Well, it seemed like Zhen and Griffin had an "intro" comic of some kind so I made one for Alisha and Xiang. Since it's been so long, they were hesitant to join up with Drake and they really didn't trust Eirenelas. Luckily, he was able to persuade them. Clearly Eirenelas cares for Drake as he keeps going out of his way to find his old friends. Drake starts to appreciate him a little more.
I also made their bios (Alisha Xiang) since they were the only ones who didn't have one yet.
Story wise, the order each person joins the team is: Zhen, Griffin, Alisha/Xiang, and then Delta so I will do hers next.
Surprise for our darling Callyieverse Queen @princesscallyie! 🎁💖 I know how much you adore dolls , so I commissioned some adorable plushie pics of your OC comfort ship, Drake & Eirenelas (aka Drakenelas 💚🧡), as literal soft boys! Because let’s be real—if anyone deserves to be immortalized as cuddly little lovebugs, it’s THESE two boys 🥹✨
I thought this was the perfect way to bring your boys to life in the fluffiest way possible.🪡💕 I seriously can’t get enough of these two—Hope you love the pics as much as I do and can’t wait to hopefully see even more content in the future! And thanks for all the art you’ve already gifted us, Queen! We stay spoiled and obsessed because of it! 👑🎨💫
I wanted to introduce the main cast before I started doing some of the pic/comic ideas I had in mind. Here's one on Griffin clocking the tea immediately after he joins the squad (apparently Drake's sex life is the thing I find amusing at the moment lol). It's all fun though, he can clearly see the difference in his friend after escaping his father and he's happy for him 😊
The cover for my story is complete! I was gonna type everything out like the synopsis but I got my Toyhouse account which seems like the perfect platform to store everything in one place (no more google docs?) so I’ll post it there once I get everything set up. And I’ll link it back here.
I did wanna yap about changes and my ideas beforehand.
Again like forget everything prior that you may know about the older characters cause I feel like I changed a lot of things. There might be some similarities related to personality or background but I removed major parts. All past characters featured will get new bios.
Confirmed brought over character are Xiang, Alisha, Griffin and Delta. All of them will be redesigned/redrawn, some designs will be more drastic than others.
Idk if you noticed but these two did get a slight redesign. Since I’m not using established ip characters, I’m removing elements I drew in the designs that are taken from those art styles (the XS swirly ear and the blank cartoony ear). My design/art style has shifted so that’s another reason for the change. I no longer am influenced by some western art styles. I do not like a big round head no neck isolated eye no sclera looking character, so that’s why I have to completely nuke Alisha and probably why I don’t vibe with Kingsley anymore 😔. I mean, they are good designs in the callyieverse setting, but I’m not too interested in that verse anymore so…
Original characters for Drake’s parents as mentioned. I can finally make his father a sick and twisted psychopath without feeling weird that I’m totally making an established character OoC. They will probably look a bit similar since I didn’t change Drake’s design much and they gotta look related.
For the genre of this story, I wouldn’t say it’s primarily a romance (ignore the cover for a sec let me cook), it’s like an urban fantasy self discovery kinda story with some slow burn relationship tension going on. Like it’s whatever Apothecary’s Diaries is doing. Like they’re doing everything but confessing to each other and getting together but you can clearly see the growing relationship and the longing. I actually don’t think it’s going to happen until the epilogue of the story, that’s how slow burn it is. I always like having lore and ensemble of characters to,interact with each other so I knew they’re weren’t solely gonna be the focus.
Desperation’s Embrace: The Snake and the Raven - 1. Black Card
Bratty puppy is up one! Drake finally gets one over on Eirenelas when he recklessly gives him access to his black card. Now Eire really should have known better, he's messing a legendary trickster here
Here's the first of the comic series I have planned. Just random scenes of their relationship that go together (cause I don't want to commit to an actual full story comic). There's 10+ scenes that I have in mind so far. There's some for Kingsley too. His branch is called "The Hero and the Abyss".
I kept saying that Drake is getting his back blown out by the god and never provided visuals so here they are. Full comic here, its 4 panels.
I really wanted to portray that Drake is the one initiating the action like 90% of time cause he's like a touch deprived hormonal young adult who needs to release his stress. Eire obliges of course. I would love to do something with their first encounter which happens because Eirenelas was talking about his escapades with other humans and Drake got jealous lol
Anyway, I was lazy and didn't want to color anything so I tried out a screen tone vibe. Ngl, think I'm a grayscale truther now. I love how clean and uniform it looks. Makes you focus on the values and textures plus its way faster.
Desperation’s Embrace: The Snake and the Raven - 2. Outfit Switch
Eirenelas brings Drake back to Moirathos for the first time after since they bonded and it seems Drake will now take on a new appearance while there.
Not even gonna lie to y'all... this idea definitely came about cause I wanted Drake in a more revealing outfit lol. And I do think it makes sense that they have matching outfits since they are two halves of a one whole now. Yeah Eire lowkey doesn't know a thing about what happening with their bond. He's just winging it which pisses Drake off when he asks questions.
Okay so here's a funny comic that just shows a bit of Drake and Eirenelas' relationship. When Drake runs off he's pretty low on funds so has no choice but to be under the care of Eirenelas, who is very wealthy as the result of some of his bonds. He's not used to not being independent and not in charge, but he eventually gets used to it and learns that's it's kinda nice to be cared for and take it easy for once.
