#developmentober 25

"Extraordinary!" Dierno exclaimed in awe, "What is it?"

"It's a moth, Daddy!" Tuuli giggled.

Dierno may be a well-read, incredibly intelligent mer, but that does not mean he is not completely ignorant of some of the most mundane things, like moths.

I'm super proud of this one, Taleetha turned out EXACTLY like I'd imagined her!!!

In the era just after the Romulan supernova, fiercely anti-Federation activist Taleetha rises in popularity among displaced, grieving Romulans who have lost their homeworld, their Empire, and their meaning. Taleetha blames the Federation for the loss of Romulus (and everything else that has gone wrong in her life), and actively works to stop the Federation takeover of Romulan space following the collapse of the Romulan Star Empire.

In this scene, Taleetha's spaceship, a D'deridex-class Warbird, has been boarded by Starfleet forces, an unforgivable violation in her mind. Luckily, Taleetha and her crew know the ship better than the invaders, however Marex, a teenager mostly untrained in the art of war, is shot. Taleetha (and her father Bochra) are within earshot of the incident and quickly arrive to Marex's aid.

Even I am not sure if Taleetha goes ahead and pulls the trigger on her disruptor....

Look, I'm tired. I have one more in this challenge and I'll be done. It's taken over two months, but I'll get it done I promise.

Cicero and his youngest child, little Helvia (named for his mother), have a close bond. Not as interested in the "family business" as her siblings, Cicero trains Helvia in his duties as Keeper, preparing her to take over for him someday.

It is important to note that Cicero has his eyes closed here, smiling so big they're squished shut, but Helvia has hers open, gazing at her father with an expression of pure love and awe.

Enniuq discovers a Betrayed Falmer, injured in a rockfall and left behind by his hunting party. She cares for him, bandaging his wounds, feeding him, and even naming him Iluut.

I've had Enniuq and Iluut as OCs longer than Solfrid, but since Solfrid's story happens first chronologically, I developed her more.

I had to resurrect this absolutely DECEASED meme, it was one of my favorites growing up and it fits Marex PERFECTLY!

Based on the below meme! (I replaced the cape with a Romulan flag). I spent literally half-an-hour tracing all the letters and then painstakingly matching "MAREX" to the same lettering style.

(Also I think a teenaged Romulan obsessed with early-2000s Earth meme culture absolutely HILARIOUS, he literally only exists because I needed someone to quote Futurama in one of my fics.)

A sweet, simple scene for day 24.

The term "gift" may more directly reference the toy fox Helvia has just put in her son's cradle, but Helvia considers Cicero himself the greatest gift she's ever gotten.

Cicero takes that toy fox with him when he runs away to join the Dark Brotherhood at age 12 and he keeps it next to his pillow until it burns with the Bruma Sanctuary shortly after his 18th birthday.

ART NOTES:

-I based the cradle design on the doll cradle my grandfather made me as a child.

CW: Bl00d (poorly drawn and cartoonish, but bl00d nonetheless) Putting the image lower down this time.

A brother is born in the blood of his mother.

An illustration to chapter 3 of Rites of Initiation, my headcanon for how Cicero came to join the Dark Brotherhood in the first place (read at your own risk!).

12-year-old Cicero has come before Larunda, Speaker of the Bruma Sanctuary, to prove he has passed her test and is worthy of joining her Sanctuary. Larunda recognizes the new haunted, scared look in the boy's eyes, she has the same look in her own.

Larunda does not own a mirror.

(I always get so nervous posting darker stuff, like, I guess I'm afraid you'll all hate me or something lol)

Sometimes the risk isn't worth the gamble.

Fun fact!: I have no idea how to play 5-Card Stud. Presumably Jean and Drew here do....

Please note the absence of chips on the table. It's almost like they're playing with higher stakes than just money...and Jean has the dreaded Dead Man's Hand.