#god i love characters with star motifs in their design

[asuuree]

star kid

[velvet-games]

in the middle of working on a lucifer redesign :)

thoughts/explanations + minor character analysis under the cut (this was supposed to be short but it ended up being very thorough lmao):

honestly love his canon design so I'm kind of working from that more than I'm trying to rethink stuff from scratch

I'm gonna admit right now that a lot of the design choices were very self indulgent lol; I just want him to be pretty :<

circus stuff~

I've seen a lot of people raise their eyebrows at the circus motif, so I was going to try something different, but I actually think it makes a lot of sense!

I think freakshows/circus acts have been tied to this idea that certain identities/abilities are strange and shameful, only valuable as dehumanizing entertainment -- they're mistakes, freaks of nature

but at the same time many circus performances require a lot of skill and work and love that can go unappreciated, each and every performer at the very least a person worth respecting

I think lucifer sees hell as a freakshow/circus he's been forced to lead and try to control

a bunch of wayward toys meant to be bright and beautiful that have been twisted into something terrifying

and he needs to discover a more empathetic, appreciative, and loving way to think about sinners

and also to realize that it's not about him or his mistakes; it's about a group of people with their own emotions and autonomy that he needs to respect

anyway

all that to say: we're keeping the circus ringleader thing!

I think a whip would make more sense for a ringleader, esp since alastor has a staff already (but they're enemies/foils so maybe their designs should reflect each other?)

there's room to turn the whip into a snake maybe

in the pic I made it look like his tail bc I considered making his actual tail a goat tail (cute! but the longer one suits him better I think)

maybe an apple on the top/handle still

the tux honestly looks a little too formal/cool for him most of the time lmao

so I think he should take off the jacket/have the toymaker apron on instead unless he's fighting

vaudeville doll~

lucifer has a lot going on tbh: circus ringleader, angel, devil/demon, snake, goat, vaudeville porcelain doll, toymaker, etc.

I think I'm gonna take out snake just to simplify a little, but I'll talk about that more later

I was also going to take out porcelain doll but

1) the rosy cheeks are super cute

2) fits with the circus theme

3) fits with the idea that he's both a toy and toymaker (an angel that tried to play god)

uhhh there's a couple self indulgent doodles of him in a vaudeville doll dress lol. not relevant to the design at all; I just like drawing stripes and ruffles

I ended up making him sort of androgynous in a lot of ways? (not that he wasn't already lol) which works for him I think

part of it was the vaudeville doll thing; I wanted to give him (keep?) the eyeshadow and add those little vertical marks you see on them sometimes

also because I really liked the puff sleeves in one of the references I used; it kind of emphasizes an extended hourglass shape with the puffy pants

plus I love drawing the more classic tuxedo shape <3 very yummy lines and details

hair/shape~

I fucking LOVE when people draw him with messy hair, so I made that permanent

I also think (esp since he's blond) having the hair stick out in tufts kind of makes it look like a star (morningstar, lightbringer, etc. etc.)

even more so with the pointy horns (those are also fun to draw cause they're right in the corners of his widow's peak)

I drew a random triangle on one of these as a reminder to keep the pointy/triangular shape language throughout lol

squares would def be wrong with the implications of sturdiness and stability

I think circles would be wrong too? he's vulnerable and ultimately very soft inside so I kept a lot of round lines, but I don't think he's the traditionally bubbly/friendly/peaceful archetype circles are usually used for

triangles are apparently dynamic, dangerous, and unpredictable, which is a little closer to what I'm going for

(shape language is a very flexible rule btw; I'm not saying they determine everything about a character or that one shape has to mean exactly one thing)

he's also a depressed, tortured soul, so I feel like he should look just a little unhinged and exhausted <3 (hence the eyebags on top of the messy hair)

angel stuff~

(sidenote: cherub and seraph are singular, cherubim and seraphim are plural. even the show gets this wrong tho, so feel free to say whatever ig)

I'm pretty sure most people agree lucifer was probably a cherub? cherubim only have 4 wings so I might go with that

I do think it makes more sense if he's higher ranking like a seraph tho ... it's hard to decide whether to go with the show's ideas about angels or actual religious texts cause both are interesting in their own ways

snake~

ARHHGHJF idk how I feel about his nose

again I thought about taking out the snake motif, but he honestly looks good w/o a nose (I mean it's there obviously but you can't see it if it's just snake slits lol), and I definitely like the idea of him having a forked tongue or his eyes turning into slits when he's angry

also also

mini rant on animal motifs in hazbin:

I get the impression that a lot of people think it's a bad thing that you can't tell what animal a character should be? and/or that a motif has to be clearly present in the entire design to be good

and I kind of just accepted that until I started thinking about ozzie's design from helluva boss

like the original demon he's based on is really just that fucked up and mixed with animals you can't always identify

and chinese dragons are like a billion different animals even though they sort of just look like lizards at the end of the day

like obviously if you want the audience to associate a character with a specific animal (like if you want people to think a character's spooky because they're a spider or something), then you do want the animal motifs to be clear/consistent

but sometimes you just want certain elements there and it doesn't matter if the audience picks up on it (at least consciously)

and I think with someone like lucifer, having a lot of animals/concepts mixed together in an ungodly combination makes sense lol

so idk

maybe we'll just give him the nose/tongue

I did try just giving him a button nose in some of these for the doll thing tho

goat/charlie~

urgh I hate realizing I should've designed certain characters together lol

I took out the rosy cheeks in my original charlie design since I wasn't thinking about lucifer, so I put them back in this time lol (and generally thought about how they should be visually related)

I like that it enforces the idea that charlie's lucifer's creation (toymaker makes a doll in his own image yk)

also they both have puff sleeves now :) (charlie's design is basically princess dress silhouette but make it a suit)

I also gave her goat ears, so I figured lucifer should have them too? idk because I like the way his hair looks a lot better without them, and I kind of like the idea of giving them diff combinations of goat features (maybe she should have a goat tail?)

also drawing this made me realize I have no idea why charlie has a puppy nose??? I thought it was the goat thing for some reason but that doesn't make any sense

maybe I'll just give her no nose

anyway! fucking incredible if you read all of that; idk what possessed me to write so much about a half-finished design lol. feel free to leave suggestions/answers to the questions I had!

[cradle-of-darkness]

hey!! I have lots of stuff I made for cfco (this thing!) that I really want to share and also just keep in one spot, so here's kind of a cfco """artbook""". LOTS of rambling about my ocs up ahead!!! you have been warned!!!!

old code foretold co-op art under cut ↓

first up is this little thumbnail of a mock up poster/book cover! this was made while cfco lived only in my imagination, before I actually started to seriously consider making it into something tangible. little did I know that I would eventually repurpose this design into the title art 😈

I realized this design wouldn't work vertically if i was gonna make cfco in google slides so I switched some stuff around and boom!!!! more detailed sketch!!!!!

here's a placeholder background I slapped together and used while testing out how I wanted things to look (textbox design, font, color palette, sprites). if you look closely at the background of jay and raziel's infocards you can see I used this for those since I didn't have the actual backgrounds drawn at that point. there were actually some earlier textbox designs with a little icon that was supposed to show the face of whichever character was speaking to make it more clear, but ended up cutting that since i thought it'd be unnecessary extra work for me

here's a thumbnail for what was supposed to be the final slide! I kinda wished I finished this but honestly I kinda forgot about it 😭 plus there wouldn't be a lot of room for the text in this design. I also think it's a little misleading because it implies evelyn is still In The Walls when she is not. she is elsewhere now. hopefully in therapy

some of the first iterations of jay my stupid clown son who I love oh so dearly. oh god where do I even start with him. well for starters these sketches are from OCTOBER!!!!! of LAST YEAR!!!!!! WILD!!!!!!!! anyway as you can see he's pretty different here. I can't talk about his design without saying that from the very beginning he was designed to be a foil to sylvie and I tried to get that across in just about anywhere I could. at first I just thought the idea of an "anti-sylvie" would be cool, but then that idea quickly evolved into a completely separate character.

