#ithaca is faeries

[rachelillustrates]

My fellow Ithacans!! (And people who are within driving distance): I will be at Ithaca Artist Market one week from tomorrow 🧚💗🧚

Come visit me and over 80 other local/regional artisans – including food vendors, live music, spirits (though not the kind I draw, to my knowledge), access to an evening boat tour AND a raffle!!

Information here, and register here to be entered into the raffle (and give helpful information to the powers that be!).

🍃💚 Learn more about the Community Arts Partnership’s Ithaca Artist Market at ArtsPartner.org 💚🍃

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Bonus art and stories ~ Prints, comics and more!

[technicolor-rhapsody]

The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour And decked with gold and precious stones and pearls Having a golden cup in her hand Full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication

THE QUEEN ATOP THE BEAST

[demonwebs]

overall I just love vhaal as a character. it's obvious you've put a lot of thought into him. I think it's neat too that you delve into Szarkai, and have weaved the lore into something more just by using the small scraps of information that given about them. reading your writing and replies is truly a treat.

Anonymously send me your favorite detail about how I play my character.

crying real life tears that u actually put yourself through the pain of reading all of those paragraphs to interact with this moron . that was such a fever dream to write, it means everything to me u can validate my insanity and appreciate my nonsense, u have no idea, love u sm buddy <3

[faebhaal]

I could write an essay on why Ithaca being fey works so well in her favor as Durge (as well as bhaals) and why it makes her even more terrifying.

But that's also me just being a wee bit biased because somehow my silly notion of wanting to write an evil faerie girl just worked out.

[catilinas]

Oooo shit…. I’m thinking about Nemo’s self-exile now and like… the self-exile in my faerie theory… like by choosing exile to the sun-world you are in fact choosing to literally die to go through the passage of time… that in comparison to Nemo’s social death and ghost status… the way the sea exerts pressure versus gravity after an eternity of weightlessness….. and on top of all that I ate his Name too…

idk much abt fairy myths but YEEEAAAAAA the vibes of it all...... he literally ate his name too. u know how literally the entire second half of the odyssey is odysseus' nostos and he goes through a whole bunch of deliberate False identities just So That the people who matter can be like. no actually i know you and you are odysseus. the cretan lie and all that. like his most famous false identity IS nobody and that IS in the unmoored unworldly fantasy timeless space of the apologoi...... BUT when he leaves polyphemus' island he names himself again! and when he returns to ithaca it's All About him getting his name and also social Aliveness As Odysseus back...... and then nemo's like. no ❤️

[icarus-suraki]

weird asks: 4, 9, 15, 21, 40, 49, 61

Sorry for the late reply. My depression decided to sneak up behind me and steal my corpus callosum.

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

I don't actually know, so I'm making this up based on what I recall... Bright but somewhat inattentive. Can't write a lowercase R in cursive to save her life (I got bad grades in handwriting all through 2nd grade). Sometimes anxious. Not a troublemaker at all; if she is disruptive, it's by accident more than by intent. Very creative and imaginative.

9. favorite smell in the summer?

There's this smell I'll come across in the evenings sometimes, especially when I'm driving home from work on these little country roads around here. I always thought it was clover, but I think it's maybe elderflower? It's sweet and floral, but not a "bright" sweetness; it's more of a dark floral, if that makes sense. Kind of low and evening-colored (that makes sense, right?). But it's fantastic to just find myself in a cloud of it on a humid evening. I will literally drive with my car windows open some nights just to smell it, it's that good.

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

This is tricky because the things that I liked the most weren't books, per se. I absolutely loved Hamlet and King Lear (King Lear is always associated with the Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven" poster--long story). And I absolutely loved T. S. Eliot's poems. Like, damn, this is so much better than the rhyme-rhyme-rhyme shit I'd seen before. Like, sir. Damn. That was all high school, though. College? Hmm... See, I was an English major so I read a lot (or claimed to have read a lot and just BS'd my way through the tests). Reading As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner was a Moment, in part because I realized that my mom had summarized the story for me when I was a kid. Same thing with Spencer's The Faerie Queene--I think I surprised my professor with that one. Once I hit post, I'll probably think of a bunch of others.

21. obsession from childhood?

