#but it is a very interesting piece of unintended meaning

[kefnut-the-gweilologist]

ah toy and mr chao r hands down the most interesting characters on warrior

[how-very-superbat]

Lengthy Superbat Fics!

I'm not sure how to really define 'lengthy' so I'm going for 20k+ (and Superman x Batman of course)

I just looked at how many I have and oh my god this is going to be very long. I will put a *** next to my favourites

From This Day Forward by Mithen (29k) When Kal-El of the House of El must marry a wealthy Terran for diplomatic reasons, Krypton will never be the same.

Action and Re-Action by Mithen (24k) In the first issue of Justice League after the reboot, Batman told Green Lantern he had never met Superman before. This story takes that statement at face value--but what if Bruce Wayne had met him before?

Stranger in a Strange Land by Mithen (27k) (Literally how does Mithen have time for all this) Kal-El of Krypton arrives on Earth as an adult. To the Justice League's surprise, Batman volunteers to introduce him to human ways. There's an immediate bond between the two men, but cultural differences and miscommunication complicate their relationship.

"Did you all have to get sick at the same time?" by Writer_loves_tropes (25k) Alfred is away on a well deserved vacation and Bruce is left to take care of the three Bat boys by himself. He's pretty sure he can easily take care of an eight year old, an eleven year old, and a twelve year old without having to call Alfred for backup. He's Batman. Batman can handle anything, right?

An Honest Conversation by frozenpotions (60k)*** “So Bruce’s longtime best friend had suddenly decided to start eye-fucking him at random. So what? Bruce was used to being the object of this kind of attention. It didn’t bother him. It was—should have been fine. The issue was that it was Clark, and Bruce had enough trouble remaining rational about him at the best of times.” or Bruce and Clark go from friends to lovers the long, long, long way round. Featuring a number of revelations, a well-meaning but nosy son (Dick) and, most prominently, two adult men being completely and utterly useless.

as to which may be the true by susiecarter (53k) It isn't difficult to go on in the wake of Superman's death. His resurrection, though, poses a problem—especially when it turns out there's no such thing as the right moment to explain that Martha Kent's obnoxious billionaire friend? Is also the man who tried really hard to shove a kryptonite spear through Clark's face.

all each riddles, when unknown by susiecarter (52k) Clark, struggling to deal with the events of Black Zero Day, is assigned a straightforward human-interest piece—on Wayne Enterprises. Then Batman catches Superman's attention, Clark Kent starts investigating Batman, Bruce Wayne spends a lot of time arguing with hitting on Clark Kent, and Bruce's best efforts to find a way to hurt Superman start to bear fruit. And then things get complicated.

and if the sun comes by susiecarter (30k) Steppenwolf isn't interested in accepting defeat and walking away. Superman's proven that he's the key to conquering Earth, and Steppenwolf returns with a plan for how to deal with him. A plan that Bruce is able to throw a wrench into—but not without certain unintended consequences.

Only Human by saltedpin (23k) Clark temporarily loses his powers, and while it's initially jarring, he gradually adjusts and tries to go about on a somewhat normal routine after telling his inner circle (which can also include the League since they're building themselves up). Problem is that he is somehow an even bigger danger magnet than Lois in this state.

Loading and Aspect Ratio byJUBE154 (45k) It had started out as a simple design, black everything with black outlines and black hood. It got a little more intense as the world went on, got wind of his ghost on the streets, and became scared of The Bat. So Bruce got a little more creative with it, Alfred and him had a good laugh over the name, the scare. So now the suit had a visible bat-theme, an insignia to drape in the shadows and to paint across the streets of Gotham: “The Batman can fly, you know, I’ve seen his wings.” (A world where nobody has wings, but people think they do, and that changes everything.)

Whoever Falls First by liodain (34k) "There's more kryptonite out there. When the Superman returns, there's going to be an all-star battle royale in the criminal underworld. Every megalomaniacal freak will want a piece of it so they can get a piece of you. And some of them will manage. They'll weaponize it and won't hesitate to use it against you, and when that happens I will not have you flailing around like an idiot." aka: Bruce teaches Clark how to fight.

Repeat Your Favourite Mistakes And Love Them All Again by watchingthestars13 (160k)*** "Oh dear," came Alfred's surprised voice from the stairs, and all of them turned to look at him. His face was a little pale as he stared at all the boys, Jason's huge t-shirt, Tim's dress, Damian wrapped in a spare cape that was in the batmobile. At least Dick was able to fit into Tim's Red Robin pants, and Jason in Damian's Robin pants. Had Bruce been a lesser man, he would've said 'dear god, help'. All it took now was for their eyes to meet before Alfred composed himself.

Opposites Eventually Attract by Pandamomochan (34k) When an accident forces Clark and Bruce to be no more than ten feet apart from each other at all times, both heroes are forced to evaluate what their relationship really means to each other.

The Long Hangover by CoffioCake (55k)*** Clark knows he should take a break: His powers are on the fritz, he feels like shit, and Batman’s treating him like a liability. But Gotham's villains seem to have it in for Metropolis' Big Blue Boy Scout and Clark won't just wait around for answers. Batman might be the world’s greatest detective, but Clark Kent is one of the Daily Planet’s most tenacious reporters. This is definitely a job for Superman.

Conflated by PamiGami (31k) “Are you sure you’re feeling quite all right, sir? I was but fairly sure the head hadn't been impacted.” “No… no, please. Listen. I’m in his body, but I’m not him. I can prove it.” Ill at ease, Clark rubbed at the back of his head, not stopping to think about the weird sensation of feeling not his own curls, but somebody else’s hair. The man continued to stare at him with piercing and scolding eyes. “I believe you.” He nodded. “Mister Wayne doesn’t say please this early in the morning.”

the cost of being a good dad by Mawiiish (96k)*** Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian are all tired of watching Bruce struggle with the stress of trying to handle the newly formed Justice League. He needs an outlet, he needs to relax, he needs to get out of the house, he needs... he needs to start dating. And what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?

Get Over It by rotasha (32k) Bruce needs to get over his inconvenient feelings for Superman and he meets an attractive reporter who he thinks can help him do just that. Little does he know...

[aangelinakii]

THEIR TASTE IN MOVIES.

characters written about in this piece : bruce wayne, dick grayson, jason todd, tim drake, damian wayne, barbara gordon, duke thomas, stephanie brown, cassandra cain

note : i lit thought of this last night and wrote it within 12 hours is this my comeback

BRUCE WAYNE

you guys are gonna hateee meee 💀💀💀💀 but i think bruce wayne is an avid documentary watcher. he likes living in real life, likes knowing everything he is experiencing is real. and he likes being in the know of the topics circulating the planet he's living on. he's not a reality tv person though (although he may have a super super guilty pleasure of love island uk that tim and barb found out and he literally threatened them to keep to themselves, but they use as blackmail anyway).

movies i think he would like :

fyre: the greatest party that never happened, 2019. directed by chris smith

how to catch a serial killer, 2018. directed by john holdsworth

athlete a, 2020. directed by bonni cohen & jon shenk

the hatchet wielding hitchhiker, 2023. directed by colette camden

DICK GRAYSON

the total opposite of bruce, i can see dick watching more idyllic things, and just feel good ! he might like a nice biopic, but is really picky (pun unintended) about them. he also enjoys musicals !! but musicals that focus on realism and story instead of theatricals, like i think he'd pass on moulin rouge, just because there's so much going on at one time. also likes media he consumed from when he was younger, he likes the fuzziness of nostalgia.

