Poly is the answer (aka, give her both boyfriend options)
Voting ended onJun 10
Since I made a similar poll a while ago about trying to figure out what Saffron's potential partner should be(species-wise), I thought I should do the same for Maris' potential boyfriend! These are based on two personalities I had in mind, as well as two different monster species I was thinking about, too. A lot more context is in this post if you want to check it out to get a better idea before voting!
I also added in a "poly is the answer" option just because! I'm not too sure on it yet myself, but I do admit it could be interesting and at the least, it would be a good opportunity to work with more poly pairings.
Even if you are not the most familiar with my character Maris, it would still be a big help if you could vote anyway! You could think of this instead as which personality + monster combo you like better :)
I've been doing a lot of work for @hueshiftersofficial on the side so far this year(albeit, slow progress on some ideas), and part of it is making new characters to help flesh out the world a bit more!
One of those character ideas is for a human witch(specifically to be a potential love interest for my character, Saffron, but also so I can have both a human + witch character in this universe), which I don't have too many ideas for aside from a 20's-age range. Thus, I thought it would be fun to use this template made by @geminineart to help create them! :3
Since I'm not sure how many comments I'll get on this, feel free to combine a couple of answers into one(or comment multiple times)! All I ask is to try and keep it orderly and check if the comment you were going to do hasn't already been posted. I originally posted this on my Instagram, but thought I would post here too to see what answers I might get on Tumblr!
I hope to have fun creating this new witch with you all! 🧹
I'm using a template to help make the human witch character, since I don't have too many ideas for them at the moment besides being somewhere in their twenties. You can comment on my main post or this reblog!
Happy MerMay! 🧜🧜♀️🧜♂️ I always try to draw at least one mer to help celebrate the month, and for this year, I drew one of the "newer" characters! This is Morado Fiala, or "Mori", who is a mer! 💜 Here he is in his natural, full mer-form, though he can and does take on a more human form for land.
Mori is also one of Prachal's housemates and closest friends! His earliest concept is from around fall of 2024(mostly just as a first name and color motif, with some small details that could get scrapped), but earlier this year I started work on actually developing and fleshing him out as a proper character more! It is still a work-in-progress, but hopefully I can finish his bio info soon!
For now, I can share some details I have! He is 24(making him the second-youngest in the group), who moved in a year prior to Prachal. He studied theatre arts in college and currently works at a smaller theater, though his exact role I haven't figured out. As a mer, he is pretty musically-talented, though aside from some roles and other small jobs, his career as a musician is mostly just for fun or at-home. I still need to figure out his whole personality, but I would say he is probably the 'softest' of the group. He is also a trans man, having figured himself out and starting his transition in his teen years. This is also the first time I've drawn a shirtless trans character, or have drawn top surgery scars, but I wanted to attempt it for this piece.
I've been in a bit of a mood for AUs in general lately, and since I've mostly been focused on Hue Shifters so far this year, I thought I would revisit an old AU idea I had!
Like the title says, this is an AU for Azure, of him as a single parent. I don't remember when exactly I first thought of the idea, but it must have been a few years ago at least as I remember it was before I came up with Prachal's concept. I do remember it came about to me randomly one day, sort of in a "what if this happened?" kind of way. I don't know what may have inspired it or why for Azure specifically, but the concept/storyline I have in my head does fit some other tropes and fictional characters/stories I enjoy/enjoyed(including some inspiration from other people's original characters), and I think has a lot of potential for both character growth and humorous or emotional moments, so why not play around with it?
((Keep in mind again that this is just an AU, and also that this doesn't mean I will be making any Hue Shifters next-gen kids anytime soon. This is just for a bit of fun!))
~ The AU ~
So, first things first, there is no official pairing in this AU, both before and after Azure becomes a single parent. Mainly because, I'm not sure which of the canon girl characters I have so far would be a good match for him to be the potential mother of his child, and as this is a single parent AU, he obviously will not be matched up with anyone after the child comes into his life. So it is all up to interpretation and this is more of a general/nonspecific version, but I am open to the idea of thinking about different pairing options, especially with the different storylines and drama they could potentially bring(and besides, crackshipping can be fun sometimes lol).
I imagine this takes place maybe a few years into the future(about mid-late twenties), when Azure's career is still going strong and he's been established as an icon in his industry. He still is not one for commitment to official or serious relationships, but overtime he finds himself going less for one-night stands as he goes for more established but still short-term or casual flings. Some of these lovers he still stays in contact with, usually as they become friends, but many others he never sees or thinks about much again as they eventually end things and move on from each other.
