#gonna maybe try to draw something simpler

[transsexualbloodlust]

picking out a new stick n poke is the hardest thing a girl can do

[goldensunset]

sighhhh. i have a really ambitious drawing idea but . this is coming from a person who struggles and bleeds and screams and cries trying to even do one painfully simple drawing. like i want full body multiple figures a particular something i have no experience with. but i take like 10 hours to draw a 3/4 bust of a simple character design. it would take me a really long time and i don't know if i have the strength to commit to that when maybe i should be practicing with simpler ideas to improve on the basics first

[kozachenko]

Here's a digital sketch dump of some pose/anatomy practices and some 2hu doodles, I think from now on if I don't have any big final piece to post, I'll just post sketches I liked that I did digitally (might also reblog some drawings of mine that I want more people to see, maybe idk).

Artist's Notes:

Ok so after the recent Hifuu fanart I did, I've been hoping to experiment more with how I draw faces, how I render, as well as how I stylize things. In some of the earlier sketches I did, I had an idea for a pose that I wanted to try drawing, so I took a ref pic of myself doing said pose (the leaning one btw) and then did a sketch over top of it just to get an idea for the shapes, negative space, and silhouette. After that, I wanted to do some simpler breakdowns of the shapes so I can get better at simplifying the body (these ended up being the bottom right sketches in the post). I also did some experimenting with how to push certain parts of said sketches to create a different body type (via liquify and then a more refined version based on that sketch), as well as figuring out what makes a pose feel natural and not stiff. This was also a bit of a foreshortening practice just so I can get more confident with it, and I ended up using the arms from the liquified version for the coloured Zanmu sketch I did since I liked them so much (dw I'll get to that).

The next thing I wanted to try and draw was Hisami, mainly because.... I am very bad at drawing her in my style. Last time I drew her I made her look really creepy and spindly, and it is my headcanon now that she can switch between a more human, and more creepy look whenever she wants. I'm liking where the face is going a lot, might have to refine a few things about it in the future, but it's cute (I also made the blush purple which I think is what I'm gonna do with her face from now on). I also like how her hair in the sketch turned out a lot, but the outfit..... not as much... Ever since I started changing my style to something less cartoony, I've had a hard time drawing her outfit in my style. Especially the flower veil thing she has on, which, I did try to find a way to draw, but I ended up deleting that sketch because I didn't like it. I'm also not a fan of using the colour purple, like, pure purple, magentas are fine, indigos are fine, but not strict purple. I also have a hard time with drawing all the little pattern details on her dress. I also need to find a way to draw the flower veil in a way that looks good because everytime I try it ends up just looking off (very similar to whenever I try to draw Zanmu's blue spears). I think the only solution to this problem is to do what I normally do and make my own version of the outfit, but with adjustments to suit my style while still trying to keep core elements from the original design intact (like I do with Zanmu and Keiki, and yes I am going to get to that Zanmu drawing just gimme a minute).

Ok next up is Keiki, my favourite Touhou character who I haven't drawn since the beginning of the year. Since my style has changed a lot, I wanted to just do a face sketch of her to get a hang of drawing her again, and I..... really really like how it turned out! When I drew her eyes, I realized that a good way of keeping faces too same facey can be via varying the sizes of their pupils, so that's an idea I'm gonna keep in mind from now on. I had a lot of fun with her hair, I initially was gonna do it like how it is in the official art, but I ended up not liking it, so now I'm gonna draw Keiki with wavy heir like this because it's fun and it looks nice. I also included my base sketch for Keiki's face since I was initially struggling with drawing her bandanna, and in the coloured sketch I added some more detail into her hair.

Now to finally talk about the sketches for Zanmu. Good lord was I having a tough time with her face. I also did this sketch before I figured out how I wanted to draw hair, so that's why the rendering on her hair is different (I did this soon after the Hisami sketch actually). Since I changed my art style a lot, I had to find a way to translate her face from my more cartoony style to my more detailed style, so while the face shape, nose shape and mouth was fine, I was really struggling with the eyes. I did get somewhere eventually though, and I am super happy with how it turned out. I wanted to lean more towards the androgynous side of the gender presentation spectrum, mainly because I think that makes sense for her character. Also made sure to include the silver hairs and some wrinkles just to bring some signs of her aging into her face because those are just staple features of how I draw Zanmu at this point lol. You will also notice that I gave her some scars on the right side of her face, and that's because I am a Zanmu-with-scars truther, I fucking love it whenever I see someone give Zanmu visible scars like that it just adds so much omg (I also tried to put a wolf bite mark on her arm in the full body drawing but idk if it reads well). While you can argue that her not having scars sells the idea of her being this "powerful, untouchable mastermind who is impossible to defeat," I'd say that instead of those scars representing times she got injured, they represent everyone who has failed to defeat her.

As I was drawing Zanmu's face, I referenced my sketch of to help with contrasting their features since I made Keiki's face more traditionally feminine. I also didn't mention this in my commentary on Keiki's face because I wanted to save it for here, but giving Zanmu scars also plays into the fact that she used to be human, wheras Keiki doesn't have any scars because she's a god who doesn't follow the rules of normal human biology. Plus I'm thinking about the two of them interacting again (return of Zan/Keik??? (I'm a multishipper btw) maybe???) so drawing their faces together will definitely help me in the future if I wanna draw them together (again, maybe as a ship? I've kinda been ironing out the kinks in their potential interactions (romantic and non-romantic) for a while now so idk maybe expect that in the future lol).

And now for the full body drawing, when I was doing the face sketch I did this little snippet of an outfit, had a vision, and the made it into a reality. I'll admit, part of me was worried that it would end up looking too much like Yuugi's outfits in the spinoffs and mangas, but I feel like I made enough changes to differentiate them. I tried to keep a few of the major details in Zanmu's design (i.e. the red tassles and yellow lining on her shirt) while putting a new spin on it. I also dialed up the scars to 11 since without them the whole thing kinda looked incomplete. Also, while I could say that the leaves on her kimono are "a nod to the fact that technically she should be a tengu because back then people belived that corrupt monks would turn into tengu but no Zanmu is an oni and they're maple leaves because...tengu...ahahahaha" what really ended up happening was that I looked up clothing patterns from Sengoku era Japan, liked the leaves the most because the red picked up on the red from the rest of her design and just ran with it. I also always had the idea to put Zanmu in men's clothing from Sengoku era Japan and while the accurate thing to do would be to put her in a Buddhist's clothes from that era.... from a character standpoint, I don't think Zanmu is pious enough to strictly wear the proper monk uniform, and also since she's basically the king of Hell, she would probably dress herself like royalty from that era. TBH, I probably could've been a bit more historically accurate, but again, this was mainly for conceptual purposes because I had a vision and I needed to see it through.

If I were to draw her in this sort of outfit again, I should probably try and use more references, although now that I look at it, if she were to wear it properly this would maybe, probably look a bit closer to a Kyūtai sugata (a very huge stretch, but it just kinda reminds me of that) just without the layers under and over the main piece of clothing (In the website that I searched up to try and compare the outfit in my sketch to, they name the outfit pieces but don't label them on the image, so I don't know 100% what everything is called) so I will definitely have to use that style of clothing as a reference going forward.

Also, I was kind of inspired by the ToTK design for Ganondorf since I have finished the game a while ago and I absolutely love what they did with his design (it's just so fucking cool omg) and I thought that sort of look would look good on Zanmu, so yeah got some inspo from that.

