i love colors <3 anyway i think im done with my silly lil concept thing now

Edit: Newgrounds upload here!!

“The Azure Sky” - Chapter 2 - Lego Elves

Shadows to the Brightest Flame: Series

- The legacy of Lumia’s influence is scarred eternally into the lands of Elvendale. Burdened by a prophecy foretelling her demise and need for a successor, she watches for one capable of such power. Yet her enemies are working steadily to undo all she’s labored so long for, and it is millenia too late to make peace. 

Emily Jones, heir to Eimileen, is a bold girl dedicated to protecting Elvendale, but the world she has grown so fond of is not so black and white as it seems, and the titles of Guardian of Portal and Guardian of Light may hold darker legacies some ancient elves have worked tirelessly to hide. 

In conjunction with the extended version of the Guardian of Light prophecy I wrote previously

Basically a rewrite of all of the Lego Elves & Secrets of Elvendale storylines with an additional arc beyond the Season 4: Into the Shadows. There will be a varying degree of deviation from canon.

Technically a crossover with Lord of the Rings/Hobbit/Silmarillion in terms of worldbuidling, as I set Elvendale as being north of Middle-Earth, cause this is fanfic and I can. So there will be mentions of the Noldor, Sindar, Silvan, and some Tolkien characters, but they will be mostly background. Definitely not an issue if you aren’t familiar with the Middle-Earth fandom; everything will still be easy to understand. 

Book 1: The Azure Sky

Grieving over the unexpected death of her grandmother, Emily Jones is accidentally trapped in another world. Befriending a few young elves in an attempt to find her way home, Emily discovers many secrets about her grandmother’s past, but for every truth she learns two more questions take its place, leaving her vulnerable to darker force inhabiting this realm. 

A rewrite of Unite the Magic

_______________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1 

_______________________________________________________________________

Chapter 2

Shaking, Emily pushes herself up to her knees, viewing the scenary around her with shock and confusion. Trees extend in every direction, leaves mottled with unusual tones of pinks and violet. The silky soft grass glistens in the light, though as she runs her hands of the blades, she finds them dry of dew. Despite the density of the foliage, the sun illuminates the area to the brightness of midday during the summer. Birds chorus grandly behind the anonimity of the branches. 

“Who are you?”

Emily jumps, turning to find a girl looming curiously behind her, though perhaps that would not be the most accurate term. She looks odd, dressed in a bright magenta dress cut and sewn to mimic flames and embroidered with some sort of baroque designs, though it’s hard to tell since most are faded and stained. Her tan skin is marked by bright tattoos on one shoulder and her face, emboldening her warm brown eyes and burgundy and marigold hair, the long, chaotic curls draped like a canopy from her narrow head. Two sharp, pointed ears complete the bizarre ensemble.

“Well, aren’t you going to introduce yourself after falling through a portal?” The corners of the girl’s lips curve impishly upwards.

“Portal?” Emily stutters out, staring at the being before her with the same wariness one would watch a racoon.

“Yeah, the one you just came through?” the girl rasps. She leans closer, hands on her hips. She cocks her head. “How did you open one anyways? That kind of magic is super hard to learn, kept locked away by a bunch of grouchy ancients who jump at their own shadows.”

“Um, I don’t…know really…”

“What do you mean you don’t…” the girl stops short as Emily tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re not an elf.”

“No…I’m human” Emily answers. Her voice drops hesitantly. “What’s an elf?”

“Well, I am,” the girls begins, but she seems distracted. She studies Emily’s clothes, “You must be from that other realm, the one the Great Sisters made a portal to a century and a half ago, with all those humans.”

“I guess so.” Emily chuckles slowly. Portals, elves, much more likely she’s lying on the ground in her grandmother’s garden in a coma and dreaming. Consequences of being a clutz.

“You don’t know how you got here, do you?” Emily shakes her head. The girls smiles fondly and extends her hand, “Well I guess we’re just gonna have to figure that out aren’t we?” She pulls Emily to her feet. “I’m Azari, fire elf, and I have a feeling this is going to be quite an adventure.” A rogue-ish smile breaks onto her face, and she looks overall like a fanciful devil. 

Emily swallows her nerves and forces a smile. “I’m Emily, and I sincerely hope not.”

Azari laughs, the sound rolling through the air with the intensity of a wildire.

__________________________________________

Fire elf in the lead, the pair hustle down the grassy hill. This vantage point, to which Emily had been facing away from when she landed in this place, looks down upon a vibrant blue lagoon, framed on either side by jagged mountains. Azari turns onto a path to the right, leading to a sloping outcropping ornamented with unusual apple trees.

“Where are we going?” 

“To Farran Leafshade, earth elf, and general buzzkill. His idea of fun is studying different kinds of dirt.” Azari wrinkles her nose. “Who does that? Of all the elves I know, earth and not, even those in agriculture think that’s the most boring part of the job. What kind of person do you have to be in order to want to do that in your free time?”

“A little weird, I guess, but I’m sure he’s a great guy…elf..person..thing…”

Azari shrugs. “He could do with a little spontenaity every now and then. Live a little, you know? Anyways he’s pretty in tune with all the goings of the forest, plus his home is where we all get together for anything important.”

Emily looks quizically at her. “You all?”

