#but there's no color blending in his origin outfit

[marmartheimp]

I LIED!! THERES MORE!!! This is the last one actually,

I didn't use Emo boy or Quinton because frankly they are uninteresting characters. They take up unnecessary space and their plot lines lead ultimately nowhere.

Why these five (Autumn isn't a bully but he is technically apart of their group) well these guy are are the most defined. Except Garfield, he actually is just a new character sharing a name with a preexisting character.

Garfield is a gargoyle, again the world is supposed to be a large mixture of creatures and mythos, so I decided to put a gargoyle. Garfield is a Quarterback for the Safe haven Academy Phoenixes. The school colors are yellow and white, and yes Rusty is also on the football team too.

Camilla, again changed to a selkie, she's a pinniped (A seal/Walrus pup). Why the change? again more mythological creatures, I feel like a selkie is more fitting. She's a rich and obnoxious mean girl. Her mother is a super model and her father is a high up CEO. Her and Garfield are dating. The two match each others crazy.

I hope to show off their dynamic more in the future.

Rusty is the same. Except he's a apart of the football team. He's a tackler and falls into the jock group. Him and Garfield are close. Reuben was his previous name before he was adopted by two elderly farmers. He does everything to prove he's worthy of his place even if he's has to push weaker people around.

Baltimore, a prestige Christian theater kid, she has high standards and doesn't care if she hurts your feelings. Baltimore is a daughter of a local priest and believes she holier than thou. I know she isn't originally a puritan but I think it would a interesting angle to have the crazy Christian more apart of the plot instead of randomly shoehorned in. Her outfit is a lot similar to traditional long skirt and all that.

Now, biggest one I've changed, Autumn. I thought he blended into too much with other characters. He's still a deer shape shifter but decided to go down another route. He's still sassy and calls out Rusty. I wanted to have another layer to him and made him native. Taking away his god lineage and having him just be spiritual leaning.

[wyrmsgatebait]

Astarion being an embroiderer breaks my heart, because traditionally it was a skill so tied to daylight. If you looked at illustrations of embroiderers before the advent of electric lights they're always outside or near large sunny windows. Placing intricate stitches with nothing but candlelight to guide you would be a nightmare. In fact, it was outright forbidden in most professional workshops. An artist couldn't be sure of the stitch placement and most importantly the colors were dulled.

[hellotailor]

armand’s costumes are such an interesting data point re: his nebulous sense of identity.

when analyzing any costume, there are always many factors to consider: the setting, the character’s personal taste and economic constraints, storytelling concerns like tone and genre, etc. with armand, we also need to remember that he’s 500 years old and violently disconnected from his human origins. everything he wears has an element of disguise, selected to blend into a new environment.

armand was enslaved as a child in 16th century delhi, and barely remembers his mortal life. unlike louis - who can return to new orleans after 80 years and reconnect with his past - armand has no home to return to. his whole backstory, even his name, is rife with traumatic subtext, leaving him with an obsessive need for structure and control. this adds an extra layer of meaning to costuming choices that initially seem like straightforward menswear. 

armand’s 1940s wardrobe is very put-together - primarily three-piece suits and coats that make him look wealthier and more formal than louis, who is purposefully dressing down. most of these outfits are tailored to bulk up armand's frame, leaning into the "maitre" persona. and like his business-casual dubai wardrobe, he always leaves his collar open. when i interviewed costume designer carol cutshall, she described this as a symbolic power move, signalling that he's an apex predator who doesn't need to protect his throat.

my personal interpretation is that while armand clearly likes to look good, he has a complicated relationship with attractiveness. he doesn't always want to draw attention. his color palette is shadowy (black, grey, brown, olive green), and he’s much less flashy than the other Théâtre vamps. however when he’s feeling confident and flirty, he becomes more of a power-dresser - for instance his hunting outfit with the big coat and sunglasses, or his habit of wearing kohl.

interestingly, most of armand's 1940s costumes set him apart from the coven. the Théâtre vampires dress like cabaret performers, embracing a lot of period-specific styles. by contrast armand is more timeless and neutral. in fact, due to the relatively minor changes in men's suits over the past 100 years, there's a lot of overlap between his wardrobe in the 1940s, '70s and 2020s:

the rest of the Théâtre squad share an unofficial uniform of boldly clashing monochrome patterns with pops of bright color. meanwhile armand has a very plain wardrobe, emphasizing the image of him as a businesslike authority figure surrounded by zany artistes. he only wears subtle stripes on a few occasions in the '40s, reflecting the recurring prison motif we see in lestat's trial suit and (most famously) the dubai penthouse bedroom:

if we ask the question, "what does this person like to wear?" there are easy answers for lestat, louis and claudia. we understand their tastes, and the motives behind them. but armand is more enigmatic. we can recognize through-lines in his wardrobe, but his "taste" is dominated by whatever role he's currently decided to embody, whether that's a parisian theater director or a real estate mogul in dubai.

the times when he appears to have the most fun with clothing are when he steals a pair of sunglasses from his human dinner (!) and when he's pretending to be rashid. in other words, when he's explicitly performing for an audience. "real armand" is still a mystery.

(i may write more about armand's dubai wardrobe later, but for now, you can find all of my iwtv costumes posts on this tag!)

[akanemnon]

hi!! i just wanted to say, i LOVE your art!! i started drawing my kris design with braces after seeing dubs of your comic on yt, and when i found you on tumblr i was beyond excited to see all of it in context. i’m a comic artist as well, and i was wondering— how do you choose your color palettes ?? besides obviously picking colors from the characters themselves, that’s a given— but your comics are bright and colorful and just a real pleasure to read because they’re so visually appealing. hope this question hasn’t been asked before!!

Thank you so very much!

So I really went into your question under the cut. So feel free to proceed if that is something that interests you.

The answer is honestly not that exciting. For the characters I really only do pick colors off the original sprites. Which is why they look so bright and colorful. If you try to do that yourself, you will quickly notice how SATURATED the sprites are. And not only the sprites, but also the backgrounds.

A little trick I use is that for pre-existing backgrounds I take all the colors and brighten + desaturate them just a teeeensy tiny bit. That way the characters in the foreground pop way more.

Another way to make the colors pop even more is to use colored shading AND colored lineart! That really IS what ties everything together. Let me show you..

This is a panel without the colored shading and lineart.

And this is it again WITH all that good stuff. Quite the difference, no?

But you're asking about color palettes, so I guess you also mean for the characters/outfits I designed? A lot of it boils down to color theory. I am by NO means an expert on that subject, but when looking at the Dark World designs specifically, you will notice how I did it.

For example: Frisk's Dark World color scheme is mainly analogous. That means the colors are right next to each other on the color wheel. But there is a little bit of complimentary in there.

Here, lemme visualize it...

Frisk's color scheme is a light green, darkish blue green, light yellow and a splash of pink. The red is there mostly just for lore reasons.

One thing I noticed when looking at the sprites of all the Dark World versions is that they are EXTREMELY bright and saturated.

That is something I tried to capture as well, but I think it didn't neccessarily nail it a lot of the time. Especially for Frisk's color scheme. If I stuck closer to what the game is doing, then in theory they would look more like this (using Kris' colors as a reference)

Looking back, I WOULD tweak their colors slightly more nowadays. Just so that the contrast between the colors is a little stronger and they don't blend together as much. This improves the readability of your design. Not all people are able to perceive every color of the rainbow, so readability is EXTREMELY important. Best way to see that is by desaturating them and checking the grayscale. Like so (left is the one closer to the game's colors)

Man, this REALLY makes me wanna fix their color scheme. This has been bugging me for a while now. (Though I'm kinda afraid that people point out that they look different.)

[badbugbotblood]

Mini conspiracy to do with lrt actually because this has been rotting my brain. The timeline doesn't necessarily make sense because there is like a small ocean of time between the unplugging of TurboTime and Turbo's incursion into Sugar Rush, BUT HEAR ME OUT!

So we know that the visual design, vocal flair and body language of King Candy is HEAVILY inspired by Disney's Mad Hatter from their original animated Alice in Wonderland (1951). The resemblance is extremely deliberate. The hair, the high collar, the iconic lisp, the presentation.

But if we look at King Candy's visual design when compared to the other human avatars of SUGAR RUSH, our little faux monarch here does NOT STYLISTICALLY MATCH UP!

The racers of Sugar Rush are very clearly emulating a typical cutesy Japanese 'chibi' style. Round heads, big eyes, little noses, and legs that (while not so long as to be anatomically realistic) fit the proportions of their bodies. Their outfits are sleek and their silhouettes are quite thin.

King Candy does not follow this same design philosophy at all (and it's for this reason that I also personally believe that King Candy's appearance as a whole was a fabrication of Turbo's, rather than an unfinished NPC character whose model he commandeered).

I think an interesting in-universe explanation for King Candy's appearance could come from another game. One which Turbo would have known well.

