#kind of based on his outfits in the 80s but also not

[notrightgrayson]

I have thought extensively ab dickies fashion sense

Close ups of my favorites under the cut

[sabrondabrainrot]

Bring back LAES!

I'm steadily making progress on catching up on sun and moon show along with foxy and monty etc etc but it's pretty difficult when one of the main key plot lines is gone. I know a few spoilers thanks to fanfiction but I want to see the drama in person.

Here's some outfit ideas for tsams cause I'm a sucker for fashion and redesigns!

Order is, SolarFlare - Lunar - NewMoon - Old Moon - Sunny (Solar's dimension) - Sun

closeups and more brainrot under the cut!

Explaining my redesigns! Lunar - he's not really a redesign and more so an overdesign. I love adding tons of little details to him to really hammer home his star-ness. He's such an interesting little guy, like yes he acts childish but I can see he's really growing (SAD I CANT WATCH MORE CAUSE THE SHOW IS GONE). I saw the ep he killed Eclipse and homeboy revived. The entire time I was like "Waaahh Lunar??? Waaahhh???" but I love the drama ngl.

SolarFlare - Same as Lunar, not really a redesign I just drew him with no dirt. I really love his base design it's so neat it makes me think of like sci-fi concepts from the 80's. Something from fallout really. I think it's kind of funny Eclipse's aesthetics for SolarFlare when you compare him next to say Jack who Solar designed.

OldMoon - I just wanted to give him a sleek mad scientist cool guy suave vibe. I saw the more recent thumbnails of him with a turtle neck and idk that's just peak character design for me. I'm a simple woman put the dumb-dumb in a dark turtleneck. I want him to kind of look like the BadGuy TM (he's not actually) so he gets all edgy and hard edges and stuff.

NewMoon - I wanted to do a similar color scheme but instead he has lighter colors like more white incorporated into his fit. To give him the whole 'reborn' aesthetic. He's all like "old moon wore black well I wear white now I'm nothing like him so hah!" kinda thinking. I gave his cap a fur texture cause of that one ep he turned into a furry. I drew rounder stuff on him cause he's a big ol' softy sweety pie.

Sunny - Sunny is my headcanon of Sun from Solar's dimension. I think it's really interesting his default with no personality was theater performance and not say...doing daycare stuff? I feel like honoring the FNAF books with this design by leaning heavily into the theater performer look. I like to think in Solar's dimension Sun and Moon were originally made for theater. (so far in the show I've noticed Creator says 'they needed a daycare attendant' something like that so it comes off more like they were intended for the daycare from the start VS. Solar's dimension where Sunny's core seems to be more so for the performing arts.) I also wanted to make Sunny look different from Sun for the extra angst potential of "They're similar but not the same" so I leaned more into a blue palette for him.

Sun - I just wanted to give him big puffy everything. I took away the tutu. nothing against the tutu I just hate drawing the damn thing. I like to think Sun in main has white eyes because he's so burnt out from within. *badum tish* (eyes are the window to the soul-) I also covered him in stickers because he totally would just be covered in stickers from the kids. I also decided to give some of his rays cracks because I think he's extremely sentimental and even in a newly upgraded body (after using star power to defeat Eclipse the first time) he'd keep rays from his original body? I also put the cracks ones on the side of his face where Old Moon hit him. Why? Because it just seems like something Sun would do. I love him so.

Ok just some brainrot stuff, look away to avoid spoilers .

RUIN DESTROYED HOW MANY DIMENSIONS?? SOLARS DEAD. LUNAR KILLED ECLIPSE. DARK SUN IS PLOTTING??? MOON BE CRYING??? Also Francine just had a birthday! ONE OF THE BLOODMOON BOYS ARE DEAD AND SAME WITH ONE OF THE STITCHY BOYS??? HELLO?!?

I love the drama.

Also, I love how every single kid vibe checks Sun and he passes every time. Francine? She loves Sun and learns from him. FC? He ONLY feels safe with Sun for a bit. Barry? He hugged Sun after gonad checking him (a right of passage for the bunny kid). Jack? I'm pretty sure he literally is just one room away from Sun at all times (he also calls Sun's cats his master???). I have yet to see Dazzle, but Dazzle 10000% loves Sun (I've seen the edits).

ALSO? When Lunar was first brought into the family the first person he hugged was Sun and then later on when Earth was in danger he ran into SUN's arms for safety/comfort. They're family your honor.

Sobbing and Crying laying on the floor over Solar's death but I think he'll be back.

Also the molten thing with Ruin? I'm excited to see more.

I don't have a youtube account to post about saving LAES but if anyone wants me to draw more LAES just to help the community please let me know. I'm planning to draw my idea of Earth next.

[that-one-dudette]

I was scrolling and I (once again) encountered the take that Tommy doesn’t make an effort/ doesn’t care at the bachelor party.

And yes, we interpret things based on our context, our dating experience and our limits, but landing on him not caring or making the effort is kind of a stretch?

When he arrives Buck looks all happy and says “Hey, glad you could make it” and Tommy says “Of course”. So this is either that he told Tommy with very little anticipation of the party or that he knew about Tommy having other things to do.

Tommy had other things to do indeed, he was on a stand-by, but when he has to leave on duty, Buck seems surprised. So maybe it’s both. And yes, Buck gets upset “What is this? I told you it’s 80’s theme?” and Tommy tells him about the Henley’s in the 80’s and ask about Buck and Eddies costume.

(Now, I have this head cannon that Eddie and Buck have the hobby of going to a second hand clothes shop and they got there the suits for the party and also for the poker night. Those outfits are a very different tone from what they usually wear and also they don’t seem to be the type to pay a lot for an specific outfit, but)

Tommy is pushing his 40’s and doesn’t seem that versatile in his outfits to have a casual 80’s assemble ready to put on (unlike Hen that for sure had that awesome outfit already in her closet, same as Karen, that rocked the vibe with a high ponytail).

Tommy was tired (he was yawning), most probably had very little anticipation and was on stand by. And still went to the party. This is making an effort and caring, even if there is no costume on.

And then he had to leave for work (and while Buck is again upset about he leaving, it becomes clear at the end of the episode that Tommy being committed to work does it for him) and he tells him "I’ll try my damnnest to make it to the wedding”. And he does it. Making a promise and fulfil it shows so much care and effort.

And Buck knows it.

[ducktoonsfanart]

Birthday party for Donald, Daisy and Della Duck! - Happy Birthday Donald, Daisy and Della Duck - Ducktales 2017 - Duckverse June - Week 1 - My Version - Gift for my friends

I drew on June 7th. After a long time, I decided to draw again related to Ducktales 2017, even though I'm not a fan of that series, but as they say everyone deserves a second chance. Is not it? So I decided to draw related to the great jubilee that is being celebrated these days and of course the favorite modern series by many, so I decided to draw Donald Duck, Della Duck and Daisy Duck with their family in Ducktales 2017 format, of course in my style. Because I'm not a fan of Ducktales 2017 style which is really weird for me.

On June 7, 1940, Donald's classic short "Mr Duck Steps Out" was shown, featuring Daisy Duck for the first time. 9/6/1934 The Classic Short "The Wise Little Hen" was shown and Donald Duck appeared there for the first time. Donald Duck will become one of the main stars of not only Disney, but also cartoon films, comics and video games at all. Certainly there is no need to tell his history. Della Duck is first mentioned in the comic book Donald's Nephews, and then made her first appearance in the 1994 comic strip "The Empire Builder from Calisota" by Don Rosa, from The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. For the first time Della Duck appeared as a mother and adult woman and had a role in the Dutch comic "80 is Prachtig" from 2014, and she appears for the first time in animation in the Ducktales reboot. Also five years ago is the anniversary of the episode "What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!" where officially Della Duck got her role.

