#again mostly doing this for myself

[frayed-symphony]

Part 1 of the OC lore dump and sketches for my second self-published picture book 256 Postcards Ago under the cut;

When I first decided to make another picture book I wanted the entire thing to be done as pixelart because this story was very inspired by videogames that were important to me. I realized early on this would be a nightmare to print and dropped the idea. Here's the pixelart cover!

My biggest inspiration for the book was Majora's Mask which features one boy transforming into 3 different shaped characters. I started to play with the idea of imaginary friends and it bloomed from there.

A couple of locations in the book were also loosely inspired by Majora like the rainbow observatory and tunnels under the town. Nothing too significant but enough that I wanted to mention them.

I based the protagonist on Juni from the Spy Kids movies and his robot bug R.A.L.P.H! I really love those movies and I wanted to see more adventures between the two so Nicholas and Digit were born.

Ollie the elephant cloud was a little inspired by Kirby but mostly I just wanted a third friend who was bigger but still looked huggable and a cloud animal felt right.

In the book there is one female friend is called Ludo. Her name comes from a board game I used to play with my family. I also really love Egyptian designs and based her head on Anubis. Here's some early logo designs too.

Ludo's hourglass represents the time that Nicholas still believes in his imaginary friends, this is also where the title comes from. He has many adventures with these friends which he narrates via postcards. In 256 more postcards from this story he will have grown up.

The postcard the story is based on appears at the beginning of the book and is written by 'Ludo'. At this point Nicholas believes Ludo is real because they've been sending postcards but at the books' end you see his father is the one who has been writing them all along.

Just like the father from Hurricane Lane's appearance was based on an actor from BBC's Merlin so was the father here; this time Arthur. I wanted the two dads to meet someday and become fast friends. The mother isn't shown or mentioned but she passed away young.

Nicholas' dad owns a hotel called Shrublands and his shop sign might look familiar too. The character currently checking in at the counter is my best friends OC who was an amazing support to me whilst making these books. Just a fun cameo!

I also just wanted to take this moment to show the amazing work my friend Lil-Samuu created! She made me little plushies of Ollie and Digit and a hat and scarf Digit as well!!

Aaaaand I went overboard and hit the image limit so I'll put the rest in a part two soon!

(And you can read the book here;) Amazon paperback; http://amzn.com/1484839765 eBook; https://frayedsymphony.gumroad.com/l/JVgUp

[marsosims]

made a speed build of this :D

[u3pxx]

guess what i've been reading recently

[welcometogrouchland]

(ID in alt) I literally said I was gonna post this month's ago and then never had the wherewithal to describe it and so I didn't Lmao (said with pain). But since I'm thinking of opening my commissions I figured I should remind ppl that I. Yknow. Can draw.

Lots of Steph here (I had major art block making all of these and my brain worms for her kept me going) + some sprinkles of stephcass for Cass nation to enjoy!

[traumawhomst]

Solaris and Songbird

A snippet of a full version of this earlier post I made

(450 words)

Fae King and (GN) Child Reader

The Summer King was not always the most kind Fae, he could scarcely afford it. In his world kindness was weakness waiting to be paid back in kind. So when he heard a young voice pierce his quiet peace, he decided to use the as a lesson about his forest. It would an easy task, appear and play with them a bit, maybe turn them to a songbird since they seemed to love their voice. A punishment to neglectful parents about teaching your child to walk around the forest alone as if they owned it.

He had admit that the child did have a rather sweet voice for a human, and he thought of doing something more than just a simple songbird, maybe one that could also speak and mimic sounds. It would be amusing if nothing else.

The child was bent over in the dirt, singing some old folk song, hair loosely pulled back dirty and sweaty. Who knows when they last had a bath, the King scoffed internally. It only strengthened his resolve to turn them to a songbird. At least he knew how to care for his things.

He stepped into the forest clearing, the air around them both growing thick and wild, a smell of hot summer grass hung like a cloud. The King watched with a smile as the figure froze in place, smart child, to know when they were outmatched, no grand heroics or disrespect would save them now. The child lifted their face, and the King was oddly pleased, it was cleaner than their hair and he could that the child had spent most of their life facing towards the sun. Their eyes looked the same as a fawn caught in the sight line of a wolf, but their mouth was turned into a hesitant smile.

The smile caught him off guard, and before he could think too much on it, the child open their mouth and spoke

“Hello,” they said, their voice soft with a slight tremor but a distinct note of hope, “what’s your name?”

With those simple four words, the King knew that this was to be his third child. A neglected songbird, but with a quick wit and curiosity that spoke of greater things than their tiny village. He wanted to scoop them up, and tell of all the great things they would see and do. But this was not his first time bringing a child of his own. So he smiled as he knelt to be closer to the eye level with the child.