After all, TurboTime had had a neighbor in Fix-It Felix Jr.

While their design language definitely does not line up 1:1, I see more of Felix in King Candy's appearance than I do the likeness of any Sugar Rush avatar. There are some commonalities in the facial proportions of King Candy and Fix-It Felix. Their heads are taller, eyes are smaller, and their mouths are wider. And then there is the nose, which is to me and my delulu brain the most obvious visual similarity between these two.

So. Say you're a societal pariah after doing something seriously taboo, and you need to blend in with a group of newly-arrived strangers in order to avoid being caught and punished for your misdeeds. There's not much time, and you need to get your affairs in order before anyone realizes what you're doing.

I think that, with his take-over of Sugar Rush being an extremely time-sensitive ordeal, Turbo had very little chance to devise the perfect disguise. So he cheated just a bit, took inspiration from a place that was familiar to him.

His own appearance, ghoulish and grey, dressed in blazing red over stark white, that would never fly in such a whimsical world. But he once knew a cast of characters with designs that all the Players found appealing at that time, and he fell back on that knowledge to craft his royal façade. All he knew for sure was that his avatar had to be cute, colorful and coherent.

The end result definitely doesn't scream Sugar Rush when you really scrutinize it, but it held up for fifteen years. Fifteen wonderful years full of racing and ruling and winning to his heart's content. Turbo was satisfied, maybe even truly happy.

I wonder if part of his apparent surprise during the Big Twist Villain Reveal(tm) came from him not immediately recognizing the ashy grey skin beneath the mask he'd built more than a decade ago. After all, he'd spent right around half of his entire life as the one and only King Candy, the benevolent monarch and best racer of Sugar Rush.

He would have been more than happy to leave his loathsome original avatar behind with the rest of the eight-bit era. It had done him no favors even when he wasn't old news just yet.

How unfortunate for him that the pesky Glitch had different ideas.

[autisticlalna]

ive been loving @loudn-mcyt's superhero au and was seized with a need to draw Wayfinder and Timekeeper because, as always, im predictable. i just think theyre neat!

i ran out of art stamina before i could do coloring, but im pretty happy with these. very long rambling about design choices under cut:

okay despite having them in the same order as the stats post to match i actually drew Timekeeper first so we're starting with her.

civilian Ruby is Ruby Corundum, and is basically just Ruby's default skin. i could've gone for Cherruby seeing as this is a SBK AU, but i felt like drawing your average rubert.

Timekeeper, meanwhile, is based heavily off tRuby (or, maybe more specifically, off Sapphire). was very much winging this and wanted something long and swooshy that wasnt a cape, so.. tRuby's coat! i was gonna have a completely new outfit under it, but nothing looked right so they get to keep the vest and pants. the undershirt is Cherruby's, though. i did fancy the coat up a bit with shoulder pads, a different.. lapel? ive forgotten the word for the folded bit. and while its not pictured in the cleaned-up sketch it has a crystal pattern and maybe some iridescence because i wanted to pull in Ruby's gemstone aesthetic

also Timekeeper has the crystal hair i normally draw Ruby with in a braid like tRuby / Sapphire. and pointy ears! Ruby's a normal human while civilian, but considering Ruby and Viking's... everything... i had fun with making them a little less that. this is helped by me picturing Ruby doing a whole-ass magical girl transformation into Timekeeper, lmao. ANYWAY. eyes change color because of time powers, and theyve got their clock as always

Wayfinder was designed after, so i was relying a lot on what i established for Timekeeper because i wanted them to match! Viking is just Summertime but with glasses because im still fiddling with the idea of drawing him with glasses anyway and its a fun tie to Ruby. he is also a normal human. no catboyism here.

visual similarities with Timekeeper: same undershirt, pants, gloves, and boots, core item on chain necklace, pointy ears, and the chevron design on his shoulders is similar to Timekeeper's shoulder pads and chain accents. and, although you cant see it because of his goggles, his eyes also change color to match his domain.

he was originally gonna be based more off Wanderer, but as much as i love the parka the aviator jacket is too iconic and the mask blended in with the goggles too much. he gets dViking's wispy bits though bc of his intangibility power and i wanted there to be some kind of change like Timekeeper's hair.

UH. YEAH. this was fun! i dont know if im gonna draw the rest, im just always Incredibly Normal abt spacetime siblings, but considering i havent drawn any superhero stuff before At All im really proud of this. ok bye

[ask-codeearasure]

Dreamswap Design Critiques

Okay, I haven't read or even looked at Dreamswap in the SLIGHTEST however, Sarco has ranted to me about it, and then gave me the designs of Dream and Nightmare and…. I HAVE A COUPLE THOUGHTS… 

That is putting it lightly, I went on a near multi-hour typing spree about them, and then they dragged me into a VC just to hear me rant for many more hours and for whatever reason enjoyed every single second. (I’m pretty sure my friend is a sadist). This was all two months ago, by the way, but I can’t help but still think about this AU and all the bad history behind it.

So hy threw 6 designs at me. I have a couple of analyses and opinions to share based on my own history with character design. That being said, even though both I and Sarco absolutely despise Dreamswap and for many many many justified reasons, this is mainly about the designs of the six main characters, Dream, Nightmare, Ink, Cross, Blue, and Error. The designs for the side characters are bullshit as well, but I’d like to preserve what’s left of my sanity. I like to share what’s on my mind with you guys after all, so long as I can tolerate it.

Where we shall start is with the supposed “villain” of this story that I never read and don’t plan to, Dream.

Looking at the initial “pre-incident” designs, before corruption/villain point, we see something completely odd. The presentation of both Dream and Nightmares’ clothes during this starting point makes them look like their AU takes place during the old western days. I can hear Bonanza’s theme playing in the background when I look at these. Focusing on Dream, we see a lot of pale yellows, golds, browns, blacks, and tans. If it weren't for the blacks, the colors would blend into each other, and far too much at that.

The reason why OG Dream’s color palette, from the second design symbolizing his maturity, works is because the colors are simple and eye-catching. The mix of primarily yellow and black represents Dream’s goal of achieving emotional balance throughout the multiverse. If he was against this, his outfit would have stayed mostly yellow only. But no, the ratio of black and yellow is equal.

Dreamswap Dream looks well-too taken care of to be an orphan or “out of place” in his AU. If anything he probably wouldn't be too out of place in a stand-off at high noon against some random gunslinger from Longmire.

Also if he and Nightmare are not supposed to be siblings and guardianship is different in Dreamswap… why do they still have the metal circlets?

Has anyone ever asked that? Why are the circlets present? Why keep them?

In the original Dreamtale, Nim gave Dream and Nightmare those circlets, and it’s obvious that for them both, they hold great sentimental value and stand for their statuses as guardians to the Tree of Feelings.

With Dream’s circlet, however, it poses a picture-perfect resemblance to the golden filet Sun Wukong, The Monkey King, The Great Sage Equal To Heaven, had to wear throughout the vast majority of events in Journey To The West, which was perhaps either the first or one of the oldest sources of the golden filet’s debut in popular fiction. 

Now there is always a chance Joku incorporated the golden filet into Dream’s design just because it looked cool, and I agree with that sentiment. But walk with me to this pier that the Chinese golden filet does hold great symbolism that may or may not add to Dream’s character for you. I swear this is important to my rant.

In Journey To The West, Sun Wukong is tricked into wearing this golden filet by Guan Yin, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, and Tripitaka, the monk Sun Wukong must accompany as one of his disciples as they head into India from China to retrieve scriptures important to Buddhist enlightenment. However, Sun Wukong is established to have a nasty temper and a bad habit of resorting to extreme violence and murder, which is why the golden filet has a spell on it. Only Tripitaka and Guan Yin know the words to set off said spell (at least at this time), and when said phrases are recited, the golden filet constricts Sun Wukong’s skull until the pain paralyzes him, thus stopping him from committing the violence and murder he was initially trapped under a mountain for 500 years before in the first place. The golden filet serves as a source of punishment for Sun Wukong, it gives him a reason to learn self-restraint and control, it quite literally forces him to if he wants the freedom and enlightenment he’s working for. It ultimately is a big factor in what makes him a better person by the end of the journey.

Yeah, I know, pretty wild stuff. Chinese mythology was off the shits back in the day and Journey To The West is also the origin of just about all common tropes in modern fiction today, including that golden filet.

How this applies to Dream is the golden filet on his design may imply the exact opposite. Whereas the golden filet actively disciplined Sun Wukong, ultimately teaching him the discipline of character, Dream has way too much discipline. So much discipline, so much self-control and self-restraint from his own personal wants and needs, that he hardly gets to enjoy his own life. And this quality of character in Dream is necessary given his conflict with Nightmare and the balance of the multiverse being in direct tandem with which of them lives or dies.