Well, since they are honored these days, and especially Donald Duck who is celebrating his 90th anniversary this year, I drew a birthday party where everyone celebrates their birthdays together. Donald, Daisy and Della Duck along with their family and their friends. Because what kind of birthday is it, without your closest ones. Yes, Donald is in the middle since he is definitely the main one, but he suffered a lot in that series so he definitely deserved the best. Finally, that Donald is happy after a long time and can finally rest. Yes, this is how I imagine the end of Ducktales 2017. And with him are his twin sister Della and his favorite love and girlfriend Daisy Duck. Yes, I also drew the characters as I like to imagine them in my Ducktales AU and Quack Pack reboot based on Ducktales 2017 as well as different outfits that would suit them quite well. Since I can't think of anything else, sorry, and I added Donald's nephews also wear caps and most of them wear jeans. Huey and Louie wear backwards hats. Yes, they are teenagers here too. :D And in front of Donald, of course, a birthday cake with cherries.

In addition to Donald, Daisy, and Della Duck, there are Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck, plus Phooey Duck and Kabooie or Kablooie Duck (Donald's fifth nephew, usually wearing brown clothing), Gosalyn Mallard (who is with Huey), Webby Vanderquack and Lena De Spell (Sabrewing, otherwise they are together), May and June Duck, Violet Sabrewing, Scrooge McDuck, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera and Gandra Dee, Gladstone Gander, Fethry Duck, Drake Mallard, Launchpad McQuack, Gyro Gearloose (to draw alone how he smiles I didn't think I'd ever do this), Boyd Beaks-Gearloose and Bentina Beakley. And everyone together celebrates the important birthdays of the most important Ducktales characters. Adults and children together. Happy birthday to you Donald, Daisy and Della Duck!

If you are interested in more about these outfits, check out this drawing here: https://ducktoonsfanart.tumblr.com/post/742447670629744640/quack-pack-week-quack-pack-original-vs-quack

Also, check out other Donald, Daisy and Della Duck birthday parties (adults and kids): https://ducktoonsfanart.tumblr.com/post/751985132490113024/donald-duck-della-duck-daisy-duck-gus-goose-and https://ducktoonsfanart.tumblr.com/post/751983235321430016/huey-dewey-and-louie-ducks-plus-phooey

Feel free to like and reblog, if you like this drawing and this version of the Ducktales characters, please also don't use the same versions without mentioning me. Thank you! Happy Birthday Donald, Daisy and Della Duck once again!

I also did this related to Duckverse June, so I'm dedicating this drawing as a gift to @tokuvivor , @secret-tester and @queer-in-a-cornfield . I also dedicate my gift to my friend from Discord, for @puffyducks @puffywuffy8904 who celebrated his birthday a month ago, and I wish him a happy birthday and sorry for the delay! Also, this is a gift for my friend @boingodigitalart, as well as for all of you who are fans of Ducktales 2017.

[mx-julien]

each ninja was a different kind of teacher (except Lloyd who basically went on a year long press tour) and it also explains why Rebooted and after they seem a bit more responsible than in season 1 and the pilot

Cole has my favorite teacher characterization because he's objectively an interesting person with cool hobbies but when he is responsible for a group of children he just becomes Dad Who Is Helping Out At The Summer Camp. we never see his classroom, but given his proficiency in the arts we can assume he's the English teacher

since he went to art schools, he's probably not used to kids who aren't actually interested in what's being taught. the louder kids seem to dislike him (ref: running gag of "Mr Cole is the worst"), but that doesn't mean he's necessarily a bad teacher- just not one to humor pranks

also his and Kai's teacher outfits belong in the 1970s. I like the touch of making their ties the same color as their gis

little bit of meta: most of the people who worked on this show went to school in the 80s/90s so to them "older/boring" teacher outfits would look like this. also, as someone who was in the intended age range and saw it at the time of release, this sort of clothing conveyed that the ninja were doing a stuffy adult job- juxtaposed with their colorful gis

Kai appears to be the history teacher? his teaching style is likely structured and straightforward. given his nontraditional childhood, his frustration with the kids likely comes from both his jealousy that they aren't aware of how valuable schooling is and that Nya was much easier to work with when she was their age. at the end of the day he's an older brother who's now in charge of a bunch of kids

he's using an old-fashioned projector with film, which I assume (1) shows how low-budget they are, (2) emphasizes that Kai is out of his element (pun not intended), and (3) juxtaposes them with New Ninjago City

Zane is the one who doesn't know what a vape pen looks like but will listen to you infodump for an hour after class, then drive/walk you home because you missed the bus. he probably doesn't get any of the classroom humor or notice if the kids make fun of him. I can't imagine him ever getting angry at the kids, and he probably is very good at keeping them to a routine and a schedule

in rebooted episode 1 he seems to be teaching science? and the use of catapults is actually quite endearing- he's probably explaining tension and going to get his kids to make little models, which shows that he both is a pretty good teacher and hasn't realized that giving elementary/middle/primary schoolers their own catapults will only lead to chaos

he and Jay have personality-based outfits, with the snowflakes being an obvious allusion to Zane's element and the zig zags on Jay's emulating lightning

the little bowtie on Zane reminds me of Bill Nye the Science Guy (program with a a host of the same name who taught kids about science in a fun and accessibly way- very nostalgic for kids who went to american public school)

Jay is the exhausted teacher who's more interested in his hobbies than class material, and if you get him talking about that hobby, he won't stop until the bell. as a jokester, I think he'd get along well with the kids and definitely encourage them to annoy the other ninja

we don't see his classroom, but given Jay's skills he's probably the math teacher. he'd have a difficult time explaining things in different ways- very gifted people who learn well on their own often find it hard to teach things to others, though he would make sure he doesn't leave anyone behind

Nya definitely teaches math classes, but she probably handles tutoring as well since she's well-balanced in most subjects. it would also give her an intelligence network- kids come to her room after class/during lunch to complain and gossip. she uses it in the noble pursuit to antagonize the others

i'm used this video and the ninjago wikia because I'm on mobile and finding other sources would've taken too long

extra group photo I found! love the detail that Zane blinked (Dr Julien probably took the photo)

[nervousbreadartist]

cletho 80s au! +some other goobers

design notes under the cut

feel free to ask about this au!

so cleos looks are obviously based on her limited life/secret life skin. i wanted it to be a bit more casual, more like an outfit she'd be wearing in public than one she's working out in. a lot of neon, a lot of high waisted, very 80s.

ethos outfit isn't as directly 80s inspired. i moreso wanted it to be a plausible outfit for the decade rather than directly inspired by the decade. it also fits ethos character more in the au. hes kind of a delinquent, so the mask and the oversized jacket help hide his identity. doesnt hide the white hair though. he's also overall less eye-catching than cleo, so compared to her, he kinda blends into the background.

the characters on the bottom are each kind of based on a certain 80s subcultures/stereotype. kind of.

bdubs doesnt fit with this design logic. he's kind of a time traveler in this au, so he has a more timeless outfit. he still gets a turtleneck and high tops because those are fun though.

bigb also isn't based on anything specific. he mostly just has staple pieces that were popular in the 80s, like his cardigan and cargo pants. he gets to be comfy. also his hair was so fun to draw.

lizzie has a very preppy style. i wanted her to look like she was either getting back from studying or about to play tennis. i considered actually giving her a tennis racket buttt i decided not to. the pink hair doesnt really fit but it wouldn't be lizzie without it lol.

joel is based on a punk style, inspired by his bad boys outfit, obvs. no real design notes, except i added rips to his jeans (for cool points), gave him platforms (so he could be the same height as lizzie), and gave him a collar (again for cool points). i like how he turned out.

grian is of course based off the archetypical nerd, because i wanted to give him a sweater vests. i actually love sweater vests, but i can never figure out how to style them except with a button up underneath. so thats what he gets. the knee patches on his slacks are purple, as a subtle watcher nod and also because if i dont add color i will die. his bowl cut is very silly.

ill draw other traffic characters later but i only had room for so many

[theveniceangel]

Andie Wilikers.

