Bramble

he eliminates a tangible factor that he perceives as causing the issue, but doesn't actually eliminate the root of the problem- he's just preventing himself from seeing the result. "if you don't have a mouth, then you won't need to scream!" but having a mouth isn't what creates the urge to scream. preventing the screaming isn't preventing the need to scream. it's just removing the outlet for whatever causes the screaming in the first place.

he doesn't understand the root of their issues. in real life, it would correlate to people's resistance to having an open mindset and just being plain stubborn so that they don't have to re-evaluate themselves or the way they think. in this case, of course, it's a more literal limit. he's just incapable of understanding the circus members, no matter how they articulate their concerns. if they pander to him, he just sees that as positive reinforcement. if they trudge along but make snide remarks, he gets frustrated that he's still not making them happy. if they lash out at him and say to his face what he's doing wrong, he crashes out. it's physically impossible for him to understand it, as he is.

to him, he's not hearing screaming, if they don't have mouths. therefore, they must not need to scream. it doesn't matter what they really experience, because he's incapable of empathizing that way.

it reminds me a lot of how people treat disabled and neurodivergent people. the way disabilities are understood, even down to diagnostic criteria, rely so heavily on what's perceived by other people. ADHD isn't an attention-deficient disorder, it's an executive functioning disorder. but to neurotypical people, it seems like people with ADHD just can never focus, so that's what they think identifies it. people only think you're autistic if you "look" or "sound" or "act" autistic. even then, the term "disabled" is such a hot button that often times, if you try to tell your loved ones that you're looking for a diagnosis, they'll bend over backwards in denial of it. they think you can't be disabled, because Being Disabled is like some kind of curse that'll destroy you forever. as if you can prevent it so long as you deny it and don't get a diagnosis. it's like having all the symptoms of the flu, and people believing that you can't have the flu unless a doctor tell you that you have the flu. it's like believing you suddenly acquire stage 4 cancer by going to the doctor and them diagnosing you with stage 4 cancer. the illness was already there the entire time.

the hardest part would definitely be fine-tuning it to preserve the feeling of the setting, the characters, mimic a little bit of how it was written, while making it my own. but it's so much of its own story in my head now, i think i'd be able to do it.

CATHY FROM @chubs-deuce's AFTERSHOW AU!!!!!! it's human Ragatha guys!!!!!!!!!!!

tutorial i sketched up really quick for my friends on how i draw feet. here are some extra points i mentioned on details you can consider that i think make them look more "realistic" or convincing:

having the arch under the foot. this one's pretty obvious and i think is usually there in art, but i'm mentioning it anyway.

defining the ankles. this is also an easy one. but it's worth keeping in mind that the ankles don't align with each other usually (i believe the inside ankle is higher and the outside one is lower?) and they kind of lead into the under-foot arch in most front/side angles. it's hard to explain in words, sorry.

noting the downward curve on the top of the foot. it's more obvious when there's a heeled shoe but it's kinda always there? it's just more subtle when the foot is rested flat.

including the knuckles on the toes. this is the thing that, for me at least, made the feet match the level of detail of bodily/facial features in my style (on a good day when i have a bit more detail). i used to just do a simple curve, which is fine- but having that little bend downward makes it look a lot more natural in my opinion.

i got the core concept from a tutorial i saw on pinterest years ago, i think. the kind of three building blocks method stuck with me, but it works. i find it applies well to most front and side angles, but it's difficult to translate when drawing feet from behind, or when it's a front angle and they're tilted up in perspective. i still tried to include some different poses for reference. from-below angles are still pretty hard for me though.