#Drawing my favorite characters traumatized we're so back

[papayaturtles]

I love angst

[linagram]

linagram t3 designs info!

hi 👋 so this time we're going without character profiles because it takes. too much time for me to write them and it also just feels kinda awkward to write them now because it's all just "well.. this character sure has changed.. yeah"

so these are the prisoners' t3 designs and i'm going to talk about the changes i've made a little bit.

(also this time i went with drawing everyone's pupil shapes on their restraints because i got tired of drawing the milgram symbols every time. i think it looks cute)

Akio still has bandages on his head because of his injury, but he doesn't have them on his neck anymore, showing that he stopped hurting himself. His hair is still messy and it also got a bit longer on one side. His eyes are still empty as well, showing that he's still not over his season 2 punishment and he's still physically and mentally traumatized. As for his outfit, he's still wearing his school uniform, but at least he got a new jacket. Originally I was going to give him a completely different outfit, but I thought that him still wanting to wear his uniform would fit his character better.

Aimi's design hasn't changed that much. She got a new hairstyle, her hair is much shorter now and she still has the same ice cream hair clip. Her pupils have also changed a bit: her pupils used to be shaped like a broken heart and now they look like complete hearts, but they also look darker, implying that she thinks she got better, but in reality the girl is becoming more and more unstable. Her prison uniform has changed and she doesn't have a few of her restraints anymore, showing that she's getting more freedom thanks to her innocent verdicts.

Shun's hair has grown and his ahoge has changed to show that he didn't take his guilty verdict well. He has those "crazy swirly eyes" going on just like in the second season and he even has that shape on his restraints as well. Oh, he's wearing an eyepatch now as well, just like Kei :) Don't worry about it. He's still wearing the same outfit he wore in season 2.

Naomi's hair is MUCH more messy now, her eyes are empty, her dark circles got worse, she's overall looking more disheveled, we love to see it. At least she still has a smile on her face.

Kei's design has changed a lot. That's what a 100% innocent verdict does to you. His hair is much longer now, and I honestly couldn't decide if he would have it tied in a ponytail or let it down while I was drawing his design, but now I think he would most likely have a ponytail, just a very messy and fluffy one. He's no longer wearing his sunglasses! Yes, he got new ones from Reina, but he decided he doesn't need them anymore. Character development, I guess?.. He got a new eyepatch as well, a much cuter one. He still kept the mask from season 2 and you can interpret it in any way you like, like maybe he simply thought it was cool or maybe he's still insecure about his appearance. He got a completely new outfit and even his prison uniform has changed and it now doesn't have sleeves.

EIKO'S DESIGN IS MY FAVORITE ONE SHE'S SERVING AND NOT ONLY A SENTENCE. She got a haircut, she got the guilty prisoner's empty eyes and dark circles, she got new earrings as well (and they look a lot like Milgram's logo..). Her uniform looks a bit torn and Shun gave her the jacket he used to wear in season 1 so that she can feel more comfortable. The jacket is a bit too big for her, but she doesn't mind. Her prison uniform also doesn't have sleeves anymore, just like Kei's.

Asahi's hair is also a bit longer now and he went back to his ponytail from season 1. He's actually wearing the same hat the cat plushie from his 2023 birthday art had! He got a different shirt and he's also wearing a cute skirt now. I should draw him wearing skirts more often honestly. He looks more nervous here than on his season 2 art.. I wonder what happened..

OH YURIKA. THE GIRL'S UNIFORM IS TORN, SHE'S MISSING MOST OF HER RESTRAINTS AND THE ONES SHE STILL HAS AREN'T EVEN RESTRAINING HER ANYMORE, SHE HAS LIKE THE HALF OF HER PRISON UNIFORM'S SKIRT MISSING AND WORST OF ALL SHE'S STILL WEARING THE SAME OUTFIT SHE WORE IN THE FIRST TWO SEASONS. The worst thing that came out of Yurika getting two guilty verdicts in a row was her never getting a new outfit to wear under her uniform. She also doesn't look that angry anymore, she just looks like she completely lost her mind. She probably did.

Riku's hair is black again and without any highlights. That's what he looks like with only his natural hair color. He's another member of the "my hair got longer! wow!" squad. His uniform looks torn and messy as well and the same goes for the outfit that he's wearing under it and it's the same one that he used to wear in season 2. He's missing some of his accessories and he stopped painting his nails and doing his makeup.

Reina's design is giving me extremely strong nonbinary or transmasc vibes and I feel like Reina isn't 100% cis but she's in a prison and she has another trial to go through so she doesn't have the time for that rn. She got a new hairstyle and her pupils are completely black now. Oh girl, what is going on inside your head.. She's also wearing a different jacket now, this one has a hood. I like to imagine that she misses the feeling of wearing a hat a bit, so she still kinda wants her head to be covered, but she refuses to wear hats because it reminds her of her delinquent era.

[ardienothesieno]

ash (and mechanic if yr feeling up to both) with 5, 6, and 23? :D

RUNNIGN AROUND AND DOING BACKFLIPS YES YES YES WOOHOO I LOVE GETTING TO TALK ABOUT MY SILLIES

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them? 6. What's something you have in common with this character? 23. Favorite picture of this character?

ask game

5.

ash's theme song is Gilded Lily, by Cults!! i think it really matches with the overarching themes that i've tried to show in ash's story, particularly perseverance and writing your own destiny. i actually have a joint playlist for them and 13 fireflies... here if you're interested :)))

and honestly the first song that comes to mind when i think of mechanic is furret walk. silly derpy little dude. it walk.

