#is it obvious that I struggle drawing chibi stuff

[smilesrobotlover]

Ok so y’all remember that au I was talking about? This probably already exists but no matter, I wanted to play with a Hyrule warriors au where instead of the different characters from other Zelda games are brought in through time magic, they were already there existing in that world. Like they’re separate characters from the already existing ones if that makes sense. Now Fi and Ghirahim are exceptions and Ganondorf may be one too idk yet but everyone else are completely new and different characters. The design changes aren’t anything special (I do adore t Ghirahim’s red gloves and boots tho) their characters are a bit different. Like Zant is much younger and was really close with Midna, while Yuga is… idk what he’s doing but he was some royal advisor for Hilda cuz all villains do be like that lol. Idk if I’m even explaining this right but that’s the best way I can explain this fjdkdbkenk. I mostly wanted to draw Ghirahim yuga and zant cuz they’re my favorite trio ever but yeeee!

I might ramble about the new story some other time but this is meant to be more lighthearted and what ever, all the different links are now all brothers and same thing with the different Zelda’s, there’s like a million different plots going on and it’s crazy and I love it

Also why are they all chibi? Idk. I wanted to do it. Just sh

[veiljumpernyssa]

could you just... like... answer all of those questions at once? I can't pick one but I wanna know all the things

Oh God okay

[[MORE]]

1. When did you start playing?

Oh a long time ago...over a  year ago I’d say? The main 3 were only up to uhhhh the Hermit book I think. I remember I stopped playing after that gross fetishy Asra CG came out.

2. What got you into the game?

The beautiful art and the tarot theme. This was before I knew what I know fdjhksd

3. Who was your first route?

Julian!

4. Who is your favourite route?

Honestly Muriel is shaping up to be my favourite so far. Before that, I loved Asra’s route.

5. Who is your least favourite?

So far, Portia’s. Don’t get me wrong - it’s nothing to do with Portia herself. It just feels a little stagnant and flat.

(I bet you expected me to say Lucio, didn’t you? Well, you’re wrong).

6. Who do you play in Heart Hunter?

Chibi Chandra!

7. Who is your favourite to chase in Heart Hunter?

Portia or Muriel!

8. Who of the not playable LIs do you wish you could romance?

The baker. Selasi route when?

9. Opinion on Asra?

Asra is often mischaracterised imo and held to an unfair standard that a lot of the other characters aren’t. I’ve seen many of these arguments and I’m tired.

Asra is not jealous, possessive, creepy, manipulative or shady. Not once does he act possessive towards the MC in any of the routes including his own (a possible exception could be made for the Reversed Ending, but what do you expect? That’s after the MC literally enables that behaviour).

Being sad or cautioning the MC against Julian is not being jealous or possessive. The way he talks about Julian it’s pretty obvious he felt more for the man than he realises, even if he doesn’t understand that himself.

Asra keeps secrets from the MC because canonically trying to remember too much too fast harms the MC. This has been established. In his route, he literally tells you that he hates keeping secrets from you. He takes you into his own personal gateway - an expression of trust and a willingness to open up to you. Does he do these things in the other routes? No, but that’s because you’re not spending that time with him.

I also see people angsting about how sad Asra is going to be when you tell him about Lucio in his route. Lucio harmed his parents and has been cruel to Asra so like idk what you expect. The MC doesn’t know this of course, but you do!

I think we also forget that Asra took a considerable amount of time and effort to rehabilitate the MC, care for them and reteach them basic tasks as well as magic.

Is Asra a perfect person? Of course not. He’s probably overly cautious, he can be a little distant and he reacts badly when in a crisis (see the deal he made with the Devil). He’s not always brave and not always strong, but why should we expect him to be? He’s a human being and he’s bound to have faults, but he has a generous nature and is remarkably well-adjusted considering the trauma of his childhood (don’t tell me that suddenly losing your parents is not traumatic).

10. Opinion on Julian?

I once said that Julian is likely hypersexual and I still maintain that. (For those of you who don’t know, being hypersexual is like..a tendency to engage in compulsive or self-harming sexual behaviour, sometimes as a result of trauma). I think Julian craves affection and associates sexual interest or sexual contact with his worth as a person. I don’t think he does it deliberately or to be manipulative, but because he has a definite self-esteem problem. I honestly see him as bipolar like me.

