#i would love. I WOULD LOVE. to draw a comic and not have the commentary notes be longer than the comic itself

[sforzesco]

DO NOT BE AFRAID

this is combining Ovid's Heroides and the Excidium Troie because I can't stop thinking of Hermes telling him not to be afraid. what the fuck!! Ares is wearing the crown that Paris gave him.

I have. thoughts. about Paris. he's almost got this Troilos parallel in my mind, that the event that defines him in detail exists in a lost narrative that we don't have (the Cypria), but everyone else knew. the event that defines Troilos is his death (murdered, butchered by Achilles, the violence of which haunts everything after. Achilles, child killer, you can't escape that!), and the event that defines Paris is the Judgement. what's a lost text but a kind of grave!!

idk I don't think that Paris before the Judgement would recognize himself after bc when you become god touched, it rearranges your guts. you become transformed in the worst way possible! how could you recognize yourself! but I also think that all the Parises after the Judgement would recognize each other because that event is so locked into the trauma of war and the scar it leaves on the land, it's like a scar on the narrative too. it exists like this forever, over and over again, so you exist like that forever too. Troy collects grief and despairs.

Troy as trauma: Reflections on intergenerational transmission and the locus of trauma, Andromache Karanika

and Paris is like. a miserable little god/corpse-puppet or something, like a match for the gods to throw onto gasoline.

The Excidium Troie + Ovid's Heroides:

Excidium Troie, trans. Muhammad Syarif Fadhlurrahman

Ovid, Heroides 16 (trans. Harold Isbell)

a collection of things regarding Paris that made me go 😬 but under a cut bc this is getting. very long.

The Divine Twins in Early Greek Poetry, Corolla Torontonensis

Iliad 24 and the Judgement of Paris, C.J. Mackie

Elegy and Epic and the Recognition of Paris: Ovid "Heroides" 16, Elizabeth Forbis Mazurek

Ennian Influence in "Heroides" 16 and 17, Howard Jacobson

Paris/Alexandros in the "Iliad", I. J. F. de Jong

[bhaalest]

god this is so overdue. im finally making a bg3 side blog

for a first post i wanted to list some of the artists i've been (mostly) refraining from reblogging to main for many months at this point. i meant to only do my favorite few but then i couldn't decide who my favorite few were so... here you go

@meanbossart draws absolutely beautiful art of his absolutely beautiful du drow, and also has an amazingly well-written and well-characterized story about what he, astarion, and shadowheart get up to post-game

@kawareo goes deep how his durge strike suffers from both the urge and orin's attack, and into strike before orin's attack. i love the standalone art and comics, so when i say his writing is my favorite thing he's done that's high praise

@velnna's tav staeve is another very pretty man and i don't know how to describe what i like most about his art other than "very pleasantly textured", it catches the eye in a very pleasing way

@lucklessrat has incredible dramatic and comedic timing in their comics of lethean, and i love what they do with leth being old. you don’t see that often

i have a soft spot for half-orcs and paladins so naturally i think about @everchased's finch constantly. they have several of my favorite bg3 comics ever but the SMITE one is... just gonna say i agree with astarion there

there is so much to say about @jeeaark's tav greygold, from the jokes to the relentless optimism to the visceral (in a very good way) art style, but my new favorite thing is the dark urge (godsdammit) companion series, it's really fun to see DUG and greygold interact and i can't wait for more. also, another half-orc!

@ejoym's durge devlin is wonderfully deranged, i love the dark humor in the comics, the art is really crisp, and the artist makes really great use of colors. i love how pointy everyone is also

@ohpsshaw's durge typhus is going through it at the moment. love his expressive face (and the expressiveness of the whole art style) and puppydog vibe, i can't wait to see how much he... enjoys... the rest of the game as daddy's chosen. also check out the artist's entertaining commentary on her main(?) blog

@taygra5shaon's big scary durge jacq somehow can do adorable and terrifying equally well, sometimes at the same time. this is another artist who has great timing in her comics. i especially like the young jacq ones.