“Me, Farran, Aira and Naida. We’ve all been friends since forever.”

Emily nods. “And do you think they might know how I got here, and maybe how to get home?”

“Maybe, Aira and Naida know the legend of the Great Sisters better than I do, I get bored with history. Besides, Naida’s mother’s mother was one of the Sisters who created the portal in the first place. We might be able to go to her for help.”

“Who are the Great Sisters?”

“Well they’re,” Azari stops short and shakes her head. “No, I better let one of the others explain. I always get the details mixed up.”

As they near the pinacle of the slope, a sophistcated treehouse becomes visible through some of the towering branches. Seated on a set of roughly hewn steps is a male elf. He has a fairly light complexion, muted lime green eyes, and a wavy mess of short, dark brown hair that almost conceals the tips of his ears. He holds a pad of paper and a pencil in his hand, conversing with an elven girl standing to his right. She’s slim, but not overly tall, pale face accented with lavender eyes and hair, the latter pulled into a rather elaborate ponytail, though quite a number of strands have loosened. She wears a strange winged contraption, to which her fingers are busy adjusting the straps.

“Remember to time it correctly this time,” she chides the boy, her voice light and airy.

“I know,” he grumbles, leaning forward to rest his head tiredly on his hand. “After forty-five test flights, one can have the tendency to make a mistake.”

“Nonsense, that only means it should be perfectly engrained into your muscle memory.” She tightens one last strap. “There. Now in five, four, three…”

“Aira! Farran!” Azari calls. 

The purple-haired girl turns, her face erupting into a beaming smile. “Azari! So good to see you! Who’s your friend? She looks odd, why are her ears so round?” The words flit from her mouth with the speed of a hummingbird. 

Emily, overwhelmed, only stares dumbly in response.

“Aira, that’s not polite,” the boy gently rebukes, striding over to join them. “I’m Farran Folasion. This is Aira Arlaynaiel. It’s a blessing to meet you.”

“You don’t have to be so formal, Farran,” Azari responds. “This is Emily, and she’s a human.”

“A human? This far north? How?” The boy asks incredulously.

“I don’t know,” Emily starts shyly. “I guess I came through some sort of portal. There aren’t any elves where I come from, least that anyone knows about.”

Aira’s eyes widen. “The gates of Great Sisters!”

Azari nods. “That’s what I was thinking.”

“We have to find Naida!” Aira exclaims.

The fire elf smirks. “Also what I was thinking.”

Gushing, Aira and her sweep Emily off in a new direction down the hill. The air elf buzzes with excitement, chattering with such speed that Emily can’t make sense of half of what comes out of her mouth, but it seems to be spurts of curious questions about her human-ness alternating with speculations of the significance of her appearance in Elvendale. It seems whatever these gates or portals were, they were supposed to be permanently sealed decades ago.

Farran trails just behind the group, and unlike his companions, his face is devoid of anything cheerful. He casts skeptical glances towards Emily, concern creasing his brow. He runs one hand anxiously through his hair. He sighs.

At least they’re going to see Naida, the wisest of their little group. She would be the voice of caution Azari and Aira desperately need to hear.

Made a tier list of FNaF media!!! Not counting the activity book or the security survival log because those don’t really add anything, they’re just neat activities or summaries of game info

I explained the choices under the cut, equal parts personal bias and objective opinion, so if you think differently then hey, good on ya!

Going down to up XD

F

The Silver Eyes Graphic Novel: Do I even need to explain this one? Rushed art with countless mistakes, horrid coloring, samey designs, the important scenes come off as bland and even goofy instead of impactful. It’s clear Pinky wasn’t used to drawing humans, the colorist had no idea what they were doing, and no one on the team made a graphic novel before. It’s laughable how bad this was XD

E

The Fourth Closet: Does anyone really know what happened at the end? I... really don’t like what they did with Charlie in this one. I don’t like how William was able to get out of his Springtrap- it was SUPPOSED to trap him, and yet he just... is out of it... I think the whole thing with Baby being like this hot clown girl instead of what she is in Sister Location is very... ... it exists... Tbh I respect the bold direction it took, but I honestly felt it was too much of a stretch and just didn’t work.

D

FNaF AR, Special Delivery: Not bad! The character models and voice acting is where the game shines most. Other than that, there isn’t really much substantial to the game other than some lore with Vanny/Ness and Luis. The gameplay can get frustrating sometimes(I cant collect remnant, read my mail, or even work on my own animatronics without DING DONG SOMEONES HERE every 5 seconds), and all you do is spin in a circle until you get glitchy, look away if they get glitchy, or zap them when they run at you. Some people probably love this game and good on them for that, but I find myself not touching it for weeks at a time.

Freddy In Space 2: GREAT game for charity, great art, great music! ... That’s all it has going for it, though. It was clear that this was a quickly made game designed to be beaten in one sitting, and it did exactly what it needed to do! Other than being amazing how it was for charity, the game doesn’t have that much going for it(except introducing Lolzhax aka BEST ROBO), so overall not bad but also did almost nothing outside of being for the Charity Livestream XD

Fazbear Frights, Into The Pit: Again, not bad! A nice collection of short stories, almost like goofy campfire horror you’d tell to kids... like goosebumps! I felt each story was REALLY lacking in some areas, but I liked the general idea they were going for. That being said, they’re moreso neat scary stories with the name FNaF attached than anything else(except maybe the first of the three). It hints that they have an overarching plot that will be covered in future books, but as of right now, I feel no one’s missing out by not reading them.

