Backstage AU - Kei and Adira

Reminder that Keiren is stuck as Adria right now in the comics

Cutest snort ever.

Dave is in accounting. When he is not cooking the books for the show, he is also helping out in make up department.

I absolutely love this, Vannity being herself with that evil snotting laugh

Fun fact this is logic like the kingdom age era or modern era keiren still be keiren

Final rambling comment here, promise - feel free to skip over if you're not into backstage AU thoughts and prompt generation! The backstage AU was floating in my head for a month or so now. One thing I really wanted to achieve (despite severe space limits!) was to convey that the actors are real people, with a real cast dynamic. Tom's dialogue for Kei/Van here matched perfectly what I would have gone for, and I've already mentioned how his interpretation of Adira is 110% him - it couldn't fit in any better if I tried. The actors aren't blank slates, they have their own characterisation, however that compares/contrasts to their 'real' characters in the comic. Part of generating the idea was to speculate on what sort of production TwoKinds is. I decided to go with a GoT style dark fantasy show -> Edinmire arc is the start of the current season (plot accelerated for TV) -> Keiren's actor only recently joined the show -> not used to cast (or as with prompt, keidran) -> visual gag we see. A couple of other dynamics/characterisation I built in my head trying to figure out good prompt ideas, off the back of this (just my ideas, but what I was thinking while coming up with this gag): Cast in general - a family dynamic, lots of teasing, jokes, and banter. Flora's actress as the cast "team mom"/"big sister", she's been around as the main lead alongside Trace's actor since the start. When I was thinking about Vanity's actress, I liked the idea of them being best friends / big-sis little sis relationship with comedy rage thrown in. Flora's actress loves her "little fox", but some of the pranks make her want to strangle that damn fox with exaggerated comedic Flora rage. Vanity's actress started with the idea of "What if Vanity's actress was basically Vanity, with no magic/evil, just pure flirty gremlin chaos and pranks". The teasing here perfectly fits that. I had some other ideas like she started as a stunt/body double on the show since the beginning (how she knows Flora so well), and that she was incredible at mimicking others' voices and mannerisms like a 'real face stealer'. I'd love to throw in a gag about her 'stealing' voices, but I think that's almost impossible to get across in this format, it would need a lot of dialogue / reactions. But in my head, she loves teasing others that way. Hope someone finds that interesting, and it either inspires your own ideas or maybe you agree that's some fun dynamics to build off for the future. Thanks all, and again full credit to Tom here!

I love how wholesome everything is in the AU.

It's good to know that Vanity is still a silly fox behind the scenes.

mmm sexy

Vanity (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)(⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

Dave has no fear of Vanity. This is a side gig when he's not working as a tax auditor. Even Vanity wouldn't mess with the IRS.

Vanity, lost her sanity!

Huh, didn’t take Vanity for a method actress.

Vanity :) We'll always need more of her.

I see a future couple in this AU one thats very cute

I will always headcanon Vanity laughs like the TF2 spy

Since people seem to find the setup quite humorous, if anyone is for some reason interested in the meta jokes from a demented mind and wants to know the inspiration for the prompt, there were a few starting points: 1) Other prompts in the backstage AU focused more on break rooms, green screens, and so on. This was one idea I liked because it shows Adira's tavern as a set in-universe; not just "TwoKinds is a TV show" but "here's what filming looks like". It's almost as if the comic goes from one panel in Adira's tavern to having characters immediately start breaking the fourth wall, like they suddenly realise they're in a web comic. 2) Using the backstage AU to "explain" things in the comic, such as artistic choices Tom made (in this case Keiren's blush -> what if it was the actor breaking character because he's not used to working with keidran actors "in the fur"?). Bonus: It also "explains" Vanity's goofy laugh from her doodle sketches as well! Two for one! Whoever requested a sketch asking what Vanity was laughing so hard at - that's for you! 3) What if Vanity's actress was basically the same chaos gremlin as Vanity herself, within the AU essentially playing Vanity-as-Vanity, if she was a (professional) actress in a modern world? I only had room in the prompt to specify she was there watching and laughing, gleefully waiting her turn with Keiren's actor, but that was the vibe I was going for - it seems to have landed judging by other comments! You also get all sorts of recursive meta insanity, like the backstage AU that's supposed to sit "on top" of the comic as a framing device actually incorporates canon elements of the very thing it's supposed to be explaining away, or Vanity's actress "face stealing" her own character. Tom obviously did the stuff that inspired it and his interpretation brought it to life (nothing in the prompt about Adira's actress due to lack of space, that's all on Tom), but if people have any interest in where twisted ideas come from, it's your lucky day (you can run away screaming now). Thanks again Tom, it was a lot of fun!

