#i am still learning how to draw my own designs and it's showing as I look at my drafts for the next several pages

[echoes-of-courage]

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[moon-buggg]

Here's my lovely science edutainment bot Sun! I'm not. going to be focusing on this au until after Halloween at least, but I am in love with it

you know the drill more details under the cut!

The Pizzaplex is now a Kids Science Centre! Chock full of fun, interactive, learn-through-play exhibits designed to get kids interested in science! With their main sponsor being Fazco, they have a pretty big emphasis on robotics and computers, though they have a wide range of exhibits to appeal to interests of all kinds of interests

Each main exhibit has its own animatronic mascot, with Freddy being the main mascot of the whole centre. I haven't decided on specifics for the glamrocks just yet-

As for the boys, Moon runs shows in the planetarium while Sun does science experiment demonstrations like elephant tooth paste. Since they're mostly for shows and demonstrations, the boys don't interact with guests nearly as much as the glamrocks do.

Either they both used to run the planetarium (possibly in one body? I haven't decided) until the higher ups decided to replace the humans running the experiment shows with an animatronic, OR it was always like this I'm still deciding because it WILL change how I characterize them

Anyways I have the most info about Sun because he was just going to be an oc before this au was revealed to me in a vision so-

He has a bit of a stutter problem after an ill-advised tesla coil demonstration fried his circuits just a touch. It's not bad enough to be fixed but he is self conscious about it.

He makes his demonstrations into performances! Telling little stories about how he used to work at a zoo and really DID need to make elephant toothpaste while mixing everything together to draw out the big fun expansion of foam, before going into an age appropriate explanation of the chemistry involved. If asked to explain some science thing that isn't part of his scripts, he can struggle with keeping it child-friendly, going into too far much detail. He's just full of information!

the 'glass' part of his glasses are actually screens! Allowing his eyes to move around and emote. the little dots in the corners are the cameras he sees out of.

He's mildly less distressed by mess than his canon counterpart. As long as its part of the show (and doesn't get on HIM), messes are part of the fun! Extremely sensitive to his things being moved, however. It stems from his safety protocol, some of the chemicals he works with are legitimately dangerous, like liquid nitrogen, and so it could be bad news if somethings out of its place!

[indie-ttrpg-of-the-week]

Trans made TTRPGs

Due to… recent events that I would rather not talk about, today's post is a highlight of different tabletop games made by trans peeps! These games are fantastic in their own right, of course, but you can also know that they were made by incredibly cool and attractive people

(Also, these are flyover descs of the game, they'll get more in-depth singular posts later, this is because I am lazy)

Perfect Draw is a phenomenal card game TTRPG that was funded in less than a day on backerkit, it's incredibly fun and has simple to learn hard to master rules for creating custom cards, go check it out!

Songs for the dusk is fucking good, pardon my language, but it's a damn good post apocalyptic game about building community in a post-capitalist-post-apocalypse-post-whatever world. do yourself a favor and if you only check out one game in this list, check this one out, its a beautiful game.

Flying Circus is set in a WW1 inspired fantasy setting full of witches, weird eldritch fish people (who are chill as hell), cults, dead nobility, and other such things. It's inspired by Porco Rosso primarily but it has other touchstones.

Wanderhome is a game about being cute little guys going on a silly adventure and growing as the seasons change, its GMless and very fun

https://weregazelle.itch.io/armour-astir Armour Astir has been featured in here before but its so damn good I had to post it twice. AA demonstrates a fundamental knowledge of the themes of mech shows in a way that very few other games show, its awesome

Kitchen Knightmares is… more of a LARP but its still really dang cool, its about being a knight serving people in a restaurant, its played using discord so its incredibly accessible

https://grimogre.itch.io/michtim Michtim is a game about being small critters protecting their forest from nasty people who wish to harm it, not via brutal violence (sadly) but via friendship and understanding (which is a good substitute to violence)

ok this technically doesn't count but I'm putting it here anyways cuz its like one of my favorite ttrpgs of all time TSL is a game about baring your heart and dueling away with people who you'll probably kiss 10 minutes later, its very very fanfic-ey and inspired by queer narratives. I put it here because its made by a team, and the expansion has a setting specifically meant to be a trans "allegory", so I'll say it counts, honestly just go check it out its good shit

https://willuhl.itch.io/mystic-lilies

Mystic Lillies is a game inspired by ZUN's Touhou Project about witches dueling powerful foes, each other, and themselves. Mystic Lillies features rapid character creation and a unique diceless form of rolling which instead uses a standard playing card deck.

https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/141424/nobilis-the-game-of-sovereign-powers-2002-edition I… want to do a more general overview on Jenna K as an important figure in indie RPG design, but for now just know that Nobilis is good

https://temporalhiccup.itch.io/apocalypse-keys Apocalypse Keys is a game inspired by Doom Patrol, Hellboy, X-men, and other comics about monstrousness being an allegory for disenfranchisement. Apocalypse Keys is also here because its published by Evilhat so its very cleaned up and fancy but I love how the second you check out the dev's other stuff you can tell they are a lot more experimental with their stuff, this is not a critique, it is in fact a compliment

Fellowship! I've posted about this game before, but it is again here. Fellowship has a fun concept that it uses very well mostly, its a game about defining your character's culture, and I think that's really really cool

Voidheart Symphony is a really cool game about psychic rebellion in a city that really does not like you, the more you discover for yourself the better

Panic at the Dojo is a phenomenal ttrpg based on what the Brazilian would call "Pancadaria", which basically means, fucking other's people shit up. Character Creation is incredibly open and free, meaning that many character concepts are available

Legacy 2e is a game about controlling an entire faction's choices across time, its very fun

remember to be kind to a trans person today! oh also don't even try to be transphobic in the reblogs or replies, you will be blocked so fast your head will spin

[ferrstappen]

aren't we supposed to surprise you? l Charles Leclerc blurb

pairing: dad!Charles Leclerc x female reader.

you can find more of my version of dad Charles' here <3

summary: you somehow manage to overshadow Charles and Jo's gift.

Charles was an anxious man. Even more so since Josephine was born two years ago.

Yes, people laughed at him but he didn't care, he was going to sprint towards his daughter every time she took a wrong step and fell down, or his system would shut down whenever her lower lip trembled. Charles could communicate with his daughter through her eyes, they told him everything he needed to know in the meantime before she learned how to properly express herself.

They were an unstoppable duo, everybody knew that, but Charles was aware the reason both him and Jo could feel at ease and safe was you, and maybe he didn't remind you enough of that.

His mother and younger brother accompanied him to the various shops around Monaco, Pascale having to fight Charles to let her carry the stroll on the street, Arthur shaking his head at Charles' antics, playfully pitying his niece.

"I am going to make sure to take her to the worst tattoo parlors and pubs when she's older and then I'm showing you the images so you can die of a heart attack," Arthur teased his brother, earning a glare from Charles while being chastised by his mother, but the youngest Leclerc saw a smile on his mom's face.

Arthur winked at his niece and she giggled. Lorenzo had no chance of ever being the favorite uncle.

They entered different shops, not wanting to go for the typical jewelry and overly expensive designer clothing and accessories. No, Charles wanted to give you something you'd truly appreciate, something for you to relax and show yourself some love and distraction. Now it was turn for Arthur to carry Josephine while teasing his brother for being a simp.

A couple of books he thought you'd enjoy, different colored bath bombs, luxurious soaps and candles were some of the goods you were going to receive for Mother's Day.

Dad and baby Leclerc arrived got home greeted by the smell of coffee and some kind of pastry. It smelled like Charles' dream life; his life.

You smiled at Charles and gave him a quick peck on the lips before taking Josephine from his arms, your daughter babbling about papa and maman.

