For anyone curious, these are the Keepers I have prepared for this year’s ArtFight.
Atheros, Master of Directionality (Redesign)
Erebeos/Erebus, Master of Fate/Finality
Gaeia, Master of Foundation
Astraeos/Danny, Master of Change/Rebirth
Took a few months, starting with Atheros’ redesign and finishing Danny’s literally last night. Needless to say, I’m so happy with the progress made so far, that I was able to bring these guys to vision. Especially Erebus. He’s my favorite for a reason.
All that’s left is Selenyx and Phaenes. Hopefully they will be ready for ArtFight next year! I do plan to draw them after ArtFight is over!
We all know who she is. Verdona is Ben and Gwen's estranged grandmother and Max's old partner, long before he met Xylene. And she's also an anodite.
Analysis and criticisms
Ever since her debut, Verdona had changed something fundamental with the Tennyson family. Because she was Max's old partner, that would make their two sons, Carl and Frank, half-anodites, and in-turn, that would also make their grandchildren quarter-anodites. But, just because they're half-anodite or quarter-anodite, it doesn't mean that they immediately possess mana-based powers. A descended anodite would have to inherit an anodite spark in order to grow and inherit their powers, and Gwen was the lucky child out of her generation to possess one. So, long story short, Verdona is Ben and Gwen's magical grandma, and the Tennyson family is now presented as a strange family of regular folk, plumber agents, and magical energy beings. Everything's fine and dandy, right?
Here's the thing: I think Verdona is a huge timeline inconsistency. Let's go back to the Ben 10 episode, "The Visitor". According to the episode, Max met Ben and Gwen's grandmother in St. Louis, hence why he looked so melancholic in the beginning of the episode, either that they split up or something bad really happened to Ben and Gwen's grandma. That immediately contradicts the Ultimate Alien episode "Moonstruck", where a young Max met a runaway Verdona in a diner in the middle of the desert. Sure, you could say that they probably had a later date in St. Louis, or maybe they broke up with each other in St. Louis, but still, it felt kind of contradicting whether or not Verdona was planned to be Ben and Gwen's grandma. It makes me wonder if UAF was intended to be a soft reboot or not. And speaking of the episode mentioned above, where does Xylene fit in this? I could try to pry into it further, but that's a can of worms I don't want to discuss about now.
Here's another thing about Verdona: she's a confusing, frustrating character to understand. Verdona had only appeared in three episodes throughout the course of UAF and in the game, Vilgax Attacks, and two of these appearances depicted most of her negative traits. For example, in the episode "What Are Little Girls Made of?", she harbored huge favoritism of Gwen over her grandson, Ben, due to Gwen's anodite spark and potential to become a full-fledged anodite, especially after Ben presented his Omnitrix to her. She wanted Gwen to become an anodite and take her to her home planet so she could train her into becoming a powerful, free-spirited energy being. When Gwen politely declined, Verdona takes matter in her own hands, strips herself of her old human disguise (as in she removed her human skinsuit), and battles against her own kids (and Kevin) so she could transform her granddaughter into an anodite by force. To think that a free-spirited anodite like Verdona would respect Gwen's personal choice to remain on Earth with her family as a human, but no, she had to go ham on her own kids. Later on in the episode "Girl Trouble", after dealing with her rebellious granddaughter, Sunny, Verdona continued to express favoritism of Gwen in front of the rebellious anodite, and she still expressed her desire for Gwen to come with her to Anodyne after all this time. Grandmother of the year, ladies and gentlemen.
You would think that Verdona is a good enough character to impact Ben, Gwen, and the Tennyson family, and yet, all she left them were a few bad impressions and generational pressure. I mean, sure that Verdona helped her kids out with dealing with the rambunctious Sunny in "Girl Trouble", and sure that she helped the main trio teleport towards Anur Phaetos during the events of Vilgax Attacks, but that's about two things she done some good for our main characters. If Max hadn't made his sacrifice in "Max Out" and wound up getting teleported to the Null Void, I wonder how would he react towards Verdona's attitude towards Ben and Gwen. Hmm, I wonder if that's how he and Verdona split. Maybe there were tensions between the two after Max found out Verdona's carefree, yet near-selfish attitude towards normal, non-powerful people. Maybe Verdona tried to make anodites out of her own kids, Frank and Carl, but later realized that they didn't possess the anodite spark and gave up on them. Maybe Verdona realized that she couldn't live such a normal life in an average, simple world like Earth, and so, once Frank and Carl are old enough to fly the coop, she decided to split from Max and leave Earth, at least that's how I see it.
What could have been...
