#the female and male sprite are so similar i just assumed them to be the exact same | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fantroll-purgatory · 4 years

Photo

@theshieldswordandcrown

I’d like it if you guys could look over my tea man for me! (Art by my friend lythaeriahomestucks. I haven’t made him a sprite yet.

Oofadoofa it’s been a while. Hi I hope your roleplay group is fun!

World: Alternia, but the draft is a lot further off than in canon, because none of my group is interested in roleplaying interstellar space battles or politics, especially considering the amount of setup that would have to go into making deep space believable. Though I think Friendsim’s stated they’re dragged off planet at 9 sweeps, so he’d still have a little time before getting dragged underground anyway.

Name: Oolong Matcha. Yes, they’re both types of tea. It started off as a quick joke, but I’ve grown to love it. Not only is matcha green, like his blood, but he’s a gardener, and really enjoys tea.

Mmmmm I mean joke trolls are famously canon in Homestuck. See: SWIFER EGGMOP or the salt and pepper shaker troll BUTTT mmmm. I feel like naming a character based at least partially on Japanese monks Oolong would deserve some side-eye. But I like the matcha bit! So let’s see…I like him being a gardener since monastic gardens were very much A Thing, and one of the famous still-extant ones is at Rievaulx abbey, so maybe we give him RIVULX, which sounds sufficiently trollish and is obvious enough for someone to get the reference.

Age: 9.69 Sweeps, or 21 Earth years.

Theme/Story: He’s partially themed after monks, specifically Irish and Japanese, which was originally an excuse for his bald head, but ended up influencing his clothing, calm demeanor, and lusus. I was also, oddly, thinking of 4chan – not maniacs like /pol/, but just average people who don’t get out enough, like to chatter about anime or cooking, and generally act like a bit of a dipshit. Fatherhood is definitely a theme with him as well – he’s already a father figure to two other trolls.

Hmmm. I like the broad concept, but I think we can tighten up a little on the “monk” theme by expanding it. Review Goals: General overview, classpecting advice, filling in missing details like fetch modus or lunar sway, etc.

Strife Specibus: He greatly prefers to snipe threats before they reach him, but if he’s forced into melee, he’ll grab a pipe and go berserker nuts. He takes satisfaction in neutralizing threats, especially if he’s protecting someone or something. He’s not averse to talking things out, but dislikes putting others on the line.

Hmm. None of that is a strife specibus, though I suppose you’re going for riflekind and pipekind. Generally void players use fistkind since it’s the absence of a weapon, but if you want to give him another option besides hand-to-hand melee may I suggest poisonkind? He could use something from his garden, like monkshood :3c. Or if you want to give him a melee weapon he could use the sansetsukon per the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which would double as a symbol reminder since he could arrange the segments in a backwards s. Fetch Modus: ;;3;; I have absolutely no idea.

What about a clue modus where the items are obscured but contain details describing them? With the caveat that some of them will have similar color/taste/textures listed. I think this might be fun because there are actually *two* famous detectives with the last name Monk, Adrian Monk and William Monk.

Blood Color: Jade.

That works great, especially with Friendsim’s reveal that many jades are indeed monastic/cloistered.

Lunar Sway: Not sure.

Given that he’s a monk and you have painted him as someone unlikely to cause conflict or rebel against the system, I think he’d be a Prospit dreamer.

Title: Knight of Void, someone who exploits what little secrecy and irrelevance he has for all it’s worth. He was first conceived as a Bard, to fit into a fansession, but I eventually decided it didn’t fit what the character had developed to be.

Symbol and Meaning: I made it up, and it doesn’t have a name. It’s an infinity symbol, broken in the center - like this, but flipped 90 degrees clockwise. I guess it could tie into his aspect by…destroying infinity, I guess, but I really haven’t put that much thought into it.

If we’re going by the EZ, he would be Virittanius, the Deliberate. Which I think fits him quite well! It also looks like a further corruption of the sign you gave him, so I may toy with that a little in the redesign. Handle: I feel like I might have given him a serious handle at one point, but if I did, I forgot it, so for now, it’s oolongMatcha. Just his name. Considering his classpect and desire for secrecy, this makes about as much sense as a rain barrel made out of crackers, but I’m not sure what to give him.

Since his new initials are RM, maybe revenantMyiopsitta. Revenant, of course, to hint at the fact that he’s part of the blood caste most commonly associated with rebirth after death, and Myiopsitta being the genus for two types of parakeet: the cliff parakeet and the monk parakeet. So we have his true identity as well as the unusual nature of his hive, both concealed in plain sight. Quirk: he types in all lower case and likes putting his horns in his emoticons! ’:) Maybe doing it like (:; would make more sense, as it’s his right (our left) horn that’s busted.

I like it! Depending on his redesign you may also want him to uƨe backwardƨ ƨ’ƨ to mimic hiƨ ƨymbol.

Special Abilities: Supreme Dadliness. Jokes aside, he’s a crack shot, even with his impeded vision, and has been successfully flying under the radar his whole life.

If you still want him to be a crack shot even with the changes I suggested above, maybe he uses blowdarts to poison his enemies from afar?

Lusus: His father is a MASSIVE white snake; I was thinking some kind of constrictor. Personality-wise, he’s close to a prototypical 50s dad. He’s a safe haven for his son and those his baby cares about, and is exceedingly patient, to the point of letting a small child fingerpaint on him. He’s also willing to carry Oolong in emergencies, though I’m not really certain that would work in real life, movement-wise.

I feel like the snake can be a little overplayed as a lusus. If we want to give him something similar to a mother grub as a jadeblood, why not a massive butterfly based on the monk/dusky friar? It also gives you the mechanics for how his dadderfly would carry him around in emergencies.

Interests: He used to spend a lot of time alone on the internet - I originally conceptualized him as a very lonely NEET, to the point he had to find his wallet to remember his own name - but has become more adventurous and friendly, spending more time with his girlfriend and friends (and he has friends now!) He’s very proud of his garden and fruit trees, some of which are rare, difficult to grow properly, and/or dangerous (offering more security).

Huh! You don’t explain *how* he goes from isolated to friendly, but I’d hope that gardening is a way for him to reach out to others since it’s a hobby you can commit to on your own but bond with other hobbyists.

Hive: He lives out in the woods by himself, though not so far from other trolls that he can’t take the day to go shopping or see his mate. His hive is surrounded by his garden on all sides, and has a very visible path down the center (making it easy for him to see anyone approaching, and shoot if they’re a threat). Trees surround it, and dangerous plants are strategically placed to make going through his garden unpleasant at best (it also makes weeding a pain, but he thinks it’s worth it). His hive is especially unusual in that the porch is raised up to the second floor with large poles, and you have to use a ladder to get up to it (unless you’re snakedad, in which case you go up the poles). He has a remote so he can let it down from the ground, as well as access to it on the platform, so he can let people up himself. I don’t think the ground level has a door. I’d be happy to submit pictures, if you want.

Feel free to show us pictures, but I like the concept a lot!

Appearance: Tall and rail-thin, excepting his oddly curvy hips. (I figured due to jades being majority female, developing jade males might be exposed to more than the usual amount of estrogen and androgens. Also I’m way more used to drawing women than men and his initial outline was a gal for like ten minutes.) He shaves his head bald. (This is because A) I didn’t want to bother trying to figure out men’s hair - I almost never draw dudes - and B) he’s partially themed after monks, who often shave their heads. I don’t remember why he says he does it.)

…man, I’m gonna take issue with the way you phrased this description. There’s a lot of gender essentialism going on in your explanation there, and given that a number of us mods are trans and nonbinary I feel obligated to point out a few things:

1) Trolls are bugs. They’re not even mammals. They aren’t exposed to androgen or estrogen or any hormone to give them a certain body shape. It is quite heavily implied that when the mother grub gives birth it is to a bunch of larvae.

2) I know that Homestuck lore has given us largely jade girls and one jade trans guy but that’s no reason to assume that jade men are broadly more “feminine” by default in *any* dimension

3) Even if trolls *did* work like humans, it rubs me the wrong way to see someone talking about a man’s “oddly” curvy hips like I’ve got guy friends both trans and cis with wide hips and the only reason to remark on it at all is because We Live In A Society that forcibly genders people in relation to physical characteristics.

…So I am otherwise taking your description at face value. ______ Matcha is tall, rail thin, with curvy hips and a bald head. I will probably add some little fangs, per the Alternian fashion guide.

He wears leggings (unless it’s very hot) and long tunics or robes, usually tan, with his symbol emblazoned on the breast. He goes barefoot if he can. His right (our left) horn is broken, due to an accident in his youth (I think he fell onto something?), amusingly improving his vision, since his unbroken left horn points in front of his left eye, obscuring it somewhat. His face could almost be described as delicate, and his default expression is calm.

I don’t knooooow that tan is a color trolls wear all that often in Alternia, so I will see how I can rework that in the redesign. I get him being barefoot, but I may give it a shot spriting him monk shoes for if he wants to go on an outing. :3c For his broken horn…hm. When we see trolls with physical damage, it is almost always something more significant than just “childhood accident” (see: every troll in Homestuck except Equius who somehow had like 3 simultaneous accidents?). I have an idea for his horns that I will get to in the redesign, and I will probably add a hook to his front horn, both because it’s a jadeblood trait and because it seems suitably horrifying to constantly have a sharp implement millimeters from your eye.

