#also kinda interesting seeing like . how i draw myself vs how i actually look .

[justablah56]

recently drew a new pfp for my aro sideblog and I'm deciding to post it on here bcs I can <3

anyways Aether self portrait bcs why not 👍

[sabertoothwalrus]

your character designs are incredible! do you keep anything/any thought processes in mind as you draw fanart vs how you draw ocs?

OOOOOO what a fun question...

I'd say my general thought process about how to build a new character-- figuring out who they are and what they do and what they're like-- is all pretty much the same across the board. The main difference between designing fan characters vs original characters is how I answer those sorts of questions.

For original characters, it can be almost overwhelming because I get to choose everything. I can make everything perfectly suited to my own tastes, except I have a broad range of things I like, and my tastes change constantly FJHFHD so depending on the project, choosing a more specific direction helps narrow things down.

Here's some old ocs I redrew recently. They're from an old story I'm not planning on revisiting, but it was about an art student, her little brother, and some grim reapers. Can you tell who is who?

I wanted the alive characters to have a lot of Opposites from the reapers. Warm vs Cool colors. Round vs Angular shapes. I wanted the reapers to look skeletal and sickly looking, and it was important that they all had some kind of hood. They needed to wear black & grey, but their colors still needed to be interesting, so they're all tinted with a color (one is sort-of blue, one is sort-of red, one is sort-of purple).

The story is more serious, so it felt appropriate that the characters were more realistically proportioned compared to some of the cartoonier designs I tend to do. They're still heavily stylized, and I tried to push myself to go harder on the shape language and Appeal™.

For fan characters, it's actually a lot of fun because so much of the work has been done for you. The more source material you have to work with, the less you have to come up with.

So, an example I'm going to use is Hugh Dini, a character I came up with as part of a fan concept for a new entry in the Ace Attorney series.

Phoenix Wright's daughter, Trucy, is a magician. She was 17 in her last appearance, and my fan concept takes place 7 years later, so she'd be 24. I decided she'd have a boyfriend who is also her assistant, and went from there.

I knew Hugh was going to be a defendant, which according to Ace Attorney rules means that he'd be falsely accused of murder. I needed to create a guy who was sympathetic, someone that you'd WANT to help prove his innocence.

What I did was reference existing characters from the games who fit similar archetypes and took a lot of design cues from them. I also referenced characters like Fukuo from Kiki's Delivery Service, who is a delightful himbo wifeguy that looks a little intimidating but is actually just kinda shy. And then I looked at actual photos of stage magician costumes for additional inspiration. THEN I go back to the source material to compare design details I want to add (ex, Hugh's high collar, his cuffs, the collar, the cape being turned into fringe on his jacket) and see if it already exists somewhere. No point in reinventing the wheel if I don't need to!

I wanted him to be like a "sexy magician's assistant", which I thought was a funny contrast to his restrained demeanor. He needed to be flashy, but not TOO flashy that he'd upstage Trucy. And additionally, since this is a game series where the characters are mostly seen from the waist up, I tried to keep his most interesting details in the top half of his design (but honestly in hindsight, I could have given him more. like Zak Gramarye's thigh-strap belt bag, perhaps).

Some other things I like to do when creating fan designs is to "roleplay" being the designers of the source material. If concept art is available, I reference that. I like to find the design quirks the character designers favor, and use them to make my own designs more convincing. If I'm designing something for, say, a european tv show that came out in 2005, I'd refer to the fashion and design tendencies that were most prevalent in the culture then, because that's what the actual character designers would have been most inspired by. But I'm not perfect, I'm gonna have the biases of an american lesbian living in 2025 no matter how hard I try LMAO

Hopefully I was able to answer your question!

[etrangeres]

4/12 is M27's Anniversary!

Happy “Shinichi and Kaito are canonically cousins” day.

And congrats to Gosho for finally getting the idea that had been rattling in his head out in the open.

(Shounen Sunday Issue 22/23 2024) The secret no one knows about KID… It’s a relief to finally talk about it (lol).

But that got me wondering…I know this topic’s been brought up before, but how often? And when it was, how did he answer it? It’s kinda hard to actually find info the further back you go, but after a little digging I have an interesting list.

1) vs Kaitou Kid Manga Compilation (2004)

Published in 2004, this is an otherwise pretty straightforward omnibus of what KID cases were out at the time. Apparently, though, it’s within this volume that Gosho comments “実は秘密の深い理由がある” (There’s actually a deeply secret reason) when asked about their resemblance.

I am in the process of attempting to acquire this volume myself, so I’m curious to see if there’s anything more to it than that.

EDIT APR 17: I finally got the book in! There are four cases recorded in this book, and between each case they spend about 3 pages on “Conan vs KID Secrets.” Between the third (Twilight Mansion) and fourth (Air Walk), the theme of the “Secrets” corner is their relationship. Though it goes on to speculate that Toichi is the one that taught Yukiko magic (because it had not been hard confirmed yet) and mention each series’ mysterious organizations, the opening page of this corner talks about their similarities.

After the blurb speculates that Shinichi and Kaito might be distant relatives, there’s a comment from Gosho:

世の中には自分とそっくりな人が3人はいるって言うからね(笑)。まあ、一人のまんが家がそんなに違う主人公の顔を描けないって理由も確かにあるけど(笑)。実は秘密の深〜い理由が…お楽しみに！！

They do say that there are three people in the world that look like you, after all (lol). Though it’s also true that one mangaka can’t really draw their protagonist’s face all that differently (lol). But there’s actually a deeply secret reason… Look forward to it!!

2) Super Digest Book 30 (2003) & Super Digest Book 40 (2006)

Putting these two together for ease, because they’re mostly pretty short. Most SDBs have rapid-fire interviews with Gosho that are sometimes over 100 questions long.

First is SDB30.

Q11: Why do Shinichi and KID look alike? (新一とキッドはなぜ似ているの？)

A: I… I can’t say. (lol) (い･･･言えない。(笑))

Since SDB20 didn’t have a Q&A, and most KID-focused questions in SDB10 were just about KID being there at all (and one about him knowing Conan’s identity, but we’re not here to talk about that), there’s honestly not much to gleam from this question either, except noting that it was before his comment in the vs KID compilation.

SDB40 is a little more interesting, though.

Q7: Are KID and Shinichi actually relatives? (キッドと新一って親戚なんじゃないですか？)

A: BADUMP (lol) (ドキッ(笑)。)

The reply is meant to invoke a heartbeat, like from being surprised or startled - or caught in the act. This’d be amusing on its own, but this isn’t the only question he answers this way. There’s a decent number of them, and they fall into three main categories.

◉Category 1: Shenanigans

Q54. Eri’s cat, Goro, was actually modeled on your cat Kaito-kun, right?

Q59. Are you actually the boss of the Black Organization?

Q66. Are you happy?

Q87. Have you ever felt like wanting to end Detective Conan?

◉Category 2: This Actually Happened

Q2. Were Shuichi Akai and Akemi Miyano lovers? (Vol 58)

Q31. Is Eisuke Hondou actually Rena Mizunashi’s younger brother? (Vol 58)

Q52. Toichi was the magician that taught Yukiko the art of disguise, right? (hard confirmed Vol 55)

Q64. When is the London arc happening? (Vol 71)

◉Category 3: Who Knows?

Q10. Will we be able to see Conan’s tears at the end?

It’s in this last category I probably would have placed the question about Shinichi and Kaito, in light of what came before. With hindsight, though, we can place it in Category 2.

3) Hayakawa Mystery Magazine (2011)

The June 2011 issue has a six page interview with Gosho in celebration of the anime’s 15th anniversary (and the release of M15, Quarter of Silence). Though the topics jump from Gosho’s own love of history to his feelings on Detective Conan, we’re only concerned with this one answer:

…Perhaps because Kaitou Kid was designed as a main character first, he and Shinichi Kudo resemble each other. (怪盗キッドの方が主役として先に発表されていたせいか、キッドと工藤新一は顔が似ている。)

Gosho: “Their resemblance is not just from my drawing habits, but because there’s a secret background. There’s no way someone that similar just exists. (lol) As for why they look like, look forward to it, I suppose.” (「似ているのは執筆順のせいばかりではなく、裏設定があるからなんですよ。あんなに似ている人がいるわけないじゃないですか（笑）。似ている理由については、お愉しみに、ということで」)

This might be one of the most concrete answers he’s given to this question, largely because he also addresses the issue of his art style.

4) Interview in Singapore (2016)

Gosho featured as a panel guest at the November 2016 Singapore Writer’s Festival, during which he held a Q&A via interpreter. It is at this same interview that he point-blank reveals approximately three and a half years before the manga gives hard confirmation that Akai and Akemi are cousins after a fan asks him about it, but that is neither here nor there. Probably.

You can hear the question and response we’re concerned with at about 7:10 in this video. Some of the audio is definitely hard to pick out, but we can get the important bits.

Question: Is there a reason why Kaitou Kid and Kudo Shinichi look so alike?

Answer: ええ、それ？ちょっと、言えませんね。似てる理由はあります。(You want to know about that? I can’t really say. But there is a reason they look alike.)

Again, same answer. He’s nothing else if not consistent. It’s a smaller thing, but his delivery combined with the grammar (理由はあります。/There is a reason.) does make it sound like he wants to emphasize that it’s not a coincidence though.

BONUS: Kappei Yamaguchi’s Suspicious Comment

In August 2024, the fan event “Detective Conan Festival in Manga Kingdom Tottori” was held, featuring Conan, Ran, Kogoro, and Shinichi/Kaito’s seiyuus as guests. According to multiple fan reports of the event, Yamaguchi mentioned that he was told KID had a “secret backstory” when he was offered the role. A few reports also mention everyone holding their breath when he said as much, so it seems many people jumped to similar conclusions on what that statement might mean. I can’t begin to guess what motivated Yamaguchi’s comment, nor am I sure if it’s even safe to assume this is even about the cousins thing. But at the bare minimum, to him it must have meant something in the wake of M27.

Final Thoughts

This might not be every time the issue was brought up, but this is what I was able to find after some digging (and some painfully specific Japanese searches to get me back to a believable source).

