I like how writing and art are both two things I clearly really love doing, but also when I'm actually doing them I'm always like "Ok you [ambiguous] can just kill me now"

Do not actually kill me, I want to live. But yeah lol the ultra pessimist surfaces

-Galaxian-

Obligatory gacha update
4 5-stars (one of which was Fang Alter!) and 1 6-star (Penance)

The rest of the rolls will be whatever I can pick up xD hoping for Logos but don't have my hopes up since it's a split rate-up between him and Wisadel

Btw I really wanted Penance when she was on rate-up during Texas Alter's event, so...Arknights is really just a belated wishlist granter huh (same thing happened with Greythroat and Ebenholz if you remember) 
I'm definitely not complaining, tbh when I thought I had a bad feeling that meant I'd get only one 5-star from pity

-Galaxian-

Also some very unvaluable preliminary thoughts on PMMM: Walpurgisnacht Rising

I can see why people maybe dislike Homura, but I think her actions are understandable, and I'm hoping she gets cut a bit of a break somehow in this upcoming movie. 
And no, I don't think Madoka would abandon her. First, it's Madoka we're talking about. Second, Homura has done so so much for her, it just wouldn't make sense for a "greater good" sort of thing. Even speaking thematically, PMMM (the original series) ends on the note of Madoka enduring being changed from a person to an abstract concept/the Law of Cycles, all so that so many girls can believe in hope again rather than die in despair. Plus as a person, Madoka goes absolute lengths for her friends even if they don't "do much for her"--because that's who she is. So there's no way. I believe in the fluffy pink-dressed magical girl who isn't the smartest but still finds her own way to navigate the world. And yes, Madoka is my favorite, why do you ask. (actually, I kinda just love the entirety of the Holy Quintet, and Another Story helped me understand Mami now too so I'm on the lookout for any new material on her as well)

The Onion has got some of its budget back and it's glorious. 
No but seriously it feels like a gift lol.

-Galaxian-

Finished the Hidden Front missions. Just waiting on the remaining two missions to open to finish leveling the potentials of the welfare (I am being vague on purpose)

Also Pot 4 Fang Alter and a 6 star...guess who.

It was Mountain (ikr)

I feel like this is luck on point, I mean c'mon, it's a 2% chance of a 6 star, and the chance of it being Logos or Wis'adel is apparently 30%. But instead I get Penance and Mountain (one of the few actual furries in the game btw...noting this 'cause I legit thought there would be more).
The Guard chip depletion never stops. 

I think the game is really just waiting for me to make the actual catalyst lol. It's saying "stop being lazy"...but in my defense, my stylus has decided to stop working effective yesterday, and I've been trying to fix it to no avail. Basically the nib has gotten too loose for strokes to be registered smoothly like before. I legit do not know why this happened, since it's not like I'm rough on it or dropped it on the ground or something. But anyways yeah, now I have to use the other end, and hopefully my mind can come up with some kinda fix or something (I refuse to actually change the nib lol it's only been 4 months)

-Galaxian-

There it goes again.

-Galaxian-

Gregor likes me so much he's possessing every 000 ID coming my way
When you're in La Mancha Land, do as Las Manchas do (plz no spoilers I'm just memeing off the top of my head)

-Galaxian-

In light of recent events, I have decided to continue playing Lingering Echoes
I'm on LE-8 now and uhhh. 

Why does "Lost Chair" go so well with this btw 

-Galaxian-

I forgot to tell you guys about a funny moment with the kiddo about a week ago, where her dad was heading out and shouted to me, "IF YOU TWO HAPPEN TO GO ON A WALK, REMEMBER TO HAVE HER WEAR HER JACKET AND HAT!" So I hollered back, "OF COURSE!"
The kiddo looks in the direction of her dad intently, and then she looks at me, and suddenly she's literally grinning in the most devious way possible while looking me in the eye. This toddler was full-on lenny facing at me because of what her dad said. And I'm not entirely sure why she was doing that, exactly, but I lost it right then and there. Stuff was too funny

-Galaxian-

I am using Ashlock again because long (mid? 2 tile?)-range cannon fire is hecking fun. Plus the reason why I wasn't using her was usually 'cause of map layout and exploring the functions of other operators. I'm still doing that, but I think I have a main team by now the color scheme is concerningly similar but I digress. So now it's back to fun, plus I have a lot of Defenders and Guards anyways lol.

Also update, we are up to Pot 5 Fang Alter. One more copy (or farming red certificates for tokens) until full potential. 5th one can/probably will come from the certificate shop since I reached 75 pulls, and I'll probably be analyzing my roll results compared to the statistics for fun in about a week, even though each roll is independent of each other and it doesn't really work that way in practice. And yes, I do still love her; she will be my first E2 Vanguard. She's teaching me how to use Vanguards in a new way (I sucked at using 1-block Vanguards before her and she's very much a fast-redeploy type from what I can tell) and I appreciate it. Maybe my playing style will be more optimized to using Penance more effectively. Penance needs a lot of DP and build-up time.
Also, apparently Alters just inherit the Trust statistic of their base counterpart, so she's already at 200% Trust? I didn't know that before today, but that's honestly sweet.

