#the blackberry bushes

[isfjmel-phleg]

Who is Rachel?

Today, August 7, is my OC Rachel's birthday.

Bio

Rachel Irène Doncath isn't from anywhere. The daughter of Deniol and Sanette Doncath, a Coregean sailor and a Faysmondian former governess, she has lived a more or less migrant life as her family moves from one military assignment to the next. She has an older brother and two younger sisters, and her mother has educated them privately at home. It's been a rather isolated existence, and Rachel has grown into a nervous, timid fourteen-year-old who spends most of her time reading.

When she, her mother, and her sisters come to Faysmond for an extended stay with relatives while her father is at sea and her brother is at the naval academy, they join a household full of family chaos. In an attempt to avoid the upheaval, Rachel accidentally meets a mysterious girl who lives in the castle on the other side of the garden wall. Over the next several months, they meet in secret and develop a close friendship. But it turns out that this girl happens to be Rietta, Queen of Faysmond. And Rachel, not only a commoner but a member of a religious minority discouraged by the Faysmondian government, is a most unsuitable friend for her.

Rachel will find herself caught up in not only her own family drama but the political intrigue surrounding Rietta as she struggles with her own insecurities, trust issues, and how exactly to navigate a friendship with such significant differences.

Why I Love Her

I have a bit of difficulty with Rachel, since in her earliest form she was basically an author insert (silly, embarrssing, etc.). She still bears a lot of similarity to my teenage self, and her family situation mirrors much of my own, but a redesign and some other changes have helped to conceptualize her as something more "inspired by" than "based on." She's become an interesting lens for exploring this fictional world from the perspective of someone who is an outsider in multiple ways and affected by multiple cultures. And yet she is the most "commoner" of all my protagonists. Her family isn't royalty or related to nobility or well-known in any way. She can be down-to-earth and weird at the same time in a way that the others can't. She provides a foil to Rietta, who is outgoing and adventurous and longs for travel but has been trapped in one place most of her life. Rachel, on the other hand, has seen the world but shies back from engaging with it and longs for stability. Instead, she's going to get a friendship that will change her life, some new and more nuanced perspectives on the world and humanity, and hopefully some confidence too. We'll see.

Description

Rachel tended to stand with her shoulders pulled in, clenching one wrist with the other hand, as if trying to correct nature’s mistake of making her a person instead of a piece of folding furniture. Nothing about her was particularly noticeable, except perhaps her hair, a shade too timid to be red. It was absurdly long, usually stabbed through with a pencil and bound back with a ribbon, which did not suit her square jaw. She had a small knob of a nose, a crooked mouth, and noticeably unaligned ears, which she tried to minimize with a habit of ducking her head. This did a disservice to her long-lashed hazel eyes, but their snapping expression was perhaps best left concealed in her household.

Further Info

There is a list of random OC facts for her here. This is a somewhat old list, created when I was still trying to more fully develop the character, and I might need to revisit/rethink it, but you get the idea.

Appearances

Book 1 Chapter One

Book 1 Chapter Two

Book 1 Chapter Two from Rietta's POV

Possibly noncanon scene between Rachel and her sister Addie

Venturing In (later in Book 1)

The Boy with the Botanical Box (still later in Book 1)

[fictionadventurer]

Celebrating Rietta's birthday (from @isfjmel-phleg's Blackberry Bushes series) with blackberry lemonade and lemon cake.

[botanyshitposts]

flowers blooming in such heft and numbers they bend the plant over and plants bearing fruit so hard they shower everything under it in fruits or make the very branches bend…. creatures are just experiencing vast bounty and good fortune out there fr fr

[chalkrub]

so i got through to the top 300 for the pokemon tcg contest. i'm feeling normal about it........feeling very normal and sane. which is why i also drew this in ms paint

[spectralrxbbit]

berry season

[huariqueje]

Blackberry Bushes and Milky Way -   Mia Bergeron ,  2023.

American, b. 1979  -

Small colour acrylic on Yupo paper , 5 x 7 in.

[kidovna]

Do you have any tips on getting better at anatomy and dimension? You always draw such beautiful, dynamic and expressive people!! So i was wondering if you have any tips for people who struggle with that? I also love whenever you share your life drawings because your sketches always look so smooth and effortless, and I would really like to learn but I have no idea where to start lol. I know you're probably sick of being asked this but I really look up to your art!

hello! i’m so honoured, thank you! i would normally say “live sketching is the best way to improve!” but you’ve already seen my live sketches so ill see if i can list down all the other things that helped me with my art journey:

using references - online, but also references of yourself (or someone you know who can do it for you). you are going to be able to get exact references to what you want to draw when you pose for it yourself. this is something i started considering only after i was forced to do acting for animation at uni. it’s really helpful!

learn to draw cloth and folds. when you’re drawing people there’s a 90% chance they’re in clothes, so observes and see how different materials look when they’re hanging or scrunched up or blowing in the wind.

the coil technique by sycra helped me out a LOT when i was trying to figure out foreshortening and make the character still seem like a solid structure.

line weight is another great way to show volume without shading. it also makes the line art process a lot of fun!

and i’ve heard many other artists say this and i stand by it too. find something you’re interested in and keep drawing for it. eventually you’re gonna get really good at it! and then you find the next thing and keep drawing that!

if anyone has any more tips feel free to leave it in the replies! i hope you have a good time drawing <3

[spacenintendogs]

For the art requests!! Snotlout playing with Hookfang maybe <333

him sniff snoff sneff

[dae-time-designs]

Blackberries are so pretty except blackberries aren't actually berries and I hate existing–

(click pls I swear the quality isn't bad)

[creekfiend]

went berry picking with my mom and aunt and glimmer! blackberries raspberries and blueberries

[wiley-treehouse-gardens]

Soon we shall have berries!!