You know, I feel like Verdona could have been an actual antagonist (not entirely a villain, though) in the series had her actions and attitudes weren't just waved off in a whim by the narrative. If so, there probably could have been a family member in the Tennyson rogues gallery. Imagine if Verdona didn't hold herself back in her episode debut and revealed her true nature and attitude towards non-powerful beings. Imagine if Verdona actually tried to transform Gwen into an anodite by force (which is something that I would call "forced anodization"). Imagine if she were to constantly encounter her granddaughter multiple times throughout the series and push her into becoming an anodite, probably saying something like, "This world is holding you back, Gwen," or something like, "You don't need them anymore. The only family you'll have is me." Long ago, I looked at a deviation of Verdona being surrounded by rebel anodites (something that I mentioned in my last post on anodites) and how the artist talked about her potential as an antagonist in Gwen's small rogues gallery, as well as Verdona being a member of a rebellious, yet radical group of rogue anodites. I'd figure that, similar to Charmcaster, she could have served as another foil to Gwen, being a representation of unlimited, unrestrained power and potential, yet holding a disregard and attitude towards regular, non-powerful sentient life.
My initial idea for Verdona were to have her revamped into a siren/witch-inspired antagonist. She would have lived for a hundred years and woo a dozen men into making love with her so that she would conceive a child. And afterwards, she would then train her child into becoming a full-fledged anodite throughout their childhood, and once they're fully grown and well-trained, she would then forcefully transform them into an anodite and assimilate them entirely (both their whole body and their very power) so that Verdona herself can grow even more powerful. Wicked, ain't it? I was largely imagining her as some sort of witch, particularly one who has a physical disorder that weakens her and her very energetic structure, so she would have to rely on assimilating other fellow anodites in order to rejuvenate her body. Then, it got worse when she realized that younger anodites are twice as powerful than adult anodites. She's basically like Spectra from Danny Phantom except that she relies on positive psychological manipulation.
Here's how I imagine her backstory with Max could have played out. Back when she was young, she wooed Max with her magical charm, and he let her into his life. Little did he and his kids know, she was planning on making Carl and Frank into powerful anodites so that she would gobble them up like a hungry witch. Thankfully, Carl and Frank didn't possess the anodite spark, so she saw no use in absorbing them whole. I imagined that Max also soon realized that Verdona was actually an energy-absorbing witch and then had a nasty argument with her when he found out about her true intentions with their kids. Eventually, they split up, but not before another nasty argument involving laser guns and mana blasting. Many years later, she discovered that her granddaughter, Gwen, possess the anodite spark and is recently a wiz at her magical abilities. The events of "What Are Little Girls Made of?" would play the same, except that not only is Verdona presented as more vicious and more apathetic, but Max is also there, as I would have have him not sacrifice himself in the events of "Max Out". In fact, I would have Verdona use her anodite charm to condition him into a happy, loving grandpa who likes to bake sweet, fruity cherry pies and cook scrumptious spinach casseroles. Does this sound like something Max would cook? After Max is freed from Verdona's charms, he would then use a prototype teleportation bomb that would send Verdona far away from Earth. During the climax of the battle, we would see Verdona's true, gangly form wither into view while trying to pull herself away from the portal. After these events, Verdona, Ben and Gwen's grandmother, is now officially added to the Tennyson rogues gallery. Like I said, this is my initial idea for Verdona's revised character, of which I decided to recycle for a different character.
Alternatively, Verdona doesn't need to be a former lover of Max, and by extension, she doesn't need to be related to Carl, Frank, and Ben, only Gwen through her mother, Natalie. I was thinking about Verdona's biological relation with the Tennyson family and their anodite heritage, and I feel that it's a bit unnecessary for Ben to be quarter-anodite, same goes for Carl and Frank being half-anodite, especially since neither of them don't possess the anodite spark. So, why not make Verdona Gwen's maternal grandmother instead? It would make more sense for Natalie to be super distrustful with Verdona, considering the indication of her own mother pressuring her into becoming a full-fledged anodite during her childhood, but not to eat up, though. Once again, the events of "What Are Little Girls Made of?" would play the same, and Verdona still wants to transform Gwen into an anodite regardless of her feelings. So, what if Natalie swoops right in and uses her anodite powers against her own mother? After that, she and Gwen perform a magical spell to summon a large portal to banish Verdona far away from Earth. They then reconcile, and Natalie apologizes to Gwen for not being honest with her anodite heritage or her grandmother. Like I said before, Verdona is officially added to the Tennyson rogues gallery after these events.
Alternatively, Verdona doesn't need to be an antagonist at all. In fact, she could also have character development once she understands better of Gwen's personal choice to remain on Earth. Let's say that she would learn from the perspective of non-powerful beings and their own norms and limitations, like from her own family. She could still remain free-spirited, but she could still learn from her own attitudes and feelings, realizing that there's more to life than maintaining your free spirit or lording over your inferiors. She could even grow as a proper grandmother to Gwen and Ben, and she could still train Gwen with her magic, just not in Anodyne. Heck, she could also reconcile with the rest of the family, including Max, and be the mother she could have remained after her kids were grown-up. Or, if you choose for Verdona to be Gwen's maternal grandmother, she could make amends with her own daughter, Natalie, and apologize for being so rough on her throughout her childhood. Maybe there ought to be a rogue anodite (or a group of rogue anodites) that Verdona and the main trio would encounter, and during the battle, the rogue anodite asks Verdona why she chose to remain here on Earth and help the less powerful humans, the type of inferiors the council leaders concern about, only for Verdona to reply, "That's my family you're talking about!" And then, she pulls the biggest magical spell we see from her and blasts away her opponent, thus earning her role as Ben and Gwen's grandmother.