I picked his epithet, "sunshine", to contrast "drowsy". I didn't wanna go for the exact opposite word to drowsy like "awake" or "energetic", but it got me thinking about night/day parallels and I figured I could do something with that, which made me land on "sunshine"

jay is a clown who dropped out of school and doesn't want to be taken seriously because he's exhausted from the restrictions his family put on him! meanwhile sylvie is a psychologist who graduated early and wants to be taken seriously because he craves respect and validation (possibly out of a lack of respect from his family). parallels!!! I could honestly go on and on about everything in jay's personality that foils sylvie's but I'll just stick to his design because idk if anyone else wants to hear all that 😭

so yeah uh back to his design. his mask used to cover his eyes! I changed it to cover his mouth since sylvie's glasses cover only his eyes, I thought it'd be more fitting if jay's mask covered whatever sylvie's glasses don't cover

he also had a star motif! I felt like this didn't line up with him being sun themed so I scrapped it

lots of jays!!! they're all squished together on one image because tumblr image limit

because his color palette is based off of an inverted version of sylvie's, I already knew I wanted his main colors to be blue, red/pink, black, and brown/bronze. I messed around with this palette a lot before I got it to look ok. there's some earlier versions of his design where he's more pink than red

his design here differs a little from what I ended up sticking with!!!

- the cuffs of his sleeves and his gloves got their colors switched around

- the clown nose on his mask became an actual separate piece instead of just a flat red spot

- the ruffles on his undershirt. gone

- slightly simplified bangs

- no more blue streaks in hair!!! I actually kinda wish I kept these :(

he was actually supposed to be much more outwardly malicious. like one of these characters who does whatever sounds the most fun at the moment regardless of the consequences or their morals. I thought it'd be cool if instead of the usual little shine I give characters on the side of their eyes, jay had a triangle shape towards the top of his eye that looked like a shine, but then when he gets serious and narrows his eyes, it's no longer visible and it makes his eyes look like there's no light in them

I gave him a subtle X motif because I thought it was like the opposite of a swirl. a swirl curls in on itself while an X sticks out sharply in different directions

near the top of the image is an idea for jay's "phoenix design". his powers aren't shown a lot in cfco, but I like to think that after he's defeated in a fight, he can revive himself for a short period of time... like how a phoenix is reborn ���😱😱😱 anyway this design was supposed to be what he might look like after reviving. it needs some work but I like his hat

the bottom of this image is sketches for his sprites!!!!

and speaking of his sprites...... here's some quick sketches I made for some of his poses!!!!! I wanted his sprites to mirror the poses of some of sylvie's portraits, but with a contrasting emotion. when sylvie's angry he stands up straight and holds his arm out in an accusatory pose. when jay is happy he jolts up and reaches out his arm in delight. when sylvie is proud of himself he leans forward and gestures towards himself. when jay is nervous he jerks to one side and brings his hand to his collar out of uncertainty. can you tell how much I wanted jay to parallel sylvie

by the way while I'm on the topic I think it's worth mentioning: jay and sylvie are...... kinda maybe sorta oc x canon......... (LOUD BOOING SFX) I wrote them as friends and that's how they'll stay but I really love them together and I like imagining, in a scenario where they're both in better places mentally, they're in a qpr. ok. so what. sue me.

moving on from jay, here's one of raziel's first designs all the way from december of last year!!!! this was around when I started to roughly construct the plot of cfco in my brain. i really like how he looks here but I had to leave behind some elements of this design to prevent it from feeling too cluttered and to make them easier to redraw multiple times for their sprites. the design of their sleeves was actually based on a jacket I saw around this time that I thought looked cool

and finally here's evelyn! the first image is one of my first drawings of her along with an idea for what she would've looked like in the past. then the second is a sketch of her portrait compared to the final one. there's actually a lot I want to say about her and by extension cfco as a whole

in my head, cfco was a lot different. it just existed as little collections of scenes I would imagine that I thought I could string together and form a cohesive story out of. these little scenes started to evolve and become more complex, which made me realize I would not be able to make them into anything in that state.

cfco was going to have a much deeper plot centered around evelyn discovering a secret about how epithets function. this secret would have been a lot for one person to handle and being burdened with this knowledge would have caused her a great deal of stress, so she made a nearly impossible game which would reveal this secret to whoever wins it so that someone else can share this burden. I realized while writing the draft of cfco that at my current writing ability, I wouldn't be able to pull a story like this off, and also that whatever I made this secret would probably end up being not possible in the world of ee as more lore gets revealed, so I switched some stuff around and now it's not about that anymore, but I think a consequence of that was now the plot feels a little rushed and unpolished 😭 oh well

the mark on her chest was also originally a scar from something related to this version of the story. I wanted to keep that part of her design even though it's not a scar in the current version of her character, so it's a birthmark now

I thought the themes of "forbidden knowledge" accompanied by vague religious imagery were cool for the original idea and I had integrated these themes into the characters and story so much by that point that it'd be a waste to turn it back around so I figured I should just keep them in even if it makes less sense

raziel is very angel themed! the straps on the back of their jacket are supposed to look like angel wings. the circles all over their outfit is supposed to give the feeling of halos, or the many eyes of a seraphim. evelyn has a pomegranate shaped necklace and her hair is supposed to be shaped like a pomegranate. her surname even used to be plague-odd, pun on "play god" (which I ended up changing to a similar sounding name). raziel and evelyn also have angel numbers associated with them. raziel's is 111 (intuition) and it's present in his birthday, while evelyn's is 444 (protection) and is present in her age and birthday

that's about it!!! if you read this far thank you so much 🙏 even though it's not very good, I'm glad I made cfco after spending so long being scared to write something and share it online. not to be that guy who wants people to ask him about his ocs but if u wanna know anything else about these guys 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 u can ask 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 I love talking about them (especially jay. if you couldn't already tell he's the favorite child)

by the way here's all of jay and raziel's sprites. the links should hopefully work????

jay

raziel

[niftukkun]

What's in a Name, a short Pokemon Mystery Dunegon: Explorers of Sky comic featuring team North Star!

an exploration on the power of a name, and a lampshade on how characters can tell the difference between two pokemon of the exact same species

(to be named is to be known. to be known is to be loved. to be loved is to be changed.)

~~

details!! :

reiji and circe are, as player character and partner respectively, named from the start.

that faded naming screenshot is from my actual playthrough of the game. heres a clearer version!!

(also the comic panels look like the in-game text boxes and that was very intentional)

naming easter eggs!!

>reiji was a misspelling - i forgot that the japanese for thunder was rai, not rei, so reiji ended up as reiji rather than something playing off being an electric type. a spikey design and feeling for the speech bubble to contrast circe. also thats a pecha scarf because i like not being poisoned. >circe, in mythology, is the daughter of the sun god helios. fire type, daughter of the sun, you get the idea. a more rounded and curly design and speech bubble to contrast reiji. i forgot if circe was wearing the band that increased attack or the one that increased special attack but she certainly is wearing one. >phosphor's name is taken from a game called Oneshot!! the lamp visible in the last page is inspired directly by the lamplighter guys lamp and their speechbubble features a lightbulb, a big plot-important object in Oneshot

>fey is a reference to maya fey from ace attorney!! a purple scrunchie to reference that maya is purple, a magatama both around feys neck and in her speech bubble because thats plot important. the chains in the speech bubble are also a reference to ace attorney and the magatama. the background silhouette is the hazakura temple gates because that case was sure memorable.

