#characteristic of comic books really

[loki-zen]

talking to dagny about superpowers the other day and it sounds like even Worm didn’t really tackle the thing that I always find a hard sell about the sorts of powers where the logic is like ‘this person can fight real good because they’re able to calculate everything super fast so they know exactly what actions they need to take and when to dodge and so on’:

namely, that as someone who has spent time practising movement disciplines, i can tell you it’s perfectly possible to know exactly what you need to do and still fuck up the physical execution.

think about like. one physical skill people always like to claim is ‘really’ physics is catching a ball, because there’s like an equation or whatever that will tell you where the ball is going to fall. but anyone who’s played a sport has surely had the experience of knowing exactly where the ball was headed, and just not being able to get to it in time.

unless you have a secret second superpower that gives you inhuman physical reaction times and peak physical fitness and have spent a lot of time practicing acrobatics? kinda feel like you should have a perfect vision of the set of movements you need to complete to dodge the incoming fire while moving quickly into cover, faceplant on the second backflip and eat bullets.

[pee-com]

i never thought the penguin would create riddler discourse that shouldn't exist 😭

its very clear that Edward is a self pitying man-child who blames everyone for the wrongs in his life.

i thought despite liking the character we could all very clearly sit back and understand hes a terrorist with self interested goals under the guise of justice. also if he were real you would have to be a 4chaner to agree with his actions.

[cat0901h3]

Goosebumps Books 1-10

Can't believe that it took me nearly two years to just do 10 covers for the books. Will be posting more Goosebumps in the future, along with other stuff.

Read more to know my personal opinions and critiques on my fanart for each book:

Welcome to Dead House: I wanted to make the house look alive like Monster House, so I gave it more human characteristics (ie: the people in the windows to form eyes, or the finger-like branches.) Also paid homage to a horror film by styling it after The Amityville Horror house.

The Benson children themselves look a bit depressed, that's because the first book is actually more scarier than the rest of the series, so they're a bit angsty.

Stay Out of the Basement: This one killed a lot of my green markers lol. I tried to make Dr. Brewer as menacing as possible while still showing that he is a father with the photos, There were going to be more plants reaching out, but I decided that the leaves hidden on him would be enough.

Though I have to admit my disappointment with the lighting. It still looks a bit too bright, and not dark enough. That's just my own critique.

Monster Blood: Honestly, pretty mixed about this one. While I'm proud of the bubbling ooze that looks like a skull, which is outlined by one of my colored pens. I'm not proud that everything else is so muted with brown. Almost all of Jacobus' works are vibrant and saturated, so it being dull in colors feels like a disservice to him.

Also, Andy's last name was made up by me, she apparently just doesn't have one. It's inspired by Stephen King. Btw, hope you love banana and strawberry dyed hair, you'll see more of it soon in future batches.

Say Cheese and Die!: One of my favorite books, and of course it gets the best fanart imo. The screaming skeleton form of Greg Banks with red bg in the polaroid, contrasting with the dark background is just super cool, coolest shit I've ever done. Though I might be biased, I really like skeletons. Like Curly.

I actually made concept art for a Say Cheese and Die! graphic novel, which includes drawings of the photos and Spidey! Let me know if you're curious.

The Curse of The Mummy's Tomb: Not much to this one honestly. Just a mummy casually busting down a wall filled with hieroglyphics. Though I will say, I was experimenting with shading with purple and blues like Jacobus. As you can see, didn't stick for long.

This is also the book that I discovered that if the protag doesn't have a last name, then there is an official one either in the Presents novels, the mobile app, comics or other.

Let's Get Invisible!: This was pretty tricky to draw. Drawing someone turning invisible maybe easy in Photoshop or Procreate, but this was traditional art. Sure Jacobus did it with airbrushes, but I all had were pens and markers. But I somehow managed to pull it off, which is insane that I even managed that in the first place.

Night of the Living Dummy: Ah, the infamous Pamela Vorhees book, where the main antagonist isn't the mascot, but instead some other puppet lol. I've seen a lot of fanart of Slappy, but never of Mr. Wood. So I wanted to do justice for Wood while still showcasing Slappy. While I am proud for how it mostly turned out, there are two things that bother me. 1. This is the night sky that is black, the rest are either blue or purple. 2. I forgot to add the lines that make the jaw on Mr. Wood, whoops.

Aside from that, I hope guys like that Misfits poster in the background and Kris's cool hair cut. The green was inspired by the comic adaption not 2015 Jacksepticeye.

The Girl Who Cried Monster: Please forgive me for the small thumbnail, I wasn't using a ruler at the time. The design for Mr. Mortman wasn't much of a challenge. I loosely based it off of the French rendition of the cover and gave him a large leech-like mouth.

In my headcannon, the teeth spin like a garbage disposal, making easy work of the turtles.

Welcome to Camp Nightmare: Another one of my favorites, and I think I did a decent enough job, too. The lighting is perfect, the clouds look alien enough, and you can just barely see the screaming campers inside the tent. I do have one issue though, and that is the size of the monster, Sabre. In the original sketch I did, he was supposed to blend in like a bush, but instead he looks like Sasquatch Sr. Oh well.

While they did give Billy a last name in the Presents books, I had to make up one for Dawn. Just based it off Gwen Stacy lol. Also, hope you enjoy the little bonus pictures down below.

The Ghost Next Door: The original Jacobus art was perfectly vague enough to keep the twist there but not spoil anything. Of course to do the same thing, but with a twist of my own. The "ghost" shadow that you see in the street is the Dark Figure that follows Hannah around or when Danny is near. I wanted it to look like it was constantly on fire, since SPOILERS: someone in the book does die in a fire.

Another headcannon is that the Dark Figure isn't actually a ghost or whatever, but instead the embodiment of Misery.

[risestarkiss]

Being Baby Blue

Rise Ramblings #313

Leonardo Hamato is…an interesting individual.

As a middle child, he doesn’t have to shoulder the responsibilities of the oldest, nor is he fawned upon or babied over like the youngest. Therefore, he ends up having more of a lackadaisical approach to life.

In his free time, instead of training like Raph, Leo can normally be found reading comic books.

And for good reason! Someone has to be up on the latest issues of Jupiter Jim and his space odysseys.

But, other than being a Jupiter Jim superfan, who is Leonardo Hamato?

If you ask Leo, he's...*takes out a list*: “Primetime,” “First,” “The Best,” “Number One,” “The Champion,” or some other iteration of all of the above.

...Huh. Anyways...

Of course, the first thing Leo would tell you is that he's the team's "Face Man."

As the "Face Man," he’s the one that turns up the charm when they need to schmooze their way out of, or into, something.

He's the face of the group! It's a very important title, right?

Well, in this scene with Hueso, we learn what Leo really feels about his place on the team.

"There's no team with just a face man." "I'm nothing without them."

Hmm. If he thinks that he is nothing without his brothers, then what's the deal with all of this "Number One" and "Champion" talk?

I believe that Leo is exhibiting a form of Reaction Formation.

Reaction Formation is a primitive defense mechanism that involves transforming one's unacceptable feelings or emotions into the opposite.

"Solicitude may be a reaction-formation against cruelty...romantic notions of chastity and purity may mask crude sexual desires, altruism may hide selfishness, and piety may conceal sinfulness."

Leo has been creating these grandiose titles and this larger-than-life persona for himself as a means to cope with his feelings of insecurity, his anxieties, and combat his self-deprecation.

Gee, forming a larger-than-life persona to counteract their suppressed feelings also reminds me of someone else we know…

But, I digress...

