#gonna make so much art (if school doesn’t murder me first)

[maya-drawsdragons]

wahoo!! finally making a proper spot for my art postings and whatnot the goal is to not be so perfectionist if with what i choose to post

go find me on instagram by the same name if you want even more maya draws dragons brain rot posting

[comickergirl]

I thought it would be kinda cool to try and make a tier list with my own drawings and, in hindsight, that was maybe too ambitious, given I had more manga titles this year and less free time for fanart, but regardless, here we are! Gonna hide additional thoughts on some of the books under a read-more for the terribly curious. XD

Going in order from top to bottom, left to right:

Snow White with the Red Hair: ...No. There is too much to say. I'll need to return to this some other time. XD (Actually I'm gonna skip the other 2023 titles on the tier list as well)

King in Limbo: LOVED this one. Possibly one of my favorite that I read this year. (Am I biased because it takes place in San Francisco? MAYBE SO.) Really great sci-fi series with a crime/murder mystery element, and Rune and Adam make for a great mismatched 'buddy comedy' duo. Also... *cough* Am I excited for the Your Forma anime? Yes. Do I think King in Limbo did the same plot but better and first? Also yes. *cough*

QQ Sweeper/ Queen's Quality: Look this title has everything, okay? Action, romance, comedy, horrifying nightmare monsters, tips on window cleaning, what more could you want, really?

Wolf's Daughter: A Werewolf's Tale: THANK YOU SEVEN SEAS FOR LICENSING THIS FOR PRINT THIS YEAR!

Library Wars: Admittedly I'd tried this one a handful of times before and struggled to get into it (also I don't care for the anime) BUT. I told myself to stick with it and lo and behold, loved it. Such a charming cast of characters.

Immortal Rain: I recall encountering this in either middle school or high school and loving the art, but I don't think I read past volume one. Really enjoyed reading the whole series through.

Wolf and Revolver: How can an unlicensed title rank this high, you ask??? V I B E S

Rose of Versailles: Listen I felt genuine anxiety over the fate of Marie Antoinette and if that isn't the mark of a skilled storyteller right there, I don't know what is.

Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom: IT'S SO CUTE AND CHARMING and way funnier than I thought it would be??? Also reminded me of The Thief and the Cobbler a fair bit, in terms of tone and art.

From Far Away: Feel like this had a bit of a slow start but the main draw, in my opinion, is Noriko. She’s such a sweet, determined heroine.

Children of the Whales: I actually have some nitpicks with this one, story-wise, BUT. It’s so impressive from an artistic standpoint and unique in its world building that I just gotta give it to ‘em, you know?

The Hachioji Specialty: Tengu’s Love: How can a manga with only two volumes out rank this high, you ask? IT'S ADORABLE. XD In all seriousness, I love that it’s a ‘fish out of water’ story that doesn’t infantilize the woman so that the guy can save her with his worldly ways. Refreshing! And I say again: so. Heckin’. CUTE.

The rest of the titles all tend to fall in the same sort of, ‘I liked this!’ area for me, except fooooor….

Fushigi Yuugi: Listen LISTEN, it ranks real low and I’ve got complaints about the plot and pacing BUT. I’m glad I read it and would like to someday dive into the sequels because it is clearly a genre-defining staple. Maybe I’d like the anime better?? (I liked the first volume of the latest spin-off! XD)

SECRET BONUS ROUND! Most of these had a physical edition of their first volume drop at the tail end of the year and as such, felt a bit too last minute to draw, but they generally all fall in the ‘solidly entertaining’ tier:

Stomp, Kick, Love Blade Girl Love, That’s an Understatement Agents of the Four Seasons* In Another World, My Sister Stole my Name*

(*These came out less recently but I forgot to write them down! XD)

SECRET BONUS ROUND: 2023 EDITION! These didn’t make it onto my illustrated list that year but I *have* read ‘em:

Red River (Note: If I had to pick a soap-opera-esque, sprawling, vaguely historical isekai fantasy, I prefer this to Fushigi Yuugi) Prince Freya

SECRET BONUS ROUND: SHONEN/SEINEN EDITION! Nozaki Kun Your Forma Dahlia My Dear Detective Noragami Tropic of the Sea Opus Seraphim The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store The Golden Sheep

And there we go! :D

[justmaiidraws]

What inspired Koya? It’s such a unique and funny take on her, I’d love to hear more

Tbh it started back in January, i was at my peak of hyper fixation on mutant mayhem when it came out,

I wanted to make more characters other than Casey, April, and Irma (the main 3) to interact with more and yeah, but didn’t wanna sound out of place of the story at time,

Of course I wanted to venture into the foot clan lore, since the movie left a cliffhanger on shredder, and found old concept art of foot soldiers in the old mm script.

I was like "hm, what if, I drew Karai if they were in mutant mayhem"

When I first drew her, I liked the design, but it wasn’t giving, "Karai" it gave— another kind of character, but I liked my first draft design, so I decided to keep it.

I wanted to make that design a character, Isolde the idea of making someone that’s parallel opposite to Leo’s relationship with April (ironically)

I wanted this character to hate Leo’s guts at the even mention of him, yet I want Leo to try and befriend them in his casual Leo anxious sense—

I tried looking up characters from tmnt to get inspired from, and found a lot of awesome stuff!! and pretty much everything else skyrocketed from there!

I was originally gonna make her a side "supporting" character in the story, but during making her I got too connected with her and decided to try and make her important to the story in my head,

she was originally gonna be this this teen arrogant barista that isn’t used to the mutant-acceptance thing, that so happened to go to the same school with the turtles.

But, that felt— boring! Like— I know I could do better— and- I can’t just waste her to work at the counter like that!!! So I tried again,

Her second concept was now the school’s hall monitor that has this intense beef with Leo because he kept forgetting the hall pass, but so happened to have ninjutsu, or so well, better ninjutsu than the turtles!

I thought to myself— I wanted to go more deeper with her knowing ninjutsu, what persued her to have it? She’s definitely more professional than the turtles (for one, she got an actual trainer)

Why’s she so angry? Why so mysterious? Why so.. serious?

She’s definitely the opposite of Leo, she’s very distant, she’s eerie, awkward, weird, she doesn’t like anyone— yet once to act "normal" like other people, but never got to fit in because of her… past.

I pretty much made a whole bunch of lore and stuff for Koya— like a grandma spoiling her grandkids when they come visit!

I eventually got the Koya we have now present time!

In summary— my hyper fixation on mutant mayhem’s concept of the foot clan gave me Koya, my murder machine of a gal, a rogue ninja roaming a new world trying to stop foes from getting in her way, who really can’t stand Leo— LOL

Though I added some elements to her that made her special to me— or well unique- and I liked making her unintentionally funny- like when a friend does something it’s always funny- because why not!!!

I also headcanon Koya having BPD / symptoms of it, because it I thought it suited her well… yeah..

But yeah sorry if I didn’t really make sense…

[localgardenweed]

Ok I was originally gonna write how I wanna go back to Eddsworld and do stuff for it again but felt out of the loop with the modern fandom and shit but ended up being a rant about how I hate Beyond so like gonna write this again but keeping part of the rant cause i need to share how much i cant stand Beyond again

So like I wanna come back to Eddsworld cause as much as it was a dumpster fire for me it was my first real fandom I was apart of online so it holds a place in my heart. I mean probably technically whatever I did on Framecast was my first ever online fandom space but shhhh that dont count i was but a wondering traveler looking for my place in the world. It actually got me into Eddsworld someone made a animation to Youth by Daughter and had me hooked. But still was very important to me and my art development.

Its so crazy to me cause i was into Eddsworld HARD in the 2016-2020 era where alot of the ig modern fandom was born i watched cities fall and crumble I was deep in the amino trenches, Pork Sodaing and seeing so much historical fandom events happen before your eyes. I was watching everyone consume every piece of Prince of Mints and Moho art I was a sucker for them which probably wasn’t okay for like a 5th grader but i definitely turned out all right /j.

I left for a little bit on and off cause Hetalia was choking me and like keeping me prisoner but like it still had a place in my heart for it but like ya know i still was there but idk now I just dont find the same spark anymore from the first go around. Something changed and maybe cause i just had my tastes change and maybe cause my ex-best friend was making fun of my oc all the time but i made him when i was like 11 and figuring out identities and ways to express yourself without sticking to the gender norms and dealing with alot of stuff at the time i finally caved and just didn’t feel the same any anymore about the show.

Cause I loved that fandom more than anything but, I don’t know I just don’t know how to get back that spark and go frolic in the fields with my TomTordOc love triangle of my 5th grader dreams and just be cringe and free and feel joy again but I just cant enjoy the material anymore like THEY ARE MASSACRING MY BOYS WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO THEMM

It doesn’t hit the same and i know i dont need to consume Beyond i doubt anyone actually does at this point but i cant stand beside while they murder everything i loved about the Classic and Legacy eras.

Also just, I think I hit a road block with it too like, I got stuck on where to do and what to do with Eddsworld like. I make aus i made ocs i made a ask blog i made animatics, now what? And like idk i felt weird and like stuck in the mud with them. Also just had the friend falling out who was also the co-creator of the ask blog so now i dont know how to pick it back up all by myself again but them again i really was just doing it by myself all the time anyway so i just have to figure out how to get back into the swing of things

I have some ideas for aus and maybe just finally be free and bring my oc back from the grave for realsies and make you all consume it but, I don’t know. Im scared to come back cause also weirdly alot of the new fans are younger than me or the older fans are older than me so its kinda awkward, also im just awkward im scared to talk to people online, there is and were some people i desperately wanted to be friends with both in and out of Eddsworld but im too scared and either just watch from afar or abuse the Anonymous function in ask boxes. 

If i cave enough i might come back to Eddsworld to at least finish my lore for the ask blog cause IM SORRY I LEFT YALL HANGING I HAD SCHOOL AND THEN JUST FORGOT ABOUT IT but forever haunted by the people who like every single post and then i get excited cause i see like 99+ notes waiting for me and i think one of my new posts blew up but no its just the ew boys who screw around likes and reblog and the occasional comment

One day ill return to my rightful birthplace and one day I shall be free and one with nature and draw as much as I want for it and as many ocs i want without someone telling me its cringe or make more for the ask blog or hell start doing animation and animatics again

Ok here is the Beyond rant now if you wanna read it

I feel the difference between Beyond and Legacy is that, Beyond is trying to horriblycopy their older brothers Classic and Legacy and almost dumb it down a bit with more childish humor, and Legacy takes inspiration from Classic: It’s different but a natural difference/evolution. Or the fact a whole new guy was writing it all with a slightly different style so he wrote what he knew idk maybe a bit of a factor idk

Also i cant stand the Tord bait sorry I cant, especially when they used to like get annoyed by the fandom by asking and then just realized he was a cash cow so like now we get Tord merch and the hints and Tori and the skit with the cavemen like OMG TORD- and he got crushed by a rock thanks gang, cause like dude I think as much as we love Tord like maybe this go around respect Larson’s choice to like not use him in the series anymore and take him out but like ig that doesn’t apply to merch so yeah lets do one more go around bring out the red one. Or idk maybe they contacted him and was like “yo dude can we like use him for merch” but i dont think that happened. I think it was just better to leave him absent from the show and be like “yeah no Tord guys, no Tord” and we could have all had our thumbs up and be like “Ok Eddsworld Beyond we are okay with that”. Like I know Red October was for charity but idk it still felt weird to use Tord, like could this really not have just been the main 3 or like bring in some deep cut old characters or side characters did we really need Tord here.

[wander-wren]

i keep seeing shiver slander and as someone who has spent multiple years trying to get everyone i know to read that silly werewolf romance i NEED to list all the reasons i like it, thank you. out of context spoilers below the cut, if you care about that at all. this also devolved into whole series spoilers but it’s still mostly shiver

the text (in my paperback copy) is fucking blue. for the other books which are green/red/orange themed THE TEXT MATCHES this has nothing to do with the book i just think it slaps

speaking of design the og covers are better. color coded leaves and vines with a red blood spatter dot for the i. bc characters get shot a surprising amount. it’s cool sorry

grace is the first protag i ever read who was so relentlessly practical. she has her life plan. she’s very organized. she’s going to college. she doesn’t have time for parties. she’s me except she reads exclusively nonfiction and mystery

she’s like this bc her parents are artsy types and very neglectful, they never got past their college kid phases. actually this is super interesting taken next to something like the dreamer trilogy where art is literally magic. but childhood trauma count: 3

it’s 3 bc they’re so bad at being parents they let her get attacked by wolves as a kid and also she nearly died from being left in a car the following summer

sam is my baby boy. he loves books, he knows a ton of poetry but especially rilke, he bakes bread and makes origami birds to hang in his bedroom and he’s a musician

he was raised by a relentlessly practical but very caring werewolf dude after his parents tried to murder him for being a werewolf when he was seven. childhood trauma count: 4

do you see. do you see how they are each other’s opposites. except for the small detail that sam’s second dad loved him. fuck

beck is sam’s dad and he’s so fucking complicated but i adore him.

they both link their hands behind their head when they’re stressed. they make the same facial expressions. i. cannot. dad and son

cole st clair exists. he’s a canadian rockstar turned werewolf BY CHOICE and he and sam are incredibly at odds over this. cole is deeply suicidal and a genius and i am fascinated by him

i’m gonna get more unhinged. ready? small warning for a few gore mentions

shelby

just. shelby’s scar scene. torturing an alive bird by playing with it’s entrails. “it looked like hamburger when they bit me. it must be hell when we kill something. we must be the worst way to die”

but also: that blink and you miss it scene where she tries to tell sam pretending he can be normal is pointless and he should Accept his wolfishness and she’s fucking up his school papers and beck drags her out and tells her to remember where she came from, and if she ever says that to sam again he will send her back. and shes screaming. fuck. what the FUCK.

i’m gonna repeat that shelby

beck being the one who turned sam bc his wife died and he was selfish and stupid. goddamn

grace when she starts turning in linger. grace who just wants a nice apartment and a red coffee pot. it’s about holding onto the one inconsequential thing as a metaphor for stability/happiness

the first bathtub scene. fuck. FUCK. save your new boyfriend from turning wolf but you have to purposely trigger flashbacks to his childhood trauma. what the fuck

cole not believing in sam’s trauma and dragging him to the bathroom only for sam to have another flashback in front of him

fucking. jack’s death. he’s a dick but holy shit

the scene where sam plays his guitar in the bathtub and Is Okay. ohmygod my heart

beck talking to grace and telling her that sam is more human than the others and being a wolf is torture for him. he’s the best damn person beck knows and beck ruined him bc of his own selfishness and spent a decade trying to make up for it

FUCKING MR DARRIOS DOGS WHAT THE FUCK

childhood trauma count: 6 (i forgot to count shelby)

cole’s voicemails to isabel. dies

cole wants to die so so so much and all his internal monologues about it make me cry

grace and isabel reluctant friendship

i have no idea what book it is but that scene with isabel in the mexican restaurant trying to play normal with her family

that scene from i want to say linger where grace starts vomiting blood and when it’s over the first thing she says is “sam. my hair.” so sad and miserable and its not ABOUT her hair having gunk in it its. a metaphor. please

the fucking helicopter chase scene. it’s not even until book 3 but if there was an adaptation that is the one scene i would want to see

every scene with grace and her parents fucking breaks my heart bc they’re not breaking the law they’re just ignoring her. grace thinking that if she was less of a golden child they would pay attention to her and shes RIGHT bc as soon as she breaks the rules for sam….

isabel and her parents are also so. soo. no one has a healthy parental relationship not even beck and sam

SPEAKING OF WHEN BECK SHOWS UP WITH COLE AND VIKTOR AND SAM IS SO FUCKING BETRAYED? they chose this life but it’s hell for him, he can’t imagine forcing anyone into it

but also the fucking scene where jack kidnaps grace and she calls beck and pretends to have a normal conversation while he tries to get info about her location and jack’s intentions….that’s the scene that always makes me bawl idk why. beck is so reassuring

grace hating poetry until sam reads it to her

CHRISTA. NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT CHRISTA.

she exists in exactly one flashback where she and beck are fighting bc she killed someone (as a wolf) and beck is lecturing her and she’s like “this isn’t a life i’m a monster and i’ll cope how i damn well please” and beck tells her to leave and never come back. and he follows her into the backyard and shoots her.

grace in the mud pit in whatever book that was

to end on a happy note: sam and grace in the golden wood. sam and grace on their coffee/candy store date. grace crying when sam reads her poetry and finally understanding it/art for the first time. sam as a person in winter for the first time in a decade. i cry

[spyrkle4]

Since ep 8 of despair time is almost here ima scream about my thoughts on ep 7

read more contains major chapter 2 spoilers, esp for the end of the ep!

