#just really started to vibe on the cowboy doodles

[quisters]

Relistening to Michael’s murder era

[messrmoonyy]

-What they’re like as your bf/gf (Hcs) 18+

Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Dutch Van Der Linde, Sadie Adler, Molly O’Shea

Request- Hi if it’s okay could I ask for some hcs of some of the gang and what they’re like dating with you? NSFW ones toooo🙈🙊 could you include Arthur, John, Dutch, Sadie, Javier and maybe any of the other girls Mary-Beth or Molly or Karen? Thank you 🙏🏻

A/N- I didn’t include Javier cause I like barely speak with him in camp or anything idk I don’t vibe with Javier tbh. And I saw my chance to word vomit my Molly brain rot and ran with it so she’s the girl I picked. Hope this is okay! Enjoy :)

Masterlist - requests are open :)

Arthur Morgan

- We’ve all seen how he was with Mary. He’d be besotted with you

- His journal would be filled with sketches of you, entries talking about how much he adores you, little notes about how you looked that day or musings about his plans for your future together.

- Definitely doodles a little heart with your initials too <3

- He’s touch starved. So he loves physical contact. A hand to your knee, your back, arm around your shoulders or your waist. He likes keeping you close.

- Brings you stuff from his little travels. Picks flowers for you, finds little trinkets for you.

- Keeps a picture of you by his bed.

- Forehead kisses!!!!!

- Kisses your hand. And kisses to your wrist. He loves when you reach up to cup his face and he can turn to press his lips against your wrist.

- He’s so much more than a tough, burly cowboy. He’s quiet, caring, considerate. And he adores you

NSFW

- takes his time. Likes to work at you until not a single tense muscle is left in your body. Worships you.

- Loves any positions where he can see your face, needs to be close enough to constantly kiss you and tell you how good you are for him

- “ there’s my girl, doin so good for me darlin “ “ jus’ like that darlin, let me take good care of ya “

- Not incredibly vocal, but the noises he does make he ensures are right by your ear.

- Refuses to finish before you ever.

- Loves to finish inside tho. He knows it’s risky, but he loves the closeness. And if he’s feeling particularly risky he’ll definitely push his come back into you with his fingers “ don’t waste it now “

- Grips The headboard.

John Marston

- he’s stupid. He really is. He’ll be head over heels for you, with you clearly reciprocating those feelings and he’d still think you didn’t like him like that.

- Like. You could kiss him and he’d still be like ‘ what are we? ‘

- When he does finally put two and two together he’ll have no shame or cautions in showing you off.

- He’s handsy. Likes coming up behind you when you’re washing dishes for Pearson to rub at your shoulders.

- Or pull you down to sit on his lap before you can even think about taking the empty spot on the log next to him by the fire.

- Overprotective. One tiny snide comment from anyone and he’s ready to start swinging.

- Definitely knows how to push your buttons and wind you up, and will do it just for fun and to get a rise outta you.

- And then spend the rest of day grovelling and apologising.

NSFW

- Loves going down on you. Like. Loves it. The man could spend hours there if you’d let him and Lord has he tried.

- Not very serious most of the time.

- Pretty vocal. And doesn’t really care if anyone’s listening either.

- Like i said, he’s handsy. His hands are restless and will grab at whatever part of you they can.

- Loves when you ride him and has absolutely made a cowgirl joke more than once.

- Will grab at your hips and guide your movements as you do. Told you he’s handsy.

- But also isn’t opposed to you on your back, legs over his shoulders. Presses kisses to your ankles and makes jokes about how good the view is.

Dutch Van Der Linde

- he’s not the most attentive of people at times. He’s constantly in his head and constantly thinking about things that aren’t you.

- But when he does allow himself time alone with you he is disgustingly charming.

- He always knows what to say, always knows the right words to have you melting into a puddle at his feet. You could be in the worst mood with him but a few whispers in your ear and it’s all forgotten.

- Has a million terms of endearment for you. My angel, my dear , my darling. He rarely ever uses your actual name, only when he’s mad.

- Loves to give you gifts, the more expensive the better. And he likes you to show them off too. He likes to show you off.

- Reads to you a lot.

- PDA is afraid of him. He doesn’t care where he is or who’s watching him, he’ll loop an arm around your waist to kiss your neck, pull you onto his lap when he’s reading beside his tent and kiss you. No shame.

NSFW

- will take his time with you but in a far different way to, say, Arthur

- He’ll edge you and overstimulate you for hours, because be gets off on the fact that you simply let him. That you obey his every command.

- Degrading and humiliating 🤝🏻 Dutch Van Der Linde

- He’s never too mean. And his degrading comments are more often than not laced with something sweet.

- Dacryphilic. 100000%. He loves watching you cry because he’s worked you into such an overstimulated mess.

- He’ll swipe your tears away or kiss them from your cheeks “ well isn’t that just a pretty sight? “ “ those tears for me, my angel? “

- Definitely has some kind of authority kink. Likes you calling him sir for sure.

- Loves you giving him head. Just loves you on your knees. It’s a power thing. And he’s a cocky son of a bitch.

- Sat back in his chair and won’t lift a damn finger to help you out, won’t even unbuckle his belt. And don’t tell me he doesn’t smoke whilst he watches you.

Sadie Adler

- She is absolutely not shy about her feelings when she finally accepts she has them.

- Shes just so sweet to you.

- Around camp she’s stuck to you like glue. Her arm is permanently around your waist or your shoulders, or her hand laced with yours and is ready to snap at any intrusive questions from anyone else about it at the drop of a hat

- Love language is gift giving. Just taken in a bounty but found a shiny lil necklace in his pocket? Well. It’s hers now. Or should I say, yours.

- If your hairs long enough she’ll braid it like hers, any excuse to be able to sit close to you and whisper sweet things in your ear.

- Would teach you how to shoot better, she wants to make sure you know how to defend yourself. but also wants the excuse to stand behind you and show you how to hold her rifle properly.

- Big spoon.

NSFW

- Sadie’s gained control over literally everything else in life, and it doesn’t change in the bedroom

- She trusts you whole heartedly but she’s not about to give up any sort of control to you for a While

- Makes sure she can see your face at all times, loves watching your face contort and relax in pleasure that she’s giving you

- Full of praise “ ain’t you just the prettiest thing? “ “ oh look at you! D’ya know how pretty you look from here? “ “ always such a good girl for me “

- Has a thing for putting her fingers in your mouth. Especially after she’s just fucked you with them.

- Having you on your knees eating her out drives her crazy. Will pull at your hair a little too hard but will soothe the sting with a thousand words of praise about how good you make her feel.

- And now hear me out. Loves to watch you. Will book you a hotel room together just so she can sit across the room and watch you touch yourself for her, encouraging you the entire time

- It’s never long before she absolutely has to have her hands on you though in the end.

Molly O’Shea

- sheeeee has some trust issues. And abandonment issues. She’s just… she’s a lot at times.