Behind the fabrications, his insecurities, who he pretends to be, and who he wants to be, the real Leo is still on display, starting as early as the first episode.

He's attentive, he understands the team's strengths and weaknesses, he assesses situations, he comes up with great plans on the fly, and he is a voice of reason.

These are all the characteristics of a great leader.

However, something happens when he’s actually appointed as such.

There he goes again. He's cocky, arrogant, and act's as if he's unphased even by the prospect of loosing his brothers. If this is Reaction Formation, then what is he trying to mask with these behaviors?

Previously, he was masking his insecurities, his anxieties, and his self-deprecation, but with the faces he pulls when he thinks no one can see them, I want to say the newest emotion is fear.

He is terrified of being the leader and floundering under his new responsibilities. He's scared of the consequences of his actions, and what those consequences may mean for his brothers. However, instead of voicing his insecurities, or communicating with his team, he doubles down and falls back into old habits.

The "Face Man" persona is turned up to an 11, and things get worse and worse until...

His greatest fears have been realized.

He has failed as a leader. He has failed his brothers. He has failed to stop the invasion, and they are all going to die because of his failures.

Now he's faced with the harsh reality of his own mistakes, thus he finally faces himself.

"It's scary to be responsible for the lives you protect, your team...your family. But we do it anyway because that's what it means to be a hero."

He may be speaking to Raph, but he's talking about himself.

His words are his true feelings, the same feelings that have been holding him back this entire time. By opening up, he's able to surrender to himself and let it all go.

And it's the breakthrough we all have been waiting for.

What Leo doesn't know is that through letting go, he's able to become the true face of the group he is destined to be.

He's the face of hope.

Update: This post now also exists in video form. 😌💙

○○○○

Previous | Being Big Red

Next | Being Purple ○ Part One • Being Purple ○ Part Two • Orange, Baby!

Finale | Being Hamato Yoshi

[book-daenerys]

Daenerys Targaryen + book quotes and statements by GRRM that show that she has all the characteristics that (according to her creator) define a good king (in/s/p.)

GRRM at the “House of the Dragon” Comic-Con panel: A good king is someone who regards being king as a duty rather than a privilege that they are entitled to. A duty to the realm to dispense justice and peace, and occasionally do boring things like building roads and sanitation in King’s Landing and all that.

~

GRRM on which of his characters would be suitable leaders in modern times: You know, probably Tyrion. [...] Dany would also be an interesting choice if we could bring her dragons along. The recent American election [of 2016] might have turned out very different if Hillary Clinton had dragons. [as the linked meta above shows, GRRM's decision to mention Dany - especially when he could have chosen to name so many other characters - alongside Tyrion (who he deems the most suitable leader) highlights her portrayal as a good ruler and acknowledges that, with the right person, dragons can be used for good.]

~

GRRM to History of Westeros: I mean, it’s… you know, I had a lot of input in the beginning of Game of Thrones, partly cause I had these books out there. Um, but at a certain point, as the show went on, I, I found I had less and less influence uh, until by the end, I really didn’t even know what, what was going on. I, I… Some of these things I watched like everybody else, and ‘oh, okay.' 

[flawssy-227]

The Beginning | a Joel x Babysitter fic

pairing: joel miller x babysitter!reader

wc: 2.6k

summary: how you start babysitting for Joel and Sarah.

warnings: no smut, still 18+ pls!, no outbreak!au, Sarah lives!au, small unspecified age gap, longing, small feelings developing, mostly written in a couple of hours and poorly edited lol, moldboard was hastily created by me to reflect ~vibes~, not physical characteristics

a/n: s/o @saradika-graphics for the dividers. still dusting off the cobwebs, but thank you to everyone who read part 1 and left feedback. I think I will keep writing for this pair–– less of a 'series' and more so vignettes of their lives. feel free to lmk what you would like to see next. and let me know what you think :)

You rolled your neck slowly, trying to release the tension that had been building up the last few hours. You had been working at a bookstore in downtown Austin all summer, trying to get acclimated to your new city before you start your grad program and to help earn a little cash as a cushion–you knew you were about to be way too busy with long readings and lengthy essays to work the inconvenient shifts here.

It should’ve been an easy gig, working at an independent bookstore. You really thought you would enjoy it when you got the call saying you’d been hired. The hours were nice and the environment was warm, earthy and classic Texan. It got slightly busy on the weekends and in the evenings, and there was a small coffee bar that attracted teens and students alike. It would be totally fine if it weren’t for your dick of a manager, Todd.

He was in the middle of lecturing you about cleaning the espresso machine and labeling the milk, just for you to remind him that it wasn’t even your job, and that Erica, his assistant manager still hadn’t trained you on the bar, insisting that despite your previous restaurant experience, that operating the espresso machine was a little out of your wheelhouse. You tried to resist the overwhelming urge to roll your eyes at his droning when you saw a little girl with gorgeous curly hair walk into the bookstore alone.

You tracked her movements as she maneuvered around the store comfortably and found the history section, tactfully looking over titles before her eyes brightened in recognition as she reached for a hardcover that was comically large for her small hands.

Todd was still yapping in your ear, asking if you understood what he was saying, prompting you to let out a halfhearted yup and a silent wish he would leave you alone. You looked at him, offering a half hearted customer service smile, one that probably got you the job in the first place before mumbling something about restocking some returns.

You made your way over to the little girl who was now sitting in the reading nook in the back of the store, golden Austin sunlight highlighting her face.

“Hey,” you offered, making her look up. You notice how she cautiously tracked your face, glancing down at your employee lanyard before she relaxed the slightest bit. “What’re you reading?”

She lifted up the cover so you could see. “Hidden Figures.” She stayed silent after that, curiously waiting to see if you would speak more.

“That’s a good book,” you responded. “Ever seen the movie?”

My dad says I gotta read the book before I watch the movie,” she replied, eyes rolling the slightest bit, making you both giggle.

“Oh,” you laugh, “your dad is one of those?”

She nods eagerly, guards lowering a bit. “Used to not be,” the girl shrugs. “I got put into the gifted program for school this year though. Think he’s pushing me.”

Gifted made sense. What kid her age was comfortable enough walking into bookstores on their own to grab non-fiction history novels and talking to strangers? You sure weren’t that way.

“Where’s your dad anyway?” you finally ask. The store was surprisingly empty for a Saturday afternoon but you weren’t too keen on leaving a girl her age to fend for herself.

The little girl was just about to open her mouth before a man who appeared to be in his 30s stood before you both. You could see his chest moving up and down, like he had run into the bookstore and was trying to get his breathing under control. He looked upset and irritated and it immediately put you on edge.

“Sarah,” he hissed, completely ignoring you and looking at the girl you were chatting with. You assumed this was her dad.

“You can’t keep doing this,” he scoffed at her. “I told you we could walk in here when I finished up my errands. Stop bein’ so damn impatient.”

Sarah was completely unperturbed by his tone, essentially disregarding it. It was honestly comical how bothered he was and how little she seemed to care. “Sorry, dad,” she offered, a brilliant smile on her face, one you were sure got her out of trouble more often than not. “Just came to grab the book.” She flipped over to the cover, just like she did with you moments earlier. “Made a friend.”

At Sarah’s gesture towards you, her dad focused his attention on you for the first time since walking into the store. You offered a shy smile and stood up from the nook before you offered him your hand and introduced yourself. 

“Joel,” he said back, eyeing you in the same suspicious way Sarah had when you first greeted her. 