The phrase 裏設定 (ura settei, translated as “secret background” throughout) often just refers to background info that is never mentioned in a concrete way in the work itself, but motivates the decisions that happen within it. In Yamaguchi’s case, perhaps it was just referring to the events of Magic Kaito as KID’s 裏設定 within Detective Conan. It’s difficult to apply that meaning to other uses of the word throughout this, though, like Gosho’s use of it in the Hayakawa Mystery interview.

So while I’m not sure what to think about Yamaguchi’s comment, I do think it’s entirely possible Gosho has at least considered the idea for a while, even if you could argue that he wasn’t always necessarily committed to the idea.

He probably committed to the idea at least by 2011, based on the concrete nature of his statement in Hayakawa and the emphasis he places in the Singapore interview. Regardless, I think it’s funny that he’s always been kinda evasive about the question that, in Gosho’s weird way, always indicated there might have been something more.

[ashipikaur]

ASHI’S 24 MANKAI CHALLENGE REVIEW! ☆

overview HERE ↑ ashi comments DOWN BELOW ↓

↑ my opinions and takes on how the a3! boys look in my style!!! 😭😭😭 and then VS how drawing them went……….. ↓

<\3 the correlations are strong on some BUT OTHERRSSSS… EEUUUUU. the banri azami was a struggle but at least it paid off 😭😭. otherwise thru out the entire process i did reviews on every chara!!! you can see my individual notes about them allllll below. and in order!!! this post will be very long HAHAHA. tho i did the tierlist after doing them so 🧍‍♂️ their rankings and numbers may not correlate……..

HARU 🌸

MASUMI 8/10

- eyes lowkey suffered me THEYRE HARD FOR ME TO STYLIZE. MAYBE IF I TOOK MORE TIME ON THEM cuz tbf these are more on the doodle side 🤔 could do them better but they’ve always lowkey been a struggle

- thought the colors would kill me BUT SURPRISINGLY NAWT. my only issue was that I was afraid his skin would be too light but ISSOK!!! was really funsies to work w

- hair is gen so peak i love his ahoge. it’s peak

- his highlight thingies have me questioning my rendering sometimes 😭😭 i can’t think too hard about them

ITARU 6.8/10

- ikemenisms are a hit or miss sometimes. HIS EYES ARE STUPID. HARD TO STYLIZE ALSO!!!!! stupey face ong

- hair is very funsies I LOOOOOOOVE DRAWING IT ITS SO FLUFFY AND RENDERING IS SUPER FUNSIES TOO

- his fit is butts tho. ITS SO DULL AND LIKE SAD TO RENDER ITS A FLOP <\3 he’d probs be better to draw in other fits but review is for this experience overall

CITRON 8/10

- WHIMSY. HOW MUCH WHIMSIER CAN YOU GET

- thing is that citron’s energy is just hard to capture…… he’s Saur ethereal…….. AND HIS EYES ARE HARD!!!!

- funsies to render tho a good chunk of detail and his hair is hard to render at times

CHIKAGE. 2/10

- IF I KILL MYSELF BLAME CHIKAGE UTSUKI.

- nothing about him is fun. HIS EYES ARE HELL. VIBES ARE HELL. HAIR IS LOWKEY HELL. CLOTHES ARE BORING!!!!! GLASSES SUCK TO DRAW 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

- he turned out fine but made me go thru hell. the cheeb is best way to illustrate chikage

SAKUYA 6/10

- his hair is very funsies. that is it

- 😭😭😭😭 LIKE HE ISNT HARD TO DRAW? BUT HES LIKE NOT THAT INTERESTING. he’s fine

- 😔 unfortche i hate rendering and drawing hoodies and his fit is a little boring. eyes can be inturrestin cuz I’m not used to drawing them saur big 🤔 uuum. YA. I DUNNO. OK

- he gets bonus +1 point because his hair is just fun to draw I LOVE FLUFF

TSUZURU 5/10

- the most mid guy to ever mid

- LIKE SAKU. NOT HARD TO DRAW. JUST THERE. tbh their vibes are both kinda hard to like show

- ????? for some reason i feel like my tsuzurus give off like a maekawa yuuki (stage actor) feel to them

- his hair isn’t fun AND I HATE DRAWING HOODIES so ya 🫶 mid

NATSU ☀️

TENMA 6.2/10

- i really wish he wasn’t this low but GOD

- i really dislike rendering jean jackets. i dunno if yall have tried but i do NAWT recommend and as much as i wuv tenma’s jacket as a concept I DONT LIKE DRAWING THE SHAPE EITHER. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 HELL!!!!!!

- his eyes kill me everytime i draw him and his face in gen he never turns out right SORRY TENTEN

- my second fave 🧍‍♂️ i swear. plea

YUKI 4.8/10

- he causes me visceral pain

- I LIKE GENUINELY DONT REALLY KNOW WHERE I THOUGHT HE WAS MY FAVE TO DRAW ??????? BECAUSE HE IS REALLY HARD TO DRAW. IM SOAAAUUUUR BAD AT DRAWING BIG EYES and especially like the judgy eyes IM SAUUURRR BADDDD. his hair is fun if you don’t think about it too much. it killed me here

- i finally found out how to draw his collar w/o making him look stupid 😭😭😭😭 AFTER FIVE YEARS. bow is fun to draw slightly annoying to render

- he turns out cute at least. Eu

MUKU 9/10

- PEAAKKK MAYBE WHAT I USED TO SAY ABOUT YUKKI IS ACTUALLY JUST TRUE FOR MUKKUN NEOW

- his eyes are so cute. his face is so cute. his hair is SOOOOOOOO FUNSIES HIS FIT IS SO PEAK!!!! I LOVE HIS SLEEVES

- all of his colors are so nice to render i have sm fun like it’s saur funsies. quick and easy. peak

- not a 10/10 cuz his hair and skin can merge at times <3

MISUMI 8.3/10

- yessu the three is especially for him

- IVE DEFO GOTTEN A LOOOOOT BETTER AT DRAWING SUMI WITHIN THE PAST YEAR i’m actuallys satisfied w how he turns out 🫶 . the thing be that

- his hoodie kills me. REITERATING I HATE RENDERING HOODIES

- HIS HOODIE IS ALSO!!!!!! HARD TO RENDER 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 ISSODARK. SO DARK. alsos half the time i barely know how to render the yellow accents but i think I’ve figured it out neow. maybes

- i can’t think too hard about his hair or else it makes me tweak. it’s annoying to render

- good things are his eyes cuz sankaku pupils are v fun and ALSO HIS SLEEVES ARE SOOOOOOOO IM ACTUALLYD OBSESSED E THEM I LOVE THE SHAPE SM. PEAK <3

KUMON 4/10

- he’s saur. average

- LIKE. I DUNNO I THOUGHT HE WOULD BE A LITTLE HARD TO DRAW OR SMTH BUT HES NAWT HES JUST KINDA MID TO DRAW? 😭😭😭😭 he’s kinda hard to stylize but it’s just cuz i don’t like small pupils

- whiter than i thought he was. too used to fanon kumon

- YA I DUNNO HIS FIT IS OK TOO. KINDA DETAILS BUT YOU CAN SCRIBBLE IT SO I DUNNO

- ended up docking a point because his colors wacked me up

KAZUNARI. 7.2/10

- it’s been 5 years and i still don’t know how to draw this stupid twink

- IVE COME TO REALIZE KAZUNARI IS VERY. STYLIZED. LIKE IMMENSELY IN MY STYLE AND I DUNNO IF THATS A GOOD THING OR NAWT? 😭 😭 like it’s fine but I DUNNO. oftentimes i feel like he’s missing that spark………..

- his spring outfit isn’t v funsies to draw for me personally cuz it is a LOT of white and doesn’t give a lot of diverse fun colors to work w. the blue is kinda dull and he just looks kinda empty w/o the hat but EEUUU. whatev

- stockholm syndrome

AKI 🍁

TAICHI 9/10

- immensely funsies to draw I LOOOVE DRAWING HIS EYES AND HIS HAIR AND HIS ENERGY

- the chain is so peak btws. Saur peak

- only downside is that his face is ugly sometimes and I have to fix it cuz I always draw him :D

- his sweater is kinda wack to render

SAKYO 8/10

- HIS HAIR HAS TO BE DRAWN IS A VERY SPEICIFC WAY. IT LOOKS SIMPLE BUT ITS KINDA NAWT?

- glasses are a downside obvi

- SAUERRR CUUUUUUUTEEEEEEE i really wuv rendering him it’s REALLY funsies 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶 peak colors. i really like rendering like this yellow???? shade

- lotta black/dark coloes but tbh it was fast and simple to render. it’s like a 50/50

BANRI 3/10

- i’m gyonna kill banri settsu

- HIS FACE IS FUN TO DRAW. HES FUN TO SKETCH. THATS IT. BECAUSE WE DONT FLIPPIN TALK ABOUT THE RENDERING

- rendering banrj is gen saur butts. you suffer and cave and go like ok whatever i’ll render his eyes then he looks BETTER but then his hair still looks like SHITE!!!

- FOREHEAD /NEG

- sm details on his jacket for what. AND FLANNEL. FOR WOT

- what i have realized from this expiernce is that i draw banri like a woman 🫶. take that as you will

- his eyes are his only saving point

AZAMI 2/10

- honestly braur probably the reason for the azashi drought

- 🧍‍♂️ . where do i start

- EYES ARE HELL. SO HARD TO STYLIZE AND MAKE SURE HE DOESNT LOOK LIKE A DEAD FISH.

- hair is whatever to sketch but GOD the rendering is so BADDDDDD 😭😭😭😭😭 GEN HELL. LIKE. braur

- he’s so white. i actually cpuldn’t like i needed to add like the tiniest bit of overlay color because i genuinely couldn’t

- his jacket is fun to draw but butts to render. IT GETS MUDDY REALLY FAST 😭.

- sorry azamin </3

JUZA 4.8/10

- pretty average guy

- if i draw banri like a woman i draw hyodo like a GREASER.