>basilisk is a reference to the common water basilisk! so hella water motif and an attempt to merge a wooper with a basilisk. hell yeah.

>rivulet!! rain world rivulet!!!! i gave rivus big ol eyes to a surskit and stuck their axolotl-esque whisker on top and put pink highlights to make a surskit design with a very obvious inspiration. i didnt want to go with a water motif cause basilisk already had that so i made the background silhouette rivulet the slugcat and gave the speech bubble a more wavey look for fun.

>(in hindsight basilisks (walks on water) and rivulets (axolotl) names should have been swapped. that wouldve fit better. but oh well it is what it is and i dont wanna change it)

[arialityy]

I'M FINALLY DONE WITH MY HOFI REDESIGN!!!!! This was a passion project that became a school project (hence how I was able to actually finish it) This is my first time doing proper character design, and I really enjoyed it! I hope I did Kiana justice.

(Unfortunately, my phone fucked up the colors, so it's a bit duller than it's meant to be)

I like that Kiana kept her ponytail, so I kept it mostly the same. As for the gradient, I love when God characters have hair that seems to fuse with the sky. I thought it would fit Kiana! The hair pieces are all taken from the original HoFi design and HoF. You can't really see it, but her "crown" is meant to have eyes embedded in it!

For her neck piece and upper torso, I took a lot of inspo from HoF while adding a bunch of diamond/star motifs hehe

She has an underboob cut-out since Void Drifter and HoF both have it, and it kinda feels like a Kiana signature at this point. The spiky things coming off her chest plate in place of sleeves were inspired by the PE HoTE design! She has translucent pieces of fabric underneath around her arms because it looks empty without them lmao

For her bodice, It was heavily inspired by HoV! So were the "peacock feathers" coming off of her dress. They really add to the feeling of power! The little golden details on them were a last-minute touch. One of them is based on the Kaslana crest! Her boots are a near identical copy of HoF's, and her shoes are based on one of HoFi's shoes.

For her dress, I wanted something grandiose but light to balance the goddess part and the Kiana part. The inside is meant to look like it's burning like HoF's cape! (Yes, the dress does have a backside. I was just too lazy to draw it lmao)

Her wings were meant to look cooler, but I didn't know how to execute it properly. The halo and the star were carryovers from PE HoTE. The markings on her arm (not gloves) are also from HoTE!

Finally, her eyes. Kiana herself said she prefers blue eyes. But the gold eyes are iconic, so I went for a gradient between them. The pupils are a mix between HoV and HoF's, but they were actually inspired by a sun dog! They were meant to appear more glowing than they actually are, though.

[inbarfink]

About Prismo’s boss, do you like that they are still shrouded in mystery? Or would you have liked it more if their identity had been revealed on the finale of Fionna and Cake?

Yeah, to be quite honest, I just really don't see the point in 'revealing' the Boss, at least not right now.

I mean, at least back during 'Prismo the Wishmaster", when people were speculating that the Boss was actually GOLB, I... really didn't like that theory. I thought it really didn't fit in with any of the established lore about GOLB and I'm happy to see that it got very unambiguously disproven. But... I could at least see the appeal of it. I mean, if the Boss did turn out to be GOLB, that would be a Reveal with a lot of meaning and impact behind it! It would have changed and recontextualized so much of the narrative and even the cosmological rules of the AT setting!

But right now it seems like we're out of any Notable Previously-Established Cosmological Characters who could be the Boss. We really are talking about just... revealing the Canon Character Design to this new separate character. So I think it's worth considering... What Are We Doing Here? What would 'revealing' the Boss mean for the narrative?

Is it just about showcasing a Cool New Character Design? I mean, nothing wrong with a Cool New Character Design, but establishing something properly suitably epic and original for what seems to be the Actual Literal God of the whole AT Multiverse is quite a tall order. That might be why they decided to characterize them primarily by their lack of visuals.

You know, both in the sense that nothing the AT artists can create and animate can come close to all of the collective imaginations of all of the fandom. And in the sense that the lack of visual itself is an element that characterize them and makes them stand out against all the other Cosmic Beings under them.

And while a canon design could theoretically pack in a lot of Cool Visual Symbolism that could have interesting implications for the nature of the AT Cosmology.... their lack of visual ALSO has it's own set of implications. You know, there's a reason why so many religions love the idea of 'the Divine as Undepictable'.

I mean, Cosmic-Level Nonsense are already kinda standard-issue for Adventure Time at this point - so the lack of visual is a good way to quickly establish the Boss as so far beyond the reach, or maybe even comprehension, of our main characters and even other Cosmic Beings.

And even the little hints we get of their visual identity via the Winged Star Motif and the use of a corded phone has it's own interesting implications....

Now, 'Revealing' the Boss also means we could get to see a bit more of their personality, and to hear of their own motivation and reasoning in their own words - and not just implied via the actions and reactions of their subordinates. But I dunno how much this would've been necessary for the narrative of 'Fionna and Cake'.

I mean, the personality and motivation are just implied right now - but all the implications have been painting a pretty consistent picture. It's not like Prismo and Scarab's dialogue give out two totally contrasting views of the Boss that require the audience to get a look of them themselves to know what they're really like or something like that.

And it is possible that the Boss could still turn out to be on some level very very different from how both Prismo and the Scarab view them and you could do some interesting stuff with that? But again, we're talking about it in terms of the plot of 'Fionna and Cake' - so you have to consider if you can implement that idea into the narrative in a way that works with the existing story and themes which of course means that the Boss will have depression

And.... actually this is why I said at the start that I don't see the point in revealing the Boss 'right now'. Because I really don't think it would've added more to the current Fionna and Cake narrative.... but if we're talking about the Hypothetical Fionna and Cake Season 2, well, that's a different story.

And by that I mean, literally, that's a whole new different story that could, theoretically be woven around the idea of revealing the Boss and have it actually mean something in the narrative beyond just updating a character image and a voice actor on a Wiki. You know have an actual plot point around the idea of finally getting to see them explain themselves in their own words. Or even just use their reveal to showcase how grand and epic the current adventure is (we need something to raise the stakes after the last season was about saving a whole damn World, after all).

It's not a surefire thing, and honestly.... I think I am still more content with the idea of the Boss being the one AT Cosmic Character that is constantly beyond our reach. I am just offering it as the one way I can see this could work right now.

[intertexts]

HI ROS !!!!!! coming into ur inbox this lovely afternoon with a random question bc i like your taste in things. I need a new work podcast bc im caught up with most of my other ones. I've got TWO saved because of you so I thought I'd get ur opinion: which one first. hello from the hallowoods or skyjacks :] ik u like them both (and I DO plan to get thru them both eventually but I need 2 do them one at a time or else I'll explode)

OH GOD. INSANELY HARD QUESTION!!!!!!!! FUCKED UP!!!!!!! umm. ok. ok. they're both still currently ongoing, hfth has 160 episodes so far & skyjacks has something like 230. hfth has a sort of anthology structure with many different key characters and protagonists and plot threads that all get woven together through vignettes, skyjacks is just one overarching narrative. that's the quick comparison.