Teruko even when she’s being a grumpy cat is a big mood

*sleeps in four hours in* “I’M GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!” “Wait I’m in a killing game I don’t have school”

and then nopes out of drama much to the audience’s dismay (these eps being livestreamed makes the meta of Despair Time being a tv show 10x hilarious, it’s like v3 all over again)

Part of me expected Ace to damage his vocal chords or lose his voice due to him neglecting his throat wound, but it must’ve been surface level since he’s still at 110% volume, Eden must’ve dragged him to the infirmary, she’s got willpower, she could do it

and Nico being oddly quiet makes me think that they regret trying to kill Ace and it was a “I am in so much stress I’m going to express it in a very unhealthy way” and that way was attempted murder

Doesn’t make what Nico did okay... but I get why they tried to kill Ace, they have really bad experiences with getting bullied and Ace constantly picking on them in an environment like the killing game is not good for one’s mental health, (plus getting outed w/o their consent DAVID--)

the convo with Rose at the gym makes me think of the vine of “I thought you could do a kickflip--” “I can! I did one this morning!”

Wonder why J was in the gym, hmmmmmmmm

and then Rose realizing Nico stole her art supplies to commit murder--

*shakes Nico* I love you but *points to Rose* you gave her anxiety, apologize asap

I think they’re genuine friends but Nico def made some bad choices and should apologize 

Best part of the ep is no doubt the charwhit shenanigans, everything else is on fire and they are vibing, I also love that Whit is helping Charles learn how to cook and they both are finding things they have in common

Veronika is an interesting character for sure, she reminds me a bit of Junko but if Junko dealt with her despair addiction in a healthy matter (aka horror movies)

I don’t think Veronika is like the mastermind or secretly a serial killer (please god do not let us have another chapter 3 serial killer), she is just a little Unhinged like your everyday tumblr user

and then the BDA happens this ep and *sigh*

...Arei : (

Was really terrified once David noticed she was missing and the way she died... wtf to whomever killed her I have words for you

It really sucks bc (a. the playground of all places?! b. She had a really bad hand in life and C. I wanted to see her be happy!) 

I’ve seen a lot of people debate it being David or Hu or Eden (I doubt it’s Eden since the BDA went off and I think she has some part to play) but I’m not sure, but it def wasn’t an accident like Xander

and it’s def gonna be a long trial since bda files aren’t a thing in this game, which is super cool and it made the first trial really interesting as part of the mystery was the cast assumed Xander died from a throat wound but in reality he died from electrocution 

who knows what’ll happen next ep but I am def scared for the investigation 

[artisticbunny]

(Tiredsleepytiredsleepyboredtiredsleepyboredsleepy—)

Right HELLO! I been out for a few days haha sorry ya missed me! Saturday’s my off day and I went to an art museum yesterday to see my works! (And the many others) Also been working on my hair a lot this weekend and stuff to get it done and out the way for the next month, so sorry I’m late! But I’m here now!

So! In regards to your ✨wonderful✨ tale of Whispering Willow, how about some Corey lore?! (I know I’m going for like all most abstract guys lol I was gonna make a joke in regards to fractions but later—) Half dead, ALSO BETRAYED BY HIS TEAM! Big brain enough to have a potion on hand tho! Ôwô

Was it in cold blood this time!? It sure smells like cold blood bro. No way that was fraud or frame or lies!! HIS TEAM LEFT HIM FOR DEAD!! AHHHHHHHHHH I CANT!

(But gosh dang I hope I’m wrong at the same time lol. Also writers block utterly terminated! Yeah! Random Bonus question too tho: anything ur working on currently? Just school or something more? If it’s a secret that’s cool of course, but if it’s shareable I’d like to know! :D Oki I’ll buzz off now lol I need to finish an essay before I get marked down ^^” keep being awesome as always! Love ya Bun! <333)

Sorry for how long it took to answer this!!! I’ve been busy too >w<

Tw for gore, because Corey DEFINITELY didn’t get away unscathed!!!

Cory’s story isn’t super complex, they mostly just wanted to provide for their family!

Corey was an adventurer for hire, in simplest terms. He would go and join other adventuring teams for short quests. They never really stuck with a single group for longer than one or two quests, always on the move, and only taking a fairly small cut of the reward as compensation. Corey’s mentality is that others have families they need to feed too, he doesn’t need as much for his small family than others may need for theirs. His family consists of his mother and his little sister. he loves them dearly. Corey knows the work they do is dangerous, but he genuinely enjoys what he does, and is the main breadwinner of his family.

When Corey was betrayed and left for dead in Dread Caverns, everyone thought they died. His mother and sister were distraught. They tried to murder him so they could have just that little bit more of the money. It was their greed that pushed them to commit murder. Obviously, they told the guild it was an accident in the cave that lead to his death.

Though nobody knew, Corey WAS still alive, technically. He tried for months to find a way to get out, but with his limited range of movement, it proved too difficult to climb out of the caves on his own. Though there was ONE good outcome from his being betrayed: now having no heartbeat, he was basically invisible to the beasts that roamed the cave system. The same beasts that feed off of the fear of their prey. The first person to find him came soon after they realized this. Some random adventurer, trying to collect minerals and resources from the cave in order to study it’s properties. Corey tried approaching this person to ask for help, but as soon as he stepped closer, they freaked out. Corey is, quite literally, walking death. He has his head smashed in, cuts all over him, his lip split in half, dried blood running down his face, and even the limping walk of a zombie. To be completely fair, seeing him come at you in a dark cave like that, I don’t really blame the guy for practically pissing his pants! It doesn’t really help that Corey is partially mute, only really able to get out short sentences at a time, so on top of it all, he was completely silent walking forward XD

The adventurer practically bolted out of the cave after that, and told the guild. Thus birthed the rumor of the “King of Fear”, believed to be behind the properties of Dread Caverns.

Many would come over the next few years, none of them willing to listen to reason. They tried to kill Corey. Out of self defense, Corey ended up killing them.

He would rack up quite the kill count before Brook came along. Corey hates what he’s had to do, and hates that he’s begun to kind of like it in a twisted weird way. They hate themself because of this. They feel evil. They think they’ve started going insane. Being isolated in the dark for years with only the occasional battle, it was akin to torture.

Brook, even while terrified out of her mind, was the first one to actually stop and listen to him. She helped him to escape and finally see the light of day after years underground.

Here’s the boy!!!

To answer your last question, yeah I’m mostly working on schoolwork right now haha! But I’m also working on a new profile picture since the one I have currently was originally made for Halloween XD I’ll finish it soon and post it for you guys to see when it’s done!

[punkscowardschampions]

Mafi Pt.3

Fi: it’s infuriating how you managed to pick the ideal dress to tempt me without knowing I’d be there to be tempted

Mattie: but you were x2

Fi: but you just walk around looking like a figure from mythology or something, all the time

Fi: and I’m the rude one

Mattie: you’ve seen how real I am underneath

Fi: yeah, your skin resembles porcelain, but thankfully is nowhere near as breakable

Mattie: yours was so warm, and soft, how it looks 

Fi: I haven’t been cold since I met you

Mattie: I’m dying to touch you again, with impunity

Fi: when will that be?

Mattie: When I can make myself look presentable, get off of this bed and think of a valid excuse to leave my parents in note form

Fi: leaving my door unlocked waiting and hoping means I could be murdered, an extremely valid excuse

Mattie: as long as you don’t ACTUALLY do that

Fi: it’s adorable when you worry about me as though I don’t have a literal 🏹 or 🤺

Mattie: I also don’t want you to leave for prison

Fi: I am too pretty, but I’m not getting convicted, be serious

Mattie: 😏

Fi: I don’t need you to look presentable, I know what that means

Mattie: you underestimate the mess I had got myself into, I think

Fi: I got you into it, let me fix it without it being a character flaw

Mattie: I was so mean

Fi: I’m not a boy, you can’t terrify me with how you actually look

Mattie: I don’t want to terrify you, I want you to look at me how you did before

Fi: you didn’t let me clean you up before either

Mattie: because I would have insisted you got me in another mess

Fi: did you find all the 💋?

Mattie: I feel like that’s an impossibility

Mattie: and you’re going to have to check

Fi: it’s a shame I’m not doing an art degree, I could hang you on the wall and be done with lectures and deadlines

Mattie: It’s an awful bore how life doesn’t stop when you touch me and only start again once you have to stop

Fi: it felt like my heart was gonna stop

Mattie: you mean I didn’t die and go to heaven?

Fi: when you finish what I started

Fi: [and then talk about your fave ner historical burial practices like do this for me so I know it’s real, cos again, I don’t know enough history]

Fi: oh and empty my bedside drawer, either for your own keepsake of what you missed out by killing me prematurely, or to spare my blushes

Mattie: 0 consideration for my own blushes, I see 😳

Fi: I tried to tell you, you don’t even know what’s waiting for you 

Mattie: I want to know

Fi: you’ll see

Mattie: when?

Fi: get out of your bed and into mine

Mattie: It won’t take me long, you’re close

Fi: I am, take that into consideration if I’m supposed to survive this

Mattie: Oh

Mattie: fuck

Fi: she doesn’t know how lucky she is to be alive, our mysterious stranger, leaving me to just exist in a state of frustration like that

Mattie: the cruellest punishment for doing the most incredible job, you poor thing

Fi: I’m sorry I snapped at you though

Mattie: don’t apologise

Fi: I thought it was the end, the worst ending ever

Mattie: me too, me too

Mattie: it can’t be, it’s unacceptable

Fi: you have more to lose, but I can’t lose you, Mattie

Mattie: No one is losing anything, it’s okay, we can do this

Fi: if I start crying again, I swear

Fi: ridiculous

Mattie: Only how I did, no more of the bad kind tonight

Fi: it’s the first time I’ve made someone cry that way

Mattie: I haven’t done that before either

Mattie: hopefully it’s not a new thing I’m going to do all the time

Fi: it’s okay if it is, however you react to me is

Mattie: you will tell me, if I’m doing it wrong

Fi: you’re not going to do it wrong, there basically isn’t a wrong unless you’re really confused geographically

Mattie: I may take Physics, but I have that much Biology under my belt, thank you

Fi: that’s happened before, now that poor girl was mortified to seriously be in the wrong place, if it makes you feel better about how embarrassed you felt earlier

Mattie: Oh no, she must have been too nervous, bless her heart

Fi: at least her nails weren’t too long, at school that was a constant problem, I’m sure I do have ptsd, a little

Mattie: Did you have many girlfriends during school?

Fi: no, I don’t think we can call them girlfriends

Fi: more experiments performed on me than ever in the school labs, would be closer to accurate

Mattie: I get you

Fi: I was happy to be a safe place for that, until I wasn’t

Mattie: you wanted something realer, if not a ‘girlfriend’ exactly?

Fi: it took its toll

Mattie: I can imagine, whether consensual, you were still being used

Fi: but I did the same to boys sometimes, before I get too woeful about the hand I was dealt

Mattie: I think it’s a fairly standard part of adolescence all round

Mattie: we all get hurt and hurt others

Fi: I had to know, not just make an educated guess

Mattie: of course

Mattie: you can’t limit yourself 

Fi: no boxes, I remember saying so

Mattie: you did, you’ve always seemed so sure of yourself to me

Fi: I try, despite all my parental figures efforts to the contrary, at different eras of my life

Mattie: it’s admirable as well as attractive

Fi: I don’t have lots of year 7 girls to set an example for anymore, but it still matters, I think

Mattie: I agree, it makes life easier, I imagine

Fi: aren’t you sure of yourself?

Mattie: no, I don’t think so

Fi: because of your shitty ex boyfriend?

Mattie: possibly but I don’t think we can blame him entirely

Fi: don’t worry, I’ll be certain to include the caveat it wasn’t entirely his fault before I murder him

Mattie: you’re so protective

Fi: you look after everyone so well, you deserve to be given the same treatment

Mattie: I hope you’ve taken your knickers off now too, I was a little disappointed you had some on, you never do in my dreams

Fi: I rarely do in life, but I was attempting to be vaguely well behaved, hilarious as it is to admit, in hindsight

Mattie: how did I know, how badly behaved you are

Fi: because you do know me, really

Mattie: yes

Mattie: and I like you so much

Fi: I’m afraid to try and type any L words

Mattie: like you were afraid to tell me

Fi: yes

Mattie: I’m afraid of who I am and the things I want to do to you

Fi: it’ll get easier

Mattie: you don’t know what I’ve fantasized about, it’s so bad but 

Fi: I will, and when I find out I won’t be afraid of you

Mattie: I wanna be bad too, sometimes

Fi: I’ve always let you

Mattie: you’re too nice to me, always have been

Fi: you can’t limit yourself either, if you can’t be yourself around me then when are you supposed to?

Mattie: this is me, and I have wanted to kiss you since the day I met you

Fi: I know, you’ve been flirting with me since that same day

Mattie: yeah, you’re too pretty

Fi: and what would that make you?

Fi: you have no idea how pretty you are

Mattie: I’m yours

Fi: I want you to be

Mattie: be my girl, Fi

Fi: okay, but it’ll be the last thing I do, because I’m also going to die

Mattie: you have to let me kill you first, it’s only fair

Mattie: you have me doubting if anyone else has ever made me orgasm

Fi: any doubt means no, they absolutely have not

Mattie: I’ve never

Fi: it should feel like that all the time, it will

Mattie: you swear

Fi: trust me, I’ll take care of you, properly

Mattie: okay, and I promise right back

Fi: I don’t know what to say because I don’t want to say too much

Mattie: precarious feels right

Fi: I’m so used to walking a line with you and not quite crossing it, especially when we talk

Mattie: yeah

Mattie: I sort of feel like I do that with everyone

Fi: but we can stop doing it with each other, can’t we?

