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doppel-doodles · 27 days

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Since everyone is making their own little version of the characters I thought I would join the fun for my Fallen crown Au! These were supposed to be quick little sketches just to get some ideas down but they still took me the whole day:'D will probably change as I draw them but I wanted at least something down on for the time being and I do like how most turned out!

Single versions plus some info and ramblings about each under cut for those interested:

My lamb was mainly based on both, yes the actual player character but also the vibes of my own plathrough which were very "oh god who let this child be in charge?-" while I'll still mostly just call them Lamb I figured they should still have a proper name so I went with my friends @/tamaruaart suggestion as it suits them rather nicely! And most note worthy detail is honestly just the fact that they carry something from each bishops realm on their person now, I like to think they treat those items like little trophies:>

Narinder is probably my weakest I feel like, he definitely needs something to give him some extra "ompf!". I basically made his undertaker fit a sorta reverse or at least loosely inspired by his white robes in game. I imagine he is very boney or a straight up skeleton underneath so he covers it all up beneath heavy fabrics, but because I lack subtly I still covered him in bones regardless-

And yea I kept the veil cause 1. It's a look and 2. It coviently covers up his now sewn shut third eye.

There wasn't much reason behind making him an undertaker, I simply thought it suited him, when your the former god of death you aren't exactly squeamish around corpses. Lastly the dark blues are there to contrast the other followers warm tones, as they kinda seen him as an outcast which is just fine for narinder he isnt exactly thrilled to be here.

I'll put Leshy and Heket together as they were sorta designed as a set.Since they are both youngest among the bishops I sorta latched onto the headcanon that they get along pretty well and just stick together after getting into the cult so they just share a lot of their duties. So I gave them some matching elements like the puffy shorts but also stuff that contrasts like Leshy having looser clothing and Hekets being more tight. Or Heket getting working gloves with a little belt to hold tools plus a hat for the sun, meanwhile Leshy will happily dig through the dirt bare clawed in the sun for hours-

I debated on giving Heket an apron but honestly I think she would only wear one while cooking or tending the farm plots there is no reason for her to wear it casually, the gloves though stay for I reason I utterly love because its PETTY-

Literally the only reason she keeps them on almost constantly is because when the lamb asks she can be like "ew, I'm not touching you with my bare hands." Yes, my humour is broken moving on-

I also gave Leshy a cane just so he actually has something to feel around with when he is areas he isn't too familiar with so he isn't running into crap- on that note, Heket can speak a bit but not exactly loud or for a very long time without seriously hurting her throat, once I properly learn it I definitely wanna draw her using sign language.

Lastly bodies, Leshy was based off a previous drawing I made of him in bishop form, I simply made it less monsterous but he is in charge of chaos so he had to remain a creature- Heket is more straight forward, she is a frog and she is large and in charge.

There was one reason why I made Shamura a tailor and that was the mental image of them sewing the bishops clothes when they were younger and dressing them up all cute.

I went for more pink colors mainly because I thought it better suited the purple and would make their red eyes pop! Honestly I really love their colors they remind me of a Berry! I've drawn shamura before but honestly the only things that stuck were the colors,face and then also the hand markings I did tweak their eyes a bit I wanted something more stern feeling.

For clothing I kept everything nice and loose, while they are the tailor I also love the idea that in their spare time they either teach the youths in the cult or are like the champion of the fighting pit because war is also their domain and they can be- so I wanted them dressed pretty comfy to deal with whatever may come! But still keep everything pretty mature and mildly fancy maybe in the future I'll do some fancy gold and silver embroidery to the pants because of that.

As for body type I wanted them to be pretty thin but unlike Narinder who is twink material under his cloak they have a bit more bulk on top to show that they can choose violence if they so wish-

I adore me some pathetic but still serving men, honestly except for the cross on his belt I completely ignored the fact I made him a medic- If he needs to treat something gross he can throw something over to protect his clothes but just like Heket there is no reason for him to wear that while not working.

Otherwise my main goal was simply to make Kalamar look pretty and fancy. I debated on either short or long bottoms until I realized I'd have to figure out his tentacle situation, then realized I don't hate myself THAT MUCH so bro got put into a floor length gown, work smarter not harder kids.

If I have an excuse to give a character a shawl I will take it so fast.

His body type I mainly wanted to flesh out the roster so I tried making him very squishy and huggable looking, I debated on thinner so he looked more dangly and stretchy but that made him kinda to similar to Narinders build for my liking.

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chubs-deuce · 23 days

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Hi!! Love your artwork and your Charlastor AU with Dawn!!

I was wondering if you think Alastor would make any dawn-themed dad jokes and puns in your AU, and if he does, what would Dawn and Charlie think of them? I can’t really think of any off the top of my head right now, but I know ‘a brand new dawn’ is a phrase he could maybe use!

Again, love your art!!! If you don’t mind answering questions about it, do you have any advice for artists who want to improve their drawing or any practices that have helped you develop your skills? And are there any particular artists that really inspire you?

You’re one of my favorite artists and I don’t know how to explain it but your drawings have so much life in them!! 🌟

sdlksdflkj thank you so much omg!!!

I'm so glad you're enjoying them ;W;

And he would be insufferable with them lmfaoo, especially because I'm sure Charlie would hop in on a few of them and add to the pile as well xD

One more I can think of rn is "Oh, I was wondering where the sun went!" whenever Dawn enters a room, because the implied punchline is "but then it Dawned on me" or something? XD idk I'm not good with puns sadly

Now regarding the art advice!! This one got HELLA long so I'll hide it under a cut for everyone's comfort lmao

I know it sounds shallow and like worthless advice, but a huge huuuuge part of getting better at art is to just... make art! Practice makes perfect - it develops your motor skills, gives you somewhat of a muscle memory for certain basic shapes that are a necessity to have a good feel of for good foundation sketching.

Practice also develops your eye for compositing and for how color theory actually applies in practice, it basically helps you develop a more consistent grasp on art as a whole :D

There are some things I've learned over time that definitely helped speed things up though xD

here's some rough sketches I did just to demonstrate what my rougher drawings can look like - also a little diagram (on the right side of the image) of things I keep in mind for the average proportions of a human body!

I tend to sketch very loosely and try to capture the overall vibe and silhouette/rough shapes first before I even think about adding details - there's a certain flow, squish and stretch to everything that's just much easier for me to get a good feel for when I use quick, loose brush strokes and as few lines as possible to convey a concept.

Repeatedly sketching humanoid characters of various shapes, builds and sizes for years genuinely helped enormously in getting not only faster but also more consistent with it!

I'm fairly well practiced with hands and expressions especially at this point since I like to focus on those in my art often, so those come fairly easily to me as well now!

Something I learned along the way about keeping a certain liveliness to my artworks is that sometimes you have to forego anatomical correctness a bit if you want to fully express specific emotions - if you try too hard to keep everything perfectly proportional and realistic, it can make the outcome look stiffer than you might've aimed for - this is something I actually struggle with in my cleaner artworks :'D The ones I do proper lineart for, since a lot of the flow of the original sketch gets lost in the process haha

As for artists/artstyles that inspire me...

There's @/southpauz for example!

Her artstyle is unbelievably expressive and her eye for compositing and her use of shapes is SUBLIME - it inspired me to let loose more with my expressions, exaggerate features a bit more and to push the way I try to vary facial features :D

Then, back when I had that massive Rise of the TMNT phase, the artstyle of it has actually greatly influenced how I draw today!

It manages to be detailed and highly recognizable despite its deceivingly simple style - it exaggerates shapes and uses it to communicate personalities, emotions and action super effectively and taught me a lot about utilizing those more efficiently myself :D

And last but not least Ishida Sui - the mangaka behind Tokyo Ghoul (which used to be a highschool obsession of mine)

His striking use of colors, textures in abstract, yet symbolically heavy ways and his courage to be rough and expressive rather than looking polished, yet also having such a solid understanding of realism blew me the fuck away as a teen and still does now!!!

His art may have less of an influence on my style today than it used to back then, but I think in my more exagerrated, more horror-esque drawings you can kind of see it still :'D Either way I greatly admire him as both a writer and artist.

-----

I'm genuinely so so flattered that you enjoy what I do enough to give me such high praise, thank you so much for writing me such a wonderful ask <3 I'm glad I got to gush about some of my favorite artists/artstyles for a bit haha

If you have any more specific (digital) art related questions don't hesitate to reach out!! I love giving pointers about a subject I'm so passionate about, we don't gatekeep helpful information in this house!!! <3<3<3

#chubs answers #charlastor fankid #chubs ocs #dawn morningstar #art inspiration #art tips

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crimeronan · 8 months

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hi!! sorry if this has been asked before but i wanted to know if u had a specific editing process? ive read before that u edited ur fics for 6-8 hours and wanted to know what those hours consisted of, technically speaking, if its not too much trouble!!

hello!!

this is a really good question. i want to do it justice but breaking down every single detail of my editing process would take a VEEEERY long time. so i'll give more of an overview

some fics have a Much more involved editing process than others. so i can walk you through what both "processes" look like, step-wise. my most involved process produces the best work but is also the most time-consuming and exhausting.

to start, though: you gotta understand my first draft process. because whenever i tell other writers about how i draft, their responses range from "that's insane" to "that's so smart" to "that's insane. again."

i don't reread anything when i draft.

and i mean Anything. i don't reread a single sentence. i don't reread my phrasing as i'm writing it. i don't even check to make sure that my sentences make sense.

i just write out the entire story as i'm hearing / imagining it in my head. whatever moments, beats, dialogue, Whatever is most important to me. i don't edit as i go, i don't look back. if i can't think of details or lose my flow, i put [add X here] and keep going.

i usually have a bullet-point outline before i draft -- that's my scribbled concept sketch. my first draft is the equivalent to the slightly less scribbly concept sketch. it takes a MAXIMUM of one-third of my entire writing time.

the other two-thirds (or more!) are editing.

so basically. editing is where i reread what i wrote, identify weak spots and pacing issues, revise my dialogue, improve my metaphors, bulk up my imagery..... it's like doing all of the painstaking lining and coloring and shading of a very involved art project.

with my Most involved editing process, i open a new document beside the first draft. i write an entire second draft from scratch, using my first document as reference. that lets me keep all the important beats, rearrange stuff, go more in-depth with detail, etc. THEN i reread that second draft and do all of my fussing.

with my less involved editing process, i just reread and edit the first draft instead of creating an entire second draft. i also do fewer editing passes.