6.

a lot. me and ash have a lot in common. for starters, we have very similar traumatic experiences!! all of their trauma is based off of my own.. i just made theirs slightly worse lol i think the main thing we share is that we are both people who've been through a ton of shit, and are currently going through a ton of shit, and will continue to go through a ton of shit. but the world has hurt us enough already, and we're not going to let it break us-- or any of the people we love-- ever again.

as for me and mech? we're both really smart idiots. we do the stupidest shit and are completely clueless but then turn around and solve complex physics equations like it's nothing.

23.

this drawing that @kakyogay did of them a bit ago!! it's from back before ash had a poncho, but something about the way the lineart is done the colors and mech's little FACE!! aughhhh such a cutie... my babies i love them so much

[laidee-flegman]

Journal prompts for dealing with your triggers

What's that one thing that never fails to make your eye twitch? Describe it in all its triggering glory.

When did you first notice this trigger creeping into your life? Was it like a ninja in the night or more of a "bam, I'm here" situation?

Give your trigger a name. Go on, get creative with it. Something like Captain Cringe or Drama Llama. Own that trigger, fam!

How does this trigger manifest physically? Sweaty palms? Eye rolling so hard you can see the back of your head? Paint us a vivid picture.

Dig deep and uncover the root cause. What childhood trauma or embarrassing moment might be hanging out in the shadows, pulling the trigger strings?

Think about the last time this trigger ruined your day. What happened, and how did you react? Were there tears? Swearing? A dramatic exit?

On a scale from 1 to "I need therapy ASAP," how much does this trigger control your life?

Imagine your trigger is a character in a movie. Who would play it, and what would its catchphrase be?

List three situations where this trigger is most likely to pop up uninvited. Prepare yourself, Sherlock, we're going detective mode.

If your trigger had a theme song, what would it be? Bonus points if you can hum it while writing.

Flip the script! How can you reframe your thoughts when this trigger comes knocking? Turn that negativity into a comedy show, my friend!

Explore your coping mechanisms. Do you drown your sorrows in ice cream, or are you more of a scream-into-a-pillow kind of person?

Have a heart-to-heart with your trigger. What would you say to it if it were sitting right in front of you? Get sassy if you need to.

Reflect on a time when you conquered this trigger like a superhero. What powers did you unleash to defeat the villain?

Create a "Trigger Emergency Kit" – a go-to list of things that make you happy and distract you from the trigger madness. (Hint: Puppies and pizza are solid options.)

If your trigger were a meme, what would it look like? Embrace the meme magic, my friends.

Channel your inner therapist. What advice would you give your bestie if they were dealing with this trigger?

Journal your dream scenario: You, your trigger, and a boxing ring. Who wins, and how epic is the victory dance?

Share your trigger struggles with a friend. You're not alone in this, and sometimes a good laugh with a buddy is the best medicine.

Write a letter to your future self, giving them tips on how to handle the trigger like a boss.

Map out a "No BS" plan for dealing with the trigger next time it shows its face. No excuses, just action!

What would your favorite fictional character do in the face of this trigger? WWJD (What Would James Bond Do)?

Explore the silver lining. Is there anything positive you can extract from this trigger experience? Growth, resilience, a killer stand-up routine?

Imagine your trigger as a superhero origin story. What traumatic event turned it into the complex character it is today?

Create a mantra to repeat when the trigger strikes. Something like "Not today, Satan!" but tailored to your unique situation.

Draw a comic strip illustrating a day in the life of you versus your trigger. Spoiler alert: You're the superhero.

Journal your progress. Have there been moments when this trigger had less power over you? Celebrate those victories, no matter how small!

Write a breakup letter to your trigger. It's time to kick that toxic relationship to the curb.

Explore the possibility that your trigger is secretly your BFF in disguise, just trying to toughen you up. What valuable life lessons is it attempting to teach?

Reflect on how you want to grow beyond this trigger. What kind of badass version of yourself will emerge from the trigger ashes?

[virologikal]

❤,🧡 and 💚 for the ask game!

𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞: 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 <𝟑

❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

Piers Nevans, hands down. Stay with me here.

Let me preface this by saying I am absolutely no Piers hater, nor do I dislike the Chris/Piers ship (in fact, I am very much on the side of letting people do what they want with fictional characters, so "right or wrong" doesn't really exist in fandom to me in the strictest sense).

What I do dislike is how many people seem to brush over the fact that Piers is not an innocent little boy, small cinammon roll can't do nothing wrong. And it's such wasted potential!

Every time I play RE6 I shake my head at how he treats Chris. It's been a little while since I last played it so I will keep my points very superficial for now, but all in all Piers handled Chris' situation absolutely poorly. Does he pull him from his depressed, drunk and traumatized state? Sure. But it is not healthy. It is in no way empathic or even respectful - and that says a lot about him as a character. There was a very possible chance of him re-traumatizing Chris and causing more damage in the process with how he handled things, and I feel like it's often disregarded because he looks up to him.

And he keeps doing it during their mission!

I would absolutely love it if people would lean into that toxicity more instead of acting like he is just a Chris fan. You can do so much with that. Was Piers instructed to act this way / was he pressured to get Chris back to his old self asap? Was he driven by his admiration or maybe even by his ambition? Can we maybe talk about how he thinks he knows Chris just because he admires him, and in the process gets a lot about the man wrong? Was he feeling helpless and lashing out because of that or does he even have some trauma of his own and projects it onto Chris? There are so many ways to make this interesting, but usually I only see them as a soft couple, Piers' actions not being talked about at all and Chris not being taken seriously for the trauma he has been through.

