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(1) Confused, Adam looked around him. The entire park appeared to be frozen. A child pulling their face away from a giant stick of cotton candy had a caretaker laughing and bending down with a cloth to wipe the sticky off of the beaming face. A young man, his arm wrapped tightly around a girl wrapped in his jacket, had a secret smile while he was comforting her as they exited the scary ghost ride. It might have been creepy, except the frightened girl, also had a secret smile, and was leaning into the warmth he offered. What must be another park performer gazed in his direction with an air of vast sadness. How the old woman managed to convey that in her deep black hood with red lining was beyond him, because her face was completely obscured. The park had done a good job with her costume, Adam thought. The blood that appeared to be dripping out of her cloak almost looked real. A massive gloved hand reached down to help him up, not frozen, but warm and gentle. Looking up, Adam looked into the face of a massive Fox mascot, wrapped in chains and with a sword and a coffin on his back, wrapped in jingling chains. Still confused, but grateful for the help, Adam put his hand in the somehow warm gloved one reaching for him. The Fox helped him up, and put a giant arm around his shoulders, and just waited. After a moment, Adam looked around again, and now saw his ruined body on the pavement at their feet. Somehow, the Fox's deep calm helped him not to panic at the pathetic sight.
(2) "Is that.... Me?" Adam stammered. Fox gravely nodded, letting Adam look as long as he needed at the ruined heap at his feet. Beginning to shake and cry, Fox gathered Adam in to a warm and gentle embrace, and let him cry. "I had so many things that I wanted to do! I had just gotten into college, my parents were so proud. I'm the first person in my entire family to make it to college." Fox tightened its arms around him, and a soft light voice came from deep within the mascot. "It was time." Fox said simply. "Let me take you to Mother. She may have some wisdom for you," and began to guide the weeping man through the crowds. As they walked towards the massive lit tent near to the farthest edge of the park, Adam saw face after face of humanity. Face is alight with joy, ferocious with fury, frightened, sad, heartbroken, and hopeful. Somehow, in this park at this moment, the very best and worst of humanity was represented. Greed and lack of empathy causing suffering and misery. Self-interest and self-understanding battling against one another at every step. With Fox's help, it seemed as though he could see into every heart and see their greatest joys, their deepest hungers, their cruelest thoughts, and their darkest shadows. All of these complex things warring within every single heart, All of them expressed with different levels of intensity.
(3) They ducked past the sign that said 'Employees Only', and stepped into the warmth and glory of the tent. Also frozen, in the center, was a large, tired looking woman, who was bending over an injured performer and wrapping a soft gauze around their leg. There were two people in the soft shadows nearby, one with a clipboard looking anxious, and one that had a terrifying grin, and a slice of cake next to a warm cup of brown liquid that had unmoving steam rising from its surface. There was a desk covered in papers, and beyond an ornate screen was a massive, beautiful bed, covered in cushions and quilts with velvety curtains, a little care worn, on the posts. The bed looked as though it hadn't been slept in for quite some time. After a moment, the woman shook herself and stood to her full height. She looked from a young man to the Fox mascot, and somehow seemed to read something in the Fox's face. "It seems as though you have come to your curtain call, lad. Am I right?" The woman, 'Mother', spoke firmly, but with warmth. Nodding uncertainly, Adam shivered, and again felt despair wash over him. Immediately, he was engulfed in a strong warm embrace, and guided to a nearby chaise. As Mother held him, he wept again. He cried for the brevity of his life, and the long suffering of the bloodied woman; he cried for the betrayal of promises broken, the beauty of promises fulfilled, the hope of promises sworn, and the agony of promises never made. His heart was ground glass, thinking of the pain that would come to his parents, and the opportunities that might reach his little sister, but he would never see. The glory and depravity of all of humanity was revealed to him, and his tears held both joy and sorrow.
(4) After what felt like all the eons of the universe, Adam pulled away from the warm embrace. "Better now, my love?" Mother smiled gently into his face, and watched. Nodding, tiredly, Adam thought he might understand. Death was a part of life. Suffering was part of joy. Time and effort means everything and nothing at the same time. What mattered most was what you did with it, when you had it. "I look forward to your next performance," Mother said gently. "Whatever new adventure you choose will be made richer from the time you spent in this one. Come and see me again, if you remember." And now, Adam smiled. He hugged Mother briefly but fiercely, and looked to Fox. "It's time to go, isn't it?" Fox nodded. "Thank you for giving this moment to me." Fox held out their hand, and Adam took it. Together, they walked into the next adventure.
Awww… I love the name Cake Knife. Lol maybe her name should be Catherine Blade and it shortens to Cate, but when people want to irritate her, they call her Cake Knife.
