#vita caturnon

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man i just tried to post this twice and it got eaten both times. hexed post.

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I'D RATHER DIE THAN COMPROMISE A SINGLE SIN I'VE COMMITTED

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it's the 3rd time I've redone this piece,, did it in 2021/2, but i missed last year due to artfight stuff. this feels soooo cluttered, but it was fun thinking more about what specific styles of clothes they'd all wear.

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6-10 / 15

1-5 || 11-15

or read the whole scene here

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two nickels

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the haterrr

that dinky little gun shoots the orb things above it, which i think are like seeds? such a rarely used item that i haven't thought about it that much yet.

bio and stuff under the cut

PERSONALITY & BACKGROUND:

Unlicensed private investigator (read: professional blackmailer) and wannabe insurgent Vita Caturnon definitely thinks she’s getting something out of this, though it’s not really clear what that is... But that’s just part of the plan! You aren’t supposed to know! Vita is the 13th of the 24 children of the infamous televangelist faith healer Aloysius Caturnon. She is the first of his children not to be born to his missing first wife, and some might even speculate that Vita’s birth led him to (ALLEGEDLY) kill her. Expectedly, they have a tumultuous-at-best relationship with their family. They studied journalism and even attended a year of law school, but Aloysius stopped paying the tuition once he got word of its plots against him. Despite her many public threats on his life, Aloysius doesn’t care enough to put a bounty on her head, which infuriates her... especially considering the one he's put on some of their siblings. Vita is an (overly) ambitious, energetic, assertive self-starter who couldn’t mind her own business to save her life. She is observant, analytical, and always trying to twist a situation to her advantage. As bullheaded as they come, Vita has an opinion on everything, and she can’t stand to leave a single stone unturned. Somehow, though, their bluster serves as a sort of camouflage for their more subtle machinations. When things are going right, they’re infuriatingly smug, and when things are going wrong, they’ll be the first to complain. Well, the latter may be justified -- Vita is usually the voice of reason among the group. She goes out of her way to ensure they don’t just survive but thrive despite (or because of) their eventual infamy. Why do so much for these ill-adjusted, troublemaking miscreants? Well, don’t bother asking, because they wouldn’t be able to come up with an answer. Although Vita is intelligent in regards to many things, this absolutely does not include her own emotions. No one makes her feel more confused about her feelings than Ivrel, much to her chagrin. Despite a violent allergy to expressing any sort of vulnerability, she can’t just snuff out all of her deep-seated insecurities. Instead, it spits them back up as vitriol and spite. It’s no surprise to them that they’re hardly perceived as charming, but Vita would rather be hated than ignored. Her powers are the absolute pinnacle of her insecurities, even though they’re kind of, like, her brand? As much as she tries to embrace what she has, she knows she’s a weakling… Or at least she thinks she is. If she were to acknowledge where her true strength lies, perhaps that would make her a bit more like the old man than she’d care to admit, hm? Vita likes to think it's above the antics of its family, particularly Aloysius' cult of personality, but really nothing is more Caturnon-esque than developing a righteous obsession with killing your own father. While she is usually very aware, she is apparently (perhaps willfully) ignorant of this. No time to worry about it, though, they've got other pans in the fire! Sorta. Working on it.

ABILITIES:

She can make plants, but not particularly large or durable ones. however, she can see and hear through her plants, which is apparently unique to her. Although having existing plant matter to spawn them from is helpful, it is not strictly necessary. Other plants at least help to disguise the spies. Her own aren't always subtle enough, considering they have eyes inside that mirror her own gaze. It can monitor multiple locations at once while staying aware of its surroundings with some sort of... splitscreen brain setup. It primarily serves as the group's informant, but it handles their "business affairs" as well. Like many of the Caturnon children, Vita has spent a non-trivial amount of time trying to emulate her father's powers. As a result, they have substantial knowledge of medicinal plants and how to use them. Probably not the ideal medic (the bedside manner is abysmal), but an acceptable one.

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11 - 15 /15

this scene is done for now, but surely the aforementioned tale will appear eventually...

