Sometimes I Art

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2025 VS 2022

For Phil’s birthday, I’m revisiting a couple of older drawings I made of him, and giving it another go in my current artstyles. This is mostly a way for me to see my progress over the years since I’ve gotten this app

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One I forgot to upload

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Dan & Evan wedding portrait.

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Matteo Castro. Figure skater, stealer of hearts

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All the way back in my fanfiction years, I wrote a story. A beloved story that some people loved as much as I loved writing it. I had exams back then, and writing was about the only thing keeping me sane. That, and Yuri On Ice, the show that inspired this, but not the one the fanfiction was about. I got the sweetest reactions, people saying that they could see themselves in the main character. That the experiences the main character went through were wat helped them come to terms with their own identity and accept who they are. And I never knew that a story I wrote in such a short amount of time would get that reaction out of it. That it could have such an impact.

Now I have my own characters. My own universe. All my stories are connected one way to another. City of Enochia is connected to Home We'll go, as well as this one. The current title is Blades of Reality. It might change, it might stay.

After the death of his abusive parents, Owen moves to Graine, a small town next to the capital, where his three older sisters live. He has a passion for inline skating, but a nearly-pathological fear of performing in competitions. Matteo is a professional competitive figure skater and younger brother of Owen's best friend Enzo. After a bad break-up, he moves back to Graine from South-Korea and is in search of a new coach. When the two meet, the source of Owen's fears might finally come to light and he might find it in himself to search for help from others to get to the path of recuperation.

The story deals with trauma, coming to terms with one self and taking your life in your own hands. It's not written. I'm about 60 pages in, but it's going to be much longer than that. Longer than the fanfiction originally was.

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Back in 2013, Elliot and Bobby found each other at the QUU Gala. In 2020, they enter a world of uncertainty, where their love for each other is tested by the trials of a world-wide pandemic, and it might take hard work to make it through.

A spin off from the story ‘Home We’ll Go’. The perfect example of a story writing itself. Elliot is Ming’s best friend and they both go through their personal growth journey. I never intended on getting these two together, but they just did despite the fact that they were never meant to be endgame. It might be why I was hesitant on starting this, because I’m a sucker for happy endings. But sometimes things aren’t a fairytale. Sometimes it takes a worldwide pandemic to realise that you’re not as happy as you could be, even if it’s been the same thing for 7 years and it’s comfortable.

What happens when an openly bisexual and a closeted one start a casual relationship together to blow off some steam, but it grows into something more? What when one of the two wants to settle long-term, and the other one is afraid of committing? What when they fall in love when they said they wouldn’t? That’s the struggle in the 2013 part. The 2020 is harder, psychologically more difficult, because what when you’ve been together for so long that you couldn’t even imagine having it any different? What if you never realised you’ve drifted apart over the years?

The outline of the story is done. The writing is in process.

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Ming's life takes another turn when he's suddenly kicked out by his father because of rumors that aren't even true. He travels all across the world to move in with his older half-brother, and ends up in a strange country with no friends. But, he's quick to learn, the city of Quin has an abundance of interesting people that take him under their wing. With their help, maybe one day he might be able to face those rumors that changed his life forever?

This is the second original story I've ever written. Finished, even. It's not based on fanfiction. In fact, it's based on my Sims characters. That's all I need to start writing a story.

It has gone through many changes. It still will go through many changes. Originally, Phil was meant to be the main character in this story, but I found his point of view too complex too write for me at the time. Phil is complicated, and I wanted to do him right. So Ming came in the picture, instead. And with him, we get to know Phil from an outsider's perspective.

But the more I wrote, the more the other characters started to claim their spots in the story. Elliot became a best friend, Lily became a colleague. I never had anything with them in mind, but they started living in my own mind. And the story grew so much bigger than just about Ming and Phil. It's about the friendships Ming makes when he's on this new adventure when his life takes a new, unexpected turn. So it felt wrong to have them together on this image, because it is Ming's story. His story of self-discovery. His story of letting go of the pressure created by stern parents. Letting go of caring what your friends think of you. It's the story of how he ends up in a strange world, but finds the best friendships he could have ever imagined. Where he finally finds out who the real Ming is, here.

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Not a drawing for once!

Got the INZOI Demo to create some characters. Of course my first instinct was to create my own characters and compare them to the Sims version I have of them!

Of course, it's a demo so the possibilities are still very limited, but I'm really enjoying this so far! With Sims, I already have all those CC's to work with, so this is what I had to work with for the demo.

