The dead and the dreaming

Let's talk about Enderal

[jilljoycearts]

“𝔐𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯“ May I present you the project I’ve been sitting on for weeks. It is an audio tale with deep sound immersion. The tale is in fact a small fic by my friend that tells a story of Tharael’s past. This project is collaboration of 5 people and only three of us were aware of what I was up to. Beside that - only a few of my close friends, so yes, it is a surprise for the Enderal fandom. I was planning to get it all done on the FS release anniversary (Feb 14th), but let’s say I’m fashionably late. Also my thanks goes to Nico @niseamstories for making it possible to publish on the SureAI YouTube channel. I did my best experimenting with the sounds of all kinds, so listen carefully, the noise on the background has a bit more to add to the story 😌 And now, credits: Original text (in Russian) by Thanais Translated to English by @vanithesquid Narrated by Gabriel Wolf  Sound design and cover artwork by yours truly Animation by savenkey So far it’s the most ambitious thing I tried and pulled off in my fandom experience. Here’s hoping it won’t be the one and only😁 Oh, and you can find a step by step process of the cover artwork creation on my Patreon!

[vanithesquid]

Man, the trip it has been since I threw out “I want to adapt Thana’s ficlet like Sweet Dreams for her birthday” waaaaaay back then, to the version YOU ended up making when the Hell Year 2020 devoured my ability to work on the idea.

AND YOU EFFING GOT GABRIEL TO VOICE IT THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN MY CRAP NARRATION WOULD HAVE BEEN AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Thank you so, so much for doing it, Joyce. As I said on Discord, it’s a weird feeling to fail at something and then to see it be reborn even stronger from the ashes of someone else’s fire, but it’s a damn good one.

Happy belated birthday, Thanais and the Enderal fandom both!

...For shits and giggles, Joyce, we need to actually make an audio drama together, sometime, now that we’ve both learned how to do it over Enderal ficlets 😂

[jilljoycearts]

YOU MADE ME DO IT I'M IN AGONY AND MIGHT NOT READ YOUR RESPONSE BECAUSE I'M SCAAAAAAARED

Feel free to skip a few I'm overenthusiastic thinking of trios in Enderal

---------------------

9. Snug, marry, kill

-> The Forgotten Stories Trio

Tharaêl, Dijaam, Esme

-> The Main platonic and/or romantic Relationships (imho)

Tharaêl, Jespar, Calia

-> Easy peasy maybe? The Emissaries besides the Prophetess (asking you about Siri feels wrong lol)

Tealor, Coarek, Yuslan

-> Iconic Vendors

Fresh and Tasty Bread, huh no I just place them out for you to look at, my wares it is you want to see I promise you they bring you glee

-> Dust pit adversaries (I want to write Tharaêl again because technically true hngpf)

The Twins (double trouble with two handed hammerss), Tamas Sha'Gar (first fight with the 4 people free for all, he was the one with bow and fire arrows), Raga Shadowclaw (lycanthrope)

-> more "cuddle once, have as a pet, abandon (give to a loving person to take care of)"

Whirlwind (Donkey), Standard Brown horse (not Svart), Cuthbert (the dead (& kinky) mini pig of Maxus Tabaccus, the summoned form not alive one of him)

-> The Big Baddies

The Father, Daddy, Ketaron Dal'Geyss (Rynéus' Father)

---------------------

I'm a big indecisive softy so I couldn't answer any of those. Last one clearly indicates a certain **theme** in the game 🤔

Long ask - long answer! Like, very long.  The following is based on my personal opinions, visions of characters, marriage, human behaviour etc etc, and I’m fine if you disagree with me. Also, warning - adult topics.