C

FNaF 3: A satisfying end to the original trilogy story! Purple Guy gets justice, everything gets tied together with a neat bow, and the first arc in the series comes to an end. Also Springtrap, aka my favorite. This game is riddled with neat 8-bit minigames and bits of lore, but the gameplay itself is where I find it not as good as the S A and B tiers. The new setup with the system reboots are def really interesting, but other than that, each night is just... the same thing but harder. Most other games introduce different characters on different difficulties per night, but since Springtrap is the only deadly one, it’s just... him more aggressive each night and systems failing more often. Makes the gameplay pretty repetitive and frustrating after Night 3 or so.

FNaF 4: The beginning of what I like to call the Afton saga(4, SL, FFPS, UCN)! This is when the lore began to get REALLY good... and also really confusing. Props for it taking such a bold direction by taking place in a child’s bedroom instead of in an office with cameras, its a neat change of pace! That being said, the gameplay can get frustrating and there’s a high learning curve for needing to listen to each sound the anmatronics make. Also lore wise... there really isn’t much! Just mainly focuses on what happened to this poor kid. Also the box still being a loose end... yeah.

The Twisted Ones: I enjoyed this one! It had a very interesting direction that kinda kept me guessing on what was going on, and this is when Scott really started nailing in the foreshadowing for the reveal in TFC. The Twisted animatronics are SO cool, and the introduction of those little alteration chips provided new context to games like 4 and SL! That being said, I don’t remember it being... that memorable? I also didn’t like how Charlie’s and John’s relationship was... so awkward... It was neat, but honestly nothing to really go crazy over, in my opinion.

B

The Silver Eyes: Honestly, I adored this book when I read it back in 2016, before Sister Location happened. At the time I wasn’t trying to connect it to any lore, so it was really great just to see a sort of retelling of the FNaF story. A lot of people complained about how long it was... I might agree if I reread it but tbh it never bothered me before. It was delightfully creepy, yet had a simple plot and wasn’t NEARLY as out there as TTO and TFC. Especially TFC. I felt this book didnt need 2 sequels and would’ve been just fine on its own, but whatcha gonna do. Carlton is forever my fav, and it’s the first time we really learn about Henry AND it was the first time we got a name for our Purple Guy: William Afton!

Sister Location: I like this one for just how bold of a game it was. I’m also including SL’s Custom Night wrapped into this package. Jam packed with lore, our first (main) game with VOICE ACTING, and honestly the humor has no right being as good as it is. I love how this not only expanded on the crying child from 4′s story, but also gives us so much Elizabeth and Michael content. The gameplay has a lot of unbalanced features and feels a little too over the place at times, but I appreciate where it was going with it!

FNaF World: ... This one is pure personal bias. A lot of people don’t like it. I adore it. Honestly I love the cute overworld, I love beating up enemies as my favorite animatronics, I love the horror, nihilism, and lore shoved into this game alongside SO MUCH humor. Update 2 was nothing short of an absolute delight and... wait, no!!! FNaF World had our first voice acting!!! So many endings and nods to other games Scott’s made, a cool scene with Desk Man/Henry and Baby, just... muah. Good content. Also Scott 57 <3

A

Ultimate Custom Night: Name a better way to end the Afton Saga, I’ll wait. It’s so obvious how much time, thought, and care went into this one. I love how the game rewards you with funny cutscenes the higher scores you get, and I just! So much voice acting! I love how each preset- no, each character has their own moves so every time you do a certain mode, you need to learn to manage them all and get a good strategy. I like how it’s way more strategy and skill than the RNG that many previous games had. Also, Scott!!! You managed to put this into the LORE by making it William’s hell, MUAH, couldnt have done it better!!!

FNaF 2: This one might have bias for being the peak of the fandom, but it was one of the greatest times to be in that fandom. Freaking out over the trailers, theories galore, prequel vs sequel, and just... so good. 1 didn’t have much plot, 2 DID. 2 had more mechanics and strategy to it than 1, and gave us over twice as many characters! We finally got a “face” to our killer, Mr. Purple Man, and how could I ever complain about more Phone Guy~? This one also introduced the 8-bit minigames, which became a HUGE staple for the series! Perfect expansion of the first!

Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator: The PERFECT blend of old and new gameplay. The salvage scenes are intense, the nights had a great balancing mechanic of juggling doing tasks while also avoiding animatronics, multiple endings, and a neat tycoon segment to give the player a breather... but with LORE!!! Midnight Motorist is easily one of the best tracks in the series. Also has a GREAT canonical ending, when(with paired with UCN), ties the plots of 1-6 SO nicely with a neat bow. 

S

FNaF 1: Okay. From a personal and gameplay standpoint, I was going to put this much lower. Like B or C. That being said... this has to go in S. Yes, it has the least lore and arguably the worst gameplay(too much RNG for 4/20 mode), but this was the game. I can’t even exaggerate when I say just how much FNaF changed not only the gaming community, but especially the horror and indie communities. So many names got big from this: Markiplier, Dawko, Game Theory, The Living Tombstone, DA Games, SCOTT HIMSELF, just to name a few!!! And to think, this was originally going to be Scott’s last game! FNaF changed gaming HISTORY, and I think that alone makes this title deserving of S.

