#also side note i can't post it here but I'm wearing a choker

[knightmareaceblue]

A redraw of the group photo from the Nether hopping arc! I wanted to get in more practice drawing the characters in this specific style, and also see if I can fix some issues with their designs that were bugging me. I... mostly succeeded on that 2nd part?

Some notes regarding these CG designs (plus some headcannons):

-Red's outfit frustrates me, because I like it a lot without colour, but once I start trying to add colour it always ends up looking off. The current colour scheme is fine, I guess, but I'm a little torn on whether or not the colours suit Red, and not making him too close to the other colour schemes present (which I like a lot more).

-Red's outfits will often have animal motifs designed into them. Usually cat, rabbit, or pig, but they have all sorts of animal clothes.

-Though it can't usually be seen due to not drawing them with their hood up often, Red's hoodie has cat ears. The reason I don't usually draw the hood up is because I like drawing his hair too much.

-Red will alternate between gloves, bracelets, and, post AVM season 3, a yellow headband and armbands.

-Under the hoodie Red will usually wear a tank top or crop top. Though it can't be seen in this photo, the arm holes for the hoodie are incredibly large, so Red's top can sometimes be seen when lifting her arms or looking at them from the side.

-In general, I do like Yellow's outfit. It suits her personality well and has some good colours. My primary concern is that it may be too... plain? Stereotypical? Basically, that it's too stereotypically 'nerd' to be interesting. But I can't come up with anything better, so this'll be her default outfit for now.

-What I do like on Yellow, however, is the hair. I think the short hair with a singular braid is really cool. A nice mix of neat and practical and stylish, especially mixed with the glasses.

-One issue I do have is with the boots. All the shoes in general, actually. They all look so samey, especially Blue and Yellow's boots. This is a pretty simplistic style I'm drawing in though, and I don't want to make anything too complicated. Why do shoes have to be so stupid?

-I used to have the same problem with Second's outfit as with Red's - particularly, with their shirt. However, that's when I realized that Second is an artist, and can change their shirt design at the drop of a hat. So, now the shirt has a different drawing on it regularly. Second will try to use all their friends colours in their designs. If they leave a person off, it usually means their either consciously or subconsciously upset with that stick. If they don't draw on their shirt at all and leave it blank, it usually means something's up with them.

-I also added leggings from the previous design. It felt right.

-Both Second and Chosen dislike shoes. I will not elaborate, but Second's tolerance is better than Chosen. He can handle it for short periods of time, but is usually grumpy and will kick them off first chance he gets.

-I like to imagine Second using her large, poofy hair to put things in, the same way she'd put things in their inventory. I also like to imagine Green is low-key horrified by this, while Red, Blue, and Yellow will also use her fluff to store things. Sometimes without Second even noticing.

-Second carries the belt with them in their hair in their inventory and will put it on before fighting/platforming so their oversized shirt doesn't get in their way. Otherwise they prefer to have their clothing loose and flowing.

-Everyone has a multicoloured accessory. Second was the one who started it with his bracelet, then the others wanted some too so Second drew up more for the gang. An anklet for Red, an armband for Yellow, a belt for Green, and a neckerchief for Blue.

-Green may just have the best outfit of everyone here. It's sleek, it's cool, it suits them, and it's easy to fight in (with an easily striped jacket if need be). I also added a lil choker.

-I don't think I expressed this before, but I didn't like Green's previous hairstyle. Something about it irked me, but I couldn't place what at the time. Now I know it'd needed more on top, haha.

-Blue's outfits tend to be more on the practical side, since they do a lot of manual labour, but with bits of fun and whimsy added in. After AvM Season 3, she trades her funny socks for long funny socks and fun stockings.

-The original intent was for everyone to have a different type of hair, but Blue's and Yellow's ended up a lot more similar than I'd hope. The idea was for Blue to have really thick hair, but it's hard to tell. Might think of something else later.

-Anyone who wants something different can go to Second and ask. They all have their own things they like, but they're all willing to try almost anything, with very little exception.

Feel free to let me know your thoughts. I think I really like these character designs I came up with. :)

Original pic used for reference:

[g0blinwitch]

Okay I need to talk about The Princess's Jewels for a hot minute

The Princess's Jewels by JYUN and Hong Cha is a webtoon that has garnered plenty of criticism over the past two years, and while I agree that it should be criticized, I don't agree with most of the current criticisms aimed towards it. Namely, the main character, Ariana. But before we get into the meat of the discussion you may be wondering what the hell the webcomic's even about. The Princess's Jewels follows Princess Ariana as she tries to become the ruler of her kingdom, partly because she doesn't want her aunt to rule it and partly because she wants to marry multiple men who she calls her "Jewels", who she also uses to help her gain more political power(she also thinks they're super hot). It's basically a reverse harem mixed in with a political drama.

The main criticisms I see most often lodged at the comic are as follows:

Ariana's a Mary Sue

Ariana is manipulative/a creep/pervert/slut

Ariana's boobs are too big(yes I'm serious)

The "Jewels" are Ariana's sex slaves

Now I feel as though these critiques are mainly rooted in misogyny(with the exception of 4, but we'll get to that in a minute) Yes, Ariana is horny, but I really don't see a problem with that?

Like yeah, a woman is horny, but these people are acting like she's insufferable for it. This leads us into the next criticism, that Ariana's a Mary Sue. Now yes, I'll admit, Ariana, by most people's definition, falls into the category of "Mary Sue". She strong, she's beautiful, everyone loves her and those who don't are the villains. Again, to that I say "okay, and?" There are much bigger criticisms(which we'll get into later) and this is the one you're talking the most about? Who cares if she has big tits and everyone loves her. Good for her, I hope she happily breasts boobily throughout the story. Moving onto the "Jewels are slaves" thing, that's just straight up a lie. Now assuming that they're using this first definition; "The condition in which one person is owned as property by another and is under the owner's control, especially in involuntary servitude."

I genuinely don't know that the fuck these people are talking about. You can maybe argue it for 2/5 Jewels, Huan Baek and Jade Melda(side note why the fuck is the blue character named after a green stone this will never not being annoying to me)

While the other three Jewels agree right away to be Ariana's "Jewel"(essentially her consort) in exchange for political power/protection, these two don't. Huan Baek out of a sense of loyality to the kingdom/its rulers who raised him, and Jade because he just straight up doesn't like Ariana at first. People use this as an example of them being slaves/Ariana seeing them as property but I don't see it. Is it because of the chokers? Is it because she calls them her "Jewels"?

The chokers, to me, feels like her giving her boyfriend a bracelet and telling him to wear it for her, and the Jewels thing is just an affectionate pet name. Again, would we seriously be having this conversation if a male character was calling a female character his Jewel?

As I mentioned before, there are plenty of other(more weighty in my opinion) criticisms to be had about this webcomic that I didn't really see being brought up as much. The darker skinned characters(namely Nell Phantom and Efrit Karsia) can both turn into/shapeshift into animals while the lighter skinned characters can't, which kind of comes across as a bit odd to me, especially when it seems to be a trait that only the darker POC characters have.

(Efrit also has a bird form but I can't find an image of him in it :/ )

There's also really gross fatphobia which I have yet to see a single person talk about

And(most importantly I'd argue) the artist HONGCHA is a pedophile.(Since the original google doc with the evidence from the og reddit post doesn't seem to be working, you can also watch it here, starting at the 15:10 mark.)

I'm not trying to say that the Princess's Jewels is this perfect webtoon, but I'd at least like to bring attention to the rampant misogyny I feel as though is dominating the criticism of this webcomic.