Okay, the input info: 

- I think for myself, not for my prophetess (what I am: mid twenties female who values personal space in a relationship the most).  - I don’t turn it into modern au.  - This is “fuck/marry/kill”, not “snug/marry/kill” (I believe it’s implied, but still, ADULT TOPICS AHEAD) - For me(for this game) marriage is a combo of the first of our wonderful three-positions list, the lack of wish to implement the third and commitment. If optimistic – even fruitful coexistence. I keep in mind marriage is stability and all. - “Kill” is mostly “off the table” for those characters I can’t see fitting for any of the first two positions. That doesn’t mean I want to kill them, except I specifically state so. 

1. Tharaêl, Jespar, Calia Starting with the hardest one.I’m telling bye to Calia, alas. She’s too lawful, and I’d be very grey morality-wise if put to their realities. Besides, she has these sub vibes and I agree with opinions she might be very dom when it comes to intimacy, but her whole sadness aura is not for me. I don’t want to deal with it if I don’t have to.  Jespar: we know what he thinks of any relationship - “as long as I feel like it - I’m here for it, else - adiós” and it’s pretty common for our world, but as we’re in a medieval and religious community, I believe open relationship is not common at all. I am thinking about marriage possibilities here, yes. He wouldn’t like the idea – it involves commitment. And I assume he’s the closest to me personality-wise, so we could be close friends, but I *want* commitment. Whether the relationship hits low or we’re doing pretty good – I want my spouse to be with me. Jespar is known for running away when things get bad. So yeah, he stays just for one night. And it seems I have to marry Tharael. Well… He’s very ESTJ, but I don’t mind if he takes care of, welp, everything. Pros: his understanding of “family” is quite classic to our world as well. Remember what he says in the Refuge - “no one will have to mourn me - no widow, no children, no friends”. So in his head he tried to fit the roles of a husband and a father(still can’t see how he’s capable of it, but he definitely gave it some thinking). Family for him = wife and kids. He acknowledges and accepts the commitment. Besides, he seems to be very responsible and reliable. He also tries to be rational, sometimes he even manages. And, as I see the Rhalata as a military formation, having spent 8 years there, he is very straightforward and strict/precise/exact (pick the right word). If something’s being said – rarely hidden context is implied. It makes communication much easier. Cons: he is explosive and I have strong suspicions he might be of jealous type. It is manageable, though. Especially if you set a list of rules together what is acceptable and what needs further explanations. He’s used to living following rules, so give him new ones and he’ll feel more confident. But careful, as it may play against you. Been there done that. Rules are cool as long as they’re acceptably flexible and you’re not trying to find how to cheat and break them. 

But out of these three, he is the husband material, at least for me. I’m not mentioning any intimacy above, as it would break the game for Tharael at all. But if elaborating – I don’t even know how you would drag him to your bedroom when he’s aware what he is and absolutely not aware what this new “shell” may produce as kids, if it is capable of it at all. So I politely ignore this fact. (In my otp it works as I headcanon the prophet can’t have children)

2. Tharaêl, Dijaam, Esme Why I would marry Esme: she *is* commitment. She cares a lot for a person she’s close to. She cares even after their relationship is not a thing anymore. I love this personality trait, and I’d like to see it in a potential spouse. I’m not sure what kind of relationship she prefers tho, if it’s open like Jespar wants them to be, I start doubting and think of picking Tharael again(not telling Tharael doesn’t care as much; in fact, he cares more). If not an open relationship – Esme is “lighter” than him, but also much more naive. But it’s okay, I can be oversuspicious for the both of us. So, marry Esme. And sorry, Dijaam, I have to kill you as I like Tharael more 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

3. Tealor, Coarek, Yuslan Ah, tricky. Yuslan once had a family – he’s capable of it, they were happy, so I’d pick him for marriage. I know how Qyranian people handle families and marriage, and poly relationships are definitely not my thing, but what he had was very “classy”, so I’m good.Tealor failed to have a family. He barely tried at all. Taranor – the lore never mentioned anything about any love interests. I guess not much difference here picking who to fuck and who to kill. I just pick what looks better, so… kill Tealor.

