#clearing snake

[stepswowdsen]

Kagerou Daze: Ch. 62 - Saeru’s “Hunting Ground” 🖤💛🐍

Literal Translation

Kuroha: “Wishes are fodder (for me), and humans are my seedbed.” (*)

Notes:

Alt 1: “Wishes are bait, and mankind is my seedbed.”

Alt 2: “What I wish for is prey, and mankind is my seedbeed.”

Official Translation by Yen Press

Kuroha: What I seek is prey…

…And mankind is my hunting ground. (*)

---

クロハ：願いは「餌」だ

クロハ：人間どもは「苗床」だ

---

(Kuroha: Negai wa “esa” da.)

(Kuroha: Ningen domo wa “naedoko” da.)

---

Notes:

Dialogue from Kagerou Daze Manga: Ch. 62 - NO TITLE

餌 (Esa, “Animal feed; fodder; pet food; bait; lure; enticement”)

苗床 (Naedoko, “Seedbed; seed plot; nursery”)

Notion Version

Copied my rambles over from my Notion Docs for those that prefer the picture version with line breaks and highlights.

Rambles

Kagerou Daze: Ch. 62 - NO TITLE - Saeru speaks with Konoha

“What I wish for is prey, and mankind is my seedbed.” (Literal Translation)

“What I seek is prey… And mankind is my hunting ground.” (Official English Translation by Yen Press)

Wanted to ramble a bit.

I think the JP wording is so interesting.

The original line has such interesting wording…

I LOVE Yen Press’ prose and how they translated this line.

I posted my literal TL above.

Oh, the JP wording is interesting... I also learned a new word with this.

Yen Press translated his dialogue SO well. This line is SOOO good. I love it so much!!! 🖤 💛 🐍

“Wishes are bait/fodder” → More literal TL of the JP text.

“What I wish for is prey” → More liberal TL by Yen Press.

I definitely understand how Yen Press got that, with Saeru basically saying, “What I wish for is bait/fodder” -> "What I seek is prey..."

Especially since “bait” is used to lure in and entice prey.

The way Yen Press translated his dialogue here is so good. It perfectly plays up to Saeru Hebi being the predator animal (“hunter”) and the Mekakushi Dan (“Eyes”) being his prey (targets)

He’s the instigator of the time loop tragedy, and the “orchestrator” and “winner” of this game.

Reminds me of a puppet master who controls the strings.

The evil, cruel, powerful snake, and these weak little humans!!! (At least in his eyes)

Notes

Word:

餌 (Esa, "Bait”)

餌 (Esa) refers to food you give to an animal. It could refer to bait to lure prey (ex. when fishing), or animal feed (ex. when feeding your pets)

Word:

苗床 (naedoko, "seedbed; nursery; seed-plot")

Consists of:

苗 (nae, "seedling; sapling; young plant")

床 (toko, "bed; bedding; floor")

Misc Rambles

I think what's also interesting is that the JP version uses the same wording (repetition) of “Desire” (*) to emphasize the “Desire” that underlies Saeru's origins and motives (to fulfill his Master’s desire, since Azami’s original desire is what’s sustaining him)

Note: 願い (negai, “desire; wish; hope”)

As a language, English is harsh on repetition unlike Japanese, and needs to avoid sounding too stiff.

Though I do think Yen Press keeps it pretty intact with the use of “Desire”

With the original JP version, his wording does evoke the imagery of a “human seedbed” 🌱

It also reminds me that Saeru has referred to the Mekakushi Dan as “pitiful little sheeps” (哀れな子羊たち, aware na kohitsuji-tachi) 🐏🐑

For me, it evokes the imagery of the poor little sheeps falling prey to the big bad snake... 🐍

A seedbed is a bed where seeds are grown (where seedlings are planted) 🌱

The place (world made by Azami) where “seeds” (humans) are “planted” (birthed)

Huh...

I bet he’d have such a fascinating viewpoint of the world.

After all, Saeru Hebi is the embodiment of Azami’s knowledge/wisdom. 🤭

Also my internet has been SO ass lately, like it keeps randomly disconnecting 😭

Shitpost Rambles

I originally wrote these as tags but tbh I think I should add these rambles to the post itself.

Also with how Saeru calls Konoha 兄弟 (kyoudai, “brother; sibling; mate; friend”) and 同胞 (douhou, “brethren; brothers”)

Since they come from the same creator (Azami)

It's so funny to think of this whole situation as Clearing and Awakening's Beef. Family feud /lh

Comedy Show Start-Up: The Snake Siblings are fighting!!! 💥💥💥

Saeru is like the eldest sibling no one likes /lh

It's so funny (angsty) when you bring the 9/6 multiships into this with Ene and KuroEne and KonoEne.

Mr. Steal Yo Girl and Mr. Steal Yo Life (Body) 🖤💛💙🐍🐇

Feila was like “The brother that wants everything that you have and ended up taking it all for himself…”

Ene look away from this mess /lh

Guy who stole your late love/lover's body.

This situation must be so surreal 😭

Don't take this seriously, this is more shitposty

Yen Press Rambles

I also noticed that EN localizers tend to lighten the scan colours a bit (dark gray vs. pure black) in their scans.

I wonder if it's intentional irt printing EN volumes (or if it's cheaper to print them that way?)

I far prefer Yen Press over the other major English manga localizers (Viz, Kodansha)

I LOVE Yen Press' prose and translation style.

Yen Press’ TLs are always more liberal compared to fan-TLs. Their translators typically have such a good understanding of context.

There are some minor errors with the Eye Ability names being translated inconsistently, but I’ll forgive it since it’s honestly inevitable in a 200 page volume.

