Do you guys ever think about the amount of pressure and how draining it must be to have been Orange growing up?
No no like seriously think about it, think about it.
When everyone found out that Citron would be next in line for the throne, Orange was dragged into the spotlight with him. It had to have been from the jump that people who didn't want Citron, the son of a commoner, as King latched onto Orange.
"Orange would be a better fit." "Orange should be king." "Why the son of a commoner when the next son isn't one?"
Like Orange probably heard stuff like that all throughout his life, that's a lot. To immediately be put in a box as a better fit for ruler, and you know it was a lot of pressure because he then dedicated his life to proving that point. He had to be better than his hard-working, calculative, already training/set-to-be-the-King older brother, when from the get-go people preferred him.
Sure Citron worked to win over the public's opinion but don't you think that hurt more? So many thought you'd be a better fit and now they're saying your brother is a good fit, that they're happy and satisfied with that? What? Was your hard work not good enough? Were you somehow worse than him? Did you dissatisfy the people?
Orange grew up feeling in constant comparison to Citron. Feeling in the eye of the people. Knowing that if anything happened to lead to Citron not being King, he was next up. And even with the number of people who liked Citron, there were still people who thought Orange should be King instead, including extremists, one of which worked for Orange directly for who knows how long. He couldn't relax, he couldn't quit, he didn't have the room to.
They tell us that Citron couldn't get along with his brothers because the competition for the crown but we don't get to see it from Orange and Navel's perspective much. We know they were curious enough about Citron that they'd copy some things he did, such as reading one of his favorite books. But let's not forget they had a negative takeaway from that book, they didn't get it. Their world, though similar to Citron's, has colored their lenses darker than his, to where they couldn't see the positive over the parts that didn't make sense to them, over the negative. Also, they see Citron as lucky, that he was born under a lucky star. While Citron was the one to say they then must've been born under unlucky stars, they already were somewhat thinking that to point out how lucky Citron is. After all, they had to have been comparing his luck to something to conclude he was lucky.
Being Orange was being bitter and cold and working hard to accomplish a goal. A goal many thought you were suited for, to the point that you believed it yourself, that you had to prove it to your father-- to everyone, that you had to be ready if it ever came to pass. And that's what he did.
He worked hard, and plotted, and schemed, and grew so desperate. And it wasn't even because he hated Citron. Because he doesn't hate Citron. Orange resents Citron, he thinks it should've been him instead, he thinks he needs to prove himself better than Citron, he thinks Citron is in his way. But he doesn't hate him. If he hated him he wouldn't read his favorite book to try and get that bit of understanding. If he hated him he wouldn't care if Citron died, so long as he got the throne. But he did read that book, and he did care that Citron lived, making it clear that he thought just kidnapping him was suffice. So yea, Orange didn't do all of that out of hatred for Citron, but moreso out of (self)obligation, expectation and determination.
It was hard in his earliest years for him not to desire the crown, the comments against Citron likely initially felt somewhat as a compliment. So of course, it became something more something he just had to make tangible. People believed he could, he believed he could, he just had to get there. He'd been convinced from a young age that this was what he wanted. And maybe he really did. But it wasn't easy and all his hard work never seemed to come to fruition.
He worked hard and people grew to like Citron as next in line. He studies to be prince, was days away from his coronation, and Citron shows up for the crown. Orange kidnaps his brother, (says no on the killing of him) to try a last ditch effort of getting the crown because if Citron was coronated he wouldn't get any other chances. But the one person who was supposed to be on his side and listen to him directly, didn't and everything went up in flames, which he didn't want, and he's been stripped of the chances to become king(because he did set up basically an attempted hit on his brother). And his reputation was completely tarnished, being blamed for things he didn't do, such as breaking the translation device.
Of course, Orange's actions are his own and of course he has to make up for the harm he's caused and of course people's view of him was gonna change. But gosh it's so exhausting being Orange, working your whole life for the affection, respect and approval of the people, of your father, and for it all to turn to dust. All that hard work down the drain.
You think he ever wished he was Tangerine? Blissfully out of the race for Crown, able to have time without people looking closely at your actions in comparison to Citron's, able to breathe?
