#cookieg122

[pekoeboo]

(inspired by this post)

hurting myself thinking about Act II of HIWYA again. something about Antony losing his brother and then doing everything he can in his power to prevent Khalan from meeting a similar fate just really, really gets me, ok;; despite all odds being against him, he still tries to do good and help those around him - even if there's a chance that things might not turn out okay in the end.

and, like. idk. I just really love that a lot.

Bevin Papadopoulos belongs to @cookieg122. please do not repost. (reblogs are ok) also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

SORRY I have two OC blorbos to share and this got REALLY LONG but I hope!! that's ok!!!

my boy Khalan Al-Shariq!!!! he's a kind, quiet, and deeply empathetic guy cursed with both bad luck and immortality that does his best to take care of a little chaotic fairy princess (my friend @cookieg122's character Aya) - who he met after getting isekai'd into a different world that used to be loosely based on our Minecraft adventures lol.

his own personal character journey revolves around him learning how to eventually confront his own inner demons and trauma that stemmed from losing his abusive dad right before he was thrown into the other world. he starts out very meek and timid, afraid of the world around him and refusing to defend himself, but over time Aya teaches him how to fight back and take more agency over his life :'0

Khalan is also incredibly strong, even though he doesn't think so. physically, he can take a lot of abuse before it fully knocks him down, and he uses that as a way to protect Aya on their adventures ;o; mentally, he's gone through a lot and has struggled with the thought of giving up before, but meeting Aya is what gave him a new purpose in life after losing his dad. she's what keeps him going despite everything;; he's got a lot of self-doubt and struggles to see himself as someone worthy of love, but between both Aya and my other OC, Antony, they end up forming a small family of their own and Khalan is able to get the love that he desperately deserves ;A;

and here's Antony Papadopoulos - the son of a High Cleric and (supposed to be) future leader of his village! an unfortunate series of events brought him into Khalan and Aya's story and changed his life trajectory though, and instead of becoming the village leader, he uh.. . ends up reincarnating into an angelic demigod (it's a long story that I've never fully explained lol). he's a young cleric-in-training who specializes in potion-making and medical care, but also the art of divine purification ;o;

he's such a good kid, though;; he cares a lot about the people around him and only ever wants to help and heal people;;; he's got his own slew of trauma that he's gotta deal with as well, causing him to be rather emotionally-driven and impatient at times, but he uses some of what he's gone through to propel him into helping Khalan and Aya out in a difficult situation they found themselves in (they almost lose Khalan because of some terrible illness and a demon's meddling; it's a whole thing). Antony ends up being a sort of 'mediator' character in the group - utilizing his leadership skills in order to help Khalan and Aya with their communication issues and bring them all closer together ;o;

he and Khalan are the same age (both 17, but Antony is just slightly older), so they eventually see each other as brothers as time goes on :'0 Antony also takes on a big brother role for Aya as well, which is just so precious and special to me I love found family;;

anyway yeah!!!! those are my blorbos (including my friend's OC kfhgjskdfg) I care about them SO much and I apologize that this got long but I really tried to condense as much about them as I could in just a few short paragraphs xDD

(most of the content I have of this story is under the tag #Home Is Where You Are, in case anyone wants to learn more btw :'0)

OC PROPAGANDA!!! I WANT OC PROPAGANDA RIGHT NOW! Everyone show me the oc blorbo!!! I gotta know everyone's OCS tell me why you're spinning them around in your head!!! I want propaganda!!!

Please and thank you 🙏

[pekoeboo]

collection of random sketches that I'll never finish but still thought were decent enough to share ;o; got a mix of different things here, some of which I've never properly explained yet, unfortunately ><;;

most of these are first-pass sketches so details are missing and anatomy is off. I didn't feel like editing them for this compilation tho, hope that's ok :'0

Aya Armas and Bevin Papadopoulos belong to @cookieg122. please do not repost. also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

the babies!!!! :'D Aya is such a physically affectionate girl and I honestly love that about her ;o; tbh Khalan initially isn't sure how to respond to such a thing, but over time he learns to just accept (and reciprocate!) the hugs and kisses that she loves oh so much <3

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122 please do not repost. also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

quick sketch because I've had Feelings™ over these two again and I wanted to draw something small based on when they first met.