Thank god that they were the ones who translated the Kagerou Daze manga.

Yen Press's official EN TLs have always been good for the most part (aside from the minor TL errors for the Eye Abilities and etc., but I can't really blame them since it's inevitable in a 200 page volume)

100000000% prefer them over Kodansha and especially Viz LMFAO

Yen Press as an EN manga localizer has really good prose.

Yen Press rules.

I trust that Viz has skilled translators, but Viz tends to make weird translation choices sometimes. Maybe this issue is on Viz's publishers or editors?

At the very least, Magi's official EN TL is decent. Thank god.

Though, I wish Yen Press translated Magi tbh.

It’s usually Viz that tends to get the rights to shounen series (and some shoujos)

I just vastly prefer Yen Press' approach to translation and their TL quality.

I really like Yen Press’ translations.

Though I’d say that the ONE thing that Viz and Kodansha TLs have going for them over Yen Press is that they release scans in super HD (or at least make it more easy for manga raw providers to rip them), so their scans are much more higher quality and more convenient to use as art refs.

Viz and Kodansha's official mangas tend to be sized at about the 1500 x 2500 px range.

It depends on the series.

Yen Press releases their E-books at a smaller resolution size.

Kagerou Daze's official English version scans by Yen Press are about 900 x 1350 px.

I know Yen Press translated the KagePro manga volumes and LNs.

And frankly, thank god.

YP has minor TL errors with inconsistently translating the names of the Eye Abilities at times, but that’s more minor tbh. I really like their translation style in general.

And how Yen Press tends to include info pages explaining honorifics and key terms.

Idrc for Yen Press’ lack of redrawn SFX tbh, so I'm completely fine with Kodansha and Yen Press just putting the translation for what the SFX means in EN text, either next to, or under the original JP SFX.

I did confirm that the Kagerou Daze Manga’s Official English Translation by Yen Press has scans that are 900 x 1350 px.

They are not as HD as the ones I ripped directly from the JP raws. The Kagerou Daze manga's JP scans are 1441 x 2048 px.

But it'll do for now.

Yen Press also tends to release official EN TLs really quickly for the series they work on. Yen Press is honestly a blessing

Yen Press is one of the only major EN localizers (at least that I know of) where their TLs are either the same quality as, or even better than fan translations, and much more accurate too.

Yen Press' TL and wording/prose are REALLY GOOD. I also love their translator notes.

It helped me figure out things since they added to the context of some lines.

Their translators are REALLY skilled and have such a good understanding of context.

Their translators make more liberal TLs, but are still in line with the OG text for the most part.

Their TL helped me understand the context much better than fan-TLs too, since they add to the context of some lines with their own interpretations

[stepswordsen]

【KagePro】 KuroEne Ticket Commission by Mire 🖤💙🐍🐇

Kuroha (Saeru) and Ene Ticket Commission by Mire (@/miremiremire)

Mire's Instagram: (X)

Mire's VGen: (X)

Intro

Dance of Love in the Midst of Chaos (*)

"The world can never tear us apart, we will always meet again." (*)

"I'll let you taste the biting fangs of love, and the intoxicating poison of pleasure…"

"I'll take you even further… I'll push you to the brink, and let you fall with me into the abyss. Ene..."

"Now... Shall we dance again?"

I commissioned KuroEne wearing formal wear in a Gothic ballroom with a Snake and Bunny theme, while they're surrounded by their flowers: Black Higanbana (Cluster Amaryllis) and Blue Star Milkweeds (Tweedia) 🖤💙🐍🐇💐

I asked for Kuroha to be drawn in his Design Poll outfit, and for Ene to be drawn in her Seek at Mekakucity outfit 🥰

I asked for a Snake wrapping around a bunny with hearts, sparkles, and roses, and provided the ticket info, including the seat numbers and quotes.

Thank you to Feila for helping me discuss and come up with ideas 💗 Feila came up with the title (live concert name) and quote used in the commission, which I marked with an asterisk (*)

"Dance of Love in the Midst of Chaos" = Live Concert Name

"The world will never end, we will always meet again" = Quote

I'm glad you were able to share your thoughts with me!

I also thought of using quotes from my KuroEne AU for the commission, but they wouldn't fit, given the space, so I just decided to include them here.

Ene's Mekakushi Dan number code is 6, and Kuroha is known as XX/XXX since he's not apart of the Mekakushi Dan.

So I thought it'd be a neat reference to include in the Ticket info~ The seat/row/gate numbers are a genius combination.

I chose Black Higanbana and Blue Star Milkweeds as KuroEne's flowers based on their Hanakotoba meanings. The colours and flower symbolisms suit them very well. So I asked for them to be included in the comm.

Kuroha: Higanbana - The Flower of Death, Death and the Cycle of Rebirth

Ene: Blue Star Milkweeds - Happy love, hearts that believe in each other

Mire drew both a long and short hair version of Ene's hair! I love both versions, but I love how flowy her hair looks in the 1st one. I feel like it fits very well with the composition.

Mire included Kuroha's yellow circles on the Oshi mark of the snake wrapping around the bunny. Oh my god... I love the inclusion of the thorned roses as well... 🌹

The snakes wrapped around Saeru and the bunnies around Ene... Cute... 🥺

There's SO much detail and effort put into this...

Thoughts

I'm SUPER happy with how my commission turned out! 💗✨ Everything is so breathtakingly beautiful! Mire's art style, colours, rendering, and attention to detail are so amazing! I was awed by how detailed the background is~

My commission is SO stunning! I'm still in awe by the commission! KuroEne look SO pretty in Mire's style! 🥺😭💗💘💞

Mire perfectly captured the couple's themes and expressions 🥺💖 I love how the small chibis on the ticket came out too~

Mire first sent me a message a few days ago to check in with me asking if any revisions need to be made.

