#because it was genuinely the first horror story with that kind of art style

[goldensadnessdolphin]

Webtoon artists, please, please, PLEASE make a patreon/Ko-fi/shop where I can buy your story to binge, ESPECIALLY if it's on daily pass. I hate the way webtoon monetizes it's experience and I end up just putting down stories if they are on daily pass. I hate not being able to read at my own pace. So if you offer me a way to support you while also getting me a better experience, I'll gladly take it!

[meanbossart]

Misc. Ask compilation

These aren't all of the asks I want to reply to, just some that I can answer relatively quickly to clean the ol' inbox out before things get out of hand. Thanks for your patience!

HAHAHA THANK YOU FOR PERUSING AROUND and for enjoying my work! I had a... Weird Gale experience my first playthrough which led to his characterization being what it is in my comics. Here's the beat-by-beat of all the shenanigans: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/740827466716807168/alright-i-am-like-90-sure-there-is-one-line-in-a

And here's just some of my personal thoughts on him! https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/736193145686114305/can-you-tell-me-more-about-how-you-would-make-gale

I would be lying if I said I'm not conflicted to know my style still bears some remnants of my edgy teen roots (not your fault not noticing it though, you aren't the first and won't be the last) BUT... That comic did mean a lot to me as a youth, so I guess I should be proud 🤷 and honestly it is a little cool that such a thing would survive for so long in what I do, crazy how that works.

LMAO, re: the bottom/top debacle, I was honestly so surprised to see people react to it like it's something novel. If I ever expected to get any push back on the matter, I thought it would be from people assuming DU drow was the top and taking issue with how violent and big he is (and yknow, some people are weirdly protective of Astarion as if he isn't a sneaky murder machine rippling with lean muscle)

Very disheartening to see that mindset still so alive and well among young people, but I guess it just means I gotta draw DU drow throwing more back and Astarion drooling over more ass until the stereotype is forcefully banished out of people's minds!

(more asks below the cut)

"Sleeper agent activation phrase" absolutely took me out, Thank you so much LOL

YEAH I got it pretty late though, Astarion had already told my durge that he was a vampire of his own accord (and the response was, of course, "no duh") I forgot wheter this happened before or after the first romance scene triggered, but I think after.

Since this was after DU drow decided he was gonna fuck him out of pure contrarian spite and was shamelessly laying it extremely thick, He happilly let Astarion drink his blood. Hell, he was probably a little Too Eager - the guy likes pain and he likes letting people he trusts do with his body whatever they will, and while he didn't yet trust Astarion at that point, that event might've very well reminded him of something from his past that planted a seed which would eventually grow into his genuine affection for the guy.

Ah, he definitely got a half-chub as it happened too. I'm sure Astarion noticed it and just walked off rolling his eyes and thinking "eugh of course" lmao.

Hello!!!

Oh man, I grew up fascinated with horror things. I remember from a very young age just looking at the covers and backs of horror movies at the film-rental even though I wasn't allowed to watch them. I was also easily scared but I sought those things out anyway - I think i just enjoyed the visceral reactions it drew out of me and was always curious about most things taboo.

When I got access to the internet that just opened a (very unfortunate) door to all things vile and awful like it did for so many people at that age in time. Though my tastes have changed a lot since then (Less August Underground, more The Devils kind of guy nowadays) my stories and art are just always going to fall into a horror-y category because I just... Don't think there's many better ways to showcase the human experience and emotional range without many of the elements native to the genre, and I'm all about that.

Thank you for your question and your sweet words, have a good week yourself!

I did a little write-up about that over here! https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/742508493562593280/i-dont-have-a-particular-question-in-mind-sorry

That's the result of a scene that happens relatively early in the story I'm writing ("A Novel Experience" on Ao3).

{SPOILERS} DU drow accidentally passes out on a blade which puts a relatively deep gash on his hip. Meanwhile, Astarion is weakened and starved after certain events that transpired the prior night. They have a private exchange both in a somewhat hazy-state of mind and Astarion ends up prodding and prying at his wound while feeding, so it's a laceration and bite mark that just scarred over badly.

Elves apparently don't grow body hair so never LOL guess they'll just have to slip&slide up on each other for heat

[hellothereandimsosorry]

I'm ALMOST watching dorohedoro bcs of you 🥹🥹🥹🥹 is it really that good? Bcs I'm kinda scared to start watching it bcs I'm not used to the artstyle

- 🦈🦈

ok im ngl it is literally my favorite manga of all time.

like ive read it front to back several times. its one of those pieces of media where the story is so good that i literally have no complaints like its genuinely a perfect work of art imo. it is absolutely that good.

Its definitely weird and not for everybody, I wouldn't recommend it if you're squeamish about violence because it's very violent and bloody and can get pretty gross. but its also super unserious and its actually really funny. the characters are lovable and without spoiling one of my favorite things about it is that there isn't really a good vs bad in it bc all the characters fall somewhere in between. they all have their own motivations and their stories are all intertwined and compelling.

the story is simultaneously sprawling, involving many different characters and their complicated motive, while also being tightly contained in the world it exists in. the world building is also some of the best i've ever seen its truly excellent. everything matters to everything else in the story and it is so well done.

idk if i can relate it to many other works because it kind of exists in its own genre. ive seen people call it seinen which i get because its mature in themes and storytelling, shonen which is definitely wrong??? i was confused af when i saw somebody call it that lmao, horror-comedy which i think is pretty close? its a mystery but it doesnt always feel like a mystery, theres no detective although its plot is driven by mystery. honestly idk. its really unique and i dont think that any other popular media matches its freak tbh.

it might be too weird to become super mainstream, even though its well known and loved. its plot is winding and weird, the main character has a lizard head, its set in an intentionally grimy world and actually looks like it. the characters arent cutesyfied, theyre mostly huge and bulky and gritty but they are so lovably human.

personally i love the art style i think it perfectly fits the world that it is meant to portray. the anime also does a fantastic job adapting it, though it did take me a minute to get used to the 3d models, it is a gorgeous anime like genuinely it is so beautiful like they cooked so hard.

ok holy shit this is so long sorry! i just really love it that much lmao. as for whether or not you should watch it - YES! (if it wasnt obvious) but don't sweat it if its not your cup of tea. i recommend it to all my friends and some of them couldnt get through it because of the violence, the art, or because its just too weird/not their thing. while i think theyre totally missing out, i understand that not everyone is like me and instantly loved it from the first chapter because the 1st tim i read it literally read the first 80 chapters in a day i was so crazy about it and finished it like 2 days later (the whole thing is like ~180 chapters i think? idk the exact count)

also if you're worried about the anime's art... you like blue lock and if you were able to get thru the s1 animation you will be fine. its way way better animated trust me.

ok gonna end it there bcs this is a whole ass essay

[homestuckreplay]

It should be noted he was kind of a weird guy anyway.

(page 510-519)

8/20/2009 Wheel Spin: Sburb Lore Verdict: Literally The Sburb Lore Handbook :D

8/21/2009 Wheel Spin: Long Pesterlog Verdict: Dave WISHES John Would Pester Him Back

^ I have SO much love for this sequence on p.514-517, where John is unresponsive due to being controlled by the Wayward Vagabond, but the environment around him keeps changing due to Rose’s powers. It definitely enhances the reading experience to first do a full read of the pages, and then to just flick through and look at the images in sequence – it really highlights the visual gags and parallels like the one here.

We get out fourth GameFAQs entry on p.510, following our fourth ‘Years in the future…’ and it looks like a small page, but actually has fifteen images all accompanied with Rose’s commentary. She basically puts a bunch of images of John, along with his full name and his dead/resurrected grandmother, on the internet without their permission, which is questionable, but her insights definitely leave me with a lot to think about.

The house remaining powered by electricity and internet (images: ‘power,’ ‘internet’) makes complete sense to me. They’re inside the Medium, the medium of Sburb being ‘online multiplayer video game,’ and that medium requiring both electricity to power gaming devices, and internet to maintain a connection with the co-player, to operate. It’s not a kindness that the game gives to players, it’s literally necessary for the game to run, as we’ve already seen a few times with Rose.