I think the way the fandom treats him as this dumbass uwu subby boy is kind of annoying. A lot of people I feel erase his bisexuality either by just ignoring it or by making homophobic jokes where the punchline is ‘ha ha he likes dick like you do!!!!’ like no shit, he’s BISEXUAL. But he’s also hard-working, brave, clever, pleasant and good-natured, and once he starts to really come into his own, he’s cheerful and optimistic. He has so many more good qualities than just ‘submissive and kinky’.

11. Opinion on Lucio?

This may surprise y’all but I actually don’t hate Lucio that much. I love to hate him as a villain.

I think he, like all of us, is a product of his environment. He grew up in a clan with a strong martial culture; his clan were warlike and frequently made war on his neighbours. We’re all influenced by our upbringing and I don’t think he’s an exception. I draw the line at saying he ‘just didn’t know right from wrong’ though. He’s not a baby.

But the differences between Lucio and the other LIs like Portia, Asra, Muriel etc is that Lucio’s life and his fate and the hardships he’s faced are almost entirely due to his own choices. It was he who decided on the eve of his eighteenth birthday to kill his parents. He sought out Vlagnagog with the intention of making a deal. He chose to continue to make deals. He knew he carried the plague and he chose to carry it across the continent including into Vesuvia, causing the deaths of thousands. He murdered and blackmailed his way across the continent. He wouldn’t have even needed to bargain for a new body if he hadn’t caught the plague that he brought into Vesuvia himself after making a deal etc.

Do I think he is a sort of cackling, villainous cliche or unrepentantly evil? No. I think he’s a person who has made deliberate choices that he is facing the consequences for and IMO it’s important that he face those consequences. I do think his main issue is entitlement and a profound lack of self-esteem (I don’t think he really believes any of the stuff he actually says about himself or other people; even Lucio’s not delusional).

I mean that’s about as generous and objective a take on Lucio as I can give you. I’ve made my feelings clear on him, but I don’t want to give the impression that I don’t actually understand him as a character, hopefully the above will prove I do haha.

12. Opinion on Muriel?

Out of all the LIs I think I relate most strongly to Muriel because of a few reasons: trauma, touch-starved, lonely and wants to connect but afraid of getting hurt (physically or emotionally).

Now that I’ve gotten personal, I really hate the way Muriel is treated by the fandom. He’s either called bland or boring, or he’s treated like he’s an animal, called feral and animalistic. He’s none of those things.

Muriel has a big complex about being alone. He was literally given away by his parents and left in Vesuvia on his own, to fend for himself on the streets. Being abandoned by his parents and not knowing why, not remembering is traumatic enough, but because of his size he’s often characterised as aggressive and strong when he’s always been gentle. Later in his life, Muriel was forced to fight and kill people against his will. I don’t think a lot of people get just how traumatic that is; not only being forced into doing Lucio’s bidding, but being forced to violently take someone’s life. I don’t blame him for leaving to live at his hut and resist connecting to anyone. It’s common for traumatized people to withdraw and isolate themselves, because the thought of getting hurt again is more frightening than being alone. But everyone needs human contact, and I think Muriel struggles a lot between wanting connection and contact (physical or emotional), between not wanting to get hurt again, to not feeling like he’s worth the effort. That struggle is something very close to my heart and that’s why I’m attached to him.

13. Opinion on Nadia?

Nadia has the biggest youngest sister complex and it’s almost amusing because I, too, have the same complex (even though I’m actually the older sibling!). Nadia, like me, feels like she’s always been compared unfavourably to her older sisters, and has felt like she has to work harder to prove she’s their equal.

It’s probably because she’s a Cancer like me. We have dual natures sometimes; the caretaker and the ringleader, who feel like we have to take it all on ourselves to get the job properly done, but who have moments where our self-doubt takes over.

I do find some aspects of Nadia’s route to be sort of odd, where it’s mentioned that the people of Vesuvia find her to be a tyrant. There’s literally no evidence to suggest that, so the only reasoning I can find next is she’s a woc. But race doesn’t matter in Vesuvia apparently so...what else could be the reason? Not to mention she’s been asleep for the past three years, so the people haven’t even seen the Countess in that time.