I thought that maybe "Cake Knife" could be her stage name! So, merging both of our ideas, maybe that nickname started out as an insult she resented, but then she said "you know what, I AM Cake Knife" and plays up the name. Like, she reclaims it. Maybe it's not the healthiest for her, but she does it nonetheless. I'm thinking like Jinx.
@@m.thompson3919 maybe it helps her feel more human? Since blood is essentially the Liquid Of Life, if it's a sacrifice made to her then its almost like a Bluetooth blood donation and makes her whole (essentially, she's anaemic)
Correct me if I’m wrong but when you create a OC you rip a piece of your soul out and plaster it to a piece of paper. You shred your soul like Voldermort does and dress it up in clothes that you may or not wear in public.
This is, in fact how it works. That piece of soul then goes on to grow into a whole new person on its own , like how a whole new starfish can grow from a detached starfish leg. That whole new person is still attached to your soul though and can affect your own personality.
I can imagine that the fox plush guy is like super cute and huggable but whenever you talk to him he just suddenly says something rlly unhinged and you have to take a step back and ask yourself if this animatronic is sane
Like a kid playing pretend lol reminds me of babysitting this 4 year old obsessed with playing doctor and we used sour patch kids (or raisins when she’s had too much candy) as medicine
Was about to say this would be a great show, then I realized that the intricate designs would make every single animator have multiple heart attacks 💀💀💀💀
Alright! Here are some names based on vibes + my humor alone: "the matriarch" - Bethany/ Mama Beth "cake knife" - Katrina/ 'Trina-beana' "the resident ghost" - Mary Agnes/ 'Old Hag Mag' "burning field guy" - Tyler. "cicada twins" - The Amazing Robin! ...and Marco "fox grim reaper" - Bartholomew/ 'Mew'
from the lore you've given, I can totally see CakeKnife being the only one that can reason with the Hag of Mirrors, particularly with heavy use of confectionery. Perhaps the Hag maintained their childhood sweet tooth? Maybe she's just drawn to CakeKnife's colorful getup, but if there's one person that can get the Hag to keep the wibbly wobbly timey wimey play to a minimum, it's CakeKnife. I agree that's it's a very hot/cold, roughhouse-y/verging on violent situation, but what siblingship isn't?
Honestly same, three of my favourite characters I've drawn (two of which are linked/in the same picture)were inspired by some of Kira's drawing challenges
This is very similar to my creative process with some of my characters, where I search thru my ever-growing hoard of Pinterest images and my brain connects shit. Sometimes I just use some generators/randomizers. And sometimes my mind goes "why not do both? Tee-hee :3". No wonder I have some many characters :)
I always get so inspired watching these character design videos and I’ve FINALLY started making my own characters! I’m nowhere near as imaginative but you’ve inspired me so much, I hope one day I can make cool unique characters like you 🥹❤️
Tales from the cursed circus. A dark/mystery/comedy in which a circus was cursed long ago. Now it’s up to some of the employees to hopefully remove the curse. Which causes odd things happening.
Cicada twins: Cici and Cade. Mirror Ghost: Mira Glass. Cake Knife: Someone else down below said Catherine Blade and I fully agree. Venus Flytrap guy: Vinnie Blaze Fox Reaper: Fluffy. (Not really, but I couldn't figure out anything good for him, but he's adorable!) Matriarch: Mama Fisher or Cecilia Fisher.
When you said that Fire Guy emits UV rays I immediately thought: "...Does that mean nobody can look at him?" Like people will literally damage their eyes if they look at him. He's THAT cool.
I was wondering if he could give somebody skin cancer. On the flip side, his UV rays would be great for people who don't go outside much and need that vitamin D.
I haven't even gotten to the character design part and you already hit me with the "being creative all the time" bit. HOLY CRAP I UNDERSTAND SO HARD! I want to be creative all the time but can't. It's not easy bro.
Some name suggestions: 1. Matriach - Ingemar. Feels very high status to me and means 'of the sea' which I thought was fitting. Or Marisol 'sea and sun'. 2. Cake knives - Kiku, sounds like cake lol. 3. Twins - Emily (or Lily) and Leo. 4. Fire boy - Cinaed, Cole and Rhys (cause he has rizz), alle are fire-related names. 5. Mirror ghost - Mira or Mirat for obvious reasons. Pratima also means 'mirror' 'reflection' or 'icon'. 6. Fox - Rusty because of the colour for the fox and because he's an old animatronic.
I really love these designs especially the concepts and setting behind them. Magical spooky circus is one of my favorite things in stories ever so this is super fun. I love the idea of connecting the designs with a random concept I hope you continue it in future ones! If your taking name suggestions I think Nira would fit the water lady and to be honest cake knife fits the second character well as a show-name that she gave herself. Cypress for the mirror lady. Simply 'Venus' fits for the fire dude because the planet and the plant.