- his hair is really funsies but hard

- ALSOS he just comes out kinda Stiff so it knocks him down

- his everything takes me a while to sketch

- I DUNNO. both the hyodos are fine 🫶

OMI 5/10

- average guy

- HIS FAIR IS FUN. IF YOU DONT THINK ABOUT IT TOO MUCH

- outfit is fine

- i do think he looks super cute in my style tho <3 that’s about it

FUYU ❄️

TSUMUGI 5/10

- he really is just a fellow guy

- I DUNNO. HES NAWT LIKE HARD. HIS FAIR IS FUN? fun to render skin + hair wise too

- i just don’t think i captured his tsumuginess 🧍‍♂️ it could be the eyes. maybes. OR I DUNNO. it’s a mystery he doesn’t really look like Tsumu to me. he’s missing the freak my Tsumugi looks too nice IMO

HISOKA 5.2/10

- hair is a liiiittol hard to draw but it’s fun when you get it

- smol

- I HATE HOODIES. otherwise fine to render <3 hair is fun to render. again

- he gets +0.2 cuz i just think he’s cute in my style 🫶

HOMARE 4/10

- i don’t like drawing his face

- his hair would be really funsies if it wasn’t for the Long Strand

- his hair is very funsies to render and his eyes are SUCHHHH A PRETTY COLOR

- clothes suck to render

- 😭😭😭😭😭😭 homare is a lot of extreme highs and low but unfortche the lows overpower by a lil. SO. less than average

TASUKU 2/10

- hecks naw bro

- I DONT THINK HES NECESSARILY HARD TO DRAW. I THINK HES NATURALLY LIKE. THAT BUT I MADE HIM LIKE REALLY UGLY

- his hair is really fun and that’s the only plus i think everyone should draw his hair

- his fit is so boring. nawt fun at all

- INSANELY BORING TO RENDER

- hair was the only saving grace and I’d feel bad placing him at a 1 cuz that’s like REALLY bad and he wasn’t THAT bad

AZUMA 9/10

- amazing 10/10 stunning BEAUTE

- i didn’t expect him to be this high but <3<3<3<3<3<3

- i really like how he looks in my style too. everything is great and amazing

- only downside is that he face is kinda hard to capture but OTHERWISE everything is PEAK

- simple and easy to render. clothes aren’t a lot but they’re at least fun

GUY 6/10

- better than average 🫶

- his face is hard to capture but after that you’re all clear

- i like his hair!!!

- 🤔 details kinda

- i wouldn’t say fun but like. enjoyable

[eyeris-moni]

are jeff and raz.. kissboys..???!?!

This ask's wording had me DYING HELP

Forever adding that to my mental dictionary HAHAHA

I have to be completely honest with you, I myself have no hecking clue what their relationship is.

And I HAVE TRIED TO FIGURE OUT OK OTL

The TLDR is that I don't know!! and that you're welcome to HC and see them how you want as of now.

My own reins are loose and I just draw what feels in character (:

Thought-vomit below in case you want to hear my thoughts on it. It's long because i cannot for the life of me remember how much I've talked about before--

__________________

Most of the time I'm more focused on exploring the intricate, intimate feelings of their dynamic (something I just can't do justice with a couple of doodles here and there aughh).

Like--

Let's talk about the almost infantilized elements of Raz's repressed nature.

(Btw, this is not an issue to me - don't feel bad if you genuinely, or even on a meme level, refer to him as a baby. From Raz's perspective, that's how you're meant to, and in turn, that's the narrative I often draw. I draw him cute - he is cute!)

Every character, viewer included, is invited to see Raz as 'babi OwO', because that's a part of Raz's wants. When he feels threatening, he will literally make himself smaller, visually plead for you to see him that way.

Not because he is a tiny baby, but because he has learnt that doing so makes people nicer to him. He doesn't actually ever become a child. Instead he will look the part to spark care in others, and adapt a very simplistic worldview when needed. Not because he cannot grasp anything more complicated, but because it's too distressing to do so!

Like imagine how you might start thinking politics in term of simple 'bad' vs. 'good'. Not because there isn't nuance, but because it's stressful and exhausting and takes away your ability to be happy.

Sometimes Raz does that, but instead of it being politics, it's everything!

And I think it's genuinely interesting how Jeff kind of knows this and once he gets an idea of how it works, he doesn't coddle or treat Raz like a child.

In part because he's a stubborn asshole and kind of refuses to infantilize Raz beyond what is 'healthy'.

He learns to treat Raz as an adult, but obviously simplifies and helps out when Raz is overwhelmed. Example:

The rest of the times he and EJ do their best to help Raz learn how to be responsible and build healthier relationship. How to be self-sufficient.

And it's important because it's Jeff that's pushing for Slender to let him into the mansion, arguing that Raz isn't just a kid, but an adult that can take responsibility for his actions. He's pushing and arguing for Raz to be viewed the same way Jeff knows he can be, capable and responsible.

THAT IS ALL TO SAY I find it genuinely interesting and endearing how Jeff is able to connect with Raz (by being a stubborn asshole) and in turn helps Raz by holding him accountable. To see the glimpses of Ezca before they ever truly met, and how he shuts down Raz's unhealthy habits of making himself smaller, while idolizing everyone around him.

It's cool and I do think it makes their specific relationship special.

I mostly talked about Jeff's influence on Raz, but I could also talk for hours about how my version of Jeff slowly learns to be more patient and more emotional from Raz being around. (I imagine he lost a lot of his ability to be emotional ever since he entered a pact with Slenderman.)

I think their friendship is really cool and complicated and full of little intricate parts and having to label that is HARD GKDNDN

I wouldn't know if there's anything romantic in there - I've never drawn anything with that explicitly in mind?

But I draw them very close! Raz enjoys physical touch and closeness, and as they learn to work together, (especially post roadtrip together,) Jeff is kinda chill having Raz just laying/hanging/sitting around and on him.

Really the one concerned should be Raz because lord knows when Jeff last has showered and washed his clothes but i guess that's a benefit of being non-human NFKDNSJS

_________

I'm so sorry for the insanely long rambly answers!

I've been walking around with these characters in my head for years and it's HARD EXPLAINING STUFF

Also yall keep asking genuinely interesting question about them and the fan/nerd in me desires to make sure I cover my bases-

[softseaside]

It’s finally time for my art summary and I decided to throw my art vs artist 2024 in here as well! I also made two alternative versions for the art summary and art vs artist thing because…well…I think these summarize my 2024 perfectly sdkjskdj

I’m always really thrilled to make these art summaries at the end of the year and reflect on how the year went down. One of my main goals for 2024 was to finally launch the first chapter of my webcomic. Unfortunately, I got some health problems in the beginning of the year and after that, I started to dm my very first D&D campaign and…well…accidentally got obsessed with Blauauge, one of the OCs of the campaign that I completely lost focus on all my art goals skdjskdjsd

Homeboy ruined my 2024, made me forgot to work on my comic and made me start drawing sm*t ksjdskdjsd Jokes aside, DMing is really fun and made me try a lot of new things and expand my creativity. Artwise, 2024 was really, really fun for me, I forgot how much fun it is to be completely immersed in something and I just had so many ideas and thoughts and feelings and love about this blue tiefling.

While I’ve struggled a lot in the beginning (and still do) because I felt super cringe and ashamed to be so obsessed with a character no one knows/cares about, I slowly started to understand that I’ve always been doing art for myself and only for myself and that’s what I like most about art. It’s okay that not everyone is as hyped as me about my OC and the most important thing is that I have fun. Nontheless, I’m super thankful that people actually started to be interested in him so thanks everyone for sticking up with my unhinged OC brainrot 🫶💙 Let’s see how long it will stay since my mini campaign will end soon and we’ll continue our main D&D campaign again. So maybe 2025 we will finally be free of the blue himbo tiefling lmao.

Blauauge brainrot aside, this year I was able to gather a lot of experiences at tabling at artist alleys (8 in total!!!). I had so much fun, I learned so, so much and I met some really cool people and even made some friends. It was truly an amazing experience and I feel like I grew alot. That being said, I also realized that being a convention artist is EXTREMELY time-consuming and takes a lot of energy. Combined with my full-time job and dming, I barely had time for my other creative projects like my comic or my youtube channel and I feel so exhausted.

Looking at my goals from last year, I achieved one of them (attending more artist alleys) but for the other goals, I completely neglected youtube and I don’t feel ready for an art shop at all RIP + I really wanted be better at the fundamentals and I guess I got a bit better at anatomy because of Blauauge (and Blauauge sm*t) so I guess that kinda fits LMAO?? I also start putting more effort into backgrounds for my comic and I’m thinking more about composition while drawing but it’s still a long way for me and I really have to actively study because I feel like I’m at a step in my art journey again where I feel kinda stuck. However, something that really surprised me is that put a lot of my attention on my coloring and I find it way more enjoyable than last year. Also, just a side note, but I’m halfway done with my internship/apprentinceship and I am kinda proud of how much I’vee improved at graphic design and my branding, hehe.

Next year, I’ll TRY (lmao) to attend less conventions. I’m also on a good track working on my comic again SO THIS YEAR, I PROMISE TO GET THAT FIRST CHAPTER DONE!! and I’ll also try to make another youtube video again and maybe even start livestreaming? (no promises lol)

Thanks for liking my art and wishing you all lots of energy for 2025! 💙✨

[clambuoyance]

I really like your style. Was it intentionally designed, or did you just sort of fall into it over time?

I wouldnt say I intentionally designed it, as in I haven't sat down and Engineered a specific style, and instead it was more of me finding what I liked and wanted to incorporate into my style.

You could probably trace my style back to its influences. I used to draw really round shapes (I still do but like they were just ovals and circles...I guess i just like that shape) until I started watching How to Draw Anime tutorials in middleschool T-T (shoutout to Mark Crilley lol)

But when I first joined social media back in 2016, I found all these crazy artists with really unique styles that really influenced me. I was drawn towards artists like star_bite/prince_canary and rawrgyle/grassflu who have very dynamic expressions and character poses :0 (also they ended up working on a Batman and Superman project respectively and how wild is it that my icons from forever ago now work on projects aligned with my current interests!!!) And as you get exposed to different artists you get exposed to the many ways you can Draw things and along with your natural affinities towards certain things (such as me being attracted to Bright and Bold colors and Shaped styles) you kind of naturally build a style.

And part of that is also just having fun Trying things out? Sometimes I wouldnt even try to emulate their style as much as I tried to just...do what they were doing? As in making my ocs and putting them in fun poses, and doing color palette trends and such etc.

