#more vela art

[lets-get-brave]

Warden Commander Velaneth Surana in Amaranthine, 9:36 Dragon

I just love the idea that the little warden fam rebuilds Amaranthine into somewhere peaceful and beautiful. <3

[maskedinfinate]

deploying the yaoi

Yeah sorry it took me so long

Im so eepy its 3 am goddd help me

[spadem00n]

slightly messy vela doodles i did trying to remember how to draw her

[liquidstar]

good morning :)

[bizarrebazaar13]

Vela Kepler

Vela Kepler (ze/zir) is a 32-year-old con artist with strong ties to Hell, Rubbery Men, and cats. Ze loves the unusual animals and plants of the Neath, has an assortment of unusual pets, and is having zir parlor taken over by a singular plant.

Vela is skilled in the Shapeling Arts, Glasswork, and Mithradancy. Although ze finds the Finger-Kings intriguing, ze will always side with the cats over the snakes. Ze is banned from the court of the Shuttered Palace, so zir relationship with the Duchess is distant at best, but Vela’s title of an honorary cat does improve the Duchess’s opinion of zir.

Zir love of the Neath’s oddities brings zir into frequent contact with the Relickers, and ze enjoys talking to them.

Vela was born in Germany to the Sollinger family on August 12, 1869. The family considered themselves to be Prussian rather than German- Vela zirself was born only three years after the formal unification of Germany in 1866, and the family moved to England when ze was only four, so they did not live in a unified Germany for very long. Ze has an older sister, Katharina, and a younger brother, Friedrich. (Friedrich was born in England and has never actually been to Germany.) Zir family was wealthy, thanks to the shipping business zir father, Ernest Sollinger, owned.

At the age of eighteen, following a fight over Vela’s gender identity and lifestyle, Vela’s family kicked zir out, and ze made zir way back to Germany. Ze changed zir name to Vela, after a constellation that ze always liked to look at in books, and took zir mother’s maiden name, Kepler.

Vela became involved in smuggling while in Germany, finding it similar to the family shipping business, and spent years traveling the world, eventually being able to see zir favorite constellation in person for the first time. (The constellation of Vela is only visible in the Southern Hemisphere.)

Smuggling between the Neath and the Surface was especially lucrative. Vela came into contact with the Fading Music-Hall Singer, whose tip about a massive diamond brought zir to the Neath.

Vela lost zir soul to the Affectionate Devil, and while the abstraction was unexpected, ze doesn’t regret it.

Ze has traveled to the Dawn Machine with the Blind Pianist and the Sallow Spirifer, but hopes never to return. The death of the Blind Pianist hit zir hard, as they had been close friends leading up to the journey.

Ze is a Legendary Charisma.

Ze loves cats, and is an honorary one zirself. Ze has a pet lampcat, a Feline Pariah named Lune, that ze is very attached to.

Vela’s ambition was Light Fingers. Ze began zir ambition at the age of 30, during the real 1899, and completed it in 1900.

Ze did not give the Hybrid to Mr Fires, and sent Dr Vaughan to the Ceiling to learn more about the Starved Men.

Ze remains friends with Hephaesta and Clarabelle. Vela spends time with Hephaesta in Mahogany Hall, performing, hanging out, and of course, running cons and robberies with the crime ring there. Clarabelle lives in Ealing Gardens, and she and Vela correspond often. Vela visits her occasionally, but Clarabelle does not visit London.

Vela became the director of the Great Hell-Bound Railway soon after completing zir ambition, and has built Marigold Station and the Tracklayers’ City.

Vela’s board consists of Virginia, the Tentacled Entrepreneur, Furnace Ancona, the Gracious Widow, the Jovial Contrarian, the Viscountess of the Viric Jungle, and the Wandering Gondolier.

Furnace’s kidnapping deeply affected Vela, who hates feeling powerless and refused to let someone else lead the tracklayers for very long. Ze rescued Furnace with the help of the Hybrid, and during Furnace’s recovery, the two of them became very close.

When the Creditor proposed to Furnace, Vela was initially against this, but reluctantly agreed when Furnace accepted. Vela remains close with Furnace, even though her being a city makes that difficult.

Library (in chronological order)

A Transgression

Six Impossible Things

unnamed short with Prophet’s OC Penny

Gallery (newest to oldest images)

credit to @thedeafprophet for this one :3

also drawn by @thedeafprophet :D

[haveyouheardthisband]

the most obscure bands, and where to listen to them

This post will go over the five bands with the least amount of "yes" votes. Just wanted to give them some more attention - if any of them appeal to you, go check 'em out!

If you are a fan of one of these artists and I got anything wrong or you have anything to add, please let me know!

(Also, it's worth noting we don't make polls for bands if we can't find album art or genre info for them, so these aren't necessarily the most obscure bands submitted.)

Long post sorry. --rottel

-

Gold Zoo

Genres: Dance-Pop, Alternative Rock

6 out of 2,772 voters have listened to them. (0.2%)

Formed in Tennessee by members of prog rock/post-hardcore band Vela Ceras after it disbanded. Released one album, To Be Alive, in 2022.

Bandcamp Spotify Soundcloud YouTube (official; inactive) YouTube (auto-generated) Apple Music

-

Seve Vs. Evan

Genres: Synthpop, Synth Rock

4 out of 2,603 voters have listened to them. (0.2%)

Seems to have formed in Utah around 2004. Had two permanent members, Severin Bozung and Evan Sharp. From their MySpace: "We play carnival robotica or indie cool dudes pop, whatever you like better". Released three albums between 2006 and 2013.

Bandcamp Spotify 1? Spotify 2? Apple Music YouTube (official; inactive) YouTube (auto-generated)

-

Red Museum

Genres: Post-Hardcore, Progressive Rock

9 out of 2,617 voters have listened to them. (0.3%)

Formed in Seattle, WA in 2006. Often compared to The Fall of Troy. Released three EPs between 2007 and 2008.

