#hellboy finds true love

[hellboyslady]

This piece of Hellboy & Hillzanora together was done by a friend of mine, Jeff Weborn. Hope you all like it.

[temporalhiccup]

I'm trying to write about this without getting emotional, but it's pretty hard! Hah!

But it's been officially announced so I can finally talk about it! I'm the Lead Designer (damn) on the official Tomb Raider TTRPG (double damn). Shadows of Truth has a public playtest coming up soon, and I'm excited for folks to see what we've been working on!

It's been a wild ride and a fun time, but this is also the biggest challenge I've had to face as a ttrpg designer. Like many indie folks I've drawn inspiration from the media we love (Apocalypse Keys is proudly Hellboy-inspired, among other things!) while still making it our own unique thing.

Tomb Raider has been completely different, in that I have to do my best to translate some awesome video game history into a ttrpg experience. And I gotta be as true to the source material and experience as possible, while still centering what makes ttrpgs great!

Tomb Raider is also a franchise that's been around for almost 30 years and is a HUGE DEAL. It's hard to describe how much of an impact it's made on action-adventure video games, repeatedly! Lara Croft is easily one of the most iconic characters in video games and the genre, and her Adventures include (several) dinosaurs, wild transhuman demonic Atlantean stuff, and apocalypse-inducing artifacts.

But Lara to me, especially since the 2013 game, has been a truly amazing and conflicted heroine. The last three games that grounded her and made her vulnerable, while still creating intense experiences, really hooked me. I really wanted to honor the journey of Tomb Raider and make a really fun and thrilling ttrpg for folks.

But anyone who knows me, knows that anti-colonial design is in all my games. It's just who I am, and it's not something I consciously did at first. It wasn't even until I started designing ttrpgs, in my 30s, that I realized how important my personal decolonization process was, and a lot of that has helped me discover new aspects of my identity (including being a transmasculine person).

So, I don't need to tell you that a franchise called Tomb Raider has some colonial implications, right?

As development goes on, folks have asked me "How is the game anti-colonial?" or "How are you addressing the colonialism?" I want to start off by saying as a team we conceptualized what that could mean while still being true to the franchise. But since then, as Lead Designer, I've had to make hundreds of decisions that are reflected in countless design and structural choices. I can point to dozens of mechanics and things and describe how this is my personal attempt to present anti-colonial gaming, and I'm grateful for the help our team of consultants and playtesters in guiding me.

It's kind of wild, but in chasing after and reaching for anti-colonial design, I've had to figure out how to implement great tech from other designers, but also come up with lots of new stuff too. There's some really cool Adventure design stuff that is really hard to pull off in a PbtA framework where you play to find out. (Arguably, PbtA itself has a lot of anti-colonial play about it compared to mainstream ttrpgs and it's one of the reasons we used PbtA as a design framework but that's a whole other conversation)

I'm really so grateful for the support from the team! It's hard to feel like I'm good enough and can measure up to Evil Hat's faith in me, but they've been incredibly supportive and open, and it's been stellar. Crystal Dynamics has also been amazing to work with, especially because it was important to me that while we honor how awesome Tomb Raider is, we don't downplay the difficult truths of colonialism and its ongoing effects. And they were so incredibly on board for that! It's so rare for a marginalized person like me to be granted an opportunity like this, and I am determined to give it my all.

We've built a team that's been amazing to collaborate with, and @ostrichmonkey-games has been doing incredible work alongside me. I'm really proud of what we're doing as a team! I can't wait for folks to see it come together.

You can also check out the Polygon (!!!) article about the game, which gives you a sense of some of the cool mechanics at play!

I know it's easy to write off an IP ttrpg based on a really big franchise (and for good reasons, unfortunately). But I really do think we're doing something special here! I hope y'all will give the game a chance and check it out when the public playtest starts up!

[monsterblogging]

Newt Geiszler and John Myers basically have the same uncle (yes, really!)

Yesterday I was looking at John Meyrs's bio by Guillermo del Toro as presented in the Hellboy DVD special features, when I saw this:

Johnny slept most of the way. He woke up in his new room, above his uncle's tool shed/workshop, and there he stayed for the next 12 years. Uncle Thad is - in Johnny's mind - a pair of hands. greasy, rough, and calloused, they were the best ever at machining, putting junk together, and making things run. He was a large, weathered man who smelled of gasoline, nicotine, and paint thinner. He kept everything in little glass jars, labeled with a felt pen and lined up in endless rows, three-deep in his forever messy, ever-changing workshop.

At night, they listened to radio. They never owned a TV. Johnny had to go to his friend's house to watch that. But he liked radio more. The tales were more vivid, the heroes were taller, the dangers more real.

TV was phony.

Uncle Thad always worked with the radio on. He loved to listen to a station somewhere in Europe that - ironically - played mostly jazz and big band music.

And I was like... hey, wait a minute, isn't that also Newt's uncle? So I checked the paragraphs about Uncle Gunter as described in the Pacific Rim novelization, and... yup, here we are:

Newt and his Uncle Gunter had struck the same sparks when Newt was a kid, tinkering in the basement of Gunter’s studio, where fringey techno musicians stood around making sounds and waiting for Gunter to come up with the next innovation that they would turn into the club tracks that pounded out of speakers all over Europe. (p. 95)

Gunter’s laugh, from his belly, roughened along the way by cigarettes. Uncle Gunter who gave people things before they could steal from him. The gear in his studio. A new sound, one that nobody had ever made before. Lines on a monitor danced out the data, expressing it. Ecstasy of sound and idea, endlessly dividing inside Newt’s mind. (p. 117)

Not only are these two guys very similar, but there's a number of similarities here in the writing itself that makes me suspect Alex Irvine was quoting Newt's bio almost verbatim.

