Chrysanthemum Character Concepts Through the Years (Patreon)

Chrysanthemum is a character I have had for years, so it was fitting she be the first character to premier on my channel 6 months ago. 

She started out as a magical witch named Kokoro back when I primarily consumed anime, and then she evolved into a witch who owned a tea shop on a small island before finally becoming the soft yandere we know her as today. 

I love seeing the evolution of a character! It is so fun to see the elements that stayed and how they changed. For Chrysanthemum, she always had the lavender (or chrysanthemum purple!) hair color, even when her name was Kokoro. 

And, I gotta be honest, she absolutely started out as a self-insert for high school me. I saw myself as "otherly," like I came from a different place and didn't know exactly how to fit in with my peers. Chrysanthemum (then Kokoro) was an attempt for young me to process some of those feelings....and now, we have a fey who really is "otherly" in this city of Ashwood Grove, but she owns it. 

Young me would be proud of the (soft) villain Chrysanthemum is today. 

I also call Chrysanthemum a "soft yandere" because, while absolutely being lovesick, she isn't violent like many standard yanderes are. She is a fey, she operates on a different system of morality than humans, so she can't exactly be held to the same moral standards as humans. She loves Pet, but, you know, like a pet. You ever listen to some justify how they train their pets to behave? 

Anyways! I hope you enjoy the drawings young me felt pride in. I love seeing how my style organically changed as I got older, and I hope you enjoy seeing it, too!