That fact only makes Rose’s called shot about hackers (‘internet’) even more threatening. Disrupting the internet connection could disrupt the apparatus of the entire game, cutting Rose and John off from one another more permanently and potentially stopping Dave or the fourth player from joining the game. Sburb as a game is already dangerous enough, so navigating that and the outside threat of hackers at the same time could make for an intense, fast paced story and be a great direction for the comic.

And with these Wayward Vagabond/GameFAQs pages always kept together, it raises the question: is the Vagabond a hacker? A hacker in the popular definition is somebody who gains unauthorized access to computer systems – to gain information, to spread a virus, or perhaps to influence the outcome of a game. Found covered by sand in the middle of a dormant wasteland, this bunker, and its accompanying computer system, doesn’t look like somewhere the Vagabond is supposed to be. They’ve already put John in danger by taking away his mental faculties and making him susceptible to imp attacks. If they can sever John’s connection with Rose while still controlling him, he’ll be in a lot of danger. And while the Vagabond seems silly for now in their quest for a can opener and their trial-and-error commands on p.253, they’re clearly a quick learner, having picked up the standards of human etiquette reasonably well very quickly. It’s not out of the question that they could be learning to hack the game – and could perhaps be a villain of the story.

Rose’s other big called shot is that she can’t see John’s dad’s room because John has never been in there (‘hmm’). I buy this theory – the only other explanation I can think of is that the room needs to be ‘unlocked’ in game and won’t be accessible to either player until John reaches a high enough level, perhaps because it contains clues to Dad’s whereabouts. That’s the less sinister explanation. Rose’s idea is more sinister, because it again reinforces how Sburb isn’t just connected to/able to see John’s physical location, it’s able to see inside his mind and respond to that. I genuinely think that with a different tone and art style, this could easily be a horror story.

Rose quotes Nikolai Gogol’s Dead Souls (‘steeds’) to describe John’s pogo antics, which despite its goth title, is not a horror novel but is instead about a man trying to commit tax fraud. It’s a famous 19th century Russian novel that was left unfinished when Gogol burned a large part of his own manuscript, but remains famous and widely regarded as a work of satire. I’m fifty fifty on whether Rose googled ‘quotes about horses’ and picked the smartest sounding one to caption her screencap of her friend spraying shaving cream while bopping an imp on the head, or if a ten year old Rose used to curl up on that giant living room couch and read Russian literature while listening to the waterfall flowing below. Both options are very funny to me. I am almost buying into Rose’s mysterious persona. (And then she puts a crumpled hat on John’s head and I remember that she is also a big dork).

I have been mean to Rose at times but she is really carrying the team right now, and doing an incredible job multitasking killing imps with furniture, building onto John’s house, and updating her walkthrough for other players. I totally buy that she’s someone who just throws herself into what she’s doing to distract herself from the looming meteor threat. But I think she should do some research into building safety codes, because I’m not sure those ladders and platforms held up by chimneys are going to be stable long term, or safe for John to start climbing. I guess Rose was warned about stairs but nobody got around to warning her about ladders.

[pixiewritesstuff]

Hii!

This is probably going to be a long ask I'm sorry 😭

I got into Undertale and the AUs when I was like nine I think and I'm like thirteen now and sans aus have been such a huge comfort to me!

I discovered your tiktok account around a year ago and you inspired me so much immediately! Your characters were so cool - Smudge was the first one I saw.

Sadly I stopped watching your account for a long time because I deleted my tiktok account but I remembered you a couple of weeks ago and was like GAHH I HAVE TO FOLLOW PIXIE!

I have been at a low - girl I'm like Ink, I have such a fear of being forgotten- I want to make an impact in this fandom and I thought I couldn't but then I was like 'wait...' and you've given me inspiration to make a blog called askbittersweet!

Maybe I won't get asks, but you gave me the inspiration and confidence to and you're just so important to me!

this was supposed to sound so much cooler but my words failed.....

also your art style is so pleasing lol! I had a lucid dream where I had your artstyle it was kinda weird but it was cool n stuff (jeez lousus i'm bad at talking)

I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY AND NIGHT AND WEEK AND YEAR YOU'RE SO COOL <333333

Awww thank you!! I got into the Undertale AUs when I was about 11/12 and now I'm turning 19 in a few hours, so I definitely relate to that sense of comfort!

And thank you for your support. :3 I've been working every day to give everyone content they can like. I love this community and honestly it's my honour to be giving everyone content that they enjoyed. Secret be told, I didn't think anyone would like my work considering my writing isn't all fluff and sunshine, but I was completely blown out of the water with support and love from such amazing individuals. I've met and made friends with so many amazing individuals, each fan interaction I have makes my absolute week because there is nothing I love more than cooking up content.

I wish you luck on your own content journey! As long as you have a passion for what you do? There is only one way for you to go and that's up. Since I'm feeling nice today, I'll give you a few tips ٩( ᐛ )و

★ Use what's trending to your advantage -

Tik tok, Tumblr, Twitter/X all follow an algorithm of sorts, if you see bunch of videos following the same pattern... Take the leap! Make sure to add your own spin on it, not only will that help you stand out but copying others makes a story so bland, bleh!

★ Be brave, be confident -

I know putting yourself out there can be scary, it's literally throwing yourself on a stage and slowly building an audience hoping you'll attract your kind of people. But you'll never get anywhere if you stand around timidly and be too scared of that attention. Sell yourself, be brave, what makes you different from everyone else? What makes you special? What makes your amazing work so amazing? What can you do to bring something different to this multi verse?

(For me? I can bring adorable characters with a horror aspect, but what makes me different? There's no one quite like our lovely princess Smudge, is there?)

★ Don't be afraid of interacting with people but withstand your boundaries.

Unless those people are total dickwads and have no life, making interactions with people is a great place to start. You'll build a solid support system, people who aren't just interested in your stories but genuinely want to see you thrive! Little side note- don't let people stand on you either. I've had many a time where people thought they could push my boundaries and got kicked to the curb. Don't be a door mat, how will anyone respect your characters if they don't respect their creator?

★ Last but certainly not least - believe in yourself!

Okay, this one is a little corny and I know what you're probably thinking. 'But Pixie, I have low self confidence and esteem. Being confident doesn't come naturally.' And I'm super sorry to hear that. You're a wonderful person with flaws, but those flaws don't undermind your best traits one bit. If you don't believe in it, believe in us to believe in you. Would there be hundreds of people lying to your face? Really? No. There would be some merit behind their words, right? I faked it till I made it. Now? I have the ability to trust my own talent. I find love in my work and in my characters. I can only hope you do too, you can do amazing things if you set your mind to it. That's something I live by.

AND YOU'RE JUST AS COOL! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR IDEAS AND WORK!! THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS, YOU CAN DO IT!!!

[duckprintspress]

DPP Contributor Interview: Nicola Kapron

Author Nicola Kapron has been working with Duck Prints Press for over two years, and in that time she has been one of our most prolific authors. Her work ranges from the sweet and fluffy to the dark and grotesque, with an emphasis on horror elements, trope twisting, love and the monstrous, and cross-genre queer works. We're thrilled to have Nicola as the debut author in our new Creator Interview series!

Author Biography: Nicola Kapron has previously been published by Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine, Rebel Mountain Press, Soteira Press, All Worlds Wayfarer, Mannison Press, and more. Nicola lives in British Columbia with a hoard of books—mostly fantasy and horror—and an extremely fluffy cat.

Links: Personal Website

Nicola works with Duck Prints Press as an author, and is also the crafter whose skilled hands are behind our adorable Dux plushies.

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When and why did you being creating?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. Most of my work was very small when I was younger because I have dysgraphia and handwriting is physically painful for me. As soon as I learned to use a keyboard, I started working on longer and longer projects. Now there’s no stopping me.

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What are your goals as a creator?

I want to write stories that linger.