There's also another little something in John's bio that fans of Trollhunters might find interesting:

Together they modified johnny's moped when he was fifteen. Boy, how he loved that piece of junk. A true love story. he can tell you about the day he got it, and about the day he cleaned every single part, hell, he even remembers what he was wearing when he first saw it.

If you've watched Trollhunters, you might remember when Blinky helped Jim Lake fix up an old Vespa. So it looks like that element with John and Uncle Theo got recycled into Jim and Blinky.

[talesfromthecrypts]

Rules: Bold what is true for you and tag 15 people.

tagged by @anthonysperkins <3 hi michi

APPEARANCE

i'm over 5'5' // i wear glasses/contacts // i have blonde hair // i prefer loose clothing to tight clothing // i have one or more piercings // i have at least one tattoo // i have blue eyes // i have dyed or highlighted my hair // i have gotten plastic surgery // I have or had braces // i sunburn easily // i have freckles // i paint my nails // i typically wear makeup // i don't often smile // i am pleased with how i look // i prefer nike to adidas // i wear baseball hats backwards

HOBBIES AND TALENTS

i play a sport // i can play an instrument // i am artistic // i know more than one language // i have won a trophy in some sort of competition // i can cook or bake without a recipe // i know how to swim // i enjoy writing // i can do origami // i prefer movies to tv shows // i can execute a perfect somersault // i enjoy singing // i could survive in the wild on my own // i have read a new book series this year // i enjoy spending time with friends // i travel during school or work breaks // i can do a handstand

RELATIONSHIP

i am in a relationship // i have been single for over a year // i have a crush // i have a best friend i have known for ten years // my parents are together // i have dated my best friend // i am adopted // my crush has confessed to me // i have a long distance relationship // i am an only child // i give advice to my friends // i have made an online friend // i met up with someone i have met online

AESTHETICS

i have heard the ocean in a conch shell // i have watched the sun rise // i enjoy rainy days // i have slept under the stars // i meditate outside // the sound of chirping calms me // i enjoy the smell of the beach // i know what snow tastes like // i listen to music to fall asleep // i enjoy thunderstorms // i enjoy cloud watching // i have attended a bonfire // i pay close attention to colours // i find mystery in the ocean // i enjoy hiking on nature paths // autumn is my favourite season

MISCELLANEOUS

i can fall asleep in a moving vehicle // i am the mom friend // i live by a certain quote // i like the smell of sharpies // i am involved in extracurricular activities // i enjoy mexican food // i can drive a stick-shift // i believe in true love // i make up scenarios to fall asleep // i sing in the shower // i wish i lived in a video game // i have a canopy above my bed // i am multiracial // i am a redhead // i own at least three dogs

✨ tagging @aethelreds, @feodor-dostoevsky, @jennathearcher, @finalbabe, @hellboys, @meduseld, @mysteriums

[evilvvithin]

tagged by @stdismas tysm! 🤍

Rules: Bold what is true for you and tag 15 people.

APPEARANCE

i'm over 5'5' // i wear glasses/contacts // i have blonde hair // i prefer loose clothing to tight clothing // i have one or more piercings // i have at least one tattoo // i have blue eyes // i have dyed or highlighted my hair // i have gotten plastic surgery // I have or had braces // i sunburn easily // i have freckles // i paint my nails // i typically wear makeup // i don't often smile // i am pleased with how i look // i prefer nike to adidas // i wear baseball hats backwards

HOBBIES AND TALENTS

i play a sport // i can play an instrument // i am artistic // i know more than one language // i have won a trophy in some sort of competition // i can cook or bake without a recipe // i know how to swim // i enjoy writing // i can do origami // i prefer movies to tv shows // i can execute a perfect somersault // i enjoy singing // i could survive in the wild on my own // i have read a new book series this year // i enjoy spending time with friends // i travel during school or work breaks // i can do a handstand

RELATIONSHIP

i am in a relationship // i have been single for over a year // i have a crush // i have a best friend i have known for ten years // my parents are together // i have dated my best friend // i am adopted // my crush has confessed to me // i have a long distance relationship // i am an only child // i give advice to my friends // i have made an online friend // i met up with someone i have met online

AESTHETICS

i have heard the ocean in a conch shell // i have watched the sun rise // i enjoy rainy days // i have slept under the stars // i meditate outside // the sound of chirping calms me // i enjoy the smell of the beach // i know what snow tastes like // i listen to music to fall asleep // i enjoy thunderstorms // i enjoy cloud watching // i have attended a bonfire // i pay close attention to colours // i find mystery in the ocean // i enjoy hiking on nature paths // autumn is my favourite season

MISCELLANEOUS

i can fall asleep in a moving vehicle // i am the mom friend // i live by a certain quote // i like the smell of sharpies // i am involved in extracurricular activities // i enjoy mexican food // i can drive a stick-shift // i believe in true love // i make up scenarios to fall asleep // i sing in the shower // i wish i lived in a video game // i have a canopy above my bed // i am multiracial // i am a redhead // i own at least three dogs 🐶

TAGGING @xellnikov @hellboys @josephseedismyfather @alexcabotgf @brandnewhuman @shimichoko & anyone wanting to do this!