(the involved process includes editing the whole document once, putting it down for a few hours, then starting over from the beginning and editing the Edited Version all over again.)

it might be easier for me to show you the differences in fic quality, for you to get a sense of how the editing process affects things.... rather than trying to describe exactly what i look for / change / do / etc.

so. here's three recent (ish) toh fics

humans are friends. AND food - no editing.

why did love put a gun in my hand (and all other parts of this series) - basic first draft editing.

what we are is the sum of a thousand lies - 2 to 3 full drafts per chapter, 3 to 5 editing passes per chapter, ~30,000 words of outtakes beyond that.

with that vampire AU fic (#1), you can see that it's short, it's quick, it's silly and fun. it's not emotionally deep. it doesn't make much sense. it's very clearly based on Vibes instead of a fully considered story.

the princess luz fic (#2) is Significantly more involved. the increased detail here is partially because this is a horror series instead of a stupid humor romp, but the principle is the same.

all of luz's internal narration about her fear, the pacing of her interactions and confrontations with belos n hunter alike, the ugly body horror and the way she comforted the dying grimwalker... that's all from the editing process. the bare bones were there in my first draft, but my edits were where i got to make things Effective.

basically, i wrote the horror story the way i saw it in my mind. and then during the edit, i could ask questions like - what would make this worse? what is she really afraid of? what is the most LUZ reaction that she could have in this situation? what's the most effective way to show the differences between this luz and canon luz, and the similarities? etc etc etc. all those little details!

then you have wwaitsoatl. which is by Far the most energy-intensive fic i've ever written. that's part of why updates are so sporadic despite there being well over a thousand subscribers at the moment (FAR more than any of my other fics have ever had).

the reason that this fic requires so many drafts and editing passes is because of the sheer complexity of the characterization. the plot is pretty generic, as toh fics go - hunter gets kidnapped away from the castle and learns how to be loved, this fic has been written 100000 times before in 100000 different ways by 100000 different authors.

BUT. every single one of the four narrators in this particular story is unreliable in different ways. every single one has different priorities, motivations, baggage, feelings, levels of emotional intelligence. all four of them are in massive conflict with one another.

the conflicts Between the characters are similarly complicated, so i have to spend a LOOOONG time on all of the dialogue & interactions. these guys do a LOT of projecting, and arguing, and talking at cross-purposes, and making incorrect assumptions, and lying, and obfuscating, and on and on and on. clear communication is basically impossible.

the internal narration also requires a similar level of care. hunter and darius in particular have incredibly challenging POVs to write because all of their narration is tied up in denial, self-delusion, and facades.

hunter's nightmares, cognitive dissonance, and slow breakdowns take Hours And Hours And Hours to get right. same goes for darius's feelings and the things he says and the things he Doesn't say. i literally study every single individual sentence and rewrite it like 15 times, then study every individual paragraph and rewrite and rearrange them like 15 times. and if a scene isn't working, i cut it entirely, even when that adds up to 30,000 words of outtakes.

it's my most ambitious fic by a longshot and i'm confident in saying it's my best work to date. but hoo boy, it is WORK.

so. that's my editing process, basically! and how my editing process changes my final product.

#replies #writing #writing advice #i guess?#toh #my writing #long post #REALLY long post #always a pleasure to get to talk about the process behind the scenes tbh #it is not easy. wow

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sviancontrast · 7 months

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You focused on the wrong one

Ok so I've been thinking about this for a while and decided to make a continuation of "Everyone has to see". This one isn't inspired on any prompt, tho. However, if I were to give it a prompt, it'd be the following.

Read Everyone has to see

It wasn't until Comic Relief left Hero's team that Villain started noticing that there was a weird vibe around Hero, and it wasn't until Comic Relief started hanging out with them that they realized they were never meant to be this story's antagonist.

Now, to make it easier for everyone, I'mma just- Type out the names of the chars.

The Wishers — Hero's team

Colton — Hero

Mary — Love interest

Denzel — Comic relief

Ferdinand — Villain

Becky — Villain's eyes

Becky's Father – Dog whisperer

Hunter – Scent collector

A few weeks had passed since Denzel left The Wishers, during which he had been staying over at Ferdinand's base. Both of them had been getting closer despite Denzel not revealing much information about his former friends. However, Ferdinand soon started getting creeped out by his new friend's habits. They weren't terrifying, but they were definitely quite unsettling.

Only a few days after Denzel moved in, Ferdinand heard some weird noises. They sounded familiar, like a language he'd listened to once but had never understood.

"Denzel?" he asked, confused.

Denzel quickly turned around to look at his friend, smiling, "yeah?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That voice, didn't you hear it?" he felt dumb, maybe he was just hearing things.

"Oh, that was probably me. I tend to talk to myself," he shrugged off dismissively, "just a habit I picked up whenever I kept guard."

"Were you that lonely?" he questioned as he sat down.

"Oh, no, not at all! I was just coming up with a few jokes and trying to keep you away by pretending there were more people up," he laughed off.

Ferdinand wanted to comment on how weird that'd sound as a fake conversation, but nodded.

A different time, during cleaning day, Ferdinand was walking around to see if anyone needed help, but ended up stopping in his tracks upon seeing a bunch of random objects on the bed. He looked around before getting closer, picking one up and inspecting it.

It was some sort of stone with a inscription on it, but it looked distorted, like it was in a different language.

He put it down and took another glance at the objects that, despite him telling himself it would be a quick glance before going back to cleaning, he knew very damn well it probably wouldn't be.

He picked up a small box which, upon opening, played a soft tune. Inside there was a stack of photographs and a small journal. He would have closed the box immediately if it weren't for the fact the phitographs were clearly edited. I mean, how was it possible that all the faces in the photographs were blanked out, scratched or deformed except Denzel's?

He was about to look though the journal when he heard a voice calling him from the hallway.

"Ferdinand, sir! Can you come real quick?" the voice yelled, and he accidentally dropped the box and journal.

Luckily for him, they both fell on the bed, so it didn't really cause a mess. He put the photographs back in the box, but something stopped him from picking up the journal.

It had opened with the fall, showing a sketch of someone who looked quite similar to he himself in that same room, looking at a book on the floor.

He just picked it up, closed it and placed it back in its box before rushing to wherever the voice came from, but in his brain he couldn't stop seeing that sketch.

"Is there anything wrong, sir?" asked a mildly concerned Rosalind.

She was the greatest blacksmith in the base, if not in the whole country.

"Oh, no, Rosalind. It's nothing, really. Just thinking," he responded, dismissively.

"Recreating everything in your mind again? You need to let that brain of yours rest a bit, Ferdinand sir, you have the best strategists on your side."

"I know, that's why I'm not worrying about that, either. I am just absent minded today."

"Alright, if you say so... But please remember we are all here to listen to you and help you out, alright?"

Ferdinand smiled slightly and nodded. That was right, everyone there supported him, even if at the start they were considered his victims. But that also gave him food for though. Denzel wasn't on his side, he wasn't siding with anyone but staying neutral. Moreover, he was a friend of his, so he shouldn't have to worry about him. In fact, he was against The Wishers after everything that happened during his stay in the team.

And then it clicked.

"Betty!" he called out as he went looking for her.

"Over here!" she yelled back from the 'hunting' quarters.

Ferdinand went over to her, then ordered, "I need you to locate The Wishers ASAP and take me to them"

"Huh? What? Why? It's not The Date," she questioned, mildly concerned.

"There might be an outside factor we never considered"

Betty nodded, rushing out to get her stuff before leaving with her boss. It wasn't the first time he had tagged along, but he hadn't ever since the plan was finished. It was perfectly scheduled, every possible scenario they could come up with had been considered and countermeasures had been prepared in any of those cases.

Keywords are 'they could come up with'.

Not many hours had passed before they got to The Wishers' camp. They were still packing their stuff, so they couldn't notice the villain's presence until it was too late.

"Colton Hastur," Ferdinand called, making everyone freeze in place.

He was close enough to kill them all, how could they have let their guard down like this?

"What is it that you want, you vile man?" Colton asked with an amount of confidence he really did not possess.

"First of all, I have a name. Secondly, I want you to listen here and listen carefully," he said, raising his fingers as he spoke.

"Why should we listen to you, Ferdinand del Bay-e?"

"Ferdinand del Valle, not del Bay-e, you uneducated rat," the villain corrected.

"Whatever, same difference. What is the important thing you need to tell us, as if we were allies!?" Colton asked, tired of waiting.

And maybe he had a point. Maybe Ferdinand should have spoken faster. Maybe that way they would have had enough time to notice and dodge the attack that swept them both off their feet and knocked them out.

#writeblr #writing #creative writing #second part woohoo #i have no clue what im doing #this took me far too long to make #yes this'll have a third part because I found a prompt for it #writing from prompts

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sunsetting-harmony · 1 year

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once again I am asking about sketches, 💢, 🙈, 📎, ❤️ and 🎀for funsies

and for 6ix, have: 👻,💢,🙈,💚and 🎀for funsies

Theres a lot so I'll add a cut!