One of those lovers stood out. Normally, Azure takes all proper precautions when having a sexual encounter, so when one of his former flings shows up one day with a baby, he doesn't believe it. But, testing shows it is indeed his baby, leaving him in complete shock as he now has a child of his own. But, after getting over it and having multiple long discussions with his ex lover, as well as deep introspection with himself, he agrees to help raise their child. He always did low-key like the idea of having a kid of his own in the far future, and though neither him nor the ex lover wanted to force a relationship between them, he is mature enough to take responsibility in raising his child. It starts off more like co-parenting for the first few years, before the ex lover gets a far-away job opportunity, in which Azure at that point feels ready enough to parent (mostly)on his own.
While he was already doing very well for himself, unexpectedly becoming a parent has him re-evaluating his life and halting or stopping some old ways of his for the sake of his child. Despite his acceptance of his responsibility, he still struggles a lot in the beginning and often gets overwhelmed. His relationship with his own parents was tense and stressful at best, and since he cut off contact with them as an adult, he doesn't have a healthy example of parenting to try emulating and often feels out of his depth. Which, while they did not form a more serious relationship, he was thankful for those few years of co-parenting with his ex lover as they did a lot of learning together. When he becomes more of the sole parent, he does not care about finding a potential partner/step-parent for his child, instead focusing all his attention in them and being thankful for his friends who have been a huge support for him in this new direction of his life. Particularly his best friend, who happily takes on the 'auntie' role because as she says, "she basically is one now".
He still does his modelling work(and teaching his dance lessons), but starts choosing jobs that he can make accommodate with his parenting so he can maintain an active role in his child's life. He is a parent that is very concerned and protective over his child, wanting only the best for them but knows when to pull back and let them have their independence. Along with that, while he can be stern about some things, he is also a very open-minded and 'chill/lax' kind of parent with anything of theirs. He is not above spoiling them and making sure they have a comfortable life, as he does not want his child to go through the kind of childhood he had.
Because there is no specific pairing, I don't have too many ideas for the child themself. For now I'll say they take more after Azure in looks, with them overall being a lot more 'mellow' in terms of personality when compared to him. I also don't have a particular gender in mind for them, so for now I'll say they are more androgynous/gender-neutral. Because of their model father, they are pretty stylish in their own way, and when they are older sometimes they do matching 'father and child' looks together for fun.
I actually first made this playlist sometime back in February, and thought I might as well share even if it is still a work-in-progress. Basically, this playlist is my attempt at making a playlist for a story, with this being for the Azure/Prachal one I want to make! I always thought the fic playlists I've seen from others looked fun(I have a few saved from fics I've read), so this was really fun to try myself! :3
If you are wondering, "Maybe There's More To Life" is the current working title for the story( which is potentially STC)! In this playlist, I have a mixture of songs that is there either purely for vibes, I think fits their relationship/the story more specifically, or that I could see fitting some story elements/chapters in a way. For example, "Can't Sleep Love" fitting their respective jaded experiences with love and wanting something new and refreshing, "I Won't Say (I'm In Love)" fitting Prachal's side later on as he starts to gain feelings but tries to deny them(with his friends/roommates taking the role of the muses in calling him out), and "Beat It" purely just because I am thinking of putting a dance battle scene or something kind of similar in the story(maybe not using the song specifically, but the inspiration is from a movie).
I will keep adding songs as I find fitting ones, but for now, I hope you enjoy listening!
While I have been in more of a Hue Shifters mood recently, I was reminded that I never got to finishing the 8 facts or OC interviews for Maris and Saffron that have been sitting in my DA drafts from over two years ago^^; But, one of the goals I want to achieve this year is to finish those, so I'll have to find my unfinished notes for them and work on them sometime!
A fact that I want to share now is that I did have some low-key relationship ideas for them both around that time! Nothing super thought out, just some ideas that came up when thinking about more general character-building stuff for them. For Saffron, I was thinking he is still single, but might have a crush or some sort of flirty attraction with someone. From what I remember, I think my first idea was a human? Since I don't have any characters in this universe yet that are only human, and probably inspired by the classic vampire/human dynamic in vampire-related media. Another idea I had originally was that they are a familiar- though not to Saffron's family, but I'm not sure whether or not I will go that route since I would have to think about and work on it a lot. A more recent idea is that they could be a different monster type, maybe a werewolf? Either way, I was thinking it would be more of an awkward/shy but sweet kind of relationship, with perhaps a tinge of angst but ultimately something that bonds them closely.