First there's Dan & Evan in the first story, and then Dan & Evan in the sequel, 7 years later.

Afterwards there's Ming and Phil. Planning on putting together many more characters as long as I can! It's just available until the end of the week.

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Made even more characters with INZOI!

Starting with Anaïs, who is Dan's twin. Then there's Elliot, whose hairstyle absolutely doesn't even come close!!

Bobby was fun to make, but once again the dreads I needed weren't there. And then there's Jacob and his siblings Athan and Sophia! I love how expressive they are!

I'm really liking it, but with how limited it is right now, I usually end up frustrated when things don't look the way I want them to look. I'm sure that the actual game will have more possibilities when it actually comes out.

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Made some compilation of the Home We’ll Go characters. There are so many of them! And I still left one or two of them out…

Home we’ll go will be a story about self-discovery, self-acceptance and a fresh start after supposed family lets you down.

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Tried out some new brushes a few days ago. Pretty happy with the result! Probably won’t be able to recreate anything like this again, though

Evan and Dan. First kisses and stuff like that

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Not a drawing for once!

Got the INZOI Demo to create some characters. Of course my first instinct was to create my own characters and compare them to the Sims version I have of them!

Of course, it's a demo so the possibilities are still very limited, but I'm really enjoying this so far! With Sims, I already have all those CC's to work with, so this is what I had to work with for the demo.

First there's Dan & Evan in the first story, and then Dan & Evan in the sequel, 7 years later.

Afterwards there's Ming and Phil. Planning on putting together many more characters as long as I can! It's just available until the end of the week.

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The City of Enochia

Evan has been followed by a symbol all his life. When his uncle’s mysterious disappearance pulls him and his cousin into a new adventure to find the origin of this symbol, he meets Daniel, a young teacher at Oxford University. Together, they begin a quest that they might be more involved in than they realize. 

As I'm writing down the stories, I thought I might add some things about the different characters in the story.

Evan Rigas, birthday March 13th, 1987. He was born on the island of Kos, Greece, where he grew up. He’s a recently graduated archaeologist who has been raised by his aunt and uncle after the mysterious death of his parents. When his uncle goes missing in search of a mysterious symbol, he enlists his cousin’s help to find the answers that have plagued him all of his life. He recently separated from his fiancée Donna, and has a big love for musicals.

Daniel Matis, birthday March 13th, 1987. He’s the youngest teacher at Oxford university, having a doctorate in theology and ancient languages. He has an older brother called James, and a twin sister Anaïs, who has disappeared in the search for a mysterious symbol. When his student Keith Rigas and Keith's cousin Evan come knocking at his door to find out more about this symbol, Dan takes this opportunity to find out where his twin might have gone to. Dan owns an appartment in London, where he also keeps his office. Dan identifies as non-binary, but has yet to come out about it. Despite that, he doesn't particularly care about what pronouns are used.

Keith Rigas, born December 4th, 1988. He was born on Kos, Greece, and he’s the cousin of Evan. Keith is currently enrolled in the university of Oxford for archaeology. He’s a student of Dan’s and the boyfriend of Devangi. Despite his current relationship, he’s been a bit of a heartbreaker in the past. Because of his exceptional looks, he’s often described as the ‘Greek God’ by his peers. He’s smart, but short-tempered.

Elín Amonssottìr, birthday May 12th, 1986. She’s the adoptive daughter of the world famous treasure hunter Amon Martenson. She’s a childhood friend of Dan’s, but disappeared after a misunderstanding between the two of them. She’s a plant biologist and has been trained to survive in the wilderness by her strict father. She's from Iceland, but usually resides in England.

Anaïs Matis, born March 13th, 1987, is the twin sister of Dan. After coming out as trans, Anaïs has taken a step away from her strict family and probably hasn’t seen them in years. She studied history and is well-trained in multiple languages thanks to her twin, Dan. She disappears during a search, without leaving any clue as to where she’s gone to. 

Devangi Baral, born January 23rd, 1988, is a theology student of Dan’s and Keith’s girlfriend and classmate. She’s a transfer student from India and is really excited to have adventures of her own. 

Thomas Rigas, born May 5th, 1961, is Evan’s uncle and Keith’s father. He took his brother’s loss hard and when he stumbles µ onto their journal from their last expedition, he intends on carrying it through and find out what they were looking for. He eventually disappears without another word, leading to Evan and Keith having to look for him across the world with only the journal to lead them. 