And those were all the notes for each of the sketches, I'm motivated to draw rn but kinda art blocked, so doing these little coloured sketches helps a lot.

[signanothername]

HEYO, do you think your Regina GeorgeTM Nightmare would ever have moments of his past self just...idk how to word it rn, just like he slips back. He's there. Something that Nightmare wouldn't normally do, but just this once or twice?

Whether it's drawing the line at children. Killers can kill them. Nightmare would prefer to not....just, something about it is a little too similar for his liking. And if Killer asks, the answer is just 'I have standards' or something to try and cover it up?

Or, maybe a rare 'olive branch' between him and Dream? Perhaps he remembers a small detail and does something nice for once, even if it's a small thing, before going back to his bitchy self? Like, a tiny piece of candy Dream used to like. Or a moment of 'that's MY brother asshole', even if Nightmare still a piece of shit?

Or, not even a moments. What about small mannerisms he has from before, that he doesn't even realize he still has? Maybe it's posture. Maybe it's the way he tilts his head when listening or curious(as a child, it was much more innocent compared to now).

Just a thought I wanted your opinion on!

Hello!! Glad to see you in my inbox again! :D

That’s it Regina GeorgeTM Nightmare is what I’m calling him from now on chchhcchhc /hj

Ok thank you for asking that cause i wanted to ramble about how i view Nightmare for a long time and now the time has come, cause i usually talk about him in fragments, bits and pieces here and there, never fully diving into his personality as a whole

Thing is, corrupted or not, i like to believe he’s still Nightmare y’know? Beneath all that bitchiness, he’s still the same quiet loner little guy that was just never dealt a fair hand by life

I have talked before very quickly about how i think Nightmare has moments of kindness

And even talked a bit in depth about why i think Nightmare is extremely bitchy

And you better believe i love to think Nightmare has those little moments in which he has a kind thought that just seems out of character for him, but it’s truly not, it’s just that little guy inside is still there, it’s just harder for Nightmare to truly think clearly with all the corruption that consumes him

Not only that but i absolutely love to think a lot of his habits are still the same, maybe developed or slightly changed but still very much the same

and i even sketched a few sketches concerning these two points, i just never shared them

In the first sketch, Nightmare is thinking about bringing Killer to Ccino’s Cat cafe, bringing killer to the cafe has no benefit to Nightmare whatsoever, it only serves to make Killer happy (something that completely opposes Nightmare’s goal of spreading negativity) yet he still thought about it, it’s just one of those moments where his little guy self just shines through

In the second sketch, it shows a lil headcanon of mine that Nightmare never broke a habit (and even something of a coping mechanism /comfort) of finding a tree to sit by when he reads, it helps clear his head, and i like to fully believe Nightmare doesn’t truly realize he does this cause it reminds him of better simpler times when he was just a happy content child reading a book under his mom’s leaves

That aside, sometimes i love to include little details in my art that people usually don’t really notice most the time, one little detail is that i love to have Dream and Nightmare grip their clothes as a child would when they are distressed (especially if it’s specifically anxiety/fear)

That’s just plays into a little headcanon of mine that it’s a habit Dream and Nightmare had since childhood and neither of them broke it, nor they’re ever gonna truly break it, what I’m saying is Nightmare’s child-like behavior is very prominent when he’s distressed, and i love to think so cause Nightmare is first and foremost, a wounded fearful lonely child, someone who’s inner child never healed, so when things scare or distress him, his inner child just takes over and such habits make themselves known

To me Nightmare is still Nightmare, it’s just that the corruption has taken over and made his pain worse and by extension he wants to let that pain out by inflecting it on others, all while not truly realizing that he does it to let his own pain out, in fact, I wholeheartedly believe that if someone (say Killer for example) kept pressing him by questions as to why he does what he does, eventually Nightmare would hit a wall only to realize “huh… why am i doing this?” Cause Nightmare would never settle for a bitchy answer like “why not?” It’s beneath him

Not only that but i fully believe Nightmare can get those moments of weakness in which the past just eats away at him, something I sketched for too :’)

And when it comes to Dream, he definitely has those moments of hesitation that he himself doesn’t fully understand, he fully believes that he doesn’t care for Dream at all, even tho it’s not true

I even talked about Dream and Nightmare coexisting before

And even this animatic, in which Nightmare (while being unphased/ unresponsive to Dream’s affection at first) still allowed Dream to show him his affection and let Dream hug him, only to return it by a very subtle head tilt leaning towards Dream before returning to his bitchy self

And I even wanna bring attention to this lil comic (and the ramble I made in the reblog about it dhhxhx) cause I feel like it also explores Nightmare’s fears to an extent

Fears of feeling weak, cause Nightmare definitely developed the mindset that the strong devours the weak, i like to think Nightmare hates feeling weak cause who would protect him but himself?

That being said, he maybe a bitch, but he’s also a deeply traumatized individual with an inner child who’s in dire need to heal, my man needs therapy and love <33333

[cupcakeslushie]

LITA MAY LITA MAY LITA MAY

Ok ok so I have like a bunch of questions feel free to ignore BUT

I) she has a tail. Is that a Kraang feature or do all the turtles in your universe have tails and hers is just extended?

II) Uh pink? Pink like Kraang? Did she choose her life colors, or???

III) Is. Is she. Is she autistic too

IV) Draxum-Hamato sooooo what does she call them? Did they argue about nicknames? Also was it Donnie’s choice to include Draxum’s name as well

V) Lita in the comics???

VI) Is there a reason her shell isn’t smooth like Donnie’s?

VII) What does she call Renet?

VIII) Ninpo question mark?

IX) Pupils! I love the way you draw her pupils. Is there a reason or is it just fun

X) Does she have a certain resistance to Kraang mind digging? Like that thing they did to interrogate Raph in the movie? To read his memories?

XI) So the cloak/scarf thing is Leo, the purple accents and stripes are Donnie, and the kneepads are Mikey. Any Raph references in her clothes?

Apologies if you’ve answered these before and I just didn’t see them! Have a good day and give Lita one too for goodness sakes girl’s had it rough already

1. It’s more of a Krang feature. I do love when the turtles are drawn with tails, but I didn’t do it from the beginning, and so for consistency sake in the EW universe I’ve held off. Maybe one day I’ll just say “fuck it” and give into the urge to give them all cute little tails. But even if I did, Lita’s would be much longer than any of the family’s (except Raph’s hypothetical tail lol).

2. Lita being albino and pink in the IDW comics pretty much made that Krang connection for me lol. I didn’t have to reach too hard with her design. She leans into it.

3. I have her personality very close to Leo’s canon personality, so she’s more on the ADHD side. She does have some sensory issues with sound, which a lot of ppl with adhd have (👋🏻). But being raised around the quiet and solemn Time Masters Sanctum it’s like really noticeable. When she visits the family, it can be very overwhelming, but rather than shutting down, she gets insanely riled up and can’t contain herself. It works though—everyone is more than happy to let her ramble on.

4. She never met either of them but Splinter of course would’ve been Jiji and Draxum would’ve been just Grandfather. Nothing too out of this world lol. And yes, Donnie chooses to embrace Draxum’s name.

5. Sorry idk what exactly this is asking. Like yes? Lita May is based off IDW Lita, from the comics 😅 sorry if I’m missing the question.

6. She is a spiny soft shell like Donnie, but yes, her spines are significantly more pronounced, thanks to, you guessed it!

