#and there IS a post about this if you want to go digging

[paracosmicka]

As a trans man I love mpreg as long as it’s not fetishized. I want kids in the future so seeing mpreg is like going oh hey! Another seahorse dad! I don’t get to see myself in media much. It makes me uncomfortable when people don’t separate the 2 mpreg can be fetishized but it’s also a thing a lot of transgender afab go through. I know this is a sonadow account and it’s not that deep lol but thanks it’s cool seeing it :) saying that: more plz 🥹

This actually makes me feel so relieved bc another reason why I’m always hesitant to post pregnant Shadow is I’m worried that it can be seen as disrespectful or that if it might be used for fetishization purposes which isn’t really what I’d like my art to be associated with.

I don’t want to kink shame anyone, as an agender aroace person who does not experience any romantic or sexual desire whatsoever (i think? still learning about the different types of experiences within the aroace spectrum) I feel that I am literally the least qualified to talk about the morality behind mpreg as a kink/fetish.

With all that in mind, I do wanna say that I wish there was more transgender pregnancy representation that wasn’t just fetish. Like just googling “pregnancy symptoms” will give you a wide range of experiences, but when I was trying to look into if there were unique ways that pregnancy can effect trans men, it took a lot of digging so either I’m just stupid and can’t search things on the internet very well or there really isn’t a lot of representation of trans pregnancies.

Although I did recently learn that in the r/pregnancy subreddit, FTM does not in fact mean “Female to Male” and is actually just “First Time Mom” which makes a lot of sense bc for awhile I thought half of the subreddit were just trans guys. Then I discovered there is literally a subreddit r/seahorse_dads and so I spent awhile just reading a bunch of posts in there.

Anyway I’m fine just existing in my own space with sonadow family fluff, but when I share it I get all nervous bc mpreg is cringefail or whatever and I don’t even know if it’s cringe for being cringe or if it’s cringe bc it’s a fetish. Just know that whenever I post any art of any kind, I try to think as little as possible about how people will interpret my drawings, bc at the end of the day I just drew it because it made me happy and thinking about sonadow fluff gives me warm and fuzzy butterflies that I think people are supposed feel when they’re in love but I’ve never experienced that for another person in my entire life and I don’t think I’ll be able to. So thinking about and drawing sonadow is probably the closest I’ll get to that feeling.

And it makes me even more happy when people say they genuinely connected with my art bc then I know that the warm and fuzzy butterflies feeling got through, and I’m just really glad we can all get our little serotonin boost from these stupid gay hedgehogs.

I genuinely don’t think any of this makes sense I’ve spent 3 hours trying to write a response to this ask and then I remembered that I got zero sleeps last night so that’s probably why brain no worky but in conclusion: thank you for the ask Anon it really made my day and I’m spiritually headbutting you like a cat as they say

[lilithschosen]

breeding kink prompt for agnes/rio ?

i swear i learned so much about these fuckin squirting straps for you heathens. it's like i've studied philosophy or something, could write papers on it LMAO

They mentioned it briefly, late at night and post sex. When they're cuddled up together, Rio's head on Agatha's chest as they breathe slow with the ache between their legs of their antics from the evening. Agatha mentions she saw something on a sex toy site for a "squirting dildo" with accompanying lubricant that looked like cum. Rio was interested, a dull throb from her core at the thought of her knees to her chest while Agatha pumps her full of her love.

But another thought flashes as she thinks of Agatha on her back, squirming as Rio fucks her through another orgasm, finally spilling that silky white lube deep into her cunt. She bites her lip at the thought before she nods and tells Agatha she'd like to try it out.

Setting it up and reading the brief instructions they found at the bottom of the box, it's fastened to a harness. They snip the tubing down so they don't have to wait as long for the lube to come out once the plunger is pressed.

Rio tests it, filling the black plastic syringe to the brim with the lube and settling the plunger in before she squeezes it gently. The tip of the toy dribbles the lube out and her eyes widen at how obscene it looks. The toy isn't completely phallic, neither of them stomaching the thought of an accurate toy in either of them. A black shaft with a hole at the top and a tube connected underneath. Simple design. But the image of cum dripping down from the head was something that lit a fire in her.

Agatha swipes at the lube, wiping it on her hip as she goes for the harness. Rio stops her, hands tightening around the straps.

"You don't want me to fuck you?" Agatha taunts, "I thought you'd want daddy to fuck you senseless with this."

Rio just shakes her head, "No. Mommy wants to breed you, daddy."

Agatha freezes. An unexpected response, something that shakes her soul as her brain reboots. Rio smiles as she tugs the harness from Agatha's hands and slips it on. The dildo bobs as she secures the straps to sit the toy where she wants it.

"Go on," she gestures to the bed. "Get ready for me."

Agatha's feet drag with each step, body on autopilot, and she climbs on the bed. She pauses as she goes to flip around, to get on her hands and knees, but she stops and settles on her back.

Rio stalks towards the bed, tucking the syringe filled with the silky lube into the waistband of the harness. She climbs up, hands on Agatha's knees as she presses kisses to her thighs. She wiggles down, leaning on her side to make sure the toy wasn't uncomfortably digging into her. Face level with Agatha's pussy, she buries her nose into the dense dark pubic hair and kisses above her clit. Agatha's hips lift as she hisses at the near miss of contact.

"Settle, baby," Rio mutters, dragging her fingers through her folds, "I'll take care of you."

Agatha cries out, grabbing fistfuls of the sheets underneath her as Rio grins. She teases a finger into her entrance before pulling it away and rubbing up through her folds towards her clit. Agatha's hips buck, chasing after the finger. Rio relents finally, dipping the full digit into her until her knuckle was pressing into her.

