Exploring the world, what else can you do?

An ask blog for my ocs while I'm planning out the chapters and making the comic. (illmamnim on main)

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After their parents continued to get sicker, three ambitious teens went out of their way to research and look for the doctor who took care of them. As they travel, finding journal pieces and meeting people along the way, the teens realize how in-over-their-heads they really are.

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Animatic in progress :)

[illmamnim-art]

Not fighting alone

[illmamnim-art]

Soft music to pass the night with

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since when was this a thing??

There was an oc tournament that I didn't wanna spam on my main so I made a blog.

I do wanna keep this place alive with oc facts and stuff but I'm not really good at it

[tin-moved]

This was just for fun

[illmamnim-art]

Me? Actually drawing my ocs?! No way!

Anyways, this is Soof (+ gang) and they're just a side character but I love them

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The Birth of Literature

[Short story of one of the mythologies in the world of Paper Trails]

Time and Death were born together- one from a mother, one from necessity. Where Time was dark and healthy bodied, Death was pale and boney. Where Time's curls grew long and lushes, Death had but a few strings attached to her scalp. They were best friends like that, almost sisters, always together. And like sisters, they fought plentiful. However, where most fights resulted in a compromise or collaboration, one had them both let go, leaving not time and nor death tampering in the affairs of this.

That was the birth of literature, they say.

Language had been given to creatures by Hamon, plenty, daughter of Fire and the goddess of food, hearths, and the arts. It was given so that all may praise and sing for the gods. The winds hummed for Water, the lions harmonised for Sleep, the wolves sang to the Moon. Only humans did not understand their task.

Humans used this new language to trick the animals and plants, some went as far as to claim godhood. Some humans also convinced the animals and plants to participate in those tricks, teaching cats to hide in tall grass and crows to tease.

Hamon hated the humans for disturbing her harmony and went to Time and Death to undo her blessing. But another god, Ta'alul, objected, claiming that was the new harmony and saw the beauty in it. Death took Hamon's side while Time took Ta'alul's. The four gods fought. Death took language away from plants while Time gave more sounds to birds. Hamon making bugs small so that they're not heard while Ta'alul making elephants big and loud.

On and on it went, and Ta'alul was getting tired. He went to the ocean to wash and happned across a fish making lines in the sand.

"What are you doing?" Ta'alul asked.

"This is where my home will be but I must swim far to have children," The fish answered, "I do not want to lose my spot so I mark it."

This gave Ta'alul an idea.

He returned to the three goddesses and agreed to give up on his efforts under one condition.

That, though they will not be given language freely, if creatures will get a hold of it, it will not be taken from them. Time and Death cannot interfere and neither will he or Hamon.

Hamon agreed to these conditions and eventually so did Time and Death.

They worked to take back all the changes they had made and harmony was Hamon's again. But the goddesses did not know of Ta'alul's plan.

Before coming back, he hid markings, in caves and rivers, on snakes and zebras. When creatures read those markings, their sounds formed a pattern again, The winds blew for Water, the lions purred for Sleep, the wolves howled to the Moon.

Hamon angered at Ta'alul but could do nothing, while Time and Death were amused by his creativity. With permission from Moon and Sun, they names him god of trickery and patron of literature- the timeless tool and made men immortal.

[illmamnim-art]

"As soon as the bell rang, Peter was out the door. There are 10 minutes till he had to be at the station, the bus will take him to the train and it's a 3 hour drive to the meeting spot. He hurried down the stairs, waving miss Adams goodbye when heading out the school gate."

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A non-canon poster as a style and composition practice

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I filled up a page with him <3

[illmamnim-art]

Happy MerMay! Here's my favorite illusionist- my oc Gil (he/she)

I know he's not a mermaid but I like fish so he likes fish so I count it

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Small design update for Shahar, now including a fancy and advanced mp3 ✨

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Character eyes: (left to right order) Shahar, Gil, Omer, Peter

A recent decision I've made lately was to enhance the pupils of people of southern origins duo to many of them coming from cultures that operate at night.

