#adam tots

[redlettermediathings]

[adonischildsupportcase]

[tumblinbean]

Adam Tots writes the creepiest shit and I freaking love it

My book is heavily inspired by the spooky story collections I read as a kid, so of course I had to do my own version of The Green Ribbon, with my own spin on a different twist ending. And my book is FINALLY back in stock after immediately selling out on launch, so if you haven’t gotten it yet now’s the chance! Order here!

[kitsuneheartreviews]

Horror graphic novel: "Bad Dreams in the Night" by Adam Ellis

I've been supporting Adam Ellis on Patreon for about a year, so I knew, when I saw that he was releasing a collected version of his horror comics, that's I'd be ALL OVER THAT.

Adam's art has matured and gained fantastic detail since his early days on Buzzfeed. Now, there's full backgrounds everywhere, dynamic poses from the humans, and storylines that most online magazines wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. Which isn't to say that Ellis is overly gorey or does things just for shock value. His reveals are built up with craftsmanship, and even the stories which echo more well-known urban legends are given his full attention.

There's a few "autobiographical" stories in here, so you get to see how Adam depicts himself. It took me a moment to realize he only does this for these supposedly true stories, and doesn't do it to reuse a character design. Because he does some pretty good character design! As his work goes on, from his Patreon posts, he depicts people from more ethnic backgrounds and body shapes. This volume, being early horror, isn't as diverse as his newer stuff, but there are some non-white characters around.

I think the story that will most stick with even well-read horror fans is going to be "Buttered Corn Ramen." Just...what the fuck. Unique damn story, a good punch of horror, but what the fuck?

And if not that one, "Hangnail." Brrr, "Hangnail."

Now, Adam...when will you be releasing a collection of your...Patreon-only posts? ;P

Advanced reader copy provided by publisher.

[inubaki]

Change of Fortune

Commission by @sir-tater-of-the-tot

based on a story I commissioned from @libby-for-life, that we’ll post after the other commissions for it are finished. It’s semi-based on a steamy picture I found on Twitter that can NOT be posted here. And we composed a story around it!

I just adore this comic!! Ahhhh!!! It’s so good!!!!!!

Upon his return to Eden, Adam thinks all but himself are inevitable. And that none of his decisions will affect ‘their’ outcomes. Not even pulling the angel down to ‘his level’.

[feelneurotic]

hangman talking about gardening on bluesky and then goes on live tv to bestow us levels of violence beyond comprehension.

duality of this man astonishes me

[laciefuyu]

Main Story Episode 15 PV — 罪与罚 (Crime and Punishment)

[ronnabyte]

season 13; the season where a princess builds a entourage of 4 gay men and 1 big spider thats basically just an overgrown puppy. beautiful isnt it

og images for the 2 meme redraws(i need to remember to do this more), the screenshot of what theyre doing in the totk part and That Thing

[actualbird]

main story 13 spoilers ahead

since im a believer of chika khickuwa's Jerome Is Oedipus Theory, i am simply enraptured with the wholly fucked up and imbalanced dynamic that exists between luke and jerome.

it's a mad scientist and his unwilling test subject dynamic. luke tells rosa hes working willingly with jerome, but does he really have a choice? when there's no other cure for his illness that works but the substances jerome is testing on him? he doesnt. luke says hes in control to cope with the fact he absolutely has no control over this arrangement whatsoever. the way luke behaves around jerome is with aggression, disdain, distrust, and disgust—a guard dog snarling and backed into a corner—and yet he has no choice but to metaphorically bare his neck to jerome and accept what jerome gives him.

oh and on jerome's end, he can believe all he wants that he's a giver. that he's a healer, but hes not, not really. im still not sure if he truly believes that or if thats a facade he puts up, but if he does believe it, that just makes all of this even more interesting. jerome believing himself a savior when in reality the person he's saving feels like nothing more but a trapped experiment thats being used.

and isn't that just such an fitting role for luke to be in? luke who always posited himself as a tool, a weapon, a thing to be used in the name of service to another or to a greater good, a thing that doesnt deserve agency or desires...and now he's finally found himself in that exact position, nothing but an object to be tested on, wrapped around jerome's finger.

just. hoo boy. it's a messed up dynamic. IM OBSESSED.