Something I thought of a year ago but (accidentally) posted recently then hid from everyone was what if the Zafran Princes's moms had a part in how they turned out, not like flat out "Orange you should do whatever it takes to be King even if it means leading an attempted murder plot" but like in the sense that how they talked to, about and around them, as well as their overall presence in their lives sorta supported how they turned out. Here's my initial post (if this works) & below I shall share more thoughts on how I see their moms. (Which has sorta been sprinkled in some of my other posts tbh.)
Citron's Mom:
To me, Citron's mom is a nice enough lady but, she didn't spend much time with him. (And that second part is canon really) Also. She definitely added to the pressure he felt to be the proper, scholarly, next in line. How & why are these things? Well for her absence, I wanted to say that I think she wasn't married to the King. But I double-checked and evidently, in Year 2, Act 8, they do call Citron's mom the King's fourth wife, in the English translation(is that fourth excluding the queen? Or is the king only married to three of his sons' moms?) But like I really feel like she didn't live in the castle tbh. Maybe they divorced? Idk I was so sure for a moment that they were dating at most and had a fling-turned-pregnancy at minimal. But I guess they were legitimately married.
Either way the point is, I felt she did not live in the castle but did visit Citron at times.(Though I guess she can still visit "at times" if she does live there) Not often but, you know, when she made time. And things she'd say in her visits? Apologizing for his background, encouraging him to study hard (so people won't hold him to said background), commenting on how much of a prince he is, the like. So even with her not being around much, she'd have a strong effect on Citron as these are things kids internalize. Especially with the world around him reinforcing this. But yea, I think she works a decent amount and as Citron got older she probably saw less of a need to visit as it's not like there's much she can do for him anyway. He's a prince. Do I think she's right for this? Of course not, but I think all their moms were flawed, so. Moving on!
Orange's Mom:
This woman. Well she was around a lot more than Citron's mom that's for sure. Not hard but still it was notable I think. And she didn't like Citron I'm sure. I think she has a very, "oh hello :>" proper and elegant demeanor but she agrees with all the meanspirited comments so easily. Think in Loathing from Wicked when Galinda said "Well, these things are sent to try us~🎵" that's her energy I think. Anywho, she's pretty much besties with Navel's mom, or at least they hang around each other a lot, and had a lot of her "not a commoner as ruler" convos with her right in front of Orange, I do think she was more against Citron, the son of a commoner, being next in line than she thought Orange should lead.
But she definitely took any comments that he should be first in line as personal compliments and thanked whoever said that to her accordingly. But in all honesty as I type this I'm not sure they had much of a dynamic, like she'd get him from the caretaker, walk him to and fro his room, have tea with him, Navel and Navel's mom, etc. But I can't actually imagine them talking much if at all. So I think Orange learned to be more in his head or at least fairly quiet and keeping his opinions mostly to himself through this. Like he's almost basically her display son. [But I do think he might've sorta could tell she was more against Citron than she wanted him to be next in line and thus felt a bit of the having to prove himself bit, but just a bit]
Navel's mom:
She's much more talkative and expressive I think. Expressive as in where, Orange's mom might give an irritated smile, Navel's mom would frown, but not like super loud about them. Also expressive as in she's more likely to say what her opinion is. I think she would like Navel, her son, to be first in line, but she thinks Orange is a better fit, that he's more of a natural when it comes to being proper and prince-like and whatnot. So she'll list 'em both if/when saying "next in line should be…" but she doesn't really think Navel's quite right for the throne. She does somewhat steer him that way as I'm sure she's scolded him a lot for his "undesirable"[read: energetic/kid] traits and has probably compared him to Orange and possibly even Citron. Yea I think Navel is a character who's kept up in the prince competition to sorta prove himself but I think he definitely wanted to be different than Orange just not in a "be more like Orange he's right your wrong" way. Just a "they're different people" way. I think he does have slight "but is Orange really always right/best?" mentality because of his mom sorta pitting him against him but I do think Orange has always been nice to him and he does want to trust Orange's decisions because of that. And also he feels sorta like he has to but yea.