It was past midnight, Josephine sound asleep on her room after both you and Charles read her a short book in Italian, trying to accustom her to the language, all while you marveled at how Charles did the different voices and intonations.

Now it was just you and him in bed, his naked chest against your own skin, while his familiar hand found its place on your thigh, drawing shapeless figures, enjoying the peace of having you with him.

"I have to tell you something," You made sure to not make eye contact with Charles, hiding your face against his neck.

Charles chuckled with your reaction, "What is it and why are you hiding, bebé?" He tried to get you to face him.

"I know this wasn't planned or anything," you began talking but know Charles felt tears on his chest, it got him worried and helped you sit on the bed while assuring you whatever it was, you'd be able to find a solution.

"Babe, I'm two months pregnant," you announced and Charles placed his hand on his mouth in astonishment.

"No, in Bahrein?" Charles blurted out and a smile appeared on your face, of course that would be his first reaction as his brain processed the news.

You didn't know what you were expecting, maybe it was a problem because Josephine was still too young, maybe Charles didn't want another baby, you never really discussed it after Jo was born, but even in the dark his glossy green eyes were shining as his hand found its known place on your neck, his thumb softly caressing your cheek before lovingly kissing you.

those one of a kind kisses, the ones that were special and held so many emotions. neither of you could hide the smile appearing, only smiling at each other, Charles still caressing your cheek.

but suddenly he dropped his hand to your thigh, an unreadable expression on his face.

"But it's mother day and you're surprising me? No, I have this whole thing planned!" Charles protested and this made your eyes tear up, now it was your time to find his lips.

God, maybe it was time for a boy to mimic his dad.

[factual-fantasy]

27 Asks! Thank you!!! :}} 🐗

@sillyandquest

I really want to show them off but I also really don't want people to steal/use them <:( I've had too much of that recently..

Also thank you!! :)))))

@ocinstit

I'm not sure what you're asking.. <:0 So far he's only seen her in her security guard uniform if that what you meant! No Vanny costume yet.

@platinumsun490

WWAAAAHGHG THANK YOU!!! :DDDDD

:DDD Thank you! I'm glad to hear you like how I do my asks! Also I hope you have a better time in the fandom than I did 😅

I have not played it or seen a play through yet <:00

(My cookie run ocs)

Thank you <:) The doctors believe they've found what it is and now its a matter of trying to treat it..

Also AAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :DDD What inspired me to make them was seeing other people making pirate cookie OCs and all the beautiful and creative designs everyone had. It made me want to make some of my own! :}}

As for how I designed them, I'm afraid its a process I cant really explain.. I just kind'a slapped things together and tweaked them until I was satisfied. Although I kept in mind that I wanted all of them to look different. So if I accidentally game 2 of them the same shaped shirt collars, I'd go back and change it on one of them :00 I think that con

Now, some information...

Well, the first thing that came to mind is Blue Beauty's lore change! :00 I changed it so she came from the same ocean that Star Coral cookie is from! So her redesign will be very space themed...👀👀

And lastly, thank you so much! I hope tomorrow goes well for you too! :))

@captain-skyler1987

LSKJFKSFSKDFSK

@avaveevo

She's pretty much the same as she is in canon, minus a few dialogue charges :0

@lycaran

DARK CACAOOOOOOO 😭😭💞💞💞💞

@ozzytheplushiemonster (XDD Its okay, I was late too)

I present to you!,

A barrel of redvines! :))

@smithanonsworld

I wanna pet it so bad <:'((((

@misscherrypie

AWWW I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH 😭😭💞💞💞

Man, for their own sakes the Autobots shouldn't study most of our history 💀

@palettepainter

The main thing I thought of for my Metagross is that his four brains are slightly out of sync. And when he talks there are four voices talking at once in slightly different tones. Sometimes when he gets really anxious or frustrated the voices will say different things entirely :( the poor guys..

As for my Queenie, yes! She has major mom vibes :))

Thank you very much <:)) you guys' comments have been very comforting during this time 😭💞💞

(Worm post)

XD Well I'm glad you liked the drawing! :))))

@thesweetdevilsamantha

:DDD Thank you!! :)))))

@londontragedies

WAAGG THANK TOOU SO MUCH!!! 😭😭💞💞💞💞

XD aww! What a cute draWHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE ACCUSED OF BLOWING UP A PIRATE SHIP?

@dreamweave01

Thank you so much!! :DDDD And tbh I don't think I can just claim an art style.. If you want to to replicate my art style once or twice purely for the sake of a learning exercise, then who am I to stop you? That's what I did to learn too :0

@r4iri0ts

I've been hanging in there as best I can.. I'm still unwell and these past few days have been really bad so I'm trying to take it easy. Hoping that this will all blow over soon😔

Thank you <:))) I'm hoping this is over soon!

Pirates have become my favorite thing to dress as for Halloween. But I gotta say, your costume is much funnier XDD

@cat7890

I am scared and also confused 💀

I'm hanging in there as best I can. Have had some bad health days recently and all the art theft, tracings and new redesign thefts have been the cherry on top. 😔

Also thank you! :D I used to be so nervous about jumping from fandom to fandom, basically asking my followers for permission to do so. I'm so glad I'm out of that headspace and know fully understand that this is MY hobby blog, and I can draw from what ever fandom I want! XDD

Yeah 🥲

[endomentendo]

How did you learn to draw the way you do now

It took me more than 15 years in order to get where I am today. And looking back, I’m still learning.

What helped me out the most has definitely been lots of YouTube and dedication in getting better.

Artists like Ethan Becker, Sergio Pablos, Rebbeca Sugar, jack burke, etc etc, helped me out in learning. Specifically Ethan Becker taught me some industry cheats he’s learned and uses in his own art. Showing how you can learn something just by actively studying.

An explanation: don’t trace what you see, trace what you want to know. Learn how your favorite character design is made during production and use some of those techniques in your own work.

Once you’ve used trial and error, use it again and again but leave room for improvement.

But there’s also artists like Sergio Pablos who worked on big films like Tarzan and Klaus; he taught me how to have somewhat of a flexible artstyle. In the animation industry, you’re not gonna use an artstyle besides the animation style you’re assigned to.

It taught me to feel more loose in my own works and wanting to try and tackle different styles in my own original stories.

But the biggest help to me, is learning with friends. I love learning things about them from what they’re into, and cherishing our moments together.

Watching them draw is also fun and useful since you can learn tactics you never seen or heard. Maybe even giving you the motivation to draw something similar to them, inspiring you further and further. It’s wonderful to as you both can teach and learn something from one another.

But the most important part, is time and patience. I’m still learning and growing both as an artist and as a person.

My friends and family taught me more than art, they taught me love and compassion, giving me moments that inspire me more than cartoons or stories.

Because unlike those tales of gun-swords or nonsensical creatures, the real experience is those you cherish with. They teach you things that not every story can accomplish.

They are the real passion. The real muse. Positive or negative is inevitable, but it’s still beautiful to experience either way as both an artist and human being.

If you want to be an artist… don’t let envy or jealousy ruin your relationship, just so you can accomplish something that should be seen more as a hobby. Love those who care for you as much as you care for them.

And know it’s okay to not always get where you want. The real art is you. We are all clay made to form or destroy, and it’s better to learn the craft to make something true and gorgeous.

[ar-cadez]

Negaverse Megavolt concept!

Design notes and personality rant stuff under the cut. Warning. It's long and unreadable.

The purse thing is a generator (Ill probably design it as a prop at some point considering It does NOT look like one but portable generators are hard for me to draw for some reason)

I swapped which eye has the white in it (even though I usually draw it on the wrong side anyway bc idk my lefts from rights..)

I wanted to make the darks very prominent bc the yellows are very prominent in the original

I went with blues bc it's the only other colour usually associated with lightning and electricity.