Ohh my god I can see this being a weekly comic book thing with the characters having to try and keep the park open each week and seeing more of each of their background stories! What I’m trying to say is I WANT MOREEE ❤❤❤
I like how the top of Cake Knife's dress kinda looks like a lion maw with the heart looking like the nose, because I believe that's what the mouth on the cake was, it's a nice detail
This video was fantastic u loved the creativity the abandoned theme park idea was a really intresting story to go with. It felt like something you'd see in little nightmares where everything is similar to things you've seen before but distorted and changed to the point where everything dosent make sense and it's all the more fascinating. Really lovely stuff
i just verbally cheered when i saw that this video is 40 minutes long, this is exactly what i need to put on while i finish my ref sheets (which. dies)
i think the ghost lake lady should turn into a child again if she takes her hood off - only a hag because of a mix of funhouse mirror distortions, time dilation issues, and maybe taking on a more scary appearance in order to gain fear! also i think she was killed by one of the carnival's original employees, or even the owner. she might even be the source of the curse!
Loved the storytelling and world building ! These characters all turned out so cool and I would love to see a part 2! We need some more acts for this amusement park!
I love Cake Knife and Angry Plant Boi and I'm kinda here for the ship! I also like how the ghost is more of a troll and not necessarily scary, the concept of trading a ghost cotton candy in exchange for your lost child is hilarious. I also loved the cute fox! He was way bigger than I thought! Beautiful work as always, Kira ^^
as someone who's whole persona is a clown based off dnd tieflings, vintage circus freakshows, and slenderman... this is lovely. boba welcomes them to their freakshow hehe
Cake knife low-key reminds me of something Melanie Martinez might wear/pos Love all your designs as always! You're such a huge art block breaker and inspiration ❤ Edit: the story kinda has me thinking about Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children just a lil
Omg I imagine the fire guy´s and cicada brother´s relationship so cute c: Like at first, fire guy is mostly annoyed because he has already put off the thought of having all too many relationships with human beings bc he cannot touch them but the boy just keeps following him around (a bit like Rue when she is sneaking around the training center to watch Katniss) and eventually they get to know each other a bit better. The boy keeps mentioning how much he likes fire guys boots so he gifts him a similar pair on his birthday (that´s the pair the boy is wearing in the drawing). And at some point, fire guy even asks the boy for acrobatics lessons so he can spice his fire show up a bit :D
would you ever post something like an art process? like how you draw certain features or how you structure clothes and things. i love the way you draw and your art style is amazing!! all the love ❤️❤️
im more of a writer than an artist ( i do try to do art but it doesn't always work out) and now i wanna go write a story abt this not necessarily with these character (probably hinting to their existence) but like the whole vibe it's just giving plus i already have a random immortal ringmaster character so... Imma go do that when this is finished :D
Please don't apologize for the length of these! I love all the lore, that is at least half the reason I watch these. It's so much fun to see not just the lovely art as it forms, but to hear your thought process and hear the various heartfelt, adorable, dark, unhinged, hilarious and/or thoughtful stories you give them.
I love your drawings but the stories you create for the characters are always so creative and interesting 😍 it's always a great day when you publish a video!
I just had the thought of Burning Field learning about Grim Fox’s coffin and asking if it could take back his powers and Grim Fox explaining that while, yes, it could, he would also lose everything else that happened since, Matriarch, Cake Knife, the cicada twins, even losing his parents and Burning Field having to decide to keep the bad to keep the good.
This batch of characters is givingg Miss peregrine's house for peculiar children, right down to the funky time shiitake HAHA which I think is funny since this was randomized XDD But LOVE the art as always
Oh I love these guys! Especially the dynamic possibilities between the more somber characters and the cinnamon roll that is Reaper Fox. Blood Ghost is also such a guy. Just a petty little guy. I imagine Reaper Fox just sort of hangs out with her in his downtime and as he's sort of the secondary caretaker for the cicada kids that's how they come to hang out with her, too. I imagine Reaper Fox is sort of immune to being creeped out, he's always a level of chill and comfortable that makes people that are used to being intimidating whether they want to or not, like Cake Knife or Blood Ghost, feel a certain way. He is very comfortable around Cake Knife and Fireboy right off the bat even though they are objectively pretty intimidating and the ghost attempts to prank him a couple of times and he just keeps being nice and too damn cute and eventually she's just "...alright you can hang out in my blood dimension you weird weird fox. Only if you bring your own knitting yarn though".