Khalan ended up hurting himself when he broke Aya out of the tomb that they both woke up in upon arriving in Atria, so Aya offered to help patch him up once they got to a safer location :'0 tbh Khalan isn't used to anyone taking care of him like that tho. it's a bit of a shock to him that anyone would be that gentle;; but gosh darn it he deserves it!!!

ugh. I love these two so, so much 😭 Aya is such a sweetheart when she wants to be and that just melts my heart always <3

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122. please do not repost. also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

ooooh this seems fun; gonna add onto this with one fact about Khalan from the three different stories he's involved in :0

In Home Is Where You Are, Khalan is actually only 17 years old and didn't quite reach his 18th birthday before he was cursed with immortality. He lies about his age and pretends that he's 18 in order to be considered a legal adult within Atria so he can care for Aya.

Within the Ravenwood RP, Melvin's involvement in Khalan's life as a father figure unintentionally pushes Khalan into a really bad mental state; one where he refuses to confront the memory of his own dad so he can finally lay him to rest and accept Melvin as a new father. This mental state spirals to the point where Khalan begins to hallucinate, and he eventually starts to believe that Jal's ghost is coming back to haunt him in order to punish him for what happened in the past. (this does get dealt with eventually, it's just... a really bad situation overall, rip)

On a much brighter note, one of Khalan's favorite songs in Codename: IRIS is Streaming Heart by DECO*27. He has a bit of a crush on the particular Hatsune Miku module that is used for the Project DIVA music video, though he obviously denies it when Aya calls him out on it, haha. the lyrics of the song don't really matter to him, but he loves the sound and the super edgy aesthetic. because he's 13 lol.

BONUS FACT!! this time for Antony instead: The tunic that he was gifted upon becoming a demigod is basically magic and can be replaced or summoned at any point, should anything happen to it. He never has to worry about losing it or the fabric getting destroyed, as he can always just conjure up a new one at will. super convenient! ;u;

(Aya Armas and Melvin Darke belong to @cookieg122 and @baskervilleshound, respectively)

This is your politically avoidant sign to reblog and put a fun fact about your OCs in the tags or reblogs! Share something you want an excuse to talk about, something silly, a song they'd like, or something to devastate a really specific person who's overinvested in them! Go crazy!!

[pekoeboo]

don't ever mess with his little sis!!!! >:0

honestly I don't draw enough of Khalan being protective of Aya so I had to change that;;; I love these two so much, gosh 😭💕

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122. please do not repost. also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

small collection of Khalan sketches (+Aya!!) because I keep thinkin of The Boi and got hit with the urge to draw him again;; (also that one with Aya is something I've wanted to draw for MONTHS and I FINALLY did it aaaAAA 😭💕)

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122 also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

guardian

Rating: G Word Count: 1,700

Summary: During their travels within Atria, Khalan and Aya set up camp for the night and take a much-needed rest. Khalan, however, has a lot on his mind; realizing the heavy responsibility he's taken on by choosing to care for Aya. Once she falls asleep for the night, Khalan has a moment to himself to think things over and grapple with the concept of being Aya's sole protector.

Mostly an introspective piece and a glimpse into Khalan's inner thoughts. This takes place around the time where Khalan and Aya are still getting to know each other, which I felt would be fun to explore a bit in writing. Just something kind of quiet, soft, and a bit angsty at the same time.

Warning/content tags are on AO3.

(Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122)

—

[Preview]

... I drew in a sharp breath, my gaze now drifting towards the glimmer of moonlight that danced across the river's gentle current. Its beautiful shimmer met my eyes, yet I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to fully take notice.

What if I wasn't good enough for Aya? My mind presented this question over and over. What if my visions were wrong, or I misinterpreted their meaning, and I wasn't truly supposed to be a father figure for her at all? Hell, I didn't even know what it meant to be a father. I certainly didn't have the best example of one to glean from, after all.

A few hot tears stung my eyes. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, suddenly feeling a chill shoot up my spine.

Perhaps it was time to get out of the water.

[Read the rest on AO3]

—

[pekoeboo]

I freaking loved this so much I had to draw a sketch of the Aftermath™

RIP Cookie.... of course Khalan would feel so bad about the fact that Aya did that to you, and would offer to carry you somewhere to sit down until u feel better <33 (at least Aya had fun tho haha!)

