#i have so much motivation for this comic its crazy

[bruhstation]

hello tumbled er

greetings and salutation. it is I, senja heterocaine, speaking to you through your favorite home screens. now you might be wondering: where on earth has senja heterocaine disappeared to these past 5 months? well the answer is as simple as it gets

I focused on my studies.

well yes that is the main reason. but that's like the nerd "obvious" answer. there’s other reasons too. some of which includes me getting into new interests, revisiting my old, hibernating interests, getting involved in university organizations and events, getting more involved in big family stuff since I'm the oldest and the only of-age grandchild of grandma from mom's side.... lots of stuff

so I just finished the third semester of premed school right. honestly speaking, with how I was losing motivation on drawing, the art block post-art fight, and lack of time, I decided to well, take a break. and it’s pretty convenient too since it was early on in the third semester. during the entirety of it I was feeling pretty proud of myself like "oh I've been studying a lot. I've taken a break from drawing and blog stuff. surely things will get better" and it did! not immensely but it's significant enough that for once I don't feel an indescribable sense of terror after the semester ends. the focus of this semester was about reproduction systems and growth and development which is pretty fun? we get to use models and medical phantoms hands-on and poke them with needles and other rube goldberg contraptions. I did miss breeding bacterias in petri dishes and seeing my friends burn the microbiology lab’s ceiling like last semester though. my grades are also improving… slowly but surely

(aftermath not pictured: me lounging on the couch scrolling through quora to see if there are people currently in college wanting to drop out)

maybe I was aiming too high. at least my grades are better than the previous two semesters and my social life is much better than it was back in high school. speaking of exams -- I went through my first osce exam around a week ago (practical exam to see if you can actually perform the skills labs lessons from the entire semester like you're a real physician). it was the most terrifying day of the month. my dentist said I have a big tongue and that’s why I can’t speak properly if I’m being too fast. ntm I WAS NERVOUS!!! MY FIRST OSCE!!! with how I memorized everything I needed, I was pretty confident that I'd pass, though. I didn't and retook the exam the next day. the prelude was the worst crash out ever

ah ptooey. I'll just take it like a champ. my tutor who's 3 years older than me and currently in the anesthetic rotation of co-ass told me that things will get easier but that's very subjective. he's a medical olympiad student after all. my parents are pretty happy though with how my academic life is becoming better so that's that

LETS MOVE ON TO SOMETHING LIGHTER. section B: what I've been getting into ever since bruhstation was put on cryostasis

you know Transformers One (2024)? the transformers movie directed by josh cooley? based on the Transformers(tm) franchise by Takara Tomy and Hasbro? most tragic break up movie of the decade? I watched it twice, squealed once, and left me broken and inconsolable for weeks on end. it made me revisit my dormant transformers interest after 5 years. I've reread the idw comics (mtmte, LL, taao, main transformers comic), and is currently checking out more (reading the wreckers saga right now). god it made me miss rodimus and friends' zany space opera adventures. I've always envisioned casa tidmouth to have the same tone as mtmte... the oftentimes dark humor, fridge horror stuff, weird magic/science, the roller coaster of emotions, confronting the past... its crazy good.

stories where misfits and knuckleheads band together in a confined space while having crazy doctor who-like adventures am I right. like I want casa tidmouth to be like that. remind me to thank 14 year old me for this trip down memory lane. and as usual, I tend to make self-indulgent crossovers of any interest I'm thinking about at the moment with casa tidmouth

a terrifying sneak peak on what's to come.

I've been working on my oc projects too. you may have seen some of them on artfight (graciela, saudade, altair, etc) but I've been focusing the most on graciela and saudade's universe, children's heterotopia. it has the largest amount of characters in any story I've created (not counting casa tidmouth), the most effort put into planning the stories and weaving in its themes about capitalism, patriarchy, period-typical bigotry, etc. there's human experimentation and they're given powers that range from punching super hard to time and space displacement. I also inserted whatever I wanted into the story. sure, yes, there's a lesbians-only organization of which its members are named off the knights of the round table, theres a mafia that focuses more on the family drama and attempted parricide from all angles, and tragic assassin maids of which their names are wuthering heights references. also if you've been following my main tumblr hajimedics for a while, you might've seen my three fairly oddparents ocs. well I've given them the tezuka star system treatment and inserted them into children's heterotopia as well.

I've also gotten into UTAU production! I've made a number of UTAU covers but haven't uploaded them to youtube. only shared them around with my friends on priv twitter. a good friend of mine assisted in the creation of my own UTAU voicebank! their name is TORKA (like "torque"), their voice bank has a slight accent when singing in japanese (because I'm their voice lol) and CV-only, their in-universe lore is that they're an intergalactic train conductor picking up wayfarers and outcasts trying to find a place in the vast universe, and I love them dearly

moving on! this is a thomas the engine and company blog THIS IS A LIFE UPDATE POST

I'd rather not discuss about how I'm doing mentally in deep detail BUT what I'll say is that I can't confidently say "I'm doing better" or "I'm doing worse" because it always depends on the days. things are okay-ish nowadays. some days are scary. some days are boring. I still experience delusions, (ironically) worried about my anhedonia, and believe that certain bouts of confidence will trigger a jinx, but I think I've been controlling myself well? at least? I keep internalizing the belief that I'm an adult. 20 years old. I have to act accordingly and my life in real life is ten times more important than the internet. things are going to change more and more once I graduate premed and began the co-ass program. I have to think 10 steps into the future. building successful connections before you turn 30. sigma grindset and all that. sorry that was my father using my body as a spirit medium

AND ALSO. ALSO. BACK TO THE BLOG DO YOU GUYS REMEMBER THAT ONE TIME I PROMISED TO MAKE A COMIC BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THE 1000 FOLLOWERS POLL AND NEVER DID UNTIL NOW. I'm terribly sorry. I promise I will get into it I SWEAR procrastination is kicking my ass. I have to plan the dialogue and script and stuff AND DRAW BUT

BUT HERE’S THE FUNNY THING

THE BLOG REACHED 2000+ FOLLOWERS A FEW MONTHS AGO

NOW WHAT DO I DO TO CELEBRATE?

