yohohonabottle

[yohohonabottle]

And some old practice art of me trying to get this man's hair right 'n just experimenting with drawing him. (Mostly the hair.)

....I still can't seem to get it right to this day. T T) 💢

[yohohonabottle]

Pirin's family (deceased) — Larra Hestios, mother & Ekchauh Hestios, father

Older siblings — Vladymir & Maya Hestios.

Younger siblings - Kallina and Iyan coming soon.

[yohohonabottle]

And here we got Pirin's true form — a spirit perpetually reincarnating! (Very gist of the gist.) "No night-nymphs were harmed in the making of this photo!" - Mikola

(The date is random, not when I drew it.)

[yohohonabottle]

Not best quality but eh. Last season Ludo was stealing exp in res hall from his teammates and I immortalized it in this silly comic.

—Bonus—

The team: "What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Ludovic: "I am the healer of this team."

[yohohonabottle]

After wedding and memories... the Fossil husbands(tm) as I like to call them. ^^) Will update this post with photobooth pics.

(Old-recent art while I draw new pieces.)

Update edit!: Photobooth pic + better quality pic of my drawing. And bonus close up of the memory pics.

[yohohonabottle]

Merlinverse Musical March - Day 13

No Roots - Alice Merton || Settling down vs on the road

"I like digging holes and hiding things inside them When I grow old, I hope I won't forget to find them" - That's how Pirin used to stash things (food- carcasses/kills, trinkets that caught his eye, valuables, etc.) as a child and teenager. Digging deep enough to be out of dogs and other canines' reach then burying the treasures well so it's indistinguishable from how it was. No one would know about that spot and things unless spying on him at the moment or is told.

Never really had the chance to rethread his steps and dig those out.

"I build a home and wait for someone to tear it down Then pack it up in boxes, head for the next town running 'Cause I've got memories and travel like gypsies in the night

And a thousand times I've seen this road A thousand times" --For as far as Pirin remembers himself, he's always been on the move, never had a place to stay. And yet still built a quaint lodge in Ryeham far up north, on the riverbank bordering with the Dark Forest. He settled down there, 'cause he was a mercenary and had to have somewhere to stay. Somewhere to rest, catch his breath - even if for a second, without looking over his shoulder or jumping at the smallest noise. But was quick to leave that place and resume running over Esperia, passing by villages, towns, cities, wildernesses and so on. A nomad.

I like standing still, but that's just a wishful plan Ask me where I come from, I'll say a different land I count gates and numbers, then play the guessing game It's just the place that changes, the rest is still the same

"I've got no roots, but my home was never on the ground I've got no roots, but my home was never on the ground I've got no roots I've got no roots" --Never noticed it or cared much to notice at the time, but looking back? Pirin realizes that it's only very recently that he has finally found home. Everstill Manor, Ludovic and his attendants; The Radinov crypt and siblings - they're his home and sanctuary, safe heavens. Home is where the people are, where the heart is. ...Just like how the Vaduso mountains used to be home when he was a young kid.

But how long will it last, until having to hit the road again...? No more nomadic life. No more surviving, no more buried keepsakes. No more lost memories. "I'm home."

[yohohonabottle]

Merlinverse Musical March - Day 12

Distant past - Everything Everything || Childhood vs Adulthood

(young)Adulthood

"Drag my tongue across the sand So happy just to crawl across the land Soon I'll be the best around I'm gonna keep my plunder underground Hard flesh cold against the rain Dust billowing around my brazen brain Saw off all my stinking limbs Blood dripping down my sunken money chin" Life goes on as it has.

Childhood

"Take me to the distant past, I want to go back!" - Pirin's nostalgia over the much simpler days of being a wide-eyed child. Back when his biggest worries were getting carried away by curiosity and scolded by mam or his older siblings. When he could laugh freely without a care, when he could still frolic with others. Blissfully unaware of the Wars, the Slaughters (Crusades). It was so, very, simple back then...

Teenagerhood and young adulthood

"Save me from the distant past, I wanna survive!" - Teenage years filled with red static of spilt blood, running and hiding, and surviving. A pleading cry from Pirin's adult and teenage self - wishing to forget it all. Forget everything, forget the simpler days nostalgic and the days of bloodshed. Forget. Forget the past lives... Just, everything. Erase, start over, blank slate.