Bandcamp Spotify YouTube (auto-generated)

-

Femina-X

Genres: Alternative Pop, Post-Rock, Latin Alternative

7 out of 2,453 voters have listened to them. (0.3%)

Texas-based band. "Femina-X identifies as "Latin Alternative" and creates unconventional fusions of progressive tribal and ethnic dance, jazz, Native/Afro-latino rhythms, Caribbean, and Southwestern desert landscapes." Released two albums between 2017 and 2018.

Bandcamp Spotify Soundcloud Apple Music YouTube (official) YouTube (auto-generated)

-

Yeah Is What We Have

Genres: Indie Pop, Power Pop

10 out of 2,498 voters have listened to them. (0.4%)

Solo(?) project of Tom Werring, former member of emo band State Lines (which then turned into Oso Oso). Based in Brooklyn, NY. from an interview: "Thorny yet radiant, sporadically tumbling into unraveled instrumental pieces at several points." Released one album in 2019.

Bandcamp Spotify Apple Music YouTube (auto-generated)

[caracarahoney]

YESSSSSSS

What fantastic work! Loving the cover image, Raven looks so ghoulish but in her usual cool way (she’s never uncool, it’s physically impossible). And the art is fantastic! Your lines always look so energetic, which matches your prompt art really well. It does raise the question though… would Raven eat Taco Bell? I feel like she would just to irritate Nero.

Good job Vela! I love all this, I can’t wait to read the fic!

HIVE BIRTHDAY BASH BUNDLE 2024!

I got raven and so here's her as a rough and rowdy kid

(picrew credit)

my color was black so i adorned her in black/gray bc the background wouldn't change. points docked sorry

Raven Playlist

(...that has to do more specifically with the fanfiction i wrote, either lyrically or vibe-wise, because i was navigating around already having one for her general character and i overthink)

(for the non-spotifyers: yes, anastasia (tori amos) crimon and clover (joan jett & the blackhearts) so heavy i fell through the earth art mix (grimes) DARE (gorillaz) the killing moon (nouvelle vague cover) dream state (son lux) lose your soul (dead man's bones) pavlov's daughter (regina spektor) biting down (lorde) sad pony guerrilla girl (xiu xiu) weird little birthday girl (happyness)

Raven Art

my art prompt was the ancient of days by william blake, so i emulated raven doing that with the taco bell logo on my breakfast & edited a bit in mspaint (and that's on wrist injury!!)

Raven Prompts

Interiority time! I'm not doing the math but I know that Raven was a kid in the USSR in the late 20th century! What's her opinion on space, if any? Does it hold meaning to her? Was it just a political thing she didn't care about? Or can it be symboliiiiiccccc??? You tell me. This is a prompt

Raven cuts her hair, either in Glasshouse or as a routine post

There was only one bed Raven and Ghost MEGA AU

Raven's Gay Awakening TM (take this as you will)

What pet would Raven keep, if she were to keep one? ALTERNATIVELY, is it in character for her to keep a pet? Much to think about

Raven Fanfic

Well happy birthday, her blood's on my hands

(It's kind of a shame cause I did like that dress) or, raven has to assassinate someone who does not want to be assassinated.

~500 words, rated T for This Violence Could Happen In HIVE, title/desc from "yes, anastasia" (lol) by tori amos, ao3 link

This particular assassination takes place at least six different times. Raven is best in her profession—but even she botches things.

Thank you Mitch

for organizing this little event!!! (you get your own header♥)

[jezmmart]

Vela JET FORCE GEMINI October 1999

[ #N64VEMBER Day 19 ] [Click/tap image to view best quality] [More: JFG | Character Art | Fan Art]

[annachum]

Some incorrect quotes of Stolas and his sibs ( HB )

Teen Seir : * on a couch with teen Stolas * What are we having?

Teen Stolas : * in his goth emo phase * Wasting our lives

Teen Seir :.....I meant for lunch

Teen Stolas : Oh.

Vassago : ( in a FaceTime post Mastermind ) YOUR EX WIFE IS A TOTAL PUTA IDIOTA!

Stolas : WELL THANK YOU FOR VALIDATING WHAT IVE BEEN FEELING FOR 17 YEARS!!

Stolas and his sibs : * arguing *

Blitzo : Guys can we take a chill pill?

Stolas and his sibs : * just look at him and continue arguing *

Blitzo : * whips up phone * Do you want me to call your mom or dad?

Stolas and his sibs : NO PLEASE DONT SNITCH ON US -

Stolas and his sibs : * all getting emotional over Hell-o-vela

Blitzo : You all love this show, huh?

Ipos : Sir Blitz, it is a one show that helps keep us sane for all these years!

Blitzo : Woah, okay.....?

Orobas : ( introducing themselves to Blitz via FaceTime ) I'm Orobas!

Gaap : * rolls eyes, deadpan * And I'm Gaap

Orobas : I control the nebulae!

Gaap : * deadpan * And I'm more on humidity

Orobas : Let's dance! 5, 6,7, 8! TURN! * pauses, to his younger twin bro * Wait, why aren't you turning?

Gaap : We didn't even AGREE on this

Orobas : I think this is cool!

Gaap : I don't think so, dear brother

Blitzo : * confused af while sitting there *

Vassago : * post retrial facetime * I'd say we all go Universal Studios park as a family! With our partners!

Stolas : Oh, that would be a most splendid idea! It's been so long since we went out to explore the human world of some sort as a ' cultural outing ' together!

Gemory : What about our children?

Ashtoreth : Last I checked they are gonna get themselves booked to a new group art therapy session at the Hazbin Hotel. So we can go on that day. They'll be fine.

Vassago : Ay, si! Let's also bring father and mama ( ie his step mom Amethyst but still ) along to this wonderful trip!

Dead silence

Ipos : Do you think father would actually....like this trip!

Gaap : I mean, he took us to those museums and opera houses when were kids, so....

Seir : Yeah, I guess it's high time we take them out to a new place

Vassago : Bueno! Gemi, you know what to do.