"You'd be able to take me without anything, daddy," Rio gasps, curling her finger up before sliding it out and adding a second. "You ready for my cock?"

Agatha nods, panting as she tries to maintain herself. She couldn't lose it at the thought of Rio using the dildo but if she focuses enough on it long enough she might. Rio pumps her fingers into Agatha slowly, scissoring them to stretch her walls, making sure her body was ready.

She sits up, lining her hips up between Agatha's legs and gently removes her fingers. She rubs the remaining slick on her digits up the length of the toy before she pushes the tip to her cunt. Agatha hisses, rolling her hips into it as it slips into her with ease.

"Oh fuck."

Rio chuckles breathily, inching the rest of the silicone inside of Agatha until she was buried to the hilt inside of her. Agatha blinks hard, eyes rolling into the back of her head before she can open them again. Rio watches her face, hands landing in her hips as she slips nearly entirely out of her. Agatha groans, squeezing her thighs against Rio to keep her still.

"I'm not going anywhere, baby."

She leans down, thrusting her hips into Agatha slowly and takes her lips against her. Agatha wraps her legs around her waist, digging her the heel of her feet into Rio's back as she thrusts deep into her. She rolls her hips, the tip of the toy gliding against her cervix and she moans.

"Deep," she pants, "So deep in me, mommy."

Rio grins as she bites down on Agatha's lip, thrusting the toy in and out as best she can from Agatha's legs around her hips. Once her legs slacken, she ruts into her. Harder pumps of her hips as her breath quickens from her pace. Agatha cries out again, throat becoming raw from the intensity of it all. She closes her eyes, breathing through her nose as she holds back her words.

"Tell me, daddy," Rio's voice was like liquid gold to her and she rocks into her from it. "Use your words."

"I need you to breed me," Agatha chokes out, the words spilling from her lips the moment her internal hold on them falters. "I need you to fill me with that stupid lube. I need to feel your love drip out of me. Please, mommy."

Rio groans a clenched jaw, her hips stuttering from the near perfect pace she set as she fucks into Agatha. The words drive her crazy, fueling her with a newfound energy. She picks up her pace, the sound of her thighs slapping into Agatha's echo off the walls. Agatha mumbles out garbled words incoherently, reaching up with grabby hands to hold onto Rio as she rails her.

"I'm gonna-," Rio pants, punctuating each word with a deep, hard thrust. "I'm gonna cum inside of you. I'm gonna breed you until you can't fucking move."

Agatha gasps out an emphatic grumble of "uh-huh" as she nods, holding onto Rio for dear life.

"This cunt was made for me," her hand shakes as she pulls the syringe out from the harness, firmly placing her thumb on the plunger. "Made for me to fuck, to fill, to ruin."

Agatha's voice raises in pitch as she lets out a whine. She feels her orgasm grow exponentially, continuing to dig the heels of her bare feet into Rio's back again just as she stands at the precipice of her pleasure. Rio chokes a moan, slamming down on the syringe as the silky white lube spills into Agatha. As it coats her walls, she cums as well.

"That's it, baby," Rio rasps, pressing the plunger further to empty the full contents into Agatha's core, "You feel so good, cumming on my cock like that."

The sloppy noises of the lube bubbling out and pooling underneath them from each thrust of the silicone cock make Agatha double over, her orgasm blending into a second one seamlessly. She cries out Rio's name as if it were a hymn.

"Such a good girl for me, Agatha."

Knowing the syringe was empty, Rio drops it to dangle at her hip as she continues to fuck Agatha through the second orgasm. Once her head rolls to the side and her hands fall to brush the hair out of her face, Rio slows her thrusts before stopping entirely. She still remains buried inside of her, not wanting to move away.

Agatha looks back to Rio, eyes opening one at a time as she wets her lips and gives a sheepish, embarrassed smile.

"Hi."

She blinks, rubbing her eyes with her hand. "Hey. That was.. nice."

Rio snorts, "Nice? I fucked you incoherent and you say it was nice?"

Agatha rocks into Rio's hips, the silicone cock pressing deeper as she groans.

"It was amazing, Rio. I am sufficiently full."

Rio beams with pride. "And you've ruined the bed."

"I think that's your fault."

Agatha lifts her hips, moving from the wet spot they created. They gently laugh, more at how rabid they were just moments ago and now dealing with the aftermath.

"This thing is great," Rio gestures down to the harness, "Can't wait for you to use it on me."

"Would've been today if you weren't so insatiable."

Rio flicks her tongue to the inside of her cheek, smirking. "You complaining, Harkness?"

"Not exactly, no," she throws her arms above her head, exhausted from their antics. "But I also want a spin with it."

"Next time."

Agatha nods, throwing her arm over her eyes. "I'll hold you to it, Vidal."

[imyourbratzdoll]

𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓

🍓the strawberry shack masterlist🍓

summary - ari decides to find some release at the strawberry shack after coming back home from a mission.

warning - smut, gloryhole, oral sex, swearing.

18+ only please, the gif and headers I use aren't mine.

Warnings and Reminders - Please do not plagiarise, copy, repost/republish, adapt, or translate any of my work on any social media platforms, apps, or third-party sites. The only platforms I post my work on are: Tumblr and Wattpad. I do not own any character of any franchise (Marvel etc.) All my works are fiction and may be dark or triggering content: READ ALL WARNINGS BEFORE PROCEEDING.

Ari had finally gotten back from his mission, his body sore and tired especially since he hadn’t gone home yet. He knew what was left back there for him… Complete and utter emptiness. His heart heavy as the divorce papers his wife sent while on his mission sat heavy on his mind. He was even more pissed that she wouldn’t let him see his own daughter, how was that fair? She knew what she was getting into the moment they had gotten together, so why was it right for her to punish him? 

