#i also like that their colours and personality are inversed

[tothepointofinsanity]

Do you have any super into detail thoughts on kyosaya? I know you've drawn a few art pieces for the ship, but I haven't seen any written think pieces about it from you.

I know there are some who don't like to use ships as a way to tie to a characters personality, so I guess I'm curious what your overall thoughts are on it and how it ties into sayaka as a whole.

"Think pieces" is a pretty neat way to put it...The primary foundation of KyoSaya to me revolves around a uniquely sapphic relationship that I hope would be expanded upon in future shows in the series.

↑ Yet, what are all these words supposed to mean? Sayaka has always done things for the sake of others. Her sense of justice elevated to the point where she views herself as a knight, someone who kneels in the face of goodness in respect of whatever is honourable to maintain it. But a knight is just another form of a pawn, just a stronger one whom everyone perceives has the ability to: 1) protect others 2) kill The Enemy.

Sayaka used to only ever have been able to interpret this in an extreme and binary vision. If she has to defend others, she has to devote herself fully to the cause. To her, the notion of self-care and self-preservation is difficult to comprehend since she feels as though she always has to be a monolith of one singular thing, of one side of things. To her, everything is like a chessboard. There is no way to play knight for both teams at once: either you prioritise yourself, or you prioritise others.

I understand that it is also a realistic depiction of how individuals like Sayaka constantly push through their own struggles alone while always uplifting others, a demonstration of unbalanced relationship dynamics. When this vision is challenged, Sayaka does not know where and how else she is expected to just "move forward" when she realised reality is not a simple game of chess. So she shrinks her view of the world further by clashing with Kyoko, since Kyoko is The Enemy who obstructs Sayaka's own perception of all that is Good and Just. Sayaka knew she was manipulated by Cubey™, but it was not only in the later movies that she comprehended the full extent of it. Something like that feels too complicated in her mind, so it's easier, much less burdensome to just lock onto one person to be angry with. This mentality is almost a sort of fallacy for Sayaka given she becomes a Witch in every cycle she becomes a magical girl.

Sayaka wants to feel relied on by humans. Kyoko does not desire nor expect anything from people, and thus balances out the extremes of Sayaka by being detached from worldly expectations - at least, that is what's consistent with Kyoko's perception of herself. A puppet without strings. She is not a pawn, not a knight. That's why she was angry when she realised the wish-granting alien omitted information on magical girl mechanisms and their life cycles. Instead of shovelling forward headstrong like Sayaka, however, Kyoko reconsiders her childhood memories and her desire, and it was to die with Sayaka so that Sayaka would not have, in Kyoko's eyes, perished for the sake of The Greater Good, because Kyoko believes still in the Self, not the vague promise of a better future.

Uhm. It's probably nonsense now that I put it in legible words. Some other KyoSaya fans who are big brained enough should educate me more on their dynamic, but I find their relationship to be interesting. It's very fallen angel x demon coded. I feel...as though Sayaka and Kyoko are hard to separate given they exist as characters that neutralise and support each other. Perhaps not codependent, but Sayaka was unhinged enough for Homura to not threaten her once, but twice whenever Madoka's feelings are involved. Meanwhile Homura was more...tolerant of Kyoko. Kyoko is there to keep Sayaka in check to make sure she doesn't piss off the Devil to the next century, and to me that is also funny.

[Although, it is tragic that since Sayaka embodies the sea, the only way Kyoko can only be with her "in death" due to the theme of Ophelia, her lover and the flame of the witch. Who could have predicted the doomed yuri is doomed. A sinking ship, even.]

[a-humble-bagel]

 i’ve seen some people saying that morticia and gomez would be wary of enid at first because of her pastel colour scheme but, as someone who’s parents really like The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values and therefore watched those a lot when they were younger, i think Morticia and Gomez would accept her right at the start and here’s why:

So, i think people might be thinking about the part in “Addams Family Values” where Morticia says this to Debbie:

but, this doesn’t show that Moriticia and the rest of the Addams’ would shame someone for liking pastels. Sure, it might not be their favourite colours, but this is the one and only time when someone who a member of the family cares for is shamed for liking pastels/colour.

Even when Debbie originally joined the family as a nanny, her pastel colour scheme was never criticized by the Addams’. They never talked about her behind her back. Morticia and Gomez completely accepted Debbie when she and Fester went on a double date with them:

and when Debbie and Fester got married and the entire Addams clan showed up and celebrated with her:

It was only when Debbie forced Fester to stay away from his family and stopped showing him any care or affection and, you know, tried to kill him, that they began to dislike her. (also, I think Morticia might’ve said the pastels thing just to annoy Debbie).

And keep in mind, even when Debbie was about to kill them, the Addams’ didn’t hate her. They still felt compassionate for her and genuinely cared about her, and definitely did not hate her because of her love of pastels and jewelry and shopping. 

Also, there’s another person that proves that Addams’ wouldn’t shame someone for their love of colour: Margaret

True, they did prank her and intentionally spook her a lot, but they never shamed her. It wasn’t because they didn’t like her bright colours, it was more just for fun. But, when she joined the family by marrying Cousin It, no one ever shunned her for her love of pink.

Now, some people might say, what about the campers like Amanda in Addams Family Values? (or maybe no one would say this but i just want to talk about it).

True, the Addams’ didn’t like the summer camp, but remember, even though they didn’t personally like it, Morticia and Gomez still let their kids do the things they wanted to do (or what they believed their kids wanted to do because of what Debbie said but that’s besides the point). And it’s true that they didn’t like Amanda, but that wasn’t because she was blonde and liked pastels, Amanda was just a little bitch. 

Right off the bat, she was rude and condescending to Wednesday. Amanda’s pastels, like Debbie’s, are just to add to the irony/satire of the Addams Family. In the majority of TV and movies, the blonde, pastel-coloured girls are the perfect, generous heroines, and the Addams Family Values takes these tropes and satirizes them. It makes them into the villains, but this does not mean that the Addams’ inherently hate pastels. 

The Addams’ are a satirical inversion of the ideal American nuclear family, and they are constantly proven to be loving and caring people who accept everyone that needs them. They wouldn’t hate someone for their aesthetic, just disprove of them if they were a terrible person.

When Wednesday met Enid, Enid enthusiastically welcomed Wednesday, and then respected Wednesday’s boundaries when she didn’t go in for a hug. Enid proved herself to be a good person from the start. (Also I think Enid can be considered to be a foil to Amanda but that’s a whole other thing that i don’t have time to get into right now - Edit: I wrote another post about this)

And that is why the Addams’ wouldn’t be wary of Enid because of her colour scheme. She’s proven herself to be a genuinely nice and respectful person, and the Addams’ don’t actually hate people for liking bright colours. They’ve always taken a stance of “innocent until proven guilty” and always give people a shot. 

tldr: Morticia and Gomez don’t dislike people for liking pastels, they dislike them for being terrible people, and even then they’re still kind and generous towards these people and are always willing to welcome and accept them. Therefore, they would absolutely love Enid. 

[ar-cadez]

Count Duckula Fan Rewrite!!

Recently I’ve been working on a Count Duckula rewrite that aims to give it a slightly more serious tone and semi-serialized story like many modern cartoons! It took some time, but I made redesigns of the main cast. I had fun making this project and I REALLY hope you do too! Because I’m extremely nervous that the small fan base Count Duckula does have will hate this

I haven’t actually finished the show btw so if there’s an antagonist or smth that shows up later I should’ve redesigned.. lmk! I’m open to suggestions I really like this show..

