phoenix von karma pilled

Tenna art by @9Aaaalt29 on twt

[ no dl6 au ]

saw this post here once and i just had to draw it with miles and phoenix.

also this was completely unintentional, but THEY'RE MIMICKING EACH OTHERS POSES AND I'M NOT OKAY-

(also lil announcement/question at the end :3)

first of all, the masks

let's start with phoenix's. while many of the masks are not accurate to the actual animals colors, this one i tried to stay close to the original colors.

phoenix's mask is that of a dove. more specifically, a mourning dove.

if you are visited by a mourning dove, it is meant to symbolize the visitation of a deceased love one. it symbolizes a message of hope and emcouragement from the loved one.

phoenix's mask essentially represents his old self, the version of him from chapter 1. but that version of him is dead, and a new version of himself has taken his place. but the mask is still a message of hope to miles. a message that phoenix is still there underneath the prosecutor veil.

next we got franziska's.

her mask is that of a lamb. lambs are often symbols of purity and innocence, but that's not the message i wanted to convey. what else are lambs symbolic of?

sacrifice. blind followers.

at this point in the story, franziska (alongside phoenix) is still a blind follower to manfred. while both of them begin to have their doubts against him, they'd never dare to say anything.

the ideals and behaviors of what a von karma should be are so deeply woven into franziska's identity, that she ends up sacrificing who she really is. the fact that the mask completely hides her eyes just emphasizes the blind follower aspect.

next up is miles' mask.

miles' mask is that of a raven. while ravens usually symbolize death or the warning of death to come, ravens can also symbolize grief and mourning in literature.

for the five years between chapters one and two, miles mourned phoenix as if he were dead, even though he was simply just missing.

the red on the mask, while mainly is just there to complement the outfit and make it stand out, also represents something important. after phoenix was attacked in thorns of the turnabout, miles felt constantly guilty for being unable to save phoenix. he feels that the blood is on his hands now.

but the symbolism doesn't stop at the masks!!

phoenix's corset and cuffs

his cuffs are of course meant to resemble the sleeves of franziska's canon outfit.

but the corset... ohhh the corset. phoenix's mask is a bird, which birds typically symbolize freedom. but his corset resembles a birdcage. trapped without even realizing it, his wings clipped and his freedom taken away.

but...

someone has the key to his freedom.

now time for the question :D!!

if i were to open up a Q+A for this au, would yall be down to ask things? these questions could be about character designs or story elements or case details or just silly headcanons. i may respond in text or art form, depending on the question asked :D!!

i will not be offended if you say no btw! /gen. i just want to make sure i know how much time i should dedicate to the asks without drawing too much of my attention away from main storybuilding posts and finished art pieces.

[ no dl6 au ]

why use the magatama to spot lies when you can just glare at people until they tell the truth.

alt title: *stares at you with my autistic eyes*

[ no dl6 au ]

theatre kids, am i right? anyways, meet the two new characters, cam a. dee and trae g. dee :D

miles and phoenix meet them while investigating after cam and trae both steal something from them.

these goofy lil rascals show up many times in the case, much to phoenix's joy and miles' irritation.

I was getting frustrated with how hard it was to find CC for disabled sims so I made a masterpost of everything I could find. I have deliberately cast the net pretty wide, as you can see by the title. Some of the mods could also be used for able-bodied and neurotypical sims. 

Click here for the masterpost

It is best viewed on desktop due to text wrapping and the length of the list. Feel free to message me with links for anything I missed!

And I say they're aromantic because even though they were incredibly happy with Iris, they seem quite comfortable without any other romantic relationship too. Yes between 3-1 and the rest of the trilogy it makes sense that they haven't found closure with what happened between them and Iris. But afterwards... It doesn't seem like Beanix or Bossnix is upset or worried that they're in their thirties and without a partner, is what I'm saying.

But I think what does affect Phoenix is actually considering themself arospec. They're like "I'm panromantic because I feel the same way about all genders," not realizing that the way they feel about others is nothing romantic.

I would consider Phoenix some sort of grayromantic, too. Because Dahlia was the one to chat them up and ask them out. They were ecstatic, yes. They loved Iris with all their heart, absolutely. But like.... After Phoenix gets their closure, there are plenty of people in their life that they could have gotten with, men and women. They might have even had the chance to get back with Iris! Yet, they're still single. And despite Trucy always asking about it, Phoenix is in no rush.

[no dl6 au]