painted-blackbird

[painted-blackbird]

Sparring with the Chosen One is going well guys

#bird scribbles #harosu #banatir #Harosu is very very powerful #and she does not have a lot of control over that power #this is a common occurance XD #art #oc #oc art #fantasy #fantasy art

[painted-blackbird]

Spent actual real life weeks agonizing over the best and coolest way to write out the plot to the Mary Sue-niverse, only to realize the easiest way to explain it was as follows XD

“Harosu gets more or less isekaied from her life on earth into fantasy land, gets picked up by Queen Maru, nearly dies and then gets picked up by Banatir and Ichira, and goes on an enemies to besties road-trip adventure with them. As you do.”

#bird caws #mary sueniverse #mary sueniverse lore #technically I don’t think it’s an Isekai because Harosu is very much so not dead on earth #but y’know #it’s funnier to explain it like that XD #oc #ocs #fantasy

[painted-blackbird]

Banatir, Erbor, and Harosu have full designs now! <3

#bird scribbles #mary sueniverse #banatir #erbor #harosu #ngl I’m really happy with how these came out #they’re so pretty <3 #oc #oc art #fantasy

[painted-blackbird]

He has a name now!! Dark Prince Banatir, Lord of Blood.

Banatir is Erbor’s right hand man and spends much of his time on the battlefield. He has a reputation for being frenzied and bloodthirsty, which is almost true. What he actually is is an eternal protective big brother, who is very much so not above killing to keep the people he cares about safe.

Luminous Princess Harosu is not supposed to end up on the list of people he cares about but, well, despite being the chosen one her people don’t appear to be treating her all that well…

Look at him. Look at my new edgelord son, I LOVE him <3 <3 <3

(His outfit isn’t finalized yet but basically everything else is lol)

#bird’s scribbles #mary sueniverse #banatir #reblorb #banatir also has his own right hand that I need to get designed #she’s been named but she’s got no face yet lol

[painted-blackbird]

Luminous Princess Harosu, Lady of Light and Destroyer of Shadows. The Chosen of the prophecy, destined to slay The Umbral King.

AKA, on Earth, Miss Honora Walton, a darling child actress turned rising Hollywood bombshell. She’s beloved by the public, and seemingly living the dream. Yet, she just can’t find it in herself to love the life she leads…

#bird’s scribbles #mary sueniverse #harosu #yeah so the reason Harosu doesn’t like being on earth is because she’s a child star #surpise surpise she’s being treated terribly lol #but her attempts at expressing that were met with #‘oh that’s just how life is dear :)’ #so she stopped trying #until she gets yeeted into the fantasy realm #and it ends up being the supposed villains who teach her self worth and stuff #love that for her XD #also obviously she looks human on earth lol #I just haven’t designed that yet XD

[painted-blackbird]

The Umbral King. Lord of Nightmares and Master of the Dark

(AKA the king to the supposed “bad guy” race (they’re not really, it’s ✨propaganda✨), trying his best to get his people food, shelter, and a place to live after their kingdom was destroyed by a natural disaster. His name is Erbor, he’s everyone’s dad actually <3)

#bird’s scribbles #Mary Sueniverse #King Erbor #also this doodle doesn’t quite do him justice lol #my man is HUGE #like 7ft tall with a tail that drags on the ground and built like he could fight a tank and win #kind of huge #it makes him good for hugs XD

[painted-blackbird]

Look at him. Look at my new edgelord son, I LOVE him <3 <3 <3

(His outfit isn’t finalized yet but basically everything else is lol)

#bird’s scribbles #Mary Sueniverse #hiiiiii #sorry for being dead for like two months lol #it sounds a lot deeper than it feels but I’ve been doing a severe amount of creative introspection while I’ve been gone #and I realized that I’m kneecapping my own ability to be creative out of a fear of being ‘cringe’ #the solution?? do it on purpose #the result begins with what you see above and I’m unironically having the best time rn

[painted-blackbird]

Part 2 of my character summaries! This time it’s the antagonists

Tawnyfrost - Primary antagonist

Age: Late 20s

Personality: Arrogant, ambitious, violent

Lore: A military prodigy born to a particularly old fashioned family, Tawnyfrost believes that the current council system of government is weak, and that the previous system with the armies of each court in charge was better and more in tune with fairie’s true natures. She joined up with the army of her court as soon as she was able, her sights set on the position of Head of Military on the council. She ends up as one of the youngest fairies in history running for the position, but her aggressive attitude has her just as many opposers as supporters. She is ultimately passed over the position in favor of her more even tempered collogue Stormleap. Not long after that, she meets with Petalblossom and Foxroot, who both arrived in her court to forge a political alliance. Tawnyfrost has a better idea, however. Why change the government from the inside when she can just do it from the outside! She wants a coup.