FNaF VR, Help Wanted: Okay, personal bias time, but I truly think VR deserves this S. Seeing Glitchtrap for the first time incited a panic in me that I hadn’t felt since FNaF 1 and 2. You get FNaF 1-4 in one, all in VR, WONDERFUL character models that you can WATCH MOVE!!! SO many minigames and fun challenges to play, so many neat knickknacks to collect, the Halloween update is FANTASTIC. The introduction of some great characters, such as: Glitchtrap, Vanny, Tape Girl, Dreadbear, Grim Foxy, etc!!! There’s also just- something so nice about being able to see every office and the pizzeria in 3D spaces where you can look around! Just from a gameplay and environment standpoint, this was an AMAZING addition and deserves the S.

... Thanks for listening to me ramble XD If you disagree... then good for you! I won’t fight anyone on this, I’m aware that this is a lot of personal bias. But if you made it this far... thanks for hearing me ramble!!!!

Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum'!

Yes,  Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum'!  AKA Bloodleaf (also called Bloodgood). Described by Monrovia as a “ delightful small tree with gracefully branched stems that hold beautiful, palmate, red-purple leaves.” This deciduous tree is hardy to US Zones 5-8 (I have no idea what zones that’d be in the UK, Australia or New Zealand sorry guys), prefers partial-to-full sun exposure, requires regular watering, and will reach up to 18 ft (5.4 meters) in height! The beautiful red-purple foliage turns an even more brilliant red in the fall! I mean, just look at this gorgeous tree:

Fuck yeah, Japanese maples. Did you know there are over 1000 cultivars of Japanese maple? They’re gorgeous. 

This is a gardening blog, right?

No?

Shit. 

Whatever, nobody cares.

And by that, I mean: Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith!

I wasn’t kidding about how amazing Japanese maples are. Seriously, if you’re in a compatible zone (most are 5-8 on the USDA hardiness zone map, which includes the western areas of the Pacific Northwest, fuck yeah!). Anyway, the eponymous bloodleaf of Smith’s novel do not belong to a Japanese maple. It’s more like a flowering ground cover, like a little white, three-petaled Lobelia. Only super duper poisonous and the only safe part are the petals, which can save lives, but are practically impossible to harvest. Hurray?

Anyway! Book review! That’s what this blog is for. Not for recommending various plants that I like. It is for reviewing books. I’m pretty sure no one actually reads these, though, so I can include whatever the fuck I want. My favorite Japanese maple? Well, I don’t just have one, but I am partial to lace leaf Japanese maples, because the leaves are just so damn pretty...

Bloodleaf! By! Crystal! Smith! I am capable of focus!

Princess Aurelia of Renault is having a hell of a time - for one, everyone thinks she’s a witch, a crime punishable by death in her country. Even being accused of being a witch is enough to get you hanged by the neck until dead. Or burned. Seems like the preferred method in Renault is hanging, but burnings work, too.

What, did you think there weren’t going to be Monty Python gifs here? 

Everyone in Renault, even the royal family, lives in fear of the Tribunal, a shady organization that apparently has jurisdiction over witches and seems to possess absolute power. The public is on the side of the Tribunal (witches = bad), so the fact that Aurelia is rumored to be a witch isn’t exactly great.

The fact that she is, indeed, a witch, is even worse. Aurelia is a blood mage - she can see spirits of the dead and do magic with her blood. Fun! I wish I could do magic whenever I get a paper cut - if that were the case, I’d be doing magic all the time at work. Or whenever my cat springboards off me or I nearly slice my thumb off shredding Parmesan cheese. Anyway: Aurelia has to keep her witchy-ness secret re: regular hangings and burnings. Aurelia has been engaged to Prince Valentin of the neighboring kingdom of Achelva since infancy. Things look a bit better for witches in Achelva, which sounds great, but Valentin himself? Not so much. Valentin is rumored to be a weak and infirm invalid who rarely ever leaves his rooms. The current king of Achelva, Domnhall (no relation to the beautiful, red-headed Domnhall Gleeson) is the worst. He’s basically Donald Trump in everything but name. So Aurelia isn’t overly thrilled at her upcoming marriage, but she’s eager to get the hell out of Dodge before people catch on that she’s a witch, holding out to the hope that, in uniting her country with Achelva and becoming a queen, she can lessen the influence of the Tribunal and make things better for her fellow witches.

(Seriously, did you think I wasn’t going to use Monty Python gifs here?)

That’s all well and good, but just as Aurelia is getting ready to head off to Achelva, the Tribunal stages a coup - Aurelia’s mom, the Queen, is captured, while Aurelia and her little brother Conrad, the future king of Renault, just barely manage to escape.  Things get even worse when the people who helped Aurelia escape Renault turn on her. They take Conrad and head off to Achelva with an impostor posing as Aurelia, while the real Aurelia just barely manages to escape being murdered.