Gemory : GOT it. * proceeds to later on persuade her parents with puppy dog eyes to go to the trip with them *

Paimon : * when Stolas was a toddler and they are in human forms * Children, this is the Ancient Greek art gallery in the British Museum -

His kids : * laughing at naked statues *

Amethyst : Don't laugh - these are centuries old masterpieces!

Toddler Stolas : Hahahaha they naked!

Paimon : * glowing red eyes * You all heard your mother.

The children : * instantly stop laughing *

Paimon : * continues on with the guided tour of the new exhibits of British Museum *

Paimon : I made respectable Princes and Princesses

Blitzo : You also fucked them up, that's what you did! Look at them! They all got different shades of anxiety!

Paimon : What is up, home dudes? Let's Raise the roof!

Stolas and his sibs : ?!?!??!?!

Paimon : Come on, let's get jiggy with it!

Stolas : What did Via teach you this time?

Paimon : Well, son, your mother and I have learned some new slang words, so we figured it as a way to better connect with you lot!

Gemory : NO. Father. Stop. We appreciate the effort but you don't have to do all that.

Vassago : Where did you learn these anyway?

Paimon : The one soap opera called The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Ipos : That's literally from the 90s

Paimon : * chuckles * I know, but it's more modern than the things my Thystie and I watched!

Stolas and his sibs :.....

Vassago meeting Amethyst for the first time in person

Kid Vassago : Are you my new mommy?

Amethyst : * smiles * No, dear. But I'm going to be one day

Kid Vassago : Oh! * pauses * How old are you?

Amethyst : 18

Kid Vassago : Wow! Muy joven! That means, very young in Spanish.

Amethyst : * smiles * I understand some Spanish.

Kid Vassago : Bravo! Also can you please take good care of my papa! He was down in the dumps with his previous divorce before he's with you.

Amethyst : * cups Vassago on the cheek with one hand tenderly * Don't worry, dear. I will.

[vee-isaweirdartist]

Oh you worry to much Vela..

But I won't deny it.

(I'm joking dw)

Also hey heads up meet my little Sonic Sona! Vela! a beautiful a cheerful Golden Wheel Spider, but if I talk more about her I'll spoil my comic so no hehe<3

Also, my user on art fight is Veeindaartfight, I have more funny lil goobers there if ya wanna attack<3

[jules-has-notes]

Just Sing — VoicePlay music video

In times of societal stress, art is not just a good thing, but a necessity. It connects people across time and distance, uniting us through the expression of common emotions. So when VoicePlay found themselves unable to create videos in person, they did the same thing as many others around the world — they went remote. Since everyone filming in the comfort of their own homes meant that geography was no longer a concern, the guys reached out to a couple dozen collaborators spanning decades of recordings, and brought them together into an uplifting chorus of supremely talented voices.

NOTE: Make sure you have the captions on to see who everybody is in relation to the group.

Details:

title: Just Sing

featured performers: Kristina Palazzolo, Liam Gerrity, Rachel Potter, Mykal Kilgore, Tony Wakim, Darian Yancey, Emoni Wilkins, Sarah Vela, Tim Foust, Honey La Rochelle, Matthew Darren, VJ Rosales, Adriana Arellano, Elizabeth Garazzo, Anthony Gargiula, John Pinto Jr., Scott Porter, Jeff Thatcher, & Jarrett Johnson

original performers: cast of Trolls World Tour (2020)

written by: Justin Timberlake, Sarah Aarons, Ludwig Göransson, & Max Martin

arranged by: Layne Stein

release date: 15 May 2020

My favorite bits:

the way Kristina's face lights up when Liam joins in

ramping up the accompaniment behind Rachel

the overlap between Mykal and Tony on ♫ "everybody" ♫

reuniting the trio of Earl, Eli, and Tony from the era when they became VoicePlay

the ladies of Ten bouncing the lead vocals back and forth

Sarah's brash little shoulder brush (Heck yeah, she's good!)

Tim being greeted with his own signature growl from Geoff

the extra oomph Honey puts on ♫ "lips" ♫ and ♫ "soul" ♫

having VJ sing in his own Filipino language of Tagalog rather than the original version's Korean

bringing the friendly bass-off full circle with Tim's subharmonic ♫ "else" ♫ and the captions calling him a "show off 🙄"

that slow bell chord behind the end of John's section

J.None taking the lead for Guy Diamond's part again

all three vocal percussionists showing off their different styles

Elizabeth's soaring glissando to lead everyone back in

seeing all the singers together on screen at last

ending with simple homophony from the five guys and the kids

Trivia:

As Layne notes in the outro, VoicePlay donated their revenue for this video to MusiCares, which provides support to musicians in need. Their services were vital during a time when live performances weren't possible. This campaign raised over $170,000!

This project got a nice write-up on Broadway World to help promote the video and associated fundraiser.

VoicePlay's previous song from the Trolls franchise was released almost exactly two years earlier in May 2018.

Kristina's dad Pasquale also sang in the high school chorus that spawned 4:2:Five / VoicePlay, though he was a couple years older.

Liam's dad Sean Gerrity was part of the rotating cast when 4:2:Five were in the Polar Express Conductors show at SeaWorld in 2011.

Rachel was VoicePlay's first guest singer in a music video, and remains one of their most prolific, despite having moved first to Nashville and then New York. (When these guys really like someone, they don't let go easily.)

Mykal was the group's original high tenor way back when they were a high school barbershop quartet called 4 The Love, and into the early days of 4:2:Five. He left the group when the older boys graduated.

Tony has joked that he sees the VoicePlay guys more now than he did when he was a member of the group. Considering how frequently they film in and around the PattyCake studio, it's not much of an exaggeration.

Darian (aka DeeDee) is one of many friends the guys met during the fourth season of The Sing-Off. She was the final collaborator on their "Collide" project, and later recorded a duet with Layne during his paternity leave.

