Tender is the Night

art and writing sideblog for @sweetstaraquarium

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SweetStarAquarium || Adult

Art and Writing blog for @sweetstaraquarium !!

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realised there's a non-zero chance we get canon designs for some angels coming up (either through nicole's marketing or through the aq) so wanted to put down my ideas for nabu malikata, sybilla, and yohualtecuhtin before hoyo got there first

these are still subject to change !! also its very late where i am but i'll rb this tomorrow with some design notes bcs these were suuuuuper fun to research

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OK design note rambles !! This got very long so I'm sticking it under a cut lmaoooo

for nabu malikata, I leaned into her various mesopotamian influences - her skirt is inspired by a relief of Al-Uzza, while her cloak and shoes were inspired by a page from The History of the Feminine Costume of the World*, depicting women's outfits from the Assyrian Empire. While there isn't really a consensus on which tcg artifact is her (if either), I used both for some inspiration, namely in the hair and colours palette. Nilou's horns were said to be directly inspired by Nabu so of course I had to add those too, as well as her Amethyst Crown. World Quest "The Eternal Dream, Ever Lush" describes her skin as having a "lunar sheen" so I added some subtle glitter to reflect that.

*while this book was a good historical resource, it was also created in the 1920s, so I must also give a big warning for Anti-Black and Anti-Indigenious racism, especially for the last chapter.

sybilla.... was very much vibes based haha. unlike the others she has less clear inspirations and no description of a physical form, outside of her withering into the form of a Golden Bee. Given that Remuria is well. Ancient Rome, that's where I looked for inspiration. Her yellow veil and dark hair were inspired by a painting of the nymph Melissa (the origin of the greek word for bee). The blue was also taken from this painting, but also from Phobos. It's covered in this drawing but I found a very interesting lecture on Ancient Roman hairstyles, including one of those buns that were sewn up. her outfit was inspired by paintings and statues of the Vestal Virgins.

Yohualtecuhtin was very fun to research. Her (english) name refers to a group of nine gods, collectively called the Lords of the Night - although, as the genshin wiki points out, she's likely to be based on Tezcatlipoca due to her connection with obsidian. Not only was her collar inspired by his depiction, but Tezcatlipoca is also connected to Jaguars - while yohual has cat familiars. As such, I incorporated the cats into her design - her headdress, inspired by Chalchiuhtlicue (another Lord of the Night, who I looked to for female clothing) is meant to invoke cat ears. I also noticed that one of the skirts on the diagram of Aztec Clothing had jaguar patterns, which I also incorporated. Her clothing colour scheme was taken from the Night Kingdom as a whole, with lots of purple and blue.

I hope you all enjoyed this very fun design ramble !! I had a lot of fun designing them. The Angel brainrot is real.

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realised there's a non-zero chance we get canon designs for some angels coming up (either through nicole's marketing or through the aq) so wanted to put down my ideas for nabu malikata, sybilla, and yohualtecuhtin before hoyo got there first

these are still subject to change !! also its very late where i am but i'll rb this tomorrow with some design notes bcs these were suuuuuper fun to research

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hey do you ever think about how koitar was tasked with eliminating civilisations on the heavenly principle's behalf. bcs i do.

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trying to break past my mental block w/ sketching rn, please take this nonsense in the meantime

this is also gunslinger seutervoinen propaganda please and thank you

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DILUC DAY !! you get a two for one special today yipeeeee

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A peculiar lifeform, shimmering with sacred golden light, that drifts like a moth through the equally mysterious interstice. Legend has it that Etherwing Moths were born from the feathers of angels who fell to the mortal world after rebelling against the lord of the heavens. However, this does not explain their presence here in the domain of eternal stasis. Perhaps, in the eyes of a certain deity, they are worth preserving, so that they may continue to bear witness to the punishment of sinners.

-Etherwing Moth, Archive

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dawnery siblings in one of the new luna vi miliastra outfits bcs its cute !! theyre cute !! and it was originally strawberry themed so i had to make a matching blueberry set for kaeya !! bcs theyre cute !!

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handful more unfinished diluc horse girl doodles bcs im still rotating that au in my mind

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follow up to yesterdays post - whajt if you had two troublemaker teenage daughters and they were also Very Fast.

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v silly scribble bcs i was thinking about uma!diluc again and went "wait.... what if both the dawnery siblings were horse girls.... and thats why they're the cavalry captains....." so. (o^▽^o)

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This time of year...

It's the time of year when the weather begins to turn, and the Winery starts preparing for the upcoming Windblume Festival.

If you're not too busy, join us for dinner. I have some new drinks that could use your input.

(Happy Valentine's Day !!)

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...Since I had a beast to keep me company, serving as my emissary, how could I possibly mourn? ...Sing to it I shall. Just as I shall also mock and ridicule its foolish ways. ...Yet, it did not grow impatient or resentful. Instead, it listened carefully to my words and heeded my voice. It bowed low before me, obeying my commands and decrees. ...I called it a stupid dog, but it bore no grudge. I patted its fur, but it showed no anger. ...I found it pleasing to the eye and rather endearing, so I named it Boreas (meaning "North Wind") and let it, as well as its kin, share my dwelling. ...

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when i said i was gonna put koitar in the pear wiggler i meant it btw

[WIP !!]

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wanted to refine my seutervoinen + koitar designs from This post - esp koitar bcs while i was enjoying the nicole = koitar allegations, i a) know when a theory is squashed and b) had the realisation that there is no mention or depiction of koitar with long hair and went "oooh hoo hoo!!"

once again these arent like. 100% final - as i draw them more and get more comfy drawing them im sure they'll change but i wuv them. putting them both in the pear wiggler <3

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new year, new diluc in a miliastra outfit ‼️

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The new moon always listens to the wishes of the living, be they laughter or tears, happiness or sorrow. It makes one wonder, does the new moon have a wish of its own?