Markus Marken - Tumblr Posts

A quick (not-so) little post to sort of show off, explain lore, and slightly contrast some designs for the Devil and Maiden story.

So we got the previously introduced minor antagonist, Jasper Rodriguez with the purple/brown hair - and the male protagonist, Markus Marken, with the wavy hair. These two were like brothers before they got split up to go into the human world ("The Corporeal Plane") and the experience served to change them and their friendship forevermore.

More story info under the cut!

These two are both Incubi, male-presenting demons who feed off strong emotions and are released into the Corporeal Plane to gather souls and sow the sin of lust, but (theoretically) are unable to feel love and compassion for themselves.

All Incubi have the ability to masquerade as human, though how good at it they are depends on their control of their own emotions. Pictured here, rough designs of their "real" selves (prior to me changing the designs of their horns):

As I've noted here, Jasper is actually taller and leaner than Markus. Their armour should be a deeper red but I don't quite have the pencil and that paper couldn't take that much punishment.

Masquerading as a human makes them slightly shorter, dulls down their eye and hair colour, plus hides their fangs, horns and other markings. Jasper prefers to wear bright greens and golds when in human form and has much better control over his emotions, so his eyes appear a more natural honey brown colour. Markus on the other hand is just passable; deep brown - borderline red - eyes, and warm reds and black clothes to match.

Plus a better comparison:

The thing is, when glamoured in human form, the younger Incubi still have some "tells" that aren't too noticeable unless you look for them. Feeling more strongly than they're supposed to can result in an Incubus slipping up and losing control of their glamour, resulting in teeth returning to fangs, glimpses of the tail and horns (and wings in worst cases). But the biggest tell is still their eyes. Not just because of the colour changes, but that dark, eyeliner-esque marking around the eyes of almost all glamoured Incubi is a trace of their true form impossible to get rid of, and staring into them for too long is likely to put you under a spell, make you pliable to suggestion, and have you thinking of things involving a bedroom (unless the Incubus is trying purposefully to cancel out the effect). Alcohol both helps and hinders the glamour; it makes people more susceptible to magic and suggestion thus luring you into the idea that nothing is wrong, but can also be enough of a relaxant that the brain is no longer consciously working to process the glamour and it can be seen through, instead.

Here is where I feel like Jasper and Markus are similar but contrast; whilst they've both got the "same" eyes as previously mentioned in that comic I put up (because everyone thinks they use a boatload of eyeliner), Jasper's eyes are not often his focal point due to their colour. He's a smooth talker, so the focus when I draw him is normally on his mouth and nailing that. In contrast, when I draw Markus, though I feel like if I don't get his smile right when I draw him the drawing isn't 100% correct, the focal point is always his eyes, because he's a lot more expressive and emotional than he thinks he is capable of.

And finally, what happens when Jasper realises the extent of how Markus has changed in the human world:

He doesn't take it well.

(wow, a LOT of faces in this post!)

If you ever wondered what the vibe of the Devil and Maiden story is like, behold a legit canon scene:

Feat the maiden (Marguerite) who actually hasn't had any art posted yet!

This is the vibe of their friendship before it becomes a relationship, just being absolute goofs without meaning to be. She knows Markus is hiding something and is trying to weasel it out of him - he knows they like each other and delights in making her blush, especially when she tries to keep to the rules of propriety.

To also make it perfectly clear - she didn't actually break into his house. She came to visit while he was on an errand, he left the door unlocked, and she thought it would be really, really funny to ambush him on the couch. Marguerite should've expected his response to be flirting, though!