Mire was very accomodating with minor colour and detail fixes, such as with Kuroha and Ene's headphones, Kuroha's yellow circles, Ene's digital facial structures, and the snake on Kuroha (which I asked to change from a white snake to a black snake with red eyes)

The changes fit them a lot more so I'm very grateful!

Great communication and very quick with updates. I'll definitely be back to commission Mire again in the future! ✨

Mire seriously outdid my expectations tenfold...

How detailed the gothic ballroom is, the flowers (black higanbana and blue star milkweeds), the snake and rabbit around them, the ticket design with the little chibis, and icon of a snake curling around a bunny…

The ticket design is CRAZY good, along with the colours and rendering OMFG

I wasn't expecting the little chibis… They're such a nice touch

I was so surprised too because the turn around time was way faster than I expected... I sent the comm form around Oct 19

Feila pointed out that event tickets are usually printed on thermal paper, so I'd love to print out my commissions for personal use.

Misc Rambles

OH MY GOD MY HEART JUMPED WHEN I FIRST SAW THE ART

THE DETAIL IS CRAZYYYYY... THE CHIBIS ARE SO CUTE~ THE COLOURS AND RENDERING ARE SO GOOD AND THE FLOWERS AND BGS ARE SO WELL DRAWN!!! I'M OVER THE MOON!!!

I'M GETTING EMOTIONAL 🥹😭💗💘💞🫶✨

THEY LOOK SO GORGEOUS I'M ON THE FLOOR

HELLO I NEED TICKETS PLEASE

KUROENE INVITE ME TO YOUR WEDDING!!! 💥💥💥

ENE MY WIFE!!! MY PRINCESS!!! MY ANGEL!!! 💙💗💘💞✨

I LOVE HOW FLOWY HER HAIR LOOKS

MIRE MADE THEM LOOK SO GOOD THEY'RE SO PRETTY

THEIR EXPRESSIONS AND THE COLOURS AND RENDERING TOO!!!

THE ART IS SUCH VISUAL EYE CANDY...

ENE LOOKS LIKE SUCH A PRINCESS HERE... MY BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS

MY WIFE AND HER CRAZY ASS SNAKE BF

I'M OVER THE MOON ABOUT THIS 😭💗💞💘🫶

I LOVE YOU KUROENE 🖤💙

My Message

This was the message I left for Mire!

KuroEne look SO pretty in your style! 🖤💙🐍🐇 You perfectly captured their themes! I'm so happy with how my commission turned out! 💗💞💘 Everything is so breathtakingly beautiful 💓

The chibis and Snake/Bunny Oshi marks on the ticket are SO cute! The hearts, sparkles, and thorned roses fit them so well! 🌹💖✨

Your art style, colours, rendering, and attention to detail are amazing! I'm in awe by how gorgeous the commission is 🥹💘💞

The colour scheme (black, gold, blue and white colours) harmonize so well in the artwork! I love how you drew their expressions~ The way you draw eyes in your art style is so pretty! 🥰

The background elements, such as the flowers (black higanbana and blue star milkweeds), and golden frames and black gothic ballroom, are so well drawn! 💐

The ticket design is amazing and has such good graphic design. The arts and chosen fonts go so well together! It's honestly one of the most creative commission formats I've seen.

I love both versions of Ene's hair you drew 💙 Thank you for the wonderful commission, and for being understanding with minor detail and colour changes as well! 🙏

I will definitely be back to commission you again in the future! 💗✨

Commission Rambles

Kuroha and Ene's Design Poll outfits by Sayuki

Ene's Seek at Mekakucity outfit by Satou Mahiro

I love Kuroha/Saeru's changshan inspired outfit by Sayuki 🖤💛

Ene's Seek at Mekakucity outfit is so pretty, I just knew I had to commission her in it 💙

You can read more under the cut if you're curious on the ideas that Feila and I came up with! We were coming up with ideas of what should be included in the commission.

We spent 3 days coming up with ideas and discussing the specifics (Themes, Background Elements, Ticket Info, etc.) before I sent the commission form.

Commission Rambles

This was the commission form I sent

Definitely the most detailed form I've ever written

I usually just describe the design details and poses and expressions, and then hand a Google Drive link of visual references. I included a folder of KuroEne's refs, and some photos of the flowers and gothic ballroom as inspiration

I just like to be detailed with my commission forms cuz I find it helps the artist

For the last SS, we drafted ideas for potential flowers, then narrowed it down to the two we chose. So we didn't include it in the final form

Feila mentioned that higanbana are also poisonous flowers... Fitting for a snake 🐍

Higanbana is PERFECT in symbolism for Kuroha/Saeru, especially since Awakening Eyes manifests as black snakes and aura spirals.

The Kagerou Daze VII -from the darkness- illust by Sidu draws him with black aura spirals that coincidentally look just like the spindles of higanbana.

Blue Star Milkweeds and Red Higanbana

Black higanbana doesn't exist IRL, so it's just wilted red higanbana.

I haven't posted it yet, but I'm in the middle of writing a post on KuroEne and Flower Symbolisms (based on my own picks). I mentioned this more in depth there

I considered putting Snake of Clearing Eyes or Saeru, but I feel like KuroEne looks the best as a ship name so I went with that.

The comm form basically describes our ideas. I could talk about our ideas a lot more in detail eventually (but in a different post)

[william-snekspeare]

This is so real

[taffycatart]

Chat with Uncle Snake. Based on this. Also check out the voice over by Ryan Stewart on Twitter!!!

