#Return to the Clans

[rudymentari]

now imagine your enemy as a child

[celestralferretdesigns]

Mudfur

[moss-wcdesigns]

Leopardstar - leader of RiverClan

[harriertail]

the current erin team couldn't write the prophecies begin

[benevolenterrancy]

Sect Leader Nie and his Deputy trauma-bonding over sect paperwork (i feel in my heart that the nie sect does NOT produce great administrators and everyone suffers for that)

[knarme-art]

@recom-week

RETURN TO PANDORA MONTH

DAY 1 - MOUNT DESIGN (1.12.2024)

Ikran Series - Ngulya, Kxasi's Ikran

Name meaning - 'gray air' Bonded to - Kxasi of the Kxayltirey people Age / sex - nearing an older adult's prime, female About - Ngulya's psyche has a calming, comforting effect on Kxasi. She enjoys complex tasks that require good memory, making her an ideal companion to Kxasi, who is very ambitious and energetic.

Above: Only minimally shaded, mostly flat color reference missing the glow effects on the bioluminescent markings.

Above: Ngulya's bioluminescence in dim lighting

Above: Ngulya's bioluminescense in night lighting

History of Ngulya's design

Above: February 18th in 2023 - Here you also see Kxasi's old design. The purplish-gray look and orangeish/reddish bioluminescense have been a part of my vision for Ngulya from the very beginning.

Above: March 9nth in 2023 - Here is my first take for a full reference for Ngulya. This is the point where the pale head and neck became iconic traits to the otherwise dark purple design.

I've always been torn between oranges/browns and actual purples for many of the color areas in this design, as you see from that earlier color draft.

Above: This year, I wanted to finally make proper ikran templates for the sake of more comfortable designing of all my ikran characters.

This is an early version of the final template set I created, and two different drafts of Ngulya.

Sadly I never saved these drafts, so these are just badly compressed screenshots from my Bluesky and Twitter accounts.

The one on the right is my last draft before beginning work on the final one, as I started to be happy with the markings.

The orange one on the left of the 2nd image is not Ngulya, but a draft for another ikran entirely.

Above: For a very long time, I could not make the bioluminescent highlight markings fit anywhere into this design, so I almost called it 'done' in this stage.

The color pallette was more brown than purple. It was a really hard decision to tweak the pallette once more, so I could make it all good-looking with the highlight color.

About my thought process...

I create my ikran OC designs entirely via body/emotional/visual synesthesia. This intuitive process doesn't contain conscious thought, but rather letting an 'inner eye' show me things.

This method lets me get ideas I couldn't otherwise get, unlike when combining my old clichés in a calculated manner etc. Instead of such calculated process, instead I succumb to a more dreamlike intuition where my brain can just fire whatever.

For these ikran, I must feel like I am them, to create their appearances. For the same character, like Kxasi, even for a long period of time, I've been getting the same results with this process...

I imagine the na'vi during their 'Iknimaya' (or equivalent), the type of feeling I would have about them as a person, as if they stood in front of me.

Then, I imagine I'm indeed an ikran looking at them, - what kind of a mental and emotional being would I be, to feel particularly drawn to this na'vi? I imagine the feelings.

These feelings inform me of the ikran's whole design, as well as personality.

Kxasi's ikran Ngulya is a character I can understand, put myself into, imagine her feelings and personality/temperament from the inside, and how she'd feel even when connected with Kxasi's consciousness via tsaheylu.

I can also imagine how Kxasi feels connected to her.

Their personalities contrast each other. Kxasi is hot-headed and energetic, while Ngulya is a calming presence. Usually, Ngulya even discourages Kxasi's antagonistic impulses when they're connected.

However, if overwhelmed by the need to protect, Ngulya's mind will be drunken on quite the berserker's adrenaline, - also affecting Kxasi that same way. Their minds will melt into one demonic entity with the sole goal of turning someone into minced meat. This can be triggered by putting their loved ones or personal home etc. in danger.

Ngulya resembles my favorite, now-deceased dog Lola a lot by her personality. Her 'feel' is very much like what Lola was, even though I did not intentionally create her in Lola's image.