“You, songbird, may call me, Solaris, may I know what you to call you songbird?”

When the child’s face brightened, any hesitation or second doubts were gone, this child was his and he couldn’t wait to bring them home.

[candyheartedchy]

It’s been 4 days since I drew any of my self ships.

[abirddogmoment]

insulting and offensive how regularly mindfully training your dog actually leads to visible progress towards good dog manners

[katzirrart]

Slams this down on the desk and goes back to commissions.

[gingerwerk]

helter skelter in a summer swelter

Sledgefu, Vietnam War/Roadtrip AU

In 1967, desperate to take part in his generation’s great war, nineteen-year-old Eugene Sledge defied his family to join the Marines, completely unaware that this decision would completely change the trajectory of his life.

In 1973, twenty-five-year-old Eugene Sledge finally felt as if he were getting his life back together again when, after five years of silence, Snafu Shelton appeared on his doorstep in Brooklyn with a question: “You ever seen the Grand Canyon?”

Coming to an AO3 near you January 9, 2025!

[marblerose-rue]

basking in moonlight

[windydrawallday]

Another "Thank You" doodle! I'm not putting names: each one will know what they contributed to make me gather the courage to do this x)

[sweetgaleria]

Help a college student graduate by answering a survey!!

Hey!! Are you over 18 and in the miraculous fandom? Then this is for you!!

Hi everyone, this is my last semester of uni, and one of my final projects to be able to graduate is to write a scientific paper. I'm writing an article about adult fans of children's animation, specifically Miraculous Ladybug. My goal is to understand what makes adults (like us) want to join fandoms centered around shows aimed primarily at children, and to do that I'd love to hear directly from the source! The survey takes around 10 minutes to answer, it's 100% anonymous and it would help me immensely!

>>Click here for the survey<<

I need at least 30 people to answer, but honestly the more the merrier! I've also made a little thank you gif at the end, so if you see it let me know! If you have any questions feel free to send me an ask, as well!

Please reblog so it can reach more people! Thank you so much!

[tumblweeds-omegaverse]

random omegaverse thought:

There must be people who experience specific instinct things with indifference or boredom.

Procreative cycle coming up? "Crap, I've got plans this weekend...stupid skip weeks."

Caught an intriguing scent while walking? "But I need to get to work! Shut up brain."

Had a snap response to a distressed sound? "Who was it?! ...right, it's my day off, I can go back to sleep."

Somebody growled at them? "Kid, I'm not a rival, that's my sibling."

Super cozy cuddle session happening nearby? "I'm gonna pass tonight guys, no social battery left, maybe next time."

Group of friends heading out to flirt and check out other singles? "I'm coming with you but only to make sure you all get home safe."

Setting where fated mates or soul bonds or permanent marks are a thing? "Meh. I don't really want one or care if I ever get one."

People in the actual omegaverse would get as bored of their stuff, as we do of ours, you know? It could be interesting to see that kind of vibe in fics. Biological demands faced with all the excitement of paying bills or doing laundry or tying your shoes.

Even if that kind of energy might not drive a plot, it could be interesting to have as a contrast to the people who do have big feelings about them - good or bad.

There's the friends who can't wait til they have a pack of their own, and the one friend who isn't against it but couldn't care less. There's the group in the office who are all about scent compatibility tests and figuring out one's best match and what sprays most highlight it, and the coworker who has no intentions on putting that much effort in. There are parents who hover and protect their offspring by scenting them multiple times a day, and others who don't see what the fuss is as long as it's done in the morning.

...also: packs with introverts who show care by giving each other space. So often, closeness is depicted through physical touch and tactile affection, but comfortable silence is meaningful too. Knowing people are near, but not having to interact until you're ready. Sitting in the same room doing different things, knowing that all it takes is a "hey, look at this" to share what you're up to. People understanding and accepting each other's differing or fluctuating needs for how and when to recharge. Seeing somebody reaching out or sharing space, beyond what's their norm, as a signal of the fact that they care.

[sakuraspoke]

back on my meds can i get a well done jess, i know that was a really big thing for you, and i'm so proud that you made this decision to help yourself despite how scared you've been about it hell yeah 🥺

[kateis-cakeis]

The fact there's more tracks missing from the Merlin Soundtrack than just the S5 ones is incredibly frustrating.

There's so much good music in the show that isn't on the playlists and arghhh it's soo frustrating because it would be so good to listen to!!! Especially for writing, sobs.

[aq2003]

compiled all the currently released clips of macbeth (that i know of)