Some genetics, you thought to yourself of the similarity, but you tried not to let his intensity get to you. He was gorgeous, broad shoulders stretching indecently across a threadbare grey t-shirt and big hands tucked coolly in a perfectly worn pair of Levi’s. His brown eyes were intense on you, making you avert your gaze as you felt heat creep across your cheeks. Dammit, he was attractive. 

“I was just keeping an eye on her,” you offered, not getting a response in return. “I should, uh, get back to work,” you respond after a minute, the stare and silence from Joel just a bit much to handle. “Enjoy the book,” you say to Sarah, before walking away and trying to remember what the hell you were supposed to be doing.

“C’mon hon, VIP section right here!”

You had let your roommate, Avery, convince you to go drinking with her tonight. You’d been in Austin for a couple of months but you hadn’t gone out too much. Instead, you were focused on your annoying little bookstore gig and working through the massive reading list you were assigned before you started your first semester. Plus, outside of Avery, you didn’t really know anyone in Texas.

You looked at what she had just referred to as the ‘VIP section’ and scoffed. She wasn’t too specific when she invited you out tonight, but looking at Avery and her trendy gold jewelry, slinky outfit and YSL purse, you thought you might be going somewhere a little bit nicer than the sticky dive bar you were currently in. 

You scoffed and swiped the crumbs from the cracked leather booth before you slipped in. “Some VIP,” you mumbled.

Avery quirked a smile at you. “What was that? Austin’s latest transplant isn’t a fan of what we have to offer?”

You rolled your eyes at her goading. Despite not hanging out much, you did really enjoy living with Avery. You had been randomly placed together via some roommate matching app and you were surprised at how it had worked out so far. She was clean and respectful. She was out a lot, but never really brought the party home. As far as you knew, she was Texan, born and raised, but this girl was bougie. She did barre classes in the mornings and wore designer pieces to work. You just could not understand why the hell she dragged you to this dive bar.

“No,” you scoff. “Just wondering if this is the place you’re always raving about.”

She hummed quietly, like she had a secret she couldn’t wait to spill, before a cute server came by to grab your drink orders. You finally took a look around the dive, disregarding the kitschy and chaotic decor that has probably been here since before you were born, noticing the patrons. Mostly men, a mix of what appeared to be the most attractive male models cosplaying as blue collar workers and others who looked like they were just in an episode of Yellowstone. It was kind of insane, you’d never seen this many attractive men in one place before. You got it now.

Avery is almost giddy as she watches you take in all the guests. “See anything you like?”

You both laugh. “Okay,” you sigh. “I might understand why you like this place so much.”

“Not only is everyone here so fucking hot,” she giggled. “But the drinks are sickeningly cheap.”

You and Avery were having too good of a time, laughing and tipsy enough before you made your way to the pool table, convinced you wouldn’t embarrass yourselves. A few guys had checked the two of you out, another anonymously even bought you a round of drinks, but no one actually came up to either of you to speak. It was mildly disappointing but you suppose that’s what the apps are for.

Avery was focused on lining up her next shot when someone put two quarters on the table. “I got next,” he smirked.

He fit in exactly with the other patrons of the bar. Tall, dark and handsome. He actually looked a lot like the dad you met at the bookstore the other day. Just leaner, with longer hair and–

“Here’s your beer, Tommy.”

Your breath hitched at the sight. There he was. The dad from the bookstore. Joel. He looked the same, just a little more flushed, like he had spent all day in the sun. He finally looked at you and froze before quirking a small smile in your direction.

Next to you, Avery squealed and embraced the man who had just claimed the pool table.

“Tommy!” she exclaimed, letting herself be picked up and spun around. “Missed you,” she said as she nuzzled herself into his neck. You focused your attention on the two of them, trying to convince yourself you didn’t feel the heat of Joel’s stare. 

How the hell did Avery know these guys? You were looking at her quizzically, trying to remember if she ever mentioned a boyfriend to you, just as he set her down. Avery reached for you without fully releasing her hold on the man.

“Babe, this is my friend Tommy and his brother, Joel.”

You shook Tommy’s hand and then did the same to Joel. “Nice to meet you,” you said, giving each other a knowing look.

After a round of pool where you and Avery quickly lost against Tommy and Joel, the two of them offered to grab another round for everyone before they disappeared for a while, leaving you and Joel tucked into the same cracked booth where you started the night.

It wasn’t uncomfortable, being left to sit next to Joel while Avery and Tommy did whatever it was they were doing while they should’ve been grabbing your drinks. He had been funny during pool, a little different than the concerned and irritated dad you met over the weekend. You couldn’t help but notice how relaxed he looked when he smiled. Beautiful, really.

Trying not to stare too long, you broke the silence. “So,” you offered, “how long do you think they’ll be?”

Joel chuckled dryly, rubbing a hand down his face and glancing to the bar. “Well,” he took a sip of his beer, “I wouldn’t hold my breath waitin’ for those two to come back. ‘Specially since they ain’t nowhere near the bar.” He smiled at you, and dammit if it didn’t make your heart beat a little bit faster. “You’ve known Avery for long?”

You shook your head, taking a small sip of your drink just to give yourself a distraction. “No, I just moved in with her like two months ago. Actually moved to Austin two months ago. Brand new.” You smile shyly at his appraising gaze.

“Well if there’s anyone to be a part of the welcoming committee, it’s probably Avery. Swear that girl knows everyone and everything in this town.”

You laugh at that. “Yeah, I’m kinda getting that sense.” You took another sip of your drink. You were happy you didn’t have to work the opening shift tomorrow with how strong and cheap these cocktails were. “Maybe she can help me find a different job.”

“Really?” Joel asked. “Not likin’ the bookstore?”

You shook your head no, offering him a half hearted explanation about your manager being a bit of a prick and the hours not coinciding with the school schedule you just got. “But it’ll be fine. I just have to be patient and wait for something that’s a better fit.”

Joel nodded, trying not to be obvious as he watched the way your lips pursed around the little black cocktail straws, or how you let out a happy sigh at the sweet taste of the mixer. He thought back to how Sarah kept mentioning how nice you were when they left the bookstore Saturday, asking him why he wasn’t nicer to you, why he had been so stand offish, and then promptly adding that he should’ve asked for your number, much to his chagrin. She had been really wanting him to start dating again. He had to give it to his daughter, you were really pretty, gorgeous even, and definitely sweet. Smart too, if you were going to graduate school at UT. Sarah had a better understanding of his type than he did. But he didn’t have time to date, not right now. He and Tommy finally started their own contracting business, and between liability insurance and taxes and 1099s and the customer service aspect of it all, he had been swamped and a little overwhelmed, if he was being honest. He could use some help, personally and professionally. He only came out for a drink tonight with his brother because Sarah was sleeping over at a friend's house. 

He paused for a moment and thought about how he was going to need a little more assistance with Sarah at the start of the school year. He knew some of the other parents at her school had nanny’s who did the pickups and drop offs that were at incredibly inconvenient times to anyone who actually had a job. He had been reliant on his mom and some of the parents of Sarah’s friends to help him pick up the slack for far too long. He decided not to think too hard and just ask. He needed help with Sarah. You liked Sarah. Sarah liked you. That’s all this was. Definitely no other reason he was even considering this.

“You know, Sarah really enjoyed talking to you.”

“Really?” you ask, smiling at the memory of his daughter from your brief encounter. “She was really sweet. Smart too.”

“Yeah, listen, I could use some help with her starting in a few weeks.”

“Oh yeah?” you questioned. “What? You want me to babysit?”

He smiled bashfully at you. “Honestly? Yeah. She liked you, a whole lot, and I could use the help a few nights a week,” he shrugged, taking another pull of his beer. 