[shazzbaa]

RECOGNISE LOVE

Like a moment glimpsed through a keyhole - intimate, and distant.

[kodasea]

Autophagos

[submersero]

for me personally‚ the flashlight in the museum (that Armand had stolen from the guard) represented her hope/dream (to be seen, to belong, to find home)‚ happiness (Madeleine)‚ and Claudia herself.

[stepswowdsen]

【KagePro】 KuroEne Wearing Traditional Clothing & Saeru (MR2) Redesign Ideas 💙🖤🐍🐰

Summary:

Saeru (MR2) Redesign Ideas

KuroEne wearing Vietnamese traditional clothing (Việt Phục)

KuroEne wearing Chinese traditional clothing (Huafu)

Rambles that I originally wrote in September 2024.

I'll write an add-on post soon.

Something something, I feel like doing a Kuroha/Saeru MR2 (Manga Route 2) redesign with more influence from EA/SEA traditional clothes.

I'll come up with a main outfit for him to wear, inspired by JP traditional clothing and Azami's outfit.

And then I'll draw him wearing VN and CN traditional clothing on the side.

Ofc they'll be inspired by the look of VN and CN traditional clothing.

Inspiration

I got inspired to do a Saeru MR2 redesign after seeing this lovely Saeru MR2 redesign by @/dirtsooop that takes more inspiration from Azami and Tsukihiko and keeps some elements of his OG design 🖤❤️

I really love the shapes used for his hair. His hair looks so fluffy! And the choice of X-shaped locks (that resemble Azami's hair) is amazing too 💞

I love the pointy horns too... Reminds me of devil/demon horns.

It reminds me of how villains tend to be designed with pointy shape language because it indicates a sense of danger.

I loooove how she gave him X-shaped intertwining locks that resemble Azami's hair. Such a neat design choice.

Love the white bandages around his arms and hands too 🥰

The more traditional inspired outfit with longer sleeves (that takes more from Azami's outfit) looks so lovely on him... It fits him so well, especially since he's an ancient being. I love the interpretation that he'd take more influence from his creator's appearance/look.

Rambles

Rambles I had with Feila.

WIP for now since I've been busy with school. I haven't drawn clothes on him yet, so I cropped it for now.

Gonna redraw the MR2 form's hair later.

Every masc chara I draw getting the buff-ification (or at least looking more muscular) cuz of Douman is sooo funny to me.

Though it's funny how some EA/SEA fan artists draw Saeru buffer than I do.

Cuz I fuck with everything on this design EXCEPT for the crop top.

I love the black snake scales on his face, the cute little tufts of hair and black horns, the braid in the back that looks like a scorpion's tail like Judar's, red sclera and red gradient limbs, and the white sash with bloodstains on it.

Since Azami is Saeru's creator, I'll be incorporating more of Azami's traditional clothes inspired outfit onto his design~

Since the slit in Azami's outfit also reminds me of some Viet traditional clothes like Áo dài ("Long dress")

I do appreciate Mahiro’s work, but I'm not a fan of the manga art style by Satou Mahiro cuz the art is weak and undynamic.

Iirc, Sidu designed Kuroha/Saeru's MR2 design, so I REALLY wanna see her concept art sketches one day.

I love how Sayuki draws his MR2 design in the Children Record Re:boot MV since the inking is really good.

I'm thinking of doing a Kuroha/Saeru MR2 (Manga Route 2) form redesign that's loosely inspired by EA/SEA traditional clothes

I'd like to draw alts of him wearing Vietnamese traditional clothes and Chinese traditional clothes.

Azami's outfit is inspired by Japanese traditional clothing.

The slit in Azami's outfit does lowkey remind me of áo dài ("long dress")

KuroEne wearing Việt Phục

I have more ideas about this ofc but I'll put it in a separate post.

I wanna draw KuroEne in matching couple clothes (Vietnamese traditional clothes) 🖤💙

Imagine KuroEne in Vietnam wearing Việt Phục (Vietnamese traditional clothes) 🥺💞💗💖

I'd imagine that Saeru would wear black Áo giao lĩnh (Cross collared dress) and Ene would wear blue Áo Tấc (Ceremonial dress)

My skrunklies going on a vacation in my home country would be peak comfort for me~

I'd love to see them wear Việt Phục while in Vietnam's historical sights and gorgeous landscapes!

I want Ene to wear the gorgeous fairy style Áo Tấc with translucent sleeves! My wife would look absolutely gorgeous WAHHH 😭💞💘💓

Kuroha/Saeru would fit really well with the last one (painting)

I love the black and white, and gold embroiderings.

The black one is SO Saeru-core RAHHH

KuroEne wearing Hanfu

I haven't picked hanfu for them yet, but I'd imagine Kuroha would wear black hanfu (with accent colours like silver, white, gold, red)

Ene would wear blue hanfu (with accent colours like white and black)

It'd be cool if he wore thin white pibo (披帛), hanfu scarves/accessories.

It'd be reminiscient to his MR2 design.

I want it to flow around him and have an exaggerated shape language/silhouette like a snake 🐍

I'm planning to draw that in my Saeru MR2 redesign (cuz I don't feel like drawing the top and bottom part of the canon outfit, so I'm just gonna draw what I want)

F: > Your art

Cunty ahh pose also good luck with it :D

The crop top aspect (of the canon MR2 design) is a bit weird, but it's unique to me to I let it slide this time

Me: Yeah I was just thinking that for my future KuroEne arts, I don't feel like drawing the crop top so I'll just make up my own design

Also the canon MR2 outfit is confusing/hard to draw since we don't have coloured refs for it.