[apatheticlexicographer]

i'm about to get mauled ALIVE for saying this but here goes:

i think m'leven's relationship should be based on a mutually requited crush. both the implications it would have on their personal development as characters and the message it would send to the audience would be substantially more impactful, healthy, and progressive than if they only dated out of obligation. in fact, the thematic message of their relationship SIMPLY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE without a foundation of genuine romantic attraction.

still with me??? okay, good.

when shows deal with romance they tend to fall into the categories of either having pretty much every character shipped with every other character at some point, or of having the endgame ships be the most obviously pushed from the start. byler has definitely been built up from the start, but the majority of the show's audience didn't consider it as an option for canon until s4, when they started making it blatant. hell, a lot of people didn't even realize WILL was queer until s3 (again, when the show started to place heavy emphasis on it), and even then a lot of people thought he might be ace rather than gay.

mike and el, on the other hand, were practically the show's flagship couple for the first 2 seasons at least. it wasn't until s3 that their popularity started to dip and their relationship began to receive a lot more criticism. which makes sense, considering they hadn't actually been IN said relationship in the previous seasons. they had a couple of romantic interactions, sure, but we didn't see how they would interact *as a couple*. people obviously couldn't predict how their dynamic would actually pan out!!! that isn't to say that the negative aspects of their relationship were a bait-and switch, though: red flags were visible since at least s2, but they were far from being the focal point and a lot of shippers interpreted them as being cute (like el's jealousy over max).

having a show acknowledge the fact that the first person you get a crush on (because correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure they're canonically each other's first crush???) isn't necessarily your ~soulmate~ is a great thing. even better when they go a step further, and play with the concept!!! the text of stranger things doesn't actually push m'leven as a paragon of romantic love. if you listen to what the other characters say about their (romantic) relationship, their opinions are entirely neutral/negative???

lucas teases mike about his crush in s1, but calls him hopeless in s3. hopper is out of line with how agressively he acts about their relationship, but the resolution of that character arc for him is about him acknowledging that he's been overbearing and accepting that he needs to let el grow up, and NOT some hammy realization that "what they have is true love, i was wrong to interfere!!!" max thinks their clinginess is sweet at first in s3, but she isn't very close with either of them. once she and el start to bond AND SHE LEARNS THAT EL HAS NO EXPERIENCE WITH ROMANTIC ATTRACTION OUTSIDE OF MIKE she encourages el to assert her own self-worth and dump him. [which... actually mirrors the progression of opinions in a lot of audience members??? 🤔🤔]

and those are just a few examples!!! i won't go on an exhaustive list, because honestly we'd be here all day.

furthermore, m'leven's steady downward trajectory is not the only instance of the show basically dunking on the trite expectation that a character's first love interest is automatically their happily-ever-after, AND the recurring motif that any relationships a character explores before their endgame ship are wrong because the alternate love interest is Bad.

dustin has his first crush (onscreen, anyway) on max in s2, but ends the season happy despite his sadness over rejection and later gets together with a girl who's basically his perfect match. in s3, robin confides to steve about how she was so far gone for tammy that she would cry into her pillow. in s4 she's able to laugh over just how bad her singing is without denying it, and is tentatively flirting with vickie. joyce was genuinely really happy with bob, but after having time to heal from the tragedy of what happened to him she's ready to move on with hopper.

again, not an exhaustive list. why??? because outside of m'leven, the only relationships where the characters ARE each other's first love interest are: lumax, whose entire arc together is about growing up as a couple (you know, the exact arc m'leven shippers pin on mike and el, as if it would make sense for 2 couples to have the same format and message...); stancy, which is only one prong of Love Triangle Hell and the controversy around it speaks for itself; and TED AND KAREN. WHO ARE POINTED OUT EXPLICITLY BY THE TEXT OF THE SHOW IN S1 NO LESS, TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF A WORST TIMELINE FUTURE THAT CHARACTERS DO NOT WANT TO REPEAT.

but if you're reading this, you already know all of that.

the point i'm trying to make is that stranger things shows a consistent palette of themes across all the relationships it portrays. i've obviously been going over the romantic ones, but this applies at least as much to the plationic bonds as well. those themes are of GROWING AND MATURING, of SHIFTING DYNAMICS, and of BECOMING SECURE IN YOUR PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE.

i'm sorry but to present a pair of characters with apparent mutual feelings; to elaborate on how dysfunctional their relationship is; and to ultimately reveal to the audience that actually they were both just confused, they never had feelings for one another in the first place and that's why their relationship didn't work out; sends an extremely mediocre message, to put it nicely. all the characters learn from that lived experience is "don't date people you don't have feelings for, and if you were unsure about how real those feelings were... get good???" meanwhile, all the audience learns from that VIEWED experience is "if the relationship doesn't work, it's because the people involved don't like each other enough." if byler goes on to be canon and is immediately much healthier, that only enforces that shitty message. in that situation the only reason THEIR relationship works while mike and el's didn't is that they actually have feelings for one another!!!