Would you ever consider, uh, babysitting?” The worst you could do is say no, he figured.

Your face turned in surprise. You were intrigued at the idea of seeing Joel again, but this wasn’t exactly the context you had in mind.

“Babysitting might not be the right word for it. Maybe, more like a nanny,” he added. “Only if it works with your school schedule,” he said finally, trying to read your expression as you thought about his offer.

You couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed that he didn’t ask you out for dinner or at least a coffee. Babysitting. You could use the money though, and something a little more flexible than the bookstore. And hanging out with Sarah while you did your readings for school didn’t sound too bad. Why the hell not? 

You smiled up at Joel, brown eyes peering into yours. “You know, me and Sarah will probably gang up on you, join forces and take over your house.”

Joel grinned at the idea, flashes of you in his house, acting like you owned the place with Sarah smiling next to you filling his head. “I won’t mind darlin’. I won’t mind at all.”

[candy8448]

I get why the younger generations of superheroes are shipped with eachother and almost never with a civillian

Because the original 'adult' heroes were introduced as their own individual characters with their own comic book lines and own storiies independant of other heroes. This way we can see their origins and they can focus on a relationship between the hero and a civillian without taking focus off of anyone else rhat is important, and it also gives the civillian character so much development (think iris or lois). It also probably helps that their stories are also set when super heroes are a new thing to the dc universe too.

Whearas with the 'younger' heroes (basically anyone who isnt any of the JL members) are almost always shipped (fanon or canon) with other heroes. This is because these characters tend to be introduced as teams. This means that the comics want to focus on all of their main cast. Having one character go date some random civillian will take screentime off of their teamates to go develop this thing for only one of the main cast members, so it does make sense to only ship the heroes together. As well as the fact that since these are the character people are reading and care about, they are going to be more invested in relationships between these characters than introducing a civillian character to be a love interest.

And i admit that i havent read any bernard comics so i could be completely butchering this based on what i know from fics and tumblr people, but ive noticed that bernard has to be made into an interesting character by putting him in a pain cult and making him rally up heroes to go save tim and such, and i know nothing about how lois and iris are portrayed in comics, but as far as i know they are litterally just nobodies that happened to catch the main hero's eyes and while they may have bold or crazy characteristics, they didnt have to be 'made' interesting by being put in super hero situations (and im not saying i hate bernard, i really really love him. Im just pointing out something ive noticed and dont know how to word it even though i dont think this takes anything away from bernard's character at all)

Idk, its just an observation, i would like to see more civillian, permanent and developed love interests (though i guess a permanent love interest in general is also too much to ask dc since nothing is allowed to last or something???)

[shmisky]

One of the things I love about old Stancest (I think that’s my favorite era for them) is the fact, imo, that their relationship never really will be the same anymore. Not necessarily the angst of it all, but the new romantic tension that this would bring.

Ok, so. Just look at this.

Ford’s drawing of himself and his brother on the Stan O’ War II in Journal 3 is of course adorable, but beyond that, it’s clearly inspired by Ford’s beloved picture of them as kids. As if the Stans will, now, return to the same sweet camaraderie they always had. Will they, though?

This isn’t meant to sound ominous. I just don’t think that would be realistic, and that isn’t what the Lost Legends comics show us, either. Don’t Dimension It is apparently set before the Sea Grunkles era, but already after Weirdmaggedon. The behavior that we see from the Stans is, to put it simply, the behavior of an old married couple, with lots of clowning and bickering. The fact that Mabel had to intervene and advise two grown men to take care of each other instead is both delicious Stancest fuel and ridiculously funny!

Now, their relationship wasn’t always like that. I find it great that in the same book we have three stages of the Stans’ relationship: pre-Weirdmaggedon old Stans, post-Weirdmaggedon old Stans, and child Stans. The Stans as children act visibly sweeter towards each other, imo, than even post-Weirdmaggedon Stans. They haven’t quite recovered that childlike innocence, nor do I ever expect them to.

I know that at this point I might just be confirming the obvious, but 1) I promise I have a point, and 2) what I like to do sometimes is to focus on a little detail that everyone kind of already knows and think of all the implications. A bit like tearing a bread apart with my fingers, piece by piece.

There’s simply too much baggage, too much history between them now. Even if they made up and Ford apologized nonstop like Dipper tells us in J3 and Stan forgave him wholeheartedly, things won’t magically return to the point they were before Ford started to feeling “suffocated” by Stan. (I do believe the cracks in their relationship started before the science fair accident. I will expand on this in a future meta!)

Not only because of what happened between them, but because of what happened to each of them, separately. Both have changed a lot (not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well), became different people to survive, and are now deeply damaged. Both are carrying huge traumas of their own, and since they’re emotionally constipated old men with an attitude that would make Mabel shake her head in disapproval, I think it’s going to take a while before they fully trust each other with their past. They know their brother deserves the truth, of course, but it’s not that simple. There’s a lot to unpack, and I imagine that the fear of being judged and the fear of upsetting the other don’t make for a good mix. What if Stan hears a bad tale of Ford’s portal days, or Ford hears a story of Stan’s homeless days in which he barely escaped alive, and blames himself?

More than that, their own physical appearance drives the point home. Ford’s body is all athletic, likely full of tattoos (both embarassing ones and cool ones, I think) and scars. Stan, on the other hand, makes use of hearing aids, dentures, and an orthopedic pillow; probably with a few scars of his own, more than just the brand, and a slouch he didn’t have in his younger days. The contrast is even clearer when Stan isn’t wearing his Mr. Mystery suit and girdle. They still look decently like twins to deceive both the kids and Bill (and make Pacifica think Ford was Stan but hotter), and I’m sure sailing will help Stan’s health, but some of those differences are impossible to erase. They went from actually identical twins who could only be told apart by Ford’s fingers to grown men with strong characteristics of their own.

Once upon a time, I imagine, wether romantically or not, they were as familiar with each other’s secrets, thoughts, and bodies as with their own. Now they’re practically strangers. United by a very intense love and connection that couldn’t die in the 40 years they were separated, but strangers all the same.

All of this can sound a bit sad, perhaps, but I think—and that’s the point I want to make—it’s a sexy dynamic with a lot of potential. It gives space, for example, for exploring and discovering, and, since I’m a shipper, falling in love with that stranger that your twin brother became. The lack of familiarity gives way to a lot of romantic and sexual tension. Both of them know and understand a lot of what they didn’t back then. As an example, Ford, in my opinion, values Stan now in a way that he never did before. You only miss something after you lose it, after all, and they spent so much time apart and yearning and longing and repressing and overall feeling like a part of them was missing. The pent-up desire, as well, heh 😏

Imagining them being vulnerable after all of that—crying into each other’s chest (mostly Stan tbh, since Ford isn’t much of a crier), mapping out each other’s bodies, finally opening up—that’s my jam.

Perhaps they can’t recover the old dynamic, but they can make something even better.

[sweetonsugden]

Questions Misha has asked fans: (from the GISH 'Radical Self Acceptance' questionnaire)

What do you wish you could change about the person you are right now — not superficial things, or situational things, but about the way you interact with the world or a facet of your personality?

What are you ashamed of? What worries you?

What is the hardest thing for you to accept about the person you are right now?

What embarrasses you? Why?

Do you do anything that you pretend to value, but really isn’t all that important to you?

What was your strangest life experience?

Name something you used to like, but don't enjoy anymore. What replaced it, and what changed? 

Are you happy with how you spend most of your waking hours? Why or why not?

Who do you want to be?

What characteristics are important to you as a marker of a life well-lived? Do you embody them right now?