[snoopybutch]

15, 16, 34, and 41 :-)

15: Favorite movie -> eek you know this is a hard answer but based on constant rewatch-ability I’d have to say Underworld, Hellboy, Crimson Peak or Alien

16: I’ll love you if -> we have music in common, you have passions, we have similar politics/focus on volunteering (or helping others in general), you respect other ppl, you like learning and changing and you can accept my #autism

34: What I find attractive in women -> god. What do I NOT?! I love when ppl have a genuine, uninhibited smile, when ppl laugh, like a deep true laugh. Eyes (any color, I can find any feature bewitching I tell you), dark circles, piercings/tattoos (or at least you think these r cool.) I think it’s wildly sexy when ppl have their own sense of style (or at least makes something their own) and own how they look.

41: Where I want to be right now -> god I really don’t know. I wish I could teleport and see my friends and family around the globe. I wanna be (figuratively ig) valued and appreciated

SORRY FOR THIS BEING LITERALLY MONTHS LATE

[thenexusofsouls]

now that you mention why Nuada likes those who challenge him I realize thats why he seems to respect Hellboy in the movie. but it makes the reason why he finds Mantis endearing funnier cuz now I imagine it like

king Balor's council: *cater to Nuada bc hes a prince/fear him too much to actually speak their mind*

Nuada: *is even more outraged then before*

Mantis: maybe you're wrong?

Nuada: *insert gif of Idris Elba saying "you, keep talking"*

Mantis: anyway wanna come to space to actually save your people and be wrong there as well?

Nuada: wha-? *Nuada.exe has stopped working*

also same, I love Kevin Bacon he's such a good actor. fun fact... he can sing! I had no idea until he randomly sang a Christmas song for the Guardians. you can find the clip on youtube if you'd like to hear him sing. mans talented af 😭

{i am the caretaker of souls} Hahaha! It's so true, though, lol. Nuada likes when others challenge him because he likes when people are genuine with him. He hates lying and disingenuousness and deceit because emotionally speaking he is a very guileless person. But being a prince and being someone who is either hated or feared by many, he can't help but feel a sense of irritation when people try to ingratiate themselves to him, or they're overly polite or brownnosing, because he knows it's not real, they're just trying to stay on his good side. So when someone like Mantis actually disagrees and pushes back against him and his ideas, Nuada feels like that's genuine, because it's not fake flattery or passive agreement.

I love Kevin Bacon too! Tremors has been a favorite of mine since I was a little kid. I didn't know he could sing, though, that's surprising. I will have to look, that up! XD

[scottwbeattie]

Review: The Incredible Hulk Epic Collection 13: Crossroads

This might be the best Epic Collection that I've read to date

Crossroads begins with a 4-part storyline where the Doctor Strange villain, Nightmare, gets into the Hulk's head as a means of getting to his Defenders teammate, Strange. This causes the Hulk to revert to his most savage, which culminates in the spectacular Hulk #300, where he terrorizes New York and no one--not SHIELD, the Fantastic Four, the Heroes for Hire, or even the Avengers--is able to stop him. Although Doctor Strange knows that Hulk is under Nightmare's influence, he is forced to make a hard decision: he cannot cure the Hulk but he cannot allow him to continue his rampage and so he banishes him to the Crossroads, hoping that his friend can find peace there.

The rest of the collection takes place in the titular Crossroads, a dimensional hub with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of portals to other worlds, which Hulk visits in 1- to 2- issue story arcs.

Under a lesser creative team, this would grow repetitive very quickly, but Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema instead masterfully make use of the dimensions to tell different types of stories--there's an Arthurian-esque romance story as well as a Moby Dick -influenced story involving the energy-consuming Klatu monster--and, more importantly, to grow and develop the Hulk.

A clever plot device that Mantlo uses is that when Doctor Strange cast the spell, he installed a kind of magical fail-safe: when Hulk knows that he can't find happiness or a purpose in a dimension, he is automatically sent back to the Crossroads. In several dimensions he makes a friend or sees the possibility of temporary happiness, only to lose this, often through no fault of his own, and the Hulk quickly becomes a tragic figure. It's a surprisingly emotional turn for a title that I always tended to think of as being more straightforward action. It is also an effective narrative device, because it allows the Hulk to have real character development and return to a mental state closer to where he had been prior to this volume.

Although I enjoyed And Now...The Wolverine (Hulk Epic Collection 7), one of my complaints was that I would have liked to see more of Bruce Banner, because he usually serves as the emotional center of the story. It's a testament to how well Mantlo writes the Hulk that I feel like Banner (who only appears in a few instances) isn't needed.

I'd be remiss if I didn't specifically mention the art. This is the last volume of Sal Buscema's 10-year run on the title, and he goes out with a bang; the work he does on these issues, especially #300, is the best of his legendary career. Part of why the Hulk's regression works is because Buscema draws him as brutal and unhinged. The last few issues are drawn by a young Mike Mignola. While he seems to be finding himself artistically (or perhaps he was instructioned by his editor to draw like Buscema), you can definitely see traces of the future legend who would go on to create Hellboy and B.P.R.D.

Until recently, I didn't consider myself a Hulk fan. Both the character and the stories often felt a bit one-dimensional. While I enjoyed some Hulk comics for what they were, they didn't necessarily make me want to read more Hulk comics. So it was a massive surprise to me how much I loved this collection. If this wasn't the best Epic Collection that I've read thus far, it's certainly near the top, and, more importantly, it's converted me into a true Hulk fan.

[fantomcomics]

What’s Out This Week? 11/30

We hope everyone had a safe & restful holiday!