He walks tall and confident as he stalks through the streets, even though his head is having a full on battle, he would never let that show on the outside. Suddenly a flash of pink catches his eye and Ari looks up, his brows furrowed as he reads the sign. ‘The Strawberry Shack’ flashed neon pink even in broad daylight. “This must be new…” He mutters to himself, looking around the place to see what it may be about before he walks inside but he comes up short, it was like the place was a mystery. 

He gives a shrug as he steps into the building, met with a woman sitting behind a desk. Her eyes already on him like she knew he was coming, Ari gives a nod as he walks closer. 

“You look like a man in need of a good time, Sugar.” She leans against the desk, tapping it with her nails. 

“Uh, I’m sorry?” He clears his throat, looking around. 

“Are you looking to be sucked or fucked, Sugar? This is a place for people to get off, release some tension or to have some fun. Which one are you in need of?” 

Ari’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head, this was not what he was expecting when he had walked into this place. But he wouldn’t deny the slight thrill of pleasure rushing through him at the thought. His divorce wasn’t final but he knew his wife didn’t want him unless he gave up what he loved doing. So what could go wrong? His marriage was already ruined and he deserved to be rewarded for all the hard work he’s been doing. 

“How about you start off with something simple, Sugar? Seeing as it’s your first time and all. I can see the gears practically turning in your head.” 

“Uh sure, what’s simple?” 

The woman just grins, mentioning a price and Ari digs through his jean pocket, pulling out some money and sliding it over. “Just go through that door, Sugar. You’ll get your answer.” 

Ari nods, heading towards the door and pushes it open. His eyes dart around the room, realising that it was the first choice and not the second with the amount of holes around. He lets out a hum, surveying the room before feeling a pull towards a specific hole. This one seemed to be more taken care of, a different colour than the rest. It was strange. 

He walked over, a bulge already pressing against the front of his jeans. Not that he didn’t usually have one but now it’s more prominent. You peek out through your hole, licking your lips when your eyes land on his bulge. 

“Hiya, Baby. First time?” 

Ari feels his cock twitch inside his jeans. He clears his throat, “Yeah, Sweetheart. I’m not young but I’ve never exactly been to this kind of place before.” 

You squirmed behind the wall, the dominant aura that rolled off him was something you had never experienced before, not even with the many other men you’ve dealt with. “That’s okay, Baby. You can take as much time as you need.” You hum, leaning closer to the hole. “Why don’t you start by taking your cock out? I’m sure it’s a pretty sight.”

Ari groans, running a hand through his beard as he reaches down, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. His cock easily reachable as he had forgone underwear. His large hand pulls out his pretty pink, thick cock. Your mouth watering as he strokes it, swiping his thumb against the tip as he collects the bead of pre-cum that appears. 

“What a pretty cock you got, Baby. Looks like something that was handcrafted by the Gods themselves.” You hum, pressing closer to the wall. Wanting it desperately in your mouth, a feeling you had never felt before. Ari chuckles, grunting as his hand continues to stroke his glorious cock. “Now, why don’t you place that gorgeous thing in my hole, Baby? I need a taste.” 

Ari moves closer, his gaze darting between his thick member and your hole. “I don’t think it’ll fit, Sweetheart. I’m too… Thick.” 

You moan, throwing your head back slightly. Thanking the Gods for blessing you with this man. “Just try and stick the tip in, Baby. Just let me suck on that…” Your eyes are glued to his cock, watching him stroke and tug on it. 

Ari moves closer, pressing his tip against the hole but grunts. “I don’t think it’ll go through, Sweetheart.” He sighs, disappointed. 

You hum, thinking. “I don’t usually do this for other customers, Baby. But for you, I’m willing to treat you real special.” You reach over to a hidden opening, pushing it open to reveal a square cutout. “You can definitely fit inside here, Baby.”

Ari’s cock twitches, smirking at how desperate you seem for his cock. He moves to the opening and easily pushes his cock inside. His head instantly falls back as you immediately latch onto his cock, sucking his tip greedily before stuffing the rest of him in your mouth. “That’s right, Sweetheart. Such a fucking slut.” He grunts, resting his hand next to his head on the wall, his hips moving back and forth slowly. “You’d think you wouldn’t be so desperate to suck a cock with your line of work.”

You moan around him, pulling back with a pop. Your drool practically seeps out the sides as you flick your tongue against his slit, enjoying the way he jerks forward. “For you and your cock, Baby. I’m desperate for anything. Hopefully you come back for more than a blowjob.” You hum quietly, placing your hands on the wall as you stuff your mouth full of his cock, not caring that he’s stretching it wide. 

Ari groans, his cock twitching inside of your mouth as you continue to suck harder, taking him all like no one has done before. You pull back, licking your lips before you lean closer, taking his heavy sacks into your mouth, sucking on them. “Oh fuck!” Ari moans, closing his eyes as he rests his head against the wall. Your small hands come up and jerk his massive cock as you continue to pay special attention to his balls. “Fuck, Sweetheart. That feels incredible.” His eyes roll back, thrusting his hips, letting his cock slide in and out of your hands. “I’m going to cum, Sweetheart.” Ari pants, his hands curling into fists.

You quickly move, taking his cock deep into your mouth, sucking and swirling your tongue as your hands begin to fondle his balls. You hum around him, happily sucking as Ari’s cock twitches and throbs before a thick load of cum shoots out of his tip and into your mouth. You swallow, letting out a moan as you lick his cock clean before pulling back and licking your lips. “I’ve never had a man that tasted as good as you, Baby. I really hope you come back.” 