Now stuck in Achelva with no money, no friends, no papers, nothing, Aurelia has to do her best to survive. Then a handsome stranger called Zan steals her horse. Well, he tries to pay for it after the fact, but still. The only thing Achelva has going for it is that Aurelia can now practice her blood magic without fear of immediate hanging and/or burning. But there’s still the fact that the Tribunal still has her mother hostage back home, and Conrad is in the hands of the impostor and her Tribunal-loyal father. Plus there’s something weird happening within the walls of the city-state of Achelva. Old magical protections seem to be failing and Zan is determined not only to find out why, but also find a way to stop it. When he learns that Aurelia (now calling herself Emilie) is a blood mage, he offers to teach her how to use her power in order to save his country. Can Aurelia manage to save her family and Achelva and Renault from the grips of the Tribunal without dying a horrible death?

Good luck with that, Aurelia/Emilie!

Sometimes its hard for me to be objective about books that I enjoy. If I like a book, I’m willing to forgive most of its flaws, embrace the story and roll with it. For the most part, the books I review here on this stupid tumblr blog are books that I’ve liked. I don’t really want to waste my time slogging through a book that I don’t like. Life’s too short, if I don’t like something, I’m not going to read it. If I like a book, I’ll finish reading it, even if it takes me a while. 

And then sometimes I encounter a book like Witchmark or The Binding books which, once I started reading them, I literally could not stop and now I love them forever holy shit those books are so good you guys, you should buy copies of both right now I am not joking, Jesu Christi people, READ THEM!

Uhm. 

Bloodleaf happens to be among the latter. It’s one of those books where I started reading and then would not stop. I remained at the gym for an extra ten minutes just so I could finish a chapter. I was ready to hiss at anyone or anything that would stop me reading. For example:

Housemate: hey, we’ve got a bunch of old bananas here, would you be willing to make banana bread tonight?

Me, reading Bloodleaf:

Needless to say, I enjoyed this book a lot. It has its flaws typical to YA fantasy (mostly just some weak characterization and worldbuilding) but once I got going I really didn’t care. I went into full YA Fangirl Mode. And once I enter Fangirl Mode it’s difficult to convince me not to like or enjoy something.

Plus there’s a bunch of not-so-subtle Donald Trump references to the regent of Achleva, who is definitely a Trump-type. One of the characters even refers to him, sarcastically, as a “stable genius.” Another character tells him, very publicly: “Facts is facts. Wishin’ ’em false and declarin’ ’em fake don’t make it so.”

Heee. I see what you did there, Crystal Smith. I see what you did there! And I very much enjoy it.

So if you’re looking for a strong, female-led YA fantasy novel featuring blood magic and the occasional witch burning, Bloodleaf is the book for you. And a brilliant scarlet-leaved Acer palmatum var. atropurpureum is the tree you’ll be wanting for your garden. Don’t let it die of a fungus like mine did. RIP, Mr. Bloodgood. You were a tree that I got for free.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Fans of YA fantasy with a strong female lead, magic, romance, etc.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone who came here legitimately hoping to read about Japanese maples, non-YA fans, people who can’t stand the idea of a kickass female protagonist.

TRIGGER WARNING: Midway through the book there’s a scene of a very violent near-rape - be warned and prepare accordingly. If that’s really not your thing then you may want to steer clear.

