a-beneficial-union

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In case anyone wanted a clearer version.

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #au #vulp-en #Sou’el #Sou’el!Ben #Soughtless Angle

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Quick, while he's not looking.

On the left is Sou'el, who I'm currently playing with. I made him an eighth brancher before realizing that it would mean his first name is “Sphen” (shirt for “Stephen”) per my own rules— but I don’t want to deal with that, so he changed he goes by “Ben” based off of his middle name.

I'm considering making Sou’el a hunger's apprentice, but am not fully committed to the idea. My friend and I have been half jokingly referring to him as “The Feral Ben” but that's not entirely accurate. Being of the eight branch, Sou'el was captured when young by a group which owned warriors and exotic creatures/people for entertainment. While this event is canon, what sets the eighth branch apart is that Sphen doesn’t successfully escape.

I am undecided how long he was kept before being broken out, but it was long enough for him to be passed around by a few different owners (especially since he wasn’t suited for the arena). He wound up gaining the maladaptive but effective survival tactic of molding his ideals, morality, and personality based off of whatever system of logic surrounded him. That said, his personality isn’t fractured in the clinical sense— another thing I am undecided on is how much of his misunderstanding comes from the need to survive versus being an autistic child thrust into some very different cultural settings.

A side effect of his compartmentalization is that he seemed to have become his old self almost immediately after returning to Gwen and Max; that was the logical system of Family Setting, Domestic Life, and Heroing. In these three intersecting areas, he seems very similar to canon Ben (even changing his name to that out of a desire to separate himself from the ordeal).

At some point, he wound up on the banned, “toxic” planet of Vulpin, which is almost entirely inaccessible due to the planet's naturally hectic magnetic field, abundance of parasitic sports, and the damage from being an intergalactic dump site for hazardous waste. Because of this, the only people Sou'el interacts with on this planet are native Vulpimancers. Anywhere else, the species is considered to be animalistic, beast-like, and decidedly not sentient. On Vulpin, they are considered the only species with personhood, all other kinds of creature being strange squabbling animals who seem to communicate through simplistic squawks. Ben conforms to this mentality, developing a portion of his personality specific to the planet and gaining a name for himself as a malformed youth capable of shapeshifting and speaking with the invasive species.

Interdimensionally is what the above drawing relates to— I have other drawings about the Vulpin stuff (including a comic and reference sheet but I can’t recall if they're posted). As Ben 10, he's polite, agreeable, aloof, and maybe a little seclusive; on Vulpin, he's kindly, condescending, perversely gleeful, and dismissively nonchalant; but when in interdimensional spaces, Sou'el acts with either a sneaky mischievousness, utter obedience, or predacious guile. He knows that other -ens are often scared of him and that the way he speaks and acts is rather off putting to them (as they know immediately that Something Is Wrong with this alternate), and so he amps the spook factor for the funsies. I guess that means he has something of a mean-streak, too.

Notes:

*Sou’el's full alt is <<Soughtless Angle>>, which is a reference to his fawning tendency to reflexively glomp onto whoever seems a good enough anchor (Gwen when they were young, a Vulpimancer named <<Sister Skylight>> as a teen/preteen, and maaaaybe Rook when he's a bit older).

*While Sou’el is a vulp-en, his mutations are from a different subspecies than the tiger-esq midlander (orange Wildmutt). His traits are a mix of [checks notes] Mideastern Peaks Vulpins (mountain dwellers climbers) and Eastern Chain Vulpins (island voyagers with a paralytic/dissociative venom). His tail and attached Tell are notably colorful, which is my subtle nod to how proverbially poisonous he is.

^^His colours without the shading.

Also, the darker areas that make up his claws aren’t actually a part of him, they're basically gloves the Omnitrix provides consisting of a pseudo skin and which are used to tear pliably materials.

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #concept art #vulp-en #au #Sou’el!Ben #bad end (sort of)

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I find it interesting that goey-claw-gloves are just a thing for villainous versions of characters.

