dusting off the ol' sideblog since s6 is out and I have a recurring hyperfixation, so I thought it might be nice to lay out what I'm up to here!
you can call me Alistair, Cat, Lis, Stair, etc., I use lots of pronouns so feel free to use a variety for me or ask about less common ones if you want!
this is not a salt zone, and I like most if not all the characters that are commonly salted on. my meow meows #mymeowmeows
I'm also prone to chewing on an au and rambling forever, but I try to keep the forever rambles to tags <3 I may also speculate a bit, don't know that I'd go as far as to say I theorize? in any case, feel free to ask me things!
I have a long post in my drafts analyzing the designs and color palettes of The Kingdom's confirmed members/associates + some other rich people but like. it was getting extremely long so I was going to break it up and I just like... haven't gotten around to it yet
maybe a good task for the hiatus/after s6 finishes airing?
hiiii. The Painted Lady* design variations (now all featuring her silly antennae!)
okay for real though! I wanted to try some variants after making the right-most design to be more akin to the canon's design principles since I also felt like it wasn't really conveying the sort of Mourning/Wedding duality I initially wanted for her - which, it's fine if the concept changes, but then the veil probably would need to go at some point, yknow?
under the cut I'll give some notes about the 4 designs, broken up by isolated images of them
CONTEXT: The Painted Lady AU (or tplau) is a swap AU in which Gabriel used the Peacock, leaving Emilie to try to bring him back. Scouting Paris transformed has given her a sort of cryptid status, both an unnerving unknown figure at first yet oddly beautiful. Paris's own Mothman, they dubbed her The Painted Lady before she got down to business.
*I know "The Painted Lady" is kind of a mouthful, I haven't decided what to call her for short yet tbh. my instincts always have me call her "Painty" but idk if she'd appreciate that so I usually pivot to "Lady"
as for the designs! from left to right, we have her original design, a hybridized design, her original with a Few tweaks, and the "more but not quite canon compliant" design from a while back
Original Design
Her veil goes from dark purple/off black at the top to white at the bottom in reference to mourning And wedding veils. I like to think the dark part covering her eyes is symbolic of her being blinded by her tragedy, unable to reach the light just beneath her gaze... but that's maybe a stretch. In any case, her skirt mimics this color pattern for the same reason, and the cut of it all is meant to invoke weddings
The flower crown brings back some of her gold contrast (like her sash and cane) and breaks things up. Unfortunately, I go back and forth on if I like it at all, because it sometimes feels juvenile to me.
The antennae are there because she's a butterfly
... Okay, they're also there because I like them. They might be fake now, though. In any case, they help push her Cryptid silhouette.
A lesser note and subject to change, they tie her Butterfly design to the Adrien's Ladybug designs I've made where he, too, has silly curly antennae (rather Unlike a ladybug...) and I like the idea of a tie
Her wings are there for similar reasons as the antennae, but are more likely to change/be removed. Here, they're also meant to look cape-like, and flow from her capelet that's otherwise an aesthetic choice, as well as a way to break up some monotony
More Mindful of Canon Design
(This is the rightmost design on the original image, but it's going here for Context)
Her veil and wings/cape have been trimmed. Since the show is 3D, they don't tend to have a lot of loose fabric. She's pushing it, still
To that end, she has pants! You can also see her impractical heels
I wouldn't give 90% of the cast heels when transformed, but Emilie... well. It's Emilie.
The flower crown has been replaced with a silver tiara to try a different, less invasive look. It's silver because I felt a bun would fit the crown better, but that meant it couldn't be silver with her blonde hair (and I haven't gotten around to experimenting with her hair or skin)
Antennae are back! Popular demand (me + 2 cool mutuals)
The Hybrid Design
The shorter veil is here again for a Hint of canon adherence, and it does have a shape that reminds me of butterfly wings
Her crown is gold now that I've put her hair back down, in hopes of a more even color distribution
Most obviously, her "dress" is a little bit more coat like, like canon Mayura's. It opens in the front above the knees to reveal dark pants/leggings and white boots that are cut to again reference butterfly wings
The capelet follows the last design's principles as to not clutter fabric or dip into real wing territory
The Tweaked Design
The return of the longer veil, because I like the color distribution better. I also was concerned that the shorter veil took away from the duality, so I wanted to try the longer veil again
Instead of the flower crown, a gold crown ornaments the veil. Again, her hair is down again so I hope the color distribution works
Her capelet is the same as the last two, for a cleaner silhouette and is frankly one of the biggest tweaks here
Other than that, her long, floor-length skirt is here again because I don't know if the hybrid design or the pants read Wedding/Mourning Duality quite as well
If you read all this, thanks for sticking around! I'd love to fuss with her design more and see which one people are more drawn to, but I've liked these so far! Maybe one day I'll even settle on a design and get to other characters
Iām always like āThe Painted Ladyās eyes probably donāt Always glow, just when she needs to look cool or somethingā and then I Never draw her without glowing eyes
So this is ENTIRELY speculation, but I was doing my nightly check of the RTS schedule and noticed something:
As of right right now, they aired episodes 17 and 18 last week, are airing episodes 19 and 20 this week, and will air episodes 21 and 22 next week.
Assuming they continue this pattern, that would mean episodes 23 and 24 would air two weeks from now, andā¦.. episodes 25 and 26 (aka the finale) would air three weeks from now, aka July 5th ! Again, that part is speculation, but it gives us something to go off of in regard to when the finale will air, which is better than nothing!
I know this can feel far away, but A) could be much worse unfortunately, and B) based on how theyāve done things in the past, it can be assumed that if RTS gets the episodes earlier they will air them earlier! If I had to take a guess, Iād say this framework is based off whatever estimate they themselves determined (or were givenā¦) for when they will get the episode, and the marathon is padding until then, but an estimate is an estimate at the end of the day and we can never be sure they wonāt drop em earlier! All this being said, I think the most optimistic take we can get rn is July 5th is the latest the episodes will air, but they can drop before then.
Hope thatās helpful in some way- I just wanted to share with you guys my findings/thoughts based on what Iāve seen in the past. Stay tuned for more solid news though, and see yāall (hopefully) soon!!
mmmm young nathalie, skill honed or purely bred, (that is to say, blood related or not), keeping close a sense of pride about being a pure reflection of her Father. sheās severely intelligent, sharp where others simply arenāt yet; she fills out in her biceps and thighs and her stomach is squared. all of this she is told by him. and, itās almost euphoric for her to be given by him menās suits and tailoring.
if thereās whispers or rumors about the woman before her, itās that she was a nobody. stupid. an actual intellectual disability they say, too slow to keep up with anything. itās a virtue, said in everyoneās eyes that evaluate her, that sheās nothing like her. whatās a few years of childhood that canāt be flecked off? itās for the best she was only raised with one parent. itās for the best she can barely remember the woman at all.
in all nathalieās cleverness, itās almost impossible to figure him in love, what that looks like. she knows what it looks like between them, at least, but thatās special, thatās different, thatās theirs.
she learns about genetics and thinks sheās an anomaly. sheās his right hand, not a copy. thereās a sameness that canāt be replicated by duplication, it just feels as natural as wiggling your five fingers. he is well respected, and she is respected by him.
Iām imagining once she feels secure in her position under her Father, (taking of that what you may), someoneās slipped a photograph under her pillow. itās of a woman whoās so strikingly similar, nathalie thinks itās of her, though with rounder face and softer curves and a thick, post-pregnancy stomach and a warm smile and everything so inherently antithetical to nathalie that it makes her virulently sick.