For Maris, I remember thinking she might be in an actual relationship, leaning more towards her having a boyfriend. I have been thinking about this one a lot more recently, so my ideas are more fresh and new. I'm currently trying to figure which out of 2(?) ship dynamics for her and her potential boyfriend to have, which are both pretty different from each other. One is kind of a rivals-to-lovers situation with a rich guy she meets through her work, at first not getting along with him due to him being a bit snobbish and kind of flippant/facetious/frivolous with his behavior who seemingly can't take anything serious, but she starts to see cracks in this facade the more she finds herself wrapped up in his situations. It takes her a while to find out there is so much more than what meets the eye with him, but through their continued presence in each other's lives, they soon find common ground and newfound respect for each other after seeing the positive effects they have had on each other. Then the second option I was thinking about was more sweet, similar to the first where she meets him through work but he is more of a down-to-earth, chill kind of guy who is mild-mannered and a bit more awkward/shy compared to her, but he has a quiet confidence about himself when needed and a similar level of inquisitiveness as her that drew her in to liking him quickly.
I find both options for Maris pretty appealing in their own ways(which may or may not be because they are kind of based off of two ships I really like), so I am going to have to think about this one a lot lol. Maybe put it up to a poll, sometime? 🤔
Based on the latest poll I held, it seems like I might be going with the human option for Saffron after all(with them also being a witch)! Was a little bit surprised it won compared to the actual monster options, but I still think it could be potentially fun and interesting to work with, especially as I don't have any characters who are completely human yet!
Coming back to Maris also, I've narrowed down my ideas to either a demon or selkie for her! The demon is inspired by the first boyfriend option, since the character that is his character inspiration is sometimes referred to as one in his other/secret identity. Of course, my character wouldn't have a second identity like that, but I still think it could be fun to incorporate some of those vibes, only make them more legit if he actually is a demon lol. The selkie idea isn't inspired by either boyfriend option in particular, mainly it being another 'aquatic' type of monster to compliment Maris. I still don't know which boyfriend option to go with for her, but I also could see either being a demon or a selkie, so this is extra complicated now 😅
If I were to go through with the potential love interest for Saffron, which should they be?
A human (most likely a witch, too)
A fellow vampire
A werewolf
A naga or lamia
A demon
A selkie
Other? (Please share!)
Voting ended onMar 6
If you remember this post from January where I talked about the old potential idea I had of what if Saffron and Maris had love interests(which could be past, present, or future), I've been thinking a bit more for Saffron, specifically. I've been seeing a few different "monster lover" type posts recently, and I'm starting to get more potential ideas for him. Still nothing super concrete, but just thinking about different potential dynamics. I don't have a particular gender in mind(he's bisexual, so any could work) for the love interest, but these were some monster types I was thinking about!
The human and werewolf options were some of the first I considered, but a vampire could be a basic but still interesting choice. The naga/or lamia, demon, and selkie options are mainly some left-over monster types I was considering using for future characters, so I threw those in too. If I do end up making this character I will obviously flesh them out to be their own character, in addition to building their relationship with Saffron, but this poll is mainly just to get an idea of where to start!
Even if you are not the most familiar with my character Saffron, if you would just be interested in seeing what kind of character I could make out of any of these options, it still would be a help if you vote for when I eventually get around to this!
Results from the poll! I am surprised I got this many votes and varied responses, but I'm not complaining as this is really helpful! It looks like the human option won~
That was the very first one I ever considered, so it's interesting but still cool to see win! I currently don't have any characters in this storyverse that are completely human, and a vampire/human romance is a classic in vampire media, so this could be fun to explore! I thought them being a witch also could be fun to explore too, since witch characters are always so much fun to work with and they fit in with monster stories a lot. I'm still not sure on a particular gender for them(I think any could be interesting), but this is helping my ideas some! :3
If I were to go through with the potential love interest for Saffron, which should they be?
A human (most likely a witch, too)
A fellow vampire
A werewolf
A naga or lamia
A demon
A selkie
Other? (Please share!)
Voting ended onMar 6
If you remember this post from January where I talked about the old potential idea I had of what if Saffron and Maris had love interests(which could be past, present, or future), I've been thinking a bit more for Saffron, specifically. I've been seeing a few different "monster lover" type posts recently, and I'm starting to get more potential ideas for him. Still nothing super concrete, but just thinking about different potential dynamics. I don't have a particular gender in mind(he's bisexual, so any could work) for the love interest, but these were some monster types I was thinking about!
