Drakes
Added 2024-12-05 02:59:47 +0000 UTCMal and the man she spent thirty years trying to live up to. Her pater, Galliard Drake.
Comments
Yep! :3 Mal seems to be especially drawn to opinionated musicians. They had a very strong personality, which made a good enough counter to Mal at the height of her insufferable genius days
Lopoddity
2024-12-10 23:00:51 +0000 UTCOkay but like who's Mal's ex 👀👀👀👀 anyone we know?
Lammergayier
2024-12-10 21:15:45 +0000 UTCI'm not gonna lie, I want to see a young Galliard romancing his wife. If you're gonna seduce us with sexy young!Merry.... Aside from that...oof, Mal. I'm glad that Axel seems (for now) like a pretty well-adjusted kid...I'm glad it also seems like their birth did help Mal understand how her upbringing was maybe a little nuts. Like - I imagine that the idea of kneeling on gravel was less "oh, it was just good discilpline" and more "wtf is this child torture" when she had to consider Axel doing it.
Scyllarus
2024-12-10 20:49:30 +0000 UTCSpot on! I'm really happy you've gotten such a solid impression of Galliard from one drawing! :D Yes, Galliard is not a lovey-dovey bird, he's quite cold and inexpressive and is a man of few words. But he loves his wife. Birds adore big showy courtship acts, so Galliard romanced his wife through his music, through dancing, and if you can believe it, his poetry. He wrote many of the songs she went on to make world-famous. His love for his wife shows in how permissive he is with her, how unusually tolerant he is with a woman who by all means comes off as far too chatty, ditzy, and excitable for him. Mal inherited many things from her father, and one of them was her unconscious belief that affection should be subtle and dignified. For a long time, she believed that love is simply being present, and tolerating people who are otherwise sorta annoying (like her dad with her mom). This approach proved to be pretty disastrous in her one and only attempted romantic relationship (not with Topher), and she had to learn there's a lot more to love than simply indulging people or putting up with them. Romantic love often looks performative and excessive to Mal, but she had very few models for platonic or familial love growing up, so the entirety of love as a concept has eluded her understanding for years. In fact, one of the reasons Mal wants a child is to further her understanding of love. She has some reasonable motivations for wanting to have a baby, but two of her more selfish reasons are 1.) to carry on her legacy (definitely inherited Galliard's ego) and 2.) to be loved unconditionally by someone, which Mal feels would teach HER how to love "properly".
Lopoddity
2024-12-10 19:59:30 +0000 UTCLate to the party, but - I wonder if Mal picked up anything from the way her parents interact? You've mentioned her father is a big wife guy, but I'm having trouble imagining him being very affectionate with *anyone*. Did he appear as cold towards his wife? Are there little subtle bird things he does that translate into big romantic gestures? ....wait, does he dedicate all his compositions to her? And, of course - how does Mal feel about this? Does it color the way she sees relationships? Did she learn how to love by seeing her parents love? Or did she have to figure it out on her own?
Scyllarus
2024-12-10 17:47:40 +0000 UTCOh nooo!!! He's so cool looking!!! But he's a jerk!?! Nooooooo 😢...... For real though, I love the bird designs, and he's a total jackass
Bigsmile
2024-12-09 20:20:27 +0000 UTCOh! Then I just had a mandela effect and for some reason associated waterfowl with a goose 🤔🤣 And It's true, there are a lot of beautiful species of duck! Each more colorful than the others. It's nice that you choose a duck for the flashy colors, I thought the choice was because ducks can be quite aggressive 😅🤣 I'm definitely happy that miss Drake is still an italian swan, because now I get to Imagine this stern duck looking up from below with adoration to his suave, pretty tall wife 🤣
chichi77tim
