#i love making comics im incredibly normal about making comics

[dustyhyena]

HERE IT IS!!! my piece for @agentshipzine ! it's been a work in progress for such a long time and im vibrating out of my skin now that im able to officially show it off!!!

i thought it'd be fun to do a little side-by-side comic for my agent 3/captain (august) and agent 8 (jay) as they spend their lives together! be sure to zoom in to properly read the comc and all the little details!!!

BIG thank you to tari and rebi for making this possible- this is the second ever zine i've been in and it was such a fun experience. love yall!!!

[bbystark]

♡ simon is a bad stalker part 4 ♡

badstalker!simon x reader series - pt one two three

♡ masterlist ♡ request more! ♡

summary: the date you've been waiting for dreading.

a/n: so i did the thing again where i dissapeared lol but IM BACK plz enjoy my offering

you get home safely, with soap, and you don't say a singular word. just kind of dumbly stare out the window and then at him when he helps you out of the car and into your house.

you can't stop thinking about ghost, and the fact that you quite literally cornered yourself into going on a date with your stalker

you really chalk it up to having some type of third response to danger, fight, flight or say the most ridiculous thing you possibly can. obviously you chose the third.

you go to bed that night with your cat in your arms, as if they can protect you from you're own stupid decision. you're shivering no matter how warm you try to get, and your cat throws you irritated side eyes.

you wake up with no sign of ghost. no calls, no texts, no emails. you try not to think about if he was in the house while you slept, like he had been before.

you try to have a normal day, but you're plagued with anxiety and anticipation

you decide to go outside, walk to the little coffee shop that's nearby to get fresh air and be somewhere you knew ghost hadn't been

you spend a few hours out, window shopping and trying to clear your head. you head back when the sun starts to go down, not keen on being out after dark.

what you come back to is almost comical.

you stumble through the door, eyes snapping to the huge figure in your kitchen. he turns around suddenly, and your cat is in his arms, rubbing her face against his mask. you only see it for half a second before he's setting them on the counter faster than you can blink. your cat lets out an irritated meow, and somehow even through the mask, ghost looks guilty

you laugh, you honest to god laugh. "oh my god. you fucking traitor." you whisper at your cat, trying to suppress your giggles. yeah, add this to the list of danger responses.

ghost straightens, and then you notice your surroundings. there's roses in a vase on your table, and he's cooking, there's at least 3 different pans and it smells incredible and you're dumbfounded. you stare at him, unable to say anything.

"welcome to your date love." he turns back to the stove, and you're grateful, because you feel like you can't move while he's looking. like one wrong move will make him snap and your worst nightmares will come true. you keep reminding yourself that nothing has happened before, and you take a seat in the chair at the table closest to the door.

"um, the roses are nice." you can see him cooking at this angle. "glad you like 'em. dinner will be done in a few." he doesn't turn around. he doesn't know how this will go, he's expecting you to run out at any moment, screaming bloody murder. he's trying to help you feel safe by turning his back, giving you the upper hand (or at least the illusion of the upper hand).

underneath that worry though, ghost was thriving in this scenario. it was like watching all of his fantasies come true, he couldn't help but preen under your compliment, and the ability to show you he can provide

you're still a little in shock. you don't say anything as ghost serves you dinner, your favorite, not surprising. you watch as he rolls up his mask, and takes a bite. it still doesn't convince you of the possibility of it being drugged.

"it's alright dove, not 'ere to hurt you, just 'ere to give you the date i promised." as he says it, your cat jumps onto the table, knocking over a glass of water. ghost stands, and looks down to find all the water had made it directly into his lap.

you find yourself laughing for the second time of the night. here your stalker is, looking like he peed himself. he chuckles himself, and you have to look away when you see his lopsided smile. you stand and grab a towel, temporarily forgetting the situation you were in. it was way too easy to see this as a real first date, awkward parts and all.

"thanks." he sits back down, clearing his throat. the proximity to you was intoxicating, but he was still worried about running you off.

you sit back down too, and take and slowly take a bite of the food. it's delicious, and you still can't believe the absurdity of the situation. "this is really great ghost. really." your voice is small, and music to his ears.

"thank you. m'sorry about breaking in. swear 'm just trying to make your life easier."

you decide to start testing boundaries, as one would. "maybe, since this is going... okay, you can stop coming in when i don't know? like maybe we can just keep doing this every once in a while?" damage control is all you can think of.

ghost thinks for a moment. "i dunno about that one love. how 'bout i give you a heads up when i do come in?"

"no more coming in here while i'm sleeping. and you still have to tell me when you're in my house."

"alright," he crosses his arm and leans back on the chair. do you hate how big he is because you're scared, or because you secretly like it? "i tell you when i come over, and no more coming in at night. but you 'ave to promise me one date a week."

you can't believe you're negotiating with this man. "okay." you concede.

he smiles and pulls his mask back down. he makes his way over to you, stroking your hair for half a second before clearing your plate. "look at us. arguing like a proper old couple already. "

as he does the dishes, you ask him more questions. he's answers as truthfully as he can, leaving out details here and there. no need to startle you.

you learn he was in the military, that the two men are some of the only people he's close with, that he trusts. besides you, of course. you feel like he throws that in to tell you to be wary of using this information against him.

from what you can tell, this is just a severely damaged man. the actions he was taking against you was just his reaction to loneliness, and his need to provide.

against your will, you feel the need to help him fill that hole. the need to tread lightly dissipates by the minute, and against your better judgement, you find yourself enjoying his company. and hey, he made dinner and did the dishes. that has to speak to his character somehow

later, he grabs your hand and runs rough fingers over your soft knuckles. promises he'll call, and then leaves.

and you're left alone, forced to do what you've done a lot lately; ponder your life decisions, and think about the large, surprisingly harmless stalker of yours..

[myokk]

I love you all so much🥹♥️♥️♥️

@thingsmaygetalittlecrazy @n0va25 @ravenwind-75 @rypnami @okeydokeylackey @honeyed-blossom @light-of-the-room YOU ARE ALL SO SO SO SWEET FOR TAGGING ME🥹🫂🫂♥️♥️😭♥️😭😭🫂🫂🫂

When I joined the fandom in April/May of last year, I didn’t expect for it to become This. I’m normally just a lurker online, posting with 0 engagement and having a lot of fun seeing everytbing anyways, but leaving comments and seeing everything you all post while I drink my morning coffee has become the highlight of my day!!! I genuinely love talking and connecting with all of you so so so much♥️♥️♥️

Special shoutout to my Canadian alter-ego yapping gremlin @choccy-milky (im almost back🤭😈) you’ve made being in this fandom so much fun!!!

@thingsmaygetalittlecrazy IM TAGGING YOU AGAIN😤😤🤭 Dani why are you so sweet and amazing!!!! I LOVE YAPPING WITH YOU SO MUCH & YOUR ART IS INCREDIBLE♥️♥️♥️ I was already excited to see your art before you posted & then you blew me away with your talent🫨🫨🫨

@elliecutte AN ABSOLUTE ANGEL !!!!!!! I’m so happy you found my fic and my blog and that we started talking!!♥️♥️♥️ seeing notifications from you always makes me smile🥹🥹🥹

@latymerct the only girl here who understands that older music/rock is the BEST & Lyle is the only mc that is canon to Eloise for me🥰🥰🥰 I hope you’ve had an amazing time over the holidays!!♥️

@bassicallymaestra Kelly, you were my FIRST fandom friend & my first ever ask (about the pencils😆😆♥️) AND I ALWAYS LOVE TALKING WITH YOU WHEN YOURE ON HERE!!!!!!

