Why Do I Keep Drawing Sad Secunits!?

To all my fellow artists out there…

Get weird with it

This was gonna be part of a larger project years ago, but this is the only part I even started on.

Guess it counts now as vent art, of the frustration of being both sick and/or disabled and having to go through so many hoops just to get the care you know exists, with some of those hoops being financial in my case.

Some self-indulgent (well, more than usual) art of my fursona. I’ve pretty much always wanted to be a dad-mom, settle down and have kids with someone, but a lot in my life has made that very unlikely. So instead, Matonne gets to be my proxy.

His wife (and other mother to their kid) is the cat gal I sketched up 3 years ago (to the day and that was not planned). I still have no name for her or their kid.

[Image Description: Drawing of two humanoid furry characters sitting on a couch, talking to each other while drinking hot cocoa. The one on the left is an adult with tan fur, the head of a rabbit, the tail of a lion, and the legs of a horse. He is wearing a dress that says “World’s Okayest Dad” and holding a mug that says “#2 Mom, My wife won out”. He is also pregnant. He is smiling down at his toddler child as they raise their fist in joy. The toddler looks like a Siamese cat with white hands and white hooves for feet. They are wearing a yellow shirt with a blue heart on it, striped yellow leggings, and a bracelet. On the walls are various photos and paintings, some of these photos are of the characters and their family. End of Description]

[Image Description: Drawing of the Pokémon Granbull. Granbull is resembles a purple bulldog with a thick, grey collar and long, protruding lower canine teeth. End of Description.]

Damn, how long has it been since I last posted? Well, neither here nor there. Wasn’t quite proud of this drawing when I started it months ago, but thanks to the internet’s motivational words of “better finished than perfect,” I’ve cleaned this up and finally posted it. Not the best, but a fun exercise in reinterpreting another one of my favorite pokemon, Granbull.

Yet another drawing I made a while back, and spruced up a bit today. So here be my version of teen Chara.

Suburban Wyvern Wrangling

An intro I wrote over a year ago for a story I’ll likely never get around to continuing, at least not for a long while. I’m still pretty proud of this though so, thought I might as well post it. (And yes, I know the title sucks.)

Chasing after a dragon in the edge of town was the last thing Latisha wanted to be doing at 9pm.

She could be resting at home, watching some adorable parrot videos on her phone, but no, she just had to get a call from her boss telling her how there had been sightings of a cat-sized, lizard bat soaring over Minchester Park. She could be driving to her job’s local office to drop off the creature, but no, it just had to be a skittish wild dragon, rather than a more approachable domesticated one. She could be tackling the reptile to the ground right now, but no, it just had to be a British wyvern, one of the swiftest species out there. How in the world did a British wyvern even get to central Indiana? At least it was a dwarf species. But then again, if it were any larger, then a fully-equipped cryptid-catching team would have been called in to capture the beast instead of a single woman in an old hoodie.

Well, fuck then.

But Tish didn’t have time to dwell on that any further. She had to focus on catching up to the beast while maneuvering between lamp posts and flowering trees. She swerved around a picnic table, not taking her eyes off the dragon for even a second. This creature was fast, remaining a few strides ahead of her, and it didn’t show any signs that it would be landing soon. Tish silently pleaded that it would at least descend a bit just to give her neck a break from craning upwards.

The powers that be must have heard her pleas and decided to troll her, because the dragon ended up soaring past the entry arch of the park and straight into someone’s neighboring yard. It wasn’t just any yard though. It was one of those thousand square foot yards with a mansion-esque house in the middle of it.

“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” Tish groaned as she skidded to a halt. There was no way she could trespass on such lavish private property and get away with it. Even though it may have been nighttime in a part of town where most residents would be in bed by now, she still imagined the homeowners wouldn’t take kindly to finding a black woman in dusty attire sneaking through their property in search of an animal that, as far as they knew, was as fictional as magic wands.

Maybe the residents were hidumans and not visumans, and she could explain the situation to them. Oh, who was she kidding, the nearest hidumans who could afford to live in an apartment-complex-sized house most likely lived in Chicago, not in the suburbs of central Indiana. Tish knew that if the dragon remained over there much longer, there was going to be some sort of a ruckus tonight, no matter what action she chose to take.

Tish darted back and forth along the edge of the park, mirroring the dragon as it zigzagged over the lawn. Pushing back a few stray curls from her face, she took a quick glance at the digital watch on her wrist. It was 9:06. If she didn’t capture this dragon soon, she may end up having to just leave it behind. British wyverns were passive enough that she didn’t mind leaving it be, where it would at worst only spook a few people. What Tish didn’t want was a stern reprimand from her boss and $300 less in her paycheck for all her trouble. Considering how low the dragon was flying now, she may end up having to do so.

Much to her luck, surprise, and relief, the dragon ended up swooping out of the property, gliding towards the adjacent sidewalk. Tish immediately sprinted onto the walkway. The wyvern began slowing down as it continued to descend, allowing Tish to close the distance between her and the beast. A few moments later, it finally landed in a field of tall grasses bordering the sidewalk.

As soon as the creature had set foot on land, Tish crouched low to the ground. Her steps were now soft and slow as she snuck up on the dragon. The wyvern folded up its wings and sat down to rest, unaware that its pursuer was still nearby. Latisha crept ever closer to it, pausing for a moment after each step. She could not afford for it to go flying off again, not when it was only a few feet in front of her now.

When she had reached the edge of the sidewalk, Tish leaped onto the creature, pinning it down by the back with her hands. The dragon frantically flapped its wings and flailed its tail, letting out a shrill, falcon-like cry. Tish kept her head raised. Though dragons may not have been able to actually breathe fire, their strong tail whips sure felt as fiery as any blaze.