Sunburn TP -  Andi Watson & Simon Gane

Rachel is a teenager who lives a gray suburban life in gray suburban England. It's a world of brown sauce, warm beer, and scrambled eggs every Tuesday. With her summer already mapped out for her-a job working at the butcher and a caravan holiday in Clacton-it seems like this year will only bring more of the same. So when family friends invite her to spend the summer with them in Greece, she jumps at the chance to escape her life and finally be treated like an adult.

The Warners are everything her parents are not-glamorous, sophisticated, and carefree-and when Rachel meets Benjamin, a handsome young friend of the Warners, her summer seems to be taking a turn for the better. But there's no escaping the pains of growing up, and she'll soon learn that life on a small island where everyone knows each other's business may not be all it's cracked up to be.

In The Clear Moonlit Dusk GN Vol 1 -  Mika Yamamori

Yoi Takiguchi's long legs, deep voice, and handsome face are the perfect recipe for an attractive guy-until people realize she is, in fact, a girl. Dubbed a "prince" by her peers since childhood, Yoi has all but given up on being seen as anything else. That is, until she bumps into Ichimura-sempai, the school's other prince (who's a he) and gets a taste of what it feels like to be seen for her true self. The story of the two high school princes starts here!

Plush #1 (of 6) -  Doug Wagner, Daniel Hillyard & Rico Renzi

Serial-killing, cannibalistic furries! PLASTIC and VINYL creators DOUG WAGNER & DANIEL HILLYARD are back. This time, they've recruited colorist extraordinaire RICO RENZI for their disturbing "neon-horror" spin on fursuit psychopaths and bizarre love.   In PLUSH, Devin Fulcher is coerced into attending his first furry convention. When he accidentally happens upon a group of furries devouring a human, the insanity begins. Do they just want Devin for dinner... or something much more wicked?

Koshchei In Hell #1 (of 4) -  Mike Mignola & Ben Stenbeck

The world above may be over, and Hellboy gone with it, but Koshchei is still in Hell content with his wine and his books-until an old face arrives and brings Koshchei a critical task. An old and powerful foe is returning, and Koshchei must take up his sword and defend the city from destruction.

Magic: Nahiri The Lithomancer #1 -  Seanan McGuire, Kath Lobo & Ariel Olivetti

Nebula, Hugo, Locus, and Alex Award-winning novelist Seanan McGuire (Ghost-Spider) returns to the world of Magic: The Gathering along with Kath Lobo to bring Nahiri the Lithomancer to comics! Nahiri-also known as The Harbinger-has protected her home plane of Zendikar for centuries, her ruthlessness and terrible deeds kept in check by a strong sense of justice. But her fate is far from decided, and a new challenge awaits that may change the way the entire Multiverse perceives her...

Penguina One Shot -  Julie Devin

Sent in a dimensional portal ship and landing in the Antarctic as a baby, Penguina is found and raised by Samurai Penguin. Leaving to see the world once she's grown, she finds out she has the ability to mimic powers of any comic character if she reads the comic but only for 1 hour!  To keep a low profile, she takes a secret identity working as in intern at a small comic company...until Penguina is needed!

Star Wars The High Republic Adventures #1 -  Daniel Jose Older, Tony Bruno & Harvey Tolibao

For young Padawan Sav Malagan, joining the ranks of the noble Jedi Order has been all she's ever wanted. But a chance encounter with a crew of eccentric misfits makes her question everything she's taken for granted in her life. Trapped aboard the ship of infamous space pirate Maz Kanata, will Save ever be able to rejoin the Jedi? And if she spends much long with Maz and her crew, will she even want to?

I’m A Terminal Cancer Patient, But I’m Fine GN -  Hilnama

After being diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, the creator documents her physical and emotional journey through treatment in this powerful memoir manga. At 38 years old, Hilnama, a manga artist, is diagnosed with colon cancer. Never one to lose hope or give in to despair, she begins cancer treatments despite the deadly diagnosis. But when going through such a grueling process, it can be difficult to keep a positive outlook. When faced with the struggles and trials of life, Hilnama turns to what she knows: writing and creating manga again, drawing herself as a rabbit in a world of humans and hospitals. This poignant and down-to-earth account of diagnosis, treatment, and living with terminal disease will be a reference for positivity and perseverance for years to come.  

Whatcha snagging this week, Fantomites? 

[tyrantisterror]

Yeah shit I took a shower after posting this and immediately thought of some more that I should have mentioned.

Like, the biggest one that I can't believe I didn't include was Hellboy, which not only has MANY arcs that are explicitly about its pulpy cambion hero fighting fairy tale characters (with Baba Yaga being one of his most deadly recurring villains, even!), but ALSO is responsible for introducing me to many of the more obscure fairy tales and, indeed, myths, folk tales, and works of fiction in general. Mike Mignola's notes about his research materials in the trade paperbacks of Hellboy played a big role in teenage me developing a keener interest in researching this stuff in depth, I owe so much to Hellboy.

Coraline is another modern fairy tale that I love, a take on the Disobedient Girl archetype where the girl gets to win in the end (albeit after facing a LOT of peril), which is a rarity. And speaking of Neil Gaiman, I really love Stardust, another movie that hits that Princess Bride snarky romantic fairy tale itch.