^^I'm now wondering if we were both inspired by something from canon or if this is just a fanon thing.

au where ben becomes reiny's second in command

#I don't normally reblog stuff to this side blog but #found aspects of our designs (and seeming characterization) were too similar to not reblog #as in- #For one thing what you made is really cool #on the other hand I don’t want people to think I'm plagerizing and so am panic-reblogging the unfinished w.i.p. #blep #(In case you were curious; both characters featured are alternates of Ben who have species fusions/ genetic mitwtions.) #cw blood #I need more practice with blood I realize T-T

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A new addition to ‘This Was Supposed to be a Doodle’.

A concept I've been toying with is -ens using medi-magic, namely potions procured from trusted practitioners of the craft. Seen above is one of DoubleDue's patrons, an unnamed -en from the seventh branch.

I am evil and enjoy projecting, so nearly all -ens (at least those from the Branches) have idiopathic hypersomnia and treatment resistant anemia. Both are chronic and the treatment of the former is locked behind legalese, waitlists, and interdepartmental incompetence. Looking for guidance and treatment is one of the things which prompts -ens to join the System, though many just decide to live with their worsening symptoms while leaning harder and harder on other forms until the Omnitrix is less of an astonishing tool of heroism and more of an accommodative device not unlike glasses or a cane. -Ens who take that route generally burn out by the third year after developing these issues.

A different route is to rely on technological tools made by the Omnitrix to heal or reverse injuries. These are most often found at large-scale Ports—though I forget the name of the devices themselves (Something Chamber— it's like a cocoon).

Returning to medimagic, DoubleDue makes potions to treat or manage symptoms. A side effect of one of these potions is accelerated hair growth. I chose this one because (1) it made sense for the potion, as it is a rework of a potion originally intended to promote ‘vitality’ (read: beauty); and (2) it is an easy way to show visibly that this or that character has been using this method and for how long. The lighter color of hair is a short-term effect which eventually fades out after the individual stops taking the potion, meaning that characters still with sandy-blonde hair is currently or recently using. I wanted a neutral side effect so as to not demonize treatment.

#concept art #vulp-en #general port #Benjamin Tennyson

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(I opted not to colour these, since the humid air is making my screen a little uncomfortable to draw against.)

I think I'm getting the hang of drawing Rook. Someone described him as “Furby” like and I find tue comparison delightful. Rook's armor helps to distort his silhouette into something more human-like, and as an adult he has taken to wearing specialized shoes to help offset the strain imposed by living and working in a human society, as his own is far less constant in its activities.

Tangentially, his has much less fat, since they don’t need immediate energy localized to the muscles. Their muscles are thinner as well, being made of different, more efficient materials than those of earth lifeforms. They are considerably tall and gangly, their evolution dependent on their singular food source (those amber fruits).

Humans, comparatively, are squishy, climby, clingy creatures built around pursuit predation and spontaneity. We have had many predators and are the predators of many more. Revonnahganders' only have competition with one other species and it is over their mutually sought food source.

Revonnahgander necks are about as long as their torsos and their arms reach as for as their knees. Humans have looong torsos housing many organs, several of which exist to control for and filter out toxins/bacteria. Revonnah has very few microbials, so there was much less of a need for such parts.

Humans are high energy, highly sociable, and incredibly verbal. Ben is an AuDHDer, so there's a hand in the scale, but there is still considerable difference between how Rook and Ben express and perceive.

Image description: Ben and Rook are standing next to each other in two images. Ben is only as tall as Rook's shoulder in each image. In the first, Ben has one arm looped around Rook's as he chats amicably. On the right, Ben is twining his tail around Rook's ankle and tapping his arm, saying something boisterous as Rook watches with a perturbed look on his face.

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #rook blonko #ben and rook #vulp-en #Ben has some Vulpimancer mutations- roll with it.