I don’t know honestly. I haven’t done the 1000+ followers celebratory comic, and NOW I HAVE 2000+ FOLLOWERS. THERES 2000+ OF YOU NOW!!!!! THAT’S CRAZY (IN A GOOD WAY)!!!! I thank you all for sticking with bruhstation through thick and thin for around 2 and a half years. I’m glad for all your support, fanarts, asks, and such truly. like wow. 2k. in such a short time too! thanks guys. admittedly, I feel kind of guilty to leave everyone hanging for months with nothing to give, especially with such a high follower number. and realistically? I don’t think I’ll be able to draw as much as I used to. like I’ve said earlier, I’ve been busy with my personal life and oc projects. it’s not like I’m abandoning this blog any time soon? I’m just speaking from a logical perspective, given my status as a student and (possibly, hopefully) future doctor too. I don't want to burn myself out posting like thrice a week, answering asks daily, I want to take things slow. at my own pace. maybe I'll focus on designing side characters as well and thinking about their roles in the story! but that's for another day. I’m just glad everyone’s still sticking around and enjoying my silly stuff

I do want to draw more for this blog! I want to put thomas and co. in more situations. make them dance for all our entertainments. but when you’re an adult, you realize that you have your own priorities. you can’t always do the things you wanna do. you can’t just drop something you don’t like out of the blue. sometimes you have to sigh, scratch the back of your neck, and brave it while saying “I sure am getting old”

oh and also I'm a butch lesbian now. still he/they (heavy preference on he/him), still preferring masculine terms like "mr", "sir", "guy", still as crazy as ever. still aroace too and not interested in dating, something that's been a constant in my identity ever since I'm in early high school. little have changed I can assure you this. I am still senja. senja heterocaine from the net.

and thus concludes senja’s life update post! what will the next post after this be about? something gordon-centric again? serious colored art? old men yaoi? silent hill UK localization? place your bets. everyone loves a good laugh

[edgeoftomorrowcomic]

ISSUE ONE - PAGE 2

PREVIOUS -------- NEXT

[welcometogrouchland]

I love Steph's origin as told in the Secret Origins 80 page giant- I just overall think it strengthens her character by giving her a lot of pathos and adding to her heroism (which isn't something writers were focused on in her actual intro in detective comics #647 since she was just meant to act as a plot device back then) BUT there is one tiny detail in it i will begrudge, and that is the portrayal of her having a minor love at first sight moment for tim

Secret origins 80 page giant, ID in alt

(or well, technically this was their second meeting in that story (the brick was the first) so...love at second sight?)

Mostly because Stephanie showed no interest in her introduction and only showed romantic feelings towards Tim AFTER this moment here:

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Straight up the progression here goes:

The adventure in 'tec where they first meet -> Tim investigating the same crime scene as Steph -> she beats him up not knowing it's him at first, apologizes but says he shouldn't have scared her -> he remembers her/the moniker she goes by -> they talk about plot for a few pages -> Stephanie starts flirting

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Which...is so fascinating to me and says so much about Stephanie. She highlights the fact that Tim "remembered" her. Like. Steph. Girl. This is our bar? It's sweet but kind of speaks to how much Stephanie is ignored at home/how little and sporadically she's shown interacting with her peers (and rarely ever the same kids twice). Her idea of peak romance is just...being on someone's mind even when you're not there.

Kind of also adds layers to Steph's proclivity towards jealousy later on, a manifestation of her insecurity and loneliness (though don't get it twisted, she's not written this way bc Dixon and co think it's an interesting character flaw, they wrote it bc they think it's an inherent character flaw of (particularly young) women/girls, which is very apparent in how he approaches Ariana's character as well from what I've read)

Also the fact that Steph becomes so smitten for Tim almost immediately after this is (a few issues later she aggressively flirts with him during AN ACTIVE HOSTAGE SITUATION. WHERE SHE'S THE HOSTAGE) again is kind of a mixture of kind of funny and sad. One boy is nice to her once and she's fully ready to wife him. Girl you are deranged (affectionate) (concerned)

[sapphorror]

Okay but my favorite GIR moments are ALWAYS the ones that imply he's just aware enough of what's going on to know that the thing he's doing will fuck up Zim's day, and he still does it anyway, possibly specifically for that purpose.

[canmom]

Comics mini-Comints: Dungeon Meshi

reread dungeon meshi through to the end. still such a great manga. here are immediate thoughts - if I end up having time and energy I hope I can write something that goes deeper!

ironically i was only a few chapters from the end when I stopped keeping up, but I was struggling to remember all the characters and context, so reading it through in one go was definitely an ideal way to achieve maximum impact there.

ryoko kui does a very elegant job of handling a transition from 'silly antics' to 'big dramatic fantasy' while still keeping the central thematic throughline - eating and being eaten, belonging to an ecosystem, the significance of sacrificing others to achieve your own desires. a lot of setups pay off in a way that feels meticulously planned - and of course the crux of the final showdown revolves around characters attempting to eat each other, of course the big payoff is a huge feast that symbolically unites all the conflicting factions. it is maybe a bit too neat and happy for my taste, but it's undeniably tightly executed - it never loses sight of what it's about. especially compared to something like Frieren, it's an incredibly coherent serialisation, up there with e.g. Fullmetal Alchemist.

kui's art style deserves all kinds of praise - it feels effortlessly simple, but it clearly communicates all sorts of different shapes and body types and it's really fun to see her play around with remixing the different visual elements when she switches the races around. in general Laius's autistic monster loving ways clearly reflect kui's own deeply felt appreciation for all the ways people and animals live (accentuated further by all the extra sketches the scanlators tuck in). in a way you could kinda call it like Parts Unknown the fantasy manga.

