This Is Going Around Twitter Rn But Im Also Super Curious: Please Tell Me Your Topfour Comfort Movies

this is going around twitter rn but im also super curious: please tell me your top four comfort movies that you’re always down to watch bc my friend thinks mine are ridiculous and now we’ve realised everyone’s version of “comfort” is hilariously different

Preview of a little MMZX/A art project I've been working on :)

You'd better believe there's more coming :)

Companion post to the previous regarding Girouette and the Double Megamerge, though it goes more into differences between the one in ZX and that in Advent.

From Vent and Aile's perspective, while the double merge has given them the power to keep going, what they had to go through to get there is nothing short of horrible.

The ZX script straight-up tells us that they consider Girouettes' death their fault - Model Z does so, as well. We don't know anything about their dad so we can perhaps assume he was never in the picture, but either way, Giro's death now means that Vent and Aile have lost not one, but two very important parental figures in their lives. Sure, they've got a guiding force in Model X, but unlike Giro they've been matched with him for a week at most, and that bond hasn't been forged quite to that extent yet.

This is also at a point in their lives where they think finally, finally, they have exactly what they need to stop any more lives from being lost instead of being that helpless child they were at the theme park, so it's bitterly ironic that the moment they get the power to do this, they lose yet another parent.

The musical cues in the original ZX add an additional layer to it. On first playthrough, you wouldn't be likely to realise that Fragments, one of the "sadder" songs of the game which is present when Girouette dies, has the same melody as Snake Eyes, the theme of Slither Inc. HQ - interesting that they chose to use this theme instead of Metallic Soul, which is considered the theme of the Biometals and used during other sad moments of the game. Perhaps it's in direct reference to Serpent having a hand in Girouettes' death, the same way it's played right at the start of the game when Vent and Aile are talking about their deceased mum?

Either way, the one-two gut punch of that transition from Fragments to Trinity is powerful as hell; the fade out from Fragments leading into the bass line of Trinity lets you know there's some serious ass-kicking about to happen. Interestingly enough, the leitmotif of Trinity (that synthy bit) doesn't appear elsewhere in either ZX soundtrack; maybe in Rockin On if you squint really hard with the intro electric guitar It's honestly a damn shame because it's one of the coolest tracks in the game. Determined Eyes from Advent didn't allude to it either - but that theme is a whole other level of badass, so I'm not too fussed. Just would've been a really cool callback!

Anyhow, the title "Trinity" as well could not only be a reference to Vent/Aile and both Models X and Z, but could also be in reference to Girouette and the Biometals; those lending the protagonists their strength. The whole tone of the track and the way it's built up really gives you the feeling that something monumental and never-before-seen is about to happen.

It's also interesting to contrast the original in ZX to the Double Megamerge cutscenes in Advent.

In the first one, Vent/Aile look like they're visibly in pain from the strain of the merge, as you can see:

And then they emerge triumphant from it - the pain, the sorrow has now given them the fuel and determination to carry on and become "a hero who can protect everyone." The framing of the scene, coupled with the soundtrack, is iconic and powerful as hell, particularly the shots of the helmet crystal and the hair spreading out like angel wings behind them - both of which are homaged in Advent.

I also like that Advent brought back Metallic Soul and not Fragments for the scene leading up to it. That theme feels a lot more like Vent and Aile's this time around, and hits a lot more poignantly than Fragments would in my opinion. Now if only they'd brought back Rockin On as the boss theme... Advent as a whole could've done a better job of tying into ZX to be quite honest.

As for the scene itself, I know the original in ZX is practically identical for Vent and Aile, but as I've noted previously, they both visibly look like they're in massive pain when they perform the merge for the first time. (It's also never explained why there's an energy surge that kills the mavericks afterwards, although it's super awesome - maybe Models X and Z channelled any excess power from the merge outwards to avoid killing Vent/Aile from too much energy?)

Advent contrasts this for them both, although more so in Aile's case than Vent's. Aile's is obviously a clear homage to magical girl anime, but she looks relaxed pretty much the whole way through, laughing and smiling at X and Z's cyberelves at the start and her joyful expression doesn't really disappear right until the end when she's confronting Grey. Vent's merge hints maybe that he's still in some pain, based on that yell he lets out - but it comes across less like a yell of pain and more like a kiai, feeling incredibly powerful. His scene gives off the feeling that not only has he grown into the responsibility and power that comes with wielding both Biometals, but he also utterly owns it now. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever get over how well-done the snappiness and timing of Vent's scene is.