It's hard to tell what's going on with the bottom part of the design tbh since it's just inked in black

I'll continue the WIP later, I can tell you about the ideas I wanna draw irt KuroEne wearing traditional clothes (traditional Viet clothes)

So with the slit in Azami's outfit, I was thinking of taking inspirations from EA/SEA traditional clothing

Azami moved to and settled in Japan, and wears a more traditional esque outfit

So I was thinking of drawing Saeru in VN and CN traditional clothing as my alt designs.

I'd take inspirations from Việt Phục (traditional Vietnamese clothing) and Huafu (traditional Chinese clothing)

I'll see which ones fit the best. It'll be fun to experiment with different clothing designs.

He can just change his clothes with Awakening Eyes.

Though I'll keep Saeru's high collar, since he has it in both forms.

I'll also keep his MR2 form's scorpion tail shaped braids.

Việt Phục Rambles

This type of Việt Phục is called Áo dài ("Long dress"), it has a high slit around the waist.

Áo ngũ thân ("Five part dress") is the predecessor/ancestor to the Áo dài. It has 5 pieces/panels of fabric sewn together, compared to the Áo dài's 2 panels

Áo Tấc ("10 cm dress") is a type of Áo ngũ thân ("Five part dress"). It's the formal version with wide baggy loose sleeves

Áo Tấc is also called Áo tế (Ritual/Ceremonial dress). It's a Việt phục (VN traditional clothing) originally worn in the Nguyễn dynasty, but modern renditions are being made

Name comes from:

1 Tấc = 10 cm, width of the bound seam

I have the purple and pink Áo Tấc myself 🥰💗

Since Azami's outfit has loose baggy sleeves, I want him to have longer sleeves too hehe

Áo tứ thân ("Four part dress") is a dress that originates from Northen Vietnam. It has a skirt and sashes tied around the waist

The big hat is called Nón quai thao ("Wide flat palm hat with fringes/strap tassels"). It can basically be worn with any Việt Phục.

I really like the look of Áo tứ thân's sashes tied around the waist, so I'll also consider it... I think I wanna draw him in it eventually.

This outfit is traditionally femme, but Viet men's fashion isn't as diverse as Viet women's fashion (at least from what I've noticed), so I'm just gonna take inspo from it anyways

Forgot to ramble about Áo Giao Lĩnh ("Cross collared robe")

It looks similar to hanfu but is distinctly different

F: Interesting

I love the purple ones

The colours fit my taste :D

Trưng Sisters (FGO)

I can't believe that FGO, which is super hit or miss with designs (and in general), gave me the first Viet rep in popular animanga + games (related works)

The Trưng Sisters, Hai Bà Trưng ("Two Sisters [Named] Trưng"), Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị are drawn by Pokemon Sun/Moon, Sword/Shield, and Legends Arceus' main character designer: Takegarou (Take)

And because the artist is Takegarou, they have wonderful designs

Take's designs are very diverse and tasteful

They have a GREAT aesthetic sense. The colours are so good.

God bless that their artist was Takegarou, cuz if it was anyone else I could've easily gotten some ugly obnoxious fanservice incel gooner bait.

And I would've been like "Typical Fate /neg"

Trưng Sisters' Ascensions (Outfit Inspirations)

AC1: More modern type of áo dài (long dress) + nón lá (conical leaf hat). Can be worn casually or formally. In some places, it's a school uniform.

AC2: Maybe the áo yếm (undergarment) + áo tứ thân (four-part dress)

AC3: More traditional type of áo dài. Compared to the modernized áo dài (which was tightened to accentuate curves), it's more modest and is longer in length (drapes to the floor)

(These are my speculations)

Also I'm pointing these out cuz I LOVE the wavy pattern Take drew with AC2's áo tứ thân inspired outfit, the pointy wavy ends.

That'd be so cool to do with Kuroha/Saeru since Awakening Eyes' power manifests in the form of a black aura or black snakes for him, so it'd be fun to have his clothes and aura make swirly pointed shapes like that around his feet.

F: Wooawee, it's nice to learn more about Viet culture :D

I've always loved Femme traditional outfits.

So you're gonna draw Kuroha wearing Áo dài?

Me: Glad it's interesting to learn about 🥰💗 I love learning about traditional clothes. I'll probably draw my faves wearing all kinds of traditional clothes in the future.

I guess for my design of Saeru wearing Viet traditional clothing, I'll be drawing whatever I feel like.

It'll have the slits of the Áo dài and its shape but it'll have bigger sleeves like Áo Tấc.

Probably gonna redraw the hair later but here's a WIP for now.

F: Oooohhh. Hell yeah, turn this man into a modest gay bastard

Me: <333

F: I'm scared of people who draw the parts of the body before the clothes. I just cover it with clothes

Me: Sometimes I do either or! Depends on what I feel like. It makes sense for people to draw the body first since they have the overall gesture/silhouette so they can just draw clothes on top. Sometimes tho I just feel like sketching quickly so I draw the clothes on right away

Me: The thin long scarf that's worn with hanfu is called Pibo (披帛)

One of the biggest examples of a chara I can think of with a chara who has a hanfu shawl like this is my wife Kougyoku (Magi)

Japanese deities, gods, celestial beings, etc., tend to be depicted with Tenne (纏衣/天衣) and Hagoromo (羽衣)

Iirc, in animanga and video games, supernatural beings. like deities, gods, demons, youkai, etc., tend to be depicted with them.

Me: Because on Kuroha's MR2 design, he has the white sash with blood stains on it.

I was thinking it'd be really cool for Kuroha to have a thin long scarf like this that surrounds him, similar to the white snake-like projections in Mary's queen (Medusa) form.

Now that I think about it, it'd be cool for him to have black horns.

