Back With The Second Part Of Things I Would Have Liked To See In The Metal Virus Arc.

Back with the second part of “Things I would have liked to see in the metal virus arc.”

Pretty much the biggest thing: Vector acknowledging how freaking traumatic seeing him get zombified must have been for Espio…

But then, he -is- a great detective…so I figure that he probably already knows damn well what it must be like: the trick is that Espio would probably have to be the one to broach the subject.

And, of course, Espio being Espio…just wouldn’t.

It was actually a lot of fun to play around with -how- to portray Espio here; there’s a fine line one can dance between stoicism and just shutting down on yourself completely, and it was intriguing trying to capture what Espio is clearly feeling despite his best efforts to hide it.

Oddworld: The Promised Neverland Homages (pt. 5)

Aka: my excuse to finally abuse the light pens in the name of art!!

I still can’t get over how well The Promised Neverland’s imagery lends itself to Oddworld…quite possibly because they’re pretty much the same concept, but still. I mean, fundamentally, Abe is absolutely a different character to Emma: he’s more reluctant in some respects and clearly doesn’t relish any of the danger he has to face…but he still loves his family. That moment where he hears gunshots and worriedly murmurs “The others…” is proof enough of that and it’s still as effective and powerful as Emma declaring that she never wants to lose another sibling to shipping.

That’s what I was hoping to convey most in this image—what the portal represents. Freedom, relief, safety; not necessarily for Abe, but for all the Mudokons we’ve helped him ferry to safety…or lost in one misstep.

You just made my day!! I’m so touched to hear that, too! 😭 Honestly, I’ve had these little sketches brewing at the back of my mind for years, but I was always too skittish to see them through; but I’m so glad that I did because it’s some of the most fun I’ve had in ages!!

It’s nice to know I’m not alone in feeling that Espio isn’t quite so above it all. Yes, he is an undoubtedly talented and capable ninja, dedicated to his craft and proud of it…but he’s also still sixteen years old.

And I mean that in the best possible way! I would not have been this zen at sixteen!

Also, head-canon that because he’s basically the team dad/dad friend/promoted to parent, Vector hears a LOT of “Bo-oooss” being called like that whiny “Daa-aaad” noise and can do zippo about it.

Still battling some internal demons: designing this dress for Kitana helped!

It’s not really all about the money: not entirely.

That’s always the vibe that I’ve gotten from Vector. Yes, he needs that cash to cover their bills, but only so he can keep a roof over their heads and the boys fed. Did you know that in Sonic heroes, one of Vector’s idle lines is “Darn. I forgot to pay the electric bill.” —that pretty much cemented my impression of him as “Dad friend,” especially considering that Espio and Charmy are underage.

But I also like to think that he never wants the boys to see the bills. I like to think he doesn’t want them to be so bogged down worrying about it that they can’t do, or even enjoy, their jobs.

Hoping to explore this one a little further.

I’ve re-discovered Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the realm. Cheesy? Yes, undoubtedly. Lovable? Oh absolutely. In terms of character chemistry, it’s got that hint of found-family that pretty much drives me and severely untapped comedy potential. (And weirdly, that carries over into the main game narrative, which I’m absolutely delighted to find out?? Ya know, considering what Mortal Kombat is most renowned for??)

Anyway, Nightwolf has always been my absolute favourite out of the roster, but more so in the cartoon. He’s just got “team’s tech-head little brother” vibes that I can’t NOT build on here! …And I just love the idea of Kiba getting into mischief on Nightwolf’s behalf.

…Not sure if I just wanna go full throttle and create a whole little series of doodles in the same vein as what X-Men: Evolution was to the X-Men series. Really tempted.