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What do you consider to be your strengths as a creator?

Dialog[ue], genre-blending, worldbuilding, coming up with cool monsters, slow-burn romance (or at least obsession), crafting background lore that is impossible to tag.

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What do you consider to be your weaknesses as a creator?

Description, pacing, writing healthy characters with healthy relationships, easy-to-tag stories.

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What’s your favorite medium to work in? Why?

Fiction writing, particularly fantasy. I enjoy coming up with the most bizarre situations and then thinking about how people might react to them. After all, mountains may crumble, oceans may rise, but people will stay fundamentally people.

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Are you a pantser, a planner, or a planster? What’s your process look like?

A planster. I spend a lot of time coming up with detailed story outlines and summarizing character arcs. Then I start writing and 80% of that goes out the window. I like to say that my first drafts are dedicated to figuring out what the story isn’t about. Unless I’m writing a short story, in which case draft 1 may well be the final draft. I don’t control the process.

I typically write in chronological order from beginning to end, but for a short project I may pause and write the middle bits ahead of time as they drift into my head. This isn’t viable for a longer project because the pacing always begins to confuse me.

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What do the phrases “writer’s block” or “art block” mean to you?

Writer’s block comes in two kinds to me. The first kind is the most common: I’m not actually blocked so much as I am swamped. I have too many ideas and too much stuff to do. As a result, I can’t focus on anything and writing words is like pulling teeth. This kind just has to be muscled through until I hit another vein of inspiration. The second kind is the kind where I genuinely run out of writing energy completely, leaving me feeling drained and empty. I only hit this state once. It lasted for about a week. Worst week of my life. The second kind can’t be worked through, only waited out like a sprain. I recommend going outside and finding something else to focus on until your writing muscles recover.

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Tell us about a creator who is an inspiration to you. When did you first encounter them? How have they influenced your work?

Charles de Lint. I had the opportunity to do a Co-Op with him in high school. He supervised me writing my first novella, an urban fantasy story about the people whose job it is to keep magic secret. Although our writing styles are rather different – he’s a pioneer of dreamlike mythic fantasy, I prefer to write about the ‘realistic’ consequences of fantastical things existing – I feel I learned a lot from his approach to worldbuilding and character-crafting. There’s nobody who writes flawed, troubled, and incandescently beautiful characters like Charles de Lint.

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What book or media franchise or other creator’s work do you always come back to? How many times have you rewatched/reread/reviewed it?

Neil Gaiman’s work has a way of bringing me back in. I don’t think I could tell you how many times I’ve read and re-read his various creations. Just know that it’s a lot.

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What’s your favorite part of the creation process?

Daydreaming about writing the story is always the best part. That and reading it after it’s done.

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What are your favorite tropes?

Cute monsters, involuntary body modification as trauma metaphor, codependent relationships, coping mechanisms that aren’t good but are at least keeping you alive.

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What are your favorite character archetypes?

My favourite character archetypes are anything that is clearly meant to evoke a classic heroic or villainous archetype, but with the alignment swapped. Luminous holy maidens plotting destruction. Ominous armoured overlords trying to bring salvation. Man-eating monsters struggling to live happy, productive lives in the shadow of cities they’ll never truly belong in. Chosen ones choosing to turn their backs on what they were meant to save. It’s the defiance of fate and expectations both.

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What motivates you to create?

Unfortunately, I don’t have a clear answer for this one. Just breathing motivates me to create some days. In general, though, I think that the desire to share my thoughts with others is what makes me put my fingers on the keyboard. I can’t chat about my work with people if I don’t write the work.

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Which of your own creations is your favorite? Why?

Whichever one I just re-read and got invested in as if someone else wrote it.

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Which of your own creations is your least favorite? Why?

Whichever story I just finished always causes me physical pain to think about.

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Do you like having background noise when you create? What do you listen to? Does it vary depending on the project, and if so, how?

Rain noises help me think. Music is a very hit or miss addition, because if there are words I’ll end up mentally singing along instead of thinking about writing.

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When you look at your “career” as a creator, what achievement would you most like to reach – what, if it happened or has already happened, would/did make you go “now – now I’m a success!”?

I would love to publish a full novel.

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What advice were you given as a new creator? Did it help you?

Show, don’t tell. It definitely helped me when I was younger and had a grudge against the entire concept of descriptive language. Now I keep having to remove entire paragraphs of description for word count, though, so it does have an expiration date.

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If you could give one piece of advice to a new creator who came to you for help, what would that advice be?

Worldbuilding is your friend, but sooner or later, you have to actually start writing the story.

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Short Stories and Novelettes Nicola has published with Duck Prints Press:

The Act of Salvation (science fantasy, m/m, second person pov)

Be Not Afraid (modern fantasy, m/m, omg they were roommates, the apocalypse happened and life didn’t actually change that much)

Campfire Stories (modern horror, no ship, trading campfire monster stories)

Dead Man’s Bells (fantasy, m/nb, dark romance, demonic possession)

In Good Company (modern horror, m/m, enemies to accomplices)

More Than We Deserve (dystopian sci-fi, m/m, friends to lovers)

The Ocean Went on Forever (sci-fi, m/m if you squint, very hard to summarize – see “challenge: easy-to-tag works)

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Nicola is also a contributor to our upcoming anthology Aether Beyond the Binary. We’ll be launching crowdfunding for this campaign in late December, and we’ve invited Nicola to host an Ask Me Anything session during the campaign! The time and date for the AMA aren’t set yet, but if you want to make sure you don’t miss it, join our Book Lover’s Server.

[oflgtfol]

Ive never read venom 2003 before https://oflgtfol.tumblr.com/post/751671883581325312/nvm-about-the-comments-people-are-unironically#notes and bc of this post i looked it up for the art style and. I like personally just barely tolerate it tho im somebody whose just Immune to this point to ugly art styles ive seen em all they cant hurt me anymore but my thing is like. Isnt venom 2003 a thing spoof? Like based off the thing??? Why did they get a hyper cartoony guy for this…. Like… huh… isnt it meant to be scary i heard???

ok so a few things

regarding the art style first:

venom comics are quite frankly full of ugly fucking art styles so i too am kind of immune to them. just like, any of the mid to late 90s venom solo comics were butt fucking ugly. HOWEVER. venom 2003 is a specific king of ugly that is particularly atrocious to me. just something about the noses, the lips, the jawlines, it's basically just the caricature art style??? but like, in a comic for some reason??? and i also really hate the caricature art style so much i don't understand why people A. make art in that style and B. pay others to make art of them in that style

but whatever. ugly art is very common in comics of all walks of life. it's fine. but the real kicker, and the real thing i was talking about that prompted me to make that specific post, is this fucking page:

i have such beef with this man over how he draws female characters. it is so needlessly objectifying and dehumanizing. like, the male characters get to just exist, but oh god, how dare a woman wake up from her slumber, we must must must depict her languid curves and the rotundity of her breasts !!! combine this very deliberate objectification with the stupid fucking pouty lips choice behind the art style in general, it's just so gross

and then, the icing on the cake was the comments on readcomiconline about that specific page from venom 2003:

(how dare you put the good name of sleeper symbiote to shame like this!!!!!!!!)

anyway, and moving onto The Thing spoof:

yeah so the "shiver" arc of venom 2003 (because this god forsaken comic run is separated into arcs for some fucking reason) was a riff on The Thing (1982). which, how dare you put the good name of The Thing to shame like this.

