yours-the-author

[yours-the-author]

Happy belated Pride Month and Deltarune Chapter 3+4 Release Month! I've been rather busy and haven't been able to draw or do much of anything, but I managed to sketch this out- and color it!- last night, so I'm posting this before we have to put the gays back in their boxes for the rest of the year. Here's some notes on each of the characters and their designs!

Naturally, Ellie gets the role of Susie Deltarune because she has hair. ...And also because their personalities make them kindred spirits; that too. Clothes are very difficult for me, so Ellie unfortunately doesn't get any of the cool costume bits that Susie has aside from the hair dye, and of course, her eagerness to ROCK HARD! I tried to have Ellie's eyes hidden by her hair like Susie, as well as that big toothy grin, and I think it worked out really well! The drum set was easily the most difficult part; even if I was essentially trying to replicate the exact same drum set from the game.

Mostly silent protagonists with ambiguous relationships to the player? You'd almost think Henry Stickmin and Kris Dreemurr were the same character, haha. Henry's costume was the one I was most excited about, and while it's not a perfect match to Kris' outfit, I'm pretty darn proud of it! Luckily for me, I had already drawn a picture of a stick figure in high heel shoes in the past year, so it was an easy enough reference to go off of. The "coat tails" probably aren't as torn up in Deltarune as they are here, and they definitely don't have a hot pink inner lining, but given my limited abilities, it was the best I could come up with. Easily the most disappointing part was having to turn the hot pink shoulder pads into a giant... uh... cape cone? Cape collar? I'm not sure what it's called, but it's there. I really wanted to make the shoulder pads word, but unfortunately, stick figures don't really have shoulders to work off of... or at least, ones that are wide enough to get the look I wanted. And, of course, the guitar is pretty mid, but overall, I'm very proud of how this came out!

Charlie's kindness and occasionally thoughtless attitude (and the fact that everyone else was taken) makes him a pretty good match for Ralsei. The mohawk was a bit of a challenge, but not as much of a challenge as the audio's going to be, since he has two microphones. Surprisingly, the most difficult part of drawing Charles Calvin here was recreating the way Ralsei has his hips jut out behind him like he's standing on his tip toes while bending over to show off his little tush. Very difficult to make that look natural, but overall, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

And, of course, for a little extra pride flair, the Triple Threat Live! sign is done in the polyamory flag colors! So yes, this is technically a PolyThreat piece. Love Wins!

[yours-the-author]

Uber cute!!!

This is not canon to OBMP. But what if.

Happy Pride!

[yours-the-author]

Charles is literally me.

Johnny is like a cat who’d be happy to live with other cats (Rupert and Dave) but Rupert is a cat who’d only be happy living with one other cat (Johnny). Poor little Dave.

God you're just so right. drew some cat sticks inspired by your words

[yours-the-author]

I'M NOT LATE YOU'RE LATE

He knew that was coming, the jerk.

Yes, I am in fact late for the anniversary of Infiltrating the Airship, but it's before the end of May, so I'm not as late as I could have been! Eh, I'll take what I can get.

Poor Charles... he wanted to share his cool dream, even though Henry technically betrayed him. Unfortunately, Henry's just a little too obsessed with shiny jewels to give a darn. Galeforce doesn't know what's going on, but he's not happy about it.

I probably should have made a comic about the Toppats, or at least showed the airship to some degree, but unfortunately, the jokes did not come easy this time, and I had to stretch it a little. Technically this still counts, since Charles and Galeforce debuted in this game, but the Toppats are definitely the face of ItA. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now.

[yours-the-author]

THAT LAST ONE THO

A perfect sandwich :)

Assorted tiny stick doodles I found while flipping through my sketcbooks :]

[yours-the-author]

Folding all of them into origami cranes; Rupert's crane gets tossed down a wishing well, Johnny's gets put on a shelf, and Dave's gets tucked into my pocket as a good luck charm.

man c'mon at least let me finish writing his name before you get angry

[yours-the-author]

OOH ALBERT WHEN I GET YOU ALBERT

if I were Toppat and had Dave in a airship, I would definitely keep him 😂 he's naive and that's funny to watch

[yours-the-author]

Oh shoot I didn't realize today was ItA's anniversary

Now I gotta figure out something to draw for it

Shoot

[yours-the-author]

Weirdly Healing Things to Do When You’re Feeling Creatively Burned Out...