Everyone benefits from Dream’s excess of self-discipline, but Dream actively suffers on the inside with that trait being one of those adding factors. So to the people who insist canon Dream has no character flaws at all, here’s a big one for you served on a silver spoon. Enjoy!

Back to Dreamswap, if Dream and Nightmare are not siblings, are not treated as siblings, and are just two random boys who met each other from the same AU, why do they have the circlets at all? There is no Nim in the narrative to hand them off, so why do they have them? Where did they get them? What the fuck do they represent? The guardianship the creator clearly didn’t care enough about to think through?

I know a part of why Dreamswap was created was to spite Jokublog on the behalf of petty drama, most of which was caused by a language barrier, and so the creator didn't bother to think about the designs or the story influencing those designs through enough. The entire story, mainly what became of the Dreamtale brothers, was created to bastardize the original. It was all a statement, yet people pretend it was all initially created for “fun” as a little sandbox concept they could do whatever the fuck they wanted with.

And to an extent… yeah, sure, the latter is true now, but that wasn’t its purpose at the beginning.

I’m getting off track.

Let's be clear with something, crowns/filets symbolize royalty, upper class, and if anything else, power and authority. When I first saw these designs I got two contradicting messages from them: Royalty, and Old Western. These things can exist at the same time depending on the creative work, and after all, England always had royalty, but the Old Western theme was set in America. This is why I have a problem with it.

Then there is the fact that both Dream and Nightmare have matching outfits. Not exactly 1:1, but they are very eerily similar, almost as though they both go to the same school and have to wear a uniform.

Gold and Silver often give the image of royalty and purity and this does the same for the both of them. They look far too alike to be two random kids who just so happened to be adopted under the same roof.

They look far too alike to NOT be siblings.

They look far too alike to NOT be just made from spite and spite alone.

Now to not be too mean towards these designs, for a character who is going to inevitably be a villain or at least have an antagonistic role that challenges the protagonist in some important way, having Dream’s outfit be buttoned up is a good way to symbolize a “closed off” nature. A way to show he is secluded socially and personality-wise, hiding his motives and keeping his cards close to his chest.

But that is the only good thing I can say about the design… the first design.

Now for the full villain design…

Oh god, the fucking villain design.

This is where that whole “Old Western” out of place thing comes into play. That jacket he is wearing is not something that would be from an old western AU and it clashes with everything else.

To get to the point, as someone who tends to overdesign the HELL out of her characters, this character is overdesigned. Again, the colors of the jacket blend together horribly, and blend into his wings horrendously to the point that it's just a yellow mass. And even then the clothing under the jacket looks to be the same one from prior to the corruption so the argument still applies, but now the message of being a sign of him being “closed off” now is null and void.

He looks far too heroic to be a villain!

You can make the argument that he is convinced he is a hero, but that argument falls dead on the vine when you can't read the character as the villain he is supposed to be.

Villain characters are supposed to fully communicate that they are villains. Plain and simple. Take for instance, Darth Vader from the Star Wars franchise.

He dresses in all black, black being an EXTREMELY COMMON way to communicate that someone is a villain, the same goes for red, hence why he is always depicted having a red lightsaber.

Another villain is Veigo from League of Legends. Another way that villains are communicated is via sex appeal. Veigo has no shirt on, a black leather jacket, black leather pants, black armor pieces, and has a few pale colors to contrast that aside from this toxic yet ethereal teal/green which is a common color to symbolize the Shadow Isles. To help show off his tragic “obsessed lover” aspect and having a “missing piece” (his wife that he is still obsessing over despite being dead for hundreds of years already) he literally has a black hole in his chest. Very few colors, very few details, A FUCKTON COMMUNICATED.

But if that is too simple, let me get another villain from League of Legends because that is my go-to and has riddled my every waking moment with nuclear brainworms from Mars. Send help.

Bel’Veth. What to say other than WOW. Like holy shit. Bel’Veth has design in everything from the moment she floated into the scene in the cinematic she first appears in. Her voice emanates from her so her animation literally cannot lip sync because she is not human, but mimics them. She waddles as she floats to mimic walking, again she isn't human rather mimicking humans, AND THEN THERE IS FACT THAT SHE HAS A FALSE FACE. OH MY GOD.

Okay geeking out aside, design goes far further than just outfits, it goes into how they move and hold themselves. How much posing can tell you about a character. If you look at the physical design you can completely remove the false head from Bel’Veth and you'd see her actual face and multiple eyes, literally revealing to you the actual monster you are looking at. The pale grays and purples on her design are the very colors that have always signified the Void and its corruption.

I know it's not fair to compare a couple of random artists to a multi-billion dollar company, however, it is best to learn where you can. We all take inspiration from other forms of media and that inspiration can come through in one's own work and we all learn design by looking at the creative properties of the people around us.

To give the best example I have that gives away what Dreamswap Dream is trying to communicate, we must look no further than Kayle from League of Legends.

Now Kayle’s design isn't great, but there is something that it does do better than anything else… in its base form.

Impersonality.

Kayle (pictured on the right), via covering her face, disposes of any personality, any true compassion she can communicate with the viewer of her sense of humanity. Her helmet does so much to communicate that. The fact that she takes it off when she reaches her ultimate form ruins the design completely.

If we were to give impersonality to Dream to show his (which is oddly enough a similar thing to Kayle) impersonal completely “godly” justice shtick some actual fucking leverage. We'd actually get a “Oh, this guy is someone who took justice way too seriously and way too far, it’s become an addicting vengeance” vibe.

But we don't get that.

We cannot get that.

All we get is weird angel vibes from Dreamswap Dream because the creators didn't think his design through.

—

Nightmare.

To show that I'm standing unbiased here I'm going to criticize his original design. Yes, the OG. Specifically his corrupted design.

His corrupted design is literally just OG Sans… who looks like he got pushed to a vat of black paint. End of story. I know it has a narrative purpose to be this simple, but I really want to call it lazy. So I will. It's lazy.

That is what we're calling corruption now? Huh. Okay.

Now to Dreamswap Nightmare’s starting design, pictured above.

It has the very same complaints as Dreamswap Dream’s, however it doesn't have the color palette complaint because it's very different from Dream’s. The silver compliments the blue neckerchief very nicely. But that is the only compliment I can give.

His hero design, however…. (this is only one of them, I know)

Oh, we have a lot of problems because… it's trying way too hard to be canon Dream. It really is. Like just canon Dream but with the color purple overlayed on top of it.

Dream’s Cape was literally the fucking sun flag that his brother gave him to shield him from the rain. That flag/cape/now hood has great sentimental purpose to canon Dream as a character because that is the last remnant he carries of his brother.

So giving Dreamswap Nightmare a cape serves no purpose to the character and thus makes absolutely no sense. Is he trying to hide his identity? Can he feel cold? Is that why he has the cape? Is it supposed to symbolize a wanderer, since that’s what Dreamswap Nightmare is? If so, there are so many different and better ways of doing that so it would actually make him look far more interesting and compelling, and again with the circlets. Why?

Plus the stave, baton, or otherwise unexplained staff thing. What kind of weapon is that? Seriously? Is his fighting style even explored or is that there just to be there? Again, since this guy is supposed to serve as some kind of opposite counterpart to the original Dream, at least canon Dream as reasons for having the weapons he does. Dreamswap Nightmare doesn’t. Every theme put into him, if there even are themes to name, looks like they were just slapped together with no understanding of what the designer really wanted. It’s way too obvious to Sarco and I that Onebizzarekai did not understand any of the themes that made Dreamtale stick out as an AU, and that is part of the active reasons why Dreamswap ended up sucking this much.

If you want an interesting moon weapon, just look at the Lunari from League of Legends’ lore. Seriously. Get some actual fucking ideas. Inject some inspiration into your veins. Please.

—--

Ink…

Okay I'm not AS upset with this design, they actually look like they travel around buuuuuuuuuuut–

What the fuck is behind him?

What is that?

Is it a cape attached to his jacket? Why?

Just… why?

Also the entire point of his scarf was to help with his memory issues, it was to serve as a convenient way for him to take notes on important things he knows he’s going to forget, and since he’s always wearing that scarf, he has free access to those notes whenever he needs them. Does this version of Ink not have any memory problems? I ask that because instead of a scarf, he has a bandana around his neck, which if he does have comical memory loss, is there something else he uses to set reminders?

Does he still have to take his paints to, y’know, live? I ask because he doesn't look like he has his paint vials with him, instead he has a belt of bullets or bullet-looking things….

I see they were trying to make this version of Ink look “badass” but take it from me, the bitch that plays League of fucking Legends, it’s not having a gun that makes a character cool. It’s not being an asshole that makes a character cool either, it’s all the things that influence why they have that behavior that gives them the depth that makes them cool. I mean I’m a fan of Ekko from League of Legends and Arcane. He doesn’t have any of the traits that I just described and he is the most badass character ever written to me, I’ll fight you on that.

