...and you will see them later. For now, I'm just emptying out some of the last of my current sketchbook, which so happens to be my second one this year because I'm slow and lazy and art isn't really a priority so much as a hobby.

On a side note, I have kind of a weird favor to ask? If any of you have noticed me reposting art multiple times across chapters, can you please tell me? I'm always concerned I'm subconsciously doing it but never really check. I doubt anyone who reads these as they come out would remember what art got posted anyways, but if you're just reading these in the future and you see a picture pop up twice, please tell me. 

Thanks!

One half of an Evan Drake doodle page, because making my human characters distinct is a challenge but consistency is another ballpark I'm not even ready for. From the contradictory captions, you might be wondering who Evan actually gets shipped with in book (or if he has freckles or not). Evadam? Megevan? The answer is that all three of them are kind of, probably a thing, but I want to play around with it while I write. Their dynamic as the de facto leaders of the team is the heart of the Alpha squad arc.

As for the freckles, it's a trade secret. 

Just kidding I have no clue 

The more I write of my amalgam story, which remains unnamed, the less sure I am that I want to write my Amalgam story. I've been worried about Extraordinary as well, but I'm going to talk about that in more detail over in my complete random/rant book later. My main issue with the Amalgams would be both the tone and the characters themselves. It's not that I don't like them, because I do, and they're all remarkably fleshed out, but the Amalgams veer far darker than my other books. I'm not talking about murder, although there is slaughter involved, but there's a certain amount of abuse and other touchy topics, like self-harm. I could, in theory, write a lot of this out just by getting rid of Elle, but something feels very wrong about removing her from the story and it's not the kind of decision I can make lightly. Additionally, the story does not have the typical "feel-good" Chrona atmosphere between the grittier stuff. There are lighter chapters but the prevailing atmosphere seems to be one of distress for a lot of the characters, again, especially Elle and Damien, and the characters don't start out naive and innocent. There are no sudden reveals to the audience, although there are many things that the characters keep from each other. It's pretty obvious that these kids are born broken and stay that way, gradually worsening or bettering themselves as the story goes on. Their fundamental flaws are often the other side of the very powers that allow them to survive both in the world and amongst themselves. 

The other issue would be that the story works best when everyone is narrating. There are 12 characters, and while some are a lot more important than others (Kali, Red, and Mimsy are distinctly more relevant than Trace or Alex) they all get arcs and play into the overall narrative.

Okay Alex is a little extraneous but you can pry my axolotl son from my cold, dead hands. 

The problem with this isn't even focus, it's that not all of these characters are good people. I don't mean they're a bit rough around the edges or that some of them are more anti-hero than hero, some of them are squarely in the antagonist category and a few fall on the 'monster' side of the 'human v. monster' issue that lies at the heart of these characters' voyage to self-discovery. I don't want anyone to think I sympathize or condone the actions of these characters, because... I don't. I'm also not going to reduce Elle to a one-note, manipulative psychopath because that kills her character and also the point, to some extent, but if I give her so much as a glimmer of redeeming quality iiii'm going to be flame mobbed. 

So yeah, for the time being, these guys stay on the shelf. :/ 

Don't worry tho Dylan is fine 

his proportions in this picture are unfortunately another story

WOW LOOK ACTUAL CHARACTER PROFILES? 

Unfinished sketch of Vivian and TSBS!Vivian, who didn't get the speckles. :( 

I can never decide on a breed for Vivian and since it doesn't specify in book there's a good chance I'll completely change her design before Retold!TGD. I'm thinking some kind of mastiff (a la Ampere, though you can barely tell with her) or a German Shepard/Doberman-ish attack dog? For now, enjoy generic spaniel-esque Vivian, who is still

SMOKIN,

Avery's design is not in danger and likely never will be, it fits her too well. As I said, these are unfinished, hence the garbage wing anatomy. She's still a cute pupper tho.

There are many times I have to ask myself what the hell I was thinking when reading my past books, and making Fyera a Forhaga is one of those decisions that still aggravates me. It's not that the idea is terrible (okay it's not good but it's not terrible) or that it being Fyera bothers me, it's just that Fyera clearly has some kind of powers, or at least abnormal growths that would qualify as channeling points for said powers. What even qualifies one as a Forhaga if the above doesn't count, given that they're abnormal functions that give her an advantage in battle... you know, like powers? I think she might even get projectile stone attacks? Those are powers??? TCHF has the most baffling worldbuilding.

Thistlepatch in all his awful, snarky glory. His neck is a bit twisted but I did get his face shape right which is a pain in the ass to do.

Heartlines are a bitch. Either the heartline characters are too far apart and there's no point or they're too similar and the real question is why the hell I bothered making them two separate characters.  Gale and Sirius fall into the latter category. I think Roses and Thorns differentiates them enough personality-wise (Gale will NEVER be that smooth, independent, and he never would have left his mother like Sirius did) but they still look almost the same. I look at the Roses and Thorns cover and I think, "Hey, Gale's looking smooth today." I just. Come on.

I tried to give him a shorter snootle to work things out. Not sure if it really resolves the issue but at least now I can claim I tried.