#just a quick 30 doodle that I got a little carried away w

[queeriboh]

bound by a red string of fate

[clotpole-art]

Retrospective: Illustrated Merlin Alphabet Challenge

Finally finished the Merlin Alphabet Challenge, so here's the artist notes no one asked for! See below the cut for comments on each piece by order of creation. Be warned folks, it's a long post.

Before we begin: credit to @merlin-gifs for the challenge, which can be found here. It's awesome, go do it.

First thing you should know is I did probably 80-90% of these while on phone calls or in Zoom meetings and that's reflected in the simplicity of most pieces -- the compositions aren't complicated, the lines aren't refined, the coloring is slapdash. If you noticed variation in quality of the pieces, that's why!

Second: I tried to focus on trying something new for each drawing. Didn't always happen, but this challenge did succeed in helping me push me out of my own comfort zone.

Without further ado...

A is for Arthur Pendragon

Textures, baby! Brushed metal of his armor, scratchy linen texture of his shirt, wispy softness of hair and skin. I'd recently gotten my tablet out of storage after a year of figuring out where the hell I was going to live and this was one of the first pieces of digital art I spent time on. Glad it was Arthur kicking us off!

B is for the Beginning of the End (1x08)

Fun fact, I did not draw this with my tablet. I drew it with my work computer's touchscreen. It was awful, would not recommend.

C is for Camelot

I wanted to get used to different brushes, so landscape of the castle it was! There are brushes that help with drawing grass; I did not use said brushes and my wrist hurt afterward. That being said, I really enjoyed working on this and it was one of the few pieces I didn't do while multitasking.

D is for Daegal

Also drawn on my work computer's touchscreen, not my tablet. I didn't learn my lesson from B and the experience was even worse. This is my least favorite piece which sucks because it's Daegal so I'm slated to redo this sometime in the near future. Gotta do our boy justice.

E is for Elyan

Oh, I adored drawing this. Elyan often gets shafted in terms of fandom appreciation so I made sure to choose Elyan for this prompt and to participate in the Elyan fest. Plus, I love a good ghost story and figuring out a way to include the druid spectre was fun. Didn't multitask on this piece because Elyan deserved my full attention.

F is for Freya

Ho boy. This piece. I have such mixed feelings on this drawing. Really really didn't like it after I'd decided it was done and very nearly scrapped the whole thing. I had a vision in my head that I just couldn't render into reality and it frustrated me SO MUCH. Looking back, I like it much better than I did when I first created it.

G is for Gwaine

What can I say, he's pretty when he's cold. I didn't stretch too much with this one -- it's my normal drawing style, I was just trying to find a brush that mimicked the softness of pencil.

H is for Hunith

Another one that didn't stray too far from my comfort zone. I was stupid sick and slammed at work, so a motherly Hunith manifested herself. I blame the bad brush choice on the cold medicine.

I is for Isolde

I woke up and chose violence! Tried to vary my figure drawing style a little in this piece but my brain resisted, resulting in... this. Not mad at it, but not happy with it either. Poor Isolde.

J is for Juggling

Ah, this lovely piece was drawn during a particularly vexing meeting at work. Fun fact, there's another version of this line art that's less about Merlin's stress and more about mine.

K is for Knights of Camelot

Continuing the theme of doodling through bad news and shit meetings. Like I said above, normally meeting doodles aren't complex because I'm concentrating on something else. This one was more involved because I didn't want to concentrate on the meeting. I have a few issues with this from a technical standpoint (perspective, my nemesis) but it's still one of my favorites. Tried some funky coloring technique, didn't hate it.

V is for Vibrant Colors

And here is where we said fuck the rules and started going out of alphabetical order! This one was really fun to do and I loved kicking off Albion Party with this as my first submission. The colors were a challenge (as I hoped they would be) and this is the first time I had to do some color tweaking midway though and after finishing the coloring process. Vibrant Arthur, my beloved. This started as a multitask doodle but took dedicated time to finish.

O is for Old Religion

The concept for this one was buzzing in my head for a bit before a quote-prompt solidified it. I adore the thought of more visible, tangible representations of Merlin as the son of the elements, of "magic itself" -- not just sun-gold eyes, but sea-water hair and sandstone-skin. A complement to the vibrant Arthur portrait.

S is for Sorcerers

When I said I wanted to challenge myself, I wasn't kidding. Ho boy, this was fun but frustrating. I wanted to completely illustrate a gif. So I did. Will I do something like this again? Maybe. A while from now.

M is for Morgause

See above -- same illustrated gif style so at least I was able to reuse some drawings. Poor Morgause ended up looking a little wretched here because I was mentally done with this when I was drawing her. Love the concept of tarot cards + Merlin but others are doing it so I won't continue this series.

Z is for Zzzz

This one was specifically done to test out some custom brushes I made in Krita to make abstract background drawing easier for me. I think they turned out well! Plus who doesn't love bb iridescent Aithusa.