Mattie: that’d be nice, wouldn’t it 

Mattie: we can try

Fi: I’ll try really hard 

Mattie: I’ll believe that when I see it, Caldwell 😉

Fi: I don’t believe for a second you think everything I do is effortless, you, for sure, know me better than that, miss

Mattie: I was more questioning how often I really saw you applying yourself outside of a sports pitch but sure

Fi: a more relevant question is how long you’ve spent observing me, playing sports or otherwise

Mattie: Hmm, but I set the questions so 🤫

Fi: but I have the correct answer, I know when to apply myself

Fi: I wanna be your girl

Mattie: You are

Fi: you’re not seriously sending me away to [see her own father, the audacity lol], are you?

Mattie: It’s Christmas 🥺

Mattie: surely he was and still is expecting you?

Fi: he’ll get over the fact I didn’t go quicker than I will you wanting me to spend what’s left of the hols anywhere else

Mattie: You remember the whole bit where we talked about not messing up your life, right?

Mattie: I don’t want to get in the way of any plans you already had, or obligations

Fi: I don’t want anything to get in the way of this

Fi: if he’s adamant about seeing me, I’ll spend the week you’re back in school and I don’t yet have to be

Mattie: If you’re sure

Mattie: I can’t send you anywhere if it is so against your will

Fi: I am

Fi: we’re going to have enough hurdles in the way of us spending time together without unnecessary trips being added

Mattie: Undeniably true

Fi: and nothing makes me sadder than how our reunion was ultimately bittersweet after not seeing each other for so long, which I can’t change now

Fi: I’m determined to do better with everything else

Mattie: Your focus had to be and was Uni, the balance is hard to work out but I am not opposed to trying to help you with that task

Fi: I thought I had to move on, but that couldn’t be more against my will

Mattie: there was no way for you to think differently, no room for the possibility to be acknowledged, never were we that alone, in private

Fi: and there was some fun while it lasted, the issue was always nothing could last when my heart wasn’t truly in it

Mattie: of course, I wasn’t suggesting nor hoping you were pining tragically or anything of the sort

Fi: I just need you to know how hard I tried to fight this, so when I say I can’t, you also know I sincerely mean it

Mattie: I believe you

Mattie: I’ve seen what a student with a crush but no common sense looks like, it isn’t you

Fi: it isn’t a crush, however many times I’ve told myself to dismiss it as such

Mattie: to call it that would only be an attempt to delegitimize it, at this point

Mattie: and it is not a thing I feel the need to engage with, not right now

Fi: you should definitely tell me about all the other students with crushes on you though

Fi: wait, no, I bet I can guess

Fi: [drop students names you think fancy her because of course you know, they’d have to be new for you not to]

Mattie: In defence of my not-actually-massive ego, I swear I was talking about all the teachers and all the potential crushes 

Mattie: but [one of the most blatant and thus tragic boys] is still persisting 😶

Fi: of course he is, you poor thing

Mattie: You think you’re safe if you stay away from the arts, alas

Mattie: poor boy

Fi: I’m a little offended, but not surprised, he didn’t get the message when I [something you did during the school year to get him to back off, which I won’t commit us to, for going back in time purposes] 

Mattie: Your threat doesn’t loom large enough now 

Fi: don’t say that, it’s like I never even existed 👻

Mattie: I have to be slightly cutting, lest you think I condone your actions

Fi: it’s 💎 clear which of my actions you wholeheartedly condone, rest assured

Mattie: Shh, don’t tease 

Fi: if you were here, I’d follow through

Fi: you’re the tease, for your frankly cruel, at this point, absence

Mattie: You know this town and its traffic

Mattie: besides, it isn’t your turn

Fi: luckily, I’m aware which of my reactions you’re into as well

Mattie: I won’t call you a know-it-all for it

Fi: call me what you like

Mattie: where do you even begin?

Fi: where would you have me wait, other than behind this unlocked door that hopefully won’t lead to attempted murder or manslaughter charges being brought while you’re stuck in traffic?

Mattie: You want me in your bed, don’t you

Fi: it isn’t my turn, what do you want?

Mattie: I want to meet you at your door, like you’ve been waiting for me

Fi: I am waiting for you, that’s the reality

Mattie: I want real

Fi: real like I’ve paced every square foot of this place because I can’t stay still?

Fi: if the adhd experts could see me now

Mattie: I’m looking at the pictures of you from tonight

Fi: I don’t look like that anymore

Fi: [as a shameless excuse to send her a pic of how you look now, which I imagine is adorable, because like me atm you’re just wearing a big t-shirt and nothing else]

Mattie: you look so sweet

Mattie: and I am not so woefully straight I need you to play the ‘man’ for me

Fi: I only acted in the one play, remember, I wouldn’t be able to pull it off

Mattie: I don’t know, you did well for Dolly until neither of us did

Fi: I almost didn’t take her up on the invitation

Mattie: why?

Fi: I told you, I was scared it would be an unpleasant surprise, for both of us, you because you didn’t want to see me again and I, because I’d convinced myself you’d invite someone too, and I couldn’t bear the thought

Mattie: there’s no plus one, no time to imagine who it could even potentially be

Fi: you know me, a fan of horrific torture

Mattie: bravery that isn’t going to go unrewarded

Fi: I don’t feel brave right now

Mattie: how do you feel?

Fi: weak, like a single touch from you is gonna have me on the floor

Mattie: I wouldn’t mind having you on the floor

Fi: covered in bruises feels apt, you’re bound to be marked with so much lipstick, still

Mattie: you saw to that

Mattie: I’m seeing to it you beg me to stay

Fi: I’d do that this second, and you’re not even here yet

Mattie: you might feel I’ve overstayed my welcome when you can’t get up from that floor after all I’ve done to you

Fi: I’ll leave it to you, you can try living alone there once I’m dead and buried because of what you’ve done to me

Mattie: abuse of power is starting to sound right

Mattie: I just want to see you come undone, the perfect head girl

Fi: I just need you to be the one to do it

Mattie: Who else can ruin you like I can

Fi: it’s never enough, whoever, whatever

Mattie: you want my tongue, my fingers, my eyes on you as you fall apart

Fi: yes

Mattie: it’s me you think about, my face and my body

Fi: you don’t leave my thoughts

Mattie: it’s you I imagine keeping my bed warm, you I want to come back to and make cum until you pass out, your beautiful lips I want to press myself against

Fi: stay until you can’t, I mean it

Mattie: give me reason to stay, gorgeous girl

Fi: give me every last second you have and I’ll give you everything you ask, things you haven’t begun to consider asking for yet

Mattie: my mind is perverse despite my lack of history

Mattie: I’ve considered asking you to do some very fucked up things for me

Fi: when you say them out loud, I’ll act on them without the slightest hesitation

Mattie: oh I know that

Mattie: you’re mine

Fi: you have history with me, I didn’t pause before, I won’t in the future

Mattie: you don’t care if you’re caught, not for you

Fi: my life is uncomplicated, complicate it for me

Mattie: I want you to miss me, to wish you’d spent every day of last year letting me fuck you all over that school

Fi: I have the blown out candles to prove I did, two birthdays worth of them now

Mattie: there’s an idea

Fi: and the ⭐️ as a permanent reminder of where I first let you touch me, not to mention how much I miss it

Mattie: I will draw another star with the wax, where you want me to touch you most of all

Fi: I’d let you make a candle out of me like they did in Paris during the French Revolution

Mattie: you’re the hottest nerd

Mattie: I would do unspeakable things to candle you

Fi: to allow you to stay this beautiful, I insist

Mattie: how badly you want it makes it all the better

Mattie: beg me to use you

Fi: I do hope you realise it’ll be the first time I’ve begged anyone for anything in my entire life

Mattie: that’s why you need it so much

Fi: you truly are going to unravel me completely, I’ll have no clue who I am after this

Mattie: if the burn doesn’t suffice as a reminder, I can tell you who you are in so many ways

Fi: tell me I’m yours again

Mattie: you’re mine, completely, no one else can have you

Fi: this is real

Mattie: the way I am going to possess you and all your thoughts couldn’t be realer

Fi: perhaps not, but you’ve said similar things in my dreams

Mattie: you aren’t going to be able to deny my fingers deep inside you

Fi: true, it’s already obvious I’m not going to be able to deny you anything ever

Mattie: you don’t want to, you want to please me

Mattie: and nothing will please me more than having you obsessed with me and when and where you’re next getting fucked

Fi: you’ve achieved getting me to the point of obsession with the way you speak

Mattie: I wish I had told that girl to go, what we were busy doing

Fi: it’s okay, you telling her off would have actually been too much for me, the state I was in

Mattie: It made us waste more time

Mattie: and fight

Fi: we’ll make the time up

Fi: and we don’t have anything else to fight about, so we aren’t likely to again in a hurry

Mattie: I can’t be fighting, I don’t care if its Christmas, there’s too much else to be doing and feeling

Fi: no fighting, sweet pea, I surrender completely

Mattie: 🥰

Mattie: what I like to hear

Fi: But oh no, it’s a terrible rhyme, I’ve written you awful accidental poetry! 😬

Fi: thank god that’s a secret 🤫🔒

Mattie: Prose and verse are not my forte on any given day but I can assure you my head is far too foggy to think your words are anything but beautiful

Fi: mine either, I can barely string a sentence together at the best, or worst, of times

Fi: my head and heart both race too far past being capable

Fi: your support makes me feel like not a total dunce regardless, it has to be said, it always did

Mattie: that makes you passionate and engaged, you have thoughts on thoughts, that’s the opposite of anything even the bitchiest teacher could call a ‘dunce’

Fi: said bitchiest teacher let me know passion and intelligence are poles apart, in no uncertain terms, should I be in any danger of getting that twisted

Fi: but I’m fine with only indulging my passions, I have the luxury

Mattie: I don’t know how she could claim to have experience with either, honestly

Fi: it’s purely a job requirement in theory

Mattie: there’s no room for that outdated approach

Fi: keep inspiring students to become teachers and you’ll soon leave no room for it, she’ll be pushed out with the rest of her sort 🦕

Mattie: I think that’s any decent person's goal, see things move forward after you, not clinging on for dear life

Fi: agreed, hard as it is for me not to cling onto the school for dear life sometimes

Mattie: Give yourself some grace, it hasn’t been long enough to call you tragic quite yet

Fi: My new home is great, which helps

Mattie: You’ll have to give me the grand tour

Fi: you’ll have to stay long enough to be able to get out of bed

Mattie: you’ll be asleep before long

Fi: you’re shining such a telling spotlight onto everybody else you’ve slept with, no wonder you had those orgasm doubts

Fi: because I promise you, I won’t be considering sleep at all until you’ve gone

Mattie: 😏 well I will be, I love sleep, thank you

Fi: 🐻🍯🐯

Mattie: wouldn’t hibernating be glorious!

Fi: perhaps I’ll be a convert once you’re sleeping next to me, I’ve never gotten over how you looked or I felt when [a scenario whereby Mattie fell asleep lowkey on Fi, I pictured school trip again like on a coach, but it could be any opportunity for this during the school year tbh including travelling back from an away school match, the point is, Mattie falls asleep and Fi doesn’t move a single muscle the entire time so she won’t accidentally wake her and tells everyone to shh so they won’t either, because gay to show she managed to keep still even though she isn’t that bitch and important to show she is a well liked bitch who everyone listened to when she made them be quiet, students and other teachers too and Mattie eventually wakes up like oh you did all that]

Fi: either way, I surrendered, so if it’s hibernation you want, my best attempt at turning my bedroom into your own cosy bear cave is what you shall have

Mattie: [turn up and we know the vibe]

[blacklem0ns]

propaganda:

hand jumper: my favorite webtoon ever even though i only started reading it like 3 months ago, HIGHLY recommend. it has a simple power system. as for romance, there are pairings in the series that can be read as romantic but as far as overt romance goes, it’s only ever implied. big artstyle change (the recent chapters look stunning). hand jumper is full of complex characters and relationships, especially the mc. at first, she seems like your typical shounen protagonist with a strong set of morals and an eye for justice. but as the series goes on you witness her slow descent, as she bends her morals more and more to justify whatever morally questionable thing she’s gonna do next. she an extremely multi fascinated character and the rest of the cast is no different.

suitor armor: my third favorite webtoon right after hand jumper and itgr. there is a romantic subplot but it’s not the focal point of the series (i personally don’t care much for it). also contains complex relationships and character. it’s a fantasy series but there isn’t really a “magic system”. the main conflict comes from relationship between fairies and humans which cause a lot of tension between lucia, a fairy in hiding, and her best friend kirsi who doesn’t know her secret identity.

lalin’s curse (please come back from war): this series hasn’t updated in 4 years but that doesn’t stop it from being amazing! gorgeous artstyle. the characters are fairly simple but there’s only season out so far so keep that in mind. there’s only 45 episodes so it’s a quick read if your in the mood for a nice story about teenagers engaging in supernatural shenanigans (stranger things? never heard of her).

school bus graveyard: it’s a very popular webtoon and for good reason. the star of the webtoon is definitely the main cast. they’re all super likeable and they’re growing bond over the series is really sweet to watch (lots of heartfelt moments). it’s nice to see a truly introverted female mf in a webtoon that really doesn’t like hanging out with ppl. if you’re a fan of thrillers like me than i definitely recommend cause it’s quite spooky.

like mother, like daughter: it categorized as a drama on webtoon but in all honestly it’s a thriller. if you’ve ever read bastard by carnby kim, this is kinda like that but with a mother and a daughter and less murder (although the mom definitely killed someone). the first three chapters are genuinely a work of art. such good setup for the mc’s dynamic with her mother and her motivations. she has realistic flaws that prevent her from achieving her goals. and although she makes questionable decisions at times, at the end of the day, she’s a young teenager trying to survive in her environment. the rest of the cast is just as great, no one is portrayed completely good or bad, even the mother. i like how she isn’t some stereotypical mustache twirling villian. she’s extremely cold and calculating, even making the readers doubt the mc. artstyle has a nice balance between being hyper realistic and cartoony which makes for some really good intense moments. there’s so much more i could say about this series but i have to move on. tldr: it’s amazing, read it!

the guy upstairs: one of the best thrillers i’ve ever read. i mean wow, hanza really knows how to nail an intense scene and instill fear in the audience. the main character, rozy, is very interesting bc she honestly isn’t the most likeable person, even later on in the series. she has a lot of flaws like her paranoia and habit of being very protective which together can make her come off as overbearing, clingy, and irrational. these traits are often used against her especially when the main antagonist, adam, comes into the picture and starts messing with her. she’s also very hot woah who said that. but seriously, she’s like one of the few masculine presenting female character i’ve seen in webtoon and she’s the main charcter. series is essentially a reverse mystery where we already know who the killer is, it’s just a matter of getting the evidence to put him behind bars for good. this webtoon tackles a lot of sensitive topic like r*pe, misogyny, and the psychology of serial killers. if you’re sensitive about that kind of stuff than tread with caution. i really like this series and it makes me so sad to know that the creator is probably not gonna continue making it 😭

marionetta: ok the last two recommendations were super depressing, let’s lighten the mood a little! marionetta is really cool! the artstyle is freaking amazing, the backgrounds are all so detailed. i really love how friendship between julia, the mc, and her kamille is portrayed. it’s very complex and both of them have their faults although the webtoon comments will try to convince you otherwise (fuck you kamille haters). like suitor armor, it explores prejudice and unlearning biases, especially with julia who starts the series off as a loyal worker to her country, only to learn the lies she’s been feed since birth once she joins the circus. it’s returning from hiatus soon so read it while it is still on break!

pyramid game: i binged this in like two days. the mc suji, enters a new school and is put into the “happy class” where they have a poll at the end of every month the separates the class into different tiers based on the amount of votes they get from a to f. the f student is basically treated as subhuman and the other girls in the class get treated them cruelly with no repercussions. what i really like abou this webtoon is that the ranking system can be applied to so many oppressive systems in society. the series really delves into the human nature and how we allow cruelty to happen as long it doesn’t affect us personally. it’s a very interesting story that critiques the way a lot of us operate and i think everyone should read it.