7. Master Renet, or Aunty Ren in a more causal setting.

8. 🤫 we’ll see (I’m still trying to think of something cool and not too OP lol)

9. Her eyes are just for design fun, and to link her to Donnie some more!

10. That’s gonna be another big 🤫, but less because I haven’t decided and more just for the big spoilers! 😜

11. She’s kinda got two outfits atm and I think I might end up merging the two. Her simpler outfit of just her wraps and mask are very Raph coded, so I wanna figure out some sort of middle ground with the two.

[moe-broey]

I hope you feel better soon!!! Telepathically blowing up covid with my mind.

Got a simpler ask this time. Think the Askr crew have any nicknames for each other? The idea occurred me because I thought it would be funny if the summoner never EVER refers to Veronica by her full name. It started as a bit to annoy her but naturally became part of their dynamic. I think this group of weirdos deserve more quirks like that with their dynamics with each other.

TBANK YOU...... I am actually starting to feel better now!!! It must have been your power.... or just the passage of time and lots of rest.

I did... WAY too much here and got really off topic and Moe did take over. I'm so sorry. I barely control that thang. But also!!! A lot of these ideas have lived in my mind for a long time now, I just never got around drawing them out! I'm. Gonna try and organize this the best I can, bc I have SO much to say and it all kinda flows into each other...

This will be one half comic collection, one half character analysis and headcanons. Ready... GO!

FIRST OF ALL. THAT IS SO FUNNY. AND SO REAL. I can ABSOLUTELY see Kiran doing this. If you're a responsible adult figure in a kid's life, no matter the context, you Have to find harmless ways to annoy them. You have to find the bit, and commit to it. Just, um... well under most circumstances, said kid doesn't wield magic and have a giant spikey crown (making for lethal headbutts). So just be careful out there. 🫡

As for Moe... it kind of lacks that quality. Always a bit too in its head, often floundering in one way or another. Moe tends to love at a distance, has a lot of trouble expressing it, and often decides, well. It's just not my place. It seems especially standoffish about Veronica... it can't help but see its younger self in her. In more ways than one. Ultimately, it would avoid giving her a nickname, as a show of respect (it knows she wouldn't like that). It will speak extremely affectionately and highly of her behind her back, but minds its place to her face.

The fun thing about Alfonse's name is that you can extrapolate one thousand variations of it. Which is exactly what Moe does once it gets comfortable with him. And given enough rapport, Alfonse will happily respond to every single one (... except Alfonso). Al is the most casual nickname, that doesn't turn any heads. Allie seems to be the most favored one! (By Moe, or by Alfonse....? Or by Alfonse, as a consequence of Moe's liking for it?)

Sharena's name lends itself well to nicknames too! But Moe seems to exclusively go for Shari. EXTREMELY EXCITED at this show of friendship, Sharena tried her best to return the favor... but it didn't quite stick!

(As a side note! I wish I could have drawn more interactions here... just them going in circles mirroring each other. And one panel that would have been so sweets and speaks to Moe's character... snippet from my notes:

[Both of them become crestfallen.

Moe perks up a little. "'s fine. You can jus' stick to Moe. It is the name I chose, after all." <- It says this with an air of pride]

But I worked too cramped and didn't have the space to include it! 🥲💔)

LASTLY. Okay I have something really specific going on in the back of my head, here. But Lif does not tolerate nicknames. At the first whiff of it, he's shooting it down. This isn't a case where you can playfully get on his nerves and maybe eventually with enough time he softens to it. No. He isn't just being a killjoy about it, either. He... has his reasons. Don't press it.

OKAY. GRABS MOE W A CANE AND YANKS IT OFFSTAGE. GET OUTTA HERE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

-

PART 2 OF THIS POST. Just a liiiiittle analysis and some headcanons!!!!

First. Of course. Alfonse. This is my stance. I feel very strongly about this. But Alfonse is NOT the type who uses nicknames. He doesn't do petnames, either. He is a man of many adjectives and weird relationships with titles. What does this mean?

Alfonse will use a title to refer to someone, to keep his distance. Up until somewhere along the way he catches a snag and suddenly he's romanticizing the title. Now the title holds a Weight to it. An emotional significance. The title is now a term of endearment. Unless if it isn't. The title is used for exclusively practical reasons. The title is a show of respect, to honor the individual in question. It means nothing. It means Everything.

LIKE. LIKE. When he's not being Weird about titles (using a title to keep himself emotionally distant from the receptient), he's. Being Weird about titles (using them to express WHAT that person Is to him, what that means to him, and how he feels!!!!). ADD IN THE ADJECTIVES. He fucking LOVES to use adjectives in place of nicknames/petnames. He is just a wordy fella. You can even catch him getting silly with it, if the mood strikes him. WAY over the top, doing Way Too Much.

Off the top of my head I don't have many examples. They come to me in visions and are gone as soon as they came. But. My fellow associate. My brother in arms. My deeply valued and highly esteemed comrade. My cherished partner (... trusted partner, even). My dearly beloved friend. My friend. HEAVY emphasis on "My Friend". Somehow, that's like a declaration of love from him. Unless if it isn't. "My Friend" still carries SO much meaning to him, though.

Honestly writing this out I'm realizing Alfonse is just the king of taking words that mean something and then making them mean something else. Imbuing his own meaning to it, between the lines. Hiding behind it. HE IS ALSO. THE KING. OF PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY. Alfonse asks "Is anyone going to endlessly complicate the situation or" and doesn't wait for an answer.

ONE NOTE. Is how titles are used as formalities, and how he's also just always so ready to drop them. You kinda have to play this by ear, considering the context of the interaction... really, whether or not he uses a title, and How he uses that title, is extremely reflective of his current emotional state. Can be reflective of the stakes, and the nature of the relationship too. Like the many occasions where he first meets a Hero, and both decide to be on a first name basis fairly quickly. Then you have his whole "The Summoner" vs saying their name, deal. And then you have whatever I'm cooking, here.

AND. AND. DON'T MISS IT! THAT IS THE FINAL PIECE I NEGLECTED TO MENTION UNTIL NOW! NAMES!!!!! A person's name holds SO MUCH EMOTIONAL WEIGHT. TO HIM. When he calls someone by name, it Means something to him. Which to me, lends to the idea that he wouldn't come up with a nickname for someone, himself. If they standardly use a nickname, he'll probably use it. Then, you have the added intimacy of the full name. But to me. What makes the most sense for his character, is that he ascribes meaning to names and titles.

The ONE. "Petname" I will accept, from Alfonse. Is "My love". Because that does feel in-line with everything I've said here. It becomes something of a title, itself. But even then, when I play it out in my head, it's always said as part of something greater, building UP to something, instead of being the main goal??? Like. To me, forever and always. "My friend" will ALWAYS hold way more emotional weight. Anything with too much of a romantic connotation to it just falls flat, ESPECIALLY on its own. Like NO........ they're MORE than that..... it's More Complicated than that...... you can't just reduce them to something so clean-cut. Dare I say normative... <- guy who has problems and complexes voice

That is. VERY MUCH just how I personally feel. Because I have something wrong with me. I'm fucked up and evil. Sick and twisted, even. (... or possibly aromantic.) Moving on!

-

MY FINAL THOUGHT. Is how does all this factor in, between Alfonse and Sharena? Well! To be so real I got so distracted I think I'll just barely edit these notes. And give you some screenshots about it.

When talking to Sharena, he may call her "sister" or "my sister" as like. Terms of endearment. Which is ironic a bit, in how they do come off as a bit stilted and distant. I can also see him getting extra about it though... him calling her, "my sweet sister" / "my beloved sister" either in moments of vulnerability OR. Moments before disaster (VIOLENCE....). Also "my little sister" as a term of endearment...