The teal parts of his outfit are lights! They glow when he's fully charged and fade out when he's out of power.

You can't see it in this pose but his hands have outlets on the back that work the same as megavolt's chest outlet. He can power weapons with them and charge himself without the pain of straight up shocking himself

I wanted to make his hair look like it's thinning out bc of age and repeated electrical damage but I wasn't sure how to do that so it's not really present. Did give him some white hair though.

His glasses are prescription! Can't see nothin without em..

Okay now some personality stuff!

Megavolt is the hardest villain to swap bc his personality is "insane guy with memory issues but is smart" and it's kinda hard to flip that around without just making him boring? Removing his intelligence when it comes to electricity would also negate his whole gimmick which makes things worse. but I do have a few ideas. It's ironic I struggle with him so much considering he's literally my favourite character...

He was popular in high school. He was friends with negaduck and they were both pretty well liked jock types before negaduck started doing major crimes (though I imagine he was always a delinquent of sorts. Just didn't start destroying the city till he graduated) clash reunion is a whole beast on it's own bc megavolt has the most in depth backstory which means a lot of reworking for a personality swap au.

His interests, like dw's megavolt, lie in magnesium, electronics, and engineering. The difference is, despite being Intruiged by these subjects, he didn't go out of his way to learn about the. He was more focused on his peers approval back then. Not to mention the fact that negaduck was an extremely toxic friend and would absolutely make fun of him constantly for it. (He doesn't even actually care, he's just an asshole.)

Eventually after gaining his abilities he began to study electricity and start inventing things. Only.. He's pretty bad at it. Things tend to backfire on him. Quackerjack has a lot more experience than him when it comes to engineering and he tries to help him out but the guy's kinda cursed. I haven't really decided if it's more dt17 gyro where everything he makes ends up turning against him or guy am I from the Netflix green eggs and ham show where everything he makes just kinda explodes. Maybe a bit of both. Either way it's very over the top and is more trouble than it's worth, but that doesn't stop him! (Oh God someone stop him)

I didn't wanna just take away his mental issues completely because the opposite of that is literally nothing. It adds.. Nothing. It just gives him less to work with. And it's already hard enough to do this guy. (Plus it kinda implies mentally ill people can't be heroes and that's.. Mm....) So instead I decided to change how he reacts to it.

He still has memory issues along with other physical and mental symptoms of electrical injury, he just really likes to pretend he doesn't. He completely ignores his deteriorating mental, physical, and emotional health <33

I wanna flesh him out more but I'd only be able to do that if I write with him and I'm fantastic at procrastinating my writing projects <33

[strwbrythoughts]

the unseen lovers | alhaitham

prologue

Series masterlist | Word count: 749

On his days off, Alhaitham found that the silence in his home was a bit too heavy to endure alone.

He occupied the living area on his own. A pot of freshly brewed tea still piping hot sat on the coffee table, a thick book on quantum physics he was rereading for the seventh time in his right hand and the lack of noise filling his ears. That was what his usual Saturday morning would be like.

Alhaitham never knew he would grow to eventually disdain it.

Some Saturdays, his hatred was fierce enough to propel him to use other rooms. Sometimes he would read in the kitchen but not while eating a bowl of soup. He always told himself it was difficult to read while eating soup. Other times he would read in bed, only to find his eyes more prone to closing than staying open.

Perhaps that was why he found himself in the library now.

This house’s library was somewhat smaller than his late grandma’s, but it didn’t really matter. The shelves were still full of the books his grandmother would read to him — and eventually, he would read them himself when he was grown enough to do so — back when he was a wee little boy.

The light teal lounge chair in the room was his grandma’s favourite. It was never just an ordinary lounge chair; to him, it was grandma’s. Grandma’s chair. The one she sat in from when she was an energetic old lady until she was a sickly and frail one. Alhaitham did not know if he was having hallucinations, but sometimes he swore he could see her sitting there, even after her passing.

His footsteps were light and nimble on the wooden floors. He approached the chair, feeling the soft carpet beneath his feet as he sat down. His body leaned back; he was relaxed. A soft smile played on his lips as he basked in the glorious morning light seeping through his window.

The silence in his home may have been deafening, but right now, he was at peace and content.

— ᯓᡣ𐭩 —

Alhaitham’s eyes fluttered open, his eyelashes that were previously resting peacefully on his face now more energetic than before. He had fallen asleep. The grandfather clock’s needles on his right showed him the time; 1:43 pm.

While he was cradled in the sweet arms of slumber, his left hand had landed atop a thick, hard-cover book on the small table beside his grandma’s chair. His widened eyes scanned the title, how did he not see this book when he came in? He prided himself on being observant regarding things he cared about, which is why he felt this was a bit bizarre.

‘The Star I Aim to Reach’ was written in big, clunky letters on the cover. The design was relatively simple. There were small drawings of stars and planets surrounding the title in white with a black background. Simple it may be, yet it was enough to capture his interest.

Alhaitham flipped the cover carefully after putting the book onto his lap. The words that greeted him were the ones he least expected.

‘Grandma’s Favourite Book’ was written on the very first page with black marker. Beneath it was a message written with a green pen. Neither his eyes nor his mind could deceive him; this was grandma’s handwriting.

Alhaitham’s eyes immediately wanted to read the passage in green. Green was the colour his grandma would use when she wanted to highlight important things to him, as it was the ‘colour of my beloved grandchild’s eyes’, as she always said.

The passage read:

‘My beloved grandchild, Alhaitham.

If you are reading this passage, then I am happier than a man who won the lottery. This is my final wish for you that I could not convey when I was alive. Forgive me, you were too young back then. It would have been inappropriate to entrust this to you when all you wanted to do was read and learn.

Read this book and find the girl whose entire world lies behind the curtains. Find the girl who works tirelessly to ensure others would smile, and befriend her. Should you want to go beyond the boundaries of friendship, I shall not reject her; and if you do not find her suitable to even be a friend, I shall not reject you.

Many kisses,

Grandma’

Alhaitham shut the book close. What in the world was his grandma talking about?

Thank you for reading!

[roodles03]

Fuck You, *Genderbends your Alastor*

(Screenshot Edits)

First off, DO NOT REPOST ANY OF THESE. I left out my signature and watermark for the sake of the authenticity of the edits. Basically meaning I want them to look as real as possible. However, I will be forced to add these to future edits if people start reposting them, especially without my permission. (The Hellaverse fandoms are very bad with this) Due to previous bad experiences, I deal with reposting (especially on insta) very harshly. Especially if reposted without credit. I am not afraid to file reports and get uncredited reposts taken down. This is your ONLY warning, and the ONLY time I will say this, so please heed it.

However, you CAN use my Genderbent designs in fanart or your own edits. All I request is credit for the design!

Okay, papa Roo is done yapping. ANYWAY-

I have been having so much fun with these and they're actually really good for learning to draw in the HH style!

Btw I've changed her name from Alastrina to Alice since I got a comment suggesting that Alice would be a better name. Despite that comment's phrasing being a bit on the rude side, I do agree that, yeah, Alice is a better name. So I do genuinely appreciate the critique despite the fact it could've been a bit nicer said. Tbh I just looked up "Female version of Alastor," when I made the edit of Alastor's render and Alastrina was what I got.

I also made a slight edit to Alice's design where I gave her lipstick since I noticed in Viv's OG drawing she probably did have lipstick.

How many people am I gonna make gay/bi/pan/omni/hetero/etc panic over these edits. Like despite these being my own edits, I am one of the people gay panicking-

Disclaimer: These are EDITS. NOT REDRAWS. I did not draw these from 100% scratch, because the point of an edit is to EDIT. Obviously it is going to be traced in some areas (mainly the face and the limbs) because that's what editing is.