Mr.Sketches:

💢 ANGER - what are some habits they have that will take some getting used to?

I would absolutely say for most people it's his whole eldritch vibe he has. Or his quick temper behavior!

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?

His softer more compassionate side. He wants to keep his suave and intimidating presence. He'll only show VERY few people his softer side such as Liam and also his daughter! 📎 PAPERCLIP - a random fact.

He is colorblind! ❤️ RED HEART - their love language(s)?

Gift giving is a big one! And also physical touch! 🎀 RIBBON - how would they fit into other worlds / aus? what aus would you like to try out? what fictional world would they fit / not fit into?

ANY type of monster or shape shifter, who just so happens to have an ungodly amount of wealth. Fictional worlds that would be fun is any Elder Scrolls world I think....

6ix Graham;

👻 GHOST - do they believe in ghosts? what are their “ghostly experiences”, if any?

answered here!

💢 ANGER - what are some habits they have that will take some getting used to?

Hmm..he can be prone to outbursts when he's unable to talk out a peaceful situation...but some might find it hard to get used to the fact has nervous breakdowns easily, his most common reaction to stressful situations is uncontrollably crying

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?

When he's extremely emotionally vulnerable. He doesn't want his friends to see him in a super emotionally and "weak" state, even when he cries easily in front of them he hates it, but when he gets bad its BAD.

💚 GREEN HEART - what things make your oc feel comforted? hugs, kisses, food?

Being hugged / held! It makes him feel safe and protected, especially if he's being held by his husband. 🎀 RIBBON - how would they fit into other worlds / aus? what aus would you like to try out? what fictional world would they fit / not fit into? Other worlds and AU's he'd be some sort of former assassin depending on the setting...if it was a modern au im thinking about he'd be a farmer too..i have so many ideas!! I wanna put him in so many worlds...he probably wouldn't fit in too many high fantasy but i dont care i will do it anyways!

#thank you so much!!!#oc tag #asks #oc;sketches #oc;6ix

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cqtlatte · 3 years

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i hope it's alright to ask, but i love the way your backgrounds are so vibrant but also abstract, if that makes sense? i have a BIG problem with using abstract shapes in my art , whether it's background or just a shirt design. do you have advice on how you... come up with the abstract in your art? this is probably a v hard question, i'm sorry! i have problems veering from "does this look realistic", not in the sense of style, but in the sense of "ok a tree wouldnt have any circles in it, a sky wouldn't have weird clouds" etc. it's hard to bread out of that.

Hiya, anon!

No worries at all, it’s totally fine! The question is difficult indeed but I totally get what you mean. Like, “is this illustration believable?” After retracing my steps, I think this answer will be useful for you and many others!

The process of abstracting your art happens little by little.

Here's some old illustrations of mine. As you can see, I didn’t start painting with all the crazy strokes and shapes I use now, I was very careful and reserved in what I put in my backgrounds to fit the same mentality you were talking about! But I was also bored (LOL), and I was worried that my art looked too flat, so I started to add small things like blobs in the sky and swirls in my clouds. Eventually, that shaped itself into the style I use today.

I’m very tentative about suggesting brushes b/c all artists’ hands respond to brushes differently. (everyone has different tastes after all!) But for me, switching to textured brushes helped a lot. This may not be the case for you (or people reading this post), perhaps if clean line brushes don’t work, soft brushes could, or textured brushes or vice versa! It’s a matter of playing around to find what feels good for you.

Otherwise I think a good exercise could be taking one of your works and experimenting with different lines and shapes!

here's a quick experiment I made to show you what I mean. You can give off different vibes with the different lines and shapes you use, different brushes, and even with different colors!

I think a final point I'd like to make is, when you're in the sketch phase, its better to focus more on what composition you want, and let the abstraction come while you're coloring. Its almost like a decorative phase that bleeds into your illustration as you put more and more detail into it!

Its sometimes a bad habit of mine to make the sketch "pretty", but my pieces that have gotten the most reception have come from something as simple as a faber castle pencil sketch in a small notebook. (here is an example!)

Anyway, I hope this'll help move you in the right direction. Once you get the hang of it and break free, making stylized abstracted works can be super fun and relaxing. Don't give up, anon!

#asks

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highdwightofmylife · 3 years

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If your requests are open, could I request something with Jeff and his s/o basically adopting the legion as their kids please 🥺 thank you so much

God so WHOLESOME THANK YOU... also I'm writing this while waiting for a match why do I load in immediately as surv but the moment i wanna play killer it takes 300 years... just let me be Evan bhvr

ALSO FUCK THIS GOT SO LONG IM SO SORRY 😳😳

Jeff, His S/O and Their Four Teenage Ruffians

Jeff had told you that he'd met with the Legion prior to all... this. The fog, yknow? He told you about how he'd painted a big mural for them; how they gave him drinks, how... How he felt like he couldn't leave them alone up in that abandoned lodge after he'd finished their commission because it didn't feel right. So he told you he often checked up on them, and they always seemed so happy to see him. He told you it was like he'd suddenly adopted four kids that he'd occasionally bring snacks and cds for and make sure they were looking after themselves.

So now in the fog. His kids are a lot more vicious than he thought they were! But... That didn't mean he wasn't their dad anymore!

You met Jeff here, you started dating him here, and, well, with Jeff comes his misfit kids.

It takes them some time to view you as anything other than just another survivor, really. They have respect for Jeff but still kill him (although they have, occasionally, turned a blind eye to him in trials). So you? You worm you way into Susie's heart first. She doesn't trust you by any means, but her curiosity about what papa Jeff see's in you is too much to ignore. She begins to like you because you don't talk down to her. You don't treat her as the child of her group, as some people have done. She likes that you talk to her as an equal.

Doesn't mean she won't kill you though. But, at least she feels bad about it.

Joey's next. He trusts and respects Jeff, but he also sees how you are with Susie, and that's a bonus for him. He's more laid-back than the others, and he would have no qualms about approaching you when you're alone, sitting down beside you and gently asking some things. About what you did before all this, about how you and Jeff got together... He's really chill to talk to, and once you start conversing with him, he gets more at ease. Consider the first spontaneous meeting alone to be a test where he sizes you up and decides whether you can get closer to he and his family.

Susie talks about you all the time. She really warmed up to you and fast. Honestly Julie has gotten sick of hearing how nice you are and veing asked when you can come over.

Surprisingly? Frank's the one that follows suit with liking you. He starts teasing you every time he sees you, "ewwww, they liked Jeff,, ew... Old people love". Doesn't matter how old you are. You could be 18 and this man still calls you old just for being with Jeff. "ew are you two gonna fuck?? Gross"

But all that teasing is literally just because he's not very good at dealing with things, and he doesn't want to admit he likes you without making a fool of himself.

But you know he does like you because one time in the dead of night he came to you to ask you to bandage something for him and he was all like "BUT THIS IS ONLY BC UR THE LAST OPTION, I ASKED EVERYONE ELSE" but when you patch him up and send him on his way he says "thanks mom/dad" and then you see him go rigid and he's like "I-I-I MEAN... UH... FUCK YOU" and then runs away

Julie is the hardest kid to warm up to you. She always puts on a sour face when she sees you, and she actively distances herself. It's like. She doesn't need a parent. Doesn't want one. Says Jeff is more so "just some guy who painted our wall once" but everyone knows that's a lie. And when the other three start flocking to you, she feels very left out. She feels angry that you're taking her family from her. Stereotypical biological kid getting mad at a step parent for existing.

Julie accidentally let's her emotions flow in front of just you and Jeff. He says something trivial and she just blows up. "YEAH?? WELL ITS NOT LIKE I WANTED YOU TO BE MY DAD. BUT NOW YOU'RE IGNORING ME AND EVERYONE ELSE LOVES /THEM/ BUT I JUST KNOW THEY HATE ME"

And Jeff looks at you and looks at her and. "When did you assume they hated you?" And you can hear sniffles from behind her mask as she sadly/angrily kicks at the floor and, "Well it's obvious isn't it?? Why would they not"

Jeff looks you dead in the eye. "Sweetheart, do you hate Julie?"

"Absolutely not. Never have, never will."

And Julie looks up like ?????

And then Jeff laughs and it's very hearty and just... Good man...

Julie is now your aloof daughter than every now and then will give you a quick hug from behind, where you can feel her sigh and get all her emotions out, and then glare at you and power walk away.

You love your kids.

All six of you watching old VCRs on a beaten up TV in the lodge. Jeff and you snuggled up in the middle of the couch. Susie with her head on your lap. Joey sprawled out on the other side of Jeff with his legs dangling over the arm rest. Frank on the floor, hogging some really shitty popcorn. Julie sat on the back of the couch, closer to you than she ever thought she'd let herself. One happy, albeit dysfunctional family.

Joey seems to be taking after Jeff. Sometimes you and Jeff would just sit and draw or paint (or if you don't, you just vibe with him as he does). It was nice. And now sometimes, Joey gently asks if there's a space for him. It's so soft to see Jeff enthusing about his work while Joey eagerly listens. You like to watch them both lying on their stomachs on the floor, sketching. Jeff is teaching him all his tricks and Joey just eats it all up. Father son activity that you get to witness. And sometimes Joey will lift up his art and show you! If he has taken off his mask you'll see the absolute joy in his eyes.

Susie makes u a keyring I don't make the rules. Its made out of scrap and she had to get evan to help and when she presents it to you she is just SO HAPPY. The model daughter except she kills people on a daily basis

#dbd headcannons #jeff johansen #dbd jeff #dbd the legion #legion frank #legion susie #legion joey #legion julie #frank morrison #julie kostenko

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theparkau · 3 years

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The Park AU!