The human and werewolf options were some of the first I considered, but a vampire could be a basic but still interesting choice. The naga/or lamia, demon, and selkie options are mainly some left-over monster types I was considering using for future characters, so I threw those in too. If I do end up making this character I will obviously flesh them out to be their own character, in addition to building their relationship with Saffron, but this poll is mainly just to get an idea of where to start!
Even if you are not the most familiar with my character Saffron, if you would just be interested in seeing what kind of character I could make out of any of these options, it still would be a help if you vote for when I eventually get around to this!
This is something I originally sketched a month ago, that I was going to share the sketch here but forgot lol. But, here is the finished drawing!
This is something I wanted to draw for Prachal, of him in his natural colors as a glimpse into this part of his past(he is about 18 here)! 🤎 For those who do or don't remember, he is a peafowl-harpy, with his natural colors actually being shades of brown. In real life this coloring is a mutation known as "cameo", compared to the common/blue "Indian" peafowl you normally see/think of. While he has a lot of unrelated struggles and issues, his more "drab" appearance certainly did not help him growing up. It wasn't till he moved to Chromia, met his friends who became like his new family, and slowly found his confidence that he started to figure out himself and his sense of style more.
This is also how he appears in the introductory piece I wrote where he first meets his new roommates! :D That piece was from fall 2024 for a script-writing class I was taking at the time, but I'm currently in the process of building and fleshing out the roommates, so it might be a bit before I share or rewrite it. Still, I hope you enjoy! ^w^
Although I still have some things to work through before I will fully share them, I did make some progress on developing Prachal's housemates! I was able to figure out which monster species they would each be- Rowan(red) is a dragon, Indigo(blue) is a fairy, and Morado(purple) is a mer! I also used a picrew to play around with their designs a bit, so I now have visuals to work off of and use as inspiration for when I am able to put more work into their designs and draw them myself.
I still should be able to upload the script/story I wrote for them first though, I just have to read through it again(it's been a long time since I last looked at it) and decide how I want to upload it.
While I have been in more of a Hue Shifters mood recently, I was reminded that I never got to finishing the 8 facts or OC interviews for Maris and Saffron that have been sitting in my DA drafts from over two years ago^^; But, one of the goals I want to achieve this year is to finish those, so I'll have to find my unfinished notes for them and work on them sometime!
A fact that I want to share now is that I did have some low-key relationship ideas for them both around that time! Nothing super thought out, just some ideas that came up when thinking about more general character-building stuff for them. For Saffron, I was thinking he is still single, but might have a crush or some sort of flirty attraction with someone. From what I remember, I think my first idea was a human? Since I don't have any characters in this universe yet that are only human, and probably inspired by the classic vampire/human dynamic in vampire-related media. Another idea I had originally was that they are a familiar- though not to Saffron's family, but I'm not sure whether or not I will go that route since I would have to think about and work on it a lot. A more recent idea is that they could be a different monster type, maybe a werewolf? Either way, I was thinking it would be more of an awkward/shy but sweet kind of relationship, with perhaps a tinge of angst but ultimately something that bonds them closely.
For Maris, I remember thinking she might be in an actual relationship, leaning more towards her having a boyfriend. I have been thinking about this one a lot more recently, so my ideas are more fresh and new. I'm currently trying to figure which out of 2(?) ship dynamics for her and her potential boyfriend to have, which are both pretty different from each other. One is kind of a rivals-to-lovers situation with a rich guy she meets through her work, at first not getting along with him due to him being a bit snobbish and kind of flippant/facetious/frivolous with his behavior who seemingly can't take anything serious, but she starts to see cracks in this facade the more she finds herself wrapped up in his situations. It takes her a while to find out there is so much more than what meets the eye with him, but through their continued presence in each other's lives, they soon find common ground and newfound respect for each other after seeing the positive effects they have had on each other. Then the second option I was thinking about was more sweet, similar to the first where she meets him through work but he is more of a down-to-earth, chill kind of guy who is mild-mannered and a bit more awkward/shy compared to her, but he has a quiet confidence about himself when needed and a similar level of inquisitiveness as her that drew her in to liking him quickly.
I find both options for Maris pretty appealing in their own ways(which may or may not be because they are kind of based off of two ships I really like), so I am going to have to think about this one a lot lol. Maybe put it up to a poll, sometime? 🤔
I think another thing I can start posting on this account more is story concepts/summaries! Since it often takes me a long time to write(or I just don't have the energy to a lot of time 🥲), this could be something I work on in-between the stories I do write! Sometimes I do have a lot of story ideas floating around in my head, so even if I don't find time to write them or it takes me a while to do so, it would still be nice to at least share what I do have for them! :)
This idea was actually inspired by a story concept I've been thinking about since sometime last year, for Azure/Prachal from @hueshiftersofficial! It actually coincides with a different writing goal of mine, to write more long-form/chaptered stories! I'm not sure how long it might be yet since I still need to figure more of it out and plan, but I've been inspired by all of the novel-length+ fics I've been reading to want to try and tackle one myself.