(oﾟvﾟ')ノI saw this trend going around on YouTube shorts, so I thought I'd have a crack at it!! Most people drew their OC scared of their creator. bUT NOT my AYA. I'M SCARED of that lil girl. If we met irl she'd totally wreck me- qwq' RIP Khalan for actually being able to handle her. -Khalan is my friend @pekoeboo's OC!! Thanks to her for helping me put my signature in the video~!

[pekoeboo]

just a fun lil thing based on a situation that happened while @cookieg122 and I were playing Minecraft!! we found a Roomba-esque robot dude that was trapped in a big research facility, so we rescued it and decided to incorporate that concept into our characters' adventures as well :'D (got a video recording of the actual "rescue" itself over on my other blog: [link])

Aya is absolutely smitten with the robot and thinks its the cutest thing Ever, and at first Khalan wasn't really sure about bringing it home, but it quickly grew on him when he realized that it could help him keep the house clean, lol! seems like technology really IS useful, after all xD

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122. please do not remove caption or repost. also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

here's a cute little Aya for my good friend @cookieg122's recent birthday!!!! was a little bit late with finishing the pic but I just had to draw this precious girl to celebrate! yay! :'D

tbh, I was really nervous about going over this pic with ink, but I REALLY wanted to do the wings with white gel pen so that overrode my fear of ruining the picture with the ink haha. fortunately, no major mistakes were made and I'm quite happy with this result! A bit challenging, sure, but still a lot of fun ;u;

(oh also! special shoutout to my friend @pixlokita, btw - who was kind enough to offer to draw a wing design for me some time ago, since I was struggling to figure out how fairy wings work, lol. her design was soooo perfect tho so I mimicked it to the best of my ability!! :'0)

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122. please do not remove caption or repost. also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

"It's okay, Khalan. I'm right here. You're safe."

some Pain based on a few new developments within the SMP story. got a decently long explanation under the cut, for anyone interested.

so @cookieg122 and I decided that Khalan and Aya eventually find themselves in Aya's home dimension - a world ruled by a race of powerful fairies who are hell-bent on eternal conquest and proudly declare their violent Empire as the strongest in the world. Aya was their princess, having disappeared under mysterious circumstances (aka when she arrived in Drehmal), and her older brother had been searching for her ever since.

her sudden return ended up placing Khalan under suspicion though - as Aya's brother wrongly assumed that Khalan was responsible for "kidnapping" Aya and had him arrested as a result;; the corrupt king also got involved, hearing terrible rumors that were quickly circulating about Khalan and believing that he had hurt his daughter, so he made the swift decision to have Khalan publicly tortured and executed the next morning (multiple times over; since Khalan is immortal) as a way to make an example out of him to the Empire's subjects and remind them of what happens if they step out of line and threaten the royal family.

so of course Aya saves him!!!! she convinces her brother that Khalan is innocent so he also helps out with the rescue, and between the two of them they manage to stand up to their dad and save Khalan from a terrible situation ;n;;

there's like. so SO much more to this concept that I can't really explain, but that's roughly what's going on within the feelsy art here;; I kept thinking of just. the intense emotions happening within that moment, of Aya stepping up and taking on the role of comforter even though that's normally Khalan's thing. role reversal tropes always get me, and tbh Khalan just needs a moment to break down and process just how terrifying that whole situation was before he can help Aya deal with everything too;;

srry this got long, I wasn't sure how else to explain this pic without going into some detail. but I hope y'all can appreciate the feels anyway ;o;

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122 also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

lol….. last art of 2023 and it's just a silly lil drawing that's loosely based on my friend Cookie's current playthrough of Tomodachi Life xD of course she had to add Khalan and Aya Miis into the mix to see what kinds of shenanigans they'd get up to, haha!

I loved Khalan's little winter hat that he ended up with in the game, so that's mostly what I wanted to draw here… but after sketching him out, I decided to draw Aya as well just for Extra Fun. thought they both turned out cute so I figured I might as well share! o(^��^)o

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122 also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

been seeing this art meme going around and I had to jump on the bandwagon with Khalan and Aya lol xD couldn't pass up this opportunity, it was too perfect haha

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122. please do not remove caption or repost. also on deviantart

[pekoeboo]

I haven't finished reading everything you've written about your characters, but I have two questions! What would their favorite food and/or snacks be and why? Is it something that's simply a matter of taste or does it hold a strong memory for them? It seems silly to ask but food can be very important to people, both the familiar and experimental.