- But she is fiercely loyal and will love you with every fibre of her being

- And she wants to be loved as fiercely in return. She’ll spiral without constant reassurance “ d’you even love me anymore? “ “did I do somethin wrong? Haven’t told me you love me today “

- She knows deep down you do love her. She’s just afraid.

- She is such a romantic. She loves holding your hand, sitting close to you, doing your makeup like hers and stealing kisses in between painting your lips red

- She’ll write you sappy romantic poetry and leave you lil notes

- You’ll often overhear her gushing to other people about how in love she is too. She just loves to talk about you and how deeply she adores you.

- Likes when you give her forehead kisses.

NSFW

- Pillow princess. End of story.

- She’s not completely submissive though. She’ll tell you what she wants and what she likes

- She just wants to be taken care of okay. She needs to be taken care of.

- Makes the softest, sweetest sounds and will tell you she loves you a million times over.

- Enjoys when things just… naturally happen. Cuddling with you at night, but pushing her hips lightly back against you. Which usually ends with your hand slipping past her waistband and making her come on your fingers.

- Likes to be on top of you sometimes, simply so she can show off whilst she strips. Not to really do anything. Shes really not that much of a giver. She likes being watched. She likes to know she’s desired. And usually it ends up with you dragging her to sit on your face.

- You have to shower her with praise. She wants to know she looks beautiful, that she’s doing well, worship her. Which is incredibly easy for you cause like fucking look at her she’s gorgeous.

- Wraps herself around you when you cuddle after, legs intertwined and arms around you, head buried in your chest or neck. Pls my sweet baby needs to be held.

[sheepie-self-ships]

I haven’t posted a lot of my Eagleace doodles in a while, so I thought it would be fun to kinda post them all in one thing :3

First up, Eagleace Barbie Cowboys…. I think this could be their Halloween costumes, they just look so cute :3 I liked doing the alt colors too

Second Pokémon AU and some sleepy doodles, I started playing Pokémon go again a while back, and grimer (now Muk) is like my best little bud, and I always thought Bones would get a Staraptor, so…

Sleepy doodles are fun, some are a bit more unhinged than others, I was doing it on a call w my friends so that’s why :P

I cannot find the original artist for the left one and if anyone knows please let me know 😭 I tried reverse image search and it didn’t work for me, but this is the pic I used. I really like the right doodle though, aughgh they dancin,,,,

Alright so the Martian Girl thing,,, I think it could be a fun mini story arc if they like. Kind of got together before Bones and Ace do, but when he still likes them…. Martian girl gives me some seriously sapphic vibes, she wants to eat men but she doesn’t like them, I think she would find joy w a woman (but a nonbinary bat alien thing will do, she doesn’t discriminate). Anyways listen to ‘To Serve Man’ by Planet V that was what really started this. She’s already a villain in aquabats lore I just made her gay… Ace did not think Martian Girl had any romantic feelings for them 💀 maybe I’ll make some real drawings for this

Snuggies!! There’s this aquabats Snuggie that exists and I want one… so. The cutes.

These hoodie doodles,,, saved best for last. They’re both cold, they need two sweaters to function or nothing gets done

[allyallyorange]

The amount of inspiration and motivation you give me is CRAZY. I always gotta manifest that you posted something before opening this site because I wanna see your stuff so bad.. can you tell I'm a BIG lover of your art and plot............

Literally HOW do you make your AU's SO GOOD?!?!?! (I'm trying to make my own ateez AU and I rlly don't know where to start.....)

HI OMG! This is so adorable 😭😭😭 I really appreciate messages like this!!

As for how I make my AUs/how I approach AUs,,, honestly I think I’ve just consumed so much content in my youth plus my aspirations to work in the animation industry have made me kind of understand storytelling to a degree, so I think it’s fun to take some ideas from content I like and change it to make a whole new story

Like for AT AU obviously there is no Adventure Time character that will perfectly align personality wise with a member of Ateez, so instead of wildly changing someone to force them into the exact role of Princess Bubblegum for example, or make someone Jake, I just take ideas from the series that I really enjoyed (post apocalypse, magic, cursed character, platonic familial relationships complicated backstories and potentially morally grey characters) and then let that inspire me to relate it to in this case, Ateez.

For Mafia au I had a lot of help brainstorming that but I think the root of ideas comes from maybe like. I see a picture and I do a doodle. Then my brain thinks of other things I kind of know/want to see within that world. I drew Jongho and Mingi in mafia au before anyone else and before it was a big au with fics to go with it. After the drawing I kept having more ideas and then @nnnnnnnothingtoseehere had ideas and suddenly it grew. I watched a lot of mafia/crime movies/series during the pandemic tbh so I had lots of inspiration. AUs like this are fun cus while AT AU directly is inspired by a pre-existing series, this AU is just based on an idea and there are a bunch of sources of inspiration!

Then for my Cowboy au that’s kind of like. My own little project. I’m kind of thinking I may eventually change designs around to make it not an au but an original “project” just for something to put in my portfolio. Of if people really liked it maybe I’d do something with it. But sometimes the beauty of an AU over an original project is people already know and love the characters which takes a lot of the work presenting new characters and hoping people enjoy them. Anyways, yea for this AU as it is rn, it’s just born out of my love for the western aesthetic. Also during the pandemic I watched a ton of spaghetti westerns as well as newer westerns and I found I just really love the vibe. Even when I don’t love the movie it’s really the vibe that I enjoy, couldn’t really explain why haha 🥲. I then realized I strongly dislike drawing horses and in fact (controversial opinion but it is my own) I’m not really a big fan of horses so I thought I’d lose interest quickly if I had to force myself to draw horses for certain drawings. I decided to do motorcycles instead just cus I thought it’d be more enjoyable for me to learn how to draw that than horses lol. So then the AU became lik the. Futuristic Cowboys and then that’s how it got the way it currently is

As for making the story it definitely helps to have someone to riff off sometimes. I thought of most the ideas for AT AU story wise by myself but when I was first coming up with it I was sharing all of my ideas with my younger sister, and occasionally she’d get an idea too, or expand on something a little bit. I don’t really know how to explain the way I come up with the overall story I think I just decide on a bunch of bullet points that I want to happen just ideas in the void. Then I think of major plot points I want to happen. Then I think of dynamics of characters. Then I just start organizing those ideas. Not necessarily in that order but those are the kind of starting points I guess!!

That was a long explanation haha I’m sorry! Hopefully it helps a little! Good luck making some fun AUs!!

[sillyandquiteawkward]

:333 can I hear the design process that went into Ford? Or Tate?