1-5 || 6-10 or read the whole scene here ! i made a little webpage for it

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why i oughta............ *reduces you down to shapes*

i want to push my stylization and make everyone look more distinct so i tried to simplify them down to their base components. teehee. some of these i still think need to be pushed more but i'm figuring it out.

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new lineup < :) I've been sitting on this one for a while to Think about them.

censored-but-unclothed version (with meridian horns update!) under the cut 😳

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it's december! have a time sensitive redraw

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4 and/or 5 for the worldbuilding prompts !

This is looong, so I'll put them under the cut.

4. What are some major landmarks you encounter on your travels? Do locals tell tales about their origin? Write about how these experiences might affect you as you continue on your journey.

THE SEA OF SOLACE

As the ship approached, the silhouette in the mist begins to sharpen. Meru, the great volcano, greeted them in the distance. They were already familiar, of course. Well, sort of. Meridian had never been there, but they knew plenty about it - it's the center of the universe! In the days before anyone reached it, they said it was so high up that its peak pierced the heavens. Once people got there, they brought it down, though. Far down, they thought spitefully.

Even from here, they could see that the surface of the mountain had an opalescent shine to it . They squinted. It was kind of overwhelming, actually. Golden clouds poured down from the caldera and congregated around waterline, keeping the island afloat. They weren't close enough to see Ruyi, yet, though. Meru's evil stepsister had a much lower elevation.

A great magicians' circle had taken over Meru, or so they'd been told. Primarily benevolent, but not above the great sway of politics and violence. 'They've got this code,' Reynardine had said. 'They're really serious about it. Best I don't play around with them too much.' When Mery had inquired further, he'd just shrugged.

Ruyi, on the other hand, was under no such rule. The magicians' circle observed, sure, and intervened if they thought it was a threat to them, but sounded like just about anything went at the sorcerers' market. That was the appeal, after all. Anything you desire for the right price.

They peeled their hands off the guardrail and slowly, stiffly, headed back inside. Thinking about it too much was making them uneasy.

XALABASE

Eyes wide, Odd stared for longer than he would have liked. He hadn't expected it to be this impressive. The temple was a whole complex within itself. Later, he'd just blame the pictures, but, inwardly, he admitted to himself that he didn't realize it was possible to make (not to mention maintain ) a structure like this without the aid of magic.

It was easily as elaborate as one of Ranlindyr's monoliths. Not only that, though -- unlike the sleek, smooth monoliths, every surface was intricately detailed with some sort of art. In the center of the courtyard, a great sculpture of the universe had been automated to keep the time.

Faintly, he could hear it ticking. That's annoying. Luckily, he could make his own devices run with complete silence -- otherwise, it would seriously increase his odds of being caught. Well, he supposed that was one thing they hadn't figured out yet.

VALONVYR

Suddenly, the barren landscape turned into a forest of palms. If it felt uncomfortably unnatural, that's because it was. The trees were unnaturally, artificially green in a way that clashed with just about everything they'd seen thus far. And, of course, the ad banners hung in-between them didn't help. On the left, "DON'T FORGET, GOD ALWAYS REMEMBERS." On the right, "SLIPPERY STEVE'S HASH SHACK -> 1 MILE OFF EXIT 3."

"Wellspring City!" Ivrel threw her hands up with a derisive scoff. "The jewel of the desert! The oasis of indulgence! Why, the good lord must've put all his favorite souls here, lest the dust sap all their virtue out and leave 'em like tadpoles with a puddle. S'pose someone's gotta stay late to clean up after, too, though..." She scratched her chin. What the hell was that, a monologue? She was letting Tjong rub off on her too much.

Next to her, Zee didn't really seem to absorb any of what she said -- she was too busy trying not to sideswipe any trees along the ever-twisting road.

"Ah!" She yelped as she made a sharp right. "Why's the road like this!? What's with these trees!?"

"It's a windbreak," Ivrel grumbled.

"With palm trees? I didn't think those grew here..."

"They don't."

The implication must have been clear enough, because Zee only replied with "oh."

RANLINDYR

Instinctively, Vita jumped.