movies i think he would like :

the greatest showman, 2017. directed by michael gracey

a knight's tale, 2001. directed by brian helgeland

the truman show, 1998. directed by peter weir

bohemian rhapsody, 2018. directed by bryan singer

JASON TODD

jason loves an action movie. he so wouldn't tell anybody, but if he likes a move he's seen in a film, he'll try it on patrol, taking out one of penguin's henchmen, or even when just training in the bat cave. but he loves films where a lot's going on and the choreography is really impressive !! he really admires fight choreographers for being able to make them look realistic, and likes to laugh at the ones that are shite.

movies i think he would like :

bullet train, 2022. directed by david leitch

scarface, 1983. directed by brian de palma

kingsman: the secret service, 2014. directed by matthew vaughn

john wick, 2014. directed by chad stahelski (and all the sequels)

TIM DRAKE

this guy prefers to watch alone, meaning he can experience sadder watched exactly how they're meant to be watched; in tears. he probably struggles to be emotional, so also watching films like these is an outlet for him. i love how with all of these their films are like a guilty pleasure thing they wouldn't tell anyone. i think people's choice in film is very telling though, so...

la la land, 2016. directed by damien chazelle

manchester by the sea, 2016. directed by kenneth lonergan

aftersun, 2022. directed by charlotte wells

dead poets society, 1989. directed by peter weir

DAMIAN WAYNE

we all know damian wayne is an... interesting species. i feel like even though he knows it is an unlikely scenario, he has figures out everything he would do in a zombie apocalypse, but hasn't told anybody, and would actively make fun of someone who has done the same. like he knows what weapons he'd need, where he'd go, how he'd make an antidote. what i'm trying to say is he likes zombie movies, and horror movies. it feels like he's testing himself, on his ability to be scared or prepared in these or future scenarios. even tho he doesn't actually get that scared. also doesn't mind foreign films, he thinks they're better at telling a story.

movies i think he would like :

train to busan, 2016. directed by yeon sangho

split, 2016. directed by m night shyamalan

hereditary, 2018. directed by ari aster

long legs, 2024. directed by osgood perkins

BARBARA GORDON

i can see barbara enjoying older films, like she likes films that show what life used to be like, and why it may have been better then, and why it may be better now. she's a very philosophical person, always thinking about shit like that. might be a black and white fan, but i'm talking technicolour classics ! she likes a good romance as well, but not ones she cries too, ones that are more feel-good and make her crave the love from that movie.

movies i think she would like :

how to lose a guy in 10 days, 2003. directed by donald petrie

west side story, 1961. directed by jerome robbins & robert wise

funny face, 1957. directed by stanley donen

notting hill, 1999. directed by roger michell

STEPHANIE BROWN

this girl will watch ANYTHING like she has such a wide taste. i said that with her music taste too, like i think she could find a way to enjoy anything. she doesn't like film bro films too much, thinks they're poo and they stink and if you're a guy and you like them you stink too and "get no bitches", but obviously that's up to opinion. obviously. although she will watch anything, i think she has a preference for comedies, and that can come in any shape and form!

movies i think she would like :

scooby doo, 2002. directed by raja gosnell

scary movie, 2000. directed by keenan ivory wayans

white chicks, 2004. directed by keenan ivory wayans

mean girls, 2004. directed by mark waters

DUKE THOMAS

duke likes epic films, like if we ignore for a sec that we're in the dc universe, he would love the batman films, especially the nolan trilogy. but he also would actually be a huge marvel fan, i can totally see it. so he likes superhero films, and he's def a fan of comedy, so if it's mixed into one genre, that's a winner for him. he likes movie nights with the family, so sitting down and getting snacks. probably loves the cinema too, so goes to see the new releases every month. isn't too picky.

movies i think he would like :

deadpool & wolverine, 2024. directed by shawn levy

kick-ass, 2010. directed by matthew vaughn

the harder they fall, 2021. directed by jeymes samuel

top gun: maverick, 2022. directed by joseph kosinski

CASSANDRA CAIN

cassandra watches MASTERPIECES. she definitely has a letterboxd account and writes wayyy too much than she needs to about a film, no matter if she loved it, hated it, or was in the middle about it. she adores foreign films, and loves films with a message. she'll watch and enjoy a film with no plot, but can get tired of them. she likes a packed plot that keeps her focused.

mustang, 2015. directed by deniz gamze ergüven

oslo, august 31st, 2011. directed by joachim trier

eat drink man woman, 1994. directed by ang lee

devdas, 2002. directed by sanjay leela bhansali

[raconteur-wanpi]

One Piece 1130

Here comes another review / reaction!

Starting with the Yamato cover stories again, it seems whoever is the suspicious kidnapper is also trying to steal Yamato's katana! Or at least, I'm assuming it's the same person. I feel like this means we're going to find out who it is rather soon. Is my bet on Perospero going to be completely and utterly debunked? We'll just wait and see.

Franky and the rest of the strawhats remaining on the giants' ship seem to have decided to call off the search! It's certainly the right decision, because as we'll see later, the rest of the crew is indeed already on Elbaf. It's interesting to see Franky specifically showcasing determination and speaking out the decision, I kinda love it. You have to remember he was the leader of the Franky Family for a long while, nice seeing that element of his again.

The rest of the New Giant Pirates are starting to show up! I remember both Gerd and Goldberg, but getting more dialogue from them is nice, they seem like genuinely charming characters and I love both their designs. They even showed up in Vegapunk's flashback, helping out Saul pick up all the books in Ohara. They seem to not like Rodo very much, which is kinda funny but makes total sense. It's also worth mentioning that apparently, according to Linlin's childhood flashback, Loki, Rodo and Goldberg were all born on the same day, or at least very close to each other! (From chapter 866)

The strawhats unfortunately don't recognize these two, who are certainly their allies, so instead they hide away from them.

This panel of all of them making their escape from Rodo's weird creepy dungeon is pretty cute, I always love seeing the strawhats casually interact. Sanji saying he used to cross a rope bridge like this is very interesting to me, surely there was one in Germa, right?

* Edit: oops, turns out that's Chopper saying it! Big thanks for the corrections in the replies. It's really hard to tell, but that makes more sense, we do see that in Drum Island.

Anyway, Luffy seems to spot something that catches his interest during this walk-away.

Meanwhile, back on the ship with the Giant Warrior Pirates....

Dorry and Broggy have been framed for the Egghead incident by Morgans also! Well, they did go against the government, so it's to be expected. Their bounties increasing to such numbers seems to actually align with real life inflation rates, Oda did his research.

Aaaandd here it is, one of the biggest things in this chapter. Vivi left a message to the strawhats!!!!!!! Being with Morgans, she was obviously able to draw the marking on the photo before it started getting reproduced for publishing. Everyone predicting Vivi joining the strawhats this arc is probably correct, hopefully! Please let it happen. Go get your girl kids!!!!!!

OK, this is the other huge (pun unintended) thing revealed this chapter. More information on Loki and, well.... the revelation Harjudin might be his brother!? They're both the King's sons, right? They both get referred to as princes here, aren't they!?

