chiiroptereh

[chiiroptereh]

Hi! I'm afraid I've gotta turn off anon asks for a bit; I'm getting a ton of bot spam. If you're really wanting to be anon feel free to let me know in your ask and I'll censor your name and look away really fast and peak at the message through my fingers

[chiiroptereh]

I've been thinking a lot about Euclydian biology lately, specifically in regards to pigmentation thanks to this awesome ask I got on a side blog, and wanted to illustrate some of the ideas I had. Super quick lazy sketches but hey, maybe some of you will dig this! Nerdy stuff under the cut, will make a bit more sense if you read the aforementioned post

Euclydians have a genetic predisposition towards a "resting" color (in Bill's case, yellow). The opposite of this state (full "flexing" of chromatophore-controlling muscles) is also predispositioned, which is what's seen in the threat display. This rapidly stimulates the individual's metabolism and gets their blood really pumping in preparation for conflict, but is also somewhat costly in terms of energy, so is typically only flashed rather than maintained as Bill does it

"Teeth-peeking" is the cute zoology term I came up with for when a Euclydian displays a couple teeth overtop their eye without fully switching into mouth-function, usually as a threat but sometimes a sort of stim when they're hungry

Communicative flashing ("Chromatic") has a few languages. The most primitive is Simplified Emotive which is a quick display of mood, while the most modern is Traditional Chromatic, wherein patterns of color serve as words. Words in Traditional Chromatic are not ciphers like they are in TBoB and there aren't always direct translations into English

There are a couple accepted ways for a naturally colorful Euclydian to signal an emotion or "syllable" that matches their color, typically either by a subtler change in value along the edges or by changing everything BUT the edges

It's probably worth noting that Chromatic of any variant is considered a secondary, uncommon language in modern Euclydian society. It's simply more efficient and easier for most to speak, though I think Simplified Emotive probably stems from the natural threat display and so it's more intuitive. It's not unheard of for someone's edges to flash "angry/surprised" (◼) for a second if you bump into them on the sidewalk

A memetic blush is a learned behaviour in which individuals appear to fluster by a reddish shift in color along the face, edges and vertices. This might just be something Bill (or hypothetically other Euclydians who come into contact with humans) does I'm not sure yet but it's cute so

Given the body needs to conserve more energy when fighting illness, it's not uncommon for chromatophore muscles to weaken or spasm in order to lessen metabolic strain, giving the individual a patchy look that often reveals the naturally white skin below the chromatophore layer

When rigor mortis occurs in a dead Euclydian, all the minute muscles in control of chromatophore dilation contract all at once, rendering the entire body white. Because of this, white is considered a bit of a grim color in Euclydian culture; you know emos are wearing all-white instead of all-black

Conversely, a perfect, non-tinted grey is a regal shade because it's seen as a sign of fitness and strength. Maintaining a neutral grey requires very precise control over one's chromatophores to get the balance right and hold it there

Euclydians are capable of training the muscles that control their chromatophores like any other, and as a result can change their resting color with enough discipline! They can also use this technique to give themselves markings. Haven't decided the cultural implications of this entirely, but I think the idea of someone training themselves to match their threat display so nobody can tell when they're angry, for example, is a cool idea. Possibilities!

[chiiroptereh]

Endermen doodles; don't think I've drawn one since I was 12! Never stopped adoring them though :]

When I was a kid I would always keep one in my home and name him Tootsie Roll

[chiiroptereh]

Hoppy Easter! My sister and I were scrounging for discount candy and came up with this idea; I'd been in an inspiration rut and it immediately sounded like it'd be fun!

[chiiroptereh]

Hi there!!! I hope you’re doing well ^^ I found your art recently and I’m a huge fan, your old kaput and zosky art made me so happy I had to pause for a minute- I really love your stuff!!! I’ve been super obsessed with kaput and zosky, and I’ve seen your accounts all around the internet about them, so it’s kinda got me wondering.. what ever happened to the video essay you were planning for? Was it scrapped? Do you have any plans of releasing the information/footage from the essay itself? I know it’s been a few years since you initially started work on it, and it’s been a while since you’ve posted for the show at all xd but I’m quite curious about it! Anyways, I really appreciate everything you’ve done for the community and it means a lot to me how much effort you put into the archival/wiki especially. Thank you so much for your time, I hope you have a wonderful day :D

Here’s a little zosky doodle for your travels

Hi there!! First of all THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUCH A LOVELY MESSAGE waughh you've totally made my day!! 🥺🫶 Always love meeting another fan, and I'm so so touched to hear you enjoy my work! Secondly, I'm very glad you asked this, because it's something I've been thinking about lately. My explanation may be a little complicated, but the short version is that yes, it is still in the works!

