#the titular mufotsuki

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writing Piripu sometimes has me asking hard-hitting questions like “would he know what soap is?” and “would he know how to hold a fork correctly” and then i get equally hard-hitting answers like “no” and “probably not”

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(Transcript at bottom of post.)

Dark plants are a relatively new addition to the Kingdom of Sky, appearing some decades after the disaster at Eden. Like other plants, dark plants need light to grow. However, their leaves are too dark and thick to perform photosynthesis, and too much light delivered directly can cause the plants to burn and shrivel. Instead, dark plants absorb the light captured by dark water — water which has been contaminated by dark sediment, the byproduct of darkstone production.

[ID: A diagram showing the flow of light from creature to dark plant. When creatures of light come into contact with dark sediment, the sediment drains their light. The sediment, now charged with light, is dispersed through the water and soil, which is then absorbed by dark plants.]

In most cases, dark plants pose no direct harm to beings of light. In areas like the Hidden Forest, where dark rain commonly pours, dark plants take on indirect predatory behaviors. Especially in wet environments, dark plants will produce a sticky dew from their leaves that tends to attract butterflies. This dew contains trace amount of dark sediment which dulls one's senses when consumed. This leads to butterflies resting in the rain for longer than they usually would, leading to death in some cases. Dark plants have also been seen ensnaring mantas. This happens when mantas, exhausted by the dark rain or other factors, fly into the brambles of a dark plant, holding them in place as the dark rain saps their light.

[ID: A drawing of a manta caught in the brambles of a dark plant. It is raining.]

Fully getting rid of a dark plant can be difficult. They can be burned down using fire or a candle spell, but even if all the stems and leaves are burned, the plant will begin to regrow some time later. To truly destroy a dark plant, it needs to be uprooted, and the roots burned with the rest of the plant. Dark plants can also spread fairly easily, as they can reproduce asexually.

[ID: A diagram showing the 3 ways dark plants can spread -- via their roots, via cuttings, and via seed nodules. Mufotsuki is standing in front of the diagram, holding a seed nodule. She states: "The seeds are the easiest part of a dark plant to break off. Never leave them unattended for too long! Sometimes I collect them for my sister. She does experiments on them."]

Despite their mutual association with darkness, not many, if any, dark plants grow in Eden itself. Although Eden is abundant in dark sediment, the weather conditions are too violent and destoys most varieties before they can properly root.

Speaking of dark plant varieties...

Tree: Common variety which tends to grow tall and wide. Known for trapping mantas.

Bush: Another common variety of dark plant which tends to grow wide, but not very tall.

Moss: Uncommon variety which sprawls over flat surfaces. Difficult to truly get rid of since moss can grow into hard-to-reach places. Can cause man-made mechanisms to seize up.

Urchin: Uncommon variety that tends to show up in saltwater environments. They have many spines tipped with dark sediment to absorb ambient light in the water, but also to absorb the light produced by other plants.

Lilypad: Uncommon to rare variety that tends to show up in polluted freshwater environments. Problematic for other plants since they can blot out sunlight.

Floater: Rare variety of plant that comes from Eden. They take advantage of the terrible weather to spread their seeds across the realm, but mature specimens are rarely found in Eden.

[ID: Various drawings depicting each of the dark plant varieties, one for each.]

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(Transcript included at bottom of post.)

One's inner light is composed of 2 (sometimes 3, depending on who you're talking to) parts.

1) Eminent Light: Energy/light that is emitted by the inner light(s). Replenishes over time by itself, though the process can be sped up by light sources or nearby light creatures.

2) Inner Light: The light that makes up one's being. Can be sacrificed to perform more long-lasting and powerful spells. Does not replenish by itself, and must be restored using "roaming light" (or a possible equivalent source).

3) Core Light: The one part of your inner light that you cannot sacrifice during spellcasting. Doing so would be like voluntarily holding your breath to suffocate. Exists mainly on a conceptual level because there is no distinction between core light and the rest of one's inner light.

The basis of magic revolves around being able to move one's inner light outside of one's body (in the case of Spirits [when they weren't Spirits] anyways, skykids' lights are already outside of their body). The first spell most people were taught is the light spell, which simply calls for the movement of light. A well-known variation of the light spell is the candle spell, which calls for giving light specific form.