King Harold is referred to as Loki's father here, so it's safe to assume he was Harjudin's father also. If this is the case, Harjudin going after the Flame Flame Fruit in Dressrosa makes more sense.

Hmm, this narrative is pretty interesting, Loki getting called things like "cursed", "the shame of Elbaf" "not right in the head" etc, it feels like pretty cruel words. Even if he is indeed a horrible and dangerous person, something tells me we're meant to be wary of people being spoken about that way, so it might be a case of the people of Elbaf taking their measures against this guy too far and pushing him into what he eventually turned into.

One Piece loves this narrative, when you have things like Wano's unjust treatment of the Kurozumi Clan or Doflamingo's treatment when he was a child. Yes, Orochi and Doffy did turn out into terrible, horrible people, but the implication of those narratives is that it's the systems that failed them that created those monsters. It's not to feel sympathy towards them or anything, they really don't deserve that at this point, but rather to understand how they were created, and that the people who unwittingly turned them into such dangers were in many ways in the wrong as well. After all, Tama is also a Kurozumi, for example, and Wano needed to get over their treatment of entire clans for the crimes of a few. We even see that with Yamato being hazed for his father being Kaidou in the cover stories, only for Denjiro to scold the younger generation for this behavior. Not to mention, "the shame of Elbaf" does immediately make me think of "the failure of Germa" and such similar things. In fact, if we wanna push that parallel further, Loki being almost married off to the Charlottes' in a similar way, might have in fact been an attempt at "getting rid of the failure" and letting someone else deal with him, rather than an attempt at making amends with Linlin. I do think it's most likely that Loki will be a bad guy, but I think there will also be a narrative on how cruelty breeds more cruelty. Oda's favorite!

And here he is, the "accursed prince". Wow, what a panel! This is such a good drawing in sense of scale and danger. Incredible artistic work. Immediately leaves such a strong impression on who this character is, it's quite the introduction!

[ofmermaidstories]

i just wanted to say as a long time reader i'm so happy to hear your thoughts on the ending, because i feel like so many people were very "this is the worst ending ever and it ruined the series" or "this ending was perfect and anyone who disagrees just didn't understand the story" when i think neither is really true at all lol... like it's okay to take what you need from the ending and agree and disagree with certain parts! no perfect story exists because if it did then writers would stop writing! but i'm still so excited to see where your love of the series takes you in the future, and i'm grateful that you share your work with us always :) i hope you have a good week!

i love the series too much to swing blindly either way. ���� and i understand/can see perfectly how like, there’d be readers who’d be upset with the wrap up, or otherwise feel the knee-jerk reaction to defend it from all criticism. 🥺 i’m not one of them though. 🥹 hori achieved what he set out to do (tell a very specific story about a boy learning what it means to dream, and the cost and responsibility of gaining and losing them), there’s just some pot holes on the road to it. 🥺 and maybe they could’ve (should’ve) been addressed, maybe easily, maybe not (maybe it’s a problem for when the road was first built, in terms of foundation or missing approval plans, maybe) but the road still works. we still get there in the end. 🥹

i had fun the entire time, even with the complaints lmao. i agree with you, anon! like, i don’t think perfect creators/writers exist. we all have blind spots, or biases that otherwise skewer what we try to achieve. i think flaws make creators and their creations interesting!!!!!! if anything i think that tells you more about them and their work than the things they get right does. The way Hori protects and almost babies his hero boys—his men—from their consequences, lmao, like he’s almost too scared to truly hurt them in the long run? He always just shies away from saying things outright—things are always left just open enough that he can back peddle later on, fix things. The complete dry lack of romance, despite him taking pains to hint at it and the way it’s guarded among Ochako and Tsyu like some precious, girlish secret. 💀 Idc what anyone says about that last one, I don’t believe he’s deliberately subverting expectations—I think he’s just bad at writing romance (that isn’t unintended 💀) and also a coward, lmao.

But that’s the stuff that’s fun! It’s fun to pick it apart and then it’s fun to piece it back together either by writing fic or trying to find fics that have like, the fix-its you want. 🥹 Hori’s flaws and deliberate gaps are what makes it the perfect sandbox we know and love. and i think he knows that, tbh—there’s so many tiny things he hints at, throughout the story, that we just never get full explanations of. The UA robot uprising, lmao. The cyberwar after the kids leave school, mentioned in this last chapter?? The fact that he’s plotted out the past users lives, and is just kinda like—eh, yeah, i’m never gonna tell. LOL. Maybe what I keep calling cowardice is just a misjudgement of the lines he draws for himself, in the sand. 🧐🥺 I guess we won’t know, lmao.

i’m waffling. Anon, I hope you’re having a good start to your week. 🥹 Thank-you for being so nice, specifically with your last words—there’s a lot I wanna write for MHA!!! I’m excited to start something new that gets to play with what Hori left for us. 🥹 Like Lili said in her earlier ask—I’d like to write them a hundred other happy endings, too. 🥹

[therummesoccupied]

IDW'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, ISSUE #71 - THOUGHTS

I absolutely would have continued putting this off, but then I found out that the 2024 Annual releases tomorrow, so I'd better get my ass in gear.

Issue #71 marks the end of the Extreme Competition arc... sorta. Evan has stated that she sees Issues #69-#75 all as the Phantom Riders arc. The Trade Paperback titles, however, refer to #69-#71 under the Extreme Competition name, so I'll keep using that for the time being, just to keep consistent with the release titles.

#71, like #s 70 and 69 before it, is an absolute banger. We've got Min Ho Kim back for pencils, really giving us a nice look at what they're capable of when handling action scenes - with the bulk of this issue taking place during a sort of Extreme Gear Dodgeball Match.

While most of the action is very clear and readable, there was one scene that I did have to glance at couple times to figure out what was going on.

I'm sure part of it was due to my colorblindness (deutan gang rise up), but I did not realize at first that this was meant to show a second Phantom Rider entering the scene. I thought for a moment Sonic had just rushed the field and was wondering why he had Duo's scarf. As soon as I realized it was a different guy entirely, it wasn't hard to piece together that this was Duo... or rather, it was Mimic. Who is Duo. Tomato tomato.

This second Phantom Rider is the source of pretty much all of this issue's juicy drama.

Using his clever disguise, Mimic throws Sonic off his game while riling everybody else up - Surge, Jet, Lanolin, all of them are dead set on catching this guy. He even switches forms over to Surge for a moment to set Whisper off and get everyone fighting each other.

It actually kind of goes to show that Mimic is a lot better at being the Phantom Rider than Sonic ever was, with Sonic's intentions behind adopting the persona being to throw off everyone's focus and cause a distraction. With Mimic throwing everyone's actions into disarray, he gets Sonic distracted long enough to unmask him.

An unintended consequence of this is that, while he escapes without being spotted himself, Tangle, Whisper, Surge, Kit, Jet, Wave, and Storm all see Sonic without his helmet.

And all of them have pretty interesting reactions to the whole thing!

Surge broods about it a bit, but is quickly distracted by meeting an adoring young fan.

Now, some of the eagle-eyed among you may notice - the little girl's mother is the Conductor's wife from The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog! It's a little weird that she's here, as SEGA continues to be fairly insistent that TMoStH is non-canon, but Evan Stanley, when asked about the appearance of characters from said game in IDW, has said that she simply thinks a similar event occurred at some point in this world.