Another thing I am doing is working on making the chips for Virtuosa E2. (Shu's aren't creatable from the workshop, so...)
I'm hoping that her S3 will somehow make all the difference for a certain stage. Said stage is Adverse...14-9? I believe? The stage caused me to go through a lot of work on Standard difficulty, and now I just keep leaking the last 3 enemies, so I think it's a DPS issue (AKA actual skill issue, I refuse to change strategies and instead made it a DPS issue because I'm proud of the current strat). I *could* probably just try to farm EXP for Greythroat and Zuo Le to max them since they're already E2, and maybe try to promote Kroos Alter ASAP (and get her potentials but rn I don't feel like doing the boss fight for her event, which btw is very anti-alleyway), but that felt less efficient than just doing this. So yeah...maybe I'll specialize her S2 and S3 if I have the materials, and then I'll go at it again. Or just go at it again to see how S3 is (I don't even know what it looks like)

-Galaxian-

Just got the Top Operator tag for the 2nd time this month lol
Using it to get Ch'en so Hoshiguma can be with her bestie :3 (btw both of them were from Recruitment lol that's funny)

Btw I selected her for Kernel Headhunting so...yeah I wanted her lol
I like her design blue hair

-Galaxian-

I also came up with a way to connect some of my scattered Fate "AU" ideas, and let's just say no one involved in the actual ideas wanted to hear that, mostly 'cause on one end I have Rai with a Lancer who can explode you with the sun, and on the other I have a very misguided god who isn't even the Servant.
Let's hope Rai has okay luck 'cause iirc Karna has like Luck D lol (as does Lanling Wang)

Ngl Galaxian, Hitan, and Rai have a pretty screwed up relationship here going if this is the first time I 'publicize' their shared story in a world that isn't the forums then this is gonna end up the only time I ever talk about them for another 4 years
OG forum bros always catching strays from me and my twisted mind lol not my fault for Rai tho, he gets himself involved in stuff

-Galaxian-

For some reason I never noticed that Awakening's artists purposefully drew the Gold version of the Bronze Saints in the same pose as their Gold Saint counterparts
By which I mean Hyoga has Camus' pose and Seiya has Aiolos' pose. I don't think any of the others have a Gold Cloth version funny considering what Omega did lol

In my defence, Aiolos only appears a few times in the main story, and usually he doesn't even have his Cloth on lol (so it's a different avatar)

-Galaxian-

I kinda like the idea of headcanoning random crap on Saints' hairstyles, as in none of it actually means anything and none of my rules are consistent but I think it's funny.

Mostly 'cause I'm thinking about Shion's majestic mane of hair that all flows in the same direction and is noticeably with more volume than most others' hair.

Plus his eyebrow dots are larger than Mu's (and more "majestic" according to him lol bro is hilarious)

With Mu, I have a joke that all the Saints with the tamed-down hair just wear their helmets more:


Case in point, Aldebaran (I love his helmetless look btw)

Added btw: This is fanart and I hecking love it

Saga and Kanon: Not completely sure, but I feel like Saga's hair strands are longer than his bro's?

Btw love the relative symmetry of the side strands as well as most of the hair trying to go to one side

Iirc in the anime Kanon's hair tends to be less detailed or something like that, but that's anime-only and I haven't stared at manga Saga and Kanon enough to notice anything. Iirc they have the same hair colour as well canonically, but all the fans agree that the different hair colours fit each of them better (Saga's hair also magically changes colour to fit aesthetically with the Surplice, which also applies to everyone else too except for Aphrodite[?])
Also as a follow-up to the helmet hypothesis: Neither of these two wear a helmet, and I am coming to realize that it's because the animators would heckin' die. 

Deathmask:

Crab guy's helmet is one step away from becoming a part of his helmet, and it is soooo funny.
Personality-wise I feel like he's actually the kind of guy to use hair gel. Excessive amounts of it. He turns into a whipped cream squirt bottle cap
Love it all flowing in the same general direction. Just as unidirectional as his sense of justice dw he'll come kill me soon

Aiolia:

Very cute hairstyle idk. 
He's the shounen protagonist but his friends weren't supportive enough ): (/j he had no friends) [/j again no shade on him]
But seriously I like the short, chunky strands that don't have as consistent of a flow as Saga/Kanon/Deathmask. They really are kinda chunky. Like peanut butter strips in cookie sort of chunky. dude is staring at me like "what"
The thing I like most about Aiolia's hair is that you can kinda expect what happens when the others' hair is blown up or around (especially the long haired dudes), but his is wild and unpredictable, and that makes his attacks cooler since it adds in an element of inconsistency. 

