I’d like to start by saying this is my opinion, and I do like her original design too!

So basically, from what I could find on the wiki, Insomni wasn’t necessarily based on any real Yokai (she was named and partially designed after a model in Japan), so I figured I could go nuts with my own design. Anyways, as to why I wanted to show my vision for her, I always felt her power was a bit too similar to Wydeawake and Alnyta, and her design was too similar to Smogmella. Before anyone says it, yes, I know Smogmella and Wydeawake came after Insomni, but I feel like… hot take incoming… Wydeawake and Smogmella did it better. WAIT JUST HEAR ME OUT FIRST;

Smogmella was based on the youkai Enraenra, “lightweight fabric smoke”, which spawn from bonfires and take human shape/form, said to only be visible to those pure of heart. And when I look at Smogmella, with her wispy inconsistent silhouette, I see those vibes! I see the vision! But for Insomni, I feel like a wispy silhouette doesn’t really remind me of her intended vibe. Said intended vibe being her inspirit; to make people stay up and play games, but then again, that’s just Wydeawake! And for Wydeawake, I definitely feel the vibe staying up late and playing games in their design.

I swear I do really like Insomni! Let’s dial back a bit and say what I like about her original design: For 1, the color palette is great. I definitely get stay-up-late-at-night vibes from the deep blues and purples with bits of yellow. Like stars. Cool. 2, Her eye being her designs focal point is a great choice. Since her eye has the blue band mimicking human eye bags, and she has a very powerful stare, it def gives the vibes being paranoid due to lack of rest. And making her inspirit come from her eye too? Amazing. No notes. 3; the horns making a crescent moon to symbolize the night? That was brilliant. Seriously. We’re keeping all of the above in my version of her.

So back to my version of her: I thought we could give her a different insomniac vibe; the vibe where you have so much to think about and so much to do that you stay up all night trying to finish it. To start I decided to sharpen her features a bit; the previous 2 Yokai I mentioned were more round in their designs, so I wanted to give her more of her own identity. This also ties her horns in better with the rest of her. Next, I removed her mouth; I wanted to make her eye even more of a focal point, and also felt that it’d make her more creepy if you could hear her speaking but not know where it’s coming from. NEVERMIND! I REALIZED PATROLYE IS ALSO PURPLE WITH NO MOUTH AND WE WANT TO KEEP HER FEELING UNIQUE SO SHE KEEPS HER MOUTH!!! Then, I put her in a dark, pinstriped suit and skirt, to give a sort of “tired office worker” vibe. And lastly, I connected her to the ground, so she can hunch over people more ominously. And yeah. That’s it.

If you read all this; here’s my take on human disguise Insomni; she’d be a 24 hour news anchor since she can get away with inspiriting the other news anchors the most easily, since it’s their job to stay awake all night :) :3