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Basic Concept

Practically the same as the original show! There is a long line of reincarnations of a wicked vampire duck named Count Duckula, the most recent reincarnation went wrong and now the current Count is a vegetarian and much more interested in becoming famous than being evil.

Some major differences include the tone and story structure, being semi-serialized and having more serious arcs mixed in with the antics, along with a lot of changes in characterization. A big story change is also that Nanny was not hired until AFTER Duckula was reincarnated so Igor was the one who screwed up the ritual.

Tone wise I’d also like to slightly age up the target audience so it could get away with a bit more dark humour. My favourite part of the original show was moments that were just so morbid and completely brushed past. 13+ would be fine methinks.

Basic plot of the average episode would be about the count’s hyperfixation of the week and trying to get famous or profit from it. Not every episode would follow this structure though.

The grander themes of the series would be all about expectations from family and strangers and how those expectations can be completely false.

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Characters

^^ Final lineup! ^^

Sketches (less interesting poses but shows off some things better)

Count Duckula!

What I wanted to change

I feel like Duckula from the original spin-off was already a really strong character! There is a lot to him and really all I would want from a more emotional reboot is to dive into what’s already there. I did kinda project on him a bit in this rewrite though… gotta write what’cha know!

I also changed his design quite a bit. I never thought the suit fit his personality and I wanted to go with something a little more bright. If I go back again I might saturate his shirt a bit more. I also wanted all the residents of castle Duckula to have purple in their designs and for duckula and Towser to share similar colour’s inversed

Character Traits

Hatred of his legacy

Duckula is the first member of his lineage to not be an evil vampire and he hates that role that is expected of him. This is partially what drives him to be the nicest duck he can be, in hopes of shaking off his legacy. This also causes him to reject anything that's “spooky” or has to do with vampires. He physically can't eat meat or blood due to his botched resurrection, but even the sight of either distresses him.

Attention Drive

Due to his infamy, all Duckula wants is to be liked by the general public. Everyone in his town is automatically scared of him and he tries really hard to change their opinions on him whether that be through attempting to bea good samaritan or by performing in town. (Both tend to end poorly for him)

ADHD and Theatre Kid Behaviour

Duckula is constantly picking up and putting down new forms of art and performance. This can be anything from oil painting to American football. He does tend to get frustrated or distracted and abandon projects or crafts entirely. His favourite artform is acting and music so as you can imagine he's very into musicals. His musical talents are decent but his acting is awful. He’s also known to loud and overly excited over his interests

Ego and Cowardice

Being given a position of power the day you came into existence does have the tendency to make you… immature to say the least. When in danger, if he even realises there is any, Duckula’s first move is to use his title as leverage. If that doesn't work, his second is to beg, grovel, and lie his way out of the situation. That, or hide behind his much more intimidating companions.

Rich Kid Syndrome

Having the majority of people you know be your house staff really messes with your sense of responsibility. Duckula can hardly do many basic life skills on his own because of this. It's not like he is completely lazy but he does have executive dysfunction and has yet to realise that fact, causing him to procrastinate on many things and completely forget or just get someone else to do it.

Not Naturally kind

Being his father’s reincarnation, it only makes sense that Duckula would inherit many traits from his past lives. Many of the other Counts were ego-driven cowards with desires for fame. They just went about it differently. Duckula actively tries to be kind and polite but a lot of passive aggression and snark slips through the cracks of that veneer. He would never want to admit that he has ANYTHING in common with his ancestors and he hates that being nice doesn't just come naturally to him. Being an immortal, Duckula also has a skewed sense of mortality and often doesn't understand the severity of certain injuries and situations.

This Duckula has ADHD and Autism in this rewrite and he struggles most with executive dysfunction, restricted interests, memory issues, atypical empathy (not specifically low or high), sensory issues (mostly with eating and some sound), and social cues. He also stims.

Towser!

What I Wanted to Change

Towser isn’t even really a character in the original. Just a running gag without a face. I wanted to balance out the main cast by adding another female character since I have feelings on Nanny as a character and i didn’t know if i would even be able to salvage that.

I really like what I came up with! She’s fun to me and I’ll probably flesh her out more later.

Character Traits

Family drive

Towser has little interest in birds that aren't close to her and it usually takes awhile for her to get used to new people. However, she’ll protect those that she does care about with her life. She is the castle’s guard dog and will do whatever’s necessary to protect it. This often comes at the cost of her sleep, because she feels like she always needs to be awake to protect them.

Tag Along

Following Duckula around like a puppy is what Towser does best! She might not fully understand his enthusiasm on certain subjects, but she's always up to backing him up on his newest fame seeking endeavours (though she herself prefers physical activity over creative works). She never expects anything to come of it, but hey, at least it's something to do. She also likes to hear Duckula rant to her about his interests.

Big Sister

Towser is of a much more stable mental state than Duckula, and as his only friend around his age, he trusts her more to be someone to talk to about his identity issues and issues in general. The two are a lot warmer towards each other than they are anyone else, and can also get away with messing with the other a lot more.

Big ol Lap dog

When in werewolf form, Towser tends to forget her size and often crushes them with her size. This usually wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that she's always a lot more cuddly and energetic in wolf form than bird form. This is because, as a werewolf, she's only in wolf form at night and being a fully nocturnal bird that should only be awake at night, this messes with her sleep rhythm a lot.

Igor!

What I wanted to Change

Personality wise Igor is already really strong and I didn’t change much of that. You’ll probably notice from the sketches that Igor has a skeleton hand, that’s because I made him undead in this version just to give a reason to how he’s been able to live this long since the original doesn’t really have one (which is fine)

Character Traits

Devotion to the role

Igor has been the Count’s butler since the first incarnation. He was assigned to keep the Duckula legacy alive by reincarnating his master every time he meets his fate and helping him readjust every time. Helping each new reincarnation bring misery and fear to the town they reside by with a smile… Until the most recent incarnation of course. He’ll stick it out though, because he still has hope for him.

Taste for the macabre

Whether it be killing innocents behind the back of his new master, decorating the castle with cobwebs and bones, or using his undead nature to scare and torture those around him, Igor certainly has an interesting idea of fun. Igor gets a sick enjoyment out of causing others distress and despises all things kind and cute, something which definitely frustrates Duckula, who's desperately trying to fix his own image.

Bitter Traditionalist

Having lived through the centuries in castle Duckula, Igor has gained an appreciation for the history of the place and the vampire ducks that have resided there over the years. He’s rather invested in the lives of his previous masters and is extremely cross with the newest incarnation for not only not caring about that past, but also completely disowning it. Igor tries desperately to get Duckula to be a normal vampire, truly believing it could work with enough effort. Less he spend the next few centuries with a vegetarian for a master… Igor would not have a problem with Duckula pursuing fame if it weren't for the fact that he thinks it's distracting him from true vampirism.

Tired old man

Igor has lived for many centuries and he does not feel as if he should have to babysit for an immature man child like Duckula. He would rather ignore or snark the young count rather than actually talk to him. When the two argue its a constant back and forth of passive aggression and personal jobs that they almost always forget what they're actually arguing over. Duckula is physically and mentally very young (17-early 20s) compared to Igor’s other masters due to the botched revival and he doesn't know how to, or want to, deal with it.