@kay9leo THANK YOU for being you & for always being so sweet and supportive!!! I need to catch up on your writing, but I LOVE your writing style/voice so much & your art is so cute🥹 I may or may not have lots of little sketches with Iñaki and Eloise I need to upload soon🤭♥️

@sparxyv and @syaolaurant for some reason you two sweet artists came into my life at around the same time & I always love supporting you and seeing your AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING ART!!! & watching you both grow SO MUCH & experiment is literally the coolest thing ever🥹🥹🥹

@writing-intheundercroft for being my first writing friend♥️♥️♥️ idk how we started talking but I love it so much & you already know what a special spot your Theo & Sebastian have in my heart🥰🥰🥰 plus your writing is just so good & always scratches that itch in my brain🤌 plus all of the art you’ve been posting recently is SO CUTE !!!!

@holdmymallowsweet THE SWEETEST PERSON ALIVE !!!!!!!!!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ I don’t know if iou know this, but you were the first person to actually leave comments on my fic (i’d been posting it for months to an audience of: me before you found it😆) & it really gave me a lot of motivation!!! Plus it started a friendship with one of my favorite people on here🥰🥰🙏🙏🥹🥹 I love all of your writing: oneshots, the long fic, and now, your art !!!!

@traceyc-uk one of my first artist friends here!! We joined around the same time & I always love seeing New Fifth Year (may he never have a different name), your comics, and how your art evolves so much🥹♥️🥹♥️

@heylorrain tía, tu arte es increíble y estoy muy agradecida por coincidir contigo en este fandom😭♥️♥️♥️♥️ flipo cada vez que veo tus cómics y Lorra es una mc MUY especial para mi🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

@espressoristretto-patronum DES I LOVE YOU SO MUCH😭♥️😭♥️😭♥️😭♥️ my Italian counterpart…you literally have NO reason being so sweet and supportive & the best person ever🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂

@light-of-the-room SUCH A SWEETHEART🥹♥️🥹♥️🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂

& a million other people, but I ran out of tags😫 I love coming on here & talking with all of you talented people and seeing what you post♥️♥️♥️ sometimes i feel guilty and overwhelmed bc my algorithm doesn’t always show me everything, or I don’t have the energy to leave comments. I always try my hardest to comment on everything i see & like from my sneaky main blog though, & I always want to make sure everyone feels supported here!!

At the end of the day I’m just one girl who comes on here when i have a bit of free time, in addition to writing, creating little fanarts, and doing a million other things that have nothing to do with this fandom (plus work boooooooooooo🥲). So I’ll always be here when I’m able to & support you all♥️♥️♥️🫂🫂🫂 I’m excited to see what 2025 has in store!🙏

[marciaillust]

hey, i hope you're doing great! i feel this may be unorthodox, but i really wanted to reach out to extend my engagement?— awe?— solidarity?— (some variant of those, anyways) with your most recent "workposting" art. i don't normally do this. I've maybe sent 3 asks in my whole life. there's no pressure to respond to this, as i mostly just wanted to cheer you on. also, I'm really sorry this is so long.

i only just recently landed my very first freelance art job, at a start-up company dedicated to making comics + DND inspired art content. I've always felt that "Its nothing to call home about", and so i really resonated with your feelings regarding your work for Brawl Stars. I felt kind of ashamed of my job, that its just a small start up— that I'm not enough and that i should be trying harder, or something like that. Specifically i resonated with your comment of "presenting brawl stars art feels like showing my anime girl oc to an art teacher" and i don't think i could have solidified any better.

Anyways. all's to say. I really found your work quite jaw-dropping. I was shocked when i read it was for Brawl Stars. I didn't know anything about it, but when i did some research i was even more amazed. they're really, really compositionally beautiful... i mean, i know its just "work" to you ultimately, but it really does feel lively, and everything about it makes it feel like you care. I think sometimes you're just able to tell when an artist genuinely cares about their work; about its end outcome. there's so many intricacies. and a lot of attention to detail. you kept the style that was necessary of you but i also can feel the warmth and the care of the artist behind it— its not corporate, or stale, it doesn't come across as "just work".

since you mentioned League, i genuinely do think it serves an equal purpose and weight to what League of Legends would produce. from a biased standpoint, i would actually value your work more. Its not even that its "more obtainable"/"more realistic" but that there's genuinely more feeling to it. Compositionally/artistically, yeah, League makes great stuff, but occasionally, the feeling or the sense of warmth and care from the creator of the art is lost along the way. I value seeing the artist within their own art a lot, which is why I've admitted to a degree of bias. either way. what you put out there is really gorgeous, and crazy impressive.

I know a stranger with a dumb, fandom-oriented art blog cant solve the self-indited art elitism (you and me both, man💀) and that you've already received plenty of love/reblogs saying similar things, but i wanted to extend my feelings anyways. Its really heart-warming, i guess. It brings me hopefulness, and deep adoration for the craft. I'm not very good with words. Anyways. don't undersell yourself. seeing your work meant more to me than you can imagine. I'm obviously nowhere near your skill level, but it meant more to me as an aspiration. i think that regardless of who you work for, your work is really valuable and downright incredible. because you bring that sense of warmth, care, time, and patience regardless of the media it portrays. and you're able to do that while being objectively talented— utilizing great compositions, colour pallets, shading, characterization, mood, etc. That is more valuable. That is much much cooler than working for Riot. imo.

Initially, i also wanted to ask you some questions about how you assembled your portfolio, if you went to school, (if so) what it did/didn't provide for you going into the art field, and just how you landed the job in general. But i respect you and your time, and wouldnt want to be a burden or anything. If you ever have time for it, i would love to ask them, among others, and we can chat in DM if you'd prefer. Absolutely no pressure. Im happy just watching from the sidelines. I dont anticipate anything from you to begin with! I just hope youll know how influential your post was to read & see, to someone like me!

Oh man. I. How. Where do I even start except

This is one of the most uplifting, touching and encouraging messages I received in my life. I read it thrice. And I still can't believe how full of love it is. This is such high praise, I want you to know I will cherish it and carry it with me for a long long time. It's not often that an artist gets to learn how their art is perceived, not to mention in such a positive light. It really means a lot to me.

It makes me so happy to hear that my work illustrations retain a piece of me that is visible to others. I myself can't see it, but I imagine my closeness to the matter at hand heavily impacts my ability to see objectively at all. There was a time where I was worried that work was overriding the me that makes my art mine, that I was becoming a corporate rendering machine and that what I did at work (the shape language and style) was bleeding into my personal art. There is a part of me that is now breathing easier after reading your message. I would love to answer any questions you have, it's the least I can do to repay you! Feel free to send an ask or even an email, I'll try to be as thorough as I can be with my answers. I wish you happy holidays! Take care! And again thank you so much for taking the time to write this message!

[indieyuugure]

Hiii! Im doing a essay about ROTTMNT and TMNT do you have any ideas whatt ill do?

lol 😂 oh dear this seems a tad urgent.

Hm, well personally I would consider covering the both positive and accurate homeschooler representation in TMNT. It’s often overlooked but is really actually incredibly good and a deeper topic than maybe like art style.

A lot of media paints homeschoolers extremely inaccurately and often negatively. I can’t tell you how many times the “homeschooled” character’s in media are 2D friendless plain toast people with personalities that are literally just that they don’t go to school and it’s so incredibly insulting! But TMNT doesn’t do this!

I’ll tell you, as a homeschooler myself and having met NUMEROUS others, homeschoolers are wild, they’re full of personality and big dreams, often they have no interest in attending “normal school” and are usually better educated, they’re best friends with their siblings and very close with their parents, and actually tend to have more meaningful and lasting friendships than other kids.

All of these things is the TMNT is and it makes me so happy to have good representation that’s not loud and preaching but just subtly there because THAT’S HOW IT IS.

There are exceptions to everything I just listed—I can think of one person for just about every exception—but TMNT does a fantastic job of explaining in a lowkey way that homeschoolers aren’t aliens from another planet, they’re kids just like everyone else.

So anyway 😅 now that I’ve written my own rant, hopefully you’ll find that useful at all.

Other good topics could be the franchise’s themes of acceptance and learning to see beyond an outer appearance which as a show targeted towards children is a very good thing to learn (seriously children are the judgiest little things).