Ari chuckles, giving his cock a few more good strokes, knowing you’re watching him before he tucks it away. Your eyes fixated on the natural bulge that lies behind those jeans. “I bet you say that to all the guys, Sweetheart.”

“Definitely not. I’d never lie to my customers, Baby. Next time pick the second option, I need to know what you feel like inside.” You hum, squeezing your thighs together.

Ari raises a brow, leaning down to peer inside the opening, your eyes wide as no man has ever done that and he gives you a smirk. “And what makes you think I’ll pick you to fuck, Sweetheart?” 

You’re shocked for a few seconds before leaning forward with a smile. “Oh, you’ll pick me, Baby. They always do.” Your teeth sink into your bottom lip, eyes dark with lust as you watch Ari’s gaze fall onto your lips, his eyes darkening. 

“Okay, Sweetheart. I’ll be here tomorrow the moment you open. Make sure you’re ready for me or else it’ll hurt.”

You grin. “You promise?” Your eyes flutter and Ari’s breath catches in his throat as he wonders which one you want him to promise to. 

He chuckles, shaking his head. “I just met you and know you’re gonna be the death of me, Sweetheart.” He winks and stands, while you dreamily gaze at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” His large hand reaches into the opening, grazing your cheek before he turns and walks out of the room. Giving the woman at the front a nod before he exits the building, a newfound sense of desire rushing through him. Maybe you were the mission he needed. 

thank you for reading!

feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

[kys02]

HOW THE CHARACTERS WILL ESCAPE THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS.

Hello, Tumblr!!

Alright, if I start digging deep into this, I could keep writing forever, so let’s keep it short and to the point.

I have 2 theories about this.

1. Pomni has to remember how to leave the circus.

If you didn’t know, “Pomni” literally means “remember” in Russian. And in every episode, we see Pomni talking to other characters, trying to support them and help them open up—so that, in the process, they might help her do the same.

Kinger talked about valuing people while they’re still around. Gangle showed what happens when you suppress emotions for too long. And so on.

It’s already pretty much canon that Pomni was an office worker or a developer for the Digital Circus (considering how she looked at the VR headset in the pilot, as if it were her workstation). And yes, she remembers her past life (officially confirmed by Gooseworx). But!

I had this small theory—what if she remembers everything except her name? And what if the “exit code” for the game is her name—the one thing she can’t recall?

I’m not entirely convinced by this idea, so I won’t push it too much, but either way, memories and Pomni are the key. Of course, not without help from the others—Ragatha, Jax, or whoever else.

2. “Kill” Caine.

Sounds extreme, I know, but hear me out.

In my previous posts (which you can find on my account), I talked about what happens during Zooble’s therapy session. It pushes Caine to realize that the one thing he’s supposed to be good at… he actually isn’t. And then he starts glitching.

Glitching? Maybe that is the key to escaping?

Eventually, all the characters will grow tired of this. Take Zooble, for example—at some point, they just won’t want adventures anymore. They won’t want to live like this.

And they might do something like a strike.

They stop playing along. They “kill” Caine—force him into a state where he breaks down and disappears, just like Gummigo did.

Why aren’t they rebelling yet?

Because it’s comfortable.

Think about someone working a job they hate. Are they happy? No. Do they enjoy their life? No.

Why don’t they quit?

Because it’s their comfort zone.

The characters wake up. They go on adventures. They talk to each other. They go to sleep. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. That’s it.

Let’s not forget—no one forced them to put on the headset.

Each of them ended up here by their own choice. Right?

Of course, there are a million other theories.

Like, what if Jax has the keys to escape but doesn’t want to use them because he doesn’t want to be left alone? Or some other version of this. Personally, I think it’s an interesting idea, but a little unlikely.

Still, I respect all theories, and I’m just here sharing mine.

Share your thoughts! Thanks for reading ❤️

[masters-of-void]

woe, midnight anyu/aoi breakup & introspection upon u. i may add this to a drabble covering their whole one-month relationship but i just wanted to post some writing now cause i been so busy with it 🥲

xX GLIMMER Xx hey, can we talk? Driftin' Sure. Everything okay? xX GLIMMER Xx um. so listen, there isn't an easy way to say this, but I've been thinking. I hate to bring it up when things were going so well, but I think we'll do best as just friends Driftin' Oh. xX GLIMMER Xx I'm sorry Driftin' Was it something I did? xX GLIMMER Xx no not at all! it's me, I promise do u have that turn of phrase in the future? "it's not u, it's me"? Driftin' I... wouldn't know. xX GLIMMER Xx gosh okay look, ur AMAZING and I'm probably being REALLY stupid here. I'm just not ready like I thought I was. it's not fair to u to be expecting "Arthurisms" one way or another when ur just trying to be urself with me I don't want to string u along Driftin' Aoi, you don't owe me an explanation. xX GLIMMER Xx no, I do. u've been nothing but sweet and understanding. I can't tell u how much that means to me so again, I'm sorry. I truly did enjoy our time together Driftin' Yeah. Same here. Thank you for it. xX GLIMMER Xx ur gonna make someone really happy one day ^_^ friends? Driftin' Always. xX GLIMMER Xx ( っ˶´ ˘ `)っ xX GLIMMER Xx went offline

Drifter stared at the screen, unsure of what he felt. His gut instinct was to default to 'nothing,' so he knew that had to be wrong. There was definitely something he needed to feel about this.

Glimmer went offline.

He read the tag over again once. Twice.

It was a firm rejection. A...new experience for him, at least in this context, and it stung. Bitterly.