Anyways, unless Dreamswap Ink fucking eats bullets, I don’t know what other conclusion I could draw here. I genuinely cannot tell if that’s a sash of bullets or paints sorted in containers that look like them.

—

Cross.

The original scar on OG Cross’ face was given to him by XChara and XFrisk as a way to force him to remember the other timelines. It is literally a symbol of his trauma and the abuse he suffered. He is also a variation of Underswap!Sans by the way. His entire AU’s happiness and designs were inspired by Underswap. He is a Swap!Sans already. Changing his design and scar placement was fucking pointless and says nothing different aside from “I just wanted to make this character look different in the cheapest way despite my deep understanding of the original version of Jakei’s character.”

But again it shows that these designs are not thought through; they were made out of hatred or laziness on behalf of the original creators who made all these characters in the first place.

—

Error.

Oh, where to fucking begin…

Where to fucking begin….

1. What the fuck is that on his back? Are they supposed to be spider legs? Jellyfish tentacles? If they are either – why? Is it because Error is often compared to spiders and jellyfish? I am doubtful that that is the reason why his design looks like this.

2. What the fuck is with the hood? Why?? Like… okay I gotta dissect this.

Error's Lucidia redesign by CrayonQueen actively shows his strings via the stitches on the sleeves and pants, and the bagginess showing that he is a very active character, a way of communicating movement. This also makes him an easy character to draw for the creator allowing them a sense of ease. His scarf is a way to communicate movement as well, allowing it to flap about and show direction for when they draw him in comics.

These choices also show the fact that he is a very VERY simple person. He is someone who would rather lay down at home, watch Undernovela, and stuff his face with chocolate more than anything else, aside from destroying everything he can’t stand.

But with the design by Onebizarrekai, we don’t get any of that aside from the spider legs as something that shows his strings… but he isn’t a spider monster and spiders have exoskeletons, so he can’t be a “spider-skeleton” in that way, and perhaps not a hybrid either, and I don’t think Onebizarrekai was going for a Spiderman-type character for Dreamswap Error anyway.

If you want to show off the strings more, you can always have a webbing design on the sleeves or maybe have strings all over him, or have his outfit be more stitched up. Make it look like he doesn’t care that much about his own clothes, that he rips them to shreds and stitches them back together out of necessity. Maybe he has limited access to clothing and that is why he fixes them repeatedly.

To use an example… I will use my own “version of Error”, Digital Klezmer.

Digital Klezmer is overdesigned – but the separate colors allow him to not have the same blending problem that Dreamswap Dream has. I have his AU set in the ROARING TWENTIES (that’s the 1920s in New York). His AU is set in a completely different era. We’re talking swing music, movies being called “Flicker shows” and every woman is either called “Dame”, “Doll”, or even on occasion a “tomato”. His world is ruled by slang and the stereotypical New Yorker accent.

His cape of fur has his hood seamlessly blended into it, and the cape itself has significance, that being his Papyrus was so overprotective of him that the jacket was specifically made for him and the cape is crafted from fur so thick that if he were to fall over, he wouldn’t turn to dust on impact. That fur would cushion the fall and negate all damage. His Papyrus was that fucking paranoid over his brother’s safety and health.

His voice, as I had described in the story that Sarco and I are writing, his voice sounds like it’s coming from an ancient radio – thus showing how ingrained he is to his own culture and his AU’s era. This is a way to show how much of his background influences who he is as a person and what he does.

I had him play the piano instead of the trumpet, showing a subtle oddity in comparison to other Sanses. The era of where he is from is shown with how practical he dresses aside from the jacket which is sentimental to him. The vest showing class and the turtleneck showing his ties to the cold of Snowedin (yes, that is how it’s spelled in The Outer Realms universes).

His shorts show his ties as a “Sans”, but his practical shoes show that he’s a bit more athletic and isn’t as lazy as the average Sans.

The fur on the hood is also to give a bit of a lion-like feel to him, and enhance his silhouette a bit in comparison to other Sanses. It makes him appear much bigger than he actually is, indicating what he might think of himself and the influence he has on The Outer Realms, and then the Inner Circle of the multiverse.

All of these differences are nothing compared to his personality as a gambler and the way he uses his magic.

Playing poker with this man is like placing a bet on a dying horse, you are gonna lose. Every time. He loves gambling and even actively carries a deck of cards wherever he goes.

His magic is used COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY than any other Error presented. I had him be someone who plans ahead, and has his team – yes HIS team. He doesn’t work for The Outer Realms’ Nightmare, that Nightmare works FOR HIM – go out as a distraction so he can hack into other universes (specifically negative ones) so he can set them to self-destruct. He weaves his teal strings into ribbons that turn into spears that can do damage based on the tension he gives them. He can control them without moving. He also uses his strings to become claws. And he can even destabilize himself to negate any attack instead of dodging, or even just turn into a string of code to increase his speed. He is active and takes advantage of his new HP but still values his own safety, hence why he is not afraid of getting into fights.

Digital Klezmer takes full use of his abilities and gets quite creative with them, unlike the original Error, who fucks himself over by making each job of his harder for himself.

But he also has an actual weapon. Its story is very important in the future, so I won't reveal its significance here. I’m a total cunt, but I’m not cruel.

But to show how proud I am, I will give you one final tidbit of Klezmer’s design that I am way too proud of. His left eyelight. It’s an “x” with two rings around it. It signifies his focus and endless stubbornness. I thought this shit out FAR MORE than anyone realizes – Sarco legit had to stop me from going on because I nearly gave spoilers. This is why I have an editor breathing over my shoulder, thank you Sarco, I love you. I’d legit fight a bear for you.

This is all to say that I’d LOVE to see more designs and takes on other AUs, I’d LOVE IT. I really would… But these designs are not it, and Error’s Dreamswap design is just… not good at all. It’s so boring, it’s bland in the worst way possible. The only interesting things are the spider legs and they do NOTHING for the character. They add nothing to him.

–

Swap!Sans, or what’s called Swap!Sans or Blue. The bane of Sarco’s existence, and I see why (Ve fucking HATES this guy more than anything fucking hell).

No armor, a shit-eating grin, absolutely no depth to be perceived other than what I’ve already been told. Out of all the designs I have been sent, though, Blue is the only one out of them that looks a little happy, not an angry two year old wishing they could break the camera their overbearing mother stuck in front of their face.

Why is there no armor? Isn’t this guy supposed to be an enthusiastic practicing Royal Guard? Of course not, cause Onebizarrekai seems to have had an addiction to assholes with a base-level characterization and in application to every character at the time they were making Dreamswap.

The entire idea of Underswap in general is that the roles of many main characters were swapped, mostly in occupation but some partial trades in personality. Asgore is the one who lives in the Ruins, Toriel takes her place as Queen and rules over the Underground, Papyrus takes up the simple guard post, and SANS IS IN THE ROYAL GUARD TRAINING UNDER ALPHYS WHO IS THE CAPTIAN OF THE ROYAL FUCKING GUARD.

Deep breath…

There is absolutely nothing in this design that references any of this information, and if Blue is supposed to be extensively different from the original Swap!Sans, which I assume he is, why the shitty casual wear? He’s definitely not an average Joe, I can tell by the glitch and the ERROR in his left eyesocket, but how he got that isn’t made evident aside from maybe, maybe he got stuck in the Anti-Void at some point. Did he have an encounter with Error or did he end up there via a different source?

What the fuck is that on his shoulders??? Is that supposed to be a fucking poncho. If it is, it’s a BAD ONE. Ponchos are supposed to go down your waist, not stay only covering your shoulders. They are supposed to cover your torso.

Ponchos are a wonderful way to show that a character is someone who travels a lot, they give a very nice silhouette, they also give warmth because that is another thing they do, along with keeping the arms from getting sunburn should your character be in a desert. However, it’s made null in this case because of how… insignificant it is. It’s there, but why? Is it supposed to be part of the cape? I’d assume that if it weren’t for the scarf, and the thing on his shoulders being a completely different color from the thing going down his back so that must mean the thing going down his back is actually a part of his scarf. SO THEN WHAT FUCK IS ON HIS SHOULDERS??? If it’s not an unfinished poncho, I can’t grasp what the fuck else it could be.

That’s… about all I have for Dreamswap Blue. 

Fuck, I don’t like any of these designs. They add nothing to whatever vision Onebizarrekai had for these characters, only take away what made the original versions so interesting in the first place, and it’s not like I can efficiently judge these designs on what their Dreamswap counterparts were going to be, because Dreamswap doesn’t have a concrete story or character work, which makes sense considering all the themes it has fucked up. I took one look at their pinned post and found this.

Drawing takes effort and I know it takes a long time to learn how to draw, and these guys have some talent. I will always give props where it is due. I’m pretty sure all these designs were made back in 2016-2018 too, so they’ve been around for at least 6 years now. I have no doubts Onebizarrekai got better over time.