So, that's all I want to share how I feel about Verdona, her character, and her potential. There's basically multiple ways to revisit her character, either as a member of a dangerous rebel group, a sadistic witch with a need to rejuvenate her body, an apathetic energy being with little regard over family, or a confused energy being with a lot of room to grow. There are a couple of posts I'd like to make about other characters, like Kevin and his character between the original series and the UAF series. But, that's all for now.
I have recently been revising a few of my characters lately and they looked fantastic! Bulk looks better than before. He is much taller and stronger than before.
Okay so the more I think about this game and it's narrative, the more I dislike so many parts of it. I do stand by the opinion that Yandere Simulator has the potential to be a really good game but as it is now it needs a lot of work and revision. But I'm not really going to talk about that too much right now... but I will talk about it at a later date. So for now lets talk about Senpai Taro Yamada and by extension Hanako.
The more I think about Hanako's character and the role she plays as a rival the more pissed off about it I become. It's so damn stupid! I really want to make her character more interesting and less dumb. And in order to do that her brother also needed to be redesigned. Lets face it Taro Yamada has got to be one of the blandest, most boring aspects of this game. Not just design-wise either. (Also can't get past that he looks like a Yandere-dev's self insert character.)
Like seriously where's his personality? All I really know about him is he's a loner who reads books all day, listens to Mozart, and his only friend is a girl he's lived next door to most of his life. How is this loser attracting attention from 10... no 9...no SEVEN kickass female characters?! (Not including Yan-chan). And before I get carried away there's nothing wrong with reading (I love reading) or listening to classical music just that it seems he doesn't have any other interests besides those things. Honestly Taro gives me old man vibes more than 18 year old boy.
I have a kind of vision for how to make Taro at least a little more interesting. Obviously, this is just my opinion and some other people could most likely do a much better job with him than me but I'm gonna take a shot at it anyway. First off I was trying to draw a much more handsome version of Taro. I was trying to make him look like a Shojo manga love interest. The vision I had in my head was maybe a bit of a cross between Kyoya from OHSHC and Asuka from the Otomen manga series. I didn't really succeed in my opinion but I do still like this drawing. As for his personality I kinda want to stay true to the original Senpai but just expand on it a little.
Bear with me here, I'm not the best story teller when it comes to typing things out. Imagine a school boy whose so insanely popular due to his handsome looks and intelligent, cool persona. Everyone is in awe of him but also a little intimidated as well. Though there's really no need to be. Rumors circulate about how kind and sweet he is but no one seems to have the guts to say hi. Except his best friend Osana. However once you get to know him he's a huge dork! Clumsy, shy, socially anxious, and longing for some friends buy too introverted to really try to make any. It also doesn't help that every time he walks past a group of people they all start whispering sometimes giggling behind him.
"Why are they laughing? Do I have something on my back? Why does no one talk to me? Do they hate me or something?"
Maybe it's a little trope-y and silly but this is all I've really got at the moment. I just really think it could work for his character if he's an introverted, clumsy bookworm with severe social anxiety. At least so it contrasts his looks. Thinking about the rivals I could easily see some of them (like Kizana) being taken in by his looks, and the others (like Amai) falling for him as a person. Plus it makes it easier to rewrite his relationship with Hanako. Basically I want her to be the exact opposite of her brother. He's shy, introverted with social anxiety. She's an extraverted, social butterfly who thrives on social interaction, Taro is oblivious and not very good at reading social cues. Hanako is attentive great at reading people. Basically I'd like them to be very close siblings who care for each other. Instead of Hanako acting like a clingy 5 year old how bout she's actually acts the way a younger sibling would act, but just more friendly? I'd like her to be encouraging of her brother to put more of himself out there and make more friends but also extremely protective of him in social situations. I'm not finished fleshing out this idea so I'll return and talk about it at a later date.
As always let me know what you think. I know I probably didn't really paint a good picture here but I do hope it makes Taro at least slightly more of an interesting character.
Decided to revise Atheros’ design… quite a lot. Obviously kept some things here and there, but I was unsatisfied with his original design, so here is the updated one.
For references, I used Zhongli, Jiyan, Jue, DHIL, Xiao, HoT, Scaramouche boss form, Chongyue, Chinese warrior outfits, and some of saint fallen’s art on IG. And even then, some of this stuff I just winged it from imagination to see what worked and what didn’t.
Really liked how this came out. (And yeah, he’s in the DP universe technically, so he counts as a DP OC).
This is without showing his long hair in the back or the tail/dragon form like his original design.
