A wise man once said, "I hate Thursdays" (Arthur Dent, A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) but I don't think they're so bad. I get to have my monitors plastered with a plethora of community creations and spend the whole day looking at them while writing. What's not to love? There are worse ways to spend my time and worse jobs to have so I cannot say that I hate Thursdays. I bet you all want to see what I've got on deck for this week so I won't beat around the bush. It's content time! Also, I feel like this is gonna be a long one so get comfortable.

Oh one last thing before we get started! If your content is in here, be sure you read to the end for the new process on how to send in your information to collect your 🔥🦄 skin/nameplate.

Alright, we're off. For real this time!

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

Y'all. Look how cute these guys are. No seriously, look at them! "Cute" is not really the first adjective that comes to mind when I think about Hunters but honestly, it's too fitting for these two. If you're wondering where this came from, look no further than /u/Hero_of_Ideals from Reddit. I really hope we get to see more Halo in this style because I really want to see a whole adorable suite of characters.

Snack Break

I've been slowly creating a small stash of songs I find from the depths of YouTube for this section but this week, @ichos_music made his own little arrangement of the Halo theme and tagged it so I'd find it! I think he did a great job and wanted to share it with you all. Enjoy! :)

Snicker's Doodles

Here we are at the bulk of the blog. I like to think of each section like ingredients that all come together for one delectable piece. This is where we start putting everything together so let's get started, shall we?

Since I just hosted someone from the Minecraft team on the 343 Social Stream, it only makes sense to kick things off with a Minecraft build. This is a scale replica (as close to 1:1 as possible) of the UNSC Savannah (a ship that participated in the battles during the fall of Reach) in our favorite block building game by /u/Brock_Cherry. I know I've mentioned how good my Minecraft skills are in the past so I'm always amazed at these skillfull creations and absolutely love them. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to blow this up so don't let me in your Minecraft worlds.

One of the things I really like seeing is the improvement people make over time. I don't get to see it often, but when I do, I'm always blown away. Case in point, check out @271Raptor's one year improvement on this Grim Reaper looking Spartan. There's a definite improvement and it pleases me greatly. Ordinarily I'd have gone back searching for the original image but I decided to keep the tweet with the date so you all can see it for yourselves.

I get some Kat vibes from Raptor's Spartan so there's only one logical follow up to that and it's a Warthog! While Chief is currently behind the wheel here in @EiffelArt's 'hog, I can totally see Kat hopping behind the wheel and careening around a corner to splatter me against the rock I was hiding behind during a LASO run. No, I'm not still upset at this, why do you ask?

Alright /u/JacenC21, we gotta talk about your creative thread titles. Your sword-wielding Master Chief is lovely and elegant but surely you could have come up with a slightly more impressive title for it. "Community Spotlight Submission" lacks a certain panache.

Gears 5 recently came out and turns out, people really like wielding weapons with chainsaws. It's only natural that Spartans would find Lancers intruiging and @matthewo1o is here to show us how intimidating it can look. This isn't something I'd want to run up against in a dark alley, that's for sure.

While we're looking at some cross-over stuff, /u/KeroseneLazer asked the age-old question, "What if Master Chief was in Titanfall?" Honestly, I don't entirely know what to think about this but it's certainly imposing. What do you think about it?

I don't know about you, but I seem to remember a lot of people in Halo 3 running around wearing the infamous Hayabusa armor. If that wasn't edgy enough, @Rythayze upped the ante a bit with this manga-looking Hayabusa. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, I see this.

Did I mention that the above was a Halo-inspired inktober piece? No? Okay so the above was a Halo-inspired inktober piece and even better? There's just SO much quality Halo artwork right now like @louisiana144's work here. She included the before/after of the coloring process which is always a fun thing to see. It looks great in both black and white and color.

More inktober, this time from @fun_frostbite over on Instagram. The prompt used for this was "swing" and here we see a Brute doing what he does best, swinging away.

If the Brute is too, well, brute-al (sorry not sorry), maybe @exclamation_mok's Arbiter holding a flamethrower will be more your speed. I think he's super cute!

I was surfing ArtStation again and I saw this Grunt by @NSoubes. There's so much about it that I love and it's totally not because it's got pink/purple all over it. Apparently today is "Cute Covenant Day" and I'm okay with that.