RATING: 4/5

TOTALLY UNBIASED FANGIRL RATING: 500,000,000/5

RELEASE DATE: March 12, 2019

ANTICIPATION LEVEL FOR SEQUEL: Chhogori

TREE RATING: Eucalyptus regnans

Well, it’s certainly been a while since I drew this guy. ^^ Okay, some context for those who haven’t heard of any of this. Some time ago, I used to be a big fan of a podcast called “Welcome to Night Vale.” I really loved the show, but I sorta fell behind on episodes for a while, then I fell further behind, then so many episodes piled up that I felt overwhelmed at the thought of trying to catch back up. That was a few years ago. Recently, with my new job and being able to do some of my work while listening to something in one ear, I decided to get myself back into Night Vale. I recently caught back up, and my love for the podcast has returned full-force. :D I have now listened to all of the episodes, and have read both of the novels, and loved them all (though some of the continuity stuff in “It Devours” is a bit weird, and I overall preferred the first novel I think). For those who haven’t heard of this podcast before, “Welcome to Night Vale” is a podcast that takes the form of a local radio show of a fictional US town, Night Vale, located somewhere in the desert. Anything supernatural or horrifying, like a Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home, or hooded figures that lurk around a forbidden dog park, or the Sheriff having a Secret Police force, or government agents watching everyone’s every move, are all seen as completely ordinary and mundane to those living in Night Vale. ^^ The radio show is hosted by a man named Cecil, who reports on the events that happen in his town, occasionally sharing his own thoughts on the matter, and gushes over the handsome scientist who just moved into town. ^^ The fun of the podcast is seeing what bizarre events happen in the town, and how most of it is seen as run-of-the-mill to those who live there. The fun of it is also the great writing, wonderful characters, wonderful relationships between those characters, and great representation for minorities and for the LGBT community. :D Anyway, I decided to make a new design for the main character, Cecil, since I drew my old design for him ages ago. Since the podcast is all audio and no visual, and since Cecil’s appearance is never described to us, fans are able to depict Cecil however they like, although tentacle tattoos, white/gray hair, and a third eye are all common in fan depictions of Cecil. There were certain aspects of my old design for him that I retained for this design, but I changed a fair bit of it. And yes, I know, I know, my design looks like just about every other skinny, white-haired, tattooed Cecil design out there. I wasn’t going for originality so much as trying to just come up with a design that felt the most like Cecil to me, if that makes sense, that I could make to fit my mental image of him. And I’ve seen far too many white-haired, tentacle-tattooed Cecil designs over the years to wildly alter my mental image of him at this point. And I didn’t really want to. I just wanted to have fun coming up with my own version of him to fit my mental image while still being sorta original in my design. Anyway, the design itself. I kept a similar idea of the hair sorta swooping back and then tufting back up. But I was able to portray that much better here, the way I meant for it to look, not the wild, mad scientist sorta hair I drew him with before. :P His hair isn’t as tall and doesn’t stick up as much as on his old design. I also changed the coloring, as the gray from before with all of the flecks of other colors just didn’t look right anymore. Instead, I played around with a bunch of different options before finally settling on a two-toned look like other Cecil designs I’ve seen. It seems that most two-toned hairstyles like this involve the dark part of the hair being very short and close to the scalp to contrast with the lighter hair being longer, but… oh well. :P I like the look of him having full hair throughout, at least for my design, there’s definitely good and cool designs of him out there with the short hair on part of the head. :D I always intended for Cecil to have a very narrow sort of face. I made it really thin and long in his old design, and I was not very good at portraying that in a realistic manner. :P Here, I think I managed to get that across much better, while still having his face look fairly realistic. Fun fact – I actually used pictures of Hugh Laurie as a reference while drawing this. ^^ He has the sort of narrow-faced look I was going for, though I didn’t copy the elements of his face exactly, I just used the pictures to help suss out the anatomy at this angle. I used a mix of yellow and purple in his old tattoo designs, sort of trying to emphasize how Night Vale and Desert Bluffs are connected. While I liked that idea, I just couldn’t get that blend of colors to look right on this new design, so I ditched the yellow and just stuck to various shades of purple. Before, I had given him unusually-large amber irises, with a pupil that was just a darker shade of amber rather than black. I didn’t have any particular reason for this, I just thought it looked cool, and emphasized Cecil’s not-quite-human-ness. :P But before coming up with this design, I had an interesting idea, and I’m honestly not sure if anyone’s incorporated this into a Cecil design before (probably) – instead of regular eyes, what if I made the eye-moon thing in the Night Vale logo his actual eyes? I decided to try it out, and I really liked how it looked, so I stuck with it. :D I like to think that Cecil was born with normal eyes, maybe brown or something, but when he was officially declared the new Voice of Night Vale, as such an important representative and voice of their weird little community, his eyes literally became the symbol of Night Vale, symbolizing how he represents and speaks for the town. I really like how those eyes look on him. It shows his connection with the town, it’s a cool color for his eyes, and the lack of white in his eyes or black pupils further emphasizes his not-quite-human-ness. I image they’re also quite freaky to those not from Night Vale and not used to its ways. Carlos was probably quite alarmed when he first saw those eyes, and also quite confused as to why he found such frightening eyes attractive, before eventually getting used to Night Vale and its strangeness and fully embracing how attractive he found Cecil. ^^ I also changed my design for his facial tattoos, though I think his arm tattoos will mostly stay the same, though the colors will be simplified to just light and dark purple, and some of the design might be simplified and shifted around. I’m pretty sure I’ll also keep the tattoo monster thing on his chest and back, ‘cause I like the idea of it. ^^ Anyway, I decided to get rid of the lines and shapes on his face from his old design, and just go for a few tentacle tattoos on his face framing his eyes. I kept the moon-eye on his forehead, but I added some eyelashes just to make it stand out, and I got rid of the line around it and just put more tentacle tattoos beside it. As I said before, I got rid of the yellow in the tattoo coloration, and just used dark purple as the outline, and a light, pinkish purple to fill in the tattoo. I think the colors work really well together, and I like how the tattoos came out looking. :D Overall, I’m really happy with this new design for Cecil. :D I was too lazy to draw a full body shot of him, and I really just wanted to focus on his face at the moment, but maybe some time I’ll draw his full design with his new tattoos. I know Night Vale’s fashion sense, and Cecil’s in particular, is supposed to be completely ridiculous and nonsensical and over-the-top and not matching – Cecil has been described as wearing antlers and hip-weighters, furry pants, a poncho with cat ears and goulashes, and god knows what else - but I just can’t seem to get rid of my mental image of him in a nice shirt and waistcoat, it’s just been my mental image of him for too long. Maybe one day I’ll eventually embrace his canonical mis-matching fashion sense, but for now I’ll just keep drawing him this way. :P I decided to keep the shading simple on this, and I just added a bit of a starry background so it wasn’t too plain. Honestly though, for not having drawn humans for several years, I’m honestly ridiculously proud of how this turned out. :D The anatomy looks way better than the last time I drew humans, and it just looks really good, I think. :D