@angiemaniac's tavella and durge companion au presents durge from a different and very interesting perspective. and she does a great job including every companion into the story, while tavella is still a compelling character on her own!

cae is the most beautiful durge you've ever seen and @hellothisisangle's art does such a good job of making him feel dangerous. it's incredibly beautifully rendered, the poses and fashion are always amazing, and on top of it all cae's lore is fascinating too

@wellen-katze's comics are really in a league of their own. their comics vary but my favorites are the ones that hurt to read. my favorite series is this one with ascended astarion and a nameless durge dealing with the tragic aftermath of the story. their comics hurt in an incredible way that i can't get enough of.

ghost, aka niro, by @oathbreakerapologist is wonderfully fucked up. he has a really upsetting presence (/positive) and i can't look away from his relationship with orin. this is probably the least sfw blog i'm linking, which i hope comes off as a complement

with @mistercrowbar's aldiirn it's hard to pinpoint specific things i like because the art and comics are so well-rounded, but if pressed i would point to aldiirn's visual design and the skill with which the artist makes his desire for approval and will to break the rules mesh together. i'm not sure if i want to be his friend or study him like a bug

i love @crocodiller's pining dumbass (affectionate) rowan so much. there's a lot to like about the comics but my favorite is rowan's supportive friendship with karlach. they're also very well-paced and some of the crispest art i've ever seen

i found @ryvenarts and sullen literally yesterday but i'm already very interested and excited to see if there will be more

another recent (to me) discovery, thirkuir by @jayfitzmaurice. i really like his design and the expressiveness of all the characters

@quess-art has an adorable baby durge who still has a compelling backstory i'm excited to see more of. plus the wagging tail is just perfect

@3eefstud's durge Einar is really nice to look at, with amazing colors and gradients. i'm surprised i didn't find them until very recently

i thought @panksage's Ebony Darkness D'urge was just a joke at first but no, the comics are sincere (and also funny) and just beautiful, especially the colors!

i do not know if @arianiziolek's durge has a name. catty little murder lizard (affectionate). has some of the funniest comics but more importantly the best durge facial expressions

@bajablast666 is double dipping with durges kaethan and kelrath. both their art and writing have an intensity that i love (the red outlines they use often are so good) and their writing in particular conveys emotion and visceral feeling so well

karl by @beltart is another on the surprisingly long list of people i initially found from their art, then read their writing and was blown away. i don't think i've seen anyone else depict the weight of the urge as intensely as this and i love it

and finally, a palate cleanser from all the durges, @wirywyrm's tav arthur who's in a sitcom as opposed to a horror story. i really like the texture and detail of their art and also how much of a dork arthur is. least smooth bard(adin) in the realms

incredibly i did leave out a few people, mostly people who draw companions rather than their tav/durge because i sort of locked myself into this format, so i may come back and update this later!

[spoopyblues214]

Can I have the Rise boys with a reader that yaps constantly and dosent do a lot of touching other than small acts of hand holding, poking, and just being physically close-? Like can and will talk about anything under the sun, like cats, space, their toaster they named Bermuta whilst being next to Donnie while he’s working, or holding Leo’s hand whilst Helen he’s reading a comic, poking Raphs arms or cheek when he’s doing something, and their head on Mikey’s shoulder while he cooks/draws.

But on the rare occasion they’re silent, like dead silent, not even a hello or good evening just nothing. And they’ll sit down on the ground next to said turtle and lean their head on the turtles legs slash thighs and wrap their arms around them, looking really zoned out or just not there because they had been yelled at or got into an argument with someone else or their parents for being so animated and talking so much.

Also I really love your writing!! Small reminder to rest up and take care of your needs, have some roses for the road :333💐

I'm gonna take this as a headcanon request, and tysm for the request(s) and reminder! You're greatly appreciated. Yapper hcs here we go!

