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My submission for the [COLLAB] Sea of Love hosted by @BNTarwarn ! Thanks for giving me the fantastic opportunity to draw Commodore Kai and Architect Merlot!
They’ve been living in my mind rent-free since 2023. They have 2 lines of dialogue, but their stories are quite interesting because neither of them is exactly who they seem to be… That’s their allure, other than being a funny doomed enemies to lovers old man yaoi
It’s me, the Kailot artist again with my old man yaoi! I love to yap, but my limited art skills often can’t catch up with my vision, so here’s my yap fest for this zine submission:
Both the title of this art and the pose reference are inspired by pairs skaters Savchenko/Massot’s gold-winning 2018 Olympic free program: La Terre vue du Ciel (Earth from Above). I felt it was fitting to pay homage to a figure skating program, especially with the ongoing Winter Olympics :3 I have drawn Merlot as a figure skater before but the doodles were straight ass so it was deleted
The title of this piece is a reference to the zine (Sea) and Kai’s name (which means Sea in Japanese). The sky represents Merlot, who does a lot of aerials in his moveset.
As I had quite a hectic few weeks irl, I found myself working against time constraints to finish this piece. I wish I could have done more to polish it, but I was satisfied with the results. I had a lot of fun playing around with lighting, layers, and blending modes, so it was an educational experience as well!
And here’s the kailot yap none of you have been waiting for:
I like how they’re a crackship but they do have interesting parallels
Congratulations! You have fallen for the facade that is meant to be dismantled by the viewer! Tech has summarized their archetypes in a powerscaling conversation: Architect Merlot is your run-of-the-mill assassin, while Commodore Kai is a duelist.
However, their character stories betray their actual identity. One is an assassin wearing a porcelain mask, yet has genuine friendships (Rill Hendrix, a retired high-ranking assassin refers to their relationship as friends). The other is an “honorable” duelist who wears his face as his mask-- and buries his secrets while keeping everyone at arm’s length.
Both of them are red, so similar in their deception, so similar in their speed-focused fighting styles, yet so different in their attitudes towards the people close to them. Merlot has camaraderie in the most untrustworthy organization (Rill Hendrix), while Kai trusts no one in the Grand Navy. In a way, both are ‘outcasts’ in their respective organizations.
Kailot is defined by the conflict between the facades they wear and their authentic selves. I They can see through each other’s facades, so they’re drawn to each other through mutual understanding, the desire to see through the other’s mask, and to be seen through. It’s an obsession, it’s mutual respect for each other as equals, it’s them holding secrets against the other. They engage in a push-and-pull dance, chasing each other, fighting against the other, it’s a hate-love relationship that stems from looking into the other’s eyes and only seeing your reflection.