Oof. That depends on what age we're talking about here. Because Sesame Street was a big one when I was very small, then Muppet Babies when I got a little older. Any Muppet thing mesmerized me, according to my mom (I still love them). I loved playing dress-up (let's be honest: I still do, only I call it cosplay now) and dancing and playing pretend (and I still do). I drew constantly--especially bleeding hearts flowers, but also anthropomorphic animals in elaborate outfits and these creatures I called alligator birds. My Little Pony toys were everywhere in my house growing up--the original MLP, the good MLP. That was definitely still going strong in elementary school. I was really into A Wrinkle in Time and most of the other Madeline L'Engle books in about 4th grade onward. 6th grade I was hung up on blue-and-gold celestial designs (it was the 1990s) and everything purple. I got ahold of a really basic AM/FM cassette Walkman about this time and I discovered that there was actually Good Music in the world, not just children's music and I got so obsessed with just what you could find on the radio. I used up so many batteries and just wore out headphones and it was wonderful. I know somewhere in this span I started reading the Elfquest comics (n.b.: I was probably too young but I only realize that now) and got really into wolves and the particular version of elves that Wendy and Richard Pini created (I would shank someone for a chance to meet them) and did a lot of drawing of Wendy Pini's style of elves. I think I discovered anime by way of Sailor Moon when I was about 12 or 13 (and that's still an obsession) and started drawing anime-style characters A Lot. Somewhere in middle school, some friends and I started doing text-based RP via email, which sounds bizarre but we sure did it and it was very Mary Sueful but we had fun. I started writing a lot in and around then--maybe 7th, 8th grade? Mostly fantasy and, of course, lots of Mary Sues (but I really think that the Sue Stage is an important developmental stage, truly). I got sent a quiz by a friend in about 7th or 8th grade that was supposed to determine if you were a "starseed" and that got me into UFOs and Atlantis and ESP and some New Age-y stuff, which was actually a lot of fun (bless my mom for tolerating that). And since I was getting bullied a bit at this point in my life, maybe it was good that I had this "I'm special, I'm actually from another planet and I am important there" thing to hang on to. I know I was super-obsessed with the computer games Myst and Riven about this time--to the point of writing self-insert fanfiction. The hyper-religiosity (mainstream religion, mostly variations of Protestant Christianity) period among myself and my friends was no fun, but there we were, and I guess that counts as an obsession. There are theories that this developmental period is some of the background to the Salem Witch Trials, but I digress. I guess that gets me up to about high school. So, how's that?

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

I mean, I guess there were always the bomb threats that made us all evacuate the school and hang around outside for a while. I didn't witness it, but I heard that once the cops brought drug dogs through the school and this one kid jumped up, grabbed his backpack, and ran out of the school and into the woods nearby because he had a bong in his backpack. There were the kids who'd stage a fight in the courtyard of the school so everyone would come running over and then their friends would throw water balloons on the crowd. There was this one girl who told people she was from another planet, and that was weird (me. that was me.). I dunno, I don't know of anything really weird happening at my school, in any grade. It was pretty quiet.

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

"If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?" --Tuco, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

That's a tough one... It might be "the heaventree of stars hung with humid, nightblue fruit" which comes from the "Ithaca" chapter of Ulysses.

[elizabethlassing]

Just received this beautiful ring from the Etsy shop JustAsStrangeAsIAm, and I absolutely LOVE it! I can't wait to wear this with my fairy wings at the next fair festival (and plenty of times before then too!) https://www.etsy.com/shop/JustAsStrangeAsIAm #handmadejewelry #customjewelry #fairy #fairywings #fairyjewelry #faerie #faeriewings #faeriejewelry #fairyring #faeriering #fantasy #magicaljewelry #magicalaccessories #fantasyjewelry #stunningjewelry #gorgeousjewelry #stunningrings (at Ithaca, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CT8Ow9QsE1T/?utm_medium=tumblr

[rachelillustrates]

Thank Gnome it's Friday!!

OKAY, now again for extra oomph today, this time "Tock the Gnome" nobleGnome and nosy-ghosty-ancestor style (with bonus faerie snake)!

Relatedly, come see me today at the Ithaca Artist Market!! Vending alongside oodles of other local artisans from noon today until 7:30pm. Details and address here 💙

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Bonus art and stories ~ Prints, comics and more!