The long answer is that progress was going very steady up until February 2023 when my mother passed away, which I believe was also when my K&Z posting slowed down. There's a long story within a long story there, but the gist of it is that I've been in a very bad place ever since then. I can't be sure exactly why the event made me drift from K&Z, but I suspect it was because my mom was so looking forward to seeing my video, and the thought that she never would, well...it really messed with me.

With that being said, I'm handling my grief a lot better these days. While things are still in a state of major uncertainty for a whole host of other reasons, I think I've mostly come to terms with that flavor of discontent. I see the project sitting unfinished in my files and I think about how close I am to being done with it, and I know she'd want me to do it. I want to do it, too! I worked very hard!

I began working on it again for the first time in like two years about two weeks ago. Over an hour of content was already fully edited and ready, it's just my last addendum that I need to work on. I'm hitting another problem now, and that is that a lot of my sources have vanished since I wrote the script, so, frustratingly enough, all I can really offer is a "trust me, bro" for quite a few points! But I think the big ones should still be there.

If anyone takes anything from this, I want it to be that you shouldn't wait to finish things, because you won't be the same person you were when you began. Nonetheless, again, it's only that last part, which I suspect shouldn't be more than likeee...ten minutes long? A drop in the bucket compared to the rest, for sure. Unfortunately it's also the most exciting part x'D Oh well, I'll figure it out!

I do still love K&Z, and I know I always will. I have a lot of requests saved up involving them, and I'd love to draw them when I'm in a better place. When I get depressed, I get art block, so only my biggest hyperfixations manage to barge past every now and again, which is why I've been so inactive in general. Nonetheless, I do check back here every day, so I'm always happy to answer any questions!

I'm gonna have a lot of free-time in April, so I'll try to get some more work on it done then for sure. Hopefully I'll be in a much better place as a whole come summertime. Thank you for the support, it really does make me feel excited for it again!

And AHHH thank you so much for the lovely Zöskies!! Such a beautiful style you have, he is wonderfully expressive! It feels so, so good to see him again <3

Have a lovely day, thanks for the much-needed smile! 💖

[chiiroptereh]

Ok first of all if you haven't already go read @pengychan 's fic Flat Dreams. It was the most commonly accepted Bill backstory until TBoB and is still my favorite fic ever written. This will make no sense if you haven't!

Whew! Still moving around but happy to have my tablet back. Of course immediately drew triangles. Was in a Liam mood for some reason so here's a take on a Liam-joins-Bill scenario! More doodles and rambles under the cut :]

Bottom left is my take on a Euclydian Liam. Irregulars aren't executed in Euclydia but they're sort of akin to fat people where they face constant, normalized discrimination and are often the butt of the joke. After birth, parents are socially pressured to attempt to fix their child's asymmetry via surgery or shape-correcting braces and are often made to feel ashamed if they cannot, a shame that transfers onto the Irregular once they reach adulthood.

Given how extreme Liam's asymmetry is, he would typically be a candidate for surgery, but the presence of the brick pattern on his longest angle indicates that that's where his lungs are (think of the pattern as something akin to gill slits or indents for spiracles; they breathe through the seams [source]), so instead he gets a brace.

It's not a very good brace. It's a cheap one for the lower class and pretty uncomfortable as all it really does is squeeze really hard. Not super happy with this design so have been brainstorming better ones; I hc Kryptos as having one of these braces too so he's my inspiration!

Bottom right is just the two Getting Scared™ together. Bill has psychotic episodes, Liam has dissociative episodes, and it kinda ends up triggering them both in a big meltdown cycle. Bill starts clawing at his own face and behaving erratically -> this triggers Liam's fear of him and makes him dissociate -> Bill sees Liam's gone away which triggers his own terror of losing him again -> repeat forever!

Alas, as hard as it is being together, it's harder being apart

[chiiroptereh]

Hiii it's very nice to see you back again! I hope you and you're sister are okay and happy, and if you aren't then I pray you guys will be soon 💕 also lovely lovely art as always hehe

Thank you so much, I hope so too! I appreciate your words of support a lot. Big e-hugs 🫶

[chiiroptereh]

In the backseat of a taxi, When you told me we were only Two punch-drunk souls all tangled in the wind. And in the backseat when you asked me, "Is the sadness everlasting?" I pulled you close and looked and you and said, "Love, I think it is."