Oh also anyone wanna give me webtoon recommendations? The less romance the better but I’m ok with some. Nothing sexual. I do enjoy a good magic system. Complex characters are always good as well.

Also I’ve never seen one but do any dark academia esc webtoons exist? With or without romance, for some reason I’m ok with romance if its in the form of disfunctional academic men (maurice ✨)

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

hi I’m here to review the Clementine comic. it’s not good.

Does this even need an introduction? You know why I’ve gathered you all here today. You know the comic exists, and you probably know that it’s not great and we’re all upset about it. 

Myself included. I am not okay. At all. 

Skybound could’ve literally spit in my face and I’d come out feeling better than I did reading this comic, because this comic is an insult to the original Telltale games and Clementine as a character. 

This comic is a fancy fanfic. Glorified fanfiction. It’s not canon, and Skybound and Tillie can pretend that it is, but it’s not. Bold of them to assume we’d just accept this from people who didn’t work on the original games and never wrote for Clementine before, and based on this comic alone, any chance of us taking it seriously is gone. 

I’m gonna go through every single page, every panel, of this comic and give you my review. So I guess if you’re worried about spoilers [though at this point why would you?] then be warned, spoilers for the entire comic ahead. 

I also wanna add that I have nothing against Tillie Walden. I know a lot of dingdongs are harassing her on insta over this comic and that’s not okay. You telling her how much you hate her isn’t going to change anything. If anything, you keep being assholes to her and she’s just gonna block everything out, even things simply critiquing her work in hopes that it helps her improve. 

You’re allowed to be upset about the comic and share your feelings about it, but don’t take it out on the actual human being like that. Besides, like I’ve said before, if Tillie wasn’t gonna make the comic, Skybound would’ve found someone else to do. This was coming no matter what because Skybound wants that coin. 

That being said, I’m not going to hold back my opinions on this comic. Skybound and Tillie made this comic, they put it out there and asked for money for it, therefore I’m allowed to explain why it’s garbage as well as ponder over the questionable intent and whether or not Tillie actually has played these games. Y’know, it’s like how I have nothing against Kent, but sometimes he says things I disagree with and well, y’know how it goes. 

Alright, this is gonna be long, so let’s go--

The first few shots we get are of the school, two people sleeping, and Clementine’s empty bed. Nothing super note-worthy, we have no idea who is sleeping in the beds, it’s just there to establish that it’s early and everyone’s still asleep. 

The drawing of the school looks fine? Not super accurate, but I can give it a pass since it’s a few years later, I assume. What I can’t give a pass is how you managed to already mess up on the first page of your comic. 

Because..... why are you implying that Clementine’s room is upstairs? First of all, seems kinda dumb to put Clem, who has only one leg and has to walk with crutches, upstairs. Also, if you’ve played TFS and paid any attention to where her room is actually located [the dorms] then you’d know there isn’t any stairs leading to their floor. It’s the side building next to the admin building, you walk through the door, go down the hall, take a left and their dorm is right there sooo..... 

Oh right, it’s probably done this way so that we can have such a suspenseful moment where Clementine is sneaking out while the others are asleep and her foot makes a creeeeeeakk that could wake everyone up, thwarting her plans of abandoning everyone quietly so she doesn’t have to deal with any consequences. 

Because yeah, Clementine is sneaking out with all of her supplies because apparently, she’s been planning an escape from this place for a while. 

And just look at how gosh darn happy she is about it. You can’t see or hear me, but know that I’m laughing. Don’t worry, I will talk about her abandoning everyone later.

But first, I have a gripe with Clementine's design in this comic. It doesn’t look like her. This art of her right here is the most accurate we get throughout all 12 pages, and it’s the best looking, too. 

Moving on, she slams the door shut while this walker changes faces and hair between panels, so that’s cool. I will say, I like the idea of the Ericson crew putting spikes on the door. That’s fun. 

Though Clementine slamming the door shut while trying to sneak out seems counter productive but it fits with the theme this comic has of inconsistency, so it works. 

Next we have Clementine going to what I believe is the fishing shack by the river, and she’s going through some things that she’s stashed away, telling us that she’s been planning this escape for a while. 

Oh good, she has a map. Well at least now she won’t get lost out there in the woods while she makes her escape... also that last panel with her profile.... why does it look so funny? Like this page of the comic doesn’t look too bad, but there is something off putting about her eye there and how she has zero expression. 

And it turns out that rustle was a walker, and Clementine is super inconvenienced by this and gives us our first piece of witty dialogue.

Yeah you dumb walker, can’t you see Clementine is busy running away from home and abandoning all of her loved ones without a single goodbye so she doesn’t have to witness the consequences of her selfish actions?? Gosh, so rude.

Just a heads up, the dialogue in this comic is stilted, emotionless, and bland. The words have no flow, no charm, and never feel like they should be coming out of Clementine’s mouth. Then again, the upcoming graphic novels this is tied to are for young adult/middle graders so I guess we have to dumb everything down so their baby brains can process it. 

.....Why does her face look like that? Also, interesting that she decided to move her ponytail to the other side of her head.... which is a thing that happens throughout this comic, her hair will randomly change sides. 

I believe it’s a metaphor for her changing and inconsistent personality. 

So yeah, Clementine is just making off with the supplies she gathered [I’m sure Ericson doesn’t need ‘em anyway] and she’s just so gosh darn annoyed at all these small inconveniences bothering her.... because it’s just too early for this. 

.....Again, why does her face look like that?

I’m sorry, like I get it, Tillie’s style is supposed to be purposely messy yet minimal but it doesn’t work. When you do a comic in a more messy style, usually it has charm and heart put into it. Effort goes into the messy look, and when things are minimal, that usually means more clean, yeah? So you put them together and just..... that is nothing resembling Clementine’s face. 

Can we just--

Look at canon Clementine’s face. Look at the way her eyebrows are shapes, how wide her eyes are with her eye lashes. The dirt on her skin, the lines-- there is so much personality in her features. It doesn’t matter if she’s wearing a neutral expression or she’s expressing anger or joy or sorrow or whatever. 

Now, is it fair to compare a model of Clem from the games to the Clem in this comic? Well, I assume that if Tillie is doing this comic, she would use references from the game to ensure that Clementine is recognizable, especially now that she’s no longer wearing her signature hat. 

So why does she look like this? Why do I look at these drawings of her face and see nothing but a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth? You might as well draw me a simple smiley face. And I get that it’s a comic, and it’s a lot of work to draw the same character over and over again and you gotta cut corners somewhere, but maybe put some effort into the close up shots of her face so that we can actually see it’s her? 

Other fan artists have made comics in their styles that shine bright with Clementine’s personality, so what happened here? 

Anyway, surprise..... it’s not a walker annoying Clementine. 

........Why does AJ look like that??? I’m sorry, I hate to do the same thing I just did but--

Just because you put Clementine’s hat on AJ that doesn’t automatically make it him. I just.... wow. This feels like there wasn’t a single reference involved, like if someone gave Tillie a basic description of AJ and she just did this. 

But appearances aside, what is AJ saying? He says that he knew it, that Clementine’s leaving and I cannot stand this dialogue. It’s unnatural. Again, I know you wanna dumb it down for all of us because I guess we dumb.... but this conversation does not feel natural. 

“I knew it. You’re leaving.” “AJ....” “I’m coming.”

Even if you changed it to, “I’m coming with you.” it would sound more natural. Hell, he doesn’t even question WHY she’s leaving, he just stands there like “I’m coming” like??? I’m sorry, have you ever heard a single word this murder baby has said? I assume you have because I assume you actually played TFS, right? Soooo.... what happened here?

.....whY DO THEIR FACES LOOK LIEK THAT KSAJDLKJAS:LKDJLKASJD:L--

So now we’re getting into it.... into the bullshit. 

Clementine tells AJ to go back to the school, and AJ says that she wasn’t even going to say goodbye..... and then more bad dialogue that sound unnatural when you try to fucking read it. 

First off.... AJ’s reaction to Clementine attempting to leave is barely anything. Again, I hate to keep questioning if you actually played TFS, but AJ would throw a fucking fit if he caught Clementine out here ALONE like this, attempting to leave. 

And then he says “Like last time? You were going to come back?” this sentence makes my brain hurt. I just.... “Like last time, right? You’re coming back?” UGH

Wow, I feel nothing. 

I’m sitting here watching these two imposters with fucked up faces who are supposed to be Clementine and AJ and I feel nothing. 

I’m not even going to comment on the faces anymore. You can see it. You know. 

So yeah... AJ tells her the #1 rule, and reminds her that she promised.

Y’know.... she promised that she would never leave him again? Remember? At the McCarroll ranch? That flashback that was in TFS? The one you would watch if you played the game? 

Why is she looking straight at me when she should be looking at AJ as she says this? Is this Clementine’s way of telling me she’s sorry for what a shitty direction this is taking? I wouldn’t know because her face isn’t doing anything. Just because you draw a couple of tears that doesn’t mean I’m feeling the emotional heartbreak you’re attempting to convey. 

I don’t have enough middle fingers for this.

Well, my hat’s off to you. Ya did it. Ya fucked up everything single part of Clementine’s character in the span of two pages, I’m almost impressed. 

First off, the baby thing is weird. Why is she calling him that? She’s never called him that, which you should know.

Second, she’s not happy and that’s why she’s leaving. Clementine isn’t happy, and AJ can’t make her happy. Ericson can’t make her happy. So she’s going to go out on the road to.... what, be unhappy by herself? 

I’m sorry, but apparently we need a few reminders here of who Clementine is, because this isn’t her. 

This is Clementine. 

Clementine fought for years to find a home, something she hasn’t had since she was an eight-year-old girl before the apocalypse. The motor-inn wasn’t a home, the cabin wasn’t home, the ski-lodge, Howe’s, Wellington, Richmond, Prescott, none of them were home. 

She struggled for years, dealing with trauma after trauma while out on the road. She went from group to group, watching people she cared about die and she was powerless to do anything about it. Whenever she let her guard down and become comfortable, it bit in her in the ass and left her heartbroken.

She was there when AJ was born. She grew close to Rebecca while she was pregnant, she let herself do that even after everything she went through with Christa. Clementine had a bond with AJ even before he was born, and after Rebecca died, she did what she could to keep him safe, despite play choice. 

She cried when she thought AJ died and when she found him in that car again. She swore to protect him, to raise him right and love him. All they had was each other. 

And when she joined the new frontier and AJ got sick, she risked everything to save him and she was devastated when they took him away from her. When she found out he was alive, she is willing to go as far as helping Lingard overdose [INJECTING HIM HERSELF IF SHE HAS TO] to figure out his location. She did shitty things to find him, she killed people at McCarroll Ranch to find him again. 

Clementine raised him and he is her family, do you understand that? She went to hell and back for him, she taught him how to protect himself, and even though she made mistakes she sacrificed everything for him. She promised him that they would have a home of their own one day, she talked about how much she wished for a world where she didn’t have to worry about fighting and killing and AJ could just be a happy kid. 

She fought for Ericson, she watched her friends die or become mutilated by someone from her past. She allowed herself to be vulnerable enough to pursue a romantic relationship with Louis or Violet because she felt safe with them, felt safe at Ericson because it’s their home now. 

And when Clementine was bit, she thought she was going to die but she still fought to make sure AJ would be safe and happy without her and it was heartbreaking. She’s dying and the only thing she cares about is AJ. Not herself, not what’s going to happen to her after she dies or turns... no, she tries to make AJ smile again, she makes sure he remembers the rules, and she tells him that she loves him. 

Then he cuts off her leg, and she survives. AJ saved her fucking life, and she got to wake up at home and live to see her family again. She got to push AJ on a tire swing, she got to eat a hot meal and laugh with her friends, she got to make plans with her lover/best friend for what’s next for Ericson, and she got to talk to AJ and tell him the truth... and she asked him if she did a good job, and he’s honest with her right back. 

Hell, she tells him to keep her hat. Her iconic hat. The one thing she has left of her father, possibly her more cherished item. She lets him keep it. 

The last time we see Clementine, she’s happy. She’s sitting on the steps by herself, staring at her family with such fondness in her eyes and a smile on her face because she finally did it. She finally found a home where she can breathe. She has a bed to sleep in, she has AJ with her, she has a boyfriend/girlfriend who loves her and who she loves back, she has friends she can rely on. 

Clementine smiles, and lets out a small laugh. 

She doesn’t have to run anymore. 

And now you have the balls to tell me that AJ and Ericson don’t make Clementine happy anymore. 

She abandons everything to go back out on the road again, and that’s proof enough for me that you don’t understand a damn thing about Clementine or her journey. 

“ I don't even know the person I'm talking about... It's like all we have in common is the same name.” 

....Anyway.

Wow, Clementine found a car and kept is stashed. How lazy and convenient for this bullshit plot. 

And this is the part where I have to tell this comic to fuck off. 

What, you think if you throw in an incredibly inaccurate flashback next to a current pair of hugging Clem and AJ that I’ll feel anything but anger? That flashback is a slap to the face. It’s snowing, but the only time we’ve seen snow is in S2 when AJ was a literal new born, so why is he that big? Is that supposed to be from ANF because that ALSO doesn’t look like that AJ, and that’s not the outfit Clementine had on... AND there was no snow. This is cheap and meaningless. 

Any fan of the series who has played through the games could tell you this. 

So.... AJ runs into the woods and then we get this garbage.

This comic is awful. It misses the point of everything TFS, and the rest of the series, stood for. There is no heart here. I feel no happiness in reading it, and I don’t detect any passion behind it. It’s a lifeless comic that retcons everything in order to throw AJ away and start fresh with a new adventure for Clementine that makes no sense because the cow isn’t profitable unless it’s milked. 

This isn’t canon, and it won’t ever be canon, and honestly? At this point, I have no faith in the graphic novel trilogy. It will take a lot to do a turn around from this, and I don’t even know if that’s possible. 

Again, to reiterate, I don’t have anything personal against Tillie Walden herself. She’s just doing her job, and from what I’ve seen of her as a person, she seems like a sweetheart. I don’t want anyone giving her shit because I think the comic isn’t good or that you agree with me. All of my anger is directed at the comic itself, her work, not specifically her.... and a little bit at Skybound, because they’re the reason this is even a thing in the first place. 

So yeah.... there ya have it. 

[capricorn-stark]

Protégé

pairing: red hood!jason todd x robin!reader, slow burn 

warning: swearing

a/n: for context, this is somewhat loosely based off of Battle for the Cowl (2009) which I definitely recommend as a read! 

There was something about falling that you would never, ever get tired of. 

Ever. 

Probably.

With the wind whistling in your ears, your hair floating up in a million directions, and your limbs seemingly weightless as the buildings and lights blurred into one endless streak of color, the rush of adrenaline that ran through your body right before your grappling hook shot out and you landed quietly on the concrete was about a million times better than any sparring session back at the cave. 