You know what fairy tale series I really wish I could get a proper DVD box set of? Ever After High. No, seriously! You might think it's just a giant toy commercial, and yes it definitely is that, but it's also got this meta narrative analysis of fairy tales and their legacies that's really intriguing. See, in Ever After High, every character in fairy tales is basically a part of a legacy, with different iterations of each tale being literal generations of these families. There's a dynasty of Snow Whites, each of whom have a daughter that is then persecuted by an evil queen (who is the daughter of the previous evil queen, who's the daughter of the evil queen before her, and so on and so forth) and ends up in an enchanted sleep that is broken by true love's kiss. Some of the current crop of fairy tale characters think this legacy rocks - the current Snow White's daughter, Apple White, is stoked to be menaced by the hot goth daughter of the current evil queen, and can't wait to fall into that enchanted sleep so she can find true love. The daughter of the evil queen, though, is less enthused, and wonders why they can't break out of their roles - does she HAVE to be an evil queen just because her mother and her grandmother and so on were? That's a really engaging premise, which plays with the fact that fairy tales are told and retold so often yet rarely change the big parts of it (something that Dimension 20's Neverafter also explored, by the bye). Also it's pretty gay - like, after a point it's clear to everyone except Apple White herself that her desire for her destined nemesis to bully her is, uh, not just about fulfilling a story requirement. It's a shame the dolls themselves were ugly pumpkin-headed things that didn't sell for shit, dooming the series to premature cancellation and obscurity.

I want to give honorable mentions to Rango, which while very clearly a Western pastiche rather than a fairy tale is nonetheless an adaptation of the fairy tale "Seven in One Blow, and Strange Magic, which is about fairies but feels less like a fairy tale and more like... I dunno, a weird George Lucas-helmed romantic comedy jukebox musical that I'm nonetheless very endeared to.

Finally (for now), I want to include Tale of Tales, an adaptation of the fairy tale collection of the same name that has a wonderful gothic horror vibe to it, which @bzedan mentioned in the replies of this post while I was in the shower and made me kick myself for forgetting it. And I should put the 2017 movie Erementari, an adaptation of "The Devil and the Blacksmith," here too, especially since you all know how I love Satan.

What are your top favorite fairy tales? Either classic literarily stories, adaptations of literary fairy tales, wholly modern fairy tales, or even just stories that you think are structured like fairy tales. (Roald Dahl books, Studio Ghibli movies, even Shrek and Puss in Boots movies, etc.)

That is an unfathomably vast genre of fiction to try and condense into a ranked numbered list. I think... I think that may be impossible to actually answer as requested. But I can ramble about some of my favorites I suppose.

Let's do this sorta like the Oscars and divide things into categories.

Category 1: The Heavy Hitters

Some fairy tales are significantly more famous than others, so this category is for them: the heavy hitters, the classic fairy tales that are most well known, as defined by my own nebulous perception of which fairy tales are more popular than others.

Of the heavy hitters, my favorites are Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Little Red Riding Hood is such a spooky story no matter which telling you're looking at, and has contributed a lot to both the fantasy and horror genres thanks to its simple yet evocative premise and visuals. Jack and the Beanstalk, meanwhile, is just a really solid story of a trickster fool, which is one of my favorite archetypes in all of fiction. Love a good trickster fool.

Category 2: The Obscurities

As I said, this ask is covering a HUGE amount of fiction in its topic, especially since the border between a fairy tale and, like, ANY folklore isn't really well-defined (not in a way anyone can agree too, anyway). But there are a lot of obscure folktales I love that are at least sometimes lumped in as fairy tales, and I'm gonna list them here:

The Lambton Worm - a classic tale of dragon-slaying and getting fucked over by prophecies

The Lindworm Prince - queen can't concieve and consults a witch, ignores witch's directions, gives birth to human baby and dragon baby. Dragon baby grows up and demands a wife before human baby can get his, and a clever girl decides this is her chance to get rewarded for monster fucking.

Maud and the Dragon of Mordiford - the story of a girl who adopts a dragon only for it to end tragically, which inspired one of the novels I'm gonna write one of these days

Tam Lin - the story of a woman who wanted that elf dick and wasn't afraid to do some weird shit to get it

Biancabella and Samaritana - a story about a girl and her sister who is a snake because her mother had trouble concieving

King Odd - a story about an odd king who's actually an exiled fairy queen in disguise, and the man who wins her heart after surviving her attempt to execute him. It's like a Nordic medieval Tenchi Muyo.

You've probably noticed some themes about my favorites right now - lots of stories with dragons, people being transformed into monsters, and heroes who are into that monster shit.

Category 3: Archetypal Pieces

Ok, so for this I'm going to focus less on individual folktales and more on recurring plotlines, character types, and story beats, which you begin to notice the more you read up on Fairy Tales in part because many of the more obscure ones take beats from ones you're probably more familiar with and mix them together in new ways. So, my favorite plot beats in fairy tales:

Any sort of monster, obviously

The villain who literally removed their heart out of fear of being vulnerable

The baleful polymorph (i.e. a human who inhabits a beast/monster body against their will)

Monsterfucker protagonists

Trickster Fool protagonists

Disobedient Girls (examples: Little Red, Goldilocks), though I don't like how this archetype is treated

You want to have a baby and seek a witch and she gives you VERY SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS which you ignore because you really want this baby and oops you've got twins and one of them is some sort of monster good job asshole

The hero helps three (or more) people/creatures in need, and when shit hits the fan, they return the favor

Category 4: Modern(ish) Adaptations

Our penultimate category focuses on adaptations of fairy tales from, like, the 1900's on - anything made in a century I've lived in part of, basically. These arguably shouldn't be divided from "normal" fairy tales, but my brain regards them differently than, like, Victorian era fairy tale retellings, because hey, I lived in the age of these, more or less. They're "modern" for whatever nebulous definition of that word my brain's decided on.

