ask-the-pioneer

[ask-the-pioneer]

thank you, little saviour...

[ask-the-pioneer]

eye of the storm

[part 1] // [part 2] // [part 3] // ...

[TRANSCRIPT]

Marbles is being escorted towards the Metropolis. As she climbs up the iterator’s wall, an ingenious idea strikes her mind. Maybe she could escape her captors by setting off a big smoke bomb? That would give her enough time to jump away from those heavily armed scavengers. Risky, but worth a try. She trips on purpose and lands atop some rocks in a way that looks like an accident. As she tries to get up, her way is suddenly blocked by Four, who places their electric spear right in front of the slugcat’s face.

Four: "Spit that out"

Marbles looks up at them with her big eyes. Alas, she can't weasel herself out of this situation with her innate cuteness. At least she tried...

Marbles: (spits the rock out) "Haha... clumsy me!" Four: "Good joke... now move"

Shit. They are too damn smart, Marbles thinks to herself. The scavenger thumps their spear against the ground, urging her to get up and get going. She does so, reluctantly.

The walk is quite long, and the new prisoner attracts the attention of passerby scavengers. It is not often that the Chieftain’s own guards bring in “visitors”, less so a slugcat. More and more scavs poke out their heads to see what is going on.

Just as Marbles is about to step into the dome, the Chieftain’s throne room, she is stopped by One.

One: (in a stern voice) “You will see the Chieftain. Do not talk”

Marbles sighs, grimace on her face. She should have listened to her gut feeling and ran as soon as she saw those elite scavs. It’s too late now.

Suddenly, a strange scent catches her attention. It does not belong to a scavenger, far from it. It’s got a slight, sharp tint that reminds Marbles of cherrybombs. She looks up, fixating on the throne structure in the middle of the dome hall. A scraggly creature sits on top, wearing a painted raindeer mask. This is where the scent is coming from.  A… slugcat? The Chieftain is a slugcat? Marbles is confused.

One: “Chief, we bring a trespasser”

Arti is turned away, busy making grenades and stashing them under her throne. She doesn’t bother to face the elites.

Artificer: (in a monotone voice) “And? What of it” One: ”It was caught supplying weapons to border tribes” Artificer: “Not care. Chase it away”

Three stands up, interrupting One’s words.

Three: (loudly) “Ma’am, she has your scent”

There is a stir.

Artificer’s ear flickers… and she finally turns around.

[ask-the-pioneer]

New update drops in 24h... hope you're ready!

[ask-the-pioneer]

Marbles / The Pioneer -- Gift for @kalivasquezart / @kalivasquez (they also own the character)

[ask-the-pioneer]

ArtFight of 2025 came to a close…

And with this I would like to thank everyone who attacked me this year. I was especially thrilled to see drawings of the main cast in their anthro versions (of which there were many, yay!). Some of you even animated my blorbos, and it made my entire month. It's very heart-warming to know people still enjoy my little silly AU.

This year's AF was very fun! I got to work on my first PMV ever, and even though I couldn't finish I'm still quite proud of myself. I'm planning to use this experience to make animations of my own AU in the future.

But for now, I'm going to take a week long break from drawing to give my body some good long rest. After that I shall return to my regular posting schedule.

-- Kali

[ask-the-pioneer]

@kalivasquez

I’m not doing artfight but I couldn’t resist just one or two…

[ask-the-pioneer]

Artfight attack for @kalivasquez

[ask-the-pioneer]

BEKHAUUUFFF!!!!

Artfight attack for @ask-the-pioneer! Another July another Marbles- once again in ominous red light

[ask-the-pioneer]

ATTACK 6 - Marbles / The Pioneer [@kalivasquez]

[ask-the-pioneer]

Marbles is full of beans... and she's ready to fight!

As some may have noticed, the month of June had little to no ask blog updates - that's because I was preparing myself for this year's ArtFight. This also means that July is going to be rather slow on the posting front. Sorry! The good news is, I'm currently working on the next few pages of a comic where Marbles is escorted to the heart of Metropolis to meet with the Chieftain. If you've seen a comic of mine from a year ago, you know what happens next...

But for now, I'll be doing some last minute ref sheets and enjoying the grand opening of ArtFight 2025. See you on the battlefield!