You grinned as you straightened, rather proud of the fact that you had actually managed to land so smoothly without nearly paralyzing yourself. Again.The landing was something you had been working on for a while now.

You could practically hear Bruce’s voice ringing through your head after your little stunt, lamenting on and on about how you had more important things to focus on during patrols, and you let out a sigh as you ran down the backway of the nearly empty streets. 

The heavy man who had been bound up with a decently made gag and one of Bruce’s fancy tech pieces (Batcuffs, maybe? Something else with Bat smacked in front of it?) grunted beside you. 

“What? Not like you had someplace to be.” You grabbed the back of his rather tacky-looking spandex suit to drag him along back to where your mentor was supposed to be.

Despite your (many) disagreements and his (many) criticisms of your hand-to-hand combat skills, attitude issues, and pretty much everything else relating to you, Bruce had actually still allowed you to go off on your own tonight. It might’ve been because he wanted a few hours of nothing but beating up petty criminals by himself for stress-relief, it might’ve been because he had started trying out that whole independence thing with you a little more (even though you were still only permitted to be about five blocks or so away), it might’ve been plot-convenience - but either way, you appreciated the gesture.

It didn’t take long for you to pull your new friend over to what should’ve been your rendezvous point with Batman, letting the man drop with a dull thud and a grunt of protest against the concrete as you glanced around for the other man. You weren’t particularly concerned by the fact that the Bat himself wasn’t there yet - after all, he was the goddamn Batman. He’d show up eventually. In the meanwhile, you decided to go over the information you had gotten on the criminal with you. 

Just for the sake of it. Bruce would make you go over it anyways.

“Drury Walker, thirty-two years old, found him trying to mug someone in a back alley and make an escape. Called himself…” you paused, looking down at his sorry-looking outfit for a few moments while he looked up at you with murder and vengence in his eyes. “...Killer Moth.”  

“Killer Moth?” A completely new voice repeated in disbelief, causing you to immediately whirl around to face them in a fight stance, heart racing at a million miles per hour. The guy in front of you had his hands up in the air, his face concealed with some sort of red knock-off Iron Man helmet. He was gonna get copyrighted by Marvel Studios. “Shit, sorry,” he started at the sight of you, still leaning up against one of the walls. “I was supposed to make a wholeass dramatic entrance, but you said his name was Killer Moth and that-” The man made a noise that was either a sharp cough or a laugh of some kind. “-sounded so fucking lame I couldn’t help myself.” 

Despite the fact that you were definitely in some sort of major trouble with this new guy, he really did have a point. Even Killer Moth himself would’ve been embarrassed by how trash his name was, if not for the fact that he looked like he was on the verge of an aneurysm - understandably so, since the new guy had produced not one, but two guns out of apparently nowhere. 

“And let me guess,” he continued, pointing one of them at your head, his tone still all-too light and easy. “You must be the Bat’s brand-new Robin.” 

Now this is where most people would've shut up and proceeded to be complicit with the dude holding two guns. But Batman hadn’t seen reason and made you his (sort of) partner because you were like other people. Hell no.

“Do I look like a traffic signal to you?” It had been the very first of your amendments with Bruce. You would not be fighting crime looking like a literal traffic signal or, at best, a clown from Haly’s Circus. And the tiny green shorts had to go. “Or Robin Hood?” The guy had a rather awkward pause where his gun sort of dipped. Killer Moth was looking between you with wide eyes. “Do I?” 

“I guess you kinda got a point.” You huffed and he raised his gun again, getting more in-your-face as his already angry-looking helmet somehow managed to look angrier. You weren’t exactly sure how a helmet could convey so much emotion. “But you work with Batman. And I heard you went by Robin.” 

Okay, so you couldn’t make him change the name, but you had agreed it would be more of an honorary thing.

“It’s complicated.” 

Using such a phrase as an excuse to escape from situations you didn’t want to go into was one of the many things you had learned from Bruce in your five months of training. Somehow, that seemed to trigger the guy further.

“So you do work with Batman.” 

Before he could do something actually insane, you had managed to push the gun pointed at your head away from you, using his brief second of surprise to take it out of his hands, kick him in the chest, and round back on him with it in hand. 

“And what about it?” 

As cool as you thought you might’ve sounded didn’t cover for the fact that you were still nerve-wracked about what was happening right then. Especially after the guy started to dramatically slow-clap like some sort of evil thespian in a high school drama. 

“Not bad, Robin. Not bad.” He looked at the gun in your hands and grinned. “If you weren’t Batman’s new replacement sidekick, I might’ve believed you had the balls to use that thing.” 

Now, you were an excellent fighter. You had to be, after your excessive training with the guy who had literally mastered about every martial art in existence during his (give or take) five year-long mission to find himself. Plus, some personal experience. But fighting someone like this guy? Built like a tank and padded up in a whole lot of armor and packing an assortment of knives, guns, and even a damn taser you got a first-hand taste of?

You fought hard, but about five minutes and another round of the taser later, you saw the knock-off Iron Man helmet staring down at you before the world went black.

~*~

You woke up in what you assumed was the self-dubbed Red Hood’s safehouse of sorts. 

“How the hell did he rope you into this shit?” he demanded with what you could only assume was him glaring at you through the helmet. Probably some expression that made someone look all angsty and annoyed - which was fair, since he had been trying to drill you for information you straight up refused to give while bound (way too tightly) to a chair for quite some time now. Rather rude. “Let me guess. You watched your parents die.” You stared at him before shrugging.

“Nope.”

“Oh, so they just went ahead and died somehow. Untimely accident caused by some psycho bitch in a Spirit Halloween costume.”

“…nope.” 

“They abandoned you as a child.”

“No, they didn’t - does divorce count?” 

Red Hoodlum’s hands kept clenching and unclenching while he stood there, staring at the wall behind you in silence. From the way his chest kept rising and falling, you were tempted to believe he was practicing breathing exercises amidst his rather violent twitching. 

“Divorce - what the hell is your trauma supposed to be? Why did he pick you?!”

“Hey, just because my trauma doesn’t include people dying doesn’t make it any less traumatic,” you scoffed in response, knowing you were absolutely right about that. Your middle school guidance counselor had said so (and it’s true, ladies and gentlemen, trauma comes in many forms!). “Kinda rude to assume it didn’t affect me somehow.”

He seemed rather abashed at that and you heard him clear his throat a little. 

“...right, yeah. Sorry.”

“Apology accepted - can you loosen these ropes a little? It’s starting to kinda hurt.” 

“Do I look ten? That’s the oldest trick in the book, I’m not gonna-”

“I’m not going to run, just loosen the ropes a little.” He still looked like he didn’t believe you. “Come on, I don’t think I can outrun your guns.” As in his literal array of guns tacked up to the wall behind him, not his gigantic biceps. 

And you weren’t too worried about being held hostage by him, either. You figured you had ten minutes tops before Batman burst in through the doorway, ready to give you a lecture on why straying from the specifically designated parts of Gotham he had let you traipse around was a terribly stupid idea. 

“No.” He was already walking towards the door, because apparently, he had enough of trying to interrogate you. 

“Hold on, I feel like my wrists are actually about to start bleeding or something - where are you going?”

“Keep talking and I’m gonna get the duct tape.” 

“Is that a threat?” Sounding more confident than you actually felt should eventually make you more confident. Eventually. 

The Red Hood sucked in a breath, stopping by the doorway and turning to face you, reaching into his pockets to get what you assumed was either a gun or duct tape when you both startled from a sudden crash. The man in front of you was already whirling around with two guns positioned to shoot when you heard the familiar voice of someone else.

“Hold your fire, soldier. I’m not here for you.” A pause. “Or I wasn’t, but now I kind of am.”

Apparently, Batman was too busy to save you. Now, you got Nightwing. 

And as much as you liked Nightwing, that still kinda stung. 

[makeste]

literally just another giant post of Bakugou faces.

so I did this last year, but I only got up to chapter 120 before I ran out of steam. happily, though, this left me with an additional 190 chapters’ worth of glorious gremlin faces to choose from for this year’s edition! which I figure I had better do, before tumblr finally pulls the plug on my poor sweet image limit.

so without further ado, happy birthday to Kacchan, and happy birthday to Kacchan’s asymmetrical HAH face where his eyes do the thing like ( ◣益◢).

why I like it: so this is from Kirishima’s flashback in chapter 133, where Kirishima was getting all down on himself because his quirk Only Does One Thing, and Kacchan was all “nah bro don’t worry about it because your One Thing is totally fucking rad, and you’re strong enough to withstand anything.” so that of course was incredibly sweet, and one of the few times we’ve seen him give an actual heartfelt pep talk without so much as a single insult thrown into the mix. but what really puts this scene over the top for me is the fact that you can see the ever-so-subtle hints of guilt and regret when he talks about All Might and Kamino. for just a moment, he gets this distant look in his eyes, and his expression turns soft and contemplative. basically this is a rare collector’s edition Kacchan face you will not find in many other places.

why I like it: because this frankly needs to happen in every damn fight until this kid finally gets it through his thick skull to ditch the mask so we can see every fantastic facial expression in full 4k glory. work with me here please Kacchan.

why I like it: because character growth!! this was our first big moment of post-DvK2 Kacchan development, and the payoff was well worth the wait. it only took him 166 chapters to realize that it’s hard to grow as a person if you’re determined to be a humongous dick to every single person you meet!! lmao, but it’s progress though.

why I like it: these two panels are criminally underrated. the way his face transforms when Deku gets the answer wrong dlkjfldk. this is easily one of the funniest subtle gags in the entire series.

why I like it: “hey Bakugou do you want to play in our band?” “fuck you, no.” “pretty please.” “fine, but I refuse to call it a band.” “well then what do you want to call it -- ” “MURDER.”

why I like it: GONNA MURDER EVERYONE BY PLAYING THE DRUMS!!!! SOMEHOW WE’VE SUCCESSFULLY COMPARTMENTALIZED THIS SCHOOL-SANCTIONED DISPLAY OF PERFORMING ARTS AS A DEATH MATCH. OH TO UNDERSTAND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THIS YOUNG MAN’S MIND.

why I like it: hah?! I love how he has to tilt his neck all the way back every single time he does this. he’s so cute I love him so much.

why I like it: somewhere around this point in the manga Kacchan decided to do away with being handsome and decided to just be a full-time gremlin in every single panel. this persisted for the next 90 chapters or so and he was very dedicated. I’m pretty sure he was going for vulgar and intimidating, but unfortunately for him he’s too inherently adorable and so the end result is just endearing and almost charming in its own way.

why I like it: this was from chapter 194 when Aizawa was announcing that they’d have a special guest for the Joint Training arc, and so Kacchan was all “BOY OH BOY A NEW ASS TO KICK.”

why I like it: more character development! and just look at that confidence! he’s fully recovered from his low point after Kamino and the provisional exam. he knows what he’s about now, and he is THRIVING. and once again you can see how his conviction inspires the people around him and makes them more determined. just, he is going to be such a good number one hero you guys.

why I like it: it’s the three little “!!!” lines hovering in the corner next to his head for me. “oh my god it’s All Might, All Might saw me being cool and Saving To Win and stuff, what’s he gonna say what do I do omg quick act natural.”

why I like it: QUICK HIDE YOUR FEELINGS!! WE CAN’T LET THE NEIGHBORS KNOW WE CARE. fjkdlsjklk

why I like it: this is his expression when he first sees Deku activate Blackwhip for the first time. it’s one of the few unguarded expressions of complete surprise that we’ve gotten from him and I love it thank you.

why I like it: classic asymmetrical HAH face. he truly has perfected this look. look at him, casually clinging to a pole for no reason other than to look dynamic. this boy truly cannot sit or stand or walk or do anything normally. he spent three months working his ass off to catch up to Deku and the others, and now that he finally has he’s filled with so much pent-up energy that he simply cannot hold it back anymore and he’s gotta climb a pole. he’s just gotta.

why I like it: because he is so fucking good at saving people now you guys, he’s like a whole-ass professional and shit, and yet it hasn’t changed who he is one single iota. he will save your life and he will SCREAM AT YOU WHILE DOING IT and you’ll sit there and be grateful goddammit.

why I like it: o noo he was caught unawares. All Might was all “I’m gonna have a dad moment and nobody can stop me” and he walked right up to him and put his hand on his head because he’s All Might and so what is he even gonna do about it. nothing, that’s what. you got played, Kacchan. outmaneuvered and outfoxed. all he can do is stand there and make that grumpy face he makes when he’s receiving unwanted affection (҂⌣̀_⌣́).

why I like it: more unwanted affection. now they’re even feeding him ffs. how could he let this happen. mm chicken.

why I like it: GREATEST ASYMETRICAL HAH?! FACE OF ALL TIME. out of all the people to befriend him against his will, Todoroki is by far the most confusing to him and it’s just so great.

why I like it: this is when Hawks is staring at him in chapter 244 because he fake-killed his mentor and stuff and he feels sorta guilty about it. but meanwhile Kacchan just thinks he’s trying to start some shit, and so he’s all “I WAS FASTER THAN YOU BACK THERE YOU KNOW” and Hawks is all “hahaha okay little buddy you just keep telling yourself that”, because as previously discussed Kacchan is too adorable to ever be intimidating.

why I like it: this is from 246 when he’s in the middle of arguing with Burnin’ and all of a sudden Endeavor calls to him and he’s just like o shit what’d I do.

why I like it: because Endeavor’s mentoring them and shit and he’s just casually sitting there eating his lunch like yeah. with his lil hamster cheeks lulz.

why I like it: the look that instantly became iconic. this panel cured me of the misconception that Bakugou “goes to bed at 8:30pm” Katsuki was a morning person. the truth is he loathes all times of the day equally.

why I like it: this one is a team effort because Deku’s faces are equally as good. I’m genuinely shocked that this family dinner with the Todorokis didn’t prematurely unlock Danger Sense. you can tell that he and Deku have a silent agreement to call a temporary truce on their rivalry for as long as they sit at this table as outsiders in this strange land. this is by far the most hazardous meal Bakugou has ever experienced, and yet the mapo tofu is too good to go to waste, so he’s just shoveling it down his throat trying to finish as much as possible before shit inevitably hits the fan.

why I like it: Kacchan is New Here so he doesn’t yet realize that if the Todorokis are spilling family secrets, there is always inevitably going to be someone listening in the shadows just outside the door.

why I like it: the battle with Ending was probably peak gremlin!Kacchan. like, we’ve had gremlin before and afterwards, but never quite to this same degree. Horikoshi really decided to push the limits of contorting this child’s face in the strangest ways.

why I like it: peak. gremlin.

why I like it: nothing to see here, just Kacchan quietly realizing after 252 chapters that he MIGHT have been just a BIT of a cartoonishly villainous asshole to Deku back at the beginning there ha ha ha oh god oh fuck.

why I like it: because he found the answer to What It Is That He Lacks, and he’s all cool and calm and infuriatingly secretive about it. it’s such a sudden and stark contrast to the gremlin faces he was making only moments earlier, and it makes this moment hit home that much more.

why I like it: because this is him being friends with Deku!! like for real though!! because he’s fucking around and insulting him and making weird faces and stuff, but it’s because in his mind That’s What Friends Do. they clown on each other and help each other train and shit. half an hour after this they’ll go down to the training gym and play Catch-A-Kacchan, and then he’ll quietly confess to All Might that he wants to atone. he may be a gremlin, but he’s a gremlin with layers goddammit.