the stakes of the final conflict are interesting - there is much to be said about the framing of 'desire' and its fulfilment, of this occult idea of 'the infinite'. lots you could put in relation to other manga, and also buddhism. (in particular I really want to develop a comparison to Made In Abyss, there are so many parallels, it just might be too spicy for tumblr lmao).

one thing I really like about it is how much its fantasy dungeon-exploring setting owes to D&D and other TTRPGs, rather than videogames. monster ecology has been a fascination of that game since the early days of Dragon magazine, and Kui sharply zeroes in on some of the intrinsic conflicts baked in to that fantasy milieu, notably the lifespan thing, while smartly avoiding the traps of 'evil races'. there's some really fun nods to the weirder monster manual entries. and in a story with so many characters and factions, it does a genuinely incredible job of furnishing everyone with understandable, reasonable motivations, conflicts drawn from their context just like the monsters are explained by their ecology.

and one thing that I particularly appreciate is like... how much it is able to simultaneously understand and sympathise with a character and also show us how and why they'd rub others the wrong way. it's impossible not to like our main group, they're all such charming dorks and the manga leads you along with all the crazy rpg party shit they do, but at the same time you definitely find yourself thinking 'guy's got a point' in the kabru chapters lmao. I'm projecting hard bc i don't really know a thing about ryōko kui but laius def feels like the sort of depiction of having an autism that you can only do if you've lived it.

but yeah, it's a fuzzy ending where it all turns out well. but what's the deeper thrust of it all? there's a funny moment where marcille is like 'maybe in the end our journey is about learning to accept death' and the grouchy old gnome guy completely laughs this off as naive, because death doesn't mean anything. and indeed their big plan pays off, and falin does indeed come back just fine. but still, through all of this it asks you to bite the bullet that being a living creature means eating to survive, at the cost of other creatures, with the other side being that one day you too will be eaten. in contrast to this honest way of being is the beguiling fantasy of infinity, where all your desires are immediately fulfilled - this is shown as a dangerous path of corruption that produces madness and manipulability. having limits and rubbing up against the wishes of others, or 'doing things you don't want to do' as izutsumi's arc puts it, becomes necessary for having some kind of definition as a subject. the thing that makes the demon concrete as an entity is a desire, or appetite, that can't immediately be fulfilled.

of course we can connect this to the idea of narrative conflict. a standard advice for putting together a plot is to ask what each character wants and why they can't get it. wanting something implies movement. and indeed over the course of this story, we see that while having too many desires fulfilled too readily leads to incoherence and callousness, equally a character who is left catatonic as their desires have been eaten by the demon must be reawakened to activity by finding a new desire.

it's kinda Buddhist innit. neither the opulence of the palace nor asceticism. desires are what tie you to the world. but mixed with ecology: what a creature does to find the energy to live is what defines its lifestyle, its form.

this is probably where I'd start talking about entropy gradients and shit if i wasn't typing this on a phone at 1:30am lmao.

but yeah - it's a powerful move to go from 'D&D monster recipe show sendup' to 'living with the inherently violent nature of being an organism fated to live in a finite sum game' and yet Dungeon Meshi makes it feel natural and convincing, while remaining tremendously charming and funny throughout. ryōko kui is definitely some kind of genius, and I can't wait to see what her next act is gonna be. it's all definitely making me appreciate the act of eating a lot more.

next story on my plate is probably The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, which sounds like it will present a very gnarly thematic contrast.

[intotheelliwoods]

❗️Angst potential ahead❗️(so don't read if like, you don't like potential bestie angst)

Okay so I've been thinking about how one got to witness sprout as like a kid, teen, whatever you want to call it while he's still in his bad boy era(how the heck do ppl put the tm) and then him as an adult, one barely having aged one bit. This got me thinking about the potential of the time differences between the 2al world and the slau world.

What if one day the besties stop seeing eachother and one goes through his entire redemption arc without poptart having seen it. What if one decides to finally see poptart again to tell him of all the crazy things that he went through and what had happened (and totaly not to try and apologize for being such a bad friend, nooooo, why on earth would one do that?(interpret this how you want))... Only to find out poptart is no longer around. And oh, what this... tears? Now it all makes sense to one. Oneion was so deadbent on trying to let poptart know he was an amazing friend not because the apocolaspe didn't allow him to see him anymore but because the time difference didn't allow him to. He stands infront of the hamto family's ofrenda conflicted. How should he feel, should he even feel? I mean he never really officially stated that poptart was a friend or someone close. So was it right to cry for someone he tried so hard to push away all those times ago... he didn't know the answer so he just stood there.

Though he was grateful he even got to have him in his life even if it was for so little time.

Anyways I hope that made sense, I feel I could add more but that would take way too much thinking...kay bye👋

-lime

WHAT IF THEY GOT TO GROW UP HAPPY TOGETHER INSTEAD! WHAT THEN!! 🥺

And for real, we are a huge fan of the besties angst <3 Dont look at the ideas that @dianagj-art and I have that currently only live on in old discord messages

It is so weird though because, yeah 2AL DOES move faster time wise than SLAU, and hell if I can get my motivation to work on the main comic series back up I would not be surprised if I finish the main series entirely by the end of the year (which includes a time skip!!!! (happy ending promise)) We just... sorta try to ignore that... and pretend that the besties timeline is its own whole separate thing aha

BUT, at some point he besties DO break up, right before Ones redemption/recovery arc. And similar to what you mentioned here, One does have a lot of regret for how he treated Poptart and for how he never acknowledged him as a true friend. Though unlike your idea, One is able to make that apology eventually after a few months, then the besties are stronger than ever with a post-redeemed One😌👊

Will that idea ever make it to drawing form? Ha no clue, though if you want more details I would recommending asking Diana since its a very One centered moment!