Reminds me of oni...

Also the masks worn by Kabuki and Noh actors to depict oni (demons)

Saeru Hebi is like a sleep paralysis demon, after all 🥰💖

...

F: HANFU MENTIONED.

I'd kill to wear one

Me: THEY'RE SOOOO NICE TO WEAR...

I got a Judar colours themed hanfu back in 2023 and it's sooo pretty omg 😭🖤❤️

F: I NEVER WORE ONE.

I'm gonna sob

The last time I wore a traditional clothing was for a school event, and it was a Kebaya (quite tacky to wear but I love the look it gave me)

Me: I'm finally getting better at tying the wrap around skirt (qun)

(Not posting my own pics due to privacy so I'll just post the previews from the site I got it from)

F: LLAHDKSJS IT LOOKS GORGEOUS

(Both person and Hanfu www)

Me: It's also my headcanon hanfu for Judar so now I match with my fave 🐈‍⬛🖤❤️

I based my Judar (Magi) hanfu HC design on this one!

F: I mean... at least I could tell he's Chinese with that outfit on

Me: Yeah I'm definitely not drawing certain Magi charas in their canon outfits 😭

The racial stereotyping and colourism are my biggest criticisms of Magi.

Also even aside from orientalism, the racially stereotyped/orientalist outfits in Magi are just mad ugly 😭

Judar looks so good in hanfu. Should've been his canon clothes!

F: I just can't draw abs so if I ever need to draw a canonically half naked guy? Give him a shirt

Me: Yeah drawing buff men takes practice

F: Tbh Saeru fits more with the buff body type. While Dark Konoha fits more with the... average teenage boy body type

Me: Oh yeah they're technically both twinks in canon, but I'm just gonna draw both with a more muscular body type.

Now every masc chara I draw gets the buff-ification treatment cuz of Douman

Me: Oh yeah they're technically both twinks in canon but I'm just gonna draw both with a more muscular body type

F: IT DOESN'T FIT SAERU THO. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE INTIMIDATING AND MONSTROUS.

Me: Technically both designs are Saeru/Black Konoha, but yeah I feel like he should be more muscular in comparison to someone weak and wimpy like Shintaro /lh

F: THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.

Mahiro did great but, I need him to look more intimidating

Me: I appreciate Mahiro's work, but, since I'm not really a fan of the manga's art, I also need him to look hotter.

Where's our hot snake demon man /lh

Thank god we got MR2 Kuroha/Saeru by Sayuki.

But I also wanna see Sidu's sketches since she designed it

F: At least Sae is safe from SHAFT

Me: HADHSHDSH YEAH...

F: > Sayuki's MR2 Saeru

It was only for a brief moment, what a rip off

Me: Right... And all the frames in the Children Record Re:boot MV are covered by text smh

F: And Shit Place’s trademark expires in 2028

Society really wants me to keep living

[stepswordsen]

【KagePro】 KuroEne Coffin YCH Commission by Mire 🖤💙🐍🐇

Kuroha (Saeru) and Ene Coffin YCH Commission by Mire (@/miremiremire)

Mire's Instagram: (X)

Mire's VGen: (X)

Intro

Inside the Coffin ⚰️✨

If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.

I commissioned KuroEne wearing formal wear with a Snake and Bunny theme, surrounded by Red Higanbana (Cluster Amaryllis), the flower that Saeru is associated with 🖤💙🐍🐇💐

I asked for Kuroha to be drawn in his Design Poll outfit, and for Ene to be drawn in her Seek at Mekakucity outfit 🥰

I chose their formal outfits because I feel like they fit very well with the Royal theme and Coffin aesthetic.

I asked for Higanbana to be scattered around the coffin, and to have a snake wrapping around an Ene-themed bunny plushie (with her digital facial structures) and a blue ribbon 💝🎀

Once again, thank you to Feila for helping me discuss and come up with ideas 💗 I'm glad you were able to share your thoughts with me!

This comm has 1 main flower type, so at first I considered Forget me nots, the flower I associate with Ene, but I decided to go with Higanbana.

I chose Higanbana as Kuroha's flower based on its Hanakotoba meaning, since it fits him aesthetically (colours wise) and symbolism wise. It's also the flower that he's associated with in the Kagerou Daze -from the darkness- art by Sidu.

Kuroha: Higanbana (Cluster Amaryllis) - The Flower of Death, Death and the Cycle of Rebirth

Ene: Wasurenagusa (Forget me nots) - True Love, Memories, Don't Forget Me

Thoughts

After the gorgeous KuroEne Ticket Comm that Mire did for me, I was very excited to commission them again.

This time too, I first got the message when I woke up in the morning, so I was pleasantly surprised... My forever beloved childhood OTP~ BREATHTAKINGLY GORGEOUS 🥹💗💞💘

My commission came out absolutely stunning! 🥰💞 I'm so happy with how it turned out! KuroEne look so beautiful in Mire's style 🖤💙

Mire perfectly captured their theme-ing and motifs. The art style, colours, rendering, and graphic design are all so pretty… I'm amazed by the attention to detail. Everything is so gorgeous 😭💗

I love the geometric rendering style Mire has that makes their hair look so fluffy. The colours harmonize so well together, omg. Mire always delivers 😭💞

Mire puts SO much effort into the colouring, rendering, details, and graphic design. The design of the frame is so good 🤯💥I'm utterly blown away... Everything is so gorgeous 😭 💗

Their art style is really pretty... They're so attentive to details and included all the requests I asked for: Kuroha's smug expression, the red Higanbana (Cluster Amaryllis), and the snake wrapping around an Ene-themed bunny plushie.

They were super nice and accommodating with minor changes as well, such as with Kuroha's headphones.