The coup fails in specular fashion, and Tawnyfrost barely escapes with her life. Petalblossom and Foxroot are both killed as a result, but death is merely a setback and Tawnyfrost brings them back as soon as she can recover their bodies, a new plan forming. She just needs some backup, in the form of some rather well known historical soldiers.

Petalblossom - Secondary antagonist

Age: Early 20s

Personality: Sharp, gossipy, acts demure

Lore: Born the heiress to what’s functionally an old money military family, with a father on the council, Petalblossom spent most of her years navigating a political battlefield as opposed to a physical one. She has plenty of formal military training of course, and is quite formidable, but her real strength lies in the pretty face and ditzy demeanor she projects to lower people’s guards to collect information. With the fairie lands in a time of peace news flows freely, and Petalblossom is well aware of Tawnyfrost, and agrees with her opinions, by the time she’s passed over for the promotion. It’s her idea to seek her out alongside Foxroot, in the hopes of securing a political ally.

Petalblossom is killed in the initial fight. As a result she’s also the first to be brought back by Tawnyfrost, and she aids in the recovery of Foxroot’s body. Despite the failure of the initial coup, Petalblossom knows the council was shaken. The second coup will cause then to crumble, she’s sure of it.

Foxroot - Secondary antagonist

Age: Mid 20s

Personality: Charming, curious, sadistic

Lore: The son of well known alchemists, with a mother on the council, Foxroot takes after his parents interest in alchemy. He appears overall well mannered, but even from a young age he was fascinated by what various potions and poisons could do to a fairie. This made him off putting to most, though he still had one or two friends, one of them being Petalblosson. As Foxroot grew older, this interest moved from hypotheticals to him experimenting on living fairies, typically criminals that were apprehended and passed on to him by his parents. Like Petalblossom, he was well aware of Tawnyfrost and in agreement with her opinions before her failed promotion, so he follows Petalblossom when she leaves to seek Tawnyfrost out.

While Foxroot survives the initial coup attempt, he is later quietly executed before he can escape. However, Tawnyfrost and Petalblossom successfully recover his body, and he is brought back to life shortly after. With his newly changed physiology, he now has a new interest in seeing just what can be done to these new bodies.

#bird caws #perennial #tawnyfrost #petalblossom #foxroot #these three are a nightmare combination lol #I love them XD #oc #ocs #fairy #fantasy

[painted-blackbird]

It’s time to introduce the full cast of primary characters! This will be split into two parts, part 1 is protagonists/unaligned.

Dawnflame - Primary protagonist/POV character

Age: Early 20s

Personality: Feisty, emotional, stubborn

Lore: Born to parents who didn’t really care whether she came home alive or not, or at all, Dawnflame had a rough childhood. She was a gangly kid, without access to the spectacular mana reserves she’d tap into as a teen, so she was bullied by the stronger and more powerful kids. Dawnflame joined up with the army as soon as she was able, determined to protect her court from her own treatment as a child. Aided by unusually high mana reserves, Dawnflame rapidly climbed the ranks and eventually fought proudly on the front lines of the Colored Tides War, earning the nickname Daybreaker for her explosive fighting style, as well as a reputation as the most powerful soldier produced by The Court of Tides.

She’s killed by Moondance in this war, and on her deathbed she recognizes the whole affair as nothing more than two petty bullies pulling everyone into a mess that never should have started. This is of course, never recorded, so Tawnyfrost brings her back from the dead expecting the loyal (if fiery) soldier, and instead gets a woman who tries to kill her within 45 seconds of being alive again, all the while declaring her hatred of Tawnyfrost. Dawnflame was never known for her subtly lol.