-- Kali

[ask-the-pioneer]

Oh the glimmering void below, THIS IS AMAZIIIING!!! :artiroar:

I love your re-interpretation of the sling bag. It looks sturdier and overall much better compared to my simple, hastily sewn fabric bag that Marbles has at the moment. Some time ago I toyed with the idea of Arti making a new, better bag for her daughter's birthday (since Arti is a skilled craftsmith and has experience in handling leather). Now I know what I will base the new bag on!

You say you finished Marbs' sculpture in little over three weeks, and even tho it was "rushed" my jaw is still on the floor, honestly. I'm just a small fish in the vast sea of insanely talented artists... I never dreamt that someone would wake up one day and decide there and then to sculpt my OC. I'm going to be smiling like an idiot for the next several days 😳 Thank you sooooo much!

Please everyone go ahead and follow @oakishly! Besides sculpting slugcats, he's doing a lot of other cool stuff. Go check him out!

-- Kali

@kalivasquezart Here, have a Marble

This is a sculpture of Eight Marbles Cast in Stone, aka The Pioneer. I've wanted to do one of Kali Vasquez' scugs for a while, and finally got around to it this month. So here we are!

This is a base, as with all my other recent sculptures; once it's been fired, I'll give it a proper spear that also has the trademark wrapping near the top (it now has a kitchen skewer), add some details, and paint it.

This is largely done out of imagination, based off just a few references at first and then all the other bits of art I found as I kept sculpting. I do wish I could have made this a bit later given the most recent ArtFight reference (which is Great), and I made the neck too short, but Whatever- it's good enough.

Probably the most fun part of this to do was all the accoutrements, with the sling bag and belt pouches. Pretty self-explanatory why Marbles would want and like lots of pockets and things, but it also just seemed to go along well with her character, based on what I know. The gloves were also great; as I remarked to a friend while sculpting the last stages of this, I think this character has given me a love of heavy large-sleeved gloves.

I also quite enjoyed doing the braids. I in fact nearly did a sculpture of KV's Saint design at first, since Braids, but eventually decided on Marbles for a variety of reasons (including the volume of references). The head shape, though, was very hard to nail down, and I'm still not happy with it. Again, though- Whatever, I'm pleased enough with it for now.

Overall, I consider this a relatively rushed piece, but I'm very glad I was able to at least somewhat finish it. I feel I could do better given more than three weeks, but you know what, that's a good reason to do some of this artist's other designs, because they're Neat and I like them. Plus, again, some of them have Braids. So I make no promises to not do any of those in the future.

[ask-the-pioneer]

it is pride month, little one. You know what that means

"huh.... what"

[ask-the-pioneer]

Marbles, can you tell us a bit more about your sibling?

"He was... small, smaller than me. Even though he ate as much as I did. I don't know why. Maybe I just grew faster?"

"He loved to ride on mom's back, would cling to her often. I was a little envious, but I understood that he couldn't keep up with us otherwise. Somehow he had an unusual affinity for lizards, much to our mom's dismay. I was always the braver one, but managed to stay out of trouble. My little bro however, he would sometimes get in scary situations because he saw a lizard and just blindly followed it. It's a miracle he had never been bitten by another creature."

"I miss him, of course. I miss both him and mom..."

[ask-the-pioneer]

sorry I’ve been dead folks, I got hit with art block

art arena attack on @kalivasquezart, Featuring hunter and marbles!

[ask-the-pioneer]

Happy anniversary to @ask-the-pioneer! Very cool AU, I would recommend checking it out Marbles gets a nice slice of cake to celebrate

Some people couldn't tell it's Marbles (probably because of the lighting/tones), so here's a flat version

[ask-the-pioneer]

Happy one year anniversary of @ask-the-pioneer 🎉🎉🎉

Today is the day I have succumbed to the temptation and made my first ever ask blog, exactly one year ago. And let me tell you, it was a journey like I've never experienced before. I made new amazing friends and found a renewed passion for drawing. I never would have expected the blog to grow so big so quickly - and yet it did! For this, I want to thank all of my followers. Here's to another year of drawing scugs! 🥂

Dancing Marbles animated by the amazing @opashoo

PS. I have my own Rain World themed emote server now! You can join it 👉 here.