Write a fake 5-star Goodreads review of your WIP—as if you didn’t write it. Go ahead. Pretend you're a giddy reader who just discovered this masterpiece. Bonus: add emojis, chaotic metaphors, and all-caps screaming. It’s self-indulgent. It’s delusional. It’s delicious.

Give your main character a Pinterest board titled “Mentally Unstable but Aesthetic.” Include outfits, quotes, memes, cursed objects, and that one painting that haunts their dreams. This is not about logic. This is about ✨vibes.✨

Make a “deleted scenes” folder and write something that would never make it into the book. A crackfic. A “what if they were roommates” AU. The group chat from hell. This is your WIP’s blooper reel. Let it be silly, chaotic, or wildly off-brand.

Interview your villain like you’re Oprah. Ask the hard-hitting questions. “When did you know you were the drama?” “Do you regret the murder, or just the way you did it?” Bonus points if they lie to your face.

Host a fake awards show for your characters. Categories like “Most Likely to Die for Vibes,” “Worst Emotional Regulation,” “Himbo Energy Supreme,” or “Best Use of a Dramatic Exit.” Write their acceptance speeches. Yes, this counts as writing.

Write a breakup letter… to your inner critic. Be petty. Be dramatic. “Dear Self-Doubt, this isn’t working for me anymore. You bring nothing to the table but anxiety and bad vibes.” Rip it up. Burn it. Tape it to your mirror. Your call.

Create a “writing comfort kit” like you’re a cozy witch. A candle that smells like your WIP. A tea that your characters would drink. A playlist labeled “for writing when I’m one rejection email away from giving up.” This is a ritual now.

Design a fake movie poster or book cover like your story is already famous. Add star ratings, critic quotes, and some pretentious tagline like “One soul. One destiny. No chill.”

Write a scene you’re not ready to write—but just a rough, messy outline version. Not the polished thing. Just the raw emotion. The shape of it. Like sketching the bones of a future punch to the gut. You don’t have to make it perfect. Just open the door.

Let your story be bad on purpose for a day. Like, aggressively bad. Give everyone ridiculous names. Add an evil talking cat. Write a fight scene with laser swords and emotional damage. Just remind yourself that stories are meant to be played with, not feared.

[yours-the-author]

Fantasy Guide to Political Structures

A Horse! A Horse! My X for a Horse!

Let's be honest, fantasy authors love their kingdoms and empires. You can throw a rock in a bookshop or a library in the fantasy section and you will 99.99999% hit a fantasy book that will be set in or mention either of those structures. But what are they really? What's the difference between them all? Are there any more examples of structures that would suit your WIP better? Are you using the right terms? Let's have a closer look.

Duchy

A Duchy is a small territory ruled by a Duke/Duchess. While Duchies can be found in kingdoms, some duchies were sovereign states in their own right. Duchies are usually small by land mass but some duchies such as Burgundy were extremely powerful and influential. Independent Duchies were usually apart of a kingdom but grew so powerful that they eventually broke away to become a sovereign state in their own right. An example would be modern day Luxembourg, historic Milan and Burgundy.

Principality

A principality is territory ruled by a Prince/Princess. A principality is typically smaller than a kingdom and in some instances, can be apart of a larger kingdom or be a sovereign state. Principalities have a history of having broken away from a larger kingdom or eventually becoming apart of a kingdom. A principality within a kingdom is ruled by a Prince/Princess, usually an heir of the monarch and can be used to train them up to assume the throne in the future. Examples include Monaco, Liechtenstein and Andorra.

Kingdom

A sovereign state/country that is ruled by ruling King or a Queen. A kingdom is much larger and more powerful than a principality. Kingdoms can be feudal, meaning they are ruled in a strict hierarchy or an autocracy where the monarch rules alone with minimal input from the government or constitutional where the monarch is more of a figurehead and the government has a good chunk of control. Examples include England, Thailand and modern day Spain.

Commonwealth

A Commonwealth isn't a popular choice in fantasy but it is an interesting structure. A Commonwealth in its most basic form is a collection of states that are linked by either a shared culture or history. A Commonwealth can be a politically power or an economic power, with every state allowed to participate as much as they like. Not one state leads the others, it is all one group of equals. A Commonwealth can be a good idea for a group of nations that are more powerful together with them keeping their own independence.

Federation

A Federation is a political structure that is made up of united states or countries that are under a single government but each state is still independent and rules itself. Each state can have different laws, different cultures and economies but they all answer to the single government. Examples include the United States of America.