Meet the lovely lassy, the darling delight, the curious cutie, Andie Wilikers!

Yes, I made an OC for The Werecleaner (I just love the game ok!?) and let's just say she has a special connection to a certain..werewolf.

BIO.

Name: Andie Wilikers.

Age: N/A.

Specie(s): Human.

Gender: Female.

Height: 5'1.

Sexuality: Pansexual.

Nicknames: N/A.

Headcanon voice: N/A.

Likes: Kyle, learning, reading, writing, werewolves, 80's and 90's music, baking, socializing, animals, painting, mystery novels, sugar cookies, and plushies.

Dislikes: Mr.Howl, Daryl's insanity, blood, animal cruelty, scorpions (She's terrified of scorpions), bullies.

Crush, Partner, ETC: Kyle Milton. (Boyfriend)

Oc design based on: No one really.

Parents? Relatives?: Andre and Elmira Wilikers (Mother and Father), Albert Wilikers (Brother).

Friends: She's pretty much friends with all her coworkers, especially Daryl.

Personality: Curious, kind, caring, sweet, cheerful, optimistic, open minded, playful, creative, empathetic, smart, brave, feisty, mischievous, compassionate, protective, talkative, generous.

Birthday: June 16th.

Markings: She has freckles on her face.

Abillities: None.

Favorite drink: Chocolate milk.

Favorite color: Orange.

Favorite type of outfit: She really likes sweaters.

Story info for Oc: Andie is one of the top employees at Howlin' Hugs, she's a very beloved member of the company who tries to shine a bit of light in the work environment, despite the poor treatment from the ceo, Mr.Howl.

She also has a love of learning, and will sometimes go on LONG lectures about stuff that she knows.

About almost two years ago, Daryl the security guard introduced Andie to his best friend, Kyle, the two hit it off pretty well, and the two began dating, and they've now been dating for almost two years.

What Andie doesn't know though is that her prince charming is secretly a werewolf, but with them both being forced to work the night shift, it might not be a secret for long.

Credit to SelenaEde on DeviantArt for the base.

@queenofwerewolves @clg-artisa @valiantsuitcaseskellington @ilovescaredysquirrel2 @citruslullabies

[knockknockitsnickels]

My Personal Best & Worst Skins for Each Don't Starve Character bc I love to yap

Based purely on personal opinion, though if anyone wants to share their own thoughts pls feel free. I'm going to be basing these mostly off of the in-game sprites, which tend to have more vibrant colors than the portraits. I'm sorry for not including said sprites, but I was unable to find good pictures of them all. Also this won't be including the Culinarian/Challenger skins, since those are pretty simple and same-y.

Wilson: Imo the quality of Wilson's skins vary from pretty good to just kind of mid. Nothing stands out as a skin I really want, but there's nothing awful either. My personal favorites are a toss-up between the Verdant, Victorian, and Mad Scientist, but for now I'm going with Verdant because I like the vibe. Worst is between Survivor and Merrymaker - Survivor probably deserves the spot for being bland, but I decided on Merrymaker just because I hate the berries in his hair. I think the holly leaf motif is a cute idea, but the berry placement feels kind of random.

Willow: Willow's in a similar situation to Wilson where there are no skins I really love or hate. Best is probably forlorn doll - all of the details on her head make her in-game sprite a little busy, but the yellow eyes and red dress are cute. Honorable mention to Snowfallen and Victorian for also being cute though. Worst goes to Woeful because a) I have no idea what concept it's going for (Lizzie Borden???) and b) I hate whatever's going on with her hair.

Wolfgang: I recognize that the reference to Hulk Hogan has perhaps aged poorly but I can't not love the Giant. Look at his sick sunglasses and try to tell me this skin is bad. Worst is Incredible Strongman (mostly because of how his hair is drawn. It looks like he's wearing swiss rolls on his head).

Wendy: Best is the Moonbound - I like the hair color change (though the washed out portrait colors don't really do it justice), and the markings under her eyes which resemble tears (like runny mascara, if that makes sense) are a fun detail. Wendy doesn't really have any skins I hate, but my least favorite is Survivor - it's just a little bland, and I don't care much for the "bone" motif (her flower & the ones around her neck).

WX-78: WX is the first character discussed in this post where I think that almost all of their skins are fantastic. It's difficult to choose a favorite - I think using a nutcracker motif for the Christmas-themed Merrymaker set was an inspired choice, Snowfallen gives them this cool, ice-themed supervillain look (literally, I think it was inspired by the character Mr. Freeze from Batman), and while I get why people don't really like the color scheme, I can't not love the super sentai theme of the Midori Roboto (it also just appeals to me as a fan of cheesy 80s rock). With all of that said - I'm sorry, I adore their Guest of Honor outfit, it's so dumb. I think objectively Experiment is probably their actual best skin but I have to be true to myself. Worst goes to Gladiator - it doesn't look so bad in the portrait, but in-game all of the different colors - red, gray, & multiple shades of yellow - around the face area make this skin really busy. Concept's cool, but the execution's flawed.

Wickerbottom: My girl. She's got a few nice skins - Snowfallen gets points for making her look like an ice queen, & I think I like her Moonbound skin more than most other people (I just think the 3rd eye is a cool idea for her). That said, I think the Bewitched is the best one - it looks lovely, the witch theme is fun, & it's the only one which significantly changes up her silhouette. Worst is Volt Goat (a lot of the early Halloween skins were kinda bland, I'm surprised this is the first one I've mentioned).

Woodie: I was surprised by how many good skins Woodie has, since I remembered them being a bit underwhelming. I like his Roseate, Merrymaker, and Snowfallen skins quite a bit, and the last shred of Canadian patriotism in me really enjoys the Hockey skin, but his stupid hippy Halloween costume is too conceptually funny to not include. Sorry I'm really predictable at this point. Worst goes to Masquerader - it's way too busy, and on his in-game sprite you can barely see his mouth.

Wes: Triumphant is hands-down his best skin but shoutout to Lover for that smug lil pose he does in the portrait. I honestly don't think Wes has any bad skins - even the ones I personally think are ugly make really fun use of the clown scheme - so the crown goes to Mandrake for being boring.

Maxwell: Poor Maxwell, man. He's stuck with some of the worst skins in the game. Klei, please PLEASE stop trying to give this man facial hair it does NOT look good. Anyway his best is Gladiator for looking cool (though the portrait colors are REALLY washed out) and making way better use of the "dark magician" theme then some of his other skins dark wizard. Snowfallen is also pretty cool however it DOES lose points for the facial hair. Anyway everyone hates Dark Wizard and while it DOES look goofy as hell Moonbound is worse. I don't know why ppl don't mention it, Moonbound is way worse. #StopTryingToGiveMaxwellABeard #ShaveThatMan

Wigfrid: Like WX, I think almost all of Wigfrid's skins are really good and im gay. Moonbound wins the prize bc she looks like a magical girl and I love that. If I had to pick a worst one I guess I'd choose Guest of Honor. I still like it, the outfit's just a little plain.

Webber: Webber my beloved. I love the Rebel on concept alone & the Victorian for making him a lil sailor boy, but Snowfallen has my heart. I love the way he's colored to look like a snowman (the legs on his head being the "twigs") and that the fluff on his body resembles a sweater. Survivor is probably the worst, it's almost identical to the original aside from some messy hair and spiderwebs. However even the worst Webber skin still belongs to Webber, and is therefore adorable.

Warly: Warly my also beloved, who's also got a lot of great skins. I really like the Candyman, but Roseate is probably the best one - I like the little rose shape in his hair. Worst is ABSOLUTELY Carrat, but shout out to Head Chef (the chef hat in the portrait isn't actually part of his sprite) and the Triumphant for being disappointing (come on, "evil chef" is such a fun idea. Why didn't you make him Bobby Flay).