2024-12-09 04:36:22 +0000 UTCOh wow…is it wrong that it feels a little selfish of the parents? I don’t know if that’s the right word, but I get the same feeling with people who decide to adopt children, not realizing that adopting a child is much harder than having your own due to the trauma they have…then give up the child when it starts exhibiting the trauma. Even in the best case scenario of Cupcake, it’s hard to imagine she wouldn’t have been better off with even slightly larger parents…but its better than having no parents at all…it’s a delicious conflict you’ve cooked up here, very interesting. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a controversial choice among animal folk, even more than interfaith/interracial adoption in our world
owlcoholik
2024-12-06 23:05:28 +0000 UTCIt's actually wildly uncommon. Cupcake and Mal are VERY much outliers, most prospective adoptive parents seek to adopt a child of the same species or close enough to it, and those looking to do a mixed species adoption usually still aim for a child that doesn't have radically different dietary needs, isn't big enough to hurt them on accident, etc. Cupcake's parents fell in love with Cupcake and were too stubborn (and stupid) to care about the inherent challenges in raising a child big enough to kill them by accidentally stepping on them, and Mal's parents....are wealthy eccentrics. That said, they had NO idea Mal was going to grow so big. Mal was a very tiny infant, they had no clue she was gonna go all clifford the big red dog on them and be bigger and stronger than them by toddlerhood
Lopoddity
2024-12-06 22:57:02 +0000 UTCI feel like bird and feline preening/grooming could translate fairly okay though! Other than some unfortunate pulling of hair…. “Father, that’s my ear—“ (Said by someone who owns a bird and our mammal and bird lives clash a bit in terms of grooming)
Morghann Patterson
2024-12-06 22:33:36 +0000 UTCOh wow now that I see their height difference I can’t even be mad at them for being so strict, she could have eaten them in one gulp when she was still in single digits. I’m kinda surprised how common it is for small animals to adopt huge ones, I know Cupcake also had mouse parents
owlcoholik
2024-12-06 21:56:26 +0000 UTCAlso are there any baby traditions particular to certain species, he refers to her as ‘if she were his own hatchling’ did the family ever try to do egg traditions with mammal Mal?
Morghann Patterson
2024-12-06 21:31:41 +0000 UTCSomewhat unrelated, but when they adopted Mal how hard was it to hold her as a baby. If they’re two feet tall (bigger for the swan) with hollow bones, imagine holding a big big leopard baby!!
Morghann Patterson
2024-12-06 21:30:55 +0000 UTCThat's so sad :'[ especially since Mal being a woman wouldn't feasibly change much about her music-genius career trajectory (although ofc transphobia doesn't ever come from a place of logic). I guess it has more to do with her having a unique identity outside of being a Drake than specifically being trans? What a heavy burden!
Mastodon
2024-12-06 01:06:49 +0000 UTCI am so excited for this, Mal has my whole heart ❤️
RagingRiptide
2024-12-05 19:53:45 +0000 UTCYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAAA!!!!! I've been waiting to see Mal's family!! I really love his design and I can't wait to see how he and the rest of the family evolve >:3
thatbaldartist
2024-12-05 17:52:33 +0000 UTCYay more birds! Really glad to see non mammals :D unfortunately despite being terrible he is very cool looking. Great design!
Buttermaster
2024-12-05 16:16:53 +0000 UTCMore the other way around, "I am not calling you good boy, son, you fumbled the fortissimo tremolo section for 2.3 seconds >:("
Lopoddity
2024-12-05 15:50:21 +0000 UTCThat being said him having hawk ancestry in this furry would would be badass
Lammergayier
2024-12-05 15:15:05 +0000 UTCI only exaggerated a little. Wood ducks have long, narrow pointy bills. :3 They're also hooked at the tip, a bit like a hawk's!
Lopoddity
2024-12-05 15:14:19 +0000 UTCBird nerd here! Wood ducks just look like that. They have pointier bills than most other dabbling ducks because they have a bit more of a varied diet. The point helps them to pick up their food! One of their favorites are acorns :)
Lammergayier
2024-12-05 15:11:22 +0000 UTCI definitely said Mal's mom is an italian swan. But I don't think I said the dad would be a goose, I just said "waterfowl" because I hadn't settled on a species yet. Always knew Galliard would be a duck, I was just torn between wood duck, long-tailed duck, and greater scaup. Or goldeneye! There's just too many gorgeous species of duck! I chose a duck because they tend to have strong sexual dimorphism, with very flashy males (drakes).