On a mildly related tangent, though it is nice to see how happy Aile is during the merge in Advent, I will forever be annoyed that her scene doesn't feel as impactful as Vent's. It feels long and unnecessarily drawn out; yes I understand it's a contrast to the original in ZX and yes I understand it's supposed to be a magical homage, but not once (to me, anyways) does it feel to me that "this is the hero who saved the world four years ago."

Not even when we get the iconic helmet crystal forming, or the shot with the hair spread out like great seraph wings.

I mean come on, you're going to compare this from Aile's:

With this, from Vent's?

You did Aile dirty, Capcom.

You did Aile dirty.

(Disclaimer, while Vent is my favourite of the duo, Aile has a special place in my heart as she was who I used during my very first playthrough of ZX, and I'm honestly annoyed they chose to focus more on fanservice than anything else when she showed up in Advent. She so deserved better.)

Valentine’s Day Contest Flashback Post - Day #26

ENTER MY CONTEST! ENTER MY CONTEST!

FRIENDLY REMINDER: 13 DAYS REMAIN UNTIL THE DEADLINE FOR THIS YEAR’S CONTEST, AS OF THIS POST!

And of course, another reminder that you can choose to draw a theme from any of these prior contests if you are submitting a wildcard entry this year.

We’re past the halfway point in looking back at previous contests, and are now up to the 2013 entries. That year’s contest had a talent category that focused on creating a Harlequin-styled romance novel cover, with a requirement of including Jewel Man as the leading man on it. The humor category borrowed from a kinky romance novel title, but the content was much tamer. Entries for the “50 Shades of Ashe and Grey” category just had to draw either Ashe or Grey in a situation that made them blush and turn all sorts of shades of red. No NSFW bondage included.

And here are the remaining “50 Shades of Ashe and Grey” humor entries. Beginning with @borockman ‘producing’ his recurring Sigma dream-themed recurring entry, this time cleverly educating you all on how tomatoes actually ripen. Did you know the oils from your skin quickly deteriorate the quality of an eggplant if you touch it? So no touchy the Siggplant, ladies! Following that, Nat Grim’s Ashe has her own classic Marilyn Monroe incident, as a certain windy Model user interrupts her and Vent’s intimate moment. And then finally, once again, I have to break up a Fenril-Huayra entry into multiple pieces just to fit and be legible on tumblr. Images 3-7 consist of his massive comic telling the romantic secret tale of Grey’s ZX Advent special ending. Since it is so really, really, really hard to achieve in the game, it’s a good thing we are able to archive the ending in this way.

Artist Credit:

1.) Borockman - Ashe x Sigma (Image 1)

2.) Nat Grim - Ashe x Vent (Image 2)

3.) Fenril-Huayra - Grey x Aile (Images 3-7)

Do you ever create a new OC for some reason or another and then get absolutely obsessed with their design and drawing them because they're just fun?

Well, I created a new character for a DnD campaign and I love my skinny gremlin cleric so much I'm keeping her for original projects. Meet Vesuvia Cesandro - Life Domain cleric turned Trickster Domain cleric.

Very first concept sketch, and then refined design for her facial features - I wanted her to look a little bit androgynous with the glasses on and give her sharp cheekbones plus a strong jaw.

Despite her best efforts she sucked at written work and got kicked out of studying to serve under her original god - but a trickster deity pitied her so hard and thought it was funny to steal a cleric from another god that she changed domains. (After she got over being upset, Suvia thought it was funny, too).

She's got a really odd sense of humour and an odd cadence to her words, gives used car salesman vibes - but her heart is ABSOLUTELY in the right place.

I'll be keeping her backstory pretty similar for my original works, just have to tweak it a bit!

Outfit design notes - I'd say her design influences are pretty clear! Thinking of giving her a green colour scheme. (If anyone wants to try and nail down the four specific characters I took design inspo from, feel clear lol, but one of them is a tiny bit obscure.)

And one last bonus sketch before I decided she tries to smile at all times after making the deal with the trickster deity:

Tell me if you'd like to see more of her because I'll definitely be posting more of her!

(plus the song I had on repeat whilst finalising her design, which may narrow down part of her influences!)