Personality: Oolong is a nice, fatherly young man, well regarded by most he meets. He really really likes tea. He has a beautiful, dangerous mafiosa matesprite in a rustblood named Andora Ingenu, and they adore each other. He’s also taken on the substitute dad role for an adorable young fuschia who lives in the swamp near his forest, Lillie Waters, teaching her how to cook (and keep her tools clean) and rescuing her from other fuschias. He’s very protective of his and his loved ones’ privacy and safety, and spends a LOT of his time in the massive gardens around his hive, of which he’s deservedly proud. He is very good at being sneaky, and sometimes takes the time to run around seeing what he can get away with, especially in the realm of snatching seeds up for his garden. He sells whatever plants he can grow for money, especially fruits and vegetables, but he doesn’t really enjoy sales. He doesn’t put a lot of stock in blood superiority, but doesn’t make a big deal out of it. He’s oddly well adjusted for someone who spent most of his life alone.

I like this description! Also looking at his close compatriots, it looks like I can swap the tan in his design for rust or fuchsia. We already see jadebloods wearing a fair amount in the red/burgundy/purple spectrum, so it should fit right in with the others.

Land: I don’t remember if I’ve come up with one. If I did, I feel like it may have heavily wooded areas, dark and tangled and difficult to navigate.

Hmmm. What about Land of Rough and Reflection (LORAR)? Covered in rough terrain, with pools to contemplate oneself. Unbeknownst to your troll, there are switches at the bottom of each lake (deeper than he could ever hope to dive and hold his breath) that must be flipped to drain the lakes and free the consorts from the underwater caves in which they’ve been trapped for generations. His land would initially seem completely empty and without guidance, and it neatly parallels his own situation before he began to socialize.

I hope you like him! :) I’d love to see what you guys think of him.

He’s certainly an interesting troll, and I hope I’ve helped by way of sharpening up on his theme! Let’s move on to the redesign.

Top to bottom as usual!

Hair - I gave him some stubble courtesy of fan-troll (I have never managed a post without plugging fan-troll/tajazzled’s sprite sheet and I’m not gonna stop now)

Horns - I wanted to make his other horn sort of…curve away from his head so it looks like his symbol from above?

Eyes and brows - they didn’t change but big ups to fan-troll for giving me bases to modify!

Mouth - this is a modification of Sollux’s mouth but I gave him lil fangs and a little lower lip definition

Robes - I just modified some of Kanaya’s robes, appropriately enough! I decided to go for a red/pink shade that was between rust and fuchsia so he could fit in while subtly broadcasting his allegiance

Shoes - they’re John’s but with buckles! :B monk shoes

Aaaand that’s about it for my critique! I hope this helped!

-TR

#jadeblood #submission #oolong matcha #oolong #matcha #theshieldswordandcrown #rivulx #rivulx matcha #review #redesign #tr review

4 notes · View notes

elven-ariaera · 5 years

Text

Welcome all!

If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’re familiar with my work as either an artist, cosplayer, writer or any of the other creative things I do. Recently, I had been asked about some of the work that I do, and I thought a fun way to just that was to fill out a few questionnaires. Here I talk about some of the high and low points of doing what I do, what inspires me, and my process of creativity.

For those who are only interested in certain segments, I’ve broken the article into the following sections for you to easily maneuver your way throughout the piece: Art, cosplay, writing, and questions asked by you.

I know I’m no professional and compared to a lot of others I don’t have as outstanding an amount of followers, but if this article can help inspire at least one artist to try something new or learn something they didn’t know, well, that’s good enough for me! I hope you enjoy!

Art

When did you get into art?

I’ve been drawing as long as I can remember, but I do recall middle school in particular being the time that I really started pursuing art. I had to choose between volleyball and art club after school, and guess which one I picked. It wasn’t just academics either. My notebooks were full of fan art of mostly Link and Zelda, but you could find some Kirby, Pokémon, and Naruto scattered in there as well.

Show us your oldest piece of art you have on hand.

Yeah. It’s… Something.

What defines your artistic style?

I think the faces of the characters I draw distinguish my art. I always have a certain way of drawing the eyes, ears, and other features. I always give my females more prominent eyelashes than males as well. Certain clothing as well — The way I draw capes and hoods are distinct. Not to mention when designing my own clothes, I tend to use similar patterns.

Do you practice other styles/have you tried other styles in the past?

I occasionally dabble outside my comfort zone. I’m not necessarily a huge fan of the “Cal-Arts” style, but I’ve tried it every now and then, especially when creating fan art for shows like Steven Universe, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Amphibia. I don’t really do it too often, but I’ve made a piece for my portfolio mimicking several art styles from a variety of different shows just to demonstrate that I can do it if I’d like to.

What levels of artistic education have you had?

Honestly, just high school. I thought I was going to college for digital illustrations but it turned out communication/graphic design was totally different. I actually got into that because I could draw when not many other people in that field could. Of course, I’m always interested in learning outside of school. I learn through watching other artists on social media, seeing how they create their work. Just watching a speed draw can help so much! The way I learn the most, however, is just by doing. Practice, practice, practice!

Show us at least one picture you drew or sketched recently that you did not put on a public site.

I’ve been doing a lot of Fire Emblem doodles for my new sticker line, so here’s Setsuna. Honestly, I just like drawing bust portraits like this.

What is your favorite piece that you have done?

I can’t just pick one! I’ve drawn over 900 things since I first joined DeviantArt (and I’ve been drawing even before then), you want me to pick just one? Haha, I’ll narrow it down to three of my favorites (in no particular order):

I love this one because it was like the first cute drawing of Ivysaur I’ve ever done. Ivysaur was always a tricky pokémon for me to draw, but this was the first time I feel like I nailed it. Ivysaur also happens to be one of my absolute favorites, so that’s a plus.

This is Minerva, a Guardian from my fantasy stories. Every time I drew her prior, I could never quite get the look I wanted. This was the one that I really liked and so I colored it and am very happy with how it turned out.

I don’t know why I just love this drawing I did of Dimitri from Three Houses. I think its the eyes and hair. And the color contrast — especially in the original ink sketch (that I hung up over my craft table.) I just love it.

What is your least favorite piece that you have done?

Again, you want just one? Haha, too many failures. I’ll be fair, though, and post three of those as well.

Here’s one from my early days. I was trying so hard to get the hair all detailed like and instead it came out looking like gross looking veins. Not to mention how atrocious the proportions were. Oh man, I’m sorry past me, I know you tried.

Here’s one I was so proud of: I copied the official art for Twilight Princess and thought it came out amazing. So amazing I titled the piece “Awesomeful Link.” Yeah. Um. Nope.

Here’s a more recent one that I’m not too pleased with. I was so excited about the latest batch of Steven Universe episodes (which I would later learn were a big bunch of filler episodes and that didn’t make anything better) I drew Pearl reciting her ‘big line’ of the trailer. I tried to mix styles and I tried something different with the eyes and all in all it just came out… Meh.

What do you like most about your art?

I like the faces that I draw. They’re always the most fun and I think they come out the best. I especially love the eyes, I go into so much detail on them (even though they’re usually so small when I print them.) I’ve had issues in the past where I made all of my characters look like they had the same face, but I feel I’ve been doing a lot better at individualizing the face of each character and that makes it all the more fun as well.

What do you like least about your art?

The hands. Sometimes I draw them well, but I still struggle hard and sometimes it really shows. For chibi drawings, I don’t really care as much, but on my more “serious” art, I get a little bummed when I’ve got a wonky hand hanging off their wrists. Feet also sometimes give me a bit of trouble, but usually only when I do poses that involve more movement, which is why I sometimes make my art stiffer and I don’t like doing that either.

Have you ever considered taking commissions?

I do take commissions. In fact, I’d love to take more if it were possible.

Are you looking to pursue a career in art?

I do it part-time right now. I’m satisfied doing commissions and artist tables at local conventions. I think I’d like to pursue writing more than art, but I do love art just as well, so part-time is perfect for me.

What do you like drawing the most?

As I mentioned before, faces. I love drawing facial expressions, I feel like it’s the very core of a character. It’s the first thing I notice when I look at anyone’s art, so I always go all out on my own. I also like drawing hair and wrinkles in clothing. I used to be really obsessed with wrinkles and it would always look like my characters didn’t iron their laundry, but I’ve definitely toned it down since then, haha.

All in all, I like drawing human characters the best — or humanoid. Elves, fairies, merfolk; I love them the most. I like drawing animals too, but not as much as people.

What do you like drawing the least?

Once again my answer is hands. They are still as difficult to draw as the day I started.

Backgrounds are also not enjoyable for me to draw. It’s an important part of a piece, but I get so bored drawing anything that’s not a character — which is why you’ll probably notice in a lot of my art that I do a lot of very minimal backgrounds. I’ve been trying very hard not to just take stock photos anymore (with the exception of my Mythical Month art as they’re meant to be stickers,) and I’ve been using games like Skyrim and Breath of the Wild as inspiration with their gorgeous scenery.

Do you draw more fanart or original art? If fanart, what fandom do you draw the most of?

I post a lot more fan art than original — at least I used to, but I also think I have expanded in sharing my original art more and more with my Mythical Months/Mondays. I guess maybe I’d say about half and half.

What medium/program do you use the most in your art?

