#also i feel like this pairing could really lend itself to dark humour

[tyrannuspitch]

although. that said. a little while ago i finally got curious enough to read some d*rcy/loki fanfic, and i truly couldn't buy it most of the time. that character combo DID feel kind of inherently OOC. but maybe i just needed a slower burn to be convinced, idk

[anime-matchmaker-blog]

Could i have a male hq and knb match up please? Im a sarcastic nerd with a dark/pervy sense of humor, im pretty artistic and love languages yet im afraid that no language in this world will help me with my lameass social skills so i prefer to put my headphones in and shut everything out Im pretty stubborn and have a relatively low self esteem yet i cover it up pretty well so it comes by unnoticed. Also dont get me started on not doing things until the very last minute omg Thank you! 💕

Thanks for the request and your patience, anon! ^^ Sorry this took ten years to get to x-x I hope you’ll like your matches C:

Your matches are…:

KurooTetsurou (Haikyuu): The first time Kuroo gets to actually know you will be from getting paired upwith you for a group project. While he knows of you and knows some informationabout you, such as your name and basic personality, from being in the sameclass as you, he’s never really spoken to you directly. You normally have yourheadphones on, making it clear you rather people don’t approach you to start a conversation.You can’t do that in class though and Kuroo takes advantage of that to makeideal conversation with you in-between discussing the project. He finds yourawkward social skills to be rather endearing and has no problem with waitingfor you to reply to his questions or to correct yourself when you stuttersomething. A few times here and there, he’ll most likely tease you, especiallyif you get embarrassed and blush. Of course, if you dislike him doing so andlet him know, he’ll apologize and stop. As much as Kuroo likes provokingpeople, he also knows when to stop when he crosses a line.

Your artistic skills certainly come in handy for theproject and at seeing your works, Kuroo can’t help but praise you. It’s a greatcontribution to the project and he honestly finds it amazing. This piques his curiosityabout you and he’ll wonder what other things you’re good at and are interestedin, resulting in him asking you questions. Kuroo can be rather smooth sodespite your short or one worded answers, he’ll still manage to hold aconversation with you. One thing Kuroo will learn about you through thisproject though, is how much you procrastinate. He’s not one to do his workstraight away either, he’d rather practice volleyball, but you putting thingsoff until the very last minute might just irk him a bit since this is a group project and his mark on it dependsalso on you. You can definitely expect him to remind you in class and throughtext (he obviously would’ve asked you for your number so he can contact youabout the project). Your stubbornness likely will make itself known to Kuroofrom all his constant reminders. You’ve told him you’ll do your part and youwill, you don’t need him nagging you and you’ll get to it eventually, like youalways do. This will irk him for sure, leading him to confront you. As much asyour social skills makes you want to shut him out, your sarcastic side showsitself instead which catches Kuroo off guard. If it wasn’t for the fact that he’strying to get you to not procrastinate on a project for class, he would’ve beenintrigued and try provoking you to see more of this side of you, but since hisgrade is on the line, Kuroo will mostly back off after hearing you promise thatyou’ll finish your part soon.

After the project is done with however, instead ofexpecting Kuroo to leave you alone when you have your headphones on, he’llapproach you, likely with a smirk on his face. He’ll start making conversationwith you about whatever first comes to mind and this happens repeatedlywhenever he sees you. Your sarcasm doesn’t surprise him anymore and he actuallyenjoys it when he gets to see that side of you and though Kuroo is more of alaid-back guy, he does find your humour to have its own charm. He doesn’t evenapproach you now to talk to you, it’s more so that he can be around you. Hopefullywith all this time he’s around you, you feel less awkward when conversing withhim, but even if you aren’t, that’s fine with Kuroo. He finds you to beadorable and nothing will change that impression of his.

Kuroo can be pretty observant and after spending timewith you, he’ll start to take notice of moments when your cover falters. Thefirst few times he likely won’t comment on it much, since if you don’t sayanything, he doesn’t want to butt into your business, but the more times Kuroonotices it happening, he’ll eventually comment on it and ask you why you put upa front. When/if you decide to tell him about your self esteem issues, Kuroowill be silent at first, thinking about what he can do. There really isn’t muchthough, since it’s something internal. However, Kuroo will compliment you andtell you things you did well on, not as a way of making you feel better aboutyourself but simply because that’s what he thinks.