[theredpharaoah]

Dare I say we give Giles too much. I think him not giving Buffy the Slayer Handbook was dumb and ignorant. The Handbook didn’t just have rules for the Slayer, it was the definitive guide to magic on Earth and its history. The fact they never pull it out again after the first episode irritates the hell out of me. How helpful would that have been for all the Scoobies - Willow could’ve picked up magic way quicker. It probably would’ve helped Buffy hone the psychic abilities she never really developed. Remember how she’s supposed to be able to sense vampires and stuff? And in the comics, Erin had access to all the Slayer memories(I’m pretty sure) because he inherited the psychic side of the lineage. Again, that could’ve been cool to see and very helpful.

I also feel - as stated many times before - Giles completely failed with Faith. People talk about how Buffy built up that rapport with Giles and her friends - that she made their relationship the way it was. But that’s irrelevant because the relationship was present and stable at the time of Faith’s arrival. We see when Kendra comes that even the Giles is a bit taken-aback to her very by-the-book approach to being a slayer. So when Faith came - who is extremely similar to Buffy - how did Giles not immediately feel that paternal instinct he has with Buffy, Willow, and Xander? That sort of instinct comes easier the more people you consider to be your “children”. I mean it’s crazy that The Mayor had to take Faith out of that nasty ass motel. A literal demon had to go “that’s no place for a young girl”. And sure he had a motive but the fact that none of the decent people had already said it? And the way they handled the accidental kill of the evil assistant to the mayor? First of all, the Slayer killing humans is frowned upon but it’s not a hard and fast rule. I’m not saying they should just go around killing ppl, but I’m not going to feel bad that Faith killed a man who was working for demons anyway. And compare that to how they reacted to Buffy Killing Ted(when they thought she had); completely different reaction. And Buffy had exhibited far more animosity towards Ted, than Faith had for some random who got in the way.

Giles as an adult - and something of an educator - should’ve immediately clocked that Faith did not have the same upbringing as the other 3, that the Scoobies were falling into their childish instincts and alienating her, and he should’ve gone out of his way to include her and impress upon the others why they needed to accept her. Especially after they found out about her Watcher’s death and saw how terrified she was of Kakistos. Why did Buffy and Angel have to be the ones to find out Faith needed to be fought for - that she needed help to deal with her trauma. I was really disappointed in Buffy as she’d lost her watcher and relocated just like Faith. She also understood how lonely and dangerous it is being a Slayer. But I can’t blame Buffy all that much cuz she’s a kid. And Giles willing all of his things to Faith in the comics and only the Slayer Handbook to Buffy did not move me. Giles considered Buffy to be the “One True Slayer” was not a gag. Everyone considers her to be that, giving her this handbook after she’s been a Slayer for damn near a decade is insulting. She don’t need that shit no more - she had to learn it all on the job. And giving Faith his money so she could retire from violence? Faith’s violence wasn’t the issue, her relationship to it was. The whole thing read as very melodramatic and self-absorbed.

Giles was very childish and we see it all throughout the series, but especially in the later seasons. I mean when you actually think about it, he’s so ridiculous. Buffy was 22 at the end of the series. 22 and she has to take care of a teen sister, pay mortgage, bills, etc. Could you imagine that amount of responsibility at that age? Our society still considers 22 year olds to be pseudo-teens for the most part. And he left cuz he “didn’t want her to become dependent on him”…what type of shit? She was already dependent on you - you’d been her Father Figure since she was 16 and throughout a boatload of trauma. You pretty much raised the girl. And you know that - that’s why you had a dream of taking child Buffy to the fair. He’s human, but that doesn’t excuse the level of cowardice he exhibited for me.

Also, I think instead of killing Jenny in Passions, they should’ve had her live. I think she would’ve been great as Faith’s mentor. And while she didn’t take the Scoobies to task for blaming her about Angel and alienating her, I definitely think she would’ve gotten them together for their treatment of Faith. I also think she would’ve pointed out Giles’ differential treatments of the two.

[starshower1215]

AOT Veterans: Modern AU HCs

Hange would learn a lot about engineering and building stuff. They'd have the messiest garage full of tools for metal fabrication, welding, woodworking. They'd also have the oldest car to have ever existed, a comically unreliable one in fact, and perhaps one that they'd bought cheap and fixed up themself.

The oldest car and then a motorcycle they share with Mike. The motorcycle is probably old, too, though.

Erwin would work as a private investigator. He has the intelligence and intuition for such things, and I think he would truly enjoy the challenges of analyzing clues and fitting pieces of information together. He'd be able to utilize his ability to be one step ahead very thoroughly.

Hange probably went to university or is in university, studying something crazy cool like astrobiology. I think they would love astrobiology, actually, considering the incredible number of layers of science you'd need to learn to major in something so complicated.

Erwin loves to sit down with Hange and listen to them drone on and on about what they're learning. He is probably the only one who does, but he just loves the idea that they aren't alone on Earth, that life could be out there somewhere even if we don't see or know it yet. They love theorizing about aliens, wondering late at night if they have eyes or if they have senses that humans don't, if they can detect dark matter or not. The two of them can stay up the whole night like this.

In all universes, Levi works in a cafe. He likely didn't attend school, or didn't pay attention much because his family was in debt due to his mother's medical bills. He had bigger problems, but he does enjoy his life in a cafe.

Nanaba works as a hairdresser. She just really loves the feeling when she brings out an entirely new side of a person, or encourages them be more like themselves. She finds it to be a very caring job, and she loves when her customers leave the shop satisfied with a fresh new style.

She struggles with money a little bit because she gave up wealth in favor of pursuing something she likes.

Nanaba definitely does not accept help when it comes to finances, though, no matter how much her friends offer it to her. She's stubborn, and everyone knows it. So some days, Mike will invite her out to eat with him to spare her the trouble of dinner. It's a win-win, too, because he likes her a lot.

Levi only takes taxis. He doesn't like to drive or bike or take the bus, especially not the bus due to its unclean environment. He also carries sprayable hand sanitizer around, along with a tube of Lysol wipes. He offers Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer for free at his cafe because he always appreciates when they have such things available in public. They just sit on the counter, ready for usage.

