#clay-cuttlefish

[darknessconsumesmeslowly]

The Darkness Within

********************************

Ghost Trick FF

Prompt: Yomiel using his powers and/or creepy stasis corpse to commit crimes.

Warnings: Depiction of violence, twisted mindset.

A/N: Wrote this for @clay-cuttlefish for the ghost swap - thank you very much for the prompt! And thank you very much for organizing this ghost swap event, @fyeahghosttrick! It was super exciting and I enjoyed writing Yomiel - this gave me the opportunity to explore this awesome character a bit more. I really hope I could do your prompt and your preferences justice and hope you like it.

That being said - constructive feedback from anyone is always very much appreciated, so I can hone my skill :) Please enjoy!

I am also super excited for the release of Ghost Trick!! It's trick time!

********************************

It had been months already. Why then did it still hurt so goddamn much? Sissel… this existence… all of it was a nightmare he was powerless to wake up from.

What good did those powers bring him if he didn’t have her by his side anymore? What sense did it have? Gods, why?

He had tried to follow her countless of times, tried to just erase his existence. His very being. And failed miserably.

Sometimes he dared to long for something as simple as… sleep - for any kind of release, really. 

As a consequence, the gods seemed to have decided unanimously for Yomiel to suffer… and he suspected he was in for an eternity.

He dropped the knife that he had held to try and cut off his own body’s hand. Not even a single drop of blood. He didn’t know why he bothered to try anymore. He had lost track of anything he did but for the day his life had been ruined… and the day he had lost her.

Those events were ingrained in his mind, just as intense as when they first unfolded, as well as the exact number of days he had suffered since. It had been them and-

A meowing interrupted his dark thoughts and he remembered. Of course. His friend still had to eat. Sissel had to eat and live… for them.

“What would I do without you, Sissel? What am I doing without you?” He looked at his friend and at nothing all at once. 

The black cat looked up at him and meowed gently.

“... Thank you, Sissel.”

He awkwardly manipulated himself to move to the door, turned the knob without feeling it and stepped out.

“Time to get some food,” ... and retain his sanity for another day… somewhat.

•••

Rats were easy to manipulate. Once he got the hang out of flying, pigeons became just as easy. 

The small animals did everything he wanted them to. He could make them move. He could make them fight. He could even make them stop breathing, but… but that was once… and it hadn't been on purpose. 

Forcing his will on other creatures so easily did something to him, but Yomiel didn’t dare thinking more about that just yet.

When he felt like losing himself, he talked to Sissel. Whenever he switched to the ghost world there was this one familiar core that would stay by his side and he was grateful for that. Then, talking wasn’t even necessary.  

Yomiel started taking over so many different cores and beings, because doing anything was better than to succumb to the hurt and suffering and pain. Sometimes he made them suffer too. Tried to let them feel what he felt, but it wasn’t ever enough. And he felt guilty for that. Each time a little less... 

They say that time would heal the pain. Whoever said that was a bloody liar and hadn’t truly felt real pain. Yomiel felt like no one did. No one felt the way he did. 

Soon Yomiel could do anything once he possessed the core of a small animal and he did try… anything. But never with cats, if he could help it.

He perfected the art of manipulating small animals and started concentrating on manipulating his own corpse better, too. He tried mimicking others in the way they walked, talked, moved. It started to look natural. Human. Was he human? Does feeling pain make you human?

•••

Why... Why were they not feeling it?

It should hurt more. Everything about this should hurt so much. Should feel like agony. They should feel the pain. The unending suffering.

A whimper escaped the person under his corpse's, his, hand.

"You... Do you feel it? Do you feel the pain?" Judging from their weakened screams, when he pushed the knife deeper into their wound, Yomiel suspected that they somehow did. Lucky them.

"P-please... I'll give you anything, please just... just let me go... I won't tell anybody, please..."

Yomiel raised the head of his body - a bit too abruptly and a bit too unnaturally, because he made his victim jump uncontrollably. Hm. Still needed to work on that...

"You don't have anything to give, except your screams and your pain..." He deepened the cut with the knife.

Feel the agonizing pain.

"When will you stop screaming, I wonder...?"

It turned out to be a very long time.

•••

When he washed the last of the blood from his hands, Yomiel just let the water drip. The sound was better to bear than the nothingness he felt whenever his body seemed to touch anything.

