srarizard

[srarizard]

Been offline for a while because I was dreading yesterday and then it turns out that yesterday wasn't a big deal at all. Groans. I am trying so hard to juggle like 10 things at once, it's exhausting.

#srar talk

[srarizard]

My boyfriend giving me ideas about the Knaaren. Thank u @shinmegamitensei2 I love u

I made him watch me play the Desert of the Knaaren and the final boss of Rayman 3 this morning. We talked so much about it, it's great. Some of the things he brought up were the wall paintings of the Knaaren capturing Teensies and a frame in the final battle where his mouth appears to become like a beak. The latter is probably due to the limits of the game engine, but still interesting to think about!

Also, I never noticed until today and I'm kicking myself. You can also see in the screenshot that the area the final boss fight takes place in is filled with eyes that seem to be growing out of plant stalks. It makes you wonder if that's what the domain of the Leptys looks like, and why a bird would be so attached to eye imagery. Then again, all statues of the Leptys feature his eyes glowing, so it might not be that odd after all.

The cave paintings are probably ancient, and it's quite likely that it implies that Knaaren have made it a habit of eating Teensies, since they both torment and capture them in those paintings. It's entirely possible that the Knaaren captured all the ones you free in their home, or were opportunistic and took the cages from the hoodlums for themselves. One way or another, this gives the Knaaren the ability to force Teensies into creating portals for them. Perhaps they do this to seek out prey, or to commune with the others in the mountains? Rayman 3 gives us nothing, so we can just sort of decide for ourselves.

The one thing that the mountains and the desert have in common is that they're extreme climates, and the Knaaren take shelter beneath by tunneling. It seems antithetical to the theme of the Leptys clearly being a bird at first, but it could be a form of aceticism. They seem to value earning power, so it could be that they stay below ground because they haven't earned living above the clouds yet.

I'm going to keep bouncing this around in my head, maybe I'll come up with something cooler. I love worldbuilding.

#rayman #rayman 3 #knaaren

[srarizard]

Ahoy !⭐

#love me some water girls #the srar queue

[srarizard]

More human Rayman AU stuff. Betilla got pregnant with Rayman too young, and it's hard on her because she regrets the timing, but she could never regret having him. She was young and foolish, charmed by money and fame, and she wasn't old enough to understand the consequences of her actions. Years later, when she finally realizes that she doesn't love the person she's with, she has the burden of telling little Ray what's happening to their family. Of course, sunshine boy that he is, his instinct is to comfort her, and as she hugs him she realizes it was all worth it because she did find someone she loves after all.

This starts Ray's streak of protecting people, because he saw how much it meant to his mom, and he wants to do that for everyone else, too. He makes a lot of friends by fighting off attackers, but he makes a lot of enemies that way too. He becomes a bit of a jailbird, and it worries his mom sick, but he never seems to leave any different than when he went in. He's an absolute anomaly, seeming to have found some secret code that allows him to be the lunatic he is without getting any reality checks.

I'm also thinking of having the villains be leaders of crime syndicates, or maybe just guys that are trapped there forever for their crimes. More on that when I work it out. Reflux, though, is so interesting to me that I think about him about as much as I think about Rayman. I'm going to give him vitiligo so that it looks similar to his original design without looking, uh, bad. And it gives me a talking point for his character!

Reflux is less a villain in this story and more a victim of his social class. He wants desperately to prove he has as much worth as anyone else, but the world has pushed him down enough that he thinks he won't be recognized just for being who he is. With that mindset, it's hard not to give up. He tries not to, but it leads him to some dark things to cope with it, and Ray judges him based on his current actions, ignoring the context and the pain Reflux has been through. This makes things a lot more personal between them. Reflux becomes obsessed with tearing down the pretty boy image, seeing Ray as a symbol of everything he hates about society.

I'm not going to set this in stone but I think the part where they start to let their guard down MIGHT be a time when they both land themselves in prison. Ray overhears Reflux griping about the fact that he's going to have to rush an important paper when he gets out of jail, and then Rayman keeps him out of trouble so he won't get another charge for fighting and miss his deadline. That's when Reflux realizes that Ray hasn't just randomly decided he's a bad person. They disagree, and they get on each other's nerves, but Ray doesn't think he's irredeemable or a burden to society. The image Reflux was obsessed over shatters, and, well... he hates that he's still obsessed. Time for therapy!