Also! Supporting this idea, one canon instance where he simply calls her "sister":

And!!! Both Alfonse and Sharena do the "call your sibling by their title as a term of endearment" thing. Sharena's version is a little less stilted than Alfonse's, but still may come off as odd to someone not too familiar w them (her, often calling him "big brother". Many canon instances of this!)

IT'S A SITUATION OF. Well for one I think it would flow a lot better in Japanese tbh, where honorifics like that are not out of the ordinary, they're standard. Where at most it's just a bit of a childish way to refer to him, almost reads like a childhood nickname that stuck??? (I think it depends on what variation of it you use, too. I'm only a little bit familiar w it!). But the thing is. The other half of this thought. It's a situation of "No Normal Person Talks Like That" BUT. If a character DOES. That's noteworthy and says something about them. And I think this goes for both of them! It speaks to the strict and formal environment they were raised in. If Sharena ever had a nickname for Alfonse that wasn't "big brother", it's probably gone now.

Also... another odd thought.... this sort of absence and emotional distance between them (esp early on, also citing Dragalia Sharena "I never bonded with my brother in such a fashion" and the Rosado FBs). That's your Brother. That's what he is, so you call him that. He calls you by title. That's what you are, he acknowledges that. That's what ties you two together. It's supposed to mean something. I'm supposed to mean something, to you. You're supposed to mean something, to me. These titles are proof of that. The blood we share is a bond, in and of itself. Emphasize it enough and maybe we can manufacture something, here.

ACTUALLY.... AAUGHH.......... OKAY NOW I'M CONSIDERING PEONY. HOW THE CHANGELING TWIST FACTORS INTO THIS. BECAUSE. BECAUSE. It's SHOWN that Sharena/Peony has informal titles/nicknames for family on Triandra's side.

Their father wasn't Father (like Gustav), he was Papa. Triandra wasn't sister or big sister, she was sis.

Aaaand that's where my brain short-circuited, blew up caught on fire and charred to a crisp. Sad! But SURELY. This, and EVERYTHING ELSE. Might give some pointers...?

LIKE. MAYBE THE CONSENSUS HERE. Is maybe Sharena did have a nickname for Alfonse, and in general is more likely to use nicknames. Maybe at one point it was "corrected" out of her when it comes to Alfonse, and now it would feel unnatural to do so. Meanwhile, Alfonse never really had any nicknames for her, but always has and still does use her name with So Much emotional weight. Plus the titles and adjectives. The FOCAL THING. About the Askr siblings. Is that they both adore each other SO much, but neither really know how to express it. There is an undeniable emotional distance between them. I feel like, taking this angle with them... the stiltedness, the forcing of affection that's already there, just somehow out of reach or beyond their grasp. I think writing them like this captures that.

I'll. Leave you to decide where Anna fits into any of this. And anyone else. I'm down for the count. To dust.

FINAL FINAL DISCLAIMER. You can take any of this or leave it! These are just the things that run through my head, when I write The Character... I really hope this answered. Anything. At all. Parse through my scatterbrained visions boy...... GOOD LUCK 🫡👍 (AND THANK YOU!!!!! FOR THE ASK!!!!!!!! Enrichment...... much needed in these trying times......)

[eggsandmasks]

Ok so...

Good day, again CC fandom.

I've been analyzing my blorbo(Diego)'s design for quite some time, and I've begun to notice something. This may be a bit of a stretch, but hear me out...

I've learned through a friend, some research, and experience that art has direction. This basically means the way the art directs your eyes to look at certain things. This can be done through stuff like composition, color, perspective, and more.

Turns out it can also be done with character design. It's a little different, since this is character and not an entire illustration, but it's still possible. The most common ways I've seen direction in character design are through color, and through special accessories, clothing, or parts of their body (a prosthetic arm, or a giant gem that sits in the center of their body for instance).

More specifically, I want to talk about how color is used to direct a viewer's eyes, and how Diego del Lobo utilizes it.

First of all, before I go into detail, I just love how his design can both blend into and stick out from the various environments that we find him in. It really adds to his mysteriousness and it serves a practical purpose too since it allows him to sneak around in he dark without getting spotted.

Now onto the topic at hand!

The moment you see him, the first thing you're probably gonna look at is his face. Now, I'd be lying if I said he looked like your everyday gentleman. In fact, he's way more than that, if the game he's from is anything go by.

But let's say you don't see his face right away. Maybe you look at his chest or the center of his sprite. You might just be looking in between his grey vest and white shirt but pretty soon, you'll see a little of his neck above his shirt and that immediately leads you to uncovering the rest of him. What if you're not looking at him directly, but rather to his side or above his hat?

This is where background colors come into play. I've already stated that his design can make him both blend in and stand out with what he's standing against, but I want to focus on the former idea. If you're looking at him in the dark, his black jacket and hat blend in pretty well with the surrounding darkness. Then, your eyes begin to draw onto his grey vest, as it stands out slightly more. Afterwards, you gravitate towards his white shirt, because it stands out the most in his attire, before finally landing on his face.

But what if he's standing against a bright background? Again, he immediately draws the viewer's attention because of how his attire has little to no color compared to the environment besides black and white.

You know what else is fascinating? How his design, particularly his face, appears to "trap" the viewer. To make things a little simpler, the fact that his face is the only part of his design that has color makes it stand out, but once you've seen it, it takes a while for you to leave it. I'll admit, while his attractiveness is a key part to this, I think it's also because of the colors around it.

He has tan skin, and shoulder-length brown hair that frames his face in an almost mesmerizing manner. When you zoom out and try to look at he rest of his design, you'll just be surrounded by borders of black, white and gray in the form of his clothes. This works especially well if you're looking at him on the home/loading screen.

Right away, he is made distinct from the rest of the cast. Other than his seductive look at he camera and his position on the far left, what makes him different from the others is his color palette, consisting of blacks, whites and grays everywhere but his skin and face. Because of this, it draws your attention to the areas with more color and saturation, and you'll soon come to find that you're slowly being moved towards his face, and you can't resist he pull. Once you're locked on his face, it takes a while to leave.

If you try to move anywhere else, like say, above his head, you'll still be able to see his eyes. The sides of his head? The slight contrast between his skin and hair creates border, so you go back. Below his chin? The white shirt will keep you from going further down.

In conclusion, Diego's design is based on getting the player to look at him immediately, especially his face. His tan skin contrasts with the black-and-white palette of his clothes, so once you see him, you gravitate towards his face. Additionally, his face is also surrounded by contrasting colors, so you're basically locked on him.

------

To all who have bravely continued reading until this point, thank you. This was just a thought/theory of mine I wanted to ramble about once I noticed it.

Or I might just be overanalyzing this a bit too much...

Anyways, what are your thoughts? Any comments and theories would be greatly appreciated!

[fleverian]

Mermay? Nah it's fairy time

Here's some close ups

Been thinking about Fairytopia. Gotta be one of my favorite Barbie movies. I've wanted to draw a young Laverna and Enchantress for a while.

I'm gonna rant about nearly 20 year old Barbie movies. Man, I wish we got some more lore for these movies. Instead we got Mariposa, which was ok and I liked it but I didn't really care for, idk what to call it, the aggressive girliness? Where they bring in fairies obsessed with fashion and everything had to be covered in glitter. But at least I could consider it as maybe just a story Elina was telling Bibble or somewhere far away from Fairytopia. But the the next one ruined it by having Mariposa just straight up fly through Fairytopia and now there's some crystal fairy kingdom right in the middle of the Magic Meadow and the aesthetics and fashion completely clash with the first three Fairytopia movies. I like how the outfits in Fairytopia look like they are made from flowers and natural things. But in Mariposa and The Fairy Princess the outfits look like generic glittery modern Barbie princess aesthetic. Absolutely hate it. To me, it is not canon.