A noticeable eye trait belongs to people who can manipulate their body temperature, where their pupils grow and dilate much more drastically depending on the temperature they're producing. Amitting no heat results on very small pupils since usually they're out in the sun, and producing high temperatures creates big pupils because they're out at night.

Some mixed children can have that too but it's far more rare. Other southerners from a nightly culture will simply have bigger pupils, like Omer's.

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"14 year olds are the meanest people in the world. They tell me I'm wrong while not explaining how to this day."

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Protagonists

Peter is a calm, organized young-adult, between the ages of 17 to 18. He has a big love for nature and history and is often seen reading about either. He prefers comfortable clothes with plenty of pockets to hold different items- like first aid, small notebooks, maps, ex. His usual wear (outside of school uniform) is hiking pants and boots, a long-sleeved shirt, and a hat.

His development through the story is to understand control and accept help. Being the most powerful of all of his friends, Peter feels often responsible for their success and well-being.

Alongside all that, if he loses control over himself, his powers will react accordingly and he could hurt people more than help them. He will learn to control his powers and rely on his friends, even if he doesn’t want them to bear his toll.

Ability: Earth

Notable traits:

Doesn’t know much pop culture

Can't detect sarcasm well

Dreams of being a teacher

Loves to hike

Omer Narcis is an energetic, friendly boy, 16 years old. He likes being around people, singing, playing music, and taking pictures. He can often be seen trying to find someone to talk to or playing guitar. He wears bright shirts and likes to keep clean.

His development in the story is about empathy and compromise- learning that others’ emotions and experiences make them different, respecting those differences, and meeting people halfway.

Ability: Charisma

Notable traits:

Cannot sit still

Freezes when in danger

Very family orientated

Doesn’t plan ahead

Gil is an indifferent and artistic kid, 15 years old. She likes to write, act, and direct, and can be often seen practicing her illusions and perfecting them. She prefers oversized shirts and many colors but tries to not stand out too much.

Her development through the story is opening up about things she loves and who she is. As people often exhaust her, she has a hard time maintaining relationships and knowing how to talk to people. She has to learn to put herself out more and she will find joy in people’s company, as little as she needs it to be, and in sharing her passions.

Ability: illusions

Notable traits:

Studies best alone

Attached to physical items

Dreams to one day publish her own book

Can talk best to other artists

Ayelet Shahar Eshed is an angry, untrusting 14-year-old girl. She loves listening to music and being in her own head, and would often hide away to read her favorite comic books. She can be seen wearing her gray hoodie jacket and tracksuit pants, but her favorite shirt is a purple-orange long sleeve T, the same as her favorite character in a comic.

Her development in the story is learning to trust. After her her mom got arrested and her dad took her away, she often shuts herself away, always willing to help but never getting close. She will learn what she’s comfortable with and how to communicate it to others. She will find that it’s ok to be vulnerable and that having people by your side helps you grow stronger.

Ability: Heat regulation

Notable traits:

Loves doing sports

Sensitive ears

Loves learning new things

Has a sweet tooth

Supporting characters

Tehillah “Talli” Basir - a stoic, kind woman who lives with a young girl named Shay on the road. She’s a caretaker at heart but all her life she never liked sitting still or settling. She has worked hard all her life because that's the thing she does best and feels fulfilled doing so.

In her van, with a car trailer behind her, she runs a small business called “Basir Gardens” where she offers plants and garden services. You will often see her busy, answering phone calls, tending to her plants, cooking, or minding other responsibilities.

Her development through the story is to look back at her past with fondness, or at least acceptance. She comes to terms with her mistakes from when she was young and understands that it’s never too late to ask for forgiveness, or maybe even for an apology.

Ability: Plant manipulation

Notable traits:

People’s person

Restless, always working

Artistic (notably, illustrates plants in a notebook)

Stubborn

Shay Basir - a creative, deaf artist at 14, lives with Basir and studies as they travel. Shay is joyful and passionate, and because not many people speak sign language, she writes in the spiral notebook she carries with her everywhere to doodle.