Digitally I always use Photoshop. Always. As for traditional art, I’ve been using Copic knock-offs (I’m still learning, so I’d rather not waste the money) and the Sakura Micron pens for my ink sketches. I’ve really been enjoying them, actually, it’s very therapeutic. However, no matter digitally or traditionally, I always, ALWAYS start with a pencil. I like mechanical pencils, I don’t like traditional #2 pencils anymore. The thin lead helps me keep control better.

How would you rank your art? (poor, mediocre, good, etc.)

I always say I think my art is “above average.” I know it’s not bad, but I think it could always use improvement. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to a place where I think my art is phenomenal, but I’m content with it, it makes me happy, and that’s all that matters.

List at least one of your “artspirations.”

My art style was greatly inspired by Naruto, Fire Emblem, and Zelda. I always liked more proper body proportions with that hint of anime inspiration. I like bigger eyes on my characters because they help convey emotion so much better, but I also don’t like the oversized baby eyes outside of the occasional chibi style. Avatar: The Last Airbender was also a great influence since the creators did exactly what I like to do and execute it wonderfully.

What do you think you could stand to improve on?

I feel like I can always improve on everything that I do in my art. There are things I’m good at, but I don’t feel like I’ve mastered anything in particular. Then there’s hands and feet again which I definitely need to work on. Lastly, motion. I want to be able to draw more fluid character motions. I’ve been working on it with my original art that I don’t post online, but hopefully I’ll start incorporating it into all my work.

Do you have a shameful art past? (recolor sprite comics, tracing art, etc.?)

Ugh, yes, YES! I admit I was so bad at first, but I also think that’s just how we learn. I used to do a lot of tracing. I started first just full-on tracing images off my computer — That’s right, I’d put the paper up to the computer and trace it like that. Then I started using bases, which was better because at least I had to draw all the details like hair and clothing by myself. Then I finally worked up the courage to stop using them completely. I’d use references, but I would force myself to figure it out by eye rather than copy it straight from the source. I’m happy to say I haven’t been tracing since my late middle school- early high school years.

Cosplay

How many years have you cosplayed?

My first cosplay was when I was fourteen, and I’m twenty-five at the time of writing this article, so eleven years now. Wow.

How did you get into cosplaying?

I honestly don’t know. I was invited to a convention where I heard people dressed up and was like “hey, I want to try that!” I guess it was because I didn’t really do Halloween as a kid and I was so deathly terrified of costumed characters as a toddler that I never took an interest until high school.

How many cosplays have you done?

That’s funny, you want me to remember how many cosplays I’ve ever done. A lot. According to my photo collection, I’ve done about 60 different cosplays (59 exactly if I’m counting correctly.)

What was your first cosplay and why did you choose it?

My first cosplay was Osaka from Azumanga Daioh in her blue summer uniform. Azumanga Daioh was my second ever manga series and my cousin and I were so obsessed with it. She even went as Yukari with me to the convention (though only, like, two people knew who we were.) Tomo is probably my favorite character, but I related personally more to Osaka, being the air-head that I am. I also didn’t have to really style my hair (because that was an era before I used wigs.)

What is your favorite cosplay you’ve done so far?

It’s a tie between my Trainee Link (Hyrule Warriors) costume and my Royal Guard Link (Zelda: Breath of the Wild) costume. Both are alternative costumes for one of my all-time favorite characters that I hand made all the really detailed pieces all from scratch. Link has always been a special character for me to cosplay, but these two are my favorites.

What is your least favorite you’ve cosplayed?

Rapunzel (Tangled). I was obsessed with her at the time which is why I wanted to cosplay her originally, but my dress was not the best and I didn’t look good as her. At least I think so. It was the only costume that made me feel insecure.

What cosplay is the most uncomfortable or troublesome?

Okay, I love this costume and character to pieces, but my gosh the struggles I go through for Pearl (Steven Universe). Blue Diamond (Steven Universe) is the worst in terms of how long it takes me to put my makeup on, but Pearl is right behind her at about 2 hours being my best time. However, the thing that makes Pearl more troublesome to wear is one thing and one thing alone: armsocks.

They look great and prevent you from having to dab makeup all over your body, but I literally couldn’t even hit the home button on my cellphone and it’s not like I could just take them off like gloves. They’re attached at your middle and putting them on is a hassle on its own. Getting your fingers into each tiny socket is so time-consuming. Now imagine this while also being coated in body paint. Plus, having white be the color of the stockings, you have to be conscious of everything you touch because it will stain and show. Because of all this, I refuse to use the restroom dressed as Pearl, and while that is “in character,” it is not healthy and totally NOT recommended you do that.

What is your most comfortable cosplay?

During the winter, Ravio (Zelda: A Link Between Worlds) for sure. It’s like wearing a giant snuggie. However, in summer, it does get hot very quickly (which is why I literally only wear biker shorts and a tank underneath if I ever do take it out on a hot day), so I only wear it in summer if I know there will be AC. Heatstroke is a real thing. Miss Frizzle (Magic School Bus) is probably the best all-year cosplay in terms of comfort. It’s just a dress, stockings, and a wig really.

But in all honesty, most of my cosplays are relatively comfortable. There’s really nothing that I’ve been so uncomfortable that it’s made my physically ill or scarred me physically. My health is important to me, and should safety should always come first.

How do you research the cosplay before you make it?

I look up lots of reference images. I need an image of the front and back, though if it’s not available, I just improvise based on the images I do have on hand. After that, I kind of just wing it.

Do you sew your cosplays yourself?

A good majority of them, yes. There are a few exceptions to this, though: My Disney princesses are all bought since I use them in performances and want them to be durable if children come and tug on the outfit. Pearl, also being a performance cosplay, I did buy as well. For her second reformation outfit (the sleeveless with the ribbon) I got specially commissioned to look and fit me just right whereas her movie/future appearance (jacket and mom-jeans) I literally found at a thrift store. I also love to find costume pieces at thrift stores. Whether I use them as is or make alterations, they make life so much easier when you make a good find for a cheap price. Leni Loud (Loud House) is probably my favorite thrift/sew hybrid. I found a base dress, altered the top and added strap sleeves, put lace around the edges, found a blingy pair of sunglasses, bought earrings and painted them, and made bows for sandals I already had. The most expensive part of that cosplay was the wig I bought from Arda (and it’s always worth it to buy from them in my opinion.)

When I make a costume completely from scratch (like Ravio, Thranduil, any of my Link cosplays) are when I really love the costume and character and want to take on a challenge and bring it to life myself. They also tend to have pieces that can’t be altered from your everyday clothing, but that just makes me work harder and learn more!

How did you learn to sew?

My grandmother taught me how. Osaka was my first cosplay, but my mom altered it from a tee shirt we found at a thrift store and a lucky skirt find. Kabuto Yakushi (Naruto) was the first cosplay I made from scratch (and I won best novice at the convention I wore it to — even with my terrible wig, haha.) She showed me how to use patterns when we made that and my Ayame Sohma cosplay, but after that, I scrapped using patterns and I basically just eyeball everything now. It’s totally not recommended, but I’m a little weirdo and just prefer to do things the way I do. Still, I wouldn’t be able to use a sewing machine if it weren’t for her. Thanks, Nanny!

Do you make your own props?

Most of them. I don’t really use props too often as I find them cumbersome to lug around a convention (which is how I thought of the Fire Emblem, Gravity Falls, and Skyrim book boxes to store your stuff and add some extra flair to a costume.) The few props I have made include Link’s sword, his trainee shield, his original shield from Zelda 1, and Soren’s Wind Tome (which I used for Laurent (Fire Emblem: Awakening) because I didn’t finish Soren (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance) yet…) Then there’s my prized cosplay prop; Victreebel for James (Pokémon). That was all thanks to my fleece hat business in high school that taught me the skills to build that thing.

I actually think the only prop I store-bought was my Hylian Shield because it was so lightweight and easy to carry, plus I was dreading doing all those details at the time. Maybe one day I’ll make it from scratch, but for now, I’m content with my store-bought.

Do you style your own wigs?

Yes. I have been improving my styling skills a lot more since I first started. It was always a more difficult task for me, but I’ve been practicing more and more. The first one that I attempted on my own was my short-haired Rapunzel. That was basically just giving it a haircut, though. My first real styling challenge was Breath of the Wild Link. It took a long time, but I actually had fun figuring out his hair.

For most of my costumes, it’s really just the bangs that need that extra pop, to which I use Got2B gel and spray. Does the trick every time and keeps everything in place. For those who are wondering, though: No, I did not style Pearl’s wig. I am not ready for that kind of gravity-defying styling. That was all E-Bay.

What skill has been most useful for making your cosplay?

Well, sewing mostly, but other skills that have come in handy for me personally have been painting, crafting, makeup, styling, and overall decorating. Probably other stuff too, just nothing more I can think of off the top of my head.

What is the hardest thing when making a cosplay?

Probably figuring out how things connect. This is the main reason I’m timid when it comes to armor. I’ve been getting better, but I’m still having trouble figuring out how everything attaches and how to put on these kinds of costumes, which is why my Skyrim Elven Armor has been put on hold.

What was the biggest screw up you’ve had making a cosplay?

I’m not sure if I had any major crisis’ when it comes to making cosplays, but I’ve certainly had my fair share of irritating mishaps and mistakes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve accidentally sewn the sleeves on a costume inside out about 4 times before I finally got it right.