But it's always this war of conflicting emotions and desires - to remember innocent childhood and to forget everything. It's all one jumbled, bittersweet, nostalgic, putrid mess. Why couldn't it stay that way...? Why did it have to get (be) so complicated and messy...? (In truth, it was always this way. This ugly and beautiful, complicated mess. He was simply ignorant and shielded of it by his family as a child.)

"Distant Past is about primal human nature, and no matter how far we progress in our civilisations, we can never escape it." -- Frontman Jonathan Higgs

It holds up even for the fantastical race of night-nymphs, if not more so. Unlike humans, they're essentially spirits taken mortal form -- bat-like nocturnal creatures made of magic. (Very gist of the gist, core concept if we strip all the 'these spirits are fragments of the universe itself and divine pretty much' things.) As such, they can't distance themselves from their primal side much if not at all. It's just a matter of integrating it in their civilization, working with it instead of against it. Because of how acutely aware night-nymphs are/were aware of this, they didn't try to escape their primal nature and instincts but embraced them alongside the more civil things. (And were deemed as savages, brutes by humankind and other races for it.)

[yohohonabottle]

Ludovic, reading in bed. Pirin took that photo and quickly ran off before getting caught, giggling like an idiot about it. Needless to say, the viscount was confused as to why his bat was so giggly that moment. (Pirin was just being silly.)

[yohohonabottle]

Merlinverse Musical March Day 11

It's not a song, more like soundtrack and it encompasses Pirin's friendship with Ludovic, Valen and Sinbad pretty well. (Plus some other cast members.)

Plus I very often joke that Pirin is like Jack Sparrow with a dash of BBC's Merlin sass and Sherlock Holme's perceptiveness. So, his friendship with Ludovic was basically a mix of Will Turner and Sparrow (Will being the sane one with the brain cells.. mostly), Hiccup & Toothless + Arthur and Merlin. When they started off, Ludovic was full of melancholy (still is) and stiff, so very rigid. All about art, prose, poetry, impeccable manners, philosophical deep musings bordering on existential crisis... Then there's Pirin who's seemingly the polar opposite (at a glance on surface level) - this rowdy, daring, cheeky and chaotic, wild thing. Which often leads to humorous moments and silly hijinks, quips.. Not to mention that the bat often used to drag poor Valesa on adventures, that or somehow Ludovic ends up roped into them.

At some point the Graveborn simply understood there's no escaping it. Troubles always nip at his friend's heels, and anyone close to the nymph. Just like Pirin's incredible Fay-like luck- that man can't count how many times he tripped on valuable, rare items or unearthed ruins, treasures. When Stranja/Pirin (same person) came to Everstill with two whole rare spiritroots, Ludovic was astonished. Those things are rare and hard to acquire alone - yet there Pirin was. Randomly tripped on them while meandering Duskmire Forest.

So, the Graveborn artist just stopped resisting - didn't stop him from being sarcastic, grumpy and brooding depressed lord though. (Secretly, he'd started to veeery tiny bit have fun but never admitted it - or will ever admit that kind of thing.) Then there's times where that snowy rascal managed to bait/goad him into joining or becoming professional yapper. He's still embarrassed about it and unsure if to find it amusing or not.

*cough* That one time Pirin deliberately made a comment about two colors and that led to his friend falling into a lecture on color theory + values. And tea. ...Ludovic has never talked so much in his life, let alone in centuries, and with such enthusiasm/passion. It was only when he caught Pirin's smug little smirk, that the viscount understood he'd been played. (And retreated into his shell, tight-lipped when that imp tried again.) *cough*

[yohohonabottle]

Musical March Day 10 (Very belated)

Non-stop (Hamilton the musical) - It represents Pirin's crippling workaholism, to the point it's damaging severely. Vanya's story doesn't match Alexander's and the song's lyrics to the letter but...