I'd love to go into more detail so if I should do a deep dive into his character, let me know!

🧡: What is a popular (serious) theory you disagree with? I don't know if it is to be considered a serious theory but I will say I don't think Chris and Jill would be a forever couple. I absolutely can see them being together (they were for a time in my current fic, too!), but I feel like the things they went through would cause them to drift apart more than keep them close to each other.

Chris is always on missions, never slowing down to take care of his mental health or working through all the trauma he has been through. He raised Claire, so I feel like he would try to apply what he did with her to Jill, and I don't see Jill wanting to be treated like an injured animal after what she has been through. There is just so much to unpack with them that I think they would be hindering each other in getting better rather than the opposite. It does make for interesting material to write about, though!

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

Again, I don't think there are any "right or wrong" interpretations of a character and I would never claim to know "better" than others, we're all just playing with fictional dolls here and I think that's awesome.

What I will say though is that I don't agree with the characterization or interpretation of Wesker being mean or an asshole to people prior to the Mansion Incident. I think it's been stated in canon lore that he was actually popular at the R.P.D., and people thought he was "cool" or something to that effect.

But even if you decide to stray from canon lore, I don't think it would make much sense if he was antagonizing people as it would draw too much attention. If you dislike someone, you usually tend to look extra hard if they're doing something wrong or shady so you can get into their business and (in his case) even get them reported or fully removed.

I think he was strict, but never mean as a Captain. He had appearances to uphold, so he would fake being personable, charming, etc. just so he would have one less thing to worry about. The Wesker we see after the Mansion Incident is more true to his real self, I would say. He had no need to keep up his masquerade, and I think the antagonistic way he behaves in Code Veronica and RE5 leads people to believe he always was this way, so I kind of understand the thought process. I just think he is way more intelligent than to draw unnecessary attention :>

[nerdyspeechy]

Last Line Game

Rules: Post the last sentence you wrote (fanfic / original / anything) and tag as many people as there are words in the sentence.

Thank you @vela-ad-astra for the tag! Although, I don't know what you were thinking...we both know I'm not a writer. While I do have a ton of ideas floating around in my head for fanfic, I don't have the courage or organizational skills to put them to paper yet. So, instead, you get a snippet into my daily life. It's riveting.

Patient demonstrated inconsistent cough response to aspiration events.

I will elaborate. Because I love what I do and that sentence makes no sense if I don't. I'm an acute care speech-language pathologist and a decent portion of my caseload consists of people with dysphagia, an acquired swallowing disorder, typically the result of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or prolonged intubation. One of my favorite things I get to do is modified barium swallow studies where we shoot an x-ray video to visualize the structures involved in the swallowing mechanism to determine where the areas of weakness are and what we can do to rehabilitate that individual's swallow function. It's fascinating.

To vela-ad-astra's comment, it's actually been a few months since I've made any candles. But the last one I made was inspired by a character in my friend's debut novel. It's black cardamom, cream, and vetiver, and it smells divine, if I do say so myself. My candle making endeavor will likely pick back up now that we're settled in our new house. So, be on the look out for things to come...I might actually start a shop or something rather than horde candles inspired by my favorite characters, books, games, and whatever else I draw inspiration from.

Anyways, that was a lot of information about someone who barely posts anything. So thanks for reading!

Now to tag people. I honestly don't know who to tag, so I'm just going to tag a few who have posted things recently that have sparked joy for me that I haven't seen tagged yet. No pressure to play along. And if you don't write, that's okay! I made this game my own and rambled about myself for entirely too long.

@jessfromouterspace, @mrdekarios, @mrsd-writes, @bisexual-kaidan-alenko, @galedekarios, @noe-wtfisthat-miller, @laelior, @recalcitrantbeetroot

[undignifiend]

Ok I gotta sort out this years-long block. It's Ate-Ate (Vore Day) in 2024. Why haven't I been productive on that count?

(Posting this Blatant Oversharing where I'm likely to read it again to hopefully help myself climb back onto the tracks.)

I thought it was classic perfectionism, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like it's something else.

Maybe it's the fatigue? At least in part? (For a while, I've been able to sleep for 12+ hours and still wake up tired.) I'm taking vitamins and exercising again, hopefully that will sort me out. (My oblivious, tired ass might have forgotten B12, Omega-3, and Vitamin D supplements exist for a hot second. And I'm told L-Tyrosine is a precursor to dopamine among other helpful things, so I'm putting some extra focus on that, too.) It's been a few days since I got back on those habits, and I'm starting to feel a little sharper and more motivated. Maybe I just need to keep it consistent and be more patient with myself?

But while I'm thinking about possible causes, I've always been super reluctant about writing/drawing/sharing anything vore related. Like, I've had to psych myself up first. As if it's normally supposed to stay in my head and only there. Even when I *know* there are plenty of others who go just as bonkers for it as I do. Even when I've only ever gotten positive feedback from others who Get It. Hell, I've included stupid little warnings for even just mentioning vore in some chapters I've written. As if it's not what we're all here for.

Because even when I do write it, historically, it's accompanied by a shit-ton of angst (usually especially on the part of the predator) - even in safe situations where their biology makes it impossible (or nearly) for their prey to be harmed by the experience. It's like they still think "This shit will traumatize you, I need to never do it or even hint at the fact that I like it in order for things to go smoothly." Even if the prey is actually cool with it and wishes the predator would lighten up. It's like they're the two halves of my own feelings on the matter, and they keep dragging out the same fight. Which would be fine if the prey won, but the reluctant predator is in a far larger weight class, both physically and, apparently/unfortunately, mentally.