Nanny!

What I Wanted to Change

I’m sorry to any hardcore Nanny fans out there but this is practically a whole new character. I find Nanny to be frustrating and annoying in the original and who I personally feel is a very sexist and mean spirited character. There’s absolutely nothing I would want to write with a character who’s just “big stupid fat woman inconveniences everyone around her” it’s just uncomfortable after a certain point.

My idea for a new take was just an extremely kind older woman who’s a little airheaded but is a lot smarter than people give her credit for. This sets her up as a foil to Igor. She’s also the only non-monster resident of the castle in this version which I personally think is really interesting.

Character Traits

Only good influence

While Igor actively sets out to make Duckula a bad person and Towser couldn't care less about how Duckula acts, Nanny is the only direct influence in Duckula’s life who pushes him to do better. Nanny believes Duckula is a good person at heart and pushes him to take more responsibility in his life. She wants him to learn a good work ethic and is fully supportive of him trying to better himself.

Good Christian Woman

Nanny is, in fact, a christian. She is fully aware of the demonic nature of her companions but believes that everyone can better themselves no matter their circumstances and attempts to better those around her. Igor hates her for it but she’s totally ignorant to that fact.

Assertive Mother Figure

Though Nanny is a very kind woman, she is also not a pushover. She will assert authority over Duckula and anyone else if necessary, and most are compliant once she puts her foot down, if they aren't, however, Nanny does pack a punch and won't hesitate to use her strength to protect her family.

Smarter than she seems

Nanny is an airheaded optimist with a big heart and those traits make her come off a lot more clueless than she actually is. She may seem like she has no idea what’s going on but she’s actually very observant and is fantastic at assessing a situation and finding the best course of action.

Dr. Von Goosewing

What I Wanted to Change

I really liked the idea of the antagonist to Duckula was in a liniage of vampire slayers and that their ancestors have been fighting for generations. It gave me the perfect set up for a ✨SHADOW ANTAGONIST✨ I wanted to make this rewrite have the two reflect each other a lot more. To do that I wanted Goosewing to still be a really cooky guy but I didn’t want the public to know that.

Also I have no idea why he’s dressed like Sherlock Holmes in the original if he’s a Van Helsing parody and also an inventor. You could’ve leaned into either of those ideas but for some reason he’s dressed like a detective? so I tried giving him a more fitting outfit but keeping his colours for recognisablity.

Character Traits

Playing Village hero

Goosewing is considered a big deal in town because of his family of vampire hunters. He’s prepared his whole life to kill Count Duckula the moment he comes back and to protect the common folk from the paranormal. Despite this, Goosewing isn't actually particularly skilled at his job and usually ends up failing his assassinations due to his own incompetence. He feels like he has to play the role as a hero to continue his family’s legacy despite not particularly enjoying it or being good at it.

Overestimating the enemy

With how cunning and malevolent the past Duckula incarnations were, Goosewing expects the same from this one. Goosewing believes that Duckula is a dangerous and clever foe completely focused on causing others pain. In reality, Duckula is the most incompetent bird in all of Transylvania, aside fromGoosewing himself, of course. Goosewing also comes to believe that Duckula is only acting nice to later betray the public, a belief he is not quiet about and that keeps the public from trusting Duckula.

Mad Scientist

Goosewing definitely falls into the eccentric scientist trope with his innovative but scatterbrained nature. He would much rather be working on an invention than actually doing his job. The public sees him as a hero but while hunting vampires or when hes alone he comes off as more of a mad scientist than the hero character he plays. His intentions are ultimately good but are completely based on the assumption that he’s the wholly good protector of the people and that Duckula is a cunning villain who's out to get him and everyone else.

Shadow

Goosewing and Duckula reflect each other in a lot of ways. They both have a legacy they are expected to uphold despite not wanting to or even being able to, they both care deeply about the public’s opinion on them while the public has an incredibly incorrect view of the both of them, and they both have creative interests outside of the roles expected of them that they'd rather be persuing. Duckula fully rejects anything to do with his ancestry, while Goosewing is actively trying to fulfil despite not enjoying it.

The Murder Brothers!

What I Wanted to Change

Haha I called them the murder brothers bc they’re crows and criminals Im actually so funny… anyway. I don’t know if I should’ve even done these guys but I really like them as antagonists so!!

I gave the younger two names and a personality. The wiki said they didn’t have names but if they do lmk and I’ll just fix that. Other than that I didn’t change much except try to give ‘em a bit more depth and changing their physical designs a ton for fun.

Character Traits

The Murder Brothers, as a whole, are a tight knit family of con men crows who pull any grift they can to get their hands on some cash. Though they may act like their only loyalty in life is to money, they do genuinely care about each other's well being

Ruffles

Ruffles is the short tempered and eldest leader of the group. He’s constantly frustrated with his brothers’ incompetence and isn't quiet about it. He believes that if it weren't for them he'd probably be a lot further in life by now (which isn't true) and he’ll say he doesn't care about them, but he actually does.

Burt

If he didn't insist on helping his brothers, Burt would be the most likely to be living an honest life. As the second oldest sibling, Burt holds a position as right hand man. He’s a naturally kind and enthusiastic bird who, while a bit dumb, does openly express his love for his brothers. He takes on a lot of the abuse from his older brother and is often used by the group to talk to others, because he's so naturally trustworthy.

Reggie

Reggie is the second youngest of the brothers and the most relaxed out of all of them. He has an impeccable sleight of hand and is the go to for lockpicking and such. He’s a decent smooth talker and is often the one to break up fights, though he's not above getting angry at the others himself.

Leroy

Leroy is the youngest of the brothers and by far the least skilled. His speech is incomprehensible from under his mask (although he can see through it for the most part) and he’s often left with the worst jobs during their cons because of that. He’s the most timid out of all of them but I’m sure if you took that mask off of him he’d be really talkative.

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Ending Words

Well that’s all I got! I spent way too long on this project that maybe two people will care about and one of them is me 💔 Anyway if I make anything else for this rewrite/au I’ll tag it with #wbcd . I wouldn’t count on it because I mighttt get burn out from this but im just so glad I finished it! I’ve thought about writing a pilot script just for fun but idk. I’d like to do more long format au stuff, I was going to make a YouTube video about this but I almost cried trying to record myself so I gave up 💔

[darling-solaire]

Redacted Hair HCs ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

David

For David I definitely see him having roughly shoulder length hair in his younger years pre Gabes death so they could match because he always looked up to him and took pride in people saying they looked alike

However after his death I can definitely see him finding it too painful to look in the mirror and see his father staring back at him so he began to consistently cut his hair much shorter in a buzz cut style to create as much distinction as possible

After the inversion and the hectic months that followed I definitely see him being too overwhelmed to keep up with meticulously cutting his hair (he had so much else to worry about) that he didn’t even notice until one day he was cuddling with Angel after a long day drifting almost to sleep when he notices them playing with the ends of his hair and they say “your hairs gotten so long it suits you so well” and David can’t help but smile as he drifts off in their arms

+ Bonus Darlin

I think Darlin also was someone who had longer hair most their life but after leaving and going with Quinn they cut their hair short at least to jaw

When asked they’d say it’s so Quinn had easy access whenever he needed a quick fix but in reality it felt like the only thing they still had control over