I hope that helped! If you're curious I can break down some of my style checkpoints over the years. As you can see there was still some major anime influence in my style back then when I first joined social media around 2015/2016

Around that time, I also discovered the fandom around the Cartoons popular at the time, so I drifted away from anime and drew things like gravity falls/steven universe/otgw etc etc so it got Rounder I guess. I really liked how stylized characters looked and got obsessed with Shape Language and assigning characters distinct Shapes (box vs triangle vs circle etc). I also read a lot of webcomics and stuff like that so those played a part I guess

And then around 2019 I saw more artists drawing anime fanart with really sharp angles, which was completely different but so cool to look at so I tried to incorporate more angles into my art. I still had that very cartoony style but tried to push the Sharpness a tad bit more if you can tell. (I think the name of the artist I liked was jeluto?)

I think around this time I also focused a lot more on color as well and did a lot of paintings then and whenever I did more Painterly stuff I tended to switch Styles into something Less Cartoony T-T

Then by 2020, I revamped my ocs, actually tried to break down and study my own style and how I would draw them, and my style kinda fell into a mix of round vs sharp edges I guess. I tried to give myself Rules which I would follow when stylizing a character to keep it more consistent and intentional.

Then in 2021 some of that Fun Part of stylizing characters into something more Cartoony kind of took a backseat as I focused more on Pose Work and Body Expression instead which I think helped a lot :0

And here's some recent stuff from the past year! Still very cartoony, but less so than 2016 I'd say, and still using really bold colors!! Still love my Soft Vs Hard angles B]

And overall have stronger pose work :) I'm sure my style will evolve as I learn more and experiment more, because one thing I want to focus on is backgrounds and environments :0

[cheriboms]

BTTF Year-End Tag Game!

Thank you to both @bttf-dork and @future-boi for tagging me in this ;w; also pika ur comments about my art WAHHHH ILYSM <33 oTL

This year:

How many times would you guess you watched the first back to the future movie?

Since I only hopped on this time train towards the final third of the year lol: fully all the way through, at least 4! Otherwise I've jumped around a lot while looking for clips and references and stuff. So if I stitch all those together, then we'll say approx 5ish :) The first movie is my favorite one!

Did you get any sweet bttf merch? If so, what?

Noooo, I don't really have any merch for things I like, actually... it gives me too much anxiety to publicly show my interests ;w;

How many cans of Pepsi Free did you chug this year?

None LOL I don't really drink soda to begin with, but if I do, I prefer white (lemon lime) soda anyway :P

What was a favorite bttf fanfic you read this year?

I'm going to be honest, I... don't read fanfic very much. 🫣 I usually end up creating my own stuff (art/writing) when I have free time vs looking at other people's, which ik I need to get better at T_T So I don't have a loooot to rec... that being said I MUST shout out "Emmett's first weather expirement." by @alex-a-fans !!! <3 It is my greatest treasure of the year <333

I also really liked "incredible" by @penny-anna, which I read before I officially entered le fandom ;w; lone pine doc and baby marty my beloveds !!!!!

Finally, like basically all of the Doctober prompts from @doctorbrown *O* Days 8, 22, and 30 are some of my favorites, but I really recommend them all oTL theyre SOOO GOOOOOD !!!!!

A favorite bttf fanart you saw this year? (please give us a link, not a screencap/repost!)

See: everything I reblogged. Jk but fr, everyone is so so talented it's really hard to choose :'0 Here's a bunch of some of my faves in no particular order!!

[x] from @hearts-for-winona | [x] from @maxintime | [x] from @future-boi | [x] from @bttf-dork | [x] from @synthsays and @daryfromthefuture | [x] from @therobotwig | [x] from @22194isbestboy | [x] from @mythical-bookworm | [x] from @mkayeatsspaghetii | [x] from @tobytost / @tobytost-star

Did you create any bttf fanart or fanfic? If you did, what one(s) are you proudest of?

Yes I did !!! It is actually the most fan content I've ever made for a fandom since I was in... maybe junior high? So like YUH. Tbh, it's very difficult for me to find what you would call 'pride' in my art so ehh >_>; that being said, I do think that I had a lot of good IDEAS for Doctober (esp days 19 and 28), but my execution wasnt really the best. I would have liked to draw days 17 and 24 (+ time travel day) a little more properly too; like, I'm not as disappointed at how they turned out, but I still wish they were better and/or I could have given them more time. The ones I most actually-tried-and-dont-mind are days 7, 9, and 21 + under the sea dance day. (So many links was probably cheating but tbf I've kinda bent the rules for the past few questions so... whatevs lol). I've ALSOOO still been working on my godforsaken essay, it is 40 pages rn but even tho it's not done, I'm INSANELY proud of it Q_Q

How many times were you late for school this year?

None! B) For one thing I'm graduated lol, but also I'm typically early gang. I'm that person who'd sit in the classroom by myself for like 5 minutes before everyone else would show up LMBO ^^;

Did you watch any other movies/tv shows with BTTF actors in them?

Yess I did!! A... lot actually :0 Most of them were by chance/pre bttf era, but still :P Here is my list as well as I could find, sorry it is soooo long, but what are ya gonna do:

Star Wars/The Mandalorian; The Addams Family (1991); The Tale of Desperaux (2008); Cyberchase; & Clue (1985) -- Christopher Lloyd, havent rewatched the latter 3 since I was a kid and literally went :0 to learn he apparently was in them. Also Kings Quest (2015) which isn't a movie/show but I think it counts uwu

Stuart Little (1999) -- Michael J. Fox, which also rocked my world to discover O_O like hearing it now I'm like "yeah thats him alright" but as a kid I would never have been able to tell you that was the same guy from that time travel movie, despite watching both way too much LMBO

Elf (2003) & Last Vegas (2013) -- Mary Steenburgen, nothing much to say except that she slayed ^_^

Love at the Christmas Table (2012) -- Lea Thompson, I didn't care for it and was shouting "LEA GET OUT OF THIS MOVIE, UR BETTER THAN THIS" like the whole time lol.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) & Curious George (2006) -- apparently these have Donald Fullilove (Goldie Wilson) in them? Same w Jason Scott Lee (Whitey) in Lilo & Stitch (2002)??? And Star Wars/Kenobi show apparently had Flea (Needles)????? ...HUH.

I binged both the entirety of Law and Order: SVU as well as Seinfeld this year w my sister; apparently Mary Steenburgen, Lea Thompson, & Casey Siemaszko (3-D) are in at least one episode of the former, while Elsa Raven (Clocktower Lady) and Ricky Dean Logan (Data) are apparently in a random episode of Seinfeld each. So like, technically I saw them, tho I don't distinctly remember it :'D Also, I have been making my way through Little House on the Prairie recently, which has Matt Clark (Chester the Bartender) in a few episodes !

Finally finally finally, I watched I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017), as well as the LOTR trilogy like. Twice? And they all have Elijah Wood of course >:3c

Was there a memorable moment you heard a Huey Lewis song this year?

None in the wild, no :P But I did end up being in the top 0.1% of listeners for Huey Lewis this year... so UHHHHH take that as u will LMBO

How many times did you fall down this year?

Hmmm idk?? Probably at least 1 I would think ???

Did you get to see BTTF: The Musical? What was your experience like!

Nooo, I didn't even know it existed until like October !!! It looks super fun but atm/last I checked it doesn't come to where I live so :( I should listen to the soundtrack soon!

How many times did your mom retell the story of how she and your father met?

At least three times, and then probably a few times I'm forgetting :P

If you could describe your year in a BTTF quote, which one would it be?

The year in general is definitely "Oh great, the atrocity channel!" LMBO (but when hasn't it been since like... 2020? 2016???). For me personally, I think it's either "I don't know if I could take that kind of rejection." or "Don't talk to anyone, don't touch anything, don't do anything, don't interact with anyone, and try not to look at anything." ^^;

⚡️LIGHTNING ROUND⚡️ Did you get to: go on any trains, skate on a skateboard, ride a horse, drive a Delorean, run in the rain, go to a dance, hang up a clock, play the guitar, pull an all-nighter, read science fiction, or drive thru Burger King this year?

Your future is whatever you make it! So what are you going to make of this coming year?

I think I'm going to try to post more of the things I make, like my art and especially my writing ;w; Most of the time I'm quite George-ish and am too scared to put any of my stuff out there, for fear that no one will like it, so... I need to get better about that. Also I'd LIKE to get a full-time job and my own place some time next year, but we will see !!!

Idrk who to tag :0 ik @brinkle-brackle @mythical-bookworm and @alex-a-fans have already been tagged but havent technically done it yet... maybe also @backintime @tobytost @ectojester @stillpreoccupiedwith1985 @itsthemorph @doctorbrown @knickynoo and @fourth-dimensional-thinker :) but no pressure to do it, just didnt catch if youd been tagged or not!

[otakween]

Digimon Tamers - Episode 8

Hmm this episode was just okay. There were some really nice animation moments, but it kinda felt like there was a lot of drawn out fluff. I still enjoyed myself, but I spaced out a couple times so I guess it didn't have me super gripped.

Notes:

Impmon was a fun little asshole in this episode. It's funny how he doesn't ever really get the reactions he wants. Renamon just kinda ignored him and Guilmon is too innocent to realize he's being trolled. Love a goofy villain who's bad at being evil. (I'm sure he'll get something darker to do eventually tho)

Terriermon has such an interesting personality. You would think such a cute little guy would be nice and affectionate but instead he's very blunt and says whatever's on his mind without much care for other's feelings. The way he inappropriately reacts to things yet seems to have a sort of wisdom...neurodivergent digi? (he does kinda look like autism creature lol)

The fact that Guilmon has a hobby of burying and digging up his food makes me think of enrichment for a caged zoo animal...at least he can technically leave

This episode did a really good job of making big digimon actually big! Adventure struggled with that at times (Greymon's size in the movie vs. the anime for example). I feel like showing off the hugeness of digimon and making them feel intimidating is all about the angles/perspectives they're "shot" at. Devidramon and Growmon felt properly intimidating in this.

Asanuma-sensei's JP voice is very monotone. She kinda sounds dead inside. She also barely reacted to a giant goth dragon flying inches from her head lol. I'd be screaming and peeing my pants and she was just like "what was that...?"