Once the movement of inner light has been mastered, one can begin trying to make it behave differently.

[Examples of different light manipulation behaviors]

Telekinesis: Using light given form to lift objects.

Flight: Stronger derivative of telekinesis. Using light given form to propel oneself. (Easier to do using something to act as your "wings").

Guiding Light: Making light grow brighter when close to object of desire. Variant: Making the light change color.

Additional notes:

In the transcript, the stuff in [brackets] are things that aren't in the original image. These were added to make things more understandable, hopefully.

This little graphic also has an outdated version (posted below). It was made around the same time as I made my first bigger headcanon posts, however it was too... condensed for my liking. Some of the information on this little page has been uncompressed and put onto other posts.

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Spear/Swordmaster Posting

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(Transcript included at the bottom of post.)

The Spirits, unlike other creatures of light, had their light located on the inside of their bodies.

This feature had its advantages and disadvantages. Their body served as a barrier to environmental threats, but it also served as a barrier to each other. In other words, Spirits couldn't recharge their light by being near each other the same way other light creatures can.

For a long time, the Spirits overcame this drawback by using portable light sources like torches and candles (hence their symbolic use as currency). The Spirits later learned how to move their light outside of their body, forming the basis of magic.

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The Spearmaster and the Swordmaster (6/8/2024)

Alternate colors beneath the cut!

I was honestly bouncing back and forth on whether or not Piripu should keep his red cape. On one hand, the white cape kinda symbolizes experienced and learnedness based on the requirements to get it in Journey. On the other hand... Red just brings out the details better, plus it makes Piripu more distinct from Mufotsuki.

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I recently read all of (the currently released volumes of) Yotsuba&!

Extra commentary: Rendering Mr. Koiwai as a spirit would've been a good opportunity to brush up my spirit rendering technique. However, it was around 2 AM at the time of drawing and couldn't be bothered to get too into it.

Reference images used ↓

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(Transcript at bottom of post.)

[ID: A skykid showing off the glyphs on the back of their cape. A few of the glyphs are dark.]

When faced with environmental dangers like dark rain, it isn't always obvious whether one's eminent or inner light is being drained. Eminent light is almost always drained first, but the issue is discerning when the environment starts to drain one's inner light. This is the first function of a cape. The glyphs commonly seen on the back of capes react to the glow of one's light, and the brighter one's eminent light is, the more glyphs will glow in response. If all the glyphs are dark, that's a good sign that one's inner light is in danger.

Among spell casters, the number of glyphs on one's cape also serve as an approximate indicator of power level. The more glyphs on their cape, the more advanced their abilities probably are.

Capes with this function may not be accurate if it's brand new or if the cape doesn't belong to you. This is because capes need some time to acclimate to one's light levels. Initial discrepancies can be especially egregious when people of different light levels swap capes. For example, if Mufotsuki, someone with a higher level, swapped capes with Piripu, someone with a lower light level, both of their capes would give incorrect readings. Piripu's cape, while on Mufotsuki's back, may indicate that her light's brightness is at 100% even though it's really at 80%. Likewise, Mufotsuki's cape, while on Piripu's back, may say his light's brightness is at 80%, even though it's really at 100%.

[ID: Mufotsuki demonstrating the discrepancies between wearing Piripu's cape and her own cape.]

The other, more well-known, function of a cape is as a tool for flight. One can fly with a partial cape or no cape at all, but the feeling can be clumsy to the inexperienced. Having a cape serve as one's wings offers more control and makes the experience feel more natural.

[ID: A capeless skykid about to crash into a rock because their arms cannot generate enough lift.]

Capes also serve as a fashion statement, but everyone knows that.

[ID: A group of 3 skykids doing various poses, showing off their capes.]

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Adorable.

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Drawing dark plants to mentally prep myself for the diagrams I'm gonna have to draw.

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Warm up sketches (8/30/2024)

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(Transcript included at bottom of post.)

Depending on the kind of spell one wants to cast and at what strength, spells will either use eminent or inner light. Whether or not the light is consumed or returns to the user also depends on spell type and strength.