Side note: Imo, good screenshot editing actually still requires heavy drawing experience to pull off well. Obviously your tracing in some areas but you're still changing some things, (the entire point) and if you don't know how to draw well, or draw in the show style well, the edit will either look fake or just bad. Edits still require good drawing experience to pull off well, just the same as regular drawing. You just have a templete to go off of. It's basically the same situation as art bases. They might be infamous for often being done poorly, but they can be still be used to make incredible art if the artist is experienced. And this is not to dunk on beginner artists, because I support the practice of edits and bases (as long as proper credit is given and its stated that they used a base or it is an edit) because bases and editing can be used as training wheels for beginner artists, or even profressional artists like me who are learning a new style, (which is what I'm doing rn actually) it's just at some point, if you're someone who does want to improve your art rather then just have fun, you gotta take the training wheels at some point.

Anyway, rant over. I just wanted to talk about my silly thoughts on bases and editing.

Og screenshots

[3456boidone]

Did mikalia even asked for your "constructive criticism"? If not, then it's just "fixed ur ugly art because I am better than u" no matter how polite you try to sound and how many smiley faces you add, sorry no offense really but the methods you apply are visibly a super amateur and its kinda silly that despite that u just run around and correct people when not much better than them. You use super generic shape language, the personality of the designs are not Unique or recognizable at all. they are also kinda soulless and a big part of character design is for it to be relatable in some way. The artstyle has nothing symbolic to it that points to u as the artist its just two super regular looking "bold and bubbly" characters Idk where you learned drawing, but this kind of character design level is usually achieved when someone watches a youtube video and makes their first attempts at getting better while still lacking the experience and knowledge to create something actually good, something that is actually theirs and not guided by the ground basics of character design Its not a bad thing to be at a certain art level but redesigning someones art is just showing that you think of yourself as superior, and it shows even more and just looks silly when you dont know much about the topic yourself

No. Mikaila didn't ask me, but I just wanted to give my point of view as an artist. I think is the first time I've ever really gave anyone constructive criticism, so I did the best I could without coming off like an ass.

As for the saturation test, it's something I use in my designs all of the time. Example, let's say I wanna give person dark shoes and dark pants, I use the saturation test in order to see if they come off looking like the exact same hue and color.

I am in no way superior to Mikaila. Every artist has their own unique style, and I like Mikaila chibi (sorry, that's what it reminds me of) style. My art style is every different from her's, maybe I should have attempted to draw in her style to get my idea across. She doesn't have to draw the two like how I did, because I drew them in my art style.

Fun fact: I'm a self-taught artist, and I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, lol, and criticism from my fellow artist is how I got better at it. (Especially in anatomy (that shits hard))

[ashysmultifandomcatdump]

another roleswap AU (because i have lost control of my life)

these things. are all i know how to make now.......

ANYWAY it's my take on a wander<-->sylvia roleswap AU!!! i didn't Properly draw sylvia here because i couldn't get her to look right, and she's basically the Same anyway. just without her saddle and with the hat tied around her neck. i don't know if i'm entirely happy with these designs (struggled with the colors for wander and i'm not sure i really like them) but they're all i could think of....and i didn't wanna just copy anyone else's. so that's how they Are for now until i think of something better! (general stuff about the AU and additional doodles under the cut)

for sylvia, i was thinking about her differences in reforming people compared to wander's. while we don't exactly see her do that in the show, she does get Somewhere with villains that wander can't/hasn't tried to do anything with: dominator and peepers. the fact that she almost got dominator to appreciate the beauty of life, someone who is Definitely irredeemable—yeah, i think she could definitely redeem someone, if she tried. how does her method differ from wander's?wander's is precise, time-tested, and based on his analysis of the other person's character; he constantly pushes their buttons to see what makes them tick. while sylvia, from what we see—it's just to mostly...treat them normally. like, relate to them: she has fun brawling with dominator, she and peepers find similarities in Their Idiots. she talks to them. basically, sylvia works from common ground and wander works from uncommon ground. if that makes sense

so, i imagine in wander's place, sylvia's just kind of. Chill! she doesn't have wander's thousands of years of experience, but she has her own down-to-earth attitude, and it's not like her less than thousands of years experience isn't valuable at all. she probably hasn't redeemed a villain before, but she's definitely helped people, and well if they cross paths grop darn it she's going to try. who knows? it could work! it worked with wander, at least. (and like, this is just a small thought that i'm not sure would apply but: mini hater and peepers swap perhaps, not in the complete roleswap way, hater's still the boss, but more like. maybe swapping who's the Main Guy to be redeemed? sylvia's way of relating to people might work more with peepers than hater...but i don't know, i could see it either way)

and speaking of wander: how's our non-violent do-gooder make it to the point of being The Fighter? what got him to abandon his carefree attitude to be The Protector? well! nothing!! he simply never had it in the first place!!! instead of learning to go with the flow and take things as they come...he kinda just Didn't. he never got the hat which to me is what allowed him to start doing that (i have a whole backstory about this but it's a bit long so i'll just move on) instead for the rest of his life continued living in a constant state of anxiety. which is, you know, Not Good for a guy, especially when this lasts thousands of years. i think he still has to help people, but he hasn't gained the courage to go above and beyond or confront villains like in canon. Wander With Survival Instincts, basically. and his main reaction to fear is to run away; but i think, over time, that might not be sustainable, or he might meet someone that convinces him to start fighting back just a bit.

yes, i am sneaking in just one other swap here: screwball and lil bits. this might seem strange and it kinda is. i'm still kinda workshopping it, like maybe screwball should swap with ryder instead...but i dunno, i've always just associated screwball and lil bits with each other. two villains specific to wander and sylvia respectively, whom the other is not able to understand as a threat throughout their debut episode. i think it would be funny. and screwball being a bounty hunter when swapping with bits just Fits, since wander eventually ends up as a bounty hunter before meeting sylvia...of course lending to the idea that they were partner bounty hunters in the past. which works really well, i think

and considering comedy and horror are two sides of the same coin, and that this wander is primarily focused on his Fear, it'd be fun if he had more of a horror theme. a really campy, goofy one. my thoughts are maybe that screwball helped guide wander to lean more towards a Fighting fear response, but eventually scared him away somehow. i don't know how yet, but i'll figure it out. here's a visualization:

and as for how wander and sylvia met, i still have to figure out some parts, but i think that sylvia would notice how anxious wander is, ask him if he's okay, and he would promptly break down, as such:

and from that moment on, wander solemnly swore that he would protect sylvia for the rest of her life, and she's been stuck with him since. (not that she's mad about that)

of course he's still energetic and hyperactive...i think his fighting would reflect that. he's a feral little creature

oh, and for sylvia's relationship with The Hat: she probably found it beat up and bruised one day, with no one around (wander not stealing the hat all those years ago meant a happy ending for No One). yet another thing i have to figure out fully is how she ended up taking it with her, but she did. i don't think she fully understands it, she hasn't realized that it gives you what you need, but she does know that it dispenses items that are sometimes useful (it's a sassy little thing to her) and might somewhat realize its sentience, so she keeps it around, though she's still building trust with it

anddddd yeah that's basically it so far :) i'm always up for questions and suggestions! i hope people like it hehe

[moe-broey]

Would you like some strangely elaborate specific ass headcanons? Of course you do!!!! Also I'm outsourcing a very specific dilemma. But you have to Learn My Methods first. Okay? Okay!!!!

PIERCINGS. AS STORYTELLING DEVICES. GO!!!!

Okay! So what the hell are we looking at and what exactly am I trying to determine, here? Well!!! There's a few different facets to this.