and like, i do really think that a symbiotes x thing crossover idea could work. a symbiote who goes rogue, who has no qualms with killing anyone around and doesn't care about its hosts, absolutely would basically be like The Thing and as a fan of body horror i'd love to see a take on symbiotes like that. instead of just oh big claw monster kills people, what about big goo alien assimilates you and rends you apart atom by atom !?!?!?!!? just wish it wasn't in the image of Venom Symbiote, my beloved babygirl who has never done anything wrong ever in its entire life

and yes, the body horror aspect of symbiotes x thing doesn't even hit correctly because the art style is just so atrocious. like, the body horror itself isn't grotesque because the art itself is grotesque, and not in any meaningful way. like Venom: The Hunger (1996) is also quite fucking ugly with its art style but its purposefully ugly - the muted, putrid colors with the heavy black shading are meant to be off-putting, to visually echo the frame of mind that symby, and by extension eddie, is in. because the whole story is about how symby is sick, so a putrid color palette feels sickly, and the grotesque shading makes every character look monstrous, because the sickness is warping their sense of reality and genuinely making them feel like they're surrounded by monsters. IT WORKS FOR THE STORY!!!! but venom 2003 it's just, plain bad art. it's cartoony, it's like a caricature, it does not lend itself to body horror on par with The Thing. caricature art styles are great for like, an uncanny valley feel, but that's not what venom 2003 is going for. it has the chutzpah to show rooms littered with dead bodies, but the art style is so fucking messy and chaotic that i literally cannot make sense of what i'm looking at, so therefore the horror of it doesn't hit me. there is no visual clarity or purpose and worst of all IT'S SEXIST and i hate it

[obsidiangx]

I will keep complaining about Getter Robo High's translation status until someone does the whole thing or I die, whichever happens first. It's not terribly long as manga goes, and has high quality raws easily accessible online. It may seem confusing as to why I care so much about a manga I can't read, considering dubiously canon Getter spinoffs can be extremely hit or miss. Let's go over the bullet points:

"High" is a strange romanization of "Hai," a mahjong reference. Not only is this a strangely mahjong-oriented mecha manga, but the three main characters are adults. It is not in high school, as the name would imply.

This is the only Getter manga I know of that stars three women (rather than men) as the Getter Machine pilots. They are a feral gambling addict, a sadako-styled horror ghost, and a buff robot woman.

The robos are genuinely unhinged but rad feminized variations on the original designs. As a mecha fan I say this with my whole heart, these really feel like someone wanted to fuck the robot, and I love them for it. Speaking of which,

Drill Jill.

Back when I was a teenager, I read quite a lot of hentai scanlated on the internet platonically. My first tumblr was actually an immature, edgy and frankly nasty little hentai blog that I'm happy to have nothing to do with anymore. But that means that when a particular name pops up on the art for an official Getter Robo manga, I have a fun little story to tell you.

Drill Jill is a hentai author, first and foremost. I won't speak to his character, because I don't speak japanese, but know that he specializes in noncon (or "mind break" as the online hentai community would call it) manga. Specifically, he often replaces violence with sex scenes, expressing a battle or argument physically, with a clear victor and plot resolution at the end.

The thing that makes his name really memorable to me, however, is his paneling. Granted, some pages are difficult to follow, with the busyness of the art and complete irreverence for panel borders, but their flow usually remains intact. At times, it can really feel like every single page has something to appreciate and analyze. I haven't found another artist who does it quite like this, in any genre of comics.

I can't say for sure, but I'm guessing that Drill Jill was hired to do the art for Getter Robo Hai because of his multi-chapter genderbent Getter Robo doujin, in which girl versions of the three original Getter Machine pilots get into some situations i'm sure you can predict if you've been reading up to this point. But a love for more than just weird fucking bleeds in through the edges of each chapter.

Hopefully it's immediately obvious here: Getter 3 reaching for the third panel. The beam blasting through the entire second page. The sword cutting through two panels, foreshadowing itself. These are CONSECUTIVE pages. The ero scenes are over in this chapter, but so much was still poured into these moments.

It's a hard sell to recommend people hentai, much less this kind of potentially upsetting hentai, just to gush at its paneling and page composition. So I'd like to have something a little more safe for work to suggest, and a cool robot story as well.

Keep in mind as well that Getter Robo Hai is drawn by Drill Jill, but it is not written by him. Rather, the story is by Bingo Morihashi, the scenario writer for Devil May Cry 3, 4, and 5. I'm not enough of a fan of that series to really gush over it in this post, but that may be an interesting lil detail for u (;. It's the writer and artist together who make this comic what it is, and folks who don't speak Japanese don't have access to that right now.

If you still don't care, maybe you never will. That's fine, we all have our own passions. If you do care, YELL WITH ME, SPREAD THE WORD, RAISE FUNDS FOR TRANSLATOR COMMISSIONS, FORCE EVERYONE TO LOOK AT GETTER 1'S FAT ASS AND BANKO BENIMARU'S SHARK TEETH.

Thanks for reading! After all my talk about paneling and writing, I still would just really like to read a cool robot story about evil women. I think everyone deserves that. So I'll leave you on the last two translated pages of Getter Robo High as of this post. This is what we're missing.

[galaxyghostr]

warning: long story idea about 4th wall breaking and ‘narrative levels’

i thought up the idea of “what would happen if a character became aware they were in a story” and ran with it.

so theres a dude thats just like, the most average dude to exist. the kind of dude u could call jon mcjonface and it would fit.

this dude, kevin, is friends with a guy who has a total main character complex, because he genuinely is and he knows it (i call him MC for funsies). MCs life follows all of the stops, cool adventures, a cliche love interest, a 90s jock of a rival, all of it. MC occasionally jokes about it to kevin, who doesn’t think too much about it.

the first few chapters just follow kevin watching MCs hijinks from a 3rd person pov, adding context and commentary while it happens. occasionally cuts between kevin watching it happen and his normal people things.

the main problem starts when MC starts breaking the 4th wall. it starts off small with pointing out cliches, then goes on to pointing out plot holes, and eventually the media format. whenever MC does this around kevin, he gets super confused until he realizes the existence of the audience. i sorta imagined this as multiple panels of kevin staring at what would be the camera in increasing horror, the background turning blank.

after those panels, MC would pop up in the foreground playing those last panels off as a gag but some of the text would be cut off by the panel boarders.

the next page would be blank except for one sentence:

“what have you done to me?”

the next chapters would continue like the previous ones but with kevin’s commentary changing to be more sparse and desperate. lots of panels will swap between the base art style to more abstract and scribbled versions. any shot that includes his note book would have it be filled with scribbles of eyes and messy sentences

MC and every other character will go on with the story like nothing happened

the pages would devolve into blank pages interspersed with single sentences a la house of leaves.

eventually one page will have kevin facing away from the camera. then MC walking over and standing next to him.

kevin punches MC repeatedly, screaming “what have you done to me” every few panels. MCs face is unreadable.

another empty page, only this time with kevin crying, knelt over MC

kevin looks up, then at the audience. one more blank page.

“you watched me.”

“you watched me and did nothing.”

“what have you done to me?”

lmao i have no idea how to end this ill come back to this at some point

[agentstovring]

💛Smoshblr December Asks Day 23💙

What are your top 3 favourite books (/comics/manga/poems/etc...) and/or top 3 you would recommend to others?

Oh, here we go, we're in my house now! (Obligatory "I could never choose just three" disclaimer here)

Microserfs by Douglas Coupland - I love the way Coupland writes, and this is my favorite of his fiction novels. It follows a group of programmers who leave their safe jobs at Microsoft to risk at all for their own start-up. It's funny, sweet, and very nerdy. (Other gems by this author: Generation X; JPOD; The Gum Thief)

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - I'm obsessed with the story of Achilles and Patrocles, and this retelling still far exceeded my expectations. It's beautiful, epic, and impossibly tender. It's the first and only book that's ever made me audibly sob.

Nimona by ND Stevenson - Stevenson started Nimona right here on tumblr, when they were an art student! The comic follows Nimona who wishes to become a villain's henchman, and Ballister Blackheart, the "villain" in question. This comic is full of heart, it's hilarious, and I'm forever in love with Stevenson's art style.

And now, I hope you're warmed up, because I'm about to rec you. (I'm sorry, that's very sexual; forget that part.)

I put recommendations under the cut, please check them out!

ALSO, if you like quizzes, I have a uquiz where I recommend you books based on your answers! You can find it here; and my ask is open if you wanna talk about your result :)

Thank you for asking!