HOWEVER…

When it comes to character design, the Undertale fandom has problems and as a whole needs to take a step back, take a deep breath and start actually putting in some fucking effort. Like come on guys… and I’m not addressing the people still learning how to draw.

I don’t like saying this but… you all are getting lazy. Are you not thinking about your world design, the lore. ANYTHING, REALLY? By no means is anyone a professional concept artist here and I am not asking for that, if that helps.

I understand, a lot of you are just trying to have fun and maybe I’m the weird one for asking for more, but I actually like thinking about the worlds my characters inhabit, the way their stories reflect in their designs. It’s something that I personally love to do, and no doubt others reading this do too. And a lot of the designs from the fandom don’t really reflect this; those that do reflect, their stories are a handful at most and even then, some of them are only reflective of the designs and don’t show the story they’re supposed to have.

Take Outertale for instance. It’s 100% space aesthetic, but 0 story. The designs themselves make them look like they’re supposed to be attending a space themed party. I got so upset with it not having pushed the designs far enough and having no story I made Outerswap – again no spoilers– I SEE THE GUN, SARCO. STOP. RELEASE ME.

What I am saying is, I want you all to do better because I KNOW you can do better. This fandom has a fuckton of talent behind it but does NOTHING with it. Most AUs I’ve seen are like Dreamswap here, a rehashing of projects that already exist and doing nothing new or interesting with them, and that’s not inspiring. It’s just a pattern.

For those of you still learning, just try. I’m not expecting instant improvement. I’m saying TRY. Put in the effort. We don’t grow as artists and storytellers if we don’t TRY. If you need inspiration, explore other things, especially elements you aren’t familiar with. Look at other people’s artworks, look at videos critiquing character design like TBSkyen – my personal favorite. If you are insecure about storytelling, read more fanfiction, read more books, read more poetry. READ. There is always something you can take inspiration from for your own work and it doesn’t have to be Undertale only. Use as many sources as you like, there is no limit to what you can use at your disposal. GO FUCKIN NUTS, MATE!

There is always room to grow. And that is what shows the most in artwork of all kinds, be it drawing or writing, and what it takes to do that is to get out of your bubble more often. 

Sarco interacts with and follows people who are already doing this, but there’s nothing wrong with more, more, more!!

Anyways, that’s my critique. Have fun, go nuts. You only ever have one spark of madness, don’t lose it.

…trying to force a nice concluding sentence when I’ve been critical this whole time is a tone shift I am not okay with, holy shit. Get away from me. Get out. Run.

– Ouija, edited by Sarco

[jurassicshields]

I tried to redo Kenji's design and make it look a little better. I'm just going to list what his canon design made look bad. Note that I wanted him to look a little bit more scruffy, and not so colorful. He just lost a friend and isn't taking care of himself as well.

The hair. He just looks so funny with their haircut. It's like a strange bowl cut that goes too low on his forehead. And I looked at the design they chose to make his model off, and that version of the hair looked fine. So to fix it, I just gave him a haircut similar to his Camp Cretaceous one. I think them not giving Kenji the same hair made him seem really different(same with Yaz). And also made sure the hair wasn't TOO shinny.

When I erased his hair and gave him a forehead, it made everything look better. He didn't look so squashed. And it also fixed his eyes being so big.

Adding a beard fixes his face. The original version makes his face look round and almost child-like. Here giving him facial hair gives it definition. And also a him having from facial hair would fit with his poor dealing of Brooklyn's death.

Change the color of that green jacket. For starters the green with the blue looks terrible, nothing matches. So I changed it to a dark red/brown that is easier on the eyes and fits how his life has become dull. And making the clothes blend together makes his proportions not look so akward.

This isn't really something I added, it's just he now looks like an adult. Like he's in his early 20s and dealing with some unfortunate events, so making him look more mature and scruffy helps with the presentation.

In summary, all I really changed with his hair, outfit, and added facial hair. The only other thing I messed with was making his eyebrows a little bit more sharp. But really, his canon design has grown on me. After reading about how the people making the show did everything on purpose, I appreciate it more, knowing it wasn't just some careless accident.

[prismaticpichu]

What if Shinra's PR originally wanted Sephiroth's "image colour" (that of his entire outfit) to be white to match his hair, but that was the first thing Sephiroth rebelled on, because he associates wearing a white coat exclusively of the Science Department.

Yoooooooooo that is SUCH a neat headcanon!!! I can absolutely see Sephiroth developing some animosity toward the bright and “pure” color, especially when you take into account the labcoats that surrounded Seph his entire childhood ;-; ;-; It would even play into his later life, too, when Angeal sprouts a white wing—and further cementing how Sephiroth may see the color as tainted and unholy, a mere masquerade of something pure and righteous. Perhaps he thought that, by wearing black, he could escape the torturous phantoms that always loomed over his childhood; perhaps he thought that he could blend in better; perhaps he thought, by wearing black, he could escape a horrid fate of something cruel, twisted, and unangelic himself…

Or maybe he just wanted to hide pasta sauce stains. Either works! 💖

[elderwisp]

Outfit Breakdown:

Here's a look into everyone's outfits and makeup! I might break down these scenes in the future as some of them will be incredibly relevant to certain arcs.

✩ Starting with Dan, I wanted to go with a really laidback attire. Dan is seen in a pair of vans, a cropped tank top and loosely styled hair. However! Since she is hosting, she threw on a tie and some slacks to look presentable. Meanwhile with the the makeup, I opted for a 60s style eyeshadow and eyeliner combo, I felt like it brought a lot of attention to the eyes, something I'm sure Ares could appreciate. As for Kai, I kept the green color scheme as I resonate that color with him. His cross is seen loosely around the neck with a nice button up opened just enough to show his chest. As for his makeup, there was some flecks of blue and green sparkles as well as two lines of blue and green intertwined. That was more of a symbolism of him and Atlas being two threads connected. After his evening with Alex, the colors blend to a teal until finally he rubs it all off before his conversation with Taryn.

✩ Gum and Syx's hair colors feel complimentary to one another as one is pastel pink while the other is a pastel blue. Gum really speaks through her clothing as she feels most confident in alternative attire. Meanwhile, Syx dresses in much more pastel clothing, she really likes to show off her fit figure. Gabriel (looks v pretty here btw) came in a comfortable streetwear attire. He likes to save a lot of the flashier outfits for gigs and bar hoping but is typically seen in casual yet stylish clothing. Ares on the other hand came in a very sleek outfit as well as some chromatic eyeshadow to match. Too bad those pockets didn't hold a lighter in there.

✩ BOOF! I opted for warmer colors for Icarus, picking a comfy leather jacket and some broken in jeans. I wanted it to feel down to earth and inviting. Meanwhile for Frances, there were a lot of textures in their clothing as well as sparkles reminiscent of tears on their eyes. Their whole scene in this arc did not go as planned, originally there was supposed to be a misunderstanding and while at the time it worked (their kiss at the arcade wasn't cannon at that point) the more I read it, I was like this doesn't suit them in the state that they're in. I love the way things played out, the more it sat with me, the more bittersweet things felt and I just knew I made the right choice. Icarus throughout the scene tried to help ground Frances in the present whereas Frances felt incredibly overwhelmed by the distress of it all. So I really wanted to reflect that through their clothing.

✩ Ah, hello Rowan. There's a lot of symbolism to Rowan's attire. I'll probably touch base on it more in the future but some key items! He has not kept up with bleaching his hair that stark white he's normally seen with. His charcoal eyeshadow with the two lines intensified his eyes while his clothes had a bit of a mesmerizing patter to it. He understands how to use his appearance to pull people in. Meanwhile, Atlas's was what I like to call fashionably disheveled, his eyes covered in messily applied eyeshadow and glitter. His shirt had pins as if it was barely holding together the seams, sorta reminiscent of his mental state. Seeing Rowan definitely added to that. We probably won't see Atlas for a while as I'm sure he has plenty to think about. Putting the two together, they're incredibly similar with the pallets and patterns chosen. If Taryn and Atlas are two separate, parallel lines, Rowan and Atlas are two people sitting on the opposite side of the same line.

[thenntrewrite]

I'm not exactly sure how to approach this, so how about we start with some redesigns I've made and explaining the thought process behind the designs? We'll start off with the man, the myth, the legend himself:

Meliodas

I'll be honest. I do not like the shota/childlike appearance that is Meliodas. I get that it's suppose to be part of a running shtick of, "oh my God, he's a child—wait no he's a grown ass man?!" or a personal preference for the author (who makes a lot of his adult characters look like children/quite young for their age), but it's playing into one of the tropes I hate (looks young but is actually an ancient being). If it's your cup of tea, more power to you, but it's not my kind of flavor, so we're redoing him design-wise while also trying to keep some things (colors mainly).