KoganeiShinji (Kuroko no Basuke): A friendly and talkative guy, Koganeiisn’t a hard person to get along with and befriend. He is easily scaredhowever, and with your preference of wearing headphones to shut things out,that can make you seem unapproachable to him. At the same time however, he’d beintrigued by you. He’s seen you around the school before, sometimes evenhearing you practicing the different languages you want to learn. He has noidea what you’re saying but it certainly sounds cool. It’s from him rushing outof class one day before getting all the handouts from the teacher that leads tohim speaking with you for the first time. You were the only one still in theclassroom since everyone had left already and the teacher had oh so politelyasked you to give those handouts to Koganei before tomorrow. It wasn’t like youcould turn down such a direct request so you went, finding him outside on hisway to the gym for basketball practice. You approaching him is certainly asurprise for Koganei and he happily thanks you for the handouts, giving you asmile. If you say something in response, hearing your voice will catch him offguard, making him pause for a second. This isn’t the first time he’s heard youspeak but it’s the first time it’s directed at him and that alone makes himhappy. Also, he thinks your voice sounds cute.

From this first encounter, Koganei feels like it’s easierto speak with you, even though nothing much has actually changed. He stillhesitates when he sees you with your headphones on but during class, before andafter breaks, he’ll casually wave or call out a greeting to you. He might get abit discouraged if you don’t return his greetings but he’ll keep calling out toyou when he sees you, unless you tell him to stop or his friends discourage himfrom doing so. His attempts to befriend you, if it can be taken as such, aren’tas ineffective as Koganei thinks they are, and when you do greet him in return,he’ll be beyond happy. He doesn’t notice your awkward social skills andactually just thinks it’s part of your charm until you point it out to him.Even then, Koganei doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with your socialskills. After all, he’s good friends with Mitobe, who prefers not to talk, soyou having trouble wording yourself doesn’t seem like much of a problem. Ifanything, Koganei will be encouraging and helpful if you want to try to improveyour speaking.

The first time Koganei gets a glimpse into your sense ofhumour, he’d be rather surprised. It’s not the same kind of humour he himselftakes part in, and sometimes the dark humour might even creep him out. He mightawkwardly try to laugh it off and try to direct the conversation in a differentdirection. That’s not to say he won’t enjoy your humour, it’s just, not his cupof tea exactly. Your sarcasm might go over his head sometimes too since he isn’texactly the smartest person. He’s just average, and because of this, Koganeiwill likely fall for you covering up your low self esteem. If it looks likesomething is off but you tell him it’s nothing, he’ll believe you. It’s onlywhen Mitobe informs him that he should talk to you and press you for moredetails that he actually does so. Your stubbornness could prevent you from tellinghim about your low self esteem, and if you do chose to tell him, it’ll make himhappy because that means you trust him. Koganei will also try to think of waysto help you but he’ll most likely come up with absolutely nothing. Instead, he’lljust tell you that you’re fine as you are, but if you’re ever struggling withsomething, you can go to him for help. Even if he can’t actually help you, he’salways willing to lend you an ear to listen to your problems and give yousupport when you need it.

[troublewithcomics]

Writer: Charles Soule Artist: Goran Sudžuka Colourist: Matt Milla

“The Seventh Day” begins in Daredevil #15, following up on the traumatic events of the previous “Dark Art” story-arc that left Daredevil’s protégé, Blindspot, in the hospital with life-changing injuries.

There is a lot of guilt in this issue and Charles Soule lays it on thick. There’s Matt Murdock’s guilt over failing Blindspot and having him wind up in the hospital, but it’s compounded later by Matt going to confessional and adding Catholic guilt to the mix. It’s ultimately kind of bleak and feels rather heavy-handed.