4. “Iconic Vendors Fresh and Tasty Bread, huh no I just place them out for you to look at, my wares it is you want to see I promise you they bring you glee” I barely trade in the game, I hoard everything😅 I know the first one is Marita, the second phrase is not unique to just one character and the last one I simply can’t remember. But I don’t want to do anything with the mean trader, so I kill him. Marita will be my friend.

5. “Dust pit adversaries (I want to write Tharaêl again because technically true hngpf)The Twins (double trouble with two handed hammerss), Tamas Sha'Gar (first fight with the 4 people free for all, he was the one with bow and fire arrows), Raga Shadowclaw (lycanthrope)” Ehhhh we don’t have any personalities here, so I can’t really pick anyone. KILL ALL! 

6. “more "cuddle once, have as a pet, abandon (give to a loving person to take care of)"Whirlwind (Donkey), Standard Brown horse (not Svart), Cuthbert (the dead (& kinky) mini pig of Maxus Tabaccus, the summoned form not alive one of him)” I’m keeping the ghost pig as it’s somewhat intelligent, doesn’t need food and grooming and takes care of itself in general. If given the choice, I wouldn’t pick anything. Commitment, commitment… As for the other two hoofed frens, no difference really. I’d patpat both, but I don’t want to own a pet.

7. The Father, Daddy, Ketaron Dal'Geyss (Rynéus' Father) Ahh yess daddy issues :D It’s actually simple for me. Daddy I would kill. Huge no. No-no-no. Firstly, he’s a father figure (and you associate yourself with the prophet), so no “snug”, no marriage, no anything. Kill him and that’s all. Ketaron I have to pick for just one night as I don’t see it possible for me to survive under the same roof with this shitty person… So I marry the Father. Nothing physical and it won’t be much I would have to contribute to this relationship but it would be interesting to learn new things, at least. Still, I can see it as “I don’t bother you with your business, you don’t bother me, we just coexist without hate and sometimes I ask dumb questions” That’s all. And no, I won’t try to change anything about the Father. I’d better prefer to avoid any contacts. Serious questions here, being put into a position of spouse would make me shave my head or not 🤔 

[vanithesquid]

Ketaron I have to pick for just one night as I don’t see it possible for me to survive under the same roof with this shitty person 

Alternately: kill the Father and gift his head to Tharaêl, fuck Daddy because he’s a dream anyway so it’s just one extra nightmare, then marry Ketaron and hire Tharaêl as the new door guard as repayment for killing the Father. That way you can become Rynéus’ legal step-mother, and get to inherit both the estate and the Sublime caste when Ketaron inevitably oh-so-tragically falls down the stairs.

[vanithesquid]

Apparently, after favoriting Joyce twenty-five times in a row on the same picture, Tumblr has now decided that I wanted to reblog my own posts.

🤦🏻

Apologies for the inevitable cascade of bugs everytime I try to do anything on here...

[weretoad-art]

Since Enderal’s English loc came out 4 years ago today (German one came out a month earlier), I wanted to do a redraw of my very first Enderal fanart. Top is from September 2016, bottom is from August 2020. Thanks for four years of heartbreak and inspiration! It’s been a wild ride. <3

[vanithesquid]

(Provided this broken hellsite lets my post through:)

Regarding your comment about the bottom version looking flatter in terms of emotion, part of it is an illusion caused by the drawing style: the clean lines of the lower version, by default, look less rough, and so less emotional, than the messy, half-hurried scribble of the original.

Art style put aside, though, that’s only true for the first image, and, I think, is largely due to how posed it looks. Original take’s Eska was clearly caught into the strength of the revelation, whereas new take’s Eska is posed for our benefit rather than his own, thus taking away from the intensity of it. If you’d altered his seating to have him fully directed that way, or fully sideways rather than half-turned towards us, it’d have worked.

(Same remark, to a much lesser degree, for the second picture, where the PoV of the original was less posed for the viewer.)

Panels two and three, however, are much more effective redrawn. The hug with Tharaêl does actually look like a desperate hug in all its messy glory, Eska’s sword is no longer made of plasticine, Jespar’s hips are no longer Calia’s, the works. To say nothing about the backgrounds.