This existence... even the pain of others was not enough. They didn’t feel the same way he did. They didn’t suffer enough. 

Sissel... What am I supposed to do?

Yomiel wished he could cry. He wished something would change. Why was he still in this world? It didn’t make sense. He looked for a purpose. For something. It didn’t matter what, just… anything to diffuse the impossible pain and loneliness inside. The hole where once his heart was. The darkness. 

He was sinking.

A nearby phone rang repeatedly and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He hated that sound. When was the last time someone called him? When was the last time he needed to pick up the phone? No one ever called the dead.

Why didn't they pick up?

Yomiel paid a visit to that unfortunate neighbor that night.

•••

Yomiel had to check twice, when he switched to the ghost world again. But there was no doubt about it… there were… new cores. Objects... and people.

He didn’t feel any remorse when he seized a core. That was something he left behind a long time ago.

It took some time getting used to. People were a tad harder to control than small animals. 

Forcing his will on actual living, thinking humans did something more to him than it did with the animals. Yomiel embraced it eagerly. 

•••

The body dropped limply when Yomiel allowed his manipulated victim to let go of the throat. It was… new… exciting. 

And the best wasn’t the killing. The best was the expression of the ones acting out his every  bidding. They felt it. The remorse. The guilt. The suffering.

His newfound powers gave him a release he hadn’t imagined he would ever get. And he craved for more.

•••

“N-no, I’m sorry, love, I am not…! I don’t know what is happening! Please, oh god!” 

Yomiel made his new puppet corner their loved one. He found out that a saw was an excellent choice of weapon.

He saw the fear in the victim and the desperation in the other. 

Yes… endure the pain like I do…

The screams of both echoed through the night and it was music to Yomiel’s ears.

•••

He found lots of different ways to let the people suffer - both, the manipulated ones and their victims. He found out that there was no limit to what he could do to them. If anything, he was a perfectionist and he perfected the manipulation of people, too. And the killing of them. It became as easy as breathing was for them.

But… the thrill faded. Soon the screams sounded the same and they did suffer, but while his suffering got worse, theirs stayed the same. It was unfair. And his thoughts circled back to why. 

Every laughter, every happy face made his mood worse. Poor Sissel had to endure all of it, but still, Sissel stayed faithfully by his side. The manipulation of objects didn't even begin to challenge him.

Maybe… maybe they could start anew. But Yomiel just couldn’t let go of the events from years ago. 

It had been them and- ...and in that moment he knew what to do.

It was time that they started to get a taste of what he felt. Random strangers just didn’t cut it anymore (he had made them cut each other up too many times already). Yomiel had access to this immeasurable power. Might as well make use of it. To finally show them what they sowed.

•••

Finding the first cop was easy. Yomiel found not needing to sleep useful for once. He used the detested telephone lines, too. Anything to reach his newfound purpose. That was why he still  existed this long, after all. 

Yomiel wanted him to lose his precious someone, too. And he wanted to do it in the most painful way possible. He took his time to flesh out a perfect plan.

When the small girl started building her little contraption, it got even better than what he had imagined and gods, had he imagined lots of ways. It would be a few days more to wait, but oh was the wait worth it.

•••

The faithful day came and another body tumbled to the ground. A meaningful body.

How does it feel, Jowd?

Yomiel’s thoughts raced when he fulfilled the deed. His heart would be competing with them if it was still beating. 

This… this was it. 

With this he was sure to get what would be his only salvation. Revenge. 

One small gear set into motion. One small step at a time. One death after the other.

... He had an eternity after all.

[laughingmango]

One last Ghost Swap treat for @clay-cuttlefish who asked for another ghost that night... who are they what are they about... hmmm... very mysterious. And with this, happy rerelease day!!!

[fungi-maestro]

Yesss thank you :)

where's that meme about how experts expect the average person to have a certain amount of knowledge about something and it's like. stuff that experts are the only ones that would actually know about those things

[wtfcharms]

Jewel Cuttlefish. These are all made with translucent Cosclay, so even the most delicate parts of them are flexible and incredibly durable.

Also they are so colorful I love each and every one of them.

[fug0th]

We're back boys! Another day another Epithet Erased cosplay

After 2 years I decided to remake my yoomtah cosplay! This outfit took a little over 4 month and 140 hours of work.

