a dragon, to me, symbolizes power, courage and tenacity- traits that i feel like i dont really have at all. but theeeeeen i thought about it.

I often draw Aka in these extremely egotistical, hyperfeminine, power-trip-y situations. I do this because although she canonically has severe social anxiety and a crippling drug problem, her whole character is very much about running on the sheer power of spite, specifically from a feminine point of view (hence her very blatant aesthetic).
Her figurative prestige and companions in these illustrations are mostly just a fantastical extension of herself, symbolizing her willpower to keep going and being authentically her, even though it is painful. It’s a visualization of that internal battle, the vigor you never get to really see.

I was writing something related to this and sort of realized that, even though Aka is literally based on parts of myself, i’d never really actively tried to use the mindset i gave her, for myself. It’s sort of like giving advice to a friend and never following it yourself but subconsciously lol. and that’s when the idea for this sort of hit me. keeping aka sort of grounded to resemble something familiar and…’lets let that dragon in through the door and channel some power’ type beat.
: )