It's hard for me to not read "Grow" as grow...I get that it's from "growl," but that romanization is confusing out of context...

Takato being sucky at strategizing with his cards felt relatable to me lol. I'm bad at strategy games...

Seeing Guilmon digivolve for the first time was exciting and I look forward to seeing more Growmon in the next episode. I'm not super bothered that his design didn't change much. It's just annoying that digivolution is so inconsistent and sometimes they look completely different and other times its more gradual. Also, wait...when he was born Takato's digivice had to scan the drawing of Guilmon but this time it just kinda happened. Hope we get an explanation for all this eventually...

Speaking of unexplained mysteries, Culumon randomly shows up right as Guilmon is digivolving and his head lights up. The timing was suspicious, but I have no idea what the connection is yet.

I don't really get why Renamon and Terriermon couldn't have helped Guilmon with his fight. Renamon was like "that's Guilmon's prey..." which sure, makes sense with Ruki and Renamon's style of battling for power, but what was holding Jian and Terriermon back exactly?

[illadvisedselfships]

I come into your inbox bearing one free ticket 🎫 to gush over any f/o of choice :3 (or all of them if you prefer as well~)

I ACTUALLY HAVE L I S T S. ON MY NOTES APP XD LET ME JUST GO AND REFRESH MYSELF XD Haha. Gushing commences down below XD

Cruella De Vil (SPECIFCALLY 1996)- The only person real or fictional I would ever marry!

First of all I just love the way she talks! She uses words like 'squander' and 'sycophant' and aghh I love it. And this quote??- 'More good women have been lost to marriage then to war, famine, disease and disaster'. This is the line that first got me interested in her. Like... its extreme (Of course women can be married and still be powerful and amazing as hell) but there is truth to it and I love a mean old woman who's not afraid at all to say it.

Her HAIR. Its just perfect!! It looks so soft and fluffy and? the colour and the volume?? How??? It is iconic and I love drawing it, looking at it, thinking about playing with it... XD Its just great, alright?

How sorry she was about Anita's pregnancy 😅😅😅 Babe same. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if I got pregnant I would want people to respond the same way 😅😅😅 That's just personal thing, of course, I know most people would be happy to be with baby and wish to be congratulated but hey- that's why she's my f/o XD

I'm oddly obsessed with the sound her teeth make on her cigarette stick??? XDD Its just- I don't know. One of those things that's kinda satisfying for me ! 😂

Red. Lipstick.

She doesn't pull punches and I love writing for characters like that ^^ You get what you see with her.

Jim Bickerman- My main F/O!!

Alright first of all- I just feel like he's a perfect combination of all the kinds of characters I like! XD 1. Sleaze, 2. Crazy old man 3. Antagonist.

The f l a n n e l s. I-

Its just-

They look so good that's all I'm gonna say XD

A small detail I noticed that I like?? He has band aids on his fingers in Final Chapter. And I just wonder if, behind the scenes, the costume designer decided Jim was accident prone and constantly covered in band aids or if that was an Englund add XD Either way I just think its neat for a low budget campy creature feature sequel XD

Messy beard.

OKAY BUT?? HIS TALKING?? The line 'Come to Daddy you little bitch'?? That wry chuckle and 'Heh, whadaya mean?' all-too-innocent after someone asks him where the hell he's taking them?? Using 'clicks' as a measurement of distance? 💙 The fact that he calls himself a 'greedy old fart' as well as a 'cripple'? 😅

HE HAS REDEEMABLE QUALITIES. WHICH IS A NEW ONE FOR ME XD He respects his mother ('Mrs Bickerman wasnt a very good housekeeper' // 'Hey. That's no way to talk about the dead, son'), he is apparently against stealing (When a woman in Vs Anaconda suggests they take a boat he's very serious in telling her that doesn't belong to us), yes he was very creepy with that one girl in Final Chapter but he did not go to touch her at all which I think is pretty good compared to some other Englund characters 😅 as well as other F/O's of mine (Past or present), he was semi-nice to Max, etc.

His reaction to getting a gun pulled on him will never not be my favourite XD Like 'oh for gods sake, this again?'. And- you can see- he is almost laughing!

Also- I BET he could build a campfire. And that?? I don't know why but??? That is TOP TIER for me. I just-... oooffffffffffffffffffffff. Just 👌 Haha XD Where did my underwear go??-

Otis B Driftwood: I dunno, he's just... very comforting to me??? Ahhhhhhh.

I think its been very well established by now I love characters that don't hold back. They're brutally honest- usually in a mean, cruel way. Cruella De Vil is one, Slenderman is another, and Otis is one too. Maybe I just like that I always have that option?; not the killing or being mean obviously, but that just being grumpy instead of forcing a smile on is there as choice if I need it. I used to go into a 'Slenderman persona' when I had an oral presentation in school?? 😂😂😂 Which just means I was able to be still. I wasn't worried about what anyone else thought cuz who cares what they think, 'I hate them all anyway' (Which was of course not true, it was just apart of the 'persona' 😅). Otis is a riff off of that time in my life, I think XD 😅 When I'm having a bad day nowadays and I'm still forced to be out and about I might start thinking a bit snarky like him 😅😅😅 I know, I have some off defense mechanisms.

ANYWAY- he's absolutely rot incarnate and that is why you watch the movies XD He's a like a train wreck. You cant look away.

HIS SPEECHES!! Oh my lord. I love that that's how we were introduced to him- with him ranting to some kidnapped teenagers about a 'conformist world' and 'this culture of mechanical reproductions'. Ohhhhh boy XD

Somehow?? He seems to get... healthier?? With age??? What is this Benjamin Button nonsense?? XDD He has definitely made a deal with the devil.

He looks so cuddly in his overalls in the 3rd movie 😂😂😂 And he has no right!-

Just the fact that when one guy, Virgil, was worried if he went and broke Otis' sister out of prison as per Otis demand then she would kill him (Virgil), Otis was like *sigh* 'okay, I'll write you a note.'. Like a parent saying his kid doesn't have to do P.E today??? XDD

Professor Callahan (SPECIFICALLY THEMICHAEL RUPERT MUSICAL VERSION.):

He. SINGS. Whoever said musical theatre kids aren't hot have clearly not seen what they can turn into. Goddamn.

His voice in general ahhhhhhhhh. I wanted him to degrade me at first, admittedly XDD But now I want praise. And degradation actually. BOTH! And its not the actors real voice, either, I saw a video on Tik Tok of Rupert and he was talking completely different- then at the end abruptly PUT ON HIS CALLAHAN VOICE FOR A LAST LINE and ohhh BOY I was finished. XD

Oh my goodness, he yanked my dormant teacher/professor kink back to life by its ankles!-

That was my first kink and honestly I'm pleased to see it back 😂😂

The fact that they made the character so much worse in the musical??? Like in the movie (Victor Garber ver.) he's kind of likeable at the start, making a joke or two to release the tension in his classroom- but THIS version is like crush grandma so we can get laid IMMEDIATELY!! G o d. I love villains. And he is a classic case of no-holds-barred, black and white, Disney Villain-esque, walks-off-chuckling bastardry and I love it.

'Or is that unfair?- OH WAIT, I don't care'.

Ahhh!, his face after he sniffs Elle's resume!! Its so cute I love it XD

This outfit:

[tumblerislovetumblerislife]

well olly you know i'm obsessed with these so unforch you leave me no choice *cracks knuckles*

overall impression: very lovely and moody and spooky!! i kinda expected more blood-reds from devlin house but i should've known better, you wouldn't go for something that cliché. as always the shots you chose are SO good, love the combo of very dramatic shots with way more subtle ones!

gif 1: cindy my beloved!! oh my god i need to see edwin laughing like that. i need CHARLES to see edwin laughing like that! and niko is so precious, i love her and her green coat. speaking of! love the way she moves past the colour blocks and almost adds contrast to them until she reaches the green and basically blends in?? SUCH a cool effect. and i love the colours themselves, the green + goldish vibe is everything. the green in the shot is so dramatic that it's like a fun little puzzle to find the rest of the colours! and then you realise, oh wait, that's the majority of the picture. ceiling, chairs, cabinet, niko and cindy's hair. and cindy being represented by the colour palette, drawing her undeniably into the picture because she can actually be seen by everyone around her, the opposite of ghostly, is SO cool. and then the contrast of the bright (blueish?) white?? the way it contrasts so much with niko's coat that at first i couldn't see where you got it from, only when niko moves back it blends perfectly into the window in the background?? olly you are a GENIUS

gif 2: JENNY JENNY JENNY! this is a wild one because it's such a mundane part of the scene and yet i can't stop looking at the dramatic colouring. SHE!!! also the colours you chose feel very similar to the jenny gif from ep1, which, to be clear, i mean SO positively. i love that it ties them together! also something something jenny in her black clothes being surrounded by so much colour as symbolism to what crystal and niko bring to her life. brb crying

gif 3: HI SPOOKY SHOT OF ALL TIME 😍😍😍 one of those dramatic ones i NEVER want to look away from. loveeeeeee the red-orange reflections on them, the purple of crystal's coat, the blue of edwin's shirt. also getting into the symbolism again but the way most of the colours are drawn from crystal and the background (even the blue is present in her grey shirt/jacket/whatever that is) and it makes the boys feel even more ghostly. ESPECIALLY CHARLES?? WHO ONLY RECEIVES RED BACKLIGHTING?? AND SPENDS THE EP GRAPPLING WITH HIS OWN HELPLESSNESS?? THE ONLY ONE UNTOUCHED BY BLUE (AKA SYMBOLIC OF HEAVEN)?? I'M MAKING MYSELF SICK WITH THIS OH GOD

gif 4: SUCH a lovely little shot! the blues from edwin's outfit, the greenish-gray i'm guessing from the stripes (very nice and subtle, love the choice to emphasise them!), the white from his shirt. and then BAM, gold for the bracelet of homosexuality. but even then it's a very subtle colour choice for it, i can see some of the background is the same colour, even the darker parts of edwin's shirt cuffs. it's like you, via the palette, are helping him hide the bracelet and. i'm just in love