Personally, my theory is that SEGA is eventually gonna just... change their mind and canonize it, and when that time comes, we'll probably get some retroactive explanation that all of this happens before that.

Anyway, in terms of what the encounter means to this story, it's neat to see Surge, who has been so caught up in the Hero Worship she's been receiving this arc, receive a more innocent adoration from a child who genuinely looks up to her. It gets her thinking for the first time about whether she deserves the praise she's sought as long as she can remember. This drives her and Kit to resolve to go straight and become heroes for real.

This is really cool! I didn't think we'd ever get any form of redemption arc for Surge, especially since I believe Ian Flynn stated at one point that it wasn't in the cards, that she was intended to be a villain always. And, to be honest, I don't know if it'll work out even with her trying. Clutch has got her and Kit on a pretty tight leash, and he's bound to do whatever he has to in order to reel them in if they start to get out of line. If the next issue previews are any indication, anyway.

Tangle and Whisper have kept quiet about what they saw to Lanolin, which Mimic/Duo seems to have picked up on, and appears to be attempting to use this information to drive a wedge between the Diamond Cutters and their leader. Meanwhile Tangle and Whisper have been trying to sort through things on their own, with the two of them making a couple observations to realize that there were, in fact, two Phantom Riders.

With this in mind, it looks like the two of them will be quietly looking into the matter on their own. I'm pretty sure they've largely pieced together that the second Rider is Mimic. If not, they'll have it worked out before long.

The reaction I find most interesting, though, is that of the Babylon Rogues.

Barely any time passes before, just using their heads, they work out almost exactly what's going on. And, while their motivation is entirely ego-centric, they resolve to uncover the foul play (heh) at hand and expose whoever's behind it. It's surprisingly cogent for them!

Then there's Clutch.

He's... upset. But of course. He's spent a good deal of effort to stay off Sonic's radar so he could avoid dealing with him until he was ready to do so. Now the world's greatest hero, who had no idea until recently that his operation even existed, is on his trail. One might understand why he's a touch unhappy. And honestly, I think the anger he shows here might be the most vicious side of Clutch we've seen. He doesn't normally have this much trouble maintaining his composure. It's interesting to see how badly he loses his cool when the house of cards he's built begins to tremble. I'm excited to see what the depths of that ferocity are in the upcoming issues.

Once again, the art, the writing, the plot, the colors, every aspect of this issue firmly slaps. I really, really enjoyed this arc, and I've become even more excited for upcoming material after finding out that every issue from 69 onward has been helmed solely by Evan! Not that I don't adore Ian and his writing, but if this is the standard we can expect when Evan gets to work on her own, I can hardly wait to see what she's cooking next. She certainly sounds eager for it, so I am, too!

Last thing to note, once again the fan mail section caught my attention, when at the very end, I noticed something:

They say that, next time, a "certain journalist" will get involved. The thing is, I'm really not sure who this could be. It sounds like it'd be an established character but... do we know any journalists in the Sonic franchise?

Maybe Omochao? Or Nite? They both work in TV and radio, but neither is really a journalist, per se.

The only actual reporter I can think of is Brenda Hernandez from Sonic Unleashed, but... she's a human! IDW has always appeared to be strictly forbidden from using human characters outside of Eggman. Though, a couple of them have been mentioned recently. To date, however, none have actually appeared. Could this be IDW finally shaking off some of SEGA's restrictions to play around with the bigger world a little bit? One can hope!

That's all I have to say on Issue 71, though, so as always, thanks a ton for reading all the way through, and keep an eye open for my 2024 Annual Review, as I hope to have it written and posted before Issue 72 drops later this week!

[zippy-reacts]

Sonic the Comic Liveblog: Issue 85

I am now immensly jealous of some kids from thirty-or-so years ago. I wonder if any of those jackets are still around?

(Also assuming I don't change the queue scheduling, this is being posted on the 23rd, so happy birthday Sonic!

What an outfit. Smoking jacket, bright-ass shoes, and a very impractical looking cane

First sentence this guy has spoken and he's already iconic

Yeah, defininitely sounds like important information to give in advance. Also, this is a very random to bring this up now, I know, but I wonder if anyone has ever made dubs of StC with British accents. I mean, I literally live in the UK and I'm struggling to hear anything other than these character's American voice actors when I read dialouge

When Omni was first introduced he was treated like a god but now a holding cell twarts him lmao

StC hasn't really been subtle at all so far so I'm expecting this guy to turn out to be evil BUT I would love it if this guy was a bit like Mihawk from One Piece where he's just a dramatic goth who's really committed to the aesthetic

Well, turns out he is indeed evil, but perhaps more importantly, stupid.

Got a couple of thoughts so here's them all in quick bullet points:

Really nice art on that first panel.

Interesting way to depict Super's teeth though

It is so funny the entire mansion just fucking exploded without him so much as lifting a finger

Top-tier expression

Jerkyl and Hyde thing going on, nice, cool to see even the side characters are going along with the horror theme

This panel is pretty funny in it's own right in terms of timing with the previous panel but uhh… choosing to make the laser beams or whatever piss yellow also makes it hilarious in an unintended way

I don't really like the way these comic depict Sonic's quills from the back but I do gotta acknowledge and applaud the effort that went into shading them here.

OHH I really really like how Sonic is drawn in this panel. The perfect mix of cute and badass

I think the joke here might be that Frink is a made-up word because I CANNOT find any definition for it other than a few Urban Dictionary entries that I don't think quite fit

Anyway back to Knuckles. Between now and writing last issue's liveblog it occurred to me that this whole story is reference to The Wicker Man (1973), right down to the inn having the same name. Very interesting choice of reference though, I imagine that film is a bit before the time of the kids who would be reading these comics.

I should probably also mention that while I've read a plot summary, I actually haven't watched Wicker Man myself. I don't really like horror movies but maybe I might give that one a shot sometime.

The Archie comics may have microwaved Knuckles in his egg but it looks like StC is gonna roast him in one!! 👈👈😎

Also I do love how in the following panel the villagers response to this is "lmao do you really think Robotnik gives a shit?"

There were two stories with Tails and Shortfuse. I have no comments for either one.

Well, even if I think the recent Tails stories have been boring as hell, I'm glad some kid out there enjoyed them.

[satyricplotter]

balancing how mean i can make dick be in his inner monologue is so tricky. it's no issue with jay because he's mean from the get go, you know? people are used to it, they come to expect it. there's a lot to delve into in that man, but you will wade through oceans of anger to get to it and that makes him mean. i know it, you know, etc. there's a very liberating frankness about it as well in that jason doesn't beat around the bush, so you can trust what he says even if it's a little hurtful. say you have a personal flaw, something you can change but choose not to or simply... don't, and this makes you guilty. if you bring this guilt to jason as a irredeemable flaw, he will simply be like "i have killed people. do better." and it's. well, yeah. it's all a little silly. it's not that he's worse than you so you can be as bad as you like, but more like, there's a kinship there yeah? a kinship in failure, in doing wrong, in thinking badly and speaking worse. he's not going to judge you for making a mistake (he'll judge you for how you clean it up tho), so you can be frank about your mistakes because he will always be upfront about what he thinks is shitty and isn't.