Reflections of Me: The Thomas Sanders Anime

Ever since the idea of @thatsthat24 having an anime all about his life and his characters was suggested, my brain has been on FIRE with ideas. So... I wrote it. This is the script for the possible first episode of the Thomas Sanders Anime. I hope you enjoy reading it! I had a lot of fun writing it. 💜 (Disclaimer: these characters belong to Thomas, not me. And if you read this, Thomas, I hope you don't mind me creating an alternate reality for you and your characters!) Reflections of Me: The Thomas Sanders Anime Scene: Thomas' bedroom. There's a single bed, a nightstand with a lamp and an LED alarm clock, a desk and a chair, and a bookshelf with books, DVDs, small figurines and other odds and ends. *The camera zooms in on one of the two windows in the room. It's cracked open, and the curtains billow gently in the breeze as birds sing outside and a light morning melody plays. *The camera follows a sunbeam down to the sleeping figure in the bed who has cocooned himself from head to toe in the blanket. You can't see him, but you can hear him snoring peacefully. *The clock ticks over to 6:00 and the alarm goes off. *Thomas sits straight up in bed and shuts it off. He's grinning widely and doesn't look like he's been sleeping at all. *He goes over to the window and opens it. "Good morning, world!" He takes a deep breath and lets it out. "It's going to be a great day! I just know it." *Cue upbeat music* *Short montage of Thomas getting ready to go. He brushes his teeth, combs his hair, spends a little too long in front of the open closet choosing a shirt (there are only three different designs, but multiples of each one). *He takes a bite of toast and goes to leave, but pauses in front of a framed picture. He pats it lovingly. "See you guys later!" *As Thomas marches down the street, his voice narrates. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing... this is it! The beginning of a new term and my fresh start. "Life hasn't been easy since I left home six months ago to attend The Garnet Academy of Fine Arts. (*camera cuts to photo of his family back in the apartment*) Being in a new school so far away from my family came with its trials and errors, but I know I will reach the goal I set for myself: (*camera back to Thomas*) today I'm going to make some new friends." *He begins speaking aloud. "It's going to be great. I'll crack a funny joke, my classmates will laugh, and presto! Friendship!" He grins. "Its foolproof!" *Music turns goofy.* *Montage of unfortunate events.* *He cracks a joke and no one laughs. *He tries to help a girl who's dropped her books in the hallway, but accidentally dumps an entire bottle of water on her. It turns her white blouse translucent and she runs away with a scream. *He passes a note in class and gets it back. It reads: "Sam, I think you're an amazing person! Will you go out with me? Check yes or no. -Thomas" The "no" box has a big red X through it that takes up half the page. *In gym, the teacher asks for a volunteer to go get the bag of dodgeballs. Thomas waves his hand and says "I'll do it!" But when he turns to run and get them, he smacks into another male student, knocking the kid out cold. *Back in class again, the teacher tells the students to pick a partner. (Thomas sits in the middle of the room.) All the kids scoot their desks/chairs six inches away from his vicinity at the same time. He hunkers down at his desk, embarrassed. *Cut to Thomas walking home after school. (*Sad, flowing music*) The sun is just starting to set. He doesn't go very fast, dragging his feet and his shoulders are slumped forward. His backpack is barely hanging on his shoulder, supported by his thumb. When the strap slips, the bag falls to the ground and he stops in his tracks with a sigh. "What a mess." He thinks. He looks like he's going to cry. "So much for my fresh start." "Yes, it is...difficult when others do not understand you, is it not?" A heavily accented voice says from the shadows of a nearby tree. Thomas jumps a little, wary. "Who said that?" "I did." An older woman walks out of the shadows a step toward him. "Wh- who are you?" He asks. "I am Melina the Enchantress!" She says this with great fanfare, but doesn't get the reaction she expects. Thomas chuckles nervously and his next words come out in a rush. "Geenicetomeetyougottagonowbye!" He begins to walk away quickly. Melina's face falls and she takes a few steps after him and speaks. The accent falls away. "What if I told you I could make it easier for others to understand you?" Thomas turns back to look at her. "What?" She smiles. The accent is back. "You are a good person, Thomas. Kind. Caring. You just have a hard time showing it. I have something that can help. You could make friends, get a date, or...simply feel like you belong." Thomas is fully invested now. "How?" *She produces a glass bottle about half the size of a water bottle from the folds of her cloak. It's purple with a cork in the top. "This potion will help you express all of your different...feelings that are difficult for others to see. But be warned: with every action comes a consequence-" Halfway through the last word, Thomas takes the bottle, uncorks it, and drinks it. There are audible "glug" noises between Melina's stuttering words. "You- *glug* Ah- *glug* Just one- *glug* To- *glug* Every-" Thomas sighs, corks the bottle, and puts it back in her hand. "Pomegranate! I love pomegranate juice! But, that garlic aftertaste is pretty sharp. You may need to work on your recipe there." He shakes his head. "So, when does it work?" He asks. "I don't feel any different." She stutters, but tries to regain her composure and accent and manages to say: "In the morning when you wake-" "Great!" Thomas shakes her hand energetically. "Thank you so much!" Then he turns for home, waving over his shoulder. Melina watches him walk away, her mouth hanging open. She looks down at the