The vertical and horizontal versions are both so good! I would love to print this out for personal use and hang it on my wall as prints 💗

I was wondering if VGen had any way to tip artists, and it does, with the Boost feature.

So I boosted the commissions on VGen for both the Ticket and Coffin YCH comms to show my appreciation for the gorgeous artworks Mire made me. So I sent roughly a 25% and 35% tip :)

Misc Rambles

OH MY GOD THEY'RE SO PRETTY PLEASE ASDFFGHJKL 😭💗💞💘 I'M GONNA SCREAM

I really wanna gush about this art, because Mire captured KuroEne's theme-ing and motifs perfectly 🥺🙏 They drew their design details and outfits so well, and the colours and rendering are so amazing…

They have such great attention to detail, like with the snake wrapping around an Ene themed bunny plushie... The bunny plush is SOOO cute. I love the design of the border frames used for this YCH comm too. The quality is seriously outstanding…

I requested KuroEne with Mire's Inside the Coffin YCH comm after my previous KuroEne Ticket Surprise Me (Omakase) comm, since I really wanted to see KuroEne in Mire's adorable chibi style.

Ene's feet scatter into pixels in canon, so I like how Mire made Ene wear boots with cross-laced XXX shaped straps since it makes things easier to draw with the YCH base.

Ene with her XXX straps on her dress and boots, and Mr. XXX peering over the coffin ❌😌 Not visible, but he has little X's on the back of his Design Poll outfit.

I asked for a bunny plushie with Ene's digital facial structures on it with a snake wrapping around it to represent KuroEne thematically, since I thought it'd fit them very well.

Kuroha/Saeru is associated with Higanbana (Red Cluster Amaryllis), the Flower of Death, by Sidu.

The dark evil cunning and malicious entity who is the cause and center of death, is the one lovingly (menacingly) peering at Ene lying in a coffin while putting his hands on the sides, as a kind of ominous foreshadowing for what comes at the end of a Route…

If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.

I've always thought of this quote in terms of confronting your own death and mortality. He's not ready to come to terms with it, either, hence feeding the cycle (with all the time loop resets)

The higanbana is so pretty and detailed… They're so good at drawing flowers. The scale textures on the snake look hand drawn too.

My Message

This was the message I left for Mire!

Thank you so much again for the wonderful commission! KuroEne look so adorable in your chibi style! You drew their design details, expressions, and outfits very well.

You have such amazing attention to detail. The colours and rendering are amazing~ I love the colours you chose!

Your art style is gorgeous, and you have such pretty colours and rendering... The way you drew their expressions, outfits, and the flowers are so pretty and detailed!

Your commission formats have such amazing graphic design and compositions! The art quality is seriously outstanding... 💖💗

Thank you for including the details I asked for (ie. Kuroha's expression, and the snake curling around a bunny plushie). You drew them perfectly 🖤💙

Commission Rambles

I sent these as refs. Feila and I discussed ideas on what poses, expressions, flowers, and items would fit best based on their symbolisms and in terms of visual contrast.

He owns this :} expression with the insane smug smirk and eyebrows

If I wanted them as marketable animal plushies, I'd pick these. The snake and bunny plushie are SOOOOO cute.

The bunny plushie with the headband is just so cute, I'm obsessed with it 😭💗 It's just SO Ene-core 💙🐇

I love their Design poll outfits and Ene's Seek at Mekakucity outfit sm… They look so elegant. Takane/Ene, my princess 💙

閃光の舞姫 (Senkou no Maihime) has also been translated as "Dancing Princess of the Spotlight" in older fan-TLs 😌💗

...

I initially had the idea of a snake wrapping around a bunny plushie or a golden apple (that Saeru is associated with in the Joker art by Sidu because it symbolizes immortality)

Added with how Fujimori (most likely) depicts Saeru in the chibi MekaDan Playing Cards as a Shinigami (死神, lit. "Kami of Death") or a Grim Reaper, with the scythe (which are closely associated with shinigami and grim reapers), and a Jester/Clown aesthetic with the Jester hat, to play up to the Joker card motif 🃏♦️

Feila said the depiction of him as a Shinigami or Grim Reaper feels fitting for him since he brings death to other people.

And that the Jester/Clown look is to represent the eternal looping of the Tragedy (August 15th incident) is a grand show/play that's been rehearsed many times

Snake wrapping around a bunny -> Saeru trapping Ene

Snake wrapping around a golden apple -> Saeru is the embodiment of knowledge

Went with the 1st cuz it represents his S/O falling for his trap (seductions). Since snakes trap their prey by wrapping themselves around their prey.

I liked the idea of Saeru having a smug smile while holding onto the coffin's edges, and Ene having an annoyed pout :< like in a "Damn it, stop killing us" kinda way

Higanbana

Forget Me Nots and Cluster Amaryllis

Wanted to ramble about how Saeru is associated with Higanbana.

I thought that picking Forget Me Nots (Wasurenagusa) could have interesting and yummy angst fuel, like how Ene won't remember their past memories together in previous Routes since he's the only one that remembers (aside from Ayaki), and how she wouldn't want him to ever forget the crimes he did and his past karma.

Even if he's the only one that remembers and has zero remorse about his deeds (lol), his karma still follows him like a shadow :)

Even if he's the only one that remembers and has zero regrets about his deeds, his karma still follows him like a shadow :)

Using Higanbana, the Flower of Death, Saeru's flower, would represent him always being with her while also being her cause of death. Its symbolism is perfect for Saeru, which is why I chose it.

Black Higanbana doesn't exist IRL (similar to Blue Higanbana too), but they tend to be used in creative works. Red higanbana sometimes turns black when they wilt.