-hfth: good if ur still the kind of guy who gets really emotional over casual trans & queer rep in the year of our lord 2024 despite it being "everywhere now" and "not a big deal." (me LMAO) it's not like, a podcast About That, & it's kind of reductive to say that as the first thing about it, but like. it is deeply and fundamentally and lovingly a gaytrans show. it's horror, but like, the horror equivalent of spiced tea before bedtime, more strange and warped and delightful surrealism than much else. doesn't leave u with the Residue (neutral!!! feeling awful after u finish a horror thing is like frequently part of the appeal!!) that heavier horror does. anthology with overarching plot & it's really really fun to figure out the way all the pieces fit together. there are very endearing terrifying eldritch gods and gay sad little demons and ghost boys and older butches and sentient skulls inside a weird tank body. many very resonant themes and motifs. tons of really great character work, i can think of off the top of my head at least five or so characters u will love, very fun show. makes me miss living in the woods!!!!

skyjacks: okay man. you KNOW this is my favorite ttrpg show of all time. c'mon. okay. yeah despite the insane way pd has taken over my brain (& it is a REALLY good n fun show i think) & the way im constantly talking about friends at the table as a seminal actual play show that does some of The best writing in any of the space & is easily the Best, etc. skyjacks is so fucking good. james d'amato is an incredible gm, the sound design is really lovely, the worldbuilding is. my favorite. sometimes i just sit and kick my feet around giggling and smiling and thinking about spéir. its so fucking sick it feels like folklore and fairy tales and historical romances. there are huge birds u can fly on instead of horses. the sea is angry and has spit you out. the gods are dead and the stars have fallen out of the sky. pirate story, also, btw. u will fall in love with the uhuru. maybe partially why i haven't started riptide bc skyjacks is already The pirate campaign to me. i also already know Exactly which pc u will latch onto. honestly the pcs & their dynamics are also all really compelling, nobody at the table fucking misses.

anyway. TERRIBLE answer to this question ummm i would listen 2 the pilot of both of them n then choose! they're both two of my all time faves!!! enjoy!!! :3333

[cabinette]

Please Do Interact List I Think

I dunno if yall are curious about me but have some silly traits I absolutely fucking love in characters

— Strong Jaws/chins/underbites, twenty-plus points if accentuated with facial hair!!!

— Crooked teeth or golden teeth, give that guy some chompers

— Calloused skin or rough spots in the elbows/knees/fingers, its natural body armour

— Chipped nail polish or any sort of faded hair colouring

— Specific motifs that are easy to remember and stem off of when making nicknames/thinking of headcanons, take for example my boy Zeke >:) He loves stars and jewellery in particular!!!!

— Normal-looking hairstyles with just one fantastical feature like a huge ahoge or a long streak of colour

— Body hair..... I love my Hairy Harrys and my Tangled Toms,

— Pudge or any sort of excessive love handles,

— When their outfit is basically just an amalgamation of presents and hand-me-downs from other people, it gives so much sentiment to the character design

— Very subtle theming. Take for example Atsushi from BSD with his huge belt that also doubles as an emotive tail, or Keqing from GI with her cat-like cone hairstyle

— Choppy/fucked up hairstyles that no one but them can pull off

— Extremely normal-looking guys. Like, someone you would pass on the street.

— Extremely normal-looking guy with one. ONE fantastical thing about them. Oh, you can see ghosts? oh, you turn into a snake at night? oh, you have an exiled god for a guardian? and they just go: yeah lmao

— When they're man-made or inorganically made beings who are slowly earning full sentience.

— HUUUUUGE HORNS ARE YOU KIDDING?! YES!!!!! HUUUUUGE FUCKING HORNS!!! SPIKES!!! CLAWS!!!!! TEETH!!!! FINS!!! RAAAAAH

— Unique helmets or face coverings that tell you so much more about their character than just a face would.

— When they're a home for little critters, like bugs in their clothes or sprouts and mushrooms in their hair

— Paint-stained hands/clothes or paint stains in one particular part of their body... I have so many paint stains on my old pants because of how much I wiped my dirty fingers off on them,

— Freckles, and I don't mean the tiny little dots I mean like. FRECKLES. a SHIT TON OF THEM. twenty-plus points if they are all over their body, on their arms legs chest, I fucking love freckles!!!!

— When they fish.

— Slicked back hair, specifically slicked back because if the hair is left on its own it's super wavy/curly and it makes everyone perceive them differently when it's not styled back like that

— Horrible horrible facial scars, ones that change a person's face entirely, one that cannot be removed or else the character loses 30% of their character. Scars that can you can just see the shape of and instantly go: "Oh! This is [oc]'s scar!"

Okay thats all :))))))) feel free to rb with your own PDI lists

[thoselethalarts]

A couple of those ask things I'm curious about

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

12. Easiest part of body to draw

14. Any favorite motifs

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)?

You know, I haven't really thought about it much before 🤔 I feel like left vs right is about the same difficulty level for me to draw, both for 3/4 view and for profile view. Though 3/4 view is probably easier for me to draw of the perspectives. Front-facing is fun too to see a facial structure from a different perspective- literally!

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw?

WEAPONS! Dear god I am AWFUL at drawing weapons, all of them. Guns, knives, swords, bats, whips, spears, crossbows, morning stars, brass knuckles... I am absolutely dogshit at drawing weaponry without some kind of direct reference to trace over, which really sucks because I love weapons and think they're super cool! I have so much respect for people that design their own weapons, especially the ones that have to work with time period-specific limitations (lookin at you, Vinland Saga)

Also as a side note: fuck shoes. I can't draw shoes (or feet) for shit. Every time I draw a shoe I hope ya'll know that it took me at least 5 different references and a 3D model in order to make that happen.

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate?

Pixel artists and animation, ESPECIALLY animation. I simply do not have the patience for any of it, especially hand-drawn animation; I took a class for it in high school years ago and while I did just fine in the class it made me realize that I do NOT have the patience for the medium. 3D animation was a little easier for me but I'm still not skilled enough at timing and distortion to satisfy my creative image.

Also I have so much respect for pixel artists you wouldn't believe. I used to use Fireworks to fill out pixel art bases on DeviantART over a decade ago and while I did have fun with what I did and could still theoretically do it now, it'll never look as nice as I want it to look in my head 😔

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw?

Jackets and sweaters, but also I LOVE drawing things like scarves and capes that can billow in the wind and shift with the movement of the wearer, cuz it adds a whole new dimension of action to what could otherwise be a static pose!

Also also I'm a sucker for fishnets 😊

12. Easiest part of body to draw?

So fun fact about me- I actually LOVE to draw human anatomy. Whenever I draw a character I always start by fully drawing out the character's physical anatomy, and then I draw the clothes, hair, and faces on top of that! Here's some sketches from the Soul Archive to show my semi-chaotic workflow~

So I guess the answer is anything that isn't feet is easy for me to draw lol

14. Any favorite motifs?

Repeated phrases/symbols that initially appear to have no meaning but then the meaning becomes abundantly clear in hindsight as it's revealed throughout the story, or alternatively a phrase/symbol that has a specific meaning that's relevant only to the initial introduction of it which changes over time to mean something entirely new, symbolizing the growth and evolution of the character/identity that uses it, or the shift in tone/focus of the overall story.

EX: "It's eternity in there." and "Longer than you think." - Emesis Blue "One of us must die." - The Doomstar Requiem additionally: The Open Hand - Army of the Doomstar / SOS - Dethklok

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated?

Oh, EASY. My slipknot-inspired TWST piece I'm still incredibly proud of (even if I've redesigned Phobos since then)

[narwhalandchill]

FINALLY FINISHED 4.1 AQ!!!!! (General thoughts also Lot of childe thoughts + 4.1 spoilers obvi and 4.2 leaks warning, LONG)

ok OK OK that was actually insane holy fuck. i was mad initially when childe lacking voicelines in 4.1 leaked but like bro was Still a central character im cool! im cool! keep it up in 4.2!!!!