And there's a lot for me to put in this category. Sleeping Beauty might be my favorite of Disney's fairy tale retellings, though Beauty and the Beast is a strong competitor for that role (and maybe Mulan, if we count its source material as a fairy tale, but I'm not sure we can). I think overall I like Sleeping Beauty's more stylized animation and character designs as well as its less conventional story-telling structure a bit more than B&B's, but Beauty and the Beast is still gorgeous and kind of perfectly scripted, so it's a tough competition.

My alltime favorite adaptation of fairy tales, though, would be Jim Henson's The Storyteller:

Using the magic of 1980's muppeteering, it adapts several fairy tales, many of which are more on the obscure side, and sometimes mashes a few different ones together to make sure each episode has a good three act structure. It's wonderful and fully captures the weirdness of fairy tales, while also having a lot of heart - The Heartless Giant is my favorite of the whole series.

Category 5: Works Inspired By Fairy Tales

I almost lumped the following stories into the above category, but while the division is, again, purely in my mind, there's something different about modern works that claim to adapt fairy tales 1:1 and ones that take fairy tale characters or concepts and throw them in entirely new tales with different directions, so that's what our final category will be.

I've gushed about Puss In Boots: The Last Wish enough that I don't think it'd surprise anyone that it would end up here - the same goes with the works of Rankin Bass, which is why I doubt anyone is surprised I'd put The Last Unicorn here too (technically based on a book, but it still fits the "has big fairy tale vibes despite not being based on one specific one" that I'm using to justify this category).

Pan's Labyrinth would also go in this category, with a protagonist who's both a trickster fool AND a disobedient girl, as well as a beautifully gothic take on fairy tale motifs. I'd put Company of Wolves here as well, being a very multifaceted riff on the Little Red Riding Hood story and a movie that sets both my analytical and creative parts of my brain on fire each time I want it.

I'd also put The Path, a short video game explicitly inspired by Company of Wolves, on this part of the favorites list. It's a game about, like, a DOZEN or so different takes on Red Riding Hood and her story, all with different flavors and subtext to analyze. It's unsettling but good.

Dimension 20 had a whole season focused on a horror-themed crossover of fairy tale characters called Neverafter that was fantastic, with one of the best riffs on Little Red Riding Hood I've ever seen, Puss in Boots and Pinocchio working together as con artists, and a vampire Snow White, so yeah 10/10 there, no notes.

And while I've only seen scattered bits of it, what I've seen of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, a sequel series to Disney's Rapunzel adaptation, is pretty great, though maybe I just think Cass is hot.

If you put an angry woman with a sword in your work of fiction I will at least stay for a few episodes to see what you do with her.

Given how much it consumed my brain in so little time, Revolutionary Girl Utena has to rank among my favorite Fairy Tale things ever - like, this is too chaotic a list to really rank things, but if I were to try, it'd at least be in the top 10. The same is true for Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, which in addition to being a big fun crossover between a bunch of the Heavy Hitter fairy tales, is also one of the best musicals ever written - and indeed, one of the best stage shows of all time.

Shit, where do I put A Midsummer Night's Dream? It feels like it should be here, but it predates the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson, whose works my brain categorizes as "old fairy tales" rather than "modern fairy tale retellings." Well, it'd be somewhere among these categories, being one of the best tales with fairies in it ever told.

The Princess Bride would be up high like Utena no matter what - it's one of the best works of fiction about love that we've got. Same goes with Galavant, which I consider its spiritual successor, although I think one could argue Galavant isn't specifically a fairy tale pastiche and is more just a lampooning of fantasy in general.

Oh, and The Hazards of Love, a concept album by The Decemberists, should be here too. That's the last one I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll think of a few others later that I like enough to regret not putting on here.

[hellboyslady]

Hellboy x Hillzanora by a dear friend of mine! His work is amazing! Well worth the wait and $$$!

More work of Hellboy & Hillzanora from this artist coming soon, so stay tuned in.

[moxfirefly]

Hi erm I'm really missing someone right now. Could you right a fic with Abe Sapien. With the prompts 48 dancing with each other and 50 putting your hand over the others mouth so shut them up. (gn reader would make my day😅)

Love my baby fish boy so yes you most certainly can!

Rated Fluff

A minute ago when he had asked it had sounded so silly, if he could blush she probably would’ve been the entire time. But you were a few glasses of wine in and so was he. You were a giggling mess and he couldn’t stop the nervous laughs that escaped him.

His dear friend had understood what was happening and ever the charmer himself, Hellboy had winked at Abe before tossing Liz over his shoulder to promptly exit and give the two of you some alone time. The two of you had been slow dancing for a few minutes now, the slow Al Green songs must’ve been Hellboy’s doing, he certainly was doing his best wingman job after all. Your redden cheeks hurt, how much you had been smiling and laughing all night was beyond you, but it was a welcome change of pace from the usual work week filled with mayhem and magic.

Abe twirled you gently, his stance that of a seasoned dancer, which made you wonder where exactly had he picked this up. He was careful but elegant, shy but still moved with the confidence of someone who had been doing this for years. The alcohol in your body lulled you, as the soft tune played out of the speakers, you were happy to just exist there with Abe.

“You know…I often hoped you’d finally get the guts to tell me you like me” The bomb was dropped, nothing too eloquent about it but if anything straight forward enough he didn’t have to read your thoughts for. Abe’s rhythm falter only a few seconds, gaze looking elsewhere as if ashamed. Had he been so obvious all this time? Had he done little to hide his emotions from you?

