#zonbi_oc

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2020 MerMay (Abel & Neoko)

DAY 1 — Love at First Sight

Abel is a young merman, who discovered a mermaid-shaped marble-made figurehead in the depth of the ocean. Instantly, he fell in love with the human creation. Thus, he decided to come each day and to bring presents for it: sometimes it was beautiful and shining shells, sometimes it was a crown of flowers. But whenever he came, he was always smiling, gradualy falling in love with the marble-made mermaid and its beauty.

DAY 2 — Miracle

And one day, a miracle happened: maybe it was due to a curse, maybe it was due to his prayers. The headfigure suddenly moved. The marble cracked little by little and Abel discovered a real mermaid under this shell. She was alive. As surprised as the merman, she realized that she was indeed alive and able to move, to speak, to feel ... The two creatures were equally mesmerized by their situation.

DAY 3 — Contact

Once the marble disappeared, the mermaid could not resist anymore: she had been conscious all the time of every present and every word of Abel. She was deeply grateful: indeed, thanks to his help, she was finally alive. And thus, she was finally able to touch him. They shared a warm embrace to celebrate this miracle.

DAY 4 — Surprise

As they were now able to spend time together, Abel decided to show her his favorites places. He guided her to different spots but his last surprise was the most marvellous one: a spot full of jellyfishes. The mermaid was impressed by how gracious the creatures were. Little by little, Abel discovered her personnality: she was curious, yet very calm. Spending even more time with her made him fall even deeper in love with the mermaid.

DAY 5 — Agape

Day after day, the mermaid discovered more and more the world of Abel. They finally chose her a proper name, Neoko, and he even showed her the surface. While Neoko was mesmerized by the sunset, Abel confessed to her. He cared about her, and since she had her very own personality, he came to love her even more. Deeply moved by his declaration, Neoko replied with the same feeling of pure love, bathing in the golden light of the sunset.

✿ I participated to the 2020 MerMay Challenge and I decided to create stories with my OCs as merfolk. I very much loved creating them and I hope you'll enjoy discovering them too!

Abel von Friedholf (OC) is Zonbi's. Neoko Ailen Shinkiseki (OC) is mine. Art is mine.

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2020 MerMay (Roan & Meilys)

DAY 26 — Hide-and-seek

Sometimes, it doesn't take too much to begin a new chapter of your life. Sometimes, it begins with a new person. Especially when this person is quite ... playful! Roan understood it at a very young age. Even though he was quite quick for a young merman, Meilys was always quicker than him: quicker to react, quicker to speak, quicker to play ... And their games turned out to be most of the time a giant hide-and-seek in the sea! Although Roan was always worried about her, he was always thankful to Meilys for playing with him whenever she felt like it!

DAY 27 — Friendship

Meilys was always lively and above all, very curious. She always wanted to see the surface but it was mostly forbidden for her, since she was way too young. Roan couldn't do it either, but he knew where to find stuffs from the surface. He brought her shells and other things. Even though it was not directly the surface, Meilys was pleased enough, and very thankful towards her precious friend!

DAY 28 — Bond

While aging, Meilys and Roan stayed very close to one another. They would spend their time together, playing or talking. Roan was very devoted to her : as Meilys was growing up, her hair became longer and longer and he would help her with it. Meilys did the same with him so that he won't be bothered with his own haircut. It was their very own way for bonding!

DAY 29 — Dance

Now that they were old enough, they could go to the surface. They had to stay hidden from humans, but they could watch them from afar. Sometimes, on the beach, humans would do curious things : they would do circles while holding each other. Meilys was very curious about it, and once they went back in the sea, she asked Roan to try it with her. She was so happy that Roan couldn't even try to refuse her. It became a sort of habit of them: once they discovered something new about humans, they would try it once they were back home.

DAY 30 — Proposal

Little by little, they learnt a lot of things about humans. Unlike humans, merfolks did not have a real wedding thing, outside of a promise of eternal love for one another. But Roan knew a very special way to do it for Meilys. He brought her at the surface, under a beautiful sunset, and he proposed to her, with a pearl. He saw humans doing it from times to times. Meilys didn't take long to understand his demand, for they loved each other for a long time.