dick.. will not. not if he loves you. if he thinks you're a piece of shit, he will tell you exactly what he thinks of you, probably while he has the heel of his shoe digging on your windpipe. he can be pretty scathing, which i don't think people expect from him. and there's good reason for it, besides the fact that he benefits from being underestimated and thus contrives for it to remain like that. but i think if he thinks there's something wrong with you, he earnestly strives to fix it for you or give you the proper channels to guide you in the journey to bettering yourself or whatever nonsense else. because he wants you to live good and happy, you know? which can be on its own overbearing.

but it also has the unintended consequence of making him really unapproachable if you're not cutthroat and straightforward yourself. if you can't cut through the bullshit, establishing the sort of searing, raw intimacy that lets you both be very, very frank and unafraid to say things roughly, badly, meanly is practically impossible. i genuinely believe that dick is a good man, he is naturally (and works towards being) noble and heroic, and it matters to him that he does good, particularly on a smaller scale. but you can see how keeping that up--couple with his hypercompetence, his good looks, his cleverness--can be incredibly overwhelming if you don't get to see the ugly side of him too.

and there is an ugly side, is my point. the reason this came about is because birdwatcher is a lot of conversations about what makes one person lovable, which necessarily demands exploring the opposite, and what makes one, socially speaking, worthy of scorn is all put very meanly, to say the least. the way i imagine dick's mind works is: he knows this, but he can't echo it, even to acknowledge it. in narrative terms thinking it is equal to saying it because while he's speaking to himself, i'm speaking to you. here the placement of the reader complicates things because i am trying to appeal to you, person who reads this, to find this character interesting both as a character and as a romantic option for yourself, both in and out of the story. those two things have to align at least somewhat. and if i tell you "this character (dick) thinks your outfit is frumpy and unappealing, but he doesn't say it" i am giving you 1) information about this character's tastes 2) information about how he acts, which is vital for the narrative so you get a sense of who he is, BUT ALSO i'm insulting you, through dick's mind, and so is he. because you (in story) are oblivious to his insensitive thoughts but you (in real life) are reading them so! he still comes off insultingly! it's like dating a mind reader.

and i do think dick thinks it. it's a point of pride almost to me that he does. i don't like wimpy characters who only exist to adulate the reader. not only do i think it's boring, but i genuinely think it's a disservice to the character itself. i know the whole point of this is me shoving the man under your nose and going hey wanna have sex with this dude, but, you know. i have a specific way i think dick's mind works and he just. thinks mean shit sometimes! and it's the kind of mundane meanness that rubs you off in the way that egregious acts of villainy don't because you don't come across them that often. the way you can tolerate the mafia boss getting the barrel of his gun up your hole (not a euphemism) but will not stand for the guy at the line for the bar calling you "a little too fat" unprompted, even tho one of these is glaringly worse. again. im not saying dick will think that exactly, or be an asshole in that way, but he will have to acknowledge that people that think like that exist, and it will not be in a *brandishes sword* "what say you about my beloved?!" type of way.

all this to say, if you're the sort of person who dislikes when the character you're reading for is not immediately head over heels, madly in lust with you (a perfectly reasonable viewpoint, you do you baby), im... sorry. lol.

[fictionkinfessions]

anyone else who like doing media analysis also find themselves doing it with their own canons? lmao

like i LOVE analyzing my hyperfixations for new meanings, both intended and unintended by the author. it just makes them so much more fun and intriguing to engage with imo, and it's always really satisfying to see that other people agree with and understand where i'm coming from. but i also find that part of myself bleeding into my kinnity as well, in that i will subtly included bits and pieces from my personal canons as part of my headcanons for my source, which then in turn affect how i analyze them (and specific characters) as whole. that, or i'll even analyze my own memories from certain viewpoints and retroactively look at myself in a different light than i probably did in that life, which i think can Also be a lot of fun! (and which also leads me to wax poetic in my kinfessions sometimes. oops lol)

i feel like i'm an outlier in that line of thinking though, aheh. both in how intensely i feel about my interests and also how even though i don't kin ""for fun"" i do try to /have/ fun with how i'm kin in very specific ways.

i'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts, though, if you have 'em!

frog

[mooestriovermind]

I followed you before because your art was awesome. I follow still because it's still awesome.

Honestly love your use of shadows and sheen.

I'm glad you like my art! :>

I will now take this opportunity to describe why I think my art is good!

I learned most of the techniques from watching tutorial videos.

There's no tutorial that can, like, tell you how to accurately portray form with shading (which is partially why my art is so stylized), you just kind of have to feel out the shape of an object if you're not using references (which is part of why references are SO important)

but there are tutorials that can tell you the basics of shading (digitally, in this case)! this is the process I usually follow, with some variations depending on context- it uses a lot of terminology that I am assuming you know the meaning of, but if you don't, google is your friend

this is NOT a step by step tutorial to shading, I am just explaining the process that I follow in a manner similar to a tutorial

(long post warning)

Things to keep in mind before reading:

I do NOT use airbrush for shading unless explicitly stated. Airbrush makes ONLY soft shadows, where you usually want a mixture of soft AND hard shadows to create an interesting composition. I personally usually cel shade, which is ONLY hard shading.

This assumes you have basic things down like the position of your light source and how to shade, like, where exactly to put your shadows and what shapes to make them. If you're unsure, try to figure out the shape(s) you're trying to create (everything is made of shapes, break an object down into the most basic forms possible and go from there) or just, like, use a reference lol.

This isn't me telling you to always use this method- I vary the method a lot myself while using it, based on context, so please experiment with different layers and techniques to find what works best for you and your style!

If you're not confident in your line art, shading the piece is not going to make it look too much "better" than what you're seeing. Shading uses value to create volume and describe form, but if the form being described isn't quite right, it probably won't come out the way you want it to (I have learned this the hard way).

Seriously, use references. Multiple.

Use the magic wand tool to select the area around your lineart, then invert selected area and grow your selected area by 1 or 2 px. On a separate layer from your lineart, use the fill / paint bucket tool to fill the selected area with exactly 50% value grey.

This creates a base which you place underneath your line art, which is very useful, because you can then clip layers between it and your lineart directly to the base layer, making it impossible to color outside the lines

(but why don't you just use the fill tool to make a color layer?)

This can be a useful shortcut if you're in a rush, but the fill tool can often miss pixels or have unintended side effects if you forget to turn off anti-aliasing or something else. I also don't 100% understand how to properly use the fill tool sometimes, so avoid using it unless the context calls for it

use a multiply layer + greyscale value to convey shades that are darker than your base color

Even if you put a white that is, like, 90% value, a multiply layer will darken any layer underneath it very sharply. You can use this to put various greys and create volume with darker values. While it can be tempting to make an overlay layer or a soft light layer and put all of your shadows and highlights on it (I used to do that) you can get a greater range of value if you use separate layers for your lighter values and your darker values.

create an overlay layer to enhance darker shadows and begin forming lighter values

Overlay, being the cross between multiply and screen, is a perfect way to start exploring lighter colors in your piece without pushing the lever all the way to bright bright highlights while also making some parts of your shadows even darker

put a screen layer on top of the overlay layer to convey shades that are lighter than your base color and create white highlights

Screen can and will lighten your color to a very aggressive degree. I recommend using darker shades of grey in the 10-40% value range to convey "normal" lighting, and going over 50 up to 100 depending on how close you want the visible color to be to white.

create a soft light layer, set your color palette to 10% and 90% value "grey" and break out the airbrush, set the brush size so the cursor circle covers roughly 1/8th - 1/6th of the drawing

Using the airbrush on top of your other layers and also in a soft light layer is like a cheat code for rounding out your shading where your shading may be a little weaker in some places. As long as you don't overdo it, you can create a very convincing composition by combining the airbrush and soft light layer with your harder shading that has more value range.

use a normal layer to add marks of solid color on top of your drawing, like white lines reflecting on glasses or straight up 0% value black in some of the darkest parts of your drawing. this can also be useful for adding additional details and contour / cross contour lines that may be missing from your line art

This step is not always necessary. It is nice to add a little bit of final rendering, but it can be superfluous, especially if you were particularly thorough in your previous steps.