“I like you too, and no I’m not drunk, or at least not drunk enough to be incoherent” Your words left him speechless, the light piano of the current song making him slow his dancing more. He felt awkward, as if anything he could say would be met with more confusion.

Abe was always more a man of words than actions, a true opposite to his friend and colleague. While Hellboy struggled to find words, Abe had plenty to spare, in various languages. He spared a glance at your smiling face, lips rosy and cheeks just as much, your body close to his own and suddenly he felt so at a loss for words.

You opened your mouth to speak but felt his hand press against your mouth. At first you thought he was shutting you up, but those gorgeous bottomless eyes somehow said otherwise.

“I don’t know how often I’ve dreamt of your mouth, of the way your lips must feel…” It guts you, sends a pleasant shiver all over your body.

Even at a loss, he still manages to find something beautiful to say, somewhat poetic.

Something that makes you pull his hand away and kiss him

[ramoth13]

Thoughts on an old love:

Vertigo Comics

With the release of the recent Sandman show (highly recommend!!! Mr. Gaiman is, as always, a brilliant storyteller), I thought it might be time to have a look back on my favorite publisher back in the day. I know a few people (especially towards its final days) didn't really distinguish Vertigo Comics from DC comics, but when I tell you that there was a difference, I mean it was just something that can't be replicated.

I don't exactly remember which Vertigo comic I read first. It could've been The House of Mystery or Hellblazer but I'm pretty sure it was Fables. And that's the thing, they were all so special.

I grew up reading comics because my older brother and my Dad before him had grown up reading them. Shazam and superman were Dad's favorites, Batman, JLA, and Green Lantern (Kyle Rainer) were my brother's. But I had grown up watching the Batman Animated Series, where Bruce Wayne was kind, and Batman wasn't jaded, but hopeful, and the comics started pulling away from that.

That's when it happened, I noticed that the characters kept changing, kept evolving from writer to writer, moving further and further from the ones that I knew. Superheroes had been around a long time and couldn't stay the same. Writers had new ideas, new ways to represent the old. Batman was mean, condescending, and sometimes cruel. If they couldn't be updated, they were killed off. Superman lost his love of Lois. Spiderman killed someone. The characters I thought I knew, no longer looked like the ones I loved. So in 2008 I stopped reading them.

But I missed comics. Later, a friend of mine gave me some digital comics, probably illegally now that I'm old enough to know better, but one of them was Fables. I read over 30 comics in one day. I ate them up. And whichever one I read next, Hellblazer or House of Mystery, I read those too. And then, because of course, I read Sandman which opened me up to a world I was already falling in love with. And V for Vendetta, and the Watchmen, Preacher, American Vampire, Y:The Last Man, and The Books of Magic. These were stories that spoke to my very being.

Anything with a Vertigo Logo was gold. The stories beautiful, compelling, and mindbending. The characters were diverse, intriguing, and mysterious. It was like finding a pillar of magic in a sea of ever evolving stories that could never decide on a true identity for itself, Vertigo knew what it wanted to be. The stories haunted me.

SPOILERS:

From Dream besting Lucifer in the oldest game, to Constantine fighting his demon twin, to Bigby Wolf FINALLY marrying Snow White (And Prince Charming's grand return), to finding out who the REAL adversary was in motherlands, these stories never deviated or changed on whims, they always felt honest, sincere, and true to themselves.

:END OF SPOILERS~

There are many other non-DC/Marvel publishers that I love, from Dark Horse (Conan series and Hellboy), to Image (SAGA, Magdelena, and WANTED), to even smaller publishers like ASPEN and Zenescope. Yet, none of these, nor DC or Marvel will ever feel the same as as Vertigo in its heyday.

DC may have made Constantine a superhero, the Watchmen a series, and added all of the best magical parts of Vertigo into its official brand, but the things that made those stories special have stayed with those original books. Nothing against the writers at DC, they work hard and I have no doubt try to remain faithful to the originals... but contrary to what DC wants you to think with their magical league of superheroes, you can't capture magic in a bottle.

And VERTIGO had magic, in spades.

[lovecorey]

"They do say that how you speak of someone when they're not around counts more." Cor nodded, quick to dismiss any apology. Hopefully he did understand where Kieran was coming from. By that distant gaze and comment, it appeared Kieran himself was trying to do the very same. There were a number of demigod's that Corinth saw potential true friendships in, but even for the bright eyed child of the mortal chase of love and lust he found himself still too reserved to know for certain.

When the bonds were forged, however, Corey would speak from his chest just as Kieran had. Quick to defend others from slander before himself.

"Ohh... would we ever want to go there?" The redhead felt an inner grimace at the idea of breaching a chilling environment like the underworld. The authentic, literal realm of all departed mortal souls. Corey smiled in spite of the concern, happy to find Kieran as keen as he was. "I honestly pictured the scene from that one Hellboy movie, where they chatted with the corpse? But I guess it'd be too obvious to use this to find bodies. I mean... aren't there corpses basically everywhere? But maybe... it could accept a name? I just gotta go full ghost hunt with this compass. Even if I run into a wall."