And second question: Are there any biomes that your characters have found they love? (Real, minecraft, or original.) Traveling all over and seeing different places means your OC's probably have firsthand opinions, good and bad. ;)

ooooooh honestly I've thought about the food thing to an extent before! not so much on Antony's side of things for some reason, but definitely in regards to Khalan (and also kind of Aya by extension) ;o;

gonna also put this under a cut because boy howdy my responses tend to get so long hahaha xD

I know Antony's village has a heavy focus on apples as a main food product that has cultural and religious significance, so I do think that the smell and taste of apples is incredibly comforting and nostalgic for him. wine was also culturally-significant for his village, and Antony has a pretty refined palate in that regard as well. as far as specific foods go, though, I'm not entirely sure what he prefers yet. I'll have to give it some thought.

a bit of a trigger warning I suppose, but Khalan has... a complicated relationship with food. probably bordering on the lines of an eating disorder, if I'm being honest. he sees it as something that he has to "earn," because of how his dad would withhold food from him sometimes as punishment, so the idea of just. being Allowed to eat anything he wants whenever he wants is something that's really difficult for him to learn over time. he'll usually deny himself food if he feels he deserves it for whatever reason and feels incredibly guilty over the idea of enjoying it.

but there are some things he really does like, if he allows himself to. for one, he finds fresh bread to be comforting and versatile - he grew up farming wheat so he's used to the whole process of turning it into bread. it's one of those foods for him that makes him feel "safe" in a way, because it's familiar (it's also Aya's favorite, according to @cookieg122 ;u;). coffee is something else he enjoys, typically with cardamom and cinnamon ;o; he tends to like warm, savory, or spiced foods, but as far as sweets are concerned, he genuinely loves pumpkin pie the most - which is something he got to try for the first time at a tavern in Drehmal and immediately fell in love with it <3

ah! the traveling question!!! that one's a really exciting concept because all three characters (Khalan, Aya, and Antony) had never really left their places of origin until their respective story events take place. traveling was a huge culture shock for all of them, and they're constantly exploring new places, so they end up seeing SO many different biomes over time.

I'd say Khalan's personal favorite would be something like a temperate forest, especially within a mountainous region. he finds forests and rivers to be especially lovely, and the ability to scale a mountain to see so far into the distance from such an impossible height is incredibly thrilling for him... but it's also a location where he feels the most at peace during the day. he likes to catalogue what flora and fauna he comes across in a trail journal by drawing what he sees and describing it to the best of his ability (as I've done away with his cartography profession since it didn't fit as well anymore).

he's the kind of person who tends to consider most forms of nature to be beautiful and awe-inspiring, as it fills his creative mind with ideas and stories and poems and songs that he'll frantically write down whenever the inspiration hits. adventuring is difficult and dangerous, but looking back on his time in Drehmal, he only remembers the most romantic aspects of traveling because his brain blocked out a lot of the traumatic stuff.

however, his least favorite biome is definitely a frozen tundra. they were forced to camp out in a region like that before and he 100% ended up freezing to death a few times just to make sure that Aya was able to use whatever provisions they had so she could stay warm and survive;; not a fun time. another bad kind of area would be anything volcanic in nature, like the Hellcrags/Carmine within Drehmal.

Antony has a few he enjoys and hates, as well. his first impression of a different biome was the temperate sakura blossom grove that Khalan and Aya were staying in within Atria, as that was the first time he had ever traveled beyond his home village. but I don't really think he'd count that as a favorite location because being there was such a stressful and awful time for him, unfortunately. The Nether is obviously another location that has a lot of trauma attached to it for him, too.

as far as more positive experiences go, he's definitely most comfortable within a Mediterranean biome - since that's where he grew up - but he tends to enjoy warm, subtropical beaches and also finds a lot of beauty in the snowy northern mountains/taiga; two locations he only experienced within Bocca. temperature isn't exactly an issue for him after becoming a demigod (his body naturally regulates to adapt to whatever temperature he's in, meaning he's never uncomfortable unless we're talking extreme hot or cold), so he can enjoy a lot of environments without feeling the effects of the weather all that much. out of those two locations, however, I'd say he considers the snow to be the most magical - especially the day after a storm when it's all fluffy and sparkly in the morning sunlight ;o;

there's probably more that I'm missing tho but that's about all I can think of to cover those questions!! thank you so much for the ask, I genuinely appreciate the enthusiasm <33 take care! ;u;;