I also use it sometimes to add things like glasses that just appear as the frame without any rendering regarding the lenses.

---

Feel free to repeat any of these layers to get even darker or even lighter values, or add more definition or multiple light sources. Like I have said, the decision to do so is purely contextual, and may vary from piece to piece.

If you have any specific art questions, or any holes I may have left in my process, my ask inbox is always open :>

If you are a digital artist and you see any flaws / room for improvement please feel free to leave criticism on this post or anywhere else like my asks or DMs! I'm always looking to get better.

Thank you for reading my long ass post, or at least scrolling through it all the way.

Either way, have a gold star!

⭐

[segara-asa]

A Year With Me Can't Possibly Explain Everything

Every day, you only see a small piece of the puzzle that makes up who I am. Like a book with endless pages, I’m full of surprises and mysteries, just waiting to be discovered.

Every day, you only see a small piece of the puzzle that makes up who I am. Like a book with endless pages, I’m full of surprises and mysteries, just waiting to be discovered

Spending time with me is like peeling back the layers of an endlessly intriguing mystery. You might think you’ve got me figured out, but each day brings a new revelation, a new facet of my character that surprises even those closest to me. I’m often told there’s a depth to me that’s hard to fully grasp in a short time; like a book with infinite pages, each chapter of my life offers a glimpse into the diverse traits that make me uniquely captivating.

I thrive on passion and intensity. Whether I’m diving into my latest interest or standing up for what I believe in, I bring a fiery enthusiasm that can light up any room. This zeal isn’t just for show—it’s a genuine burst of energy that draws people to me, making me a natural focal point in social settings. My friends say that being around me is like catching a spark; it’s almost impossible not to feel energized and inspired.

Yet, there’s also a calm, grounding presence to my personality. When things get hectic, I’m the rock that people turn to for stability. This blend of dynamism and steadiness makes me a confidant and leader in equal measure. It’s this balance that often leaves people wondering how someone can be both a whirlwind and a haven of peace at the same time.

Beyond the energy and stability, there’s an allure to my persona that’s hard to pin down. I’ve got a magnetic charm that seems to draw secrets out of the most reserved individuals. It’s not just about charisma; there’s an empathetic understanding and a readiness to listen that makes people feel safe and valued in my presence. This ability to connect on a deeper level is something I cherish—it transforms everyday interactions into meaningful connections.

Navigating a year or even a lifetime with me promises a journey of continuous discovery. Just when you think you’ve seen all my layers, I’ll surprise you with something new, reminding everyone that I am a complex tapestry of traits, each more intriguing than the last. So, here’s to the adventures and insights yet to come—with me, you’re in for an extraordinary ride.

-----------

However, my vibrant tapestry isn’t without its darker threads. My passion, while often infectious, can sometimes overwhelm both myself and those around me. When I dive deep into my pursuits or causes, I can become so engrossed that I might unintentionally steamroll others’ opinions or feelings. This intensity, though born from genuine enthusiasm, can sometimes lead to burnout or moments of unintended insensitivity.

And while my ability to be a rock for others is one of my strengths, it also comes with its own set of challenges. I often take on the problems of others, shouldering burdens that aren’t mine to bear. This can leave me feeling drained, yet I struggle to set boundaries, fearing I might let someone down. My desire to be everyone’s anchor can sometimes mean I neglect my own needs, wading through emotional waters that are meant for calmer shores.

My magnetic charm, too, has its pitfalls. The very allure that draws people to me can also create a façade that I find hard to drop. Being seen as a confidant and a charismatic figure means that I’m often placed on a pedestal, high and lonely. People sometimes forget that behind the captivating presence lies a person with doubts and vulnerabilities, who isn’t always the sage or the life of the party.

In acknowledging these flaws and challenges, I embrace the full spectrum of my being. Each weakness, each flaw, and each “beautiful red flag” is a stroke of color that adds depth to my character. Recognizing these aspects isn’t just about admitting faults—it’s about understanding that even the quirkiest parts of our personalities contribute to who we are. Embracing my entire self, shadows and all, is a journey just as important as celebrating my strengths. As we move forward, let’s remember that growth comes from recognizing all parts of ourselves, turning the beautiful red flags into markers that guide us toward our true paths.

-----------

So, why not take the chance to really get to know me? When the planets align and their energies favor us, I can be truly amazing, and you’ll feel that energy just by being around me. During these times, my presence can feel like a vibrant festival of light and joy. But, like the cosmos, I have phases where the stars dim and my darker, more enigmatic side emerges. These moments may seem challenging and perplexing, yet if you dare to look closer, you’ll see blazing stars hidden within the shadows.

Getting to know me is not a straightforward path. It’s a journey through layers and complexities, through stories untold and facets unseen. Due to my impulsive nature and my ability to keep secrets, I might come across as an open book one moment and a sealed vault the next. There are too many tales to unfold in just a year; our adventure together will reveal more with each passing day. It’s like exploring universe after universe—I’m all in, ready to be there, everywhere, and anywhere, whether I’m in my pajamas, doing everything or nothing at all. Confusing, right? But that’s just part of the ride.

I invite you to dive into this journey with me. Understand that while I might sometimes drift into my own world, I am always anchored here with you. Each moment with me can be a discovery, a new star in our shared galaxy. If you’re willing to navigate the complex orbits of my world, you’ll find that the celestial dance we perform together is uniquely beautiful and profoundly rewarding.

Let’s embrace the chaos and the calm, the light and the dark. Get to know me—not just in fleeting moments but in all the continuous ebb and flow of life’s tides. Together, we can explore the vast expanses of not just who I am, but also who we can become together. Laugh with me, journey with me, and let’s see where this cosmic adventure leads. You get it, right? Haha, here’s to hoping we find the rhythm in the beautiful madness of it all.

[michalsmeinung]

Comment on Paris 2024

I boycott every Olympics - not intentionally, but because I have little interest in watching sports on television. This year, however, I find myself compelled to engage with the Olympics due to the Instagram posts stating, "I will not watch something that mocks my Savior. Bye Olympics" which brought the opening ceremony to my attention. Initially, I wanted to share in the outrage expressed by many of my fellow Christians online. However, instead of reacting impulsively to my emotions, I decided to do some research to form an informed opinion.

My comment consists of two points. First, I will discuss how Leonardo da Vinci's 15th-century painting "L‘Ultima Cena" was reflected in the Olympics. Second, I will address the reactions of my fellow Christians, who I believe are overshadowing the real issues behind phenomena like so-called wokeism.