The older Barbie movies are super dated looking probably were even when they just came out. But they all had such well designed outfits and environments. They kind of have a liminal feeling to them. I love the aesthetics of them. The modern Barbie movies improved a bit in the animation, but never to the point where it looked that great. To me they end up looking more uncanny than the older ones. Because the older ones at least had a style to them but the newer ones just look generic. The fashion the backgrounds everything is just so soulless to me. Idk, maybe I'm just old and miss my childhood lol.

Really wish Mattel would revisit some of the old Barbie movie characters though. With a movie, books, or picture books. I fear them making anything with them with the new animation though. I need them to dust off their old stuff and bring back the crappy mid 2000's Barbie cgi. I neeeed it. It would probably be cheaper for them too since it's outdated. I need to see a new Barbie movie in all it's old

glory.

I need to see my girl Elina again. I want some more Fairytopia and Mermaidia lore.

Would love to see some backstory of Laverna and The Enchantress. I feel like there's something there. It just needs to be expanded on. What's Laverna's deal and why is The Enchantress the most useless fairy in all Fairytopia. I have to know.

I designed some younger versions of them. I saw this and wanted to draw my own versions. Gave The Enchantress a name too, Elvina. Read it means "elf or magical friend or noble being" and thought it fits really well.

Decided to try a new coloring style with these. I think it works pretty well for fairy characters. I don't think I'll use it much with other things because it takes a while and I like to use a simpler style.

Here are some versions with no backgrounds since the wings are transparent

[crazysodomite]

It's so crazy how people assume the worst of other people. It happens with everything but I'm gonna use this as an example:

Let's say someone publishes a drawing and includes the mspaint interface in the screenshot. People immediately start trying to put that person "in their place" and saying "it's so annoying that people expect praise for drawing in paint 🙄 it's not even hard to do"

And like. Let's start with this: people like being praised for their work. People enjoy compliments and positive feedback when they put effort into something. It is a normal human thing to do that most people experience. It's not self-absorbed to want praise lol... And you're not special edgy and awesome for expecting other people to not want that...

Let's say it's not hard for you to draw in paint at all. It's not special to you. Well to that person who posted that it was maybe a challenge. It was hard for them and they wanted to show off what they accomplished. If you don't see anything praiseworthy about that you can just scroll past or block that person. No need to "put them in their place" or whatever.

Or even a simpler explanation: that person included the UI in the artwork because the mspaint ui is iconic and looks cool. And they thought it compliments their piece of art.

This weird mindset on the internet is really tiresome to me. A lot of people never grew out of the school bully mindset and genuinely believe "everyone in the world who doesn't behave and think exactly like me is a mindless NPC"

People in real life: hey man how's it going

[mlobsters]

so i have aphantasia (can't visualize) and i have really poor spatial skills. imagine me trying to put shoes in a shoe box and not being able to figure out which way to rotate them so they nest together. and trying the same wrong rotation multiple times before figuring it out. it's absurd!

imagine me living in this 2 story house for the past 7 years and when i try to figure out where a bedroom upstairs is in relation to a downstairs room i'm in and having no idea other than trying to remember what you can see out the window in that room to give me an idea if it's facing the front or back yard.

okay so now imagine me deciding i'm going to try to draw a car in a one point perspective based on a reference not in that perspective. i've been reading a variety of tutorials and watching things and i'll think i understand but then i get to the thing i'm working on and it's like it's a different language. this isn't exactly what my example was how am i supposed to translate this ��

anyway. decided i'm gonna just get out the sketch pad and see if i can do it at a bigger scale with a simpler setup. maybe recreate the thing i do have a picture of (a van) in the perspective of the photo i'm drawing by using the things i've learned, and then try to see if i can translate that to a different vehicle.

i'm not terribly confident but i'm gonna give it a try because trying to get a reference for the car i am drawing was going nowhere and maybe i can force my brain to learn something new

[fottitimioamore]

hii !!

i have a request,

could you write a rottmnt bros + april x fashionable!reader? like the reader is always looking put together with their outfits, makeup, and hair. fem, please.

thanks ! xoxo

Yeah totally! I'm lowkey jealous of people who have a fashion sense because my closet is 50 shades of gray. Literally. I think I have a blue shirt somewhere in there. Maybe.

I thiiink this was only a little after the ask came in, notifs on mobile are bizarre whyy

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

♡ Pairing: All + April x fashionable!reader

♡ Warnings: None

♡ Relationship: Romantic

..............................................................................................

Raphael

♡ He loves your looks! He thinks you look amazing all the time, but the fact that you can put together a fit no matter what is so cool

♡ He can't really wear clothes, given his whole shell situation, but he's gonna hype you up every time you show up

♡ So many compliments. It's almost overwhelming how much praise you get from this man

♡ I imagine his compliments are hushed, under a bashful smile that he can't help. He wants you to know how amazing you look, but saying it out loud makes him a lil' nervous

♡ He likes watching you get ready whenever he can. He's completely happy just sitting by you, watching your process

♡ He likes seeing you in his color. He'll never admit it, but whenever you incorporate a little bit of crimson into an outfit his heart flutters

..............................................................................................

Leonardo

♡ Man fell hard and flat on his face after meeting you

♡ No matter how long you guys are together, he will always be astonished at the level of perfection you achieve with every outfit

♡ From your shoes to your hair (which he is soo jealous of), you are the embodiment of a bad bitch

♡ He studies everything about every fit, always going to you for tips about his own when he actually wears something

♡ Please do his makeup. I just know he'd strut around all smug, proud of himself and your work. "Oh! Oh this? Yeah, my girlfriend did it. She's great huh?"

♡ If you let him (try) doing your makeup or hair, I swear you'll see hearts in his eyes. He's not great at it, but give him some pointers along the way and he'll be your personal assistant anytime you need

♡ Matching outfits. All the time. He loves matching with you when you go out. Makes him feel closer to you

..............................................................................................

Donatello

♡ This man draws his eyebrows onto his mask. There is no way he does not know his way around some makeup

♡ He's right there with you in the morning, granted his process is much simpler given his lack of clothes, and hair

♡ He still likes spending the time with you, even if he has to mess up his eyebrow for the 13th time just to have an excuse to stay

♡ Maybe you mess up one too many times and he must insist he do it lest he watch you struggle any longer ;)

♡ Now Leo can rock an outfit alright, all of them can. But Donnie? Whole 'nother level. Every time out of the lair with you, you guys are the models of NYC

♡ Like Raph, wearing his color is *chef's kiss* Most likely all of your duo fits will incorporate it in some way

..............................................................................................

Michelangelo

♡ Star-struck. Every time. Always impressed at how put-together you look

♡ And like Raph, he wants you to know you look good. Unlike Raph, though, he is not afraid to tell you

♡ The world will know how amazing you look, doesn't matter if it's an everyday fit or something special, he is literally singing your praises

♡ When he's not hyping you up, he's admiring your sheer beauty. Every inch is pure perfection. Your hair, your clothes, your makeup, even the way you hold yourself.