This started turning into being about Navel more than his mom. Whoops. Anyway, yea she also is out & about with him when he's younger, to and fro his room, from the caretaker, over tea. But she's more critical of him than Orange's mom is to Orange, but she also talks to him more so Idk.
Tangerine's Mom:
Okay. So remember how I said being around more than Citron's mom wasn't hard? It's not, yet she somehow is around Tangerine less than Citron's mom with Citron. I'm still working out her angle a bit like I know she's still in the palace and Tangerine knows she's his mom. But they've definitely spent almost 0 time together I'm sure. I mean I look at Tangerine and it's so clear the closest thing he's had to a motherly figure is his dear older Citron who adores him very much. Other than that Tangerine's been pretty on his own. But like in my pirates au, Tangerine has something of his mother's so I'm really trying to figure her out here. Like, initially, I was thinking she just does not care, and maybe she doesn't. Like in part it feels like she wasn't a person who saw her baby and was like this is the biggest joy in my life, maybe she tried though. Like in the earliest years then went yea not for me. I don't know though. Like is she uninterested in having a kid in general or is she uninterested in Tangerine in general? Like did Tangerine mean nothing, it wasn't like he had any high standing? But then again she's not shown hide or hair now that he's first in line so it might be the kid thing. Either way it resulted in the most absentee mother any of them have.
And I know I kinda made them sound like bad people but like. Of course they're gonna have negative traits/actions that affected their sons, have you seen the Zafran princes?
(I'm not actually defending them, I'm just saying. )
Also while I'm here, shout out to Citron and Orange because I know they took good care of Tangerine and Navel to help certain needs be met that their own moms weren't fulfilling for them. Citron, being a constant presence in Tangerine's life that Tangerine can go to at differing times of the day and receive comfort from. Orange, taking Navel out of the public eye/palace to be outside and have room to breathe and be himself. (I know I didn't touch on these well in their paragraphs but yes this sums up what I was thinking.) And you see how that correlates to what Citron and Orange needed but didn't get?
And yea. I want to have thoughts on the Queen, but they haven't finalized yet. I initially thought maybe Tangerine was her favorite but again Tangerine feels like someone who spent a lot of time alone kind of because he had to so I just don't think it sits right. But that's still in the works, maybe later I'll have an actual discussion on the Queen. For now, I hope you enjoyed this headcanon share.
Question of the timeframe: How would they interact with Mankai? Like moreso Spring Troupe but yea Mankai.
I have some thoughts if you'd like to join me in this brainrot. :3
(I'm under the impression they haven't interacted with many members on screen yet but if I missed anything crucial, please, tell me. I'd love to hear more about them.)
For starters, I think they feel the most comfortable talking to Azuma. Yes I think this because of Senribana Monogatari. I think they don't even fully realize how open and at ease they feel talking to Azuma but they do. Azuma could ask what they think about pig's feet and they'll share an anecdote about how they learned Citron disliked it without even thinking about it. Orange is just like "blah, blah blah, blah blah" and after the story Navel's like "oh but I didn't think they were too bad. I mean not my favorite thing to look at that's for sure. But they tasted okay." (Yes I just reread their conversation with Azuma for this, yes that was pretty much the only part I reread for this post, (I also reread Citron telling them about Orange and Navel, and their runin with them when they arrive at the palace and I skimmed the rest of it this time around.))
I think they can talk to Guy but sometimes it's a bit awkward for them. You know the familiarity of a person who was there and knows so much about you but you were never actually close with, you were just in the same vicinity and know all the same stuff and most of the same people and have known each other for so long. But you were never close. That's the vibe they have with Guy, probably.
I think Orange would feel especially awkward trying to talk to Spring Troupe because they are Citron's family and how do you approach your brother's family when you've been on such rocky road with your brother for so long? So he would stand at the edge of the room watching them enjoy themselves from a distance. Learn about them from them from that distance. Like he'd want to be apart of the fun but does he really deserve it?
I'm sure Sakuya would reach out and Orange, like most everyone, would be fond of Sakyua. But it'd be all baby steps with interactions. I don't think he's much older than Sakuya but I think he would like to give Sakuya head pats.
