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keepbirdieweird · 10 days

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yes… more space critter Alaska… unfortunately I have taken a big liking towards this thang, I do have other fantasy ideas for the other states tho! And I promise I’ll get back to the regular Table stuff! For now more Alaska 🐶 I’ll explain my thoughts behind his design too! Warning tho, it’s a lot of words down there

Basically, the whole reason he’s space-based is because of his flag, being the only one that’s a constellation and nothing more visually (albeit symbolism and a story behind it), as well as two of his state nicknames; land of the midnight sun and land of the midday moon!

He’s also heavily inspired off of Saturn, particularly because of his Birthday (Jan 3rd) & capricorns being presented with Saturn (not I don’t believe in astrology or anything, I just think the references are cool); tho I dunno how to really incorporate the rings into his design 🤔

he’s also inspired off of cosmic/nebula dust, because Alaska’s flag and the stars n all, nebulas are where stars are born! It’s mostly his… mane, thing?? That’s the dust, that’s why he’s got stars up in there!

The tail is supposed to be referenced to auroras, because well it’s Alaska, and also because Saturn has auroras too! It’s why it’s long and also drapey

He’s actually also big inspired off of birds too! Thanks to @keepbirdieweird I used nightjars for inspiration specially for his head shape :)

His “ears”, the tufts that look like ears aren’t ears! They’re akin to bird ear-tufts, so they don’t move nor really contribute to Alaska’s hearing or showing off emotions or signals

Other bird things is that of his limbs, specially his legs. And also he’s actually more so feathery than fur fluffy I’d say? So he doesn’t really have a mane, I think it’d be technically referred to as a neck ruff? I’m not sure!

His coloring I also just decided recently could be inspired off of Saturn’s colors maybe (or even on of it’s moons or their rings) 🤔

He’s also one of the more,, animalistic or heavily animal based designs even in a humanoid form, because well it’s Alaska. I just think he likes his animal attributes a lot

Because Saturn and Jupiter inspirations, gas giants and all, Alaska is actually much more able to be bigger in the fantasy au and still be comfortable! Lots of mass indeed, but not dense due to gas giant things, so he floats around much of the time

Alaska does not have a skeleton. Think like the cores of Saturn and Jupiter, that’s basically what goes on in him! And thanks to nuclear fusion, he can control his temps and therefore can get real hot and bright

His markings are inspired off of Alaska malamutes (particularly his face) because again: Alaska

So basically: Alaska is like a sentient cosmic cloud thing and we love him in this house

#YO MOTH THIS IS LOVELYYYYY #i love his big coat!!!!#the gas giant vibes almost make him like. ghostly? which is so cool u go big cryptid boi :D

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keepbirdieweird · 10 days

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ur exesverse series is to die for, sincerely, ao3 user howwegothere (me)!!

aaaaaa can't believe i forgot to actually answer this (i had a post drafted but i lost it D: )

thank you so much!!! i'm really glad exesverse vibes with people so much, and thank you for leaving a comment! :D

it's definitely the kind of series i can't really write unless i'm in a specific mood (this mood, of course, is beating up on austin) but i really loved it conceptually from the start. i am always holding it in my hand, gently, like the fragile bones of a nestling bird.

#wttt #exesverse au #wttt shapeshifter au #like i cannot stop thinking about the symbolic meaning of various forms #like with the grackles symbolizing perseverance for the texas system. while being a form houston chose.#i could go on and on for about eight hours on a TON of the forms i picked for various states. like i have a fic in the series for that but #it doesn't explain the reasonings why. although i should add that sometime

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keepbirdieweird · 21 days

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oh i actually have some additions to this in tags :D

hi y'all, it's birdie, conservation management is part of my degree plan-

A sketch of Gov in the new episode 🐶! I always kinda imagined Gov to look pretty much how he is portrayed in the episodes tbh so I never bother to make him that much of a separate design 🤔 BUT also this is an excuse to educate y'all on federal land. It will be under the cut for those who wanna learn.

