Oh my goodness I have no idea if this was intentional or not but she looks sort of like a bat! The way her nose is shaded looks like it’s a little upturned and something about the wings scream more bat to me this time than in other dragon art.
I actually really like the idea of that. If Nightwings look super bat-esque and so Sunny would look a little like one herself.
I wonder if, in theory, Sandwings could be based off various desert animals and it just so happens that Sunny’s bat-like feature actually pass off as a different desert animal instead.
Sunny im not particularly happy with shrug
Something about these colours. So calm and peaceful. And his expression. I think I could stare at this one for a few hours.
This is the full page with the first two Hermit-A-Day doodles and some others. A little icewing from Wings of Fire and a GeminiTay, heavily inspired by the sketches of her that @iveoy did.
Hermit-A-Day May numero dos! The pesky bird himself!
Oh Grian you little chaos gremlin, you’re so goofy. Grian is my og Hermitcraft lad, I remember watching him way back before Evo even. Got all my building strats from him lmao.
I would’ve done the hair in a lighter colour but this is the only brown I have and my orange and yellow are highlighter coloured lol. I also added the little marks on the sweater to make it look knit and it turned out even better than I’d hoped! :D
If you see little scribbles at the top, no you don’t.
TELL ME YOU DON’T SEE THE WAY SKIZZ IS LOOKING OVER AT THE LIGHT SHINING OFF TANGO’S HEAD. THEY HAD TO PUT HIM JUST FAR ENOUGH AWAY THAT HE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO SLAP IT.
Scar has also posted a photo of the hermit bus
(ik not everyone has Twitter cuz it's a trainwreck over there, so you're welcome)
Grief is raw, messy, and deeply personal. It doesn’t follow a neat arc or fit into tidy narrative beats. While stories often use grief as a dramatic device, romanticizing it can cheapen the emotional reality. Writing grief authentically means embracing its discomfort and unpredictability, not sanitizing or idealizing it.
Characters who seem emotionally wrecked but always manage to look graceful in their suffering.
Overly articulate monologues that sound more like a eulogy than a real moment of loss.
Depictions of grief as a singular, cathartic event instead of a long, jagged process.
Romanticized Grief:
“Every day without you is like a piece of me fading away into a tragic, beautiful void. I’ll carry this pain forever, for it’s all I have left of you.”
This might be poetic, but it lacks the authenticity of how most people actually process grief.
Realistic Grief:
“I forgot your birthday. I didn’t mean to, but when I remembered, it was already too late. And then I hated myself because forgetting felt like erasing you.”
1. Show the Physical Toll
Grief isn’t just emotional—it’s physical. Insomnia, headaches, exhaustion, or even the inability to move can be part of the experience.
“She woke up in the middle of the night again, choking on the air. Her chest felt like a cinderblock had been wedged inside, heavy and unmoving. It was three days since the funeral, and she still hadn’t slept longer than an hour.”
2. Let Grief Be Messy
Grief isn’t a perfectly linear journey. There’s no logical progression from denial to acceptance—there are setbacks, breakdowns, and even moments of denial long after healing has started.
“He yelled at his mother for throwing out the cereal box. ‘It was his favorite,’ he said. She didn’t remind him that it had been expired for months. She just handed him the trash bag and walked away.”
3. Avoid Glossy Sentimentality
Sometimes grief isn’t poetic; it’s ugly, blunt, and devoid of grandeur. Characters might lash out, shut down, or isolate themselves.
Romanticized: “I’ll cry every day, but I’ll keep going because you’d want me to.”
Realistic: “They said time would heal it. But it didn’t. Time just put more space between me and the life I knew before.”
4. Let Grief Manifest in Small, Unexpected Ways
Grief isn’t always about sobbing—it can show up in mundane moments: hesitating to delete a voicemail, holding onto an old sweater, or instinctively setting the table for someone who’s gone.
“She turned to tell him the joke, the one about the broken lamp, and stopped halfway through. The silence hit harder than the punchline ever would.”
5. Highlight the Absurdity of It
Grief can be absurd and disorienting. Characters might laugh inappropriately, obsess over trivial details, or feel disconnected from reality.
“At the funeral, all she could focus on was how crooked the flowers were arranged. She kept wanting to fix them. If she didn’t, she thought, none of this would feel real.”
6. Explore How Grief Changes Relationships
Grief doesn’t happen in isolation—it affects relationships, often in unexpected ways. Some people pull closer, others drift apart.
“Her friends stopped asking how she was doing after the first few weeks. She didn’t blame them; she didn’t have an answer. ‘Fine’ wasn’t a lie—it was just easier than saying, ‘I still can’t breathe when I see his empty chair.’”
7. Show the Longevity of Grief
Grief doesn’t end when the funeral does. Let it linger in your story, showing how it ebbs and flows over time.
“It had been five years, but she still called his number when something exciting happened. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was just habit. Or maybe it was hope.”
8. Allow for Moments of Respite
Grief isn’t constant agony. People still laugh, find joy, and go about their lives—sometimes feeling guilty for it.
“She smiled for the first time in weeks, and then immediately hated herself for it. It felt like betrayal, like forgetting.”
Don’t make me put your ass in the sealbarrow
Hermit-A-Day May numero dos! The pesky bird himself!
Oh Grian you little chaos gremlin, you’re so goofy. Grian is my og Hermitcraft lad, I remember watching him way back before Evo even. Got all my building strats from him lmao.
I would’ve done the hair in a lighter colour but this is the only brown I have and my orange and yellow are highlighter coloured lol. I also added the little marks on the sweater to make it look knit and it turned out even better than I’d hoped! :D
If you see little scribbles at the top, no you don’t.
Just an artist of all kinds (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻Also a little mentally ill <3
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