I feel like we didn’t really get to understand a lot about Nadia even from her route-why did she fall asleep? What on Earth did she see in Lucio? Why did she let him do all those bad things in Vesuvia before he died? (My initial thought was Cancers can be sloth-like and passive, so that could be why).

14. Opinion on Portia?

Of all the LIs I feel like it’s Portia I know the least about despite having probably the most appearances. Sure, she’s quirky and fun and cheerful, and that’s cute, but...what does she want? What does she fear? How does she feel about her brother being on trial?

I’m hoping we get to expand more of her personality in her route. I know her patron Arcana is the Star, so her route will likely be about learning to have faith in other people, but who knows.

15. What is your favourite Arcana card?

Justice. The Empress is a close runner-up.

16. Have you bought any of the official merch?

No, I refuse to give a single cent to Nix Hydra. (I really want those Tarot cards though hhh)

17. What is your favourite CG?

The one where Asra is sitting in the gondola. Squishy cheeks :3c

18. How many Arcana themed blogs do you have?

Three! This one, then I run an Ask Muriel blog at @ask-muriel-inanna and an Ask Asra blog at @ask-asra-and-faust

19. Do you draw any Arcana art? What is your favourite image you have drawn?

The cover I just did for my Arcana comic! I cant link but it's in #arcana comic and #my art

20. Self insert or apprentice insert?

Both are valid, but I have an apprentice OC.

21. Do you have an apprentice?

Yes I do! Their name is Daya

22. If there is one thing that could be made with the Arcana theme on it, what would it be and why?

Idk what this means I big dumb

23. What is your favourite ship?

Outside of the LI x MC ships I really do like Asriel and Portia/Nadia (but only if Portia isn’t her servant anymore).

24. What is your least favourite ship?

Muriel x Lucio, Asra x Lucio or Julian x Lucio. None of them would even consider ever touching Lucio with a ten foot pole and y’all know this.

25. On your first play through, what direction was your ending for the LIs?

Upright babey!!!!!

[kihakugato-art]

I drew some other stuff but I’d rather post it during technical waking hours so Chibi randomness instead! With a meme Kayla I’ve wanted to do for a looooong time now to use for specific drawings I do (I was gonna do it non-chibi but I was struggling so chibi instead), I hope it’s obvious what meme/reaction-image I’m trying to convey.

[impracticaldemon]

Kyoto Winds ~ Oni Chibi Views

So... I have lots of neat things to post, for those who are interested, but in the short term, here are my personal thoughts in summary form. Actually, it’s a bit of a long summary - but there are 12 guys, plus there’s Chizuru, plus general, you know, stuff.

No Spoilers except of the most minor “you’ve already heard this” kind.

Overall:  I had a lot of fun. I got to see all my favourite characters again with extra scenes and extra dialogue.  I got to play completely new routes and get even more historical nuggets of information on the Shinsengumi and the various factions.  Also, the game did a better-than-decent job of making some secondary characters interesting.  For example: Having Miki in the game made Itou a bit more three-dimensional for me or at least made the whole Itou-faction-thing more interesting.  So:  I’m happy. 

More below the cut.

Translation:  😢  Just to get this out of the way.  The original translation is so much better than any of the newly translated material that the comparison is painful at times.  It feels as though both the translator and the final editor spoke/knew English only as a second language.  This is clearest in the (poor) use of prepositions and the (poor-to-extremely-poor) vocabulary choices.  I’m a good editor and good with characters and nuance; I wish they’d give me a complete script and carte blanche to fix things.  (Or any one of the excellent editors around here who love the game.)

I’m sad that the new translation work is - obviously - most evident in the new routes, which makes them harder to enjoy.  That’s all I’m going to say on this topic. (Although I will probably post my “favourite” translation error screencaps at some point.) 