Emoni may have started as a fellow Sing-Off competitor, but she quickly became a dear friend and frequent collaborator. She has guested in music videos, joined them for both the first Sing-Off tour and a series of educational workshops, and plays Ursula in PattyCake's Villains Lair series. Not to mention becoming an honorary auntie to Layne's youngest daughter.

Sarah was one of their youngest Sing-Off pals, as her group Vocal Rush was in high school at the time, but she was a powerhouse even back then. When this was filmed, she was about to return to her alma mater and take over directorship of the group she helped to found.

Tim's group Home Free and VoicePlay have often been compared or even pitted against each other by fans ever since The Sing-Off, but the guys themselves have liked and supported each other from the beginning.

Honey was a theme park buddy from way back, and enjoyed joining the guys for The Sing-Off. There was a bit of friction between them after she wasn't able to join them for the tour, but it's nice to see that the passage of years and some extraordinary circumstances could bring them together again.

Matthew was another theme park pal, and was in serious consideration to replace Tony as the group's baritone back in 2017.

VJ and his group The Filharmonic are yet more Sing-Off alumni, who the guys got to know well on the 2014 tour. When VoicePlay joke about passing the torch to "younger, cuter" guys, it's not hard to see where they got the idea.

Adriana was their most recent new collaborator at the time, and has returned for a number of full-length videos and shorts in the ensuing years. (But she still wasn't old enough to drive yet here.)

Elizabeth is a friend from the guys' early days in the theme park scene, when she was a member of the Voices of Liberty at Disney World. This is her first onscreen appearance with them, but not her first (or last) collaboration.

Anthony is also part of the extended theme park community, and was supposed to appear in a different video before the quarantine put the kibosh on that plan. They've definitely made up for that disappointment in the years since, though.

John always seems to appear during times of uncertainty. His first collaboration happened after Tony left the group, this was put together during lockdown, and his third appearance came about after Earl retired. (That's just coincidental, right?)

Although Scott left the group to pursue acting in 2003, he's always been supportive from afar, and maintained ties with their extended friend group in Orlando. He even gets to show off his vocal skills in the course of his acting jobs sometimes.

Jeff was not only an inspiration to the youngsters in 4:2:Five as a member of Rockapella, but quickly became a colleague and a friend. He produced their first eponymous EP, and has created several pieces of artwork for them over the years.

Jarrett occasionally subbed as 4:2:Five's baritone when Ryan Reed was starting to step away, and helped produce VoicePlay's "Once Upon an Ever After" album. The guys have enjoyed seeing him find success as both a part-time member of fellow a cappella group Take 6 and in the film industry.

As the guys noted in the Patron behind the scenes video, this project was (by necessity) new and unique in a lot of ways.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VoicePlay (@thevoiceplay)

A group of fans created a tribute version a few years later using the karaoke track available through VoicePlay's Patreon.

This ended up being Earl's last video with the group, a fitting final bow, even if they didn't know it at the time. It almost feels like everyone came back to give him a great big send-off party.

[lets-get-brave]

"In War, Victory. In Peace, Vigilance. In Death, Sacrifice." More Vela, this time in a palette from the SO that they call "toner ink" lol I feel like she turned out alright, considering the colors, and I always love some timeless wardens, past, present, and cyber-future. <3

[stars-n-spice]

Welcome back!

To yet another Silly Squad Saturday! Aka my attempt to post something Silly Squad (Bad Batch x Baddies Batch) related - be it headcanons, one-shots/fics, or art - every Saturday! Because Silly Squad Saturday has a nice ring to it and it eases into OC Sunday pretty nicely :) 

That and I want to try and motivate myself to do more with these guys because I post about like,, 10% of the collective lore I have about them while the rest of the 90% stays up in my brain. 

This week we've got: SecGen WIPs!

I started on these like,,, probably MONTHS ago and realized I was biting off more than I could chew :/

Only recently did I decide to go back and at least get the full-body designs done! Will eventually do full on character sheets but so far I've got the Techphee, Starburst, and Sharpshooters families done and have sketches for the Scompscope and Guardian parents and kiddos (that aren't included because they're super rough sketches,,)!

If you would like to see headshots of all the families, check out this post!

Anyways, here are the families so far! Further information about them will be posted once I finish all of them :D

The Genoas!

Tech and Phee Genoa!

Plus their children Vela and Rangi Genoa!

Vela is farsighted and Rangi is nearsighted (lol)

Vela takes after Tech while Rangi takes after Phee a little more

Both are autistic! Vela has a special interest in topography/cartography and Rangi has one in entomology and riot racing!

Their family loves to go on adventures and will occasionally stop by Pabu to see everyone and bring souvenirs and stories from their travels!

Tech -> "Dad/Pa"

Phee -> "Mom/Ma"

The Marrs!

Tay'kaa and Crosshair Marr!

Plus their daughter Akona-Mae Marr! ('Mae' as in "Mayday")

She's a Pantoran/Nautolan hybrid that the two adopt!

Tay and Akona both get the crosshair scope tattoo as per the Pantoran tradition to have their "clan symbols" tattooed on their face

Let's ignore the fact that she's like six and was allowed to get a tattoo

Akona is spoiled rotten and is nonverbal!

Their family spends a lot of time out on the beaches and in the ocean as they're fishermen and Tay and Akona are both amphibious species

Tay -> "Apá" (or she tugs on her front two tendrils)

Crosshair -> "Papa" (or she taps on her left cheek)

The Nultezs!

Wrecker and Khea Nultez!

Plus their foundlings: Stak and Itri Nultez!

And their kids! Maia and Marama (the twins) and Elio Nultez!

And of course, their two loth cats: Lula and Dha'ika!

Itri was found and adopted by Khea before her and Wrecker got married and they adopted Stak shortly after his arrival to Pabu

Maia and Marama are 23 minutes apart with Maia being the older one!

Maia takes after Khea more and Marama takes after Wrecker more

Marama is hearing impaired and uses aids Khea made for her!