gif 5: monty!! the return of niko's green coat!! love the cool (ha!) colours, mixed in with the warmer browns. the blue is so subtle in monty's plaid shirt (and the port townsend sign if i'm not mistaken?) the brown/burgundy in monty's scarf and shirt and the trees in the background really draws it all together! plus the green in both niko's coat and the trees' leaves! also interesting to see here the colours you didn't choose for the palette, like the white of niko's hair and monty's books. not to get too deep into it but it feels like a sign that it's not niko monty's trying to connect to, even though edwin isn't even in the frame! and the darker brown feels sort of similar to edwin's coat but that might just be grasping at straws lmao

gif 6: OH DEVLIN HOUSE WE'RE REALLY IN IT NOW. obsessed with the way you subverted expectations with the devlin house being so blue and monotone, vs how we tend to read it as this dramatic high-stakes situation with so much blood spilled. again with the symbolism but it feels like it speaks so much more to the nature of the thirty-year (!!!) loop and how to the victims of it it's not dramatic but just the same cycle they can't get out of. over and over and over. and crystal and charles' expressions in this one OUGH. crystal trying immediately to find a way to help, to free these women, and charles is seeing his worst nightmare and trying desperately to suppress it. again, charles' helplessness represented by none of his colours making it onto the palette, even though his shirt is still pretty red. his hero colour is represented only as its worst in this house

gif 7: can i just say. obsessed with the parallels of the last two gifs, showing the pre- and post-devlin house feelings? at first i thought this one was from the end of ep3, after gif 8, but just from seeing charles and crystal's interaction it's obviously not OUGH. love the wide shot of them (and the cinematography lessons!! the focus falloff at the top. i am Looking), the greens of the trees and the brown of the leaves and the purple of crystal's coat (ooh and the sign!). some of the purple even seems to come across in charles' jacket! and the blue of the statue also being in edwin and charles' socks and crystal's shirt. it ties them all together in a way that contrasts so much with the effect devlin house has in breaking them apart. forever emotional about ittttt

gif 8: AND FINAL SHOT. devlin house is over (or is it??) the colours nearly blending in with the background and then contrasted against charles' coat. i'd say SYMBOLISM but i'm sure you're sick of hearing it by now lmaooo. the bright lights in the background are SO striking. and the green??? the way it reflects so dramatically against the orange specifically on edwin's face??? i know that's not death's light shining on them but it sure is interesting how often edwin is the one bathed in that colour of light.......... also this might be a reach but the way crystal's jacket/hoodie/whatever seems to be a similar shade of green-grey, tying her and edwin together as having found common ground in the devlin house, vs charles again being the least represented by the colour palette -- devlin house might be over but he still feels helpless. i'm sure nothing bad will come of that!

i'd say i can never be normal about this but you already know that. love this, love you, thank you forever for blessing us with your gorgeous gifs!!!

Dead Boy Detectives (2024) 1.03 — The Case of the Devlin House (insp)

[freebooter4ever]

Are the lines on your drawings stylistic choices or are they measurement/guiding lines? Either way, they are cool, but just wondered. I dont understand drawing at all, might as well be a magic spell to me. I was looking at the pencil (?) sketch of Malkin with the cheesecutter hat on.

i, uh, definitely did not google 'cheesecutter hat' until after i saved out these images. :/ sorry about that. if you'd like the other one broken down, i can do that too lol. my reading comprehension when im tired is kinda lazy i just saw 'cheese' and imediately thought 'omelette'. SO here's the 1) initial sketch, 2) 'clean' sketch, and 3) final lines for the omelette boy drawing instead:

also i have had a cumulative of about 9 ish hrs of sleep total for the past two days so keep that in mind for if this explanation makes no sense, its not my fault. :( anyway! the way i draw definitely has changed over the years but currently im really trying to focus on the line i "see" rather than the one that is actually "there". i've been applying this to my writing for years (story vs happening truth) and you know it never occurred to me that i could do it in my drawings too till like...a few years ago. in general these lines seem to form the planes of the subject. if you google 'stanford bunny' you can find an easy example of a 3D surface turned into triangles. I do this too - see things in relative triangle proportions, except i've been doing it long before i knew how computers worked. i cant begin to tell you how long d*sney and cartooning's obsession with round building blocks of anatomical structure fucked with my brain until i finally decided i could cast that teaching aside completely.

ANYWAY sorry off subject again. so we have these sketchy under lines, and usually as im trying to find the proportions and form of the subject these lines end up being where the light/shadow hits. here i saved out the 1) 'flat colors', 2) the 'light', and 3) the 'shadow' parts on their own (i lightened the background for the 'shadow' so its easier to see):

the light is like four or five 'overlay' layers of pale yellow/orange. you can see how each of these layers follow one of those sketchy lines i did initially. and the same with the shadow but instead its a dark red color set to 'multiply' for each layer. and when you combine everything together you get:

some bullshit :). anyway you know that anniversary edition of beauty and the beast that featured the version previewed to nyc audiences in 1990 with the glen ke*ne sketchy keyframe animation of the beast's transformation? i watched that - must have been sometime after i graduated college - and i felt robbed that THAT version was never presented as a final piece. the 'unclean' drawings had so much more life and movement and intensity to them. tldr i like the messy lines, i hate 'inking' with a passion (HATE. IT.), and when i finally allowed myself to stop giving a fuck drawing became way more interesting. but my art is shit and i will never be glen k*ane so i dont really feel like the best advocate for this "style". alas. there was this one artist on tumblr who i fucking loved whose sketches were SPECTACULAR but the asshole racists in the m*c*ha*nz*o fandom bullied her off tumblr and ive never been able to find her art anywhere else since. she was also very negative about her 'unclean' sketches and it made me so sad. there was also this other artist whose sketches were awe inspiring but all she drew was p*rn and well...we all know what happened on tumblr in december 2018.

also i 100% stole the lighting scheme from The Bear which is currently one of the most gorgeous shows on television right now in my opinion

im really really sorry if this makes no sense, if im feeling motivated maybe i'll try again when my brain is fully functioning but with the actual 'cheesecutter hat' doodle ^_^

[crescentfool]

Hey crescent!!

I was so busy during new year that i only had the time to look at your art journey now, and I have to confess i actually saved a bit of yours on my phone uwu

I look forward to your art next year! (Pls feed my p3 demons), and if it isn’t too much to ask, is there any tips to getting gud at drawing? Id like to draw myself but im not sure where to start TwT

Anyways, happy belated new year! Hope to see you more this year! :3

hi bkza555! thank you so much for the kind words, and happy new year to you! i'm really happy that my p3 arts could keep you fed throughout 2022, ryomina and p3 brainrot is too strong! 💛💙

re: wanting to draw, i'd say go for it! 🙌💪 i think that it can be a fun skill to develop, and i'd recommend starting with things that YOU want to draw / see art of (because making yourself happy w/self-indulgent things is great!).

drawing advice under the read more, because this kinda got long oops 🥴

i would say that being resourceful and patient make for good qualities to have in your learning journey (among many other things)! art can be a rollercoaster with how we feel towards our own work ("WOAH I DREW THAT" vs "NOO WHY DO IT LOOK LIKE THAT").

so basically: striving to have a good mindset + drawing something that interests you will keep art as a sustainable practice!

if you're looking to get better at art- i highly recommend finding some kind of visual reference and trying to recreate them / understand them! i wouldn't be where i am without them 😭

i usually focus on photo references but i also look at drawn references + 3d models sometimes (mostly for likeness purposes).

for photo references, i like to look through pinterest + stock photo sites + google as a starting point! or you can set up a tripod with a camera and pose in front of it if searching the web doesn't exactly have what you want...

and if you want to draw persona characters, i think i've seen their 3d models for both miku miku dance (MMD) + xnalara which can be helpful if you want to see them from all sorts of angles (when official artwork doesn't suffice). hell i have to regularly look at manga panels of ryoji sometimes because i forget how to draw his hair every time LMFAO ITS SO DIFFICULT... 😭

honestly, trying to provide any concise art advice within an ask is difficult since the practice of breaking down references can be hard to convey over text. so i'll link to my art summary from 2021, which has a list of resources that you could check out!

it might be helpful to watch videos/streams of drawing too! or any tutorials that walk you through the basic shapes.

AND I SWEAR i am almost done talking BUT! the most important part is to have fun and focus on getting what you personally want of the art process. i hope that the list of resources can help if you want to find some guides on How To Do Things.... if u need any clarification feel free to leave a reply or come by the inbox again!

thank you again for your kind words! may 2023 be kind to you, and see you some other time! 👋

[darkcircles4lyfe]

retrospective & predictions

Since we're on a hiatus week (between 320 and 321) I feel like waxing poetic about the depth and growth of bkdk for a bit. Especially because it seems like we’re right on the edge of their biggest development yet, I’m getting the urge to lay all my perspectives and insights I’ve picked up from others out on the table. This is ultimately only my subjective interpretation of subtextual material in canon, though. If you’ve never quite understood what people see in their dynamic and you’re actually open to hearing me out, maybe from this you can at least see where we’re coming from. And if you don’t like my takes after all, well, we’ll see who’s right in the coming chapters, won’t we? What I have to say can be taken platonically or romantically; I appreciate both. 

putting it under the cut, since it’ll be long:

At the risk of projecting, I want to start by examining a couple things based partly on personal experience.

From many different directions, I often hear people expressing that Deku’s persistent attachment and admiration for Bakugou is baffling at best. Despite the bullying, despite Bakugou’s loud, rude, and uncompromising personality, he still puts effort into their relationship and frequently describes him as amazing. It seems like Deku himself is aware of this as he’s said things along the lines of how he’s difficult, BUT... etc. Although I don’t think it’s exactly that Deku finds Bakugou’s personality hard to be around, but that he’s deliberately expressing patience for Bakugou’s emotional turmoil. 

I have to say I know what this sort of patience is like, as I went through it with someone I love. I only chose to put up with their behavior because I decided the possibility of what our relationship could be was worth it. I wasn’t blind or submissive to how they treated me, and I wasn’t coerced. I simply expressed myself and established my boundaries while still allowing them the opportunity to join me in my world once they got over their own hangups. And guess what? It worked out in the end. That doesn’t mean there aren’t circumstances where it’s better to cut ties, but I want to stress that true reconciliation is possible sometimes. I used to worry that other people around me thought I was delusional for seeking it, but what really helped was my therapist reminding me that I’m smart and strong. So I think Deku deserves to feel the same. In a way this is his whole mission in life, his approach to being a hero as well as his personal relationships.

