Kieran (But Spookier)

My pretty boy FINALLY got an updated design! He is a royal Vatori (bug alien) courtesan, using dance and pheromones to perform stories and poems for visiting dignitaries. He is an entertainer, therapist, and cultural historian.

Indigenous Nations Plan Tariff-Free Trade Corridor Across US-Canada border “We’re not begging for crumbs anymore. We’re demanding what’s rightly ours."

Indigenous Nations Plan Tariff-Free Trade Corridor Across US-Canada border ino.to/agDxSX2

I love that all it takes is one incompetent business owner to threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of people

really jealous want this shirt badly

Since insects communicate with pheromones, I thought it would be neat if he uses scents to set the intent and mood for a performance. The scent signals he gives off are their own language that adds extra depth to his stories.

Thank you!

There is no separation of art from artist when you contribute to the wealth and status of the artist by paying for and interacting with their art.

No ethical consumption under capitalism and all but Jesus fucking Christ.

I will never understand people who think they’re making some sort of grand statement by saying “I can separate the art from the artist so I listen to music made my pedophiles and fund hate campaigns by buying merch.”

You have a cruel and unsympathetic heart. Get well soon!

I don’t know what kind of gotcha you thought this was, but maybe come at me on main instead of some bs throwaway account.

No, I don’t. But also, I try to be aware of shitty people so I’m not actively funding their campaigns of hate. Most singers from the 70s aren’t pushing for the demonization of trans folk.

A brown ceramic goat with black stripes running down its back, and head angled down to showcase its large, swooped back horns.

A little sandy brown ceramic creature with a black head and big staring eyes. Black stripes run down its body and break up into little flecks by its legs.

A chartreuse mug with a floral barn quilt pattern in the middle. Half rolled up little isopods frame it.

Some sold work from vending last month that I didn't have time to document!

1/2

Thank you! I love her very much! She's a sultry librarian.

Less fun is that he is in a doomed romance with another of my characters. Once described as "hopelessly good-natured," he has a tendency to put the wants of those he cares about over his own needs.

Thank you!

Vatori come in all shapes and sizes <3

He is soft-spoken, but with a deep voice. Draped in silk that flows with his movements, his dance takes much inspiration from the wind and water patterns around where he was raised. His species communicate intent and emotion through pheromones, and he uses these in his performances to set the tone.

My pretty boy FINALLY got an updated design! He is a royal Vatori (bug alien) courtesan, using dance and pheromones to perform stories and poems for visiting dignitaries. He is an entertainer, therapist, and cultural historian.

Serving

He's a royal courtesan and uses dance and pheromones to perform stories and poems for visiting dignitaries. He is an entertainer, therapist, and cultural historian.

Finally going to give this guy an updated design today

That’s still a good point though. Throughout human history, in many parts of the world, sexuality was something you did, it wasn’t necessarily an identity in the same way we think of it today. The contexts were totally different.

To me, that’s much more engaging to think about than “what if everything was perfect and immovable?” Because conflict always is going to exist but how do the characters in that setting react to it? It helps build motivation and life to the characters, even if it’s not always comfy.

And especially in a fantasy world that has more openly queer people. When cishet experiences aren’t seen as the default, what does that look like? So much of queer existence is resistance, so taking away that hurdle leaves ??? What does not fighting to exist look like to a group of warriors?

So notches, carvings, caps, metallic inlays, all can convey how someone wants to be referred to or perceived. Kieran has bare horns, which carry a lot of connotations and some cultures even find that to be the sign of an untrustworthy person (she sees it the same as I do with not wearing makeup.)

That’s so sick!!! I love that idea. It’s fun to have animal characters where scents can be more of an identifier too. A lot of social information is displayed on my character’s horns (which people basically associate with the soul or true self.)

Right! It’s such a struggle. And because homophobia irl is so tied to misogyny and ableism, those themes have to be looked at too. All prejudice is interconnected, so you can’t just remove one in a story and leave the rest imo

Same here! Magic, in my story, is something that is expressed most potently in the presence of authenticity. And I think those that choose who they are rather than go along with a societal expectation are the most authentic among us.

I think having fantasy words that have come and gone out of fashion to describe certain groups of people is good too, because words irl get weaponized, or their meaning changes, or a new word is invented that better describes an occurrence or experience. Just adds some realism to balance out things.