dokidokitsuna

[dokidokitsuna]

The Diary of Penny Polendina

The other day I was inspired to try working on a different NeverFell Projects installment, one that would probably be a lot shorter and quicker to write, because it's not like I care that deeply about Penny, right??

Well, I was incredibly wrong. ^^; So wrong that I'm actually having trouble with this story now...essentially, Penny goes through a bit of a 'rebellious phase' (gross oversimplification, but that's all you get for now) and there are, surprisingly, a lot of aspects of that character arc that I want to explore. Plus, a pivotal connection with Pyrrha, the climax of which I haven't quite figured out yet...

God only knows if I'll be able to finish, or if I'll just write the first 2/3rds of the story and leave it at that. But I figured I might as well warm up by talking about the designs. ^^

Penny's new look is basically 'Disney's Pinocchio, color picked from Arthur Watts' character design'~

I didn't necessarily want her to look evil, just...bolder. Like she specifically picked 'daring' items that maybe her father or Ironwood's PR team would rather she didn't wear, at least not compared to the more innocent frilly pastels she had on before. Between the chest window, midriff, and short sleeves, she's actually showing a lot more skin than before, despite still being 90% covered up. ^^;

Those multicolored wrist accessories are prototype weapons invented by Dr. Watts, that mix and pressurize Dust from the cartridges to cast "artificial magic". This way I get to do a bit of the 'Winter Maiden Penny' stuff in this Vol. 3-locked AU~

Penny's magic usage is one of the things that stumped me when writing this story...In NeverFell, magic isn't just glowy rainbow lasers or weather powers-- it essentially allows the user access to any conceivable semblance at any time; its potential is limitless. Being a beginner, Penny would probably just come up with one signature 'spell' to use in tandem with her Floating Array...but I can't decide what I want her to do. ^^; I think I'd like for her to do something connected to dance, because I feel like that's something unique to her, the way she dances with her weapons before striking. Nobody ever points out how the "robot" in the cast is the one who chooses to spend energy on unnecessary movements that aren't even used to maneuver around an enemy; they're just cute and fun. ^^ I think that's a great encapsulation of who Penny is~

Redesigning Pyrrha is always super difficult, because her original design is so perfect. But I like this end result a LOT. ^^ I may need to adjust the pant legs a bit, but overall it feels like a very believable alt outfit that keeps the spirit of the character.

Pyrrha is another one of the stumbling blocks in this story, because I'm now forced to create at least one malleable personality trait for her-- i.e. one that isn't intrinsically tied to Jaune and/or the plot. Something that she could actually take into a meaningful relationship with a different character... I had the idea to expand her "I'm sorry!" gag into a real guilt complex, where she has trouble letting go of instances where she's made mistakes or hurt someone. In this case, dismembering Penny 1.0 and essentially ending her life. :T She seeks out 2.0 in a desperate effort to make things right, and ends up helping her with ...things, and growing as people or whatever, and all that other stuff I have yet to write. ^^;

I just realized that Pyrrha could use her polarity semblance to pull Penny towards her in a situation where they need to reach each other...that's so cute. ^^ I gotta remember that~

#rwby #fan art #penny polendina #pyrrha nikos #neverfell

[dokidokitsuna]

As a card-carrying Mr. Grizz stan and a fan of Big Man (at this point I'm certain that he's my favorite member of Deep Cut...fascinating how the character who doesn't even say words in-universe ended up with the most unique characterization), I feel very compelled to be on Team Bear Cubs in this upcoming Splatfest...

...However, I will be fighting for Frye's team-- the Li'l Bunnies-- as usual. ^^ I figure, since I'm not actually that invested in winning Splatfests, I might as well stick with Frye until she gets her long-awaited second victory.

I'm in too deep to turn my back on her now; I just have be there when it happens. And it will, someday! WE JUST GOTTA BELIEVE

#splatoon #musings

[dokidokitsuna]

This game really feels like it should have one of those promotional companion manga where the characters are all slightly sillier and weirder than they are in the canon in order to be more entertaining for the kiddies~

#princess peach #princess peach showtime #fanart

[dokidokitsuna]

Been watching a playthrough of the recently-released Princess Peach: Showtime! It's very cute and fun; I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how it ended up being structured. ^^

The other day I heard that some people were mocking the game, calling it too easy and silly and childish, and most notably, comparing it to the Kirby series. Well, as a Kirby fan, I take that as a compliment! :D The similarities ARE noticeable, and if HAL were to try making a Kirby game that leaned into PPS's particular strengths-- theatrics, characterization, episodic storytelling, and a heavy emphasis on REALLY COOL VISUALS-- I would be overjoyed. ^^