from a show which has explored complex arcs and messages with *LITERALLY EVERY OTHER RELATIONSHIP* they touch on, this would be beyond disappointing. particularly as the central message for the arc of 2 of the mainest main characters in the whole show!!!

on the other hand, to present a pair of young characters at the start of the show and flag them as having an obvious mutual crush; to allow them to explore that crush as a serious prospect; to have them realize that their relationship is dysfunctional; and to have them move on as friends; sends???

a great???

fucking???

message???

they both get to progress and move on as more enriched people than they would have been without their time in a relationship, and that is fucking wonderful.

el has a deeper understanding of romantic interactions based on actual lived experience and not just TV shows. she's able to develop into her fledgeling sense of identity more securely with the knowledge that relationships can change, and that's okay. not everything has to be forever.

mike understands how to process and manage his own feelings much better, and is equipped with a firsthand understanding of how a relationship can become emotionally dysfunctional without proper communication, making him ready to enter a new, healthier relationship. he has displayed the same overprotective behaviours towards will as he has to el, but he's begun to learn how to manage them so that he doesn't stifle his partner. after previously failing to communicate his feelings to both el and will in s3 when he fought with them, he's been making a deliberate point of doing so in s4. this didn't work with el when he tried to open up about his own experience with bullying, but it DID work with will when he admitted to his failings in balancing relationships.

are either of them finished in their personal arcs??? no, of course not!!! they're not even fifteen!!! but they have both grown as people, not in spite of their romantic relationship, but BECAUSE of it. you don't change as you grow up, so much as you start to understand yourself better. but self-discovery and subsequent self-acceptance CANNOT come without self-explaration.

it's okay to try things out, and it's okay if they don't end up being right for you.

meanwhile, the broader message about relationships that this imparts on the audience is an extremely important one. one which gets overlooked continually by storytellers in every industry. one which the show itself has brushed on, but not explored in depth.

one which fandom, in particular, likes to ignore.

ATTRACTION ≠ COMPATIBILITY

(...and that's okay!!!)

[zuorancoded]

main story ch14 major spoilers

i’ve finished this chapter — love tears of themis, gonna be my favorite hurt no comfort. quick recap of some vital moments.

> artem finally returning from the endless business trips and marius [together with luke and vyn, but they’re too shy to participate and are just awkwardly sitting there in silence] surprising him with a slapstick. “you were away for a long time and we missed you a lot” did those guys come straight from an ao3 found family fic or something?

> vyn probably admitting artem to be the most reliable nxx member [needs confirmation from someone who’s familiar with traditional characters]

> vyn: you were in a hurry and forgot something.

artem: hm? did i?

vyn: *hands him his bag with documents*

wow. vyntem married.

> rosa missing artem while he’s away. coming to his office to grab something for work but occasionally just… spending some time there… because everything reminds her of him.

> artem teaching neil’s law lecture. neil telling his students about artem, calling him 最看重的学生 — the student he considers to be the most important. valuable like a treasure. the student he cares about the most.

> ep11: vyn taking a sick-leave (he’s terribly hurt)

ep14: neil taking a sick-leave (he’s being tortured)

> artem seeing vyn struggling with repairing a toy car. “there is no such thing that i couldn’t fix” well as you say adjudicator.

> eirik can finally rest, the title of worst father goes to neil’s father — he’s literally doing experiments on his own son. and that is why neil’s having those terrible flashbacks and associations when being tortured.

> yeah, by the way he is being kind of tortured: temperature is around 21°C, clothes doesn’t warm him up [and he is also being drugged]

> jerome’s father committed suicide because he was [falsely?] accused of fraud.

jerome to neil: “artem is going through the same thing right now. you’d rather endure the pain of being beaten and treated like an experimental subject than give in. once you show a little weakness — it will be a collapse of your fatherly image to him. what you fear most is that artem will suffer from his own kindness and trust he has in you, in the process of looking for you and protecting you. only a few people, like artem, who sees you as a perfect father, will believe in you unconditionally. he will do anything to find you and prove to the others that you are the same professor hume and nothing has changed.”

these notes might be a bit messy since i’m emotional over this chapter and it’s also the middle of the night rn. i hope yall r bawling too

[thisfeebleheart]

Wir dachten, du wärst tot.

[nuvolisa]

oh no what's happening to me- 🚶🏼‍♀️🧎🏼‍♀️

[lalalaugenbrot]

[katriniac]

So I find myself simping hard for Artem Wing this morning, and decide to nurse that ache by re-reading my favorite Tears of Themis card stories.

