maha

we saw you from across the Prague town square and really hate your vibe.

finally had time to sit down and draw something a bit more elaborate

I finished the trilogy last month and am blown away by how much those silly books can still tug at my heartstrings. I think I've felt things even more deeply than when I read them as a child.

life's been kicking my ass lately and rereading ros and drawing the handsome sumerian youth is my therapy.

I've finished AoS and started GE but life's been so hectic I barely got to do any art for either of it so far :(

I've thrown together two small things from my sketches and hope I'll manage more in the next couple of weeks.

ayyy guess who started AoS!!!!

I HEARD YOU LIKE BARTIMAEUS SEQUENCE, DON'T YOU?

Your favourite book from the series? (mine is Ptolemy's Gate but I am also very basic and predictable).

Your favourite character(s), main or background alike?

Favourite one from the main trio (+Asmira)?

Your favourite quote (can be multiple)?

Favourite duo/trio?

Favourite pairing, if any? (and it's absolutely okay if there's no pairings at all, these books are very platonic in their nature! Similarly, if your OTP happens to be a rarepair or wasn't brought up before, go for it! We don't shame for ships or the absence of them, saying as a local bartnat enthusiast).

Favourite scene?

Any unique interesting thoughts you would like to voice?

And maybe some questions you would like a canonical confirmation (or dissmisal) of?

Additionally: do you think Jane Farrar is a werewolf? Asking for my pretend survey.

Don't worry if there's some questions you can't or don't want to answer, you can skip those without explaining yourself, there's no pressure!

As you see I am very, very, VERY normal about this books and your wonderful art. Absolutely sane. Not obsessed at all.

Helloooo thank you so much for taking the time to send me this lovely message and sorry for taking so long to reply!!

It’s been a while since I’ve actually read through the whole trilogy, shame on me. I’ve reread RoS the most I think? I gravitate towards it since it’s basically a standalone so I don’t feel committed to reading a whole trilogy every time I’m in need of a little bart content. The setting is also more of my vibe than modern London to be honest lol so I guess it’s my overall favorite book?

(From the main trilogy PG is my favorite tho! I think I’ve reread GE the least, don’t really know why as I definitely don’t dislike it, I just can’t recall as much from it as from the other books.)

But yeah sadly when it comes to specific quotes or scenes or plot details I can’t give very precise answers at the moment since it’s all a bit muddy in my head.

BUT

thanks to my brand-new audible subscription as well as a long commute to work I should be able to go through the whole trilogy in the next few months and I hope I can post my little thoughts and feelings on it here!

Some of your other questions I can definitely answer tho:

I’m a baaaasic bitch and bart is my favorite character by a lot and has been from the very beginning, that has never changed and I’ll be honest and say I’ve mostly read the series just for him. I really like non-human characters and their alien views on emotions and other silly human things, and his personality combined with the really intriguing concept of spirits overall just really does it for me.

Though I think nathaniel (weird to spell his name that way btw since it’s spelled nathanael in the German version for some reason??) is a very interesting and unique character as well in the way he subverts the usual YA novel protagonist’s journey, getting worse with each book lol (no I love him)

When it comes to shipping, I’ve basically shipped all the main ships from this series when I was younger so definitely no judgement from me here either lol though now I’m not that enthusiastic about it anymore and just reeaaally care about the platonic bond bart has to his favourite humans (I’m counting nat here too ok it’s undebatable) I’ve come to view it as an almost?? paternal?? sort of bond STRONGLY influenced by this fanfic which changed my brain chemistry

Like I said, the last time I’ve reread the main trilogy is a while back so I don’t remember a lot but yes. Jane Farrar is a werewolf. Awooo!!!

Anyways thank you so much for asking!! (and reading this novel of an answer oh my god)

As a thanks, have an extremely dated doodle I made years ago when the word gremlin was really funny to use

I'm still on the audiobook of RoS so here's some more ~handsome Sumerian youth~ and Asmira

waaah thank you so much for your kind message and please excuse my extremely late reply!!!

really happy you like my art and especially the historical details, I love deep diving into all kinds of historical fashion and incorporating it into my art.

yayy another RoS enjoyer!! it's one of my comfort books of all time, the setting, the vibes, the characters, just scratches some very special itch in my brain lol

and thank you so much for welcoming me so warmly to the fandom, I really can't say enough how happy I am for your message!!

Right now most of it will be RoS stuff since I’m listening to the audiobook right now (it’s probably my favorite book in the sequence, tied with PG), but after that I’ll go through the trilogy and I have lots of stuff for that as well.

If you want to read my ramblings and thoughts on the designs, go ahead hehe

Asmira:

Initially gave her black eyes but changed it to dark brown to differentiate her from my Ptolemy design

I kind of have a hard time giving each character in the Bartimaeus sequence a unique hair color since they all have dark hair but for Asmira I picture an almost-black brown

She probably has too many dangly-jangly bits for an assassin but well lol

As a starting point for her outfit, I drew (very loose) inspiration from traditional Yemeni clothes (Yemen is where Sheba used to be)

I gave her a headdress/scarf because I think those were very common during that time period, and I just thought she looks cute with it

Jewellery is all silver, clothes are the color of the sun. At first I thought the colors clashed with the silver but now I’ve come to like it. The silver jewellery also contrasts with Bart’s gold one.

Gave her some scars and a bit more of a muscular build than she is described to have; she has been training since she was a toddler, of course she will have muscles

Most of her hair is hidden under her scarf but she keeps two long strands out; her long hair and that of her mother is mentioned often so I headcanon that long hair is a status symbol in Sheba, so you’re supposed to show at least some of it off

Don’t ask me about the layers of her clothes, they kind of don’t make sense lol

Bartimaeus:

I haven’t quite figured out how to draw bird wings “like butterfly wings” so for now I’m drawing him with four wings like they’re depicted on Mesopotamian gods

I like to give him slightly pointed ears for a more “demonic” vibe

Even though most of the time his eyes are dark (normal human eyes) and sometimes described as turning gold, I like giving him purple eyes. I don’t know why, I just like how it repeats the theme of his amethyst necklaces (speaking of which, anyone got headcanons for why specifically amethyst??)

Jewellery is Babylonian (duh) as is the skirt, I love the tassels lol

Most of the time I give him more jewellery (bracelets and anklets) because it looks more interesting visually, but I also like the simpler look of almost no jewellery since it gives more the vibe of “simple servant”

I draw the Sumerian with brown hair instead of black simply because I like it more and for more visual distinction from Asmira

Never forget his dimples….