FIRSTLY. i was fucking right i KNEW the oratrice was ALWAYS onto childe being connected to the primordial sea through 'it' GOD the sheer fucking amount of "theories" i saw that were like oh its all just arlecchinos machinations nothing abyssal whale is an easter egg (?) childes poor mood is bc hes drugged with sinthe by arle (??????) etc etc etc. eat my fucking ass. i saw this shit coming YEARS ago i knew i fucking knew.

honestly its just like my dearest ajax to minmax his K/D ratio to the point that he becomes the murder weapon to a case that started when he was like 5 like what a legend. he is so talented. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

im still highkey on the copium camp that the leaked humanoid phase of the ptahur fight wouldnt literally be childe tho. unironically mostly bc i think its simply a crime against him to let foul legacys visual design AND ptahurs whale design serve cunt that hard only to do the ugliest most generic possible rectangle shaped dark armor guy for A Boss Fight. Like cmon. the purple cyclops look with the flowing galaxy cape and fluffy collar was The Shit. give us extra galaxy effect pastel purple water-y polar star motif-y foul legacy design for childes magical girl powerup not That. tho if childes only gonna look ugly before he asserts his claim over the whales power and then gets a cunty powerup then all is forgiven 🥰

AND WE SAW THE WHALE I WAS LITERALLY GIDDY WATCHING THE CUTSCENE. knew it was coming bc i spoiled myself on purpose by watching it on yt i Had to see it but. ITS SO GOOD. God. and then 4.2 we will fight them both??? & the boss title is "devourer of the stars"???? like its so fucking abysspilled and real i feel like a starving middle ages peasant being fed from the royal banquet table ive waited SO LONG. foul legacy is called devouring deep and 'it' is Litetally titled devourer. this isnt a fucking coincidenceee im in love . WILF i said what i said

anyway i do agree that in terms of lore implications i dont think its unrealistic at all for it and its will to overwhelm ajax temporarily like that thing is the devourer of stars which. Might i remind people literally means devouring fate in the world of genshin and constellations. a world ending entity. but also at the same time this might be me being insane and abysspilled (always looking for a reason for apologism yk) but like. theres no direct confirmation either way whether ptahurs intentions with childe are really malicious at all. he awakened it, theyre linked and its calling for him and sure thats bad for fontainians' projected life expectancy but we cant assume much else. i mean childe was in the deep sea he might be snezhnayan so immune to anti french bathwater but bro couldve been drowning maybe the whale helped out a pal. and the music in the cutscene was more wonder than terror too? fanon guys are just coping bc they dont want childe to get worse when thats just much sexier Trust (she says, overtaken by constant paranoia that somehow theyll pull a 180 and damsel-ify him with no actual narrative weight or satisfaction for his arc ahahaha)

(but like me when i havent read tusk of monoceros caeli item desc and understood that the all-devouring desire to crush everything in his path like the solipsism represented by the image of a whale cruising through the celestial heights is very explicitly stated to be a part of himself childe chooses to gleefully embrace do not fucking try me you illiterates. sorry i got emotional for a sec back to 4.1)

AND LIKE NO I DID NOT MISS THAT NEUVILLETTE DID NEVER IN FACT CLAIM PTAHURS SENTENCE UPON FONTAINE WAS UNJUSTIFIED. JUST THAT IT WAS TOO HARSH. so like listen listen listen. (pulls up my abyss is justified the gods are false the sky is fake so bringing ruin upon the world in the greatest sin against an artificial system is actually making the sinner the one delivering heavenly justice---- conspiracy whiteboard) ANYWAY point is childe tartaglia ajax should get to torch celestia and im going to kiss him on the mouth when he does. No one @ me. but actually neuvillette genuinely APOLOGIZED for overturning ptahurs authority to deliver its sentence. im gonna read into this so hard it might be reaching but who am i if not behaving down bad horrendously about the abyss and the prospect of a cosmic eldritch entity shattering celestias world order into pieces,?? this is my Brand

act III has so much hate but i thought it was fine SJSJSKSJFKFIDKFK it did what it set out to do and it certainly isnt as interesting as act IV but it did So much of the foundational work for the next act and managed to work well enough. it got a bit repetitive so like no it wasnt perfect at all but idk when u go in with the right mindset its perfectly competent. but i can see it feel horrible when u Really just wanna get to the action parts so like its fine if ppl dislike it jsjajsk not too pressed either way

anyway i find it so cute how many people are reacting to travelers dreams of childes pov as this like omg theyre in sync and not like. An explicit confirmation that visions are mass surveillance tools p much 💀💀💀💀 like its not even ON HIM and he can still be tracked how is this endearing im so lost JSFFJSJSJ

honestly beyond the obvious childe brainrot its hard to even go off about just any specific character bc EVERYONE got it so good. chlorinde dodged the sara allegations im SO fucking happy for her!!! even if it wasnt that much its already far off from that travesty!!! her and wrios dynamic is so fucking funny i adore them and wasnt expecting it at all.

wrio is fucking GREAT! i absolutely lived for every single line of dialogue he had like mans literally the funniest person in fontaine. silver powercreep. but not just that bc hes actually so fucking good and interesting and intriguing and i loved the overall role he played. the whole power play he did w lyney and that entire confrontation played so well with both his and lyneys character im just. this was a certified banger. the house of hearth sibs were all great and lyneys characterization had So much depth and nuance i really liked the way he wasnt dropping his and lynettes backstory in 4.0 just to trauma dump but that it was all actual setup for his minor/major breakdown during act IV and that payoff was so worth it!!! arle chiding him for his pride too. listen to your dad lyney.

speaking of Whom.

oh my god oh my god arle arle arle. this woman had me actually fucking blushing like. Her ENERGY. The Poise. the Threat. the Pressure. the veneer of perfectly conducted civil friendliness that feels more threatening than if she just put a knife to my neck (which. she could. id thank her)??? how shes genuinely LIVID at furina and about the prophecy and just kept pressing at her?????? no woman in this goddamn game has had an effect like this on me i feel so weak im such a fucking dyke oh my god. HER VOICE. HER FUCKING VOICE. EVERY SENTENCE OUT OF HER MOUTH I WAS EATING IT UP. that like. idk how to even call it that like dry breathy quality to her voice is just?????? i was transfixed i was obsessed i was hypnotized.

and ofc she didnt really gaf about childe much SJAJSKSJFKSKSKDKD but like unironically funniest fucking mental image from this AQ was the concept of if arlecchino ever somehow got arrested in another nation CHILDE would be her attorney like. 😭😭😭😭😭😭 HELP (logically ik he would do fine lmao hes smart and literally feeds his ego by being good at his job you guys are just so fucking rude comparing him to 6d chess zhongli in liyue AQ. thats zhongli being too galaxy brain not anyone else being dumb)

honestly i love love love this fucked up strict but seemingly truly genuine in her own fucked up way parental figure that she appears to be?? like this isnt redeeming her this is making her interesting as fuck and i do love that. the fact that shes generally very reasonable and collected but that you can just Feel the danger lurking underneath is literally So attractive i might keel over.

and like FINALLY a nation where its not all the fatuis fault!!! well it is all childes fault (so proud of him. thats my man!!) but you get what i mean GSJSKDK. arlecchino actually offering up her cooperation at the end just feels so refreshing and nice like ahhh. feels good feels organic.

so. neuvillette is the reincarnated hydro sovereign. whos surprised. (silence) yeah fucking thought so. honestly neuvi was both incredibly interesting and good but also his clueless moments of not picking up on jokes and banter are So autistic like if i hadnt already pulled him by the point i started doing act IV i wouldve the second he started sharing his autism diagnosis with us. so like im ecstatic to have him both on my main and NA alt actually.