Lopoddity
2024-12-05 15:03:48 +0000 UTCDeadass with the position I thought it was that “not calling you good boy meme” and I expected a follow up picture with Mal “no I’m not calling you a good dad you’re transphobic”
Heather
2024-12-05 11:04:55 +0000 UTCoh what a fantastic design, wonderful choice of colors! this is such a fantastic drawing as well, their silhouettes really pop!
gamigami
2024-12-05 08:19:59 +0000 UTCThe only bandaid I have for this is knowing that Topher’s mama adopts Mal
Emily Lemur
2024-12-05 07:54:02 +0000 UTCDoes he have some hawk ancestry with a beak as sharp as that? Or am I looking too much into it and you just didn't want to give this stonecold guy a cute round duck beak :D
Haselwoelfchen
2024-12-05 06:42:09 +0000 UTCI kinda remember that her father should have been a goose and her mother an italian swan. Am I misrembering? If not, why did you choose a duck specifically? And It's her mother still an italian swan? 🤣🤔
chichi77tim
2024-12-05 06:18:48 +0000 UTCOh my god this makes me so sad, I remember info in the other drawings of Mal in the comments and now reading your answer here hurts me, poor Mal, I don't even want to imagine what it's like to grow up with people who are supposed to care for you and love you, who chose you to be part of a family and... this happens. I remember this manhwa about a man who was adopted by rich nobles, they literally picked him up off the street, a lonely and hungry mixed race child, they gave him everything a child could ever want and he grew up to be a successful young man, he loved his parents and they loved him, but their love was conditional. Yes they were warm and sweet, especially the mother, but they raised him to think it was okay to basically be the family bank. He had to prove his existence by constantly giving gifts, bringing good news, and increasing the family's wealth, his worth as a person was totally tied to what he could do for them, what he could give, nothing was free, no action is ever without a purpose. Even though he ran the family land and many things were in his name, he was not the heir of the noble house, maybe because they had a blood child? No, it was because even if he was the oldest and most capable, he was also adopted but more importantly mixed, and noble lines must be pure. He accepted it because he was grateful for everything his parents did for him, that's why he justified things that weren't right when he grew up (subtle abuse called discipline and then warm loving rewards because he was a good kid "mommy/daddy do this because we love you") and he couldn't see the obvious manipulation and greed of his parents. It wasn't until his (arranged) marriage and future friendship and relationship with a special lady that he opened his eyes and cut his family out of his life, that did cost him a lot, it was a bumpy and painful road but he did it. There are many manhwas with similar themes, clumsy writing but still painful to read because even if they are blood children they are raised this way, and I've seen it in real life too no matter the social class, so sad. These kind of parents don't want children to love, they don't want to start a family with a new member, no, they want an heir, a successor, a cute and obedient doll, someone to mold to their tastes and needs, a shiny trophy to show off. Children are punished for being children, they are not allowed to be their own person or have an opinion, they must pay back everything their parents sacrificed for them, it's fair and it's their duty as children, it's the least they can do... and then the parents are surprised when their children have mental problems or leave home. I hope Mal's wounds can heal or anyone who has had to live through this. I wonder... how would Mal react in the future, if one of her parents were in the hospital in their last days and if only if, they asked for her, would Mal go? or if they didn't call her Mal would you try to visit them one last time? Oh no what would happen if she found herself on the street with them and she was with her child? Jesus I bet her parents would start saying things that shouldn't be said, Gosh I don't want to even imagine how traumatizing that would be.
MiyaTheGoldenFlower
2024-12-05 04:58:06 +0000 UTCThank you!!<3 I tried out something different when it came time to clean up the sketch to color, and I'm really happy with how it turned out! Will play around with the technique more since it lets me skip doing lineart = saves time= can draw even more :3
Lopoddity
2024-12-05 04:38:55 +0000 UTCDuck Dad can't wait to learn more about him and my girl Mal's back story 🥺 Also very off topic but I am in love with the bold lines even though this is a sketch. It really makes the characters pop
Fukōsagi
2024-12-05 04:32:20 +0000 UTCHa, I considered a doodle of Topher rushing up to punt him like a football, Galliard is only like 2 feet tall. Raduga is still around! I really gotta spotlight her one of these days. ><
Lopoddity
2024-12-05 04:08:23 +0000 UTCYep! Music is very important to birds. When Mal was practicing piano and her father would wordlessly sit down and add just the right notes to flavor Mal's composition, she'd think this is what it must be like to be loved. Cats are not big on grand gestures of affection and quite like quietly existing next to their loved ones, so besides the constant undercurrent of tension and fear that colored their every interaction, Mal got along with her father decently and enjoyed his company, especially on the rare occasions they'd play music together.
