Hello! My name is Bok - I'm an adult gay transgender man, he or they pronouns. I live in Australia! -⋆.⟡
I'm an artist, duh, but also a gamer and a writer (sometimes…)
Bookie is the ship name of my two OCs (original characters), Loki and Boots. I primarily post about them and I am currently working on their comic!
Boots and Loki started out as Marvel Movie OCs but together they have evolved so much that I consider them both my own OCs, they have their own lore and 50+ AUs (alternate-universes).
List of my TAGS:
#bookie - anything bookie (both of them, not just one)
#bok redesign - any redesigns I do
#bok art - my art
#bokpinions - all of my text-only posts
I also tag for each of my OCs and any characters i make fanart of, as just their names. -⋆.⟡
List of my OCs:
Boots Novason : Regular Boots
Loki Laufeyson : Regular Loki
Andromeda - "Andy" : half-sister of regular Boots, sharing a father
Boots Ibhubesi : My Main TWST OC
Lothar Lokison : TWST OC of Loki
If you ever have any questions please send me an ask!
Its so interesting that they chose Leona for Michael Jackson inspo/basically just copying his aesthetic, because Michael Jackson was a black American man who had vitiligo, and used makeup/skin bleaching to be completely pale. Image here
The Lion King is a movie set in Africa and the region in this game (the Sunset Savanna) is based on that movie. Leona is the PRINCE of this region. This would make him, from our cultural relevance because everything is within its context, the equivalent to an African man in our universe.
Someone in the decision making room for this game is continuously conflating black America with Africa, which is kind of outdated. The punk and cowboy aesthetic of savannaclaw for example, and now this.
Another OC ref sheet post! Introducing Loki Laufeyson in the full for the first time a design of his that is going to stick.
Loki is a cisgender man in a GAY relationship with my other oc BOOTS. theyre both aliens based on norse mythology. btw i found out im 39% irish isnt that cool
loki is half jotunn (giant gay spacemen (gay because their species is all-male)) and half wotever his mum is your gonna hav to find out in my comic innit?
which btw these two will be in a comic so you should follow me for that. its gonna be pretty cool.
loki is also a magic user and stuff ITS JUST ALL COOL OK
Vendetta's original design is really interesting to me. A direct comment from the artist who made her concept sheet (Kai Chang), who is extremely talented might I add, "Big thanks to the team for giving me so much freedom and space to create a character that reflects my personal preferences—an awesome dark-skinned girl!"
I wanted to make a concept of if I designed her - where I would take the concept of a female gladiator-inspired hero, whose father was killed by Talon, setting her out on a path for revenge. The subtle wolf motifs throughout her original design inspired me a lot, so here is what I came up with.
I just recently got to book 7 so I have been understanding a lot more about Lilia's character. The more I read the more I felt like modern day Lilia didn't really reflect a lot of his lore so I wanted to do a mini redesign to change a few things, but I can see myself doing a proper redesign for him one day.
Since his name is essentially (from my understanding) "Lily of Red," I wanted to keep the red colour in his hair. It being so blood-toned also represents to me how many lives he has taken and how that will always be with him. I extended his hair tassel things to look kind of like bat fangs, but still shorter than when he was a war general. I also kept the ponytail but put it up into a bun, representing how he is retired; like how one will put down their sword. I gave him wrinkles, more squinted eyes, and large round iris to show that cheeky old man energy his character has now. It also provides a good contrast to his past self. And since he is 700 years old and is inspired by bats, I feel like leaning into the vampire aesthetic suits him, so I gave him more prominent teeth. Let me know what you think!
This is part of my TWST redesign series!
Who else would you like to see me redesign? Let me know!
Adding Ace to your lesson is like adding banana to a smoothie. I swear i always hear him at the end of the lesson going "aaaatAAAAAAAAA" idk WHAT the fuck hes doing but i ALWAYS hear it
HI this is my OC Boots! Novason! He is a gleembo (alien) based in norse mythology. and he is trans boy. and GAY
His dad is a god and his mum threw him to earth when he was born :p so he grew up on earth. dw hes fine.
he met his other blorbo (alien) boyfriend and now they are dating GASP sorry i spoiled it!! wahhh >.<
his bf is loki who is coming next after this... omg mayb u should follow me to see the whole family tree... lokis mum is pretty hot lady ngl... ask me questions about them if you like... PLEEEEAAASSEEE-
I did my big one once again! And I mean that literally, this post is huge.