Another could be the franchise’s history from gritty young adult comics to colorful children’s cartoons.

You could also do something with the shows portrayal of positive familial relationships since most television often depicts siblings as annoying irritants and parents as unfeeling dictators, and while those are aspects of family life, they never show the positive things like unconditional love, and loyalty and understanding and very deep togetherness.

Hopefully any of this is useful, I’d recommend maybe asking a few other people for ideas (if you haven’t already) so you can get a wider selection of view points and of course more ideas 👍

[everythingisawayoflife]

TOP THREE TIMMYS LETS GO WOOOOOOO

these are my top three tim drakes (animated at least, i’m not well versed in the comics enough to pick my favorite tim runs in the comics)

3. batman unlimited

unpopular opinion but i lowkey fw this red robin suit. normally condom cowl is like love/hate but the fact tim has hair peeking out at the back implies a mullet and i kind of love that. its also one of the better designs in these movies (cause that nightwing suit is kind of a mess in my opinion why does he have ski jump hair like zayn from the adventurous adventures of one direction) we never got to see this guy without his mask on so that makes me sad. i also love this tim cause he’s kind of dumb. like he’s not NOT smart in this but he’s kind of stupid and it makes me laugh.

2. gotham by gaslight tim

the robins may not have had a lot of screen time but i soaked every single bit of it up. tim is tiny and full of rage (but not really, more like fear). he is INCREDIBLY small and i want to put him in my pocket and kiss his teensy forehead. he really is just a little boy and i want to see my little boy! i want dc to explore this universe further simply bc i fw the idea of bruce adopting them all at these ages and they already know each other previously. like it was my favorite part of the movie and might be one of my fave batman movies. like give me a sequel with all three of them + selina as their mother and i’ll be a happy happy camper.

1. TNBA tim

if anybody pays attention to my blog or ao3, you’ll know that THIS IS MY GUY. my boy here. this is my son who i just happen to love diagnosing with colds, flus, and other ailments. and yes, i am aware that he is basically tim in name only and is jason’s carbon copy but do i care? nope! i love timmy todd with all of my heart and soul and yearn for more of him. the people crave for timmy todd (the people being me). i would read a MILLION comics featuring timmy todd and the TNBA universe if i could. with the exception of some things (cough cough brubabs cough cough), I LOVE TNBA. i love tim and bruce’s relationship, they are so father-son i could write a paper on it. and im pretty sure ive read all the BTAS/TNBA comics that ran with the show and a little afterwards and even read a small comic/advertisement about tim having allergies and allergy meds making him sleepy!! dick and tim also have a sweet brotherly relationship in the comics and i fw it so hard!! DC give me more comics of this tim and my life is yours!!!! i would ask for more episodes of TNBA but not without kevin. NEVER without kevin. kevin conroy you are so missed. also - i love that the joker jr storyline gives tim’s story more edge and tragedy as everyone seems to love for batman and co. but as a protective mother, the joker jr storyline makes me so sad :((

i could also do this for dick…hmm…thinking…

[girlsinaband]

the girls in a band masterlist

here is my attempt to create a complete record of comics, shows, and movies about girls that are in a band. migrated from a cohost post. i have personally seen or read all of these. i have also added editorialization with my opinions of them. each section is vaguely in a "most-to-least liked" order, but i tried not to think about it too hard.

my criteria is vague and ephemeral. but generally it is along the lines of: there is at least one girl, and preferably at least two, performing with a physical instrument of any kind with a group of people. purely idol groups dont count for this. also see: The Formula

tv

we are lady parts: the only non anime entry in this section of the list, surprisingly! but a pinnacle of the form. i LOVE this show, it's incredible. and only twelve ~20 minute episodes total! the canonical girls in a band television show. it's funny, it's heartfelt, it's got hella band content. it's about a UK muslin girlpunk band trying to recruit an insanely anxious guitar player into their band while navigating family and relationships, like you do. this is one of my favorite early scenes in case you want more convincing: https://youtu.be/tzAGqmdOBzE

sound euphonium: this time, its a wind ensemble! the sports anime of girls in a band. incredible yuri. the first season is about Competition (guys we gotta rehearse real good and try and get past the prefectural competition!). and then the second season is about Trauma (band-wise, family-wise, relationship-wise, and more!). an adaptation of a bunch of light novels that are unfortunately mostly not translated into english (or not translated very well)

girls band cry: a truly fantastic show. as you can tell from the name, it knows exactly what its about. girl moves to tokyo to escape her family and then gets swept off her feet by an ex-member of a band she likes. this one is mostly about girls being pieces of shit. basically all of the characters are kinda a dick in a fun way, and it makes for great storytelling. going in, the main girl is sorta setting up to be a cute and demure, but it turns out she's a huge asshole to everyone around her. the band (togenashi togeari) is also a real life band that is performed by the voice actresses, and has great music and a 10-song album already! their music is very good. also the show is cg animation but it REALLY goes wild with it and makes the characters super expressive. literally no caveats on the style here like you normally get with cg, it's fantastic animation

bocchi the rock (adaptation of the comic): you've probably heard about this one. girl so anxious her animation is constantly melting gets roped into joining a band. takes the sorta ok 4koma and goes crazy with the adaptation, making use of animation to elevate the sorta basic 4koma gags into full-ass comedy scenes. awesome performances and music.

scott pilgrim takes off: reimagining of the scott pilgrim comic. even more great band content. it's good

k-on (adaptation): pure fluff girls in a band. very cute. kinda like spooning sugar directly into your mouth. it's fun. i wouldn't call it "plotless" but it's basically just about having fun with your friends in a band. oh my god as im writing this i just remembered this is an adaptation of a 4koma that i havent read yet, so i need to do that i have done this now

bang dream its mygo: yep, it's a bang dream! i havent played the gatcha games, but this is a perfectly good standalone show. sticks to the girls in a band formula. stop me if you've heard this one before: a girl wants to form a band, and tries to rope an anxious girl into joining. the cg animation is pretty good in my opinion, but it's still definitely that kind of thing where you might have to get over it

jellyfish can't swim in the night: this more or less slides into this list on technicalities (they have a guitar player and a pianist! and...a producer! and also an artist. they also do perform on a stage. thats a band, right? probably). an artist, who became disillusioned with drawing when her middle school friends mocked a drawing she was proud of, is swept off her feet by an ex-idol (sound familiar?) that's in love with that art piece she is now ashamed of. they form essentially an online artist collective, producing music and music videos with artist girl's art and ex-idol girl's singing. it's about being a Creator online and dealing with all that entails (online identities, shitty randos). the characters all have some Trauma from their respective middle school experiences, and they are working through it. the show started out very strong, but fell apart in the second half and now that it's finished i dont really recommend watching it. very unfortunate

carole and tuesday: directed by the cowboy bebop guy! very up and down. two girls living on Future Mars playing guitar and keyboard form a duo together. the first half was pretty good! it's about them forming their group and gradually getting more famous. the second half is horrible and has insane stupid liberal politics. (what if trump wasn't actually a bad guy he was just being blackmailed by an evil ai or some shit like that. ive pushed it out of my mind. just watch the first half if you want to see it)

whisper me a love song (adaptation): this sure is an adaptation of the manga! i think the manga is only ok and this adaptation is pretty cheap and brings nothing new to the table. also still airing at the time of writing so this adaptation just kinda ground to a halt with like 3 episodes left to go and there's no sign of it continuing to air. weird. it still wasnt very good

bang dream: yep, it's a bang dream! this is the only anime on this list i actively made the decision to stop watching because i hated it so much. i finished season 1, but then season 2 had awful cg and made it clear that i was missing things from not having played the gatcha. don't bother with this and watch mygo instead if you want an actual television show