Lopoddity
2024-12-05 04:06:25 +0000 UTCOoo! Mal backstory time!
PrincessMuffinArt
2024-12-05 03:45:36 +0000 UTCI’m just imagining Galliard one time dueting with her for an album or that he composed a song for like a movie that alluded to her (like deadnamed after her or after something she liked), and it’s the one piece of music her parents have that Mal can’t really truly let go or still gets a little misty eyed about because it’s literally the closest her dad has ever gotten to saying “I love you”
Doglover502
2024-12-05 03:45:02 +0000 UTCIt's reassuring to see that despite everything, Mal still manages to break the cycle and allow her own baby to be themselves. Axel may never form a meaningful relationship with their grandparents but that's fine considering the support present in the rest of the family.
CardstockBroth
2024-12-05 03:41:10 +0000 UTCTopher should kill him /hj Love the way you draw birds! As a bird lover I'm super excited to see what other avian characters exist in FB 👀 Is Raduga still around? My beautiful bearded vulture babe?
Lammergayier
2024-12-05 03:35:49 +0000 UTCMal likes to think so. Galliard is not a touchy-feely guy, and Mal isn't sure if she's ever seen him smile. But his stares range from contemptuous to mildly disapproving to neutral, and he's aimed a few neutral looks at her (and once even a single nod!!) after exceptionally good performances. Mal is sure her dad was proud of her those times. He's just too composed and dignified to show much emotion- they both are. The only place for emotion is poured out into one's music.
Lopoddity
2024-12-05 03:31:44 +0000 UTCIt’s nice to see more birds in Fuzzbutts, even if this one (and his wife) are particularly awful!
Iowasi
2024-12-05 03:27:04 +0000 UTC"Quack??? Quack quack quack quack honk HONK" Mal's parents worked very, very hard to sculpt Mal from infanthood into a worthy heir to Galliard. Mal was always meant to be their handsome and noble and talented son. Mal is not meant to have wants and feelings of her own. She exists to serve her father, and to be an entertaining prop for her mother. As you can imagine, they're not thrilled about her transitioning, which is why it took Mal more than three decades to even entertain the thought she might not be a man. Galliard views Mal's transition as insulting, an act of defiance. He feels similarly about many of her life choices, such as giving up musical academia to fund local theater and slum it up with lowlifes (like Topher). He took her in as though she was his own hatchling, gave her all the best schooling and every luxury she could ever want, and this is how she chooses to repay him? Thus he does the same thing he's always done whenever Mal fumbled a note or accidentally broke a chair or did anything else to displease him growing up, which is ice her out. It's always worked to correct unwanted behavior, and honestly, for all her size, Mal still struggles not to cower like a cub in the face of her father's cold glare. Mal's mother is quite a bit more personable and warm to Mal, but ehh...I'm sorry y'all, Mal's parents are pretty terrible people. :( Both of them are, though in different ways.
Lopoddity
2024-12-05 03:23:42 +0000 UTCI love the switch up with a bird and Cat dynamic, makes me wonder why they chose to adopt a feline in the first place
Tibbles Yorkie789
2024-12-05 03:13:46 +0000 UTCDid Mal, even before her transition, make him proud? Even if only for a moment?
CardstockBroth
2024-12-05 03:05:47 +0000 UTCMan he does look like a hardass, stiff upper lip…or bill, in this case It’s also kinda just hit me I’ve spent so long low-key imagining him looking like the mallard dad in Migration and then he wasn’t a mallard XD
Doglover502
2024-12-05 03:05:26 +0000 UTCEven the hair are styled the same, even though one is feather and the other fur. I can just imagine how hard Mal had to work for her hair to fall in a position that just came naturally for her father. Amazing visual story telling, I love that!!! Also I adore birds, and that, my guy, is a gorgeous duck. Fancy duck/10, would definitely quack again.
Ventia
2024-12-05 03:03:52 +0000 UTCWhat did Mal’s parents think/say when she came out as trans?
Jay
2024-12-05 03:03:31 +0000 UTC