I think Tsuzuru he can talk to and that he asks Tsuzuru for advice or at least about his dynamic with Citron. I have minimal thoughts but they are strong thoughts and maybe one day I'll write a snippet about them interacting lol.
Haven't fully figured out him and the rest of them like I think he either doesn't really talk to Masumi much or he eventually does enough/knows him enough that his opinion of him would be that "Masumi is kind of a brat"/endearment. I have nothing for him and Chikage.
I think he avoids Itaru specifically though. Why? When Itaru was also there for Senribana Monogatari I honestly don't know. But my gut says "yup. Orange actively avoids Itaru." I don't think he hates him. I just think he avoids him.
As for Navel, I think when it comes to Spring Troupe, he doesn't have an easier time talking to them than Orange, not by much, but he does have an easier time joining their space. Like he's gonna sit near by them even if he's not saying anything, or if he's not sitting by them he's standing, awkwardly inching closer and closer to the group waiting for someone to notice and tell him to buzz off. (Of course, Spring Troupe's not gonna do that if Citron's cool with him, they're not gonna make a fuss but I think Navel (and Orange) still think there's a chance someone will.) And I didn't think of this until this moment but Chikage smell fears so maybe he finds ways to tease him a bit, I can't help but also maybe Masumi too. But I'm not complete sold on that yet, I need to mull it over more. Sakuya of course will talk to him when he can. So yea, I have nothing else besides he gets along with Sakuya but of course, he adores Sakuya who doesn't?
Oh, but if I think about the interests I assigned them. Then I would say that Orange might, might, be able to bond with Juza over sweets and Idk I feel like he could talk to Homare & Hisoka about owls. Why those two? Idk they feel very owl. Navel can maybe stargaze with Misumi (and maybe Hisoka and Tsumugi they feel like they would.) Also they could spend time in the garden.
I know I tapered off a bit. But my 2 braincells are rubbing together hard and this is what I've come up with so far. Feel free to tell me your thoughts because I would love to have someone else's thoughts about them.
Okay so why I thought Orange was 20 in year 2, even though as I reread Year 2 Winter and Citron events it sorta fell through. Especially with the Citron card from the Spotlight about the Mahjong club. Regardless, I'm gonna share it. So bare with the inaccuracies, please. After I get through it, I will also explain why the theory's (unfortunately) wrong.
So, this all starts from a question my sister and I had, “How was there a coronation planned if they hadn’t heard from Citron in so long? He was a missing person to at least the Royal Family. Shouldn’t it have been canceled?”
And I say ‘at least the Royal Family’ but with the presence Citron had there’s no way it wasn’t known that he was missing (unless they did some sort of cover-up of “Citron is just abroad right now” or something like that but it doesn’t feel like something they as a Royal family would do you know? Plus how would they explain it at his coronation if he didn't show up?). It actually is sorta implied that it is somewhat known, as Chikage heard there was something going on,
even if Tadoru hadn't. (Especially when Chikage heard about it likely would've been at least a little further back, while Tadoru probably heard it more recently as they are in preparation for the upcoming coronation.)
So why wouldn’t it have been canceled since they had no clue where Citron was?
While trying to understand that, I remembered that the King said that when Tangerine turns 20, he’d become King, so I was like, ‘oh! Coronations must be when the heir turns 20!’
I thought for sure I cracked the code. See, if coronations happen when the heir turns 20, and Citron had been mia, but Zafra was preparing for the coronation before he was found and back, then maybe it wasn’t Citron’s original coronation. Maybe, it wasn't supposed to be Citron's coronation at all. Maybe instead, it was supposed to be Orange’s coronation.
Maybe Citron arrived back in Zafra, just in time for the coronation preparations to readjust and incorporate him as he’s alive and the rightful heir. Maybe Orange and Navel were a bit bitter about his return because Orange was so close to being King and it was literally ripped away from him mere weeks before he took the throne. Maybe that’s why they talk about how lucky Citron is and how unlucky Orange and Navel are. Maybe that’s why Orange was mostly on board with the make Citron go mia plan as just having the throne ripped from his fingers he might’ve been feeling pretty desperate, he didn’t even want Citron dead(at least by the time it came down for the plan to be in action), just wanted him to miss the coronation.