movies

linda linda linda: my favorite movie and one of my favorite things ever. after a girl band lost two members before their big school festival performance, they ask the first girl they see to join their band as a vocalist, who happens to be a korean exchange student who doesn't speak much japanese. teenage shenanigans ensue as they scramble to figure out their new performance in just a few days. the story is portrayed in a kinda dreamy, meandering way, and is very much about high school girls being high school girls. they know they need to do something important but they keep getting distracted by other things in their lives

liz and the blue bird: my second favorite movie and also one of my favorite things ever. a spinoff of sound euphonium, set after the events of the first two seasons of the show, but very much a standalone thing that can be watched in isolation. two girls (a flutist and an oboist) are playing a duet in this year's show, but a fallout in their relationship in the years prior is still interfering with their performance. they need to resolve their differences and their love and their futures in order to ensure the success of the entire ensemble in the competition. everything about it is gorgeous. i don't know what else to say. a movie where just watching a performance can make you cry

swing girls: movie about teenage chaos. a brass band is going to perform in a baseball game. but then basically everyone gets sick. so they need to try and put together a new band! i gotta rewatch this one it's been a while my memory is hazy

sound euphonium our promise a brand new day (sequel): and now the direct sequel to season 2 of the anime! this is definitely not a standalone thing. remember liz and the blue bird? this takes place during that same year! you get to see the full performance of that piece! but this time it's about the girls from the show and in the show's art style

the runaways: kristen stewart plays joan jett in this one and she's so hot that it basically has ruined my ability to have any coherent thoughts about the movie. if that sounds like a pitch to you then you should watch it

k-on (sequel): sequel to the anime! the girls take a trip to london. not really a standalone thing but i guess you could watch it on its own if you really wanted to. just a great compression of the fun of the show into movie form. girls having a good time

scott pilgrim vs the world (adaptation): you already know this one. i like the story of the comic more but the character performances are great

josie and the pussycats: goofy in that disney channel movie kinda way. the government is secretly trying to use subliminal messaging in music to mind control people into buying things. and the girls' band is brought into this evil world. and only they can stop it....

we are the best: swedish film about some 13 year old girls trying to form a punk band even though they don't actually know how to play any instruments. it's fine! definitely girls in a band but it didn't do much for me

jem and the holograms: i really wanted to find a contrarian viewpoint on this movie to be like "everyone says its bad but i dunno i think its fun!" but no, it just is actually bad. four sisters rocket to fame after uploading one of the sisters singing to youtube. and also there is...a....robot? made by one of the girls' father, that uhhh beatboxes and leads them on a scavenger hunt? i only watched this like four days ago and it's already rolling off my mind. dumb in the "bad disney channel original movie" way (unlike josie and the pussycats which has a goofy camp charm going for it)

comics

how do we relationship: yuri about two college students who are in their school's band club. more focused on their relationship than the bands, but there still is a lot of band content and performances

scott pilgrim: what more can be said

bocchi the rock gaiden: hiroi kikuri no fukazake nikki: the better version of the bocchi the rock comic, since it's not a 4koma. follows a mostly drunken hiroi around, which is something we all want and need

k-on: a great 4koma! unlike the bocchi manga, this really stands on its own as a well-done comic beyond the (also excellent) adaptation. sticks to the format really well and has some truly hilarious gags that i think would only work in 4koma form. lots of fun. also holy hell mugi is really gay in it. im glad the high school sequel comic gave ui and azusa got their own volume to be in the spotlight, they deserve it

beat & motion: wow, jellyfish can't swim in the night really is just doing the same plot as this, huh. and it makes it into this list on an even more tenuous technicality than jellyfish did. an artist, who became disillusioned with drawing when her his middle school friends mocked a drawing she he was proud of, is swept off her feet by a ex-idol musician he's a fan of that's in love with that art piece she is now ashamed of an animation he posted online. this is DEFINITELY "boys in a band". and its KINDA "girls in a band"? im allowing this in the list because it's absolutely got the vibes and two women do play instruments together in it like once or twice. i am enjoying it so far, curious to see where it goes

nana: i stopped reading this after 9 volumes (out of 21) because it got kinda bad and boring. but i enjoyed everything before that! and there is also an anime adaptation and two live action movies i need to watch. two girls named nana, one of whom is/used to be in a band run into each other randomly and end up living together. sort of in the "how do we relationship genre" of girls in a band where it's more about the relationships inside and out of the band. but nana is very much in the band and performs a lot! this is the most heterosexual yuri ive ever seen. they say the most romantic things about each other and talk about kissing all the time and then will be like "damn all this romantic talk about my roommate is really making me hanker for a boyfriend"

whisper me a love song: bloom into you-kind yuri about one of the girls falling in love with the other girl's performance in a band. very basic yuri stuff

bocchi the rock: the manga that spawned the anime! it's a 4koma. and believe it or not, it's not actually very good. the anime did a lot to tighten up the jokes and storytelling

k-on shuffle: it's k-on again! but with different girls. as of writing only one volume is out. it's...fine! i dont care about the characters as much as the original show which is a pretty big knock against it

hello melancholic: also yuri, but didn't leave as much of an impression on me. girl gets pressured into joining a band because she's too gay to say no

kuuden noise no himegimi / kuuden no himegimi: less explicitly yuri, but, you know, girls. also didn't leave too much of an impression on me. guitar girl with an ex-rocker dad meets a girl with a beautiful singing voice. and then joins a band with some of her dad's rocker buddies, then tries to get singer girl to join. its kinda slow and very elemental to this genre in the sense that its mostly just people talking about the band and band related things (practicing, how hard it is to compose music, etc). also one of the few of these that lets its band be properly bad and disliked by people

things that I will add once i read/watch them:

shiori experience

super sonico

show by rock

her smell

miss granny

and that's all i got! let me know what ive missed. i (obviously) love this genre so i'll consume most anything in it

[evelili]

I just finished your Magnum Opus, and it was super great. I especially loved the Pinkie chapter (which surprised me because she’s my least favorite character!). Anyway, do you have any mlp fic recommendations?

oh boy do i have a list for you, strap in!

if you read my magnum opus writeup, you may have seen i mentioned three authors that dragged me back into mlp. if you're interested in sciset (and what's probably the most popular eqg fic on the entire site), Long Road to Friendship by Albi is a longfic that started after the first eqg movie and is a rlly lighthearted read. i don't normally care for OCs but gosh if i dont accept Albi's version of trixie's parents as canon in my heart haha. if you're interested in pony adventure fic, i also rlly liked Sunset of Time, another rlly well done longfic ive carried in my brain since i first read it xd

the second author, Monochromatic, aka the raritwi authority aka someone who has a GREAT taste in editors, has written three of the most formative longfic ive ever read: The Enchanted Library, its sequel The Enchanted Kingdom, and Crimson Lips which i unfortunately can no longer link since she's taken it down, but i believe you can still buy physically through PFP if you wanted to take a gamble on it (it would be a very good gamble). apart from her longfic though i also adore some of her shorter works, including but not limited to The Choices We Make, a really interesting Pinkie study that's definitely shaped how i view her, Your Own Worst Enemy, which is just. peak rarity content, and Injuring Eternity, which while being one of her older works still has certain passages that wreck me emotionally on sight.

and the third author responsible for my magnum opus is the one and only Aragon, who i can not only recommend for his fics but ALSO for his blog posts and comics (see the comic index on his profile for links to all of them, as well as this amazing blogpost about his neighbour that is just peak comedy). he's also the writer responsible for the banger longfic Crime and Funishment which absolutely defined my writing aspirations for a few years and is the definition of comedy if you looked it up in my heart, as well as In Hindsight, yet another banger rarity fic, and Love Is In Doom which is just bloody, silly, stupid fun (and has sunset shimmer in it)

and then if we want to talk fics i love written by other authors, Sleepless Knights by r5h has my favourite brand of scitwi written right into the margins, Administrative Angel by horizon has one of the most amazing endings to an opening chapter ive ever read AND an amazing celestia, The Best Night Ever by Capn_Chryssalid is a fandom classic with a groundhog day twist on the gala episode from s1, Side by Side by Krickis is a feel-good rarijack oneshot w a focus on lgbt (specifically trans) themes, Wax Earplugs by Reedhoarse has a dysfunctional mess of an adagio dazzle that i adore, Merge Request by FanOfMostEverything has all the scitwi/midnight shenanigans you could ask for wrapped up in the relatable content of github hell, Guppy Love by PaulAsaran is a rarijack longfic with an incredibly realistic setting and an interpretation of mermaids that i love so much, Doused Flame by heartlessons has me handshaking on the "sopping wet pathetic relatable guy" flash sentry interpretation that won me over recently, 80 Days 'Til the World's Farthest Shore by Cynewulf feels like reading a professionally published short story (and i mean that in the best of ways, it's enthralling), and finally if you'll allow me to be self-centred a bit i also am very proud of my two oneshots Heartstrings and Something About Midnights if you wanted to check em out too xd

oops long post!! im not sorry for it, i hope you can find something in here that catches your fancy (or even all of it haha), there's soooo many incredible fics in the fandom it floors me every day that i can read all these incredible works for free!!!