\/ Click below to read the whole thing! \/
Quick disclaimer: I am a white Australian, so I am not speaking from personal experience or anything and I could get something wrong, in which case, please correct me! But check my end notes before you do!
Leona has been my favourite character for a long time now, but as time went on, I slowly became more and more disappointed by his design and story. Leona, Savannaclaw and the Sunset Savanna are all based on The Lion King, which takes place in Africa, and so naturally all of these things in-game take inspirations from Africa. And you can see that! As flawed as it may be, you can tell. But for the dorm uniform, they went with an American biker/cowboy aesthetic... Right, right...
Not to mention (IN MY OPINION) Leona has the worst written Book in the whole story. He is the least sympathetic dorm leader, and at every turn the story makes him out to be an asshole and/or idiot. That's just weird. I mean at many points he feels genuinely out of character, because he's supposed to be VERY intelligent and yet he makes a dumb plan and gets outsmarted.
And obviously obviously, his skin tone is that of a paper bag, and his hair has a straight texture. These are really iffy features to give to the prince character of an African-inspired fantasy nation. Some people like to use the excuse (not so much in this game but other similar cases in media) that "its not real life, it doesnt have to be the exact same," which is not what people are asking for anyway. But when they choose to take inspirations from Africa, and yet strip the characters of any ethnic features, i simply ask... why is their fantasy black people not existing?
...Anyway- this redesign actually starts with my personal headcannons and rewrite of Leona's story, to fix some of the flaws it has (which I still intend to finish the rewrite I started posting, I'm just waiting for s2 of the anime). Essentially, I turn Leona from someone who uses Ruggie like a servant, brags about being a prince, and is ungrateful for his princehood for little reason, into someone who was passionate about leadership, is embarrassed by his posh-ness and tries to fit in despite it, but has eventually given up on himself because his family actually gave him a reason to. Just like all the other characters, he was actually hurt by someone/something FIRST, and THEN lashes out at everyone around him, because that's how human psychology works. Don't get me wrong, this version of Leona still has negative traits and does something bad to the people around him, it just gives him that sympathetic element that allows you to be engaged in the story. Like Riddle, who most people think is a cut and dry asshole at the start of the story, and then usually end up loving his character by the end of Chapter 1, because suddenly, you can understand his actions. The details will be clearer in my rewrite of Book 2, for now just use that as guidance for the different lens in which to view my redesign.
Now the actual art. I wanted the dorm uniform to take inspiration from Africa, so I did a bit of research, and I landed on the Zulu people as my main cultural inspiration, as you can see in my images. I made Leona's tattoo feel more meaningful, changing it from a lion to a shield, because Leona wants to protect the people of the Sunset Savanna and wants to be a good leader, something he's always wished for but knew he could never have. I also gave him lion feets because THEY ARE SO CUTE, I understand that may be a bit of a hit or miss change tho. I only did it cuz i was just feeling the vibes in that moment... I also gave him lots of beads because the Zulu people had a whole LANGUAGE of beadwork that is unfortunately lost, BUT i wanted to speculate for this fantasy universe, what if the language still existed and evolved? (i mean obviously people wear beads anyway but I think Leona would enjoy putting stories into the beads he wears using this language). I also gave him face paint to mimic those white-ish markings on a lion, and amber eyes becauseee i think amber fits more. Long sharp nails, more accurately shaped lion ears, a ponytail to mimic a lion mane, and of course... His scar. I dont know if his scar originally has an origin of where its from, but this new scar is from his father. Its grown out a lot since he first got it. (ALL TO BE REVEALED! >:3 you should followw meee if you dont wanna miss when i update my rewrite!)
And and aaand here are two videos I used in my research that I think you should check out!
Youtube Video: "7 black character design stuff i hate!" her entire second point reminded me a lot of Leona LOL
Youtube Video: "Beadwork as language: love letters & hidden knowledge in Southern Africa"
Hmm... I think that's everything! This is definitely my longest TWST redesign post yet. But I think (and hope you agree) that it was worth it for me to ramble about my faaaaavourite little guy... Idk whats wrong with me AHA ANYWAY i reaaaalllyy hope you like this redesign BUT if there are ANY issues with it that you notice PLEASE feel free to let me know in the comments or a dm or ask-box (just make sure you detail exactly WHAT i got wrong so i can correct it!) Seriously, I want to learn, and I want my post to be a platform for anyone who knows more to shine aswell.