Or if it was for Fallout OCs, curious on the Kennedy or Bayley “Concept Idea to Current” transition :>>>

<- had too much fun, did everyone mentioned.

oo so when it came to ford and tate, i had a general idea pretty strong from the get go, so there wasnt much exploration, and i wrote general notes i wanted to include in their designs and then kinda just went for it. in my notes and story plotting they were simply referred to as the waiter and the PI.

these are basically the first iterations for them, tho tate took me a while to figure out. tate was also skinnier but then i was like no i need to design with my Heart so i made him more stout instead just a simple tall guy with a dadbod body type. i just always ended up liking how ford turned out so he didnt have many changes (notably it ends up being just his hairstyle).

once i got the gist of the characters down i went back and started looking up clothes and pulling ref images to really hone in on their sense of style and fashion, since that was something for this comic i really wanted to portray. then i went back and drew a bunch of drawings of them in different outfits and tried to figure things out. like tate evolved from trenchcoat and jumpsuits to more simple things like tshirts and jackets.

i made the control meme. and then. i put them on the back burner as i did other things for months. and when the new year hit, i ran to start drawing them again to start the comic on a whim, and did the simple, draw what you remember and see whats the most important character traits. i think i wouldve liked to have more time to really iron more things out before i jumped into the comic but i feared being stuck in planning hell and never being able to Start.

--

kennedy is a fun one bc i designed him to be a matching cowboy oc pair with raynersjournal and an overall group of four. simply the concept idea for kennedy was red badboy cowboy twink. another kind of design i did in one based on vibes and probably google images of cowboys for clothes insp. i am a little foggy on my thought process for designing ken but that was pretty much it. one and done type guy. i think i was feeling particularly inspired by funky eyebrows and giant sharp nose shapes.

i think kennedy has been pretty consistent in characterization, but i think i tend to draw kennedy less boxy now, and ive smoothed him out because ive shaped him more into this devious snake oil kind of guy that looks sweet, instead of this whirlwind fireball. for a second, i stopped drawing kennedy with his square jawline, but ive been trying to make sure i remember to draw it bc i think its a good trait of his that makes for nice contrast in his feminine design.

--

bayley is Also interesting bc he had several pre-designs which is different for me. the concept of bayley being a fucked up scientist to be the antagonist for cc's story was first inspired by one of my goretober prompts, where a unknown scientist was attempting to vivisect hancock. his design was very minimal and more of an after thought.

after that came me trying to come up with a story and a scientist for cc to Have his third arm from. then i tried to doodle some scientist design with that inspiration from mr. goretober and came up with this guy.

but i didnt like him! i didnt think it was the right type of dynamic Look and i wasnt in love with the design so i tried again when i went to actually make ccs into comic. which is where we get this guy who looks More like bayley, but without the sideburns.

his sideburns grow as time goes on, longer and longer, until i start drawing them Bushy and big and the rest is history, i think i was inspired actually by how ray drew them one time and i just took it and ran. another bayley off shoot is evil bayley who channels mr goretober in his rancid vibes, while looking like regular bayley, bc i love au clones.

[dxwnfxll]

Heyo!

I consumed all the SFW Mikell x reader content on the internet and I saw you had you requests open and I thought I could request something!

Could you please write Mikell Amberose (I think that's the right last name on your blog, if not feel free to correct me!) Reacting to the reader doodling little hearts and smiley faces on his hands? (in washable marker ofc)

if you don't really feel like writing it free to delete this request.

Ofc !!

(As always Amar replaces Bright/Shaw)

Mikell Amar x reader

Lil hearts

So within the foundation you had a very special job, walking around with Mikell. Yup that was it, you were paid 600k a year just to walk around with the guy and keep him company. Sure you had your moments where you've had to run down dark hallways to find a bunker all while making sure your boss is still alive amd behind you, but otherwise than that it was pretty easy.

All Mikell usually did was walk about a facility/the 05s place, go on a drive or have meetings. Meetings he usually made you go to, and speaking of that you two were currently in one.

05-1 rambled on and on about some sort of 'new mission' for the foundation, her 50s aesthetic being a sore thumb towards the other 05. Next to you of course sat Mikell tapping his fingers annoyed as 05-1 went on and on. On the other side of you sat 05-7, she was always kind always having a vibe similar to the 'parent' friend. They noticed you looking at them and gave you a kind smile and wave before looking back at the 'boss' of the 05.

You sighed bored a bit looking at the table and noticing a marker, looking about to make sure no one was paying attention you grabbed the pen. At first you just tried to juggle it in your hand flinching everytime it hit against the table. Once you felt bored with that you looked towards Mikells hand then back at the pen getting an idea.

Mikell blinked feeling your hands on his, he side glanced at you with a neutral face watching as you held his hand doodling on it.

He didn't say anything or move his hand, just watched for a second as you drew little hearts, bolts and flowers before he looked back at 05-1.

Once the meeting had ended and everyone had left, you two walked down the hallway together. Thr both of you walking down the hallway being the only sound anyone could hear, he looked at his hand again as you had stopped to get a snack from a vending machine. He snickered a bit "this is gonna take forever to get off y'know" he said with his casual country accent.

You got up holding [Snack] looking at the 05 "what? Don't like 'em?" He shook his head "i like them, just didn't think you'd get so bored that you'd start using my hand as a piece of paper" you laughed with him as you two started walking again. He patted your head/back grinning at his cowboy hat hid his eyes.

Wooo hope this kinda made sense? I haven't been writing a lot so i tried LOL

Hope you enjoyed !!

[fluffs-place]

I wanna do this with stached cowboy

Cassidy McCoy

1, What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?

My husband has a character he loves for rdo, Makwa. We started talking about him one day and somehow decided to start roleplaying. So I made Cassidy as a partner for him

2. How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)

He's still techinally a work in progress but he has most his backstory, character traits, and personality. I just dont have his cowboy design. He has his army fit and his face and hair and stuff like that is done. His now cleary recognizable version was first made on 8/27/24 and his doodle sheet was finished on 9/23/24. So bout a month later. Im also still working on getting his shire/cob mix drawn with his new pattern marking. I used a f2u base but the stature isnt the same so i need to now translate it onto his actual body.

3. What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?

So it went kinda backwards from how theyre listed. His role came first since Lamb and I decided to make him Makwa's boyfriend. Then came his personality which plays off Makwa a good bit. Then his design and finally his name.

4. And reverse, which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?

His design. His clothes have been very difficult. His army fit not so much since I can just look at historical uniforms but his cowboy fits been a whole lot harder. I still dont have his cowboy fit cause i cant figure out what kind of silhouette I want for him and the extra details. I want him to look unique and not boring. A lot of cowboy designs just feel really lacking on details. So idk

5. How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

So his name means White Fire Fire. I thought that was hella funny so I chose to use both of those. Hes also a pyromaniac so yknow. I also wanted to make sure he had an Irish last name since his mothers 1st gen Irish immigrant (so shes irish herself) and his dads 2nd gen (so his parents were irish). I just looked around in name lists. I think I specifically looked for male names popular in the year he was born. So like 1850 sumn I think. I have it in my notes somewhere lol

6. What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?

Honestly it just kinda immediately was in my head. I was thinking of that one guy in Captain America: The First Avenger. The ginger guy in Steve and Buckys team with the stache. He was my first thought but I wanted Cassidy to look more unhinged which made me then think of Charles Manson and his eyes. Also with some color palette changes. Speaking of which his colors are mostly in the red to yellow range with blue because of fire :)

7. What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?

His stache. I dont draw a lot of facial hair and it just is him. It makes him so noticable. Its either that or his eyes. I like the shape and his crazed expression or yknow the opposite when he gets angry and the tops of his eyelids actually touch his iris.