I’ve cut holes in my clothing, I’ve sewn sleeves on too tight, and I’ve even completed a hat that took hours just for it to wind up being too small when I put a wig on. I guess most of the major issues I’ve had with sewing are measurement issues, so my advice to you is to always measure and try on your costume as you go. Don’t wait until the day of the con to try out your new cosplay.

How often do you injure yourself while making a cosplay?

Not too often, I occasionally prick my finger with my sewing needles, but I haven’t had too many serious injuries. I think the worst was when I slashed my thumb with the exacto-knife when making my first shield for Link. Needless to say, there was a lot of blood.

Do you try to stay cheap or do you splurge on materials?

I am a frugal soul; if I can save, I will. That’s why I thrift so much. However, on a costume I’m really passionate about, I will spend more to ensure the quality. For example, I spent a little more going to a more shimmery material for Royal Guard Link. It cost about $50 for the blue and red material, which to me, is a lot (and that was with coupons). However, the results were 100% worth it. PS, Michaels and Joann’s ALWAYS have coupons. I totally recommend downloading both apps.

I also stand by that with wigs and contacts. I love Arda, their quality is great, but they are more expensive than Amazon. Contacts I don’t mind spending more for as well since the quality is VERY important in this case; they are going on your eyes, after all.

However, as I said, I am absolutely not opposed to going cheap. If you can make it work, make it work. My Nyo!Austria (Hetalia) cosplay came out very cute and it was literally made from bedsheets. From using mostly thrifted and recycled materials, a lot of my cosplays came to around an overall price of around $30. Some of these costumes include Mega Gardevoir (Pokemon), Tomoyo Sakagami (Clannad), Spyro (Spyro the Dragon), and Luan Loud (Loud House.)

Cosplay can be totally affordable, you just have to be creative and think a little outside the box sometimes to make it work.

Have you ever cosplayed with a partner or group?

Yes, a few times. I’d love to do more group cosplays, but we all have to think of something we all like. Luckily, two of my very good friends decided they would dress up as Steven Universe and Amethyst to go with my Pearl this year for Comic-Con and it was such a great experience! I’m trying to convince them to do others as well, such as The Loud House and The Magic School Bus with me as well, haha.

Do you try to act in character?

Always: but I don’t always succeed. It really depends on the character. Pearl I could roleplay for days. It’s probably because I connect so much with her and performing as her doesn’t hurt either. Dee Dee Magno Hall says her favorite lines to say are peoples names, and after giving it a shot myself, I totally see why. I even practiced Garnets “Stronger than you” monologue in Pearl’s voice and tone (in case no one volunteered to sing during our karaoke event) and it always makes my friends laugh.

The characters that stump me a little more are the more serious characters I choose to portray; Link, Laurent, Thranduil (the Hobbit), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), just to name a few. I’m kind of a goofball/airhead so those characters clash with my personality a little bit, but I am getting better. Blue Diamond is surprisingly the easiest of these types to stay in character for.

That being said, I love being the outgoing, oddball characters. Like I said, Pearl is second nature to me, as well as Anna from Frozen. Back in my Hetalia days, Austria and America were my go-to guys. I could act as them forever, and my friends and I literally lived as them for a while with how much we role-played. Most of the Disney Princesses it’s pretty easy for me to stay in character, especially (like I said before) Anna, Sofia the First, and Merida.

How do you react to cosplayers dressed as a character from the same anime/game/etc?

If there are some good character opportunities, I will role-play on the spot, but more often than not I will ask if we could all get a picture together. There were so many fun interactions with other Steven Universe cosplayers when my friends and I did our little group, but one of my favorite interactions was probably when I was dressed as Laurent and I stumbled across a Miriel cosplayer and I just shouted out “MOM! I FINALLY FOUND YOU!”

Do you try to duplicate your character’s expressions, walk, movements, etc?

I can talk the talk (mostly), but I have more trouble walking the walk. I’ve been trying to replicate movements better, but facial expressions I have trouble with (ironic as it’s my favorite part of drawing.) I’m not as photogenic as I’d like to be, as you could probably tell by most of my pictures being the same face, but I definitely am striving to improve on that.

What was your funniest experience of acting in character?

Okay, there’s a lot that I could share, and eventually, I want to do an article solely on cosplay “in-character” experiences, but the one I HAVE to share right now is a recent experience when I was dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

I was performing at the family day event my church helps out at my pastor’s air force base as Ariel, and after my sing-a-long, my makeup was a little smudged. I asked a volunteer where the restroom was so I could touch up before I headed back out to the crowds. I thought he’d take me to a private restroom, but he brought me to the public one where there were families waiting outside. They noticed and the dad joked “See? Even princesses have to go.” to which I laughed and gave my best Ariel shrug to play along. I went inside, fixed my makeup, and went back outside.

It wasn’t long, so the family was still outside the men’s room. As I walked by, the man’s son shouted out “Ariel, congratulations on going pee-pee!” to which I bursted out laughing. Everyone was. I mean, if you gotta congratulate a princess on using the bathroom, you picked the right one! After that, I did explain that I was just putting on makeup but I appreciated his enthusiasm and thanked him for it.

Do you compete in cosplay contests?

All the time. I love them. Whether I win or lose, I always get something out of it. I learn tips from other cosplayers, get to meet so many interesting people, and those times I do win I get prizes which is always nice as well. Most importantly, though, the memories that are made there are the very best part.

Have you won anything?

I have won quite a few. I have three trophies, a medal, a few certificates, and have won a cash prize as well. My first win was my second convention as Kabuto where I won the best novice trophy. My most recent win was for Ravio in August of 2019 with best in show. It’s amazing, I never thought I would get this far, but I’m so grateful for everything I’ve been a part of.

Again, it’s totally not about winning, but I’ll admit that it does feel really nice to have my hard work appreciated. Just as drawing, I still feel like I have a lot of room for improvement in my cosplay, so winning a few contests here and there definitely helps my low self-esteem.

Do you prefer skits or walk-ons?

I’ve only ever done walk-ons. I’ve never had anyone to do a skit with and I don’t think I could pull one off on my own. I’d love to do one eventually, but for now, our panels are good enough.

How many friends have you made because of cosplay?

Quite a lot. My Instagram is full of cosplayers I’ve met at conventions and I love seeing their cosplays and drawings, it’s all so inspiring!

Do you attend photoshoots and meet-ups outside of conventions?

Occasionally. I’ve never done a professional photoshoot (though one day I’d like to,) but I have attended a few meetups. I’ve done one for Steven Universe, Once Upon a Time, Disney, and I actually accidentally walked into a Fire Emblem: Awakening one dressed as Laurent, so that worked out.

What is the funniest reaction you’ve gotten cosplaying from people outside of the community?

The best one was when I was dressed as Link and my friend and I were on the subway. There was a mom and her kid sitting across from us and she pointed to me and said to her child, “Look, an elf! You see? Santa’s got his helpers out all year round, so you have to be good!”

I also had another wonderful experience outside of a con dressed as Link, though it’s not as funny but more just a sweet memory. It’s quite a bit, but luckily I’ve already written about it for Zelda Universe so I’ll just link it here for anyone who’s interested.

Name a few cosplays you’re planning to do next:

I’ve got to get Soren (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance) done soon. I’ve been wanting to do this cosplay forever and I did start it, but I need to finally finish it. Dimitri (Fire Emblem: Three Houses) is also on my list to do next. Not sure about who else I want to do for sure, but some ideas that have floated around in my head have been Tilly Green (Big City Greens), Anna with her Frozen 2 look, Princess Peach (Super Mario), and a Thalmor Mage (Skyrim.)

What is your dream cosplay?

Princess Zelda from Twilight Princess. I’m still too scared to try to cosplay her. I bought a cheap starter costume that I was going to build off of and it wasn’t turning out the way I wanted, so I put it off again. One day I’ll feel confident enough to make her costume, but until then I’m totally satisfied with my Link cosplays.

What do you take into consideration when picking a character to cosplay?

Honestly, I just have to love them as a character and the costume itself has to seem do-able. I mean, I’m totally not opposed to buying cosplays if I really want to be a particular character, but like I said, making it means all the more to me. It’s my display of affection towards that character, the creators behind them, and the series as a whole.

Is cosplay serious business for you?

Yes and no. No because I don’t do it for money, likes, or internet fame. I do it because it’s fun and what I like to do. Yes because I go all out when I cosplay. I do everything I can to get the look the way I want it and I put my blood, sweat, and tears into it when I make them by hand.

What is your favorite thing about cosplay?

Everything: Dressing up as a character I love, roleplaying them, taking photos, just everything! I would do it more often if I could!

How do you want to grow as a cosplayer?

I want to learn how to make more. I want to build armor, I want to learn new makeup and hairstyling techniques, and so much more. I’m happy where I am, but I know I can be better. I will watch others and learn from them and push myself to try new things!

Are you willing to answer questions and help other cosplayers?

Absolutely! I may not be a top dog of cosplaying, but if I can help someone with something I’ve learned along the way, I’m more than happy to help!

Writing

When did you start writing?

I started in middle school as well, I used to write a Nintendo fan fiction called “The Kirby Show,” where Kirby and his friends would get into wacky sitcom scenarios. They were really just knock-offs of the television shows I used to watch back in the day, but hey, everyone’s gotta start somewhere.