why I like it: because this is right after TomurAFO shows up out of nowhere and scares the shit out of him and Deku and makes them see a terrifying death vision and stuff, and you can see how shaken up he is by it. he definitely understands how close they came to dying just then and he’s sobered the fuck up. this is the moment when it really sinks in that shit has gotten real. eight minutes from now he’ll move without thinking and save Deku’s life.

why I like it: hydro homies. nothing restores those electrolytes like good old Raquaius Sports Drink.

why I like it: because this panel was when it started to become clear that the real reason he grabbed this sports drink was to pretend like he was busy so he could act like he wasn’t interested in Deku’s training because god forbid the neighbors know that he actually cares.

why I like it: because the sideways glance!! and the fact that he doesn’t deny it!! in fact he does the opposite of denying it, and he basically starts pouring his heart out about how goddamn worried he actually is. he’s guilty and anxious and restless and this entire conversation is amazing.

why I like it: he looks so goddamn young here. when he finally stops scrunching up his face and putting on his usual tough guy act and for once allows his actual emotions to show on his face instead, the result is so damn striking. for once we got an entire conversation with no gremlin faces, because Horikoshi had to drop them completely in order to show just how serious he is here. which was incredibly effective btw.

why I like it: because he’s basically just fidgeting with the bottle now to avoid making eye contact with All Might because he just revealed a deep dark secret to him and he’s precariously vulnerable right now. that’s the body language of a kid who knows how badly he fucked up, and just wants to hear from someone else if it’s going to be okay, if he can still make it okay. he looks so small here.

why I like it: the worry lines under his eyes. the look of uncertainty and wanting to believe that what All Might says is true (“you’ll get a chance to talk eventually”). the hesitance to turn back and look at him, and the way he doesn’t dare until he finally gets that small bit of reassurance. All Might isn’t judging him. All Might understands him and understands where he’s coming from, and he’s giving him his blessing. he’s giving him a thumbs up and reassuring him that he sees the change in him and sees that he’s sincerely trying, and basically saying that he has faith that he and Deku will be able to work it out. and you can see that it means a lot.

why I like it: because this kid spent his entire internship with Jeanist doing nothing but bitching nonstop, and then later on when Jeanist went missing he was all tight-lipped about it because once again NOBODY CAN KNOW THAT WE CARE GODDAMMIT, and it was all very Classic Bakugou. but then Jeanist finally shows up again at Jakku, and we get this little moment of happy, smirky FUCK YEAH, I KNEW YOU WEREN’T DEAD YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, and it’s just the best.

why I like it: HE’S SO UNABASHEDLY PROUD GOD BLESS HIM.

why I like it: because he nearly died and then he woke up here in the hospital two days later not knowing where anybody else is or whether they’re even still alive, and this, my friends. this is finally the moment. the moment where he was all FUCK IT, MAYBE WE CAN LET THE NEIGHBORS KNOW WE CARE AFTER ALL. character fucking development. you love to see it.

BONUS:

WHAT HAVE I BECOME, MY SWEETEST FRIEND. EVERYONE I KNOW GOES AWAY IN THE END.

happy birthday Katsuki. feel better sweetie. HORIKOSHI YOU BETTER TREAT HIM RIGHT I AM COUNTING ON YOU.

[hannie-dul-set]

PAIRING. huang renjun x fem! reader. GENRE. high school! au, suggestive. WARNINGS. attempted murder, mentions of blood and self injury, veryy descriptive kissing, mc has a few screws lost, swearing, depictions of unstable behavior. WORD COUNT. 1.8k GENRAL TAGLIST. @danishmiilk @wownajaemin @leejunini @astroboy-lele @unknown5tar @yunoyeol @w0nni3wrld @charm-art @bat-shark-repellant @keemburley @deliciouslyyellow​ (pls dm me to be added/removed!)

NOTE. ah yes, the only two genres: murder and making out. inspired by the dream i mentioned earlier. different events, but same vibe HAHA. disclaimer that no matter how much you hate your academic rival, never ever turn to attempted murder! thank you and enjoy

huang renjun— with all his picture perfect smiles, prim and proper tucked in shirts, a pretty face enough to have you on your knees, and with a perfect gpa to top it all off— was someone you wanted.

wanted six feet under the ground.

“hey, congrats!”

speak of the fucking devil.

“you always do really well,” huang renjun towers over you in front of your desk as you sit down. you look up from the wrinkled certificate that have the abhorrent words second honorable mention printed on it's scented surface, only to face his fucking face instead. he beams at you with a smile. you feel convulsions wringing inside your throat. “congratulations again.”

you don't miss the first honor certificate tucked between his books in a measly attempt of concealment. it takes everything in your power to force out something of a smile.

“thanks. you too.”

with that, he quickly scurries away into his seat next to yours with red ears.

your first period teacher enters, beginning class with a greeting, but your mind is elsewhere.

it’s only midterms, you breathe out through your nose, hugging your arms above your desk while sketching out a study plan for the rest of the semester in your head. there’s enough time before graduation. the hold you had on yourself gradually becomes tighter.

still, you know that even if you worked yourself day and night until you bled cold and crimson, huang renjun would still be one step ahead. you bite down your lip, peeling off the dry skin with a sourness writhing in your gut, digging your fingers deeper into your arms. if only he were gone. you leer at the boy diligently taking his notes beside you. if only he were gone gone gone gone—

your eyes widen, ignoring the blood staining your nails.

if only he were gone.

after class, you walk up to his desk and asked if he wanted to work on the physics homework at his place tomorrow. he says yes with starry eyes in a heartbeat.

the next day, renjun couldn’t wait for the final bell to ring. you, too, couldn’t remain in your seat— albeit for a different reason. so when the ringing occurs, the both of you don’t waste a second in finally heading out of the campus.

it’s a silent walk to his place, a standard suburban neighborhood, the sky slowly turning orange in the background. every time you turn your head to look at him, he looks back with a small smile, and you can’t help your hands from twitching at your sides.

renjun unlocks the door and meekly welcomed you inside.

“you can leave your shoes here,” he says, digging his keys into the back pocket of his school slacks with dangling noises. you look at him, smiling, and with a soft hum you leave your school shoes next to his, trailing behind him into the living room.

looking around, you ask him. “are your parents home?” there was an opening that leads to the kitchen, glass doors showing the backyard. the stairs that lead to the second floor are made of sleek, dark oak. it’s a modern interior. they have a fireplace inside.

“no,” he breathes out, wetting his dry throat with a swallow before turning back to face you. “they’re out on business. i don’t think they’ll be home until the weekend.”

the both of you stop right in front of the staircase.

“i see.”

he quickly muffles a cough and leads you up to his room.

the inside of renjun’s room is neat— organized books on the shelf and sheets neatly pressed. There’s a set of candles beside his bed. you hold back a scoff. as expected from the top student.

your eyes flit over from the window above his bed to look at him, instead.

“you don’t have to be so nervous around me, you know,” you muse, dropping down your bag to join him on the floor. worksheets littered with numbers and constants, gravity and acceleration, all scatter on the floor. they blow with the wind knowing that they wouldn’t even be filled in, anyway.

“sorry,” renjun sputters out, loosening his striped necktie with two fingers. his vision is kept trained on the wall behind you. “i’m not— i’m not doing it on purpose.”

you adjust your legs on the floor, skirt riding. “is there a reason?”

“a reason?” he gulped.

“why you can’t look me in the eye.”

renjun thinks he sees the corners of your lips twitching upwards.

“i’ll— i’ll go open the window, it’s a little hot in here, isn’t it?” scrambling to his feet, his knees sink into the navy sheets of his bed, reaching for the window in a nervous flurry to let the air in. “the news said that the temperature’s slowly gonna start rising but i didn’t think it would be—”

he bumps into you when he turned back.

there’s a click from behind him.

the wind stopped coming in.

“it’s not really that hot.”

the way your breath fanned against his lips makes his head spin in circles.

you have an arm out against the glass, your sleeve’s fabric grazing his tempered cheek when you went to shut the window down. renjun feels a ghost in the air where there’s a space in between you. “i— i guess you’re right,” he says, clearing his throat. “i never expected that you’d ask to work together.”

there’s syrup at the end of your sentence. “you seemed pretty happy when i did, though.”

he isn’t sure if it’s just him or if you’re slowly getting closer. “well, that’s— that’s because i—”

“you don’t have to say it.”

your voice digs deep into his bones like chains of velvet. he can feel your chest pressing against him now, crushing the sense of rationality that he was bestowed with from birth and is replaced with a warm lush of rabid, violent waters gushing into bit of him stomach,

it comes off a whisper yet it sends him reeling.

“i know.”

renjun swallows. hard. but he’s afraid you’d hear the manifestations of a tempered restlessness that had managed to crawl its way up to the tips of his fingers— which found themselves resting onto the curve of your back. stray strands of his swair sweeps above his eyes, obscuring the closeness of your face, and he wants to ask how. how did you know that he likes you.

he never got to.

the question doesn’t even get to resurface after the first hit of your cherry flavored chapstick, his bottom lip caught in between yours, teeth grinding against the plush, pink skin. the second hit has his decorum slowly peeling away from his skin when his tongue traces over yours in a hot mess of delirium, when you settle between his legs, a coarse groan vibrating in his throat. the third has him forgetting his own name.

his eyes are hazy when you pull back with a rough smacking of the mouth. with a short-winded voice, you ask him.

“do you mind if i make a call?”

renjun looks at you in a fit of breathlessness.

an airy laugh leaves your lips that he can’t stop staring at. you press a kiss on his nose. “my parents need to know that i won’t be going home tonight.”

dazed, he answers. “y-yeah, sure.”

he blinks a few times before letting you go.

“take your time.”

you send him a smile before fishing your backpack from the floor and leaving the room.

just like that, a switch was flipped.

upon closing the door, you quickly twist the knob, locking it with the keys that you’d snatched from him earlier. it’s convenient that he has each one labelled— a belated thank you to your school’s ever organized golden boy who never fails to make you sick in the stomach.

at each wall you pass, you make sure to seal the windows shut and have all the doors closed. the contents of your bag make steady pangs against your back as you shuttled down the stairs. you lock the back door shut, close all the windows, turn on all the lights, and throw a match into their fireplace, waiting for the fire to come to full bloom. all that’s left is the kitchen.

there’s no time wasted in turning everything on— the microwave, oven, and the stove until you can't crank them any further. embers fly into the air. it’s getting hotter. you duck down to the compartment under the stove to reveal a white painted propane tank, taking out a cordless soldering iron to seal the safety relief valve close. you place a rag over the opening valve and twist it halfway through. a hissing sound whizzes through the air.

with that, you leave through the front door, locking it for good measure. his keys disappear into the bush nearest to their porch.

it’s only a matter of time until huang renjun ceases to be a pest anymore. if not for good, then at least lethally injured.

you head home to finish your physics worksheets that were due tomorrow.

for the first time in god knows how long, you wake up and head to school with a well rested air.

you take your things out of your backpack, humming a soft tune right before the bell rings for your first class. your other seatmate— donghyuck— notices your unusual cheery demeanor, and inquires about its oddities. you simply answer him with an allusion to finally being free. he laughs it off and turns his head to the chalkboard.

five minutes before eight. the doors creak open. you’re ready to stand and greet your teacher until you realize that it isn’t her.

it’s not.

it’s not.

it’s not.

something nauseating knocks into your lungs and stifles your throat, eyes wide and stinging. it squeezes your neck with poison prickling the surface.

huang renjun enters the classroom with his usual nods and smiles to everyone he passes.

“holy shit, dude. you look like hell.”

“i didn’t get any sleep last night,” he laughs, lightheartedly. “guess i’ll have to sleep through recess.”

your teeth grind against your lips, supple skin turning redder at each nip. your nails leave scratches on the desk as you rattle in your seat, thinking, thinking, panicking. each breath feels like choking on pulverized copper in sulfuric air. there’s a ringing in your ears and you hear nothing except your own voice screaming why is he here why is he here why is he here?

he doesn’t go to his desk. he’s standing right in front of you.

“you look well.”

it sears your fingerprints off your skin.

you don’t answer, don’t even look at him. he breaks into a small smile and leans forward, one hand pressed against your desk and the other reaching for a lock of your hair as he nears and nears and nears. “there’s something here,” he says.

there isn’t.

“you left my window unlocked, baby.”

his hot breath hits your cold cheek, tucking a strand behind with a smile. to everyone else, it would look sweet— heart fluttering. to you it was a death sentence. renjun breathes out a contained chuckle into your ear before letting his hand fall on your shoulder, a tight grip at the last second.

“better luck next time.”

© HANNIE-DUL-SET. 2021.

[miekasa]

mie!! i’m so late to the party but i absolutely loved ‘NICE’, it made me feel so warm and fuzzy <33 it’s so unique to its own and the flow of it is beyond wonderful!

what is married life like for oc and eren in ‘NICE’? is it just like before/do you have any nice!husband!eren headcanons?

AHH I’m so happy you liked it and that you took the time to come and tell me!! Married life for them... doesn’t really differ from what their lives looked like before actually hehe. They were basically married without knowing it 🙄🙄 idiots to lovers or something like that; but here are a few head canons of the months immediately following NICE!

You officially got married in Paris on the fourth, not too long after Carla’s wedding. You guys flew in some officials, checked through all the technicalities, and signed the papers right on top of the Eiffel Tower (access granted by the city of Paris upon request of one Carla Jaeger, of course). 

Aside from having the most picturesque location in the world to sign your marriage certificate, there wasn’t anything lavish in celebration after that. Carla’s wedding was just three days earlier, after all, and was still the talk of the local press. You did have a small party with your friends (Jean, Armin, Mikasa, Marco, Erwin, Levi, Hange came from the Alps for Carla’s wedding) in your overly large hotel room. Just some music, room service, and lots and lots of champagne.

Eren extended your winter break vacation by two weeks for an impromptu honeymoon to the Bahamas before you went home. Let’s just say you did not leave the safe haven of your hotel room very often, except to dip into the ocean a few nights (benefits of a private beach).

After getting married, the rings swapped places; the band with diamonds previously on your pointer finger was put on a chain (a new one since Eren threw the other one on the ground 💀), and you now wear the engagement ring on your ring finger.

Eren doesn’t like it when you take off the ring (the ring being the engagement ring). The first time you were going into the water, you were going to put it on the chain for safekeeping, but he protested very strongly. He would rather it rest safely in your suitcase than go around your neck again.

Your wedding bands are actually very similar to the band you already have: gold and diamond encrusted. Eren’s, however, has an emerald in the center, like the two emeralds that serve as the pistils of the sunflowers in your engagement ring (for reference, that ring looks something like this, but with a gold band). The bands were the first thing Eren bought when you guys got home.

Your friends in Dubai (Ymir, Reiner, Annie, Connie, Sasha) had no idea that you and Eren got married over winter break. Safe to say they were all… very surprised to hear the news. Connie was a little bit bitter because he missed it, and wolf whistles every time he sees your ring (even though he’s seen it before because you wore it on the necklace every day).

You got married in January, but have an official wedding in the process of being planned sometime around late summer/early fall. Carla insisted that you guys have a wedding despite already being married, and Eren agreed whole heartedly. They are both very into planning it, and yes, Eren is somewhat of a bridezilla, and his mom is enabling him 100% please.