Which. Is a bit extra weird 'cause personally I prefer imagining myself as prey. But in order to write a compelling character, I feel I have to get into their head a bit. And maybe I've been mistaking projecting with getting into the predator's mindset, if that makes sense? I think there's an important distinction here: Instead of imposing how I'd feel in their place, I need to focus on how they'd feel, given their own histories and perspectives. You know, like a writer does. If I was doing that to begin with, it wouldn't look like the same character with a different face every time.

And goddamn it, the fantasy characters I make up (or project onto) are my only possible outlet for one of my favorite things to think about. Not a carbon copy of my useless shame complex. So the solution is to Level Up my writing. (and keep taking supplements and exercising so I'll stay sharp and motivated enough to accomplish that.)

Who doesn't love confident preds anyway? They're honestly the best.

Happy Vore Day, everybody. Here's hoping I'll jump back in sometime soon.

[postapocalypticcatbrat]

art journeys are so strange. the fuckers in my head don't make it any less strange. I've been drawing since i was a kid, just never stopped and now that's what I'm in college for. I'm cleaning my room. I found all my old sketchbooks, i don't remember half any of it nor the order they go in. only some pages have dates. my headmate could ID some late highschool stuff, mainly because that's when we got into a game that genuinely improved our life. our mom (genuinely a shit mom) banned us from fanart back in middle school i think.

but then there's fanart of beloved characters that i still hold dear, yet there's some downright primal fear around those drawings. and it makes me wonder how much did our mom fuck up our art journey. i wonder who remembers how our mom reacted to the fanart of two guys holding hands, the drawing of a demon guy in a dress. there's no more fashion drawings after that.

i graduated highschool the same year i found my favorite video game, a game my mom never knew i adored, i also got into zelda at that time, but my mom knew of that. i was also in ap 2d art at that time. my art teacher said to hide my art style, it was "too anime" in her words. my art looks so stagnant until i started sketching my favorite game's antagonist.

my childhood friend entered my life again after graduating highschool. they got to be the first one to hear about my favorite game and the first to see the first fanart i did of it.

college started and i was in art appreciation, the teacher encumbered me to go into the art department. I'm glad i listened to her.

but before that i had winter break. some traumatic shit happened during it so I'll spare the details, but i used my favorite game as a coping mechanism and drew it to stay calm. even with the bad memories connected to the drawings from then, i still actually like them.

school started back and i entered drawing 1, the teacher is a kind lady, she's from Ukraine, she also teaches printmaking. entering her class was a weird time. my mom got sick, no longer fully controlling me, i just discovered my system (or well, the words for it), the main fucker who deals with school now showed up (I'll call them 'C', they are here alot), and an abusive friendship ended. it was alot.

my time in drawing class had me draw a portrait of soneone by memory, i had chosen that childhood friend. it was the first time in our memories that there was a sense of pride in a portrait. god it was awful looking, but it was them, C was proud of it. i don't they ever showed our friend, oh well.

drawing class was amazing. the teacher still is amazing, we're taking printmaking 2 next semester with her. she encouraged trying new things, framed as "seeing new horizons" rather than "leaving your comfort zone" but she also wanted everyone to do things they liked. we did character illustration, C designed a group of characters for one class and decided to use those characters in our drawing final, a large 3 piece series.

those drawings look almost 3d, the characters were cut out and taped onto a drawn background, layered to have deep shadows. it doesn't look that good, but it's interesting, it even had the teacher encourage us to try making pop ups. C indeed tried that suggestion. and they liked it, the mix of art and engineering made C find it enjoyable.

i wonder why no other teacher before was as encouraging as her. why was it always to hide, not embrace.

now i sew. cosplay was something we've loved for years, but now we see how much our mom controlled us with it. i finally sewn a part of a cosplay from scratch. why was i not allowed to do that before is something C and I wonder now. C wore that costume to a convention, it was of the antagonist for our favorite game. it's weird, it feels like we're reclaiming what was stolen from us by an abusive peice of shit mother.

we've sewn a plush, it actually was the critter that went to C's costume. it's in an artshow now. something most people think to submit master studies, still lifes, and sculpture or abstract art to. now a pokemon from a fangame is in it, I'm told it's always the artwork you're not proud of that gets into shows, but now the plushy C is so proud of is on display. it's weird.

i know if our mom was alive, she's tell us what to submit, i doubt it would have been the plushy, she probably wouldn't have let us make it.

it's still weird. sometimes i wonder how our art would look if our mom just let us do our thing. or if we never got into that game. i know our art would be very different (or more consistent lol) if we weren't a system, but that one i can answer, the others will be mysteries as long as we're on our art journey

idk, moral of the story, it gets better even if it's weird as fuck. i went from not being allowed to do anything to making a giant staff out of wood at school (with the teacher's help because my disability said no saws for me) for a cosplay. I went from not knowing anything going on and being scared to jokingly arguing with my headmates about zelda lore while doing art homework. it's weird, it's unwell, but it's better than it was and it'll keep getting better

[dausy]

pattern art to get in the fall spirit and take up space while I do a life update. I've accomplished a few things, books, video games and then some life issues.