As for my original writing, I started that more in high school. I still wrote a lot of fan fiction at that point, but I was starting to develop my own characters as well. I thought it about time to think of my own creations, and I did. I remember I was in my Godmother’s car when I thought of the main three characters and since then the cast has expanded so much, their stories are much better developed, and the lore is much more solid.

When you were a beginning writer, what did you write primarily? What do you write now, primarily? (i.e. romance, fan-fiction, poetry)

As mentioned before, I started out writing stories about characters that were not my own. Now I do all original writing — well, aside from my work at Zelda Universe. There I get to write about all the unique aspects of one of my favorite game series of all time, so there’s that as well. Writing there has helped me start writing little fandom topical posts for my own blog, such as top 10’s, reviews, and other things along those lines.

How often do you write?

I make it a habit to try and write at least a half-hour a day. If I’m really on a roll, I could write up to a few hours a day before I get burnt out. Even though I’m not always writing, I’m always developing the stories in my head.

When is your favorite time of the day to write?

I always write a half hour before I go to bed. The later it is, the more ideas keep rolling in. With my early hours for work now it’s harder to stay up late, but that doesn’t stop the ideas. I just gotta push myself a little harder to start earlier to have more time before I need to go to bed.

Do you have a writing muse? If so, who/what?

Not in particular. I always just write about what I like and incorporate different aspects of my life into it. I guess I’m my own muse in that sense? I don’t know. I just write what I do know.

What is your most popular lit piece?

Out of all my public pieces, I’d say either my “Animal Crossing Diaries” series or my “Endless Ocean” screenplay. “Vagabond” gets some decent attention as well, which is nice, but honestly, I’d be happy if there was just one person enjoying my work, so I really can’t complain.

What is the piece you are currently writing?

Out of my public blog works, “Vagabond,” from my Zelda Universe collection I’m working on a character piece on Colin from Twilight Princess.

What is the piece you most recently finished?

On my blog that would be my “Top 10 Favorite Fire Emblem Characters” list. For Zelda Universe, it’s actually a piece about Fire Emblem as well — It was DS week, I could write about whatever DS game I wanted to, of course I have to sneak in some Fire Emblem.

What piece are you most proud of?

While “Vagabond” definitely needs some more work, out of all the pieces I’ve posted publicly, that one is the one I am the proudest of. If anything just for Kurt and Maerwynn. They are two of my favorite characters to play around with and I’m so happy that somehow I was allowed to think these two up.

In my more private works, my fantasy story is my pride and joy. I feel so blessed to have been able to come up with these characters, and I do hope that someday I will be able to share them, whether on a television screen as I’ve always dreamed of in a novel of some sort. One day, maybe.

What piece are you most disappointed in?

It’s not so much disappointment, but rather I’ve grown so much in my work, it’s very hard for me to look back at my first romance story. It’s a little cheesy and the dialogue is a bit clunky, some of the actions that my characters had performed totally go against what their characters have become now after spending a lot more time with them. It’s something I would love to revisit and maybe even go public with, but it’s going to take a lot of work.

From all of your stories, who is/are your favorite character(s) and why? (try to limit it to 3)

Since I only published “Vagabond” online, I’ll stick to characters from this story in particular.

Maerwynn is definitely a favorite because she’s got a lot of qualities that I wish I was bold enough to enact myself. She speaks her mind without a care of what anyone else will think, even if it’s blatantly rude. She goes for her goals, even if they may seem ridiculous, and she pursues them with great passion and ferocity. Even with this rough and tough exterior, she’s still got a softer side that she’s just discovering in her new life at the palace. Now, I wouldn’t ever recommend being like Maerwynn ALL the time, but there’s definitely is a time and place where we could all be a little bit more like her, I think. Her confidence is the thing I admire most about her.

Kurt I connect with as well. Again, he says all the things that we all wish we could get away with at one point or another, but he knows he can because he’s royalty. However, he’s got so much going on underneath the surface as well with the complications of his past. He’s learning to open up, connect with others, and understand his feelings. Despite feeling restricted by the laws of his kingdom and the traditions of the royal family, he finds his own way to feel free and be himself.

What is the best compliment you ever got on your writing?

My best friend who I’ve been sharing these stories with for as long as we’ve known each other told me the nicest thing not to long ago. I always laugh at myself for going so crazy in-depth with the lore and characters of my fantasy world, but she told me how she’s admired that and the love and care I put into each little thing was what made it so great. It really meant the world to me to hear that and I can’t thank her enough for all the love and support throughout the years!

What is your main goal in writing?

I don’t know if there’s one main goal in particular, but I suppose if I had to pick just one, it would be to show good through the works of my characters and hope and pray that it inspires others to be like them. Kindness is growing scarce in the world, and if I can just inspire a little bit of it in someone, I suppose that’s all I can ask for.

Have you ever been published?

No, but I am aiming for it. Once I complete Vagabond, give it another revise myself, and hopefully find an editor to give it another look over, I’d love to find someone to publish my book or even self publish on a platform like Amazon. Just something to get my work out there.

Questions asked by you

Who is an artist that you look up to? There are a few artists online that I follow who I just adore their work. Three that come to mind in particular are Bianca Roman-Stumpff, Bellhenge, and TheStarfishFace. Their art is so different from mine, but I think that’s probably why I love it so much (if that makes sense?) They each have such a unique style and great subject material, I highly recommend giving them a look!

What did you think of “Frozen 2”?

I loved it. No secret that I’m a huge Frozen fan, so I was bound to like it. I was actually really nervous about how it was going to end, but I can say (without spoilers) that I am 100% satisfied with how it concluded. Also, Kristoff finally gets the spotlight that he deserves, thank you, Disney.

However, as much as I did love it, I do totally admit I do see flaws in it that could have been improved on. That being said, there was that in the first movie too and I stilled loved it. The characters have enough charm to keep the film entertaining throughout and I just adore them!

What does your family think of your art?

My parents have always encouraged me about my art and I know my grandmother loves it; I gave her a sweater with the art she liked of mine last Christmas and my mom says she wears it all the time. The rest of my family knows and supports my art as well, I never really had any issue with my small art business and the family.

Any memorable cosplay experiences at a con?

So many. I’ve shared a few before, but I think I’d like to make a whole article on the great cosplay experiences I’ve had! There are so many to talk about and stories to share.

Is there a type of art that you would like to get into? I’ve seen a lot of people doing wood carving and burning, but that looks insanely difficult.

I’ve actually been considering wood burning, haha! It does look difficult, that’s why I’ve been hesitant, but maybe in the future I’d give it a shot. I think they’d make my Skyrim wood pieces look legit.

I’m really up for trying anything. If money wasn’t a thing, I’d have tried a lot more by now. In the future, I’d love to try needlepoint as well!

Recently, I had been asked about some of the work that I do, and I thought a fun way to just that was to fill out a few questionnaires. Here I talk about some of the high and low points of doing what I do, what inspires me, and my process of creativity. Welcome all! If you're reading this, I'm assuming you're familiar with my work as either an artist, cosplayer, writer or any of the other creative things I do.

#art #artist #ask #author #cosplay #cosplayer #Q&A #writing

2 notes · View notes

blaperile · 5 years

Text

Homestuck Epilogue(s) - Prologue (page 2)

Live reactions to page 2 of the Epilogue beneath the Read More!

#Homestuck #The Homestuck Epilogues #reaction #John #Rose

6 notes · View notes

fire-emblem-treats · 6 years

Text

🎃Halloween🎃

🧡Positive things🧡 about the 👻 Halloween Banner 👻:

All the units have their own color! This makes it easier for people who want to snipe or avoid certain units.

All the units are perfectly viable with little effort!

A banner of firsts! Not only is this banner full of seasonal firsts for these characters (aside from one character) but they also are firsts for their specific units! Ex: Myrrh is the first red armored dragon, Mia is the first flying staff user, etc.

This year's Halloween units features the return of cute Halloween cookies in their special attack art!

New Halloween costumes! The only characters with similar costumes from last year are Mia and Nowi with the witch theme. (We will get to this is in Mia's specifics)

🍬🍭🍫Onto Character specifics!🍫🍭🍬

🎃Moonlit Witch Mia🎃

As stated earlier, Mia is the only unit that shares a costume theme with a previous Halloween unit. However, despite sharing a theme, she and Nowi have unique spins on the idea! Nowi is more frilly and purple and Mia has a pumpkin theme with orange!

As stated earlier, she is the first flying cleric! She even comes with 'Hone fliers'!

In the paralouge, she is incredibly sweet with Myrrh. Offering to team up with her just so that the child like dragon wouldn't be alone.

She, Myrrh, and Niles are also readily help Marth in the Tempest Trials. (With Mia pushing Dorcas to help as well)

Her Witchy Wand+ can be refined with the ever loved Wrathful or Dazzling Staff skills!

Her Witchy Wand+ can also reset the Special cooldown of multiple enemies!

Mia is here and ready to party! Her enthusiasm for the Harvest Festival is contagious!

She acknowledges that she'll probably always will get sexist comments about being a female merc but Mia is quick to point out that festivals are for everyone to have fun, regardless of age or gender, and encourages the player to join in as well!

"Wah!"😝

🍾Beverage Ninja Kagero🍾

Upon her release, this variant of Kagero produces quite the collection of harmless drunk Kagero jokes!