FIRST OF ALL. REALLY REALLY CUTE AND ALWAYS SO FUN TO ME

One, two, three!!! They're a set of three, and they're marked as such by how many sets of piercings they have in their ears. It's such a small detail that happened more by coincidence than intent, but it makes drawing all three of them together feel coherent and again, fun! I also really like the storytelling/contrast of the Askr siblings having golden jewerly, while Moe's is in silver (it does mix silver and gold more broadly -- but I'm talking just the face/ears here!). You get the sense (... in addition to Moe's more scruffy appearance in general), that one is from a more "common" background.

Okay, but what's all that text? STORYTELLING.... 2

Piercings, as a way to indicate connections to other characters, and to imply background information.

First example, it's noted that Bruno has had his in for a long time (... kind of regretting the specificness of "as a kid". That's supposed to have implications, but tbh it may be more fitting for Bruno as a whole to simply have said, "A Long Time"). He wears something modest, maybe a common stone, but still eye-catching. I like to think Alfonse became enamored with it (guys can also do this???), same way he was completely smitten by all of Zacharias. One extremely questionable piercing job courtesy of Zacharias himself and egged on by Sharena (who made a generous donation and/or sacrifice from her own jewelry box) later, it's a miracle he managed to heal them. Equally impressive is how long he managed to hide them as a teenager.

Meanwhile, you see Sharena's example is pretty straightforward! Assigned ear-stabbing at birth. It worked out well, though! Aside from that one time where her piercings mysteriously closed up and they had to be re-done, when she was little. Which could mean nothing. Alls well that ends well! In fact, she liked the look so much she decided to get another set done! Which may or may not come back later...

I will admit, the saddle plugs on Bruno were an impulse decision I made drawing this out (so not a super strong design headcanon, and maybe I could draw it better w more practice tbh, test run ect ect), BUT. MORE IMPORTANTLY. That idea, AND NEXT UP: STORYTELLING... 3.

On top of noting significant connections and providing background information -- here, you have gaining more and/or doing different Things with your piercings, as a way to indicate the passage of time or a change of taste. Woah, that's a lot of text! That's just my autism showing, I'll do you a favor -- with Moe specifically, the biggest takeaway here is:

One, two, three. There are other iderations of Moe of course, plenty of awkward in-between stages. But as I've developed it, I've found that there's like... three really plot relevant parts of its life. One easy to forget, two OH GOD OH FUCK, three that's the guy who lives here now. AWESOME!!!!

OKAY. OKAY. PEONY she has BEEN HERE THIS WHOLE TIME. What's up with that?

So we have background implications/information, we have connections to other characters, and NOW. WE HAVE. Paths that diverge. Sharena, 2. Peony, 1. Plus, a little bit of shape language with those tear drop earrings... on Sharena specifically...... ohghhghhf........

I've always been really indecisive with my Peony designs (for some reason it has been SUCH A STRUGGLE FOR ME), but I do like the simplicity of this one actually. The "Princess Peach core" note about Sharena is more about her color palette, but after writing that I went You know what. Fuck it *gives Peony Princess Peach earrings*. This does feel subject to change, but the idea they could be like water droplets is so cutes... I have really wanted to give Peony earrings with a blue gem though, BECAUSE...

The blue and silver are a nod to this reoccurring detail on Peony! So not only does it tie back to Sharena (IMPORTANT), it also (theoretically.) ties together nicely overall!!

Okay. So. Where does this leave me. Why did I draw all this out? All these little details that exist in my mind, why did I go out of my way to create this elaborate in-depth demonstration? Remember when I said I was gonna outsource some shit?

PROBLEM: I NEVER. EVER. EVEEEERRRRRR KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH LIF'S EARRINGS‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ AND THE LACK OF DIRECTION IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE GLARING EVERY FUCKING TIME I DRAW HIM‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

And what prompted all of this. What REALLY made me Think About This. I did another "ehhh Fuck It" with Lif's piercings, where he's sharing a panel with Moe, and

Ooughgughfhghhh...... them having the same earring arrangement.

But then. Then. I got autism brained about it. I can see Bruno having fuck all time to stretch his ears while on some gayass journey (... the. Timelines. Time in between Events. Maybe he wouldn't have full big stretched ears in Book 1. HOWEVER). Inconvenient, maybe, but if he's dedicated to the grind. He can do it. And I mean, have you seen his muscles? Dude CARES about his appearance. Meanwhile Moe ABSOLUTELY had fuck all time to stretch its ears before arriving in Askr. Then I'm thinking about Alfonse. NEVERMIND how much time it takes to stretch your ears, I'm thinking about the Number Rules. I'm thinking about how he's One, the first guy of a set of Three. I'm thinking about the Number Rule, to indicate Time. Why WOULD he have Three? The Number Rule, as Paths Diverging. There's Two of him, not Three. ALSO ASKING MYSELF "Would Alfonse get more piercings???" LIKE NO. BECAUSE. THE. THE RULE OF THREE. THE ONE TWO THREE. WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😫😫😫😫😫

Idk am I just insane. Am I a lost cause. Lif's ears are usually covered up by his long shaggy hair anyway. But really that does just make any time any piercings Would be visible, just. I am just so deeply conflicted torn between Goth Alt Men Hot and THE METHODS‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ THE STORYTELLING THE METHODS MY DEEPLY INTRICATE RITUALS‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

[randomalistic]

hi :3 I saw your recent Wreck It Ralph vid (loved it) and seeing your avatar reminded me that I wanted to do something similar for my own vids? I am. Really bad at wording things my question is what size canvas did you use to draw them? And is there anything I need to keep in mind when implementing my own avatar into my YT vid like yt compressing the video or anything? I hope this makes sense like I said I suck at wording things 😭

Ooh okay!! Good question :] also I'm really happy you enjoyed!!

I am an amateur so idk how useful this info is but Here (dumps everything)

The emotes were made in Krita (any art software will work)

The canvas size was around 1000 x 1000 pixels

Starting out, doing a basic emotion sheet works well. Watching other PNGtuber videos helps you organize how many you may need and what emotions are used the most (expect to make 30 or more drawings, which is A LOT at first, and might take a couple weeks, but once you have them you can use them forever!)

Also start your video even if you're still working on emotes! It helps to sorta do everything at once :)

This grid doesn't cover everything I used (it was a very messy process) but it might be useful so here :)

I think its also a good idea to make a "base" and then mess with expressions from there. This one had a lot of usability. (and also a lot of layers)

Later on I found it most useful to listen to the stuff I recorded, and then make a drawing for that moment specifically. You can then apply that "emotion" to other places where it fits

this is probably my favorite example because i based the expression off King Candy LOL. USING REFERENCES IS FUN !!!!!!!!! And I ended up using this one a lot !

Also expect a lot of rejected designs and struggling w drawing expressions because it's Hard. Developing the style you want takes a lot of time!! (I scrapped these 3 i made early on)

//

Exporting and YouTube processing was a little tricky but here’s what worked for me:

- I used Davinci Resolve to export the project. My video was made at 24fps, the same framerate as my footage. (The Movie) Earlier on, I kept noticing my audio was too loud and weird glitchy visual artifacts kept showing up. After trial and error I found these settings worked the best:

Main takeaway, i legit dont understand how any of this works but:

ITU-R BS.1770-4 normalization for audio is Good

Lower your finished audio track to -13.5dB. It will sound quiet, but YouTube likes this and will make it a normal volume

H.265 encoding with .mov format (aka QuickTime) is Good

And that's probably enough infodumping for now. Its okay to feel overwhelmed and unsure where to start but making a video is SO FUN and i encourage it more than anything :))) Take your time and learn at your own pace! There are lots of great tutorials online.

I WOULD BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY EXISTING QUESTIONS

[lightontainted-ask]

TSAC: Greetings! My name is Three Stars Above Clouds. I am Director of the Zenith Stellar Observatory Consortium and Lead Archivist of the Zenith Data Archives.

I have a question for Missing Link of Chain. It is to my understanding that you have curated quite an impressive collection of historical records, and I was curious to learn more about your archival methods.