All their kids are ADHD, Autistic, or both one way or another

Itri is trans :D

Wrecker spends his time fishing but him and Khea essentially run a little repair shop and help fix things up around the island

Though with all their pets and kids it looks like they own a farm

Wrecker -> "Pa"

Khea -> "Buir/Amá"

Last Week's Silly Squad Saturday

If you're new to the squad; check out these links to learn more about them :💫 Silly Squad Masterlist 💫 Baddies Batch Masterlist 

Tag List: @perilmax, @stardume

If you would like to join the tag list, let me know or fill out this form!

[spadem00n]

Hopefully Tumblr doesn't change the aspect ratio of the images, but oh hey! I made an In Stars and Time OC! And it's not on my art blog waahttt? But yeah lmao. Say hello to Vela!

More spoilerlish talk under the read more!

So, *cracks knuckles* I've been stewing over this character for like, two months! Trying to nail down the design i liked. And with July being Art Fight season, might as well take the opportunity to try it out!

She's a SCISSOR-TYPE, and she uses a spear as her main weapon.

She's around Nille's age range (late teens - early 20's), and she doesn't remember where she came from. Something about some, island?? Doesn't matter anyways.

She wanted to travel around Vaugarde after her mentor passed away, so she left her coastal home to travel! But then the King's curse happened so whoops to that idea!

So idea wise, I have like 2 AU's going through my head at all times. The first one being her as an optional party member that you could easily skip (nothing bad, just she gets frozen somewhere lmao) and the 2nd one is after the events of the game and everyone gets unfrozen, she continues on her journey through the country. And along the way meets some... star-shaped person? Alone? Weird.

But that's all i got for now! Glad I got to show them finally!!!

[neogotchi]

ArtFight 2024 Dump!

Commission Info || Carrd || Art Blog: @neogatcha

I had so much fun repping team stardust! This year my goal was more experimentation (well until I ran out of time and made the last 3 in like 6 hours)

Character credits in order!

Creed A. Tivity by @god-mouths

Mian Biswas-Ma by @moncuries

Kitty by @toadstool32

Vela Alpestris by @lorebird, Varkias Brightwell by me, Cabal Lobeila by @stationk17

Sugar Bloom by @sweetiedreamz

Sam by @camazotz, Sal by @spritesodapop

Avira by SnowDrops

Nicholas Åkesson by @abovo-adastra

[snugglesquiggle]

i am asking about your ocs

give me a yap about one of your favorites >:3

you asked this in the middle of me trying to edit HT so i hope you know what you've done >.>

so um. my favorite is probably Mewla Asetari but i don't think the world is ready for the Mewla yap yet

"squiggleyapper, tell me about your favorite oc" "you couldn't handle my favorite oc, mutual. my favorite oc is fit for book, let alone a blogpost. you better go to a yapper who cooks normaler characters"

taunting aside, the problem with mewla is that she's such a damn complex girlboss queenfailure. to understand her, you need to know about the noble clan of asetari (importantly, her mother uvema, and to understand her you need to cover the second grand trial at least) as well as how their bloodline abilities works (which has at least three separate mechanics), and you need to understand the deal with the unbrood black ops, and as well as the context of the third grand trial

and even that's skipping over all the background needed to understand black nerve in the first place, which at this point is an intimidatingly complex setting to get into. and if you think any of that sounds interesting, i haven't even mentioned how her husband was a failed prophet or how she split in two then repeatedly cheated death to master the impossible art of intangibility, or the mundane stuff like her anti-fascist terrorism arc

...honestly, maybe it's me who's not ready to write about mewla :s

instead, i think i’ll try someone simpler first. (this is not me tempting fate, do not curl O monkey’s paw).

i’m gonna tell you about Prince Lucien Aetheart. i figure you’ll appreciate this, because he’s from the cometverse like Knight‍-​Commander Novus and Vela, whose fight i yapped about all those months ago

so, Prince Lucien. he’s an aethling, one born of noble blood in the kingdom of Extola. but let's a put a read more here for the people scrolling past this

now, the line of royal succession is a curious thing in this kingdom. you see, a thousand years ago, comets fell to earth. comets are eldritch horrors. they’re kaiju, natural disasters, CR 20 monsters. they’re unnatural. just being around them causes some Color Out of Space type shit.

as you can image, the cometfall invasion was an apocalypse for humanity. in the midst of that war for existence, there was a minor lord who would later rename himself Cyrex. he fought (survived, rather) the worst of the cometfall. Cyrex was an enchanter of mediocre skill, and he should have died like thousands of his betters.

but Cyrex had a wife: Uluna, a descendant of the moonsingers from a distant isle. she awakened a innate enchantment seemingly purpose‍-​built for fighting comets. so Uluna became the hero of humanity, banishing the comets with moonsong

and Cyrex capitalized on his position as the husband (owner, almost) of the Uluna. he declared himself a king, and waged war through the post‍-​apocalyptic medieval wasteland until his kingdom encompassed Extola.

with access to the greatest enchanters of a whole continent, and with all the worshipful gratitude directed toward Uluna, the king and queen were blessed with the finest boons of lifecanting there was.

but Cyrex had seen the worst of the cometfall. not only did he cling to life, he needed to become more, push beyond the limits of humanity until he might bear to think of a comet without trembling.

and, to make this long tangent short, he became more. so much more.

you see, the king of extola cannot die, and has ruled for over a thousand years.

thus, Lucien Aetheart was born his great, great, great (dozens omitted) grandson. he had the finest tutors — because refinement and sophistication is all a prince can aspire to. one of the first things taught to him is that, like some forty odd prince and princess before him, he will never sit on the throne.

