#bug words

[wabart]

Got so enthusiaatic abt drawing men kissing that I had to go to the optometrist

[zoruaplush]

mesmerizer mikuteto the doomed yuri ever.......

[arrigatoroy]

The sheer horror nursery rhymes can invoke is uncanny.

[she-went-with-the-words]

[wabart]

What would you say are the key differences between Tevinter Nights Lucanis and Veilguard Lucanis? How did the ossuary actually change him?

This is such a good question!! Here is my take on it... pls excuse some stream of consciousness word vomiting...

TL;DR: key differences are that TN Lucanis represses stuff even more, speaks his mind even less, and only has the Crows to live for (Caterina made sure of that). Spite chose him because they are alike, and makes it more difficult for Lucanis to repress things.

Lucanis seems to me like someone who is introverted but used to masking it. He's a homebody, he keeps to himself, he's charming (because it's what's expected of him, and because he can form good rapport cos he is quick/witty in conversation) but he isn't gregarious. He doesn't like to be the centre of attention. He seems to me like he is a pretty normal, sensitive guy who likes to help people but who was not born into a lifestyle suited to it, and he never got proper socialization with kids his age/got to have a real childhood. So he's a bit quiet and has a hard time expressing or fully grasping his emotions when they are complex. He loves and values his family, will always put them first, and will find actions to show it because Dellamortes don't say their positive/vulnerable feelings out loud, they're expected to be implied. So he cooks for them and is afraid to be told he's loved. etc.

He shows he loves his grandmother, the only role model he has, by always doing what she asks of him, always striving to meet her expectations, always trying to be deserving of her love by not disappointing her; his love is unconditional, hers is not. He shows he loves Illario, his brother (close enough), the only remaining family member who he can really speak to (even if they don't make a habit of it), by looking out for him, being there for him, keeping him safe.

(But Illario doesn't need him to. I don't think he gets himself into MORE bad situations than Lucanis does, they're just different ones that carry a more negative connotation with the Crows. I think Lucanis inherits Caterina's habit of underestimating Illario's capabilities because they are different from his own--not that there are other crows who do the exact same as Illario who are disliked across the board or anything. I think it's that Lucanis and Caterina are already biased against Illario because of his personality (that is: how he responded to the trauma of their upbringing) and that manifests itself through lacking respect for him as an assassin. Is it any wonder Illario ended up turning on them if they were all he has, but they still could not manage to see him as equal?)

Lucanis already had spite inside him, because he had the determination to survive under the duress of Caterina's guardianship, where it was beaten into him that family comes first, even when family is the one killing him. I get the (maybe unfounded) impression that Lucanis has been spiteful his whole adult life. He's in his mid-to-late thirties, and what does he have to show for it except that he has spent his entire life doing what Caterina told him to? Once Caterina is gone, what does he have? There will be no one to tell him what to do. He will get the First Talon title, which as of TN he ALREADY doesn't want (and knows he will get anyway, and seems both in denial and a bit meek about the certainty of it being given to him).

I like to think (and idk this is prob not a groundbreaking interpretation) that Spite didn't make Lucanis very different; Spite was attracted to what was already inside him, and embodied those same survival mechanisms he developed in his youth and used in the Ossuary, and Spite is giving voice to all those repressed thoughts and feelings that have been simmering for decades. Before the Ossuary, I think Lucanis stood a chance of spending his life repressing those feelings still, and just carrying on doing whatever Caterina told him to do until he died. But after VG, and after Spite, he just can't do that anymore.

In planning out a possible post-VG ending for Lucanis, I was thinking that he would still accept the seat of First Talon because he still doesn't have it in himself not to. He knows he doesn't want it, knows that while Caterina is alive, saying no to it would mean failing her (and losing her approval (despite knowing it sits on a frail foundation to begin with), her love, her support, as the only guardian he has, the person he's clinging to to patch over the wound left by the loss of his parents, which he still hasn't processed, because DELLAMORTES DON'T DO THAT).

I think that Lucanis is largely the same before and after the Ossuary in terms of how he comes across, mostly owing to the fact that I think his body/mind is used to trauma and hardship (it isn't like the Ossuary robbed him of his innocence) but Spite is still the embodiment of the impact it left on him. If he were in the Ossuary longer, or if I believed the Venatori actually did major shit to torture him (not a lot to go on there), it would probably be a different outcome. Biggest difference is that after the Ossuary, Spite makes it harder to mask and repress things long-term.

[wabart]

Do you have any art tips? Mostly for anatomy

VERY REALLY FAST rundown of some niche tips I have discovered, specifically for the body types I tend to draw (muscular-soft)

For torso: ribcage/lats area in purple, abdomen/belly comes in blue.

centre line to divide the chest and show the middle of the stomach. frowny face is the top of the abs (kisses the bottom of the pecs) and the nips. Pecs are trapezoidal and connect to the shoulders at a diagonal. The shape of the chest gets more rounded with more body fat generally

Then the traps are like a triangle, the bottom of the triangle is the general area of the collarbone, and the neck starts about halfway up the triangle (this is a super general guide ofc, lots of people aren't built like that... and this isn't perfect anatomy!! but it's a shorthand I use for sketching.)

From the side, the torso has a couple major Bumps:

And when drawing a leg, I tend to draw "hip dips" (really what a stupid name) and the two big boy muscles. I dont draw feet/ankles because I despise them. I'm also terrible at butts.

ARMS!!!!! I do delts/shoulders, bicep, tricep, and idk forearm muscles im not an expert

triceps tend to be engaged when the arm is extended straight (leaning on a surface, downward pull, etc), biceps tend to be engaged when bending at the elbow. Going to the gym helps make this make a lot of sense. Or just exercise in general. Idk)

ELBOWS... I think of elbow like the hard spot that hinges between two meaty bits... This one I don't know how else to explain. I woke up one day and god granted me the power to make elbows look ok

Anyway ya I am not an expert but hopefully some of this is helpful. Biggest most boring advice is: practice with reference photos. Learn about the major muscles and how they fit together, including on your own body if you can see them relaxed VS engaged. Practice practice practice until you can memorize the shapes. Practice!!!!!! And that's it

This is a good site for lots of poses but I also use good ol pinterest or take pics of myself if need be. That's a classic.

[wabart]

I was looking around for an Almond fragrance and saw this. I haven't tried it, but just the list of notes made me think of Octavian! 🥰 https://www.luckyscent.com/products/sticky-cake-by-comme-des-garcons-olfactory-library

funny you say that, because I actually have scents for him!! There is a little crossover with the one you sent but I think that profile would be what his hair/beard/soap products smell like, whereas his colonges and perfumes are more like Le labo's Santal 33 or Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille. Champagne Socialist does two really good dupes of these and I have both; they have an Etsy as well. You might be able to get an almond perfume from them too. I think he also smells like Lord of Misrule or Lust from LUSH. I think his clothes smell like Her Majesty's Oud (Atkinson's Oud Save the Queen), see here: https://champagnesocialist.com/products/her-majestys-oud-oud-save-the-queen-dupe-perfume-oil?_pos=1&_sid=5ee16b75e&_ss=r

[wabart]

my rookanis week contribution is maybe, MAYBE updating the longfic i've been avoiding for 5+ months