Bro these guys give me the major arcana tarot vibes, like, even their backstories match!! In order of the final line up I could very easily see- Fox Dood = The Fool Fire Bro = The Tower Magical Matriarch = The High Priestess Clown Homie = The Wheel of Fortune Ghostie = The Hermit (maybe Judgment) The Twins = Temperance
I think it would be so cute if burning field guy's tent served as a greenhouse! He could have a bunch of tropical plants in there that love the heat and when he slept his body would warm the tent sufficiently for the plants. And sometimes the matriarch would come by to make sure that everything was nice and humid for the more finicky plants.
I was telling my mom about your content awhile ago and showed her some of your videos, and yesterday I heard her telling my cousin about you and she asked ‘what’s the name of the crazy sewing lady? The blonde one!’ I’ve been laughing since
your character design is incredible, but i'd like to take a second to just appreciate the BACKGROUND WORK???? like the literal background trees and ground of the characters-- it always makes everything come alive and blows my mind every time you transition from the character to drawing where they are
This lore automatically reminded me of Marionetta by Miriam Bonastre Tur. She's the author of Hooky and Marionetta's lore is also a bunch of cursed Circus magic gals. I think you might enjoy it
Yo what if part of the time reversal curse is that those effected by it are doomed to be forever changing, meanwhile guests and patrons see them as what they were. Burning Field in the eyes of the people is still just a little boy. Sometimes Mirror Ghost appears as her creepy self, but other times, patrons hear a young girl crying or see her in the mirror hall. Its like a constant reminder that they can never escape who they once were, yet can never be that way again. Angst
for sure added you to my sub list + my list of favorite character designers. All of these are absolutely spectacular. I particularly enjoy the ring-leader and the mirror hag/ghost, they just really speak to me. Also seeing the comparison of the fox reaper's height to the others shocked me. I was not expecting him to be so big 😭Love your work, keep doing what your doing :)
I got the coolest mental image of Cakeknife doing like a backbend stepover that results in her stomach mouth chomping on something in the process! Like a sick battle move!
Oh my goodness gracious golly gosh, I am absolutely IN LOVE with this! You’re insanely talented and honestly I’m a little jealous 😭 your storytelling and character design is absolutely phenomenal and I’d love to see this concept as some sort of webcomic because I would eat it up
Jear desus. This makes me wanna write a show about this it's so good. (Also I think they should all have names like Cakeknife, something that eludes to their appearance/personality or something that contrasts their appearance/personality) (update: I'm hyper fixated and have given almost all of them names and am currently making headcanons)
Incredible incredible video, I love these longer ones! I get to sit down and do some drawing of my own while listening to you talk about the lore and design choices you made!! I think my fave out of these is the fox plush also, he's an absolute delight and I like how you kept the round proportions!!!
I genuinely love all of these! They're so interesting and creative! Honestly, I think I like the ghost the best. They're ALL great, but some of her details were just perfection. Like the blood sacrifice being a turkey leg... or her leaving knitted "gifts" in the park. Of course, my mind went REAL dark trying to think of a reason for the branch-antlers on her head... and I instantly thought, "Oh, whoever drowned her held her underwater with a branch..." 😬 Yikes. But at least she seems to be having fun in her afterlife!
you inspired me so much. this world and these characters all fit perfectly with the images. i would love a comic or smth of these guys if they werent so complicated in their design (that's a compliment!!!)
I feel like fire guy would just sit in a circle of plants to warm them in the winter, but that are just far enough away so he doesnt burn them. Cake knife made the circle for him so she can harvest them for her baking and cooking during winter instead of making the park buy more crops and having to buy when they know the park is already low on funds
I feel like for the twins you could call the girl Cicely (sis-ah-lee) which means ‘blind of self beauty’! And for the boy Casimir which means ‘bringer of peace’. Idk I like them.
Anybody else picturing Fox Reaper as the park's security? Like no one asked him to, he just likes to grab the occasional bad guest in the time-warpy coffin. What happens after that? No clue, but it's a fun thought.
I literally ADORE your storytelling and character designing skills! They all felt like they are their own character and style while still fitting in with the rest of the cast! Also a good idea would be to make them all have creative stage names as nicknames that are also refrences 2 their real names (ex. Cakeknife = Cate Knight) but the fox guy is deff a Mr. Fluffy
I need an entire book series on this cast of characters _and I will be willing to help with that_ because they're amazing. It's too good of an idea to pass up. That is to say - I absolutely LOVE these designs!
2:55 I sent those! And yes they were supposed to kinda match in a way :) Names! mirror ghost: Mirage cake clown: Anika fire emo: Searus (get it, sear?) Bug twins: Zelani and Cadence Fluff reaper: Jello (first thing he saw when he was animated was a jello cup and he decided that was a fine name)