Wormwood: I probably should've used the in-game sprites for this post, since the coolest part of his skins (the blooming) isn't shown on the portrait. Case in point, my favorite Wormwood skin, Triumphant, looks really bland in the portrait, but when it blooms it opens up into this really cool & striking red eye. I tried to include a picture but it was really big & this post is long enough as it is so you're gonna have to trust me, it's cool. I again don't think Wormwood has any bad skins - I guess I'll go with Roseate since the leaves on his head look Uncomfortably like hair, but it's still good.

Winona: I am EXTREMELY gay All of Winona's skins are really hot fantastic and no I am NOT biased. I want to gush about all of them (SNOWFALLEN! VICTORIAN! THE FIXER! THE ONLY GOOD SURVIVOR SKIN!) but the best is the Swashbuckler. She's so good I'm going insane. I guess her worst is Moonbound? I like some of the ideas but I think it just looks kind of messy, esp whatever's going on with her hair & shoulders.

Walter: WALTER MY BELOVED! I mentioned earlier that Wigfrid's Moonbound skin makes her look like a magical girl, but Walter's actually IS a magical girl skin - his portrait even has him striking the Sailor Moon pose! I think some of his other skins are probably objectively better, but this one's still my favorite. Honorable mention to Triumphant just bc I like the idea (turning a boyscout into a dennis-the-menace style troublemaker). I'm going to give worst to Bee Costume just bc the eyeballs on his head freak me out (but I do think the idea of him dressing up as a bee for Halloween bc he's allergic is fun). Side note, a lot of Walter's skins have hats in the portrait but not in-game? I dunno what's up with that, I guess it's so they don't interfere with equipment?

Wortox: Unfortunately none of Wortox's skins really stick out to me in a positive or negative way. Favorite is probably a tossup between Survivor & Masquerade - went with the former based purely on vibes. I also kinda like the sea-serpent theme of Swashbuckler & gargoyle theme of Victorian. Worst is going to Draconic for being kinda bland & similar to the original. I guess you could make a similar complaint about Uncorrupted, but it's that way for LORE reasons so I wouldn't want them to change it.

Wurt: I really like aquatic monster designs, so i enjoy a lot of Wurt's skins, but the best is Victorian bc a) it's cute and b) deep lore. S/out to Merrymaker's cute sugar-plum fairy motif tho. I will give the worst to Verdant because I don't really like the colors (purple, green, yellow, cream, & brown are a lil clashy).

Wanda: Finally, Wanda. I really like the star motif in her Masquerader fit, and while Tinkersmith is super cute, it looks a little too similar to her original outfit for me (I'm also not a fan of Triumphant's sunglasses, but I like that her hair looks like a shadow hand).

Anyway the moral of the story is don't give Maxwell a beard. Thanks.

[niuniente]

Saw your little thing about ask you anything, and I'm sure you've been asked this before but I haven't seen it... HOWEVER, what pieces of media do you think have inspired you the most to make your ocs and the comics that go with them?

A though question. I don't think I have anyone as a direct inspiration as "I want to draw like this artist" or "I want to create stories like this author". I'm certain that the majority of my inspiration is subconscious or runs around certain favorite tropes or themes, like punk and cyperbunk, as well as lots of music, too.

If I narrow this down to media which has really inspired me when I have encountered it the first time, then the inspiration list will be the following:

Comics by Petri Hiltunen. Some of his works have been translated to English, like Anabasis. I can't remember anymore what happened in the comic Asfaltitasanko (An Asphalt Field) but I remember that it really hit me the right way when I was 13.

Sláine series by Simon Bisley. It's still running and I read every new book. This is actually a feminist barbarian comic, which is a great combination and you will see echoes of that in Alrick.

Hob Gandling's story in The Sandman series. Oh I wish I could experience again the time when I read the story for the first time. I was mind opening for a 13 year old.

Vintage manga from 70's and 80's, as well as anime from 90's and early 2000 (like Slayers Next below). Expressions were very prominent back then and I do generously use that whenever possible. I was SUPER happy when I started watching Jujutsu Kaisen and it had those really big expressions!

I think that from anime, I should perhaps mention Bleach, because Grimm is inspired by Bleach series Grimmjow. Who is, by the way, also a cat (a panther).

Alrick, the whole premise of Death-Head Organization and the generous use of black, solid masses gets all its inspiration from a manga Sun-Ken Rock. Especially from the protagonist Ken Kitano, who is the best positive masculine example in any media I have ever encountered. Also, Algoth looks is inspired by Ken's right hand man, Benito Armani:

For the animals and animal parts of the characters in DHD, I LOVE kemonomimi! For other series, inspiration comes from game series Bloody Roar and from a comic series Blacksad. Rena is inspired by Bloody Roar's Mitsuko the Wild Boar.

We simply can't forget fashion! Metal, punk, cyberpunk, kinksters, and other dark dressed underground people. I'm asked at times why everyone seems to dress up the same and my answer is that since the comic is black and white, with black outfits I get to add some contrast to it. Alexander McQueen is awesome!

Other mentions to practice keeping mind open, which allows stories to be formed without judgment or thinking that I have no base for this: - Jeffrey Burton Russell's books about the Devil and religious history - Conspiracy theories (as what kinds of things people believe in and how they find evidence for it to support their views, including opposing conspiracy theories like Moon landing was fake VS Moon landing did happen but we haven't gone back because of aliens on the Moon) - Quantum physics

I'm certain you can pick up more things which have inspired me from my stories and drawings. But, if we speak ONLY about Death-Head's Deal, then underground fashion, Sun-Ken Rock, 80's and 90's vintage manga&anime, and Blacksad are the ones.

[gaykarstaagforever]

This 1984 Teen Titans comic was the exciting conclusion to a multi-part story where they were battling something called H.I.V.E. This was a cult of people in purple druid robes who led an international network of mercenaries and assassins, who lived in an underwater dome and were all named numbers. I realize that sounds cool, but it absolutely isn't.

They were started / led by some guy, but then he married a 22-year-old blonde woman who murdered him and declared herself the leader. And the rest of them - this band of amoral assassins - just let this happen, even as she declared "none of you matters but me," and killed them every time they "failed" her.

This is in the past tense, because as soon as Nightwing and Wonder Girl go down there to punch these idiots, the blonde woman electrocuted all of her remaining people, then committed suicide. She also built a giant red missile and shot it at Atlantis, but Aqualad grabbed onto it and turned it off.

The H.I.V.E. master plan was to 1) poison all the world's oceans, 2) ???, 3) PROFIT, so it seemed like maybe that plan was going to thwart itself, really. They only seemed to have robot guns and tentacles exclusively inside their base, and also an army of loyal commandos in purple gimp outfits. But none of these could operate or breathe underwater. And all of their assassins had already failed to kill the Teen Titans. Which, no offense, but probably should haven been their first indication that they really weren't ready for primetime.

I don't know for sure who was on the Titan team at this exact point, but I DO know that Cyborg and Beast Boy (aka Changeling at this point, because ugh) don't even go on this mission. They stay back at wherever-it-is-they-live so Beast Boy can have an emotional break-down over his ex-girlfriend (Terra, some girl with floating-rock powers and a bad costume) turning evil, while Cyborg yells at him. Then a woman with pink hair wanders in.

She tells Beast Boy he's hot, and this makes Gar feel better enough to agree to not turn into a green tiger and murder people. Which was his actual plan before she showed up.

Starfire goes on the mission. This happens to her:

...Aren't they all supposed to be like 16 or 17? What are we doing here, gentlemen?

There is also a guy on the team named Jericho, who has muttonchops, dresses like every "cool" bard in every DnD campaign ever, can't talk, and can do whatever arbitrary psychic thing the plot suddenly demands of him. I had to look him up because so does everyone else.