Okay okay. I get it. Not everone wants cute. /u/Bowsar4 has been working on some Elite drawings for his brother and to be frank, they're incredible. Don't believe me? Just look at the level of detail on them. Apparently there's 2 more coming and I cannot wait.

Despite calling this "Hyrulian" when the residents of Hyrule are "Hylian," I'll let it slide this time because /u/Sgt_salt1234's Spartan reminds me a little bit of the start of A Link to the Past. You know, the part where you're in the sewer running around? I think it's the wall.

I'm not saying that @TheTeflonWeasel has the best name in this week's Spotlight but he might totally have the best name in this week's Spotlight. Also the CE Spartans with Halo 2 weapons are pretty sweet too. Check the tweet for the final work!

This weekend is the birthday of one Spartan-II known as Kurt-051. It seems fitting to show off /u/GEK_Vengeful's tribute to Onyx made in Operation: Trebuchet. This is pretty close to the Ghosts of Onyx cover!

I am really enjoying this Prophetess of Obligation by @Spartan_Mandy. She looks decidedly unimpressed, but also elegant.

We're used to seeing the honeycomb/geometric pattern on Chief's visor but seeing it on the big guy's armor is different and I like it! There's a lot of progress shots on @Sean_Murphy_B's Art Station page. I've included a couple here but be sure to check out the full collection. I love seeing how it all comes together.

I hope when /u/Dragon_Knight99's Spartans get to where they're going, there's rideable Moa because why not? Imagine a squad of Spartans coming at you on those birds and tell me it doesn't put a smile on your face.

For being the only Cortana piece I've come across this week, I adore StellarStateLogic's work here. There's something about the way she's casually sitting while the Ring behind her is breaking.

This next Master Chief by @FrancisCheck came in hot and was a last minute addition. I couldn't NOT include this though, look how good it is! The lighting, the clean lines. This is beautiful.

Everyone has an image in their mind of what Chief is like. For AB I, it's standing tall and alone in the Control Room with a shine to his Mjolinr. I love the color palette and the level of detail in the reflection.

I looked for a Twitter or Instagram for the artist going by Rulez on Artstation but could not find one. I also struggled between which of Rulez's Forerunner landscapes to show and couldn't decide so you get both. They're simply breathtaking. The sheer scale of the Forerunner architechture in the first one is jaw dropping and the second one has a beautiful vista.

Half Baked and Homemade

Going with a wombo-combo and combining sections this week. We've got both hand drawn and handmade goodies for your viewing pleasure.

Inktober is very quickly turning into my favorite thing about October. Sam and Tony share @wishhful which is kind of neat because we get to see both his and her takes on some prompts like "Love." These are sweet and I love both takes.

What's that? You said Master Chief is your true love? Here's a pre-color Master Chief by @HaloEnthusiast. I really want to see this colored in, I bet it'll look really good!

Don't worry, I didn't forget about inktober! I'm back wtih more! Like /u/xFreezingTurtle's Legendary emblem. I dig it, especially the skull crack.

I never knew how much I wanted to see rideable Moa with a chaingun turret but after seeing @TexD41's inktober piece, that's all I want. I wonder who I have to ask to make that happen.

REDHAWK99 is looking forward to Halo Infinite (as we all are!) and made this awesome sketch. He's also ventured over to Instagram now so you can follow him there if that's your jam.

Seeing this luggage cart full of Grunts by @PickledGear is my favorite thing. Mostly because taking a safari on the ONI Sword Base luggage cart is something my squad and I totally did in Halo: Reach at one point and we're looking forward to doing it again in glorious 60FPS.

It was /u/Karu0792's boyfriend's birthday so she did what any loving girlfriend does and got him a birthday cake. Not just any cake though, it's a homemade Halo themed cake. Now if only it weren't chocolate, this would be my perfect kind of cake.

If you didn't get a chance to see the Elite display at this summer's Halo: Outpost Discovery, @GCustomsCreati1 is bringing the Elite to your screen. There's even a contingency of UNSC personnel admiring him and it's so precious.

How do you take down the Covenant? Well. Tank beats everything right? Looks like @VGC117 is taking that adage to heart and has deployed a Scorpion to the field.

We all know the "Betcha can't stick it!" dialogue between Chief and Cortana, right? If not, well, I don't know what to say about that... Okay that's not true. I'm disappointed if you don't know that exchange. @InaDayorTwooooo is a fan of the lines and it inspired her to chalk this one up.