bottle in her hand and her face flattens like the emoji 😑 "Yeah. Have fun with that." She says with no trace of an accent. She chucks the bottle over her shoulder into a bush and turns to leave, grumbling about the impatience of kids these days. *Camera cuts to Thomas in bed. (*Happy, soothing music*) His arms are behind his head. "When I wake up tomorrow, everything is going to be different." He sighs contentedly and looks out the window at the night sky. (*The camera follows his gaze to the stars*) "Tomorrow's gonna be a great day. I just know it." *The camera fades out. The screen is black but we start to hear voices. "Shhhh! You'll wake him!" "A very wise man once said 'Early to bed, early to rise-'" "Yes, but what if we're interrupting a magnificent dream? Maybe he's rescuing someone in distress-" "Shut it. Let him sleep. At least in there he's not embarrassing himself every thirty seconds-" *The camera is zoomed in on Thomas' face when he snaps one eye open. Then we see what he sees: four copies of himself. They all look alarmed that he's awake, save for one: the one in glasses and a sweater around his shoulders. When no one says anything, he is the first to speak. "Well hey there, Sunshine!" *Camera cuts outside the apartment complex. There's a cat rooting through a trash can. Suddenly, Thomas' scream erupts through the air, flushing a small flock of birds from a tree. The cat yowls, knocks the can over and takes off. (*Cue goofy music again*) *Cut back into the apartment and we see Thomas backed up against the headboard of his bed, holding the blanket up to his nose as if to protect himself. "Who are you?!?" He asks. The copy in glasses and a tie clears his throat. "We're you. That is, we're the different facets of your personality." "Where did you come from?" He asks, still shaken. "Really, Mr. Pomegranate?" The copy dressed all in black rolls his eyes. "The strange potion you drank from the strange lady in the shadows might have something to do with it." Sarcasm practically oozed out of him. "Yes, Melinda the Evil Witch!" Another copy agreed. He was dressed like a fairytale prince. "The garlic aftertaste was clearly a sign of her evil...ness." "No, it was Miranda the Wizard." The copy with a sweater corrected. The one in glasses shakes his head. "No it wasn't. She couldn't be a wizard anyway; she was clearly a woman." "Oh, so it's okay to assign antiquated gender roles to a being with magical powers who could clearly do anything they wanted. THAT makes sooooo much sense." The dark one frowns. *The four of them begin to talk all at once, arguing about the situation. "Okay. Okay! ALRIGHT GUYS, KNOCK IT OFF!" Thomas shouts over the din. (*music cuts out here*) They quiet and he lowers the blanket. "I believe you now. Those all sound like things I'd say in my own head." He looks from copy to copy in turn. "This is going to get confusing if I don't give you a name of some kind." His gaze falls on the copy with a sweater tied around his shoulders. "Who are you?" "I am the part of you that governs your sense of right and wrong. Also, your love of Dad jokes." He waggles his eyebrows. Thomas hurries before a dad joke gets thrown in. "For now, you are Morality." His eyes scan the copy in black clothes. "And you?" "I am every pessimistic thought and worry that crosses your mind. I am the part of you that keeps you up all night, reliving your most embarrassing moments." He almost growls. "...Great! Well, until I come up with something better, you're Anxiety." He glances next at the copy in glasses and a tie. "You look like my sixth grade math teacher." "There's a reason for that! I am your sense of order and knowledge. Whenever there's a big decision to be made, you usually call on me." "That is not true! We all have a hand in big decisions-" "NOT NOW, Morality!" Thomas interrupts. He looks back at the copy in glasses. "Let's call you Logic for the time being." *Finally, he lands on the copy dressed up like a fairytale prince. He doesn't even have to speak. The copy gives a sweeping bow. "I am your dreams and imagination. Your fanciful side who believes anything is possible!" Thomas is a bit startled by the performance. "You can be... uh..." The copy looks at him excitedly. "...Prince. Your name is Prince." Anxiety snorts. "That's original." "Then I guess that makes me a classic, doesn't it?" Prince sasses back. "PLEASE don't argue!" Thomas yells. "Why? We do it all the time." Morality points out. "And, anyway, it's fun to watch." He shoves a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "What? All the time?" Thomas asks incredulously. "No I- And where did you get popcorn?!?" "We made it while you were sleeping. Want some?" Logic offers the bowl to him. Thomas is about to respond when his alarm clock goes off. It reads 7:00. "WHAT?!? THE CLOCK-" He looks from face to face, seeing nothing but confusion, until he lands on Prince. He looks guilty as all heck. (*Cue action music*) "I...just wanted you to get more sleep! It gives you more time to dream-" Thomas zooms out of bed, throwing on clothes and brushing his teeth. Morality hands him a piece of toast as he speeds toward the door while buckling his belt. "All of you stay here." Thomas commands. "I...I have to figure this out. I'll be back after school." *He runs out and down the stairs to the street. Once there, he looks up at his windows to see all four of them waving and watching him walk away. He shakes his head and hurries to school as fast as he can. *Outro music begins* *Back in the apartment, Morality leans over a bit to Logic. "Do you think we should have told him that it's Saturday?" *Anxiety starts laughing and Prince has a hard time biting back a smile too. Logic shakes his head with a smile of his own. "Nah. He'll figure it out soon enough." *Roll credits and finish outro song!* That was SO MUCH FUN! If someone with more artistic talent than I have wants to draw this, I totally approve. 😄