I HC darlin and David as cousins so I think they would also suffer a similar issue that with their hair grown out their simply reminded too much of what they left and getting rid of it is the easiest way to dull the empty feeling but now that they’re free they definitely have started to grow it back without even realising

Sam

Sam was definitely one of those kids that were super light blond as a kid but their hair darkened with age except in Sam’s case it started reversing back to blond simply because of how often he spent days in the sun (I also think that’s how he got his freckles)

And after years of being unable to go out in the daylight those are his only reminders of how much he loved the sun

Also he definitely has a shaggy mullet

Milo

Milo has meticulously taken care of his hair since he was old enough to take care of it himself to the point that Marie had to hide her expensive oils because he would put too much on whenever he’d go out

I’d say he’s probably the most dedicated to keeping himself on top of self care (David is a solid second)

That man has naturally loose curled hair and because he doesn’t keep it very long he always makes sure to have a strategic curl hanging on his face

Milo and sweetheart definitely spend weekends piling each others hair before they shower together as a little couples activity

Babe (+Asher)

To me babe has braids and I will not let anyone fight me on that

They used to keep them in their natural colour until one day they asked Asher what colour they should do and he joked about going blond to match him and they’ve used the same colour ever since

Lasko

Lasko was definitely born with black hair and maybe it was hereditary or maybe it is all stress but that man started turning grey the second he left home

He had his guest grey hair at the ripe age of thirteen and it’s been going down hill since then

At first he was probably really self conscious about it but he’s definitely embraced it fully now especially with how often dear comments how cute it is

Anton

Anton is the type of person to not care too much about his appearance like he was the type of kid who had a bowl cut growing up because who cares about what he looks like when his mind is what actually represents him right?

He wasn’t a slob but he was neglectful at times and it wasn’t until he’d first met his partner did he ever feel the need to fix up his hair to the point where it became a twitch whenever he’d think of them

[pompadorbz]

Ok so with "missa is moon" being casually dropped on my head like a looney tunes anvil, I kinda wanna discuss further my decision to use different eclipse imagery for my Qphil and Qmissa designs as opposed to just sun and moon! I'll try and keep it quicky!!

So starting with Phil, I chose solar eclipes! Not only did it aid nicely to what I knew from the start would be his primarily dark colour palette, but it also reflected well on his character! In a solar eclipse, the sun's rays become a very primary focus, even with the moon being in front. Phil's character as a person is very bright and very genuine, but it is still at the expense of being entirely truthful about himself if he feels it would burden those around him. As a result, he is not completely prawnest with himself, and keeps the messier side of himself more bottled and hidden.

With Phil being a solar eclipse, the obvious choice for missa would be a lunar eclipse, or blood moon! This was the primary influence for the deeper reds in his colour palette, along with the demon motif. Where solar eclipses have more focus on the sun whilst remaining mostly hidden, lunar eclipses, inversely, show the moon on full display. Missa is just as genuine as Phil, but while he does often isolate himself, he is more frequently upfront with not feeling worth it. He is less of somebody to hide his emotions when they become too much, and more the kind to take those emotions away with him as to not be a bother. And of course, there was a fun irony in giving missa something like a blood moon- that is often made out to be scary, and giving him a bit of a creepy design along with it. It juxtaposes his personality in a way that I find really funny, lol.

[worflesbian]

right okay i dont know exactly how persistent an issue this is bc i almost never go into the tags on this website, but even ive noticed this happening so i feel like that’s justification to make a post about it. the whitewashing of julian bashir as an established Thing not just in the fandom but in official merch has been discussed before, but recently i’ve noticed the inverse happening with martok and b’elanna, a white character and a lighter latina character who people seem to often draw darker than they are in canon. and there’s like. a Lot going on there to unpack.

so this video goes into some detail about the racism baked into the origins and design of the klingons in tos, it’s very informative about the anti-asian stereotypes especially in a 60s context but i feel like it doesnt really cover the way that antiblackness becomes a more significant factor in the next gen era so like. if you didn’t know, the majority of the klingon characters in the next gen-ds9-voyager era are either played by actors with dark skin or Very frequently by white actors in heavy dark makeup. if you look up the actors of grilka, alexander, kehleyr, and sirella for example you’ll see what im talking about like the difference is Stark and these are some of the main recurring klingons across both shows. hopefully i do not need to explain why packing white actors in brown makeup to play members of a species characterised as violent, warlike and animalistic is racist. i say hopefully bc who knows with this website. anyway i’d recommend this video for a wider context on the legacy of blackface in tv!

martok is a rare example of a klingon played by a white actor who, as far as i can tell, does not have his skin significantly darkened. so to see him frequently being drawn with darker skin is uh Slightly Concerning given everything in the previous paragraph! ive even seen art where he’s drawn darker than julian in the same post which... anyway im not trying to blanket condemn reinterpreting the design of alien characters in fanart, but i am asking white fans like myself in particular to think critically as to why, out of all the white characters and aliens on ds9, martok is the one you want to do that with.

because b’elanna is not a white character i think its a slightly different situation, but at the same time she does have lighter skin and i have seen fanart of her drawn much much darker and once again, im not condeming it especially in works ive seen which explore the relationship bewteen her latina and klingon identities, but its something white fans need to handle carefully. in the voyager episode Faces where she gets split into a human and klingon version of her (dont have time to unpack all that) you can see the difference in undertones between human b’elanna and klingon b’elanna (also included a pic of regular b’elanna for reference). the brown makeup is obvious here too and if you can see why it might be racist to attribute a person’s rage and violent impulses to a part of themself that is then personified as darker skinned/more brown, then you might also see some of the wider problems going on here and can understand that this is something that demands a lot of thought and consideration.

i’d like to reiterate that this is a very complex and nuanced issue, especially considering the intersection of fictional race within the setting and the racial biases operating behind the scenes/metatextually, and i’d love to discuss it more (and to cite better sources than youtube videos when i have the time). but for now i’d just like to say yeah just ask yourself what the implications might be to drawing these characters in particular darker than they are in canon, especially if theyre the only characters you do that for, or you’re intentionally contrasting them with other characters (e.g. b/7 fanart) or yk. drawing a white character darker than a character of colour like ive seen people do with julian and martok.

[colourme-feral]

Reminded of this post in which @imminentinertia notes that Chot is Pat's future, I was drawn to this scene because Chot and Pat are both wearing black and white tops.

My initial thought was that since Chot is who Pat will be, their black and white tops make sense to me. The main colour on Chot's being white and Pat's being black is a contrast visually. Then I thought more about it in relation to the episode and it felt like inversed colours felt like a reflection of their journey in this episode:

Chot is out at work, while Pat is outed at work.

Chot's work and personal life are separate and doing well, while Pat's work and personal life become increasingly entangled, resulting in problems with both.

I'd also like to mention that I was peer pressured by both @lurkingshan AND @wen-kexing-apologist to post this, lol

[completeoveranalysis]

[8]

ORIGINAL OUTFITS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

COMING FULL CIRCLE INDEED

Going ALL the way back to their most iconic looks, that speak the most directly to who they are and who they were, and we can SEE the visible differences in their designs. Kurogane’s arm has been replaced, doubling down on his signature colour as he’s become the truest version of himself. And as a FASCINATING parallel to that, his sword is the actual one this time - not a copy or imitation, like HE was before. Haunted by his past as he was, he was a damaged echo of who he was when he was younger, but not anymore. Now Ginryuu is really here and it’s the actualisation of Kurogane BECOMING the Kurogane he was always meant to be. He’s fulfilled his family role by relearning the love his parents taught him, he’s regained his true name by healing from the grief their loss left in him, he has more family than ever before, and now he’s on his way to punish the one who took it all away from him in the first place. Kurogane is PEAK Kurogane. 