Let me also be clear though that I don’t mean Deku is only tolerating Bakugou’s personality, his mannerisms, the parts of him that will likely never change. I’m drawing a line between those things and his emotional state (they so rarely align anyway, but I’ll get to that later). In fact, I think Bakugou’s general attitude is part of what Deku admires. This is gonna be hard to explain without inserting personal experience too, sorry. As a writer myself I’ve noticed I’m drawn to writing characters that are brazen and bold and don't mind telling people off. Really it’s because I operate in the world in the polar opposite way. I try not to draw attention to myself, I’m quiet, and I’m a people-pleaser. People who project confidence, especially in an impolite sort of way, fascinate me. It’s good to take cultural context into account, too: I've heard people who’d know better than me that part of the reason Bakugou is the most popular character in the Japanese fandom is likely because he contradicts a lot of their social norms. His disregard is refreshing and cathartic. I can speculate that Deku has a similar point of view based on what he thinks but does not admit about Bakugou being his image of victory and how this sometimes makes him mimic Bakugou’s speech and mannerisms: 

There’s also the bit in this fight where Deku realizes he's the only one able to receive Bakugou’s emotions. This is because he’s the most intimately familiar with him and his situation, but I think there’s another layer. Deku, as we know, has a self-sacrificing tendency, and in the current chapters we’re seeing the worst side of that. But let’s also not forget that to an extent, it can be a positive trait: resilience. When it comes to Bakugou, he has an almost comical ability to dodge the potential fallout of his outbursts. The example we all jump to (and fight about..) is how in ch1, apart from the initial shock of Bakugou suggesting he jump off the roof, the most he reacts is to criticize him for saying such a ridiculous thing. However, I think their interaction post- sludge villain is a lot more interesting:

Note two things: 1, in his head, Deku is practically making fun of how Bakugou’s acting as he stomps away without waiting for a reply. It doesn’t faze him. 2, Deku thinks, optimistically, that he can now focus on a different career choice. This is astonishing really. Up to this point, none of Bakugou’s attempts to put him down have worked; he just kept pursuing his dream. The only reason Deku concedes in this moment it because for the first time, he has been shown that he really couldn't do anything in a fight against a villain. All Might told him he couldn't be a hero (although he’s literally about to take that back in the next few pages lol) and the other heroes at the scene gave him a lecture about it too. It was those experiences, and not Bakugou’s words, that truly affected him. And when All Might tells Deku he can be a hero after all, it’s not thinking of Bakugou’s bullying that makes him sob and fall to his knees, it’s the memory of his own mom never telling him those words he so desperately needed to hear. Having spent most of their lives together, Deku must have been aware all this time that Baukgou was influenced by larger societal forces rather than a core judgement, so he didn’t take it personally. He separated the person from the action, and because he’s resilient and patient, he is thus equipped to handle Bakugou’s emotions. It’s a testament to his maturity and emotional intelligence, really. 

But I can almost hear some of you saying, “that doesn’t mean Deku should have to be the bigger person here!” Correct! Just because Deku is perfectly alright bearing all of that, doesn’t mean atonement-era Bakugou sees it this way. We can track his awareness of Deku’s care and selflessness as follows-

The bridge scene, when they’re little kids: Bakugou conflates Deku’s heroism with pity, and subsequently thinks Deku is looking down on him because Bakugou’s own insecurity makes him defensive.

The Sludge Villain, and also Deku vs. Kacchan Part 1: Bakugou witnesses first-hand how easily Deku jumps to risk his own life, but still thinks he’s being looked down on. 

The Sports Festival: Bakugou fights Uraraka and recognizes her endurance strategy and refusal to give up as very Deku-like. He’s half right. He thinks Deku advised her in the fight, when in reality she just mimicked Deku because she admired him. I want to draw attention to his very sober comment about her not being frail. It’s a great endearment of Uraraka’s character and Bakugou’s respect for her when others didn’t take “fighting a girl” seriously, but it also reflects on his opinion of Deku. Deku isn’t weak either. He never was.

Deku vs. Kacchan Part 2: Deku finally corrects him about the whole looking-down-on-him thing, and Bakugou is informed that Deku’s selflessness is in fact the reason All Might chose him. Since Bakugou had been in search of what he himself was “doing wrong” for All Might to favor Deku over him, he now has to reconcile the fact that selflessness is a heroic trait, and moreover something he lacks. This is also possibly the first time Bakugou is able to see his past actions toward Deku as bullying since he previously thought it was more mutual. Additionally, Bakugou can now link Deku’s selfless behavior to what he perceived as pity/contempt, and realize that Deku has been giving him A LOT of grace. Maybe too much. Maybe more than Bakugou deserves, and definitely more than Deku should have to. Holy heck- now Bakugou has to figure out how to live up to all the faith that’s been placed in him. 

Subtextually, we can see Bakugou’s feelings about atonement reflected in the Todoroki family:

1, Shouto is another example of Deku growing a friendship using his selflessness (since their fight in the sports festival) and their relationship is being acknowledged here where it hasn’t been in Bakugou’s situation. Perhaps Bakugou is wishing it could be so simple for him, to be able to thank him for being his friend like that. Deku saying the pleasure is all his also probably calls to mind how a mere apology from Bakugou would probably be dismissed because that’s just the kind of accommodating person Deku is. Bakugou has to operate more quietly in order to actually make up for their past. I personally don’t interpret this scene as Bakugou being jealous of Deku and Shouto’s friendship, exactly, just the lack of emotional baggage. Side note, Deku and Fuyumi are kinda similar in their desire to repair relationships. I like that she’s the one to give him some credit. 

2, With the common terminology, this can be interpreted as Bakugou receiving a model for atonement, one that is about action, and nothing to do with receiving favor or forgiveness. It’s a sense of duty. 

Many of the above sentiments are repeated in the flashback conversation between All Might and Bakugou right before Bakugou’s sacrifice. 

Bakugou acknowledges his bullying and that it happened because of his own insecurities, but aside from that, it’s interesting he neither confirms nor denies All Might’s suggestion that he’s trying to atone, or that Deku doesn’t see it that way. All Might is a bit of an unreliable mentor sometimes, but I don’t think he’s misreading here. Rather, Bakugou is displaying his tendency to hold back when talking about things that would make him really emotional. Besides, admitting to what he’s doing kind of defeats the purpose. He isn’t seeking acknowledgement. All Might has gotten to the crux of the issue here when pointing out that Deku doesn’t recognize the atonement, likely because Deku doesn't think Bakugou even needs to atone. Am I reading into it too much to say Bakugou looks wistful at this? It’s kinda frustrating sometimes trying to interpret Bakugou’s actions because he’s so paradoxical. Loud and in your face, but also extremely reserved. Sometimes I feel like I’m grasping at thin air, but hey, being hard to figure out is part of his intrigue as a character. The simplest way to look at him is to assume that unless he’s really showing vulnerability, he’s probably deflecting and hiding something.

Speaking of Bakugou’s tendency to to hold back emotional stuff, there’s his apparent lack of issue with Deku calling him Kacchan. Maybe to begin with, in his warped perception of things where he thought they hated each other, Bakugou saw it as Deku’s way of getting back at him for calling him “useless,” and didn't dare give any indication that it actually bothered him. However... consider how betrayed Bakugou has appeared when he was noticeably thinking Deku was looking down on him- the bridge scene, and the beginning of their first year at UA when he thought Deku was hiding a quirk all along. He looks shocked and hurt. That kind of emotion couldn’t be invoked by someone Bakugou didn’t actually care about his relationship with. “Kacchan” comes from a long time ago, before their relationship was strained, so it’s connotations are pure. Maybe somewhere deep down, Bakugou has always been hoping that Deku’s continued use of the nickname was not simply a matter of habit or teasing, but a vestige of friendship they’re both clinging to, and Bakugou himself was too afraid to admit to himself that he felt this way about it, so he mostly ignored it. (These are not original thoughts I am having here lol, this is a common interpretation. I’m just laying everything out like I said.) 

And now we turn to the current situation. Personally, I’ve been looking frantically back and forth between them wondering who’s going to break down first (Deku vs. Kacchan Part 3, this time it’s just a fight to get the other person to cry? ha.) Both have looked like they’re approaching a breaking point for some time. Also, I’ve addressed this before, but I think it’s significant that Bakugou is no longer wearing his mask with his hero costume, in contrast to Deku recently donning his own. It feels symbolic of Bakugou about to be upfront about how he feels.

The question is, what is it going to take to get Deku to accept help? If you ask me, Deku has dug himself so deeply into the I’m-doing-this-for-everyone-else’s-safety-and-smiles hole, no common sense argument can possibly reach him. By the end of 320, Deku’s mask is off, and we can see how desperate he truly is. But he has not cried, yet. I predict we’re going to see a bit more of his defiance, this time on full display on his face as the remaining class members and his other friends take their turns. But then I think Bakugou has to be the one to break down so Deku can witness his actions having the opposite effect he intended. People have been pointing out that Deku is currently ignoring Bakugou, and oof, that’s gotta be intentional. Regardless of what Bakugou says, it’s going to be wrapped up not only in his understanding of Deku’s self-sacrifice, but also the betrayal Bakugou feels at being ignored/left behind that ironically echoes his previous perception of being looked down on, as well as a need to express how much he cares about Deku before it’s too late. He must show that the two of them are inseparable because they both act to save each other without thinking, and both feel like losing the other would be like dying themselves. All Might may have been right when he told them they could learn from each other after Deku vs. Kacchan Part 2, but he didn’t fully realize that idea by making sure they stuck by each other for support and balance. 

I can’t wait to see what it’ll be like when they do finally get to that point, totally in synch and in tune with each other. They’ll be a powerful force no one is quite prepared for. Who knows when that will be, or even which chapter will be their big showdown, but I know the day is coming.

To speculate even further, I think the 2nd user is going to be really important really soon. And no I don’t mean to suggest that the 2nd user is Bakugou. But I do think their resemblance is key. Okay this is gonna be convoluted...