Hange is always studying at Levi's cafe on the weekends. Sometimes they drag Nanaba along to sit there with them. Levi gives Nanaba a free muffin purely out of bias, then makes Hange pay for whatever they want to eat.

But he secretly gives them a discount.

Maybe Mike works as a health coach. Not sure where this one came from, but he has the motivation and the attitude for it. He's the therapy friend of the group, but with less emphasis on emotion and more emphasis on finding the solutions.

Mike always wears athletic clothes.

The five of them have a five-way dinner date type of thing, where they meet up at the end of every week, at one of their houses usually, to cook together, eat food, play music and games, watch movies, and just unwind and have a fun time. A lot of weeks, they'll make a party out of it. The five of them will invite the others: Nifa, Moblit, Petra, Oluo, Eld, Gelgar, and other obscure characters.

It is here that Levi, Petra, and Nanaba often don their matching sweatpants (there's another post about this)

The veterans may also get drunk, depending on who it is. It's a given for Gelgar, but Levi has shown preferences for tea.

Usually, they all sleep on the floor together, or split the house into the bedrooms and the sofas. Erwin and Mike are big, so they hog beds all to themselves. The rest of them make do; Nanaba and Eld make pillow forts on the carpet and camp there while Hange sprawls out to the side, and Levi and Petra stuff themselves into the crevices because they're small.

[dinosaor826]

Hiii Dinooo!

I just wanted to throw this out there and ask how you regain motivation for most of your comics, and are there any tips for people who are trying to start their own?

hiiiiiiiiiii

so for motivation that's a bit more difficult, since its very much different with different people! What i can suggest is- i guess not to as much as i do HELP I've learned that I'm a freak of nature, and that normal people don't finish 20 comic pages in a day I usually just let motivation make me work on pages, instead of forcing myself to work (which is why i- again can get 20 pages done in a day to not working for months), but erm! that's just how I work, and I don't think I'd recommend working like that for everyone! What I sometimes do for motivation though- is making a spotify playlist with my characters and listening to it (especially the ones I have animatic ideas for, as I like imagining how they would play out while I draw) You can also do things like OC activities (like the OCtober thing I've been (not) doing), or getting commed/traded art of the characters, as I also just like going through my own character's toyhouse galleries sometimes! I also like drawing lots. of lyric art

And for tips on comics, I do have a few! -Do not. for the love of all things make pages complex. I'm begging. (Unless ur crazy or smth) -I would recommend especially at the beginning of your comic, to make it as simple as you can! If you're a good way in, it might be a better time to add more detail (this goes for character design too. if they're complex, make a simple version please. HELP) -Reread your script over at least once! Better if it's like the day after, so you can make sure it's what you want -Write a super quick outline, with a summary of each chapter or event, so that you don't forget anything

-If you're going to upload publicly, I'd recommend a schedule! If you just post them whenever, you might end up with months of nothing -With schedules, I'd recommend having about a month of backlog in case you need a break! -Don't make your schedule too much!!! Just make it maybe like a page a week while you get used to it, or even every other week! You're not going to like your comic if you're always tired of working on it

Remember that this is all just how I do things! If something else works for you, than do that instead!

[himejoshiangels]

batgirl 2000 reread bcs I'm crazyy...IM NUTS!!!

her and that damned rose..what does it all MEAN!!! it makes a reappearance l8r...also I missed this dynamic so so bad. me when I'm in a seeing my kids as an extension of myself competition and my opponent is Bruce Wayne

I always forget how fucking potent and tension filled the first arc of this comic is man. it's like, bcs cass can't speak or even have thought bubbles everything's communicated via her actions or the words of the ppl around her. every panel she's in has to be chock-full of emotion and every time she interacted with someone the implications and the ffUCKKKKK‼️

the atmosphere in this damn comic man

I dunno man not to "back in my day!" when it wasn't even my day. but comics these days don't trust the audience even a little. there's always gotta be paragraphs of text having a character explicitly state every detail of their motivation and like not that old comics didn't also do that but at least the words they wrote were pretty like fuck man who are they hiring to write this shit anymorw

this transition is straight out of a movie. I know we say this with literally everything but if ANY comic in the world should get an animated show it has to be this one. top contender. it's formulated like one already, it's episodic w perfect overall themes and bigger plots. even the vibe is perfect, the grainy mtv cartoon thing it has going. every day I pray for a batgirl 2000 cartoon it'd go so crazy jsut adapt the shit straight

batgirl 2000 just keeps hitting you and doesn't let up bcs in the same episode SORRY issue..where cass meets lady Shiva for the first time is also the same issue where babs first begins to address her as Cassandra

^^WHICH IS CRAZY bcs we have to keep in mind that up to this point cass is nameless, she's only been referred to as batgirl. this is one of the first times she goes out as not batgirl too tho, bcs Bruce benched her. it's GAHHHHH that whole thing where vigilantes angst and drama abt titles and legacies and their individual identities is exacerbated so so bad for cass bcs batgirl is the first name she's ever given. like it's all she ever knew and ever was. Cassandra came after and THIS

THIS PANEL RUGHT HERE ohhh my god it makes me crazy. she's only batgirl. she doesn't even have the words to explain it yet. she's only a reflection of the city she's sworn to protect its all she is and at first its lowkey all Bruce let's her be. not to mention. her relationship w babs, I'll speak on them l8r can't do it now I'll explode

a 1:1 animated series man. it's all I can think about so so many iconic moments. I don't kill but I don't lose either is already as cold as cold gets. the way the comic is formatted already fully visualizes as animated in my brain and it's so so fun to watch

LIKE LOOK AT THIS!! cinematic as he'll and it's not even moving..

both cass and Bruce hit the bullseye like....