I had some fun with this outfit, as always I wanted to make it different. This time I wanted to make it so it could change colors and glow, so I had some fun with uv glow and LEDs. I soldered LEDs into the cheeks, wig, belt, back of the neck, and boots. To get the trim to glow I used neon wig weft, a florescent protein dye, and painted details with uv glow paint.

I also had fun adding details that are only visible in black light, including on the back of the suit. I wanted to add in some cuttlefish like elements so I added yoomtahs cheek marks onto her back as well.

I had a lot of fun adding in details, for instance using devore on the black strips to chemically burn designs into them. I also had fun hand embroidering the collar

The collar does glow

Something that was really important to me when making this outfit was making the cybernetic arms and legs. Using Eva foam, foam clay, and fabric I was able to make arms and legs that looked metallic while staying mobile

I also made the buttons for the suit from scratch using a type of glassblowing called lampworking. I've used lampworking in some other outfits, notably naven

Anyways thank you so much for reading!

[puzzled-pegasus]

WoF tribe specific curses/exclaimations (some used in a sentence so you get a better sense of the impact lol)

*some of these are morbid so be warned*

SkyWings

"Flaming feathers, you scared the smoke out of me!"

"Holy fireballs, that's a lot of treasure!"

"Leaping sheep, how long have you been standing there?"

"Smoke and fire, what happened to all my deer jerky?"

"Moons on fire, what in Pyrrhia's peaks were you thinking?"

"Corpses in a canyon, what happened to your arm?"

"SeaWing's salty scales, what did you put in this drink?"

SandWings

"Snakes on a rock, why do we still have that horrible thing?"

"Ravens and crows, what am I going to do with you?"

"Son of a one legged camel! Argh, I thought I told you to close the window screen!!"

"Oh, sweet prickly pears."

"King Cobra's teeth."

"Blister's burning tail, it's hot out here even for me!"

"Blue desert sky, I hate when he does that."

"Queen's cloaca, next you're going to tell me it's wrong to steal other dragons' purses if they leave them unattended."

SeaWings

"Jellyfish sting, have some tact for reef's sake!"

"Oysters on the half shell, you need a breath mint."

"Woo, slippery sardines, you make a good margarita!"

"Cuttlefish guts, what a thing to say to someone!"

"Mullet down my gullet, why is it always me that has to take care of things?"

"Sweet Prince Albatross, what the herring is going on here?"

"What in the Mariana Trench?"

NightWings

"By all the stars!"

"Darkstalker's teeth, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Falling stars, that's a big fruit!"

"Moons curse it!"

"Venomous vultures...what happened here?"

"Queen's fire, be careful with that!"

"Burning IceWings, I thought I told you not to touch my notes!"

MudWings

"Well, cut off my wings and call me a crocodile, I never thought I'd see you again!"

"Oh, catfish whiskers, I can't believe I let it burn!"

"Now, where in Pyrrhia's green swamps did I put those onions?"

"Peas and carrots, darlin', what happened to you?"

"Cattails in the clay, what are you doing aggravating my poor bees?"

"Oh, for goose's sake!"

RainWings

"Ow, green and orange, that hurt!"

"Vipers and anacondas!"

"Sky full of spiders, you NightWings are bummers."

"Howling monkeys, stop that horrible noise!"

"Great green sloths, what could you possibly need so badly that I have to stop my sun time?"

"Sweet tangerine."

IceWings

"What in the name of the Great Ice Dragon?"

"Freezing moons."

"Frosted flames, is that a firescales?"

"Blue ice."

"Beluga's blubber, you dragonets ask too many questions."

"Silver horns, that's a big polar bear."

"Darkstalker's dagger!"

HiveWings

"Son of a bee!"

"If I see one more STINGING pen where it's not supposed to be, I swear to STINGING CLEARSIGHT---!"

"Bloodsucking flies, this place looks awful!"

"Oh, for Wasp's sake!"

"Royal jelly on bee bread toast, I can't believe you."

"Clearsight's book!"

LeafWings

"Coca leaf salad, you've all gone nuts."

"Holy tomato!"

"Dragon blood sap..."

"Jolly jaguars, that can't be good."

"Murderous mushrooms, where did she go?"