[dennydreadful]

HI THANKS FOR ANSWERING MY UNHINGED ASK THIS WILL BE VERY LONG BUT I READ THE COMIC IN ONE SITTING. im now going back and forth between imagining what kind of deeply toxic pseudo-vigilante shenanigans bunny (and caleb by association) get into post epilogue and thinking up scenarios where before shit got really real they both get soooooo much good therapy and heal together and end up toxicly codependent and kinda bad for each other still but in a way that doesn’t involve murder. like one of those aita posts where the general consensus is the couple should stay together bc even tho they’re both just exacerbating each others Issues at least nobody else is getting hurt. also i think dave and juicybaby hook up at some point.

have you ever seen that post that’s like “media in which it’s so very obvious all the problems could’ve been avoided if this guy got some therapy and a consensual bdsm relationship but that is very much Not What Happens in the story”? bc i feel like that applies to caleb. rip caleb you would’ve loved being a more well adjusted girl’s puppy and being led around the mall on a leash until security kicked you out. maybe next time king.

none of this to say i didn’t enjoy the comic as presented immensely btw. despite my ramblings here i think the comic ended in the most satisfying (for the audience at least) way possible. we love to see a dogboy beg for his own demise <3 we love to see a pretty girl go from justified anger to righteous rage <3 we love when characters have a deeply unhealthily fucked up perception of love and care and mental stability <3

like imo psychological horror is at its best when you take relatively normal people facing relatively mundane horrors then letting the aftermath of those horrors warp them beyond repair. in a good psych horror (at least when it’s like ii is and based on deeply human characters dealing with stuff in the most unhelpful way they can) you should be able to understand why and how things turned out like they did. you can think of a million ways it could’ve turned out differently if only the characters had seen the end coming, but the end they met was inevitable bc they *can’t* see it coming. the red flags aren’t obvious bc they increase so gradually. the bones of the building were there from the very beginning, but how were the characters supposed to know whether it’d be a home or a slaughterhouse? there were no plans, just bricks to lay and a storm coming. and that’s exactly how i felt finishing ii.

anyways. a caleb shaker charm would be so awesome i would love to go darla from finding nemo on his ass. thanks for the incredible comic my brain chemistry is different now and i’m kissing u on both cheeks in thanks MWAH MWAH

Cut because this post ended up really long, but here's Dave and Juicy:

idyllic island is a big old vent comic in a lot of ways. i drew on a lot of my own emotions and experiences to make it. i was in a very dark place for a very long time. i could have very easily gone down an even worse path, and very easily have been taken advantage of in a very dangerous way. but "guy goes to therapy and learns how to stop climbing into a wood chipper" is not a terribly interesting story imo, even if it's obviously the better outcome in real life. much more interesting to read about characters hurtling headlong towards certain doom lol

that said i always enjoy a good tragedy that leaves me feeling like "it didn't need to be like this..." (even though I know it was always the only way it was ever going to be) and imagining a happy world where everything worked out as best it could, so it's really cool to hear about someone doing that something I made!

before you read the next part just know that i LOVE hearing people's headcanons so feel free to disregard anything/everything i say here. death of the author and all that lol

imo he would have needed to never meet bunny for him to actually heal, and for her to not charge ahead on her path of destruction. even if he had gone to therapy and straightened himself up, bunny is so toxic she would have found exactly the right way to break him again (and honestly she would enjoy the added challenge). and couple's therapy would be SO BAD for him because she'd learn how manipulate and gaslight him even harder.

honestly I can't see a future for bunny where she DOESNT commit murder. she's a scorpion. it's simply her nature. it's not her fault we live in a society. perhaps she could have become a doctor and euthanized her patients discretely. i think she'd enjoy forensic science as well, but that would literally make her girl Dexter lol. maybe she could work for a three letter agency.

but yeah I absolutely agree that caleb would have LOVED to be in a 24/7 lifestyle BDSM relationship with a girl that did not want to grind him down to dust and scatter him on the wind. being a kinky freak with a loving partner would have fixed him 100%

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

aha,,, I had this really in-depth thing I wrote about how much I like your art,,, and the first half, maybe even first 2/3 got deleted,,, I was so excited writing it, I have no idea what it all even contained anymore,,,

So... the first paragraph after this here is rewritten from what I could remember writing the first time. I know it's not as in-depth as it originally was. Hopefully it still gets the depth of what I want to say across... The second paragraph is what DIDN'T get deleted. Aaaa

I only just recently found you and started following you, but I have to say, your art and comics and writing for the ASL brothers is just. So unbelievably good. You're up there in my favorites. Top three. Top two even. The way you write them is like watching a group of close friends interacting in real life, down to the silliness and shenanigans and inside jokes and abrupt changes in topic or mood in a conversation, including superficial changes (one that comes to mind is when Ace goes something like "I'll bet ONE MILLION DOLLARS" or some incredibly large number, really intensely suddenly, in response to Luffy's saying he'd be $20 or something, and then there's a beat, and then Luffy is like "$20 is fine :)" and Ace is just like "Alright :)". That kind of thing is something Ive had happen, something I've seen happen to others... but I've never seen it written/drawn so well.) Everything about their interactions is so incredibly natural, so full of life. Every time I read one of your comics I'm in constantly in awe and taking mental notes. Well. Okay, no, that's a lie. I WISH I were taking mental notes, but I get so caught up reading because it flows SO smoothly that I forget to.

And that's another thing!! How the way you do paneling and story beats in your comics makes reading while also visualizing movement and transitions so seamless. It's like, the visual-narrative equivalent of a hot knife through butter. I've read plenty of comics-- from novice to professional-- that have really clunky paneling and/or pacing. And similarly, I've read as many that let you read everything easily, but it's like, TOO easy, and there's no weight drawing your eyes to the actual art or keeping them there. And I've seen comics that are somewhere between these two, but still don't feel like they have a good flow. (All this as passive observation, I'm not one to actively look to critique something.) Anyway, what I'm saying is, the way you set up your comics-- the art, the paneling, the pacing, the speech bubbles, the shots, EVERYTHING-- makes them just. MM!! An absolute frickin delight to read. And it's combined with some of the best, most natural-feeling writing I've ever had the pleasure of reading. You balance everything so well. In this age of being desensitized to humor online, I must say, the silliness in parts of the Water Is Thicker Than Blood comic make me genuinely grin and even laugh to myself alone in my room. It feels so real, so genuine, so... I'm running out of words. I'm sorry. I just... REALLY love how you make stuff. I want you to know that I'm a big fan, and, even though I'm older than you I'm learning a lot, and your stuff is so well-done. I hope this isn't too strange, aha... if it is, I apologize. I got a little intense

Oh woweewowee!!!!!!