And FAI. He’s in his Seresu clothes, but he’s not displaying the damaging lessons Ashura taught him in order to manipulate him into doing what he wanted. Fai isn’t lying anymore - he’s not smiling, he’s not pretending to be happy, the entire facade is gone. He’s showing how he really feels - in a direct contrast to how Ashura taught him to fake smile as the only way to help them since he couldn’t do it with magic. Now he doesn’t even HAVE that magic and he’s helped the people that mean the MOST to him without ever touching it. Fai knows his VALUE now - he knows he is loved, that he loves them back, that that’s ENOUGH, that that ACCOMPLISHES more than magic itself ever did, and that he doesn’t need to fake anything in order to make a difference. 

Also his HAIR is longer. He’s no longer keeping his appearance the same as a facsimile to the twin he wanted to switch places with. He’s healed from that too, moving on as HIMSELF and not just as a living promise that he was manipulated into making in the first place. He’s his own person now, all the chains on him are gone, and there’s nothing in his past looming over every action he takes. He’s free now - and he’s chasing down the man who DID THIS to him in the first place, along with the people he loves. 

OH IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL. 

And then Mokona outlines it for us in words too, because Mokona is still awed by the plot coming back around to the beginning and it’s utterly adorable. Because at this point ME TOO MOKONA.

MEANWHILE I SEE BOOTS AND A CAPE AND I THINK I HAVE THOUGHTS (tm) ABOUT WHAT THIS NEXT PAGE WILL HAVE ON IT

LAVA LAMP DRESSED AS SYAORAN

OH now THAT is interesting

On the one hand it’s a FASCINATING move to make. Because visually? YES, the Syaoran should dress like Syaoran in the beginning of the manga.

But we know now! It’s not the same! This ISN’T the Syaoran we started the manga with! Moreover Lava Lamp NEVER DRESSED THIS WAY. These AREN’T his clothes. He never looked like this! He didn’t grow up in Clow like Syaoran did - though he WAS apparently there, in his Lava Lamp, the whole time. 

And all of THAT is difference enough that we get no other visual signifiers of his growth. His outfit is the SAME because it’s the CHARACTER who’s different. Instead of the clone donning the identity of the original, now it’s the original donning the visual identity of the CLONE. 

And THAT’S an entirely different kind of circle, but I kind of love the inversion of it all. Especially since the last time Lava Lamp left the Clow Kingdom (where he was trapped) he travelled TO Acid Tokyo, in order to hopefully fix Syaoran’s soul. But now Syaoran’s soul IS fixed, and he’s travelling BACK to the Clow Kingdom to find a whole Syaoran instead!

… OH AND HIS EYE. He only has ONE eye in the reaction shot at the end, because that’s an echo of the link he had with Syaoran, and how he ALSO used to have all the single eye imagery that foreshadowed Lava Lamp watching through it his entire life. 

Lava Lamp is the reverse of everything that has happened - the mirror image of things coming full circle, but coming full circle all the same. 

[dislyteshack]

i need to gush about li xiao stuff or else

i love the like divergence you know?

when you first look at him you feel power from him from not only the pose but the attire and all. it all looks etheral

li xiao gives off an appearence of being untouchable but really hes hanging on by a thread.

you would think he has everything together, with how he holds himself. he fits in perfectly as someone else born into the highlife of tangton. the aspects feel practiced because since hes only adopted into the upperclass. of course he has to mimic the air of old money

OH YEAH its really cool how its practical too since based on limited info + tu he seems to be pretty hands on with his job and likely needs to move around alot so it makes sense for it to not only be fancy looking but also good for a fight. the sword also makes it clear he is willing and ready to fight which also ties into backstory stuff that would bleed into him

and! the sword based on someone i know who went clicking it looks like an anti cavalry sword used in the past by the chinese

i said it in a previous post but its actually this

its a changdao for anyone who didnt click

theres implications of him using it to go after bigger targets like maybe...

miramon

or espers.

plays into himnot being on top no matter what, politically or literally.

always the middle man , never anything more. only anything less. his outfit being not too extravagant like say councilor li in the new event shows this too. there's no billowing cape, no random cane , just his sword at his waist if he needs it. while li xiao is valued , hes just not ever valued more than others who have more inate power given to them

i love how hes in all white to symbolise purity of sorts. because thats how he attempts to come off as.

then theres the extra colours that act as a contrast to compliment the rest of his colourscheme otherwise the white is overwhelming.

the strips of black mar him+ the black in the shoes , it represents sins he cant be washed clean of because of what he undoubtedly commited and hes aware of that.

in certain symbolism black represents solemnity + its used as a representation of yin

whats extra cool is yun chuan wearing mostly black with stripes of white and li xiao in mostly white with strips of black. the yin yang symbolism there with the paths they ended going down is an inversion of their designs.

another thing is that using black in a certain way like copywrriting could conotate things like corruption and greed, things li xiao definately ended up bending to in a way

i also really like the red that could either be seen as xiao simply matching with the rest of the radiant guard or as a represenation of the blood on his hands indirectly from the false alarm or more directly with him allowing the experiments to take place. facliating their continuation

red in symbolism can actually be one of destruction or good fortune. honestly it fits with li xiao's life technically having good fortune since his talent was noticed by the li clan while also showing the self destruction that did him in

then theres my fav part which are his eyes which are either scarlet or reddish orange im not too sure but either way.

AIGHT also the bits of green in his belt might be a decoration but! just to put this down

green also has conatations with purity

intresting how alot of what goes into xiao's design attempts to potray purity + his actions (trying to atone/ fufil chuan's promise by unironically trying to change tangton for the better) but in the end that illusion is shattered in truth unveiled.

Ngl I think it's the themes of attempted purity in li xiao that endears me to him alot because I feel chronic guilt in a way it's very therapeutic to talk about him

Because I like unpacking what an extreme he is and his actions.

There's a very clear tragedy there in that he could have just been a plain good person albeit forgettable

The hook of the story of truth unveiled to me personally is while also highlighting the justice system and different ways of dealing with it there's also that other side where even if you wanted to gain powers to cut it at the nip you just can't if you aren't born into it

Maybe I'm just a bleeding heart for clinging to the tragedy of it all instead of moving on as the games themes encourage but it's always nagging at me

[celestialholz]

The Anatomy of an Outfit (aka 'holy fucking Continuum THE LOOK™)

Y'all know I haven't seen a single STP episode since 2.9. I would rather gargle with acid than go near this show ever again frankly, but, well...

... Good sweet sanctuary what the fucking hell is THIS. :O (@tennant, clearly a fellow appreciator of all things ancient god, must be thanked profusely for these glorious few shots I'm about to show off. <3)

I called this lovely, lovely man returning about ten minutes after he 'died', but I don't think any of us were expecting his outfit to slay THIS HARD when he did. And not only is it the sexiest thing my fortunate eyes have ever had the pleasure to absorb, but it also happens to be very, er... well let's be real here, it's ridiculously Qcard-coded.