Quite literally.

the weight of guilt made itself known the moment corey apologized , knew that the son of eros did not intend to be malicious but he still couldn't help to be defensive at that moment. maybe it only proved the strength of his emotions for lucifer , but kieran decided to chalk it up to exhaustion from training , more difficult to temper his mood when his bones felt weary. " i'm sorry as well ────── it's just very brand new , caring about someone as quickly as i did for him ... " kieran shrugged , a huge deal for him but tried to act nonchalant about it. " i'm not really sure how to feel half the time. " but before kieran could throw up even more sentimentalities that would rack him with embarrassment later , attention was piqued by the little trinket that corey fished out of his pocket. a compass , by the looks of it. " compass of the undead ... " he echoed with a small laugh , thought that denali must have accidentally his gifts for corey and him. corey seemed like the type who'd love the lasso of truth while anything of the undead was definitely more his style. subverted expectations , he supposed. but kieran was willing to help corey nonetheless. " i guess there's a couple possibilities ... the compass' north could be pointing to an entrance to the underworld. " he mused out loud , a lot of theories on his mind but none that could be proven right here and now. " or it could be more practical. let's say we're facing some enemies and we don't exactly know what they are , the compass could point to them to reveal if they're some kind of undead creature. " a rare sight for kieran to be so talkative , but he couldn't help it when the gears and cogs in head were turning. " what do you think ? "

[domesticandlovingmonsters]

I know you havent written for him in a while but could I have some HellBoy headcanons? With a agent lover that works with them?

Love some Hellboy content!

Hellboy tries to pull all sorts of strings and favors to get the two of you on the same mission. He doesn't have to ask too much, since you're a very capable agent and one of the few that Hellboy works well with.

Over the comms, your code-name is always some pet name Hellboy gives you.

Babycakes, dollface, doll, baby etc.

The other agents attempted to poke fun and use the same names, but they just call you marionette. Since Hellboy gets a little huffy when someone else calls you doll or babydoll.

Other than Abe. Occasionally he'll throw one of those names over the comms and it throws you off hard. But its always a laugh when he calls you babyface.

When the two of you are separated on a mission, Hellboy wants constant updates on your whereabouts. And any route that would get him to you the fastest.

"I'm turning a right corner." "Got it." "Now left. And going down a hallway." "(y/n), I'm about to turn comms off." "There's two doors, a weird painting and- OH MY GOD!" "What? (Y/N)! What is it?!" "Nothing just making sure you're paying attention."

The field teams get excited when the two of you show up together. Not only will the mission go a little more smoothly, but the comm feed is always a laugh.

On the rare occasion you're sent away without Hellboy, you find the mission feels empty without the big red monkey. Everyone is overly professional and no one cracks jokes. Your bed is empty when you go to it and the phone calls always leave you feel lonely. Even when you talk for hours at night.

It annoys you when you can't talk about your day to Big Red. Other than confidential information, you knew Hellboy would transport himself to your location in a heartbeat if he knew where you were. It was too much of a risk at times to have him apart of the mission.

But you wanted nothing more than to talk about what was happening and even get his insight on the investigation. Everyone thought Hellboy was some air-brained, trigger happy, monster; and part of it was true, but he knew alot about the supernatural and occult. Sometimes even more than you could ever guess.

And having someone next to you, that you knew wouldn't run the moment some creature bared its teeth, was a great comfort out on the field. You knew you were safe with Hellboy. Even if the world was cracking in half, he wouldn't abandon you.

[oracleact]

I needed a more open space to talk about the shape of water (2017) so here I am!

I just watched it for the first time tonight and, not even the slightest exaggeration here, I cried during the last half an hour and continued to sob for the next two hours after the film had finished...and I mean properly sobbing. del toro has always made me feel welcomed; as a kid, I adored hellboy, and now as an adult I’ve found a more mature sense of welcoming through the shape of water - a more mature type of love and warmth compared to the sparkly eyed gaze I held as a kid towards hellboy.

the love in this film runs true and deep, like the depths of unexplored ocean territory. I think the one thing that del toro understands best about monsters in film (in this particular way) is that the focal point of the story doesn’t necessarily need to run along the lines of ‘appearance doesn’t matter, it’s what inside that counts.’ to him, it’s a showcase of protection, affection and understanding. there’s so many beautiful moments of just complete understanding and thinking with care and caution, it was overwhelming at times. for example, in the prominent bathroom scene as giles opens the door to let the water flood out - the way he just slowly closes the door after watching them both embrace each other skin to scales; a drawing of that sight appearing on his worktop later on. I felt like my heart was going to burst. I still worry it might by thinking about it. I’m not sure how to further describe the point I want to make here so I hope these quotes below, when paired with my previous context, can create a better picture:

“now, whatever this thing is, you need it. so, you just tell me what to do.” (giles)

“I’m okay — he’s a wild creature. we can't ask him to be anything else.” (giles)

“shut up! [...] you wouldn’t understand. you couldn’t understand, not if you tried your whole life.” (zelda)

I think I feel extra strongly for this storyline because I see myself in elisa in my own specific ways. the scene where she tries to make giles understand how important saving this creature’s life would be hit a little too hard. to find someone, or something, that can surround me in comfort like that - the thought itself is breathtaking and overly difficult to imagine ever happening. their connection is gentle, no words ever spoken but, at the same time, all the right words are indirectly spoken.

“when he looks at me, the way he looks at me...he does not know what I lack or how I am incomplete. he sees me for what I am, as I am. he’s happy to see me. every time. every day.”

I simply can’t enough of how safe and calm this film is to me. despite the distress of the time period and the lab situation, the love they share is most tender and something I want to immerse myself in completely for as long as possible. love is the greatest warrior and I wouldn’t usually be the type to say things like that I admit my past has made me an inescapable pessimist but this has struck a chord in my heart and soul.

“the only thing that comes to mind is a poem, whispered by someone in love hundreds of years ago. unable to perceive the shape of you, I find you all around me. your presence fills my eyes with your love. it humbles my heart, for you are everywhere.”