See how 2nd is the only one still standing? I think that’s symbolic of him withholding his quirk. Deku may not even know what it is at this point, let alone have unlocked it. Given that 2nd approves of Deku’s strategy at this point, it seems odd for him to withhold his quirk based on lack of faith. I think if his quirk was something that would help Deku in combat, he would have shown it to him already like the others did. So what if those gauntlets of his are support items that are meant to make up for his lack of a combat-oriented quirk, rather than to augment it? Mind you, I still have no idea what his mysterious power might be, but I’m dead set on it not being explosion-y. Regardless, I think 2nd looking like Bakugou is more about aiding some grand visual parallel, so! You know how 2nd and 3rd were probably intending to do away with Yoichi but 2nd changed his mind as soon as they made eye contact? This is really a long shot, but I wonder if 2nd’s quirk has something to do with that exchange. Maybe it’s something psychological, or some 6th sense about people he meets. So... in that way 2nd’s quirk could play a role in bkdk reaching a deeper understanding? Idk! But it could be significant at least that 2nd left Yoichi’s question about why he reached out to him unanswered. 

One more thing- while I was gathering screenshots I found this. I think “you’re the last one I’m telling” might be foreshadowing for Bakugou revealing his hero name to Deku and it being a Big Deal:

As for other lingering threads in the overall plot right now, such as the UA traitor, Stain, whatever Tsuyu is apparently about to do, All Might’s car maybe in the background of the last page of 320... man I have no idea. All I know is there’s literally 320 chapters’ worth of build-up to this confrontation that can’t be interrupted. 

See you next week <3

[composeregg]

@lunar-fey tagged:

#ohhhh#okay so for context im only familiar with p4 and somewhat p5 myself (technically only got to futaba but have read spoilers for events after)#but iirc its something of a Plot Point that yu/p4 protag has kind of a blank slate personality.#so even beyond the like rank bonus mechanic it would be REALLY cool to see various influences on him#bc they might be a bit more. idk obvious than in joker who already has a relatively strong personality#id see joker as more having specific aspects exaggerated. whereas w yu theres not much TO exaggerate#so one day he just walks up like. ya. im really into uhhh like magic tricks now. or something.#im working at half brain rn and not really able to come up with traits that would match a specific persona or arcana but yeah#hope that makes sense fhsjhdnd#anyway would LOVE to hear your plurality related thoughts :3

YOU UNDERSTAND ME

Like, I don't know much abt all the intricacies of Yu, but he is SUCH a blank slate of a person! When he takes on persona, it would be more like a spark of intensity where there usually is none!!! With Joker, it's about like. Like you said, exaggeration!

It's like, let's look at the Justice as an arcana as a whole.

The two Justice social links here are Nanako and Akechi. Strong morals of right and wrong (and before anyone points stuff out abt our fave here, Akechi does have strong moral beliefs, he just also BREAKS THEM KNOWINGLY). But beyond that, there's a bit of childishness at play, too. Nanako, obvs, is a child. Akechi has this sense of heroism, despite estranging himself from being it. His weapon is basically a lightsaber, his gun is a laser gun!

So for Joker, I could see it drawing out more of that sense of right vs wrong (very thematic all around!) but also like! More of an interest in shows like featherman, or things like that. For Yu, it could show similarly, but it isn't the same, because he's so BLANK that suddenly he is showing those thought patterns and interest where there was none before!

But lets look at Magician in contrast

Magician is about initiative, learning the tools you need to carry out your goals. Change and finding the ideal self! From what I understand it is generally associated with crafts as well. Which, for Joker, being a bit more energetic and focused on making thieves tools isn't too unusual, but it picks up. Meanwhile, for Yu.... I don't actually know what he does to prep for missions, but I'm sure there's making things somewhere in there? And being a bit more experimental! But all the persona seem to have more of an inhuman vibe to them, or like.... You have Pixie, you have Jack Frost, Sandman, Nekomata. All very playful!

I'd say Fool is probably closest to the "base" personality, infinite potential, start of the journey. With their original personas being their hearts, in a way. The most freedom.

So Yu just shows up sometimes and is like "I learned how to cook this complicated meal last night, want some?" or "I am now an expert on featherman lore" which is kinda odd and random! Joker doing this is like "yep, that's curry" or "ah, you've been spending time with futaba or akechi, I see" (not necessarily wrong) so it seems less out of place even if it's the same effect because there's more base to work with

and,,,,, plurality related thoughts coming soon to a new post near u and it will b like all p5 because. well. u will see

The personas you have equipped should impact the dialogue choices you have

(Note: I have experience with p5, and somewhat p4, none of the others)

But I just think it would be neat if personas actually.... had an impact on social links, on the protagonist's personality. The name of the series is Persona, and while they are clearly a centrally important part of the games, it feels like there's a divide that keeps them relegated mostly to gameplay mechanic

They are described as facets of the self, as aspects of personality given form. So if the protagonist has certain persona, it would make sense for them to alter the dialogue options

Mostly I see this being feasible with social links. The persona of the matching arcana unlocks a bonus dialogue option that can give the high +++ points for ranking those up.

It shows that aspect of the self resonating with the person you're talking with more, by providing an answer you wouldn't otherwise give, because that's not a part of you at the time.

It would add DEPTH!!

[serpenteve]

So I ship Darklina, but I actually...don't hate Mal? Sure, he was a dick sometimes (so is the Darkling, in different ways), but he was also like 17 or 18 right? And, to me, he'd changed by Ruin and Rising. He went through a lot of character growth. He's not my favorite character by any means. He's probably one of my least favorite, simply because of how boring he is, and I think him and Alina would have been better off as friends or siblings for a platonic familial type thing. But he's also a teenager. That doesn't give him an excuse for being a dick but I feel like from what I've seen from Darklina stans (and what I myself have done in the past) is we hold him to such a high standard but we excuse everything the Darkling does. Yes, he's the villain, but he's also a love interest, which means he does need to be somewhat held accountable. I love the Darkling, he's my boy, and he makes Mal look like a piece of cardboard in comparison, but if we're able to love a centuries old villain and forgive his mistakes, shouldn't Mal at least get some grace? Heroes are allowed to mess up, especially teenage ones. Hell, when I was 17 I was a wreck. It just feels weird to write off everything a centuries old man does but tear apart everything a teenager does, you know?

But I also understand the Mal hate and I don't expect people to love him (I don't even love him lmao). I just wanted to see if some Darklinas are more open towards Mal because I understand most Darklinas hate his guts (understandably so).

Sorry for the long ask. What are your thoughts on Mal?

I don't think all Darklinas hate Mal but a lot of people who hated a number of things in the books happen to be Darklinas. If you hate the book romance, then you're more likely to criticize other aspects of the storytelling like the plot and writing choices.

I definitely think people's perception of Mal hinges on whether they feel like he redeemed himself in Ruin & Rising and/or whether or not they were exposed to the fandom discourse and reactions surrounding the characters. For example, if you read the Grisha trilogy after seeing people endlessly simp for the Darkling and talk about Mal like he's the Worst Character Ever™️, then probably you will think book!Mal really isn't that bad and people excuse the Darkling's actions despite him like.........destroying an entire town for funsies and terrorizing Alina across the country 😂

The whole Mal vs Darkling debate originally arose out of audience expectations. Mal was presented as a heroic love interest while the Darkling was basically a false romantic lead turned villain who Alina kinda still had the hots for but had to heroically resist lest she become seduced to the dark side. The Darkling wants to control and exploit Alina and will stop at nothing to do so. Therefore, we expect Mal to embody the opposite of this: support Alina in doing what she wants and not treat her like a trophy he's entitled to. Instead, Bardugo---perhaps unintentionally---set the opposite in motion.

I actually really don't mind Mal in Shadow & Bone. Yeah, he was kind of an ass to Alina at parts, but he apologized and helped her get the stag and most of his faults can be overlooked as dumb teenage boy things. The problem arose in Siege & Storm when Mal grew entitled, possessive and emasculated because Alina had this power he did not and Alina had this great destiny that didn't revolve around him. Regardless of what Bardugo intended with this lover's quarrel, many readers interpreted this as Mal wanting Alina to be weak and dependent on him. And now, when readers look back at his more annoying traits in Shadow & Bone that initially didn't bother us that much, it holds more sinister implications. It wasn't that Mal and Alina were drifting apart, it was that Mal doesn't care about Alina until someone else cares about her and then he realizes "oh shit! my biggest fangirl that i took for granted has been taken away and has a life of her own??? unacceptable!!11". This combined with the Grisha being coded as any marginalized group and Mal's bigotry towards Alina and then her ending where she lost her powers so the author could pair her with Mal also left some.................IMPLICATIONS 👀

And listen, it would be one thing if I was the *only* reader who was whining about how Mal's character drives me up the wall......but like literally 3/4 of the fandom hated his ass because Bardugo accidentally made him toxic in a very *familiar* way that the Darkling's toxicity is not---at least for that part of the fandom. And this clash between reader expectations and what was actually on the page is what gave rise to a lot of Mal hate. You mentioned that readers hold Mal to a higher standard than the Darkling and that's true. But it's also because Mal is supposed to be a hero, not a villain. The expectations we had for the Darkling were literally on the floor after he decided to randomly massacre Novokribrisk. Whereas Mal being toxic in exactly the same way a chauvinistic garbage IRL man would be toxic was way too much for some readers and we just ended up shipping Alina with the Darkling out of pure spite. Especially when said villain is saying things like "I've seen what you truly are and I've never turned away? Can he stay the same?" or "He’s otkazat’sya. He can never hope to understand your power, and if he did, he’d only come to fear you."

ALSO, I'm a big believer that the reason the Darklina shippers grew in number is directly because the Darkling and Alina are never in a romantic relationship. The failed and wasted potential was indeed a huge draw, but the fact that we never got to see what their canon relationship would be like allowed us to fantasize about an ideal situation in which the Darkling comes to the error of his ways and learns to treat Alina as an equal. The quotes I mentioned above are up for interpretation. He says he will never turn away and that he would be able to understand Alina's power...........but he also proved that he isn't above using her as a weapon without regard for what she wants. Because we never get to see the Darkling and Alina in a real romantic relationship, we can now choose to interpret that line seriously in fanworks, regardless of whatever the hell Bardugo intended with it.