I maintain a large archive of my own, primarily used to store observational and scientific data. My own archives are primarily data pearl-based; this storage method allows large data payloads from my telescopes to be moved relatively quickly, and also facilitates fast data read/write speeds. However this method of data archival has its limits- for instance it is quite inefficient in the storage of high-resolution qualia, which tends to rapidly exceed normal data pearl memory limits.

I am eager to learn about your own data storage techniques, given the contrast between our respective duties. What kind of information do you maintain in your own archives, and how is it stored? Do you have any particular preferences when it comes to data organization? Are you aided by scholars in the curation of your archives? Do you have any records on hand that you are willing to share?

Please excuse my bevy of questions; I am simply curious about your work. I hope this message finds you well and I wish you good luck in your endeavors. (@threestarsaboveclouds) (ooc: I hope this gives you some worldbuilding stuff to chew on lol. Enjoy)

Hello TSAC! I'd be very happy to answer all your questions, from one archival iterator to another.

About my archival methods- I think you'll find it apparent I don't use many pearls. They fade over time if not cared for properly, and I store far too much data to be stored in a pearl network. Besides, they're particularly easy for me to lose...

Rather, I've taken a long-term storage method that uses purposed organisms to store massive amounts of data in the form of qualia, text, images, audio, and so on. You may even recognize similar organisms around many citadels, storing the memories of those who've ascended. These neural amalgams are stored and grown in large biometal and glass buildings atop my can, towering about as tall as any city, and sprawling even wider. It can be either horrifying or beautiful depending on your tastes. Or neither, if you're me.

This, of course has upsides and downsides. The upside is that this storage method lasts for a very, very long time. However, retrieving the data again is not as optimized. This is not a problem for me, as much of what I store is... rather useless anyways.

Which is what my main job is. Anybody can store data in some neural meat. But that data is scrambled and unorganized, I make sure that everything is properly formatted and easy to find again through a system of complex tags and IDs identified to every segment of data and- actually I'll save that explanation for another time.

My time is more spent organizing rather than going out to find documents myself. Over 99% of the data stored in my archives have been donated to me by scholars, volunteers, companies, and other iterators!

Normally, this would be an easy task. Even easier for me, as I've been designed with a larger processing strata and memory conflux in order to run more parallel processes, but even still, I estimate I'd collapse before I fulled tagged, ID'd, and sorted everything.

Luckily there's a priority system for donated data so I'd get through all the actually useful documents first.

I hope this may satisfy some of your curiosities.

(-ooc, I was going to draw the structures mentioned, but I really don't want to anymore. Here's a wip! Yes I know it shows nothing. Just imagined Memory Crypts but very very tall. And a little less shaded.)

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

MeMe and Control over One's Own Destiny

Alright I've been holding off on talking about Mikoto until Double releases, but I saw he was on a train and my brain went Silly. Don't you understand how crazy the symbolism is?! (<- Mentally unwell)

So now I have to talk about how MeMe handles the concept of destiny and the control the alters have on the system's future, because it's honestly so interesting to me.

CW Murder

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on DID, feel free to correct me if I get anything wrong

The first big connection between MeMe and the idea of destiny is obviously the recurring theme of tarot cards. These are used for divination, meaning the practice of trying to learn about the future through supernatural means. In other words, they're deeply tied to the concept of destiny, of future events that will come to affect us, and the ways we may influence it. What's important to take away here is that, regardless of whether or not you believe in it, reading tarot cards is a way for people to try to understand their future so they can take try to take control of it.

Once you make this little connection, a lot of the imagery in MeMe starts to get interesting. To give you an example, one of the opening shots is of a bunch of tarot cards all scattered in water.

So, their future is scattered, it's uncertain, it's messy, etc. You get the idea, I don't think I need to elaborate on why Mikoto's life is a bit of a mess.

However, I think there are two scenes which are particularly interesting in this regard. When Aokoto (host) draws a blank card in the first chorus, and when he gathers the cards in the deck at the start of the third chorus.

So first, we can be sure this is Aokoto because the lyrics not only use 'boku', but also express confusion at the situation, which only really fits the host.

Why am I [boku] here? It must be a mistake? Take a good look at me [boku], until you find me The truth will come to reveal itself I won't forgive you if this is happening to me even though I'm right

Why am I [boku] here? It must be a mistake? Take a good look at me [boku], until you find me

(Note: If there is no clarification on which pronoun is used when I put lyrics here, it's because the Japanese doesn't actually use any pronouns)

What's happening here? As stated, the tarot cards are a representation of destiny and their future. By drawing a tarot card, Aokoto is trying to understand his situation and destiny better. And by stacking the deck up neatly, he's trying to take control of his destiny, of his future. The desire to be free and be able to control his life is a very important part of Aokoto's character:

(T1) Q14: What will you be doing in 10 years? M (Ao): I'd like to work independently and make my own design company. That way I'm free to do what I want.

(T1) Q8: What are your reasons for wanting to work for your current job? M (Ao): I work at an advertising company that's at the top of the business world, you know? Just being able to get to that position is something to be proud of. I worked really hard to get hired there, too.

Aokoto places high value on the work he's done, because that shows how committed he is to having control over his life and his job.

(T1) Q12: How do you get to work? M (Ao): I ride a road bike. It's a hobby of mine, and it's good to exercise too. I don't need to worry about missing the train, but that can either be a good or bad thing.

I've seen this answer interpreted a few different ways, but personally I believe what Aokoto's implying is that the freedom of not having to rely on the train is both good and bad. Essentially, he doesn't have to stress about missing it, but there's also no guarantee that he'll get to work in time without the reliability of the train. However, he still prefers the bike, because it gives him more freedom.

... Foreshadowing is a narrative device-

There's also the matter of the tarot spreads which appear in that "blank card" scene. There are two distinct ones:

Now, the whole mess is too complicated to get into here (and I actually am holding off from analysis until we get extra context from Double for that reason), but I believe one of these spreads belongs to Aokoto, and the other belongs to Midokoto (Secret Third gatekeeper alter). Which is which doesn't matter, because the card I want to focus on is the card in the "Hopes and Fears" position (EXTREMELY long story), which is I - The Magician (upright) in both of them. The Magician represents (among a fuckton of other things because tarot cards are frustratingly ambiguous by design) power, potential, basically the ability to achieve your goals. Thus, in the "Hopes and Fears" position, it would mean Aokoto wants to be able to control his life and fulfill his potential, and is afraid he might not be able to.

There is also the "Present" or "Self" card being the reversed XII - The Hanged Man. The Hanged Man upright represents (among other things) patience, the hope that as long as everything continues the same, things will turn out okay. Thus, reversed, it could be read as implying the querent is trying their best to change their situation, but are failing at it.

And this is where we get to the second part of the scenes I pointed out before. Because when Aokoto draws a card by itself, it's a blank card. In other words, no matter how much he wants to, Aokoto doesn't have full control of his future. I mean, obviously, right? He himself can't control his destiny when the other alters are also doing pretty impactful stuff. Depending on what theories you subscribe to, he may have ended up in Milgram without even murdering anyone, which is what I believe.

The same can be seen when he tries to put the deck back together. You might notice the deck there is actually thinner than the other time we see it.

He tries to "fix" or "arrange" his future, but he's "playing with half a deck", he's only half in control of his future. In this metaphor, the other alter(s) would have the rest of the deck, would control the rest of the system's destiny. Does that make sense?

Which gets us to the other alter who does tarot reading.

Notice the red mannequin there? The way 0 - The Fool's pouch of food is now a skull? And you can see this alter, heavily implied to be Orekoto, reads a Celtic cross spread with the Fool in the "querent" or "present" position.