Now, I have to say that I enjoy darker Daredevil stories, I’ve always felt that he’s a character that lends himself to more serious stories that go to deep, emotional places. That’s not really what I see here. Soule instead seems to be pushing Matt into a situation where he’s set himself up for suicide-by-supervillain and that just seems extreme.

Given the reveal at the end, maybe it was to draw someone out, but it ultimately feels like an irrational decision based on guilt. There’s a parallel drawn with one of the would-be-assassins attempting to claim the bounty Daredevil puts on himself, through the guilt and anger he feels over the loss of his wife and his son’s losing the use of his legs, but it’s cut short in the confrontation, with an ending that will likely only lead to more guilt on Matt’s part. It also seems even more irrational when you think about events in Matt’s life, some of which are recapped through his thoughts at the church, for which he’d feel even more remorse and responsibility.

Somewhere during the “Dark Art” story-arc--most noticeably during the big Inhumans guest-starring issue, but it started a bit in the second part of the arc--Matt Milla started using a more elaborate colour scheme. The colours were still muted, and there were still dotting effects for shading and colouring, but it was closer to “normal” palette. Here in the first part of “The Seventh Day”, the stylistic effect that the rest of the series has seen is gone and Milla is using a fairly flat, “normal” colour scheme.

I miss the stylistic flair. It really set the book apart and now it just looks like any other comic.

That’s not to say that the artwork looks bad, that’s impossible when the story is illustrated by Goran Sudžuka, just that one of the things that made Daredevil distinct has been lost this issue.

For his part, Sudžuka’s art is great and it’s nice to see him trading off arcs again with Ron Garney, even if this is just another short two-parter. He provides a nice, clean style ample with solid black shadows that suits the world of Daredevil.

Ultimately, this is probably my least favourite of Soule’s run on Daredevil so far. I’ve really liked everything up to this point, so there’s no fear of me dropping the title, but the first part of “The Seventh Day” is kind of a weak point. There are some nice things in following up on the end of “Dark Art”, and there’s an attempt from Soule to have Matt do some soul-searching after how detached he’s been throughout a large part of the run, but the guilt... The guilt is just heavy and how Matt’s dealing with it feels odd. Sudžuka delivers some great art, though.

Although I would easily recommend Soule’s Daredevil from the beginning, and despite this issue being relatively easy to slip into with previous necessary information being provided, I wouldn’t recommend starting here. The emotional resonance that would inform the story is lacking for new readers and I’d suggest starting at the very least with the “Dark Art” story-arc that began in #10, if not from the beginning of this volume.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Sara Pichelli Inking Assist: Gaetano Carlucci Colourist: Justin Ponsor

Spider-Man #12 kicks off a crossover with Spider-Gwen that sees Miles dimension-hopping over to Gwen’s Earth to track down his father, who has gone missing after being sent on an off-the-books mission from Maria Hill and SHIELD. Technically, the story started last issue, focusing on Miles’ father’s training before being sent on the mission, but it’s not necessary to read for the enjoyment of this story.

Brian Michael Bendis tells this story as a story being told by Miles to his roommates, which in one fell swoop allows for the possibility of an unreliable narrator and a reason for some of Bendis’ telltale dialogue quirks of characters sounding the same and different people repeating the same lines of dialogue.

In regards to the first point, it sets up both the sequence of Miles and Gwen making out in a more suspect light. It could just be Miles trying to show off to his friends and fabricate a story as to how his meeting with Gwen occurred. It certainly goes a ways to make the idea of a twenty-something Gwen making out with a teenage Miles a little more acceptable, although I’m not sure anyone reasonably thought about that aspect of the pairing through with the promotion and advertising I’ve seen for the issue.

It also goes to explain how obsequious Maria Hill seems to be in recruiting Miles to search for his father, even if that doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense given how much of an infodump her dialogue seems to be.

The second point of Bendis’ dialogue quirks, while explained away by the storytelling nature of the framing narrative, is still a repeated dialogue quirk present in most of his writing. There’s an in-story explanation for it here, even if it’s not explicitly spelled out, but to those who may be tired of the same dialogue beats, they’re still present here.