ALSO. Confirmed that gnoses are based on stolen authority from the sovereigns. as a scalie enthusiast i Always had a hunch sth like this was up but having it confirmed is fucking excellent. and like it feels very much like furina/focalors (r they separate ppl or not? Huh?? is the gnosis in the oratrice?) r gonna allow neuvillette to tackle the bathwater problem by surrendering the authority over hydro back to its rightful heir n thats prolly gonna be a part of how fontaine dodges the prophecy. but its still very hmmmmmm

sigewinnes traitor moment actually caught me off guard it was SO funny. like she was actually fooling us i loved that. sure she always had good intentions and everything but still iconic. in general just how wrio and gang outplayed us in the fortress of merupide was great like it just really emphasizes how bro Runs the place for real for real and it was excellent. the massive ship was kind of out of left field tho. inb4 ptahur just crushes that thing anyway lmaooooo

theres probably more still but uh this is already too long JSJSKSKDK anyway yes i did enjoy acts III and IV very much how did you notice. sorry for the length of this crazed frenzy but not sorry actually. it feels so nice to get fed finally. im so hype for 4.2.

edit: wait i forgor furina. honestly im not gonna lie i was too mesmerized by arlecchino to pay that much attention to her so sorry about that but like GAJSKDJDKDK she was great too!!!

[nameification]

ALSO 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 16, 27, 28, 30 for the artist asks? :)

1. Art programs you have but don't use

mmm krita and... well I have the entire adobe creative cloud at my disposal but I just. don't. honestly nowadays I've been doing a lot of my stuff traditional with just like. my sketchbook and my favorite pen but for digital I will use csp.

3. What ideas come from when you were little

...so I had this character. Merivette. right. she is like. the archetype for most of my focus characters for most of my stories and her original thing was that she was an scp doctor that did dimension fuckery (like 507) but then she just became like. idk she became part of the vivienne character archive mythos ig

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

OMYGOPD FUCKING. I'd say a good 70-80% I don't post ??? maybe upto 90-95% ??? that'll probs drop down to like. 35-50% if I start learning how to use insta but since I can't exactly work easily at fucking school I barely post stuff I would think looks good enough for my tumblr. ye I mentioned insta but that is specifically gonna be like. doodle dump

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

FIBER ARTS!! fiber arts, 3d modelling and traditional painting. god. what I would give to have skills and knowhow for 3d modelling. this is reminding me to get back into bookbinding and scrap booking sajosdf

14. Any favorite motifs

... stars. I mean obviously with my current brainrot being like. about the skies and the stars and the things beyond and b elow the earth of course stars. eyes too ig but like. kind of a given

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

landscapes and comics. comics I can't will myself to drawing something over and over and having to make it look decently polished. landscapes I just fret over the details too much. getting more used to comics and the likes specifically cause. yknow. I wanna make animatics

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

OKAY SO I love just. doodling random shapes as warm up. and then also I will like. doodle a bunch of stuff related to said character on a separate page and maybe some small doodles of the character. specifically for the shapes I'll do different directions of hatching for them and in areas where shapes intersect I'll make it kinda like a cross hatching thing

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

uhhh not really ? They're usually around the time I get burnt out or am buusy. like you know I tried artfight but that literally started around the same time as my school year. and then the school is also hosting a zine but they started it during fucking hell week so they extended the deadline but I do not have any full illustrations at the ready so maybe like. next year or maybe I rush something up idk

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

with all the art I am currently proud of rn I think just the character design refs that I have up for asotfs. you can see a change in how I draw in the ones I have but I like them. I do not post art often .w.

[sitp-recs]

An Emerald In The Sky by @corvuscrowned

Harry/Draco (2022, Mature, 6.6k)

The hardest part about shagging an Unspeakable is that they’re not allowed to speak of anything. All Draco knows is that Harry works in Time. Harry works in Time, and while he’s out there in all of that time, it is as unforgiving to him as it is to anyone. Somewhere along the way, Draco realizes he's been thinking in lines, when he should have been thinking in circles.

Harry kisses him. And this is exactly what Draco wanted. The kind of kiss that couldn’t endure the finishing of a sentence. The kind of love that can’t wait. But Draco wants more than a kiss. He wants more than one moment. He wants more than Harry can give.

Just like Draco, I’ve been patiently but eagerly sitting on this draft ready to lose my shit with Wireless reveals, only to find out that Crow is to blame for my mental health the one who wrote my favourite fic of the year! God, how I loved this one (my friends can attest as I’ve made them all read it!). I’ve been so obsessed, have read it so many times already, that I just knew this had to be my first rec right after reveals. I’m being cautious to avoid spoilers here but to be clear this is not a mystery despite being mysterious, nor a case fic with high stakes, although one could argue it probably has the higher stakes of all. It’s not even what I’d call a traditional romance - more like a character study one? - but it certainly introduces the love of a lifetime.

From an emotional standpoint, I’ve always found time travel a rich and fascinating trope; there are so many fun possibilities but because most prioritize time loops with happy endings, we tend to forget that time travel can also lend itself to poignant angst and thought-provoking explorations of time, aging, ill-advised falling in love. Emerald reminded me of that triad in the most beautiful way, with its evocative writing and intriguing summary. It is a short tale with impeccable pacing and superb pining, written in a clever way that makes my heart ache for both Harry and Draco in their humanity, hopes and limitations. That’s probably my favourite thing about this fic, now I think about it: how we learn so much about one character through the other, and the ways the narrative makes them both human, flawed and sympathetic.

Anyone who’s enjoyed The Time Traveller’s Wife will be fascinated by Draco’s POV, as the perspective of those who wait. We witness his growing melancholy and changes of heart from wonder to bitterness to resigned acceptance, slowly coming to terms with falling in love with an Unspeakable who will be repeatedly taken away from him. It’s a grieving process for both Draco and the reader, to understand the ways we are helpless facing the designs of time. But in my opinion there’s also some comfort in how fate and free will get confronted - choosing to love someone in such circumstances is an act of courage and no one can take it away. Harry and Draco prove that by loving fiercely and inevitably, and the ways they’re pulled into each other, meeting time and again, unable to stay but unwilling to leave, knowing that no amount of time will ever be enough… ahhh 💔

Finally, I’m in love with the stars motif! Such a poetic and fitting take on Draco’s line of work, which of course connects his fascination with the unreachable to his longing for Harry. I love their conversation on this topic and the insights we get about Draco’s mind and heart in one of the rare moments he opens up. It’s so cleverly executed I almost went there with the banner, but I feel like the one I chose is more subtle and will hit those who’ve read this fic right in the feels! It’s also a nice way to intrigue and lure those who haven’t checked it yet ;)

This is a gorgeous read with a creative premise and the kind of complex and quiet devastation that always finds its way inside my heart. The idea of a solitary yet burning love that endures time travel mysteries and repeated heartbreak gave me every kind of emotion and made me revisit my favorite scenes every now and then just so I could relive that particular feeling once again. I’ve been thinking about this story for weeks and I know it will stay with me for a little longer. What are you waiting for?

Read on AO3

[lesbiansforboromir]

poster analysis (unhinged)

I’m splitting these images up into vague catagories based on my ASSUMPTIONS of races and origins SO!

The Numenorean section. Lets go through them from the top left to bottom right; - This guy’s Ar-Pharazon. I hate it, because he looks fucking great, the green of his sleeve with the fish scales marked in gold and the islamic style gauntlets and the golden sun motif... literally impeccable fashion and it’s just so delightful to see so much colour everywhere it’s assuaged a lot of my fears but golden armour with golden sun has to be Ar-Pharazon :( - Now this fellow, I am actually still very curious about, the printed fabric is what made me put him into the numenorean camp. Also the red fabric in the left looks to me like it comes from the next costume along, but other than also just loving this look, especially the orange silk sleeves, I couldn’t place this fellow. Suggestions of him being Elros have been going around but I’m assuming all these are main characters and I’m still utterly confused about why a show about the OTHER rings of power has a main plotline in Numenor to begin with but whatever. - I’m going to guess this lady is the Isildur’s sister we’ve been hearing about. The embossed book with the waves has potent ‘chronicler of the disaster’ vibes, perhaps with an emphasis for some visions of the future? Even this single colour simple dress is more exciting a costume design to me than anything I expected, the deep red/orange is very lovely, the rope very cool and the black pearls on the sleeves slap. - Next line and this is Miriel, which makes me now pretty certain Maxine Cunliffe is going to play Miriel. The fish scale mail is beautiful and the way she’s cupping one of the white flowers of Nimloth ;;;n;;; very prominent sense of her trying to preserve numenor etc etc. Very sad. Very cool. - So here this I am assuming is Elendil. A little confused about why he’s holding the rod of the king, (rod of the king also fucking slaps, wings marking kingship etc) but being associated with the kingship whilst also obviously being dressed quite plainly says Elendil to me. - And I’m pretty sure this last fellow is Isildur. Others have suggested Cirdan which is still possible but a young fellow with similar motifs as the other numenoreans and hefting rope in preparation... for... sailing? Seems like Isildur to me. I... guess they did have to make him younger than he is supposed to be, but then again the timeline with this show is absolutely bananas to me, I’m now so sure they must be hopping about.