This thing stood out as starkly different from the rest of the city. It wasn't unnaturally smooth, it was scaled. Great spires of glass shot out from its back, each glistening with a different color. She glared at the gargantuan gargoyle with distaste. What bizarre waste of space! It's own grotesquely painted eyes threatened to subjugate her own, though, so she quickly redirected her gaze.

She leaned into Odd, tugging on his arm so she could whisper in his ear. Begrudgingly, he obliged.

"What the hell is that!?

"...What?"

They jerked their head in the direction of the strange structure.

"Oh." A pause. "That's the Obsidian Crocodile," he said, as if it was obvious. "Never heard of public art?"

"It's garish!" She clicked her tongue. "I wouldn't figure this fits within the city beautification guidelines."

"Uh, yeah, I think that's the point." He crossed his arms. "It's supposed to remind us of our sins, or whatever." He didn't meet her eyes. "I mean, you can figure it out..." Suddenly hesitant, Odd trailed off.

Yeah, Vita could figure it out alright.

They turned away from him as their frowned deepened. Ranlindyr had a sort of melancholy simmering beneath its skin that she hadn't quite anticipated. It wasn't like Valonvyr, where grief turned to brazen displays of bloodshed. Here, the vulgarity lurked more subtly. Much to her displeasure, it made it made the hair on her arms stand straight -- something that her homeland had never done, despite it all.

LANTERN ISLAND

Just the sight of it made her a little uneasy. She'd only seen The Traveler's ship a few times, and, even then, she'd always quickly averted her gaze, praying not to catch the eye of a malicious spirit. Other people stayed to watch for it with a sort of glee in their eye. Some even managed to board the ship. A few returned with ancient treasures, but others never returned at all. There must have been an intricate labyrinth inside.

Zee used to wonder why anyone would do that -- so scary, so dangerous, and for what? A piece of history they'd have to shun? But things were different now. She understood, perhaps too well. The old Kalayan vessel brought with it a sea of fog, and it suddenly became much harder to see.

"Was that the boat?" Meridian asked from somewhere in the haze.

"Uh, yeah! It's super haunted!"

"...No kidding, ah?"

KALIBARU

Theoretically, it was very easy to slip into an alleyway in Kalibaru, considering the sheer abundance of them. In practice, his size served as a significant setback. Tjong was used to feeling large, and, usually, he rather liked it. Right now, though, he felt like he took up too much space in the crowd, despite the fact that he went largely (unusually) unacknowledged. Vendors crowed at him, hawking souvenirs and street food that he couldn't eat, but only children bothered to shy away from him as though he was a beast.

Although he'd never admit it, he once fantasized about such a thing. To traverse the world as if he were a human, or at least something akin to one. Perhaps his fantasies had been naive. To his right, another, smaller path branched out in-between two buildings. Before the crowd could surge again, he slipped into it.

The light wasn't so bright here, thanks to the looming shadow of a massive complex of shophouses. The alley opened up to a small courtyard with a stone carving of a horned frog in the center. Water poured from its gaping mouth into a little pond. The chatter of the masses had disappeared, replaced by the gurgling fountain.

Unlike the main road, this area was empty, at least for the time being. In comparison, the emptiness should have felt uncanny, but Tjong found that it was far more comfortable. It reminded him of his home, in a way that most of the city was simply too lively to do.

As he wandered, an old stone shrine caught his eye. It was for some local ancestor he was unfamiliar with. The structure itself was weathered, but, even so, recent offerings lay before it -- fresh fruit, pastries, shells, finely crafted trinkets.

He paused to examine it with a wistful longing in his eyes.

Longing for what? He wasn't sure he could say.

5. Write about someone you’ve lost along your adventures, how did you deal with that loss?

"Apologies, perhaps this is impolite…" Anata clasped their hands. "But Dr. Alquarix's death-"

"He was asking for it." Odd curled in on himself defensively.

Literally. Even if, despite his great accolades, he didn't truly understand what he was asking for.