The basic idea is something close to a slowburn that explores their dynamic of rivals-to-friends-lovers. How, they slowly learn to understand each other and open up more, see their similarities, become friends that still keep that sassy/playful edge, and what happens when they finally start recognizing and reckoning with their feelings for each other. Both also have jaded experiences and views when it comes to love and relationships, so the story would also explore how they deal with that and what they choose to do moving forward.
There's more to this, but this is just a simple overview of what I have so far! I've been playing around with this one in my head a lot lately, so hopefully it's something I can at least start sometime soon!
Here is an overview for a future Azure/Prachal story I will be writing! I've been meaning to write something for them when I first introduced Prachal, and like mentioned above I've been inspired and thinking about them a lot recently.
An important part of this story, and one of the main things I need to figure out, is that it will also feature Prachal's housemates on his side of the story! I've had them in mind since fall of 2024(?), and while I got to explore them a little bit for this piece I wrote in a scriptwriting class I took, I still need to flesh them out and make them more concrete characters. So far I think I just have names, ages, color motifs, and a few details that I wrote into the script(which I also still need to post and adapt into a short story), but otherwise not much else. The last thing I remember trying to figure out was what monster types they should all be, since I want to try and make them ones I haven't used yet.
I'll be working on the roommates first and posting their introductory script/story when I can, but I just wanted to share this so I can start getting it out of my brain lol
Although I did stay up pretty late last night to finish this, I managed to get the last of my planned Pride Month drawings done on-time~! :D This one is a group pic, featuring Maris, Hyacinth, and Saffron~! 💙💜🧡
Since I had already drawn Coral for Pride Month last year and I was planning on drawing Azure in a separate art piece this year, I thought to make one of my other ideas this year Pride rep for the rest of the Hyacinth's Group members! Originally I wasn't actually going to include Hyacinth himself, but I thought to finish up the group I should add him in. His current sexuality status is questioning/unsure so I drew him in that flag for this, but I've actually been contemplating lately establishing his sexuality at some point! From my current ideas, I'm in-between gray-ace and gay/mlm(or both) for him, but I'll still have to think about it some more 🤔
I hope you enjoy, and Happy Pride Month once again! ❤️🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Happy Pride Month, everyone! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ This is actually the third Pride-related drawing I have done this month, but the first I've done for Hue Shifters. It feels so good to make art for this universe again! :3 I have one more drawing planned for this universe, but with how my art energy has been lately, I'm not sure if it'll be done in-time. If not, it will still be posted in July!
Back to this, this is the second "what-if" ship I wanted to draw/explore for this month, featuring Azure/Prachal~! 🖤🦚✨️ Originally, Azure and Prachal were only meant to be sassy rivals together, but when I realized how much they actually have in common, their ship potential started to rise for me. I just think it would be so interesting to have them start off with this fun banter together, slowly realize they actually have a lot of similarities, start to gain strange romantic attraction to the other(on top of the physical attraction they secretly already have), and then figure out how to make a potential relationship work. With both their jaded experiences when it comes to love and relationships, will they take more of a casual, "friends-with-benefits" sort-of approach at first, or take the plunge and trust each other with the chance of a sweet romance?
For their looks here, I just put them both in outfits I had as fashion inspiration for them(with my own touches, of course), and particularly for Azure, I decided to give him some color to his hair like I contemplated before(so they both could be hair-dye BFs lol) 🩵 I don't know how noticeable it is to some, but I decided to switch out Azure's bridge piercing for a right nose stud(so it matches Coral's better, but I guess could also match Prachal's now too lol), since it was something I low-key contemplated doing for a while. He could potentially still have it at some point in his life, but for the sake of the change you could say he took it out. Also, I knew these two would probably have a small height difference but I didn't intend for it to turn out this drastic lol, so Azure probably has on some heeled boots here or something. Something that also didn't get portrayed much above is that Azure also identifies with being more androgynous/gender-non-conforming, as while he still mostly identifies as male, he also never really cared about gender roles when it comes to appearance and presentation.
I still have quite a bit in-mind when it comes to building their potential relationship, but that will be for another day so this doesn't get too long lol. I hope you enjoy! ❤️