L is for Leon, P is for Percival

Quick, minimal doodles of the boys! Mentally, I was going for a Brady's-style retro ensemble cast TV show credits feel. Not mad at it! Some boys look closer to their actors than others (I think my brain broke drawing Percy, my apologies to Tom Hopper).

T is for Tristan

It wasn't until after I posted this that I realized there was more than one Tristan in Merlin. Could have drawn Isolde's bf but I drew Ygraine's dumb jock undead brother instead. Had some fun with dark greys and blacks here regardless.

Q is for Queen Annis

Best royal in Albion, bar none. I tried a different coloring technique here and I kinda like it! may make it my go-to but we'll see. Old habits are hard to break. Also: our queen deserved more badass clothes.

X is for Arthur X Merlin

Oh, be still my shipper heart. Doodled and colored during a meeting. I had hoped to spend more time on it outside of multitasking but alas, work is a bitch. This one is slated for a rework sometime in the future; I adore the concept too much to let it go without creating another version of this that isn't an utter mess.

U is for Uther's Ward

And here's my attempt at forgoing line art. Not fun, do not like.

Y is for Young Warlock

Channeled some pain into this one. Those are the dead eyes of someone who had been told that he'd succeeded when his friend died. That the destiny he'd been expecting to carry on his shoulders into old age was done and dusted before he turned 30. Grief plus the existential dread of the aimless immortal. Oof. One of my favs.

N is for Nimueh, R is for Rising Sun, W is for Will

And we end on this sorry offering. I was away from home for a while without my tablet and I just got tired of waiting. So, pen doodles at the airport. This was a challenge in its own right because 1. pen only and 2. I wasn't able to pull Netflix up for a reference on the fly. Which is why Will's face is obscured and Nimueh looks.... not like Nimueh lol.

In summary: this was a goddamn joy to do. I finished 26 letter prompts in approximately 21 weeks, which exceeded my own unspoken goal of filling one letter per week. I found a good, happy corner of the Merlin fandom after a years-long hiatus away from being a fandom creator. If you did make it this far with me, thanks for reading my inane comments and giving this little project even a moment of your time -- I'm so grateful.

[a-deep-ocean-of-secrets]

Whale You Be Mine?

Steve was a sweaty mess after his usual morning jog. Ten miles in under 30 minutes was a credible feat to be sure. With the sweat clinging to his skin and his hair matted down with moisture, it wasn’t surprising that his feet carried him to his bathroom.

He turned on the water in the shower and as it heated up quickly divested himself of his tight running gear. His shirt was chucked into the corner, his track pants pooling into a pile near the door, and his shoes loitering out in the hallway.

When the water was near scalding and steam fogging up the mirror, the super-soldier stepped into the glass shower and nearly groaned aloud as the hot water cascaded down the planes of his body. Hot water truly was one of the world’s greatest inventions. It definitely beat bathing in dirty water as he had done as a boy in Brooklyn.

Taking his sweet time, it wasn’t until the water was lukewarm that he finally turned it off and stepped out of the shower, water dripping off of him as he reached for the nearest towel. He pulled it off the rack and almost didn’t notice when a pink sticky note fell out of it.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Steve wrapped the towel around his waist before reaching down and plucking up the crinkled paper off the floor. His wet fingers smudged the ink as he held it up to stare at its contents.

Loopy handwriting greeted his eyes with curving w’s and hearts as the dots over i’s.

What do farmers give to their wives on Valentine's Day? Hogs and kisses!

Doodled in the corner of the sticky note was a rudimental pig with lipstick on its face and thought bubbles above its head saying ‘oink-oink!’

“Huh,” Steve murmured to himself as he re-read the joke. Sam must have snuck in and planted it as some kind of joke. Sam was weird like that. Shaking his head, he placed the note down on the counter and ventured into his room to get dressed.

+++

Steve had entirely forgotten about the little holiday humor by the time he was heading to the communal kitchen that served all of the Avengers. He immediately frowned as he entered the sleek kitchen only to find that whoever had drank the last of the coffee had failed to put on another pot.

Loudly sighing, the super-soldier went about doing the task himself. Honestly, sometimes he felt like he was living with a bunch of heathens. Who would dare drink the last of the coffee without preparing another pot? Sadists, that’s who.

Steve was full out grumbling by the time the coffee was roasting, its heady scent wafting throughout the kitchen. He went to the cupboards to pull out his favorite coffee mug. It proudly stated on it, ‘kale is for assholes.’ Natasha had given it to him last Christmas. He loved it and completely agreed with its message. He didn’t trust anyone who willingly ate kale.

His brows furrowed as he saw another bright, pink sticky note clinging to the porcelain mug. Cautiously, he tugged it off the cup and brought it closer to his face. Scrawled at the top of the paper was a little boat, its triangular sail had a heart drawn on it. Beneath it was the same handwriting from before.

What did one boat say to the other? Are you up for a little row-mance?

Against his own will he let out a little snort at the pun. Whoever was doing this at least had a sense of humor to them. But who was doing this? And why?