The night you signed the wedding papers, Carla lent you an off-white satin couture gown from one of her past collections. She is designing and making your official wedding dress by hand, with the help of Mikasa.

The two of them are also making Eren’s suit, and all the outfits for your wedding party. Carla will murder you if you even so much as hint at just buying other suits/dresses. This is her baby’s wedding, and she runs one of the most renowned fashion houses of the modern century; she’ll be damned if you guys wear something off the rack.

You considered a destination wedding, but settled on having it in New York. You haven’t decided a location yet, and it’s the one thing Eren isn’t actually picky about (because you know he’s gonna go ham on the decor no matter where it is bye).

Jean doesn’t know it yet, but he’s your maid of honor. Good luck and best of wishes to Eren picking between Mikasa and Armin for best man.

Even before confessing and getting married, Eren never slept much in his own bedroom. You both have California king sized beds in your rooms, and more often than not, Eren would sleep with you in your bed. You didn’t always cuddle, but he just liked to be there (for your presence, and because he was grossly in love bye)… you ended up cuddling a lot of the time tho.

He wants to renovate your apartment now that you both “officially” live in the same bedroom, even though it’s not necessary. He just likes renovating things.

You guys go to dinner every weekend, and sometimes you even go dancing. Eren still can’t dance and he doesn’t actually care to learn; it just reminds him of being in Nice with you.

He kisses your ring finger every morning waking up and every night before going to bed; sometimes he even does it subconsciously in his sleep.

He holds your hand way more often. Not just because you guys are together now, but because he likes seeing the ring where it’s meant to be. He also notices that it helps to curb your anxiety, which is a good bonus.

Eren wants kids, but he hasn’t really brought it up yet. He knows you both are fairly young, and that you’re still technically in school, but that’s not really a deterrent for him.

The only reason he’s waiting to say something is because you guys have a lot going on with wedding planning and settling in to “married life”—there’s a lot of tedious paperwork to be done and documents to update. He’ll bring it up next year when all that is settled.

On the subject of school, you are still attending university, but have been eligible for graduation for a year now. You had enough credits to graduate last (the year before NICE) December, but there were a few more classes you wanted to take out of interest that hadn’t been running in past years, so you stayed for all four years. Eren picks you up from your lectures.

Eren graduated in December before you guys went on vacation. By normal standards, that’s a semester early. However, he was supposed to be in this Honors Arts and Sciences program, that should have taken him another two semesters. He decided it wasn’t worth it, and dropped the honors part, and with that, had enough credits to graduate, so he did.

A college degree is really more of an accessory for him anyway, and school was never his thing. He’s decently smart, sure, but he never enjoyed school because of the emphasis on exams; he’s more of a creative person, a dreamer if you will. The only reason he even went to Columbia was because you decided to go there. 

He and you both have enough money to live more than comfortably if neither of you decided to get a job after graduation… way more than enough/ But Eren isn’t doing nothing; he’s actually sorta been working his way into the world of professional interior design, and he really loves it. You’re proud of him, and more than anything, happy that he decided to go for something he loves.

Armin and Jean also graduated a semester early. Armin’s been living with Mikasa since Connie got his own place off-campus in January. Jean is a little upset blondie is living with his girlfriend before he is, but it’s whatever 🙄if it’s gonna be anyone, at least it’s Armin. 

Carla mentioned that Eren got married sometime during a NYFW interview (along with talking about her own recent marriage), and since then you both have interviewed for two magazines, one of which featured pictures from your smaller party in Paris. You’ve gotten requests from Vanity Fair and Vogue about your bigger wedding later in the year, but you guys haven’t invited any media officials as of yet.

You and Eren attend the MET Gala almost every year. You don’t walk the red carpet and nobody is scrambling to take your pictures; but you have passes because of Carla. Also, you could just buy your way in if you wanted you (and your friends have in the past). This year, Eren had to pay two security officers $10k in bribes because you two snuck away to fuck in… a part of the museum not sectioned off for the event. Whoopsies.

Even before Eren got him arrested, going out to brunch was kind of your and Armin’s thing. Eren insists he should be invited now that he’s your husband. He is not. (His bitterness grows when he learns that Jean has secured himself an invite somehow).

Eren sold the car he got arrested for drag racing in. He never told you why—and as far as transportation goes, it wasn’t a big deal because you guys have other cars—but, to him, it was a kind of symbol. He thinks it’s dumb if he thinks too long about it, but he just didn’t wanna have that there are a reminder of how he’d hurt you and his mom.

Jean still drives you to your therapy appointments, but now Eren picks you up. Eren also goes to therapy himself, and has been before you guys got married; his therapist says he’s undoubtedly happier in recent sessions… like a weight’s been lifted off his shoulder.

As far as drugs go, there’s, of course, weed on a happy occasion, or at a party; but he hasn’t touched coke since that one time (which was also the first time he’d ever done it). That’s not even him being a changed man, he just didn’t like it—he only argued with you about it because he was being stubborn. He’s more of a drinker than anything, and absolutely loves to get you drunk on a special occasion, too; he always has. He thinks you look cute, and he likes taking care of you.

You have lived in that apartment with Eren for years before marrying him, yet he insisted you needed to christen the place like it was brand new… at this point, the only places you haven’t fucked in are the elevator itself, the foyer, the storage closet, and the pool. The latter only because it’s been too cold in NYC… trust and believe pool sex is coming lmfao.

Eren bought the apartment and renovated and designed it, but he never did like being in it all alone, and that’s been magnified since you got married. If he’s there by himself, he’s usually in the living area, napping on the daybed. He waits for your faithfully every day, and is hardly in the bedroom if you’re not.

Eren has not stopped introducing you as his wife since January. Even to people in passing like cashiers and bartenders, everyone in the whole damn city probably knows you guys got hitched.

[my-pink-yandere]

❤Obsession❤

Prompt: Yandere Bakugou, Midoriya, and Todoroki (separately) has a crush on Y/N...who is actually obsessed over a fictional character.

C/N: Character Name

Warnings: Yandere Tendencies, Swearing, Also this is sorta long cause I wrote a lot ;-; 

💥Katsuki Bakugou💥

❥ This boy is angered when he finds out about this

❥ Like wow he’s super pissed

❥ If you’re unfortunate enough to ever have a Yandere Bakugou take a liking to you, when he realizes that you’re obsessing over someone who isn't him, a fictional character nonetheless, he’s... well...

❥ “Very upset” would be an understatement

❥ He sees that as basically losing to a person who doesn’t even exist

❥ The chaos begins when he’s in the middle of his daily routine of admiring staring at you from afar, and when you stand up with one of your friends and begin walking out of the cafeteria, he hears a few... interesting statements escape your mouth as you pass him by

❥ “I can’t believe you actually like them, Y/N! You’re totally hopeless when it comes to love, huh?” His head was tilted your way, seeing your friend looking disappointed and you looking flustered. “It’s not my fault they're so perfect!” you answered, practically radiating embarrassment. He smirked, assuming you were talking about him. I mean, who else would you get so worked u about>

❥ “Besides, I’m not the only one who simps for C/N! So shh-”

❥ ...

❥ All that’s going through Bakugou’s head right now is why that name wasn't his

❥ He’s gone eerily still, and all of his friends sort of stop and look at him

❥ “Bakubro? You good-”

❥ Bakusquad is going to have to hold Katsuki back from blowing up the entire cafeteria

❥ This b*tch only sees red rn

❥ ‘WHO’S THE PERSON YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT AND WHERE CAN I FIND THEM SO I CAN BREAK THEIR F*CKING KNEECAPS’

❥ he got murder on his mind :0

❥ Despite how angered Bakugou is, he’s not a complete dumbass, believe it or not

❥ He’s not going to confront you about it, at least not right now.

❥ Once he calms tf down, he’ll come to his senses and have his top priority being to get rid the competition first, meaning he has to hunt down whoever C/N is and delete them from existence

❥ When he learns that C/N is actually a fictional character from some anime tbh he just feels extra insulted

❥ You chose a f*cking fictional character over him >:(

❥ It’s now where he begins to get even angrier when he realizes how easy it should’ve been for him to notice sooner. All the stickers on your school supplies, the pins on your bags, how you’d sometimes sneak in their merchandise to show off to your friends at lunch

❥ It was when he overheard you possibly owning a body pillow where he went feral

❥ Will go out of his way to steal your shit and burn all of your merchandise of C/N, or anything that would remind you of the character

❥ He’d catch you when you were alone, and would shove you off your feet as he’d grab your bag and roughly go through it, angrily tearing off the stickers on your notebooks and pins off your bag as your crying and screaming at him to stop

❥ At this point he doesn’t care about how you feel about this at all. It’s never even crossed his mind (blind rage)

❥ His plan is to pluck C/N out of your life, replacing all your thoughts of them with just him, so you’re only thinking of him

❥ It doesn't matter to him if they're good thoughts or bad thoughts

❥ All that matters is that you’re thinking of him

❥ Only him.

In a nutshell, he’s gonna steal all of your items that have any reference to C/N and get rid of it all. He doesn't care how much he’s hurting you by doing this, he’ll concern himself with your feelings later. He’s going to hang around you more despite your protests for him to just leave you alone, quite literally forcing his way into your life so that he infests himself into your brain and become the only thing you think about, so that you can truly understand how he feels about you.

💚Izuku Midoriya💚

❥ Bold of you to assume he doesn't already know about this “obsession” of yours

❥ This child takes notes on EVERYTHING and ANYTHING related to you, so he obviously knew about your love for this certain fictional character

❥ At first glance, he believes your obsession with C/N is similar to him with All Might- just an innocent but deep admiration for them

❥ He’ll buy you their merchandise and gift it to you at school (accompanied by some flowers and sweet little cards of course ❤)

❥ He was nervous to do this at first, his crush on you rendering him a stuttering, blushing mess whenever you so much as glanced his way, but he pushed through his anxiety just to see your cute smile and feel your warm hug when he gives you those gifts

❥ He cherishes those moments more than anything, to see you so happy

❥ (Especially because  it was him to make you so excited! Not Kirishima or Uraraka... him)

❥ He’ll binge the entire show as fast as he can and memorize everything he deems as important just so he can chat with you about it at school

❥ “Isn’t C/N so cool?” he asked you, and you had quickly turned to him with a surprised and then starry gaze. “Izuku, you like them too?!”

❥ You were both on a first name basis now ;D (You even gave him a little nickname: ‘Zuku. Let’s just say he was a bit more than ecstatic when you began referring to him in such an informal way. You must really like him! ❤)

❥ And Midoriya, being the delusional little yandere he is, sees this as you both basically dating

❥ You both hang out everyday at school, discussing the show and characters, who your favorites were, how the plot was going, etc.

❥ You see him as one of your closest friends now, and eventually you trust him enough to bring him to your house to chill without your family home ;0

❥ The thing was, Midoriya noticed how you would never invite anyone from school to your house, always brushing it off and just saying how your parents would get angry or how dirty your room was

❥ This was the first time you’d ever invited anyone from U.A. over to your house

❥ His thoughts were running wild as you both walked home together: ‘What’s Y/N’s house like? Will their parents be home? Why have they avoided anyone coming over until now? Have they only invited me because we’re dating? Are... are we going to kiss?????’

❥ (For clarification, even with the dorms in place, over the weekend you like to hang out at home where you’re more comfortable)

❥ “We can re-watch some of the episodes for awhile. I think I also have some snacks...” you grinned, and he memorized every detail of your house as you both made your way to your room

❥ He was greeted with a room filled entirely with C/N merchandise, but caught his attention the quickest was your bed

❥ You had a body pillow of C/N

❥ Now Midoriya, like I said before, is a very delusional yandere

❥ He has excuses for literally everything you do. You love him just as much as he loves you after all!

❥ But this

❥ This he cannot ignore

❥ He was just staring at the pillow with a blank face as his eye twitched

❥ “’Zuku? What's wrong?”

❥ “Hmm?” he hummed, turning towards you. “Oh, nothing! It’s just, um, your pillow...”

❥ You felt your face catch on fire as you moved to block his view as you tried to quickly shove it under your bed. “UHM, HAHA SORRY ‘BOUT THAT I FORGOT IT WAS THERE-”

❥ Midoriya was quiet as he watched you struggle at hiding the pillow

❥ He was thinking

❥ He loved All Might a lot, but he’d never buy a body pillow of him

❥ What type of love did you have for C/N?

❥ “Hey Y/N?” You turned to look at him, but the moment your eyes met you felt a shiver run down your back. Izuku was smiling at you, but his whole vibe was different...

❥ ‘Was he angry?’

❥ “Why don’t we watch a different series today?”

In a nutshell, he’d go along with your character obsession up until you cross the line, and that would be either him finding out about you reading fan fiction of C/N, a body pillow of them, or some... questionable fan art you have of them saved on your phone. Then he’d do anything in his power to distance you from that show, hiding your merchandise and distracting you with more hero-related hobbies, like geeking over pro heroes or training. Just please stop simping over C/N. You’re making the smol boi jealous of a fictional character :( Why can’t you just pay attention to him a bit more?

❄️Shoto Todoroki🔥

❥ Tbh he doesn't really acknowledge your love for this certain character for awhile

❥ All he focuses on is that you look really happy and cute when you talk about this show

❥ That’s all that really matters to him 😊

❥ Similar to Izuku, he’ll buy you all of their merchandise just to see you all adorable and excited

❥ And Todoroki is a rich boi so that’s a plus

❥ Will probably buy u all the expensive merchandise and you’ll just be 🥺️💞💞💞

❥ The only reason he never really gets angry is because he doesn't understand what's so terrible about your little obsession with the show/character

❥ He just sees it as a little hobby of yours that you’re really passionate about

❥ Despite his cold demeanor, Shoto is always trying his best to support anything you do

❥ While he can get very intense as a yandere, we gotta remember this is Shoto we’re talking about

❥ He probably has no clue what simping even is

❥ He only gets bothered when you own a body pillow or compliment C/N looks too much (he doesn’t appreciate you getting so worked up over someone who isn’t him... even though you both aren’t technically dating)

❥ But he wont flip out like Midoriya or Bakugou

❥ If you both are on the couch at the dorms and you're just going on and on about C/N he’d prob just like-

❥ Reach over and grab your hand and just state how cute you are

❥ He’s a bit of an idiot when it comes to flirting, but he notices that whenever he touches you in an affectionate way you sort of freeze up and forget what you're talking about for a few seconds

❥ Because of how supportive Shoto’s been you sorta developed feelings as well 

❥ Cause I mean who wouldn't ;)

❥ He becomes your close supportive weeb friend :D (even if he doesn’t completely understand what a weeb is...) 

❥ But Todoroki doesn't like that title that much

❥ But he’ll take it slow because he loves you and wants you to love him back :)

❥ “I like it when you smile like that, Y/N.”

In a nutshell, Yandere Todoroki is prob the calmest of the three. He doesn't understand how simping works and the idea of you passionately loving a fictional character more than him has never crossed his mind. But he uses your love of the show to get closer to you. Closer and closer and closer-

Until maybe he can just be the one to make you smile, and not just that character from the show :)

[possiblyimbiassed]

The lying liars who lie

Years and years late to the party, I’ve finally gotten my hands on all the DVDs of BBC Sherlock, and I thought it would be fun to watch the extra material carefully, one piece after another, and also listen to at least some of the show makers’ commentary of the episodes. But at this point, after S4 where DVDs seemed to be a constant lying device in general, I tend to look at them with a bit more suspicious eyes...