I gotta think of stuff for Ly next. She's a blank slate, so I can do whatever I want with her, I just need to choose something that will jive well with the setting. Obviously, she's going to be into yoga, but in the way that someone practices it religiously. Iirc both Hindu and Buddhist practices do yoga, so I'll peek into Buddhism since, ironically, I'm less familiar with that.

#rayman #rayman human au #we are now tagging this because it is important

[srarizard]

i think rayman's cute

#rayman #blorbos #the srar queue

[srarizard]

I got a little lap desk for my laptop, and I tried using it with my sketchbook and it's really comfortable. I think that's been part of my art block, not having a comfortable position to do it in. I've also felt this big pressure to transition to digital, but after a couple of realizations about the pressure my family put on me as a kid, I realized it's not about pushing yourself to be better at all. It's about enjoying yourself, and discovering things you can use and be proud of. I think people have been trying to tell me that for a while, but... I've had a pretty difficult journey, so I guess I wasn't in my right mind. It's taken me a while to really believe all that.

The front of my sketchbook has a drawing from a dear friend of mine who sent it to me... I wish I could send him something back.

#srar talk

[srarizard]

I started this like 2-3 months ago n ig this is where its at now

#l4d2 #ellis #blorbos #there he is lets hear it for the boy #the srar queue

[srarizard]

Bro is 26 and asking if he should call Chilchuck “Sir” 💀💀💀

#dunmeshi #the srar queue

[srarizard]

i started watching dungeon meshi and chilchuck is my fav so far!

#dunmeshi #hes so underrated #the srar queue

[srarizard]

pookies dookies

#dunmeshi #farcille #the srar queue

[srarizard]

I absolutely adore your Mexican dunmeshi art 🥺 mayhaps spare a Kabru?

yeah sure why not

#dunmeshi #kabru #blorbos #yes im adding him to my blorbos no i dont take constructive criticism #the srar queue

[srarizard]

some transparent marcille points for your emote needs

#dunmeshi #thank u op i will make good use of this #the srar queue

[srarizard]

Yoooooo that's some great shading! He looks so cute!

First attempt at a 3d model !

#rayman #blorbos

[srarizard]

Okay nevermind all the negativity last night I am win-pilled and based. I just came up with a human Rayman AU that actually feels realistic in a way I can capture the silliness of the characters without it feeling jarring, and I have been working on that shit since I was a baby. This is like discovering a medical miracle.

Ray grew up in an upper-class family that sheltered him from the world, so he has this very rosy view of society and has this delusion that he can be a hero if he puts his mind to it. He had a long stint where he was a street fighter, mostly because he learned how to fight to ward off the people who picked on his best friend Globox for being overweight. He's roommates with an Asian girl named Ly, everyone thinks they're dating but they're actually each other's beards. They are soulmates but only in the most platonic of LGBT ways.

Everyone loves Rayman. Except Reflux. The two of them cross paths on the street, Reflux thinks he has an easy mark but WHOOPS that shorty has a mean right hook. Surprise, Ray is a championship boxer at this point. The two start a rivalry that gets pretty intense.

Reflux isn't all about violence, though. He's a scientist at heart. He's studying to be part of the field of research, and has a great interest in astronomy. He might dress goth and look mean, but Reflux is smart and makes a point of flaunting it. He's aware that a lot of people are going to assume he has no education because of his social class, and it makes him very pessimistic and standoffish. He wants to show that he can have as much worth as anyone else, and as much worth as HE deserves.

Also Murfy is there. And Ly wants to !&#$ Rayman's mom. It's so wacky and silly I need to draw it immediately when I get up.

#rayman #fight depression with rayman

[srarizard]

I need everyone to see this

#dunmeshi #this hurts me #the srar queue

[srarizard]

Do you guys like my plans for today

#rayman #the srar queue

[srarizard]

baby rayman

inspired by this art from rayman 1!!!

#rayman #blorbos #the srar queue