i finally got around to updating their references... ive always felt very shy about actually rambling on public posts like this, so hopefully ill get used to it eventually Lol. that being said, more thoughts below 👇🏾
hillside is finally getting a long-needed overhaul that's really been reworking and redefining a lot of "key" aspects from earlier drafts. ive never felt satisfied with earlier concepts and i think i've finally figured out the reason to that was because i was unwilling to change those aforementioned key aspects. all characters are finally no longer highschoolers and are in their early 20s now. i've realized recently as i get older that i simply don't have anything in common with teenagers anymore (even tho its not that big of a gap), and don't think i can tell a just and relatable story about that experience the way i wanted to when i was that age.
additionally, there are some darker topics that i had been wanting to tackle back in hillside's infancy... a lot of them had gotten taken out for a variety reasons, some for not fitting the tone or being unnecessary to the plot, but some also just felt wrong to put teenagers thru lol. that being said, while a lot of those topics aren't going to be coming back, i won't lie and say that aging them up hasn't opened the door for me to explore working some of those into the plot, especially with what i originally had planned for julia.
while i was working on these references, i also tossed up some character playlists based off of the stuff they'd listen to. all taste, but i'm sure these all say something about their characters. hilde's playlist is a good variety of everything theres fetty wap followed by paramore so make of it what you will. she's definitely a california kid at heart. cricket's playlist on the other hand pays pretty heavy homage to her country roots, both new and old and gay :p. there's also a lot of like divorced white dad music, which is to say america and eagles and johnny cash... and evokes a fun image and family dynamic i hadn't considered before
hilde: design wise, i don't think hilde has particularly changed much from her earlier forms, but i'm happy with how she looks. i've always enjoyed warmer colors on her and i feel like with time she's been drifting away from the band girl street fashion look and i really really like it. she's just kind of chill. i'm glad to have an excuse to finally highlight little things about her like everything on her id. she's named after her grandmother, who passed when her mother was pregnant... "niah" was what her planned name was going to be before they changed it to hildegard.
cricket: her hair just keeps getting longer! i think this is the first time i've really been able to say that i'm truly happy and satisfied with her outfit. i've always known how i want her to dress in theory but its been very hard to figure out this defining fashion sense for her. like hilde, i'm happy to have an excuse to show off all of the little details on her id card that i wouldn't really have an excuse to show off otherwise, like her legal name: dahlia willow bloom! both cricket's first and middle names are references, the latter of which being to o willow waly as per a friend's suggestion :) her address is pulled from the map of blossom hills i drew a few months ago. it's not real and it technically isn't a part of the blossom hills town borders but it looked more symmetrical that way :P
a lot of key aspects have been reworked! i'm ultimately feeling really happy about things. now if only that happiness would turn into motivation to make it happen lol