[isfjmel-phleg]

Photographs, 1916

Rachel Doncath, age twenty-five. She stands steadily and faces the camera, but her eyes show a hint of glancing at someone out of the shot. There is a hint of humor about her expression, as if the unseen person were trying to make her laugh. She wears the height of fashion, a dress with a higher waist and a fuller skirt with a hem high enough to expose a pair of delicate shoes that lace up her ankles. Underneath her wide-brimmed hat, her hair is waved. A watch is clipped to her waistband, and she holds her handbag at the ready, as if she hasn't much time to waste in the photographer's studio. A notation on the back of the photograph indicates that it was taken in Otionovia during a state visit from Queen Rietta.

Rietta I of Faysmond, age twenty-six. This is her yearly formal photograph, a portrait of her in state intended for mass production. Unlike most previous years, she sits rather than stands. Her court gown, dripping with various sorts of intricate lace representing different regions of Faysmond, engulfs her, as does an impressive train swept in front of her. The glove of her left hand is removed, revealing her famous emerald engagement ring and wedding ring. The state crown of Faysmond rests on a table beside her, and on her head is a smaller (but not small!) crown. Not a curl is out of place; they seem to have been tamed with some sort of hair product. Her expression is difficult to read. There is something uncertain in her gaze.

Delclis V of Corege, age twenty-five. An unnamed photographer has caught him sitting in the corridor outside a conference room before a meeting. His face is partially turned away toward a large window through which sunlight is streaming. He wears a dress uniform with sash and decorations. His pince-nez rest on his nose. They are attached to a string tied to one of his medals. A wire fox terrier puppy paws at his knee, and he strokes its ears. A faint smile crosses his face. He appears to be desperately trying to grow a moustache.

Elystan, Duke of Gorchester, age twenty-one. He is posing in the full academic dress of a BA from Hollingham University over an elegantly-cut suit. One hand rests nonchalantly on a pile of books on a table, representing his literary studies. The other hand is on his hip, exhibiting the sleeve of his gown. He holds himself regally, shoulders back, chin uplifted a little. His eyes are less dark-circled and his face less hollow than in earlier photographs. He looks very pleased with himself.

Amarantha Melbray, age twenty-one. In a pose reminiscent of a famous self-portrait of her favorite Renaissance artist, Teofila, she sits at her easel lifting a brush to an already-complete painting of a little girl. The painting is identifiable as "Portrait of Chrysantha" (1916), produced during Melbray's time at the Royal Art Academy. Her palette and an orderly paintbox wait nearby. She wears a ruffled light-colored frock that she clearly would never have worn while actually painting. Her hair is pinned high on the back of her head and waves over her ears. She fixes the camera with a steady, intent gaze.

Tamett Låsrygg, age twenty-one. An informal photograph, made clear by the wide grin on his face. He leans casually against the side of an aeroplane. His arms are crossed over his chest. He wears a leather jacket and flying helmet with goggles. A scarf, probably knitted by his sister Emenor, drapes around his neck. Noriberrian insignia is pinned to the lapel of his jacket. The photograph is inscribed with his signature and the words "With love from New Archangel. Watch the skies for me soon!"

Josiah Callon, age twenty-one. He sits at the piano, one hand over the keys, the other holding a pair of spectacles, which he appears to have just removed. His long legs stretch out in front of him; after years of track and field at Hollingham, he is built like a runner. A morning suit, with its cutaway tailcoat, accentuates his height. Instead of the common 1910s male practice of slicking back the hair into flat smoothness using oil, his hair is parted on the side with curls dipping across the forehead above one eye. His expression is not so much haughty as it is profoundly serious and a little sad.

[fictionadventurer]

I'm a couple days behind on the Chesterton Challenge, but in light of @isfjmel-phleg posting that piece of Tietra's backstory from the Blackberry Bushes series, I decided to skip ahead to the "mother" prompt and post this attempt at a kyrielle about her situation.

Kyrielle for Tietra

The world is locked in awful war At last, to end it I must be Forever wedded to the foe O God, be merciful to me

I come within a foreign court My name changed by a king's decree My past erased, what else remains? O God, be merciful to me

My husband's death leaves me alone Suspected as an enemy By those who hold my daughter's crown O God, be merciful to me

They aim to shape my daughter's life In ways with which I can't agree I must retreat to save her soul O God, be merciful to me Caught fast between her world and mine With foes I can't defeat or flee How can I save myself and her? O God, be merciful to me

[krakenkakes]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OMORI/SUNNY!

little.. Blackberry Bush chibis we did for it, since we're busy aha! -🪽

[allthingssoulful-garden]

Blackberry bushes in bloom.

[tyrianludaship]

This isn't completely related to selfshipping but i unironically love making up shipnames for my s/i and the tf2 characters.

[also to note: some of these are not canon; pyro and scout are friends; and saxton hale is just kinda there. idk he's alright.]

Engineer x Morale: Radio Repair

Soldier x Morale: Roger That

Spy x Morale: Esprit de corps, Radio Drama

Medic x Morale: Herzschlag / Heartbeat

Demoman x Morale: Boombox

Sniper x Morale: Radio Silence, National Outback

Heavy x Morale: Tea and Jam

Scout x Morale: Skip Distance

Pyro x Morale: Smoke Signals

Miss Pauling x Morale: Two-way Radio

Saxton Hale x Morale: Mating Calls [this one is just dumb ignore]

Proships DNI