♡ Perfectly content sitting watching you go about your day, goofy smile on his face (giggling and kicking feet vibes fr)

♡ He does like trying your makeup every once in a while, he is an artist after all. Normally though, he gets a little distracted and may start hiding little doodles on ypur shoulders. Nothing major, just something you can wipe of if you wanted

..............................................................................................

April

♡ Bad bitch duo. Whenever you guys go out, she loves doing a matchy matchy thing. You guys will always compliment each other

♡ Shopping sprees? Yes. That's really all here is to that man

♡ Pretty decent at makeup

♡ Well someone had to teach Donnie how to do his eyebrows

♡ I dont see her wearing a ton, but she knows her way around it would love it if you let her do yours from time to time

♡ Vice versa too, you ever offer to do her's she will literally fall depeer in love

♡ She really does admire how perfectly you present yourself all the time, it really is a mystery to her how one person can be so beautiful

..............................................................................................

Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome! <3

[mijikai12]

BIENVENIDOS!!!!

hola chicos!! this is my main blog and this pinned post is also a more updated and simpler than the og!!

warning: LONG POST ⚠️⚠️⚠️

BLOGS ->

Main: @mijikai12

Vent: @kayventa

Reblogging: @mijikai12-reblogs

Ask(1): @just-ask-finn

Ask(2): @the-prismo-ask-blog

Com!/Colab/Art: @yoki-san

MusicBased: @cheryap

where you can also find me ->

spotify

wattpad

youtube

instagram

twitter

details ->

i am a minor (13) and my birthday is March 2nd! 🎂

i am a aromantic lesbian

i have adhd and some autism

im an extrovert mainly around people i know. but i am literally forcing myself to interact with people (i swear it actually works omfg)

i go by Kayla

i love talking to people here.

i joined i think in september or october.

i play flute, piano, and a bit of recorder

my favorite colors are 💚🖤🤍❤️

i like weirdcore

im a big adventure time fan

im open for asks

im in seventh grade

i like to draw, animate, make music, and write!

she/them/green

im a Pieces

i'm hispanic

i speak english + spanish

MAIN OC'S!!!!!!:

Mijikai Tsocka(mascot): she is a bunny hybrid bc of course. i gues she was tested on or something, i havent quite figured her lore yet. she's a she/them 16 lesbian female.

Sarahnah Dandila(princess): She's fucking annoying anyways; she is a she/her 23 straight female. She's princess of whatever idk i dont have a name for the kingdom yet. (most parent standard hehe)

Mattie Sercel: He's a he/it 21 bisexual trans (least parent standard haha) he's in college and majors in 3D art and animation.

okay! i really hope you enjoy my blog!! i cant wait to meet yall and to get into situations id rather die than be in!! 😊

edits below:

edit1: guys i made a Neobook account!! i dont know what shit to do there so it might be empty for a while.

edit2: im trying to make an ao3 account. i should be on by 1/30

edit3: i know ive already said this but my reblogs are slowly being deleted. so my art posts will go to Yoki while normal text/memes/etc posts will go here (≧∇≦)

edit4: i lied in that last edit. anyways, i am gonna make an insta soon (maybe tonight) and i might make a Pinterest account! 😆

edit5: I MADE AN INSTAAAA

edit6: i have a twitter if you didnt notice

edit7: AO3 DOESNT LIKE MEEE

edit8: i have a gf omggg i'll be posting a lot about it at @kayventa

edit9: yeah ao3 does NOT like me wow. anyways, so springbreaks coming up soon. i'll post about this on thursday or friday ✌🏽

edit10: ive had an c.ai account for months ive posted about it idk if yallve seen it yet 😒

edit11: i found out a few days ago that when ao3 said i'd be on by 1/30, they didnt mean 1/30/24, they meant 1/30/25. wtf

[deathianartworks]

Do you have any coloring tips? I'm trying to get better at coloring but it's hard :/ everything looks so out of place and I lose motivation fast

Of course!

By no means am I an expert on this (I still forget to choose a light source 90% of the time) but here's a few things that I do when I'm colouring something digitally. Remember these are all individual to the way I make art so they may not all be applicable to yours and are simply me explaining how I do colours, not a tutorial for all colouring styles.

Buckle up folks, this one's a long one (sorry in advance!!)

Here goes nothing.

Losing motivation is totally normal and okay, take a break if you need it, maybe send it to some friends for some hyping up (art servers full of other artists are great for this!). Colours ain't gonna look perfect first time you try to do them, I never put down a colour that I like first time, it takes some messing around and asking friends for me to get them down.

So don't feel pressured to get them perfect in the beginning, that rarely happens!

Here's a mini explanation of how I do my colours, hope it will help a little :)

1) GET THOSE BASE COLOURS IN!!

It doesn't matter if they're not exactly what you're going for rn, go with roughly the colour you want and start there! Personally, I do big blotches of colour just to get something down on the page as this helps me want to actually finish it. Then you clean up those edges so they're all in their correct spaces.

I've found that working on a neutral mid-tine grey background helps you see the colours best at the start so all of my 'paper' starts off grey when working digitally.

Here's the example I'm going to be using (this is from the ghost files fanart I'm working on)

2) ADJUST THOSE COLOURS!!

So, now you've got those colours down, you can adjust them to be roughly how you want them to look. If you're unsure on what colours look best together, you can either take some time out, find some YouTube channels and learn a little about colour theory... OR you could grab some colour pallettes from online and have a play around with gradient maps or simply placing the colours in yourself. There's no shame in using resources like those, that's literally what they're there for.

I didn't need to do this on this drawing as I was happy with the colour selection. This is because I chose the background colour and simply adjusted the hue and saturation slightly until I got the colours I wanted. This is my general technique for choosing colours as my work tends to be fairly similarly coloured (browns, oranges, reds, yellows with hints of purple)

3) ✨SHADING✨

Right, well done! You've got your base colours in.

...but oh god, what now?? They look so flat and lifeless, what shall you do?!

This, my friend, is where shading comes in. It's both a way of telling the viewers where the light and shadows are, can change the mood of the drawing, can change what we feel about a character or it can just look real pretty but shading and lighting does all sorts of fun things to a drawing.

If your style is more simple and doesn't require shading/has minimal shading: apply this tip to any shading you do have and don't forget the importance of rim lighting in simpler styles.

For shading both skin and clothes, I use the original colour, shift it down into a darker shade and on the colour wheel I shift it down too (eg. shading green with blue, red with purple) sometimes you can shift that even further to create similar shading to the one above, where I shaded orange/brown with pinks/purple's.

The principle is the same with highlights but like,,, opposite. Shift everything up, shade browns with yellows, blues with greens, etc.

SIDENOTE ON HOW I COLOUR SKIN:

Okay so, these next two paragraphs are based entirely from what I've learnt during studies and aren't rules, just simply how I do it.

For lighter skin tones, I tend to start from one of the lightest colours and shade darker, like you would if you were working with something like watercolours. This allows you to build up shadows in areas of darkness. Once you've done the shadows, you can then go in and add highlights and lighter sections where necessary.

For darker skin tones, I tend to start at one of the darkest values, as dark skin tends to reflect light differently to light skin. Then I add lighter shades in sections that the light would reflect. You can add shadows too, I tend to add them if the drawing still feels flat after doing the highlights.

3) OVERLAY + MULTIPLY LAYERS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND

These things are literally lifesavers for me, I love an overlay layer.

I can't really explain what they actually do so I'm not even gonna try, just play around with them. But using a purple/blue multiply layer and erasing where the light hits, that makes the illusion of full shading without the same effort of painting in the shades.