Over the past 5 years, a lot has happened and you’ve changed. What are three examples of ways you’ve grown, and three obstacles you still haven’t conquered?

What was one time when you overcame a seemingly insurmountable obstacle? Tell the story and what you learned.

Describe your “perfect” life. How does it differ from your current life?

He has also posted (unsolicited) naked pictures of himself online on at least three occasions. And the banana condom picture recently. He also has answered questions on Tumblr before. And responded to one ask with a suggestive poem he wrote about sucking the pips out of a watermelon. He also showed up uninvited to the AO3 event at Comic Con one year. And posted a celebratory tweet when Destiel reached over 100,000 fics on the site. He has joked on stage about BDSM and porn and "full penetration" with his co-stars. And of course there was the incident when he felt it was okay to publicly ask a room full of strangers if they were "introverts, extroverts or bisexual".

He has publicly shared stories about his experiences of poverty, parental neglect, homelessness, divorce, sex, threesomes, drugs.

But we should stick to asking him about what it was like working on Supernatural?

So, what you’re saying is that someone who controls what THEY feel like talking about, posting about, discussing, ON THEIR OWN TERMS automatically means it’s open season on whatever anyone wants to throw at them? Ah, I see. So… let’s say a woman wants to discuss her personal history and or make sexual innuendos about her own life and experiences means that anyone who pays money to talk to her can asked how hard she likes to take it? Because, I mean she did open the door to that conversation right?

Or, let’s say someone writes a book about their life story and you you pay money for the book, that means that you can get up at a book signing and ask them to share more trauma stuff because you’re curious? I mean, you did pay good money and all.

I guess you believe that if you pay money you get to dictate what an actor talks about because you own them for those five minutes that you have their attention, right?

As far as those questions from GISH, it sounds like a questionnaire based specifically on the topic of Radical Self Acceptance. Tell me, though….what does “describe something traumatic you’ve experienced” have to do with Supernatural or Castiel? What does asking Misha take a photo of your kissing his hipbones have to do with Supernatural or Castiel?

The regular panels ARE ABOUT SUPERNATURAL. He talks about all the more serious personal things about himself in a private show that doesn’t have a q&a and which he requests no one repeats what’s shared. There’s a difference.

Bottom line is, people like you want to compare someone being in control of what they share and what they do/discuss on their terms with believing you own someone because you paid some money for their time. That because he does what he feels like with his own information sharing, you get to treat him like he owes you something more.

If you think you’re going to convince me it’s the same thing, you are completely wasting both your time and mine.

[ckret2]

If you ever watched Hazbin Hotel..do you think Valentino has the same villainous characteristics as Aku (as they are both overlords and tall af cause Valentino is like 10 feet tall ) I'm planning to do a drawing of Aku in this mf's clothing and it just came to me in a vision

I haven't watched the TV show yet, but I have watched the pilot.

So, my understanding of Valentino as a character is severely hampered by the fact that, like... i haven't seen the show. My knowledge comes from the pilot, a music video, angel's comic, the non-canon instagram accounts, and a bunch of posts i've seen other people make about the show (and the people i follow are more likely to talk about whatever the fuck vox & alastor's have going on than about valentino lol).

So take this entire answer with a grain of salt, because I may very well be just,, completely wrong about Valentino lmfao.

But: nah, I don't really think Val & Aku are very similar re: their villainy. Mainly because of the kinds of evil they commit.

Val is a very realistic evil—as in like, we encounter guys just like him all the time. He's an exploitative boss, he's manipulative, he's an abuser, he's a rapist. He controls people.

I read a good book recently (Terror, Love, and Brainwashing by Alexandra Stein) about the psychology of cults—from a perspective where a "cult" can be any size from "a single abuser and their victim/spouse" to "a dictator and the entire nation"—that argued the way cult leaders get people trapped and too mentally fucked up to escape is by inspiring them to simultaneously both fear and love the cult leader. If the cult leader makes somebody fear the outside world and love the cult leader, that's not enough, because the victim has a solution to their fear ("stay in the safety of the cult") and can still think clearly.

But if the cult leader makes somebody love them and fear them, suddenly there's no good solution: when you're in a scary life situation, you want to pull closer to the person you trust & love, but if the person you trust & love is also what you're scared of, this normal human instinct backfires and keeps you trapped in a state of fear without resolution where you can't think clearly and can't realize that the safest thing you can do is let go of the "safe" anchor you're clinging to. And, again, this psychology works at any scale, from couples to nations.

And maybe the show changed directions and I don't know it yet, but from the material I have seen about him, that's the kind of evil Val is. Angel's under his thumb because he feels like he has to stay close to Val (for love, for financial security, for safety) and Val's the only one he can depend upon, but he also feels constantly threatened by Val. The psychological torment of keeping someone suspended between love/terror is how Val maintains control.

And that kind of evil is all but foreign to Aku. He maintains control because he's immortal, superpowered, and can beat up anyone who tries to stop him, and has amassed enough of a fortune to pay other evil people to help him beat up people. People don't obey Aku because they both love and fear him; they just fear him, but can't do anything to him.

And that shows in the ways that he loses control over victims, and how easy it is to lose control. From time to time he tries to get good people to help him by making them promises he won't keep; but rather than using that as an opportunity to psychologically ensnare them, he does nothing about the fact that they still loathe him even when they feel compelled to obey him. And when he gets what he wants, rather than stringing them along with further promises, he goes "lol PSYCH i was never gonna hold up my end of the bargain you idiot"—and makes it very easy for his victims to decide to turn against him.

When he manipulates people, it's very blunt manipulation. "I'll just lie about who I am! I'll pretend to be [a hot chick/a weird swamp hermit], and then drop the act once I have what I want." There's no elaborate mindfuckery. There's no gaslighting. He doesn't try to mentally tear down his victims (aside from, like, calling them fools).

The closest we ever see Aku get to attempting Val's style of love/terror control tactics is when he tries to convince a bunch of children he's a good guy through fairy tales. And he sucks so bad at that.

The Daughters of Aku (the cult) convince the daughters of Aku (the daughters) that Aku's actually the good guy; but like, Aku himself isn't actually involved in that process. He might have no idea what the priestess teaches her victims. We can't give him credit for her work.

While Val's evil like an abusive boyfriend, Aku's evil like an arsonist who sets strangers' houses on fire.

All that said though:

yeah you should totally draw him in Val's clothes. he'd rock that pimp coat.

[redgoldsparks]

Podcasts I love and recommend

I spent a truly extraordinary amount of time listening to podcasts this year, including my perennial faves and some new discoveries! I wanted to write up a bit about each of the ones I recommend the most highly, and give them some of the same attention and love I put into my book reviews. Recs below the cut. (This post brought to you by my patreon).

MATERIAL GIRLS- This is, hands down, my favorite podcast of all time. Friends and scholars Hannah McGregor and Marcelle Kosman take on a new pop culture subject in each episode and examine the material conditions and historical setting that made their subject of the week zeitgeisty. They bring an expansive feminist lens, different types of critical theory, and tons of humor to each topic. I feel like I am slowly getting a media studies degree one episode at a time as I listen to this show. Some of my favorite episodes tackled Jurassic Park, Dopamine, Twilight, Taylor Swift, Bridgerton, and Queer Eye. I have guested on this podcast and also support them on patreon so I can get all of that sweet sweet bonus content! (This show uploads full transcripts but they lag behind the audio episodes in updates). 