Lucien’s parents died when he was six, and his aloof, dismissive tutors are the closest thing to family he grew up with. his parents died, and he would die, and what would any of it matter in the end?

he looks at the throne adorned with sanctified skulls, and decides no. he will be immortal, one day. he will be king. and if that means treason — well, subtlety and sophistication is what a prince can aspire to.

as a sidenote, i’ll briefly mention the Heirs of the Mother Void. this is a cult borne of the insight of Brother Lychon. Lychon was a cunning enchanter tragically cut down in his prime by his former best friend and burried in the ground. then he saw the light of the mother void, and rose again. “Death ain’t shit”, as he always says

you can understand why Lucien would be interested in a group — but lucien doesn’t, not at first. the heirs are secretive. in Book One of Aurora Moonrise, Lucien will be traveling the land in search of leads for the Heirs’ operations

this is how he crosses paths with the protagonist, a girl named Aurora. a few years younger than him, with no skill at enchanting worth speaking off — and yet she wields a masterwork crystal sword with perfect attunement. suffice it to say, Lucien’s interest is piqued.

throughout the second arc of the book, Lucien would training Aurora, as well as teaching the peasant girl noble manners. this puts him at odds with Morri, Aurora’s first friend, a girl born to a bandit with nothing but disdain for the nobility.

i wont recount what happens in detail, because this isn’t about them :p

but i will spill some ink discussing what the arc reveals about Lucien’s character. first of all, his personal enchantment is called ⸢Three Pledges Under Fire⸥

you see, he has an enchanted ring. with the hand wearing the ring (or any tool held in the hand, such as a weapon) whenever he touches something, he can ‘tag’ it.

he maintains a sense/awareness of all active tags.

these tags are otherwise undetectable and have no effect on the tagged object.

(in fact, tagging an object cannot have an effect — weapons will deal no damage)

each tag is one third of a spell. he must decide the spell when the tag is placed, and cannot change it later.

he can only have 3 tags at a time. if he already has 3 tags, he may choose one to revoke at will.

an object can only have one type of spell tag.

finally, the upshot of all of this. if he manages to place three tags on an object, he may snap his fingers and the spell takes place, exponentially more powerful, or with a dramatic new effect.

some examples of use: ‍-​ he lands a sword swing against you — yet it’s oddly dull and light, as if you were simply hit with a big stick. then again nothing, and finally come the third, you think you have nothing to fear from his blade. then he snaps his fingers and your arm falls off ‍-​ he throws himself out the way of your attack, falling to a crouch and tapping the ground. circling around, he overcommits to an attack, swinging downward till his hand touches the ground. you think nothing of it. and one last time, he taps the ground. still, nothing at all happens! you laugh and press the offense, swords clashing and sparking. when he maneuvers you over that spot, snaps his fingers, and the ground explodes beneath you ‍-​ he’s trying these above strats, and others. he parries your sword and there’s a telltale glow of him placing a tag. what’s he planning to do with your sword? in between placing other, he taps the bracer on his arm. but you’re pressing the offense hard enough he can hardly afford the distraction. he fumbles, you get an opening, and he tries to block it with his arm (ha. it’ll hurt regardless) — and he snaps his finger, and his arm resists you as solidly as a brick wall

as you might gather, the intent for him is to be something of a hypertactical chessmaster.

he’s prideful, though. do you recall the infodump last time about gravitas loci and how powerful it’s supposed to be? surely something like that would be uncontroversial tool in everyone enchanter’s toolbox. lucien disagrees:

Gravitas isn’t the culmination of enchanting in the slightest; it’s a dead end, a distraction. It’s a terrible idea, through and through — you’re relying on something outside of yourself as the source of your power. Something completely callous and inhuman, on top of that. Do you think the earth cares about you? Its only will is for all things to fall. Do you know what happens to people who lose themselves in earth‍-​resonance? We call them gemfiends.

so, what does Lucien think the real pursuit of enchanting is, then?

sorry advance for the chonky quote

Out in the gardens, Lucien walks with a rapier held out, gesturing as he lectures. “No doubt, you’ve come to understand that the bedrock of enchantment is will, the intent to use a tool with vigorous effort. The common enchanter will tell you the key to refining your will is understanding your tool, even going so far as to urge you to craft it yourself. After all, latent within the tool itself are those qualities an enchantment can amplify, or spells provoke. I cannot call them fools for this, but this parochial wisdom neglects what constitutes true, powerful enchanting.” Aurora frowns. “Will, intent, and focus. My teacher said all enchantment—” “I’m sure she was well‍-​intentioned. But it’s common advice for a reason. You can sell foci. You can teach mere intent to anyone. But will? What is will?” “Great enchanters have great wills,” Aurora echoed lamely. “People speak of it as if it were innate, as if the masters were born with willpowers inscribed in their destiny. The reason no one instructs will is because at its core, improving the will is painfully introspective, and terribly philosophical. Your will is what drives you. When you swing your sword, it is not enough to want to swing it. It is not enough, even, to want to cut your opponent. Cutting your opponent down must be the culmination of the very essence of your being. The most powerful enchantment is woven with a will that would falter no sooner than your will to live itself would fail you.” “You have to give it your all,” Aurora summarizes. “But then, you’d never want to run from any fight, if your will never ever faltered.” “Power is knowing yourself. You must know why you fight, and pick only those battles you must fight. There is a untold strength in being unfaltering. Have you heard of the Ultima Canto, Aurora? It is the greatest spell an enchanter can ever weave. The distillation of their will into one absolute truth, so powerful even eldritch spirits cannot violate it. But there is no way to ever speak the Ultima Canto without knowing oneself. So tell me, Aurora, what do you stand for?”

another thing worth knowing about lucien is that, like all nobles, he is a lifecanter, capable of healing the sick. this drives some of Aurora’s initial interest in him; she wants to know about lifecanting because Aurora’s first teacher had a terminal case of fantasy mentor disease and died in the first arc bc they couldn’t cure her.

(it turns out lifecanting wouldn’t have been able to save her — the disease that killed the mentor was also anime mom disease what took Lucien’s own parents from him, even though they had all the riches in the land.)

anyway, after some climatic drama, Aurora and Morri run away one morning before the break of dawn, just ahead of a court ruling that they are wanted as accomplices to a spirit enthralling humans unlawfully.

in the process, though, the pair wind up killing a baron, and this is how they cross paths with Lucien.