And this all made sense to me especially because somewhere in my brain I had already been convinced that Citron had been mia for 2 years already at the start of the game(thinking back on it maybe something like that was said in the year 2 winter arc and I just moved it to be for the beginning of year 1 for some reason. Idk for sure tho) I thought weird things were happening, he went missing, then at 22 he arrived in Japan and joined Mankai. Where was he before Japan? Great question. Apparently, Zafra because he didn’t “go missing” at 20.
As I reread Winter Year 2, as well as other Citron events, I found that there seems to be no indication that any of my theory is the case (except for Tangerine’s coronation being set for when he turns 20). For starters in Winter Year 2, Citron says(english server quote): “The date of my coronation has been decided since I was little, so I only had a set time to learn everything.” Which implies that his coronation was never moved, it’s just always been like that. And while personally, I felt Guy’s addition ("as the coronation has drawn closer, odd things have begun happening around Citronia”) made it vague enough that it could’ve been canceled, and pushed back(as we don't know how close "closer" was) but that doesn’t quite seem to be the case. (I guess if it was had instead of has it'd be more plausible to read it vaguely assuming past me copied that down correctly lol)
Then with the addition of the Spotlight event on the Mahjong Club, Citron’s card has him aged as 21. This card contains a flashback of him playing Mahjong and trying to get Guy to play too(if I recall correctly) which means that it is before he left Zafra. Which makes me go “??? Why is Tangerine’s coronation set for when he’s 20 but Citron’s apparently was set for when he was 23?” That just doesn’t really seem… fair(?) you know?
But anyway, failed theory aside, this is why currently I’m believing that Orange is about 20 in year 2.
So I'm under the assumption that Orange, Navel & Tangerine don't have verified ages? (We all know what assuming does but I digress) [Update: I was nicely infomed that they don't seem to which genuinely makes me feel leagues better about this post. So thanks! to jeekoneeko. Especially bcuz they share one of my thoughts on Tangerine and that also made me feel better about my other thoughts. ^^]
In this post, I shall discuss my thoughts on their ages all stemming from the initial thought I've had for a minute that Orange & Navel are probably really close in age.
In Year 1 Citron is 22, & in Year 2 it was said that when Tangerine turns 20 he'll become King, so we know he's younger than 20 in year 2. In the Eggciting Travelogue, it's stated that Sakuya is kind of close in age with Tangerine.
But in HQ there was that younger brother bit with him and Masumi (Honestly I think I'm misinterpreting this part but I have no alt translations or anyone to talk to about it so...)
So I'm gonna believe he's closer in age to Masumi than Sakuya. (Which isn't far but still.) So Masumi is 16 in year 1 so let's say Tangerine is too. That would make Tangerine and Citron about 6 years apart.
While that means there's about 6 years to place Orange and Navel, I believe they're closer in age to each other than any of them are. Idk how old they were intended to be but my gut initially said Orange is probably 2 or 3 years younger than Citron and I feel Navel is at most 1 year younger than Orange. And like I have no concrete proof of this it's just the vibe I get. But these vibes are probably partially because of them being close and somewhat because they tend to be grouped together. Like it's been stated that people would prefer Orange or Navel, but why is Navel even being somewhat considered when Orange is next after Citron? Maybe because he's so close in age with Orange anyway?(Tho lowkey he feels tagged on but that's a whole other incomplete thought I have) And then I realized that that means I feel Navel is 3 or 2 years older than Tangerine so I decided I like this split and I think it checks because it evens out.
But I'm gonna bump Tangerine down a year somewhat because it makes the numbers even more even when specifying ages but aslo I originally would've pegged his age closer to Muku, and while I suppose 16(year 1) isn't too far off, he does sorta feel younger than Masumi(to me at least) & 15 is close to both Muku & Masumi & not too far from Sakuya who was 17 in year 1.