She'd said offhand a few days before he asked her out to go talk to Lettie if he ever went through a breakup, when he'd been curious about their friendship. She'd regaled him with the tale of how Lettie had helped her settle her feelings about ending her last relationship. That there was no one better besides, well, Aoi herself, if he also...had the opportunity to want help with that.

Well, they hadn't told anyone they were seeing each other. It was too early and "complicated because of Arthur and this whole situation," so they just didn't bother. Not until they were sure. Hmm.

It seemed she'd decided what she was sure of.

Eleanor probably knew, but it was so casual and now short-lived that it hardly seemed appropriate to talk to her or anyone about how 'heartbroken' he must be. Nope, this was a little thing. He could handle it on his own.

But digging deeper, he found...relief? Like a weight lifting he didn't notice was there before.

Her cheerful personality was what drew him to her almost from the start. Everything about her was a bright spark of color in the ancient gray of his life, and he'd reasoned after Kalymos gave him a second chance on that first New Years night that maybe this was it.

Maybe this is what I've been waiting for.

She was brilliant. Beautiful. A glimmering star to marvel at, just like her KIM handle implied. She'd said yes. And he thought he'd never felt so happy in his life when she did.

She obviously had an inner world she'd decided she couldn't trust him with, at least for now, so cutting him loose was a favor in some way. If she were only happy all the time and never let him look under the surface, then he'd just fall into another spiral trying to draw her true self out of her.

But if he were honest with himself, sometimes it seemed like her happiness was a mask she put on, even after they'd talked about it. And that reminded him far too uncomfortably of Mathila.

He loved Aoi's joy, that she wanted to share it with the world, with him, but if she also used it to shut him out, what could he do?

He was very acquainted with how that always turned out, and he still didn't know what he was supposed to do about it -- to stop someone from turning into a great murderous Orowyrm when faced with the part of themselves they didn't want to change. It was something he'd need to learn before he tried again, and he simply counted himself lucky that she pulled the plug before it got that far. Maybe she'd seen it coming already.

And how exactly would he 'try again'? Would he reset the loop and go about their relationship differently?

No, he probably shouldn't. That was a power he reserved only for fixing the mistakes he'd made alone, and it sounded like part of Aoi's decision was because of things that had nothing to do with him. He wouldn't rob her of her free will like that. He'd have to find another way to fight the Indifference then.

He stopped short on that thought.

Ah, maybe that's what he did wrong. What she wasn't telling him.

If it wasn't about her, then it wasn't for her either. And maybe she'd picked up on that from him. So this did indeed circle back to being his fault, but that wasn't her problem.

As much as he wanted to indulge in these feelings normal people got to have for each other, maybe he wasn't ready either. If it was even in the cards for him at all, he knew that if he were to have a relationship with someone, it needed to be completely real. Both parties had to be, regardless of what the void planned for their world.

No masks, no tangential intentions, nothing that would put his mind and soul separate from the person he loved. He couldn't do it otherwise.

It was a strange sensation, to be ashamed, relieved, and hurting all at the same time.

He sat there, hands in his lap, meditating on it, adapting it to his psyche to hold onto when-- if, IF the loop here turned gray.

Eventually, he caught himself tracing his thumbnail over his lip absently. Enough time had passed that the screen went dark, snapping him out of the meditation. He shook the mouse to power down his computer properly and read the tag one last time.

Glimmer went offline.

Shit. He was going to miss her kisses.

[buttastic]

so over the past few days I read this comic called mary tyler moorehawk by dave baker and I think I have to talk about in a more formalized sense but I don't want to do it on a platform where I'm connected with actual comics people so here you go tumblr. there's gonna be a lot of spoilers for mtmh here (and to a lesser extent of house of leaves and rant: the oral biography of buster casey) because it's impossible to talk about this thing otherwise

here we go

the first thing I will say about it is that it takes rather a lot from both mark z danielewski's house of leaves and chuck palahniuk's rant: the oral biography of buster casey.

this is not a problem for me. if anything, this is the opposite of a problem for me. I love those books. I've been wanting more comics and specifically more big published graphic novels that do the kinds of post-modern structural weirdness that these prose novels do. but that kind of gets to my problem with it:

there are completely vanilla straight-forward comic pages and then there are hol-esque prose sections and never do the two intertwine.

the story is this: à la house of leaves, a journalist writes about the production of his favorite canceled-after-9-episodes tv show, mary tyler moorehawk, in an alternate 5-minutes-to-a-hundred-years future dystopia à la rant. this leads him to try and track down the original creator of the characters, where he discovers that mtmh was originally based on a comic. the structure then bounces back and forth between sections of this comic from plot points long past where the show cut off and journalistic sections where the narrator interviews people and does a bunch of junior detective stuff. that is the Plot and Structure.

the Premise is that dave baker, the actual author/cartoonist who lives in our world, receives a package in the mail that contains the manuscript of the book we're reading, that was delivered to him by dave baker, about his quest to find dave baker. I wish I could post screencaps of the intro, but alas hoopla doesn't let you take those so I'm stuck with what other people have posted.

but so anyway this entire book revolves around dave baker doggedly extolling the singular genius of dave baker while dave baker kind of shrugs at the camera. it's breathtakingly narcissistic in a way I almost respect.

the dystopian future that this takes place in is one where owning physical objects has been made illegal--for environmentalist reasons?? we'll come back to the bonkers politics in this. but so the primary entertainment is either fascist propaganda films or hologram web streaming videos with no stories where you watch people do mundane activities that I have to imagine is some kind of dig at tiktok. the only option outside of that is the way of the physicalists--people dedicated to the cult of illegally hoarding physical art objects from before such things were purged. the only people who are allowed to own anything are corporations, who can own anything including people, but honestly if we think too hard about what it means to live in a world that truly owns nothing this whole story starts to fall apart.