Thank you for enjoying how i depict them! I really enjoy drawing them as realistic as i can. I really want people to understand them how i do in my head, and im glad it comes off perfectly because i love these little gremlins! And it really is surprisingly easy to think up situations of them being little dumbasses together :) just put them in situations, think about the ways any normal person could possibly react to the information thats given, scrap all that, use the outlier, and bam! That’s a bonafide ASL dynamic right there!

Thats really nice of you to say how you like how i panel my comics because thats one of the things im a bit self conscious of, truthfully. My formatting isnt as neat or polished as other comics are, and i really dont care to change that, but its nice to know that there is still charm and interest in my style of comics.

I get what you mean with the being desensitized to humor online nowadays. Idk what about it but its kinda hard to get me to full on laugh at memes like i used to. But i really enjoy putting in gags that i think and I chuckle to myself about for a while after i thought of it. The “that doesnt taste anything like ass” gag got me chuckling for so long to myself while i was at work. Just like,,, the shock and awe that Sabo is in from having witnessed that is so funny to me, i dont think that gag will ever get old in my head.

That’s really cool that me just goofing around can be a learning opportunity to people :0 ive never even considered that could be the case

Not at all! Thanks so much for your thoughts and opinions! This is very heartwarming and im very happy i could produce something thats so meaningful to others :)

Thanks for the ask, too :D

[yuukei-yikes]

I love your yuukei quartet content so much ): them ): I don’t think kagepro will ever leave me as a story… Ayano my GOAT

what’s ur favorite thing about each of the quartet? (if you can’t choose , then a few qualities that stand out)

THE GIRL CAN LEAVE THE KAGEPRO BUT THE KAGEPRO CANT LEAVE THE GIRL

it's been a while since i've made yuukei quartet content i think! im gonna get back on that shit i prommy. theyre my faves so i always go back to them lol

my favorite in the quartet and generally is takane obvi. i love everything abt her but to keep it contained and on theme, i love that in the quartet she truly stands out as the most normal. ofc no one would think that at first glance, they'd say it's haruka or ayano, but what makes takane so particularly comical is that despite everything she still operates under common human hope. ayano, shintaro and haruka are all pessimists, 2 of them suicidal and the other very close to dying. but takane... she's honestly a pretty Happy person prior the disaster that happens. her problems were mostly regular teenage horrors, with the addition of her illness that was simply an annoyance to her since it didn't threaten her life. the most horrible thing in her life was mostly her best friend being close to death every other day, but then again that works as haruka's main problem rather than hers. of course this is due poor planning on jin's part and his lack of interest in writing takane, but it will have to do i guess.

i think that makes her pretty unique in the entire cast itself, but works as a funny counterpart to the other 3. they're literally this tiktok

anyways erm erm. i love shintaro is the most complicated person on earth and makes everything 1000 times more difficult than it is but he's still super heroic. he makes the relationships within the quartet all tremble bc he is THAT messy. he will date ayano and make it everyone's problem while at the same time crying and moaning and throwing up at everything haruka and takane do without including him

ayano is fail girl number 1 in my heart. why don't we give a go to the girl who always fails and is bad at everything. her brain should be studied in a laboratory. the way her purposes have this inner conflict, between wanting to save everyone and just wanting to end it all. it's crazy. using the plot itself as a plot device to herself, to have an excuse to commit suicide? goddddd ayano you're one of a kind. and then she gets the worst punishment of all: she gets to come back. and she has to live with the choice she made that day, while being perceived as a selfless hero by most. the way this girl hates herself is unmatched

haruka, making the perfect team with the optimistic takane, is completely self aware. he is SO conscious of his issues, everyone else's issues, he's incredibly perceptive and mature. but since he's DYING he doesn't pay much attention to it. so when he Comes Back And Lives, he doesn't really know what to do with all this information and he can just sit and watch the shitshow that's unfolding (takane being obsessed with shintaro, shintaro ruining every relationship ever, ayano trying to distract herself from her evident survivor's guilt by focusing on trivial things)

[cosmicangst]

ok ok ok i just got home and as always here are my thoughts

really enjoyed colin lemoine's take. in terms of just pure vibes hes a step closer to damon daunno than reeve carney. he's not as boyish comic relief as nicholas barasch and he feels like the most.... grounded?? orpheus i've seen. he acts out the "touched" aspect without flanderizing orpheus into just his naivete and rendering him foolish and infantilized. the best way i can describe it is that he just seems like an optimistic but ultimately ordinary guy you could meet at a grocery store line who also happens to be plagued w Unfortunately Blessed with Musical Visions by the Gods Against His Will Syndrome

amaya braganza!!!!! jesus what a vocal powerhouse. her flowers killed me. something about her vocal inflection or acting choices really made her grief over losing her life and her love so visceral. she would be right at home at the obc recording because her voice was pitch perfect. she has a terrific belt but it's during the quiet moments where she's the most effective. like at the end of all i've ever known you can really feel she's already mourning her loss before she's even lost anything which is why flowers was more heartbreaking than normal

will mann is the most intriguing part of this cast to me. hermes actors have the choice of landing on the spectrum of objective narrator to a guardian figure. will feels like the most paternal. you get the sense that not only did he observe orpheus grow up he also had an active hand in raising him. when orpheus nervously stops during epic iii will says "go on, baby" with "baby" obviously ad-libbed 😭 like yes that is his baby

my only real critique of this performance is that the show doesn't actually pick up until way down hadestown. not sure if the cast just wasn't feeling the crowd or themselves until that point (it was a sunday night so i get it). i just make note of this bc livin it up on top is this high energy number that felt strangely middle energy for some reason lol anyone who was experiencing the show for the first time and had no frame of reference wouldn't notice anything amiss but bc im abnormal and pedantic i definitely noticed

and this is by no means a critique of lana gordon's persephone whose lady of the underground is one of the top highlights of the show. she brought the roof down during "there's a crack in the wall".

which brings me to my favorite part of the show: matthew patrick quinn. i didn't think anyone could replace patrick page in my heart but i was just in love with everything matthew brought to this character. he manages to combine facets of patrick and kevyn morrow's hades that i love together. matthew has kevyn's slick charisma and anger but he has patrick's power and world-weariness. he's this incredibly tall, serpentine, and long limbed figure that towers over everyone. patrick as an intimidating and antagonistic force felt like an ancient old god who can break your house by inducing an earthquake but matthew's vibe is more like he could literally be the snake that could tempt you out of a garden of eternal paradise

he and lana are also 🔥🔥🔥 like you can simultaneously feel the millenia of history between them but they also have the chemistry of two hot people going on a date for the first time after a long period of slowburn. the resentment, the familiarity, he way he's obviously repressing his desperation to keep her and both trying to look unaffected and turning to their vices when they reject each other's touch i could absolutely scream

which is why i was sobbing by the end of epic iii. i think the catharsis was just a lot lol and they were so playful during their dance too! like actual lovers who have the most absolute fun during good times. matthew does this little wiggle for her when they're sidestepping and im 100% sure lana broke character and they both started laughing it was so sweet

anyway the fates, the ensemble, everyone was astounding and im gonna see if i can grab another cheap balcony seat before they leave in a week to see if i can catch j antonio rodriguez as orpheus

[joshriku]

What are your favorite fics you've read in the past year?

hi thank you for asking i love to talk about fics i read. im so sorry you didn't specify a fandom so i'm going to talk about everything i favorited this year so far lol. i am currently reading this cherik fic called exit wounds by lemonadegarden and i cannot stress enough how good it is. the worldbuilding, the politics, the characters, the storytelling, the emotions, just so so good. please read it if you are a cherik liker. i love it. i haven't finished it yet but omg. not in any particular order

the patch of sand where we buried the dog by shroomyystar: this fic is about luna and erik running into each other and getting ice cream. it should be normal but it's magneto family you know it's fucking insane. you don't even understand the luna and erik brainrot i gained from reading this i was like oh my god his granddaughter.. magnificent character work. to me the magneto family in comics have such a special specific dynamic and it's so well nailed here. it's crazy

make the fire rise by frozencinders: alright i don't go to baldur's gate 3 but i know enough about wyll and astarion and i really like this author so i might as well read their wyllstarion do you feel me. it's about yearning and romance novels and vampires and everything u could ever ask for. i loved it sm. one of my favorite things about this is the narration, like the way the thoughts flow so easily while keeping in beat with the character voice and making u feel so earnest..... gorgeous.......