Overlay layers are 100% a 'fuck around and find out' resource, I tend to use red and pink overlay layers as my colours tend to be more desaturated and this helps with brightening them up. However they can also be used to change the genre/mood of the drawing, like this:

These two drawings are the exact same. There's no difference between them other than an overlay gradient map layer in green or sepia. (These gradient maps are built into clip studio paint, I'm not sure about other programs)

But the whole vibe is completely different. So yeah, fuck around with different colour schemes and overlay layers (the bi flag colours are a great choice for experimenting with overlays as the colours are naturally very harmonious so maybe start there.)

You can also try a noise later for a bit of texture, it's my go-to fix it for any drawing ngl

Uhhhhh, yeah. That was lengthier than I expected, hope it helps even in the slightest. As I said at the top, I am by no means an expert and am still figuring things out myself, so just fuck around and find out.

Bye now!

[puddleorganism]

Funguary day 7! Trying to very carefully manage my motivation/energy tonight so I went with a simpler, abstract vibey thing for today. On the bright side, this is the furthest I’ve ever gotten in any daily challenge! Maybe it’s a bit sad that that’s only 7 days, but I am pointedly choosing to ignore that. I want to celebrate that instead! It’s indicative of a lot of personal growth for me. Which is especially nice because I feel kind of like shit! So it’s just really cool to have like, physical evidence that even at my low points now, I’m doing better than I was even just a year ago.

Pennicilium

I was originally gonna do some creature today, but as soon as I opened the canvas I was like “no, actually” and immediately cut it from my normal size down to a little 500x500 square lol. I thought it would be fun to do something a little psychedelic, and once I made that choice I put on the Glass Animals cover of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley and just had a great time vibin out drawing mostly mindless circles.

This piece reminds me of when I used to draw random patterns on sticky notes and make paper cranes with them. I kinda miss that. Doing repetitive, mindless things with my hands is really soothing and fun to me, and both drawing those patterns and then folding up the cranes falls into that!

[sepublic]

            A while back, I had this concept of a Metroid fanon, which I typically do for series I really like; Sort of flesh out, entirely in my head with no intention of actually writing it down, maybe just drawing, my own sort of take on the canon. An idea for how a larger story would incorporate and flow between these different games or installments or whatever, stuff that would happen in-between, and stuff afterwards.

         Basically, I wanted to make a unifying storyline out of Metroid. Entirely in my head, of course. And I quickly found that one of the themes I stumbled across, an idea I ended up having a lot of fun with, was this idea of… the Niche, for sapient alien species.

         Think of it like this; Imagine you’re an alien with a body type more akin to Kraid, being huge and massive and capable of hurling projectile weaponry. You want to be an accountant, and so does this other alien beside you, who’s more human-sized. You both have the same skills as accountants and are both paid the same for it, except!

         You have much greater needs. Bigger body means more nutrition needed. Bigger body means more space to occupy, which means greater rent. You need all of your equipment to work at home with specially made for your body type, because sometimes companies prefer to work with a specific range of shapes or sizes amongst alien species. You ultimately make less than your fellow accountant, due to the particular expenses of your existence.

         Of course, a friend brings up to you that some people need help hauling stuff around, and they don’t want to pay a lot for a big crew, or maybe it’s just easier with you. You’re huge and strong, you can help! And you became an accountant, partly because you weren’t interested in physical labor. But you’re clearly the best for it, and will be paid for it, so… You don’t have much options but to do this side job. It’s fine you guess, but you still have to work two jobs to keep yourself alive.

         It’s the idea that some species have certain bodies better equipped for certain jobs, so even if they’d rather do something else, they’d probably be outcompeted by another species, and end up pointed back in their assigned ‘niche’ in society. It’s easier and simpler for the Federation to operate by this more confined system, where larger, bigger body types work labor and are compensated accordingly, while smaller aliens are expected to work in occupations that make the most of their small size, and are also paid accordingly.

         You’re a human, adaptable and hardy, so you’re expected to be a footsoldier in the Federation’s military. You’re a Ceratopsid, time for you to be a leader! Phrygisians are unique for generating ice, of course you’ll have an occupation related to cooling, like a firefighter or even just an ice cream maker! You arguably have a social responsibility to make the most of your species’ traits, to do the job better than any other species could.

         Of course, while the Federation DOES try to find a role and accommodations for every species it encounters… Not everyone fares so well. Some species, like the Urtraghue, are at an inherent disadvantage due to lacking any limbs. They NEED exo-skeletons in order to operate complex tools and machinery, so even if they do have the advantage of breathing in air and water, it’s still a lot harder for them to exist in a society designed around a certain body type.

         So there’s a lot of themes of ableism and accommodation here, I feel. The idea of cities and societies built around a particular definition of ��abled’ and those outside of it have the onus placed on them to adapt, not the other way around. Most species tend to rely on physical expressions, so for a species that emotes more with scents or sounds or even lights, it’s gonna be harder!

         A lot of this just encourages aliens to keep within their own species. Stay segregated in societies built for people like them, and it’s easy for many to advocate for this. Federation supporters are alarmed because, hey, segregation is kinda terrible and merely encourages xenophobia!

         Some species are prioritized on the job market for certain behavioral attitudes. Others for their physique. Trafficking is a HUGE problem in the Metroid universe, for example Ridley’s species. They’re fairly few and obscure and not represented well by the Federation’s database, which already struggles to provide comprehensive info on every species. So it’s easy for them to fall through the network and be kidnapped and sold, seen as ideal and powerful weapons for their regenerative abilities, flight, fire-breathing, durable skin, etc.

         At some point, Samus has to team up with another member of Ridley’s species, Varyn, to save someone who has been trafficked for this purpose. And as they discuss, Varyn and Samus both have to ruminate on the inevitability of their roles; Ridley’s species feels built for combat, so of course that’s all they’ll be encouraged to do! Maybe that’s why Ridley ended up like that… And, Samus of course points out that people CAN make exceptions for themselves, and it hardly excuses his atrocities and evil. Varyn agrees, but she does bring up the inherent tragedy of it, the biological determinism.

         Likewise, we have Racklas, another member of Ridley’s species. She’s a judge and when Ridley is captured by the Federation at some point between Samus Returns and Super Metroid, for all his war crimes he’s still entitled to a fair trial. And Racklas is appointed because the Federation reasons that to make a trial as fair as possible, Ridley needs someone who could relate to him, it’s the same idea behind “a jury of your peers” and whatnot.

         Samus obviously does a double-take on Racklas and Racklas can’t totally blame her. But she does make a point that she explicitly does NOT want to be a fighter like her and Ridley’s species are expected, nay destined according to others, to be. But when Space Pirates crash the trial and successfully rescue Ridley, Racklas has to use her larger strength, fire breath, and durability to protect others. She’s hardly a fighter and has no combat experience, but her powerful physique compensates for that.

         And it makes Samus reflect on HER niche in society. She was trained as a warrior, she’s known as the hunter by enemy and friend alike. And then she becomes part-Metroid, a creature designed, meant to slaughter the X parasites. And while I wrote this back in 2019, it goes well with Dread and the revelation of Samus’ Metroid powers, her ability and responsibility to use them accordingly. And Raven Beak’s whole motivations and rhetoric, the Chozo are inherently evolved for war and should embrace that.