Cute :D

ADORABLE!!! SEXY!!! NAKED!!!

I've never been a big fan of the backstage AU pics. But this one I enjoyed. Also, it's like Tom created my dream girl when he brought Vanity into the story. (amoral sociopath notwithstanding). She even laughs cute.

I love this AU!

Wow Adira’s got bod! Also Kei all flustered is hilarious and Vanity showing how nuts she is works very well

This is honestly great to see. Can we see Vanity and Adira practice that Insane Look back on page [I forgot which page]?

'Keiren' and 'Adira' should definitely go out on not-dates in the Keidran district to, you know, "loosen him up" 👀 Also, nice 'Dave' cameo! 😃

Vanity and floras brother might be a new ship of mine

Vanity's actress is just as much of a gremlin as the character she plays? Yeah, that tracks.

Hey, it's Dave. Glad to see he landed that gig as Head of Makeup. And he's such a good listener. Vanity is once more giving heavy Nagatoro vibes. Only question is if she's naturally bubbly or trying to suppress her embarrassment over what Raine's script has her and Kei doing later. That is, assuming Adira's not the type to do her own stunts ;)

Filming Keidran must save so much money in costumes

Adira: "Trust me, you're gonna get used to that in this production. Especially with with our director and head writer." Eric and Raine, in unison: "You called?"

Not "use to" this, or the machinations forming in his mind? From her blush I gather she may be picking up on these, or have sympathetic thoughts of her own.🥰

So is that one of the twins, or is it their brother Dave as mentioned on their ref sheet?

You like Keidrans aye?~ 😏🤭

This just has to be the most accurate backstage AU scene of all time, Vanity’s behavior is just spot on. 😂

I like that Vanity seems just as unhinged behind the scenes as she is in the actual comic.

Is that Dave!?

Modern Vanity looks like a blast to be around and I love the little snort she does while laughing lol :) Kei and Adira look very amazing, as well!

I wonder what scenes. (⁠;⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

A difficulty that all new actors (and actresses, for us older folks) experience. Few of us ever get exposed to nudity outside of seeing someone else in that position on screen or stage! And yes, @jeffh4, you are correct! 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

I've only had Vanity for 10 minutes but if anything were to happen to her I'd kill everyone in this room and then myself

I love modern Vanity. Looks fun to hang out with

Reminds me of another comic i support, draconia chronicles. His whole story is based off of the idea that all of his characters are just actors for a tv show, but thats part of the side story and now the main story.

Esta Vanity tiene más azúcar que cerebro.

This came out perfect Tom, even better than I expected - thanks so much! You nailed the dialogue/tone exactly (I ran out of space in the prompt, but it's right on), and Adira's actress' antics elevate it even further. The extra details you added from your interpretation make this incredible. Keiren's actor is so, so, so not ready for Vanity's scenes. Headcanon: Vanity's actress stole "Vinny's" chair when he wasn't looking and the crew's donut box. She claimed it was method acting ("I play the Face Stealer - I steal stuff")... it's a lie. She was just too lazy to get her own chair and really wanted donuts. Also headcanon: Vanity's actress is basically the same as her character with crazy troll gremlin chaos energy. Thanks Tom!

Esa Vanity ya me esta dando mucho miedo, no es normal que ella se ría como si hubiera bebido 10 tazas de café.

Esa Vanity es la estereotipo de los zorros de la vida real, ríe como zorro, grita y chilla como zorro y juega con nieve como zorro.

Thus proving that there is no better target for teasing than a bashful human male! :-)

Wife material