I obviously recommend my three favorites listed in this ask, but I also recognize that they're not for everyone, so here are three others:

If you like comic books and feminist history, I recommend "Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World" by Pénélope Bagieu A collection of short comics about iconic women who have left their mark on the world throughout history. Gorgeous art style, factual history, and a lot of humor. (Translated into over a dozen languages, in case English is not your favorite; I read it in Danish myself)

If you like classics, but not the 'fancy ladies talking about marriage while needlepointing' kind of classic, I recommend "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas You're probably at least somewhat familiar, but just in case: The young d'Artagnan goes to Paris to become a musketeer, joining forces with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis in their efforts to take down the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu. The writing style is surprisingly modern, making it more readable than many classics of the time; and it's dramatic, swashbuckler-y, and fun.

If you think horror and comedy go hand in hand, I recommend "John Dies at the End" by Jason Pargin/David Wong John and Dave are slackers all but sleepwalking through life in their small town; until they do a mysterious drug at a house party and gain the ability to see the supernatural. Turns out their sleepy town is chockful of horrific creatures, and now that John and Dave can see them, they're putting up a fight. It's a genuinely funny read, but it also scares the shit out of me. And it's a series! There are 4 books in total, so far; in my opinion, each one is scarier than the one before.

[magic-can]

Finally played Resident Evil 4

So I beat RE4 for the first time recently and I kinda just wanna ramble incoherently about it because WOW what a game. It was absolutely fantastic and absolutely deserves its legacy.

The rest of what I wanna say is below the cut but just know that I do go into some spoilers and also there’s mentions of cults. That’s another thing - don’t play this game if cults are a genuine trigger for you. A cult plays a major role in the plot.

It’s a game I’ve had my eyes on for a while now. Years actually. I never got around to it for a multitude of reasons but now with the upcoming remake and it being only 5 bucks during the Steam winter sale, I decided to finally pick it up.

First off, the visuals have aged impressively well. I’m not one of those goofballs who thinks visuals make or break a game but I will absolutely give praise when devs go the extra mile to give a game a good art style. Yes, RE4 is very clearly a game from the mid 2000s, visually. But it has an art style that still stands out - to me at least.

Then there’s the story. I am very impressed with how this game balances goofy action movie shit with genuine horror without one taking away from the other. I know that’s a part of the magic of RE at this point - campiness combined with genuine horror - but still. This game manages to be both fucking hilarious and absolutely horrifying at the same time which is VERY impressive, even more so given that the game has almost been out for 2 decades.

By far the scariest thing to me about the game were the Los Illuminados. The Las Plagas itself didn’t really freak me out because at the end of the day parasites are just trying to survive. Yeah getting your head esploded and/or turning you into a horrible abomination as the Plaga completely overtook you would suck but you can’t get mad at it. It’s just trying to live. What is fucking horrifying to me is the idea of a cult weaponizing such creatures to indoctrinate people into their ideology and to commit international terrorism. It just made me think of the lengths that cults have historically gone to spread their fucked up ideologies. That felt very real despite some of the insane and at times goofy things that happen in this game.

The knife fight with Krauser was, as a scene itself, fantastic. The quick time events were annoying though. Actually that has to be my biggest complaint with the game, personally - the QTEs - I got used to them and sometimes they were fine that doesn’t mean they aren’t annoying as hell for the most part. I really hope the remake gets rid of at least some of them.

I do wanna say, though, is that I really do not understand the Ashley hate. I thought she was very likable and adorable. Any time I got annoyed during the escort missions with her it was more so at the game itself and not her yelling for help or getting injured. She really isn’t a bad character at all. Also she’s voiced by Carolyn Lawrence. There’s no way I could be annoyed by her.

I do, on the other hand, understand why everyone loves the merchant. He is absolutely wonderful and I adore him. <3

Finally, Leon. Leon himself is an absolute highlight of this game. He is a very likable and endearing guy who, while clearly hardened after the events in Raccoon City, is still very caring and kind. Also he says the dumbest things and I adore it. I knew about some of his goofy one-liners beforehand but I was still grinning ear to ear each time he said one of them. He is legit a great character though - just in general, not exclusive to RE4. He’s definitely my favorite RE character now. Also he’s an absolute babygirl. Ada is also great and I love the messy, complex dynamic between her and Leon.

These are far from my full thoughts and I AM going to yell about this game more on other posts but again this is just me. like. yelling. Anyway, I am VERY excited for the remake. I love the direction they’re taking it in and that it’s going to be very different from the original. Because the original is an amazing game that should not be “replaced”.

[allgremlinart]

Batman Comic + Animation Rec List

courtesy of me

These are just some of my personal recommendations. There are a lot of Batman comics and movies out there. A lot of them are good!! A lot of them are really bad too. So Ive selected some which I think would be good for new Batman fans/anyone wanting to get more into Batman.

I’m not gonna include a lot of stuff that I’ve already seen recommended a bunch (like year one, long halloween, etc) so its not an exhaustive/comprehensive list, but its a good place to start imo.

Batman: The Imposter

If you recently got into Batman after watching the new movie this comic will be great for you, as the tone and style are pretty reminiscent of Battinson. The art is gorgeous, its three issues so its not too long of a read, and it actually does some interesting things with Batman’s character/lore. Also if you’re a fan of autistic/nd Bruce this is the most canon representation you’ll get. 

CW: blood + violence, implied child abuse, awkward and forced heterosexual romance :/ 

Gothic

This was a five issue run from the 90′s. If you’re looking for a good old fashioned ooky-spooky Batman story this is for you. It’s just a nice standalone arc that's unsettling without using edge/shock value, and it nicely marries the gothic horror Batman elements with your classic gritty organized crime stuff. The main villain isn’t popular or recognizable at all, which is a shame, because they’re genuinely creepy. Bruce is suitably dramatic in this, as always. 

CW: blood + violence, gore, child abuse, brief homophobia, non-graphic SA, implied (? its really iffy and up to interpretation) CSA, church

Batman Zero Year (Secret City + Dark City)

Kind of a modern reinterpretation of Bruce’s first year as Batman. The art is good, I love how bright and maximalist it is without being overly campy, and its a good way to get familiar with a lot of different Batman characters. It's a longer read than the other ones on this list. While not inspiring The Batman very much visually, the movie certainly took story elements from it. 

CW: its pretty much just pg-13 comic book violence

Batman: Universe

Tired of the edge? Then read this delightful story about Batman being led into a situation that becomes increasingly above his pay-grade. Its fun, we get to see Batman being Batman (and also a cowboy), and you’ll get introduced to a lot of other DC locations + characters without really having to know everything about them.

CW: n/a

Batman VS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

This movie was a trip. I loved it. I know nothing about the TMNT but they somehow fit so well with Batman, who knew. Good animation, good action scenes, funny, and good characterization. I loved Batgirl and Robin in this. I’d put this in the same vein as Lego Batman, just a bit more comic accurate.

CW: pg-13 comic book violence

Batman: The Animated Series

Yeah you’ve probably seen this recommended like a million times but that's cus its, like, arguably the definitive Batman. Tone oscillates from “campy-and-obviously-for-kids” to “serious-psychological-noir-thriller.” This Batman taught me what human trafficking, gentrification, and deforestation was and then was like “lol what if Batman fought a werewolf?” It’s good. Watch it. 

CW: n/a

Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm

God this movie is a classic. I almost screamed and cried and threw up when Robert Pattinson mentioned watching it. Just a fantastic noir Batman story. The animation is the same as BTAS (but with a higher budget) and the soundtrack goes crazy. 

CW: n/a

[shigaeru]

I just discovered your art recently and I love your style and composition and expressions and everything? The way you draw Shizuo and Izaya is amazing and I admire the huge project you've taken on with adapting ACI, your comics are so much and I'm so looking forward to seeing your take on certain scenes if you ever get to them. I was staring at some of your pages again the other day and I just noticed that Shizuo still seems to have that scar on his chest from when they first met? Ahh that's just such a neat detail, I'm just generally in awe of all of the little things like that that make experiencing the story again from you, a lot of fun. Anyways, I'm kind of curious if ACI is (still?) your favourite fic and if there are any particular reasons why or why not.