GENDER REVEAL- Journalist, writer, and now small-press founder Tuck Woodstock interviews trans folks on a wide range of topics. A characteristic episode includes some deeply intimate or tender moments mixed with wild tangents, extreme silliness and irreverence. I listen to every single episode and also back them on patreon for the extra episodes; some recent conversations that have really stuck with me include Colby Gordon, a founder of Early Modern Trans Studies; trans historian Susan Stryker; Jewish anti-Zionist comic author Solomon J Brager; writer Lucy Sante; and multimedia artist (and friend of mine) Shing Yin Khor. This podcast gets a special award for recommending more books that I actually end up reading than any other podcast. This year alone I’ve read at least 6 books by authors Tuck has interviewed (I Heard Her Call My Name, Heavyweight, Hijab Butch Blues, Transgender History, Boys Weekend, Practical Anarchism, Falling Back in Love With Being Human) and I have more on my TBR (The Prospects, When Monsters Speak). (This show also uploads full transcripts). 

PUBLISHING RODEO- This is a new fav! I discovered this podcast over the summer and binged all 44 available episodes in about a month. Hosts Sunyi Dean and Scott Drakeford are friends and fellow Tor authors. In 2022, they both released debut novels in the same genre, in the same year, with the same publisher, to very different results. They are remarkably candid about the nuts and bolts of their publishing deals, and in each episode interview another author, usually one early in their publishing career, on signing agents, selling books, the size of their advance, resulting royalties and more. I have learned so much about the publishing industry from this show- I’ve sold 3 books, and yet it turns out there’s still loads I don’t know. I’d recommend starting with the intro episode in which Sunyi and Scott introduce themselves and then you can jump around to any interview which interests you. Their recent conversation with Chuck Tingle was especially delightful. (This show also uploads full transcripts). 

PRINT RUN PODCAST- Another new discovery, also about the publishing/writing industry. Hosts Laura Zats and Erik Hane are both literary agents at a small agency they founded together. They discuss current events in the book news world or focused single subjects, often for early career writers. Because this show is more focused on current events, I haven’t dived super far into their back catalog, but listened to a handful of episodes from the past two years and plan to continue listening as new episodes are released. Laura and Erik also have a very cool patreon special bonus offering- they will critique query letters and first pages submitted from listeners. I haven’t written a query letter since probably 2017, so the refresher course was extremely valuable! I’d recommend the episode The Books That Made Us as a good starting point in this show. (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

FIC CLIQUE- This is an old favorite I have recommended before. In a standard episode, the three hosts Nic, Reid, and Brenna each bring one fanfiction to read and discuss book-club style. In the past year, I’ve been particularly enjoying some of the mini-episodes that break this format. If you want to give it a try but you’ve less interested in hearing people talk about a fandom you aren’t in, I’d suggest the episodes on Mapping Fannish Migration, Books and Fandom, and Genre and Subgenre in Fanfiction. (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

FANSPLAINING- Tragically (for me), this beloved long-running show wrapped this summer with its final standard format episode after 9 years and 200+ episodes. However, there’s still more to look forward to! Fansplaining has shifted to become primarily a publisher of fandom related journalism, and they’ve been releasing audio versions of each article along with the text, generally recorded by the author. I find these so charming, almost like new mini episodes of the show. Find a full list of their articles here; I especially loved the recent ones on The Beatles RPF fandom (still going strong!) and Bringing Fanfiction into the Classroom.  (This show has full transcripts).

SHELVED BY GENRE- In this show, the three hosts re-read popular sci-fi or fantasy book series and record long rambling episodes which both summarize and analyze their current texts. When I say they ramble… most episodes are over 2 hours, some pushing 3 hours. I started on this show when they began reading the Earthsea series by Ursula K Le Guin, which I have read multiple times in past years. I skipped their episodes on Gene Wolfe, who I haven’t read, as well as some movie and horror focused episodes. But I happily dived back in for the unit on Mercedes Lackey’s Last Herald Mage Trilogy, which was perhaps the first book with an out queer character I ever read; the queer host on the show, Michael, similarly remembers this as a foundational queer text from his teen years. I am very happy that the next author the hosts plan to discuss is William Gibson, who I might re-read to keep pace with the show. I recommend checking out their 40+ back episodes to see if there’s something you are interested in! (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE- I found this 3 season podcast sometime in the middle of the year, hosted by an Australian journalist following the trail of objects (or sometimes animals or people) the British stole during the height of their colonial reign. The episodes generally run 35-45 minutes and feature interviews, history, and usually live records of the host seeing the item, whether it’s currently in a museum, a private collection, a random high school, or the site of a foreign grave. You can jump around to whatever topic that interests you, but I can definitely recommend the episode Blood Art as one of very few in which an item is repatriated! (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

LIVE LIKE THE WORLD IS DYING- A Margaret Killjoy and a group of queer anarchist friends rotate the hosting of this show. Once a month they release a “This Month in the Apocalypse” update which I started listening to in November and plan to keep up with going forward, but probably won’t listen to back episodes of as it’s very current-events focused. However there are other conversations/interview style episodes released between the monthly updates. Two recent interviews that really stuck with me were Spencer Sunshine on his zine “40 Ways To Fight Fascists” (which I subsequently downloaded and read) and Henri Feola on their zine “The Veil Between Worlds is Plexiglass”, which chronicles some of their experience spending 96 days in jail after being arrested protesting Atlanta’s Cop City and the police murder of Tortuguita, a protester defending the Weelaunee People’s Forest. I have a friend in Atlanta who was arrested at the same protest so I’ve been following this case; this conversation felt important and needed, as I expect there will be even more arrests of protestors in the coming years. (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

BORROWED AND BANNED- The Brooklyn Public Library released this 7 episode limited run podcast on book bans, book challenges, how it’s affecting teachers, students, librarians and authors. I was one of several authors interviewed for the show, and you can hear my interview as a separate bonus episode; but I highly recommend listening to the whole thing because it’s a very close and personal look at these national issues- which I expect to get worse under the Trump administration. (This show has full transcripts).

SOLD A STORY- This is a 10 episode limited run podcast about how a misinformed educational specialist’s incorrect idea of how children learn to read damaged the literacy of a whole generation of school children. This podcast explores different research on reading, how sweeping educational policies like Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” impacted schools and how textbook companies pushing expensive reading-kit book sets have all negatively impacted schools. The later episodes contain messages and voicemails from parents, teachers, and students reacting to the show and some hope of change on better educational resources. I’ve probably made this sound dry but it’s genuinely a very emotional journey- as someone who really struggled to learn to read, I found this show riveting. (This show has full transcripts).

THE REDEMPTION OF JAR JAR BINKS- This 6 episode limited run show is hosted by Dylan Marron, better known as the host of Conversations with People Who Hate Me and for his role as Carlos on the podcast Welcome to Nightvale. Marron was the target of a fair amount of internet hate himself, which made him interested in how people express hate towards public figures online, and why. This led him to investigate what is possibly the first ever case of cancellation online: the rage directed at the character Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequel series which began releasing in 1999, and how that hate destroyed the mental health of and nearly ended the acting career of the young Black actor who voiced and helped develop the character. Marron is a deeply compassionate interviewer, and a good researcher. He finds and talks to fans who built “kill Jar Jar Binks” websites in the days of the early web, he interviews the actor, Ahmed Best, he interviews folks involved with the production on the Star Wars prequels. I am a lukewarm Star Wars fan at best (lol) but I loved this podcast. (This show has full transcripts).