She is the first armored green dagger unit! Fitting as her other seasonal was the first flying dagger unit.

The first unit to wear a maid outfit despite it not being her base class.

Despite there being two other maid units, Kagero's outfit is slightly different with the skirt being more form fitting.

Her new weapon, Bottled 'Juice'+, also inflicts a Special cooldown charge on foes!

The fact that her weapon is called 'Juice' despite appearing like champagne or even wine is pretty funny as Intsys tends to bend over backwards to censor or discourage alchohol consumption.

Despite not being hilariously drunk as the memes say, Kagero's dead pan seriousness is it's own brand of funny!

Her dialogue references traditional Asian sweets like dango and rice crackers and how the Conquest Maid class are essentially just Nohrian ninjas in many ways!

"Those who do not give treats must suffer a trick. That is the rule."😤

😈Forbidden Tease Niles😈

Niles is the first Halloween unit to have a devil inspired costume and, goodness, does it suit him!

He is also the first blue armored archer and the second armored archer in general! (The first being Hallowee Jakob from last year)

The Niles variant comes with 'Fortify Armor'! (Useful for Armor Emblem users;3)

Niles is super fun as a Halloween devil! His dirty flirty humor is played up to the max in the seasonal! Super in character!

Speaking of his flirty nature, he does have a line that is a bit of a reference to his bisexuality (specifically mlm): "A trick...or a treat...I wonder which the young prince desires?" This could be a reference to his Lord Leo, as Niles is prone to messing with him, Alfonse, whom Niles calls a "Pretty piece of porcelain", or even Male Corrin, who Niles can S-Support in Fates

Despite being a jokester, Niles level 40 dialogue brings up a good point of being true to yourself and how people, even the Summoner, tend to wear masks. Niles tends to assume that everyone has hidden intentions so it's very in character. (Even though he plays it as a bit of a dirty joke at the end)

"If you want some of my candy...You're going to have to beg. Say 'pretty please'"😘

🦇Spooky Monster Myrrh🦇

Myrrh is pretty unique in terms of design! She isn't simply a vampire, but her costume specifically plays up a the bat part! With cute fluff and wings!

As stated before she is the first red armored dragon! She also comes with 'Armor March'!

Her sprite does a cute little hop before she transforms!

Her ribbon 'ears' are so cute, you can get them as an accessory in the latest 'Tap Battle'

She's just a kid out here to have a fun festival!;u;

Even though her level 40 dialogue is a little sad, since she acknowledges she will outlive most of the people she has met, Myrrh reminds us the importance of memories and holding them close!

This variant references her father and her time in the Darkling Woods!

Myrrh's very sweet as she mentions that while she wants candy she would prefer to not get any by playing any 'mean' tricks.

"Candy Grudge!"🍬

🐂Pumpkin Smasher Dorcas🐂

This Halloween variant is free via the 'Tempest Trials'!

He is the first Halloween unit to be inspired by minotaurs! These are mythical creatures that are part bull and part man. (Fitting as Mia calls him a 'big ox' in the 'Tempest Trials')

His axe not only looks like it's made of candy but has cute matching bull horns on the pumpkin!

Even during a festival, Dorcas is thinking of his wife. He mentions bringing her candy and how she would be sketching if she were here or his outfit making him smile!

The only Halloween unit to actively mention passing out candy to people!

Continuing the 'Bad Mutton' meme, Dorcas says this about the candy: "Here, take some of this candy off my hands. It looks questionable, but...it's safe. Tested it myself."

His "Outlaw no more" line references the fact he was a bandit before meeting Lyn in Blazing Blade.

This variant of Dorcas further establishes his relationship with Natalie but it also establishes that he enjoyed making kids smile during the Harvest Festival! (This further makes me personally headcanon that the two would be wonderful parents and that these two go to lots of festivals after Natalie gets better;u;)

"You think I look good in this getup? I'm just not seeing it."😑

Special thanks to @mind-blaze for proof reading and helping me with analyzing them as units

#talk treats #fe: blazing blade #dorcas #niles #fe: heroes #fe: fates #halloween banner #myrrh #fe: sacred stones #fe: por #fe: radiant dawn #mia #kagero #feh #fire emblem #positivity #fire emblem heroes

2 notes · View notes

argentdandelion · 6 years

Text

Crops of the Underground: Known Types of Plants

(Images derived from CrasherGale's sprite resource.)

Introduction

Monster food is “made of magic”. Yet, monsters are capable of eating human food. It is unclear when monster food was invented, or how it is manufactured. For the sake of this post, I will presume monster food is manufactured synthetically rather than by conversion of physical matter, and that it is a relatively recent invention. With that in mind, prior to the invention of purely magical food monsters needed a reliable food supply underground.

For the purpose of this analysis, I'll only be analyzing raw foods, not processed ones made from unknown ingredients. This is because some processed foods (e.g., Undyne’s spaghetti) could theoretically be made from unconventional sources and still referred to by the base name without specifying the ingredients. (i.e., noodles are generally made from wheat flour, but in countries where noodles of rice flour are common, they're likely not commonly called "rice noodles")

(There are many more plants of the Underground, but they are plants of unclear type whose edibility or use isn't mentioned)

Typha

Uses

Conveniently, one plant of the Underground has a known genus: Typha. The plant, often called a "water sausage" in-game, is both edible and versatile in a culinary sense. Their starchy rhizomes (like roots) are nutritious, with a protein content comparable to American corn (or “maize”) or rice.

Typha can also be used for chair seating, building material, livestock feed, flotation vests, thermal insulation, paper, fibers for clothing, biofuel, pillow stuffing, and candles.1

Since the "hot dogs" Sans serves in his illegal hot dog stand is specified to be made from Typha, at the very least, knowledge Typha is edible isn't obscure in the Underground. With its variety of uses, it could very well be a major crop of the Underground.

Plausibility as a Crop

Typha are so well-adapted to colonize newly opened habitats, grow in abundance, and exclude the competition that they're ecologically weed-like. Typha are generally not shade tolerant2, but according to Missouri Botanical Garden3, Typha latifola (common cattail) can deal with part shade. Assuming it’s Typha latifolia or a physiologically very similar species, its ability to grow in slightly brackish waters may mean it can grow in the same habitat as brackish-adapted seaweed/seagrass/"grooty” (see next post). Potentially, the crops could be alternated on farms.

From what’s known of the game’s habitats, Waterfall seems the closest to its natural habitat of marshes. However, unless Waterfall has a day/night cycle and the protagonist happens to visit during the “night”, it’s likely too dark for Typha. (Short of magic, intensive breeding, technological intervention, etc.) It may be that Typha doesn’t grow in Waterfall, but in some unseen area (like “the Bay” Undyne mentions in a Papyrus call) or an unseen part of the Ruins/Home area. (After all, Toriel would have to get those potted Typha from somewhere)

Conifers/Pines

(Some of the smaller conifers. They resemble the Christmas, or rather Gyftmas, tree in Snowdin)

(Assumed pine trees by default, though at this resolution it's hard to tell whether they're pines, spruces, or firs)

Beyond pine nuts, some pine trees can be used as a food source. The cambium, the inner layer of bark between the hard wood and outer bark, is edible. According to Atlas Obscura, the cambium of most trees are edible and nutrient-rich. The cambium can be fried in oil and butter to make “bark chips” or “bark jerky”, or dry-roasted to make an almost crouton-like salad topping. It's most commonly (and historically) repurposed as a flour, and added to other flours.

However, one cannot survive for long on just cambium, and eating too much of it will upset one's bowels---for humans, at least. There are also limits on how much cambium can be harvested: stripping an entire ring of cambium off a tree will kill the tree.

Pine trees have some edible parts other than cambium and nuts. Spruce tips, tender young needles, are edible, though only available in spring. They could, however, be available year-round in the Underground. Pine needle tea is a good source of Vitamin C. In contrast to female pine cones, the young, male cones are small, soft and edible.

Plausibility as a Crop:

Using pine trees for food is pretty common, so it's likely monsters would know of their usefulness as a food source early in their history. That some of the pine trees are absolutely enormous may suggest they've had some use to monsters for a very long time: if they weren't useful, monsters may have replaced them with something else on account of limited space and resources.

Of course, it's also possible that, as monsters' food options diversified/were replaced by food synthesization, conifers simply switched to being more useful for lumber.

Buttercups

(Images of actual buttercups are lacking; both Flowey and the flowers of the throne room are "golden flowers", not buttercups)

Uses

Buttercups are very poisonous. However, its toxin is inactivated when the plant is dried4 or heated5, so buttercup is not a problem as hay. Some sources claim some species of buttercups are edible, which means they might have some food value to monsters if the plants are first dried or heated. The particular species of buttercups baked into a a pie isn't mentioned, so it could very well be an edible species. Even if they are not processed for monster consumption, they could still be useful to monsters as livestock feed (e.g., for snails).

It’s possible the “buttercups” mentioned are not, in fact, buttercups: that is, plants of the Ranunculus genus. They could very well be another kind of plant with the common name “buttercup”, such as the “Bermuda buttercup”, Oxalis pes-caprae.6 Like true buttercups, Bermuda buttercups are both edible (in the right conditions) and toxic, though likely not so severely toxic as true buttercups when eaten raw. Their leaves, stems,7 flowers and roots are edible, and the petals can be made into a yellow dye.

