Fanfics and Art

TTTE - open to drawing requests TTTE - open to fanfic requests      COMMISSIONS OPEN- D&D character drawings, RP character drawings, fandom drawings etc, written pieces

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An apology

Dear wonderful folk,

I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for not being on here for a while! It can come across as rude when people suddenly disappear, and I would like to avoid that if I could.

I got to a point that trying to do too many things all the time was affecting my mental health. My anxiety was high and my brain was all over the place, so I had to make the decision to put aside a lot of things which I enjoyed. For the past months I have had to focus solely on doing just writing for publication, my day job, eating and sleeping. I’m slowly starting to get my brain back in a good place and very slowly being able to do the odd ‘extra’ thing that I like doing now.

The good news is that my book has now been published and I have begun work on the second one. A few of you had asked after reading my fanfic if I was a professional author, so now I can say.... yes I am.

I hope to get on here now and then and slowly build up to being able to do the odd bit of ‘extra’ writing again. Thanks for all of your great company, and your artwork and writing continues to inspire me. I will be doing more with my other profile on here, which is to do with my book and articles on folklore.

Stay strange and brilliant! <3 <3 <3

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PHARISEE (old and new version)

The person who comissioned this work asked if the lovely Sussex Pharisee could look more faerie like- which is a challenge as they are going for a very traditional take on the fae folk and sticking to the early folklore where they never have wings.

So I exaggerated her features, gave her pointy ears, and had her wearing butterfly wings sewn to her tunic.

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PISKIE

In one tale, these mischevious faeries are described as riding on hares, dressed as soldiers. They are busy filling small flower cups with milk from a cow, and feeding her calf with fresh grass. When the dairy maid reports the sight, the farmer has his cow blessed and the Piskies disappear, the cow runs dry and the farm falls into hard times.

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KNOCKER

The Cornish Knocker inhabits tin mines and other tunnels underground. Sometimes a human miner can find a rich vein of ore by following the mysterious knocking sound, which is of course these folk doing their own mining! Knockers are often happy to share the ore if human miners extract it and give the faerie a cut.

My interpretation wears canary wings on his hat to warn him of unsafe levels of gas underground, in an echo of the human tradition to use the birds as warnings. If the canary died, it was time to leave the mine sharpish!

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Slowly getting on with my illustration comissions! This is another faerie, Willo the Wisp.

This apparition manifests as a floating light, sometimes described as like a candle flame, which leads travellers astray across the bogs and moors. They mistake the light for a guiding lantern, but if they follow it they quickly discover themselves to be hopelessly stuck in treacherous mires. In one story, the enchantment can be broken by taking off your coat, turning it inside out and then turning away from the light.

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SUSSEX PHARISEE

The name pharisee appears to a corruption of the plural fairies that has evolved over time. Like most of the fae folk, pharisees enjoy to dance and various tales speak of ways in which they can be summoned. One method involves going into the woods on a full moon night when the catkins are in bloom and shaking the golden pollen from the catkins whilst calling to the fae. Other similarities include their ability to be helpful, unless offended, and their liking for whisking travellers away to fairyland if they find themselves in certain places at a certain time.

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PISKIE

The Piskie is a small mischevious faerie, portrayed as small of stature and fair of face. In one story, they take milk from a cow with calf, careful to let the calf drink first, and drink their prize from buttercup petals. Once day, the farmers daughter looks through a hag stone and sees all the Piskies, riding up on hares and leaving them to graze nearby while they take their draught of milk. The farmer has the farm exorcised by the local priest, and from that day the cow runs dry and the farm ceases to do well. These fae are sometimes described as wearing soldiers garb or traditional hunting attire.

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A little sketch of Chitty Chitty as a warmup today.

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MORGENS Also known as the Gwragedd Annwn, these Welsh water Faeries resemble beautiful maidens who can be seen combing their hair sitting at the surface of a lake. They are known to take human men as husbands, but they exhibit strange Faerie behaviour such as weeping at weddings and laughing at funerals. For the Faerie woman, marriage is known to often bring trouble and death is the release from troubles. In one such story, the Faerie woman marries a mortal husband but states that if he strikes her three times she will leave him forever, taking with her all her wealth. They have three beautiful sons, but the man strikes his wife three times, not hard, although enough to bring about an end of their marriage contract. True to her word, she leaves forever.

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If you could be best friends (or maybe more) with an engine, who would it be?

This is in fact a very difficult question. You may have noticed from my fics that Libby struggles a bit some conflicting desires, and I’m going to second her on that. I adore the moody grandeur of Gordon and I could imagine us bitching about people over a cream tea. But, then again, I get these mischievous urges that could only be carried out in the company of devious Diesel. 

Do I really have to choose?

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Look, No Levers!

May I present part 4 of the Adventures of Libby and Gordon; a nerve wracking foray into normal human relations.

Gordon and Libby enjoy a date at the Railwayman; a posh restaurant on Sodor, and Libby confesses the fiery encounter she had with Diesel and Diesel 10 at the scrapyard.

Their chemistry is undulled and they resolve to make the best use of this rare scenario in which they are both human. Libby discovers that her talents with the brake lever are perfectly transferable. Gordon learns exactly what she means when she offers to demonstrate how she would ride a train.

***Warning adult content***

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17672813 

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Who's your favourite non-engine character?

I think it would have to be Sir Robert Norramby. That chap is a certified eccentric, and I can only aspire!

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How did you first get into the Thomas stuff?

Well, I loved it when I was very young. But I got back into it by ending up watching probably hundreds of episodes over a couple of days when other people were in control of the tv. Suffering from slight cabin fever, my friend and I dared each other to write a smutty fanfic. I wrote ‘Work Experience on Sodor’, really enjoyed the challenge and fell in love with the characters. The rest, as they say, is history…

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Do you have any cute headcanons about Gordon or James?

Well now that you mention it…. 

Gordon spends a lot of time thinking up complicated rhyming poetry, which he isn’t able to write down. His speciality is the villanelle. Perhaps one day he will find the confidence to ask someone to write his poems out.

James sometimes orders anonymous bouquets of flowers for staff or passengers that he has heard are having a hard time. His fireman is in on it, but he would never tell.

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A little update on my human Gordon cosplay. The blue suit has a ‘4′ on each arm and the hat with the ‘Sodor’ badge was an addition to make it just a little more likely that people will recognize what I am trying to portray...

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TROW The trow is a mischevious Faerie, often described as short, ugly and shy. Other accounts refer to them as the grey folk- appearing human like, but melancholy and prone to take delight in anything that makes human affairs go awry. Then again, they are also described as having long grey beards, being gaily dressed in green, with dark mischevious eyes... capable of luring humans back into their homes inside old barrow mounds with music. Their liking of music seems to be a recurring theme, and in some cases they are said to do the odd helpful act. In short, the descriptions vary wildly, but here is my attempt at a blend of ideas.

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I’m putting together an outfit, as I am planning to cosplay next month as my human version of Gordon.

Some of you might be interested in the items I am using, so here we are :)