The bat does get lost in his work - in his contract with Merlin that he takes rather seriously, his fight to stay alive by keeping his identity a secret from very select few whom he truly trusts (Ludovic, Carolina, Valen, Sinbad, Soren and the Uru clan, Lyca, Lorsan, Eironn and Bryon..) and his mindset. "Why do you write like you're running out of time? Write day and night like you're running out of time? Every day you fight, like you're running out of time"

It has gotten too deeply ingrained into Pirin at this point. This 'can't slacken my grip, can't afford to stop and relax' mindset. Always must be hyper-vigilant, or he'll lose his head. Always must look human, sound human, 'be' human. And god forbid the truth rear its head - and a good place to throw others off? Start building (and keeping) the bullet proof reputation of upstanding man. So work must be done, plus for income which can fund his potions-brewing. Potions that are vital to stay disguised. No money? No potions - sleeping draughts for insomnia and nightmares and keeping human sleep-wake rhythm; energy and mana-replenishing brews to stay awake, alert and adequate. Stay functional. Potions to suppress his heat, 'mating behavior'... No potions? Disguise and human identity go in shambles. Money is literally as important to the night-nymph as potions and his own beating heart. Those who have the reputation of efficient, reliable hard-workers get hired more - hence more money. Although money, funnily enough, itself isn't something which Pirin personally values outside of what the purpose is: Transactional means to ends, giving him access to various goods and gear. It's more about survival in the end. It's a cursed, looping cycle most vicious.

"Keep on fighting in the meantime! (non-stop)"

"Look at where you are." - Ludovic, ever since he fell in love with Pirin and they started dating, got together - knew what he's signing up for. Doesn't stop the Valesa son from worrying for his fiancé, for the younger man's diminishing health because of this mindset, constant work to the very bone, reliance on various potions... No matter what he does, can't seem to truly get through to the nymph. And the aristocrat already disdains magic for what it did to him - even if he cursed himself out fearing his own mortality back then... Ludovic doesn't want to lose also his love to magic. The only begrudging exceptions he made were: 1) enchanting the painting of his beloved sleeping peacefully, 2) that allegedly permanent potion to alter his own appearance - which turned out to be temporary despite lasting remarkably long; 3) The fertility potion to facilitate conceiving of heirs. Even then, he couldn't quite stomach the thought of Pirin having to drink that 'poison'. Look at where you started. - Compared to how he started as a young kid forced to grow too fast, too soon and a scrappy mercenary with no one at his side? Now Pirin is in much better position - known as the legendary Merlin (or his righthand man/substitute), has a vast network of tight-knit supportive friends, admiration, is loved... Things Vanya has dreamt of all along and others would kill for (his position, achievements, admiration, support, fortune, etc.)... And yet Pirin still acts/thinks like he's at day 1. Not entirely unreasonable, per se, good amount of those things gained can be lost yes. But not everything - people still value him for his good deeds, remember his sincere kindness and heroics. Ryeham and Holistone are proof, the Desert- they know he's a night-nymph (or Night-jinn as Maulers call his species) and still are in his corner. Respect him, admire him deeply for helping them. Neither Mikola, the Uru clan or reformed Grimmaw clan will be happy if they ever learnt the Night-jinn was harmed. (Plus other groups/clans) The Heroic Order will not let it slide either. Sinbad and Brineville, the Carmine Whispers. A good amount of people will rally. And the Dark forest? Yeah, they won't be very idle either. And all these people will be, are, willing to help. To them, Pirin/Stranja - Ioan Hestios of Eclipse is Merlin. The symbol of unity, of courage, hope.

The fact that you are alive is a miracle." So how is it that the bat can't break out of this grim mindset? Old habits die hard, yes... but they do eventually, right..? When will Pirin finally see that he can, in fact, afford to relax and not be such a work-addict...?

[yohohonabottle]

Finch thoughts/babbles/note-thing

I'll keep it blunt 'n brief: I'm not coming back to the merlinverse server - nothing to worry about.

I simply don't feel ok with coming back. and want to just chill out of servers as a whole for a bit. I'm... fine-ish these days, just tired and recovering from artblock + mild writer block. This is the most I feel ok saying on the merlinverse servers topic. The rest is "What now?"/moving forth kinda stuff.

What now? You can still see me kicking on here, on my ask blogs (Harbringers, ask Rila, ask Magister Stranja, etc. and ao3 accounts plus maybe dms if you're on discord.) and Journey chat/in-game dms.