AAAAA that's such a nice message to read, this really brightened my day thank you;;

As for your question, I don't think it is my favorite fic, but it's very high up my list! I don't think I could rank them, actually. I just have some sort of big "fics I utterly love" aquarium and they're all swimming around in there, for various different reasons, tropes, scenarii, writing styles.

But there ARE particular reasons I always come back to it.

it's the most well-paced enemies-to-lovers story I've read. It's a very long book and it never takes shortcuts. It takes all the time it needs to establish the colossal character development they have to go through.

The characterization of Izaya and Shizuo feels ON POINT. They're assholes to each other, to other people, so far in their own head they don't see the big picture, they're very serious about wanting to kill each other. But they've also known each other for 10 years and you can just feel it in every interaction.

The dialogue are snappy and every line calls for the next one (which makes the adaptation job really hard btw because sometimes I HAVE to scrap bits of dialogues for the speech bubbles and 1) it breaks my heart, 2) every line is SO important, I can't scrap a sentence without having to rewrite the whole bit, or its answer, or the joke it announces for 3 chapters later)

The writing is so good. It looks pretty simple at first glance, but the description job is very effective. And more importantly everything's a mesh of foreshadowing and hidden references. The dialogues, the imagery, don't get me started I could write a paper on this. There is SO MUCH stuff you have to read between the lines to catch. Izaya and Shizuo are unreliable narrators, how they interpret the situation, what they take from it, a lot of it is incomplete. I've first read ACI in 2017, and I've read it so many times by now, both for myself and for the comic work, and every time I find something new I had not noticed. It's FASCINATING.

The scenario itself? Chef kiss. The balance between horror, angst, genuinely soft interactions and humor is great, and it's actually THE long fic I can't choose a favorite chapter from. Every chapter has at least one very good thing in it.

This is very summarized (i could go into so much depth, i'm not joking about the paper thing gdjjhfd) and of course there are things I like less in it. Stuff I already worked my way around, and plan to work my way around in future chapters (it's mostly the way sexuality is treated I'm a bit uncomfortable with, but Spoon gave me her authorization to take artistic liberties so *WINK*) What you said about experiencing the story again from me got me emotional, thank you a lot again;;

[lunabonita]

My Webtoon Recommendations

These are webtoons that are all 10/10 for me. Of course it doesn’t have to be a 10/10 for you, so just a reminder, do not attack me for liking a webtoon that you do not. These are my opinions and we are not going to have the exact same taste. Please be respectful.

Your Throne

Genre: Fantasy

Chapters: 75

Status: Ongoing

-

“Tensions are brewing under the seemingly calm surface of the Vasilios Empire, a kingdom ruled by the Imperial Family and the Temple. Lady Medea Solon has lost her place next to Crown Prince Eros, but resolves to win back whats rightfully hers. Will she reclaim her throne?”

You know whats amazing about this webtoon? The summary leads you to think that what shes winning back is the prince. Wrong. Shes trying to win back the throne. I love how this webtoon doesn’t try to make it a girl focusing her goals on a man, but on power. Medea is such a strong and well written character that you can’t help but love her.

The second protagonist Pschye, who of which is the person who took Medeas place as Crown Princess, is the complete opposite of Medea. At the beginning you hate her, but as the webtoon goes on and Medea and her get a better understanding of eachother due to them switching bodies as a wish from God, you begin to root for them as they team up to take over the throne from the Crown Prince.

The art is so beautiful and I constantly found myself at awe from the amount of detail put into it.

-

The Makeup Remover

Genre: Romace

Chapters: 78

Status: Ongoing

-

“After years of being told to focus on studying, Yeseul feels lost when she starts college and is suddenly expected to pay attention to makeup. When a chance encounter with brilliant makeup artist Yuseong leads to her taking part in a televised makeup competition, Yeseul begins to question the role that makeup and appearance play in society.”

This was created by one of my favorite webtoon creators Lee Yone. Their art is just so amazing and their stories always include such good topics.

For instance, The Makeup Remover’s theme is loving yourself for who you are. It shows how people treat you based on your looks and as someone whos struggled with that kind of thing for a while, this webtoon really touched me. The main character Yeseul is such a relatable character, even when trying to reject beauty standards, she still came subject to the pressures of living up to the people around her. She struggles with trying to love her own appearance and I really like that this webtoon didn’t try to be like, ‘fuck the beauty standard im better than that screw pretty people!!!’ it actually showed realistically how people struggle with self-image. I also love the main love interest because oh my god, we need more men like him please. He doesn’t care about Yeseul’s appearance and genuinely loves her for her personality.

Also, art is amazing. The author is so talented and you should support them by reading and liking the chapters.

-

Surviving Romance

Genre: Horror

Chapters: 14

Status: Ongoing

-

“When Chaerin Eun becomes the protagonist of the romance novel she is reading, she expects a fairytale ending with the novel’s love interest, Jeha. But when a bizarre twist makes her realize the story is not playing out as it does in the book, she’ll need the help of an unlikely character from her class to defy the new storyline and find her happy ending - if only she can figure out who this ‘Unknown Extra’ is first!”

Hands down one of my favorite webtoons by a long shot. You ever see a webtoon and think, ‘oh yeah, thats going to be a good webtoon’? Thats how this webtoon was for me. It was so good that I spent hours searching for other chapters that hadn’t been uploaded to webtoon yet on other manhua websites. I discovered it because it was also by the author of ‘The Makeup Remover’.

If there is one thing you need to know about me, its that I am a huge horror fan. So when I saw that my favorite author on webtoon had a horror themed webtoon out? You bet your behind that I binged it. Let me tell you, best choice ever.

Think of it as if ‘Ino’s Law’ and ‘Quarantine’ were combined with amazing art and a badass MC.

The Remarried Empress

I love how it is set up to the point where she cannot ‘quit’ until she completes the novel. Creating scenarios where she must survive while meeting the standards in the book. It is such an amazingly written webtoon and I cannot wait for more chapters to be released.

-

Genre: Fantasy

Chapters: 82

Status: Ongoing

-

“Navier Ellie Trovi was an empress perfect in every way - intelligent, courageous, and socially adept. She was kind to her subjects and devoted to her husband. Navier was perfectly content to live the rest of her days as the wise empress of the Eastern Empire. That is, until her husband brought hone a mistress and demanded a divorce. ‘I accept this divorce… And i request an approval of my remarriage.’ In a shoking twist Navier remaarries another emperor and retains her title and childhood dream as empress. But just how did everything unfold? “

Am I in love with Navier? Yes.

I absolutely adore how this story was set up. The first chapter begins with the big divorce scene, followed by Navier saying that she was going to be remarrying someone else since he wants to divorce her. This sets up a picture that gets completely shattered as you read the chapters. How everything falls into place with the reason behind the divorce and the remarriage is just so well written. The art is so good and and everything is just so insanely well done.

I absolutely love Naviers character, from her regalness and devoted loyalty to her role as empress, all the way to her petty moments and times of sadness. She is truly a character that you want the best for, and I cannot image anyone not liking her. Also the story is just so capable of making you feel emotions. I’ve laughed, cried, and got angry during the course of reading this webtoon. I love how betrayed I felt when the emperor brought home his mistress. It felt like I was in Navier’s shoes!

This is such a well done webtoon and I'm so excited for Navier to get all of the good things she deserves in her new Kingdom and with her new husband.

-

Witch Creek Road

Genre: Horror

Chapters: 74

Status: Ongoing

-

“A survival horror about love, acceptance, death, and revenge. And sexy flesh-eating demons. Yeah, it has those, too.”

This series seriously mind fucked me. The way that this story is set up, you don’t see the full picture until the later chapters. Season two literally blew my mind. It is also very gorey so keep that in mind if you don’t like that kind of stuff, but for me that makes it all the better. It is just so wild and crass that you can feel your heart pumping in anticipation.