So for his design, the thought process was like this:

Since he's a demon, I was like, "okay, bet" and told myself to pick one (1) from the three (3) options I gave myself, which was dragon, goat and crow— dragon in reference to his sin (Wrath) which is usually associated with dragons, goat because of goats being associated with hell and Baphomet and the Devil always have goat features, and crow because Morgan le Fay (which is his future wife in my rewrite, surprise! This bit is moreso fanservice to my middle school self. I'm sorry Melizabeth lovers, don't eat me alive)'s animal is usually the crow and crows are seen associated with death and that ties in with his curse of immortality.

Now, the goat jumped at me the most because it's the one most heavily associated with Hell, and he is the son of the Demon Lord whom I named Felec (based on Arthurian Legend, the little information we have on him), and I saw these amazing goats for someone's DnD character, and it just fueled my need to draw him as a goat more. The original idea was to give him goat-like features which was the ears, horns, the pupils, but then I got to thinking, "man, the seven deadly sins are all suppose to be from different races, yet it's hard to tell with how all of them looked practically human" and I know I can easily say, "ah no, this is just his human form, his true form is a lot more demonic and he needs the human form to blend in", but then I thought, "that's so boring", so lo and behold, I start with his eyes and worked my way from there.

I changed his hair to curls because his old spiky hair was not working, and his outfit had got to go because I thought, "he'd look more sick with goat legs", and made him two different outfits to accommodate that and to fit the medieval fantasy setting better. I was thinking of blending some attributes of a dragon and a crow to make him more demonic like, but I don't know, I just really like what I made and thought other features would throw everything off balance. Maybe he comes off more like a cursed goat and rolls with that idea so people don't suspect him of anything, but hey, I can always tweak it to make him more demonic if it doesn't come off that way. And I did not want to give him dark colors for his fur—that's going to go to his youngest brother, Zeldris.

(Here's my first official post! Hope you enjoy @gh0stofyesterday )

[bardic-tales]

10.21.24: Meet the Character: Bianca Moore.

Meet Bianca Moore, a mesmerizing figure that blends the realms of Final Fantasy 7 and original work bringing together love and devotion that transcends time and space.

👄 Appearance

After Bianca was infused with the S-cells and Jenova cells, she underwent a transformation.She stands five feet tall with an hour-glass figure (36-24-36) and waist length wavy black hair tied with a white (cream) colored ribbon. There are times when she wants to shake it up and appears with wavy brown hair instead. She has glowing indigo eyes with feline-like pupils. Her wings are black (and indigo not pictured above) and can spread to 9.92 feet. She has kept her small fangs and long, slender demon tongue that most of the succubi in the Abyssal Realm has.

Bianca likes to wear light pink lip gloss, as well as ‘elite’ eyeliner, and a smokey eye-shadow. Her face claim is Eliza González.

💫 Powers

All abilities are corrupted and either have either shadow or life draining nature to them. She has spatial, temporal, and reality bending abilities, along with being able to converse with departed souls since she is a celestial being.

At the height of her powers and only with her infusion of Jenova cells, she is able to summon a hypernova. She still has to master this.

NOTE: Weaknesses

Bianca’s abilities are severely corrupted, leading to emotional instability, reduced combat effectiveness, and vulnerability to manipulation. Her powers fluctuate unpredictably due to Jenova’s influence, shadow corruption, and life-draining effects, which impair her focus, endurance, and defensive capabilities.

⚔️ Battle Attire

Bianca wears a tight-fitting biker vest. It’s complemented by tight leather pants, while shiny silver triple-plated spaulders which are covered with Sephiroth’s fallen feathers adorn her black trench coat. A large leather obi with two large belt belts are tied over her trench coat. A black sword frog secures her weapons, including the Solstice great sword on her back and the hilt of the tachi at her hip. She summons the blades of both Solstice and Noctemaris from the space between time and space.

Note: She always wears her ribbon in her hair, as this was given to her by Sephiroth before the Nibelheim Incident. She views it as his last act of sanity before the descent into madness. Along side the ribbon, she wears a leather collar -- black with a chrome heart. This symbolizes both the strength and vulnerability that is at the core of their relationship.

👗 Everyday Attire

Bianca’s every day outfit consists of oversized knitted sweaters, mirrored sunglasses, and open-toed stiletto sandals (or boots if she is in the crater). She often pairs dark beige trousers cinched tightly with a chocolate colored leather belt. Her signature outerwear is her cream-colored trench coat. Her overall every day color palette ranges from white to earthy browns.

Note: She always wears her ribbon in her hair, as this was given to her by Sephiroth before the Nibelheim Incident. She views it as his last act of sanity before the descent into madness. Along side the ribbon, she wears a leather collar -- black with a chrome heart. This symbolizes both the strength and vulnerability that is at the core of their relationship.

[mysoulspiralbound]

drew the Omori party in outfits a little more fit for their adventures than there pj's

explanations, dnd classes, close up's, and Mari & Basil under the cut

Omori is the party's bard, despite looking and acting like a rogue. as both an artist and a poet, i thought bard suited him better. working with his monochrome color palette was a challenge, but i'm really happy with how it turned out. a fun fact is that me wondering where the heck omori was keeping a knife on his person (combined with my horror at him running around deep well in his socks) is what inspired this design series. i'd like to imagine that Mewo is his familiar.

Aubry is a barbarian based on her focus on strong attacks and her ability to channel her anger into large damage. i tried to keep the shaping and color of these designs mostly the same, though obviously more embellished, as she's literally running around barefoot in a nightgown in cannon. sturdy gloves and boots are an adventuring must, and i picked her meteor hammer cause i think it's her coolest weapon. i will never understand why Sweatheart's pillow somehow deals more damage.

Kel is a kind of trickster rouge — he's not great at stealth, but he's got the highest dex of the party and he's not bad at traps. he's got a lot of colors in his shirt which was kind of a challenge, and i really went back and forth on what player class to give him. his pouch is for additional amo, and his gloves are based on archers globes, since he's the only one who uses ranges weapons in the party. if i redoing this, i would might get rid of his undertunic and/or leg wraps. they were added for protection, but i feel they're mostly just cluttering up the design.

lastly, Hero is a paladin, based both on his healing abilities and his knight in shining armor energy. i picked pink as his accent color cause it contrasted best while still remaining in the omori pallet. his pj's were the hardest to match into a proper adventurer's outfit, so Hero's armor is largely independent of his canon design. the rose on his chest is a reference to his charming personality, the chivalry expected of knights, and his flower from basil's garden. it's also there to fill space, as his design was looking a little to plain otherwise. his kitchen knife is gold to match his little sparkles and to avoid having it blend too deeply into his armor.

Basil definitely has some strong "your princess is in another castle vibes, so that's what i went with for his outfit. he's got his classic flower crown, and i tried to put as much plant imagery as possible into his dress. i switched the princes gloves for gardening ones in his redesign, as well as changing how the dress layered so the lacing didn't run all the way down the garment. the frills on his sleeves and hem are designed to look like petals!

last but not least it's Mari! i've kind of got two versions of her, but i do very much like both. first, i drew her as a wizard, based a little bit on gandalf's habit of showing up, lending the party a helping hand before disappearing to do "important wizard stuff." she's important and helpful when she shows up, but ultimately, the party has to do things on their own. her spell component pouch and her staff both have her picnic basket theming added, as it's symbolic of her healing abilities and the safety she provides the party.

the other version i drew of her leaned more towards cleric based on her role as healer. she'd be a deeply religious figure, possibly having it be revealed later on that she's more powerful than the party knows. i incorporated her picnic pattern here as well, and kept the style of her shoes, since she is literally the only one of the main six who wears them in the dreamscape. like wizard!Mari, her necklace and the ribbon around her head are both callbacks to the ribbon tied around her neck in her original design.

[ninjagirlstar5]

Akane, beyond the grave: *steals her ex-friend's ultimate talent*

Jokes aside, the wheel chose Sora to be the Ultimate Merchant, so that's fun! Designing her outfit was interesting since I know Akane would take her role as a merchant seriously, but since Sora is (supposedly) an amnesiac, she would not have the memories that would influence her personality and decision-making, let alone her tastes in fashion. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I approached this design not by thinking on what Akane would wear, but rather what Sora would cobble together upon waking up the first time and what peaked her interest as an Ultimate Merchant.