[technicolor-rhapsody]

Ithaca --- The Dark Urge, Bhaal's Chosen & most favored child.

[faebhaal]

❝When you’ve nothing, you might as well trade it for something else.❞ / from Raphael

@juramentum | Raphael

"The only time a person has nothing is if they're dead." Perhaps debatable if you asked necromancers. Or even in the case when she'd rip the teeth from the skulls on cadavers; much like the molars and incisors she's currently fiddling with. "Even when a person has no material belongings, they have things to trade. Like a soul."

At that she sends a pointed look down his way. Her perch upon the large oak branch gives her the briefest height advantage over the charming solicitor --- an ephemeral satisfaction. "Or even more simply, a person has their name. Something just as valuable and powerful. Names encompass body, soul and mind." Wings flutter lazily as Ithaca lounges back against the bark of the tree, a single leg dangling down and kicking the air lightly.

"But with a bit of creativity and resourcefulness, nothing can be turned into something." Hand closes around the miniature fragments of bone and under her breath a quick word is muttered. With a prideful grin her hand is held out to him, a glint in her eyes. Where teeth once rested in her palm now lay gold coins. Fool's gold or Faerie gold; the oldest trick in the book. Likely not to impress him but her magic trick is the perfect illustration of her point. "I will always find a way to turn nothing into something. Though you can certainly try and win me with another sales pitch."

[faebhaal]

This might sound a little bitchy, but I wanted to make a reminder that Ithaca is not a good person. She's a neutral evil (at best) majorly non-resisting Durge. She may do what is deemed "good deeds" but more than likely it's self serving. Her Personality is personable and charming, perhaps even friendly depending, with a dash of uwu cutesy. And while she may come off in a corny way like a Sailor Moon Villain, I can't stress how much of a horrendous abomination she is. Literally she's a monster. And with writing her comes with the territory of horror topics which include but not limited to: gore, cannibalism, body horror, violence. Yes there is the ne*cro aspect of Durge background that I won't touch or write as well as the other standard stuff I won't write.

Yes, I make references to and pull inspiration from horror media that probably isn't everyone's cup of tea.

But the point is, no matter how much of a faerie princess Ithaca is, she's horrible. And that's fine and that's how I like her. She's a complex character that has reasons for why she is what is she and why she does what she does (even if one of those is because she can or wants to).

If you don't like my character, what I write or even me, that's fine. I get it. Block me, unfollow me. Cool. But please just be aware this is the can of worms that it is. I appreciate everyone that at least gives me a chance and those that stick around. Because truly I have loved creating and fleshing Ithaca out.

[faebhaal]

One last thing and then I'll shut up for the time being; I'm just in a faerie specific mood. But I had this like mental image of faeries/pixies/sprites emerging from chrysalises. And of course I thought about Ith.

When Ith gets revived from death say during the events of canon (a non accepted death by Bhaal; accepted she would turn to dust and her soul goes to the plane where he resides), what if she just emerged from the husk of her old body like it was a chrysalis or in a fashion Similar to that of cicadas shedding their skin (or that's what's left behind)? Can you imagine how horrifying of a sight that would be? She just rips through her old flesh husk, covered in blood, wings fluttering splattered with a bit of viscera.

And it's kind of in line with how originally, Ithaca was gonna have a third pokemon evolution that was more insectoid like her mother; extra limbs or eyes, mandibles, etc. But ultimately I kept her more stereotypical faerie because a) I already worry about her being a ⭐mary sue⭐ based on her fey heritage as a bhaalspawn and b) I didn't wanna try and explain or draw it. Plus she gets to live that extra evolution so long as she's got slayer form.

[faebhaal]

There is no "fixing" Ithaca. Because while she might a little less horrible in the long run, she still will always teeter towards neutral evil and within the lines of blue and orange morality.

If you can't love me as a bloody bhaalspawn, you don't deserve me at my faerie princess.

[rachelillustrates]

Thank Gnome it’s Friday!!

And a flashback, too – my brain is certain that I posted this already, BUT he is going with me to Little Red Wagon Artisan Market this weekend so in case I’m wrong (since I can’t find a n y evidence across any of my social media to prove me right), and he goes to a lovely home (please, oh faerie-forces!!), here he is for posterity.