They even have their own website that goes further into the lore because it’s just so wild. Also the art style is just so amazing, because it complements the story and horror theme so much. You hate most of the characters because they suck, and it is so satisfying when they are killed. Also it has it’s sad moments but I think it is a nice break from the horror so it isn’t so overwhelmingly scary.

I binged this series and I recommend reading only a few chapters a day so you don’t overload your brain.

Other then that, an amazing webtoon. Seriously, go read it, support the author, so much work goes into the story and art that it’s insane.

-

Dating With A Tail

Genre: Romance

Chapters: 36

Status: Ongoing

-

“On the dawn of her 29th birthday, unlucky-in-love Yunha discovers a shocking family secret: she’s started growing a fox tail, the mark of an ancestral curse. She must find her fated love before her 30th birthday or she is destined to become a fox forever! Even with her new-found enchanting power to attract men using her scent, will one year be enough to break the curse before it’s too late?”

Oh my gosh this is just such a good webtoon. It has amazing art, story telling, and characters. The true love interest was there the whole time, the villain isn’t who you’d expect it to be, and the spirit who cursed her is just! Im not going to spoil it but go read this webtoon!! It is so good and deserves more love.

Also Yunha is just so relatable?? Like she put off finding the woodcutter (her fated love) for 29 years and waited last minute to find him. Homegirl is me trying to do a project for school. Also to get rid of the scent that makes men attracted to her, she just starts eating a ton of garlic and that is just so funny to me.

Also I would go to church for the priest anytime if you know what i mean ;)

-

Omniscient Reader

Genre: Action

Chapters: 53

Status: Ongoing

-

“Dokja was an average office worker whose sole interest was reading his favorite web novel ‘Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse.’ But when the novel suddenly becomes reality, he is the only person who knows how the world will end. Armed with this realization, Dokja uses his understanding to change the course of the story, and the world, as he knows it.”

I cannot get over how high quality this story is. The world building is phenomenal, the art is fantastic, and the characters are very fleshed out. This deserved all the hype it has gotten so far and more.

I love the ‘mc thrown into a different reality’ trope so much. Just like with surviving romance, Dokja’s world became the story he was reading. Also a very cool aspect of the story is the level up and the fact that its like a game. Earth has turned into this show for god like creatures to watch and it follows Dokja trying to survive. I also really like that TWSA has a protagonist, but Omniscient Reader’s protagonist is not the protagonist that was in TWSA. There is just so much lore and I’ll say it again, the world building is just phenomenal.

The Ddokkaebi’s and Dokja’s interactions are also just some of my favorite moments from the story so far. And oh my goodness I would die for Lee Gilyoung. Thats it, thats the tweet. That little boy could probably kill me with his giant praying mantis and I would let him if it would make him happy.

-

Not So Shoujo Love Story

Genre: Comedy

Chapters: 45

Status: Ongoing

-

“Romance super-fan Rei Chan is ready for her first boyfriend and she knows just who it’ll be: the most handsome boy in school, Hansum Ochinchin. But her plans for the perfect story are derailed when the most popular girl in class declares herself a rival… for Rei’s heart?! This is the year her not so shoujo love story begins!”

This is just such a cute webtoon. The style is very appealing and while the humor can be childish and weird sometimes, it still has made me laugh a lot. I know the humors not for everyone but just keep in mind that it does get better as the story progresses and gets more serious.

Also its a gl! I’m really unable to find good gls these days that don’t fetishize wlw relationships. Rei being painted as a mean trouble maker whos just misunderstood and Hana being the ‘perfect girl’ who only wants Rei’s attention is such a cute dynamic. They balance each other out and better each other. Also stan Rei for constantly sticking up for Hana even if she doesn’t necessarily like her in the beginning, she has very good morals and sticks to them.

Also the defying stereotypes in this webtoon? Just god-tier. Really makes you think twice when you judge someone just on first impressions alone.

-

Odd Girl Out

Genre: Drama

Chapters: 264

Status: Ongoing

-

“After a successful winter break makeover, Nari is finally ready for her high school debut. But somehow, she ends up friends with the three prettiest girls in school! Follow Nari as she tries to navigate her brand new high school life surrounded by beauties.”

This story has made me cry multiple times. A lot, even. It is just such a beautiful tale of friendship and finding support in people who are unlike those around theme. It also tells a great story about how anybody can be the ‘odd girl out’. Be it the fat girl, the beautiful girl, the rich girl, or the laid back girl.

It goes so deep into its characters that you even feel bad for the minor antagonists. It really makes you feel for the characters and the reasons behind their actions. Also I know its long, believe me I binged all 260 chapters in the span of three days, but oh my god it is worth it. Also I know the art is kind of off-putting, in fact that’s kind of why I put off reading the story, but I’ve honestly grown to love it and the writing is so good that the art could be literal stick figures and it wouldn’t matter.

The story is amazing and also I just love Nari. She’s just the best.

-

Gremoryland

Genre: Horror

Chapters: 67

Status: Completed

-

“Six old school friends are invited to be the first visitors of GremoryLand, a new horror theme park that promises an experience as unique as it is spooky. But once this experience starts there is no turning back, and they find themselves tested beyond what they imagines, facing their most desperate fears in order to survive.”

This is definitely one of those stories were you kind of need to turn of your brain and choose to ignore ‘plot holes’ while reading the early chapters because this story definitely gets crazy if you don’t know the ending. Believe me if you stick with it it will all make sense and the satisfaction you get from finding the ending is just so worth it.

The story is so good, and who Gremory is you would literally never suspect. When it was revealed who Gremory was and how he was able to create Gremoryland is so fucking mind boggling that you would never guess. I had to do a double take. It wasn’t like one of those random characters with a vendetta type of twists, but like one you can pick out from clues throughout the story.

Its so good and twisted and just so worth at least giving it a chance.

-

These were some of my favorite webtoons on the app! Of course it’s not all of them because unfortunately there is a 10 image limit. I also made this because I’ve run out of new webtoons to read and would love if you guys commented some of your own recs. I can also do a part two with other ones I liked if y’all want more recommendations. You guys can even request specific categories like Drama or Sci-Fi and I can tell you my favorite ones from that genre.

Also a reminder - if you disagree with any of my praise of these webtoons be respectful about it. At the end of the day it’s my opinion and you don’t need to be rude when disagreeing with that opinion.

[ill-skillsgard]

Another goth out here - Can I ask for hc's of all the Bill boys you write for with a goth girl, please?

Why, yes! I’d love to. After all... Everyone needs a cute goth GF, right? You know it’s true.

Axel Cluney

He steals her fishnets. They just look good on him. Axel likes to show some skin and he’s not a fan of real shirts. Only garments with holes in them, and she happens to have a lot of those. Axel will convince her to do a clothing swap with him until she gets fed up sacrificing her clothes and brings him to a goth market where he can buy his own stuff.

They compare tattoos. She has some meaningful and dark tattoos and Axel is covered in ink he let his friend put on him as “practice”...That friend is now in jail tattooing convicts, but Axel insists they’re not prison tats.

He shows her new music. Everything she loves, Axel loved when he was a  kid, and makes it a point to remind her of his refined taste by bringing her mix CDs which she can’t play because who even owns a CD-player anymore? (He buys her one from the local pawn shop so they can listen to Smashing Pumpkins together.)

Axel contemplates dying his hair black. He loves hers, so why not his?

Roman Godfrey

She has a crush on him first, thinking he’s the closest thing to the local “goth” boy, then realizes he’s not goth at all. She might think he’s a poser. After much back and forth, she decides he’s just a fashion guy, but he already has his sights set on her. He wears all the black in his closet and then buys more to assimilate.

Roman’s idea of a first date is bringing her to a forest where he smokes cigarettes and talks about being an outcast. She makes fun of him only a little bit, then steals his scarf. He lets her keep it, saying it looks better on her anyway.

He asks her if she knows any witchcraft or spells; if she believes in spirits and all that. It surprises her to hear these questions and she answers, “why? You wanna put a hex on someone?”