Hi! I'm Took, more or less the concept/comic artist for the Park AU!

The Park AU is a personal project me and few other friends have been working on for the past few months now! Although the AU itself was thought up and made by our friend Squeed. So aside from the artwork I myself make, a lot of the creative credit goes to them! (and partially our third friend vibe who likes to occasionally pitch an idea or an artwork.)

The idea of the Park AU is basically “What if the Dream SMP was just a bunch of kids roleplaying in a park, and more or less partially their lives outside of that.”

How would everything change and look different within that context? That's what we wanted to explore here!

This is my first bunch of the design concepts! None of them are perfect, and I'm in the works of making better, more full on character sheets. but to introduce the park, I thought it was important to start near the beginning. and since I'm the artist here and not the writer, my beginning is these designs.

All the way on the right at 6, we have Drista! I remember wanting to to try and give her matching clothing with dream, while still trying to capture that younger sister energy and individuality she shows every time she's on screen.

I love how both their hair colors came out, but I'm definatly planning on changing how I'm doing Dritsa’s overall striped clothing and color pallet. but I adore the idea of her getting hand me down hoodies from dream so you can definitely expect that to be one of the aspects that stays

In the AU she tends to stick with the dream team whenever shes allowed to come to the park (she doesn't get to come very often for a couple of reasons.) But at some point during her visits she can usually be found being watched for a short while by bench trio while dream goes off on a quick mission. It never lasts longer than 30-40 minutes, but her and tommy are good friends. And dream really appreciates it.

Next over is both the youngest of SBI and of Bench Trio, Tommy (8). I’d recently watched Luca when I designed him.(which I've been told is rather apparent after I've said it so I thought I'd might as well share that.) I think the thing I'm most disappointed in this design is that its just a smaller Tommy. One of my goals for the art of this au was to try and avoid that as much as posable where I could. Especially with the younger kids, considering how much children tend to change from year to year.

I recently did a redesign that I'm much happier with personally, (here's a little sneak peak of part of the sketch). I think It leans a lot more into kid styles of clothing, and his more nature loving side. (Its also like a much more recent drawing so my more cartoonish style looks a bit better and a bit cleaner. I'm much happier with the shape language.)

Personality wise and family dynamic wise its a pretty classic tommy. Loud youngest brother with a soft side. a bit of a scamp who tends to act out, but he makes friends quickly and if your willing to work with him he’s willing to work with you. He collects and releases bugs, and he really really loves cows.

In the center we have by far one of my favorites, Purpled (9). I really love this one to bits. His purple space helmet, his antenna, the way his hair is shaped and is covering is eyes,

his sweater with the classic green alien head,

His alien friend that's styled after those stuffed animals that have those Velcro feet so they can be worn like back packs, or a perma-hug. That and his black light flashlight which I thought would be a fun touch since black light is usually a shade of purple!

- But yeah cool guy, related to Punz (12) in the AU. 8.9/10 design :)

we haven't really discussed much about Purpled’s personality or his place in the au, but he’s really close to Punz. even if they don’t really get each other. and aside from aliens, space, and a few people around the park he’s really not much of a talker.

Tubbo (9), I don't have much to say about him visually other than, I would probably make his overalls more fun, put more into his hair. and just put more personality into his design overall. I think in a lot of occasions I was trying really hard to balance simplicity over personality. But kids at this age usually have too much personality to be so simple.

His scar is still there, and its still a fire works scar. just a bit smaller.

Personality wise though, in the au ide say we leaned very much into the “cheerily burns down your house” type of schemer you see a lot of the time. Just with more “I'm not quite sure what's happening but, I'm a smart enough kid to know that when I'm fully sentient its over for you fools” and it will be. He’s got the reputation of Techno, Schlatt and Wilbur to live up to. In a few years time the town will never know peace again.

Finally Ranboo (9). His design is one I both like and need to work on. I really enjoy the idea of Ranboo having vitiligo and like natural discoloration because of that in a lot of his hair and skin. I also really like the idea of Ranboo having a wolf cut (or like whatever hair cut this could be described as?)

But when it came to an outfit I didn't really have a solid direction idea to lean into, and I think it shows.

I know I wanted to go more for the color aspects of Ranboo (the purple, red, and green) because of his age. Like what 9 year old do you know walks around solely in monochrome? But for like the clothing itself I was trying really hard not to put every single kid in like a hoodie/tee shirt and jeans, and while I'm not sure if I was completely successful I still do like the look of his half and half sweater layered over with a tee shirt.

Although its something I'm probably gonna play with in the future, especially pallet wise. He’s a bit to eye bleed-ish for my liking at the moment. I wanted spirit phone vibes but I think the colors I was choosing for a lot of this tended to lean a little to vibrant.

For now though- here's memory boy. Taller than everyone in his grade, and the next few grades over. Other than his design we really haven't explored him as a character currently. I have a few ideas, but until we as a whole group can talk more that's, it for Ranboo.

I do hope if anyone stayed this long you all enjoyed listening to me ramble a bit about my designs and the park that Squeed, and vibe, and I have been building!

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miraculousfanworks · 2 years

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Writer Spotlight: NothingWillSuffice

The Miraculous Fanworks Discord server's spotlight highlights content creators in the community! Each month, one artist and one writer will have their accounts and content promoted on our social media accounts.

This month's writer of the month is NothingWillSuffice! You can view the artist of the month post here.

NothingWillSuffice is quite a skilled writer, with a set of intriguing AUs.

We've interviewed NothingWillSuffice, asking her questions about her fanworks and advice for fellow writers!

1. How long have you been writing in general?

In general, I’ve been writing since I was about thirteen. That’s roughly six years.

2. How long have you been creating for the fandom, and what's your favorite part of the process?

I’ve been making content for Miraculous Ladybug for about as long as I’ve been a member of the Miraculous Fanworks server. Since I joined in November of 2020, that’s about one year. When writing, I’d say my favorite part is letting my mind run, when I can manage it, and trying to keep up. What I mean by that is: my best ideas are usually my first ideas, and letting those initial notions flow usually leads to some really nice stuff. Letting my concepts come out as quick and raw as possible is fun and liberating, but it’s hard to do that most of the time, because my fingers can’t always move quickly enough and I lose the perfect wording I had conjured, or the idea in general. As for illustration, I think my favorite part of my creative process is the sketch, for basically the same reason. It’s nearly a tie between all the different parts of illustrating, but sketching is the time where I can just flesh out my ideas freely without worrying too much about the end result. The very state of creating is what I love, and I started to draw because I was enamored with the ability to transfer visuals from the mind into the physical world, so sketching is the perfect part. For each type of creation, ideation follows very closely after it.

3. Has there been anything in particular that influences your style?

For writing, not much. I kind of just do what I want, and read often. With drawing, besides the Japanese manga style that has greatly influenced the cartoon/comic drawing world in general, not really. I’m constantly bouncing around, restless, using different styles as they suit different ideas. The only true constant is the anatomy of my characters. Line quality, use of color, blending techniques and the like change as I see fit for the mood of each project.

4. Do you have any advice you'd like to give to other creators?

Having fun is so important. I know life doesn’t always give us something to have fun with, but I find that fun is mostly a mentality. Even with a project you’re not particularly enthused by, if you make the decision to have fun while you’re doing it, you will find a way. It could be as simple as playing your favorite music and letting it hype you up, or snacking on something awesome while fostering your favorite vibes.

5. How do you think the identity reveal is going to go? Feel free to write something quick if you want to!

I think the identity reveal is going to be a headache. The show already puts far too much emphasis on Marinette’s “love life,” so there’ll probably be focus on that melodrama rather than the awesome plot that should be developing. But that’s just my pessimistic point of view (ironic, I know, considering my previous answer). With that in mind, I’m going to have fun watching it anyway, because that’s what I watch Miraculous Ladybug for: to delight at its atrocities while appreciating its strong concept.

You can find NothingWillSuffice on Tumblr @nothingwillsuffice, on Instagram @nothingwillsuffice and on Archive of Our Own under the same name, NothingWillSuffice. Some of her works include a DJWifi Sword Art Online AU and an Adrinette shapeshifting AU. Go check them out!

Interested in being featured? Come join the server!

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous fanworks #fanfiction #creator spotlight

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alexgilbertart · 2 years

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Here’s my usual ~character design process~!

I start with the character description and lots of reference. I pulled a lot of runway looks for this since this character is sophisticated woman & wears robes with lots of jewelry. Anything goes at this stage--I grabbed lots of pieces that she might not necessarily wear, but had interesting design elements that could work.

Once I feel good about the reference I’ve gathered, I move to thumbnails. I do tons of costume thumbnails, focusing on different silhouettes, shape language, and value patterns. Thumbnails that don’t meet the character’s requirements (in this case, bare arms to show off the tattoos) get the axe. Any thumbnails that represent the character’s vibe the best get a second pass for detail. The client sees the best 3-5 of these and gives their feedback. I also sent a quick sketch of the pose I had in mind for approval.

My client was happy with #2, but preferred hairstyle #1 and had very little other feedback, so I got combined them and got to work drawing! The process is pretty straightforward from here on out: working in layers (hot tip: give each element, like the dress or jewelry, its own layer for easy selections later on), blocking in big shapes first, and then moving to detail. I also like to keep a layer on top of everything that’s pure black, set it to color, and turn it on and off as needed to check values! It’s a lot more accurate than a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Here it helped me see how squished my values were. I used a couple curves layers to fix it before finishing the piece.

