4/29/2023

AP EXAMS. ARE. SOON. !!!!!!!!

2 more weeks and then I will be FREE (temporarily)

But yeah I have more Lumine art

(She's blind)

(She can also see souls)

Lumine is very! Interesting. She's had so many redesigns and lore changes tthat I had to make a google doc to get the lore straight for myself lmao

Essential things to know!

- Lumine was made by a powerful gem that cloned a mercenary (but as a baby) who touched it. She was then promptly abandoned, then picked up by G.U.N. who was also tracking the gem.

- The gem is called the Soul Sapphire, a man-made artifact infused with the power of souls. Wielders can manipulate souls with it, and the more souls the sapphire holds, the more potent its power is. It was originally made for world domination, but has been kind of forgotten over the years (not entirely clear on that bit of the lore though).

- Essentially, the Soul Sapphire (or more specifically, the souls inside it. The sapphire is just a means of channeling soul power) at this point is so powerful it created a living incarnation of itself. No idea how that works, it's just magic.

- G.U.N. decides to keep this strange child and she takes an interest in training, eventually becoming a G.U.N. agent. Cue Shadow the Hedgehog; they don't exactly like each other at first but eventually become close friends.

- Lumine has thus far spent her entire life trying to prove herself (being blind, people don't think she's fit to be on military missions). She actually doesn't realize she has soul powers until she's a teenager, which is when she gets more interested in learning about her past (I think). The only soul power she's had access to is soulvision- the ability to see souls and feel what they've experienced (hence, Lumine has high empathy).

- Her main arc is learning her past, grappling with the identity issues that arise from it (and other issues she's repressed thus far), and also dealing with the questionable morality of her very existence.

- She also has a form called "Lost Lumine", triggered by the souls in her body taking control. I don't know if that's how it works per se, but it's essentially a dark form driven by the insanity of the souls that have remained in the sapphire for thousands of years.

So with that all out of the way....comic time! This is kind of an AU? Featuring an OC I showed last chapter, Somnium. This is also an older comic, so the designs are outdated lmao

Now I need to explain Somnium's whole deal aaaaaaaa

Somnium is a witch!! From the colonial times. She was part of a coven called "The Dreamers" (name pending) and they all had the power to make people sleep and manipulate/walk in dreams.

Their main deal was this thing called dream therapy, where they'd put a client to sleep and help them work through their issues in their dreams. But then they were persecuted because people thought they were trying to make a cult following and using dreams to indoctrinate people (or something. Either way they were persecuted). Somnium was the only survivor (somehow?), and even then she was locked away in a magical prison for centuries.

Backstory done! Fast forward to present time. With Lumine's soul powers awakened, Somnium, even with her limited psychic abilities from within the prision, can reach out to Lumine in her dreams. I made some shit up about dreams being the thoughts of the soul in order for this to work. Is it true? I have no idea.

This takes place somewhere around the middle of Lumine's arc. She and Shadow are on good terms, and she's learned a fair bit about herself. Not sure what specifically, but it's enough to make her start doubting her right to exist. She starts getting these dreams about someone needing help, so she and Shadow get special permission to investigate.

They find Somnium, free her, and now she has to get used to the modern world. Somnium thinks that since so much time has passed, maybe the days of violence and persecution has ended.

Long story short, she was wrong. She still sees injustice and violence and decides to take it upon herself to stop it all. How? By using her powers to put everyone in perfect dreams, where they can live individual ideal lives. No one gets hurt; everyone is happy. (AKA she's projecting her trauma )

So Shadow and Lumine (and the other Sonic heroes) gotta deal with this now, but there's no way to stop her in the physical world; if anyone gets close to her, she just puts them to sleep. They can't fight her in the dream world either, because she controls the dream and can easily strip anyone of their powers.

So their only peaceful option is to talk it out and hope they get through 😁😁 The comic is like...their 2nd attempt at it? Remember Lumine is still in the middle of dealing with her own shit so this whole arc is kind of an affirmation of her beliefs and acceptance of reality...something along those lines...

The one shouting to her is Shadow if that wasn't clear 👍

Moving on! Somnium doesn't force anyone into a dream if they don't want to, but she makes it very clear she won't let anyone interfere with her vision. While the Sonic Heroes TM strategize on how to deal with her, they learn the bodies of the people in the dream are Not Doing So Well.

Lemme tell you about a little something called muscle atrophy. Not moving your body = bad. Because Somnium is from older times and because dream therapy sessions lasted about as long as your average therapy session, Somnium has no idea this is happening!! While she's maintaining the dreams, she's in a dream-like state herself. It's happening to her too but she's literally not aware!!

Uhhh this does actually bring up the question of dehydration and starvation. Somehow I didn't think about this. I'll say this sleep is more of a really deep meditation/hibernation and move on 👍

But yeah bad things are happening. So Shadow and Lumine go to confront her once more, with photo evidence that they bring into the dream Inception-style (I think). During this final confrontation, they also learn about her past through her own dreams (Somnium's kind of losing control over her own dream state by this point, or something).

They make Somnium realize what she's doing, she frees everyone from the dream, and gets some proper therapy. And probably goes to jail? But she's okay with that. Oh and lots of people probably have to go to physical therapy because of this whole thing uhhh whoopsies.

But Somnium eventually renews her practice as a proper therapist, combining dream therapy with modern therapy!! It actually ends pretty well for her. And Lumine continues with her quest for self-knowledge.

I actually had an idea in which Lost Lumine comes back after the Somnium arc and Somnium makes an appearance again. Reminder: Lumine is nigh invincible because she can easily yoink people's souls out of their bodies. Lumine doesn't like doing that, but Lost Lumine is no holds barred.

Which essentially means Somnium is able to bring Lost Lumine into a dream, strip her of power, and talk the rogue souls down. I just thought it'd be a nice way for Somnium to help repay what Lumine did for her.

I'd really like to write this story because it seems interesting, but I don't have a set timeline in regards to what's happening in Lumine's arc 🤔🤔 But I would like to make more comics out of this in the meantime

I actually am working on another Lumine comic at the moment, featuring more train shenanigans 👍 Will post that when I'm done.

Expect me to post more about my sister's OCs actually. I've got a few comic ideas I haven't had time to draw out but AS SOON AS AP EXAMS ARE OVER. I WILL GO BONKERS.

Okay that's it byeeeee love you <333