Also, Eska is cute.

TL;DR: if you want to maintain the effect of the first part with the art style of the second, move the “roughness” from the lines to the coloring (or to a dramatic shading), and think of posing more for the character than for the audience.

[iamaweretoad]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree about the lines, rough lines often have more energy than clean(er) lines. The original was not, however, a ‘half-hurried scribble’, I actually worked pretty damn hard on it at the time. The point of the new drawing was to explore what I’d learned, not critique past me’s shortcomings. 

Also agree about the shift in perspective causing the first panel to lose intensity. I was aware of this at the time, but it was a deliberate choice, not for the audience POV, but to avoid using perspective as a crutch to hide my weaknesses. I wanted to show what had changed over four years and that meant challenging myself to do stuff I struggle with (hands, 2/3s turned face looking down, etc.)  The 2nd panel shift was not for the sake of the audience POV either, and I’m still a bit salty about having to change it because I WANTED to use the original pose/perspective. But I wasn’t drawing default video game heights this time, Eska is 5′4′’ and Tharael is 6′ 2′’ or thereabouts which makes that pose physically impossible to replicate without giving Eska a box to stand on XD. Though that would have been kinda funny. Ah well, the things we do for character development. 

[vanithesquid]

Oh, I didn’t mean the half-hurried scribble as literal, nor as a negative! It’s just the effect drawing in short strokes carries (edit: especially by hand, since with auto-deleting missed strokes when using a tablet, long clean strokes tend to end up the default), and it works great for intensity, precisely because it ends up looking like it was done more hurriedly/with less care than flowing lines.

(You can counteract some of it with gesture drawing, but it takes pretty serious levels of competence at it to get the effect with it, whereas you can get it immediately with rough or repeated short strokes.)

Re: for the audience, likewise, I’m not being literal. I just have no idea what the proper words to explain it are. But basically, it’s the drawing version of the difference between camera-on-shoulder and camera-on-stand, or found footage films versus highly polished blockbuster. The second will be much prettier, but will practically always look less alive, less vibrant, than the first. By putting your camera on a stand, so to speak, to try and cover your bases better, you lost the sense of having just ran to the scene yourself, camera in hand.

I hope it didn’t come across as me trashing the picture, as that’s really not the intent. I love both, and just figured I might as well rebound on your comment, since you seemed to be pondering where the loss in intensity came from. There’s only one thing I consider a possible actual flaw (as opposed to drawing style choice), and it went unmentioned 😉

[weretoad-art]

Since Enderal’s English loc came out 4 years ago today (German one came out a month earlier), I wanted to do a redraw of my very first Enderal fanart. Top is from September 2016, bottom is from August 2020. Thanks for four years of heartbreak and inspiration! It’s been a wild ride. <3

[vanithesquid]

(Provided this broken hellsite lets my post through:)

Regarding your comment about the bottom version looking flatter in terms of emotion, part of it is an illusion caused by the drawing style: the clean lines of the lower version, by default, look less rough, and so less emotional, than the messy, half-hurried scribble of the original.

Art style put aside, though, that’s only true for the first image, and, I think, is largely due to how posed it looks. Original take’s Eska was clearly caught into the strength of the revelation, whereas new take’s Eska is posed for our benefit rather than his own, thus taking away from the intensity of it. If you’d altered his seating to have him fully directed that way, or fully sideways rather than half-turned towards us, it’d have worked.

(Same remark, to a much lesser degree, for the second picture, where the PoV of the original was less posed for the viewer.)

Panels two and three, however, are much more effective redrawn. The hug with Tharaêl does actually look like a desperate hug in all its messy glory, Eska’s sword is no longer made of plasticine, Jespar’s hips are no longer Calia’s, the works. To say nothing about the backgrounds.

Also, Eska is cute.

TL;DR: if you want to maintain the effect of the first part with the art style of the second, move the “roughness” from the lines to the coloring (or to a dramatic shading), and think of posing more for the character than for the audience.