Since Kirb is kind of a simple character with a limited (and already well-established) range of expression, I doubt they'd try it with him, but I think any one of the franchise's fan-favorite side characters would fit right into the formula. MK, DDD, Magolor, even Bandana Dee could work. I'd really love to see them in a game like that...now I have something else to wish for and dream about, I guess~

#on that note I think it should be said that games aren't just for hardcore hobbyists who want to brag about their skillz #there's nothing wrong or shameful about a game being easy #i.e. accessible to a wide range of players with differing abilities and available free time #and regardless of how difficult you think PPS is #it's still a work of art that clearly had a lot of time and energy put into it #just modeling and animating all those assets must have taken ages...I'm honestly astounded at the level of detail #musings

[dokidokitsuna]

what do you think of my endless 8 "ending idea" idk if you saw it in the tags so I will put it here

and what if they do clear it? Order has proven to always up keep their word. So they would no doubt free 8.

I see one of two things happening. The "good" outcome: 8 fights order at the top of the spiral and defeats them this time, maybe even having to fight her mindless friends but she still prevails. Everyone is saved, the world is no longer run by mindless slaves, and everyone goes back to normal.... but 8 will forever bear the mental scars of fighting, for months maybe even years, through a un-comprehendible landscape, knowing that she is truly alone stuck in a seemingly endless purgatory. Being ripped to shreds by things she doesn't understand and being sent back to the bottom again. If 8 is even sane at this point would be questionable.

The even worse one: 8 is free but order doesn't give her the chance to fight them. She is sent to live her days in the real world, surrounded by aimless beings who only exist to do and never think. No one to talk to, no one to play turf with, just 8 surrounded by the consequences of her failure. Either forced to die alone or slowly go insane.

Oh, I remember this! And I really liked your ideas, because they were so much more interesting than mine... Back when I said 8 would be "freed", my idea was that Order would finally erase whatever was left of their free will and let them into the Memverse-- essentially, they'd just be rewarded with the sweet release of death. ^^;

But I think your ideas are much more thematically painful, in that 8 spends years in the Spire alone, and after their long fight; they're rewarded with yet another flavor of loneliness. Either they spend the rest of their days surrounded by walking corpses, or they emerge victorious in a healed world that quickly returns to the status quo...yet they end up left behind. Still bearing the scars of a torturous experience that no one can fully understand or sympathize with...

Obviously, the "good" outcome is my personal favorite; if I were to write a fanfiction about one of these ideas, that's the one I'd pick. ^^ I just think having a living world around to interact with provides more opportunities to show off the damage that was done to Agent 8's mental state, in clear juxtaposition.

I think they'd struggle most with dissociation; having grown used to living in their own mind in a desperate effort to escape the crushing isolation of the Spire. They'd also have been trained out of the ability to trust their own senses and perception: they'd always be on edge, waiting for the laws of physics to invert, or perceiving any unexpected stimulus as a sign that they're about to die; they're about to fail again; they're gonna get sent back to 1F AGAIN-- ...They might even have trouble just moving around and interacting with physical objects, after spending so long in a virtual body that never worked quite like their real one. Lots of interesting issues to explore, and for their friends to try to help with~

#endless8

[dokidokitsuna]

LANGUENDO

#splatoon #side order #agent 8 #parallel canon #endless8 #tw blood

[dokidokitsuna]

WHY IS EVERYONE DOING FECTO FORGO WITH A BRITISH ACCENT 🤣🤣🤣

...I just had to say something; almost every audition I listen to for Forgo adds a spicy little accent to his dialogue, and it just cracks me up. XD I see the vision, but still...

In all seriousness: the Fecto Forgo (and Elfilin!) auditioners have been phenomenal so far. Like, jaw-on-the-floor voice work from multiple entrants. I can already tell it's going to cause me a lot of pain to choose just one person for each role; everyone's too good! >_<

#dream discoveries tour

[dokidokitsuna]

DDT Preview 9

The whole family's got some great faces in this next issue. ^^ Despite appearances, the argument they end up having isn't that bad (or even that long, tbh)...it's very pivotal to everyone's development, but it's more akin to the calm before the storm than the storm itself.

Anyway, I wanted to remind everyone that there's still roughly 48 hours until the deadline for DDT comic dub auditions! Don't be shy about a last-minute submission; even if you send one in at 11:59 PM on March 24, I honestly won't mind at all.

And there are still a couple roles that no one's tried out for yet...unsurprisingly, everyone wants to be Forgo. ^^; But even if you ALSO want that role despite the competition, you never know if I'll pick you as the best choice if you don't try!