[ask-the-pioneer]

squall line

[part 1] // [part 2] // [part 3]

Metropolis. That was the only word that Marbles could clearly make out from the hushed whispers of scavenger elites. A mix of curiosity and anxiety strikes her heart, not at all where she expected to end up. The plan was to visit the two local iterators, deliver a message, and return home safely with Hunter.

It has not been a long walk, but the scavs decide to take a short rest. It appears that they are now right at the base of an iterator leg. Marbles looks up at the structure, the top is shrouded in a thick layer of clouds. The climb is going to be much harder, she thinks to herself.

The slugcat is instructed to sit in a well lit spot, and for now she obliges. It seems like a good enough place to rest, there is plenty of food and no lizards in sight. Marbles glances around.

Marbles: (turns towards Four) “Hey uh, I’m hungry. Can grab food?”

She points towards big popcorn plants further away. Four stares at her briefly, muscles tensing up. Marbles can’t see their eyes, but the warning is clear - she isn’t meant to stray off. The scav grabs a small spear nearby, stabs a blue fruit hanging just overhead, then throws it at her feet. Marbles frowns, but picks it up anyway.

Marbles: (through her teeth) “Right… thanks”

One, the dark coated leader of the elite group, whistles and signs at Two - they are to keep a closer look on the guest. The green scav nods and sits right in front of Marbles, staring at her from under their creepy looking vulture mask. How rude. Marbles hates having her personal space invaded, but keeps it cool. She has never squared up to elites before, and there are four of them now holding her hostage. Best not to provoke them until she comes up with a good escape plan…

Marbles: (trying to keep her face neutral) “Nice mask. Looks uncomfortable to wear, though...”

The silence is awkward, and her attempt at small talk falls on deaf ears. Two tilts their head slightly, but won’t say anything back. Marbles wonders if this is some kind of intimidation tactic… and she’s clearly not having it. Direct confrontation is out of the question, but a little staring contest may scratch that retaliatory itch, if only for a bit. Marbles sits down and, with the blue fruit still in her hand, maintains an unbroken gaze with the two empty holes where the scav’s eyes should be. Stare into the void long enough, goes the saying. She may be weirded out, but she sure won’t cower before them.

One sits quietly, observing the whole situation. Three joins them shortly after, offering a snack of popped kernels.

Three: Something’s dodgy about this scug, don’t you think?

One nods, keeping their eyes fixed at the new “guest”.

One: Have you smelled her? The scent is oddly specific. Three: Nah, my nose’s all scrambled after that fever spell from earlier. But, I can tell - even without it. Curious that she spits out bombs, just like the Chief can? One beast is already enough.

One exhales, a moment of silence fills the air.

One: An awful coincidence to have a slugcat, smelling exactly like her, show up at this exact moment… but perhaps this is the opportunity that we’ve been waiting for. Something to stir the pot. What better person to do it than a relative.

Three glances, confused.

Three: Wuh…? You think that’s her kid? No way, nooo way, who would’ve wanted to touch that beast! Not even with a stick!

Three laughs out loud, but their humor is quickly tempered by a terrible realization. They tense up, tightly gripping a spear on their back.

Three: …let’s kill it, One. Let’s kill it now. I can’t survive another decade under a second Beast. We have an advantage. One: (raising their hand) No. Calm down. Do no sudden moves, she is watching.

Three settles down, annoyed.

One: (pointing at Marbles) Look at the body language of hers - alert and deliberate. Have you seen the spark in her eyes, that fire? Awfully familiar. We could kill her here and now, but that would be a waste. Don’t forget how tightly the Beast clings to its role as chieftain. Imagine how threatened it would feel if its authority was questioned by an usurper. There is no need to dirty our hands if the situation can be dealt with by that mangy red scug. A fight will transpire, and if we’re lucky it will last just long enough to wear the Beast down. Then, we will finish it once and for all, void willing. Three: (whispering) Damn… you’ve got the brains. This better work out, One. We had to wait 10 years for your last genius plan to bear fruit. One: (smirking) You mock me, but this is our best shot. My very first plan did work out, and this one shall too. Have patience.