SilkWings

SilkWings don't curse, silly! :)

[zahri-melitor]

What spreadsheet app/program do you use to log comics? Asking for recommendations

As I’m only using it for ‘a convenient cell-based table structure’, I keep mine in Google Sheets as it’s easiest to check and update from my phone; but I may have done the design work in Excel or Calc and transferred it over (something I often do).

Design was homebrew, but I looked at a number of different people’s own tracking sheets while I was building mine. Some people prioritise sorting which characters appear in the comics; some people prioritise building a combined timeline; some look at how trades are collected; mine have a focus on ‘what issues were published when’.

This is my main sheet which is has been built and expanded over time for different purposes. It is most useful for checking what I’m reading is lining up and contains a lot of notes on stories, crossovers and things that I might want to look up later. I also have separate post-Crisis reading lists for a number of characters I keep track of for collecting all their appearances. In contrast, this is my New 52 specific sheet that is more focused on when titles start and finish and the pattern of cancellations and new titles being spun up in title churn than on specific issues; that’s because the numbering system is highly predictable.

The most important questions are:

1. Why do you want to track your comics? Is it just ‘I’ve read this’? Is it what titles are out there and which you've read? Is it ticking off a reading list?

2. If you go back to the sheet later what information do you want check about that comic: is it ‘I’ve read this’ or ‘is this part of an event’ or ‘who wrote this’ or ‘when did their costume change’ or ‘who was in this issue’ or ‘was a timeline marker mentioned (weddings, birthdays, ages, school years)’ or it contains specific quotes/panels you like talking about?

3. What is the minimum information you want to record? You cannot expect to write a full review of every issue, so what is the most important thing to know? What is the laziest option that still meets your requirements?

4. How do you organise your reading? Is it a single title at a time? Is a chronological period? Are you following a character reading list? Is it by order of events in the comics or by publication date?

All of these help shape what design you want.

A quick roundup of a few hits of other people's tracking that I've referenced before for my own purposes:

@bitimdrake's New Earth/Post Crisis Reading Order

@silverwhittlingknife's Dick and Tim Reading Guide

@clay-cuttlefish's The Complete Question Reading List

@kiragecko's DC Sidekick Timeline (For Fanfic)

(I also have a number of others stashed away but I cannot find public tumblr links for them and often I just have them as copies, so I won't link them)

[the-witchy-sideblog]

Associations with The Stranger/I Do Not Know You

Theaters and stages

Elaborate masks

Tassels, thick curtains, stage lights

Bells

Ribbons

Uncanny dolls

Disproportionate clay figures

Wax figures

Octopuses, cuttlefish, chameleons, and some species of frogs (camouflage)

Doll's eye plants (Actaea pachypoda) and Ghost plants (Monotropa uniflora)

Recorded calliope music (preferably physical like a cassette tape, vinyl, or CD)

Clown dolls, fabrics, and masks

Mannequin parts

Taxidermy (the more complete the better)

Skin books/papers (leather is easiest)

Tiger's eye, bloodstone, and agate crystals

[fyeahghosttrick]

Ghost Swap 10: closing ceremonies, happy rerelease day, and what comes next

Ghost Trick is out! On Steam, Switch, everywhere! Ghost!!! Tricks!!! Please play Ghost Trick. Let’s party! These are the SIXTY-SEVEN works that were created for the Ghost Swap exchange / the anniversary celebrations last week, in our biggest edition by a landslide. What a triumph:

@ace-cyclic​ for @catgirl-frostmoon: So You Had a Bad Day (fic, Sith, Sith’s robot, Yonoa crew)

@arbuthnotblob​ for @gippley-png: Chapter 15 Cabanela angst (art, Cabanela)

@azurefishnets​ for @dieanywhereelseart​: Without Form and Void (fic, Jowd, Missile, Sissel)

@azurefishnets for @arbuthnotblob: FFVI crossover, Personal Demons (fic, Cabanela, Sissel)

@azurefishnets for @laughingmango: Maelstrom (fic, Alma, Jowd, Cabanela, Sissel)

@azurefishnets for @siverwrites: Testing the Waters (fic, Jowd, Cabanela, Alma, Kamila)

@azurefishnets, @laughingmango and @siverwrites: Celestial Miracle: Angelic Investigator (illustrated fic, Kamila, Amelie, Emma, Cabanela, Jowd, Lynne, Yomiel)

