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#sorry for the terrible quality but this is literally from an early 2000s website and the images were small af
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Costume designs for Magdalena Monteverde
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lycorogue · 5 years
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Meet My OCs: Willow (Part 4 – Images)
We've made it to the home stretch! This post should be a lot more fun, though, because you get to literally see Willow! I shared some images here and there throughout this mini-series about Willow, but the vast majority of my images of her will be below. 
Before I continue, how about another quick recap of my Meet My OCs series thus far?
I started up this multi-post series almost exactly a month ago. I had wanted to do something like this for MONTHS, and I'm finally getting my lazy butt in gear. This way, you guys get a chance to learn about these vocal people that have been hanging out in my head for years.
In Part 1 of this series, I introduced the concept, as well as explained the real-world influences that helped me create my two story worlds of Gyateara and Glitches.
Part 2 of the series talked about the inspiration that birthed each of my four main Gyateara characters.
Part 3a did the same, but for my four main teenage Glitches characters.
Part 3b then talked about the Glitches main supportive cast of six adult characters; each one originating as a canonical X-Men character.
Today is Part 4 Day; the official start of the individualized characters' bio posts. I couldn't think of anyone better to start off the next part of the series than my most present character: Willow Driver.
In Meet Willow: Part 1, I shared Willow's background, gave an overview of her personally, and talked about her powers.
Meet Willow: Part 2 focused on her main relationships.
The epic post that made up Meet Willow: Part 3 told her plot line/story arc main events within the play-by-post game X-Future that Willow originated in. The end of the post also discussed which of those main plot events will find their way to my original story Glitches.
Next up, I’ll have a few writing samples to showcase Willow, and I’ll conclude today’s massive series of posts with two customized wrestler entrances I created on Hubby’s WWE13 game. So.. just two more to look out for! 0_0
All caught up? Great! So let's get to the fun of Willow's Multi-media presence. Starting with some more fun art of her.
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I know I already shared this in Meet Willow: Part 1, but I love this image of Willow so much I'm going to show it off whenever possible.
Prior to commissioning @edendaphne to draw me the gorgeous above photo, I had some other hand-drawn artwork of Willow. For two different birthdays, @chibisunnie included the X-Future core group for personalized cards she drew me.
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Check out the full-quality image on her DeviantArt
Hubby and I routinely pointed out the almost perfect parallels between the “Girl Meets World” characters Lucas, Maya, and Riley and our X-Future characters Chayse, Willow, and Lia, respectively. So Chibi went ahead and drew Chayse, Willow, and Lia as Lucas, Maya, and Riley all hanging out in Riley's bay window.
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Check out the full-quality image on her DeviantArt
Last birthday, I wanted Chibi to have my X-Future characters interacting with her Team Giraffe Guy characters. Willow is dancing with her OC Todd, Trish is giving her OC Zahir a mini-heart attack, and Lia is chilling with her OC Bob the Pumpkin Cat from her other original story The Pumpkin Prince.
I still absolutely love how energetic Willow looks in both of these images, and I think Chibi really captured who she is. <3
Prior to the commissioned piece by Eden, or the two works of fanart as birthday cards drawn for me by Chibi, I used doll makers to help me visualize Willow.
My first incarnation of Willow was thanks to a hodge-podge of items designed by ChaZie for her Dollz over on Dollz Mania. (anyone else remember these being huge in the early 2000s?) You see, ChaZie designed easily a hundred different Dollz creators/designers, each of them with their own themes: Halloween, fantasy, fairies, Scene, Kardashians, Lady Gaga, Valentine's Day, etc. Back in 2012, I had spent WEEKS saving nearly every element of nearly every doll designer ChaZie created. I gathered them all into one MASSIVE Photoshop file with nearly all of ChaZie's doll bases, hair, clothing, accessories, pets, etc. That way I wasn't restricted by the designer theme groupings ChaZie created; I could take hair from Lady Gaga, put it with a Halloween costume, and throw on some fairy wings. Using this method of Frankensteining ChaZie's designs, I created a large portion of the early X-Future cast. One of the firsts was, obviously, Willow, shown here in her first X-Men uniform design.
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Sorry for the quality. My computer crashed about 3yrs ago, and I lost that ChaZie dollz design master file, so all of the ChaZie design dolls I showcase will be downloads of my posting the images online.
Anyway, once Sebastian was introduced into the X-Future canon, I decided to re-design Willow to see how she might look in the future. So, here is Mama Willow with newborn baby Sebastian, as well as Adult Willow in a much more traditional X-Men uniform as she took on the mantle of one of the Great Protectors.
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Finally, a picture of Willow in street clothes while with her brother Shawn. I had already posted this in Meet Willow: Part 2, when I talked about their relationship. However, why not re-share it, right?
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A couple of years into playing X-Future, I was introduced to the Chibi Maker doll generator by gen8. (can also be found here) I couldn't resist coming up with Chibi-fied images for the main X-Future characters. Naturally, I went with Willow's classic Cheshire Cat illusion for her chibi verseion.