         Is that what Samus’ destiny is? Is that what her contributions to society will be? Killing and slaughtering? Sure people can justify she’s doing it to the ‘bad guys’, but she remembers the Metroid genocide of SR388. Is that the only way she can be a hero? Obviously people NEED to fight, people can’t always rely on peace. And theoretically, Samus could always just live a peaceful life, in a world where her Metroid powers weren’t particularly necessary; The X are (probably) extinct and there are other weapons for other enemies out there.

         I actually explored this idea a bit with my fanon on the Kriken Empire, who believe they have conquered these limitations of the Federation’s system through their alt-modes, eliminating any need for other species’ contributions. There’s the idea that individuals end up best-suited for certain roles and occupations, and are expected to dedicate themselves fully, permanently to those roles in the caste. 

        Ideally, the Kriken do not want any niche in their glorious empire to be looked down upon, because we ALL play an important part…! Still, it’s uncomfortable even if that did work out, because what if talent doesn’t correlate with passion? What then? And it’s part of Trace’s whole anxiety and his twisted coming-of-age arc that he and every Kriken goes through. The process to determine who fits where and the potential flaws in the determination, as well as the larger issue of its permanence and even general principle.

         Humans occupy an interesting position in that they’re both enforcers but also oppressed in their own way. Yeah, they have the weapons, they act as the main bulk of military. But they’re the ones sent to the front lines, expected to be the first and most common to die in the grinder… Doesn’t that suck? Some humans are fine because deep down, they still have some power over others! Others hate it, because regardless of how they feel about species lower on the list, they recognize they’re still being bossed around themselves. But most humans don’t want to threaten their guaranteed place in society, either.

         It’s basically an intergalactic ecosystem. A bunch of different species come into contact, and after years of working things out, inevitably sort themselves into certain roles, not exactly by intention. Survival of the Fittest, as it was called by the humans, or other names by other species, because they’re all familiar with the concept, without influence from aliens. Given the idea of predators and hunter, the Chozo’s connection with nature, and the discussion of ecology with the X and Metroids, as well as invasive species, I suppose this is thematically fitting.

         And as I brought up before, this is why some species prefer to isolate and group together, to stick to societies adapted to themselves. So there’s definitely themes of nationalism, community, and belonging going along; Trace’s fervor for his Empire, Spire’s search to find her lost people. Is Samus human or Chozo? What do various Space Pirate species fight for, or members of the Federation? The Mawkin are dedicated to a specific idea of Chozo culture, a particular memory they work to preserve. Can Dark Samus be said to have a ‘people’ she belongs to, what of the all-assimilating threat of the X?

         Obviously this doesn’t quite have its one-to-one parallels with real life; The difference between an Asian and a Hispanic person is nowhere near as drastic as one having wings and the other having echolocation. A lot of this is admittedly a thought exercise, hypothetical, on how different alien species would end up interacting and organizing themselves after a while.

         But there’s definitely correlations to racial stereotyping, as well as disability accommodations and the lack thereof. The discussions of ableism and societies built around a certain type of behavior, expression, and existence is DEF intentional. So, and forgive me if I’m patting myself on the back here, I guess it still has its applications to real life, as the arts always do beyond just entertainment.

        In the end, I guess I’m too lazy to properly write any of this in the form of an actual story. So I guess that’s why I’m going to write it as such here, better here than nowhere I say!

[nokingsonlyfooles]

We'll see...

We took a hiatus from streaming for a while, but we decided to head back to Netflix for a month. Mainly to see Nimona and whatever else fun. We found a new one from Mike Flanagan. The Fall of the House of Usher was waiting for us. That was fun. It clunks in some places, but it's fun.

Towards the end, I felt some of that unreal brain tingle I get sometimes - either because I'm slightly psychic, or I have some kinda undiagnosed transient seizures, or the universe is a hologram and on some level I know it. Eh, could be all three.

I'm a storyteller, so take it with a grain of salt, but I'll relate to you what I said to the spouse, more or less: "You know, when Verna offers Madeline the choice, rich or famous, and she picks rich... I'd say 'Neither.' I'd say, 'I've seen both of those and they suck. I want power. I want to make changes. I want to set wheels in motion that keep turning a hundred years after I'm in the ground, and when I'm gone, I don't want anyone to know I was even here.'"

History has enough great men, and great women, and great whatever, don't you think so, Random Reader?

"'And I don't care about positive or negative, bad or good...'"

His eyebrows went up.

"'No, I want Justice.'" And I said, "I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be here, unless I talked you into it. You would've picked something much simpler, if it was just you. Would you have let me make that deal?"

He said, "I think, if we were making deals, I'd want Peace..."

"Peace?" I said. "Peace is boring. Peace is Death. Peace is the nothingness before existence and the Universe itself said 'Fuck that shit.' You don't want Peace."

"I think," he said, "if you made that deal, I'd say, 'I want to be there to make sure it turns out better than you would've done it alone.'"

My eyebrows went up. "You're here to mitigate me?"

"Yeah."

We laughed, a little.

I said, "If I made that deal, we're going to lead interesting lives."

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah."

"I'm sowwy," I said, and he leaned over me and put his hands on my shoulders, warm. "Do you fowgive me?"

"Yes I do!" he said indulgently.

We laughed some more.

"You're Mr. 'I Want the Death Note,'" I said. He'd mentioned it just a few hours ago, regarding the characters in the series and others like them. "That's really all you want?"

"Look, I talk a big game!" he said.

I believe him. Heh. He's here to make sure I play nice, I guess.

Well, it's halftime for me, if I'm lucky. Maybe a little less than that for him, if he's lucky. I've been... Let's be delicate and say I've been Nerfed for a long time. I needed healthcare. I'm finally getting some. My vision's coming back after the surgery, and it's a little balky, but now that I'm out of glasses, my stupid eye has stopped wandering off and doubling my vision. Still healing and I dunno how it's gonna shake out, but for right now, it's just stopped. I'm getting other things addressed too. I have energy for more things, even if I can't quite draw or spend hours in front of a screen yet.

I don't want to build an empire out of corpses. I tell stories. I'm telling one real long one that probably also clunks in places, and needs a tune-up that it's never gonna get because I can't pay someone to help me and I'm not popular enough to be picking up volunteers. But I'm also not gonna have a corporation breathing down my neck and trying to make it look marketable. I've chosen freedom over marketability every time, and so far it's gotten me... Very, very few readers. Very few. Like, two, I'm pretty sure.

But I still care more about telling my story without limits than forcing it into a hamster wheel to power the capitalist machine. (Don't hold me to that, but while the spouse is making sure I get enough to eat and stay alive, it's a luxury I can afford.)

That's a mistake Mike Flanagan or Netflix or someone in the creative pipeline made. That's a place where The House of Usher clunks. They try to end their story by saying "Nobody cares about this story," but we care deeply about stories. And, no, of all the things we could cut back on, movies and TV - methods of storytelling - will not be defunded so we can use the money to change the world. Money won't change the world, not for the better. Stories might. If my big, long story ain't gonna do it, well, maybe it's practice for later. Or creative fodder for someone who comes after me.

The story continues, painfully, with grave doubts and insecurity, and my art manifesto is still pending. (I'll get back on it now that the super strike is ending, if my eyes and brain let me.) I don't know what else my fragile human body and mind will let me do. Or the spouse, come to think of it. Darn him.

New year's coming. New me, new priorities... In part, because someone told me a good story. I'd like to tell one too.

We'll see...

(Heh, I might as well pin this for my intro. This says way more about me than the happy, apologetic face I try to show the internet so you won't get mad and hurt me. I don't wanna hurt anyone, I really am sorry. But I guess, deep down, I'm willing to do it to be heard.)