He was pulled from his thoughts when the coffee machine beeped, informing him that the new pot was ready to go. He tucked the sticky note into his pocket and quickly filled his mug with hot coffee.

He’d think better with caffeine. 

+++

Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is an enemy action. Steve couldn’t help but think this when he entered his office to find something foreign awaiting him at his desk.

Sitting innocently on the desk was a bag of macadamia nuts. Steve’s favorite. He was instantly suspicious as he surveyed them.

Of course, stuck right to them, was another sticky note. Okay, Steve was now officially intrigued by this odd turn of events. He set down his half-empty mug of coffee on the desk, plopped down in his desk chair, and pulled the bag closer to him. He plucked up the note and quickly read it.

What do squirrels give for Valentine's Day? Forget-me-nuts.

It seemed that his secret ‘admirer’ of sorts thought themselves a comedian. While Sam was always dedicated to a good prank this didn’t seem his style, and Steve had seen his handwriting before, it was nowhere near as lovely as this.

Natasha was a fan of puns and of making Steve uncomfortable. It could be her though Steve would expect her jokes to be more of the R-rated kind. The kind that would have Steve blushing like a school girl.

These jokes were…cute, in a dorky kind of way. Wholesome. Sweet. Like whoever wrote them was trying to get a smile out of Steve.

This was a mystery Steve was intent on figuring out. But not on an empty stomach. He ripped open the bag of macadamia nuts and munched happily on them as he pondered the identity of this mysterious note giver. 

+++

Steve discovered more of them throughout the day.

On the back of his shield. What did the Valentine's Day card say to the stamp? Stick with me and you'll go places.

Attached to his cell phone. What did the girl cat say to the boy cat on Valentine’s Day? You’re purrr-fect for me.

Buried in his underwear drawer. Where do all the hamburgers take their girlfriends on Valentine’s Day? To a meatball.

Stuck to the handlebars of his Harley. What did the flame say to his buddies after he fell in love? “I found the perfect match!”

Inside of his wallet. What did one watermelon say to the other on Valentine’s Day? You’re one in a melon!

Each and every time the elusive note giver remained out of reach. Now it was the end of the day and he had nothing to show for his struggles other than a pile of pink sticky notes. He wasn’t about to throw them out. That would just be rude. And they had succeeded in making him smile so he was saving them for a rainy day.

Conceding defeat, he trudged into his bedroom only to be met with a surprising sight. Sharon Carter was standing over his bed as she gently placed down a teddy bear hugging a heart on his pillow. With her back turned toward him she didn’t even notice his presence as he watched her silently.

When he couldn’t help himself, he stepped into the room and pointedly cleared his throat. He had to bite down the grin as he watched her jump in surprise. She whirled around with wide, panicked eyes that didn’t relax at all when she saw him standing there.

“Hi, Sharon,” he greeted, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice as he crossed his arms.

“Hey, Steve,” she weakly waved as she tried to block the teddy bear from his eyesight.

“What brings you to my room?”

She quickly looked around his room as if shocked that she ended up here. “Oh, you know, I made a wrong turn somewhere.”

For a spy, she sure sucked at lying. Or, maybe, she just wasn’t good at lying to him. The thought had him smiling like a schmuck on the inside.

“Uh-huh,” he said slowly as he took several steps closer to her. She was valiantly avoiding his gaze, a pretty blush having spread across her cheeks. It looked like it wasn’t leaving anytime soon. As he neared her he noticed the pink slip of paper crinkled in her fist.

A fissure of warmth spread through him at the thought of knowing exactly who his note giver was.

“May I?” he gently asked. Sharon blushed again but unfolded her fist and let Steve take the sticky note from her. He held it up and read.

Why did the Valentine get arrested? For stealing someone's heart.  

His heart flip-flopped and his breath got caught in his throat. He glanced from the paper to Sharon. She still wasn’t looking at him as she bit down on her lip nervously.

“Are you trying to say that I’ve stolen your heart?” he quietly inquired, completely serious as he realized that this wasn’t a joke or a prank. Sharon hadn’t been trying to get one over him, she had been trying to tell him something all day and he only now realized it. Well, Bucky had always said that he didn’t understand women.

Sharon finally raised her eyes and even though she was still nervous she had enough bravery to still say cheekily, “Well, only because I let you.”

He didn’t try hiding his smile at all as he nodded. “Of course.” He understood how she felt. She had stolen his heart a long time ago.

He dropped the sticky note, letting it flutter to the ground in his wake. He reached out, letting his entire palm cup Sharon’s cheek as his thumb slowly ran over her smooth skin. She instantly leaned into the gesture, eyes slipping shut as the two stood there.

Feeling brave, he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. She melted into him instantly, her body going pliant against his own as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her securely, hands clutching at her hips as they stayed there kissing for who knows how long.

He only pulled away when oxygen became a pressing concern. But he stayed in her orbit, the two only inches apart as he leaned his forehead against hers.

Her eyes remained shut as she whispered, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Steve.”

He chuckled lightly as he pressed a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Sharon.”

What a happy Valentine’s Day, indeed.