Taking A Bit Of A Left Turn On The Usual Formula Since I'm Running Low On Traditional Plants In The Compendium

Taking a bit of a left turn on the usual formula since I'm running low on traditional plants in the compendium (theoretically still have enough to make it through, but motivation towards those remaining is low).

Haven't talked a whole lot about Buddys (tis the species name so funny spelling) here lately, so a lot of this info may come out of left-field or be hard to contextualize, but here goes.

Flower Buddy Lilypods

Also known by their more scientific name, Flowering Amicans, Flower Buddys are a unique species of Buddy that are born from Lilypods, as featured here. As they're an accessory to Flower Buddys themselves, Lilypods deviate from the traditional model of flora categorization quite a bit, and as such aren't typically listed in flora compendiums. Nevertheless, seeing as they are very much like flora, they could be counted in an annex of an extended compendium in theory.

Lilypods are found naturally in the Flower Buddy Dimension. The first Flower Buddys grew there inside their Lilypods and emerged into the world proper along the coast of Reline Ah, where the Flower Buddy Dimension is connected to. Flower Buddys used to be a lot more outgoing, sailing to many different places on their Lilypads and sleeping in their pods at night. However, after the first Shadow Buddy War, the Flower Buddys retreated back to Fuline Ah and hid there for many years. Some millennia later, brave new Flower Buddys emerged from their dimension and began to explore again. Though there are thought to be others still living on the continent in seclusion, brave explorers are still few. Though they emerge now and then from their dimension, Flower Buddys are still scarcely seen worldwide in JI proper.

As for the Lilypods themselves, Lilypods can be manipulated by the Flower Buddy born from them and have two forms: Pod and Pad Form. Pod Form is featured above as is the Lilypod's default state. When Flower Buddys wish to use their Lilypods to sail without their natural reeds getting in the way, they can will the reeds to recede back into the center of the Lilypad. They can will the reeds back up when they wish to sleep or hibernate within their Lilypods, and can control the internal environment of the pod depending on if they want to sleep for a night or much longer.

Being an extradimensional plant, Lilypods' needs are quite different from a traditional plant's. They are sustained primarily by the dimension itself, sometimes even while outside it, though they may change to a darker shade of green and act a bit more 'sluggish' when apart from their home dimension. When in an environment suited to their needs, they can also rely on it for nutrition in a similar way that they do in their home dimension. They prefer a medium temperature, rich sediment, dispersed light, and for their roots to always be submerged in water. When any of these conditions are not met, they can rely on their connection to their home dimension to provide for them, but as mentioned before, may change appearance and act 'sluggish' by comparison depending on how out of their element they are.

Lilypods can only spawn in their home dimension, and do so independently of Flower Buddys themselves. Flower Buddys themselves bare children the normal Buddy way via Heartegg (though there is scarce documentation about this due to Flower Buddys' reclusive nature and dubious success rate, especially with non-plant species partners) and may select an empty Lilypod for their child to mature in back at the dimension. For this reason, Flower Buddys developed this way may or may not know who their parents are as they emerge from the Lilypod fully mature. That said, not all Flower Buddy pairings choose this method, or may only make use of it for the duration of fetal development, so some Flower Buddy hybrids may indeed be raised by their parents in a more traditional manner.

The Flower Buddy dimension itself is an expanse of water and mist with no discernible sun, though it may still have a day-night cycle that corresponds with JI's day-night cycle. Anything else in the dimension is constructed by Flower Buddys or whoever else has found their way there, typically Flower Buddy partners. There are no other known flora that grow there aside from Lilypods, though there are likely microorganisms and perhaps fish, but there has not been much research in that area as of yet.

Darania Aquabulla

I ran out of time today so info and finished pic will be tomorrow hopefully. For now, enjoy this sketch. The Aquabullas are some of my favorites. I was a little worried starting out with them since the first tends to be my weakest, but I wasn't disappointed by my progress on it. Stay tuned for more flowers.

Dellana Pichrüt

A rare tuber-producing plant that can sometimes be found growing near the Great Buddy Lake during the dry season. It can be a bit finicky, not liking too much water but also not wanting to be without it.

The taste of the Pichrüt is comparable to that of a peach, though it also has some turnip-like qualities to it.

The disappearance of the Dellana Pichrüt caused many to believe that they no longer could be found anywhere in the world, but a few sightings of them by the Great Buddy Lake have proved that the plant does still in fact exist.

January: A painting study from this pinterest pic. Full image here.

February: Theoretical design WIP for Virame, a side character from Tsuname's story.

March: Image of Lily for my Knights & Lilies PowerPoint.

April: Six of the Torn Apart sisters, plus another, snoozing in a library. (The bookshelves are full of references to me and my friends' stories as well as OCs, webtoons I like, animes, and even a manga magazine.) Full image here.

May: Shiido work doodle. I put his name through google translate and wrote down his name in as many unique scripts as I could find. Bonus points to whoever can pick out the script(s) that are actually from one of my constructed languages. :3

June: Sz'nami in water form. It's a thumbnail edit of this pic from June 2021.

July: @crystallinkcreations's Penelope for ArtFight! You can find the full image in this post.

August: Waizu, the pontificating scientist-philosopher father figure to Naru and Shiido. He teaches them that evil must be destroyed from the worlds he purges. You can find his post here.

September: @a-random-cc's character, Tares, from Torn Apart! I'm sorry I never finished this. :') Full image here.

October: A little running animation I did of Paria from my story Knights & Lilies.

November: A visual representation of a certain Herr's sound perception, based on my experiences in a crowded lunch room. I have a couple extra frames where he's walking, but I decide to save those and freeze him on the frame I showed in the summary of art since the animation isn't finished. :P

December: Part of yet another animation WIP, this frame of Sz'nami. I decided to render it in the summary of art picture at the end of December to make it look even nicer. :P

Lots of WIPs and sketches this year, haha. Sometimes I really need somebody to kick me to finish things. XPP

Warawara Stringaana

Also called the Laughing Stringcorn, this rare plant was thought to be extinct for many years until it was found again on an island off the coast of north Fuline Ah and recultivated. The bracts of the plant smell sort of like buttered popcorn, though their actual taste is rather faint but not unpalatable. It is overall a very mild-tasting plant. Its inflorescence is sometimes dried and fried during festivals on the continent, though it is rather dry and tasteless on its own, it can be used to absorb other flavors, or simply dried for decorative purposes.

Cloudpetal Founta

A relative of the Biminia Cloudpetal, Cloudpetal Fountas look a bit more tree-like, with large, drooping leaves like palm branches. The 'petals' of the Cloudpetal Founta are actually soft seedpods that contain still more cotton within them. The softest garments made by Fashion Buddys often use the inner cotton from Cloudpetal Founta seedpods.