heck yeah. This is going to be very long, so below a cut it goes. Also I got a MASSIVE headache halfway through this so if it’s starts to get incoherent, whoopsie. I didn’t proofread-
OK SO. I originally was going to put a bunch of text on the image but my drawing program was being so, so very slow today, so we aren’t doing that anymore LMAO. You can still have the image with some text though. If you don’t want to read that though I put what’s on the image in text form anyway so you don’t gotta.
First up, the makeshift check rein! I added this mostly as a reference to the book Auster is based on (Black Beauty). Anyway a check rein (or bearing rein) prevents a horse from lowering its head! They tend to strain neck muscles and can cause chronic spine issues. The book actually helped these stupid things go out of style!! reading win (can you tell I hate these things, go look at Wikipedia literally the image for ‘use’ is a horse frothing at the mouth, these things suck). The use of one here is more to symbolize how they feel like they are forced to keep their head held as high as it can go to please all of the people around them, even if it ends up killing them.
Next, the gears! They're meant to make the distortion feel mechanical, and less like a real person going through a lot of stuff (THIS HORSE IS SO DEHUMANIZED). The placement being in the neck specifically is meant to play into the check rein stuff. The gears in general though play partially into the general dysphoria Auster has based around their prosthesis, being metal and all, but more specifically draws on that part of them that feels like a cog in a giant machine. Maybe the cog moves to a different place, but it's still working to push forward a giant machine of some sort. Something, something, the city, Auster has worked in like 18 bajillion different fixer offices.
alright the next bit is the stuff not on the image YIPPEE
The joints are all meant to look kinda like the joints you’d see on an action figure. These are another thing kinda playing on their prosthesis, but it’s also a different thing too! I mainly was trying to mess around with how a huge thing with Auster is how they often act like a tool for other people to boss around or use to do stuff. They’re quite literally if a workhorse turned human. Loyal to a fault, and all that. The reason I made the joints toy like though is a lot to do with Auster lore and some stuff related to one of their old offices (the Livery office, I don’t know if I’ve name dropped it on this blog yet). Talking about that’s a whole other can of worms though so moving on! Because I am getting a headache as I write this lmao
The funky, smoke tail is playing into the general steampunk vibes the distortion as a whole has. It’s also sorta meant to look like the tails of the Heishou branch Auster used to be a part of! (Wu branch, the horse one) If I colored it you would’ve been able to tell, I don’t think that it comes across very well without the color LOL. It also would probably smell faintly of alcohol. Auster themself does not drink, but a big event in their life (the one that made them lose their leg, actually!) involved someone getting drunk and making some very stupid decisions. I don’t have this part fully fleshed out yet so that’s all you get, but it’s pretty much directly based on chapter 25 (it was either 25, 26, or 27 I don’t remember) so if you’ve read Black beauty, you get it.
an idea I had but didn’t put in the drawing was I also partially imagine the front leg joints leaking a weird substance, though it’s pretty much oil. Oil in consistency, oil in appearance, but it smells very starkly of alcohol. The smell is different to seperate people, but it’s generally some kind of alcohol, if applicable whatever thing the person last drank was. If not applicable, some kind of brandy, rum, moonshine, or beer. This is another thing that directly references the events I talked about above! And yet again I won’t talk about it, all I’m going to do is reiterate that Auster does not drink. :)
Anyway thats it for now I want to keep spouting nonsense because there’s a lot more ideas and specific design notes (like the blinders on the really simplified halter) but this gosh darn headache is killing me for no reason. Which is probably a sign to stop LOL. enjoy this utter nonsense my friends. If you made it to the end and actually read this wall of text, you get a sticker.