Roman has found a match for his attitude. He thought he was the world’s biggest brat until he meets her. It’s a huge turn-on for him to have a girl that doesn’t put up with bullshit.

Henry Deaver

She scares him. Like a lot. But it’s hot...Right? He doesn’t know if she hates him or not, but he’ll find out once he summons the courage to talk to her.

He’s wildly afraid of coming off as unimpressive, but he doesn’t know what these kinds of girls like. So he buys up a bunch of old-school horror movies, some of them truly god-awful, and hopes she’ll want to watch one of them. Oh, and he has to keep the lights on, and no, he won’t explain why. He just likes to watch movies with the light on. Yes, there’s a glare on the screen, and no, it doesn’t bother him.

She figures out Henry is jumpy and will lurk in the shadows to pop out at him at any chance. He screams and clutches his chest the first couple of times, then spends the rest of their time together peering around corners and assessing where she is at all times.

He will not make the first move. She kisses him first, under a full moon, and Henry practically melts.

The Kid

He’s the only man that kind of freaks her out. He’s tall, dark, quiet, and not in the typecast way. This guy looks like a dead tree. He kind of sits there all stiff and wide-eyed like ghosts are talking to him. Until he cracks his first gentle smile, she’s not even sure he has a pulse.

The Kid knows all the best scary movies, and we’re not talking Friday the  Thirteenth and A Nightmare on Elm Street. He has a stash of the freakiest underground film that makes even her feel uncomfortable watching, and she grew up on this shit.

She likes to wear dark lipstick, and he’s the only one who doesn’t make snide or “clever” comments. He likes the way she dresses and does herself up. It reminds him of a little porcelain doll. A cursed doll, but cute nonetheless.

To her surprise, he kisses her first. He’s not the most vocal guy, but he can read body language, and he knows it’s the right time. When he pulls away, the smile on her face turns his icy insides to liquid.

Henry Pearl

They meet at a midnight art showing in the middle of the town’s square. Her booth is set up with her spooky dolls and sinister paintings, sculptures and metaphysical crafts of bone and crystals. Henry gravitates toward her when he hears people whispering about her weird art.

She begs him to teach her some painting techniques, as she’s intrigued by his skill, and he obliges, but only later at night.

He makes her breakfast at night, explaining that nine PM is the perfect time for pancakes. She doesn’t mind since she’s a night owl by nature.

After they see each other for a few weeks, Henry paints a portrait of her and gets his first kiss as a result. It rocks his entire world. After the kiss, all he ever wants to paint is her face.

Mickey

He tries a little too hard to get her attention at first. She doesn’t know whether she finds him pathetic or if it’s kiiinda cute how he follows her around like a puppy.

They bond over music one day in Mickey’s car, which is NOT the car she first saw him driving. He lights up when metal plays, croons to power ballads, gets emotional over the break-up songs. She can see he’s a genuine dude who wears his emotions on his sleeve.

Mickey brings her flowers he stole from various gardens. He had a vision of buying her a bouquet of black roses, but they wanted 60 bucks at the store, so he improvises by prowling the garden district with a pair of shears.

Her black collars excite him. He asks if they mean anything or if they’re just fashion. She teases him and tells him if he wants to find out, he’ll have to prove himself. So he spends the rest of the week acting like the perfect boyfriend, though they’re not “official”, they are in his mind and he doesn’t have eyes for anyone else.

Merkel

Maybe the only guy who might be more goth than her. He likes black, wearing make-up and knows all the best underground clubs where they play dark industrial and everyone dresses like her.

He asks if he can dress her one day. To her surprise, Merkel has trunks of clothes he’s taken from fashion shoots. He styles her and stages his own photoshoot with her as his muse. The pictures are strikingly editorial, and she has the best time.

Merkel talks about hanging out with all her idols. She listens with heart-eyes and a smile to rival a sunrise to the stories of Gordon’s travels through Europe.

Invites her over to his place one night for wine and black-and-white movies, but all she wants to do is check out his handcuff collection and put them to use. With a coy look, he escorts her to his studio apartment, asking, “do you have your own safeword, or should we decide on one now?”

Willard Russell

He doesn’t understand all the black, but he wants to because he thinks she looks beautiful. He’s never seen a girl like her before. Maybe she’s an angel, maybe she’s the opposite... All Willard knows is he wants to talk to her.

She understands his melancholy, and he doesn’t feel like he needs to put on a happy mask when she’s around. It’s a breath of fresh air to feel like he can be himself in front of someone who doesn’t try to change him.

Her intelligence baffles him, and she doesn’t speak like the folks he grew up with. She’s different in every way, and he falls in love with her quickly.

Willard makes her a tree swing in the forest where they like to go to be alone. She finds this incredibly sweet and kisses him on the cheek before taking a seat on the wooden plank. His skin heats from where her lips touched, and he spends the rest of the evening with her in a lovestruck daze.

[stillthesunkenstars]

Heyy, I hope it’s ok to send you a message about this and it doesn’t cause more anxiety or anything for you (and feel free to ignore or delete this if you want, that’s totally fine by me). I know I don’t follow your main here, but I do scroll through it every now and I just did that and saw all your posts about leaving tumblr and the BS fandom.

it’s late and past my bedtime and my brain is kinda fried rn, so I hope this comes out the way I want it to, but all I wanted to say is that I’ve loved your art ever since I first saw it and your drawings are a very big reason why I first started messing around with the DWEU/BS myself. I still haven’t been able to read as much BS stuff as I’d like to, but I do plan to do that someday, and the character and her stories have been a really big inspiration to me over the past couple of years. like the way she keeps being a good person and choosing to be kind and loving her friends and trying to hold her family together in spite of everything the universe has throw at her to try to break her down… that’s meant A Lot to me, and I think your posts and artwork were a huge reason for that. like they really kickstarted my interest if that makes sense.

I’m sorry you feel so alone here, and I really hope you have a better time on other social media sites! we all have to do what’s best and healthiest for us, and social media is a thing meant entirely for our own enjoyment, so if you’re not enjoying this place, then definitely don’t feel bad for moving on!

but I don’t ever want to look back and realize that I didn’t tell someone they mattered when they did, so I wanted to send this message to you and say everything I just said. and also that I think your art is amazing, like not just your DW/BS art, but your whole style and everything is so cool and inspiring to me. anyway, yeah I have to go to bed now lol :’) but I hope you have a good time posting on other sites, and maybe I’ll see you there sometime! and thanks so much for all the amazing Brax art you’ve given us, as someone who also cares about that character it’s always made me so happy to know there was someone else out there who cared about him and that I wasn’t the only one. I wish you all the best! ✨🌟

Hey gurt!! Thanks for this message that is so kind of you to say😭😭 leaving tumblr for a while is kinda an impulse decision because for a consecutive week my mom just decided to trigger me about my art unprompted and it made the loneliness I felt because of tumblr worse in a way? But now that I left tumblr for a few days I really do feel much better, I want to return to make drawings for those of u who also enjoys BS but I know making drawings with the intention of ‘feeding’ other people within such a small fandom is what drained me in the first place so I’m hesitant. I’m going to therapy this week to talk about this (and a lot of other things on my mind I’m not only going to go to therapy bc tumblr lol) but if/when I return I must sort out my relationship with this website. I’m not a very nice person I think and I don’t always act rationally here but I want to just. Take a break for a while on tumblr

And YES BS is just such a good piece of media!! Like for all its dysfunctional family shenanigans like everything everyone ever does is out of love mostly… I like brax for the corpse party esque mindgames horror stuff but knowing that before everything he really started his descent into madness wishing the tragedies like what happened on dellah would not fall upon his friends and thus taking the matters into his own hands is just. The road to hell really is paved with good intentions 😭😭 that being said I don’t think I would quit drawing bs art ever because while it is a hyperfixiation it is a genuinely good piece of media that captures my almost every aesthetic.

Genuinely thank you for this message again, I’m very happy to know you enjoyed my art 😭😭