Let's break it down, shall we?

We'll start with the obvious: it's maroon and black. This look appears to be a mad fusion of his Encounter at Farpoint judge robes (which is fair, we end as we begin), and his husband of forty years' captain's uniform. That piped shoulder's hugely reminding me of this, in fact:

It's the inverse! You know, the same look, flipped? Because they have perfectly distinct personalities but are also mega gay???? Costume department allies fr.

The delightfully dramatic sash Q's rocking is also interesting - it places maroon at the centre of the outfit, and is its grandest statement, which makes it an excellent example of the importance of the colour to its wearer. This is the clothing equivalent of him having mon capitaine tattooed across his essence, which... well yeah, valid. Canonical facts. It's worn across virtually his whole chest, too, because nothing says 'that's my husband' more than having him literally held against your heart.

It's a different era of captain, across two shoulders - the old teasing, and the new love.

Also, this fucking brooch.

Now, whilst I doubt they've given even John de Lancie a piece made of actual rubies for a fifteen-second scene, the stones here are very clearly meant to evoke them. And rubies are interesting for several reasons:

They're Picard's birthstone, his birthday being July 13th;

They're symbolic of power and protection. What follows is some of the interesting info I've picked up from internet gemology on rubies:

... Huh. Resolve disputes. 'Dispel anger,' when we've seen a darker Q in this series. And 'protective powers'... mm, how many times has Q saved Picard's life again? What did we get up to, six?

... 'Romantic love.' 'Devotion.' Uh-huh.

This brooch is also evocative of the Navaratna, or this thing:

The brooch itself is clearly stylised, but it features eight gems orbiting a central larger ruby (which is meant to be the sun by the way, as though this motherfucker wasn't already evocative ENOUGH of the sun here or here), and is an important cultural and religious symbol in Hinduism. What's it symbolic of, exactly?

... Oh, nothing much. Just... just this.

... Like I said, nothing much, just the whole concept of Qcard in fucking jewellery form.

The brooch's also, as the wife @porgthespacepenguin pointed out, an eight-pointed star.

... Have I mentioned yet that I fucking detest this show? Because I really fucking detest this show.

There's nine rubies on it, as well. Picard's in his nineties.

So, let's recap:

Nine of Picard's birthstone for his ninety years

Sun symbolism, AGAIN

Celestial relationships

Beyond space and time

Romance

Prosperity

Protection

Resolution

So, all that, from a brooch worn over an outfit that looks suspiciously like Picard's, which has a sash across it in Picard's colour.

... And I'm supposed to believe that Qcard isn't endgame? You're really going to gaslight me to this degree right in front of my salad, you absolute bastards????

Guys, when you inevitably wipe this shitshow of a Star Trek from your collective minds like I'm about to do, just... take this with you. Take the fact that everything about this outfit and this SHOW has said all along that Qcard is endgame, until they couldn't be arsed. Until they lost their balls for the pathetic few who might have naysayed it.

Patrick, and certainly John, deserved so much better. I'm glad that at least someone on this set understands that. (I see you, costumers. I see you, and I love you.)

Just going to... just going to stare at the absolute fine-aged wine of a man that is John de Lancie for a moment, before I lose my whole shit. He calms my soul, you see.

HIT THE SLAY KING JOHN <3

[typosandtea]

@rad-roche NOIR TIME! Turning my assignment in very late.

Agent Phil Coulson may not be a dame, but he does have a lot or weirdly specific things in common with Nick Valentine!

Your tutorial post on pulp covers was wonderful! But this was so many kilometres out of my stylistic comfort zone that the entire time was like agh! what the hell am I doing?.?? (And why it’s taken over a week). I found a lovely cover for reference “The Deadly September” on the archive you have linked in the tutorial.

Below is things I had to adapt to achieve a similar effect in Procreate, the reference images I used and, the worlds’s most convoluted speed-paint. (Learning new things is messy!)

⚠️THE SPEED-PAINT FLASHES QUICKLY A LOT !! ⚠️

Also I’ve listed some of the weirdly specific similarities between Coulson and Nick! so SPOILERS for Agents of Shield seasons 1-6 (I haven’t gotten around to watching 7 yet, and agents of shield isn’t MCU canon anymore anyway) and Nick’s story / far harbour in Fallout 4! (Spoilers below the speed-paint)

Procreate edits:

Totally used the back button more than I should have. I think I changed brush at least 3 times and edited the texture layers way more before it got to a point I was even remotely happy with. The brush I ended up settling with was procreate’s “Tarraleah” in the ‘artistic’ category, unaltered.

Procreate does have screen layers so was able to use that as in the tutorial, I set my chosen grunge at 90% opacity after inversion.

The contrast / brightness layer was tricker since that’s not a feature in procreate (??????), after lots of messing around I found that filling a layer with black and setting it to “soft light” mode and 85% opacity brings the paper texture I used away from the overly white tones without messing with the colour too much.

Since procreate doesn’t support per layer colour dropper, I had all of the texture layers in a folder so it can be hidden with one click, though personally I tend to guess the colour I need on the wheel rather than use colour dropper, so hiding the texture wasn’t an issue for me so much.

The colour check layer was also a black filled layer but this was set to colour mode as in the tutorial.

⚠️THE SPEED-PAINT FLASHES BRIGHTLY AND QUICKLY ⚠️

VVVVVVV SPOILERS FOR AGENTS OF SHIELD 1-6 AND FALLOUT 4 VVVVVVV

NICK VALENTINE AND AGENT COULSON SIMILARITIES (in my opinion):

Good people at heart

Multiple life shattering, personality altering crisis each.

Experimented on against their will by a group with highly advanced technology resulting in their unethical resurrection. Institute for Nick and Fury’s project TAHITI / Guest Host for Coulson.

Consciousness placed into a Synth / Life Model Decoy after their death against their will (LMDs are marvel’s version of synths with all the ‘is it a person’ and ‘the infiltrators are ruining our organisation’ that come with that) both are in highly modified unique Synth/LMD hardware

Both have killed an enemy they have been hunting for years for nothing but revenge, Eddie Winter for Nick and Ward for Coulson. (Though nobody stays dead in agents of shield)

Part of the plot requires entering a simulation with other peoples memories. DiMA’s memories for Nick and the Framework for the shield crew.

A partner that they can’t see because one of them was murdered as collateral damage. Jenny for Nick, and Coulson is the dead one for Audrey (the cellist)

Betrayed at a great personal cost by the organisation they were upholding when the org. Is revealed to be corrupt/evil. Police being in on Winter’s scheme for Nick and shield being hydra for Coulson.

Key Mission requires strapping them into a memory machine and poking around their brains/memories. Nick with kellogg’s memories and Raina’s need of Coulson’s memories from after he died in New York (though Coulson’s is a lot more traumatic on account of him being human at the time and marvel’s memory machine being painful)

Intentional memory loss forced on them by a third party. Nick’s institute knowledge and Coulson’s unawareness of his resurrection by Fury.

So much trauma, they can’t catch a break.

[washa]

I listened to Lasko’s recent audio and here’s my favourite personal comments/thoughts! (GOD IM SO SWEET FOR THE DAMN CREW. also most of this is Lasko's dialogue and me screaming over it."

God I love his ranting. 