Thus, The Fool represents Orekoto, and he too desires control over their future. That's why he's reading the spread, the same way Aokoto previously tried to draw a card to check his future. And I think it's pretty safe to say Orekoto must have killed or attacked at least one person, which is his way of trying to secure a better future for the system. Protector alter and all that.

[Timelines] Mikoto (Ao): Can you hear me talking like this? If you can hear me, then answer me. Why are you doing such horrible things? Hey. It's your fault things have become like this. ……Answer me!! Mikoto (Ore): Ah, ahhh!! Because, I did it for my/your (Boku's) sake…! Because I/you (Boku-ga) would break apart!!

(Translation by Maristelina)

Plus all the other reasons to believe that.

That spread is a bit odd for many reasons, but one thing we can pretty much be sure of is Orekoto's "Hopes and Fears" are represented by VII - The Chariot.

The Chariot (among other things) represents strength of will and control, basically think of it as a more forceful version of The Magician. Thus, Orekoto also hopes he can take control of their life, though he does it through force, and he fears he might be getting too forceful.

If I could laugh, if I could go back I'd play dead even though I'm alive right? If I could end, if I could stop How long would this dream go on?

Assuming it is Orekoto singing here (no pronouns so), it seems he doesn't want to kill, but sees himself cornered, like he has to kill. If he could stop, he'd "go back and play dead even while alive", he wouldn't kill anymore. But when he feels "boku will fall apart", he tries to save him through any means he can, which is likely murder. The exact reasons are as of yet unknown (someone stalking them, stress, could be a lot of things), but that's the idea.

However, you tarot enthusiast might notice a few interesting differences between this Chariot card and the actual Chariot card. This is important, because the meaning of these cards comes from the images, so when the image differs (apart from stylistic choices obvs), the meaning differs with it.

First important difference: the real Chariot has lions, MeMe's Chariot has bikes. This again relates bikes to the idea of freedom and one's own will.

Foreshadowing is-

Second; MeMe's Chariot has the protagonist swinging around a mace, which the real Chariot just has a wand. I frankly don't think this means anything other than MeMe's Chariot explicitly references murder rather than other, non-physical forms of strength and force.

Third, an important part of the real Chariot is that the man doesn't hold a leash on the lions, he controls them through force of will, apparently. Meanwhile, the mannequin in MeMe's version does hold chains to control the bikes, which again I believe simply implies a more forceful and direct version of the meaning. Orekoto doesn't trust his destiny to guide the system in the right direction as long as they're strong enough, he feels he needs to have more direct control.

And finally, the lions in the real Chariot are fine, but in MeMe's version, one of the bikes is fucking exploding.

So what the hell is up with that? Well, let's keep in mind what I said before. Aokoto also wants control of his life. So I believe in a way these bikes represent Aokoto and Orekoto's actions. One of them Orekoto has direct control over (he controls his own actions, after all), while the other is getting hurt by Orekoto's control. Orekoto may want nothing more than to protect the system, but the way he does it is harmful to Aokoto and destroys the control he wants to have over their life. I mean, it landed them in Milgram (according to some interpretations), and it's not like Aokoto likes the murder.

(T1) Q6: Tell us what you hate. M (Ao): Staying up all night working / reptiles / violence

[Double Preview] Hey now, I [ore] saved you right? So why in the hell are you crying?

(I will use the preview as evidence, watch me)

Temporary CW for abusive relationships and rape (Mono Poisoner)

This idea of "love" that hurts the other is also implied by Mono Poisoner, their Trial 1 cover. Though to be clear, Orekoto is not anywhere near as awful as the protagonist of Mono Poisoner, since he isn't intentionally hurting the rest of the system, and obviously isn't actually abusing the other alter(s).

“She belongs completely, entirely to me!” Kissing, sleeping together, everything beyond that too No one can hope to cut this connection between us

After brandishing that poisonous desire to monopolize and having erased YOU completely, It seems like it can be easily embraced, the entirety of that heart “YOU best not get carried away!”

Taking out the really violent and abusive elements out, this does vaguely fit the idea I'm trying to get across.

Temporary CW over

Anyways, the point is that Orekoto wants control over their life, but is accidentally harming Aokoto by taking away his agency.

There is more symbolism of this ‘drive to control destiny’ in the moon which consistently appears throughout MeMe.

As you can see, it’s in the first quarter phase. This is halfway between the New Moon which represents the beginning of a journey and the Full Moon which represents the end or rebirth, and because of that, it can represent a difficult time where decisions must be made, a point where strength of will is necessary. This again fits both of Aokoto and Orekoto, since they’re both making important decisions for their future. Hence also why the moon is half and half, the future is being decided half by Aokoto, half by Orekoto.

Alternatively, you could read it as only Orekoto making decisions, with the other 'half' being "left in the dark" because Aokoto doesn't know what Ore's doing. That would explain why the moon only shows up in relation to Orekoto in the internal world and the murder scenes.

Heavy speculation incoming (more than before anyways)

But hold on a second. I said before the upright Hanged Man, the card on Mikoto's shirt through most of MeMe, is about patience and not doing anything to change their situation. This is somewhat contradictory to The Fool, which is all about new opportunities and taking new risks (long story), and is obviously contradictory to the reversed Hanged Man because that's how tarot cards work. Because of that, and everything else I've been saying, it feels like the upright Hanged Man doesn't really fit either Aokoto or Orekoto.

Which is why it's so convenient we have a third (plot-relevant, there may be more) alter who does want their life to continue as is, isn't it?

The minus energy that I swallowed Hugged me [boku] Maybe it's okay to try to keep on living Split in half, Make that heart beat

This scene is very clearly connected to the aftermath of a murder, and shows an alter that has accepted the "negative (minus) energy" of violence. However, the use of 'boku' rules out Orekoto as the singer. Thus, we have ourselves our favorite Secret Third Alter, Midokoto. And Midokoto says, filling in the blanks, that ‘maybe it’s okay to keep living [like this]’, as long as they ‘split in half’ to ‘make that heart beat.’

Before we continue, I have to address that yes, I believe Midokoto is represented by the upright Hanged Man, even though he’s the only alter who’s never seen wearing the shirt. Either his back is turned, he’s shirtless, or straight up has a completely different shirt. However, I actually think this makes perfect sense.

It’s widely accepted that if Midokoto exists, he’s likely a gatekeeper alter who co-fronts most of the time, meaning he’s still aware of everything that’s happening even while he isn’t controlling the body (<- simplified version, read more if you’re interested [alter roles] [co-fronting]). Therefore, he’s a constant in Mikoto’s life, and it makes sense for him to always be present in some way as long as any alter is on screen. He’s on the shirt when the other two are there, so when the shirt isn’t there, it’s because the ‘upright Hanged Man’ is the one controlling the body. Does that make sense?

I should note, Mikoto’s version of The Hanged Man includes a bunch of eyes on the background.

Which fits the idea of Midokoto overseeing everything in the others’ lives, and for the inverse in Aokoto’s case could also be interpreted as societal pressure, long story.

Yes, Midokoto's celtic cross spread has the reversed Hanged Man in the middle of The Wheel, but let’s just say that means ‘present’ rather than ‘querent.’ Yes, there’s a Fool portrait in the background of that one scene, I swear there’s an explanation but it’s too long to get into here.

Point is, he’s the one who wants their life to continue as is, and thus the one who fits the idea of ‘patience’ that The Hanged Man (upright) embodies.

But make no mistake. He still has The Magician as his “Hopes and Fears” in the spread which represents him, meaning he does yearn for some control and fears not having the means to achieve it.

However, I believe the type of control he’s looking for is different from the other two. See, while Aokoto wants freedom and control over his life in a more conventional way (good job, free movement, independence), and Orekoto wants control in a ‘no one will stop “I/you” from achieving what “I/you” want’ kinda way (aka safety), Midokoto wants control over the system, not the rest of their life. He wants to keep Aokoto and Orekoto ‘split in half’ because that’s how they can both live as they please, it ‘makes their heart beat.’