8. What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?

He does have some projection but lets be honest again all my characters will have projection. Whether I know or not i just dont know how to make characters without some degree of it. I only know myself completely like that so ofc in creating a whole new person im gonna use myself as reference. Any mini ramble over, he got my pyromania cranked up to 11. Like hes actually an arsonist, I am not. I just like watching fire and watching stuff burn. Idk where the rest of his personality really came from though. Just me brainstorming and givin him stuff.

9. How big is their role in the story? Do they make a frequent appearance or are they a character with little "screentime" but big influence? Or are they just a favourite background guy?

Seeing as its roleplay centered on him and makwas story id say pretty massive lol. I love him but I think lamb and I both kind of see it as Makwa being the main character while Cassidy is his supporting character

10. What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

Honestly? Hes not a good guy. He never gets redemption. He is intrinsically bad. He kills for the fun of it. He quite literally will kill you (general) if youre too boring and dont bring him entertainment or if your death would bring him entertainment. His main motivators are protecting Makwa and having fun. The most "development" he has is basically developing a set of morals which is just not doing stuff Makwa doesnt like. As for an ending he doesnt really have one yet. We dont know where thats going but we have a few general plot points that are in a timeline.

11. Is there any existing character from other media that your character resembles? Was the resemblance intentional or was it a coincidence?

Without his stache, he honestly looks like Julian Devorak to me. Idk if theres any others tho personality or looks wise.

12. Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?

I do!! Lambs helping me build it but mostly its built off vibes. Anything slightly unsettling or creepy while upbeat. Theres also a ship playlist but its only got like 4 songs rn and that ones Lambs

13. Do you have a voice claim for the character? What do you imagine the character sounds like?

I dont yet. At first I was thinking like southern American accent with notes of Irish but I couldnt find any references to that. So now Im just thinking southern cowboy with some words said with the pronouncation of brit english. Seeing as his father has the southern accent since hes usa raised and his mother died when he was a young kid, he doesnt have a lot of the Irish accent influence anyway.

14. Do you have any quotes tied to the character, either from the story itself or from another source that fit them?

I have some from roleplay but not really. Heres a few from rp i like ig: "Got teeth like the god damn hounds. If your name aint Dog already, it should be." (after Makwa bit him on the hand during their first meeting) Makwa: "...you have to bite the hand that feeds you." Cassidy: "I didn't feed you shit, mutt." "No plan makes a dead man."

15. Have you ever made a moodboard for them?

Hub and I have a Pinterest board for the both of them. It's called Blazen Arrow which is their ship name.

16. Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?

in universe, he gets the outlaw name "Fire Boy McCoy" and he absolutely hates it. I cant think any others right now.

17. Are there any motifs or symbols associated with the character? How are they represented, in their design, personality or in some other way?

Fire. Lots of fire.

18. Does the character have other characters connected to them? Do you have a family tree and "offscreen" connections made up for them or do they exist in a vacuum purely for the purpose of the story?

He does have a family which consisted of him late father, late mother, and older sister (and the inlaws and nieces and nephews). Then yknow Makwa. And his horse and cat. Theres a few others but those are the important ones.

19. What is your general favourite thing about the character? What is your least favourite?

Idk. I just love all of him. Him being completely unhinged probably if i had to pick.

20. Bonus question: share any additional thoughts, art, favourite scenes, anything you've been waiting for a chance to ramble about.

this has taken me so long and now my brain is fried so i cant think of anything BUT if anyone wants to ask questions about him feel free.

Character asks!

These are more focused on the background stuff rather than the usual "what would the character do in XY situation" kinds of asks. I've been looking for something like this for quite a while and in the end decided to make my own. Feel free to use, go wild, enjoy

What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?

How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)

What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?

And reverse, which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?

How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?

What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?

What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?

How big is their role in the story? Do they make a frequent appearance or are they a character with little "screentime" but big influence? Or are they just a favourite background guy?

What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

Is there any existing character from other media that your character resembles? Was the resemblance intentional or was it a coincidence?

Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?

Do you have a voice claim for the character? What do you imagine the character sounds like?

Do you have any quotes tied to the character, either from the story itself or from another source that fit them?

Have you ever made a moodboard for them?

Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?

Are there any motifs or symbols associated with the character? How are they represented, in their design, personality or in some other way?

Does the character have other characters connected to them? Do you have a family tree and "offscreen" connections made up for them or do they exist in a vacuum purely for the purpose of the story?

What is your general favourite thing about the character? What is your least favourite?

Bonus question: share any additional thoughts, art, favourite scenes, anything you've been waiting for a chance to ramble about

[sevikasmainwhore]

♥︎Arcane Headcanons♥︎

Jayce was a fun loving chubby kid. He just gives me that vibe and I love him for it. (he still a bitch to me)

Mel has a white bonnet with gold accents. Allora questioned why she wears it too sleep and after some explaining from Mel, she gifts them to her with different colors and types too

It’s an odd headcanon but I really think that another hobby of Vi’s is drawing. Nothing serious just her doodling whenever she doesn’t really wanna work out.

Mylo was silver toothed kid. He was a sweet little boy but he was also really sneaky.

Claggor and Mylo are really well known in the Undercity , not because they’re Vanders Kids, but because Mylo always gets himself into shit and Claggor is right behind him defending him or trying to get him out of it.

Same with Ekko and Powder but they never get caught. As in people know they did it but never have enough proof because they’re just too quick.

Caitlyn was one of those kids that had all the really cool and updated school supplies.

In a Modern AU, I really feel like Jayce would be a streamer.

Jayce is Lactose Intolerant

Sevika and Renata are 4lifers. (no i won’t elaborate)

Everyone in the entire show has at least one or more stuffed animal (s) or plushies somewhere in their room.

Grayson is an Outkast fan.

Sevika loves Western/Cowboy movies (Cowboy!Sevika??????um hello???)

Caitlyn hates white chocolate

Sevikas biological father taught her to gamble. It was most likely the best way they could bond

Vi let’s Jinx give her new tattoos as a sister bonding time since it might be hard for her to talk to her without a misunderstanding

Sevika was like an Aunt to Vanders Kids (i think we all knew this)

She taught Vi everything she needed to know about fighting

I really don’t wanna believe Sevika hates them I just feel like since she couldn’t have a really good relationship with her father then they shouldn’t have one ya know?

Vi had a pet rat named Zee

Powder had a pet rat too but she lost it. As in she set it down when she was looking for trinkets and it scampered

Mylo had an older brother who taught him how to lock pick

Grayson and Vander had a thing when they were younger but fell off when Grayson became an enforcer (i still strongly believe grayson had a wife waiting at home for her♡ lol me)

Jinx surprisingly is a really good cook. Baking is her specialty

Vander had a dog that slept around the Last Drop and was just a huge comfort to everyone their. Sevika named him. His name was Rylo

Someone mentioned to Vander (Ran, it was Ran) that he should have a live band.