Oooh earthier colours? OH 100% mahogany, SLAPS

LMFAO THE CRICUT. Yk my roomie has one of those, we’ve never used it but it’s there !!

Awh he’s so observant 😭  

“Top speed” my ass. He’s gonna put Eminem outta business. 

Lasko.. Baby 💕😕

“Come to fruition.” Yes wow me with that vocab.

URGH IM GONNA SCREAM HES SO 2RUIQRUIOFLJKSACJKL yk

Yes, that does make me feel better.

IM SO HAPPY WE’RE GETTING ANOTHER FRIENDSGIVING

Unrelated, can i just say how happy i am Lasko can joke about his anxiety in a good way. 

“They’re my family. They’re not the one I started with, but they’re the one I found. The one that’s actually a family to me.” SHUT UPPP 😭

THE. WAY. HE. TALKS. ABOUT. THEM. 🙏

“And you make me happy, you make me feel cared for and respected and wanted, and the time I spend with you makes me feel so fucking good.” AND YOU DESERVE SO MUCH MORE BABY 

AWH HE TALKS ABOUT US??? 😭😭 oh wait that bonus audio after the date LMFAOOA

STOPPP HE’S SO FUCKING SWEET I’M GONNA START CRYING 😕💕

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, It doesn’t have to be anything. It’s just the first!” LORD ABOVE HE’S SO SWEET

Yeah.. I think Lasko’s first impressions were, interesting.? Yeah it was bad 😭

OOH LASKO POVS!!

HELP THE PAPERWORK, I FORGOT ABOUT THAT. He would’ve suffocated him LMFAO

Freelancer was probably blinking their eyes in confusion in that video. 

OH MY GOD THEY KNOW ABOUT GAVIN AND LASKO??? I bet my whole foot it gets brought up and Lasko’s listener teases Lasko abt it.

Yeah the bowling video, poor Lasko could’ve had a stroke in the chair.

Oh yeah how did Huxley and Lasko meet? YEAH AND EVEN IF THEY DRIFTED APART, THEY BOTH REMEMBERED SMALL THINGS ABOUT EACH OTHER ARIJLDK.

Oh god, if he starts talking about his friends, I'm gonna kick my legs like a little school girl. OH MY GOD HE IS. 

I love how Lasko had to think of a word and chose “intense”. 

“He’s passionate, and he’s stubborn, and he’s strong, but he’s also generous and thoughtful and driven.” REALLL

I love Damien so fucking much. He’s one of my favourite characters, he’s so misjudged and deserves every good thing that he gets. The fact he fights for full certification is to help humanborns, de(a)mons and other judged people against a corrupt government. He pushed himself and nearly lost himself just to help someone. He’s such a good guy, even if it comes out wrong.  

“And Gavin can come off like he’s just some vapid, surface-level… shit-starter, for lack of a better term.” LMFAO FAIR 

“But he’s also loyal, and bold, and brave, and a person who is really, new to having others actually care about him, and the genuine surprise in his eyes when people give him, Just the basic kindnesses that friends do for one another, is.. somehow sweet and heartbreaking at the same time.” STOP IT

Gavin again, so misunderstood. He was judged for being him, put through so much bigotry and the fact he found people that loved him for who he was is SO FUCKING SWEET. I CANNOT RIGHT NOW

“And the way that he and Freelancer complement one another, and seeing how that relationship has helped Freelancer” YOU GET IT LASKO YOU GET IT. 

“Who has always been sweet and giving and supportive, but also guarded, and closed off, and completely in denial about their own emotional needs, to their own detriment, to their own.. harm, really. It’s been an amazing thing to see.” STOP IT YK THE INVERSION AFTERMATH WHERE THEY CRY. GOD.

“With Huxley, from the outside he can seem… naïve. Or unfocused, just a goofball without anything more to him, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. He is one of the most emotionally intelligent people I’ve ever met.” AMENN 🙏🙏

 “He just gets people, he understands the motivation behind people’s actions and he has the emotional maturity to react to that driving force rather than the action itself. And he’s easygoing, and flexible, but he’s not listless at all, in reality he has really concrete goals and plans and he pursues those with a determination that could rival Damien’s, he just… presents it differently. I think that’s one of the things that makes them work so well together. They’re two sides of the same coin in so many different ways.” I can’t even say anything, Lasko said it all for me. 

Also i think this video is Erik like explaining and showing how much character developing he did. Good job Erik, you did amazing. 

“And most importantly they see those things in other people. They’ll see those things in you. Because you are kind, and thoughtful, and generous with your time and your patience and your support, and you’re funny, and you’re sweet, and you make me so fucking happy to be a part of your life, and for you to be a part of mine.” WATCH ME WEEP

Yes the beginning, I’M SO HYPED AND EMOTIONAL RN. 

“You’re stuck with me. We’re in this for the long haul now.” Wouldn’t have it any other way.

LMFAO, lets go mahogany!

[octistic]

What is up with kina in splatoon?

Now I'm no kina expert on kina, so maybe real life kina are super varied. But if not, Isn't it weird how different the splatoon kina look? How come all the jellyfish look the same but KINA of all species look so diverse? Like it's confusing how different they are.

The most obvious thing is the spikes.

So we've got Murch, whose spikes seem to be directly attached to his head like hair.

But then we have Spyke, whose spikes are like a shell

And then we have Murasaki and Kitamura, who just look like kina with googly eyes

They are only seen as album art so this could just be a stylistic way of representing kina like Spyke

But then there's Oonie

And her hair is a shell??

And their EYES. Spyke could hypothetically have two, but it's implied he has one.

Murch DEFINITELY had one

All the kina in the band have two

AND the eye colours are different

Spyke has purple sclera and green eyes, while murch has the inverse

Murasaki and Kitamura have white eyes, although this could just be a stylistic choice

Most interesting are Oonie's eyes, which are pink with white sclera.

And then there's the height.

We know inklings and octolings don't grow freakishly taller than the player character when they grow up, so we can use the height of inklings as reference for kina on album art.

We know that young kina are short because of Murch, and we know that they grow to be much, much taller than inklings and octolings. This would imply that Oonie, Kitamura, and Murasaki are young because they are the same size or shorter than the inklings in their bands. I personally doubt they are meant to be that young, however with Paul being as young as he is it wouldn't be unheard of.

Another trait that kina have are hands. However, Oonie doesn't seem to have hands in the album art. This isn't a stylistic choice either, because you can see the inklings have hands. Oonie is also clearly older than Murch in splatoon 2 and even in splatoon 2 Murch clearly has hands, so it doesn't make sense that Oonie wouldn't. It's made even more clear in this piece of official art:

Oonie doesn't have hands, she has tendrils. And if you look at Kitamura, she also has tendrils! What look like tendrils!

Also, it's less likely that Kitamura and Murasaki are portrayed as kina with googly eyes as merely a stylistic choice because making a stylistic choice like that in a piece like this would be a stretch in my opinion. However it's not impossible.

These are the things that I've noticed about splatoon kina, feel free to add on to this or give possible explanations for the vast differences.

[wetcatspellcaster]

Do you have any advice on how to craft pretty descriptions? I find myself loving how pieces still stuck in your teeth is written and being obsessed with just how vivid your descriptions paint it

hi anon! thank you for the compliment, I really appreciate it! I don't consider description to be a particular strength of mine so I'm very flattered that people have found something to enjoy in my work, more than anything :D

I'll do my best to answer your question!