Eye Candy

Every week I think, "Okay I've seen all the tattoo ideas possible" (especially after that giant Guardian back piece!) and every week I'm proven wrong. You know what though? I don't mind even in the slightest because it means getting to see a lot of neat art work.

Alright it's not a tattoo but this body paint by /u/elleauramua is incredible. Over 7 hours, she painted this scene of Chief overlooking Requiem on herself. The level of dexterity and skill of having to do it in a mirror is much greater than any I possess. This is by far the most unique selection in this week's blog and it's well deserving for kicking off this section. Also? The eye makeup is spot on but I'd expect nothing less from a makeup artist. :)

Sometimes all it takes to share something is a bit of inspiration. /u/dipstick018 saw someone else post their Halo tattoo and decided to share his Energy Sword forearm ink. Now, I don't have a tattoo but I suspect that getting inked hurts a heck of a lot less than getting stabbed with hot plasma blade.

For his third tattoo, /u/KBRoli decided to pay homage to the series that he grew up playing with his brother and father. Nothing screams family more than ODST drop pods.

Speaking of ODSTs, /u/crazykidsbite911's ODST tattoo is the natural choice to follow up with. The shading on here is so well done and I can almost hear the soulful saxophone jazzing away just by looking at this.

Some things are absoutely worth the wait. Like /u/StrongCrab's Halo tattoo. He waited 11 years to get this done based off of his Halo 2 emblem. Super clean outline with the distinctive Halo look.

If anyone ever asks /u/AlwaysinLo to give the Covenant back their bomb, he'll just have to channel his inner Chief. From the looks of it, Chief is ready to ask permission to leave the station.

Skulls in Halo are so much fun to play with. I absolutely love the Grunt Birthday Party skull because, well, who doesn't like to hear a cheerful, "Hooray!" when you headshot a Grunt? @CaptainSlayer seems to agree since he decided to ink it on his forearm.

Sweet Rolls

Just enough videos for a solid afternoon matinee viewing. Popcorn: Check. Drink: Check. Comfy blanket: Check.

If you're looking for a new, somewhat creepy Infection map, just in time for Halloween, I recommend checking out "Run from the Grunt" by @ForgersOf. This looks clever and fun, I wonder if I can find some people to give it a whirl with me!

If you haven't heard, HCS is counting down to their 5th anniversary. If you haven't seen it yet, you should absolutely check out the video that our very own @MuggsyLT made for @HCS. I know this isn't the "standard" community content but everyone should watch this. I know Muggsy has been heads down working really hard on another video and I'm looking forward to that one, especially after seeing this one.

I love when fans make movie-style trailers for Halo games. Just like @EtherealEOD did for Halo 2 Anniversary here. Brownie points for adding in the "House of the Rising Sun" song too.

We recently held our Halo Insider Xbox multiplayer flight for Halo: Reach. Many of you played and participated and gave us great feedback. @MintBlitz was one of the many who played many, many games. He played so many, he made a montage for the Insider flight. Check it out!

Do you like playing Capture the Flag? Have you ever challenged yourself to get a stealth cap of the flag? (You know, how you bring it from base to base without being seen/taking damage.) I've done it a few times but generally get too impatient. The crew over @Ninja__Story have made it a challenge for themselves to pull off stealth caps and made a montage of it. This spans a bunch of Halo games, including some Wizard/Derelict matches (which is no easy feat!) and is unique and fun to watch.

Petit Fours

We've reached the myriad of other assorted delicacies on offer this week. Enjoy!

Doodle's Snickers

Literally minutes after I published my last Spotlight, I saw @a_scientoonist's Halo Kitty Kat piece and I've been saving it for this moment. Even the Forerunner monument is a cat!

Fin

That's a wrap! Normally, this is where I make sure to tell you all that if you are featured in this week's Spotlight to message me your Gamertag but I'm shaking it up a bit. If your artwork/creation is somewhere in this blog, please fill out this form with the information requested. Having this in one place will make it easier for me to grant goodies in a timely way. As a bonus, if you have an Instagram account, it's a very easy way for me to keep a running list for when we need content for the Halo Instagram Spotlights. So remember, fill out the form with your information, and I'll get those Fire Unicorn rewards sent out next week.

Ciao! xx

--Sam