~ "Taxi" by The Maine

Hello everyone, apologies for the radio silence. In a very tough spot again. Nonetheless, managed to get something done on a whim and wanted to share it :] Hope you're well

For my own safety I can't disclose too much here, but I'm essentially uprooting my entire life again. It's really scary and overwhelming, but things can't continue as they have been. I'm focusing all my energy on ensuring that my sister and I are secure as soon as possible, so expect the inactivity to continue over the next few months.

I'm so grateful to my friends and family for their help. It feels like I've been carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders every day for the past two years. It's exhausting being so scared all the time. I hope we're able to find stability soon.

Lots of love, hope you like this piece ^^ It turned out...absolutely nothing like it did in my head, but I still rather like it. Big thanks to music for getting me off my ass bwahaha this felt nice to do

[chiiroptereh]

Figure this is finished enough to go here! I'm rather fond of it tbh :]

him having nightmares about his parents?

Found this sketch and liked it so I painted it up for you anon! There's a reason he doesn't like to sleep.

~ Mod Emily 🦇

[chiiroptereh]

Was doodling in MS Paint and someone suggested Stan. my sister begged me to post it

[chiiroptereh]

Found this in my Procreate files! Funky experimental almost automatic piece I drew last year while hanging out with my buds in California. I had just bought a frikin adorable pair of cat squeaky toys and loved them so much that one became my muse for the evening :]

[chiiroptereh]

For one brief beautiful second I thought this was a shaggy old worm-on-a-string gazing at me with wizened gold eyes

the humble apostrophe

[chiiroptereh]

Inspiration struck at three in the morning and I couldn't sleep until I fulfilled my destiny

Original for the uncultured

[chiiroptereh]

One of two pieces I did for Art Fight this year. Rather fond of the colors in this one!

This is my dear friend @ghostlygunk's character, Callum! They were so wonderful to draw, very Shape. This is them taking a moment in between cleaning up a crime scene, perhaps contemplating something or another...

[chiiroptereh]

One of two pieces I did for Art Fight this year xDc Better than nothing, and I had fun! Focused on going with the flow and exploring.

This is my dear friend @mintytrashcannot's character Albert (and his alien dog Spluty)! I felt he seemed like a rather traditionalist guy who would stand by his country's greyscale palette even after color was legalized, so this is kinda meant to highlight that contrast between his natural color and his conservative values

(Hope that makes some kinda sense...the lore is a bit complex)

[chiiroptereh]

Yeah sure I'll post that

[chiiroptereh]

[Please zoom in, there's a lot of detail! And a massive file size...ouch]

Hi guys, long time no post! Been working on Art Fight and life stuff, but I've got something kinda fun for you.

This is a compilation exploring how a mortal Bill may interact with our world if there were still some kinda Euclidean instincts buried in there. Y'know, before the Book of Bill ruins all my headcanons >:P (EDIT: IT HAS BEEN READ. YAHOOOOOO)

Also quite an experimental piece as you can probably tell. Lots of details on both said headcanons and the art stuff under the cut, but I invite you to study the colorful texture yourself beforehand and think about what it might be representative of, just for fun because I got some really cool answers from my friends when asked :]c

TL;DR: the headcanon is that Euclideans have exceptional eyes for geometry. They find things like symmetry, tessellating patterns, graphs and fractals very aesthetically pleasing. If pushed into our 3D world, they feel comforted by the familiarity flat objects/spaces bring, as well as high-contrast patterns. Shadows especially are a familiar dimensional reduction that may bring them much comfort.

Bill would surely not be happy about these inclinations, constant reminders of a past long gone, but I'm not sure he's even aware of them here :P I think his ego gets in the way to the point where he just views these interests as common sense, which, of course, us lame humans just don't understand because we aren't nearly as cool as him. Of course he likes perfectly symmetrical leaves and staring at the kitchen floor, it's called taste, look it up!

And yet, he can't seem to shake the strange sense of melancholy he gets from viewing his own shadow.

~ End of TL;DR, long version below! ~

🔺 Headcanon Development

So, the catalyst of this idea was in relation to my friend and I's AU ( @love-triangles-au ). TL;DR, Bill's brought back mortal, meets another triangle named Y.V. (it's his hand holding the paper in the piece, actually), at some point they fall in yaois together, you know how it is. And, in writing a pair of triangles (or, more broadly, writing from the perspective of a different species), something I've had to consider was that you really can't get much further removed from a human being than sentient geometry.