What does Federal Land mean for a state?

Well, this is something I think a lot of folks in here (the fandom) needs to know, because I just see people jump to conclude Gov is horrible towards Nevada. That is not the case.

This is just the basics, but federal land literally just conserves, manages, and protects natural resources and wildlife. For example, national parks are federal lands. You'd notice this because of how western states tend to have more wildlife than the east. And how federal land is mostly administered by agencies such as the BLM, FWS, NPS, and USFS, which all are catered towards handling wildlife and resources.

Federal land also tends to consist of land that states cannot easily manage or utilize, which for Nevada it's pretty easy to notice, as most of Nevada is semi-arid and desert, meanwhile land more available to use, like by rivers and other water sources are not usually federal land.

Historically, up until 1976, you could easily just claim a homestead of hundreds of acres! The Federal Government just ended up taking what nobody else really wanted because they couldn't live there anyways. It's why Nevada has so much Fed Land, and now that land is managed by agencies; and in Nevada's case, most of it is under the Bureau of Land Management. This is why Nevada's population only resides in no more than 20% of the land. Because they bought it as they could use it and live in it, even then they don't use much of the full 20% that is accessible to them.

And it's not as if federal land is completely off-hands, people hunt, hike, camp and fish in federal land all the time! Take Alaska for example, who's 60%+ federal land, in terms of Alaska's size that's a LOT of land, yet Alaska is one of or the best state when it comes to fishing and hunting either way, and Alaska's natural beauty remains largely untouched and unbothered (at least directly).

There is also the fact that if a crime is committed on federal land, it instantly becomes punishable to a higher degree than it would on state grounds, as it becomes of federal interest.

So no, Nevada being 80% federal land isn't bad for him. It's just Gov taking up and protecting what Nevada can't really utilize or manage easily.

#So while USFS & USFWS & BLM etc DO maintain large swathes of federal land... in a big part of the US it's not untouched #because a lot of these areas are used to frequent wildfires!#so a lot of the process of managing the land involves prescribed controlled fires to try to return to certain biomes after decades of-#colonial fire suppression regimes #there's actually a standing theory that this is the reason barred owls pose a threat to spotteds now- that they wouldn't have been able to-#expand westward if it wasn't for fire suppression resulting in overgrowth of forests in normally scrub/prairie ecosystems #(oh fun fact there's a spotted owl ssp native to west texas! mexican ssp. it's also in utah & nm)#n e ways i'm getting Super off track. i was talking about conservation management #so there's a lot of removal/burning/thinning in conservation management bc if you don't do that. then fuels build up #that's how you get shit like the california crown fires. and those get BAD bad #basically if you don't burn surface fires regularly. then shit builds up to ladder fuels that reach the canopy. and if the trees are-#so densely packed because nothing's burned in ages- fires can hop from tree to tree. it's so fucked up #OH ALSO: TRIBAL LAND IS TECHNICALLY COUNTED AS FEDERAL!!!!#(all caps bc i feel like it's important in context)#if anyone wants to shoot me questions about conservation management i am... not actually free this afternoon but can answer tmrw #probably

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keepbirdieweird · 21 days

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🥺 Aaaaa I love getting a good in-depth analysis of my work! Especially in connection to such a grounded interpretation of canon!

there's a LOT of possible interpretations of the State system (expected, given the only real 'rule' of canon is Commitment to the Bit), but i do agree that there's gotta be Some kind of representational magic involved

(then again, I am a fantasy genre specialist, so that bias is pretty obvious)

i could go on a really long ramble about how various one-off characters have suggested that there's actually a really low threshold for creating a representation based around a kind of group identity, but that's a whole 'nother thing haha.

i could... also go on a long ramble about the concept of representations of large groups of people and whether or not those representations would have free will of their own or whether they're entirely bound by the biases and dogma of those that Make them, but that'll have to wait until after i finish this dang lit exam

personal theory on how the wttt verse works in terms of states

hi gang

cw: i do mention some policy/politics as a referential thing because this is a satirical series about american politics so these issues appear within the series.