DWARVES! We’re supposed to be getting Durin in this show and if that’s the case then this first red haired fellow is a little disappointing. BUT the red painted scalemail still looks gorgeous. Worryingly, a translation of the runes on his hammer (into english not khuzdul strangely) sEEMS to say ‘awaken sleeping demon’ which is... so exhausting AND INSANE! When the balrog only awakened like 500 years ish before the end of the THIRD AGE. So either their timeline editting is going to make me tear my hair out or we’re dancing around timelines.  THIS LADY THO... absolutely obsessed, I’m really hoping the gold dust on the fingers of them both is more a fashion statement than some antisemetic greed for gold moral hint but the triangle jewelry, the flowing silk looking dress, the jewel studded bracelets, I’m in love. AND this has to mean we really are gonna see Khazad Dum at it’s height and I really wont survive that. God.

Elfses.  - So this first fellow... now... I have been creeking back and forth on him, Celebrimbor or Gil Galad? Now, the two possibly three stars pinned to the fabric really FEEL like silmarils right? And the rings all have a kind of uniqueness to them, not precisely all of a common theme, one of them feels dwarven, all of which points to Celebrimbor. HOWEVER. Celebrimbor, as the name suggests, was fond of silver not gold, which would make this immensely gaudy fashion odd. Can’t really trust the show runners to go into that detail, but also! The star pins could just be stars! Especially because it looks like there are pearl sewn cirith runes on his sleeve that MIGHT spell out Elb, ie Elbereth. And I would call Gil Galad the more star aligned religious one. Still, whatever, I love this, the noldoring gold aesthetic I’ve been missing.  - This is Galadriel, I have no proof it is about the vibes. The armour is boring but the Telperion and Laurelin merged dagger is quite cool.  - Elrond possibly? I have put him here because Elrond apparently loves crushed velvet and such but I’m still not sure about this one. It honestly could also be Ar-Pharazon or another Numenorean. The lettering on the scroll apparently mentions something about ‘looking from the south’ and ‘king’s sky’, I think there’s a quenyan month of the year named king’s something? But I wasn’t sure about that and I am doing none-research for this. 

HOBBITS!! I do like the concept of making small things large to make their hands look small, a neat trick. Admittedly I don’t have much to say about these, the costumes look good for nomadic harfoots and stoors and I’m very into this plaited horse hair (?) rope for a burlap sack. This staff contraption has what looks to me like a wolf claw but big (again to make Lenny Henry’s hands look small) but in general! Cool intriguing. 

??? Evil?? So we have who I assume is our season one villain on the right, our ‘Adar’ who’s leading a gang of orcs and is also somehow one of Galadriel’s brothers which is a concept I find insane but only in a funny way because I dont care about elves. If they make Aegnor or Orodreth evil I would just laugh.  On the left tho?? He’s really only here because the swords look so similar. I mean do we have Turin’s evil talking sword? This broken one looks like it’s made out of obsidian more than metal. But the baskets are similar and such so.

Miscellaneous! Just a group of whatever the fucks.  Admittedly though, starting from the top left again, I am going out on a limb and saying these first two are connected. This is purely because the segmented belts are the same, but essentially I think these are Balchoth/Wainriders/people from the Sea of Rhun. The horse is worrying, (after shadow of wardor’s timeline nonsense with the rohirrim I’m suspicious) but on the sword the horse motif has a sea serpent’s tail which feels more Sea of Rhun to me and Wains are driven by horses SO! Ugh I love this blue and gold fellow though, the circles and the colours and the patterns! Impeccable taste. Little worried he’ll eventually become the witch king. We’ll see.  - Next fellow with the map! Looks very cool and the map itself has pictographic writing I dont recognise. Or I assume it’s a map! It has that vibe but perhaps not. The fellow has a style that I am tentatively calling part of PERHAPS a section of characters who are indigenous to middle earth, perhaps ancient dunlendings or mountain men from gondor etc.  - Next one with the apple is gandalf, regrettably, but at this point pretty sure if rumours are true we’re going to see gandalf arriving in a meteor. Hilarious also. - Not THIS... this fellow I’m intrigued by. He also worries me, but I am intrigued. This bark based armour with a kind of green man motif is beautiful. Big theorising here, but if we’re seeing numenorean deforestation, then it would make sense for us to see people allying with the Ents in defending the forest. That would be... SO MISERABLE to see and nigh on impossible to do sensitively since canonically... the numenoreans fully do win but! hhh We will see. - And finally! I have no idea who this woman is but I love her. The mixed fabrics are so interesting, I have no idea where she would be placed, perhaps alongside the indigenous people but I’m excited all the same. Initilly I thought she was a hobbit but they’ve done nothing to make her seem smaller and also her clothes are more complex than those other images.

[lorspolairepeluche]

symbolism asks

which [number, letter] best fits/represents the character?

(for example, “1c insect” would be “what insect best fits/represents this character?”)

1. Animals

a. Animal b. Animal by biome/habitat (arctic, jungle, forest, etc) c. Animal by type (bird, carnivore, dinosaur, canine, etc) d. Pet animal

2. Art

a. Artistic period b. Artist c. Artwork

3. Cards

a. Card suits b. Tarot suits c. Major arcana d. Three-card reading (past, present, future)

4. Color palette (3-5 colors. or more. up to you!)

5. Earth/science

a. Land, sea, or sky? b. Biome c. Cloud type d. Body of water (lake, river, ocean, etc) e. Metal/alloy f. Gemstone g. Weather h. Natural disaster i. Periodic element

6. Fashion

a. Fashion period b. Designer c. Outfit d. Fabric e. Pattern (solids, stripes, paisley, etc)

7. Folklore/fantasy/mythology

a. Mythical/legendary creature b. Mythical/fantasy race c. God (of any or a specific pantheon)

8. Food

a. Comfort food b. Dish c. Dessert d. Drink e. Breakfast food

9. History

a. Weapon b. Historical period (by region if so wished) c. Vehicle (ship, chariot, train, etc) d. Light (lamp, candelabra, chandelier, etc)

10. Music

a. Classical composer b. Band/artist c. Musical genre d. Dance style/genre e. Musical instrument f. Musical key

11. Philosophy/religion

a. Love type (Philia, philautia, storge, eros, agape) b. Deadly sin c. Heavenly virtue d. Classical element e. Body, heart, mind, or soul?

12. Plants

a. Flower b. Vegetable c. Fruit

13. Pop culture

a. D&D damage type(s) b. D&D class(es) c. Lightsaber color d. Disney princess e. Pokémon typing f. Horror type (body, psychological, jumpscare, etc) g. Star Trek series

14. Recreation

a. Sport b. Game (video, board, card, etc)

15. Space

a. Planet b. Constellation c. Heavenly body (star, comet, meteor, etc)

16. Written word

a. Author b. Motif c. Trope

[monodramatic-cannibal]

From what I remember the star sanses had a star motif within their designs in the fandom at the time. Ink with that star eye, Dream's (old) design with that orb with the star and would also be drawn with star eyes sometimes too, and Blue at the time in the fandom was commonly drawn with star eyes too. So thats why I think Blue was there.