He is apparently the son of Deathstroke, who became mute when someone after Deathstroke slashed his voicebox. His psychic powers are a result of it doesn't matter. No they don't explain why he looks like THIS in 1984:

Aqualad is also here. With his girlfriend Tula, who is Aquagirl. Who is an Atlantean cave-woman, or something...? She doesn't do much besides yell his name, and her presence in no way stops him from talking about how hot but insane Starfire is. To Nightwing. Who seems fine with this.

Dick and Wonder Girl are both here to punch and yell exposition, and they are immediately out of punches! Dick spends a quarter of the comic in a tube trying to turn off robots, which he fails to do? Or then kind of does? I've read it twice now and I'm not sure even Marv Wolfman knew what he had going on here.

Raven turns into a black void to save the Titans from drowning at the beginning of the comic. After they get out to safety, she says she's used too much power to help anymore and Poochie's on out of there.

I mean, they DO have Wonder Girl, kicking people and talking about her upcoming marriage. Who needs the incredibly powerful witch? It's fine. And easier to draw!

The art is George Perez, so it looks great, even if all these teenagers look like sexy 30-year-old adults, and half of them spend most of the comic not doing anything. The costumes are technically awful but in that 80s way that is just wonderful now. But as a conclusion to some kind of story arc, this is as mid as mid gets. There is exactly one cool splash-page battle, and it means exactly nothing.

This comic might be worth $3.50 now. It was 75 cents when it came out.

...This implies we in 2024 value this slightly more than anyone did in 1984.

I don't think that's true.

[thethirdromana]

In honour of Doctor Who's 60th birthday, here are 60* things that I like about less popular** Doctor Who stories.

(*in multiple posts because I'm falling foul of the character limit)

(**IMDB rating of less than 7/10)

1. Susan is great in The Sensorites. She's at her absolute best in stories like this where she gets to be genuinely a bit alien and a bit weird.

2. "So," said someone at the BBC, "we're going to produce an allegory for different political systems, using insects. Choreographed by a mime artist. On a budget of about £2.50." The Web Planet might not entirely have succeeded, but my god, you have to love that they tried.

3. They introduced Jamie, the best companion, in The Highlanders! How is does this have less than a 7/10 rating, what is wrong with you people. It's Jamie.

4. I applaud the utter bonkersness of The Underwater Menace, and Patrick Troughton really gives it socks.

5. The Wheel in Space is proper 60s sci-fi: Servo-Robots, x-ray lasers, radio beams! I can practically smell Penguin mass-market paperbacks thinking about it. And with the introduction of Zoe, it completes my all-time favourite TARDIS team.

6. The Dominators contains the Quarks, who are adorable. They weren't supposed to be, but it doesn't matter.

7. Zoe is still relatively new to the TARDIS, but she has heaps to do in The Krotons. Nice having a female companion who's written as smart and capable.

8. We have entered the 70s, so with Colony in Space, we get Social Issues. Especially an Evil Mining Corporation, which are always fun.

9. More Social Issues in The Mutants, but this time they're paired with big sci-fi ideas. Ancient tablets! Strange life cycles! Love how much is going on here.

10. The Time Monster is like the Eurovision of Doctor Who. Deeply silly, but what would Doctor Who be without silliness? I'm sorry about Jo's coccyx too.

11. I love that they returned to Peladon in The Monster of Peladon, especially with the 50-year time jump. I'd like to see that kind of follow-up more often.

12. Is it not cool to love K9 any more? Well, I like my Doctor Who with a dose of silliness, and The Invisible Enemy delivered that. Every time traveller needs a robot dog.

13. The design of the Seers in Underworld is excellent, I love a brass dome.

14. Doctor Who doesn't have enough giant squidmonsters looming on the horizons. I'm glad the The Power of Kroll does something to address the deficit.

15. The Creature from the Pit gave us the line "a teaspoon and an open mind", and I appreciate it for that at least.

16. Romana wears one of her best of many splendid outfits in The Horns of Nimon.

17. I liked all the arch dialogue between the Doctor, Enlightenment and Persuasion in Four to Doomsday.

18. Heathrow airport is an underrated setting. I also appreciate how Time-Flight prominently features Concorde, making it far more 80s than they could ever have planned.

19. I don't intend this to be damning with faint praise (even though it probably sounds like it) but my favourite thing about Arc of Infinity is that we get a little jaunt through 80s Amsterdam. I do love a tram.

20. Babyfaced Martin Clunes doing his spoiled princeling thing in Snakedance is enjoyably disconcerting.

21. Terminus is tense and scary and bleak. Another one that I'd expected to be more highly rated.

22. Warriors of the Deep gives us a very solid base under siege. Silurians + Cold War is a winning combination.

23. Landing in a modern village doing a historical re-enactment in The Awakening is a witty touch.

24. I can’t say I enjoyed the idea of the Doctor’s violent moods in The Twin Dilemma, but I have to commend it as a punchy way to introduce the new regeneration.

25. The Mark of the Rani should surely get some love just for introducing the Rani: camp, delightful, iconic.

26. Herbert turning out to be HG Wells in Timelash is a lovely twist and handled well.

27. The Trial of a Time Lord is so grand and ambitious. If the show hadn't been struggling in general at this point, it would be among the all-time greats.

28. With its colour-coded gangs and faux-urban slang, Paradise Towers is gloriously of its time in a way that currently feels quite naff, but that I suspect will be fascinating to revisit in about 30 years.  

29. Delta and the Bannermen is action-packed and has one of the best titles in 80s Who.

30. Possibly the most terrifying moment in all of Doctor Who is Kane's face melting in Dragonfire. This series is nothing if it doesn't send children running for safety behind the sofa.

31. Got to love it when Who gets aggressively anti-Thatcher, and they never did it more than in The Happiness Patrol.

[theskoomacat]

i want to plug Pacific Drive real quick. i had a free day yesterday so i spent it in its entirety glued to the screen. i'm not proud. check out this game!!!!!!

it's kind of like a mix between STALKER and Firewatch (by vibe. in my head). (the Impact of Roadside Picnic on our society!) idk the official genre tags on the game but at its base it is a survival game with looting and crafting.

but. you're doing all that to spoil your beautiful princess (your maybe sentient cat that maybe will kill you eventually). you spend 80% of the time in your car, it's your defense against the elements and the Zone. the gameplay loop is fairly simple - you drive, you listen to scientists bicker over the radio, you loot, you lose half your car, you HAUL ASS, you get home.

the game offers a HUGE variety of stuff to explore, from anomalies to weather conditions to biomes to the weird flora/fauna to lore. there's SO much lore, idk who decided to write a blurb for every type of paint. huge game for people who love to collect stuff. and collecting stuff is sometimes a puzzle on its own because you need different tools (which are often interchangeable, thankfully, with varying efficiency).

and driving is very fun. i have a special condition called "Played Skyrim in formative years", so the mountains are a challenge to me, not a barrier. i enjoy the fact that driving being the focal point reshapes the world significantly (from the gamedev pov), because it is built to accommodate driving instead of just running around. the roads are the main focus of all the anomalies due to that, so frankly running around would be easier than dodging the roadblocks, but also you would fucking die. it's actually funny that i regularly find the roads by the concentration of anomalies instead of like. the road itself.

the game is pretty. the GIANT walls/lab megastructures blow my mind, they're so fucking huge. BUT. one problem i have is that there are too many nights. i have already toggled "Shorter nights" on, and still it feels like 60% of rounds take place at night (maybe i'm doing something wrong idk). yes, it is a challenge, but also i wish i could see the game?

the world itself is pretty fun. i have already mentioned STALKER, which is a very fair comparison since you're in a Zone filled with Anomalies. except this time the Zone is not a strictly "natural" occurence, which mixes this genre with the "fucked up mid-20th cent american science->military complex" genre. it is really interesting to see many different opinions on what the Zone is doing in the lore. and you can draw your own conclusions from interacting with it. it is as likely to harm you as help you, and most of the time it just Fucks with you (LIM shield ilu).