I still love the show of course, but now that I’ve taken this deep dive into all the special features, I find them a truly hard thing to try to wrap my head around. Even this long after the fact, I’m amazed by the amount of shameless, self-congratulatory BS in the DVDs, where the people involved can’t have enough of complimenting each other and their show, while they skillfully avoid to discuss anything actually meaningful about the plot line. ;) For example, Moffat claims in the S2 DVD that “In fact, you’ll never see a more obsessively authentic version of Sherlock Holmes than this one”. But if we follow their light-hearted commentary, which basically takes the show at face value, I’d call that not just hyperbole, but an outright lie. If you want to see the ‘authentic’ stories from ACD’s work in this show, you’ll definitely need to go much deeper into the subtext and meta levels - neither of which are mentioned on these DVDs of course. Here’s my own (rather subjective) ‘review’ of the whole thing, trying to pinpoint why I view most of the commentary of the show from its own makers as an advanced art of deception. 

(My musings under the cut)

Series 1 - a wealth of extra material

First of all - as many of you probably knew already - the whole of the Unaired Pilot is added to the DVD of S1. In the extra material about the making of the series, they (Sue Vertue, Mofftiss and others) talk about what things they changed between the Pilot and ASiP, claiming that many changes were necessary improvements once they knew that they had a whole series and a lot more time at their disposal. 

Which I can perfectly understand and agree with in general. But I think what’s missing in their discussions is more interesting than what’s actually there (”Mind the gap” ;) ). Things that I would expect from the show makers when they go to the trouble of comparing the pilot version with the aired product. There’s not a word, for example, about the fact that they added both Mycroft and Moriarty to the story in ASiP - two characters who later turn out to play major roles and appear in almost every other episode until the end of TFP. Or about the choice that one of the screenwriters would play Mycroft. 

Neither do they discuss why they chose to relocate the place where Sherlock was challenged by the cabbie from 221B to Roland Kerr’s School of Further Education. Instead they focus on the details, like for example the new design of the interior of 221B.

Not to mention the fact that almost every scene in the Pilot is mirrored in ASiP (as pointed out long ago by @kateis-cakeis X), but at Angelo’s in the Pilot Sherlock follows the events with the cabbie while looking in an actual mirror. I even noticed that in the Pilot the cabbie is offering Sherlock dark-coloured bottles with the pills in them, while in ASiP those bottles are transparent, as if the cabbie is offering Sherlock to play Black or White in the chess game that he is simulating. What’s with all these mirrors, though? Not a word on the DVD... ;)

Now, even though these rather remarkable choices are neglected together with a great bunch of minor ones, I still think that the most interesting fact about all this is that they actually included the whole pilot version within this DVD, which is sold by the franchise. Why even do this, when it raises far more questions than it answers? The only logical reason I can come up with is that they’re laying out a track of little hints that anyone with a deep enough interest in the show to actually buy the DVDs can try to follow. And it seems to me that lying by omission is one of the first steps in the long line of cryptic and misleading author comments on this show. But at the same time, they clearly want the fans to have access to it all, even the abandoned version.

Moving on to Series 2, time for bigger lies 

In the extra material of this DVD Benedict himself describes how his character "faces one of his deadliest enemies in the shape of Love, and it comes in the form of Irene Adler, who is this extraordinary dominatrix [insert here a bunch of superlatives regarding Adler]...”. And then we see how Adler whips Sherlock with a riding crop (without any kind of consent, I have to add) while he’s lying on the floor, and we have Lara Pulver telling us how it was to have a go at Benedict on set. So Holmes whips dead bodies and Adler whips living; seems like a match made in hell! :))

Gatiss claims, grinning with his whole face, that “they’re clearly, absolutely made for each other”. OK, so I think we can see Sherlock being intellectually impressed by Adler, and even trying to protect her from Mycroft, and we can see John acting jealously. We can also see her being dressed and styled as a perfect, female mirror of Sherlock. But I’m still at a loss what all this has to do with love on Sherlock’s part? Especially since he’s not even responding in any fashion to her various attempts at seducing him. 

And there’s more: Paul McGuigan, the director of ASiB, claims that the scene where Sherlock has a conversation with Adler inside his Mind Palace about the crime case with the car that backfires "is a part of a kind of love story, if you like...” No, I don’t. Maybe it’s just me, but if their aim really was to convey to their audience a love story between Sherlock and The Woman, I think they failed miserably. All I see is a guy ’mansplaining’ to a clever woman how to use her brain, while she’s trying to flirt with him by expressing her admiration (to no avail, though) and make deductions at the same time. Nothing new under the sun, really. John did the same thing repeatedly in ASiP (without making own deductions) and got far more attention from Sherlock, but I’ve never heard any of the show makers call that ”a love story”. But by ’lie-splaining’ the scene with Irene to the audience, they try to manipulate us all to see it as such...

In all the direct commentary of this episode, where Steven, Mark, Sue, Benedict and Lara are present, I get the impression that every time they even touch on the relationship between Sherlock and John, they hurry to add the term “friendship” or “man love” or similar words in case they forgot them at first, avoiding even the tiniest possibility that there could be anything more going on between them. They even explain that when Irene calls them “a couple” she does not mean anything romantic. This whole approach feels almost paranoic in the midst of all the laid-back jokes and light-hearted talk about the filming. It’s as if a sort of restrictive, heteronormative filter or blanket is being constantly applied, to teach the audience the ‘no homo’ lesson of it all. And the more I listen to this, the more tiresome it becomes.

In the commentary Moffat does reveal an interesting detail, though: that the ‘Flight of the Dead’ in ASiB was inspired by a cut out scene in the Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. To me this is just one more reason to question the ‘authentic’ quality of this scene, as opposed to possibly taking place in Sherlock’s Mind Palace. But I digress... 

Listening to the commentary in general, it’s like it’s aimed to distract the attention from what’s going on at the screen rather than highlight it and try to explain their intentions. They do mention that Irene didn’t actually ‘beat’ Sherlock in the end of ASiB, but there’s no explanation of this obvious deviation from canon, where Adler does indeed fool Holmes, taking advantage of his prejudices.

The rest of the extra material of S2 is mostly about technical stuff, special effects and such, and also about filming techniques and Benedict’s delivery of fast deductions. But the part I really do love is the one where Andrew Scott talks about how much he enjoyed playing the scene where Moriarty dances before breaking into the Crown Jewels. That’s one of my favorite scenes of he whole show. :) Also, the takeaway message from this DVD is Moffat’s words at the end: 

“These are still the formative years of Sherlock Holmes, and the most important thing about this series is not that it’s updated; it’s the fact that those two men are still young and they’re still at the beginning of what they don’t yet know is gonna be a lifelong partnership”. 

And then comes Series 3... 

...and its extra material, with the most blatant attempts at deception so far, I believe. At this point Sherlock is called a “psychopath” by both the show’s characters, John’s blog, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as if it were true, which is a big deviation from ACD canon. That simply doesn’t happen there; while Holmes is sometimes described as eccentric, no one in the books is ever claiming that Sherlock Holmes has some kind of mental illness leaning towards cruelty and egotism - not even his enemies say this about him. In the show, however, they begin in ASiP with making him torture a dying man for information (something that is not included in the Pilot). And in S3, where they avoid discussing the reason why they turned Mary Morstan into a ruthless assassin, this major shift is glossed over by the fact that in the same episode (HLV) they also turn Sherlock into a murderer, who cold-bloodedly blows the brains out of a blackmailer for threatening to make said assassin’s crimes public. 

But without ever getting into the “why” of it all, the cast and crew seem overly happy and smiling describing these rather morbid choices as something positive; “fantastic”, "fresh and new” and "amazing” are their choice of words. Benedict claims that Mary, who has literally shot and almost killed Sherlock in HLV, is now "a new best friend of Sherlock’s”. Amanda claims that Mary “is protecting John” when she shoots Sherlock in the chest. Now they’re both psychopaths, and poor little John is forced to stomach them both because he’s addicted to danger. In Amanda’s words, Mary also “kind of gets in between the two of them, but she wants them to be together as well”.  Which is a load of BS considering that Mary tries to kill the protagonist of the story.

Lars Mikkelsen thinks it’s “such a good script” because “you’re mislead as an audience”. But he never gets the chance to expand on what the misleading actually contains, because then Mofftiss cut in to express how much they love playing with “what ifs”. As if this whole mega-budget project of a show were just a big experimental playground without any actual story to tell. 

Benedict repeats his line from HLV that Magnussen “preys on people who are different” and Moffat also says he “exploits people who are different”. Which is really confusing, considering what we can see Magnussen actually do in the show. Lady Smallwood and John Garvie are two well-established, powerful governmental politicians whom Magnussen blackmails by finding their respective pressure points. In Garvie’s case his pressure point seems to be alcohol problems in his past, but according to media he’s later arrested on charges of corruption. Lady Smallwood is blackmailed on the basis of her husband having sent compromising letters to a minor many years ago, in spite of later claiming that he thought she was older and stopped when he found out the truth. And then Magnussen is blackmailing an assassin who recently threatened to execute him but shot Sherlock Holmes instead, in order to try to get at Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, another powerful governmental figure. 

But what does media seeking out dirt on certain people in power and their families have to do with “people who are different”? Despicable as the method may be, isn’t this unfortunately how political power play usually works in our society? Or are TPTB somehow a repressed minority group now? Unless this whole “people who are different” accusation is actually about something entirely different, something that none of the show makers even cares to mention... ;)

In these DVDs, none of the involved persons is ever discussing the change of roles with regards to canon, though, or the (lack of) logics in this turn of events, or even a hint about the narrative motivation behind them. It’s all about the great Drama, the extraordinary visual effects and the aim to endlessly “surprise the audience”. Which is fine by me to a certain extent, but when this is all that’s being said, it feels extremely superficial, as if the audience is merely seen as a bunch of consumers that have to be triggered more and more by horror, special effects and cliff hangers to be able to appreciate the show. (“Warm paste” indeed, like Gatiss has later criticized some viewers of wanting...) While the "why”; the idea behind this surrealistic adaptation, made by self-proclaimed fanboys of ACD, is not even touched upon. Around this, the silence is total and therefore totally confusing.

Maybe I shouldn’t even go into Series 4...

...but why not, since I’ve already started? :) 

First of all, there’s a lot of extra material on this DVD and I particularly love the parts about the music and composing and Arwel Wyn Jones’ work with the design and build-up of John’s and Mary’s flat and the interior of 221B. Those bits are truly enjoyable. What I could live without, though, is the leading commentary that kind of instructs us, the audience, how we should interpret the show. 

Benedict is on it again on this DVD, telling us that in TST they picked up where they left off in S3 and “It’s a very happy unit of three people that then become four.” Why does he feel the need to make this statement, considering how S3 ended? Actually, if there’s anything I totally fail to see in S4, it’s happiness. The banter between the three  of them may seem entertaining for a while, but who could have a relaxed, warm relationship with someone who tried and almost succeeded to kill you less than a year ago? Without any sign of remorse? Now there’s a dark tone of discomfort and mean jokes that feels forced and not even a bit happy to me. 

But Martin tells us how excited John and Mary are about starting a family and Amanda mentions how much they’re looking forward to the baby. Again and again it’s repeated, as though trying to rub it in: “they’re in a good place, they’re a loving, married couple”. Yeah, right - a child that (judging by TSoT) wasn’t at all planned and now with an assassin for a mother... Twice we see the new parents complain that their daughter has the mark of Satan on her forehead and debate which horror movie she’s from. The clichéd hypocrisy of it all is sickening, and I’m willing to bet that it’s really meant to be. ;) 

But Gatiss chimes in, deciding for us all that the christening of Rosie is “a funny scene” and “they’re enjoying each other, enjoying being on adventures as a three”.

An interesting detail is that Gatiss also tells us that the working name of this episode was “The Adventure of the Melting power Ranger”. So this little blue guy was that important? :) And - even more interesting - is when he says: “Cake is now the code for violent death”. So how should we interpret Sherlock, John and Molly going out to have cake in TLD then, on Sherlock’s (supposed) birthday? 

These might be jokes, though, but when they tell us that Sue cries every time she sees Mary’s death I strongly believe they must be joking. How could anyone feel truly moved by this overly sentimental long monologue where far more efforts are put into reacting to Mary’s speech than saving her life? And John’s mooing like a cow, is that also moving? :)

One thing Martin says about TLD that actually disgusts me is regarding the morgue scene where John assaults Sherlock and Sherlock lets it happen: “From there, really, their relationship can only sort of rebuild, that’s the absolute worst it can get”. As if outright physical abuse would be something that makes you want to rebuild a relationship? Wow - just wow... How far can they go with this crap?

Anyway, when we finally arrive at the absurdity of TFP and Sherlock’s ‘secret sister’, everything is of course discussed as if she actually does exist on the given premises, and everything she does is ‘real’, no matter how impossible it would be in real life. The abandonment of any attempt to have the story line make logical sense is skillfully covered up by more distraction with fascinating technicalities of the film making process. This is where Gatiss makes his now almost classic statement that after Sherlock and John jump out of the window at 221B when a grenade explodes there, it’s just “Boop! And they’re fine.” 

Of course there’s no serious attempt at explaining this logically. Except perhaps Gatiss claiming that they both landed on Speedy’s awning - whatever good that would do to them, since the awning is leaning downwards, but never mind... But we never even saw that happen, did we? A great deal of time is then dedicated to show all the precautions to have Martin and Ben jumping safely at low level onto a madras supported by empty cardboard boxes.

Sian Brooke did say something interesting about Sherrinford, however, that got me thinking. She said that Eurus “wants revenge for the years and years that she has been held captive” there, isolated, and that in TFP the Holmes children are now “lab rats” and “it’s an experiment”. On a meta level, I think we can indeed see this episode - and maybe the whole show - as a kind of experiment, but maybe we, the audience, are also lab rats? Since Sherrinford is slightly shaped like a film camera (not commented in the extra material, of course), it leads my thought to all the adaptations through the years and years where Holmes and Watson have not been allowed to be together. A whole century when Sherlock Holmes has been held captive, restricted by the very same sort of heteronormative filter that all this extra material imposes; it’s like Sherrinford, isn’t it? Which gives all the more meaning to Moriarty’s arrival to the island, accompanied by Freddy Mercury’s “I want to break free”...

I think I’ll let the final words in this little exposé come from Mark Gatiss in The Writers’ Chat (my bolding):

“Moriarty is a fascinating thing in that in our sea of ongoing lies, one thing we’ve genuinely been completely consistent about is telling people he’s dead. But no-one believes it! And it’s a rather brilliant thing.”  Again - self-congratulatory statements. But instead of providing some actual evidence of the death of this character, who has kept popping up in almost every episode since his supposed demise, they think that the more a confirmed liar repeats something, the truer it gets? And the more we’re supposed to believe them? Well, all we can do is wait and see. :)

Tagging some people who might be interested: 

@raggedyblue​ @ebaeschnbliah​ @sarahthecoat​ @gosherlocked​ @lukessense​ @sagestreet​ @thepersianslipper​

My earlier meta on a similar topic (X)