Nerium

some images of my progress on recreating the naomichi pixel sprite!

first is the original coloration, second is with muted hair and bandages, third is just bandages, and fourth is final

i like the bandages bc the color i picked makes them look kinda like gin’s gloves

(hayasaka from art book) hear me out... dont they kinda... yk...

I've been thinking about the difference between Sou in YTTD, Sou in YTTS, and Sou AI. Sou in YTTD has gone through his first trial and the tense situation of being in a death game, Sou in YTTS has gone through the entirety of knowing Midori, while Sou AI seems to be around the point of early friendship with Midori.

it's really interesting to me how we can see the same paranoia and self-preservation tendencies in YTTS Sou, just to a lesser extent, with how he lies about being more active and stronger than he is, and generally being distrustful of Mishima and Kai. he still puts up a wall, although it crumbles sooner than in YTTD, despite not being through his first trial yet or even having the fear of death hanging over him.

Sou AI, on the other hand, puts himself in danger for the group and shares sensitive information without seeming to put up much of a wall at all. he ends up getting destroyed by Midori for telling the group too much. he doesn't have the strong self-preservation instincts and distrust of others.

Sou before and after Midori is a much bigger difference than Sou before and after the death game; Midori started the trust issues, which is why YTTS Sou still has them, and the first trial simply exacerbated it. even without the fear of death, Sou still has that fear of the world and other people hanging over him because of how Midori's friendship affected him.