Cass's perfectionism is such an underrated character trait of hers (in like the greater batfam fandom and more modern comics not here, never here) bcs she literally sacrifices her life about it. she's so self detrimental about how not perfect she is anymore and Bruce's nonsense doesn't help either. man sees himself reflected in a teenage girl once and looses all his damn sense. I'm just, yea we know "mediocre for a life time or perfect for a year" < god that goes hard, but the true tragedy that is cass's inability to see how unnatural and upsetting it is that her mind works the way it does at all, that she can run into bullets head on but complains that she could do it with more skill when she was 6 or whatever like girl...never evr letting myself become desensitized to her trauma, David cain when I get you...

AND ANOTHER THING AND ANOTHER THING!!! KKKKKKKKK!! the sideplots and b plots and background characters in this comic..each of them are offered so much empathy by the narrative and are written purposefully to reflect or foil whatever cass's current conflic is all while feeling like fully fleshed characters even if they only appear for one issue

^^ I have feeling abt these panels but my lawyers are advising me not to speak atvthis ttime

THFUCKINH THE ROSE!!AGAIN!!! so sure this is old news but my running theory is that it definitely ties into cass's sense of self and identity outside of her living weapon status. this whole issue is prime babs v. bruce custody battle material bcs babs wants cass to be able to have a normal life, to be someone outside of batgirl bcs where she is now isn't healthy even a little bit but bruce argues that cass doesn’t need that, all she needs is her devotion to the mission < now we don't have time to unpack all that but in this moment we see her make the choice, dropping the rose. in the very first panel of the whole comic cass does the very same thing, she drops the puzzle (representing her childhood) in favor of violence bcs at the time its all she knows THE PARALLELS HELP HELP MEEE

AND AND THIS NEXT WHOLE PANEL is so evocative of the first few issues where cass couldnt yet put her emotions into words. just atmosphere and silence. BECAUSE she's confused!!! bruce says justice is what she needs that it will make her feel better, feel normal but it doesn't!! she looks over the city and still feels..feeling!!!! she picks the rose back up and extends a hand out to barbara bcs she was right, she not Bruce, she can't sit in a cave all alone all day and feel better (<which arguably doesn't even work for him either)

in the next few issues she meets steph and tim which is soo fun bcs letting cass have friends her age opens up so much for potential dynamics. especially her relationship w steph, not just in a stephcass way but in a narrative foil way, to me at least

next post I'll probably talk abt cass's guilt, self hatred, and need for atonement but we move‼️

[rainbowsuitcase]

Thoughts on The Marvels

CW for spoilers, though most of this is me going insane about the characters and not the actual plot.

1. I'm not sure I get the plot but I love these women.

2. I love their superhero suits. They look very good in them but also the designs are pretty great on its own.

3. Carol being fine in a professional setting but becoming unsure and nervous when she’s confronted by Monica is such a mood.

4. I've never cared much about him before but I do love Fury and his snarkiness and his dynamic with his "mentees" and most of all his style of motivation.

5. Val and Carol Val and Carol fucking Val and Carol

6. Also Val in a suit (well, i mean... women is suits in general)

7. I love Kamala as a fangirl (I think this is comic compliant, right). I love Kamala in general. She’s a teenager and she acts like a teenager and she's a very proud and loud fangirl, but she's also very competent and confident in what she can do.

8. Carol in a tanktop??? Carol in a tanktop!!! (Carol in a tanktop with the suit hanging around her waist) (But also Carol in a tanktop and those old style shorts)

9. Monica and her outfit on that musical planet >>>

10. Carol's princess dress? I love how it incorporates her symbol (not too crazy about the hair though, I like it much more just loose)

11. "He doesn’t have to sing?" "He's bilingual." Loved that, 10/10

12. I love the Marvels' dynamic. Sometimes they bicker but they all take each other seriously, they take Kamala seriously even thought they don't really know her and she's a kid. They all feel like they’re actually friends and like they actually care about each other. And then they were torn apart. I'm crying. Don’t talk to me.

13. I love Kamala basically Nick Furry-ing it at the end and that she'll apparently be the one to put together the Young Avengers (or New Avengers? You know what I mean)

14. I also love that (if I'm remembering correctly, which to be fair I'm probably not so please correct me, I don't want to be getting excited for nothing) it seems like this new young team is an all women's thing so far.

15. This movie confirmed what I already suspected - I have no problem with strong female characters or movies about them. I do have a problem when it's framed as "this is a movie about a Strong Female Character and you, woman, are going to like it because Feminism. We're doing Feminism." Case and point - Captain Marvel didn’t impress me much and I did find that Endgame final battle's all female scene cringy, but I love The Marvels and I really enjoyed Black Panther 2.

16. GOOSE HAD BABIES!! I don’t understand how they happened but I love every single one of them.

17. Mutants!! The new era MCU doesn't have a very good track record but this movie was great and it makes me hopeful that the Mutants will be introduced well into the universe.

18. Also are my standards really low or was this movie actually funny? I laughed a lot the whole way through!

[godtier]

random thought but in the context of the mmx universe: what exactly was the benefit of giving reploids any semblance of autonomy or feelings or thoughts or ability to make choices

like I get that it's a trope for media that contains sentient robots. I get it. but like. why.

to use a very obvious comparison, terminator is like "what happens when the robots wanna kill us" but in mmx, that's not even a plot point in any of the games at all. yeah, mavericks are implied to have attacked humans, but most of the damage they cause seems to be infrastructure related or just attacking other reploids... the majority of reploids aren't rebelling against humans at all

so like

again

what the hell was the point in making them sentient? you have this race of robots that are capable of autonomous actions and individuality that are basically, what... glorified appliances?

it's smth that I feel is kinda glossed over purely bc there's a huge lack of human representation in mmx specifically. like classic mm has plenty of instances of humans interacting with the robots etc, but mmx has like... Dr Cain.

like, let's pretend mmz doesn't factor in here bc that came out after the foundation of mmx was created and by a different team (it is also itself an alternate future by virtue of the direction the x series took after x5, anyway)

and then if you just look at mmx on its own, all we know rly is that like... humans had to go underground and such after Eurasia crashed due to the fallout

but we don't rly get much info on how they interact day to day with the reploids? or what their general feelings are about them. and it's just really really bizarre bc narratively, you'd anticipate smth like how mmz rolled out where there's an actual uprising against humans specifically... but mavericks in mmx (aside from sigma and some others) are generally characterized as either "disobedient" or "rogue" or "malfunctioned."

bc remember: sigma was a maverick hunter. mavericks existed before he rebelled and went on his spree about being a superior race. like, that implies that sigma's movement is about reploids being superior to humans, but I'm talkin like... overall. narratively, it's always been an odd thing how it was never really delved into in later games very much.