"I don't doubt that he was." They laughed. Don't laugh at me. "But you followed along, didn't you? I suppose your reason is obvious, I was just curious… Why then? What was the breaking point?" The old man was excruciatingly good at pulling out the most loaded questions as if they were just the tiniest bit indelicate.

Odd shrugged, looking away. "…I dunno. It was just… all of it, really." He shook his head. "The opportunity was there. Who could blame me?" A lot of people, it turned out. He growled, baring his teeth. "Long overdue, anyways. Someon- I should have done it earlier!" Well, that part was the truth, at least. His face flushed in embarrassment. Shame for how foolish he'd always been. Hindsight's twenty-twenty, huh?

"Are you relieved?" Anata's knowing smile made him itch. "To be free. Now you can follow your dreams!"

"Yeah." His voice was hollowed. "I can follow my dreams."

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*gnashing teeth* I WILL CONSISTENTLY POST ART ON HERE AGAIN I WILL I WILL I HAVE TO

Ivrel doesn't have her horns yet, since this would've been in the past.

Lore dump beneath the cut.

That pillbug thing in the back is actually like the size of a house or something. I've been calling them "combers," but idk if that's their real name. The bottom of the creature is like a combine. Normally, they exist on the bottom of the sea and comb the floor for detritus, but they were brought to the surface hundreds of years ago during the Empyrean Wars. They are terribly invasive, and they've basically caused a permanent dust bowl across large portions of Valonvyr. Its outer shell is difficult to penetrate, but if you knock one on its back to reveal its soft underside, it won't be able to right itself. The meat is similar to lobster, aside from the fact that it's neon purple.

I almost drew a bench, but then I was like, "no way, there's hardly any infrastructure on the surface of Valonvyr. Who would have bothered to put a bench there? No one." But I did bother to put a personal injury lawyer billboard lmao. Realistically, crime is very easy to get away with here, and hardly anyone on the surface could afford a lawyer, anyway. It just felt right. Valonvyr is also one of the few places where treaded/wheeled vehicles are fairly common (hence the bus stop sign). Most places use boats that float on these special clouds/mist. The boats are a better form of transportation in general, but the dry air in Valonvyr really reduces their mileage.

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1, 6, 13, 31 for Vita ?

1. What’s the lie your character says most often?

That she is confident, in-control, and never all that scared, only inconvenienced. Well, she doesn't say that exactly, but it's always what her demeanor implies.

Vita would never, ever admit how insecure they are about their powers. Even though she uses her powers to, ah, "conduct business," this utilizes her ingenuity more than anything, and she is rather physically vulnerable. This terrifies her, but she hates to show weakness, so you'd never guess from the way she carries herself.

None of this is really a surprise, though. Almost all of Aloysius Caturnon's children have a some sort of complex surrounding their magic. If you know much about him, it's probably not hard to imagine why.

6. What’s their favorite [insert anything] that they’ve never recommended to anyone before?

She loves shitty pulp novels, mostly mysteries. I can't name a specific title, because I don't know what shitty pulp novels exist in this world. But I do know Vita would try to present herself as too intellectual for this type of media.

13. When do they fake a smile? How often?

Usually, Vita is straightforward about their displeasure to the point of just being rude, but they can pull a real smarmy grin when they're trying to sell their services to someone. It happened pretty often in Valonvyr but less so now.

31. When do they feel the most guilt? How do they respond to it?

They secretly feel unbearably guilty about everything that happened to Ivrel, even though none of it was directly their fault. Her default response to this is, unfortunately, avoidance and and anger. She's not really sure how to handle her feelings, and she hates that she's so uncertain about them! And she absolutely can't understand how Ivrel herself seems so casual about the terrible thing that happened to her.

Of course, Ivrel doesn't think it's Vita's fault - she hasn't considered such a thing at all. That's ridiculous, they weren't even there, and, besides, she'd figure they were too logical to develop such an irrational guilt. Ivrel is upset about the circumstances of their relationship and how it ended, though, which Vita struggles to pick up on. Can't really blame them, though, because their dynamic hasn't really changed that much after all.