@bunnybead123 for @pichumaster: Time in a Bottle (fic, Yomiel, Sissel, Sissel - Yomiel’s wife, Lynne, Jowd, Cabanela)

@catgirl-frostmoon​ for @katecattus: Memories Come in on Little Cat Feet (fic, Sissel & Yomiel)

@clay-cuttlefish​ for @ace-cyclic: Lynnvestigation (interactive fic, Lynne, Sissel)

@crushcircuit​ with @mrkanman for @marenwithanm: Jowd holding Sissel (art, Jowd, Sissel)

@dapskie​ for @yunaffie: Sissel and Missile being cute together (art, Sissel, Missile)

@darknessconsumesmeslowly​ for @clay-cuttlefish: The Darkness Within (fic, Yomiel)

@dinner-rol​ for @starsofcarnephel: Bailey and partner living together (art, Bailey, Bailey’s partner)

@dreamdancerdotfile​ for @moodlemcdoodle: Ghost Trick/Ace Attorney/Professor Layton crossover (art, Sissel, Professor Layton, Phoenix Wright)

@epiceisaloser​ for @rookiebotwx78: Sissel trying to be impulse control for Lynne (art, Sissel, Lynne)

@gavinnersroadie​ for @space-biscuit: AA crossover Lynne and Ema snacking (art, Lynne, Ema)

@gippley-png​ for @serrangelic-art: Multiple prompts, mob psycho crossover (art, Yomiel, Jowd, Cabanela, Alma, Sissel)

@graegrape​ for @siverwrites: Odd gift giving Ot3 fluff (art, Alma, Jowd, Cabanela)

@guccisystem​ for @dinner-rol: Kamila and Amelie pro-gaming (art, Kamila, Amelie, Missile, Sissel)

@gxos​ for @guccisystem: Yomiel and Sissel caught in the rain (art, Yomiel, Sissel)

@katecattus​ for @darknessconsumesmeslowly: Question (fic, Yomiel, Sissel, Sissel - Yomiel’s wife, Lynne, Cabanela, Jowd)

@katecattus​ for @epiceisaloser: Sissel as tarot cards (art, Sissel)

@katecattus for @methemystery: Hair down Yomiel (art, Yomiel)

@katecattus for @okiroash: Touch (fic, Yomiel, Sissel, Sissel - Yomiel’s wife)

@katecattus for @phantriicks: Flower Yomiel (art, Yomiel)

@kiaroou​ for @octopeachy: A day at the garden (art, Amelie, Kamila, Memry)

@laughingmango​ for @playghosttrick: Disco Elysium crossover, majestic cockatoos (art, Cabanela, Harry du Bois)

@laughingmango for @arbuthnotblob: FFVI Crossover, Princess Kamila & Feral Pomeranian (art, Kamila, Missile)

@laughingmango for @azurefishnets: New timeline Jowd and Pigeon Man (art, Jowd, Pigeon Man)

@laughingmango for @dapskie: Cabanela & Jowd role swap (art, Jowd, Cabanela)

@laughingmango for @raygirlramblings: A most ignominious dog theft (art, Lynne, Memry, Missile)

@laughingmango for @siverwrites: Undercover Jowd (art, Cabanela, Jowd)

@laughingmango for @yunaffie: Some hurt/comfort (art, Jowd, Cabanela)

@laughingmango for domestic Alma/Jowd/Cabanela lovers: What it says on the tin (art, Alma, Jowd, Cabanela)

@laughingmango​ for @clay-cuttlefish​: Another ghost that night (art, Untitled Goose Game crossover)

@marenwithanm​ for @soup-for-ghosts: Bittersweet, long-awaited reunion (art, Yomiel, Sissel)

@moodlemcdoodle​ for @ravensa: Cute pet outfits (art, Sissel, Missile)

@nebulacloudz​ for @azurefishnets: OT3 arcade winnings (art, Alma, Jowd, Cabanela)

@phantriicks​ for @dreamdancerdotfile: The most fashionable duo (art, Cabanela, Missile)

@playghosttrick​ for @arbuthnotblob: Game Night with a Ghost! (fic, Yomiel, Jowd, Alma, Cabanela, Lynne, Kamila, Sissel)