welcome to the table. gotta love it. so

i think states represent

their people

their policy

their environment

(there's more focus on the first two definitely however the last one is also relevant. i also like mentioning this because it allows for good fic content, frankly.)

and then the relevancy of this changes depending on whats going on. when a state reflects one of these very strongly and cannot represent another, then you get manifestations of that. alternatively, enough division within the state and you get things like new jersey (watch his intro episode) and texas (cmon gang we all know im talking about austin). you can also see regional differences if they're stark enough (nocal and socal).

because texas is, within canon, implied to have did and non healthy multiplicity ("i feel like i saw this on Moonknight"), my next point is that depending on how geniunely major a difference is and how poorly one of the things is being represented by the state, the more intrusive whatever is going on becomes. so while most of the gang is generally..... kind of... fine... texas, as a state that is a swing state but still making big discriminatory policy represents the policy well, and the rights and needs of the people less so, meaning that instead of the mostly functional/positive multiplicity seen throughout the series starts becoming less functional altogether.

the government also represents people, policy and a little bit of environment. it/he also represents the system and its needs/wants; such as explicitly benefitting from the industrial military complex over in america, or with the democratic party utilising big issues as part of a campaign (re, overturning roe v wade).

states also probably have some kind of magic to them; they're manifestations who are older than the states as they are part of the US, and we know that loui definitely got something going on there. mother nature tries to get florida and when she misses, both texas and louisiana are soaked from afar, again, representing environment, but also magic is an abstract property which is perfectly realistic in thsi universe. the government does the statehouse; which is a house which externally appears to be normal and holds over 50 rooms and somehow was not destroyed already. this is all to say, the idea of states being able to manifest shit is not beyond canon. go nuts. show nuts, even

yeah lol anyone got any agreeeing/disagreeing opinions

#one of the most interesting things about texas&austin being a system in wttt canon while no other Cities have been shown is that #nobody ever really claims that houston or SA or FW aren't a part of texas. people DO insist that about austin- regularly and at length #hell it's even shown up in wttt comments before!#wow my brain is all over the place today huh

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keepbirdieweird · 2 months

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My first actual Florida concept perhaps 😌 I agree with the notion that he is very impulsive... I also think he's broken his sunglasses several times yet instead of getting new ones or actually properly fixing it he just tapes it back up 😒 I also have a specific kinda scar(s?) for him in mind but I didn't have the time to draw it 😾 but I think it'd be pretty neat!

#him teef.... shark teef... u mentioned frequently breaking sunglasses & given shark teeth he probably loses those alll the time #in public locations #he is just a little silly #love how everyone's wttt florida clearly operates off of ram ventilation. gotta keep swimming all the time or It will get you #also u mentioned scars??? im intrigued...

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keepbirdieweird · 2 months

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turned on comment moderation for all of my fics, just wanted to let y'all know it's not a fandom issue! just personal stuff.

#and yes. i will actually post in the exesverse au again i prommy #wttt #welcome to the table

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keepbirdieweird · 2 months

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More Penn honestly cuz I barely drew him and I’m still getting a feel about him 🤔 I would’ve done more but 😔 got busy. I also forgot how to color. He’s giving lousy dad vibes tbh 😒 maybe he is or was idk but it would explain some things smh

#bro doesn't just look like a dad he very specifically looks like one of my uncles 💀#except with more hair #moth ur little mini interaction images in the corner continue to be cute asf

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keepbirdieweird · 2 months

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I love having differing interpretations of characters in the fandom!

Personally I like to write California as being kind of... completely oblivious? Often well-intentioned, kinda needy, and ends up steamrolling other people via his desire to be well-liked. Despite this, he also manages to be incredibly rejection-sensitive, somehow.