Am I open to interactions? Yes. Yes, I am. Do I want to interact/be interacted with? Yes. Will I respond asap? Maybe. Or maybe not. Though some might catch me on my own merlinverse server here and there. I'm not gonna tag it cause I feel it's best to keep it small-ish/not expand atm. Will I still post? Yep.

No, Finch is not off the grid - or going off the grid. Am I open to art trades? Yep, just slow but willing. Are my ask blogs still open for interaction? Yes! Yes absolutely! (I mean that's kinda the point of their existence??) Just slow with replies. ^^') Will I still do merlinverse stuff? Yes. Yes I will. Am I open to writing fics for others? m.. yes but hesitant. Very hesitant and slow. (Swamped with my own writing stuff...) Will I continue my fics like "Unwanted marriage", "Unexpected union", "A captive bear" (and similars), "Requiem and Haunting", starter story arcs of Pirin's journey? Yeeep. Currently focused on Requiem most.

(But you may/can see me bounce to new fics/ideas and back like I have adhd or something.) Why didn't I post this on my about me blog? ...It's not for that blog, not really.

That's all for now, I think.

Have nice time.

[yohohonabottle]

From the pirate au fic "phantom of the sea" ch 3 – "Hit the road, caged ones!" || When aboard the Brassing Bertha ship, Ludovic wears his usual funerary getup we all know. It's a form of nostalgia, self-comfort and consolation.. but when out in public? This is his go-to outfit. It's part of the rugged, bit cheeky 'n spirited facade of a carefree, daring seadog.

When in truth he's just as depressed, suicidal, melancholic and nihilistic pessimist as in game canon. Here Ludo just covers it up, mostly due to being on missions as a 'phantom' of his crew and can't let others see/know him really– hence the 'mask' being as polar opposite to the truth as possible. A separate identity.

[yohohonabottle]

---{ | | Heads-up! /Disclaimer | | }---

This is the blog/space of a person who has strong paranoia of being a nuisance to others, and also tends to get really excited & hyper, big yapper. If you reach out to me to chat, I'll probably get surprised but happy to talk and get super active.

||> But if we're already in contact and I start going silent - It's not out of bad feelings, it's just that paranoia telling me to stop being annoying.

<>> Please, when/if texting me here or on discord - give me a warning about going inactive here and there. If you notice I'm going ghost mode or have already went radio-silent, please, if/when you can & want... give me a lil poke.

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<> My master post & directories page. <> <> I'm always open to art trade but am super slow.

[yohohonabottle]

Illustration for my pirate au fic "Spirited away || Phantom of the sea" – chapter 2. You might see this pic next to the previous one.

[yohohonabottle]

Started a fic where Ludo gets stolen by pirates shortly after his death & before the funeral. So he's a pirate in this AU, aand sent on one of his covert missions. This time? Kidnapping a target & needs to disguise, act like a street rat – hence the dirt, rags and fake eye-shine. [ The illustration/doodle is in ch 1 of "Phantom of the sea". ] and ch 2.

[yohohonabottle]

Pirin's lore compilation/post (pt IV) - Pirin's thoughts on AFKJ cast.

About Mirael - the Scarlet witch Don't keep him and Mirael in the same room, because Mirael will try to be buddy-buddy with him and Vanya will hiss at her like a super cranky stray cat. Man clearly wants her to leave him tf alone to breathe. Val flirts casually without meaning it, and he can sense it's straightforward in that way. Mirael is just pure weird not so empty flirting the whole time since day one, and it's both empty but also hella loaded? Pirin just goes 'Woman. Stop. I ain't Merlin, ain't yo man - And I'm married. Get tf outta my face if you're going to be like this."

About Cassadee Pirin never really clicked with Cass either, that apprentice got all up in his face pretty much day one like Mirael but sans the flirting.... Still had rather weird feel to her - almost desperate search of approval from him, assuming he's Merlin. It's like she and Merlin were.. a thing?? Pirin simply went 'Eew!' in his head at the sensations, skin crawling and almost vomited. Why does that mage have to sleep around with god knows how many??? Damn, bigger playboy then Valen over here! And using those lovers like tissues no less! ...Always has this feeling of Student x teacher dynamic around Merlin and these two. Hates it. Hates the clear power imbalance, the scummy feeling. And isn't Cass a minor?! Merlin what the actual hell if you done something- This better be simple admiration full stop and no weird things going on.