Carla Da Silva, born December 8th, 1962, is the aunt of Evan and mother of Keith. While she and Thomas divorced and she’s not related to Evan by blood, she still took care of him like a son. She remarried years later and now owns a resort close to a beach in Kos, Greece.

Charlotte ‘Lotte’ Rigas, born August 18th, 1985, is the cousin of Evan and sister of Keith. While she used to go on adventures with them, a car accident has left her paralyzed from the waist down and unable to join them on expeditions. She returned to her home in Kos, Greece, and teaches history. She’s married to Ryan Hastings. 

Amon Martenson, date of birth unknown, is Elìn’s father and a ruthless treasure hunter with no fear of getting his hands dirty - in the wrong way. It is thought that Amon was the one who got Evan’s parents killed for getting in his way, but so far he has never admitted to it. 

Benedict Rigas, born April 16th, 1956, was Evan’s father and starting treasure hunter. He met Ellie on a short expedition and the two fell in love almost immediately. He died when Evan was very young, possibly killed by Amon. 

Ellie Vermeer, born January 16th, 1956, was Evan’s mother and a former student of Amon Martenson. After realizing that his methods were too cruel, she quickly moved away from his side, eventually leading to her demise when Evan was only about four years old. 

The archangel Daniel and her unnamed lover. They are recurring characters in this search for the symbol. According to the legends, Daniel rescued many people after the eruption of Vesuvius. In modern day, she's often referred to as Daphne.

The mysterious symbol that they are investigating.

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Pose reference used from a still from TharnType. Evan (on the ground) is trying to work for school, reaching for his doctorate in archaeology. Dan (on the bed) enjoys their moment alone, away from the kids, to give Evan some attention, with that distracting him from his work.

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This is the perfect example of a story writing itself. When I started writing, I knew it was all supposed to be about a 2012 Ming finding out who he is, discovering his sexuality and crushing hard on a person he is sure cannot like him in return. But things happen and BAM, happy end. What I did not think would happen was Elliot becoming such a large character in here. He was only supposed to be Ming's colleague at the coffee place, and they were supposed to talk occasionally. Instead, they became best friends, and eventually even, for shortly, boyfriends.

But I knew what my end-goals were with this story, so their 'love-story' was not meant to be. Rather than just letting it go and letting Elliot enjoy singlehood for a little bit longer, Bobby suddenly arrived. Well, not suddenly. Bobby was always there, but in the background. He was one of the housemates at the Rosenbud Lane house. Riff's best friend, Lily's secret crush. He was the womanizer who could not commit to a serious relationship.

And then he and Elliot started seeing each other casually. And then not-so-casually anymore. And eventually, I just decided to give them a story of their own. A spin-off, to say. It's not the happiest story, as it's situated during the lockdown in 2020, and they really have to fight for their relationship to work.

Home We'll Go and The Art of Letting Go. They're still being written, but I have so much ideas for them.

For many more characters of this verse.

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The first time Ming (middle) goes to pride after coming out. He's accompanied with his boyfriend Phil (left) and his best friend (and soulmate) Elliot (right).

I feel that, in this story, I want to accentuate the friendship between Ming and Elliot. They used to date, shortly, but discovered quickly that their feelings for one another are strictly platonic and ended the romantic relationship. Even as Ming starts dating Phil, his friendship with Elliot remains as strong as ever, even calling him his soulmate. They know that they wouldn't want to live without each other in their lives.

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Home We'll Go

Phil and Ming's story is in fact just a sims gameplay that grew out of hand. Phil is from the second generation of the game. When he went into university, I created Ming to become his roommate at the dorm, but I had no further plans with him. They got together all on their own.

The story of Phil and Ming has seen some change. Normally, Phil's name was Daniel, but as City of Enochia already has a Dan, I had to find another name for him. Phil's name is chosen as a bit of a reference to Dan & Phil.

Eventually, when I started writing the story, I decided to go through Ming's point of view rather than Phil's, just because I like the idea of Phil being this mysterious guy that slowly opens up. He's a complicated person, and I felt like I couldn't do him justice if I wrote from his perspective.

You can find out more about the characters here.

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The City of Enochia

The progression of Dan & Evan's love story. I'm mostly grateful that Sims 4 poses exist so I have some continuity in my pose references.

It's not exactly an enemy-to-lovers storyline, as Dan & Evan could not be described as enemies. It's just that they didn't get along at first, but eventually their relationship started to shift.

To read more about the characters, check out this link!