Ran loves the drums and acoustic guitar.

Ambessa never knew how to take care of kids so she took Mel and Her brother to an art museum as like a bonding exercise or something and it started Mel’s whole passion for art

Mel and Caitlyn have really sophisticated but childish conversations with each other

They’ve painted together, They’ve had tea together. Mel is like Caitlyn’s second best friend. (what could’ve been)

Mel is most likely the only council members Caitlyn can trust. (what could’ve been :( )

Grayson is like a very strict motherly figure to Marcus. Like he can come to her whenever he needs too but She’s still your Captain

“Don’t ever bite the hand that feeds you, And Don’t ever bite the hand that could possibly beat yo ass—”. Vi’s Daily Affirmation

Silco gifted Sevika her own playing cards after he saw her playing with some of his lower goons.

One time Viktor showed up early to the lab on what was supposed to be his off day to find neatly wrapped chopped fruit with a note “ Make sure you eat and Get plenty of rest”(it was from Sky shhhhhhhhh)

Ekko has a blue satin bonnet with lime green accents.

Ekko gifted Jinx her own hoverboard and since then they both go into Piltover and vandalize what ever they can.

Viktor thinks of Ekko and Jinx as his little hench children. He loves them dearly (what I hope to happen :D)

this is all i have. :) thank you.

[gaming]

Indie Game Spotlight: Creature in the Well

This week’s Indie Game Spotlight gives us some major pinball vibes…with a twist! Creature in the Well is a unique take on the hack and slash dungeon crawler genre, in that it mixes swords with ball games such as Breakout and Pinball. As the last BOT-C engineer, players must reactivate an ancient weather machine, now home to a dangerous creature, in order to stop a deadly sandstorm. Sign us up!

Adam Volker is the Creative Director at Flight School Studio, aka the art guy on the project. We spoke with him about the game’s art style inspiration, dungeon designs, and the journey from doodles in a sketchbook to finished game. Read on if you dare.

Aside from pinball, what were some other major influences for the game?

We LIKE Pinball, but we aren’t its biggest fans. We actually started out with a two-player game a bit like air hockey. Once we had that, we did look at a lot of different types of “ball” games like the aforementioned Pinball and Breakout, but also more recent titles like Ballz and Rocket League. 

In terms of the dungeon crawling aspect, there’s some Metroid in how the levels are laid out, some Dark Souls in how we dole out the narrative, and some Hyper Light Drifter in the game’s controls and “combat”.

How long has development been going on?

Development for the game has been happening for just over a year.  If you count the first drawings of cowboy robots holding pipes in my sketchbook,  then maybe a few months before that.

How did you come up with the art style?  

The art style was inspired by one of my favorite comic book creators, Mike Mignola, who created the Hellboy universe. He is so bold with darkness—the literal dark spots in the Hellboy world—and I was really inspired by how much atmosphere he evokes with it. I did my best to inject a little bit of what he does so well into Creature.

What kinds of gameplay mechanics can we expect?

Basically, each of the eight dungeons is built around a central mechanic that we get to develop throughout: different types of bumpers, explosive pillars, seeker drones, switches, timed puzzles, death rays, there are… a lot.

On top of those obstacles, which are set up by the Creature, you also get a bunch of weapons that change the way you play the game. For example, the dual blades will help you aim your balls from a longer distance, and the axe will split them up into multiple balls. They’re really fun to discover!

 What is a BOT-C Unit and what role does it play in the story?

The BOT-C is the character you play as. It’s the last remaining unit of a robot collective that used to maintain the weather machine near Mirage, a desert town now caught in a dangerous sandstorm. When you get back to the machine, you encounter a Creature that haunts it and who is definitely not pleased with you returning there. Not at all.

And what can we expect from the game’s eight hand-crafted dungeons? 

The dungeons are set up in a maze of interconnected rooms, of which players can explore every nook and cranny. You’ll face many of the Creature’s challenges, and find secrets like new weapons and ways to upgrade your robot core. And of course, every dungeon ends in an intense battle with the Creature itself.

Ready for your own encounter with the Creature in the Well? The game is coming out this summer on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC as part of the Xbox Game Pass. Or learn more by heading to their website here!

[sludgesucker]

HLVRAI head cannons that literally no one ever asked for about what kind of guitars they would play 

Gordon

Part of me wants to just say a strat because main character energy or whatever, but deep down I feel in my heart that he’s a Gibson bitch boy. He’d play a Les Paul with a iced tea burst because its basic but not too basic. He’d def keep all the stock parts on it too. But since he’d be a gibson simp he condones their cringe ass nae nae-ness they’ve been on for the past years and is like “nah bro i pay for the quality. dude just cause it has a few scuffs out of the factory doesn’t mean its bad. bro i know its not staying in tune its just the weather shut up. gibson has been in business for like a hundred years for a reason... what do you mean they filed for bankruptcy a few years ago?? ”. 

Benrey

He would play a Paul Stanley signature mostly because they’re called PS(insert model here) (ie PS10, PS60, PS1CM) and I think that is a very funny. He would also refinish it himself and he would doodle a bunch of shit on it (and maybe get a little of the industrial grade gloss finish in his lungs ahaha~~) He does not listen to kiss, but he does listen to system of a down and he likes the DMM1 Iceman but it doesn’t start with PS so whats even the point? He also likes how weird the shape is. In all honesty, he’s not really committed to any one guitar or brand and likes to buy knock off kits off of wish and fix them to his own specs (tone wise, hes more of a SG sorta dude)

Tommy

60′s Jazzmaster. I don’t know why. I just think it fits his vibe. It would look absolutely beaten to death not only because its the only thing he plays, but because hes taken a drill to it at least 20 times. He doesn’t like playing with different guitars, but he loves modding it with a bunch of shit he can test and finnic with. He would also have a good handful pedal boards cause he just loved messing with stuff. He picked a jazzmaster in the first place because they have so many little knobs and switches to mess with. At the end of the day, its more frankenstein's creation than a jazzmaster with the amount of shit he’d do to it. 

Dr. Coomer

This one was hard because Coomers vibe is just immaculate. Hes bright and cheery but also sinister but not in like.... an edgy sort of way? if that makes sense. Like in a Coomer sort of way! At first I thought an ESP Viper would have been a good fit but i thought a little more about it and I think a D’Angelico DC with a bigsby style bridge (either a deluxe DC or just an excel with an upgrade). As cool as SGs are, it would be wrong I think to not give him a semi-hollow. It’s just so classic sounding and looking. But it still fucks in its own unconventional way if you really want it to. It goes hard in an "I am an epic cowboy" sorta way rather than a rock n roll sorta way.

