! REPORT
Between Bats
3D Render by Samara BlueThe Disciplin of Darkness
by one who has learned that silence can be mightier than words)
Sometimes it takes a mask to endure the world.
And sometimes it takes teeth — to protect yourself, or to appear untouchable, to keep others at a distance.
She crouches motionless on a beam high above the ground. From afar, she resembles a Geisha — though she has long since become something else entirely. She doesn’t just understand the law of silence, she embodies it. She hardly moves, and yet you can feel her presence, the way you sense something unseen when you believe you’re alone.
Her face, hidden beneath a mask of oriental paint, leaves no doubt. Her red-glowing eyes see more than she wishes to reveal. Her seemingly open smile exposes a glimpse of her true nature. The scars on her skin are not wounds — they are confessions. Confessions and memories. Marks of an ancient patience, born from pain and endless repetition. She knows that submission can sometimes be the most elegant form of control — and that a smile can be the deadliest weapon.
The people below have no idea who she truly is. They think she’s a ghost, an omen, a curse clinging to the rooftops — something to cross themselves against. But her red eyes do not burn with hatred; they burn with vigilance, old as the night itself. She lives where others refuse to look — in the corners and cracks of the sleeping city, where fear itself makes its home. And she watches, though she is never alone.
Around her, the night stirs. Wings whisper, shadows flit. Bats — her kin, her sentinels, her spies — tiny breathing mirrors of her own being. They see what humans repress: that darkness is not the opposite of light, but its memory. And that memory terrifies them, though they will never admit it.
Those who see her once never forget. She will perch upon their shoulder from that moment on — through good days and bad — and she will speak, and they will listen, because they cannot help it.
Perhaps because she awakens what they fear most: the quiet knowing that someone has already seen their weakness — and does not judge.
That is her true power.
She does not hunt. She waits.
For the moment when the masks of others begin to fall.
Then she smiles — and for the briefest heartbeat,
it feels as if the darkness itself holds its breath…
-Samara Blue/Kerstin Ellinghoven
Making of – “Horror GeishaThe idea was to transform a symbol of cultivated beauty — the Geisha — into something uncanny, almost demonic. A being that appears graceful at first glance, yet evokes unease the longer you look.
The scene was created with DAZ Assets in DAZ Studio, rendered in two separate passes. The second render was used to generate additional fog and depth effects, enhancing the atmospheric layering.
Postwork was done entirely in Photoshop, combining both renders in multiple layers.
Adjustments included:
– fine-tuning of exposure, contrast, and color temperature,
– dodge & burn to emphasize facial highlights and metallic reflections,
– addition of rain, fog, and surface textures using layovers and custom brushes,
– final tonal balancing to unify the overall lighting mood.
No AI tools or automated filters were used — all edits were performed manually using traditional photo-editing techniques.
Made with Daz 3D I Adobe Photoshop I Krefeld, 19.10.2025
by one who has learned that silence can be mightier than words)
Sometimes it takes a mask to endure the world.
And sometimes it takes teeth — to protect yourself, or to appear untouchable, to keep others at a distance.
She crouches motionless on a beam high above the ground. From afar, she resembles a Geisha — though she has long since become something else entirely. She doesn’t just understand the law of silence, she embodies it. She hardly moves, and yet you can feel her presence, the way you sense something unseen when you believe you’re alone.
Her face, hidden beneath a mask of oriental paint, leaves no doubt. Her red-glowing eyes see more than she wishes to reveal. Her seemingly open smile exposes a glimpse of her true nature. The scars on her skin are not wounds — they are confessions. Confessions and memories. Marks of an ancient patience, born from pain and endless repetition. She knows that submission can sometimes be the most elegant form of control — and that a smile can be the deadliest weapon.
The people below have no idea who she truly is. They think she’s a ghost, an omen, a curse clinging to the rooftops — something to cross themselves against. But her red eyes do not burn with hatred; they burn with vigilance, old as the night itself. She lives where others refuse to look — in the corners and cracks of the sleeping city, where fear itself makes its home. And she watches, though she is never alone.
Around her, the night stirs. Wings whisper, shadows flit. Bats — her kin, her sentinels, her spies — tiny breathing mirrors of her own being. They see what humans repress: that darkness is not the opposite of light, but its memory. And that memory terrifies them, though they will never admit it.
Those who see her once never forget. She will perch upon their shoulder from that moment on — through good days and bad — and she will speak, and they will listen, because they cannot help it.
Perhaps because she awakens what they fear most: the quiet knowing that someone has already seen their weakness — and does not judge.
That is her true power.
She does not hunt. She waits.
For the moment when the masks of others begin to fall.
Then she smiles — and for the briefest heartbeat,
it feels as if the darkness itself holds its breath…
-Samara Blue/Kerstin Ellinghoven
Making of – “Horror GeishaThe idea was to transform a symbol of cultivated beauty — the Geisha — into something uncanny, almost demonic. A being that appears graceful at first glance, yet evokes unease the longer you look.
The scene was created with DAZ Assets in DAZ Studio, rendered in two separate passes. The second render was used to generate additional fog and depth effects, enhancing the atmospheric layering.
Postwork was done entirely in Photoshop, combining both renders in multiple layers.
Adjustments included:
– fine-tuning of exposure, contrast, and color temperature,
– dodge & burn to emphasize facial highlights and metallic reflections,
– addition of rain, fog, and surface textures using layovers and custom brushes,
– final tonal balancing to unify the overall lighting mood.
No AI tools or automated filters were used — all edits were performed manually using traditional photo-editing techniques.
Made with Daz 3D I Adobe Photoshop I Krefeld, 19.10.2025
She see's what others cannot. Beautiful and terrifying to not have the walls that hide our inner thoughts from others. This is just a repost of what was said in the Daz Gallery. Just wanted to support you Samara. Best of luck with this submission in the contest my friend.
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! REPORT
Samara Blue
Karma: 7,631
Wed, Oct 29As already mentioned in the DAZ gallery, thoughts should be free. They are a personal sanctuary, and the idea that it could be otherwise is rightly frightening. So, perfectly suited for a short Halloween story 
. But sometimes I wonder if some people would think more carefully about what they think if their thoughts weren't secret. Thanks for stopping by 
. But sometimes I wonder if some people would think more carefully about what they think if their thoughts weren't secret. Thanks for stopping by 
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