Spells with temporary and/or weaker effects tend to be cast using eminent light. Stronger or more long-lasting spells using eminent light will consume it instead of returning that light to the user.

Once all eminent light is consumed, the current spell being cast will cease. Depending on the nature of the spell, it may stop immediately or slowly fizzle out (or some other behavior).

Inner light is used in spells with stronger or more long-lasting effects. Unlike eminent light, which can return to the user depending on the spell, some amount of inner light is always consumed in the spells that call for it. For spells requiring a relatively small amount of inner light, eminent light can be used instead. This option is only available to stronger spellcasters, who already have strong inner lights.

Spells with more specialized effects (such as influencing the weather) will always require inner light, and the cost cannot be bypassed with eminent light.

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The Swordmaster, dressed up as her primary design inspirations

If you like reading, I've included some commentary about the Swordmaster's inspirations (including ones not depicted above!) as well as one (1) kinda funny picture below the cut.

When thinking about how to design Mufotsuki/Piripu into the Sword/Spearmaster, I knew from the beginning that I wanted them to be based on magical girls and super saiyans respectively. When it came to actually designing them though, I ditched the Swordmaster being based around magical girls specifically. There might be an inkling or two of meguca in there, however most magical girl designs I found online (as well as from media I like) were waaaay too feminine for my liking. So, I looked to my favorite girlprince, Utena Tenjou from Revolutionary Girl Utena. The Swordmaster takes after Utena in mainly visual aspects, inheriting Utena's pauldron thingies and hairstyle (to some degree). I knew that I wanted the Swordmaster's hair to be different from Mufotsuki's, however I couldn't bring myself to get rid of Mufotsuki's braids. So, I amped up the braid length and gave the Swordmaster some bangs adjacent to Utena's. Utena was also one of a few characters who encouraged me to take a "knightly" approach the the Swordmaster's design.

Up next is Mami Tomoe from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, who actually had zero bearing on the Swordmaster's design but contributed mainly in vibes. For those unfamiliar, Mami Tomoe is the oldest girl in the main cast of Madoka Magica, and she serves as a role model to the others as well as being the ideal image of a magical girl. In whatever story the Swordmaster and Spearmaster are in, I want the Swordmaster to have a similar role/vibe (though maybe not as tragic, ahem...) Mami Tomoe also serves as inspiration for how the Swordmaster carries herself in and outside of a battle. She acts rather dainty most of the time, however she knows how to hold herself up in a fight, and her often soft nature serves as a contrast to her stern moments. No doubt a show-off, but she does it with the flavors of elegance and poise.

These characters have less of a bearing on the Swordmaster's design/personality, but were nonetheless ones I thought about while designing her.

Sayaka Miki, also from Madoka Magica: Probably the first magical girl I looked to when I wanted to base the Swordmaster's design purely on magical girls. Sayaka is probably why I decided to make Mufotsuki the Swordmaster. Similarly, Sayaka's counterpart, Kyoko Sakura, might've been why I made Piripu the Spearmaster. +1 to knight inspiration.

Diamond, from Land of the Lustrous: No direct design influence, some personality influence. Diamond has a soft way of speaking that influences how both Mufotsuki and the Swordmaster are heard in my head. Some of the ways Diamond fights also serve as inspiration for how the Swordmaster fights, but the techniques I think about aren't wholly unique to Diamond and kinda belong to Land of the Lustrous as a whole.

Ludovica Bonnaire, from Tiger Tiger: Ludovica as a character probably has the least influence on the Swordmaster. Her influence is actually based on how another character described her, calling Ludovica the "princesscaptain". This title tickled me, so I kept the words "princess knight" in my mind while drawing the Swordmaster.

...Lookit you, reading all the way down to the bottom! Guess I owe you that funny picture, HOOAH!

Color theory is my passion! (Context: When I color, I use a LOT of layers to make the process later on easier/neater. Splitting color zones into parts also makes some aspects of shading easier. Laying down these ugly colors first helps me distinguish other color zones from each other.)

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Mufotsuki and Piripu meet their future selves.

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Sunny Spot (5/28/2024)