I asked Guess to bring back her TikTok about how California tends to get characterized leaning one way or another(and both are VALID AND RIGHT) but TikTok muted it so fuck that I guess

Anyways, California is one of the most popular characters in this fandom, and rather than thinking nobody is correct about his character, it is better to think that EVERYONE is. That people are entitled to rewrite him as they see fit and massacre his character in the most gruesome way because hey he’s just a fictional character :) he’s not real

In fandom, canon is a foundation and a suggestion. It is up to you entirely to stay true to his character, which admittedly is interesting in its own right, or to add your own special interpretation of him.

Me personally, he’s an asshole and he tends to put his foot in his mouth more often than not. Every dislikable feature he has I can reason by saying he’s extremely neurodivergent.

Much love to y’all btw stay safe

#i think this is a fairly common cali take tho #pretty sure my version of austin is more unusual comparatively speaking #my austin is BITCHYYYYY i am so fond of himb

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keepbirdieweird · 3 months

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A snarl sounds from the opposite side of the clearing. Gov’s head, already dipped in shame, jerks up.

“What did you just say?” his sister snaps, eyes blazing in the dancing firelight. The crew remain as silent as the grave.

“Iudicia-” Gov starts.

“No, I wish for your lieutenant to repeat himself,” she growls, “And I would like him to look me in the eye and tell me exactly why he chose to say it.”

-

Chapter six of the dragon!Gov au is up :)

#wttt #wttsh #welcome to the table #welcome to the statehouse #wttt idc #wttt gov #wttt war-dragon au #surprise surprise the fic art isn't a sketch for once!

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keepbirdieweird · 3 months

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So idk how accurate this map is, but I'm gonna have fun with it anyway. Now, imagine the states with these jobs, respectively

Tbh, I was expecting something like "actor" for California, but "farmworker" also makes sense. I remember him saying in the Thanksgiving episode how he argues with his family, so they're probably conservative, and I hc that they literally live in the middle of nowhere, and Cali moved to Hollywood.

Nevada with miscellaneous gaming workers (eboy nev real).

Florida and Louisiana on a boat racing date. They have broken several laws, but the law can't catch them if they're faster.

FASHION DESIGNER NEW YORK!!!

Idk why, but "telephone operator" is a very Normal Guy job, and Utah is the epitome of a Normal Guy

#important context: a LOT of people in california are farmworkers. no surprise- it's basically the cornucopia of the US despite the droughts #A lot of those people are also EGREGIOUSLY underpaid migrant workers who deal with a lot of shit all around #California also has the highest rate of people who speak a language other than English at home which is neat #aside note: Texas being a petroleum engineer is very likely i think #It vibes. I meet a lot of ppl going into the petroleum industry where I am #(You may ask: isn't he an idiot? and I answer: ya... that's not uncommon for STEM peeps who didn't do any interdisciplinary study)#(I am a STEM peep. for the record)

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keepbirdieweird · 3 months

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Ari 🏜️!! I was reading about the Old West again and read about those gunfights (usually most folks imagine draw duels for this) and I looked at a list of them 🤔 most of them were in Arizona from what I read! I found it very interesting 😌

and about the heart patterns in this, it’s cuz Ari is also known as the Valentine State because their statehood day is the same day as that, and the color palette for this was inspired off of their state flag cuz well, it’s a good flag they’ve got! I suppose this is an early statehood day gift to Ari 🐶

#YOOO MOTH THIS LOOKS SO GOOD #also reminds me of daniel craig in casino royale for some reason (positive)#also saguarooooos i love to see saguaros :D #there's a whole lot of cavity nesting species in arizona that rely heavily on saguaro cacti!

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keepbirdieweird · 3 months

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extremely funny question as in my case the answer is literally "outside"

coming alive just to ask is WTTT fandom fucking dead or? where the hell are you bitches? ao3 is dry, tumblr is dry. um?

rip ig

#admittedly i am very bad at saying hello to other creators in the fandom regardless. am shy.#but in all seriousness new year = new bird list. i got over 100 species in january. and hiking driving and processing photos all #takes energy lmao #if anyone wants to get into twitching tho i am more than happy to write up a list of weird ass birds currently being spotted in the US #(with regional splits for AK/TX/CA/MT etc ofc)

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keepbirdieweird · 3 months

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Ok this was seriously bugging me so I googled it- apparently this map is in regards to the safest states for DRIVERS. Presumably Wyoming has high average speed limits and a lot of animal collisions?