✿ The last story of my 2020 MerMay with Meilys and Roan, one of my favorite OC couples! They are so cute together, I meal.

Roan Dwight (OC) is Zonbi's. Meilys Shinkiseki (OC) is mine. Art is mine.

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2020 MerMay (Kaiser & Anna)

DAY 21 — Encounter

The depths had never been a very welcoming place. The game of life is played there: eat or be eaten. In brief, the survivors were never warm or joyful, rather the opposite. And orphans people of the depths were common out there. Kaiser was one of them: no parents, only his instinct and his witness to survive. He should have never met her, but he did. While exploring some human treasure without any value, he felt looked at: Anna was here, staring at him, without any word. Such a strange encounter between people of the depths.

DAY 22 — Differences

Anna was not a common mermaid of the depths: she was cheerful and curious. Kaiser was a rather quiet and mistrustful merman. They were different but they had one trait in common: they were both orphans. Anna was amuzed by everything around her, and little by little, they had to get along together.

DAY 23 — Danger

Even though their friendship was blooming, the depths were the depths: dangerous and uncanny. Anna was the type who would explore without any second thought, and Kaiser ... Kaiser would be the one who saved her anytime, especially against the predators. But Anna was not completely air-headed: she had some cleverness to help Kaiser too!

DAY 24 — Treasure

From time to time, Kaiser was not as mistrustful as he was in general. Sometimes he had a glimpse of smile ou a pinch of irony which made him a funny character. But Anna liked him a lot: he was her savior most of the time. And of course, any relationship won its real treasure with time!

DAY 25 — Freedom

The depths became warmer and more welcoming with time. But Anna wanted more. She wanted to see the upper part of the sea. She wanted to live without any danger. She was tired of being a prey. And Kaiser was ... adventurous with time, but for different reasons. He wanted some freedom: he wanted to feel free and to live without any bother.

✿ The second to last story for my MerMay! I really wanted to give a glimpse of the depths with Kaiser and Anna.

Anna von Toten (OC) is Zonbi's. Kaiser Wellsburth (OC) is mine. Art is mine.

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CROWN OF NEMOPHILAS (2020)

Baby Blue Eyes kind are particularly attuned to the tenderness, innocence, and trust. Associated with a person’s early childhood bond with the father, or other important male figures. A lack of care or true presence from the father often occurred.

The flowers of nemophila are commonly recognized as a symbol for forgiveness, mercy … Thomas had his dark moments as a young father, but he wants to redeem himself. He is aware that he would not wash his name as easily as people may imagine. But it starts with one single step: getting the forgiveness of his own daughter, years after their separation.

✿ One of my 2020 Huevember piece that I turned into a digital piece back then. I did not line it on digital so that's why I loved doing the coloring and the rendering so much!

Neoko Ailen Shinkiseki (OC) is mine. Thomas Evans (OC) is Zonbi's. Art is mine.

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2020 Sketch Dump

✿ Another sketch dump of a Riverdale AU made in 2020 too. This time, we genderswapped some characters: Eirlys as Jughead and Ethan as Betty. That was quite fun to do, to be honest!

Ethan Setsuna Shinkiseki & Dean Hayes (OC) are Zonbi's. Eirlys Hayes (OC) is mine. Art is mine.

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2020 Drawtober (Days 3 / 6 / 7 / 9 / 11)

Hope? What foolish hope was left for him? Nothing is this mere world. He had to be pure, he had to get rid of this untamed light in him. That was what Church wanted for him. That was the rules he had to follow: embrace this new "guiding light" and forget what's been left behind him. This new path was the real one, the one that had been chosen for his own good.

The tower was standing still in this quiet environment but something, or more precisely, someone was also there. In all this chaos, she was there, looking down, as she was waiting for someone. Locked in a tower, all alone, just like a little Rapunzel, she looked a bit lonely and unhappy with her current situation. Maybe she was the possible "new light"?

The closer Yasujiro got to the tower, the faster his heart started to beat. The view of this innocent and, yet, imprisoned damsel was both impossible to bear and relatable to him. He had been betrayed by his own blood, afterall. Mary-Ann looked like a lonely and pure princess, and this simple thought struck Yasujiro so much ... It was like ... love at first sight?