Bubby

Steve Vai signature, specifically a PIA3761. Specifically specifically the one with the trans colored fret inlays cause fuck you. They just look very bold with the fancy pickup covers and the gold. Bubby will not settle for less than the most epic. The petal grip is very important so he can have options when he chooses to beat you to death with it. Before this (since it came out at the end of 2019, I believe) it was a V6 Kiesel Vader. And before that, a BC Rich Beast. His old ass has went through many phases in the day and gets whatever fucks hardest visually. This one just so happens to be his latest obsession. And thankfully tone wise it's a banger. He does not give one fuck about the history behind it or Steve Vai because he can and will kick your ass and also its very pretty. 

thats all i have to say back to my hole 

[missmadxson]

hailee steinfeld, cis female, she/her  hey have you seen MADISON “MADDIE” BAKER ? SHE let me borrow HER GLITTER GLUE GUN. oh, you know them! they’re TWENTY-TWO YEARS OLD and they’ve been at Roy G. for FOUR YEARS. They are known to be a total ARIES. no wonder they’ve picked up the nickname THE ROSE COLORED GLASSES! i’m surprised you haven’t heard them blaring RUN AWAY WITH ME BY CARLY RAE JEPSEN all night. they remind me of FALLING GLITTER,  SINGING ALONG TO KARAOKE AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS & BRIGHT STICKERS . anyway, let me know if you see them ! (rachell, 23, she/her, mt, n/a).

ok wow hello here i am, with absolutely no impulse control to give you all my chaotic good baby who’s kind of a bimbo who just wants to love everyone (gotta balance the kids out, yk?) love us pls

background:

tw: mention of teen pregnancy  tw: mention of abortion

maddie was born march 21st, 1999 as an only child to a single mom that was left to raise her alone when her birth dad decided not to bare the responsibility of having a family at such a young age, also being kicked out by her family for having a baby out of wedlock once she decided that she was going to keep it...her mom was 17 at the time

before she was officially kicked out of the house, madison’s mom got into an argument with her grandma about putting the baby up for adoption, but it went as well as when she had tried to convince her to get an abortion when maddie was announced in the first place

maddie’s mom loved her little girl more than anything else in this world and she was gonna raise it, with or without her family’s support

to this day, maddie and her mom still have a strained relationship to her grandparents and the girl grew up never actually meeting her dad but if you ask her, she has no problem with this at all

tho the happy, bubbly, dramatic little girl didn’t have grandparents or a father figure to help look after her, she had her mom and her aunt who stuck by her mother’s side despite their parents wishes, and her mom’s best friends and even their neighbors that instantly fell in love with the little girl the instant they moved into their new apartment (so like pretty much a mama mia situation lol); her mother and best friends were always there to support madison’s endeavors, letting her dress how she wanted to school, showing up in a too-too and cowboy boots and being the shining star at every school play that there was 

i'll write more on this backstoroy when i think of anything else but god do i love them, and god do they love EACH OTHER. maddie still facetimes with her mom and “aunts” every chance she gets, each one having a reason to be her role models

idk where she lived before lets say cali but basically this lil babe moved out to florida for college, wanting a new adventure to embark on and she has loved it here ever since. she kinda loves the communal way of living?? it kinda just feels like a new little clunk of a found family opportunity like the one she has back home

about her

incredibly friendly and excitable, it doesn’t really matter if you’ve known her all your life, or just met her a second ago, she will just start a conversation out of the blue over the most random thing and could just go on for hours if you don’t stop her sa;dkfjs

the energy of a toddler hopped up on sugar and the attention span of a gold fish. she’s a senior in college and is one of those students that drifts off to her own little world, doodling over her papers yet somehow pulls decent enough grades out of her ass somehow and everyone’s kinda shook af by this, over all she does love to learn and is incredibly curious by the world around her, she just prefers the social aspect of it all, really

stubbornly optimistic and is pretty good at picking herself back up again if something happens to go wrong but that doesn’t mean she won’t be incredibly dramatic about it first and probably a lil petty and childish, has the puppy dog eyes and pout down pat....she can be a LOT, you’ve been warned ;asdkfsdvd

a theater baby through and through, one of her aunts was really into broadway and got her very into it growing up, her performing is over all alright at best but it doesn’t stop her from giving it all she has when given the opportunity (will blast you with showtunes if you give her the aux cord) . she absolutely ADORES art in every single one of it’s forms. you have an open mic night? a show casing? she’s there and she’s baked you brownies and brought you flowers! 

never really grew out of her love for arts and crafts, in fact her glitter glue gun is her most valuable possession and she’s always making something cute as a pick-me-up for one of her friends

 has a crafting channel on youtube with a decent enough amount of followers (think LaurDIY) whom she lovingly calls “glitter heads” and she also does other things on it such as little vlogs here and there, as well as cosplays

also has an etsy shop she sells custom hair accessories and wlw earrings on 

a strong activist for blm, womens right’s lgbtqia+ etc. she always makes sure to keep herself informed in every way she possibly can 

is pan af

expresses herself a lot through her clothes and make up!! doesn’t matter if it doesn’t match, if its bright, a cute pattern, or sparkly, she is making that shit WORK, rainboots, cat ear headbands and overalls are her favorites, loves LOVES glitter and will always try to have it on be it through her eyeshadow or highlight for some examples, it doesn’t matter, she just NEEDS it

the leslie knope of gift giving, she’s so good at it and has a talent for knowing exactly what to get someone, having the most fun picking it out. to her, there’s nothing more exciting than finding the perfect thing that will show her friends how much she loves and appreciates them

the BIGGEST party girl you’ve EVER SEEN. she doesn’t really need alcohol or weed to have a good time, she’s just always ready regardless but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, would party every single night if she could, drunkenly singing a karaoke version of god is a woman

drunk girl in the bathroom vibes but like...all the time s;kdfsdaf

happens to flirt a lot, sometimes completely unaware of it, but she can also be pretty bad at it so skdfsdf;sf if anyone ever tries to flirt with HER THO....it’s like her brain short circuits and she’s a babbling MESS, she crushes on ppl way too fast too so...theres that

absolutely tries to play matchmaker if she happens to see someone deeply crushing or two souls just too shy to admit their feelings, she is here to HELP EVERYONE FIND LOVE

can be very comforting and a pretty good listener, she just really wants to be there for others, you know? if they’ll let her

[knicks-knacks]

you have a fantasy world? 👀👉👈 may i Hear sum stuff if you want 2 share it 👉👈

i do i have two of em that im kinda on and off thinking about/working on, though neither of them are very concrete or Realized in most ways because i really only just started developing them maybe a year or so ago and im very new to this whole thing

the short answer is:

one of them is a sort of game idea for an open world multiplayer version of flight rising/dragcave/wolvden type stuff just bc dragons cool and i wish those games were like a 3d world that could be explored

the other is a graphic novel idea that can be sort of summed up as a Fantasy Spaghetti Western With Some Bloodborne Vibes because i really think the combination of western + fantasy is really interesting and very underutilized because you can really get some cool shit going with it

lil bit more under the cut but not a lot more because even i dont know much about my own worlds because it's not always really priority in my mind and im still super unsure about bits and pieces of it!

So, the game idea one is a little hard to explain, because it's such a mismatch that I barely know where to start. To start off, I guess I can explain first that I have always loved like... certain genres of games, or at least types of games. So like...