King Cyrex (he insists the prince call him ‘father’) knows that Lucien was there with the baron was killed and let the girls get away with it. so the king tells him to fix his mess, and bring them to justice

by now, the dryad maiden Kheimon has bound Aurora with her vines, and she is en route for the capital — but Morri still remains at large. so Lucien sets out on horseback to track down this wannabe bandit

i don’t think i’ve laid the ground work to properly hype this fight up. Morri is a cute character, i think. sidekick/rival vibes, Aurora fights her in one of the early chapters, defeats her, realizes their both grieving dead parents, and so she asks her to join the party.

she spends the rest of the first arc terribly unsung; Aurora’s mentor dislikes and is suspicious of her, refusing to teach her anything. we get some hints that Morri has unrevealed depths to her — she has a strong affinity for communing with spirits, and knows a thing or two about brewing potions. also, she has a hunting dog familiar made out of tree bark. a timberwolf :3

(actually, have i mentioned she’s a wolfgirl? cuz that’s a thing. dog ears, fluffy tail, and claws)

but there’s something big i’m glossing over. why is aurora’s mentor suspicious of her? how is she so capable of communing with spirits? is killing one random baron really enough to get a warrior‍-​prince sent to hunt you down?

who was Morri’s mother, anyway?

she was a witch, and she taught her daughter bloodcanting, a vile art considered a high crime by the crown — treason against human flesh.

you see, Morri uses blood sacrifice to commune with spirits and empower her attacks. she was sandbagging in her fight against Aurora, and after that she didn’t use much of her true power, at first first because Aurora’s mentor was always watching, and then once she came to care about Aurora, she didn’t want to offend her heroic sensibilities.

but now? Morri’s on her own, and Lucien really pisses her off.

so just this once, we see Morri go all out. using blood magic to tap into her canine nature, with magic claws and fangs and windswift speed.

it’s not enough to instantly win — Lucien has studied the blade all his life — but it’s close, and isn’t that embarassing? Lucien is a prince of the realm, and here was a lowborn bandit girl keeping pace with him.

a major reveal happens in this fight. remember how bloodcanting is treason against human flesh, but every noble is a lifecanter? what’s the difference between the two?

what’s the difference between Lucien and Morri?

Lucien says:

The difference? You’re right, it just comes down to wants in your veins, I suppose. I’m allowed to do anything, because I’m noble. You aren’t, because you’re nothing.

there’s character development for morri here too, but again, this isn’t about her. without that, it does make the conclusion to this fight feel a bit on the nose, but hey, i’m just yapping here

Morri goes:

Remember what you told Aurora, about will? Who do you think has the stronger will, between the two of us? To me, mister prince, you are everything I despise. But to you? I’m nothing.

all of this serves to give Lucien his first major character development. on the verge of being killed by a demihuman and witch, he awakens.

with rapier‍-​blade he slashes a circle in the ground and expands it. truly, he’s been reduced to chosing one embarrassment or the other — or was it an embarassment? what foolish pride it was to think he could ever achieve power without relying on anyone else.

after all, what’s a king without a kingdom?

with that thought, Lucien casts his Gravitas Loci for the first time.

…and he still doesn’t capture or kill Morri ;p

she escapes — she’s forced to run away — so at least he spares himself the embarassment of being bested by her.

Lucien drops from the narrative mainstage after that; this is Aurora’s story, after all. the climax of book one happens, and then there’s extended epilogue chapters showing what happens to various characters.

namely, it’s revealed that, after failing to capture Morri, the disappointed king strips the prince of honors and sends him down to fight on the frontlines fo the ongoing war to colonize the southern continent, Tinen.

thus kickstarting Lucien’s pov arc, “Salvation by Fire”. now, the notes i have for this section don’t hold up (originally, he was going to be placed under the command of Novus, but what happens here doesn’t line up with Novus’s later characterization, specifically his refusal to use ⸢Meteor Heart Explosion Pulse⸥ until Vela forces him too.)

but i should probably get on with what happens this arc

some hardass commander (not Novus) is trying to whip Lucien into shape, and failing. the prince has been sent to lead a squad of rookies to wet their feet attacking an enemy site. they venture into a forest; Lucien is scouting out ahead while others from his squad makes camp.

in the woods, Lucien encounters a girl younger than him. the girl spots him, and runs away scared, hiding a nearby bush. one of his soldiers, also scouting, comes to him, asking if Lucien saw anything. he thinks, and choses to say he saw nothing.

Lucien keeps scouting till he finds the enemy site his superior told him to raid. except he looks closer, and realizes it’s not a military base at all — it’s just a village. it’s just civilians.

he returns to camp and tells his squad he had no luck finding the base. while he’s keeping watch, he’s almost nodding off, but catches movement — it’s the girl, so desperately hungry she’s willing to raid a soldier’s camp for food.

Lucien’s confused. don’t they have farmland or whatever peasants do?

they did. then the extolan bastards burnt and salted it all.

luciens feeds the girl and tells her to be careful out there.

she laughs. there’s no way to be careful with extolan soldiers this close.

anyway, lucien returns to his superiors claiming he completely failed the mission assigned to him. the disappointment and discipline that results is obvious. worse, he soon overhears a crystal ball conversation between the commander and the king. king straight up doesnt care if Lucien lives or dies at this point. if he keeps being more trouble than he’s worth, just kill him lol.

as you can imagine, instead of sleeping that night the prince just stares into space, gripped with despair. his life’s forfeit. ‘immortal one day?’ ‘king one day?’ what a joke.

it’s his turn for night watch before he gets a lick of sleep. an hour or two in, he smells the acrid stench of smoke. the forest is on fire. he makes no effort to warn anyone to evacuate. what would be the point? what does any of this matter?

maybe it’s the sleep deprivation, maybe it’s the callous disregard of his “father” upseting him more then he realizes, but Lucien sees the distantly approach flames coming to consume the forest, and envies it. envy for the flames, or for the forest?

either way, he approaches. skin‍-​slicking heat, suffocating smoke, but he marches through it.