That’s why the moon that represents decision-making is split in half. That’s why there’s only two bikes in The Chariot card. That’s why Midokoto never bothers to read a single tarot card. Because the ones deciding where their life moves are Aokoto and Orekoto, all Midokoto does is keep things running smoothly. Though of course, this is all just my interpretation.

In fact, you can even tell based on what we believe each alter to do. Aokoto does the day-to-day work, making sure he has the opportunity to achieve his dream of working independently in the future. Orekoto deals with threats until the system as a whole is safe, which includes throwing away evidence so they don't get arrested. He does a dogshit job at it, yeah, but he's trying.

However, once they get into the apartment, when the external threats have been dealt with, the one who bathes to make sure Aokoto doesn't learn of Orekoto's actions, the one who keeps their lives metaphorically 'split in half', is Midokoto.

Heavy speculation kinda over

So, where were we? I said this was inspired by the Double thumbnail, didn’t I? Well, yes, even if I have very little to say about it in relation to this post. You could say I kinda, uh, went off the rails a bit (<- I am immensely unfunny)

As I said, he’s on a train. And with all the stuff I mentioned before about how bikes are associated with freedom for him and stuff, it makes the imagery of being stuck on a train with the victims (I assume that’s what the mannequins represent, I’ve seen other interpretations) a lot more interesting.

Think about it. When you get on a train, you made the decision to enter it, but you don’t have control over where it goes. And that’s what’s happening here: the alter on screen is in for the ride, and he feels there’s nothing he can do to alter the course. It’s like a railroad.

Aokoto didn’t get on this train. Obviously the scene is metaphorical (otherwise who left their mannequins in the goddamn public train), but we know Aokoto doesn’t use the train. However, he’s on it now, alongside Orekoto who is probably the one fronting here? I assume, given the red light in the background. In my mind it would make sense for the thumbnails to be Aokoto T1 -> Orekoto T2 -> Midokoto T3, but that doesn’t have to be the case.

What I’m trying to convey is the symbolism of the system being stuck in a set path, a set destiny, caused by a decision not made by Aokoto. And if Orekoto is really the one fronting or being represented here, he’s miserable because of the path his actions have landed him on.

If I could break it, if I could change Can I do it, I wonder from when I started to give up

He’s ‘given up’ because he’s accepted he’s ‘on the train’, his path is already set and he can’t change it (“if I could change”). Yes, give me that Orekoto angst!

Anyways, please keep in mind this is all my interpretation of the symbolism and all of this is extremely subjective, especially with how confusing Mikoto's entire story is. I hope you forgive my brainrot at seeing a guy take a train. Take care!

[sonicanvas]

Since this is gonna be a personal view of me going through MK1 and I have been giving you the design perspective of Reptile, let's look on my personal take of the lore as my excuse to tell you how much I like him

First things first, I consider myself pretty new in MK, being my introduction to it was MK11. Due to how small the roster was, I didn't know Reptile was present at all. To my personal view at the time, he was just...another lizard monster jobber like Baraka. I admit his design in MKX was badass, but that's pretty much it.

Going into MK, I'm not sure if I'm gonna like it, knowing how they treated my first floodgate character in MK11 being Sindel. As I stated about Reptile, I love Sindel's design. I can see how she was probably inspired by Elvira(idk who that is but she looks exactly like her so lmk) and her MK11 design being a love letter to the Mortal Kombat movies back in 1995. Most MK11 character designs are, in exception to... Liu Kang and Kung Lao, for some reason, and well, the new additions(either brought in from MKX or completely new)

Safe bet they still haven't get a permission from Robin Shou to capitalize on a Liu Kang skin. Will be nice if they have it tho.

So, how did I get here?

Strangely enough, it was because I went down a YouTube rabbit hole and someone sent me the "KK in a wheelchair" meme.

Then I discovered SonicHaXD, then the other guys next to him, TrueUnderDawg and the4thSnake.

I already know the4thSnake from his Tekken videos so it wasn't as big of a jump to try looking at other lore-related stuff he did with MK. The leap of faith, however, was in TrueUnderDawg, since he was mostly sharing gameplay-related videos. I already despised him for using AI-generated image as a thumbnail while a quick edit using official renders wouldn't hurt anyone, or yk...pay an artist?

...and there comes the lore parts and I fell down the Reptile hole.

Watching the lore videos I was like

Learning that he was one of the OGs, next to Sub-Zero and Scorpion, on top of his lizard ability making him...basically a Reversed Druid, was the biggest bombshell dropped on me because how could NRS decide to fumble him

I saw him again in the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie, but then again, he's just...another lizard guy jobber. I love that his story revolved around him, being the last Saurian that only wants to help his people to have a new home after Shang Tsung pretty much fumbled them...like the NRS writers fumbling him on every turn. Even the 3D Era shows no mercy to his lore for him to only show up as a vessel for Onaga.

Then I heard those leaks about Reptile joining in M1K. My heart was racing like hell, thinking they would probably fumble him even worse.

And then...the reveal

And I read the official bio they gave to him, which so far, I am completely in love with the way it took a different twist from the original lore. So instead of him being the last hope of his people, he was betrayed by them for being what he is.

Although I would find the joining a circus part is unnecessary, and the part where Shang Tsung took his family, doesn't have to be a wife and child. I understand they want to draw parallels once Baraka got his own chapter to spare Syzoth, but the "family" can be...his own parents or relatives. Maybe he used to have brothers or sisters, knowing reptilians lay eggs in batches, even off-season and for crocodiles, whether the baby is gonna be male or female is decided according to temperature of environments where the egg was laid.

And to a case of Komodo Dragon, the hatchlings would immediately climb trees because the parents tend to cannibalize their own babies, which works well to Syzoth's narrative of being "the odd one's out" on a constant survival mode from birth, because...even his parents didn't want him, but he didn't know that so he often blame himself for showing his human form one time and wished he never did, while also thinking that living with humans as a Zaterran with the ability to look "human" is a psychological torture on itself, considering his diet consist of bugs or even human flesh to some extent.

We could keep the traveling part because he would stumble on Shang Tsung currently on his travel to look for some ingredients of his drugs and thought that guy could probably "cure" his affliction, and helped him with his researches through any means; either stealing some shit or kill some shit. He didn't care about the consequences for as long as he believed Shang Tsung can help him, to the point of General Shao trusting them with Mileena's treatment...

...until Shang Tsung decided to stab him on the back by using Syzoth's abilities against him—staging murders in favor or General Shao and throws all the blame at him, giving an excuse for General Shao and his men to hold Syzoth's family in hostage, to the point of our main Story Mode.

Syzoth was like "You promised to cure me. We had a deal!"

But Shang Tsung was like, "There was never a cure, Syzoth. You're just born like that. Oh, and I got rid of your family. They never want you anyway."

Syzoth, holding a pent up anger, really wants to take it on Shang Tsung, but he's already gone. No family, no home, and nowhere to go. He was in a conflict, not only with Shang Tsung, but also with himself. He hates that Shang manipulated him, but he also hates to accept that his family never loved him for what he is, only for another person to abuse him again...for what he is and what he can do. He's constantly living in fear of being alienated, so he did everything he knew to gain some sort of validation, or even affection, only to make things worse on his end. His journey was for him to learn not only to accept the multiple facets of himself, but also a healthier relationship with others.

Especially knowing this would align much better with his Tower Ending. Though on my personal Headcanon, he got a job as Royal Emissary to bridge a connection between Outworld and Earthrealm, where Kenshi's "Special Forces" route comes in.

Though a personal story of how I end up shipping Syzoth and Kenshi, is gonna be a separate story to tell