Social multiplayer games such as: Pixie Hollow, Club Penguin, IMVU, Second Life, Fantage

Pet collection/breeding games such as: Dragcave, Flight Rising, Howrse, Bella Sara, Wolvden, Nintendogs lol

and then I mean the only MMORPG I have played consistently and seriously is World of Warcraft but I love WoW and its world to fucking bits. And also worth a mention, because it does have a decent influence on this idea in general, I played Petz Horsez 2 almost religiously as a kid lmfao. Also worth mentioning, though I have never played it and have only seen clips of it, Star Stable.

Basically, it's just... I would love a game that's a ton like WoW but focused on dragons like Flight Rising is. Where you go about, collecting cool dragons from the world (Sorta like an open world Pokemon game? this whole things just a mishmash concept). You explore and try and find them, tame them, train them and breed them - for stats and special colors or markings. There's races you can train for, dressage competitions, things of that nature. Certain dragons have certain advantages in things, such as drakes being best in ground races, amphitheres being good in really twisty sky races, western dragons being the most versatile. It'd be a game pretty focused on races, but hopefully be interesting since they'd be varied from sky, to ground, to climbing, etcetera.

Then of course dressage, which would rely a ton on control of a dragon and also costuming. Idk, like a fashion show competition but with dragons lol.

But I really don't know much about games or game design in general, its a big old pipe dream essentially. There's also just... not too much story to speak on. All I really have is little concept art doodles of dragons, and npcs, and cities/towns/zones. I work on it all just for fun, whatever I think looks cool or interesting.

so sorry that's basically a whole lot of nothing but there's THAT XD

and then the fantasy western is about the same, in terms of what all I have worked out, though it's a lot more character based. I have the main idea of what I want my main group of characters to be. the general concept of this one is that the main character is the last surviving member of a race of people who had a certain magical ability revolving around blood. they were both healers and fighters, able to use blood to mend things, cure illnesses and diseases, but also could manipulate the blood to be deadly weapons or even biological warfare if necessary. they were a good race of people that never did anything wrong, but due to the other races seeing them as dangerous freaks who would steal their blood and use them to take over the world, they were attacked and eventually wiped out. but, yanno, not to go full Chosen One, one girl survives it all. she's unaware of her heritage until she gets much older and finds out about it - because the world is on the verge of going to absolute shit, because turns out wiping out all the people who knew how to treat a particular disease ain't the smartest fucking thing to do in the world, and in order for the entire worlds population to Not Die, some higher powers swoop in and kinda are like "yo dude right now you're the only one that can fix this". that sort of thing. and then there's the typical fantasy quest and heroes journey, gathering together a Found Family in the process all with their own strengths and weaknesses and stories that I can't quite get into. there's also sort of Minor Gods/Deities associated with each type of magic in the world, that sort of thing. but there's a lot of gay cowboys and cowgirls and cool magical spells and shit going on so XD

and! idk! this is all pretty incomprehensible but those are sort of the idea of the two? lol

[thevalkyriesonline]

In the first instalment of ‘Let’s Talk Comics’ we talk with Son and Sam of SCSM Comics who have just finished their Kickstarter campaign for their comic ‘A Vampire in Paris’. 

Sam is a queer freelance artist known for her character designs, concept work and witty sense of humour. She has been drawing professionally for over 10 years and dedicates her time to telling new and original stories through her artwork.

Son is a queer Muslim freelance writer who actively works in comics, and is known for her work in ‘TEETHING’. She is an active fan of horror and monsters and often complains about the lack of positive representation of POC mythical creatures.

‘A Vampire in Paris’ is a queer love story that follows two bartenders at the Spade, a bar located in the heart of Paris. Kara Belmont is a working college student, studying Art History by day and spending her nights filling up empty glasses. It’s a weird bar, packed with interesting patrons. But the most interesting person of all seems to be her own coworker. Selma Nazari seems to only work at night and is rather mysterious, not to mention unearthly beautiful. Despite her calm disposition and incessant teasing, Kara is sure that Selma holds a terrible secret.

There’s no doubt about it: She’s a vampire.

  Let’s dive straight in! 

Sam, how did you get started in illustrating? Was there a moment you can recall where you really fell in love with it?

I was in 3rd or 4th grade when I stumbled upon a good old show called ‘DragonBall Z’ on Toonami. I thought the style and animations were so cool I just had to recreate them and it kinda kicked off from there. I had always been into drawing and doodling as a kid but I really fell head over heels in love with it after drawing Trunks an absurd amount of times.

Sam- What inspired you to go the comic book route with your artistic skills out of all available mediums?

Fun fact, initially I didn’t want to do art as a career/profession at all. I kind of fell into the freelance thing out of necessity and realized that it was awesome and I love doing it! As for going the comic book route, that falls on Son actually! I was not confident in my abilities to do full comic page work initially but after freelancing for 2 years and Son shoving me into a locker and demanding I go into comic work I decided to take the plunge! Setting up the kickstarter and producing the sample pages really solidified my confidence and how much I enjoy it!

Sam- What character would you like to give a full makeover to and why?

If I could give any character in AVIP a makeover it would probably be Levi. And I only say this because she’s the type to change her appearance most often. I also love drawing and coloring hair and she has a lot to work with.

If I had the choice to give any character a full makeover I would laugh at myself and say “I can give a full makeover to any character I want” because I do. One of the things I love drawing the most is redesigns of characters that I like. Be it “what they look like in 20 years” or just full on AU designs, the possibilities are endless!

Son- Was there a defining piece of work for you growing up that made you realise you wanted to take up the writers mantle?

As much as I want to say ‘Dragon Ball Z’, I think the most defining pieces of work that convinced me that writing is my passion were R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike novels. I used to read the dime horror novels (the ones on a lonely rack at my library) religiously all throughout elementary school. Was I too young to be reading that? Yes. Did I like them immensely? Hell yes.

  Son- What is your favourite scary movie?

‘Let the Right One In’. I used to read it once a year in high school because of how much I adored the writing. The Swedish film is amazing and paints my favourite type of horror: slow moving.

Son- Who would you say your biggest inspirations are?

There’s so many. In literature, I’m just like any other post-college student with a knack for writing. Which means I like a lot of works by dead white male authors. Thankfully, Afrofuturism is saving my life. But no matter how much I read, anime that I grew up with and learned to appreciate as an adult really shaped me. My biggest inspirations are Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Akira, Berserk, and other shows from that era. Also, Hellboy changed my life.

Son- Which famous classic horror creature/ mythical creature would you like to reimagine and why?

The Bride of Frankenstein because I really want to examine her under the points brought up in the essay A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway. I also think it would be wild to examine how we do AIs and Cyborgs in science-fiction as a form of Frankenstein and his bride in a setting that leads you to believe that artificial advancements are the future. It’s a cool reversal.

I love these thoughts on The Bride of Frankenstein, AI and Cyborgs, I had not even considered how much those things align! That would make for a fascinating topic especially with AI being the hot topic that it is! 

How did you find the process of raising funds on kickstarter?

