hi @marykedoesart, this is my gift to you for @natsume-ss' spring exchange!
you said you like tanuma/natsume and heartfelt, emotional themes so i went very symbolic with this, haha. i really love the idea of using imagery from the fish pond in tanuma's backyard to represent these two and their dynamic, so that became the concept i ran with. i'll explain my whole thought process below, but in the meantime i hope you like it! 💖
pls bear with me here bc this is going to be very long and wordy lol
so there's a definite theme of separate worlds here; while the environments are both pretty abstract, the idea was that tanuma is sitting in his house looking out towards his backyard where the pond is, representing the "real world," whereas natsume is in a more fantastical underwater setting, representing the world of youkai. also there's the implication that he's sitting at the bottom of the pond, aka completely immersed in that other world, while tanuma can only perceive hints of it in the reflected light & shadow on the wall.
tanuma's side is lit by the glow of the setting sun, and natsume's by an otherworldly blue light. also, there's their clothes: tanuma is in his regular school uniform while natsume is in a yukata, something that pretty much all humanoid youkai wear.
next, their poses; they're both sitting exactly the same way as a reflection of each other but natsume has his head bowed while tanuma is looking up; this is meant to represent their different approaches to their relationship. natsume is definitely more closed off, both as a defense mechanism and because he wants to protect tanuma & keep him away from the dangers of youkai. tanuma, though, is open and contemplative, maybe even hopeful; he wants to be let in and he wants to help, even if it is dangerous.
the lighting reinforces these conflicting attitudes, with tanuma's side being brighter and warmer while natsume's is darker and colder, representing this sort of "optimism vs pessimism" dynamic.
so now, the fish. the bridge between their different worlds, basically. on natsume's side it's a real fish while on tanuma's it's a shadow cast on the wall, which is obviously the original conceit of the scene in the source material: natsume can literally see the fish, while tanuma can only see its shadow. still, even if it manifests differently, it still exists to both of them, so it's a connection between them concerning youkai.
so they're both in their separate worlds, but because of this connection they affect each other, maybe in small ways at first; as the fish crosses over the barrier it leaves little effects, little disturbances behind. on natsume's side, bubbles drift up towards the surface, little pockets of air like little lifelines showing the way, and on tanuma's side little droplets fall and create ripples in the reflected water, these small things that grow and grow outward until they're not so small anymore. little feelings that bubble up and ripple out, hoping to reach the other in their own way.
the fish brings these feelings across the barrier, endlessly looping around them as they endlessly call out to each other, trying to navigate this relationship they have; it's possible to bridge the gap between them as long as they look and listen and learn to embrace the things that make them different just as much as those that bring them together.
and that's about it! my goal was to make a symbolic piece about their struggle to understand each other but with a hopeful note, so hopefully that comes across! i hope my explanation at least sort of made sense and wasn't too confusing! (to be completely transparent i only had about half of that in mind while i was drawing it, the rest sort of came together as i was writing this. neat!)
and finally, here's a still frame in the original higher resolution so you can see it a bit nicer! 💖
“Give me at least one chance…to do something for you.”
Hello yes it’s me I’m back and with a completely different tone. I don’t even know if anyone cares about Ajin anymore except for me but chapter 73 gave me intense emotions. I hope to update this account more frequently in the future.
I was scrolling down tumblr and saw that you made art to my fanfiction!!! (Carousel). This is the first time somebody uses my work as inspiration, I'm incredibly happy! I showed this to everyone, my family, friends, people that barely know me...
Thank you so much! 💞 I love this with all my soul! Carousel is one of the works I'm more proud off, so it really means a lot ❤️
If I have your permission, I would love to put the link to your art at the end of the fic? If you don't like the idea don't worry, I'm already the happiest person on the whole world!
Have a nice day!
dude, no problem! ur fic was soo different in the best way possible and I still think about it a lot and how u packed so much into a single chapter. definitely feel free to link my art even tho it's just a sketch haha (also sorry I took like 3 days to answer💀)
what is singing but in-tune screaming; what is a dream but a delusion of grandeur; what is morganthe but someone who gave it all she had but wanted too much? sing, dream, plea, for the fantasy of power will consume until you can breathe no more.
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