So easy stuff first I guess. I finished one of my goals of reading a Harry Potter book in spanish. I read the first book. It took me all year because it was a major brain fart/humbler. Reason why I chose HP was because its made for kids and it was familiar. I did NOT understand everything but luckily digital devices come equipped with a translation dictionary. About halfway through the book is when I had my first notebook with my art made. Whenever I get to book 2 my plan is to write down words that I had trouble with. There were 3 words in the first book that showed up frequently that kept confusing me but I didn't write them down haha. So I cant tell you.

I have a rant about another book I'm reading, Ill wait til I'm done

--games--

Secondly I finished playing Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West back to back. That took me..ages..when I first turned on HFW I was like "oh..thats the map..this is tiny" and well somehow I put double the man hours into the sequel than the original game with the DLC. Think I finished HZD in 50 or 60 hours after completing everything that game had to offer. 100% completion. HFW Id been playing for 90 and I didn't complete everything and just kinda said "eff this" and finished it. I like open world games. I'd play a third game, probably wont get to a dlc I dont generally do those on purpose.

My issue is though is I still don't like the character designs. I think HZD was the superior game. I kind of like the doom and gloom apocalypse back story and I like the idea of our modern life being somebody elses ruins. I like that. But everything else, the over story, the character designs..its like putting a jak and daxter style design on a serious story of The Last of Us. It didn't go. We needed to either choose if we were being serious or not. The sequel I enjoyed the gameplay but I think it suffered from being a sequel. Its getting too big for its britches. I dont like the space stuff. I dont like the immortality stuff.

so not my favorite game of all time but I'd play another.

I was playing disney dreamlight but I think Ill move on here soon to Ooblets to fill in time.

---

Lastly life.

--

My grandma died. It was not unexpected especially after seeing her for the final time a few weeks ago and I could tell she wasn't going to make it much longer. The thing that kinda bothered me or reassured me the most is..atleast gramma wasn't aware of what was going on. She's told me to my face how much the death of her siblings years before traumatized her and how she's afraid of dying. Really afraid we're all going to hell. If she could see herself on her deathbed she would absolutely freak out.

seeing her at the viewing again, was kinda sad. She just looked uncomfortable. People say "atleast now they're at peace" nah, gramma looked just as uncomfortable as when I saw her the other weekend. Its amazing how my brain remembers her from a few years ago and that viewing-experience just did not look like the gramma that I knew.

its just another phase of life coming to an end.

we've had it rough this past year. Husband lost his dad, we lost our cat at the same time and I've lost 2 grandmothers.

My work called me off the entirety of last week so I havent worked in over a week. Todays my first day back and I was asked to come in late. So I'ma have like..no paycheck..but whatever I guess.

so anywho I havent managed to be creative. I did manage to draw a bit yesterday so I may paint something but I dont know think it'll meet any sort of standard or expectation.

[scattered-winter]

kyle for the character ask!

favorite thing about him

it's all about the LOVE

he's just. he's an artist he's a romantic he sees the best in people he mastered all 7 colors of the emotional spectrum he's the best of them all he's traumatized to hell and back he's the torchbearer he's the first he's the last he's the white lantern he's the golden boy he's just a kid trying his best I just think he's neat <3

I also love how dark he gets sometimes ! like. idk I like em a little fucked up, ya know?! he tortures and kills bad guys and doesn't show a bit of guilt and I think it's great <3 he's so good and hopeful and loving but he's also a little messed up <3

least favorite thing about him

idk I guess....his stubbornness? I usually don't Hate things about a character just because even their bad traits make them multifaceted! 3 dimensional! but I do admit it's a little annoying when he refuses to budge on something. his follow-your-heart attitude, while GREAT, also tends to give him tunnel vision, and it can be hard for him to see another point of view (especially if he has personal stakes in the matter.) what I'm thinking of right off the top of my head is during Kyle and Connor's teamup, when they meet Kyle's "dad" and Connor is suspicious (rightly so!) but Kyle is so blinded by his emotions that he refuses to even consider that Connor is wise to be cautious. it ends up causing some problems down the line, and temporarily damaged their friendship. from a writer's standpoint it's a brilliant character flaw because it can also be a strength, depending on the situation! Kyle's free heart have done a lot of good and it's why I love him! it just...isn't always good, ya know? from a reader's standpoint it can get frustrating to see him refuse to even consider another point of view even though he really probably should. idk it's all relative

favorite line

just gonna drop these here <3

OTP

y'all know I'm a jaykyle stan to the extreme <3 they could make each other worse in the most entertaining way possible

also like. the PARALLELS

Kyle is a white lantern! protector of life!! Jason died!! they're both willing to do whatever's necessary to protect people! I just think they're neat <3 and I'm a slut for enemies to lovers. what are ya gonna do about it

I also feel like Alex doesn't get enough appreciation. that's probably because she died like 2 issues in but STILL. her ex boyfriend gets a power ring and she's just like "aight let's get you some publicity!" and starts a photoshoot almost on the spot. she was so supportive of him from the get-go and where did that lead her?!