what hasn't i mentioned yet? the characters are fun, an old jaded scientist lady who's entombed herself within her creation, her ex-colleague and his bf/husband who stayed in the Zone to hunt cryptids, all lovely. the music is mostly good, but unfortunately there aren't too many tracks, so some get old really quick (i WISH i got tired of DOCTOR JUICE). but do check the radio from time to time, there are cool transmissions you can catch there.

idr if there was a difficulty selector anywhere, but you can make the game easier at will in the settings - keep inventory, restore the car when back home, etc. i wish i had known about these settings when i "died" at the EXACT moment i moved to another zone, because i both lost half my inventory AND was forced to continue my run due to that lmao. the game is Not easy tbh. the first time i was in the city with a hole in the center i couldn't climb out of there because it was pitch dark and my car was so so broken, it actually made me super frustrated. but when you learn all that stuff and actually plan for it and outfit your car with it mind, it all becomes manageable and enjoyable. it is decidedly not a horror game, but it Is unsettling at times. dense fog+bigfoot weather conditions made me SO paranoid, although i didn't actually see anything lol

so yeah, i totally recommend the game if you enjoy survival games. here are also some tips for people trying the game out for the first time, aka what I wish I had known:

In the beginning doing more runs (=bringing in more anchors) will be more benefitial than turning over every rock in every zone because a lot of good stuff is locked behind upgrades. One exception - quest zones with Perpetual Stability, you can explore and loot there for an hour if you want

Shorten the nights. It's not fun to stumble around blindly, especially not in the beginning while you're still learning

Hold T to teleport your car out of sticky situations and use Y to sort inventories. idk why they don't tell you that

PLAN. Look at the resources in each location has before launching and bring extra instruments/raw materials in accordance

Invest into better batteries and renewable energy, it gets more and more important as you progress. You don't really need to upgrade the gas tank until you've upgraded the engine, unless you spend 50% of the time trying to crawl up a mountain with summer tires (off-road tires are the shit)

Skip the crowbar, the impact hammer and scrapper can do everything it does

Dying is not super scary aside from losing progress, you just lose your inventory and maybe some attachments, but you will get an opportunity to find the wreckage of your car on a different run (orange tombstone? icon) and to loot it

[arse-crack-thistle]

rwrb characters and their eras tour outfits

so i saw this tiktok asking what we think alex and henry are wearing to the eras tour, so here’s what i think the super six would do if they were all going together (in new york, i assume)…

(in my head they all choose an era and base an outfit on that…probably nora and pez’s idea)

alex - he fights for reputation and wins. i’m thinking black, sparkle, and chains. leather jacket with a black rhinestone snake on the back and a black mesh crop top underneath. black distressed jeans cuffed over combat boots. chains around his neck and hanging from his jacket and pants. thin black sunglasses that he later uses to hold back his curls when the house lights go down. oh and he definitely has the sharpest black eyeliner on his lids.

henry - he has a choice: either live in his reputation era with alex or be his complementary opposite. so he chooses lover. i’m thinking ‘80s high school student with lover energy. light-washed jeans with white chuck taylors. tucked in, a loose-fitted pastel button-up with cuffed sleeves. maybe it has splotches of color or faded butterflies on it…idk some kind of print. on top, a hand painted jean jacket with “london boy” in loopy pink typography on the back. a glitter lover heart around his eye (bc nora insists).

nora - speaking of, i’ll keep this simple for her. a fully identical ring leader costume to what taylor had on the red tour. she may be an irl chaos demon but i think she’s anointed herself the unofficial leader of “super six does eras tour 2k23” so this fit is appropriate for her. i mean she almost made them all wear matching t-shirts like they’re a depressed cishet family at disney world but june talked her down.

june - the queen of fashion herself. this is the trickiest for me bc june wants to do folklore and just wear shortalls and the silver star cardigan to be comfy, but she’ll be damned before she doesn’t match the energy of the others. june goes with evermore and all in on “cowboy like me” to piss alex off since he almost went with rodeo wear. cropped cream fringe jacket with an elegant ivy embroidery on the back and trim. underneath, a bustier and shorts of the same fabric with the same embroidery. of course she’s wearing a cowboy hat, cream with the ivy details. and caramel cowboy boots (rounded toe bc she’s a utility girl). everything but the boots are custom made in austin.

pez - “this night is sparkling! don’t you let it go!” yeah so as soon as he saw taylor in all of her enchanted ballgowns, he knew he had to be her nigerian billionaire glitter prince. and that’s exactly what he does. he commissions a nigerian designer to make a suit and headpiece using akwete fabric in the colors of the speak now era’s visuals. all accented in rhinestones of course. he’s also all about the accessories with a watch, bracelets, necklaces, shoes, and glasses from various luxury brands. he does the absolute most, and everyone loves him for it.

bea - angel is in her midnights era, and i am here for it! bc of bullshit princess rules she couldn’t wear a bodysuit like she wanted. but no matter, she’s still going to shimmer. having not seen anyone do it yet, she literally learns to sew and diy’s a mini dress version of taylor’s yellow dress at the end of the bejeweled music video. it was totally, incredibly frustrating but she nails it! complete with lace, bows, and a little more sparkle, the dress hits so hard. she pairs it with sparkly louboutin boots and replicas of the hair clips and choker she bought off etsy. june helps her do taylor’s hairstyle from the video, while she does the makeup, beauty mark included.

so yeah that’s what i got. what do you think?? bc this is such a fun prompt and i could see each character doing like fifty different things lol <3

[browngonzo888]

Psychonauts OC: Agent Knight

Full name: Lance Louie Knight

Psychic abilities: patented “moon beam”, a long range mind beam that can sweep a room in a second. Powerful with a short time fuse. Can levitate far distances, bouncing on a psi-ball that resembles the moon. Excellent long-lasting psychic shield, but it’s only on one side. He is also known to dabble in herbaphony. Other abilities will be presented via comic

Appearance: Agent Knight wears a 2 piece outfit with neat pleated shirts and white gloves. His belt and boots are leather, and his belt buckle resembles a knight’s shield. He doubles his agent badge as a tie pin. On his coat breast he wears a fresh white lily, something that Zanotto points out is normally seen at funerals. His hair is platinum and his skin a bone palette.

Personality: Agent Knight is confident and self-absorbed. He’s liked by some and called a narcissist by others but he only laughs it off. He has earned a high ranking with an impressive number of arrests, even if he sometimes loses the “bad guy” which causes him to theatrically sulk for a few days. His larger-than-life attitude lights up any dull office corner at any time.

Background: As only Lance Knight, he was brought up in a boarding school where he made decent grades and indulged in a small theatre class. From there he went to acting school. He was later discovered to have powers when he lost his temper upon learning that a different student got a lead role he was after.

[development] Knight’s odd design is based off Mac Tonight, a fictional character created by the McDonalds franchise. His outfit and hair leans more into an 80s yuppie style, not too different from the likes of James Crocket or Patrick Bateman.

[Other goals] Psychonauts 2000 is a kind of time capsule experience of the late 90s to the year 2000 (and a little bit beyond).

Agent Knight will appear in chapter 3 “Ottos Lament”

[goatpaste]

What do you think is the biggest design miss that araki made?

Sigh.. I'm actually just kind of a suckered and actually don't hate a lot of arakis designs

Their whack and crazy! But I like them their fun to draw

But to have a list of some of my least favirote design choices from araki lol

Blonde santana was so nasty

The World. It's probably one of my least davirote stand designs..

Dios nasty powered up look at the end of part 3, he looks like someone's drugged up granny who got let loose into the sephora for the girls on duty to do whatever to

I love shigechi but what the fick is going on with his head man...

Hazamada having a design I enjoy while being a nasty fuckin guy...

