#bernard euler

have i ever mentioned how their relationship makes me feel because GOSH they’ve been through a lot and they’re still sooo in love <3 breathes in deeply. sighs longingly.

instead of my usual illustration style, i went for a painterly vis dev style and it was a very enjoyable process!! glowstone beach is a beautiful place and i would love to visit a bioluminescent beach someday

i haven’t been drawing claire and bernard as much as i want to. in fact, i haven’t been drawing my ocs all that much,, i’ve been doing things though trust—like existing!! it’s been hard and it doesn’t seem to be getting easier but it’s okay i will try again. tomorrow is another day

both claire and bernard attended edelweiss institute, one of the top colleges in the capital of edelia. bernard majored in fine arts as he wanted to be a contemporary painter. he’s a bookworm for art history—nicholas is very much like his father!!

claire and bernard were college sweethearts <3 goth girl and her nerd boyfriend awww

at one point in their relationship, they broke up due to complications. however, they made a pact to marry each other if they weren’t in a relationship by 35/36 (bernard is a year older than claire). during the decade after their breakup, they were barely in contact with each other, so you can imagine the awkwardness and hesitancy when claire’s 35th birthday came and they were still single

they went through with the pact, but first decided to date for a few years which were spent catching up with each other’s lives and discussing the future. that period of time wasn’t as lovey-dovey as their time in college, especially after they found out claire was infertile

claire’s infertility was what (indirectly) triggered the events in the story!! she and bernard are 42 and 43 respectively when the story starts

nicholas are lou are humans from planet earth, but were abducted to aleoiza by its government when they were one year old and one month old respectively (the age gap between them is two years). nicholas has some memory of the life they lived on earth while his sister doesn’t

for the next two years, they were in the government’s hands and underwent tests and experiments they didn’t understand—it wasn’t exactly torture, but very confusing and unpleasant for two children. they were isolated from most of the outside world and most interpersonal contact was from the personnel team. for the first few months, the staff members did their respective jobs dutifully and avoided unnecessary interaction with the two humans since it went against workplace policies. nicholas was very stressed because of the unfamiliar environment and thus developed generalised anxiety disorder which gives him frequent panic attacks. lou, on the other hand, did not grasp the gravity of the situation (she was an infant when she was taken in, and living in the facility was the only life she knew). her innate curiosity led her to stick uncomfortably close to the employees, and the staff members found lou’s child-like naivety charming. this is much to her brother’s extreme unease

lou was the only thing that nicholas had to lose, so he was understandably very protective of her

when lou was learning english, the first thing nicholas wanted her to understand was about the existence of planet earth and nothing more. he thought it was for the best if she didn’t know what they went through. the knowledge that they aren’t aleoi-lings was important to him because it’s a part of their identity. his sister, being the curious child she is, begged her brother to tell her more about the life that they had once lived. she was growing bored of the same people and routine and was desperate to see the world outside the white and sterile walls confining them. he didn’t want to tell her the truth. she was too hopeful and starry-eyed, and as her older brother, he felt that it was his duty to keep her oblivious and happy. wanting to protect her innocence and optimism, he fabricated lies about the wondrous and carefree life they used to have on earth. this gave lou the hope that one day, she and nicholas would be able to return to that life she obediently believed in

the siblings’ backstory plays a crucial role in their dynamic: nicholas has his feet on the ground and is the logical reasoner of the two, while lou has her head in her clouds and is too positive for her own good

if you remember (gold star for you if you do), i mentioned that claire’s infertility was what (indirectly) triggered the events of the story. when their neighbours started to have children, bernard also wanted a family of their own. they tried without success, and after multiple health screenings, finally claire was diagnosed. she felt as if giving her soon-to-be husband a baby was a responsibility—it was the least she could do as a wife (especially since her marriage with him was a pact). her desire to have a child was so intense that she was so overwhelmed with guilt and anguish. bernard didn’t know how to support her during that time, and it was very difficult for both of them to discuss their future (let alone have conversations)

one day, claire took a late-night walk on a very rainy day. she was so drowned in her thoughts that she almost didn’t hear the faint sobbing coming from an alleyway. there, she found a poor 4-year-old with his 2-year-old sister, huddled closely together and shivering violently. it was both the baby fever and immense pity she felt that prompted her to take them home (without hesitation, and without consulting her fiancé). both claire and bernard finally had the long-overdue discussion about their future, and eventually, they decided to officially adopt nicholas and lou

this happened roughly one year before their marriage (the adoption process was tough)

before the two siblings found a sense of belonging in crescentville, lou dreamt of returning to planet earth and experiencing the life that nicholas had once soothed her with. to her, it was “the great unknown”. that desire eventually faded after they found their place in the town’s close-knit community (much to nicholas’s relief). but that yearning returns at a point in the story

the b&w comic pages in chronological order:

not everything is set in stone, and it’s very likely that i’ll change things along the line. thank you for being a part of my development journey!!