The anatomical aspect was mostly figured out (see my piece on Bill's eye-mouth), but I wanted to consider what psychological differences might be at play. I wanted them to be weirder, more alien, double-so for Bill. At first I explored these possibilities through the lens of Bill and Y.V.'s relationship, specifically the question "what might a triangle find appealing about another triangle?"

Well, really the only things that came to mind were straight lines and symmetry, anything related to the geometric form of such a creature. That's more-or-less where that ended until the thought struck me that there's no reason this aesthetic appreciation couldn't extend to the rest of the environment, and then further when I realized, "wait, this is a species that is designed to live in a 2D environment. Like, they should seriously be really weird. I need to push this like 200% more."

So...yeah! I did some thinking and brainstorming with others and came up with a pretty long list of things a Euclidean in our world may be inclined to enjoy or find some level of comfort in. It's worth noting again that in this piece specifically this is a mortal/powerless Bill, so he can't really escape this Earthly environment. IF he's aware of these instincts at all (and that's a big "if"; when have you last been cognizant of your own instincts let alone known where they were stemming from?) I think he'd have snuffed them out in immortality and/or purposefully gone against them; he doesn't take kindly to being told what to do.

In order from left-to-right, top-to-bottom, here's an explanation for each!:

Flat objects such as paper are something he may find particularly engaging. It's basically 2D!

Tessellations are especially fascinating, and our world has them everywhere in the form of tile floors. Symmetry and such a predictable pattern...as the infinity of the starry sky might for us, the infinite potential of tessellations might invoke a similar sense of awe in him. Add on the maximum contrast of black on white kitchen tiles and the forms are only even better defined! A sensitivity to contrast would be very helpful for a 2D being navigating their environment.

Fields are flat and open, much like Euclydia itself. Laying flat may make him feel a little more at home.

More tessellation in the honeycomb of hymenopterans (bees, wasps and friends)! It helps that pain is hilarious.

The city is an absolute treasure trove. Rectangular buildings, precise architecture, square sidewalks and straight lines abound...he may as well be looking at a rainbow or an art gallery! I think a Euclidean's brain is very fine-tuned to mathematics, especially in regards to trigonometry. What may appear to be a straight painting might appear obnoxiously crooked to him.

Zebras are high-contrast :]

Another flat surface, another relaxing space <3

I think graphs are about as high as high art gets to most Euclideans.

I've touched on shadows before, and for good reason; truly they must be something borderline magical to the Euclidean and perhaps bitterly nostalgic.

This one kinda speaks for itself. Dweeb.

🎨 The Artsy Stuff

Lately I've been trying to find ways to fit more color into my work, as color is perhaps one of my favorite things in the world. My wardrobe is rather garish; my dad jokes that you could see me from space. My fursona is obnoxiously bright for a reason -- I feel my soul is a very colorful one!

I also realized recently that I don't actually know the exact style that speaks to me. I could talk about the phenomenon of the "style crisis" that many artists have all day, but in my mind the best cure for this feeling is to go against it entirely and begin stealing as much as possible.

So, I've tried to keep an eye out for more sources of inspiration everywhere I go, physical and digital. I've tried to train my mind into making a habit of considering, "can I do anything with this?" everywhere I go, and it recently paid off!

The glittery rainbowy texture you see plastered all over Billiam is this one, a photo-manipulated set of fruit stickers. I must confess I've been obsessed with this image for the past 72 hours, and this seemed like a good excuse to try it out!

I worried throughout the process if it might be so abstract that it loops back around to being horribly deliberate, if that makes sense -- like each sparkle was not a piece of a whole but rather an object in itself -- but it seems like that hasn't been a problem, so I'm grateful for that :Dc

I hope it can dazzle and delight you as it does me, but as long as you find it fascinating at the very least then I consider it a success! I really enjoyed hearing my friends' interpretations while workshopping it, and got tons of amazing answers from opal to kaleidoscope to fossilized bone marrow! I truly believe that the best art has some room for interpretation and it really excites me to be surrounded by that kind of creative energy that follows said pieces. That definitely adds to my pride in this work. It's weird, it's colorful, it's detailed and yet ambiguous. I'm feeling pretty autistic about it

Alright, I think that's about it. Thanks for listening!