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After losing my ChaZie master file, I tried to rebuild it, but at that point Dollz Mania had shut down. I'm slowly beginning to find ChaZie's doll makers popping up on other websites, but I needed other alternatives for character designs and re-designs. That was when I was introduced to the X-Girl doll maker by Candy. I've had a lot of fun designing characters in this game, and decided to re-designs Willow to give her a more mature look now that she's not 15 anymore.
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Hubby and I also tried to re-create, and then re-design, Willow's X-uniform.
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I really like how the uniform re-design turned out.
I was fairly content on my representation of Willow with the wide variety of above images. Then, late last year, I started playing the fashion designer mobile game Love, Nikki.
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I was just enjoying the game for what it was; not even thinking about X-Future/Glitches. But then I started finding more and more blue and white clothes that made me think “Willow would like that.” Soon that was my mission. I found a few white/silver hair options that I tried out, and aimed for a make-up set that would give me aquamarine eyes. Since hitting my main Willow make-up and hair goals, I've had loads of fun designing and re-designing Willow in the game.
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The blue and white striped socks and those blue eyes were what first made me want to find a way to build Willow. I also tried out just about any silver/white hair and blue eyes combo.
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After getting the aquamarine eyes I loved, the next trick was trying out the hair styles. There are soooo many platinum-white, white, gray, or silver hair styles in this game! This isn't even all of them; just the ones that seemed Willow-esque. First up was an an attempt to keep Willow's short hair:
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Picture #3 was the only one that really worked, and I ran with that hair for a little bit. I just liked the pseudo-punk look of those sharp edges.
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A lot more of these could possibly work, although they aren't the Willow I had in my head. Even so, I could picture Willow with hair styles #2, #3, and #4.
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I really can't picture Willow growing her hair out so long. It would bother her to have so much of it. However, out of the above pictures, #2 would be close, if it were the right color. Beyond that, I think #4 feels the most like Willow, with #1 being close behind.
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Sadly, the ones that are the closest to Willow's hair style are all the wrong color. #1 is almost exactly Willow's hair style, just parted the wrong way; her longer side is over the right eye. Although it's a bit too short, and clearly the wrong color, #2 is at least parted on the correct side, and it does have some blue tips; probably the second closest to her canonical look. I could picture Willow in all of those hair styles, though.
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This hair style isn't all that bad, and it is pale, but it's still platinum-blonde instead of Willow’s silver.
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After a LOT of working and re-working, I decided this hair style works best. It's short, but not terribly masculine, choppy, or overly fancy. It's also the right shade of silver, and the low-lights in the hair almost look like they're blue. Once I had it figured out, the next trick was the outfit. I had her in this one for quite some time. Then I was playing Love, Nikki during the winter. I also got some coats that would work really well for her. I went formal and fantastical with the cape, and then more canonical and “real world” with the down vest. For both images I also included some extras that made it look like she was creating illusions.
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I then had to switch her up for spring:
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And again for summer, so this is what she's currently wearing in my game:
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We'll see what other kinds of visuals I can make of Willow over the next few months/years.
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Alright, well now that you have a good mental image of what Willow looks like, how about we find out how she talks and acts?
Next up: Meet My OCs: Willow (Part 5 – Stories)
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weirdwariii · 6 years
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Winter 2018 Playlist, Part 1
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This is mostly new(-ish) music, but sometimes there’s a just a song or two or three or nine that I want to listen to a lot that ends up here too.  Here’s what I’m listening to as of late:
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan - “A Star Over Pureland” - Y//ST had been on my radar for a few years now, though I hadn’t listened to them much. But between their name and their visual aesthetics, there seemed to be something pretty exciting about them. Finally delving into their back catalog in anticipation for their upcoming album Dirt (and I think there’s a song from that somewhere in the future of this playlist), I’m super pleased that I’m finally devoting more time to them. Heavy at times, more folky at other times, and even a little splash of electronic texture here and there. They remind me of this group Mr. Gnome that I had gotten into a few years ago. Anyways, this particular track (from their 2011 debut) is one of my favorite things I’ve listened to in a while, period. Apocalyptic waves of drums and guitars meet blood-thirsty chanting. I could listen to 100 minutes of this, but I’ll settle for the 7 minutes of this track.
Tune Yards - “ABC 123” - I wasn’t super impressed by the new Tune Yards album, and I was pretty bummed by that considering how much I liked her last two. I think Merrill Garbus has such an awesomely unique voice and great messages in her lyrics, but the actual songs on this album fail to keep my interest.  This track is one of the few exceptions, a bouncy pop song that belongs in the top tier of Tune Yards songs - if not one of the best songs I’ve heard so far this year. Weirdly disappointing, then, that the rest of the album fails to meet this bar.