So I think I'm gonna mainly go with the idea that in year 2 the ages were Citron 23, Orange 20, Navel 19, and Tangerine 16. And there's a reason I chose 20 for Orange, and though it's lost some of its grounding, it's what I'm sticking with for now. (I'll explain that in a different post)
So in a post on here past me said something like "Orange and Tangerine are the pair who'd understand each other the least because of the amount of distance between them" and I don't think past me truly understood how true that is. Like there's no way past me knew the accuracy of that statement because it was followed by a joke about Citron and Navel and them not being the point but no. Past me was right.
Citron and Navel understand each other more than Tangerine and Orange would understand each other because they are similar. Citron and Navel weren't the people's first pick as heir, they fought tooth and nail for their spot, to be taken seriously for the throne. They lost their place in line through letting havoc be wrecked against their better judgment(more could be said to explain this better but you get it and it's not the point of today's impromptu tangent). They're both two-faced(this is a very specific joke, will link what I mean later. edit: it is now linked). They didn't grow up close but honestly, with just a little bit of effort, they can see where the other is coming from, they'd get it. Their lives were similar enough for this to be the case.
Orange and Tangerine don't have that.
Their childhoods and lives were exact opposites of each other. Orange battling and preparing for the throne, learning everything the heir needs to know,, being in the spotlight his whole life, the "better" choice for heir. He ended up becoming so desperate he plotted against Citron. He fell from grace, lost respect, lost his attendant, lost his purpose. He's finding ground with his new path but the leading up to it is what we're talking about.
Tangerine, on the other hand, was alone, not an option for the running. Space and time without others' eyes or attention, for better or worse. The battle of the throne was happening around him, he wasn't a participant. Somehow he ended up being the most reasonable and earning the throne maybe because he wasn't in the fight, he doesn't get it(pinning that thought). And then he was thrown into learning skills and doing things he's never done before and he feels comfortable enough to run off before an important event, of course he was gonna go back and just needed a bit of comfort but Orange would never! Really none of the others would've been as likely to do that, Citron maybe but probably not out of country as the main reason he initially left was the hit that was out on him and he was the one telling Tangerine he needed to go back. But that goes hand in hand with that pinned thought. So I'll try to rebring that up.
Point now, Tangerine and Orange have led opposite lives, they have different priorities, they have the future each other probably expected for themselves. The most they have in common is their lives suddenly changing trajectory completely. That they can relate to each other but their mindset and experiences were quite different a majority of their lives.
I just know that they both at one point considered how their lives would be if they were each other. Orange in a moment of frustration thinking his life would be easier if he'd been born Tangerine blissfully unaware to the challenges and perils of fighting for the throne, room to just relax, to not be being watched. Tangerine in a moment of loneliness wondering if he'd been Orange, second in line, if people would care what he does more, if he'd be less alone, second because he would be closer to Citron maybe they'd have more in common but then again Orange isn't close to Citron and Tangerine wouldn't want that. Still considering being the other doesn't mean that they get it.
Tangerine having never been in the race for the throne will never get the desperation Orange had for it, he didn't spend years with the same amount or type of attention as Orange or the other two, he didn't feel a constant need to prove himself growing up. And maybe that's why it was such a simple solution to him to just tell dad, Citron knew they were desperate he understood why they'd do such a thing, he didn't want to get them in trouble behind it. Tangerine understood it was wrong, that they couldn't go on pretending nothing happened. So yea, he didn't get it the desperation the need to be heir but that's probably why he could look beyond and just see his brothers and what they did wrong. It's not a desire ingrained in him, he was never gonna be his role. Objectively it's probably why he's the best fit and here's another difference between him and Orange.
The throne doesn't define who Tangerine is, his worth, and now Orange can explore what that's like. Sure Tangerine is now in a position that could lead him down that mindset, but I think he's developed enough that it won't be as much of an issue.
And you're probably like well Spark why Orange though? Why is it that Tangerine and Orange specifically are furthest apart?
Well Citron and Tangerine are close, even if there's things they don't get about each other they have a semblance of understanding from knowing each other as people.