How I approach descriptions! - under the cut!

I tend to only go into extreme detail for essential things. Often, unless a setting is important, a few details (the colour, the vibes, the size) are all that are needed for then the reader's imagination to fill in the rest. This makes an allowance for you to go ham on what is important, and in turn also signals to the reader what should be important to them. If you say the room is white but then spend a paragraph describing the person in it, they know the person is what is important, not the room. Think of description as a way of signposting and determining focus.

Describing around something, or using description to avoid focusing on the action, can sometimes perform the inverse of this - why is the character focusing so intently on this meaningless detail, rather than the matter at hand? Are they, mayhaps, avoiding something in the room? This tip bought to you by Rosalie, the 2nd most unreliable narrator after Astarion.

You want a mixture of short sentences and complex sentences, so that the description doesn't interrupt the pacing of the wider scene. Sometimes, you just need to state something simple, e.g. 'the room was blue' and then that avoids a paragraph describing the room as blue that interrupts the action. Pieces is a weird fic for this bc there are whole chapters that are just exploration, so I had to be descriptive to generate pace, when often all it does is undercut it. But in scenes where shit is actually happening, I can just say "they were in an office" and that's basically all that's the description that is needed. What's more important is they're about to fuck in that office.

Be careful of too many overextended metaphors or similes. Everyone has their bandwidth and patience for purple prose. In my experience, less is more. I'm honestly sure my writing is purple prose, for some people, and this is me being restrained. So basically, save your metaphors for when they really matter. Use one per thing you're describing, at most (less, when also using the rule above).

Alternatively, you can make a simile into an understated metaphor without using many words. Instead of 'the ceiling looked like ribs', 'Rosalie walked down a corridor feeling like she was being swallowed into the belly of a dragon' I can just say 'the ribs of the ceiling' and 'they were led into the bowels of the mansion". Single words can create an image, without being florid or labouring the point.

Descriptions tend to circulate around the visual - a colour, a pattern, a facial expression, the beauty of a space, the visible contents of a room, etc. (we all love knowing what pretty clothes our blorbo is wearing). but descriptions that focus on sensation are also my go-to. Yeah, use all the five senses for variety, etc., but stating how the space/person/item makes the person feel tailors the experience of the setting to that character, specifically, and makes the reader more immersed in their perspective.

Use things you yourself have experienced. This tip bought to you by: Rosalie getting knocked unconscious by Wish, after her author had just been under general anaesthetic for the first time! Rosalie getting panic attacks, after her author experienced somatic symptoms of anxiety! Rosalie going to live by the sea, after her author went on holiday to the Scottish Coast! I am one of those neurodivergent people who catalogues a feeling as I'm feeling it - you don't have to be like that. But if you use stuff you or someone close to you has personal experience of, it feels realer - what do you experience, when you feel fear? What's a landscape or setting you remember vividly? etc.

If it lies outside your experience or expertise... read. Read extensively, and in the genres you like or want to emulate. I read a lot, I highlight and annotate books I read, underlining descriptions I enjoyed, ESPECIALLY on kindle so I can find them later. It will teach you fun and unusual descriptions... it will also teach you the established shorthands. If you've never had a panic attack, how are panic attacks signalled in fiction? Using a trope is so totally valid, and often helpful for getting the reader on the same page as you. It's ok if you're using a cliché, if the cliché serves you.

Finally... be a little silly with it! Take risks! Use weird descriptors. Use odd metaphors. Use your description to make jokes, so it's not just a boring stage direction! Description can feel dull sometimes, bc people don't use it to do anything except set the scene. If your description is doing other things - being funny, telling the reader something about the pov character's voice or how their mind works, creating an odd image that sticks in the person's brain - this makes it more enjoyable to read. In these cases, not only is it just providing cues for the reader to understand where the character is or what they're doing, it contributes to the overall experience of the story!

Hope any of that helps lmao. x

[phlurrii]

I JUST REALISED NOE HAS LIKE INVERTED COLOUR PATTERNS TO MEAU

The middle of their tail is dark while the tips are light whereas Meaus middle of the tail is lighter!!

Him toes are lighter while hers are darker and his paws are dark while hers are light!!! He's like the inverse of her in that sense opposite!! Oh that's so clever! Sorry I'm staring at his reference and finally noticed XD

Oh my gosh no worries, that made me laugh X3 Given what you previously, and correctly, guessed, I’d imagine that’s making a whole lot more sense! And to the rest of you lovelies, I answered their guess in private so no need to blog search!! It’s hush hush for now ;3

But as a goofy bonus, a certain someone helped convince me to get a few plushies. One of them being this absolute GOOF of a custom plush of Noe! He’s so dumpy and I am cannot express how much I adore it XD he’s also massive at 30” inches tall. The Meau one I’m making is 24” so big boy out did her!

I got him from Budsies so the colours couldn’t be exact and gradients on plushies are very hard, so we decide to make his tail solid! As well as I decided to add his eye markings personally, since I wanted it to be very specific! He’s super goofy and was worth every penny. I’ll probably get another one in the far off future to be 100% accurate, but that’ll cost a l o t of money so no time soon X3

[sho-minamimoto]

neo neku's ntwewy design is so whatever for me the gatto nero jacket idea is cute and all but idk he looks so sauceless to me. It felt like the only Distinguishing design element they brought back was the colour scheme and nothing else. the other outfits he had in the concept art book looked so so much better and more like him im so upset they didnt use any of these

more rambling abt nekus outfit under the cut i didnt meant to type this much

ok after looking at these side by side i think i pinpointed why i dislike neo neku's design so much and like his concepts a lot better

his neo design is so utterly uninteresting to me and devoid of any personality and uniqueness he had in his previous design and a lot of it has to do with the plaid jacket. Both in that it looks ugly and feels incongruous to his character but also in that it feels like a band aid fix to add some visual interest to his design bc literally everything else is so boring.

like, take away the jacket, and hes just wearing Solid Colour purple shirt with Solid Colour black pants. beyond the story/sentimental element the jacket itself as a pure design choice doesn't really say anything about him as a character it feels so generic and plain.

in his og design theres a cohesive element with the way stripes are used in his weird collar shirt and the pockets of his shorts, and you can definitely pick out that he has an attitude + is individualistic with his sense of style. i get that they wanted to update his design in neo to both incorporate a Better fashion sense (bc of shiki's influence) and show his maturity while keeping the same visual elements of his old design, but i feel like the concept designs do that job much better, AND they look way cooler.

they look more subdued than his og design and stand out less (what with them being mostly black + white and having purple and yellow as accent colours) but still maintain the stripes motif and have more visual interest than his official neo design. i like how he layers his shorts over some leggings in the first concept to the far left, and the way the pants arent completely solid black + have very slight tone variation is neat too.

but the standout is ofc the jacket, the first one on the left isnt half bad and i like how they have some layering going on there too but the ones used in the other two is really slick-looking to me. i love how this would've been an inverse of neku's og design in that he has a white top (jacket) with black pants when it was the other way around in his younger design. maybe they tried to achieve the same effect with the design they went with but bc of the plaid + how grey it is it doesn't come across as strong imo.

also the concept art looks like og neku's shoes but way less goofy and neo neku's shoes are just kind of dull in comparison.