Plausibility as a Crop

According to Missouri Botanical Garden, Ranunculus repens (creeping buttercup, a common, weedy variety of buttercup) is easy to grow in part shade, and tolerates full shade. That it can tolerate full shade would make it very appealing in low-light conditions or before sun-mimicking artificial light sources were invented. As creeping buttercup is a weed, it may very well be hardy enough to survive in the Underground, at least when pampered by the gardener Asgore. If the buttercup species is indeed Ranunculus repens, the low level of its toxin (0.27%) on a dry-weight basis may be fortunate: since it's relatively low, one would have to eat a lot of raw buttercups to die from it.

Information on the shade tolerance of Oxalis pes-caprae is lacking. One source claims Oxalis pes-caprae grows primarily in semi-shade, while another claims they grow in heavy shade.8 Bermuda buttercup is a weed, which might help it grow in the sub-par conditions of the Underground.

According to Wikipedia, Bermuda buttercup is nutritious, but too acidic to be good fodder. Still, this statement was probably meant to apply to mammal livestock; it could be different for snails. Bermuda buttercup is palatable, and in small amounts reasonably harmless to humans (and presumably monsters) and livestock.

Tomatoes

(What is either a large yellow pepper or a banana and what is probably a carrot is also shown in the above image, but they are not named in-game and thus won't be covered in the post)

Uses

Unless one presumes it’s a fake tomato (a la imitation crab legs made from surimi, but as a vegetable) tomatoes are apparently grown Underground. (The reader is presumably familiar with the versatility of tomatoes, so it won’t be mentioned here.)

Plausibility as a Crop

Other than being a moderately good source of Vitamin C, tomatoes aren't especially nutritious. They also have high sunlight and soil fertility requirements. Assuming low fertility in the soil of the Underground (those areas that have soil, anyway) and very limited to nonexistent full-sun areas, tomatoes would not be worth large-scale cultivation---at least, not at first. By the time of the game itself, it's possible technological and horticultural inventions (e.g., greenhouses and perfected composting) have made tomatoes a viable crop.

However, the tomatoes of the Underground may very well be not, strictly speaking, tomatoes----Solanum lycopersicum. They could very well be one or more relatives of S. lycopersicum that's more tolerant of shade and lower fertility. Indeed, several edible relatives of S. lycopersicum grow well in high shade, and several African nightshade species are cultivated, commercially grown crops. It may be that these relatives of S. lycopersicum have been bred in such a way as to resemble S. lycopersicum itself. The possible species selection is expanded even further when one realizes that what is edible to monsters may be a different (or bigger) selection of plants than what is edible to humans.

It's possible the “tomatoes” aren't even related to real tomatoes. It's certainly believable monsters would refer to something superficially similar but unrelated to tomatoes as a “tomato”. After all, in many countries the word “yam” is used to refer to the edible tubers or roots of plants other than those in the yam genus Dioscorea.9

(For more information on crops of the Underground, see "Crops of the Underground: Ambiguous Cases")

Data on the uses of Typha was derived from Wikipedia. ↩︎

http://wric.ucdavis.edu/information/natural%20areas/wr_T/Typha.pdf ↩︎

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a407 ↩︎

https://extension.umd.edu/learn/controlling-buttercup-pastures ↩︎

http://www.eattheweeds.com/buttercups/ ↩︎

See this post, on the discovery made between the Tumblr users Rainy-Poppy (Rainy) and Locaven. ↩︎

http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/plants/Oxalidaceae/Oxalis%20pes-caprae.htm (see also: https://books.google.com/books?id=6jRsF1nOmqgC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false) ↩︎

The first source is primarily about California and the second is about south Australia, so it could very well have different shade tolerances in different ecosystems. But who knows where Mt. Ebott is supposed to be? ↩︎

See Wikipedia's etymology section on yams. ↩︎

#Undertale #Undertale Science #Undertale Analysis

22 notes · View notes

fandomsentertainment · 7 years

Text

Iqi: The Arrival Chapter Eight

Please go check out the whole story on Wattpad! Thank you for your patience in waiting on this chapter! I had a lot of things going on and since this chapter is a turning point in the novel/ novella/whatever I wanted to get it right!

https://www.wattpad.com/story/135795678-iqi-arrival

“I can not believe you read the entire thing,” Hermione shook her head at me in disbelief opening up her package.

“I can’t believe you ordered more clothes,” I raised an eyebrow at her setting the Quran down on her nightstand.

“What? I got something for you too this time!” she grinned.

I plopped down on her bed. “Hm.”

“So did you enjoy your read,” she asked still digging through her package.

“It was surprisingly similar to both the Bible and Tanakh. But I guess that’s to be assumed considering they have similar origins,” I sighed. “I can’t believe humans have so much conflict with each other simply because of vague differences in these texts. I can ever imagine any written word being moving enough to inspire such violence.”

“Eh, humans were slaughtering each other long before any of those books were written so it’s more likely that people are just trash and the books are excuses,” Hermione said shimmying on some boots.

“I don’t think people are trash,” I muttered.

“That’s why people love you,” she laughed. “When’s your next session anyways?”

“Two days from now. Tuesday.”

“Good, any cancellations?” Hermione asked walking up to the mirror to admire her shoes.

“Only one. But that spot was fill up pretty quickly so security had time to run a background search on them,” I stood up. “I’m hungry. Can we order some food?”

“Sure. What are you craving?”

“Jamaican.”

Hermione grinned at me. “If someone told me a year ago that my alien brother would ask me for some Jamaican food I’d laugh in their face.”

“I think you’d laugh in their face regardless,” I smiled.

“Ha! Yeah, you’re probably right. Go see if Willoughby wants anything, I’ll start ordering on Grubhub. What do you want?”

“Brown rice, oxtail and fried plantains,” I could feel my mouth already salivating at the thought.

Hermione chuckled to herself. “Alright.”

I walked down the hall to Dr. Willoughby’s lab nodding to the patrolling security as I went. It was always strange walking into the lab knowing it was specifically designed to study me. I could see sample of my hair, blood, feathers and skin organized neatly around the lab. Dr. Willoughby slept peacefully at her desk, her head resting on a thick open book. I smiled and walked up to her resting my hand on her head softly and waiting for her to stir awake.

“Iqi,” she yawned loudly. “Do you need something?”

“No, Hermione and I are ordering some Jamaican food. We were wondering if you wanted any?”

“Aw, you’re so sweet,” Willoughby stretched, still yawning. “Yes, can you get me some jerk chicken and rice. Oh and a sprite too!”

“No problem,” I began to walk off. “Also, I know I’m suppose to just let the security do their jobs but should I ask them if they want anything as well?”

“I’m sure they would love that. It must get boring patrolling a high security building, nothing ever happens here,” Willoughby stood up and opened a draw, pulling out a small notebook.

“Here,” she said. “Write down what they want and give it Hermione. I’m sure she has more than enough money with that session you have coming up on Tuesday.”

“Thank you,” I smiled taking the notebook. I wrote down jerk chicken, rice and Sprite on the first page.

“No, thank you. Also could you drop by after lunch so I can take some blood samples?”

“No problem,” I called walking out.

It only took about fifteen minutes to gather everyone’s order but Hermione was an impatient woman.

“Where the hell have you been? I’m starving,” she scowled.

“Sorry, it took a while to get everyone’s order,” I apologized holding out the notepad.

“What do you mean… You took everyone’s order!” she gasped.

“Yeah, Willoughby said you’d have enough money for everyone,” I frowned sensing Hermione’s irritation at me.

“Ugh, that moralistic…” Hermione shook her head. “Okay I’ll order it just this once but next time we order food it’s just you and me.”

“Sorry,” I said.

Her expression softened. “Don’t worry about it kid.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did.”

I scowled at her response. “Where do you get money from? I thought you needed a job to get money.”

Hermione laughed. “Not in this digital age my dear brother. As the creator of your website I get a small percentage off of the sessions you have with the public. Considering how much people are willing to cough up to meet you that small percentage in usually a significant amount of money.”

I frowned. “I thought we were going to keep it affordable for the everyday person.”

“We are,” she reassured me. “With each session we sell eight tickets at a reasonable price. The last two however are left up to a bidding war so the price rises significantly with those two tickets. This way the poor can buy a normal ticket while the rich fight over these two opportunistic tickets.”

“How much do they usually sell for?” I asked.

“Hmm, anywhere from $500,000 to a million. The session you had with that Arabian prince was $2.4 million! Can you believe that?” Hermione laughed.

I tried to imagine 2.4 million water bottles. It was… difficult to comprehend that amount of wealth.

“Alright the food is all ordered. It came up to $345.67,” Hermione sighed. “Plus tip is like $70 so… Christ that’s like $415!”

“Sorry,” I apologized again.

“It’s alright. Willoughby was right that I can afford it but it’s better to save money then blast it.”

I looked around her room littered with new purchases and nodded in agreement.

“Hey Iqi,” Willoughby stuck her door in the doorway. “That Katherine girl is on TV right now.”

“Really!” I grinned.

“Yep channel 8,” Willoughby laughed.

I got up quickly to head to the living room.

“Jeez where’s the fire?” I heard Hermione say behind me.