However, there is "Black-flower Higanbana" (Kurobana higanbana) that's a variant of Higanbana. It's a deeper red colour and has a darker black gradient on the reds.

When I first saw the LN 7 art of Kuroha, I HC'ed that it was Higanbana because of how similar the shape (how it looked like the spindles of Higanbana), so I associated it to him as one of his flowers due to its Hanakotoba meanings (flower symbolism) as the Flower of Death.

Also cuz the MekaDan are associated with various symbolisms (ie. Shintaro and Ayano with paper cranes, Ayano with Chrysanthemums (Kiku) in Sidu's Hanafuda Calendar Art (2016) and in Additional Memory)

So I expected that Sidu making Saeru's Awakening Eyes manifest as black snakes or a black aura that resembles Higanbana, to be very intentional on her part.

I'm very happy to see my HC was confirmed cuz Sidu writes Higanbana (彼岸花) next to him on the rough sketch version 😌❤️

Higanbana fits his character perfectly with how he's at the center of death. It's the Flower of Death/Hell and grows in hell (the side of the dead), Higan (彼岸, lit. "The other side"), the far side of the Sanzu River.

They're usually grown around cemeteries and grave sites. They're usually red, the colour of blood, somewhat toxic, and are often associated with an unlucky/bad omen symbolism, which fits him.

Though Higanbana also has good omens too, like symbolizing that happy things will come, since it is also called the "Heavenly Flower"

I'm in the process of writing a more detailed post on KuroEne and Flower Symbolisms, based on my own picks, but I haven't finished writing it yet since I want to talk about all the flowers I chose for them in depth.

I put the ideas that Feila and I came up with for the comm under the cut.

So the YCH form has a couple different poses and expressions and flower suggestions listed.

When Feila and I discussed ideas, we figured that Ene fits more as the one in the coffin. I was wondering whether to have him holding onto the coffin or resting his elbows on the coffin while his hands press against his face. One is reminiscing, the other is mocking.

But then I went with the 1st cuz his Design Poll outfit has larger sleeves and I wouldn't want it cover too much of his design, since his arms would be raised in that pose.

Total coincidence and the shoes definitely a stylistic choice, but it fits since she's occupying an android body in the context of my KuroEne AU, so she would have shoes.

Commission Rambles

I sent this commission form!

I also included a quick sketch as a visual ref guide when I sent the form :) Figured it'd make Saeru's expression easier to draw

The comm has mainly 1 core item inside the coffin, so the details of the bunny plushie are simplified (which is perfectly fine with me 👍)

[pancreasmachinebroke]

Idea: you’re sitting at a park, people watching, and you see a very dilfy Solid Snake playing with his daughter, Sunny, and you think to yourself, “Wow, that guy is so hot. I wonder if he’s a single father, perhaps I could tap that.” but then you continue to watch as another very dilfy man, Hal, comes up from behind and places a kiss on his neck. “Fuck, he’s taken, and gay.” you think to yourself as you sulkily take a bite of your sandwich.

[ganondoodle]

what do jyothi and tyura’s full demon forms look like?? :0

Heyo! Thanks for the ask!!

(i also need to redo their humanoid forms completely but i just did a rough redesign of their demon forms for this + a rough size comparison to Shargon)

Jyothi (wind demon, "teenager", any pronouns, Shargons firstborn) Tyura (thunder demon, child, they/them, second born)

so, both have inherited traits from Shargon (he/they), like feathers (instead of scales or fur, which would have been possible too), the generally more slim body structure, the black coloration and somewhere both have that striking pink in their plumage- but most notably his eye color!

in case you havent heard it before- Shargons eye color is not natural for demons (he was born with green eyes), as a child he disappeared from his little group of other young survivors (from the mass extinction that wiped out all demons older than teens, which is .. like 99.9%) and when he returned he was sickly and had orange eyes, all other demons found it strange and offputting, many believing he was not the same creature anymore (especially Eadrya); that was the beginning of Shargon being rejected, isolated and even hunted by others which only got worse as all of them grew up; to have that strange trait be inheritable is incredibly weird considering he himself wasnt born with it either- however, he has never told anyone what had happend to him, there are only two that know, Shargon and Xaror (though neither know why it had this effect and what it does)

Tyura has a malformed front leg due to Shargon suffering too much blood loss during development and they were born extremely prematurly as well, as a sort of .. emergency birth to save at least his own life, as Eadrya had hunted and nearly killed Shargon (again)- though when he was foraging for food in an attempt to recover and keeping Tyura alive he was caught by them again ... and spared; Eadrya, as much as they want Shargon dead for a good part of the story, has a soft spot for children and even becomes Jyothis mentor for a while (which leads to tensions bc .. being mentored by someone who wants your parent dead is uuh, something)

(generally in their culture, or whatever is left of it, young demons are very respected and treated with care regardless of who they are, so even though both have that unnatural trait they are still accepted, though somewhat begrudgingly, while Shargon is not- but they are all very isolated from other demons so interactions happen rather rarely)

colors, markings and body shape change throughout a demons life, but most drastically so in their youth so its not unlikely they will both look different still as an adult disregarding my bad habit of constantly redesigning my characters

apologies for this .. sorta lore dump, its not quite what you asked but i cant seem to shut up fully when soemone asks about my OCs q-q

[kitconnor]

it's the things we love most that destroy us.

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (2013) THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES (2023)

[bebemoon]

worth keeping | lucy gray baird

[katnissandpeetamellark]

Nothing Suzanne Collins writes in her books is on accident

[sukifoof-art]

ITS KAGEPRO SEASON !!!!!

[siyi-des]

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