#kirby #gijinka #au #dream discoveries tour #elfilin #leongar #clawroline

[dokidokitsuna]

So in case you didn't notice, #endless8 won the poll-- any future art connected to the Parallel Canon AU idea will bear that tag. I'm glad the majority of you enjoyed my little joke~. ^^

The above image is a little extra bit of the 'CAPRICCIOSO' piece, which I decided not to use in the final product. Although it was a difficult choice to make, in the end I decided that showing the fear in the little Jelleton's eyes was not necessary...

If you guessed that Parallel Canon is more or less just creepy vent art of my experiences with Side Order, you guessed correctly. ^^ Despite my issues with the writing/story, the reason I rate it a 10/10 is because the gameplay experience is just so unique and immersive-- those first few days I spent learning to climb the Spire brought so many feelings out of me; I really want to immortalize and express that somehow. And what better way than through surreal existential sci-fi horror?

#splatoon 3 #side order #endless8

[dokidokitsuna]

Ladybird Extras 3

...I don't like the weirdly "professional", detached way I talked about the previous extras (it's a bad habit of mine...pretending to be a formal corporation instead of just one insane artist), so I'm gonna stop doing that from now on, and just rant about what I love about these side characters and how I came up with them. ^^ I'll try not to spoil too much, though.

Mura So one of my favorite personal character archetypes is the "sleazy youngster", where I put this weird shady slimeball personality on a character who is literally a tiny child. XD And they're running around talking like a yakuza member to everyone else in the cast, who just stares at them like "...aren't you, like, 4??"

And Mura is exactly that, except for the fact that he spends most of his time in the story interacting with Nell, a fellow tiny child who doesn't really have a frame of reference for how strange he is. ^^; I loved writing them together; in another fictional universe they would definitely be best friends...as it is, I've destined them to be nemeses.

This is because Mura actually is basically a mob boss; a former rival to the "Leader" character I mentioned in this character set. After some shakeups in his hometown, he and some fellow criminals ended up trapped in a special prison camp specifically designed to contain Ladybirds.

Milly Where there is a prison, there must be a warden, and that's Milly here. ^^

The part of the story where Milly and Mura are introduced is where the characters finally start to get involved with the uglier aspects of Ladybird activity, and the events at the prison camp are actually kind of dark. It was tough to write the characters and their dialogue in a way that kept the tone relatively light despite the violence and cruelty they were engaging with-- Mura's ridiculousness is part of that. ^^

Another part of that is Milly's design: I really needed her to not be scary. ^^;;; I think a grounded design on a character as mean and cold-hearted as her would make the story feel much heavier than I wanted it to feel at that point. But on the other hand, I couldn't just make her into a weirdo clown or something, because the whole point of her character is to serve as an uncompromising antagonist, who shows how far humans will go to protect themselves from Ladybirds if no one else will.

So after some brain-wracking, I settled on "sexy" as a middle ground. ^^; Like, her clothes are still absolutely ridiculous; way too effortful and unconventional to take seriously. But overall she still looks like a big, powerful, intimidating figure, especially as she towers over the stringy teens in the rest of the cast.

Agnes Let's take a breather with a character from a different, more lighthearted part of the story. ^^

...Well, not that lighthearted-- Agnes is the daughter of Weaver's old mentors, and for story-related reasons I will not spoil, she is a Ladybird who regrets becoming one, and has shunned the lifestyle entirely, as evidenced by her civilian-coded clothes. She's kind of a gloomy character with a sad backstory, but the MCs manage to cheer her up a little and help her feel more encouraged about her chosen lifestyle, as she and Weaver work together to teach Nell her parents' techniques. I think it's important to show that there are multiple ways to be "heroic" in a story, and that deciding you don't want to be a globe-trotting RPG adventurer doesn't necessarily mean you've given up on life.

#ladybird

[dokidokitsuna]

#splatoon #side order

[dokidokitsuna]

CAPRICCIOSO

#splatoon #side order #agent 8 #endless8

[dokidokitsuna]

God is a squishy friend

This was some of the first dialogue I ever wrote for Nell and Venn, possibly for LADYBIRD as a whole. ^^ Just a goofy little interaction that got stuck in my head~

Update on the project: Still slowly working on Episode 1, now known as Episode A1-- I've decided how I'm going to structure the story, and I'm considering making a video to explain it, while going into further depth on the character arcs and worldbuilding (the 'World Notes' section of my planning doc has gotten absurdly huge over the past few months...). The only thing that makes me hesitant is that I would have to write a script for it, and I already have too many scripts in-progress that need my attention right now (like A1's second draft...). But perhaps in a month or two I will find the time. ^^;

#ladybird #nell #the veneration #comic

[dokidokitsuna]

PARALLEL CANON

Imagine, if you will, the bad end to Side Order: Overlorder wins, everyone is pulled into the Memverse and loses their free will, and what was once a therapeutic VR space becomes an existential prison, grinding down countless souls into passionless sludge.