Navel and Tangerine meanwhile were both pretty much non options for the throne, they lived differently but still. They both know what it's like to be sidelined, to be seen as less important. They have things in common.
Orange and Tangerine don't have either of those. So yea, they're the pair least likely to get each other.
(So that poll I did, ⅔ of you who voted were uninterested in seeing my Sims designs for them & like I was struggling w/ their outfits anyway & I flipped 3 coins to decide if I should post them anyway & that went like:
>Should I post my Orange & Navel Sim designs?
•No
>Like ever?
•Yes
>For clarification, should I post them later(rather than today)?
•No
So. I guess I won't be posting them but let me share the important details of their designs. And then if you like them maybe you can draw them yourself. (If you do feel free to at me or send it to me or whatever, I will reblog.)
For starters, I thought it'd be neat if the Princes were a gradient so From Citron to Tangerine they get more blonde. (So they're not as blond as Tangerine but more blond than Citron, & Navel is more blond than Orange.) I do also imagine their hair a bit on the longish side like Citron & Tangerine, possibly longer but *shrugs*.
Orange:
(Again I was more confident for black!Orange's hair than notblack!Orange but I'm gonna do my best to get the gist down.) I think Orange has a very pulled-back hairstyle, like one where his hair is generally out of his way. While playing around with hairstyles I did sorta prefer the bang ponytails to the non-bangs ponytail but they didn't swoop the right way & because this was the Sims 4 I didn't have the flip bangs option(how I miss that option). (But it's not mandatory for him to have bangs because when I started thinking about him as black it was never a thing, the hair being out of the way thing tho yes, which is what affected my current mental concept for him) So anyway yea, hair pulled back, completely out of the way, probably low hanging or just directly back.
Then we have his face... I had drawn him before attempting shape language but like that's different from the style of the game so I'm gonna ignore some stuff... erm. Oh! He has glasses, at least I'm pretty convinced of him having glasses (but I do forget sometimes lol) they're boxy/rectangle or something. Then I did come up w/ moles for him if he had them and thats one at the inner end of his right(our left) eyebrow & one on his left(our right) cheek.
Then a note I have down for him as a possible hobby(I was trying a character design thing) is accessorizing. And like there was this one hairstyle I gave him at least for formal wear in the Sims because (w/out remembering my not) I thought the bun/beehive type thing a jeweled up felt like something I can see for him. I mean he's royalty and kinda... ya know? I think accessorizing fits him. So in that I think a couple of necklaces are good at least that's how I drew him, I also like to believe he has a long/dangle earring. I can't decide if it gets added after he starts studying abroad or if it's always been there but it's either an owl or a cherry blossom. Owl because I know in my soul he's a fan of owls, cherry blossom because he's wanted to see them and they're pretty and yea words. (tho looking back at my notes/explanations seems I was leaning more towards the owl, thus probably the idea that he'd always had it,) Only problem is should it become stud earrings or at least be a pair, in my initial design he didn't have his hair pulled back so his hair covered one of his ears, and the other ear had this dangle earring but would it look weird if it's just one ear? I don't know.
I think that's eveything besides clothes. I have thoughts. I'm not sharing them.
Navel:
Navel has a high ponytail (black or not lol), held up by a (probably gold colored but maybe silver) ponytail cuff with a star/star design on it. Bangs? Yes, definitely but they swoop to either side and don't cover his eyebrows... Well I mean I guess they could get close but it's debatable. He has glasses that lean on the more round side and a gap between his front teeth. Also he wears a choker that likely has a silver(maybe gold) little circle tag thing on the front.
At least that's how I see him. And I won't say much about his clothes, but I'd really like if he had a collar like almost like a popped collar but not, it just stands up like making a cylinder ya know? Idk if that makes sense but yea. Those are the important details I suppose.
I know that was a lot more solid thus a lot less worlds than Orange's category but like I do actually like my initial design for him more than my Orange design. Not that I dislike dislike my Orange design just it doesn't stick with my brain when I try to picture him, so it's definitely off in some regard.