Deep down, I'm sure Vita does actually feel guilt about her relationship with Ivrel, but it's easier to project it all onto the unrelated event that followed it. Vita is smart in a lot of ways, but they aren't exactly emotionally intelligent... Ivrel is the opposite.

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miscellaneous skills and hobbies

Meridian - likes fashion and styling outfits. learned a couple traditional dances for ritual purposes. can handle a small rowboat - all of the roads in kalirangka were waterways - and likes to venture out on their own. has gotten good at quad skating, which they use to train their movements with their weapon.

Ivrel - uhhh. smoking weed and hanging out!! ivrel doesn't really have a dedicated hobby aside from dueling, but she'd probably benefit from one. knows how to trick rope and tie a lot of different knots and catch lizards of various shapes and sizes.

Tjong - previously spent almost all of his effort fighting and making his weapons. initially just sits in the lobby doing nothing when he doesn't have a task, but gains extensive knowledge on stocks by osmosis from the tv in there. gets really into investing. can play gong ageng in a gamelan ensemble.

Vita - clearly knowledgeable about gardening and foraging. reads a lot of mystery novels and tries to guess how they'll end. does like 10000 piece puzzles but tends to lose some of the pieces. decent enough photographer... the main skill she's honed is taking pics without people noticing 🤫

Audrist - glass artist obvs (mainly stained glass) but also does resin work. can sketch things from life pretty accurately. combs the beach for sea glass. knows some street magic type sleight of hand tricks. tries to do yoga to keep himself limber.

Zee - gamer(tm). plays the theremin and has enough musical knowledge to make her own simple songs. the only one of them who can sing in any capacity. good at doing makeup and hair. terminally online. is absolutely the group's brand manager.

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not doing an official challenge this month, but spending it experimenting w my style and designs,, next month I will go over what I've done and decide what should stick + update refs

Awani regional/climate based species variants!! I like this idea and will be keeping it :3 I'll make sure there's variation in Gunari characters too

Just playing w/ his clothes and facial patterns... and like, how to fuckin turn down the LOD on my style. still working on that.

Vita's extra body part should have always been an eye????? It literally relates to her power?? why didn't I do that in the first place. also I miss her old style of hat, but I had to tilt it up to keep her antennae showing.

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Meridian | Ivrel | Tjong | Vita | Audrist | Zee

Compensating for something through a series of foolproof schemes.

Unlicensed private investigator and former professional blackmailer turned tabloid reporter Vita Caturnon definitely thinks she's getting something out of this, though it's not really clear what that is... But that's just part of the plan! You aren't supposed to know!

She is one of the 24 children of infamous faith healer and politician Aloysius Caturnon, whom she often proclaims her intent to kill. For his part, Aloysius either hasn't noticed this or doesn't care. Vita first ventured from their wealthy suburb some 6 years ago, meeting Ivrel shortly afterward and roping her into their schemes. Vita adjusted to her new unscrupulous lifestyle of extortion surprisingly quickly.

Vita is an assertive self-starter who couldn't mind her own business to save her life. She is highly observant, analytical, and always trying to twist a situation to her advantage. But she is not as subtle as she thinks she is. Vita has something to say about everyone and everything. They tend to get on people's nerves. However, her bombastic demeanor frequently leads people to underestimate her as well. She hates to leave anything unresolved, so she'll always go above and beyond to close every book. Despite their general disregard for niceties, they are very generous, and they certainly won't let you pay them back. The rampant inequality and social dysfunction of her home country of Valonvyr disgusts her, and she feels no guilt over harassing and extorting the elites. At the same time, she doesn't blame anyone for hating her over her antics - in fact, she seems to revel in it. Vita considers herself weak and despises that she always has to rely on others (especially Ivrel) for protection. She is quite easily flustered.

Like most of the Caturnon children, she is an elemental, though neither she nor any of her siblings possess their father's rare power that he'd hoped to pass on. Vita in particular has a fairly low magic capacity, which they are rather ashamed of (but would never admit). Her low-level plant manipulation powers wouldn't be of much use in a fight. Vita can see and hear through the flowers she creates, so she uses them to spy on people instead.