[joycelikes]

This picrew is nice -link

[joycelikes]

This disaster joins

[vanithesquid]

I heard somebody mention disasters?

[jilljoycearts]

:D okay, I love this idea, anon 

[vanithesquid]

Definitely toss a coin to your Rhalâim, he’s not allowed any salary or possessions, the poor man

Think of him

Also think of us because maybe if you toss him coins he’ll stop being such a cheapskate and actually give us the money he keeps promising

[jilljoycearts]

Anne for @vanithesquid

[vanithesquid]

Thanks again, this was a lovely surprise to log on to  🙂

Props on getting the burnscar-freckles perfectly right, and the general impression that there must be some sort of Starling ancestor in there somewhere. Love how you did the eyes!

(And oh man, I just checked, and four tries to get it past Tumblr’s filters? What the hell? Does Tumblr suddenly hate cute necromancers or what?)

[joycelikes]

Messing with picrew again, this one is nice  >link<

[vanithesquid]

I see black sclera, I make an Anne

Plot twist, she actually looks like she’s going to run off with your soul in this one...

[jilljoycearts]

Don’t you know that we are gods And holy blood runs through our veins

[vanithesquid]

Linking the AO3 version for perfectionism’s sake: The Golden Queen

[xleafyheartx]

100 Random Character Development Questions

001. When is their birthday? 002. Do they do anything to celebrate their birthday? 003. Does your character like coffee better, or tea? 004. Do they prefer being alone or with others? 005. Are they in good health? 006. What sense do they most rely on? 007. Is your character an optimist or a pessimist? 008. What is their favorite fairy tale? 009. Do they believe in happy endings? 010. Do they believe in love at first sight? 011. How would your character court the person of their dreams? 012. What makes your character embarrassed? 013. Have they ever been bullied or teased? 014. Detail one secret shame your character feels. 015. Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? 016. What is their choice of weapon? 017. When does your character think that violence is justified or deserved? 018. Your character wakes up to find that war has been declared. What do they do? 019. If they could have a superpower, what would they choose? 020. What are their hobbies? 021. How do they display affection? 022. What is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen? 023. What do they consider beautiful in others physically? 024. What do they consider ugly in others physically? 025. What do they consider beautiful in others personality-wise? 026. What do they consider ugly in others personality-wise? 027. What is their idea of perfect happiness? 028. What makes them laugh out loud? 029. What sort of sense of humor does your character have? 030. Do they believe in the afterlife? 031. Are they superstitious about anything? 032. Does your character believe in ghosts? 033. Do they keep their promises? 034. What’s their view of lying? 035. What is the most important rule your character lives by? 036. How honorable is your character? 037. If your character saw someone drop a large sum of money and knew that they could probably take it without anyone noticing, what would they do? 038. What bad habits do they have? 039. What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? 040. What is their obsession? 041. Are they comfortable with technology? 042. What is their greatest achievement? 043. What will they stand up for? 044. What disgusts them? 045. Does your character have any chronic medical conditions? 046. How do they handle getting sick? 047. What was the last medical problem your character had? 048. Do they have any allergies? 049. How does your character feel about growing old? 050. How does your character feel about their own mortality? 051. If they knew they would die tomorrow, what would they do today? 052. What is your character’s worst flaw? 053. What is your character’s greatest strength? 054. Does your character want power or authority of any kind? 055. Is your character an introvert or an extrovert? 056. Has your character ever struck someone in anger? 057. Has your character ever killed anyone? 058. What is your character’s idea of a perfect day? 059. List several phrases your character is fond of uttering. Where did they pick them up? 060. What is your character’s attitude toward education and learning? 061. Does your character prefer adventure or safety and security? 062. What sort of legacy does your character wish to leave behind? 063. How well does your character handle difficult people? 064. In what ways does your character annoy others? 065. Is your character better at leading or following? Which do they prefer? 066. Does your character prefer city life or being out in nature? 067. Does your character believe in fate or destiny? 068. How strong is your character’s sense of responsibility? What kinds of things trigger it? 069. What about your character is heroic? 070. What about your character is cowardly? 071. How kind is your character? 072. In a Dungeons & Dragons game, which class would your character be? (wizard, fighter, bard, priest, ranger, etc.) 073. In a novel, what plot role would your character fill? (hero, anti-hero, sidekick, villain, etc.) 074. What is your character’s favorite game? 075. Is your character ticklish? 076. How do they express anger? 077. How often do they cry? Over what? 078. How emotionally stable is your character? 079. How easy is it for them to read the emotions of others? 080. How easy is it for others to read your character’s emotions? 081. Is your character religious? 082. What are your character’s sleeping preferences? 083. What is the first thing they say and/or do when they wake up? 084. Describe your character in one word. 085. Describe your character in three words. 086. How would your character describe themself in one word? 087. How would your character describe themself in three words? 088. Is your character quiet or loud? 089. How vocally expressive is your character? 090. How bodily expressive is your character? 091. What type of music does your character like? 092. What emotion does your character evoke in others? 093. What is your character’s goal in life? 094. Name three things most would not expect your character to be able to know. 095. Name three things most would not expect your character to be able to do. 096. How do they move and carry themselves? What energy do they project? 097. How well do they adapt to change? 098. Does your character like animals? 099. Do they talk to inanimate objects? 100. Does your character dream? If so, what do they dream about?