Chizuru:  It’s obvious that an attempt was made to improve the depth and quality of Chizuru’s character / reactions.  On a number of occasions where you wanted to shout at her to draw her sword, she actually draws (or tries to draw) her sword.  Aside from clear tweaks of that nature, there are smaller things that relieved irritants I’d had in the past.  In almost all cases, I liked these small but noticeable changes.  ✔️ 🌸

Original Characters:  There were extra bits and pieces that made certain things make more sense to me. Mostly minor, but I found that each route felt more believable. ✔️ 🌸  I would have liked a little more from Okita’s route, but although there is a bit more indication of a softening on Souji’s part and a specific interest on Chizuru’s, the route changed very little from the original. On the other hand, this means that the original characters are still the ones we know and love.   😊

I found the extra scenes in some routes added more than others (Hijikata seemed less remote to Chizuru without changing in essential personality, which I liked; Saito’s personal view of Chizuru is more evident (but I may be biased, because a lot things just confirmed some personal headcanons); Harada’s personal feelings are much clearer and there’s also a stronger sense that he sees the potential problems that could arise from any attachment 💗).  The new material gave me a bit more sense of Heisuke’s increasing/increased maturity; I liked this, since I’ve always wanted to see a bit more of the sheer grit that makes Heisuke hold his own with a bunch of really scary guys like the other captains.  😊

NOTE:  There are lots of things I COULD say (and I have the 100s of screencaps to go with them 😅). If you’re interested in more specific comments on a particular character, please feel free to ask! I’m happy to discuss specific characters and situations and provide my opinion (such as it is).

Kazama’s Route:  I’m conflicted on this one.  If all I could see were Kazama’s general appearances in the game - basically, on the common route - then I’d have to say that Kazama’s extended scenes and dialogue are quite well done. (As a side-note, they’re also better translated than most.) (Oops, I said no more comments on that, sorry.)  🤔

The problem is that while the character presented in Kazama’s special scenes is arguably consistent with his general behaviour toward the Shinsengumi, I remain completely unable to make it fit with the character who on multiple occasions demonstrates wanton cruelty and sheer enjoyment of torture.  The aloof Kazama could kill humans without blinking - I can accept that - but there is nothing aloof about torture for torture’s sake. 😶  I didn’t find anything new in the game that lets me rationalize Kazama’s behaviour (as between routes).  If anything, having a better understanding of the Kazama the developers want to present (who is much as you’d expect, and has been discussed before), makes the incompatibility worse.  🤔

I am forced to believe more in divergent routes with Kazama than with anyone else.  Kazama’s route just isn’t consistent with Saito’s route (especially) or with some of the somewhat similar routes like Yamazaki’s or Souma’s. But I’d argue that it’s now less consistent with any of the other personal routes in which Kazama appears as a specific enemy (including Hijikata’s).   😶

The upside for me is that if I put Kazama’s route in a box, then I find the Kaza-Chi relationship easier to understand/write, because there’s now more to base it on and some actual personal discussion between the characters while the Shinsengumi are still around and not just because Chizuru is forced to rely on Kazama.  🌸

New Routes, Old Characters:

Yamazaki’s route is wonderful, but manages not to be cloying.  There is a rapport between Yamazaki and Chizuru developed throughout the route that I enjoyed very much, and far more honesty of feeling than I expected.  So this was a personal “awesome” for me - this was the new route I most wanted to play, and I loved it. (Again, I can provide more useful commentary if anyone wants it. I acknowledge that I’m probably biased.)  😍 ✔️ 🤗 

Nagakura’s route kept Shinpachi very much in character, but although I was very happy to see a route for him, I don’t think they did enough to take him out of the “friend zone”, despite what the trophy suggested.  Without a doubt, the best part of the route was the final chapter (his “unique” route), and I enjoyed the relationship that they built up with Chizuru - but it still felt a little too much like a very strong friendship or sibling relationship.  (I don’t think there are enough of those, but that’s not what they were going for.)  🙂 🍺  🙂

[TOTAL TANGENT:  OZMAFIA! is a bit of an odd otome game, but it has at least two routes that end with deep friendships and that’s really cool.]

Sannan’s route was extremely interesting and a useful perspective.  It’s also a good reminder that he’s the oldest of the captains-as-furies by *quite a lot*.  Has some incredibly poignant moments, as you’d expect. Still on the fence about the romance, but on the whole they did a good job with the character. Like the other two, I’ll want to play it again.  😮 🍷 😏 

New Routes, New Characters:

😏  Iba Hachirou was a little bit to perfect to suit me, honestly. 😇 😈  His character is written to be handsome, very good with a sword, kind, compassionate, suave, diplomatic, able to be masterful when necessary (although watching him give Takeda a set-down in their first encounter was rather fun), able to be humble with friends, wealthy, self-assured...  And then he gets extra powers.  How do you get character development with all that?  Anyway, he suits his “childhood friend” / “boy-next-door” billing - although it makes you wonder why Chizuru forgot him, since she seems to remember her post-Edo life okay.   [NOTE: I can understand liking Iba, he just didn’t tug at my heart personally.]

