#deep queue sea

For @ockissweek '26 - impulse

Languages, Childhood, & Surface Recon

I have so many questions

Based on inferences made by the conversations we witness, pretty much the entire population of Talokan speaks an iteration of màaya t’àan, requiring Shuri’s universal translator to be understood by non-Talokanil.

But Namor.... He speaks English as well. Fairly fluently. Where did he learn? Who taught him? Has he spent 400+ years making secretive trips to the surface in order to understand multiple languages? 

Because if he’s traveling to the nearest shoreline -- we assume somewhere in Mesoamerica -- English is not going to be the primary language he would have the greatest opportunity to pick up, especially not several hundred years ago. 

I think it may be fair to assume he speaks Spanish as well, whether as a tool to retaliate against Spaniard colonizers, or out of sheer practicality if he is indeed making trips to the surface. 

All this to say -- I feel somewhat confident in my brainrot that K’uk’ulkan has actually spent more time secretively investigating the surface world than originally suggested. Yes, his home and people are removed from global society, both out of necessity and by choice. But Namor is the one member of the Talokanil that can potentially pass as human (with enough clothing covering certain defining features... think Spock wearing a beanie). As their leader/god, he would be remiss in his duty if he didn’t venture out and assess the threats posed by the surface world, and that would mean he would need to understand their language, the socio-political climate, what weapons of war looked like in an ever-changing landscape of technology. 

... And now I’m imagining a young K’uk’ulkan in high-top combat boots and an oversized beanie, dodging his way through the crowded streets of Mexico City. Sitting in darkened corners of bars near the embassy offices and watching global news reports, head cocked to overhear loose-lipped politicians. Learning new tech, new forms of communication, new styles of warfare -- all the keep tabs on the colonizer threat.

have a Yona

Originally I reblogged and attached this to gargoylesister's lovely piece, but I later deleted it because it felt like I was piggybacking and didn't feel right.

But there were some fun tags "speculating" who hurt Whaleen regarding the song ;) and I was inspired to draw this! The words come from this song! Cironus was absolutely enchanted by Whaleen when they first met, and their relationship started out sweet at first, but then she wanted to change him. He even played in her band for a time, but he's not credited in her works!

A belated birthday sprawl for favourite lying pirate-priest/traitor/apostate/mutineer/""sea-trader""/forsworn. Hugo back on his bullshit on his own terms & living his best life post-Fate 🥰🥰🥰

This was done right after doing this Yona piece. I was looking at various expression sheets to use. An artist by the name of Peter de Sève said when it comes to character design they always start by drawing a character pissed off; a good character can do it all (emotionally) so they put even the smallest background characters through this emotional gauntlet :>

Bonus sketch for @becquerelsplash who commented on my patreon with "hold her head like hamburger"