(Note: I didn't delete my inital designs & outfit "moodboards" for them so if you wanted to see those designs feel free to check my blog. Check the tag "Character Design" or "not my characters". I have them posted twice because I did mean to delete the first time I posted them but like I forgot/am lazy. Also the posts themselves are riddled with the fact that I'm lazy, and I don't feel like editing them so they're just gonna have to be like that. Hence why I'm not linking them, I have no problem with you going to look at them but I'm not like proud of how I did the reposts of them so I'm not gonna link them.)
Anyway thanks for reading to the end lol, I appreciate you.
[I might be less lazy with editing this one or I won't. If I was lazy but edited it I'll just cross off things lol, If I wasn't lazy and added edits it'll be in brackets, if I don't edit something that should be edited 🤷🏾♀️ have fun. Also this is still a copy and paste just so you know.]
[Related posts for 'context': initial thought, sketches I did]
So you're probably thinking "Gee Spark you're gonna talk to yourseldf some more about some no one asked about" to which I say:
I will answer your inqury on what I was going for for their clothes! At least as to what I was trying to inspire their outfits off of.
So first up the Orange's outfit 'moodboard':
There's one more outfit I want in consideration for this but I'll explain in it a second. So! I really think Orange might like to wear the sort of jacket thing Yuki's got on there, and while I opted out of the choker for him I do think he'd wear multiple necklaces. As for Citron's outfit there, I like the belt.
Also, those large gold bracelets seem to be mandatory and possibly a while jumpsuit of sorts. The owl earrings I legit just found right now(or well last night because I did fall asleep writing lol) to give an idea of what his earring might look like when I finalize it and pick out an Owl for it. I'm not sure if he always had an Owl earring or not but if he didn't that's fine because then it could be his little piece of abroad that he keeps with him, but if he did that's also fine because it's a sliver of his interests and personality shining through.
There was one more outfit I wanted here but oh well you don't need an image. It was the one with flowers on it. I think if Orange is allowed to wear some with more designs than what we've seen Citron and Tangerine in, it'd have flowers on it. Why? Well after all he's a nature boy. I know because they[/the company] telepathically told me when I was trying to draw him.
[Editing in this new version of the post here, too lazy to cross out and adjust last paragraph but I did think I should update this part: I didn't want to include the picture initially because I'm not tagging these character and I know one of my moots doesn't vibe with the character in this outfit so I hope croping his face out helps in case they see this. Here's the picture.
I don't think either sketch includes the scarf but I think I did consider it a lot when I was initially sketching them]
Okay so next up Navel's outfit "moodboard":
So here we go. I like the collar on Sakyo's outfit. Then I think Navel would have a visible choker like Citron does(tho tbh in my head it looks more like Yuki's but to avoid confusion I didn't put Yuki in this set.) There's the flowy part of the outfit & I'm leaning towards how Sakuya's is but Idk for sure, I kinda also really like the whole shoulder section of Sakyo's outfit so Idunno. He probably definitely has the stars though like Sakuya does. (As you can see I'm less sure on this outfit lol.)
[edit/Update: If you saw the other pictures I had here no you didn't:
THIS. Like like when I had the pic with Tangerine's outfit from this event I was confused why I picked it but I liked the energy like the soft poofiness of it and I sorta want a similar vibe, this sorta has that same vibe. BUT also like the collar!!! I want Navel to have a collar somewhat like this so that his choker that he definitely has is visible!]
Anyway, longer hair seems to be a trend for the royal family and Citron only sometimes wears a ponytail. SO why not let Navel have a ponytail? I think that Navel would try to differentiate himself from Orange in some ways since they're always together and so close in age(confirmed in my heart) and so a ponytail is a good start and easy to do.
I know that these ponytail cuff things exist. While looking up pictures for these, I learned that a lot of them have elastics in them? I didn't know they did? But regardless, I think that Navel should have one. Maybe without the elastic like the rhinestone one, but be bigger and more solid like the second one. It for suresies should have a star design on it. He loves the stars, fact.
So yea that's what I have. Just struggling to articulate it. Thanks for reading this.
Anyway. Yea. I know I'm kinda like the only one here but like if anyone wants to help with these outfits or has any additions or anything feel free to add on.