I don’t mind the mystical Oni-drama powers thing (i.e., the Demons Bond crossover) - heck, why not, I like writing about Oni powers after all - but with him it became all a little much somehow.  On the bright side, Takeda makes the absolutely perfect comic-book villain! Like, this guy has it all, as villains go.

Last comment & slight spoiler:  In the end, Chizuru seems to have left the Shinsengumi without a word and without any attempt to find out about them; this doesn’t sit well with me (and seemed unnecessary).

😊 🌸  Souma Kazue was definitely my favourite of the three.  I liked the fact that he made mistakes but learned from them. I wasn’t keen at first, since the first run-in with him doesn’t put him in a good light, but later on I found him to be the most human character of the lot.  Also, once he makes a firm commitment to the Shinsengumi, he doesn’t whine.  Bottom line:  he was smart, kind, believable and constantly trying to improve.  Also, his interactions with Okita were interesting (for both characters). [NOTE: I think some might find him to be a boring character; all I can say is that he totally endeared himself to me.]

Souma has the best side-kick:  I truly enjoyed Nomura and sympathized with his disinclination for being beaten up by Shinpachi and Okita.  I thought the whole “Chizuru as senpai” thing would wear thin very quickly, but it was fine - I actually came to enjoy it.  Having Miki (Itou Jr.) as the villain works quite well, especially with Kazama thrown in to really put Souma out of his league.

Minor spoiler: I loved it when Souma told Miki that Miki just wasn’t that scary anymore after fighting Kazama!!!  😂

🌸 Sakamoto Ryouma probably has the most original route, and seeing the game “from the other side” is interesting.  The difficulty here is that I react badly to guys who think / know they look good and say so. 🙄  This means I’m slightly biased against Sakamoto from the start - with apologies to all the Sakamoto fans.  What I can say is that yes, the route may be a little predictable for those who know their history, but I still thought it was neat how they fit things together. 

I struggled to find the romance with Chizuru believable:  her being intrigued by him I can sort of see, although it runs counter to the other routes and her strong loyalties to the Shinsengumi; him being captivated by her is a little odd (I’d find it more believable that he started out using her and then came to admire her, but there’s no indication of that, which is kind of a shame in my opnion). 

Having his buddy Naka-san go bad is very, very predictable.  I refuse to classify it as a spoiler because he’s drawn that way and he’s annoying from the start.

Well, that’s it for this round-up!

I’d love to hear other comments (or questions) - I’ve read some of what others’ have done too, ofc!  

~ImpracticalOni  😊

[tratserenoyreve]

//As a person who no longer follows what is happening on SU (planning on maybe watching it once it has been finished or at a later point) could you elaborate on what you meant by that last su post? (about breaking face models?)

so, like, steven universe does have a history of having shifting art due to multiple storyboard artists taking turns at outlining episodes. in the first couple seasons, this did lead to a noticeable shift in character expressions, but overall the characters were still proportionally about the same.

steven’s face for example would have more exaggerated expressions or more frequent comedic model breaks depending on the artist, a good example is “together breakfast” (i think it was called that its been a while!!) and the frybo episode.

but, the recent season in particular is struggling with lending storyboard artists too much obvious off model drawing. while old episodes retained a sense of scale, from how steven interacted with stuff at home to how much garnet towered over everyone and the various characters with their body types, recent episodes have lost that. steven interacts with the environment in inconsistent ways, he now needs a step stool to reach counters he was able to freely use in season one, peridot’s height is varying wildly, lapis’ hair is an enigma, neon bright skin is popping up everywhere, belly pudges are disappearing left and right, everyone is turning into what used to be just cutesy figures used for distanced shots.

it feels like there’s no longer a desire to make a cohesive work. the charming light differences in early episodes were charming because the drawing difference was just enough to hint towards an artist, overall the art direction felt solid.

now characters feel like neon stickers stuck in from a child’s chibi collection. poses are more stiff, heights mean nothing, proportions are wildly different just between camera shifts, body types are vanishing. i’m frustrated, since there’s a difference between streamlining art for more rapid production, and simply being inept at keeping consistent character modeling.