WIND OF CHANGE- I picked up this 8 episode limited run podcast because it was researched, written and hosted by Patrick Radden Keefe, the author of Say Nothing, one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read. In this show, Keefe digs into rumors of the CIA using cultural productions, especially pop music, as propaganda weapons against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In particular, he’s interested in one song, “Winds of Change”, by German rock group The Scorpions which became an anthem of change shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall and then the end of the Soviet Union. Keefe is friends with someone who does a lot of recruiting of ex-CIA folks and has also written a whole book on the CIA, so he’s not without background or connections on this subject; but the question he most wants an answer to might not be one he can ever answer. This was gripping and intriguing, and made me think a lot about soft power and propaganda more generally. (This show has full transcripts).

[zahri-melitor]

If we're being mean about it, I think it's entirely in-character for Tumblr to call any story falling outside the Wayne Family Adventures paradigm "out of character". I mean, did that phrase ever really mean anything more than "I didn't like this characterization?"

Oh this is a spicy take, and one I’d like to dig into.

I don’t think that’s entirely true (see how much time tumblr spends yelling about their hatred of Tom Taylor, when Tom Taylor’s characterisation beats and storytelling are tonally similar to Wayne Family Adventures, to the point I’ve actively recommended his Nightwing run as an entry point for WFA fans who want to read main universe comics), but yes I agree that as far as superhero comics go, ‘out of character’ is most frequently used as a cudgel for ‘I didn’t like this storyline/characterisation’ or quite often ‘my favourite was in the wrong here/wasn’t the viewpoint character’.

My personal conception of characterisation in comics (and for any long running universe handled by multiple writers over decades, actually), is that every character has a range of what is ‘them’, and different writers slide back and forth along the scale of that range. Bruce Wayne written by Paul Dini (as a caring, empathetic hero) and Bruce Wayne written by Frank Miller (as a gritty angry hero raging at the world) are both Bruce Wayne, they’re just very different conceptions of him in the range.

Not everything ends up getting captured by that range; there are occasions when you get stories that are genuinely out of character, where there’s no continuity between that story and other appearances of the character, where every other writer and the fandom at large generally agree to drop and ignore that story. However, those occasions are less common than most people think, and what’s far more common is a later writer massages the story and applies a soft-retcon to ‘fix’ the situation.

That Danny Devito Penguin and Catwoman story where they solve COVID by vaccinating the world then disappear into the sunset as a couple? Ignored by everyone. Hal Jordan as Parallax? Subject to multiple retcons in terms of the reasoning for how and why things happened.

A bunch of the biggest ‘that was out of character’ arguments are over things where someone has decided THEY don’t want to treat some story as having happened (usually because it makes their beloved character look bad), and then a later story goes “okay, but how about we reference that story, look at it from a different perspective, and how that changes things?”. The comics fandom as a whole is large, widely distributed across platforms and communities, and very much does not think in one mind. Generally for every story you hate, there are others out there in the fandom who really enjoy it. Even truisms in certain communities over what is ‘bad’ don’t necessarily hold outside those communities. (Rob Liefeld still gets work as a comics artist, and while some of that is related to who he’s friends with, people still buy his comics!)

And finally, there’s what I like to think about as the comics perspectives issue. One of the unusual characteristics of superhero comics is that they’re wide shared universes…where we get to see stories from a LOT of different characters’ perspectives. Characters tend to appear in stories differently when they’re the main character of that title, to when they’re a side character or an opponent of the main character. That’s because the viewpoint character colours how that character is perceived. Bruce can be a noble hero in Batman, the father figure his kids are struggling against in their titles, a self-righteous blowhard in an antihero book like Poison Ivy, the irritating know-it-all colleague in Green Arrow, and the reliable best friend in Superman/Batman. They’re all still Bruce Wayne; different characters just have different relationships with and perceptions of him.

And a lot of complaints about ‘so and so is out of character’ is because in their own title that character has had some self discovery and characterisation to better themselves…and then in a book where they’ve got a walk on part, they don’t appear to have changed. And that’s a ‘this book is not about your blorbo’ problem more than a ‘your blorbo is out of character’ problem. Your blorbo might be being used as the heel or the obstacle in the title. The viewpoint character may not have seen this internal change as it hasn’t manifested externally. Maybe, change is hard and characters can and do backslide. Or maybe…this title isn’t about blorbo and the writer is just using the default ‘everyone knows’ characterisation for them because they’re not actually that important to the story outside of the writer needing someone who is likely to do X.

It's a sliding scale! This is how Jeremy Adams Flash and Si Spurrier Flash are both two great, fun Flash books…but tonally in completely different universes.

[amequeer]

My post-crystalized headcanons

To celebrate finishing main ninjago series, here's how I view them after 15 tiring seasons lmao + some things i think they got into I usually draw them canon way so it was fun

Kai: • he/him, bisexual (in denial) • loves social media and interacting with his fans • did at least one (1) tiktok dance and it's somewhere on internet • practices e-boy fashion but refuses to acknowledge that • goes to concerts with Cole and Nya

Jay (BRING REDHEAD JAY BACK): • he/they/she, bisexual • unironically wears christmas sweaters all year round • got into game development after Prime Empire • regularly goes to therapy, advocates for mental health and self-expression • send Nya like +20 gifs a day

Zane: • all pronouns, queer • does tutoring for kids mostly when not on duty • often replays tough memories to study situations and get ahold of his emotions in the future • started reading Lloyd's old comic books • really enjoys elegent fashion

Cole: • he/they, gay • fully blown punk and social activist • DJ's as a part time job • got Kai and Nya into metal music and going with him to concerts • started small garden as a way of connecting with his earthy powers

Lloyd: • he/they, queer and demisexual • got horns, tail and few more new characteristics after being an oni • started swimming regularly as a way of meditation • embraces his inner child more often by visiting arcade and comic book store • spends a lot of quality time with Misako

Nya: • she/they, bisexual • hosts kickboxing classes for women • often lectures at university about tech, really got into working with younger generation • started doing lots of social work, thanks to Cole • goes on few days long hiking trips alone

Art requests and asks are open!

[lovedaisy02]

I think the ATLA fandom and the ATLA comics forget a lot about Katara's character. She's not a 'good girl' type or even a rule follower. I think this concept really comes to life in Book 3 and after Toph joins in Book 2. It's understandable considering Toph is pure chaotic neutral (neutral up for debate but chaotic is an absolute). Compared to Toph even Sokka looks responsible. Aang is also chaotic and often just wants to have fun (just not at the expense of other people), so juxtaposed to those two she does look like a rule follower but it's not true, she's a true rebel.

Katara 1. Stole from pirates, 2. Slaps Pakku with a water whip in the back of the head and starts a physical fight with him. 3. Incites a rebellion on a fire nation prison boat. 4. Yells at Sokka all the time because he's being a jerk 5. Absolutely burns Toph with (what I think is the most savage) insult among so many other instances.

These are not 'follow the rules good girl's characteristics. In the comic Katara and the Pirate Silver, the Gaang refuses to believe that Katara joined a pirate crew as an honorary member. I found this to be really incongruent with all of their characters considering she forced them into a con with pirates and a con in getting arrested and put in a fire nation prison.

I would've believed it more if Aang and Katara were telling their children the story and they didn't believe it since Katara does have a motherly side and I think her children would see her in a more 'good' and 'virtuous' light.

Just because she doesn't want to participate in swindling people of their money by gambling on the street side while in disguise in fire nation territory

Doesn't make her boring or a goody two shoes. It makes her the only voice of reason in their chaotic group.

In fact, I'd posit that Sokka is more of a rule follower than his sister.