First up is Por Una Cabeza

When I first pulled this card, all I knew was that I was getting ARTEM WEARING A FANCY MASK.

But then I read the story and was confused.

Like, really confused.

Spoilers below the cut if you haven't read this card yet.

This post has two parts. Maybe three if I decide to include the video call? So look in my reblogs for the rest of this recap!

This card's story is set BEFORE they are in an established relationship, before any love confession takes place.

So ... both Rosa and Artem are having similar nightmares at the beginning, but the reader isn't aware they are reading a dream.

Now that I am reading it through again, I can more fully appreciate the other-worldliness of the "nightmare" and understand why everyone is acting strangely with bad memories, lol.

The bright red digital clock face glaring at Tosa in the fancy hotel lobby makes MUCH more sense more that I know it's her own bedside alarm clock she's incorporating into her dreamscape.

Also? ALSO?!? TODAY, the day I'm reading this right now is December 24th! What are the odds! I totally forgot this story takes place on Christmas Eve, because they call the event the New Year's Ball. Idk why... 🤷‍♀️

Anyways, back to recapping my favorite moments:

🥹 @ Artem second-guessing himself, worrying about you, wondering if you're okay, and if it's his fault

Awwwww, Artem!

His pouting face!

That's just like him to be concerned, and to jump to the conclusion that it might be his fault. He also wants to get to the bottom of any problem you have, so he can:

Discover the root cause of "Problem X"

Understand the reason for your distress

And plan for ways to fix/avoid it in the future so you never have to encounter/worry about "Problem X" ever again

Yes, this man is a 'fixer' but he does more than put a cosmetic bandage on things. He wants to make sure you never have to experience that same hurt a second time. He wants to learn from his own mistakes and others to prevent problems in the future. He wants to control the outcome by preparing for any eventuality.

The amount of energy and effort he puts into his "Rosa Long-Game" is mind-boggling.

Okay, I could go on forever about Artem's control issues, how amazing he is, and what makes him perfect husband-material.

So let's not get lost in the weeds out here. Back to the story!

There is this sublime moment where the two nightmares meld, as if the two of them are sharing the same dream!

And they meet FINALLY, after hours of panicked searching and confusion:

So they eventually wake up, and they decide to text the other to see if they're awake, and it turns into a phone call. No biggie. Just a phone call. At 2am. Between coworkers. Talking about their dreams. 😘 Nothing peculiar about that, right?

Everyone does that with their colleagues, don't they??

😏 Sure .... sure.

Next:

We find out Artem only knows one dance.

Which isn't exactly weird... many dudes don't know any dances.

What is odd is the one dance this shy boy knows:

The tango?

One of the most sensual and passionate dances ever?

Really?

Really.

The tango.

That's your go-to dance, Artem?

Okay.

Let's keep reading:

Ohhhhhh.

*BREATHES*

We get a glimpse into their month-long practices.

30 days of being caged in Artem's arms, spending every day after work in close proximity, working up a sweat.

Oof.

And then once you're confident in the steps, the fun part of the "act" both partners must put on to sell the push and pull of emotions.

The haughtiness, the indignation, the desire, the attraction, the softening and relenting at last, all of that passion needed to put on a good show!

Yup...

...Just what two normal work co-workers do on a daily basis.

TOTALLY NORMAL. 😏

*nods*

Yup.

"Suitable tango partner"

Uh-huh.

Artem. Artem! Stop lying to yourself!!

And then there's THIS:

LMAO @ Artem wishing for a weapon to fight off anyone else who might try to take her away from him.

"Everyone will know"

*sucks in breath*

Possessive!Artem is a really really hawt Artem.

Just sayin'

🥵🤤🥴❤️‍🔥🫠😍

AND they mention his adam's apple! Okay, this might not be a turn-on for other people. But it is to me.

I can point at obvious times in my life where I've decided that a certain action/attribute is attraction or sexy. But not the adam's apple. I have no explanation for why I find it mesmerizing!

But bless the writer who decided to mention that specific anatomy in this story! Shout out to you for adding to my swoon! 🫡

End of Part 1 - Check the reblogs for Part 2

[inubaki]

Taking What’s His

@sir-tater-of-the-tot’s fantastic art!!

@libby-for-life’s fantastic story. Part 1 - 3

Thank you both for making November bearable!

Please check out their pages if you’re interested in commissioning them as well. -I needed to make this so I could more easily find everything. Reblog sluts know this pain.