But Yasujiro was not the only one to be fascinated by this new encounter. Mary-Ann was more than enthousiatic about it: she was surrounded by dozen of unanimated stuffed animal plushies, spending her whole days watching over a world she would never know. Now, this hostile and unknown world had brought someone to her, someone who was kind enough to bond with her.

More than someone who could accept him, Yasujiro had, in reality, found someone like him: the rose made out of flames was a warm gift which heated the heart of Mary-Ann. She did not have much to offer in exchange to thank him, but still, she decided to also show her own ability. Some thin chains appeared and started to move, manipulated by her will: Mary-Ann offered a small show, using one of her plushies to express her gratitude.

✿ Parts of my 2020 Drawtober I made with Zonbi. We had to draw specific parts of our story, that's why the story may be a bit confusing or blurry since I don't own their parts.

Basically, the story revolves around two characters: Yasujiro and Mary-Ann. Yasujiro has power linked to fire while Mary-Ann seems to be a witch but her powers are still unclear to this day. In addition, Mary-Ann lives isolated in a tower and has no contact to the outer world except from her encounter with Yasujiro.

Yasujiro Friedlich (OC) is Zonbi's. Mary-Ann Rosenthal (OC) is mine. Art is mine.

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2021 Sketch Dump

✿ Sketch dump of a Riverdale AU from 2021! Trying mostly to capture the characters' mood and outfits. It was also a great training for side view drawing.

Abel von Friedholf and Coryn von Toten (OC) are Zonbi's. Neoko Ailen Shinkiseki (OC) is mine. Art is mine.

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Love in Thirty-One Days

└ WEARING KIGURUMIS

Sometimes, you don't want to do anything and just spend your time with the person you love. Abel and Neoko had their own moments like this. From time to time, they were good enough staying at each other's home, doing nothing else than talking ... It was mostly when Neoko would get all stressed out about exams or events, and Abel, even though he was not good with words, was the right person who knew how to keep her calm and at ease. Even sleeping next to each other was good enough actually!

└ MAKING OUT

Abel's family is known to be quite wealthy; actually they are wealthy enough to own a secondary residence. Sometimes, Abel used it to offer a good place for parties or even just holidays for Neoko and him. They could enjoy the house for themselves only, and bound even more. Afterall, a good evening spent near the fireplace with hot cocoa and a good book was never considered as a fail: it was quite the opposite, for both of them!

└ EATING ICECREAMS

When Abel dropped school after highschool's graduation and Neoko went to university, it became a bit difficult for them to see each other. There were weeks during when they could not really meet together, either because of Neoko's study schedule, or because of Abel's application for jobs. But when they finally could meet, they would go outside together and enjoy a walk, especially in summer! This way they could enjoy each other's company and a good icecream too!

└ GENDERSWAPPED

Unlike Neoko and Abel, Neoto and Aby had a total different dynamic as a couple: Neoto was more of a michievious kid who loved teasing Aby, while Aby was a bit less easy-going and more of a hot-tempered girl. It mostly resulted as them nicely "fighting", even though it was mainly Neoto teasing her until she stops sulking, as he was way too cute to be mad at. But in the end, Neoto also has a gentle and caring side which makes him want to cherish Aby who has a weak spot for him.

└ IN A DIFFERENT CLOTHING STYLE

One of their biggest commitment as a couple had to be their wedding. When Neoko decided to move in China to follow her dream to become a classical dancer, Abel followed her as well there. And once they were reunited in China, he proposed to her. It was not the most perfect proposal: no huge ceremony, no gorgeous bouquet, no expensive restaurant. Only the two of them, in a kitchen, in the early morning. Even though it was not quite the definition of "a romantic atmosphere", it led to one of their best memories: their wedding.

✿ Some of my favorite drawings in this batch!

Abel von Friedholf & Aby von Friedholf (OC) are Zonbi's. Neoko Ailen Shinkiseki & Neoto Alayn Shinkiseki (OC) are mine. Art is mine.