As to the story itself, this issue is almost entirely set-up. It’s mainly Miles telling Ganke and Goldballs how he embarked on his dimension-hopping search for his father, a brief run-in with Earth-65′s version of The Ringer, and then running into Spider-Gwen for the cliffhanger.

There’s a bit of humour and some nice characterization for Miles through his narration to his friends, but there’s not a lot of forward momentum beyond setting up the situation, something that was already pretty much done in a single page last issue.

Sara Pichelli’s artwork is nice, though. Particularly nice is Maria’s rocket boots, a bit of Earth-65′s alternate take on New York’s Chinatown which also gives colourist, Justin Ponsor, a chance to show off some neon glow, and her take on Spider-Gwen herself.

While it may seem that I didn’t like this issue, it actually is fairly entertaining. If you’ve grown to dislike Bendis’ dialogue, this isn’t for you, but if you still do, it’s not a bad issue of set-up. It is heavy in exposition and can be seen as an over-extension of something that was essentially accomplished by a single page previously, but it is entertaining. Whether or not the story will be fleshed out more, and given a different perspective or context from Gwen’s point of view, remains to be seen.

Bendis’ Spider-Man can still be fun, and you get the impression that he’s more invested in telling stories with Miles than several other of his current titles, which results in a bit deeper characterization and storytelling.

Writers: Ryan North, Will Murray (15-year old sequence) Artists: Erica Henderson, Steve Ditko (costume illustration) Colourist: Rico Renzi

For Squirrel Girl’s 25th anniversary, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #16 celebrates her 20th birthday with snippets of her life story, told in five year intervals. It starts with her parents and then ends with a possible future.

Ryan North (with help from Will Murray in a sequence I’ll get to late) tells the story of “Squirrel Girl in a nutshell” over the course of five vignettes and an epilogue, beginning with a montage of her parents meeting, going through the usual courtship period, and finally with Doreen’s birth.

It continues on, mainly focusing on Doreen’s birthdays, at five, ten, fifteen, and finally twenty as we see how her squirrel powers manifest, how she first realises that she can talk to squirrels, how she was inspired to use her talents as a superhero by her first squirrel friend, Monkey Joe, how she helped the Hulk defeat the Abomination, and, finally, her current twentieth birthday party attended by a number of Marvel’s heavy-hitters.

North does a great job of spreading humour throughout the book, but I think one of the more important things he does is impart a message to children during the 10-year old Doreen sequence. Not only does he show that anybody can really be a hero with what they’re given, if they can accept who they are and what they have, but also that children shouldn’t give up on dreams or possibilities, just because they’re kids.

Squirrel Girl co-creator Will Murray also writes a six-page sequence of Doreen when she’s 15 of her encounter with the Hulk and the Abomination that is as funny as most of what North presents throughout the book. A blind Hulk in a fight with the Abomination being led by Squirrel Girl’s commands is rather amusing.

It’s also interesting to see Erica Henderson adapt to both the time-period for Doreen’s costume and to the different style of Murray’s writing and more numerous panels, without it at all seeming out of place with the tone or style of the rest of the book.

Henderson’s artwork, as usual, can be something to get used to. She has a habit of drawing “ugly” faces, but it’s a style that suits the offbeat nature of the title and she’s excellent at portraying action, humour, and animal antics, particularly on display in both the Hulk sequence and in Doreen’s rescue of Monkey Joe from a corgi in the panels above.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #16 is an excellent introduction to the world of Squirrel Girl for new readers, giving them a leg up on Doreen’s history as well as the quirky and fun style that North and Henderson employ on the title. Between this issue and last issue’s focus on Nancy’s cat, Mew, there are two wonderful ways to ease yourself on to the series with strong, solid stories.

I’d recommend this to anyone who wants to see what the fuss is about one of Marvel’s quirkier, funnier titles, as well as anyone who just likes offbeat superheroes.

Next: More spiders! And monsters most likely.

d. emerson eddy has never been to the beaches of Ipanema and, perhaps sadly, doesn’t know a girl from there either. He has, however, seen a baby elephant walk.