I plopped down on the sofa and used the remote to get to channel eight. There she was. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. It was straight like mine rather than curly now. She had a very serious expression on her face as she walked up to the podium. She was wearing traditionally male human garments. They made her look intimidating. She faced the camera and began to speak.

“Good evening. My name is Katherine Ahuja and I am the co-CEO of SOUS - Study of Unusual Species. Ever since we have come out as a public company there have been many speculations about what the species we study exactly are. Who we are and what are we trying to achieve. I stand before you today to put these questions to rest - but I should warn you that by answering these question I will be generating more questions.”

“Ooo ominous,” Hermione said taking a seat next to me.

“She looks scared,” I said.

“Her company is suspicious as fuck. With all the recent hacks she probably is scared,” Hermione said.

“First of all I will introduce to you the one creature that is the reason SOUS has stayed so secretive all these years. We all know now that we are not alone in the universe as sentient beings. But what you don’t know is that we are not even alone on our own planet,” Katherine said.

“Is she talking about me?” I asked.

“No, everyone already knows about you,” Hermione was watching intently now.

“No, I am not talking about our brother from the stars, Iqi. We have cousins, who live beneath the sea. They’ve been here for thousands of years, in hiding. But some of them are ready to come out and join hands with humanity if we will allow them. Iqi’s arrival and openness with the public has paved the way for these cousins of ours. And it is my honor to introduce you all to Ler and Kym,” she gestured to the curtain behind her which opened to reveal a large glass wall.

Behind the wall was water and two creatures came into view. The crowd on the tv were silent as the larger of the two swam up to the wall. I’ve never seen a creature like this. It had the upper body of a man but the lower of an aquatic mammal. He was at least twice the size of a normal man and covered with short grey fur with a long black flowy mane of hair. He smiled adoringly down at Katherine Ahuja who smiled tightly back up at him. The other was a younger, smaller female who seemed to be with child.

She turned back to the public. “Humanity I’d like to introduce you to your cousins: the Homomare, or in plain language the Selkie.

#HUMANS ARE WEIRD #humans are insane #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #human manuel #space australia #earth is space australia #spacetravel #iqi #Iqi:Arrival #Katherine Ahuja #selkie #grubhub #hybrid #angel #quran #kuran

35 notes · View notes

tipsycad147 · 5 years

Text

The Undines

By shirleytwofeathers

Undines are water elementals, and as such, spirits of the water world. First named in the alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Undines are almost invariably depicted as being female. They are said to protect our water. As a water elemental, the Undines’ domain are the oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, water and all it encompasses. There are theories that say undines are present in every drop of water. We could say an Undine is a personification of water, that they are the energies of water. Many schools of thought liken Undines to sprites, nymphs and mermaids.

There are many groups of undines. Some inhabit waterfalls, where they can be seen in the spray; others are indigenous to swiftly moving rivers; some have their habitat in dripping, oozing fens or marshes; while other groups dwell in clear mountain lakes. According to the philosophers of antiquity, every fountain had its nymph; every ocean wave its oceanid. The water spirits were known under such names as oreades, nereides, limoniades, naiades, water sprites, sea maids, mermaids, and potamides. Often the water nymphs derived their names from the streams, lakes, or seas in which they dwelt.

In describing them, the ancients agreed on certain salient features. In general, nearly all the undines closely resembled human beings in appearance and size, though the ones inhabiting small streams and fountains were of correspondingly lesser proportions. It was believed that these water spirits were occasionally capable of assuming the appearance of normal human beings and actually associating with men and women.

There are many legends about these spirits and their adoption by the families of fishermen, but in nearly every case the undines heard the call of the waters and returned to the realm of Neptune, the King of the Sea.

Practically nothing is known concerning the male undines. The water spirits did not establish homes in the same way that the gnomes did, but lived in coral caves under the ocean or among the reeds growing on the banks of rivers or the shores of lakes.

Among the Celts there is a legend to the effect that Ireland was peopled, before the coming of its present inhabitants, by a strange race of semi-divine creatures; with the coming of the modem Celts they retired into the marshes and fens, where they remain even to this day. Diminutive undines lived under lily pads and in little houses of moss sprayed by waterfalls.

The undines worked with the vital essences and liquids in plants, animals, and human beings, and were present in everything containing water. When seen, the undines generally resembled the goddesses of Greek statuary. They rose from the water draped in mist and could not exist very long apart from it.

There are many families of undines, each with its peculiar limitations, it is impossible to consider them here in detail. Their ruler, Necksa, they love and honour, and serve untiringly. Their temperament is said to be vital, and to them has been given as their throne the western corner of creation.

They are rather emotional beings, friendly to human life and fond of serving mankind. They are sometimes pictured riding on dolphins or other great fish and seem to have a special love of flowers and plants, which they serve almost as devotedly and intelligently as the gnomes. Ancient poets have said that the songs of the undines were heard in the West Wind and that their lives were consecrated to the beautifying of the material earth.”

In medieval times the conjuration and exorcism of elementary spirits was practised extensively, the crystal being a preferred mean of evoking them. In every instance, a special consecration of the four elements was a principal and essential part of the ceremonial procedures.

Undine origins may be best traced back to ancient Greece wherein mythology cites a clan of nymphs called Oceanides who claimed the waters of the world as their home. These beings were the daughters of Titan and his wife Tethys. Their presence in the oceans was legendary among seafarers. Mostly beneficent, Oceanides would aid water-travellers in navigation and provide safe sea-ways.

A Short Summary:

The term Undine comes from the Latin root unda which means “wave.”

As they are entities united with water, Undines are governed by the Moon.

Undines are also associated with the directional domain of the West.

As water lovers, Undines will speak most freely to water signs (Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio)

The realm of cups in the Tarot are connected to Undines and study of this Tarot suit may augment our concept of their temperament.

In European lore, Undines are fabled to be the wandering spirits of love-lorn women. I imagine their tears of sorrow composed the salty seas as they wept, having lost at love. Tales indicate these female spirits are enchantingly beautiful. They are reputed to be relatively benign, but like any decent spirit they’ve got a temper when crossed.

Undines, (like their elemental kin: Salamanders, Sylphs and Gnomes) unite within their medium to form a impenetrable energetic bond. Thusly, nature-based belief systems may pay homage to the Undine as the embodiment of water itself. When we hear the term “Guardians of the Watchtowers” Undines would be the guardians of the water, and so communication in this arena would be directed to their kind.

A German Folktale

The undine, or undine-like creatures, are not limited to just one mythology. They are found in Greek, Irish, Scottish, Russian, Norse, and German stories.

Although resembling humans in form, they lack a human soul, so to achieve immortality they must acquire one by marrying a human. Such a union is not without risk for the man, because if he is unfaithful, then he is fated to die.

One German folktale tells the story of a young man who is caught in a storm and seeking shelter. He finds the cottage of a sweet elderly couple who live by the river. They have a beautiful daughter who is wild and tempestuous — and incredibly enticing for this young man. She is an Undine, though the human man does not yet know it, and her elderly father is King of the Watery Realm.

The old man gives the traveller permission to marry his daughter and take her to his kingdom, but on the condition that he treat her well. Should he forget that promise, he would lose his wife forever.

They marry and the Undine gives birth to a son soon thereafter. Now in possession of a human soul, the nymph loses her wildness and becomes a demure, polite housewife — which, in turn, causes her husband to be bored of her. Not even her devastating beauty keeps her husband from straying.

Once her husband betrays her, the Undine returns to her watery kingdom and warns him that if he should ever fall asleep, she would steal his breath. And of course, unable to stay awake, the man ultimately pays for cheating.

There are many different versions of this story, some of which have made their way to operas, novels, and films.

Something To Think About

“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” ~Thomas Fuller

I’m of a mind to say these beings intertwine their energy in mass to actually produce the element of water. Just as molecules cling and weave together to form bodies of mass – so too might the Undines unite their energies in a grand matrix that IS water.

Would that mean when we drink a glass of water, we are actually consuming Undines? Would we be more aware and honourable in our use of water if we knew we were interacting with beings possessing real feelings, thoughts and human-like aspects? I don’t know, but it’s something to consider.

Indeed, when these concepts came to me, I became more mindful about water and my consumption of it. This perspective put an actual face on water. Water ceased to be some object at my disposal. Rather, water became a community of personalities and intelligence to which my respect is due.

Give this thought process a try for yourself. Consider your interaction with water as you would interact with a close friend. Doing this really opened up floodgates of tremendous insights and poignant discoveries for me. I wonder if you will have similar experiences of psychic cleansing and breakthrough.

A resource for your consideration as you swim in the energy of the Undine might be Masaru Emoto’s book, The Hidden Messages in Water. Emoto’s research visually captured the structure of water at the moment of freezing, and through high-speed photography he shows the direct consequences of destructive thoughts and the thoughts of love and appreciation of the formation of water crystals. The revelation that our thoughts can influence water has profound implications for our health and the well-being of the planet.

Masaru Emoto contends (and indeed, has evidence) that water responds to external influence such as human suggestion. His research supports the idea of personality and intelligence indwelling water.

Are Undines responding to suggestion?

Are they the ones behind the scenes creating those magnificent crystal formations Mr. Emoto has captured on film? You be the judge.

Sources:

Wikipedia

What’s Your Sign

The Secret Teachings of All Ages

Amino

https://shirleytwofeathers.com/The_Blog/powers-that-be/tag/water/

0 notes