Paired on with the fact the fandom in the past had a lot different view of the 3, a lot of people saw them as goodie tooshoes, and also made them overly baby, which ended up with them also being put together.

I don't know which group came first sadly, but I do know that the bad guys were the first of the two I saw when I was younger.

And talking about Cross, I love both versions, him with either group.

But the one thing I struggle with is understanding Cross's motivation for being with the Stars. For example Blue is someone who sees good in people and wants to help where he can, so thats his motivation. And like you mentioned Dream and Ink are involved with the aus in their own ways.

But with Cross I see no motivation other than his connection to the other 3. BUT I think that can be a good thing, to have a character who doesn't have as strong as a motivation as the others, trying to figure out his place in the aus and who he really is, he can also be a source of conflict between the stars. Maybe because his way of doing things and making decisions is different from the others. Especially given his past with Ink (I don't like how quick the conflict between Ink and Cross was dealt with in Underverse. Let Cross be angry with Ink god dammit). I really think that if expanded upon Cross in the Star Sanses could be a good thing. But where it stands I see few content of all of them together, whenever I see content of Cross with any of the Stars is mainly always Dream and other 2 aren't really there that much.

Like I said I like both versions, and I wish both versions of Cross were expanded on more, but so far I've only seen Cross with the bad Guys being more expanded than the Star Sanses Cross.

Also adding: In terms of other groups besides those two. I'm pretty sure there's been groups in the past, but they were never as popular as the main 2. I also think the main 2 groups happened naturally within the fandom. Whereas people trying to make other groups did it themselves and tried to market it as a group. I would love more members especially within the Star Sanses, but unless more people are open to a certain character I can't see it happening any time soon. As much as I would like to see it.

Star Sanses have any canonical backstory within the fandom? Or did we just decide they made a good trio? Because aesthetically speaking, they match well.

I understand Dream and Ink, as both prioritize the protection of AUs, albeit with slightly different goals (Ink protecting AUs from destruction and Dream wanting positive AUs to remain that way). Now... Why is Swap there? Don't get me wrong, I like his involvement, I love the interaction between the three, but I feel like he seems a bit out of place?

I think back in the day (around 2016), people just wanted to put the "good guys" together, sort of as a contrast to the "Bad Guys." I'm not sure which group came first, as I wasn't part of the fandom like I am now back then, or if that was really the reason, but I think it all worked out in the end.

I've mentioned this before, but it would be really cool to have more Sans characters in the Star Sanses. I've seen because of this post here (if you haven't answered the poll yet, go there and respond!) that many consider Cross an honorary member of the Star Sanses, and that Core Frisk would also be an ally. I like this concept, even though I also enjoy Cross with the Bad Guys - especially with the Murder Time Trio. So I agree with both versions: Cross participating in the Star Sanses or being part of the Bad Guys.

[evilmagician430]

u know what fuck it *posts my venturiantale warrior cats*

uh this is just the acachalla immediate family + maddie though i will post the pie cats when i've drawn all of them

i fucking LOVE designing warriorcats with stupid design motifs and shit and i love turning characters that already exist from something i like into the type of character in something else i like. this is one of those things in life that keep me relatively sane

"lore":

blazestar is the clan leader but her warrior name was blazepool ^_^ i only mention this because when i came up with her name i thought it was soo pretty then i remembered if shes the clan leader she has 2 have the suffix -star. so the nice name i came up with went out teh window entirely. she became clan leader after the former leader and his deputy DIED in the same night due to a mysterious incident. nobody rlly cared though rip bozos. time 4 milf power. the medicine cat literally had a vision about how blazepool needs 2 be the new clan leader. thats how they decided so suddenly after that night in... garry'sclan...

missingfur is literally an old man he needs to stop killing people over territory boundaries but he doesnt have any other pastimes since he doesnt have any good stories or even ticks

pigeonfoot is the medicine cat and hes billy if you cant tell. i think all my designs r pretty obvious though so whatever. he knows everything awful that is going on but hes so dumn he forgets it instantly after starclan tells him. he caused a girl 2 spiral into insanity entirely on accident. he so cute i put little stars in his eyes because i thought that would be a fun idea for medcats 2 have stars in their eyes like how leaders r sometimes drawn with a star on their chest or forehead (like i did w blazestar..) i legit based his fur patterning and stuff off of a pigeon because again. cuteness points. the vm influence is deep under my skin like scarabs

BRIARFACE the little thing next 2 one of their ears is actually supposed 2 be a briar flower idk if you can see it. the token former kittypet. she used to live in a house but then she saw blazestar and missingfur on her patio one day and blazestar was like "what are your pronouns" and briarface (then some silly housecat name like uhh sweetums) was like. "she/they, i guess, but my housefolk have no way of knowing that, they just think im a tom" and blazestar was all like "if you join our clan we will call you by your preferred pronouns" and she was like folding missingfur's ears closed the whole time since he insisted on coming to the new recruit and wouldve been a bitch. and sweetums said "what?". and blazestar said "what." genuinely not understanding what they were not understanding. 2 weeks later she would become part of the family and be christened briarface because briar is like briar rose and it sounds pretty and face because they have distinctive facial patterning.

mapleclaw is the strongest toughest roughest prettiest girl in garry'sclan and she goe's two hell every night to get better at it. this isnt a secret though everybody knows and nobody minds. pigeonfoot found out from a vision and told everyone and they were like. cool. and he was like oh i guess its fine then. must not be that bad. like her venturiantale counterpart she also lost her entire original family when she was young to murder carried out by none other than JIMMY CASKET... a name that gets sillier the more i think about it. in this au or whatever his name is gravelblade. more on gravelblade later..

rustedpaw oh my god.. el gato ever. he also had all his remaining family die for unspecified reasons when he was quite young. blazestar finds him sitting pathetically in a pile of blood next to one or more of his family members corpsces. takes him home adopts him without question and apprentices him to gravelstep (gravelblade's non evil default form) but then he tries 2 kill missingfur in his sleep and #fails and blazestar is like!!! not my platonic babygirl guy best friend with tax benefits!! and they both decide 2 DIG A HOLE IN THE GROUND LIKE A FOXHOLE and make him live in there 4 being a foxheart (attempted murder). then he just lives there. screaming to be heard. sometimes a cat will stop by to talk with him out of pity or genuine interest. sometime it will be mapleclaw as she's also in charge of bringing him food. also gravelstep is bummed abt being out of an apprentice bht blazestar is like "Don't worry... youre still my fav deputy :)" and gravelstep says " i am your only deputy stop acting like its a superlative"

foxflower used to be a friend of pigeonfoot's who had like a big crush on him and was contantly teasing him, flirting with him and every1 thought they were going to become mates but pigeonfoot just wasnt into her like that. this was solidified when he became a medicine cat and foxflower was like. oh fuck now i REALLY cant have him. so instead she dedicated her life to evil. she still harasses pigeonfoot while hes working and in defense mode mapleclaw killed her early on. they forgot 2 bury her and she stood up and started talking and walking around again 24 hrs later. this was how they discovered every1 in garry'sclan or venturianclan or whatever im calling it has infinity lives..

because they exist purely 2 entertain starclan and nothing they do or that happens 2 them matterz. blazestar actually found this out while she was becoming leader but 4got 2 tell everyone ^_^;

gee whiz i did not realize how much text i would need to type out the lore i had in my head 4 these guys OOPS. guess i really am that deranged. i hope theres like a read more thing on this post when i put it up so this isnt like hell to scroll past everytime uhh goodnight!