Moondance - Secondary protagonist

Age: Early 30s

Personality: Calm, quick-witted, ruthless

Lore: As the eternal big brother/protector figure ever since he was young (by his own choice, he just enjoys looking after people), Moondance joins the army as an adult to do that protecting on a larger scale. As a result, he gains a reputation for his unfaltering loyalty and “no one left behind” attitude, which also gains him loyalty from the younger soldiers. Like Dawnflame, Moondance fought proudly on the frontlines of the Colored Tides war, proving himself a brilliant and ruthless tactician, with an uncanny ability to lay traps and ambushes and then adapt them on the fly when required. It’s that sharp mind that’s enables him to take out Dawnflame near the end of the war.

He never lives to see the end, however, as he dies not long after that battle. Assassinated by his own leader in a fit of anger that he can no longer fight, courtesy of Dawnflame’s dying explosion. That betrayal causes him to reevaluate the war and his place in it. His official cause of death is listed as mana fever, but it’s an open secret that that’s a coverup for something. Tawnyfrost chooses to bring Moondance back from the dead for his mind and his loyalty, and since Moondance is known for his subtly so he has not told Tawnyfrost he hates her. He does, however, approach Dawnflame with the prospect of rebellion. Which she readily accepts.

Lichenfang - ???

Age: Mid 20s

Personality: Quiet, stoic, dry

Lore: Orphaned when she was barely old enough to fend for herself, Lichenfang spent her early years as a street rat, learning that the strong survived and the weak died. As a young teen, she was taken in by one of the reigning lords in the area, Lord Blackleaf, after he witnessed her taking mana blasts far better than her peers during a scrap with her fellow street rats. What followed was Lichenfang being turned into Blackleaf’s personal bodyguard/hitwoman, the person who did all his dirty work. Blackleaf demanded absolute obedience and punished disobedience with death, Lichen was no exception. She quickly learned to keep her head down, not to speak unless spoken too, not to offer opinions, and to do as she was told without hesitation or argument.

She was killed in the same battle as Lord Blackleaf, when the other lords and ladies decided they’d had enough of him as their neighbor. She dies before he does, and most of the information on her is lost to time. But Blackleaf’s title for her sticks around, Mana-Thief. Tawnyfrost knows she pulled a gamble choosing to bring Lichenfang back, but it payed off. Lichenfang wasn’t called Mana-Thief for nothing.

#bird caws #perennial #fairie #dawnflame #moondance #lichenfang #now that I’m getting all these guys introduced #I can finally start posting the sillier stuff living in my brain #incorrect quotes here I come XD #oc #ocs #fairy #fantasy

[painted-blackbird]

In light of me posting somewhat regularly again, (and the fact that my best friend beat me to a summary of my own work XD) it’s about time I posted a (memey) plot summary!

Local Woman thinks militaristic dictatorships and public executions are Good Actually, gets passed over for the promotion into the governing council because of that, recruits her friends to stage a coup, fails, decides that’s unacceptable, so she raises several more-or-less legendary figures from the dead to help her stage a second coup. Said more-or-less legendary figures are a 1000 year old personal bodyguard/hitwoman to a now ancient tyrant, and a pair of soldiers from opposite sides of a war 100 years ago so petty and bloody, it overhauled the way the government worked.

Said soldiers are the primary protagonists, and consider each other archenemies, but they are also each other’s only allies as they’re the only ones who hate the power-tripping tyrant they’re serving under with enough force to do something about it. They both rejected the war they fought in on their deathbeds, for different personal reasons, but they don’t actually know that about each other yet. This is an enemies to besties/found family plot though, so they’ll get there eventually

#bird caws #perennial #oc #fairy #fantasy

[painted-blackbird]

PERENNIAL is the tale of legendary warmongering fairies brought back from the dead by a tyrant for a nefarious purpose. It's a super cool project of my friend's and you should go check out her art! (this is a special happy birthday message for @painted-blackbird! Love ya girl!!! your OCs are awesome!! <3)

[also, COMMISSIONS are OPEN!]