She's funny and silly like Lola, obsessive and persistent in tasks like Lola, has basically endless energy to run (fly), hunt and play, - and there is a soft comforting energy to her. She's also fiercely territorial and protective, - just like Lola... I definitely see her as a Pisces, like that dog was, also.

[stardads]

Clan of "Getting Cuffed Because of the Empire"

[drenched-in-sunlight]

people bending over backwards to scream Marika never loved Messmer when he alone has more blessings personally bestowed by her than any other demigods combined are so funny to me. also the fact that it's implied he used to live in Leyndell too 😂😂

also she killed an entire god herself and made sure said God is called all manner of names and depict as ugly forever. for him 😂😂

[sporeclan]

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All grown up <3

[rudymentari]

This cat has yet to take a religious stance

[celestralferretdesigns]

Leopardfur/Leopardstar

[moss-wcdesigns]

Sasha - Loner. Former warrior of RiverClan, kittypet, and boat cat

[demigirlvioletshine]

[phoenix-clan]

6

During the night, as Smallpaw heals from his injuries, Slightstar makes small talk about Blazepaw.

Smallpaw can't hide his infatuation with Blazepaw, and quickly becomes embarrassed. Slight comforts him, assuring him that his feelings aren't bad; she asks him what it is about Blazepaw that catches his eye.

Smallpaw explains that, as an outsider to the clans, he was always outcast from the clan save for the few cats that survived the flames.

Blazepaw bravely led the HawkClan survivors out of the flames, leaving Smallpaw in awe over his courage.

Slight encourages Smallpaw to tell Blazepaw how he feels, and he considers it before sleeping for the night.

Hours later, Blazepaw wakes Smallpaw up to change his bandaging. Feeling a new sense of courage, Smallpaw begins to tell Blazepaw how he feels.

Blazepaw informs Smallpaw that he always knew, and admits he shares his feelings. The two share in a moment of joy as they agree to become mates.

Slight, seeing Blazepaw leaving the medicine den, asks him how Smallpaw is. Blazepaw admits that the both of them are doing wonderfully. Slight congratulates them.

happy pride! i didn't plan the timing out but it worked out lol sorry this one took so long to come out! i was burnt out a bit. i'm feeling a new kick of artistic inspiration though, so i went for it :) it might just be a regular thing that the art style changes xD

[todayinhiphophistory]

Today in Hip Hop History:

Ol’ Dirty Bastard released his debut album Return to the 36 Chambers March 28, 1995

[bambooswordwielder]

I've seen a few posts about how Lan Jingyi is the second coming of Wei Wuxian but like imagine being Lan Qiren.

Man made it his mission to target Wie Wuxian just from one class and then that student later on became their world's equivalent of the boogeyman and kinda seduced his star pupil nephew into becoming a rebel.

Now that student is gone and Lan Qiren probably thinks everything is going to be normal.

A few years passed and a couple that Lan Qiren is distantly related to have a child. All good and well... few years passed and Lan Qiren sees the little toddler walking around, smiling and following his mother.

And then that toddler looks Lan Qiren directly in the eyes, smirks, before running dead straight in a random direction, his mother in a panic chases after him leading to many Lan Disciples and even elders rushing to see the commotion, and the toddler is then found covered in two layers of mud and filth, a bunny from who knows where, and holding the hand of Lan Yuan (the child his nephew found mysteriously all those years ago).

Even worse, the child doesn't look one bit guilty, only more smug as the elders all sigh and groan about the chaos.

Lan Qiren returns to his room that night and prays to all his ancestors that the Yiling Patriarch didn't reincarnate and into his Clan of all places.

Years pass and the child grows up. Lan Qiren still performs calming melodies and inquiry to VERIFY that this child is indeed a Lan and not at the reborn Wei Wuxian.

When Wei Wuxian is exposed as Mo Xuanyu, Lan Qiren is both angry and furious at the blatant trickery of the Yiling Patriarch, but also a little bit relieved that Lan Jingyi is actually just a naturally rebellious child and not a Demon sent to torture him for all his past transgressions...

That thought is shaken a bit as Lan Jingyi would proceed to very loudly insult and fight with the brand new Jin Sect Leader, Jin Ling, in public and blantly threatened to punch him in the face.

Lan Qiren would return to his room that night and hope and pray that hopefully someone like Lan Wangji would show up to at least try and control this Lan-Made Demon child.