Fugo is a design that I hate the way araki draws his hair mostly because I can tell what he was tryna do, but fuckin sucked at it

GER is also such a huge disappointment as a design especially after getting treated to Silver Chariots beautiful swag requiem. I feel like araki wanted a specific vibe with it and it just didn't hit the mark

Diavolos whole cucking design tbh, I really don't like it. But the fact that his tattoos are based on a cute netted top is so sad because araki fucking sucks are drawing tattoos so fucking much, he shoulda just kept it as a mesh top...

Not really a design element, but arakis whole fatphobia and not seemingly to be able to draw fat characters as not evil or a joke. Because I hate to say it, araki has shown clear skills in being able to draw fat people and do a good job that looks good! But he doesn't seem to know how to be normal and treat fat people like normal enjoyable characters

OK THIS OKE HURTS THE MOST TO SAY IM SO SORRY BUT.... emres fucking outfit yall. I think it sucks so hard what the ever loving fuck is she wearing yall.. the elf tunic with the sweater vest and sweat pants... she's so nicely put togeather from the neck up.

... I just dont really like diver downs design.. sorry or whatever lol

Araki slimming down and making hot pants smaller and curvier as SBR went on...

Giving mountain tim such a sick awesome design only to make him suck at the very last second

In a silent way was just bad, like that's not a hard point to make it was a bad call

Ok... I take a lot of love with fucked up designs that I acknowledge as being typical 'weird fucked up designs araki has done' and actually love them... but what the fuck is up with Poor Tom like... holy shit what is this look...

The schott keys stands just kinda sucked. They were boring and ones a farther in a soccer ball. The aphex twins chapters some of my least fav jjl chapters sorry they just weren't very fun

And lastly one more sorry to women's and stuff.. but dragons tattoos also suck yall. Araki like 80% of the time is just the worst tattoo designer imo I think their just not very good. I like parts of it but as a full design I'm like.. it's not my favirote

[hearts401]

Just Like They Say it in the Song

2,693 words Based on the mergeband au by @viarayy01-blog Basically, the band has their first big gig and a few things go wrong!!

“Our first real gig! Isn’t this incredible?” Charlie exclaimed.

“Yes, yes, incredible, now get ready, Charlie,” William replied calmly, “your show is in less than 8 hours and we need everything to be perfect.”

Charlie elbowed him, “Oh, come on, don’t you get excited about anything?”

“He’s incredibly excited,” Henry assured her, walking into the room with her guitar, “He just doesn’t wanna say it out loud. Now, why don’t you go get ready, the others are waiting.”

“Thanks dad!” She says, giving him a smile before running out of the room.

She found Elizabeth on the porch, while Michael was tuning his guitar, again. He seemed to always be messing with it.

She plopped down beside him, “What’s up with it this time?” She asked, nudging him.

Michael mumbled something, pulling his guitar closer to him.

“...What did you do?” She asked again, slightly more concerned this time.

“I… snapped one of the strings.”

She stared at him.

“8 hours. Before our show,” she said slowly.

He hugged his guitar, “yep.”

She stood up, “Okay, we can fix that, okay.”

“Oh also Lizzie’s skates broke.”

“...”

“And Evan’s freaking out in his old room.”

“...”

“And Cassidy still isn’t here.”

“...”

Okay. Okay. One thing at a time.

“You and Liz go get your stuff fixed, I’m gonna go talk to Evan and call Cassidy.”

Mike shrugs, “Sounds good to me. Liz! Come here!” He called, running up to his sister while Charlie ran into the house and headed upstairs.

Charlie found Evan right where Mike said she would, pacing around, fixing his outfit, and fidgeting.

She knocked on the open door to get his attention, and he jumped slightly.

“Hey,” She said, “you okay?”

“No,” He admitted, “Cass still isn’t here, she won’t pick up her phone, Mike broke his guitar and Liz-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know about all that,” Charlie said, “but Mike’s getting his guitar fixed and Lizzie will fix her skates. We’re gonna do great!”

Evan frowned, “But what about Cassidy? She won’t pick up her phone…”

“She’s probably on her way. I’m sure she’ll show up any minute now.”

Meanwhile, Cassidy was in her room, toying with her mic, fixing up her outfit, making sure everything was perfect. That seemed to be a recurring theme.

Evan had bolted out the door shouting an apology over his shoulder, but Cassidy didn’t mind; She knew how stressed he got about deadlines, and he probably wanted to talk to his dad. So right now, she was just getting everything perfect.

She practiced her song in the mirror, fiddled with her bowtie, all kinds of things. She was excited about this. She was prepared. Most importantly, she was late.

Really late.

She didn’t notice until she plugged her phone in finally and was met with at least 80 missed calls from Evan.

Shoot.

She picked it up and called him back, “Hey, it’s me, what’s up?” she asked.

“What’s up!? What’s up!?” Evan gasped, “I’ve been calling you for almost an hour now do you know how scary that is itsthedayofourgigcasswecantaffordtobeevenasecondlateandmikeandlizhaveproblemsyoucantjsutgomiaduringthatareyounuts!?”

Cassidy couldn’t hide a chuckle at that, “It’s fine,” she said, “I’m all ready, I’ll be over in a sec. My phone died. Uhm, what happened with Mike and Liz?”

“Mike broke his guitar,” Charlie answered.

Cassidy went quiet. It’s not that his guitar wasn’t an easy fix, but right before their show? What, was it his job to be irresponsible??

“And Liz?”

“Her skates broke.”

She sighed, “I assume they’re getting those fixed?”

Charlie hummed an affirmation.

Cassidy groaned, “Well, that’s fine. It’s not the first time this has happened,”

Charlie laughed, “Yeah. Mike seemed pretty bummed about it though.”

“He’ll be fine,” Cassidy said, “We’re gonna do great. I’m gonna head over there, I’ll talk to you when I get there.”

“Alright, bye!!” Charlie and Evan said together.

The drive there was pretty calm, Cassidy wasn’t worried about the show. She’d played with these guys before and she knew how good they were at these things, even if they weren’t good at the preparation stage.

If only they knew as well.

When she got there, she found Charlie and Evan waiting for her.

“Took you long enough,” Evan said, his ears flat.

“Sorry,” She said, “we have plenty of time, though, we’ll be fine.” She nudged him playfully, “You’re gonna do great.”

He sighed and smiled at her, “I’m gonna do my best, at least.”

“Okay, so we need to head to the stage and get our set put together, come on!” Charlie said.

Cassidy appreciated Charlie and Evan a lot, and on the drive there, she let her mind wander. Michael was fixing his guitar and his sister’s skates, Evan and Cassidy would be prepping the stage, and Charlie was going to get the lights and audio ready.

And that was actually so exciting. She was bouncing in her seat thinking about it, their first real gig!! With a huge audience! They were gonna have all their eyes on the band, and that was so cool!!!!!

“Isn’t it exciting?” She asked, walking around Evan while he pushed one of the set pieces up.

“Everyone staring at me? Kinda?” He sighed, leaning on the piece, “I don’t know. I keep thinking about it and getting excited and then I remember… The amount of people coming…” He shuddered.

Cassidy smiled at him, tilting her head, “I don’t know, having thousands of people staring at me and my every move and every word I sing? That sounds incredible.”

Evan just stared at her in horror.

“Bad wording?”

“Terrible. I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Cassidy frowned, “This isn’t the first time you’re performing in front of people, Ev, why is it so stressful now?”

“Because it feels so professional, like people on TV!” He exclaimed, waving his hands around to emphasize his point, “It’s like, these people are expecting something you’d see in someone who’s incredible at this, and that’s just not me.”

Cassidy stared at him for a moment, then grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and shook him back and forth, “What are you talking about!? You’re incredible at this!” She snapped, “Don’t say things like that, you’re a valued member of our team and the band is lucky to have you and you’re going to ace this show!!!!”

“Okay! Okay! O-Okay stop shaking me!” Evan cried out, prying her hands from his shoulders. But he was laughing, and the sight made her grin triumphantly.

“Don’t say that anymore. You’re doing great, Evan. Now let’s finish setting up, Mike and Liz will be back any minute now, and we’ll want to do a run through before our show.”