[gowerhardcastle]

Rewarding Poorly Optimized Characters

I write games with a lot of stat checks and a lot of numbers bouncing around in the background. But the last thing I want you to do is spend a lot of time thinking about those numbers or feeling like you have to start over or that you have been locked out of stuff because of bad stats based on the in-character choices you made.

Quite the opposite: I want you to feel like you've opened up paths because of your weird choices. Made a character deeply interested in books but have a really low intellect? There's content there. Made a character who loves to fight but has terribly low bold and observe? Enjoy.

Similarly, I hate the trap of so many games in which you have to pick one or two characteristics and develop them to the exclusion of everything else--because if you don't, you eventually can't manage anything. And so you end up with a few stats quite high, and you ignore everything else, and from then on, you scour every choice for the ones that can be opened with the tools you've developed, and ignore everything else.

Luckily, I write in a comic genre, where a character who is...undistinguished in any specific field, or who has very poor stats at almost everything can find a lot to do. They may not have the best day, but I think you will, and actually, in Wodehouse's and Jolly Good's world, you can stumble, err, and blunder your way into a good deal of success just as often as you can through competence. You may find that you enjoy it better, even.

[banj0possum]

Hiii! Could you please do a scenario where the reader is gushing over a fictional character and saying stuff like how hot they are and that they (reader) want to marry them (fictional character). And then the reaction of your characters to all that (specifically darik and hallow I think were the names) thanks!!

When Their Darling Simps For A Fictional Character

My OCs x GN Reader

hey silly billys !! ill be on a little hiatus for a bit because ill be visiting family <3 thank you for all the love yall have given me and my characters!

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

Adrian sees you on your phone and smiling at...a cartoon character??

Over the course of the week, he teases and makes fun of you for it, but quickly goes through the stages of grief over how he's not getting your attention as much as before.

At first, he denies that he's jealous of a fucking picture, but that denial is soon forgotten once he hears you comment about how hot they were and he's fuming.

He'll try any way to get you to pay attention to him, slap your phone out of your hand, throw balls of paper at you, anything to make you stop ogling over that dumb character and be with him!!

"Stop looking at that stupid fanfiction and pay attention to me!"

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Brandon is not hiding the fact that he's jealous.

I mean he's trying, but you can clearly see he has beef with your fictional husbando.

He goes home and does research on the character, asking you all casual sounding what you like about them and change a bit of his style depending on your answer.

If you like how masc they are, he's gonna show off his muscles more during training, take off his shirt drenched with sweat in front of you, anything he can think of to make you think he's more manly and therefore more worthy of your love and attention.

"Hey (Y/N)! Check out my new haircut! You know, it kinda reminds me of that character you like right?...right?"

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Valeth brought you a few books to read and he notices you taking a liking to a certain character in one of them.

You tell him how dreamy and attractive the character is and how awesome they are, and he's trying not to grab your little book and throw it in the fire.

He would never want you to hate him for destroying something you love but goddAMN would it be satisfying.

He makes sure to note what characteristics you like about them and see if he can display them himself.

The big orc would even try to hide your book in a high shelf so you can't read it and pay attention to this fictional character instead of him :(

"Duckling? How about you put down that book and we prepare dinner together? I've missed spending time with my love~"

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Bo hates it. But he stays quiet about it, there's no way he can tear apart something that doesn't exist...

He's really salty and a bit whiny about it, begging you to compliment and love on him instead.

"Why settle for some fake when ya got the real thing right 'ere darlin'?"

Ribs is tearing apart anything that depicts the character. Say goodbye to your comic books or magazines.

He just throws a little pouty tantrum because you love someone that isn't the horde.

"You're our mate! Now please come here so I can hug you!" >:I

Soda is sitting across from you as you ramble about how cool this character is and he's not listening at the slightest. Fuck this guy, who even are they???

After you're done, he crawls up to you and pulls you into a tight cuddle.

"Thats nice...can we go back to kissing now?"

Screw just thinks you like the merch and not the character so he collects anything with your favorite character on it.

However, the others get mad at him for it and explain. Screw then takes it all away and hides it somewhere you'll never find.

"mmm I think we're cooler.."

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Wolfie isn't happy. He takes whatever thing you have of your character, and he rips it to pieces.

You run after him as he has your treasured item in his mouth and you hear his muffled laughing as he shakes his head around, ruining it..

He makes it his mission to jump in your lap whenever he sees you gushing about your little character, or pawing your face so you can look at him and love him now. It's been 5 minutes (Y/N)! It's his turn!

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Dorik's eye twitches as he watches you smiling and giggling over some picture. What's so good about it anyway?

He tries to get your attention on him by being extra obedient, making your favorite food, turning on your favorite movie for the both of you to watch, running you a hot bath, anything to make you praise him and not that stupid little image!

He almost settles to whining and begging for your attention, asking why and how you like this drawing and not him! He's your loyal servant after all!

"Master! They don't deserve someone as wonderful and perfect as you! Let's just eat dinner together and forget about them!"

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Kalva is a bit like screw and supports your interest in the character, but only if you praise him for finding little trinkets and stuff of them.

He loves seeing you happy, even though he hates the fact that you talk about them like they're your mate or something, but that's nonsense, he's your mate!

There will not be anything of that character in your shared bed/nest. You have a personal space for them, but your bed is special to only you and him.

He coos to sleep next to you, mumbling about you possessively while he huddles close to your warmth.

"Cute mate, my little mate, you're my mate! My happy little darling!"

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Jasper wouldn't really care unless you directly tell him you like them better than him then he's committing a war crime.

If he hears you saying you want to marry them, he's stealing all your merch of the character and burning them.

He might distract you with Jonesy like pushing a glass off a table and framing it on the cat so you could stop paying attention to your fanfics or whatever.

"H-hey, Jonesy's on the table again...maybe you should switch apps...take some pictures.."

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Viktor tries to stay cool but deep down, he's very very jealous of how much you like this character.

He's one of the only ones to actually confront you about it and he's adorable whilst doing so.

"M-my dear, maybe you should read some other books? I-I know how much you love that one but maybe uhm..we could read one together?"

Garrick doesn't even hide his hatred towards them, he insults and belittles them every chance his gets.

Why be interested in someone like them when you got 3 supernatural men hopelessly in love with you?

"Oh they're strong? Bet I could beat em in a fight. Can they turn into a bat? Probably not..I can though!"

Silas ignores it, he's sure it's just a little interest that will go away sooner or later.

But if he hears you talking about wanting to marry them, he's sitting you down and asking you why you'd want to do that. He hints a lot about him being a better pick.

"Darling I'm sure you can do better than them..I mean..you sure theres no other..attractive..intelligent and interesting people in your life?.."

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Baron has to keep his cold exterior from breaking every time you ramble to him about your favorite character. He's read the books you've read because he's a creep because he wanted to know you better and he can't help but find some similarities between him and that character of yours.

He wants to speak up about it but he's scared what he might imply. A bit of him is a bit flattered that you find people like him hot, maybe he should show off those characteristics more often around you.

"They're uhm..interesting, Boss..sounds a lot like someone I know..."

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Caspian is a whiny bitch when he finds out your liking to that character, he'll try to guilt trip you into dropping your interest in them because 'he should be your only love!'

He'll try his best to get you to look at him instead of that ugly little book.

"You love them more than me don't you? You're so very mean sometimes my treasure!"

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Hallow is hiding the book, no ifs, ands or buts. He's not letting some big strong hero protagonist person take up your attention. If you try finding it, he's ripping it up and disappearing for days.

He'll be extra cuddly to you from then. He'll make sure he's the one who makes you happy, not your other little friend.

"I'll give it back to you doll, if you give me a kiss~"