Caverns of Anti-Matter - “Make Out Fade Out” - If a gun was to my head, I’d say Stereolab was my favorite band of all time.  And with the likelihood of ever getting another Stereolab album diminishing year by year, I’m now just living off of new albums by Laetitia Sadier and Caverns of Anti-Matter.  Last year was Laetitia’s turn, so now we’re back to Tim Gane’s post-Stereolab outfit, Cavern’s of Anti-Matter. Instrumentally, I think Caverns lean far far closer to the electronic side of things than Stereolab had, yet there’s still these hints of krautrock and lounge in their sound that don’t seem that far removed from the prior band. The bass line in this new track is killer, and the vocal-less track kind of whizzes by - the soundtrack to a fictional cartoon about spaceships racing each other, maybe.  I’m extremely excited to hear more.
Teenage Wrist - “Dweeb” - I’ve never heard of this band, but I’m very happy that I stumbled on “Dweeb.” It has its roots firmly planted in the grunge/alternative rock sound of the 90s, yet still feels refreshingly new. I’m a sucker for things that make me think “Wow, this is like those rock songs from the days of yore.” There’s a good amount of, for lack of better adjectives, some authentic sounding angst here.  
Damaged Bug - “Jet in Jungle” - A track that’s a few years old, but I discovered last year while falling through some Oh Sees wormholes.  I loved the track then, and I can’t stop listening to it now. Seriously.  I have a genuine addiction to this track.
Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future, James Blake - “King’s Dead” - I love Kendrick’s voice, y’know? And he’s a smart guy. And, I guess, he’s so hyped about Black Panther that he oversaw the entire soundtrack?  God, I love this track.  It’s all over the place, and there’s so many little pieces that somehow work together. I said I was going to listen to more hip hop music this year (well, I didn’t say it out loud, but I did say it in my head), and this song definitely inspires me to make good on that promise.
Of Montreal - “Paranoic Intervals/Body Dysmorphia” - I already said some words about this song last month in this here blog.  But I still love this song.
David Byrne - “Everybody’s Coming to My House” - Like, the first 40 seconds of this song annoy me every time, admittedly. The music's queuing up and David has this squeaky voice happening and I’m always juuuust about to skip the track, but then the drums kick in, the music starts rolling, and all the elements just suddenly meld together beautifully.  I’m way more excited for a David Byrne solo album in 2018 than I thought I would be.
Jeff Rosenstock - “USA” - There are two Jeff Rosenstock songs on this album I love to pieces, and...actually, you know, I love all the songs on this album. Like every fucking song.  This album is fantastic and its timing couldn’t have been better - hitting my sweet spots du jour for politically charged sing-along punk rock. But this song, in particular, is like the theme song for 2018.  “We’re tired!/We’re Bored!” Another track that stretches past the 7-minute mark without every coming close to being exhausting or wearing out its welcome.
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan - “Someplace” - I said a bit about Y//ST already, so I’ll keep this brief.  This is from their upcoming album Dirt, which I’m pretty excited about. This track still has some pretty heavy stuff in the instrumentation, but there’s also a really pretty and serene quality about the track, especially early on.  I’m pretty interested in hearing the rest of the album.
The Vaccines - “I Can’t Quit” - I’ve never listened to The Vaccines before, but I don’t think I ever really had to. You see the band name, and you kind of just know what they sound like - some sort of garage/punk/rock commotion.  And I gave this track a whirl, seeing as it was new and I gave an apathetic “why the fuck not” should shrug” and ended up digging it. Yep - sounds exactly like I expected it to.  But it's catchy. Fun. Good.  I’ll probably listen to more. (Okay, also, their first album was called What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?  Jesus Christ.)
Turbowolf - “Domino” - I don’t know who Turbowolf is. Another apathetic shrug. But, also, another head nod of approval.  The easiest comparison here is Death from Above and maybe Bass Drum of Death. Maybe...Wolfmother? Like, any band that that has “death” or “wolf” in its name.  Is there a band called Deathwolf? There is, so says Spotify.  With 273 monthly listeners. Step up your game, Death Wolf. Anyways, I like this song.  Fun, speedy, this will be on a summer playlist or two.
Jay Som - “Pirouette” - I’m sorry (I say to myself). I totally slept on Everybody Works last year, despite listening to it a handful of times and loving it and wanting to have listened to it more.  And now this post-album track hits and its so so so so good.  I’ve literally listened to this song more than I’ve listened to all the tracks on that album combined.  Like, I should go listen to it, but...this songs not on it. And I love this song.
The Wombats - Cheetah Tongue - I kind of remember The Wombats? They were, like, one of a hundred bands who all kind of sounded/looked/acted the same in the late 2000s. They’re still making music, so good for them. I wonder if I’ve unfairly judged them/dismissed them, though, because this song is really quite great.  Despite its terrible name. Dance-y alt-pop-rock that definitely makes me nostalgic for illegally downloading music in 2008.
The National - “The System Only Sleeps in Total Darkness” - True story: I never really liked The National before. I’ve admired what they’ve done, and I’ve never hated them. But they always just sort of seemed like the most stereotypical/streamlined version of indie rock.  If someone was like “This is what indie rock sounds like…” they’d put on a National record. So I never really cared about them before. But then I heard this song late last year, as every website, radio station and entertainment outlet praised them and their latest album. And...I kinda fell in love with this song.  Am I a convert? Shrug.  Look, I like this song an awful lot. And they should be grateful for that right now.
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