What ‘PUNISHMENT’ awaits the protagonist now…?

Oddly enough, they remain themselves-- Agent 8’s rebellious spirit must be definitively crushed before they are allowed into the normal workings of the World of Order. So they are locked in the Spire and given a task: complete all 30,000 floors without dying once (no hacks, after all) and they will be “freed”. Of course, each time they fail, they must start over from 1F.

The overwhelming challenge comes with a greatly expanded palette, but even as it becomes more saturated, the strength of their enemies increases in turn, far past the limits of the laws of physics, or even the laws of time and space. The further they go, the harder it becomes to even comprehend what’s going on around them, let alone react quickly enough to win.

But Agent 8 is nothing if not determined. The hope of being freed, and at least being able to learn what happened to Marina, Pearl, Acht, and the rest of the world, is all they have left.

For now they are totally isolated, with only a standard-issue drone and the cries of the Jelletons for company. As far as they know, they are the only sentient being within the Spire…

#splatoon #side order #agent 8 #side order spoilers #I was listening to some of the more melancholy Alterna tracks while finishing these #and they fit surprisingly well #god the Alterna music deserved so much better >_< #they deserve to be heard in a game mode that lets their emotionality shine #endless8

[dokidokitsuna]

I f-finally cleared all the palettes in Side Order...( ＿ ＿)ノ*collapses*

If you don't know what you're in for with Eight's Palette, I won't spoil it for you. All I'll say is that its particular mechanic is very evil and very challenging, and getting through it once was quite enough for me, thanks. ^^;;; I look forward to climbing the spire for funzies and grinding for Prlz with the easy weapons from now on. 👍

I'm a little disappointed that the ordeal didn't end up giving any additional relevance to Agent 8's character...I liked seeing the backstory of [spoiler] but I don't see what that has to do with Eight's Palette (i.e. their identity, memory, and soul) in any significant way. ._. It seems the directors' burgeoning habit of throwing fan-favorite character backstories into random places because "we gotta reveal 'em somewhere" persisted in Side Order after all. :/

Anyway, I guess I shouldn't have expected much-- at this point, it's pretty clear that the Agents are more or less blank slates, which fits with their highly-customizable nature. It just irks me that the story very often treats them as if they are actual characters, piling on depth and trivia and yet never allowing them to develop.

It's hard to feel anything about Agent 8 befriending Off the Hook when they have very little discernible personality...the same way I felt nothing when I saw that Agent 3 (original) became the new Captain. At most my reactions to these things are just "that's cute, I guess" and it's starting to bother me...Nintendo games are full of silent, blank-slate protagonists, and yet Splatoon is the only series I know that treats them so weirdly. If you insist on trying to give them continuous storylines, maybe show them doing something in-game besides following orders, staring blankly, and being vaguely nice? Like, it wouldn't take much to properly characterize them; just a couple seconds of expressive animation here and there would be more than enough.

It hurts most with Eight because they have a LOT of depth. There's so much you could do with a character like them, with their origins and past, and established goals...they're supposed to be an amnesiac, for crying out loud! And yet they feel no different from Agent 3 (new), who doesn't have any of those character details. So what's the point, then??

When Side Order was first announced, I assumed that Agent 8 was the protagonist again for a reason, something beyond "they just happened to be the first person Marina chose". If they were replaced with Agent 3 or Agent 4 or a totally new character, it would barely affect the story, and that's...disappointing. I'd still rate the game mode a 10/10, but I definitely expected more.

#splatoon #musings #side order spoilers

[dokidokitsuna]

My mom told me to add a bit of pink on this cyan jellyfish

Accidental fecto jellyfish

FECTO JELLYFISH...! IT'S BEAUTIFUL

Now that I think about it, jellyfish features would be a great addition to the Forgo Trinity's designs...I'll have to keep that in mind for later~

[dokidokitsuna]

Touhou Yumejikuu- Fantasy Seal: Vol. 1

...So I'm not actually making a manga, as much as I'd like to. ^^; But it's always fun to do pretty cover art for the manga in my head~.

And besides, I AM gonna do something: as it happens, I have multiple projects in the works that I want to use a manga style for...the problem is, I don't know how to draw in B&W anymore. ^^; It's been so many years, and my default art style has changed so much, I just kinda lost that skill...unless I'm drawing cartoon people, I'm totally useless without color to rely on.

But I've been practicing, and I think it's about time for a more robust creative exercise to rebuild those skills. So later on, I'm gonna make some chapter covers to go with this volume cover-- just some fun low-stakes character illustrations where I can focus on being artsy and hopefully learn a thing or two. Plus, I can outline this AU story as I go~

#touhou #fantasy seal #reimu hakurei #sakuya izayoi