what's the point in playin' a game you're gonna lose by shroomyystar: raven/irene in regard to the x-men blue origins revelation. raven being so fucking mad at irene but also so deeply in love with her to the point it's the same thing. when i say toxic yuri this is exactly what i mean it's exactly raven trying to kill her and thinking it's like having sex. that's EXACTLY what i mean.

gravity felled the apple (but the spiders stuck around) by maroonmusings: insomniac spider-man 2, peter gets to keep the teaching job and everyone thinks he has a favorite student (miles) which creates some drama until they figure it out a little too well. it's so fucking good. when i read peter parker, i want him to sound exactly like this. the character voices.. the non-canon characters perfectly fitting in this... the entire spider-man cast playing very well in this fic.. THE DIALOGUE! writing peter is such an art but this person GETS it.

taste the way that you bleed by maroonmusings: peter parker/astarion based on that one time they made a joke about it. again i don't go to bg3 but fantastic character work, it's literally so in character it totally sold me on this pairing - not that i need much convincing for crackships. that's just who i am brother.i fucking loved this so much.

Some Catching Up to Do by magicasen: jean/wanda! jean/wanda set in x-men first class. it's so fucking good and funny, it feels incredibly in character to the xmfc versions of them. it's such a feel-good fic about them in that period of time too, and pietro's cameos were too fucking funny. i love girls being girls and being in love :(

lech lecha by ferriswheelsdayoff: hosea matthews character analysis it will blow your tits off. i'm still floored by the amount of work into each line and how it's connected to real world teachings and how it manages to weave all of hosea's important relationships while analyzing him too. saur good

take what you give me by magentateam_bplot: storm/magneto. THIS is the sub erik type of shit i enjoy. magnificent characterization of both of them i could easily read 9k of it 1k was too little!!!

Girls' Nights by EmilyArmadillo: gabby bonding with vault laura!!!!!!! I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD IDEA like i wish we actually had gabby's reaction to talon? i mean ofc that's asking too much from duggan, or for duggan to care, but this person delivered so well. everything was so well implemented, even the bit where the other laura kinney sees her and leaves the room. ahhh so good

Graveside by NotesFromSarah: the aftermath of erik burying anya after the fire, and then him and the twins coming together to visit her burial place. i thought this was amazing and heartbreaking and also a very groundbreaking magneto fam style for me..... not a lot of fics focused on them during the 80s, which is a good place for them to be somewhat normal around each other, and this fic does such a good job of using tragedy to join them without disregarding their past. gorgeoussss

Last Chance by Lefaym: my notes on this says 'old man sex heart hands' and it's exactly that. doomed timeline cherik from dofp have such a special heart to me even if i don't go much to moviesparts as i did before and oh my god... it's about that longing that regret that they're running out of time and also your hip being sore so you can't really hold a sex position. i love it.

Speed of Silence, Sound of Silence by neverminetohold: x-men evolution pietro & erik. something goes wrong and pietro thinks he's going to be scolded, but erik doesn't scold him. 'His quickening stride screams of his wish to escape this moment that is as far removed from a lecture as it can get.

That defines their relationship in a nutshell. Will they never be able to move beyond this?' you don't even get it im insane. im insane. im insane

chatoyant by unsungillumination: this fic is the best use of the fake dating trope that's ever existed, probably because the main protagonists of this are light and L death note. L and Light get in a relationship for strategic reasons until light gives up the death note, forgetting it is strategic, and believes it's actually real. it's so fucking good. also devastating

Drive. by MissAmyShay: the bear fic. insane. carmy and richie reconciliation, nat and richie flashback to when mikey was first declared dead, nat richie bonding, nat giving birth, donna mentions. what else could i even ask for. it's amazing. i don't even need to read any other fics

telltale by unsungillumination: L haunts light after his death. it's literally ruining light's life. this is my favorite thing in the world i love a good fic about grief and about fucked up soulmates who are not soulmates in a traditional way. i recently finished death note after leaving it on standby for a decade and i'm thriving

This Is How I Disappear by TzviaAriella: kira gets found out. he gets sentenced to death row. he asks the task force to shoot him. it's literally the most haunting fic in the world and i'm so so so so obsessed with it i kinda wanna reread it but it's like devastating and most of all GOOD

they both die at the end by unsungillumination: when i say i love fics that make me feel at odds with my own mortality and how i am spending my life and also grief for the future and grief for things past and grief, in the actual sense of death, ohhh. oh my god. what kills me is that this fic is just so grounded as well. you know the ending is coming. you just hang onto the little moments hoping MAYBE it won't happen, but you know. i loved it so bad. also this is a death note fic again

Connect the Dots by GrayJay: SCOTT SUMMERS ASKS MATT MURDOCK OF DAREDEVIL FAME TO BE A TEACHER AT THE SCHOOL AND THEY BOND OVER HOW SIMILAR THEIR DISABILITIES ARE it's ltierally so godo it's insane i love my favorite characters talking so much :(

the thirty-second hour by unsungillumination: this fic is about light yagami not being able to lie for 4 hours in each day, but it happens at random times, as a consequence of regaining his memories of the death note. it's inspired by i found you in the fire by yosgay which is ALSO one of my favorite fics even if it's not from my current 2024 reads but it IS TO ME. anyway. point is a character like light being forced to tell the truth is amazing. the layers of performance and what truth even means being analyzed through light's own eyes... mmmwah..

Tough Love by UmbrellaMartialGod: haikyuu fic. suga/tsukki. i was like no one in this world understands my fucked up haikyuu dynamic ship in which tsukki has a life-ruining unrequited crush on suga that no one else knows about except yamaguchi EXCEPT THIS PERSON!!!!!!!! THIS PERSON WROTE IT!!!!!!! IMAGINE THAT. HAVING A FIC ABOUT A RAREPAIR THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEEDED. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE. I GENUINELY DONT KNOW HOW TO ACT

anyway, thank you for asking. i love fanfic and i love talking about it. hope you enjoy either of these

[beatcroc]

How do you feel about Theodore Noisevelt? As someone with ADHD I can feel it oozinf out of him so bad I love him so much

noise is the one guy i've kept intentionally 1-dimensional/ comic relief because i simply enjoy tormenting him too much and if i gave him any real depth i'd start feeling bad about it shjsdjsdf. also i dont even TRY to reconcile the unmasked 'just some guy' Theodore J. with noise's regular look because theres just way too much mental dissonance there. hes not allowed to be normal like that theodore j. isnt real he cant hurt me

i started trying to come at this one like 3 different ways and it turns out i have a lot of trouble organizing my thoughts about noise too. he sucks and i hate him. by which i mean hes great and i love him. I think he's one of the best examples of how to make a character legitimately fun and enjoyable despite being a horrible little shitlord with zero redeeming qualities. You just gotta 1: keep it light, 2:CRUCIALLY: make him funny, and 3: as a potent extra bonus in noise's case specifically, make him a huge fucking loser who is only /almost/ able to fully convince you of the contrary.