The client requested a couple small changes at the final drawing check in and again on final delivery, which were super easy to take care of thanks to our file setup :)

#process #digital art #digital

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axemetaphor · 3 years

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im definitely not ripping off my friend by making a list of au ideas i have no siree //gonna slap this under a readmore cause i. well i say a lot. all of the time. i tried so hard to format this Good but tumblr fucked me up i am so sorry

so first-off i know i already have one WIP AU (Auckland) on ao3 so i wont talk about That one cause like. spoilers. i actualyl have it like 80% created so its likely gonna truly get finished for once and i dont wanna ruin shit

the other one ive posted about is something me and ben (catgirlrepublic) have worked on together its not at all close to done or anything but it's. a fun little crossover. Between jdate and my fuckinuhm. Original characters story “Untitled Villains Project”. the sketches of the comic version ive started is actually my pinned post 👉👈 its like the first chunk of the story, i think half of part 1? yea.

Tldr john fucking Somehow is able t oget into contact with a certain curious scientist from another reality who’d just love to study the Soy Sauce, most certainly not for her own nefarious purposes

John and Dave meet up with the scientist, her name is Boss, and her lab assistant, Toxic, and after a bit of a preliminary Vibe Check where john determines her trustworthy (which Dave doesnt agree with,) the two agree to be taken to the world UVP is set in. from there they stay in Boss’s lab (big old fucking abandoned military lab). John and Toxic are fast friends due to mutual love-of-chaos. John n Dave get to fuckin, camp out on an air mattress.

The day after they arrive, the two get split up, not exactly intentionally; big plot points of UVP are liek. Fueled by Boss sending Toxic to go fetch her “research materials,” which are usually important artifacts

Fuckin side note i guess i have to explain my dumb bullshit: Boss’s, uh, field of expertise so to speak is actually fckin, basically the scientific study of magic and superpowers n shit like that. This shit’s all real in that world. Toxic’s got fuckin superpowers, so do 4 other main characters, whatever. It’s got a bit to do with spirituality, iss Boss’s hypothesis. So she has Toxic fetch important artifacts that might have “energies” to them. The thing is actually way more fuckin complictated than that, this is just Boss’s initial hypothesis.

Motherfucking anyways. So Boss gives Toxic a job to do, and John get excited about how Cool that sounds, and ends up going with Toxic, leaving Boss and Dave alone. Neither is thrilled about this. But Dave and Boss get to have a bit of conversation (while Toxic and John are off bonding and having a good time) and come to a… mutual grudging understanding of some kind. They still dont like each other though lmao

Theres gonna be deeper shit going on but we havent sorted it out yet/tbh havent like Written For It in a while but i still like thinking about it a lot lol

Also pretty sure our endgame is john and dave steal toxic and bring them back with em lmao boss is kind of not nice and toxic would most certainly be better off in Undisclosed. Actually theyd fucking love it. Theyd become a local cryptid im sure. Undisclosed’s mothman is a teleporting spike baby.

I have. Another crossover AU that i might. Post something about for halloween? Maybe? If i have it finished?

Crosses over into, you guessed it, another one of my original-character projects. God, am i vain or something?

I promise this is just because i think blue and dave should get to team up to beat up some monsters

Quick briefing on my fuckinuh. Original character story, this one doesnt have a name (yet? Idk lol my work never actually goes anywhere sso who gives a shit). It centers around two grim reapers, Red (26, bi woman) and Blue (22, aroace agender asshole). In this reality or whatever, grim reapers function kind of like low-level office workers. They get told who’s going to die + when by some middle-management types, and upper management only involve themselves when punishment needs to be doled out. These Higher-Ups can be seen as analogous to Korrok; they’re decidedly not human, never were, and fucking terrifyingly powerful. Additionally, grim reapers are sort of .. designed to be “background noise” people. In reality theyre supernatural beings and, uh, look Real Fuckin Weird (the whole deal has a neon aesthetic im terrible at drawing uwu) but most humans just perceive them like extras in a movie. A body’s there but the camera’s not focused on it.

To the narrative: the shit starts when Red n Blue get relocated to Undisclosed. Relocation is something that just happens every now and then to reapers; they usually work in teams, but they get split up into different cities to avoid any strong bonds forming (a counter-union strategy from the Higher-Ups).

Red, Blue, John and Dave end up running into each other for the first time in a McDonalds where John n Dave are getting some 4am “hey, we just survived another horrific monster fight” celebration burgers. John and Dave are the only two people who can see how… strange Red and Blue are. Nobody else notices.

John unintentionally pisses Blue off, leading to Blue whacking him upside the head with a dildo bat. They all four get kicked out of McDonald’s. Dave and Red both are less than thrilled

Blue and John end up resolving their differences, somehow. Red and Dave briefly bond over their dumbass best friends being, well, dumbasses. They all part ways amicably.

somehow-or-other (idk yet) they end up running into each other a few more times, and eventually john invites them over to his place, and the four (plus Amy now!) get to know each other a little better

while there, Blue gets a text about some guy who's gonna die and John offers to drive them to where that's gonna go down. they take him up on the offer and get to have a bit of one-on-one conversation

after that ordeal though Blue has had Enough of people and bails, leaving John to head home alone

theres a sort of mirror-development going on with the five of em. Red, John, and Amy would all like everyone to get along, though theyre a bit tentative about it (John moreso than the other two, actually, jsut cause. well Red n Blue could still be Sauce Monsters). Dave and Blue on the other hand do Not like people enough for this shit, and Dave's not unconvinced theyre Sauce Monsters. he will not trust them until proven he should

the story's kinda nebulous but i got an idea for some Shit going down that involves both Sauce Monsters and also the Higher-Ups to have some fuckin absolute chaos go down.

Oops! All Trans

Everybody is transgender. Everyone

Ive actually workshopped this one both with ben (catgirlrepublic) and ghost (ghost-wannabe) lmao its a fun lil concept ive had from the get-go cause i mean. What’s an internet tran gonna do other than hit all their favourite media with the Everyone’s Trans beam

Dave transitioned post-high school and faked his death for it. People go missing in Undisclosed all the damned time, after all. He moved to the next city over, transitioned fully, then came back as a completely new man. Yes i know this doesnt exactly fit with the “everyone knows David from high school” thing alright, hush.

Anytime anyone brings up John’s old best friend (pre-transition Dave) John throws an entire fit like an overdramatic grieving widow. Full-on sobbing “why would you bring her up?! I miss her so much—” to the point that people just stop bringing up because Jesus Christ That Sure Is Uncomfortable KJHGFDS.

This is a scheme he and Dave came up with prior to Dave leaving, though Dave hadnt exactly anticipated John putting on this much of a performance about it— but it’s stopped Dave from ever having tto hear his deadname again, so hey.

Amy transitioned sometime in middle school/early high school. Her family was super supportive and loved her a ton and most people just know her as Amy. she was super shy her whole life really so. Yeah. people just dont think to bring it up lmao also i Feel Like big jim would absolutely wallop anyone who gave her trouble of any kind

John’s nonbinary (genderfluid specifically) and not exactly Interested in transitioning ? like hes fine with how he is. mostly.

he came out to Dave in high school but hes not out to anyone else exactly. Maybe his bandmates. Probably any other trans person in Undisclosed knows, too, cause theyre safe to tell lmao. Johns mostly a “he/him out of convenience” kinda nb who’s cool with any pronouns but does prefer they/them most. Dave and Amy use they/them when the trio are alone

Also this is a totally self-indulgent caveat that i think would be great, Dave’s actually agender but because he's transmasc and transitioned when he thought there were really only two options, and being Boy at least felt less weird than being Girl, he just kind of assumed he was a dude. It’s only through a lot of (like fucking years and years hes probably in his 30s/40s when he puts 2 and 2 together on this one) talks about gender with John that he realizes he actually feels like No Gender. Masc aesthetic with none gender.

I Just Think It’d Be Neat Is All Okay

Also Amy came out to Dave about being trans early on in them seeing each other and his response was to get very nervous before blurting out “me too” and then just being too embarrassed to talk about it for the rest of the day. Hes got a lot of hangups on talking about it actually it takes years for him to get comfortable in that

by contrast when Amy comes out to John about it his response is to yell “EYYY ME TOO” and give her a big ol hug lmao

I think itd be neatt if Amy ran a like. Transfem help/advice blog on tumblr. Kind of helped-with by John who can give her transfem nb insight for certain asks. I also just think that would be neat.

Cowboy AU - i put this one last cause its got drawings to it actually. Theyll be at the bottom

Basically just. Hey you ever watched a western. I think they look neat

This is another one me n ben have come up with lol

The soy sauce and all that shit still exist, im not sure where korrok fits in yet but ill figure it out

Theres no real like solid narrative yet ? but heres the barebones of everybody’s arcs.

John

Johns an absolute troublemaker, Of Course. Hes wanted in several towns for absolutely stupid shit. Hes a loner who shows up, causes chaos, gets drunk, does some drugs, runs away if people get too mad at him

He definitely had the same kind of deal with the soy sauce as in canon— he was at some kind of party, somebody offered it, he took it cause why the fuck wouldnt he, now he can see monsters and shit

Hes kind of a mooch also. Like. dont let him stay in your barn man he’ll never fucking leave and drink all your booze.