Shaka:

I've always loved his hair, 'cause it seems pretty simple at first--bangs and long hair. But the side bit always sticks out somehow, and it's very interesting. Plus his hair length is more consistent than many of the others'--it's just long, and the different lengths the wind somehow makes it blow out makes it seem like it's different lengths. Very illusory, very Shaka-like. I love it.
Also fits the Hair Hypothesis since his helmet covers his entire head and he seemed to wear it a lot before the 12 Temples Sanctuary Arc. (btw this is a joke I just find it funny)

Dohko:

Love his hair, since it looks so wild at first glance, but it's all moving in the same direction and rather uniform. Even the side-bangs are symmetrical. I think this goes along with my general notion that Dohko was a pretty haughty and unrestrained individual who matured through the previous Holy War. He still silly now sometimes, but mostly he knows what he's doing, all the fun I make of his tactics aside.
Another member of the "never wears a helmet because the animators would lose it" gang he also would just not wear one

Milo:

Oops. Wrong pic.

Whoops. Wrong pic.

Drawing him, I realize--

Yeah I love his hairstyle. There's a consistency about it, but not for the entire hairstyle. I mean, some tufts just stick up because they want to. But his hair is very fluffy and simultaneously it feels sharp (like a scorpion's...claws? not too sure on the anatomy vibes) and I think his hairstyle is genuinely one of my favorites. Yeah ik, surprise surprise. I have a helluva time drawing it wrong though lol, my mind loves "logic" and for Milo it very much sometimes is just vibes that you as an artist have to go off of, in addition to considerations like gravity and stuff.
Fits with the helmet hypothesis 'cause his helmet isn't complete, and if you notice, the helmet part that connects to the "tail" bit actually rests right on top of the space between one of the Hair Directional Divergences (TM):


Aiolos:

For some reason I always feel like his hair peaks upward like meringue and that just makes it really cute for me lol. Plus I do feel like his hair is fluffy rather than stiff
This is coming from someone who drew him a lot in their youth btw lol for some reason I've always supported fluffy hair propaganda. Truly the best propaganda.
Helmet hypothesis is holding up btw 

Shura:

For some reason, I've always felt like his hair design is peak. Yes this is a pun, no please do not come after me. Idk, I feel like it fits so well. It's so spiky and principled, and makes his face look thin, and fits so well with Excalibur being a very lethal technique. At the same time, I never feel like he feels very old, y'know? Like I wouldn't say he has a baby face, but when I see Shura I'm never like "wow he looks older than he is". 10-year-old jokes aside, I think he physically just looks very...Shura. Great explanations all around.
Hair hypothesis is a go, and would still be a go considering his initial anime helmet design because it shows him being unwavering even in the face of a greater reality (spiky hair refusing to yield to a big ol' box helmet)

Camus:

I think I've mentioned this before, but I think it's funny that he's one of the Gold Saints most committed to keeping his helmet and cape on. It is so realistic considering his thoughts on emotions and being a Saint, but also I think it's 'cause when he doesn't have it on, he looks so much younger. Dude has a baby face despite having those eyebrows and it's so funny
Anyways, Camus. He has weird but cute bangs, which I appreciate, and I love the medium-length tufts of hair over his shoulders that always cover up the way the shoulder pauldrons connect with the rest of the armour, similar to Milo, which causes me agony when looking up references (: . I also love the disjointedness of his hair lengths, which causes me agony when drawing him as well, but also reminds me of icicles hanging off the cave roof which is really really nice. Also his hair is like half spiky half more realistic which is so very Camus as well.
Overall: Hehe funny bangs. I don't feel like I completely appreciate his hair design enough yet. Maybe drawing him a few more times might help :')
Hair Hypothesis is still a-go (and the obligatory /j to go with it)

Aphrodite:

I love his hair because of how some parts of it actually flop down. It's rather natural and I really like it, and it contrasts with the rest of it, which seems rather spiky. 
Almost like a rose's petals and its thorns, hmm? (: I am stretching it

It's very fluffy but it's like that as a whole rather than as individual tufts, which I find pretty neat.
Also you can't tell me that he usually keeps his helmet on lol, he only does it to look cool or because he has to. Yes, I am using headcanons to twist logic to my side, why do you ask?
I find it kinda funny to imagine a genderbent Aphrodite, only for the reason that I imagine someone telling her girls have to wear a mask and her being like "No." and everyone being too scared to enforce it further

This is me going insane after still not being able to draw SS style hair
It actually does help me rationalize some of the rationale. Probably not gonna help with the actual skill issues, however. I need to draw canon more

-Galaxian-

Btw love how being more educated just means I deliberately use logical fallacies. Like yeah I know my logic is flawed. Yeah ik this doesn't lead to anything. It still does tho. 
All roads lead to my conclusions

-Galaxian-