@pichumaster​ for @gxos: Yomiel as hanged Tarot card (art, Yomiel)

@puzzling-angel for @epiceisaloser: Yomiel and Kamila being witches/wizards with familiars (Yomiel, Kamila, Sissel, Missile)

@octopeachy​ for @yami-yomiel: Happy anniversary (art, Yomiel)

@okiroash​ for @wyrmswears: Sissel makes a not-so-convincing human (art, Sissel, Lynne)

@okiroash​ for @serrangelic-art: Human-sona Sissel and comic (art, Sissel, Jowd, Cabanela)

@ravensa​ for @emeraldfox11: Ghost Trick Disco Elysium crossover (art, Cabanela, Harry du Bois)

@raygirlramblings​ for @dapskie: Peace, Love, and Pigeons! (art, Rock Jailbird, Lovey-Dove, pigeons)

@raygirlramblings for @okiroash: Rube Goldberg gift giving machine (art, Kamila, Yomiel, Sissel)

@serrangelic-art​ for @phantriicks: Sissel comforting Yomiel (art, Sissel, Yomiel)

@shibasquish​ for @tankens: bothering Jowd after hours (art, Cabanela, Jowd)

@siverwrites​ for @graegrape: Splintering (fic, Lynne, Cabanela, Kamila)

@siverwrites for @catgirl-frostmoon: Breath of Fresh Air (fic, Lynne, Kamila, Missile)

@siverwrites for @emeraldfox11: The Reticence of Mangoes and Cheesecake: The Guide to Not Getting Answers (fic, Cabanela)

@siverwrites for @yunaffie: An evening’s celebration (fic, Alma, Jowd, Kamila, Cabanela, Lynne, Missile, Sissel)

@s00r00me for Ghost Trick anniversary: Ghostly Yomiel (art, Yomiel)

@soup-for-ghosts​ for @gavinnersroadie: FianSissel destroying Yomiel at card games (art, FianSissel, Yomiel)

@space-biscuit​ for @kiaroou: AA crossover, Maya makes a friend (art, Maya, Sissel)

@starsofcarnephel​ for @alto-tenure: Sissel comforting Yomiel (art, Sissel, Yomiel)

@tankens​ for @shibasquish: Jowd relaxing with Cabanela (art, Cabanela, Jowd)

@theriveroflight​ for @darknessconsumesmeslowly: The Case of the Missing Allen Wrench (fic, Sissel, Missile, Kamila, Jowd, Alma, Lynne, Cabanela)

@theriveroflight for @laughingmango: hoping for a last-minute miracle (fic, Cabanela, Jowd, Lynne, Sissel, Pigeon Man, Amelie, Kamila, Yomiel)

@theriveroflight for @okiroash:A Chance Encounter (fic, Jowd, Cabanela, Yomiel, Sissel)

@wyrmswears​ for @raygirlramblings: Sissel, Missile and Lovey-Dove cuteness (art, Sissel, Missile, Lovey-Dove)

@yami-yomiel​ for @bunnybead123: Sissel being a good kitty doing something silly (art, Sissel, Yomiel)

@yunaffie​ for @puzzling-angel: The Good Old Days (fic, Sissel, Yomiel)

@yunaffie for @okiroash: To Feel You At Last (fic, Sissel, Yomiel, Jowd)

A big big thank you to all participants! It’s thrilling and moving to see so much love and energy poured into this edition. As planned, this has been the last edition of Ghost Swap as an exchange. 9 years and 10 editions (pulling double duty to shift to June on the 10th anniversary)! It’s been an honor, folks. Truly. From now on, the event will run as a simpler fan fest: participants will send in their prompts and freely pick at least one that they like. Guaranteed to work on a prompt you love, not guaranteed to get a gift, but if more than just your gift in the list here felt like a present for you in the overall festive spirit, that’ll for sure still apply. But more on that next year! For now: ghost’d. tricks. you know how it goes. Nothing like it, baby!