Point 1 is like 90% just because this game is funny cartoons and leans hard into that, and noise is like, the MOST cartoons out of everyone. like when i say unmasked noise haunts me it's because he does not feel like he should be A Guy. he is a Cartoon Entity. but seeing as pizza tower can also pull a surprising amount of gravitas when it wants to, that last 10% is really just that like. Noise isn't really actively mean? He is an absolute hellion but he's not Mean. More than anything he just wants to get a rise out of people, and though this often entails being destructive, none of his bastardry really does much lasting or large-scale damage [compared to, perhaps, lets say, pizzahead]

2 wraps pack into both other points; he's funny both because it's cartoons, and because he's a huge loser. A tangential point to both of those that fits here though is that he's fucking like pathologically obsessed with peppino. Which is really par the course for like half the characters in this game, and i do think at least half the reason he targets peppino so much is just that peppino is Incredibly Easy to get a big reaction out of, but it also seems like there's more to it that just that? and for noise specifically there's like zero logical reason for it??? He is, in nearly all walks of life, far better off than peppino, and yet. Here he is. Seemingly quite jealous and insistent on tormenting [and perhaps even imitating?] this guy who is realistically quite far beneath him. And like. Why. Don't you have better things to be doing mr. TV star? You literally have better things to be doing but this is what you're dedicating yourself to you fucking little weirdo. And it's not even like a genuine hatred! It's a bit! They're still like lunch buddies off-camera or whatever! I forgot where I was going with this im moving on

Point 3 is just. He doesn't have any fucking friends? You can kinda get the vibe of this normally but getting his campaign REALLY drives home how much emptier all his shtick is than peppino's. And this would potentially be kinda sad if not for the fact that 1. He doesn't care at all and 2. It is his own damn fault. for being such a such a petty little gloryhound. like for the most part the cast of this game is pretty befriend-able but noise is only particularly interested in being the center of attention at all times; and he will lie, cheat, and kill to make sure it stays that way. and again hes allowed to do this because its funny cartoons. and also because no one cares. its just like yeah, that's noise, he's our local bastard, whatever. he puts on so much bravado and no one is phased by it they all know he is full of shit. he never drops the act because GOD FORBID he not be the coolest and best at everything forever and everybody else just kinda lets him believe it and/or let him believe he has them fooled. there's also the occasional peeks that he hates but then like BRO WHY ARE YOU DOING IT???? YOU CAN STOP. NOBODY WOULD MIND!! IVE SEEN YOU HAVING CASUAL LUNCH WITH PEPPINO!!!! anyway. i think thats pretty much everything i wanted to say.

tldr: thank you funny cartoons

[aprofessionalwithoutstandards]

ok so like pitch me bushmed. like explain why i should ship it. give me the juice. im intrigued but not convinced rn (please)

Okay so full disclosure: Sniper and Medic are two of my favorite characters and I like mushing my favorite characters together like dolls. I genuinely identify heavily with Sniper tf2 and use him as a representation of myself, and Medic tf2 is a guy I think is really hot and over the years have actually developed like a little fictional crush on. Also my real girlfriend identifies with Medic, so I'm Sniper and she's Medic so we're bushmed irl. I liked bushmed before this, but my more recent surge in interest in it IS bc of this relationship

HOWEVER there is stuff about bushmed, flat and on paper and without any personal stuff, that makes me really like them! I think Medic and Sniper are two guys who are obviously "different" from "normal people" (everyone in tf2 is "different" to a degree, but even among tf2 characters Medic is seen as a sadistic megalomaniac and Sniper is seen as an anti-social recluse [see: how Demo talks about him when he thinks he's not there in comic 4]), in VERY different ways. I think it's not Really that Medic "doesn't realize" that he's different, at least not all the time, but that he's grown to not let it bother him, and I think that would be a really nice really positive impact on Sniper's life. Also there's the obvious element of Medic reviving Sniper in comic 5, which he CHOSE to do, because he wanted to have Sniper back. I don't actually think this "imbalances their power" or anything, I think it makes Sniper supremely grateful to Medic and Medic immensely proud of Sniper and if they weren't into each other before it kinda makes them rethink things. I also just love that element of experimentation as a form of romance thing that Medic ships always get in relation to Sniper - I've seen a couple people say that they think Medic is "too weird" for Sniper, but I disagree! Sniper's probably not as into the hard science of it all the way someone like Engie or Demo would be, but he's still Into watching Medic test the limits of both of their bodies and if anything, enjoys the attention. Romanticizing and eroticizing "unusual" parts of the body and "unusual" interpersonal acts can be suuuper nice when ur a freak, and I think Sniper would appreciate having something like his autopsy scars or his sharp teeth being romanticized or eroticized. I just think someone like Medic, who is like So openly unabashedly weird and horrible and incredible, Really has the potential to bring out a lot of good things in Sniper. They have such a lovely freako scientist/freako test subject relationship. I think I've called it "sexy Frankenstein/sexy creature" in the past and I stand by that. Just adore them

[a-libra-writes]

Hello! Can I ask you for some romantic headcanons for comics lackadaisy Wes Clyde.

Incredibly based of u to request lackadaisy PLUS a fairly new/minor(?) Character im very fond of. also uhh oops this ended up being some additional dating HCs as well?

No warnings, reader is intended to be femme.

So - it's easy to get Wes' attention. He likes a pretty face and he frequents places that are full of them - not just the Marigold speakeasy he works for, but other illicit bars and dance halls. It's a special thing for him to keep interested in a particular person, especially when his job has him out at all hours.

His more old-fashioned side comes out, first of all! He wants to be the protector. He wants to have his pretty thing on his arm while they walk down the boulevard, he wants to open doors for them and surprise them by sending flowers.

Yes, this is totally against the persona he has to wear for work. Being with someone allows him to be gentler and more vulnerable, something Wes didn't realize he needed. Going out on the town is fun, but he prefers places his fellow gangsters don't frequent so the dates are more private. When he's totally comfortable, he likes to hold your hand and kiss your knuckles. He likes bringing you close during dances and all but pulling you onto his lap during dinners. If he were around his 'associates', this sort of affection wouldn't be possible.

(That said, no matter how nice the date spot is, he always ends up looking like a gangster... his face doesn't help).

He's excellent at remembering things you like and notices when you admire something. You'll get a modest-looking package at work or home, and it's a charmimg bracelet or necklace you had your eye on. The flowers are ones you've mentioned liking, the date spots are places you mentioned wanting to go to, etc.

(If you compliment Wes on how attentive and romantic he is, he becomes unusually flustered. This is also why your flowers and gifts arrive by mail rather than in person; your happy face will just send him into a fluttery, painfully sentimental and sappy mood. Just thinking about your reaction makes him bury his face in his paws.)

((Though there's a total double standard where he loves flustering you, especially if you're tough to impress.))

The petnames will start to show up after dating for a few months. There's the classic "doll" and "sweetheart", though they sound a little different when he says it. Warmer and more affectionate than you've heard before, perhaps. He starts to use those in lieu of your name, with "kitten" is exclusively for flirting and messing around. For himself, he prefers his name, but isn't adverse to endearments.

If you were the type who was really into the gangster life ... wellll, maybe he'll drive you around the backroads in one of Marigold's souped up bootlegging cars and intimidate some assholes for you. He'll play the part for a while if it pleases you - but for the most part, his work and personal life is separate. No way is he introducing you to his gang members, nor would he want you hanging around the Maribel Hotel. Even if you frequented their establishment before, he'd want you to stay away once the relationship is more serious.

A few reasons for this. Wes likes his privacy, he doesn't trust his fellow gangsters worth a damn (just them looking at you for too long will lead to their nose getting bashed or their ears being boxed) and he wants you to be safe. He's been in the game long enough to know his feelings are a liability, and you can be used as leverage.

He's also not a domestic sort of cat. Being introduced to parents or taking homemade dinners at home is a bit too far and will lead to cold feet. That's something that would have to come very slowy, but he's also a realist. Wes has a dangerous job, one that most don't approve of. He doesn't want to bring danger on your doorstep, or worse - you having to choose between him and a more "normal" life and partner. Because as tough as he is, the thought of being left because he's a lowlife and dangerous hurts. He won't mention any of these concerns, but it's the thoughts that drift around when you try to be more serious and committed about the relationship. Wes' response is usually a gruff, "Ain't it fine the way it is, doll?"