#perennial #dawnflame #moondance #exceedingly delayed on the reblog here because I wanted to prep some other posts to go up shortly after this one #buT NOW THAT THOSE ARE READY #IM STRAIGHT UP GNAWING ON THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE #GRRRAWRRRRGRRRR #IM INSANE FOR THESE PIECES #Dawn in that top piece in the river?? show stopping. incredible #and the fact that those are daylilies??? an actual perennial flower??? IM DEAD #the glowy water effect is just spectacular as well <3 #then Moon!!! My beloved!!! #he looks so scrunkly here and I ADORE that for him #he’s 32 and the only one here who both didn’t have the worst childhood ever and isn’t evil #he is TIRED #also the contrast between how I draw him and how you draw him is great. get you a man who can go both honestly XD #that one drawing of Moon cupping Dawn’s face?? yeah that’s them. that hits the brain right <3 #I’m also obsessed with how the coloring for Dawn and Moon in the river makes it look like they were brought back at sunrise and midnight #that’s basically canon actually #it’s so good <3 #all of this is so good honeslty thank you so much <3 <3 <3

[painted-blackbird]

My current project has a real name now! <3

Undead Fairies >>> Perennial. I’ll (hopefully) be updating the tags soonish so everything I’ve posted for it will show up in one place <3

#bird caws #perennial

[painted-blackbird]

A slight design tweak for Moon, an encapsulation of his and Dawn’s entire dynamic, and Dawn’s favorite hobby; reminding Moon that he’s shorter than she is.

(Moon isn’t actually that short btw, he’s 6’. Dawn just happens to be 6’4 and she will be reminding him that she has those 4 inches on him at every opportunity)

#bird’s scribbles #undead fairies #dawnflame #moondance #I love them sm your honor #I am unwell about my own OCs and it’s great <4 #fairie #oc #oc art #fairy #fantasy

[painted-blackbird]

Introducing character number 2: Moondance!

Another 100 year old soldier brought back from the dead, Moondance is pretty much Dawnflame’s opposite in every way. He fought against Dawnflame in their war, and he’s the brain to her brawn, the ice to her fire, etc. He also rejected the war in his final moments and is raised from the dead by the same power tripping tyrant as Dawnflame. He’s also taking it about as well as Dawnflame is, but he’s been smart enough not to make his hatred known thus far

Him and Dawnflame also super hate each other and it’s very funny because they are in an enemies to found family plot so good luck guys I’m sure that hatred will last and you won’t have to unpack any feelings whatsoever <3

#bird’s scribbles #undead fairies #moondance #oc #oc art #fairy #fantasy #his outfit has been tweaked since I’ve done these #but they’re real minor so I’m not worried lol

[painted-blackbird]

More Dawnflame art! Featuring my favorite doodle thus far, the bottom right one. It’s ✨plot relevant✨

Also this one has a horsie in it and I love a good horsie <3

#bird scribbles #undead fairies #dawnflame #oc #oc art #fairy #fantasy

[painted-blackbird]

Dawnflame, Daybreaker of the Court of Tides

(eyyy @painted-blackbird I drew your baby)

#undead fairies #dawnflame #fanart #reblorb #was at work all day so I’m just getting the chance to reblog now #but when I tell you my heart just about stopped this morning when I saw this #she LOOKS SO GOOD #I WANT TO EAT THE ART #That top picture is beautiful as ever #still in love with how you’ve done her magic and the glow and sparkle to her wings #but those black and whites????? #living rent free in my mind #Especially that first one #because like #that’s what she looked like to her enemies #and I’m going to SCREAM I love those SO MUCH #I’m dying thank u so much <3 <3 <3

[painted-blackbird]

Introducing Dawnflame! The primary protagonist of my main project. A berserker type fairie soldier, killed in a pointless war 100 years ago she thought was justified until literally her last moments, and then brought back from the dead in the service of another power-tripping tyrant. She takes this very well. (She tries to fight said power-tripping tyrant after about 45 seconds of being alive again)

She’s feisty, loud, likes to fight, and all around just generally A Lot. I love her <3

#bird’s scribbles #undead fairies #dawnflame #feels nice to tag my own characters for once tbh <3 #these were all really fun to draw tbh #I’m trying to get better at just drawing my characters for funsies instead of worrying so much about finished pieces #and it’s a good time tbh XD #top left is from when she was alive btw #hence why the outfit is different lol #oc #original character #oc art #fairy oc #fairy #fantasy