She turned her left arm onto the entirety of the dragon’s back, freeing up her right hand. Fumbling through the top pocket of her cargo shorts, she retrieved a small plastic packet. Tish secured one side of the packet firmly between her teeth, keeping her grip on it with her hand. With both her head and her hand, she yanked both sides of the plastic, tearing it in two. She quickly pulled out the sticky, white pad inside, letting the plastic casing fall to the ground.

As quickly and gently as she could with it struggling, Tish turned the dragon on its side, exposing its underbelly. She placed the pad on this softer region of its body and pressed down to ensure it remained secure. After a few seconds, the dragon’s movements steadily slowed and its cry became softer. Its entire body gradually became more limp, until it fell asleep. The only sounds and movements it made were those of its breathing.

The woman took a sigh of relief. Retying the headwrap holding up her hair, she took the moment to enjoy having finally caught the elusive creature.

She then turned around the baby sling she had wrapped around her body so that the carrying part of it rested just below her breasts. Supporting the dragon by its head and back, she lifted it up and snuggly cradled it into the sling. Ideally, Tish would have brought the containment box with her, but after the first few times she’d done so, she quickly learned that trying to wrangle in cryptids with a giant box in her hands only made the chase and capture more difficult.

Tish checked over the dragon to make sure that it was tightly tucked in and that its nose wasn’t obscured before getting back on her feet. She checked her watch once again: 9:15.

Looks like I’m going to have to run back to the car as well. Wait?

Where did I park again?

Some slightly less abstract art. Still trying to push myself to be comfortable posting more sketchy art.

Art fight attack for Vineuioe. I don’t think I’ve ever drawn a proper formal suit. Least not the kind you would wear to an office job. It was a fun challenge drawing this guy.

Some ideas (subject to change) on my furry characters and their relationships. And because this a terrible diagram, here’s the info in text form.

Matonne Cerise and Bev: Each other’s main romantic (and sexual) partners. Their love language is making all manner of animal noises at each other and cuddling a bunch. They have a shared love of speculative fiction, abstract art, food, and encouraging each other to be bold.

Matonne and Camry: They date, sometimes swap clothes. They in particular like to have group dates (and sleepovers 😉) with each other and their main partners.

Matonne and Flora: Probably the most physical of the two’s platonic relationships, since both of them crave physical affection. Occasional bedmates.

Matonne and Octávio: Housemates and drag performers who work together. Most of their bonding is over fashion. Every so often they’ll, uh, share a bed.

Matonne and Joan: Matonne highly respects (and is slightly intimidated by) Joan who admires Matonne for his artistry. Joan sells the clothes Matonne makes in xir store.

Matonne and Tristan: Neither of them quite know how platonic or romantic their relationship is. Both are really good at (and comfortable with) listening to the other vent. And yes, Matonne’s bed is open to Tristan too. Bev and Camry: Met through each other’s main romantic partners. Like going out for sweets together, with or without their partners. They love talking with each other about their crushes (which include their current partners).

Bev and Flora: Best friends who met in college and currently live together. Bev and Flora helped each other out a lot in their queer journeys. Bev has a slight crush on Flora (Flora knows). Traded entire wardrobes.

Bev and Octávio: Gym buddies who also trade recipes. They also both really love speculative fiction, mostly movies though where they fawn over the costumes.

Bev and Joan: Joan sells Bev’s books. Bev is less intimated by Joan than Matonne is.

Bev and Tristan: Gaming buddies. Sometimes Tristan proofreads Bev’s writing.

Camry and Flora: Lovebirds. They’re constantly reassuring of each other through hugs, and head pats, and words of affirmation. They’re both can be pretty sensitive, and are both the most understanding of that for each other.

Camry and Octávio: They absolutely love clothes shopping together. Often these two, plus Flora, will just give each other makeovers.

Camry and Joan: Camry works at Joan’s shop and lives with xir. He’s often very jokey with xir and is the only person Joan trusts to run the shop without xir.

Camry and Tristan: Cousins, best friends, and roommates. They’re always finishing each other’s sentences (and sandwiches) and playfully bantering. Camry is the person Tristan near always turns to when he needs physical or medical assistance.

Flora and Octávio: Octávio teaches Flora makeup. Flora teaches him board gaming. Octávio can sometimes be a bit much for Flora, but he’s learning to tone down his intensity around her.

Flora and Joan: Flora was at first intimidated by Joan, but xe quickly made sure she felt welcome around xir. I mean, Flora is at Joan’s house a lot.

Flora and Tristan: They trade gaming and gender tips. Frequently mistaken for siblings in public.

Octávio and Joan: Octávio is the muscle of Joan’s store, taking care of most of the heavy lifting. Joan is probably the only person who can reign in Octávio’s wild energy.

Octávio and Tristan: They did it once together when Tristan was still figuring out his orientation. You’d think this would make things awkward from then on, but actually, they’re really chill and hang out a lot.

Tristan and Joan: Joan may be Tristan’s boss, but they’re almost like family at this point. Joan is pretty lax with Tristan when it comes to his work and understands his limitations and medical needs. They both bond over media and art preservation which they use to guide the direction of the store.

The PreservationAux team in All Systems Red, dressed in their casual attire.

One of the things I love about TMBD is how certain things are described with far less detail than you would expect, including the appearance of several major characters, leaving a lot of wiggle room for interpretation.

I did, to varying degrees, pull from the Subterranean cover for Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory (Book 4.5) for the characters that appear in the illustration, but the information in the text was the only strict limit I put on myself.

Well that, and the colors assigned to each character. There’s no way I wasn’t going to give each of them a specific hue.