Republic

A Republic is a territory that is ruled by leaders and heads of state that have been elected on merit and by choice of the people. Republics are not just countries but can also be much smaller areas such as cities. Republics are democratic in nature, with the people having a say in who leads them in accordance to a constitution. There are many kinds of Republic: presidential, parliamentary, federal, theocratic, unitary. Examples of Republics include the Republic of Ireland and the city of Florence.

Protectorate

A Protectorate is a country/region/territory that is independent but relies on a larger, more powerful state for protection either in a military or diplomatic sense. A Protectorate was often used by Empires in order to maintain control over an area without annexing it. There are many reasons a larger state and the protectorate would agree to this, mainly the protectorate is much smaller meaning it is far more vulnerable to attack or it has very little power when compared to other states. A Protectorate allows the territory some power to rule itself but the larger state may feel the need or desire to interfere in the dealings of the territory. Examples of protectorates include the client kingdoms of the Roman Empire like Egypt before its annexation and Puerto Rico.

Empire

An Empire is a collection of nations that are united under one sovereign head of state or government. An Empire is formed by one nation steadily taking control of other nations, either through straight invasion and colonization or acquiring them through marriage and other less violent ways. An Empire is powerful mainly because it can drum up more resources, more influence and more military power. An Empire might impose the traditions, beliefs and culture of its principal nation - the nation that started it all - onto its colonies for better control and feeling of uniformity. Empires never last, that is something to always remember. Empires will eventually fragment due to the vast size and sometimes revolt among the conquered states. Examples of empires include the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire.

[yours-the-author]

Birthday Post Proper!

I've been going through a number of emotions over the past several weeks, so I've been in a bit of a creative rut. I decided to use my birthday as an opportunity to do some art, since I haven't done that in a while, and while I have a ton of ideas for things to make, they are all really complicated and I Do Not Feel Like Doing That.

Instead, let's have some fairly simple art practice! Some of these also count as "concept art" for a fic I want to write at some point. So here we are!

Dave in a cute little sun hat! Featuring Rupert looking handsome and pensive, Dave being skrunkly, and Johnny Panzer reading Dave like a book. The fic I want to write won't start with Dave in his usual hat, and since that's his one defining trait as a stick figure, I thought he should have something to help differentiate him from other sticks. I don't know if that hat will stay in the final story, but I'm very proud of that first one; he's very cute!

Speaking OF that fic, though, I decided to try drawing the Witch! Her hair is actually really fun, I almost couldn't get enough of drawing her. Also featuring her as a mermaid for MerMay! And plot purposes.

And here she is again with Dave! Dave talks too much; someone should steal his voice. Good thing the Witch is here for that!

I don't know when I'm going to do anything, ever. Like I said, my emotions have put me in a bit of a creative rut for a while now, but I hope you like these in the mean time while I figure out what the heck I'm doing. Someday, I'll get around to doing something. I hope. Please.

[yours-the-author]

stickmintober day 15: poor dave... :(

yeah he's poor indeed, his job isn't paying him well

[yours-the-author]

I'll probably make myself some actual birthday art tomorrow, but this was all I could manage today. Hap birth of me.

[yours-the-author]

Of all the times to make a pun... and it's not even accurate!

I made this a week ago and kept forgetting to post it, whoops! I also drew Right Hand Man's cybernetic arm on the wrong side, whoops again!

Where did Charles get the idea for tents? Uh... maybe the tent is on our side of the screen? Actually, it might be funnier if there was never a tent to begin with... This isn't exactly Charlie's greatest plan.

[yours-the-author]

YAY, you updated! The colors here are so pretty!

Methinks a shopping spree is inbound... For Gaster's sanity, if nothing else.

Hopefully that glitter glue is edible...?

EVERYONE LOOK AT THIS COOL COMIC EMMIBEE WORKS SO HARD ON IT LOOKIT LOOKIT!!!

Chapter 03- Page 07

Ouch.

Previous – Next (coming soon!)

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*Pokes my head through the door* Hey. Uh. take this. More to come. *scurries away*

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The original Handplates AU and Gaster Ukagaka are by @zarla-s!

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[Offbrand Mercyplates Masterlist]

[yours-the-author]

Farewell online privacy

[yours-the-author]

Ooh, this is definitely going to be useful for me! I've got to save this!

Oh my gosh. I just found this website that walks you though creating a believable society. It breaks each facet down into individual questions and makes it so simple! It seems really helpful for worldbuilding!