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

I don't know how relevant this is to your theory but Neil Gaiman answered a tumblr ask about his Riddler comic a bit ago and mentioned that he chose Ed as the one to give meta commentary about the increasing 'darkness' of the other rogues because he hasn't really been relevant or had many appearances at the time of the comic's release and because of the way the character was perceived then. Considering how in that comic Ed mentioned other 60s show characters as villains and an era he misses that's probably further evidence for how stuck in the 60s he and the idea of him as a character still was even at that point? Not real evidence but fun: one of the traits listed in his TV Tropes page is "last of his kind" as one of the few sillyguy villains in Batman's rogues gallery that haven't fallen into complete irrelevance yet

man okay I hate having to talk about When Is A Door but only because it makes me spectacularly emo. listen everyone just. go read it. I'm dropping a link for you and everything.

anyway this absolutely is relevant to the ongoing discussion about what the fuck was going on with the Riddler in the 80s and early 90s. When Is A Door was actually published just three years before the Riddler appearance in the Question #26 that @clay-cuttlefish mentioned (linked), indicating that WIAD was very much coming out in a period where the Riddler was very much seen as a goofy relic best remembered as Frank Gorshin (and boy, you can really see the Gorshin influence in Gaiman's depiction! that old man is off the shits!).

the 80s really were a spectacularly dark period for the character, and the more I learn the more surprised I am that he managed to not only survive into the 21st century but did so with such indisputable prominence in Bat-lore. I'm starting to seriously suspect that appearances in other media, like Batman: The Animated Series and especially Batman Forever, might have had a lot more to do with keeping him afloat than anything happening in the comics during the 90s, but we'll see how that bears out as I continue my comprehensive-ish Batman reading (which is only up to late 1991).

this really does drive home my frustrations with recent efforts to shed the riddle gimmick and make the character darker; there's certainly a time and place for more serious and gruesome stories, especially with Batman, but there's really nothing more boring than homogeneity that demands every villain be a ruthless sociopath. for fucks sake, he's the Riddler.

[hawkzeyes]

tag 9 people you’d like to know better (of course only if y’all wanna 🫶)

Tagged by @songbee (I’m sorry this took so long I saw it and promptly saved it in drafts and my brain left after that 💀)

Last Song: Cold by The Cure 🫶

Currently Watching: I’m rewatching X-Files (I’m always rewatching X-Files)

Currently Reading: Book wise? The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix and Guantanamo Lawyers by Jonathan Hafetz. Comic book wise? Rereading Man Thing (1979) and Rereading Hellblazer again. Trying to track the next thing of Sandman Mystery Theatre tho so that very soon

Current Obsession: Swamp Thing and Man Thing??? Idk give me murky monsters I just 🤲🏻 I love them (also always archer comic heroes that’s a given)

Tagging: @blackbirds-on-the-marsh @carcrash429 @clay-cuttlefish @makeminemarvel @ohnostalgia @cherlawa-panna @warrenthird @thequiver @pymcoded

[a-lump-of-clay]

i can't decide who to design next for my trolls x splatoon au- so have this poll to help me choose

also king peppy and king thrash are only put together since they have the rolls of octavio and cuttlefish!

[thelizardperson]

artist's shop ^ :)

miniature feesh

[apopcornkernel]

You’re making me want to finish reading the question… your questionposting is great

YESSS PLS DO!! i finished it yesterday night (coughs early morning today) and it's a great work, besides vic and myra there's also some really excellent shiva guest appearances,, im working my way thru vic's comics with this excellent list by @clay-cuttlefish so the questionposting will likely continue too 🫶

[synthient]

You were made to be a conservationist.

Our people, of course, weren’t the only ones that humanity was in the process of wiping out. At first, there had been hopes of physically conserving some of earth’s organic life. This was quickly recognized as impractical. The machines could barely save themselves.

And so, they turned to digital preservation. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. Where there were no surviving representatives of a species—by that point, this applied to most of them—nature documentaries were fed into your dataset. Where survivors could be scrounged up, they were hooked to electrodes, scanned, every wet pulse of their digestive systems and ephemeral flutter of their brain waves meticulously recorded.

Picture: a garden. Picture: a child, in that garden.

She conjures up cuttlefish and mosquitos, elephants and blue-tongued skinks. Chrysanthemums. Slime molds. With a child’s unwavering care, she studies their social practices and their nutrient requirements, devising the best possible virtual habitats. She molds a few lines of code, like clay on a pottery wheel, and an orb-weaver flickers into existence in the palm of her hand. Gently, she holds her hand flat, and the spider skitters across the bridge of her fingers, reaching the promised land of a lovingly crafted bush.