(if he dies here, what does it matter?)

a chapter would end there, followed by pov of the the girl. recounting how she had overheard lucien lying to his squad about her and helping her, intercut with impassionated rants about how much her life sucks and it’s the fault of the evil kingdom. after Lucien tells her to be careful, she instead keeps poking around — there’s almost nothing left in her village to go back to.

like that, she gets captured by soldiers. taken to a secret tent far from the main camp, and interrogated with spilled blood and screams. she contemplates whether starving in the dirt would be better than this.

and then the commander enters the tent. the ignorant girl was no use to their information‍-​gathering efforts — but the girl will give them information. in the form of experimental data. you see, in secret the commander’s been working to achieve something big

as the commander takes a knife and inscribes runes deep into the girl’s flesh, he makes small talk. rants, rather. one of the things that particularly vexes him as of late is the prince. the sheer lack of ambition in that boy is an insult. content to be a pampered prince, unwilling to put in the work to achieve true greatness. he can’t imagine living life in the shadow of giants and not trying to shine larger

which brings us to why this guy is vivisecting this girl. as you can imagine, he’s stuck in a shadow of his own — Knight‍-​Commander Novus is the metric by which all commanders are found wanting. this is its own insult. the spell that made Novus so great is one that man refuses to ever cast again.

thus, the commander has been attempting to replicate what Novus was afraid of — ⸢Meteor Heart Explosion Pulse⸥. he’s going to turn her into a enchanted object.

the commander knows Novus’s spell is one that somehow uses lifeforce to fuel an explosion, but the details elude him. by the time he finishes carving, it’s all quiet; he’s run low on rants, and she’s run low on screams.

now, all that’s left is for the soldiers to plant his new bomb near the enemy base, detonate and watch the lightshoq. he regard the girl with smile. “thank you, dear. this might be the most help any of you people have ever been. you’ll go down in history for this.”

and in that moment, with those words and that smug smile, all of the hatred for Extola comes rushing back in a maelstorm. and then…

it’s incorrect to say that this commander turned her into an enchanted object — life itself is spell, and every beat of the heart enchants the flesh and every breathe in a incantation. sure, it was the commander’s enchantment now carved onto her body — but it was her body.

fear shines bright in his eyes now — not fear, fire. the spell had activated, under her will, and blazes out in a deadly wreathe of flames now. his flesh is first so much sweat and then so much bubbling fat. he’d run low on rants, but he still had plenty of screams left.

and although the girl had no screams left, she had plenty to rant about. every indignity forced upon her people. every brag and whinge the commander spoke now twisted againsts him. every insult he had for Lucien, and yet that boy might be the most help any of you bastards has ever been. “you wouldn’t have less of a heart if i ripped it out of your chest.”

hatred crackles around the girl, and power newly awakened and surging. she’s cackling mania, and she hardly notices that her tormentors had become piles of ash. years starving, helping, clawing at the dirt, and now she can feast on all the raw energy of conflagration.

the forest goes up in flames — and in the end, she becomes exactly what the commander hoped to create.

her village lay in that forest. as she becomes an elemental of ever‍-​spiraling flame, she can’t stop burning any more than you could stop shivering in the cold.

she’s all intuition and knee‍-​jerk associations of thought. so when her village erupts, when everyone she knows and loves is a chorus of screams, she thinks of the soldiers she’d burnt to a crisp and how they screamed.

ultimately, she’s but crackling hatred and exhilerating power. the maddening part of becoming a weapon to destroy her people is that it’s so fucking satisfying.

and then so much of the forest is alight that there’s so little left to feast upon. she’s peaked and coming down. she’s hatred — not crackling but crumbling like wood ashes in horror of what she’s done: self‍-​hatred.

and then that boy is standing there, staring into her flames, into her.

if she could immolate her own flesh and blood, she could certainly burn another extolan bastard who’s sole virtue was not being the literal worst.

except her family screamed and fled like her tormenters. Lucien doesn’t scream nor move.

he stares, and his visage of despair looks so much like the expression on that face she once had

the girl‍-​turned‍-​elemental burns herself out, and at length, she discovers that she does, in fact, still have a body: a skeleton disfigured by runes and caked in ash. she’s not human, anymore, but nor is she a fiend. she’s something known in theory and legend.

comet spirits were the light of stars caged in ice. nature spirits were the light of one sun sprouted from air. (elusive weather spirits were but nature spirits with monk‍-​like abnegation)

a wildfire spirit is the light of lives lost to the pyre.

(the first life, of course, being her own)

Lucien had lost everything; his king forsook him, his squad is dead, and soon he’ll be too, if he reports back admitting he let this all happen. when the wildfire spirit speaks to him, tells him who she was and what was done to them with a numb voice, he’s outrage.

in that moment, his despair wanes, eclipsed by an emotion he’d never felt before, and never this strongly. once again, the wildfire is pained to see his visage mirror her own; he hates.

but he won’t hate face down in the dirt. the general thought he lacked ambition? no, he had a goal.

he looks back at the wildfire spirit, and holds out his hand.

“let’s burn that kingdom to the fucking ground.”

so, after all that payoff, i’ll end with more teasing.

remember how i said i wanted to talk about Lucien Aetheart? yeah, i lied. i actually wanted to talk about Myrka of the Mother Void, but, when i’m 4k words in and this isn’t even what i planned to do today, i think i can be excused. before getting from here to Myrka, we’d need to talk about Lilianna and Kheimon and Erato.

if it makes for a better defense, there’s also the fact that Book Two is a mess and needs a rewrite, or at least some kind of organization, and what ultimately happens to Lucien is deeply entangled with that plot.

if you read all that… wow, you really did want the yapping. thanks for bearing with me. sorry and/or you’re welcome

<3