I also cry every time I read Circle of Fire so yeah. I remember my roots I'm a Kyle/Alex truther at heart

I'd also like to put connorkyle as an honorable mention ! I love their friendship so much and I wouldn't mind seeing it with a dash of romance thrown in!

nOTP

I haven't come across anything in fandom that's made me go NOPE tbh! I'm always pretty chill with shipping anyway but I just don't really have many strong feelings about Kyle's love life outside of those stated above

brOTP

his and Connor's friendship is just. GOALS. they meet up during a fight and decide "oh we're besties now" and go on a road trip to find Kyle's dad. along the way they get into a bar fight (Kyle started it) and also start a fight with an entire town of lawyers before finally meeting aforementioned dad (who wasn't really his real dad but shh). they banter they tease and Kyle makes constructs for his friend to carry him around and Connor has to haul Kyle out of ridiculous situations he keeps getting himself into. I fuckin love those two.

just guys being dudes <3

I'd also like to point out that in this scene, Connor is wearing a construct trench coat because he didn't have any other clothes to wear over his suit. truly nobody does it like them <3

random headcanon

I think he draws his friends a lot! sometimes he gives them the finished product as a gift but most of them he just keeps in his sketchbooks. idk I think it's sweet <3

unpopular opinion

he should have an animated series or something. he should have been in Green Lantern: the Animated Series actually. you know what I would give to see Kyle and Razer interact?!? I would kill a man

favorite picture of him

I had to narrow down his Ion appearances to make them all fit under the picture limit, but just know that the entire Ion run is on this post in my heart <3 also included is my favorite background Kyle from his very first solo comic, some of my favorite panels from dark crisis (again, haven't read it yet but bro I am Looking 👀), and Kyle being endearing <3

send me a character!

[bookish-fan-things]

The Captive Kingdom Launch Party HIGHLIGHTS

Jen has a dog that won't play fetch and a cat that hallucinates

The Kings English Bookstore is home to many authors in Utah and it has been hit hard by Covid-19. She asks for us to support them or your local indie bookstore!!!

November 14, there is going to be an author extravaganza to support TKE Bookstore

Shortly after the False Prince came out, she was still a very new author, she got a tweet from R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps saying how much he loved TFP. She was so excited and she wanted to thank him personally but didn't know his name, and he had called her Jennifer so she didn't want to say Mr. Stine.So she ended up just saying, thanks!

Book 5 is due to her editor Monday (October 5, 2020) and she said she would be finishing this (the launch) then getting right back to it!

She showed her open project folders (there are a LOT)

Working on a World War 1 story and she showed history books she is reading such as History of the World War, A World Undone, and Weird War One.

One of her new works is about a kid with no memory, a magic sharpie, and a dice game called Boggle that sometimes talks to him and he sees a message in the dice: “they know ur here go”

Q&A!!!

Disney, book to movie adaptation possibilities? She'd be fine with it if they asked. She wants it to be made right. She wants someone who comes to at it with a fan’s perspective.

Paramount Pictures had optioned the rights to the False Prince, what happened? When you have a contract, every six months they have to decide whether to extend, cancel, or make the movie. As her six months was coming up, they fired their CEO, so everything evaporated.

How does it affect you emotionally when one of your characters goes through something traumatic or extremely challenging? She has a background in theatre and she comes to writing from a theatrical perspective. It plays out in her head like it's on stage so she becomes every character. She goes through everything with her characters, she feels it, she dreads it, she feels awful, but she's learned that “Most of us are in this stasis of being where we are just comfortable being exactly who we are and when something hard happens to us, even if we hate it, it forces us to grow. The hard thing creates heroes. So my characters start out believing they are just ordinary people, but when I do the hard things, my characters become very heroic characters. I do hard things to them because I love watching them grow.” I had to include this quote because it was so great

Favorite background character who you think gets overlooked a lot? Kerwyn, he is one of the very few stable things in the lives of the main characters, he is just good, strong, and loyal. Amarinda, she’s ok with being overlooked but she is so strong and intelligent.

Characters based on yourself? Not really, she doesn't think she is interesting enough to write about, but Sage, like her, is left handed, climbs, and has her sense of humor. She relates closely to the main character from the Scourge, Ani, and sees a lot of herself in her, but didn't base Ani on herself, they just have a lot in common.

Jen discussed how she plots out her books and how many drafts she goes through: she's got to know the twist so she can layout the hints. She shows an example of a chart of how much each character and what the reader knows. She rewrites a lot and feels it come together. First rewrite is fixing major plot issues. Second, logic. Dialogue. Description. Word choice. Could be 10-15 drafts before her editor sees it, who sees things Jen missed.

Have your characters ever taken you by surprise (with twists)? The ending of Mark of the Thief book one, she didn't expect, so she had to make some changes. Usually on top of it, and has something called the Rule of Five. Has a general idea, and makes herself come up with five possible ways the idea could play out. 1, usually pretty predictable. 5, usually really weird. 2, 3, and 4 she really gets creative. “Limitations are the mother of creativity.”

How she gets her character names: baby name books and websites (Imogen and Tobias). Symbolic, Sage (wise, a way for him to stick it to his dad and say he has wisdom), Connor (con man), Jaron (teenage boy she knew who was just a great person and outstanding kid, and if we had royalty in our country he would be a prince). Put sounds together, places, Amarinda, Mott, Roden, Kerwyn. (She also gave an example for writers to use: UTAH, UTAR, TUTAR, TOTAR, TOTARA, city of Totara!!)

She explained how she does her fantasy world building and it is mainly based on what she will need in the plot (ie Carthya is landlocked, mountains to the north, waterways that would be needed, it is resource wealthy making it desirable, etc)

Culture and religion in world building: how many gods or none? saints and devils! causing good and bad things in your life. Sage feels like he is constantly being harassed by the devils. It became a social thing in the world.

Would she want to live there [in Carthya]? Sometimes, but not in the last book that she is editing now!! *wink*

Where's fink's rat? Fink’s rat is on the castle grounds. She said this. It's canon. Fink’s. Rat. Is. In. The. Castle. (See @thedevilsofcarthya for full transcript of Jen discussing this)

TCK trailer: created by her family, particularly her son, Chase, and the voiceover was her son in law. Chase wanted to do something different and take a risk.