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#reblogging as a reference #nervous system #cns #central nervous system #reference

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Updates on some references/concept art.

I still need a species specific to the western islands (unnamed) and maaaaybe one for the southern continent— though that one is mostly of mixed communities and hybrids.

#Vulpin #Vulpimancer #comcept art #look ma I made a map

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Quick doodles:

Featured above is a healthy, midland Vulpimancer. These darlin's are what Ben's is a variation of. Prominent midlander features include gill-like neck lids, a triangular fur pattern, and yellow-to-red coloring.

^^This is concept art for western island Vulpimancers, who hop from island to island (and act as guides when midlanders immigrate to the southern continent). Whereas midlander necklids are designed to seal completely to protect against parasitic/toxic spores, westerners tend to have an external membrane consisting of thermoperceptive sensors. If a western Vulp were to travel to the midland, they would need to don protective gear lest their necklids become infected.

The thermoperceptive flaps (which needs a name but which I've been calling “petals” because they look vaguely like flowers) cover the same sorts of more delicate sensors had by midland Vulps. These internal sensors are electromagnetic (very important) which line the lids walls, and a feathery, chemoperceptive membrane that can extend and retract. The feathery bits are only extended when Vulps are exchanging pheromone-based communication.

(Note: this does not take into account the cannon dumping of hazardous waste.)

(Bonus note: I call the beaks on Vulps “fish grippies”.)

#Vulpimancer #speculative stuff

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Y'know, I'm kinda surprised I haven't seen Jack Chains more in fantasy tbh, like it's a really interesting and low budget armor style, I'm legit surprised I've almost never seen it in media

#Reblogging on here so as to find it again easily; I wish to incorporate these into some designs. #armor #Jack Chains

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Have an awkward drawing that I didn’t know was awkward until it was too late:

This might be one of the first coloured drawings of Ca’od (pronounced “Could”), Sequia's apprentice. He's a loyal dork with a defiance streak and propensity for sneaking. Ca’od's full alt is “Cashew Cottonwood” and he's from the Fifth Branch (timeline cluster). He does not yet have his transfer (fusion, like with Sequoia's tail and neck lids).

#au #Ca’od #Sequoia!Ren #Ca’od!Ben #abandoned drawing

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I don't know if I'll finish this, so have a w.i.p..

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Midnight sillies over a oneshot I'm working on:

Ben: Thanks for using anesthesia or whatever, but fuck you for making me go buy hair dye at three in the morning. My dad called me a fury over this.

Albedo: I am literally dying.

Ben: Then we'll be even.

#Look ma I used something other than a vulpimancer for the genetic mutations

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I should really make a post about all the omni infections, given that they're rather.. influential in dimension-hopping culture and also I like me some body horror.

A device that allows its bearer to shapeshift is great! Hope you planned around viruses and malware when installing that bit of biotech, though.

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Hmmmm…Something about this doesn’t sit right with me. For context, it's a Ben alternate who's been mutated (has an older strain of the transfer virus), but it's not to my satisfaction..?

#Halp

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Your dreams are seeping through.

^^An experimental drawing I did while waiting out the eepies.

#idiopathic hypersomnia #narcolepsy #sleep attack #ben tennyson #disabled ben tennyson #illustration #Colorsssssssss #cw: unreality #unreality #(just to be safe.) #hypnogogic hallucinations

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Captive.

#Vulpimancer #ben 10 #ben 10 omniverse

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I accidentally collapsed all of the colored layers on Pen at some point, so I had to redo a fair bit of that. Even so, it turned out fairly well.

Her magic's a lot less refined than Gwen's, being used mostly to charge enchantments on items or the potency of potions. Because of this, it rarely ever sharpens into refined lines or the magenta hue of carefully crafted magic.

#ben 10 #gender swap #penelope tennyson #Pen 10 #Behold: The rare moderately-femme Ben crafted by moi.