At first glance, the Olympic scene indeed appears to draw many parallels with Da Vinci's painting. It is true that the DJane was dressed in blue, similar to how Jesus is depicted in Da Vinci's work. Additionally, the DJane, positioned in the centre of the scene, supported these parallels in a now-deleted Instagram story post. The runway also evokes the table of the Last Supper. Thomas Jolly, the director behind the scene, explained in a press conference that these similarities were unintended. My critique is that if there was indeed an intention to depict the Last Supper, it was done in a way that neglected crucial elements of the original scene, such as the presence of the twelve disciples and the central element of the meal. Furthermore, it can be argued that Thomas Jolly should have anticipated the backlash, even if he did not consciously reference da Vinci - at most, I accuse him of negligence in handling religiously charged symbols like the halo.

My question is: Who are we actually defending? Rather than focusing on defending a piece of art, we should emphasize the values that Jesus embodied, such as unity and love for one's neighbour. Jesus sought to create unity through his life, not division. It is encouraging to see my fellow Christians uniting in defence of a Catholic artwork, despite the usual criticism of our Catholic brothers and sisters within my Christian bubble.

The Instagram posts stating "I will not watch something that mocks my Savior. Bye Olympics" may promote a certain unity among Christians, but they also have the potential to create and deepen divides between people. It seems my fellow Christians are reinforcing each other's outrage instead of seeking a societal debate based on well-founded arguments. These Instagram posts serve to create a shared identity based on outrage over an issue and wallowing in a victim mentality. However, the very Jesus they seek to defend approached people far from his values. Additionally, the Bible teaches us that light drives out darkness. Shouldn't we then highlight the light, the positive aspects? How impressive is the voice our Father in Heaven gave to Céline Dion? Aren't we encouraged to seek the gold in others?

I do not wish to be misunderstood. Unity and love for one's neighbour do not mean condoning everything - otherwise, I would not be posting this but merely replicating my fellow Christians' posts. It is unfortunate that in the heated debate over the depiction of the Last Supper, the discussions within the church on socially relevant issues are often lost, such as the debate on the participation of transgender people in sports. These topics require deeper and more respectful engagement, which is distracted by superficial outrage.

Of course, it is laborious and sometimes exhausting to openly engage with complex issues and develop a nuanced opinion that must constantly be reconsidered and revised. Nevertheless, I urge my fellow Christians to take on this challenge. Instead of getting lost in outrage, we should engage in a diverse, well-argued debate within Christianity. Only then can we achieve real societal change and grow together.

Michal, over and out.

[manonamora-if-reviews]

Ranaway by TrexandDrago Development

A Single Choice Jam entry.

Entry - IFDB - More by TrexandDrago CW: mention of bullying, assault, abuse, injuries

A short kinetic parser I think this was the first time I've ever encountered a kinetic parser. Following the Single Choice rules, you can only do one specific action at a time before the story ends. You go through two "rooms" and do a few different actions, like looking around you, picking up some items, and move some place else. There is only one path and one path only. It is not just the game railroading you into this one path (you truly do not seem to have a choice), the text provides you with the action you need to write next to advance the story. There is no guesswork, no puzzle, no thinking. Which means, the focus is on the text alone... The entry calls itself a remake of a previous game of the author. While it provides some missing information for The Last Notebook (all those games are connected), it also gives very little. Your home life is really not great; so one day, after another altercation, you decide to run away. You look around your room, check yourself, get a few supplies and you are out the window. Some action descriptions are a bit confusing, and there isn't much more than what's on the screen. It would be interesting to see more kinetic parser pieces, but I don't think this one's implementation puts that mechanism to a good light.

As a sidenote: while the game tells you what to play next, you are not completely restricted, as some actions can still be done without an error message or out of order. While this technically goes against the rule, considering the previous entries of the author, we are brushing it off as bug/unintended behaviour from the author's code.

[transfennecbuddy]

HI HI HI HELLO I have a THING! That I want to show y'all! HEHEHEHEHEHE I have another rant!! I shall hide it behind the read more thing but yeah!!! Hehe rant!!

(Also! Legal disclaimer! [Not really but same vibe.] This rant is about a super fancy snazzy spiffy science thing [CRISPR] but I'm not a science professional! I'm just doing a school project on this! This is what I got from YouTube videos and websites and such, yeah? If I get things wrong, that's why!)

Hi hi hi so you came to see my rant huh? Huh huh huh? Well I shall show you hehehe!

Have you heard of a thing called CRISPR? I'm gonna assume that you haven't so that I can explain!! It's a gene editing tool that uses a protein called Cas9, which is commonly found in bacteria! You see, bacteria have been using this fancy thing all along for ages! Like whenever bacteria get attacked by a virus (which happens a lot) and that virus is new to it, it doesn't really have a fancy defense mechanism to protect itself. But if it survives the attack, then it takes a bit of the virus's DNA and saves it in a section of its own DNA using Cas9. And then if it gets attacked by that virus again, it'll check the virus's DNA against the samples it has in storage, recognize the DNA, and make pieces of RNA to attack the virus right at its DNA!

Cool, huh? Well scientists found about this lil whizzy thing called Cas9 a while ago and were pretty excited, for good reason. With CRISPR, we can not only edit the DNA of creatures that haven't been born yet but also creatures that are very well and living which can pave the way to treatments for genetic diseases!! Plus it's much cheaper than it cost to do genetic stuff the old way!!! (As in, some folks are trying to get laypeople to try out CRISPR on themselves, and their main struggle is with convincing people to do it cause the cost isn't that big of a factor!) We already have GMOs like the Flavr Savr tomato (which takes longer to rot on store shelves thanks to being genetically modified). If CRISPR is safe (which folks are still trying to work on since there's still so much about genetics that scientists don't know and messing with folks' genomes can lead to unintended consequences [also fun fact: the word consequences is used colloquially to mean a bad effect of something, but in stuff like psychology, it just means an effect of something!!]), then it can be super awesome!

I learned about this lil thing back in... I think 2018? I watched a Kurzgesagt video on it a few years ago at least, and I rediscovered the vid during the pandemic while everyone and everything was shut down and there wasn't much to do during the summer other than sit on the couch and watch TV. And like, I LOVED that video when I first watched it?? I watched it multiple times and I even forced (read: persuaded/begged) my parents to watch it too. And I still love hearing about CRISPR and genetic engineering and genetics in general now because of that (and it's impressed at least two important people in my life so I consider it a success!). Like when we touched briefly on CRISPR in my biology class last year, I was SUPER excited in the back of the classroom because it was CRISPR!! One of my childhood interests that has significantly influenced my life!!

So when we had to do a project on new science in my physics class this year (for... reasons), I immediately looked up new stuff going on with CRISPR within the last couple years. AND TURNS OUT! FOLKS HAVE MADE A CRISPR 3.0 NOW! Like I didn't even get to hear about CRISPR 2.0, it was just straight to CRISPR 3.0!! And hopefully CRISPR 3.0 is safer, more effective, and easier to use than the original version of CRISPR.

ALSO! CRISPR IS BEING TRIED OUT TO HELP FAMILIAL HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA(high cholesterol risk passed down genetically)!! THAT'S SO COOL!!! AND IT'S BEING TESTED ON PEOPLE NOW! I will literally SCREAM this is so cool!!

So yes! I'm having a fun time, hehe. And I'm writing this instead of actually working on my project, but that's cause it's helping me put together my thoughts! Totally not because I'm just too excited to work on it without being able to gush to someone about it (/sarcasm), lol.