Your career as an author? When she started writing she knew nothing and nobody just had a manuscript that was ‘awful’ and will be buried with her. (I personally would read ANYTHING she wrote). She submitted her second one to “every agent with a pulse” and everyone said no. She wrote a new one, they said no. Fourth manuscript, she felt ready to break in, Apprentice to a Madman, she thought it was the best thing ever, submitted it and got a rejection scribble, not a letter, worked on it and kept getting rejected. One publisher had rep for taking everybody so she sent in hers. A couple months later, on her birthday, she got a call from a friend that they got an acceptance letter from the same publisher as she had submitted hers, got her own… rejected…She thought a lot about it and decided to erase everything she thought she knew about publishing and once she had a new idea, that manuscript got her agent and first publisher. That letter on her birthday was the last rejection letter she received. “Remember you can start from nowhere and find success.”

When asked for descriptions of the characters so an artist can draw them, she said, they look like how you envision them, there is no ‘right’. (Shows fanart from the competition that is on her blog!)

TCK art print was created by her niece, Ireland. It is her concept of the characters.

Writing during covid and quarantine? She's a strong believer that when God closes a door, he opens a window. She misses the opportunities to be in schools and bookshops. Just discovered a new WW2 true story she is researching. Various stories at different stages. Very excited for stories she has created because of Covid. “We will get through this, we will, and we're going to be stronger at the end because remember, when we go through hard things we get stronger."

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of this Week: Week of March 26th, 2019

Best of this Week: Mr. & Mrs. X #9 - Kelly Thompson, Oscar Bazaldua, Frank D'Armata and Joe Sabino

Another wonderful case of character development to one of my favorite mutants.

Rogue has had a long, tragic history within the Marvel Universe. When she first used her powers, she accidentally killed (or put into a coma) her first crush and this set her down a path of fear that led to her being manipulated by Mystique into becoming a villain and completely absorbing Carol Danvers powers and psyche (X-Men, 1980s), making her more heroic. Things have only gotten crazier over time with her losing her powers, regaining them, absorbing millions of minds from the “Hecatomb” and even a Wonder Man. (Uncanny Avengers, 2014)

One of her main characteristics has been her constant need to push people away, thinking she's protecting them. She's been doing it to Gambit for years. Right when they were on the cusp of being more, she'd always say, “no, I don't wanna see you get hurt, Remy.” This issue, however reveals that she's been stewing in a deep fear of rejection ever since she lost her powers back in Uncanny X-Men (1990s?)

There's always been a part of her that's been unsure, unconfident and that's what's been causing her powers to go haywire, killing Gambit over and over in the last issue. It's what has never allowed her to fully gain control of her abilities. It's what has stalled her relationship with Gambit and others for years and upon realizing this, she lets those feeling go, becoming the whole and confident badass that we've believed she's been for years!

Casting off years and years of the same storyline, it's a welcome change to the character and I certainly hope that this leads to bigger and better things for her!

In the background, Gambit does what he does best, thieving. Tasked with retrieving something so that Spiral will help them escape Mojoworld, Gambit does so and incidentally helps to spark an insurrection with the citizens. As Gambit said, “people change, but Gambit always been cool, so some things don’ change.”

I lived Gambit's part in this because his was an inner monologue about how he wants everything. He wants his lovely wife, the thrill of a good heist and a good life in general, but he knows he can't. Above all else, he wants a life with Rogue and as long as one more heist can help him out of the mess he's in now, he'll do anything for her and that's why Gambit is cool.

---------------------------------------------------

God, I love comedy of errors.

Runner Up: Darth Vader: Dark Visions #2 - Dennis Hopeless, Brian Level, Jordan Boyd and Joe Caramagna

After successfully taking down an unknown sized band of rebels, an Empire Commander laments that one of the rebels got away. He considers the mission a failure and orders the crew to take the pilot, but one of his Officers reviews the Intel gained, the destruction of the base and the blow to the Rebel Alliance and considers that things may have been a success anyway. The Commander agrees and is met with a call that Lord Vader will be there to personally congratulate him and take the Rebel Prisoner.

Suffice to say, I died with laughter.

We're treated to a flashback of Darth Vader murdering an entire office of Officers because they failed to take a prisoner and the current commanding officer has been traumatized by this, forever haunted by Vader's words, “Failure is unacceptable.” Brian Level draws one of the best terrified expressions in have ever seen. The Commander's eyes pop out of his head, his veins SHOOT out of him and the sweat beads down his face screaming, “I do NOT want to die!”

Blinded by fear, the Commander orders his crew to find that Rebel Pilot and take him. They warp into an asteroid field,  the entire fleet of fighters is sent to capture the pilot, but he outmaneuvers them. The fleet is decimated, so he commands them to fight through the asteroid field in the Star Destroyer.

It is absolutely mangled as they go through. At one point, the pilot flies into the mouth of an Exogorth, the giant worms that live in Asteroids. The Commander does the most insane and craziest thing I have ever seen and orders the ship to FLY INTO THE MOUTH OF THE BEAST. Level NAILS this insanity with the perfect blend of slapstick comedy and badass imagery and the Commander's facial expression. They rip through the other side of the beasts neck and the ship is damn near destroyed by it and the rest of the asteroids.

Only the commander survives in the fiery wreckage of the ship as Vader walks through the chaos, lightsaber alight with only three words. “Failure. Is. Unacceptable.”