He runs into Dave when they happen to just, cross paths in the same town. the bullshit John stirs up ends up involving Dave in a way that makes it seem like it's his fault too, and they both get run out of town

after that he just tags along after Dave. hes decided this guy's Cool he wants to stick around. Dave is pissed at first, but not enough to shoot him or anything, and eventually, John grows on him

Dave

Dave also is a loner but unlike John hes simply so fucking awkward and bad with people. He doesnt feel like he belongs anywhere so he just travels

He’s the stereotypical Lone Ranger tbh. He wanders from town to town, solving their problems, though hed deny its out of any moral obligation (it kinda is, a little bit, tbh. He does like feeling useful). He shows up, fixes things, leaves. He's kind of a legend but most people think he's hiding something dark. other people jsut know him as that guy who farted real loud in the middle of the saloon and promptly skipped town out of sheer embarrassment. you know how it goes with Dave

He ends up involved with the Soy Sauce when a snake (not Actually a snake,) bites him. The snake’s more like the wig-monsters, really. Anyway, it injects him with the soy sauce, he fucking trips balls in the middle of the desert, he can see monsters now

He runs into John and shit goes tits-up, as said, but they become traveling buddies after that. he'd never say so, but he's glad for the company, actually. it's nice. hes not used to companionship but he feels a strange kind of easiness hanging out with John....

not sure how the Monster Dave concept will like fit in to this reality but like. trust me i want it in here. I'll Figure It Out.

Amy

Amy’s been living in a town John and Dave end up passing through and she is very curious about these two new Handsome Strangers who claim to fight monsters and just kinda. Persistently tags along til they let her join for real

Her family’s all dead, unfortunately, just like in canon, and she’s been living alone for a few years before meeting John n Dave. she had nothing left in that town to stay for, she'd been fantasizing about escaping on wild adventures for a long time and this felt a little like a dream come true. (Dave still gives her a spiel about how Difficult it is, but really, her fantasies were pretty grounded-in-reality already. i jsut think thats how she is, yknow?)

Shes the first person to react to the whole “we see monsters” shit with a kind of “oh, okay. neat” kind of response lmao

John and Dave fix whatever the fuck is up with her town (maybe that’s where the Korrok shit can fit, who knows) and Amy ends up being integral to that. After, she insists they take her with them because “they need her now” and Dave just cant really say no. John too is very much "the more the merrier!" and hes actually glad to have another person along he loves people lmao

At the start she has long hair but after she joins them she chops it short with a knife for convenience

also she still is an amputee. justt. idk. it was a wagon/stagecoach accident rather than a car accident lmao. just to clarify since i hadnt mentioned it, i wouldnt rob her of her ghost hand or yknow. all of the significance to her character that Missing A Hand has. although also now im going to have to research what was used as painkillers way-back-when, but im betting shes still got, like, her pain pills, they probably had those, maybe i wouldnt have to try too hard there. old timey medicine could be WACK though,

Shitload

Yeah hes in tthis shit mostly cause i liked designing his cowboy self lmao

Hes a kid (like 16, 17, technically i think in those days that was more Young Man than Kid but whatever. Hes Young i mean.) who got possessed by the Worms out in the desert and, by his family’s perception, just went missing!

Hes also a wanderer, but he ended up at the same town john and dave met in, at that same time, and starts following them after, already aware of who/what they are.

He keeps his face covered 24/7. actually he covers a Majority of his self for reasons. kinda want him to be a slightly more horrifying Worm Entity rather than human idk,

I kinda dont have much for this boy yet sorry Shitload

images !

with some editing notes for me cause im doing a very specific aesthetic with this lmao. i might change some lil details/colours though ...... idk

im also kinda 🤔 about shitload's colour palette. i want things assoicated w the sauce to be black'n'red predominantly but i think his palette might mirror dave's too closely. also im working on a korrok design i jsut am too busy to draw it now

#jdate #john dies at the end #aus #erh. tthe hell do i tag this as #rambles.txt #long post #well let me know if youd wanna hear more or. or something #send an ask. or whatever #yaknow #:jazz hands:

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lockedstuck · 3 years

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moving your mouth to pull out all your miracles

April 2021 - Gamzee Makara

You don’t like the way your thoughts proceed on halo, helldog, or haloperidol, or whatever Karbro calls it. After you take it, the world feels blunt, impersonal, and grayscale, like you’re a motherfucking puppet with a head full of straw. Your brother used to love a poem about that, about some guys with straw heads, but mostly about the world ending.

Kurloz liked a lot of motherfucking things before he did nine months in Rikers for cocaine distribution. Originally it was only supposed to be six months, but he got into a fight and got three months added on. When he got out, he was thoughtful and quiet, even a word of acknowledgment seemingly beyond him. You’ll be damned if that ever happens to you, if you let the system hollow you out until you can’t express the simplest serendipity.

Right now you’re sketching your friends, quick sketches with the charcoal set Dr. Levin brought you. One of Karkat having a rare smile for June, one of Sollux and Roxy talking about programming, one of Dr. V addressing the group about healthy coping mechanisms, and one of Porrim braiding Calliope’s hair. You always feel more like yourself when you’re sketching or painting. Fewer thoughts in your head to get jangle-tangled together and create nonsense. You can keep your miracles straight this way.

You’re cool. You’re easy. You’re loose. No snapped strings, heads full of straw, or blasphemies here, no motherfucking way. The ativan caravan marches through your head, sings your sharp edges to sleep. Nurse Dolores knows what’s up, she only makes you take the medications you want to take. Your cognition flies free, like birds in a breeze, a calm going on between your ears.

Roxy turns and grins at you, her face pale as the moon against her dark hoodie and darker lipstick. She has a smile all her own, a knowing smile like the two of you are in on the greatest secret in the world. You wish you knew precisely what that was about, but everyone has their own internal workings. You can’t know and fix everything about everyone all the time. That’s what you were trying to explain to Sollux last night.

He’s a good guy, but he takes too much on. Same for Karkat. They take on everyone’s issues and make them their own. Only the mirthful messiahs should be able to do so much; humans like trying that hard is a minor sacrilege. If the pair of them would just stick to themselves, maybe they wouldn’t be so sick. You��ll fold more flowers for them - paper flowers that banish repetitive, ruminating thoughts.

You like Roxy a lot, though. She dances through each emotion in its totality, riding the waves of her feelings without fear. Okay, maybe not fearlessly, but with more abandon than you would expect. When she looks at you, you feel warmth all the way to your core, the way you are when you’re about to fall asleep all curled up in your sheets.

Speaking of sleep, Dr. V says that if you keep sleeping through the night, and keep what he calls “disruptive outbursts” about the Dark Carnival to a minimum, maybe you’ll get discharged in a couple of weeks. You’re not exactly in any rush to go home. Home means having to fend for yourself, and fewer friends to keep you in good spirits. Besides, Kurloz is home, and for all that he may be your brother, he gives off bad motherfucking vibes. You wish he’d be easy, like old times, but those days are a long way off.

You remember when you used to be able to relax at home. Relax, smoke a joint, sell an eighth or two, and have dinner without having to fend off your brother’s brooding.

Karkat takes the seat next to you, and you clap him on the back. Physical contact may be discouraged here, but there’re no narcs around to encourage law and order at the moment. You think a support team got dispatched to address Feferi wandering around with no clothes on again.

“What’s up?” Karkat asks.

He nevertheless looks preoccupied and far away. That’s unfortunate.

You take another folded flower out of your pocket and hand it to him.

“There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember; and there is pansies, that’s for thoughts,” you recall from a play you had to read in AP English a couple years ago. You can’t exactly remember what the play’s about, but stray lines here and there stick out to you like a sore thumb. Except neither of your actual thumbs are sore.

“That’s from Hamlet, isn’t it?” Karkat asks, shaking his head at you. “What’re you, the bard of 3 East?”

Now you’re not certain about that, but you’ll take it.

“Someone’s gotta be, ain’t they? I got more poetry if you want it.”

Karkat sighs. “Yeah, lay it on me, Makara. Dr. Vandayar told me I’m not getting discharged next week so I’m not feeling great at the moment.”

Poor Karbro looks like he’s full of thunderstorms. Maybe a calm vista will quiet him down. You pull a few lines of poetry free from your memory.

“I shall wear white flannel trousers and walk upon the beach... I have heard the mermaids singing each to each... I do not think that they will sing to me.”

“Go on,” Karkat says, looking all at once pensive and a little sad.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves... Combing the white hair of the waves blown back... When the wind blows the water white and black,” you recite. Now, Roxy, Calliope, and Porrim have stopped to listen to you. You go on, establishing a proper rhythm.

“We have lingered in the chambers of the sea... by sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown... ‘till human voices wake us, and we drown.” When no one says anything, you interject, “That’s the end of the fuckin’ poem, y’all.”

“It’s beautiful,” Porrim whispers. “Did you write that?”

You shake your head in the negative. “Naw, that’s some other motherfucker’s ideas outta my mouth. I wrote a couple of my own lines last night if you wanna hear ‘em, though.”

“Sure,” Calliope says, smiling and clapping her hands once.

“My muse distills my melancholy, pins it to the corkboard with a tack. She presses down upon the pigments, bleeds my blues into the boldest black.”

Even Karkat looks surprised. He narrows his eyes at you.

“If you don’t go study art or literature, or something along that line, I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Ain’t no need to resort to murder, brother,” you reply. “And while I’d like to go sit in a motherfucking college somewhere, I ain’t got shit for tuition.”

“If I have to take up a goddamn collection, I am sending your ass to college. Tout-suite.”

You guess now is not the time to inform him that you straight up flunked outta college after you kept forgetting to go to class. You sat in the grass memorizing poetry and sketching the first dandelions of March, which got in the way of your learning anything or taking your exams, or any of the shit college students are supposed to do. You didn’t mean to forget, but you’ve never been great at any routine shit.

And you’ve always had a knack for going where your thoughts take you. When you were a kid, you would leave the house and walk up and down the streets of Harlem unattended. Your grandmother used to read you the riot act for doing something so reckless and nonsensical. Later, during your hospitalizations, you learned that the way your thoughts stuttered and tangled was called schizophrenia, and doctors medicated you accordingly. They called your prophecies delusion, and you beg(ged) to differ.