[joycew-art]

Hey there! I absolutely love your art!

Do you have any tips for new artists on where to start?

I can do some simple line art as long as I have references, but it’s very stiff and the colors are flat. I can only hope to be as amazing as you someday! 💙

Thank you so much, that is so kind of you! That's a very broad question, but I'll try to explain my process in this to the best of my ability.

First, just find the subject you really want to draw. Wither it's characters, environments, objects, it doesn't matter, grab your interest and go crazy with it! Doesn't matter if you draw it 10 times, a 100 times or a 1000 times. The most important thing is to have fun, cause if you have fun it's always much easier to want to try new things!

So, for example, if you really love drawing a certain character, draw them a lot to get familiar with them. Look up a lot of references. Not just from their original media, I tend to look up fanart as well, to get inspiration of how to stylize the character you're drawing. Maybe there's a certain way you love how they color, or how they draw the eyes, or do the lineart, etc. Trying to copy or trace them can be a very good study, but of course you shouldn't claim those pieces as your own.

It's important to just learn one thing at the time tho! If you jump from one subject to the other it's harder to remember the things you've learned. Of course if you get stuck, it's also fine to move on for a bit. Sometimes a thing won't click until later. There are many tutorials out there and many ways to learn the same thing, but not all of them work for me either. It's up to preference.

The way I learn new things is by doing this;

I analyze my own drawing and compare it to the references I got.

I find the problem, for example the hands. (sometimes it can be multiple things, so then you pick the one you want to fix the most).

I then google 'how to draw hands'. I also try other websites like Youtube or Pinterest, you don't always get the same results.

I also look up references of hands, like photographs or images from media I like (recently I screenshotted hands from the manga Bleach, cause I love how the author draws them).

I then follow the tutorials that I found, sometimes mimicking exactly what they do, sometimes I only copy the parts I am most struggling with.

I use that new knowledge trying to copy the hands from the references I've saved.

If you feel like you've got enough of a hand (pun unintended) on the subject, then I try to apply it to my own art.

Most often I actually learn new things while making big, complicated art pieces. Like, when I drew my Toxic Rick piece last year I had to google how to draw slime textures, since I've never done that before. And it's not really a subject matter I normally stumble into. Sometimes I go through the whole process I described above, but sometimes I can apply it immediately. It kinda differs from situation to situation.

And just start learning the thing that interests you the most right now! I always put off backgrounds in the past and forcing to learn them while I didn't want to never gave great results for me. It wasn't until recent years that I finally got interested in drawing them and then learning to draw them went much easier.

___________________

There's one tip that might help with stiff lineart; gesture drawing! For a long time I've had the problem where my poses felt very stiff as well and gesture drawings really helped for me. Actually this video has almost the same workflow as I have; gesture first, then the structure, then the lines.

Of course, look up many tutorials of gesture drawing, there might be one out there for you that will work even better!

___________________

For the flat colors, it might help to focus on values instead. What I mean with that is to look at your drawings in black and white.

I always check my values by adding a gray layer above my whole drawing and put it to 'color' mode. I just switch that one on and off whenever I need to check my values.

Here's an example video where they explain what values are. They talk quite fast, but the video has subtitles.

Of course if this video doesn't help, you can always try to google for more. There are many videos like this out there!

Perhaps you can try the process above to find the answers you need?

Good luck on your art journey! I'm very flattered that my art is something you want to strive to. Be patient and kind to yourself, you'll get there! :)

[maaarine]

How mental health became a social media minefield (Rebecca Jennings, Vox, Sep 30 2021)

“But in the past decade, as social media has forced billions of us to virtually bump into people we never would have otherwise, many of us have also found the need to categorize people into recognizable boxes.

One way to do so is by seizing on common human behaviors to name — gaslighting, emotional labor, trauma, parasocial relationships, “empath” as a noun — then disseminating them until they cease to mean much at all.

We end up treating mental illness like a subculture, complete with its own vocabulary that only those in the know can use and weaponize.

It often looks like this: On August 26, a woman posted a TikTok suggesting that “excessive reading” in childhood was considered a “dissociative behavior.” (…)

At the risk of, well, over-pathologizing, it basically seems like there are two types of people: 

those who tend to appreciate and identify with this kind of internet diagnosis — “[X] behavior is actually a trauma response!” does legitimately make sense for some people and helps them live a happier life —

and those who find it not just annoying but potentially harmful, stigmatizing, and unscientific. (…)

It’s difficult to talk about this sort of discursive overreach without sounding like a far-right reactionary; indeed, criticisms of over-pathologization have come from conservatives who argue that, to generalize, it’s all just a bunch of self-obsessed liberal snowflake eggheads. 

“One of the biggest problems is that the far right has correctly identified that this is happening — that the discourse and identity policing has gotten out of control,” Moskowitz tells me,

to the point where it becomes hard for others to push back against it without sounding as though you’re siding with an ideology they don’t adhere to.

“There needs to be a strong, leftist stance of ‘we’re not going to do this identity-pathology policing thing anymore, but that doesn’t make us reactionaries.’”

Whether doctors over-pathologize certain normal human behaviors has been a subject of great interest in the medical field;

when the DSM-V, the standard classification of mental disorders, was published in 2013, many psychiatrists argued that it medicalized typical behavioral patterns and moods, possibly as a result of the pharmaceutical industry’s influence.

(One common example here is the potential to misclassify grief over the loss of a loved one as major depressive disorder.)

Billieux has studied gambling and gaming addictions extensively, and warns against the instinct to diagnose every symptom.

“The idea of being able to categorize mental illness like you’re categorizing insects, for example, is something that is very complicated and probably is not valid in the context of psychiatric disorders and psychological suffering,” he explains.

“These labels are very reductive in terms of defining the psychology of someone, and they tend to ignore individual differences.” (…)

It can feel special, understandably, to adopt a label around which to frame one’s identity, if not outright cool. And the internet rewards it:

“Whereas a therapist might question the usefulness of identifying oneself as permanently aligned with whatever struggle one is experiencing, engagement-driven platforms help frame conditions as points of identity, badges of honor,” explains Isabel Munson in a piece on Real Life.

People in our own lives may reward it, too: As writer and TikToker Rayne Fisher-Quann pointed out, friends and family tend to be much more forgiving and understanding when you can excuse behavior using a label, as opposed to trying to articulate the complexities of the human mind at any particular moment.

Treating mental illness like subculture, though, can have unintended consequences.

Just a few days ago, I was served a TikTok ad for a direct-to-consumer startup centered on delivering cutely branded ADHD medicine to your door.

Was this an ad targeted to me based on what TikTok assumes? Or was this sent out to the general public, implying that there are enough people on TikTok who have or think they have ADHD to make the ad a worthwhile investment?

In a story on internet pathologization for i-D, James Greig writes that easily categorizable people are also easy to market to.

“While there is genuine support out there and a lot of good intentions, it’s worth bearing in mind that some of the people involved in pushing these diagnoses have a vested interest in doing so,” he writes.

(Consider the zillions of products that claim to quell anxiety, a market that’s exploded over the past decade.)

Perhaps the solution to this sort of categorization and grouping is to redefine the terms.

“To me, we should start seeing identities more as things you do rather than descriptors of who you are,” says Moskowitz.”