Nightlight

A friend of Crocigator's ever since he could remember. Leader to a swarm of fellow fireflies, she and her companions keep a close watch on the young Stubby while the young gator is out on his adventures. Should Stubby be ever in any danger, the fireflies work as a team to inform Crocigator right away, who is never too far from him. In return, Crocigator allows the fireflies to live in the safety and comfort of his shack.

While an observer might find it odd that Nightlight and her fellow fireflies go out of their way to do this for the gators, it is said that both Nightlight and Crocigator shared a certain history with one another, leading them to be in each other's debt. This agreement between the gator and the fireflies is supposedly their own way of repaying one another.

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The last of my inks for this year's Inktober, which I hadn't gotten around to uploading until today. This one took me a while to do at the time because of the detailing I put on the leaves.

More friends in Swampland! And I just might make a map of the entire known swamp thus far.

Noozle Bunny

When the lady tries to nuzzle noozle over Skype, she reminds me of a rabbit. And it's the cutest thing ever.

For My One and Only - 2019

In commemoration of my girlfriend's birthday, I went and made... A bit more realistic ink of her instead of the usual cartoony style I tend to draw her as. Had to rush this at the last minute since I got home late, but I'm really happy I managed to pull it off. I'll repost a cleaner version of this later when the ink dries and after I erase the lead off.

Happy birthday, Emo. 🎂 I can't do much given the nature of our relationship at the moment, but this ought to suffice for our current lack of physical contact.

I hope you have a great one today. I love you, always. ❤

Migawari

The Japanese call this Migawari (身代わり). For everyone else who speaks English, we call this Substitute.

Inspired by my very own Substitute doll, which I took the liberty of nicknaming Spike. 😊

I wanted to sign this off in Japanese, but it slipped my mind until the last minute. 😞

Go Fish Buddies

Dragged by an ecstatic Stubby--who was eager to make a new friend--, an anxious Todd winds up in Gatorville and meets Stubby's gator friends (and Pointy). Although initially hesitant because of how intimidated he was by Crocigator, he eventually warms up to them and finds himself playing a game of go fish with the two adult gators.

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Gator buddies make friends. Todd also makes friends. Everyone becomes friends. Everyone's happy. 😊

Etherei

Gender: Male
Age: 18
Occupation/Class: Enerhija Knight
Height: 3'8"
Weight: 39 kg./84 lbs.
Likes: Tinkering with machines, reading, hot chocolate, having friends, Rei-Rei
Dislikes: Bullies, arrogant people, high places, being unable to stand up for himself, feeling lonely

A former member of the Enerhija Knights' Recon Squad Delta. After a mission that left his squad members dead, he is suddenly brought from his homeworld of Radisrol to the world of the Aether. Alongside his Kit-En companion Rei-Rei, and the sprightly traveler Zephyr, he must journey across the Aether and find some way to return to his world, report the horrors he had seen in his last mission to his superiors, and reunite with his sister Hailey, who likely believed he was dead by now.

But his journey is not all that simple; from Aetherian rebels to Valkyrian cultists and ambitious rulers, he finds himself soon drawn to the forces at play in the world around him. Eventually, he also encounters forces that threaten to destroy his world and that of another as well...

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Did y'all know how long it took me to come up with his hairstyle? Five freaking years! His sword will probably take another five at the rate I'm going, though. But I genuinely hope not!

Eth is my avatar turned OC from Spiral Knights. Since Three Rings or Gray Havens or whoever the fuck ran their shitshow for years couldn't pull their shit together, I decided to create something based off of the Knights' race in-game and develop it into something much more different than what they would ever have to offer. And it all started with this character.

You can expect more of Eth and Zephyr's adventures from here. It's high time I became a little more dedicated towards them. I'll also write a more detailed piece about the Enerhija race later on as well, along with a bunch of other pieces that paint the colorful world of the Aether and Radisrol.

The Marks at 11

"How were your lessons, Sylvie?"

"They were okay, I think. I'm starting to get the hang of playing the violin. My instructor said I'm getting better at it too."

"Think you can do the recital next month?"

"I hope so... I don't feel so confident about it."

"I don't blame you. Just thinking about playing for so many people just gives me the creeps."

"Right? When I started though, even just playing for my instructor makes my knees all jittery. It was like he's gonna chew me out any second if I made a mistake!"

"Ugh. Does he?"

"He used to, but not anymore."

"Then you're definitely getting better, heh."

"I think I eventually got used to playing with him, so it isn't that bad. You know, even if it's scary thinking about it, I like the idea of playing for so many people and just feeling so... Graceful when I do."

"Like a princess or something?

"No, not like a princess. More like a bird?"

"A bird?"

"Yeah. Do you remember that show we watched about hawks a couple of months ago?"

"Not really. What about it?"

"You know how sometimes there's just a man talking and then music just plays while it shows birds flying over the sea? Sometimes I imagine I'm that bird. I just fly low over the water and then soar into the sky like I'm just so free and nothing can keep me grounded."

"You're starting to sound like some cheesy don't-give-up motivational song."

"Ahaha. I don't mean to. But that's just how I feel about it."

"If you say so."

"One day I hope I can play as good as the masters do. Maybe I'll be good enough to dance while I play the violin."

"Is that even possible??"

"Yeah. I heard of a violinist that twirls like a ballerina and can bend back really low while she plays the violin. Her movements don't stop her playing at all, but sometimes it does... And even then she keeps practicing and trying to get it right. Then she just hits each note perfectly once she masters a song. It's amazing. I just don't remember her name..."

"That's incredible. I don't believe it though, but it sure sounds really cool. Think you'll be able to pull something like that off?"

"Me? I don't think so. I'm not as flexible. And it looks too much for me to even do!"

"You tell me you wanted to be like one of the masters, and here you are saying you don't want to do something one of them is already doing."

"Well yes, I--hey, I thought you said you didn't believe that was true!"

"I didn't, but I think it'd be cool if you could do it too." Hilda looped her arm around Sylvie's free one. "We can practice stretches at home. Then we can look her up online and see how she does it so you can start playing like her too. Come on!"

"H-Hey, wait! Hilda!"

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A passing thought I had for my OC twin sisters.

During my trip to Turkey over a month ago, I was listening to Lindsey Stirling a lot, which inspired me to write about these two at the time. She combined two things I love about music: EDM and violins. Definitely a fan of her work.

Now listening to Lindsey's songs reminds me of the Pammukale Travertines, Cappadocian caverns, and dusty Anatolian steppes.