#but im feeling kind of pretentious abt the eyepatch i wanted to talk abt it

[the-valiant-valkyrie]

normally, i'm not one to claim to be particularly good at creating original designs. i'm working on improving that, but i still don't really think i'm at that point yet.

however, there is one element of my solaris' design that i do really adore. if not for the way that it looks visually, then for its narrative purpose.

i think that solaris has a prosthetic beneath her eye. if you don't want the socket to collapse, it's pretty much essential to have one. if you took off the patch, there would still be something there.

but i like to keep it on when i draw her. because of the branding. the zoraxis insignia.

it is very clear to me- to just about anyone, really- that solaris and zor don't seem to get along. zor doesn't indulge her personal projects, despite that being the reason she agreed to work under them in the first place. solaris is curt and insubordinate with them- despite knowing full well what they're capable of. zor doesn't give her the proper resources to live healthily on the death engine. solaris abandons them the first chance she gets.

it's a give and take. both of them prodding and pestering and snarling at one another. they stay with each other out of necessity. really, it's the only explanation... zor has 'fired' lesser employees over matters far more trivial than what solaris has demonstrated.

but, when you take the death engine into consideration, everything gets turned on its face.

to me, i think the death engine was a critical turning point in their relationship. a dramatic change for the worse. solaris is quite confident in her abilities as an engineer- and why shouldn't she be, with all that she's shown to have made?

but zor exploits any weakness they can find. they seek out weaknesses specifically to pick people apart- hell, they did it with prism before they had any clue how much she was worth. and the death engine's failure was more than a weakness.

solaris' eyepatch- the zoraxis insignia stitched into it- is a cattle brand. it's a turning point in their dynamic. solaris has failed, and as a result, she has lost what power she held over them. she is no longer of better use to them alive than she is dead.

post the death engine, talking out of turn becomes lethal. asking for too much becomes lethal. taking up too much space. thinking for herself. zor doesn't need her anymore.

which means- as much as she loathes it- she has to bow her head, hold her tongue, and defer. the death engine took her eye from her, but zor took away whatever remained of her pride.