I feel like maybe it's bc they pigeon-holed sigma too early in the series into being infected by zero (it's implied as early as x2, iirc), which thereby degraded his personality until he basically didn't exist anymore. like his whole movement and motivation, if you think about it, lasted basically one game. the first game. every subsequent entry, sigma is pulling strings in the bg, rapidly declining from "reploids are superior to humans" into purely causing chaos either for the sake of it or to get x and zero to fight him again.

like at its core, it's a very bizarre thing to look at with more scrutiny. most things I have read about mavericks beyond "they're crazy or something" have been from supplemental, non-game canon materials (the manga, the light novel, the Archie comics, etc).

anyway it's just smth I was thinking about randomly when tryna workshop my fic 🥲 a lot of the stuff I come across is basically fanon territory and I just wonder if anyone else noticed how weird the way mavericks are treated from a narrative standpoint or if it's just me being crazy

[izunias-meme-hole]

Since you've been rebloging this clown like crazy, who are your favorite Jokers?

Oh no... how could I ever choose?

Anyway.

Number 10. Brave And The Bold - A Silver Age inspired Joker with the Golden Age design and genuine menace. A pretty good combo if you ask me!

Number 9. 1966/Caesar Romero - He's the most iconic of the purely campy Jokers, and honestly he's just fun. I know that's not a heavy reason to like this iteration of the character, but it's true.

Number 8. Gotham - The Valeska Twins share a spot, purely because Cameron Monaghan's performance as them was so great. First there was Jerome, who was originally supposed to be a one-off possible Joker, and remained that way throughout the entire show even as he became somewhat of a Proto-Joker that was simultaneously heinous and fun. Though near the end of the show's 4th season, Jerome dies, but his twin brother Jeremiah ends up getting infected with an insanity gas that his brother cooked up, turning Jeremiah into a Golden Age inspired Proto-Joker who slowly evolves into the clown that we're more familiar with.

Number 7. The Batman 2004 - This clown offers almost everything you'd want, but they're all packed within an extremely different exterior! His bare feet, dreads that resemble a jesters hat, Kevin Michael Richardson voicing him, and just how athletic and animalistic he is make this Joker unique, even if what he brings to the table is still pure fun mixed with genuine heinousness and a bat obsession.

Number 6. Arkhamverse - Despite having that shit final boss and his bad habit of constantly overshadowing other villains, Joker in these games is an absolute blast to see and hear. Doesn't matter that he's a big bad, a secondary antagonist, or just "flirting with Batsy", he's great. It also helps that both Mark Hamill and Troy Baker do a phenomenal job at bringing him to life.

Number 5. Golden Age - Ah, Original!Joker my beloved. A scary as shit cunning sociopath with a haunting grin, clownish exterior, and a nice purple suit who just came outta nowhere. Plain, simple, yet very effective at the time.

Number 4. Nolanverse/Heath Ledger - I swear to god Heath Ledger's take on Joker is the definition of "don't judge a book by its cover" because while he kinda spawned more cringeworthy and edgier Jokers (Lookin' at the New 52 & Leto), he also manages to distill the essence of the character perfectly. He's colorful yet subtle, funny yet terrifying, arrogant yet self-deprecating, brilliant yet insane, motivated to cause chaos yet feeling the need to justify that chaos to the rest of the world, hates Batman yet loves him, and he just simply exists.

Number 3. Batman 1989/Jack Nicholson - Perfect casting, perfect costume, feels like he leapt straight outta the comics and onto the big screen, and he has a near perfect origin. If only he wasn't responsible for the death of the Waynes. Still he's a phenomenal elseworlds Joker and an ICON.

Number 2. BTAS/DCAU - Forever the definitive Joker adaptation. Mark Hamill's voice was perfect for the clown, his designs are iconic, his origin being a perfect blend between "we know what he's about" and "we don't know shit," he's still funny yet terrifying, he's a chaotic artist, his toxic dynamic with Harley Quinn was perfect (which is funny since Quinn was invented FOR BTAS), his death and actual defeat were cathartic, and overall this was the Definitive Joker.

Number 1. Post-Crisis Comics - We got Joker's Five-Way Revenge, Laughing Fish, Dreadful Birthday Joker, The Killing Joke, and A Death In The Family out of this iteration of the character, all of which pretty much came to define The Joker in one way or another, for better or worse. Out of all of the reboots of DC's universe, Post-Crisis had the best Comic!Joker, and in all honestly just the best Joker in general.

[homicidal-lingonberry]

Some thoughts on Todd,

he started out as one of my least favorite evil exes, but I think part of that was simply that I could not quite figure out his motivations for a while. what is he gaining from being an evil ex? Why does he cheat on envy and veganism? I think I finally do understand his motivations now tho, and I am appreciating him more for it! and it also makes him seem a lot less jerky.

thoughts are mostly going to be coming from the comic and anime, with a lot of thoughts on his fling with wallace as well.

Todd is basically a pushover who is incredibly out of touch with his own feelings, and overvalues external validation. he is not the type to ever go for what he wants. not purely, not truly. he commits to what he thinks he is supposed to. goes for what he thinks he Should want instead of what he really does.