She’s patient but quick to judge, which leads her to easily trust or discard people. As the story progresses, she’ll learn to see people for all their parts before jumping to conclusions.

Ability: Wind (temperature shift)

Notable traits:

Romantic

"Airhead", dork

Surprisingly dark sense of humor

Hates maths

[illmamnim]

As propaganda for Shahar in the @original-character-championship , here's some history

Back in 2014, I've created a set of characters that would later become our main cast: Shahar, Peter, Omer and Gil.

I won't go into each of them in this propaganda but I'll show them off once I have proper character sheets.

The world

In this world people have different abilities and those can be distinguished via eye colors.

Those without an ability have gray eyes, and are called and treated differently in each culture.

A brief of each major character:

Omer has Charisma, Gil has Illusions, Peter has Earth, Miss Basir has Plants, Shay has Wind, and finally Shahar:

Shahar

Shahar has red eyes because her ability comes from her grandpa - heat regulation. She can control her body temperature, from not producing any heat at all to burning like a well boiled soup.

Her story starts when 3 teens (Omer, Peter, Gil) start looking into her dad's old clinics after their parents have gone sick. Her dad asks her to go with them and make sure they don't find him and aren't suspicious of it.

She joins our group after they've found miss Basir- a traveling gardener who rides with her daughter in a van across the F.U.E (The country name (ish)(may change)). Shahar tags along without much contribution, only pointing out wrong paths and misinformation to make their journey come to dead ends.

However, after spending weeks with people on the road you're bound to find yourself attached to them, to some degree. Omer wasn't as annoying as he used to be, Peter seems to know everything and is always happy to answer her questions, Gil loves the same comics she does, Miss Basir knows just what to say to calm her down, and her daughter, Shay... Makes her feel things she never have before. They all do, in their way.

Shahr is full of guilt and shame over her father's actions, and her own. She's still leading them away from her father, this time not for him, but for her. What would they do once they find our she's been tricking them? What would they say if they knew that she's related to the man who almost killed their parents? They don't even know the purpose of all this. They still think Dr. Rephael is a good guy who can give their parents medicine.

As much as she tries, the crew still manages to find the doctor. Shahar tries to think of ways to discourage them from going, but it doesn't go as she planned- as any of them planned.

The doctor opens his door with warm hospitality, not at all surprised to see them, and offers them cookies and drinks. The kids explain their situation to the man, as Shahar seems to shrink into herself more than ever. The man listens politely, with that familiar expression of a doctor listening to their patients, and finally opens mouth to reply.

See, healers aren't people who can mend all wounds. Their ability helps your body heal itself by giving you ease, comfort and peace of mind- it feels just like talking to a loved one after weeks of being alone. So when the doctor finally tells them that he knows, that it was all a part of his plan and that their parents don't matter, it sounds fake. More than fake- it's surreal, as if they've finally managed to unlock the door but it's 15 feet in the air and they are seconds away from crushing into the hard asphalt ground.

The doctor explains his plan, Shahar's involvement and how he finally came to the conclusion that, to continue his plans, it's best to just poison this group and continue on. The crew looks down at the crumbs of sweets on their shirts and feel the taste of warm tea on their tongues, and nothing felt more bitter.

Now, a bit of an immersion break, because this is the end of season 1 and is yet to be fully constructed. But this story is intended to have 2 seasons at least (with either a movie special or a short season 3), and those characters has a very long way to go, with more people to meet, more challenges to overcome, and more talking and listening to do.

I really want to make this story into a comic and hopefully in college I'll even make an animated short with them. I still have a lot to learn to make this story what I want it to be, but I'm getting started, I'm building the plot and i have way too many google docs to prove it.

I hope this was a taste to get people interested. If so, send asks! I would love to talk about those little meow meows with more than just my 2 friends lwkzkws