picture limit is ten per day?

Great story, by the way!
Oh... I honestly think I read that but forgot it haha
The render/photomanipulations I create are about 2-3 per day anyways (I started the thread when I had about 12 made, so I could still upload pictures if I couldn't make new ones for a day or two), right now I have just 8 ready to publish, but I'm sorting them to publish 5 every day. If I manage to render more per day, I will increase the pictures uploaded... if I manage, because for reasons that will be clear soon, I am on a point where each picture takes a little more time to make
 
A thing that wasn't part of Kieara's imagination, was that indeed, her former tormentor was there, enjoying the spectacle with almost a front row seat, but still hiding in the shadows.
TLDRW_35.jpg

The show was starting for her, as Kieara was being lifted again by the guards.
TLDRW_36.jpg
The guards started taking Kieara's tunic. First her sandals, now her tunic was taken in front of a small crowd, but a crowd still...
TLDRW_37.jpg
...and now she was exposed, embarrassed.
TLDRW_38.jpg
After what felt like an eternity of being displayed in front of the guards and the people, she was grabbed by the soldiers, taking her to the post that would hold her in place for an unfair punishment.
TLDRW_39.jpg
 
A thing that wasn't part of Kieara's imagination, was that indeed, her former tormentor was there, enjoying the spectacle with almost a front row seat, but still hiding in the shadows.
View attachment 1393352

The show was starting for her, as Kieara was being lifted again by the guards.
View attachment 1393353
The guards started taking Kieara's tunic. First her sandals, now her tunic was taken in front of a small crowd, but a crowd still...
View attachment 1393354
...and now she was exposed, embarrassed.
View attachment 1393355
After what felt like an eternity of being displayed in front of the guards and the people, she was grabbed by the soldiers, taking her to the post that would hold her in place for an unfair punishment.
View attachment 1393356
i love how Kieara’s torso looks!
 
A thing that wasn't part of Kieara's imagination, was that indeed, her former tormentor was there, enjoying the spectacle with almost a front row seat, but still hiding in the shadows.
View attachment 1393352

The show was starting for her, as Kieara was being lifted again by the guards.
View attachment 1393353
The guards started taking Kieara's tunic. First her sandals, now her tunic was taken in front of a small crowd, but a crowd still...
View attachment 1393354
...and now she was exposed, embarrassed.
View attachment 1393355
After what felt like an eternity of being displayed in front of the guards and the people, she was grabbed by the soldiers, taking her to the post that would hold her in place for an unfair punishment.
View attachment 1393356
It's not easy to do a stripping scene as a photomanip - but this was nicely done, @justarandomguy! :)
 
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