like it seems like mostly it's illegal to own art? but people are described as drawing several times so art SUPPLIES are at least acquirable, somehow? but whatever, not what this is about.

but so anyway somebody gets the bright idea to revive the old ways of tv shows (except they have to broadcast them onto dishwashers instead of tvs, since dishwashers are one of the few things people are allowed to own. also, somehow, broadcasting is meaningfully different than streaming) but also along with this she revives all of the evil predatory shit tv companies do verbatim, which feels really weird.

like the book is about dave baker (the journalist)'s quest to figure out why his favorite tv show was canceled and he lives in this dystopia where art is illegal and he managed to illegally watch this show because his uncle knew a guy who knew a guy and he has to dodge police raids to even talk about this stuff--

--but the reason his favorite show was canceled is because a tv ceo tried to claim perpetual rights to someone else's comic characters and that person left in a huff?

like idk! do something interesting with your setting! I actually do not think trying to combine the approaches of house of leaves and rant is a bad idea. they both feature people talking Around an object/person that is never directly depicted but still shines through anyway, and both have elaborate metanarratives running at the same time. there's a lot to work with there!

so I think the mistake here is trying to combine the Worlds of hol and rant. hol takes place in a world that is basically identical to our own to try and get you to wonder if the navidson record actually happened, or at the very least if johnny truant actually found someone writing about it. rant takes place in a scifi near-future to continuously bait and switch you with wondering how far removed this reality actually is from our own. both of these are extremely Core To What These Books Are About.

mary tyler moorehawk, on the other hand....seems to just be using these as a fun aesthetic to explore?

mtmh makes extensive use of hol-style footnotes, but they never really go anywhere. they're extra set-dressing but they always immediately resolve themselves and are almost completely ignorable. every once and a while one will loop back around, but never in a way that's plot-critical.

the scifi setting is completely incomprehensible unless you've also read rant and know kind of what it's aping. in rant there is a big cultural divide between upperclass people who do their media consumption by plugging sensory recordings into jacks in their brains to feel things second-hand and lowerclass people whose brain jacks have been rotted out by exposure to rabies (listen it's chuck palahniuk) who have to actually experience things in person if they want to feel anything.

like, I feel like this is what mtmh is gesturing towards with the divide between hologram tiktoks and Real TV but it feels sooo telling that baker decides to replace palahniuk's focus on real sensation to one about....watching better tv

I don't want to get too in the paint of defending chuck palahniuk here because I am on record as hating that bastard (and I do. even if I do like the book rant for the most part. it's complicated) but rant is at least a book About something. rant is a book about feeling everything you can and defining who you want to be when other people have already made up their minds about what you'll be and also the AIDS crisis. house of leaves is a book about love and grief and obsession and rampant un-checked obsessive-compulsive disorder.

so what's mary tyler moorehawk about? that's easy: comics! sort of.

at least, it wants to be about comics. mtmh is trying to weave you a tale about how discovering the right piece of media at the right time in your life can Change you and make you realize how wonderful art can be. problem number one with this is that in mtmh the medium that touches people is a tv show, not a comic, but we'll come back to that. problem number two is that this revelation doesn't Do anything for these people except teaching them that they like art now. nobody except genius auteur dave baker attempts to actually Fix anything about their situations or society, and a constant throughline in this is is that fictional people are better than real ones.

I just think that's really sad? that's really sad. in the end of the book dave baker the journalist takes back his own findings and dave baker the comic genius' loose pages back in time to deliver them to our world dave baker, who is apparently the younger self of the coolest guy who ever lived. (I found This whole plot weirdly derivative of the scott pilgrim anime but what's another one here, right?) dave baker the genius tells dave baker the journalist (these ones are actually different guys) that he needs to make sure mtmh gets published as a comic, not as a highly corporate work to get butchered, and to foster a future where art and artists by extension are protected by society.

well that's all well and good, but what does art Provide in this universe, exactly? mostly, it seems like the primary functions are escapism and validation, the two most toothless things anything can provide. in the face of this horrible dystopia we must endeavor to Feel Better About Ourselves In A Way That Makes Us Feel OK About Avoiding Other People. great, awesome

I know I'm avoiding talking about the comics thing once again, but let's circle back to what this dystopia actually is. oh god tumblr is eating my shit let's see if I can reconstitute this

so things are described as fascist and corporate in mtmh a lot but the actual things that happen—loss of private property for environmentalist reasons, a focus on communal experiences instead of private ones, the death of consumerism—feel pretty unambiguously leftist. it's not enough for me to call this comic right wing, but it IS enough for me to call it centrist hand-wringing about how art won't be able to exist under communism. but whatever. this book is not really interested in making grand political statements.

so if there's no point in a better future, let's imagine a better past. finally, let's talk about mary tyler moorehawk's relationship with comics.

the climax of mtmh occurs when journalist dave baker finally tracks down auteur dave baker and discovers that mary tyler moorehawk—the beloved, deeply flawed, and obviously meddled-with tv show he dedicated his life to—was originally based on a much longer, infinitely more nuanced and elaborate series of comics.

this is the crowning achievement of this entire book. the world opens up under our protagonist and he learns to no longer be content with shadows and to walk out of Plato's cave. everything this book was trying to do crystallized for me at this moment, because of how much it mirrored my own entry into comics. for me, it was the feeling of discovering my favorite anime were based on manga. it was hearing that the guy behind invader zim also made comics. it was learning who jack kirby was and how hard he had to fight to make his art. it's the Core Thesis of not only this book but all of cartooning—that indie comics are a beautiful realm of possibility that are one of the few modes of expression that can exist completely divorced from corporate oversight and executive meddling. it's beautiful!

and it's maybe 3 pages out of this 250 page book?