Sam: It was nerve racking initially. Especially because for me it was my first time running a kickstarter.  We both took the time to go over successful and failed kickstarters to get a general picture of what we’d be dealing with on both sides. It was a lot of “what to do and what not to do”s.

Son: It took a bunch of research and trial and error. Sam is excellent at creating a schedule and together, we made airtight plans. In the end, it’s great to have support and to work with someone you trust. It’s hard, but exciting.

What advice would you give someone looking to self-fund on sites like kickstarter?

Sam: PR IS YOUR BEST FRIEND. Seriously. Don’t feel bad about boosting your projects 3-4 times a day and being active with your audience. It’s the best way to show that you’re in it to win it! CONFIDENCE IS EVERYTHING!

Son: It’s okay to be a little shameless. An issue I had to jump over was my inability to promote myself. You need to ignore that little voice and be shameless. Tell all your friends, tweet about it nonstop, bring it up whenever you can. It’s only for a month, you gotta be your own hype man! Learning how to PR is important.

What have you found the biggest challenges for you as women in this industry?

Sam: I like to think that I’m incredibly lucky for choosing to go into the freelance industry over a big name comic book corporation. Crowdfunding is a game changer because it opens up opportunities to female identifying artists to explore stories and styles that suit them and their experiences. Instead of some old fart at the top of the totem pole doling out slices of “The same shit we see all the time”.

Son: As someone who’s been working to get into comics, the freelance industry is a great place for women. Or it’s starting to be. As a female identifying writer, I’ve been on the short end of the stick, that I’m not “taken seriously” about certain genres, such as horror and science fiction. Jokes on them because with the growing community of freelance projects and crowdfunding, women and other marginalized groups are finally building their own platforms with their own stories and variations that are creative explosions outside the major publisher comic book industry. ALSO WHY DOES EVERYONE SHY FROM TWO FEMALE LEADS?

What advice would you give to creators just getting started?

Sam: DEADLINES. ARE. YOUR. BEST. FRIEND. I’m a big fan of deadlines, especially because I’m a freelancer and have to make my own schedule. Setting simple deadlines for yourself helps keep you on track and gives you a sense of accomplishment whenever you meet one! Always ALWAYS set deadlines that are simple to achieve so you aren’t just setting yourself up for failure. Having a friend (Like Son) to help keep you on track is super important too. Working with a friend or a small group helps with the workload as well, but always remember that this is work and to succeed you need to put in the work.

Son: DONT. GIVE. UP. As someone who really struggled with making the content I want to be seen, not giving up despite all the times I failed really got me into the position where when working with Sam, I was so prepared. It takes a while, it really does. There’s nothing immediate about comics, no instant success. Kickstarter makes it look like projects happen overnight but it was the cultivation of ALL of my past experiences, my active engagement on social media, my practice in writing that eventually lead me to Sam and the confidence to push this project forward. Don’t crumble after failure because you’ve already learned how to do better the next time.

Which comic book character do you wish you had created and why?

Sam: Jason Todd. Specifically new 52 Jason Todd. New 52 Jason Todd is a trainwreck that totally derailed his entire character from what he was initially. Jason Todd is the physical representation to Bruce that “You can’t win 100% of the time without casualties”. His death was a symbol that sometimes Batman fails, and that being a hero doesn’t mean everything works out in the end. And Jason Todd also countered the norms, he came back ANGRY. In superhero comics, back then being ANGRY wasn’t a hero quality. He defined antihero to me, and I’ve always been more partial to antiheroes because it really drives home the conflict of being a, you guessed it, VIGILANTE. Also I’m a firm believer that if any character in DC was bisexual it’d be him.

Son: Jason Todd. Specifically new 52 Jason Todd. He comes from a place where not a lot of Robins do and it shaped his character, eventually leading him into the path of an antihero rather than the “benevolent” Batman. He’s an outlier in the Batfam, and he holds certain values that I really vibe with, especially due to his upbringing. That you don’t have to be perfect to be good and you don’t have to bend to societal norms to make a difference. The new 52 kind of forgot about all the qualities that made him so special (to me anyway) so I wish I owned him. Plus, he looks cool as heck and if there was one character in all of DC that would have absolutely been bisexual, it’s Jason Todd.

What are the pros/ cons of working in this field?

Pro’s: You work for yourself when you crowdfund. You make all the artistic decisions, the financial decisions, all the deadlines. You don’t have to comply with any decisions from higher ups or deal with “bosses” because you are your own boss.

Cons: It’s all on you. It can be incredibly stressful to successfully fund, manage and complete a large project on your own. There are a lot of different factors to take into account that you need to be ready and/or flexible for. If you’re not good at organization then this field is going to be rough for you.

What advice would you give for women looking to break into this industry?

Sam: Share your work. Apply for those jobs. Take that leap into freelance or crowdfunding. Even if you think you wont make it, or you’re not “good enough”, or you don’t “meet the qualifications” put yourself out there. There is always an audience for every story.

Son: Support each other. Your best support is from people who resonate with your work. And it’s not easy, but nothing worth having really is. Don’t be shy to put yourself in your work. A common misconception is that you have to write like those dead old white guys I mentioned above to be considered publishing worthy or literary and the answer I have to that is: fuck that. There’s a uniqueness that comes from your own self that no one can imitate. So why try to imitate what’s been done when you can show your own spin? And again, don’t give up!

Would you say there is a shift in the diversity within this industry? What in your opinion could readers do to ensure that the industry moves in the right direction?

Sam: I think the industry is slowly making the attempt to move in the right direction. I’m gonna reiterate “Slowly”. In my opinion showing support, both with your words and your wallet is key to moving in a more diverse and inclusive direction. Yeah we’re sick of the same rehashing of the same story, so put your money where your mouth is.

Son: Show your support for the things you want made. Don’t just say you want more queer or female led stories, actively engage and support with creators who are trying to make these stories. The comic book industry’s favorite go-to argument is that there is no active audience for these types of comics. The only way to counter that is to support the people trying to make them. And I do think it’s happening. Image Comics have been pumping out some amazing female identifying artists and writers. The indie scene is RICH with stories by WOC. And I think the industry is beginning to take notice.

What is next for you guys?

Sam- Hopefully, after the completion of AVIP, we plan on making our own webcomic, as a team. We’re lucky to work with each other as we often act as foils and complete what the other person needs. SO MORE DORKY COMICS, I GUESS. We’ve got a dark comedy planned so fingers crossed.

Big thanks to Sam and Son for giving us some insight into their process and their thoughts on the comics industry. The Valkyries chose to back AVIP during it’s Kickstarter campaign and we are thrilled that it smashed it’s target and will be going to print! If you want to keep up to date with Son and Sam you can find them here:

www.twitter.com/istehlurvz

istehlurvz.tumblr.com 

www.twitter.com/bogboogie 

son-mess.tumblr.com 

    Let’s talk comics! #1: Sam and Son on ‘A Vampire in Paris’ and a whole lot more! In the first instalment of 'Let's Talk Comics' we talk with Son and Sam of SCSM…