He isnt a vegan bc he wants to be. he's a vegan bc his father told him he'd never have the willpower to do so! I feel he is also in a relationship with envy bc he thinks he should be. childhood friends, and she wants him? and she's drop dead gorgeous, talented, and successful? he'd be crazy to say no, right?

I think him joining the league was a similar situation. It seemed like what everyone else was doing. so clearly, thats what he should do too, right?

But these arent the things he wants. He places value on these things bc other people do. But these things dont satisfy him, and inside him is an itch to act out in rebellion. the part of him that knows he isnt being true to himself. and he cheats!

He cheats to feel a sense of control over a life that is in no way his own. and I think that is why he feels so much for wallace.

bc why should he be with wallace? why would that be the obvious choice to anyone? It would be so silly to throw everything he has away for some guy he's just met. A guy that most people in his circle would probably consider a major downgrade compared to The Envy Adams.

but he is experiencing genuine attraction!! he is feeling fireworks!! he isnt messing around with someone who is simply a trophy or status symbol. Someone he thinks he should want, but doesnt really. he's messing around with someone who actually gets him going!!

Someone who he is into enough to realize that what he's doing with Envy is absolute bs!!! that everything he is doing is absolute bs!! And he chooses the real desire he has for Wallace, even tho it should seem like the wrong thing to do. In breaking up with Envy to pursue Wallace, Todd is finally Openly doing what he wants, breaking his former pattern of pushing it all down until it seeps out in secret rebellion.

and thats why he stops being vegan as well I think. he realizes its not something he ever truly wanted, he just wanted validation from his dad who was never going to give it to him anyway. And with the new revelation of choice, he quickly casts it aside.

While it seems like he lands in a rough place compared to the other exes, and it seems like wallace fucked him up bad, I think wallace gave him exactly what he needed. Wallace was never going to be the love of his life or happily ever after- Wallace was a wake up call.

Who better to show Todd how to get in touch with his repressed desires than Wallace, a man that denies himself no pleasure, and assertively goes for what he wants? Suddenly Todd can see he is allowed to be unapologetically himself. he doesnt have to be this person he hates being anymore.

What Wallace leaves Todd with is a new foundation to build something true on. One that takes into consideration that Todd is his own person. Its barren, but its steadier than the old one made of lies. and while he's got a lot to learn about himself, I think he will consider his own heart more fully from now on.

Where we see Todd at the end of the anime, he thinks he loves Wallace. But really, he's finally beginning to love and honor himself, and feeling more connected with his own heart than ever. <3

[zinouillezetruenoodle]

Hello everyone!

☆Noodle post of the day consists of a series of more research for that Lackadaisy fan animatic I am working on (mentioned in previous posts w/my Sable and Rocky human designs!).

I've been working very hard!!! My storyboard is almost done ^^

☆The project is inspired by a song (i'll keep it as a surprise until I post hehe) and a short synopsis would be this: Sable has a rendez-vous with Mitzy at the Little Daisy Cafe, and Mitzy is running late. Rocky encounters him at the cafe and decides to try and spook him, telling him how dangerous Mitzy apparently is, so he could leave. In doing so, Rocky will break into his usual theatrics and do a whole performance, leaving Sable confused and very disturbed.

Its heavily inspired by some scenes seen in the comic and I thought the song was perfect for this scenario!!!! (Oh and I'll draw them as human)

☆Yesterday and today I've been working on choosing colour palettes for the backgrounds and characters. My goals are to make them reminiscent of the iconic colouring of Tracy Butler's comic panels, use 2 to 3 colours and really keep it simple (so I can stick w/them during the whole animatic).

I did a lot of samples;

And some more Rocky studies! As I was doing some sort of character sheet!!!

Dont ask why but I've been STRUGGLING to draw his "human hair" for days haha- I spent a lot of time on it☠️ but I decided i'll keep something simple for the animatic (not the crazy perfect geometrical versions I have down there, those only serve as inspiration haha).

So- yes. Working very hard!! I'll keep posting my advancements here ♡ I won't lie, a bit of support and motivation would be greately appreciated😭it IS my first time doing a whole animatic.

I wanna do something nice and fun!!☆

Thank you SO much for reading all of this♡

Have a great day.

[roseworth]

3, 6 and 16?

asks

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

ive seen someone say that alex dewitt's death wasnt actually misogynistic because it was like uncle ben's death where kyle had a lesson to learn from it and she was just a side character that died in a backstory. which I GUESS is partially true but i have a whole rant on why its not exactly a fair comparison here. but long story short it is insane to me that alex's death got a whole new word named after her and some people to this day try to claim it wasnt about misogyny and it makes me lose my mind. not to mention ive seen people say that her death wasnt a fridging because kyle still talks about her and is traumatized by it as if thats not literally the definition of fridging

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

batjokes for SURE. i understand wanting toxic yaoi but theyre sooooo annoying about it it drives me insane (much like the joker). i think joker is usually such a boring character anyway and then to see some people like. uwuifying him. its crazy to me. its the least interesting bruce ship if you want toxic yaoi there are so many others to choose from why are you using the joker and pretending he has a personality. ALSO!!!!! i always see batjokes shippers saying that its canon that joker has a crush on batman. and i know thats technically true but i feel like its important to mention too that most of the reason that its canon is because the writers are making fun of gay people and/or framing it like its a bad thing. its not a #diversitywin its homophobia

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

i just said it but. the joker. just in general. who the fuck caaaaaares hes not an interesting villain or an interesting character at all he doesnt do anything interesting or good at all. whats the point of a villain with no motivation besides being evil. there are so many other villains to choose from that actually have a purpose so why are there so many people who give a shit about the joker. like it would be one thing if it was just the annoying Comic Guys that did it but even people on here will talk about him as if hes this super interesting villain. or worse they'll talk about him like hes a misunderstood uwu sweetie pie. im killing all of us. to me the only narrative purpose joker serves is being harley's ex and i dont think we should have to talk about him at all outside of that