This book was a riot and I was dying with laughter. I certainly hope things like this were what Chuck Wendig had in mind before he was fired from this project, because this book was hilarious. That Exogorth bit alone makes this book worth the $3.99 price tag and I had a wonderful time reading every second of it.

HIGH Recommend.

[copdog1234]

Alright, yall ready for my thesis??? Once again, I would like to say this is just my opinion, if you don't feel the same that's ok!! They're just games and everyone is gonna feel differently about them for different reasons. That's kinda the beauty of choice based games. I'll go in order of my thoughts on each game.

1) Life Is Strange 2: I'll be honest, my interest was piqued when the first episode came out, but not enough to buy it myself for a long time. I played Captain Spirit, I started to watch a playthough, but then I determined whenever I got to playing it, I wanted to play it blind.

I'm so glad I did, and honestly??? I regret not getting it sooner. It could be because I'm an older sibling myself, but out of all the LIS protagonists I felt the most connected to Sean and Daniel. I love them, I wanted nothing but the best for them, and honestly the most heartbreaking, but moving thing about the story of this game? It's the fact that none of the endings I've heard of or even the one I got are perfect endings for them. The series of events from the first episode are so messy and inescapable, there's really no right or wrong way to handle the situation. And I felt the most emotions for these characters and this story than I could for any of the other games. I was actively sobbing for like 3 separate episodes. I felt so angry during episode 4, I kept going back and forth between decisions in episode 3, it was a roller coaster. Honestly? I don't know how Sean kept it together as well as he did through all of it. No matter how you played him, I also felt that he's just an admirable person.

Also, I kinda like the fact that we're not the one with the powers, but they're still involved. It was super interesting to me to have to take care of a younger person with outstanding powers, where you don't have all the control, but you have influence over them. I like the moments of drawing. I liked that most characters were well-written and felt fleshed out to me. I liked the takes on some pretty big issues that the game had. Its not perfect, but LIS2, for me, is my favorite one for sure.

2) Life Is Strange: I played this game when I was 13, which is when it first came out, and through the years my feelings have changed for it. I think it's fine for what it is. The mystery elements, the petty high school drama mixed with the high-stakes drama of a TV show, and the cool concept of time-rewinds. It's an interesting pull, and this is the game that started the whole series. It had some takes on some big issues, too, but still fell flat in certain areas simply because it takes after teenage TV dramas. It's not going to have the best writing, but if that's what you're into, it's perfect.

But it's held back for a very big reason for me, and that is Chloe. I have never and will never understand the fandom's love of her. She is literally just a terrible person, shitty to people for pretty much no reason, even when they're actively reaching out to help her. Just because her dad died in a car accident and her BFF moved?? Like, yes, thats a little traumatic, but it doesnt excuse any of her actions or her dragging Max and guilting Max into the situations she does. And I'm supposed to protect her? All of the time??? No thank you. My opinions of Chloe never changed since I was young, and there's videos on youtube that go more in depth on my exact opinion on her because, thankfully, there are people who agree with me.

Also, the two endings. Despite the game basically telling you time and time again that you gotta save Chloe, the last decision absolutely wants you to sacrifice her (and honestly, I didn't hesitate). The ending in which you save Arcadia Bay is longer, more thought out, and I will admit, touching compared to the one where you choose to save her again.

Other than those big things, the game has cool set pieces, an interesting story, and a unique concept, and overall, I still enjoy it to this day. I just don't think it's the best.

3) Life Is Strange True Colors: This game to me was ok and also kind of forgettable. It's shorter than the first two main games, despite being one itself, and also more expensive??? For no reason???? I bought this at a full $40-60 for 4 episodes where as LIS and LIS2 were way cheaper, I believe (i dont remember the launch price exactly, i just know it def costed way more.) And it was not worth it.

The concept was really cool, and it had cool set pieces when that was utilized. The setting is beautiful, and it had some good moments. But like. I don't remember most of the characters all that well, and that says something. Also, despite it being a game centered on feelings, I didnt feel much during it. I enjoyed it on a surface level, but not nearly to the same extent as the other two main installments.

And my biggest gripe? The ending. It was so very underwhelming. Where LIS had a giant set pieces and interesting action bringing me to the climactic moment of making my last choice and LIS2 had me gaining and losing hope and got me sobbing as I had to make a tough choice that didn't have a perfect ending, LISTC?? had none of that. You just kinda. Talk to a guy. And then. Woo-hoo. You did it. You got the bad guy. The very one-dimensional bad guy that everyone knew was the bad guy. Good job. Yippee. That's the game. There may have been slightly more to it, but uh, I don't really remember and this is the most recent game to come out. So, make of that what you will.

4) Life Is Strange Before the Storm: My feelings on this one should be easy to guess considering who the protagonist is.

I hate Chloe, this game makes me feel that more. I also hate Rachel. She's got zero personality. Also. This game is useless. Especially considering the fact that we know what happens to both of these characters in the first LIS game. Also, this one has no powers, just the power to be a dickhead to everyone and everything, as Chloe always is. This is a useless installment. It didn't need to exist. It shouldn't exist. I didn't buy this one to play myself, I watched playthroughs. It's stupid. I hate it. End of story.

Ok, it took me time but I finally played LIS2, so here's my ranking of all the games in the series without explanations. May add some tomorrow, but yk.

1) LIS2 (including Captain Spirit as it's basically a free add-on)

2) LIS

3) LIS: TC

4) LIS: BTS