The medications ground your thought process to a stuttering halt. You hated it. You hated being cut off from yourself. So you stopped taking your meds. And here you are again, with your strange thoughts and remembrances.

“Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio,” Karkat murmurs.

You grin at him. He understands more than he lets on.

June winks at you, and then walks away to the women’s side of the unit, presumably to call her father. She calls him every day at 8 am and 3 pm, like clockwork. Karkat gazes at her as she walks away, the back of her short dress fluttering behind her.

“June looks nice today,” you say to him.

He stops staring and glances at you for a moment.

“Yeah, um, she looks nice every day,” he replies. “Not that I make it my business to notice.”

You point to the delicate paper flower he has in his hand. “Sometimes the most miraculous thing you can fuckin’ do is give another person a taste of serendipity.”

Roxy smiles her cheshire cat smile from her seat by the television.

“That’s right, Crabby. Dontcha think June deserves her very own miracle?”

Karkat reddens, looks at the flower in his hand, and takes off for the women’s side.

“Hey, Egbert!” he shouts. “I have something for you.”

By the time you see June again, she’s wearing the small red flower in her hair. Roxy gives you a satisfied little nod, then asks you if you’d like her to put your hair in braids.

“I’m not as good as Pomary with hair, but I’m alright, I guess. Your hair looks like some birds took up residence in it, dude.”

“Why, thank you,” you reply. You take a seat at her feet, after she grabs her comb, brush, hair grease, and spray bottle out of sharps.

She’s right. She’s not a thing like Pomary when it comes to braiding. You’re used to the gentle motions of Porrim’s hands as she manipulates flowers into your hair, but Roxy tugs great fistfuls of your hair into twists. It feels nice, like she’s tethering you to the present, to the here and now.

You tell her that, thank her for bringing you back, and she blushes crimson.

“Aw, I’m not tryna do all of that,” she responds. “Just tryna work through my anxiety. Dolores gave me an ativan an hour ago, and I don’t feel it yet.”

Roxy bends low, and plants a kiss on your forehead, right where your skin meets your greasepaint. Her lips are the softest thing you’ve ever felt.

She keeps braiding, manipulating your hair into cornrows. With Roxy near you, you don’t necessarily have to be a prophet or an apostate of the mirthful messiahs. You don’t have to deliver special messages to special people. You can just be Gamzee Motherfucking Makara, doing you as per usual.

#gamroxy #junekat

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astoldbygingersnaps · 3 years

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Dear author, for the fanfic writer asks, would you consider answering: 3. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from Star Trek AU? and 28. Is there a part of you’re surprised no one has picked up on yet for Salvation Comes Only in our Dreams?? Either way, thank you so much for writing and sharing your incredible stories with us!! 😍🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

answers under the cut!

3. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from Star Trek AU?

OH JEEZ. this is Such a hard question because star trek au is my baby and so many pieces of that series mean so much to me. i also think my answer to this question will forever be shifting as the fic isn’t finished yet (and won’t be... for a while... rip), but my current answer is probably the one-two punch of Those Itachi and Shisui Scenes™ from chapter three of part three:

Shisui had thought that, should he have the misfortune to end up face-to-face with Itachi during this conversation he would find the man infuriated, his expression brimming with the fearsome temper his Vulcan convictions force him to keep up lock and key. But right now Itachi doesn’t resemble a ferocious Vulcan warrior, all snarling teeth and righteous fury. Right now, with his rain-damp face and frantic dark eyes, he’s wild in a way that’s even more frighteningi. “Look at me,” Itachi all but begs him, and Shisui stops breathing entirely. With blood pounding between his ears, he listens as Itachi cries, “ Speak to me. Tell me what it is I have done to wrong you, if there is such a thing, and what it is you want from me.”

And just like that, Shisui’s composure finally fucking breaks. “What I want from you?” he asks with a laugh, the sound caught between disbelief and bitterness. He feels just as crazy as Itachi currently looks, unrestrained and reckless and completely unable to hold back the reply he knows he should continue to keep buried as deep within him as it will go.

“Everything,” Shisui says simply, lips curving into a grin he hates the feeling of. “That’s the whole damn problem, isn’t it?” Just as quick as Itachi before him, he grabs Itachi’s wrist and adds, with a rasp that he can see sends a shiver through the man’s frame, “I want everything from you.”

and

Shisui’s disappointed more people than he can count during his lifetime, but it’s never felt like this. For all the mistakes he’s made and the paths he’s gone down, there’s never been a single thing he’s regretted more than the way Itachi’s currently looking at him. “I’m sorry,” he says, the apology falling from his mouth in a pathetic and frantic display as he reaches out to the man recoiling from him. “Itachi, I am so fucking sorry that I--”

“Don’t touch me!” Itachi yells back, pulling away from Shisui’s outstretched hand. “Don’t you dare try to touch me right now.” Shaking his head in disbelief, he tells Shisui, the words raw and cracked-open, “You stumble in here and confess to lying to my face for months and expect me to forgive you merely because you feel sorry about it?”

To that, Shisui has no response, merely stands there and takes it as Itachi tears into him. “I have trusted you more than I have ever trusted anyone in this life, and in return for my faith you spat on me. We were supposed to be partners.”

“We are,” Shisui argues quietly.

“No,” Itachi insists. “If you respected me at all you never would have treated me like this. You wouldn’t have made me feel like a fool for ever believing in you.” All at once the righteous fire burns of Itachi, leaving exhaustion and confusion in its wake.

It’s then that Itachi turns to him and delivers the most devastating blow of all: “Who are you?”

because i have been waiting for this bomb to go off for 1.5years and i was genuinely so satisfied at how this chapter came out. it was everything i planned and wanted it to be, and watching the reactions from people has been a blast.

28. Is there a part of you’re surprised no one has picked up on yet for Salvation Comes Only in our Dreams

not exactly mostly because, as much as i like the idea of this au, it’s kind of the red-headed stepchild of my projects and doesn’t get updated as much it should/i’d like (which is hilarious, because as far as my stats go, it’s actually my most popular fic for shiita. go figure, lol.)

i’ve said this before, but part of the difficulty of this fic is that, while i have the major plot beats sketched out, in a lot of ways i’m flying by the seat of my pants and making shit up as i go. there’s also a lot more ~mystery to this fic than, like, star trek au for example, so i am curious about people’s theories regarding where the fic will end up and why certain plot points have played out the way they have.

one thing i Will give away is the origin of the fic’s title. like every other person who came of age during early 2010s tumblr culture, i tend to use lines of poetry or song lyrics to title my writing, and massacre au is no exception. the title comes from the song ‘terrible lie’ by nine inch nails, and seemed appropriate since the whole point of the song is basically begging for understanding in a cruel and seemingly random world (and also hating christianity, as most songs from the ‘pretty hate machine’ era of NIN are):

I really don't know what you mean Seems like salvation comes only in our dreams I feel my hatred grow all the more extreme (Hey god) can this world really be as sad as it seems?

it’s also my favorite song off my favorite album, so it was very funny for me to realize just how well it fits this au. i’d recommend giving it a listen if you want to get a better idea of the ~vibe of the story. if i’d consider it to be from itachi or shisui’s pov (or both)... well, i’ll let you guess for yourself :)

#birkastan2018 #asks and memes

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cherryonigiri · 4 years

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helloooo! i’d love to know what you think ushijima would be like with an artsy s/o!! express whichever way you feel suits (hcs, a drabble etc) rlly love your handle name and writing x

A/N: hiiiiii omg thank you for the complement on my handle name - I love cherry blossoms and onigiri is one of my favorite foods (+ onigiri miya is CANON now yayyyyy) as previously stated i always have a soft spot for Ushijima I decided to do a bunch of headcanons. Enjoy :) P.S. I’m planning to do a part 2 with a small scenario - probably will post that soon.

FYI this is an Aged-Up AU where both the reader + Ushi are done with university!!!

Part 2 is here!

You are well on your way to becoming a professional musician, but you also have a soft spot for visual art / DIY

Sometimes you do commissions for paintings/crafts - it’s a great way to destress whenever your musical career starts becoming very high pressure

Your shared apartment with Ushijima is filled with paintings, sketches and watercolors that you’ve created and little DIYs that you’ve made throughout the years

Overall it has a very cozy/homey vibe - and its soothing for you to return home after hours upon hours of rehearsal, lessons and practice

Over the years you’ve lived together you’ve filled the place with plants and little trinkets & momentos from dates you’ve gone on with him (think ticket stubs, seashells from beaches you’ve been to, etc.)

There are also some paintings/sketches you’ve done of your athletic boyfriend - using midair shots taken by sports photographers as reference

Ushijima’s favorite thing in the entire apartment is the t-shirt quilt you made - using his old jerseys from middle + high school, U-19, university, the olympics etc.