About Ludovic First time meeting him, Pirin was... worried, seeing him lone and so melancholic. Wanted to check on this 'boy', if he's ok and if he could help him. Maybe stand guard while waiting for his friends to arrive... yet somehow seemed oddly familiar?? And then realized this one is actually not as the youthful appearance suggests. Rationally at least from observing Ludovic's manner of speech, articulation, behavior, actions, etc. for long while. But the bat's heart took a long while to get past this deceptive look. Then years went on, and the two found they're almost a mirror of each other.. and they've met before, as kids. It was a startling discovery, recalling old memories to puzzle together. The the appearance-altering potion happened and Vic looked appropriate for his actual age - a young adult/adult no longer trapped in the wrong body.

[yohohonabottle]

Pirin's lore & Finch lore on night-nymphs compilation/post (pt II)

Tldr: There's a force like the Great Will but good. And speculations are that souls are fragments of it but nothing solid proof. And the gods plus their lower council of divine beings both positive and negative (Celestials, Hypogeans) are on Esperia to nudge the mortals (souls) in the two extremes as they serve their gods that want the souls, and sway over them. Annih, doesn't care about the mortals. He [The God of death] was supposed to weigh them and essentially show them the path to the afterlife.... But he let them all down, so the soul of a living being who dies disintegrates. Annih and the God of death consumes it. Dura and the rest have their own agendas, needing and wanting the souls to stay. Even though it's past the point of healthy for them. Reason? For Dura... She's like the god of death. Mortals want to live, and she lets them live.

And this much greater, highest Will was not happy with them. How they toy with the souls instead of watching over the world, planet, fate. Souls are supposed to be like interns - They come down, live, learn on their own journeys, then return Home once they've 'graduated'. Reached the same level as the Will. And reunite, the shards coming back to the whole. The colossal great Will either called to or created -hard to say which one- Spirits nameless as eternal as itself. Envoys to bridge the three worlds - Ensure balance in full. People called these beings Adepti or Omens. As they are heralds of change and enlightenment. (Through change.) The Adepti did ensure equilibrium. And also Guided. Guided the mortals along their journeys. Guided them to the afterlife - Something the god of death was supposed to be doing.

However the Temple and monarchy, nobility were already swayed by the gods and their Celestials. Possibly by the Hypogeans' god Annih and the God of death. All these sides wanted the Adepti gone from their playground, didn't want true order. No. Per the Temple's decree and propaganda demonizing the Adepti, Omens, the Blazing stars also known as "Night nymphs" were hunted and slaughtered to extinction. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Wilders call them Blazing stars, if I remember right.

Graveborn call them Unbound will-o- the wisps/wisps.

Maulers call them Night jinni

Lightbearers call them Night nymphs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Heights for the 4 main bloodlines minus the forth I just had a funny idea: In my lore night nymphs have 4 main bloodlines: 1] The Eclipse, oldest and average tall. The arbiters, diplomats, overseers of affairs due to their stark clarity of mind, composure and unbiased neutrality along with innate intuition that is like foolproof lie detector. Average tall in the general/common sense. 2] The Crimsonfangs who are militaristic, very Mauler-like. Tall. I mean tall and buff. To them, being 190 cm is seen as short to average (short for men, average for women), 200cm is the average height for both sexes. 210 cm + is deemed tall. 3] The Blind moirai - A line of prophets and divinators. Who are the opposite. Short is average! You'll see most be around 170cm with some being 180cm and 190cm+ is tall for them! 160cm and lower is short. A man of this line being 160cm is short but average for a woman. 150cm is short for both genders.

⟢ Blind Moirai inspo plus bat type (obvious cause nymphs are bat-like) -> Sphynx cat, spotted-wing bat, straw-colored fruit bat, Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat. Sort of Wilders-like??

⟢ Moirai x Crimsonfang hybrid -> Indian flying fox, Mariana fruit bat, Donskoy sphynx cat, etc.

⟢ Crimsonfang appearance inspo: Flying fox bats. Very Mauler-like.

⟢ Eclipse bats inspiration for appearance: Vampire bats, free-tailed bats, spectral vamp bats, leaf-nosed bats, etc.

Ekchauh - humanoid/human appearance (Crimsonfang member.)