[vanithesquid]

This one has some fun questions and actually incentivizes lots of short replies rather than a few long answers, so passing it along in case anyone either wants it or wants to ask about it 👍

[jilljoycearts]

Recent shape study that went a bit too far

[vanithesquid]

But Joyce, how can you draw him against this sky and not have him covered in blood as he is supposed to be?

I thought we were friends Joyce

I thought we were friends

More seriously though, love how tired his eyes look, and the way his eyebrows manage to pull off both traditional Tharaêl scowling and sadness on the edge of tears. You should dish this style out more often!

[capochiino]

Because i had a really bad week and need to vent on it a bit. People keep asking me for a new expression meme sheet and here you go after all those years. You can use it or not use it as you like QwQ just pls credit me. Thanks :3

[jilljoycearts]

Ah crap, whatever, I want to doodle these

Request chars + number

[vanithesquid]

Look into your heart, you know it to be true

[joycelikes]

Have you ever tried writing a PoV of a horse? Doing it now and omg it’s both fun and hard as hell xD

[joycelikes]

Feeling sad ‘cause I finished it and I like it, but it doesn’t make any sense without context, and context is explained in another fic by Thanais and damn I don’t even know what to do, I wanna share it but no one will understand anything ><

[vanithesquid]

Easy solution:

Make a crap impro-translation of Thanais’ ficlet

Send it to me on Discord

Make a crap impro-translation of your ficlet

Send it to me on Discord

Sit back and watch the magic happen

Make that AO3 account already you godforsaken slowpoke

Publish as triple collab

I can’t log onto Discord while at work, but I very much can translate tidbits in the break room 😉

[jhara-ivez]

“Eska and the chicken” for @iamaweretoad

[vanithesquid]

Don’t let that chicken see Tharaêl

[jajko493]

So… do you remember that t-shirt from a sketch in this post?

Well, me and @jhara-ivez made it real. Kinda. I put it on the back of a sweater, rather than on a t-shirt, but it’s still lit.

The Beacon inspires me a lot. Mostly to shitpost.

@jhara-ivez: sketch, lineart me: concept, colours, the writing

[vanithesquid]

This is a fandom national treasure I swear

[jilljoycearts]

Before-after but more like after-before 

[vanithesquid]

Because you can take the Rhalâta out of the man, change his clothes, change his armor, give him a smile and let him grow his hair, but those eyebrows are still going to be arching way the fuck down.

Brother Wrath has graduated to Brother Just Slightly Pissed Off?