I've been talking almost exclusively about the prose side of this book so far. the other half is the actual comic Mary Tyler MooreHawk, the one the show is based on.

it's a fun, cute pulpy adventure comic about a family of do-gooders repeatedly trying and failing to save the world.

it gets bleaker and bleaker as it goes along. where the prose half is potentially the more interesting half, I think the comic half is the more compelling one, where a recently aggrieved bunch of adventurers keep losing more and more but decide to pick up and keep trying anyway because it's all they can do.

the style is fun, both visually and in terms of genre. it's kind of a pastiche of all kinds of adventure comics from different decades and different countries, though this does mean it dips into some pretty racist tropes near the beginning.

it, like the prose, is much better on emotionality than politics. unfortunately for it, I think it gets bogged down in what the other half of the book is doing. it's a petty simple and compelling story but elevating it to being The One Story That Will Save The World shines a lot on a lot of its inadequacies, some of which I don't even think are actual inadequacies.

pinning the entire media revolution on what appears to be a flimsy children's serial is summoning my inner "read another book" guy and I don't even think it's a bad children's serial. I think if the prose part had talked up more about the parts of this comic that we don't get too actually see at all instead of presenting a small section of it like a mic drop it would've gone over better.

because at the end of the day, mtmh is just a pretty conventional comic. even in-universe it seems like the thing that was novel about it is that no one else was making comics. this kinda gets at my big picture problem with this whole book:

I have been talking about the structure and maneuvers of this narrative purely in comparison to prose novels.

part of this is on me. I could really easily compare the included sections of comics in this book to the black freighter sections from watchmen, for example. but that's not really the most interesting part of watchmen, is it?

I see in mtmh a deep and abiding desire to do something different with comics as a medium, or at the very least a desire to do something different and also showcase comics. but the problem with that is that it derives most of its big maneuvers from and expresses them through prose.

I found this comic because I was reading through reviews over on solrad the other day and found this one by elias rosner. I was getting annoyed about 1) this book being an obvious house of leaves pastiche and then not getting talked about by someone familiar with house of leaves, and 2) the assertion that this book was more about tv than comics when it seemed obvious to me from the premise that this a book about the way comics are devalued.

but the more I read of this thing the more apparent it became to me than while it has massive respect for comics as a cultural heirloom, it either doesn't know or doesn't care about the interesting structural and narrative maneuvers unique to comics and defaults to drawing from prose.

grant morrison has been churning out bizarre post-modern comics since the 80s. we live in a post-homestuck world. pick up a michael deforge comic. read even just a scott mccloud book on the possibilities of comics? read anything. read shoujo manga with brain-breaking panel setups. read webcomics interrogating what it means to be a comic. read abstract comics. read weird comics. comics comics COMICS! there's so many of them!! they're all so interesting and weird!!!! come on man!!!!

anyway. I think there's a part of me that really wants to like this book. in a lot of ways, I feel like I was the target audience. but I also think it had ambitions that were not at all matched by the level of skill and effort baker could put into it. idk. I've only ever read one other book by dave baker, everyone is tulip, which struck me as a solid but weirdly copyright-dodging retelling of real life musician poppy's real life abuse. maybe I'm just destined to always be frustrated by this guy.

[thelaurenshippen]

good night laurinia, do you have any canon sexualities for your characters? Other than the more blatant one's like Mark's bisexuality and chloe being ace,, I'm especially curious about joan wadsworth and owen, xoxo ♡

good morning anon!

so, the answer to this is a little complicated simply because of my current feelings around the idea of "canon" and my position as a creator on the internet who has a direct line of communication with my audience. so, sorry for answering such a simply question with a long and winding ramble about the current state of storytelling, but I will get to your actual question.

for a long time, I answered questions over on @thebrightsessions tumblr about anything and everything people wanted to know about when it came to my characters. but as the show grew bigger, people started to take those answers as gospel truth, even when the only evidence of that "canon" was a tumblr post and not the show itself. I want people to do whatever they want with my world and characters and it started to feel as though sharing my thoughts about things was discouraging that or disappointing people in some way.

so now, I mostly keep answering those questions to the atypipals discord. the community there is pretty tight, so they get a lot of my secrets lol, as well as my uncensored thoughts on things because we've all agreed that what I say means absolutely nothing if it's not in the text! (nap of the author, we call it, because thankfully no one wants me dead).

ALL TO SAY, there are some strong assumptions to be made about the characters based on the show, even when their sexualities aren't explicitly stated. when you expand to include the canon novels, there's even more.

but, as far as I can recall, I think the only sexualities that are explicitly stated are (just including voiced characters in the podcast - the novels have a bunch more):

Mark is bisexual

Chloe is asexual (she's also panromantic, but I don't believe I ever use that word, simply mention that she has two exes names Alex, one boy and one girl)

Adam is gay

Sadie is straight

Rose is gay

...I think that's it? no one else claims a label, I don't think, but obviously there are several other characters who have same-sex relationships:

Caleb canonically pretty much is only into Adam

Sam dates both Mark and Mags

It is heavily implied that Oliver has a thing for Mark

It is explicitly stated in the books that Damien is in love with Mark

Frankie is a trans man who dates Caitlin, which I consider a queer relationship given Frankie is a member of the queer community

and then, of course, there are the characters that are never in a romantic relationship in the podcast or are only seen in heterosexual relationships - those sexualities are up to interpretation! that does mean I don't have a straight answer (pun intended) to the characters you asked about, because amongst those three, all we know is that Joan dated Owen and had a thing for Jackson.

I hope that's not too frustrating of an answer!