( Drawn back in the was-was as a sort of promotion for my Gnome Wings. )

All of that said, if you’re free this Saturday/Sunday, come see me!! And more than 60 other amazing local artisans (there will also be live music, and coffee!! And door prizes for the first 30 attendees through the ReUse atrium entrance). Triphammer Marketplace, Ithaca NY. 10am to 5pm Saturday, 10am to 4pm Sunday.

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Bonus art and stories ~ Prints, comics and more!

[faebhaal]

A wave of light, tinkling giggles reverberated in the room — it's a sound that makes one think of faeries. The last thing that was seen before being flatlined was a pair of fiery purple rings. A scream had started to bubble up in his throat as mantis blades tore through what flesh and organic material remained. But the only thing that could escape Tokei's mouth was an ocean of sanguine — a fountain of sweet, syrupy blood.

Born in 1988 to a single mother in what one could only describe as a commune (some would say cult) in California, Ithaca never had a simple or normal childhood. One could argue that it wasn't even much of a happy one; between growing up basically in poverty and having a parent that so obviously didn't want her. At the age of 12, Ithaca was abandoned in Nightcity when her mother's commune converted into a nomad group. Laylani left Ithaca to fend for herself without her giving so much as a goodbye. A penchant for violence served her well in her journey to survive. Tooth and nail she scrapped by living on the streets for a stint till she was taken in by a rather kindhearted couple. For the first time she knew what a loving home was. But by 14 they were dead (caused by gang activity) and once again she was alone. In her teens, she took easy odds and ends jobs till she was 18; at which point she took up a career as a dancer in a club. And while she enjoyed a party lifestyle, it wasn't satisfactory enough. There was a craving for ultraviolence, for bloodshed.

Slowly she started to dip her toes into mercenary work, specifically assassinations. At this point in her life too, she had started to join the Cult of Bhaal --- a group dedicated to sowing chaos, murder and destruction of all life. Strangely enough, there were several members she would come to learn as being blood related to her, specifically as half siblings.

By the time 2020 rolls around, Ithaca has become a skilled edgerunner known as Archfey. However, while her mercenary career boomed, her job as a dancer took a hit. Mainly because of an incident where she mutilated a patron. She makes sure to keep her persona as an edgerunner as far away from her personal name/identity as possible.

In 2023 she opens her own club called Faerie Fire in Westbrook which serves as of course a way to make money but also serve as a front to hide the more nefarious activities of the Cult of Bhaal, which she's managed to grasp the highest leadership role of due to dedication and her own viciousness.

Most people tend to mellow out with age. And perhaps just a smidge she has. But even in 2077, Ithaca is still as cutthroat, cruel and insane as ever. Her rule of the cult still reigns, cutting down anyone that opposes her. And while she still takes on jobs, a lot more of her focus goes towards planing chaos. As always too, the Cult of Bhaal continues to meddle in politics as well as continuing their usual rites. Faerie Fire still persists, and once in a blue moon she plays the role of fixer. What reputation her alias has gathered is not one that is revered or heroic; no, Archfey is a monster that no one wants to encounter, no matter what their walk of life is. Many things haven't changed. If anyone is ever unlucky enough to cross paths with Ithaca, one noticeable thing (besides obvious features) is how she doesn't look a day over 30.

Physical features of note: a rose tattoo on the left side of her neck, flesh covered in freckles, looks mostly organic though has mantis blades, faerie wings tattooed on her back, pierced brow and ear lobes and hair dyed rose pink.

** subject to change but for now the basic idea.

[faebhaal]

A series of indignant squeaks sounds at Ithaca's feet. The tiny white bat below her is all but pouting that he has been put down. The great Batstarion demands more pets and kisses! (@stella-sanguis !)

@stella-sanguis

An amused smile forms on her lips as she bends down towards the little creature. "Aww poor dear. I thought I was messing up your fur?" Ithaca teases. Gently, she scoops the snow white bat into her hands. The faerie leans down to press several more kisses into soft fuzz. A light giggle rings out as she gives him a quick nuzzle. "Ooh I've got a joke for you," she says, plopping on the ground only to proceed to lay down on her back. Hair splays around her like a halo, and carefully Ithaca rests him on her chest. "What do you get when you cross a vampire with a piece of ice?" Tenderly, petite fingers stroke and pet. His tiny nose is booped before giving a couple of scratches behind his ears. "Frostbite."