“That’ll be $16.97.” The cashier muttered. He was a bitter looking man, with sunken, half closed eyes and a permanent scowl. His eyebrows were constantly creased, as if everything happening annoyed him

Michael decided he didn’t like this guy much. He kept scowling at him, as if he was some unruly teen, and he had given him a funny look when he walked in.

He’d also refused help when Michael had asked where the guitar strings were, and the line had been so long and now Michael was totally late.

He swiped his card calmly and took the strings, stuffing them in his bag before turning around and walking out quickly; The cashier was still glaring at him and he refused to squirm under his eye, he’d rather just leave as fast as possible.

“Okay, we have the strings, what do we need to do for your skates?” He asked Elizabeth as they climbed back into the car.

“My wheel snapped off. We can get a new one at the bike shop, and for cheap, too,” She replied, “The manager is a nice guy.”

Michael nodded, “Alright, let’s go. We’re late enough.”

Elizabeth went in alone so Michael could fix his guitar in peace. In truth, he felt really bad, and pretty embarrassed, about breaking it, so he was a bit happy she had broken something too. It made him feel better about his own mistake.

The car was quiet when he finished, and he kind of wished he could plug in his guitar and play right now, but he settled for digging up the uke he kept under his seat and sitting back and playing it. He liked playing music absently, and he hummed along with it, closing his eyes.

“You’re good at that, didja know that?” A voice said from directly beside him, outside his car window.

Michael jumped with a yelp and nearly dropped his instrument, clutching it to his chest.

Jeremy burst out laughing with a wide grin, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya. I came here to fix my bike, I didn't expect to see you here. Isn’t your concert thing soon? I thought you guys were gonna meet up and rehearse?”

Michael leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath, “Yeah, we were, but some things came up.”

“One the day of your show? That sucks man, do you need help?”

Michael tilted his head at him, “Yeah, actually, I think you can help me,” he said, his face slowly breaking into a smile, “How fast do you like to drive?”

By the time they arrived at the stage, elizabeth was clinging to her seat and Michael was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe.

“YOU GUYS ARE NUTS.” Elizabeth exclaimed, “NUTS. AND BOLTS. AND OTHER ROBOT PUNS.”

Jeremy shrugged, “I got you where you needed to be, and fast, too.”

Michael let his head rest on the dashboard, “I think if Evan saw that he’d lose his shit, dude.”

Jeremy laughed, “Well, let him know I’m a great driver, nothin’ to worry his pretty little head about.”

Michael hopped out of the car, but paused to lean on the open window, “You comin’ tonight?”

“Wouldn’t miss you on stage with that guitar if my life depended on it, Mike. You can bet I’ll be there.”

Michael smiled, “Alright then, see you on the other side!”

“Break a leg!” Jeremy called before driving away.

“Remind me to never get in a car with you again.” Elizabeth groaned.

They headed into the building, and were met by Evan scolding them for being so late. Michael was only half listening, looking at their set and everything. It looked so… Professional. And it made his head spin. In a good way.

He held his guitar closer to him, tilting his head to further examine everything, even looking out at the house, and the booth way in the back, where he spotted Henry.

The older man waved at him, and he waved back.

“Are you even listening to me?” Evan said.

“Not at all.” Michael replied.

He heard his younger brother groan before telling Liz to get the others so they could rehearse.

The rehearsals went well… but according to Father, not well enough.

But Evan didn’t understand, they were doing everything right, yet he still sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Put your passion into it, everybody. Evan, you’re shaking again.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just nerves!” He said, sighing, “I don’t know- it’s all so exciting and scary and-”

“I get it, Evan, I really do,” He soothed him, “We’ll keep trying. I just don’t feel like everyone’s as into it as they should be,” He shoots an intense stare at Michael who’s staring out at the house.

Charlie elbowed him and he jumped, scowling at her before turning to look at his dad again.

“And Elizabeth, please be careful, I swear you’re going to give me a heart attack, if you fall on stage, you could get hurt.”

“Sorry, new wheels are hard to get used to,” She scuffs her toe on the floor.

“Alright, let’s give it another shot.” He said.

They did that all day, and by the end, Evan was sure these songs were going to play in his head on repeat for the next five years.

He also knew he was going to pass out by the end of this, he was exhausted. And he could tell the other members were too, except Elizabeth and Cassidy, but nothing stopped them.

Michael had laid down on the floor and not gotten up despite Charlie nudging him. Either he was dead or he was asleep. Either way, same, Evan thought.

William noticed this, and shook his head, “Alright. You guys are gonna do great, your performance is incredible. I’m wishing all of you luck, me and Henry are very proud.”

Michael groaned from where he was laying down, and Evan laughed.

Henry rescued them all with some ice cream, before they finally got to sit back and wait.

Turns out waiting is hell, but Evan was sure Michael would die if he had to run through those songs again.

Charlie pulled out some cards and waved them in the air, “Go Fish?”

“I just think that we could do better, add some dancing, I don’t know,” Elizabeth said, “queen of hearts?”

“We’re doing the best we can, and plus, it’s our first gig,” Michael said, “go fish.”

“And plus, we’re still young, we have time to build a reputation, today is about the moment and the opening. We’re introducing ourselves into this.” Cassidy said, “Evan, two of spades?”

“I’m just nervous I’ll mess up,” Evan said, handing her his card.

“Well, nobodies gonna boo tomato us, we’re good enough to be sure of that,” Charlie said, “Mike, king of clubs?”

Michael lightly smacked Evan in the face with his cards, “You’re not gonna mess up, dude, you haven’t messed up at all throughout rehearsal and all our smaller gigs,” he smiles at him, before replying, “go fish.”

Elizabeth sighed, “I suppose worrying will only make it worse for us, eh?”

“That’s the spirit!” Michael said, “Cass, three of diamonds?”

Evan tilted his head, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I always am.” Michael says, “I’m also all out of cards.”

The group groaned at his smug look, and they shuffled the deck again. But Evan couldn’t say it didn’t make him feel better. His friends were good at that in a way he couldn’t possibly understand. He loved his friends.

They talked and played for a while before Henry came back with more food for them and news that they had to get backstage and prepare. The show was soon.

Michael fixed up his mask, Charlie made sure her makeup wasn’t smeared, Lizzie played with her ponytails until she was satisfied with how they look, Evan and Cassidy fixed up each other’s costumes until they were perfect.

Even William looked pleased, so that was something.

“So, you kids excited?” he asked.

“Are you kidding? Hell yeah!” Michael cheered.

“Break a leg, kiddos!” Henry said, ushering them to their places.

And so it began…

By the time they were in the car driving home, they were ALL singing. Michael and Charlie were playing the random string instruments they had stuffed in random places in the car, Even and Cassidy were singing, and Liz was drumming on the dashboard. Jeremy was driving them and seemed to be enjoying himself a lot as well.

“Woah-oh-oh, there’s lovin’ in your eyes that pulls me closer!!!”

“Oh, it pulls me closer!”

“It’s so subtle!”

“It’s so subtle!”

“I’m in trouble!”

“I’m in trouble!”

“But I love to be in trouble with you! Let’s Marvin Gaye and get it on!”

“You got the healing that I want!”

“Just like they say it in the song!”

“Until the dawn, let’s Marving Gaye and get it on!”

Michael cheered, laughing.

“You guys are so good at that!” Jeremy said.

“It’s our thing!” Charlie laughed, “Turn on the radio, let's sing something else too!”

“Sure thing!”

They dropped off Liz and Charlie first, then Cassidy and Evan.

As he waved goodbye to his brother, the fatigue of the day caught up to him.

Echoing his thoughts, Cassidy said, “Jeez, I can’t wait to sleep. I’m never waking up again.”

“So glad I don’t have class tomorrow.” Evan agreed.

She gave him a small smile, and the two of them walked into the building to their dorm.