In Sora's OG design, she was just wearing a regular school uniform, and in Teruya's designs, they were either a school uniform he personally designed himself, so he was doing self-promotion by physically wearing his own product, or just a regular suit underneath a very iconic coat with a hat, scarf and goggles which were all mementos of people he held dear. Both are good designs in their own right, although Sora's was definitely the simplest and perhaps uninteresting between the two of them. And considering that a part of being a merchant is making an impression on your customers and fellow businesspeople, Ultimate Merchant Sora can't look too simple to the point that she just blends in with a crowd. So I decided to go with an outfit that's similar in it's simplicity like her uniform but leaning a bit more towards a business-like vibe. So now she has a button-up, a shorter skirt, replaced her ascot with a tie, gave her a jacket to help her stick out more, and made her socks shorter along with some transparent tights underneath. While Akane is pretty professional in her design (when not in Despair), Sora comes off as someone who's much more casual in personality, hence why her button-up has it's collar popped open a bit and is untucked, her tie is a bit loose, and her original mary janes were replaced with sneakers. I also gave her skirt and jacket her matching criss-cross plaid pattern as not only was it an iconic part of her OG design, but I think Sora would choose this pattern to stand out thanks to her instinct as the Ultimate Merchant. Her hair went through some minor changes as I wanted to reference my Akane redesign's bang hairstyle a bit by giving Sora a similar style, just with a straighter style as Akane's hair is a bit more...floofier, to say the least. I also moved Sora's ponytail over her shoulder cause I wanted it to be more visible and as I mentioned in my Kiyoka redesign, making a low ponytail visible in a front-facing sprite like this one can get lost behind the body. I think it looks kinda nice like this. I stuck to her black, white, and red color palette and thus, we are done with Sora.

Next up is Kokoro!

Considering Sora is supposed to be Akane (but not really) in original canon, Sora's "backstory" might as well be her past up to the DRA events, but one that she had completely forgotten due to her amnesia. Since I mentioned not going with the Neo World Program setting for the killing game back in my Swap Talent Yoruko post, I'm gonna approach this as if Sora really was Akane and not just an algorithm put together to protect Yuki and attached to Akane's brain (or however this game described it on how Sora can be familiar with the DRA events but not know them).

Honestly, the most that would change from this is that Akane was supposed to die at the end of the DRA events but when her body inherited Divine Luck, she ended up surviving instead. But due to her injuries and being underwater for so long, even the Divine Luck couldn't keep her memories intact, so when she woke up in a hospital, she literally didn't know who she was and could only think of "Sora" as a name. So, unable to remember who she really is and the horrible things she's done, Sora kinda just...goes off to do her own thing as she searches for answers on who she is. In the process, she realizes that she has a distinct talent in business, and she uses them to buy and sell products to try and help others during the Tragedy. Which she's able to do very well...with a bit of luck. (I always considered that Divine Luck isn't the most active when the user isn't consciously aware that they have it. It's how DRA!Yuki had Divine Luck the whole time but people still died/bad things still happened because he just wasn't aware that he has a literal deus ex machina that is Divine Luck, and the only times it became active in his subconscious was when he was involved in a game reliant on luck or willed for a scenario so badly that it just happened, like with what happened with Kinjo in Chapter 5. Same with Sora in canon and it's basically the same here.) So Sora starts making headway with her reputation, with some people even calling her the "Ultimate Merchant" although she laughs it off since she doesn't have any papers to prove she was ever an Ultimate (she was). Mikado finds out about this, curiously looks into it since "Hey, wasn't there an Ultimate Merchant in the Proto-Killing Game?", and, after a lot of digging, he figures out that Sora is most likely Akane who managed to survive her fate from DRA, most likely due to her own luck. But of course, he never figured out that she has THE Divine Luck, he just assumed that either her Fortune pulled through for her or Utsuro blessed her a second time to save her life before dying. Either way, he needed an extra player since his class only had fourteen students, and who would be better than the accomplice to the mastermind herself? And oooh, how convenient, she also has amnesia so she can't blab about how strangely similar these events are in her previous killing game (although to say everything goes according to Mikado's plan would be a lie). So he snatches her up and does some convenient memory science alterations with the help of Void, more on that in future posts, to make her believe that this is her first time waking up and is a part of their class in this strange killing game when really, none of them had met her until now.

And to make matters worse, it's through this killing game that Sora finally starts to find out who she is and what her past was. And OH boy, would that hit her like a fucking truck to find out that she was a Despair and even got most of her real classmates and friends killed for the sake of her Master Utsuro. Since she has no memories of when she was Akane Taira, the dissonance between her past self and her current self is VERY strong and she's riddled with a huge sense of guilt and shame. Even to the very end, she never fully remembers her past, but she does take responsibility for her past actions even if she'll never forgive herself as Akane Taira.

[styling-sky-specimen]

Hi, I was wondering your opinion on my look, don't worry about being crude, just a little thing since it's not very visible, it has the halloween boots on too (doubt it matters tho)

Your posts are awesome

Mate, you CANNOT give me permission to be crude then show me the queerest outfit I've ever seen. I think it would be a hate crime if I rated this outfit like shit. /j

Color: 2/2

You look like what the high-school gay art kids would dress like if oppression never existed. You got a whole ass rainbow on ya and, instead of being kinda painful to look at like a lot of rainbow themed outfits, you captured dope soft vibes. You look like a sunrise and that SLAPS. The boots also DO matter because you matched them to your belt. Incredible shit really.

Shape: 2/2

The bottoms. The scarf. The glasses. The hat. It's all so eccentric. As an eccentric bitch myself, I approve of it. Got the nice pants flare and heart glasses then you taper it back down with the hat and cape.

Theme: 2/2

Personally, for me, I see gender ambiguous art student. It's the kinda shit that conservatives fear their child will look like and, honestly, that's fucking iconic.

Creativity: 2/2

I'll never see another skykid walking around with your outfit and that's great. You got a very nice blend of different origins for each piece of your outfit. I love it.

Personal Preference: 2/2

I don't know what else I can say for this outfit. It's just so fucking good.

Overall Score: 10/10

Notes: I'm glad you like my posts. I'm actually kinda amazed this blog has already gotten a bunch of attention after only being up for 5 days haha.

If you would like me to rate your outfit simply submit an ask!

[levi501ackerman]

My Chance Has Come At Last | Hange x Reader Fluff

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Summary: AU where Levi, Hange, and Erwin go Miche's birthday party. There’s a shit ton of people and Hange sees you in the crowd. Hange thought you were too pretty to talk to her. She didn’t expect her shirt to be the conversation starter between you two. Lots of Dead by Daylight references and if you don���t play that game I hope you still enjoy the story. JUST PRETEND YOURE LEVI LISTENING TO TWO NERDS TRY TO TALK TO EACH OTHER!!

Word Count: 2.2k

Megan's Note: Song Correlation: "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths. Posted: 5/17/24.

Hange exhaled with rage and felt charged to knock the living daylight out of Levi. They planned on pregaming at Erwin’s place before going to Miche’s birthday party. Hange didn’t plan on Levi spilling wine on her top. 

“Run little man.” She said fed up, but light enough to get a laugh from the two.

“You can borrow a shirt,” Erwin said, leading Hange toward his room. Hange rolled her eyes at how clean Erwin’s room was except for the pile of laundry on the floor. There were notebooks, papers, and his laptop on his bed. “You can wear whatever one you feel comfortable in.”

“I almost want to force Levi to lend me one of his shirts, but the midget’s clothes would just look like cropped tops on me,” Hange said.

“I heard that,” Levi called from the other room. Erwin closed the door to his room. Hange couldn’t count the amount of preppy polos Erwin had. Almost as if he bought the same shirt in ten different colors. He had some normal solid-color t-shirts, a few band shirts, and graphic tees. Hange felt a ping of excitement when she saw her favorite shirt of Erwins. It was a black Dead by Daylight shirt, with Ghostface from Scream taking a picture of himself and the character he’s killing: Leon from the Resident Evil games. In the back was an original DBD character named Thalita squatting and trying to get her plumped butt in the background. There was an injured Steve from Stranger Things in the background alongside another character Cheryl Mason in her Princess Heart outfit from Silent Hill 3. Hange always gushes over Erwin’s shirt when he wears it. She loved the game, but Erwin never was on at the same time Hange wanted to play. When she walked out, Erwin started shaking his head.

“I should’ve known—”

“All thanks to Levi I get to wear this shirt!”

“Hange, I want that shirt back.”

“But of course!”

“I mean it.”

From the outside of Miche’s house, the three could already hear chatter and music playing. They could tell a lot of people have been drinking and having a good time. Levi opened the door and a table along the entryway had a ton of presents stacked. Some people they recognized were playing the drinking game rage cage and on the other side of the room were some others talking to each other. Miche noticed the three entering and left the rage cage table. 

“You made it!” He said with open arms and a pink-tinted face. 

“Happy birthday, Miche!” Erwin said, handing his gift to Miche.

“Thank you! Thank you! You can just set it on the table.” Hange and Levi set their presents on top of others on the table. “Do you want watermelon margaritas? Nanaba’s making them! Really refreshing.” Miche guided them toward the kitchen. “Or do you want to start off with a shot?!” 

“Only if it’s tequila!” Miche clapped Erwin on the shoulder.