This is part of my TWST redesign series!
Who else would you like to see me redesign? Let me know!
HEY TWST FANS ARAB HERE WHO WISHES TO SHARE HER KNOWLEDGE TO THE NON ARAB FANS (IF YOU ARE ALSO ARAB AND KNOW MORE THEN ME PLEASE SHARE )
I believe his name is Mistranslated and this is my post for why and what it may actually be
EXTREMELY Long explanation about Arabic and our new characters name under the cut (disclaimer the Arabic dialects I’m familiar with is the Quranic one, the Levantine one, and the Egyptian one, as those are the dialects I’ve learned growing up)
I BELIEVE HIS NAME IS MISTRANSLATED OR AT THE VERY LEAST I BELIVE THE JAPANESE VAS ARE POTENTIALLY STRUGGLING IN THEIR PRONUNCIATION OF HIS ACTUAL NAME???
While Minazir isn’t exactly an Arabic name, it’s technically Uzbek (a central Asian nation with turkic heritage) and translates to “Minaret” which is the tall tower masjids/mosques have where you’d call the Muslims for prayer
However I don’t think that’s the name the creators gave him, it Doesn’t fit
I THINK HIS ACTUAL NAME IS MUNAZIR
Munazir is an actual Arabic name for boys, it can be translated as “Discussioner”, “observer”, “Warner”, or “one who cautions”
The name itself is both used as a last name or first name, it’s typically considered a scholarly name
And for a character based off of Princess Jasmine, a cautious and observant princess, (and I’m assuming his character is meant to be a narrative foil to Jamil)
Munazir is a perfect name
The reason why I think his name is being mistranslated and mispronounced
Is because when you wish to speak any Arabic language (cause good god there’s WAY TOO MANY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF ARABIC)
You pronounce the words from your throat,
Often times when an Arabic teacher teaches you how to pronounce the Quran or simply conversational words they’ll tell you to make a “Gurgle” noise from your throat like when you gargle water when cleaning your mouth with mouth wash
However, Japanese is a very “Nasaly” language, when you pronounce the words out loud, you speak “through your nose” so to speak
And for another example when you pronounce English words you pronounce from around your mouth
That’s why when people learn a new language that requires you to pronounce the words through different location then usual, you’ll have an “Accent” because your not pronouncing the words through the right “location” (think tactics professional opera singers use, it’s similar tactics used to teach accents/dialects)
And that’s just for the mispronunciation
The reason why his name is SO mistranslated
Is because the Arabic alphabet and the Japanese alphabet is EXTREMELY different
You see the Japanese alphabet and the Arabic alphabet are used in vastly different ways
For people in Japan there language is built/based on three scripts as seen above
While Arabic uses Root-based vocabulary (like how a lot of English words are used using Latin and Greek works, prefixes, suffixes and the like)
However for Arabic root words AKA “Jidhr” we use the letters above
For example, if I wanna say the word “Book” in Arabic I would say “كتب” ->“k- t- b” (Kitab)
If I want to say something in Arabic that’s heavily related to the word “book” it’ll be derived from “Kitab”
For example, the word “Library” is “مكتبة”
Mak ta ba
There are MUCH more rules to the Arabic language itself but I feel this is the best way I can explain to people with absolutely no history with Arabic whatsoever????
Anyways yeah share this with other twst fans on other platforms blaze it do whatever you want or if you disagree with me I’ve got a box of tomatoes in the corner back there if you wanna throw them and boo at me
Do whatever yall wanna do with this information byeeeee 💖💕💅💕💖
I think his design I'd really cool actually! I just changed his boots brown bc why tf are they blue, he already has lots of vibrant colours. I made the green a bit darker and the pink is like an old desaturated pink, bc it was a bit too bright for an accent colour. Oh, maybe I should've put some pink accents in the boots too, to tie it all together.
He should have a long coat pirate style btw. But I love how his shirt looks like waves and fish fins (?) So that's cool.
(I was watching the little mermaid while doing this and. Well. Fuck Disney. I can't even watch a movie without it lagging and stopping every fucking 3 seconds. Disney+ is shit).
