"Well? What are you staring at? Do I have something in my teeth?"
Eyyy it's the long awaited Mael skeleton form ref! How many refs does he even need? Yes. The answer is yes. You can tell my main syndrome is terminal.
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Additional design notes β¬οΈ
I've actually been trying to figure out how his signature furnace would work in skeleton form for quite a while, considering the notable lack of skin and therefore lack of his chest scar to channel it from. I was just about ready to concede defeat and make him lose access to that particular power in full lich form, when I was hit by an epiphany~
I spent a while scrolling lich/undead character artworks on Pinterest for inspo when I came across a picture of a skeleton with its sternum broken off, making its ribs look sort of like teeth, and I was like, HOLY COW WHOA bingo. Still, the issue of Mael's scar remained, and then I had an idea:
What if the infernal stigmata - his cursed scar(s) - was literally branded into his very soul, not only his flesh? It does make sense in hindsight. It's why his Departing scars remain despite his regenerative immortality, after all - what with him having bound a demon's soul to the wounds sustained from a God. It's something that will manifest on Mael even if he were reduced to just a ghost, a literal inescapable curse that follows him through any and all forms he might take.
Thus, the furnace remains more or less unchanged, manifesting out of the central spark of magic within Mael's ribcage and burning away his sternum to create the signature fanged look of the Soul Eater's brand. The bone around it changes color to black to stand out better, which I explain by localized Shroud magic. You would be able to see a subtly shifting shadowy texture, strongest at the tips of the ribs.
I think I neglected to mention that his portal teeth actually move, did I? Well, yes. They do. Imagine the subtle motion of centipede legs, and you're getting close to what I have in mind. Likewise, his ribs-teeth will do the same, further emphasizing the unnatural factor of everything he has going on. (And evoking the imagery of a snake's ribs. Yes, snakes "walk" on their ribs. You're welcome.)