[mintcaboodle]

we need ao3 for fanart and I am so completely serious. A universal platform not driven by any kind of professionalism or end goal, just for creating. Most important of all it needs to share the incredibly helpful and complex filing system ao3 does. this would be beneficial I think. because I want it.

[skelecentral]

Wasn’t gonna post this because it’s only semi-UT related, but. I really wanted to lmaooo— here’s my faeu self insert (post-turned-fae!)

Faeu is by @/antlered-prince

[front-facing-pokemon]

[s0fter-sin]

ghost stares at the ceiling, chest heaving in a harsh pant; sweat ice on his clammy flesh and soaked into the sheet he restlessly kicks away.

ears still ringing, his fingertips blindly drift down to trail along his vivisection scar. he half-expects blood to smear in their wake. his own line of solomon, who ordered him split in twain; half of him given to a grieving mother and half left with the grieving to be.

just for both his broken halves to be rejected.

what did it make him that his mother grieved him more than she loved him? that she begged to be relieved of him more adamantly than she begged to receive him? why did his worth spill out with his drawn blood? why was his pain lesser than hers?

his hand flexes, digging into the raised scar like it’ll part beneath his fingertips to plunge into his mangled insides. no one knows the cruelty of reforming the halved; his name, his being, not nearly as important as his body when he was stripped from himself. no one knows the pain of healing and understanding losing pieces of yourself means losing your value along with them.

how many more pieces did he have to lose before he was halved once more? before his very presence incurred grief so strong it was better to be rid of him than cradle his bloodied remains?

did the infant fight himself? did he age always at odds with himself; his halves never truly whole? he hopes he wasn’t, that he was spared the loss of self; the fear that one may be welcomed over the other.

who will he lose when the inevitable comes? when he’s ripped apart again? simon? or ghost? is it better to be cursed with choice just like his mother or live with an aftermath chosen for him? does it matter if in the end, he convinces himself there was nothing of him left to lose?

his head lolls to the side and the wild buck of his chest slows. he watches johnny beside him, his face lax with the rare peace of sleep; his cheek squished against the pillow, his lips pursed as long breaths escape him.

johnny. soap. never torn asunder but two all the same.

he carefully reaches out and ghosts his fingers along the jagged scar on his chin. even in sleep, he presses into his bloodied touch. he’s never fled his half-flesh, never shies away from his gore as it spills unbidden from his cleaved torso. he holds on where his mother let him go; cups his stomach to hold his insides in place and never minds the blood that drips through his fingers.

simon will never let him become his own solomon and cannibalise himself. he will never let him question which half of him has more value; which pieces he can afford to lose before he’s cast aside.

ghost’s soap. simon’s johnny. his.

whole, in any incarnation.

[akai-anna]

A neat little thing that I love from movie 4 (Captured in Her Eyes): in Tropical Land, Conan’s outfit echoing Shinichi’s iconic outfit.

This is The Outfit. Everyone who knows DetCo, Knows It, Remembers It.

And I love how Conan’s outfit has the same colours and casual, cozy feel of it. From the light blue of his shorts, through the yellow-green combo with the blue accent of his top (EVEN THE ORANGE APPEARS ON HIS SKATEBOARD!!!), to his iconic red sneakers!

The movie starts and ends in Tropical Land, and I absolutely adore how you can visually see the connection through his outfit.

[somnimagus]

you are worth all the struggle and bloody mess

[id in alt text]

[yantao-enthusiast]

pleaaaase stop tagging wlw ships that are background on the mlm fics !!!!! the majority of that wlw ship tag is clogged up with mlm with just a dash of wlw when all the people want is them to be the stars PLEEASSSEEEEEE

[madbard]

Alright… what if Color and Red were friends?

Picture this: there is a celebration in the Omega timeline. The Stars just won a decisive victory over Nightmare’s gang. Everywhere you turn, there is someone either breathing a sigh of relief, or actively cheering on the victors.

Except those two skeletons in the corner, one with scarlet eye lights and one wreathed in vivid flames. They sit. They watch the festivities, somewhat - every few minutes one or the other checks their phone or glances around apprehensively. It seems like they are waiting for bad news, and while they don’t often acknowledge the other, it is clear that they are supporting each other in that moment.

I do think Color and Red would have been very secretive at first when it came to their connections to Killer and Dust - after all, declaring any sort of bond with a member of Nightmare’s gang could spell disaster for everyone involved. In time though, they figure it out - maybe after a few runs. Maybe Color finds out when Red is forced to kill Dust. Maybe Red finds out when Killer is dusted for associating with Color. Neither of them would want to talk about it at first, it would feel like a betrayal.

But maybe one day Red sees Dust get injured in battle. Dust is unable to contact him, and Red grows increasingly concerned… until Color pulls him aside and informs him that Dust is alive still, Killer mentioned it the last time they spoke. Over time, this becomes a habit - they keep each other up to date on what’s happening at the castle, exchanging tips on avoiding Nightmare and reasoning with his high LV workers.

Maybe they meet up after battles like this one, so the moment either Killer or Dust is able to update one of them, the other will know as well.

(Maybe there are times when they find out they failed, and then they are able to grieve in the company of one of the few other people in the multiverse who would empathize with that pain - the pain of losing someone so universally hated, someone still so precious to them.)

They understand each other. And they provide each other with small moments of comfort and companionship, in a multiverse where those feelings are far too rare.

[muzzlemouths]

Showing the DMD boys Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You"?

I wanted so badly to reply to this with a "Oh god she's thawing" joke but truthfully, I think they would be delighted. Sun, especially, would feel infected by the energy that is Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You. He would sing it until it became stuck in his head and then he would make that your problem.