You gave it to him on one of your anniversaries and he definitely didn’t cry had such a big smile on his face awwwww

You both lead very busy lives - you’re often out until very late because most concerts/performances happen in the evenings

However, your schedule is slightly more flexible during the day - and you take advantage of that to watch some of his games/practice matches/practices

Although you aren’t the loudest cheerer, Ushijima always appreciates the cute homemade banners/posters you bring to his games

Will always make sure he sees you face to face after his games - either to give you a quick hug before you have to zip off to rehearse/perform or waiting for you so you can both go home

Ushijima makes every effort to attend whatever concerts he can, sometimes he can’t help it if he’s at an away game or overseas for volleyball, but you bet your ass he does is absolute best to be there and support you

I mean he’s super rich mans is in the v-league after all and doesn’t mind spending the $$$ on tickets to support his s/o’s career

Whenever you have a late night because of a performance he always cooks for you when you get home (or prepares food in advance) - it’s probably something super healthy + delicious

When you work from home - you have your own little music studio that you two invested in soundproofing + an art/DIY room

Ushijima helped you soundproof your music studio + surprised you by converting the study/extra room into a DIY/art space for you (inspired by Zach from the Try Guys when he surprised Maggie with a DIY room)

Domestic Ushijima is my shit so you both take turns doing chores/cleaning up etc. If he’s coming back from an away game you always make sure to have a hearty meal waiting for him + pick him up at the airport

Bi-weekly couple days - you two always make sure to set aside 2 full days each month that are reserved for each other

Sometimes you’ll surprise each other with reservations to a fancy restaurant or day trip to the countryside

Other times it’s a stay at home day - netflix and chill ;) and you two will cook/bake together

#haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #ushijima x reader #ushijima wakatoshi #ushijima wakatoshi x reader #haikyuu hcs #hq imagines #hq hcs #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #shiratorizawa #schweiden adlers

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battle-of-alberta · 3 years

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OCtober: Cal and Ed

It’s finally over. I’m sorry for the delay but stuff has been Happening. If there’s a tourism site that attracts you more to one city or the other, let me know.

Calgary | Edmonton

Below is some meta stuff about the ‘research’ (if you can even call it that, it was more of a vibe check) I did for re-doing the profiles. Read on, if it intrigues you. And I gotta mention there’s a bonus rabbit hole I went down for Calgary’s self-image that is. Well. A Lot.

Major Cities: Calgary and Edmonton

We made it team, the heart of the Battle of Alberta, the major city rivalry that defined generations. Calgary is the largest city in the province and the centre of southern Alberta, a young, fast-paced major city that oscillates wildly between boom and bust and is attracting both attention and employees from the traditional major cities in Canada. Edmonton is the capital of the province and the the most northern major city with a metro population of over one million on the continent, a little older and more blue collar, somewhat more stable economically, and quickly rising to meet the challenges presented by open data and sustainable urban planning. And, as we know, they've been antagonizing each other since the 19th century, but collaborating as well.

Website Round Up Premise

While I was revisiting these character profiles, I took a look at how cities represented themselves on their municipal sites and tourism sites rather than how cities were represented in the news or in stereotypes, as the latter already tend to live in the back of my head. I was interested to see who the target audiences for each city were, what they considered their strengths, and how much effort each city put into putting its own identity on display. I was also interested into what ideas sort of fed into any pre-existing confirmation bias I had about each city's personality as well as interested in what narratives might be used to counteract negative stereotypes.The first thing I tended to notice was the overall information architecture of each city's website. How easy were they to navigate? What kinds of information did they have? How did they organize it? How did they communicate that information?

Out and About

There's a sharp difference between the websites of major cities from other cities. They are very careful to separate the corporation of 'The City of' from the cities we might know, and therefore both websites have a much more business-like tone and more distance from their civic identities. This means no traditional "About" pages as other cities might have.

At the time I'm visiting, Edmonton's page has some ADORABLE art of a nuthatch that's making me very homesick. Calgary has a seasonally appropriate snowy skyline.

Calgary does have an "Our Organization" tab which describes the City as a corporation, and likewise Edmonton has a "City Government" tab that performs a similar function. Edmonton's is in alphabetical order which is only a little annoying and Calgary's reads like a very perfectly chunked business portfolio that doesn't... really say as much as it looks like it does, but it does get bonus points for vision/organization/accessibility.

I have never seen a more concise history of Calgary in my life. It's literally three bullet points and a couple of bracketing sentences, but it does do the job. Calgary is, more or less, what it says it is (although I do take slight issue with its self identification as a trading post - it may have functioned that way but that was not what it was founded for and in fact the trading companies gtfo'd asap in those early days). It goes on to paint a very good sketch of the city in as few lines as possible in the text, and there's a little video at the end that feels like it was voiced over in 1988 even though it's clearly not.

Edmonton's City government page is even vaguer. Let's make a more dynamic and resilient Edmonton shall we, the page suggests. Resilient against What Exactly, I wonder. Winter? The boom-bust? Calgary? who knows. The majority of the sub pages are even more mysterious and essentially paint the picture of a city. It's a normal city. Trust us. We do city things. Here is exactly how government works and how to raise and lower a flag. In Edmonton, which is, in fact, a city.

I'm begging you if you think Calvin is hokey and annoying please read the Our Culture page and see it's EXACTLY how I intended to portray him because it's eXACTLY what it's already like. "The Four C's of Our Culture" give me a break.

Edmonton offers me a picture of the skyline and says "City of Opportunity: City of You". I suppose this is true. I don't know what it means. I fear slightly for its intentions.

I keep seeing "Calgary: A great place to make a living, a great place to make a life" and it's like. Stop! I won't go! You can't make me! (and again the Strong and Resilient Calgary. these kids are always catching colds because they don't eat properly.)

Although Edmonton makes literally zero attempt to define itself (outside perhaps the official symbols page hidden under Facts and Figures), what strikes me is that it is portraying itself as a very future-oriented city, which, when I was growing up we really never were. We were an inward city constantly wishing we were somewhere else which is partially still true, and we were a city with such an intense nostalgia (that unlike Calgary we failed to really capitalize on) that grated roughly against a complete failure to preserve history. It does kind of make me glad that the city is looking towards the future and just like, acknowledging basic realities (like snow) and trying to involve people in urban planning more (and throughout the website the city LOOOOVES to share data which I also called, haha). There's also an adorable animation of the city road map in its strategic planning pages. It's interesting that for a city that leaves itself up to your own interpretation, it does have a LOT of information about itself collected and available.

Tourism

Oddly enough, neither city has substantially changed their tourism homepage to accommodate COVID-related staycation plans, although each does mention that many things may be closed or unavailable as a result of the pandemic.

CaLGARy, Be PaRT of THe EnERGy!!

I like how Edmonton's self-presentation is "original" and "we do things differently". It's like a Keep ___ Weird thing but in an understated self-assured way that makes me laugh a little. Like yeah, I guess we are kind of different, I guess we're just not used to seeing that as a good thing.

In the tourism guides there isn't much to say about Calgary's that isn't just "oh, classic Calgary" but I do think the fact that they have "quick facts" to explain what timezone it's in and what currency they use is adorable to say the least. also the title of the guide is CALGARY (and the canadian rockies) and that sums up Calgary pretty well, which I'll elaborate on more.

I actually can't find Edmonton's guide, if it has one, but that's ok. The website hits all the buttons that I would and I actually use exploreedmonton quite frequently because it has a nicer event calendar than the city website does, which is important in a place nicknamed Festival City. I really appreciate how things are organized by month/season and even down to "what's happening today/tomorrow/this week" because it makes planning trips for my visitors easy, so now you know my secret : ) I wish I could just beam this site directly into people's brains when they mention "oh yeah thats where the mall is" when I say I'm from Edmonton.

Interestingly enough it's Calgary's turn to be vague, which I can only assume is part of its "exactly what it says it is" charm. This desperation to find a shred of self-description outside of things to do and places to stay led me down a rabbit hole I will elaborate on in a moment that truly showed me I Knew Nothing about how deep Calgary's branding goes. Otherwise, the website is very practical and functions more like an answer to questions you had about the what and the how and less so the why.

Also, the "Locals" page on Calgary's site has tips on hosting friends and family from around the province safely during the pandemic which is kind of cute. Edmonton doesn't really have a local page (i guess because if we had a hashtag like #loveyyc we'd ruin it)

Bonus: The Rabbit Hole

I wondered why Calgary's tourism page, which I expected to be the most in your face description of the city possible, fell kind of flat. I learned this seems to be because tourists are not the target audience that Calgary wants to attract. It's companies and corporations, and they get their own page.

Boy oh boy do they get their own page

This led me down this frightening path of getting validation like being repeatedly punched in the face by what On Brand Calgary truly means and I'm frankly quite speechless about it - all I can say is that you need to see it for yourself.

The tourism site gestures to a Billion reasons why you should hold your next meeting in Calgary and here is where the self definition as Big City Energy and Western Hospitality starts kicking the tires and lighting the fires. Likewise with the media-oriented page. Suddenly stuff like the Calgary Bucket List starts popping up and I can't help but go hang on, why not suggest this to tourists?

"It's cowboy spirit, but also refined and cosmopolitan" [sighs into hands]

Suddenly all the "Calgarians love visitors! Calgarians love the outdoors!" stuff is spilling out like water from a dam here. "Where's Calgary?" [Link that reads FIND US].

Like i literally feel like the tourism side on the left is the Kids Menu, it's the corporate stuff on the right that I'm actually finding the type of information I want on. Eventually, I somehow make my way to Calgary's Destination Strategy which is trying to make Calgary a place that... well, people go. Like, internationally. Like the Olympics but MORE of that.

Then I find the Brand Evolution. Then I find Calgary's Economic Development site. The poetry about rocky mountain prairie skies and "where a handshake still means something" starts to reach its peak.

Then back through the tourism site I find the video. And the video makes me shake because it suggests the premise of The Powerpoint.

The Powerpoint. I cannot summarize the powerpoint in any meaningful way or how my emotions were a rollercoaster further and further up and down the longer i scrolled. Everything I know and suggest about Calgary seems to be unequivocally true, including the sense that Calgary as a person is the sort of person who makes powerpoints about his own identity crisis because that's precisely what this is.

And then I get to the part of the powerpoint that suggests I imagine what kind of person the city of Calgary might be (and implied: does that person think about anything other than the mountains???) THEY EVEN DID AN OCEAN PERSONALITY TEST FOR THE CITY I KID YOU NOT

Hi, City of Edmonton, hire me to take an OCEAN test for our fair city. I'm begging you.

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