Why is Wyoming so dangerous

Are the 3 people who live there fist fighting constantly? /j

(I’m sorry to the entire state of Wyoming and the 3 people who live there 😭)

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keepbirdieweird · 3 months

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It's crazy how Alaska's hand slipped and accidentally knocked Florida out with a bottle into his head multiple times! This was in the early 1900s btw 😌 Florida was trying to push Alaska into talking more but. Alaska just got fed up (Ny was gonna do it if Alaska didn't, honestly).

Idk what was "casual wear" back then so I just, idk, unbuttoned shirt for Flo cuz he couldn't be bothered to button it up anyways, Alaska also grew out his hair because he does what he wants idk (despite the missionaries there wasnt that easy access to hair styling and cutting things and besides, he misses when he had longer hair before colonizers cut his!!) I also imagine he didnt really start growing a beard till like the mid to late 1900s but idk why i think that.

#we love to see a personal boundaries enforcing king winning

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keepbirdieweird · 3 months

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alright I’m just gonna do main six I think-

Texas def has dogs. At least one of them is a Chihuahua, but like, the reasonable kind not the tiny appleheaded ones. Probably a well-trained gundog like a pointer, lab, or blue lacey as well. Possibly also a cattle dog (likely a heeler, they’re popular here). He (& by extension Austin & co) have partial custody of the active Bevo, the UT mascot (a longhorn steer. There have been many Bevos). Used to have horses but it’s possible he doesn’t anymore. If he still has them, they’re definitely grade horses.

I’ve seen the NY has pigeons headcanon before and honestly? So correct. I think he has tried to keep other birds as well but it hasn’t panned out. Pennsylvania ends up with the results of his attempt at keeping chickens.

Louisiana also has a hunting dog, but something about him strikes me as the kind of person who’s feral enough to try to reduce the invasive hog population himself, so he gets a catch dog of some kind, except Louisiana wouldn’t risk a pet like that so the dog just gets to ride in the cab of the truck looking cool in a tactical vest.

Florida is either a surprisingly responsible pet parent for something normal, responsible for something unhinged OR is responsible for introducing invasive reptiles into the Everglades.

Gov tells himself he can’t have a pet because they’re too much work and ends up with an ESA cat who bosses him around relentlessly.

Finally, we have: California.

Tarantula dad one THOUSAND percent, and probably a flashy, highly toxic old world species too! It just??? Fits??? Like have you SEEN the way tarantula owners talk about their spiders???

ermm yeah no art. But cuz a fella is curious (me, I'm fella) what pet buddies do y'all think the states would have?? If dog or cat or rabbit or bird or something, i'd like to know the species of said buddy cuz y'know, easier to wrap my head around it and some animals are just to broad to say dog or cat

#spider mention #tw spiders

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keepbirdieweird · 4 months

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happy birthday Alaska 🐶!!,! Yahoo!! My first time rendering a doggie just for this… very worth it, dare I say. I’ve really wanted to do a sunny winter lighting so this is my attempt! Alaska’s very pretty 💥 enjoy my boy and his son boy!!

Best drawing as of yet 🙏 I just realized I forgot to give the pups booties (snow boots for dogs, oftem used for mushing) !! Oh well

#AAAAA DOG #fluffy....#as always moth ur art is wonderful #also i am so jealous of alaska here asdfghjkl. closest thing i've gotten to that is picking up my cat

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keepbirdieweird · 4 months

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a preemptive happy new year, y'all! may 2024 be filled with comfort, joy, and plenty of time to relax alongside the people you hold dear.

have the main mammal crew of exesverse in the meantime!

bonus:

yes, austin is indeed in-frame.

#welcome to the table #welcome to the statehouse #wttt #wttt austin #wttt alaska #wttt california

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