“That’s my man!” He said with a large smile taking up his flushed face. Nanaba greeted the three over the loud music. Then she started blending the margaritas. Miche poured three shots, leaving Levi out who was the designated driver. Miche gave Levi a large solo cup filled with sprite instead. Hange noticed there was another table playing normal beer pong outside and she could only see through the glass doors one side of the table. She saw Christa and Sasha as one of the teams playing. They held their tiny solo cups and Levi's normal size together and told Miche Happy Birthday then they all swallowed their drinks. 

“Nanaba, I’ll take a margarita,” Hange said. 

“Coming right up, ma’am!” Nanaba poured the cold drink into a small plastic cup. Nanaba handed more margarita-filled cups to her friends. Pouring more for anyone who wanted one. She took a sip and noted how dangerous this margarita was because it was delicious.

“Wow Miche you were right! It’s refreshing. Nanaba you’re quite the mixologist!” Hange said.

“Hey look who it is!” Connie and Eren greeted the three. They all hugged and said their hellos. Eren and Connie started catching up with Erwin and Levi when she noticed behind them Sasha and Christa started coming through the door. Behind the two was Armin and a really beautiful girl Hange never had seen before. You. She couldn’t take her eyes off you. Your hair looked perfectly placed, your eyes looked so lovely and your eyebrows were full. Hange found your bored expression intimidating, yet she wanted to see what you looked like when you smiled. She hypothesized that you might be like Levi where you look standoff-ish without a smile on your face. You looked like a healthy and fit girl. Hange would describe your outfit as preppy with a nice-fitting light blue sweater, white pants, a brown belt, and white shoes. You looked very clean. She wouldn’t be able to pull off your outfit. Hange normally wore a ton of long-sleeved polos thanks to her job’s uniform. You were too pretty for her and you were the type to admire from afar and never get a chance with. Hange wanted a chance with a girl like you.

Hange stuck by Levi’s side most of the night talking to familiar people she knew, but she couldn’t help but always glance over to the area of the room where you, Sasha, and Christa chatted. Even when Hange joined a game of rage cage she tried her best to never miss getting the ball in a cup in case you happened to be watching. Since Erwin was next to Hange, he kept having to drink because of Hange playing so well. Dirk, Nanaba, Connie, Armin, Jean, Eren, Mikasa, Miche, and Hange would holler and make a lot of ruckus when Erwin had to drink. It became so entertaining that the rest of the room watched the rest of the game. Erwin ended up getting the bitch cup and everyone was happily chanting, “Drink! Drink!” Even Levi was amused with how Hange managed to get Erwin fucked up. 

“I’m not standing next to Hange in the next game.” Erwin coughed which drew out a burst of laughter from the group.

“Let’s go another round!” Eren said started refilling a small amount of white claw in the solo cups. The group cheered and Erwin sat in a chair next to Levi who was leaning against the wall. 

“Hange are you playing again?” Armin asked and Hange shook her head. 

“I’ll sit this one out.” She scooted Levi over and stood in between him and Erwin. 

“You’re too good, Hange!” Mikasa yelled.

“Anyone that stands next to you is going to get fucked up!” Miche yelled.

“SASHA! GET OVER HERE AND PLAY RAGE CAGE!” Jean yelled. Hange looked in your direction, but Sasha coming toward the front room blocked you from Hange. You and Christa followed, Hange glanced away not wanting to reveal herself staring at you. As if one glance from her could reveal that she’s been watching you all night. 

“That’s too much tequila!”

“The big cup needs more white claws!”

“Add lemonade to not make it so disgusting!”

“The fuck?”

“I’m playing one round and then we’re heading out!” 

“STOP POURING TEQUILA!”

“We could add margaritas!”

“Holy shit the alcohols kicking in!” The room was getting louder and louder and everyone was talking over each other. Another round of the game was going and the excitement started to build again. Erwin was sitting in his chair dazed. Levi was going to have to carry the man back to his place. Hange started to get tipsy, her vision was getting worse causing her to blink so much. 

“Oh my gosh! You play Dead by Daylight?! I love Dead by Daylight!” A sudden loud voice scared Hange causing her to bump into the wall behind her. She became more frightened when she saw you standing too close to her and looking up at her with wide eyes and a huge smile. Your eyebrows raised slightly anticipating Hange’s answer. Hange was tense because of how close you two were. Levi nudged Hange. 

“Uh yeah.”

“I’M OBSESSED! I play nearly every day and I am ADDICTED! But I can’t help it! I typically like to run gen rushing builds, but lately, I’ve been using ‘For the People’ with ‘Buckle Up’. I’m a survivor main! What do you play!?” Hange blinked. She didn’t think she was drunk, but you were talking too fast and she was thinking too slow. Perhaps Hange couldn’t think straight when a straight goddess who apparently plays her favorite game was standing inches from her. 

“Yeah, I play.”

“Do you play survivor or killer more!?” 

“I switch.”

“Tell me who you play when you play survivor or killer!” Erwin laughed at Hange blowing her chance to annoyingly nerd out about Dead by Daylight. Cheering from the rage cage table was in the background for Hange. Hange was lost in your hopeful and glowing eyes, this was her chance to take you all in and she was drowning in your attractiveness. She noticed how the light blue of your sweater enhanced your pretty hair. 

“W-Well—um—I find infinite tombstone Michael Myers fun! But Billy or Wesker is my go-to.” You squealed and shook Hange by her biceps.

“I LOVE GOING AGAINST TOMBSTONE DADDY MYERS! GRAB MY NECK!” Hange became red and not from the alcohol. “Who do you play as a survivor!?!” 

“Kate or Felix, sometimes Steve—wait what’s your name?” You backed away and suddenly had this closed-off demeanor. You held out your hand politely.

“My name’s Y/N,” You said with an inside voice as if you were greeting your boss. Hange shook your hand, noting how soft they were. 

“I’m Hange. Who do you main?” You pointed at a character on Hange’s shirt. Hange’s stomach tightened when you pressed a finger against her. 

“Cheryl with the Princess Heart skin of course! Sometimes I play bunny Feng or Leon.” 

“You look like a person who mains Princess Heart Cheryl.”

“I actually remade the costume for Halloween last year!” You wiped out your phone and Hange suddenly remembered she was in a house at a party. She looked to Levi who gave her a smug expression, which she ignored. Erwin was too drunk and too baffled to actually be processing that Hange was pulling a girl with the t-shirt he lent her. You showed the costume to Hange. Your skirt was so short, but for homemade it looked pretty well done. “I bedazzled the heart myself! It took the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy!”

“Really wow, you look really good.”

“Extended version too.”

“Wow.”

“So you play often?” You asked.

“Yeah, I’d say I’m pretty good at looping.”

“Give me your discord.” You demanded. 

“What?”

“Don’t act like you don’t have discord.” You pushed Hange’s shoulder

“Right, uh I always forget um its—”

“Give me your number then. I like your glasses, by the way, they’re cute.” You thrust your phone into Hange’s space and Levi chuckled. Hange hesitantly took your phone and put her number in, trying not to show she was shaking. She admired how forward you were. Hange was always nervous talking to pretty girls and especially struggled with gorgeous girls like you. “We need to play together!” 

“Yeah, that would be fun.”

“You better message me your discord user when you remember it.” You said walking away from the three. Hange exhaled for the first time in probably a while. She was so tensed from your presence. Hange watched you walk toward Sasha and Christa who were ready to leave. Miche was hugging them and thanking them for coming over. 

“What a dweeb,” Levi said.

“Hey, she's the most gorgeous dweeb I’ve ever met!”

“I’m talking about you four-eyes. Unbelievable how you managed to get a girl’s number because of that stupid video game you play. Not only that you didn’t bite the bullet and ask her to lunch or something.” Levi said and Hange was on a high, replaying what she could remember of the conversation she just had. 

“That’s a dead by daylight perk!” Hange said, referring to when Levi said ‘bite the bullet’. 

“You idiot. Go ask her out to lunch tomorrow or something.” Levi started pushing Hange. “Do it before she leaves.”

“Okay! Okay! You’re strong for being so short!” Hange followed Sasha, Christa and you going out the door. Hange caught the door before it closed. She stepped out into the cold air noting how quiet it was outside compared to the house. “Y/N?” You turned around.

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Hange asked, not being able to hide her nervousness. Sasha and Christa turn around watching. You stepped closer to Hange getting too close to her again, which just turned her brain off. 

“No, I’m not . . .”

“Well, I think you’re drop-dead gorgeous and I’d like to get to know you more. Maybe like over lunch tomorrow?” Hange blurted.

“Let’s do it.” You said. “Goodnight, Hange.” You waved and Hange’s heart was beating loudly. She couldn’t believe she scored a date with an extremely cute girl who liked the same game she played. Hange didn’t mind anymore that Levi ruined her shirt with wine. 

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ALSO PLEASE LMK IF YOU PLAY DEAD BY DAYLIGHT!!