°•.•°

Raph

He doesn't mind one bit, your constant commentary reminding him of when he and his brothers were turtle tots

He finds it really cute, and is sure to listen just enough to keep up with what you're saying

Eventually he starts to prefer listening to you yap about your day over his music when he's working out

When you start poking him it makes him laugh, opting to lift you instead of the weights, which gets you squealing

The fact it brings him so much joy makes it all the more heart wrenching when you end up sitting on the floor in his room, quiet with distant eyes

When you grab his leg, his eyebrows knit together, confused even as he finds it a little endearing

He'd press for an explanation on what had you so quiet, voice quiet and gentle, and your answer would make him sad

If it was your parents, he'd offer a sleepover, preferring you stay at the lair then at home when things were turbulent

Leo

You and Leo could go on and on and on if other things didn't get in the way, he was just as talkative

That also meant he was especially attentive laughing and nodding and giving input

Even when he was reading or trying a new trick on his skateboard, he'd still have something to add when there was a pause for him to

He also rather enjoyed the little bits of affection youd offer, sitting right next to him when he'd read or on movie nights

The first time you're silent his beak wrinkles, as the quiet is the most unwelcome thing in the world

He's much more aggressive in asking what's wrong, refusing to drop it until you told him what happened

Once you would, he'd go off immediately, saying the person who told you to shut your trap was a loser and boring and all sorts of other things

Then, after getting through his own rant, he'd raise an eyebrow considering you're still attached to his leg, mischievous mind working before he'd start walking with you hanging on, trying to make you laugh

Donnie

He likely struggles with it the most, but the fact you speak so much means he doesn't have to worry about small talk

Even so, he mentally catalogues every topic of conversation, able to keep up with anything and everything you spew

He feels a little bit of accomplishment everytime he can add input based on things you've mentioned before

As for your less typical signs of affection, they matched him perfectly; he greatly appreciated being able to focus on his projects while you're nearby

But then one day you're not saying anything after a surprising amount of time

When he swivels in his chair, you're on the floor, and immediately he's set into a panic, asking what happened

He'd be pretty similar to Leo, insisting you tell him, and then scoffing and bad mouthing the plebeians who dared to raise their voice at you

As for your clinging to his leg, it's a little odd, but he never comments on it, just standing in place until you're done, maybe ruffling your hair

Mikey

Mikey loves talking to you, listening to anything and everything that comes from your mind

It makes him laugh, why wouldn't he enjoy it, especially when you hold his hands or sit in the kitchen while he cooks

Even when he's feeling creative, you still choose to sit with your side against his, more intent on whatevers caught your attention that day then what he's working on

When you started poking him, though, he'd do it right back, which would end in a tickle fight that he'd never lose

When you're quiet, it's a different story, and he's sensitive to your feelings

You hug his leg, eyes unfocused, making him frown and meet you on the floor, sitting with his knee up so you can keep hugging him

He wouldn't push on what's wrong, instead asking if you wanted to talk about it, and if you did he'd listen and offer his sympathies

If you didn't want to talk about it, he'd sigh but nod, and rub a hand over your back, talking himself to fill the quiet when you had nothing to say

[a-a-a-anon]

appreciation post for Lise Mayer!! she co-wrote The Young Ones (and The Bachelor Boys book, additional material like when they did Comic Relief, etc), which is well known. but she also wrote for other things in the alternative comedy scene like Rik Mayall and Ben Elton's comedy tour (source: BBC Breakfast Time interview)! and, something I didn't know until recently: she co-wrote/wrote for Kevin Turvey! she's not credited in his television appearances, but see below for sources.

i really loved the podcast episode she did with Alexei Sayle about TYO, you gain a lot of insight into her perspective! she also mentions misogynistic treatment like being asked to go make tea when they were doing script readings, not getting invited to a big BBC party because it was presumed she'd be Rik's plus-one, and getting groped at the BBC bar. it pissed me off on her behalf and partly prompted this post.

some specific accolades/accreditation/fun facts:

Rik crediting her with writing/conceiving the Kevin Turvey non-joke "All right, biting political satire: What do Lech Walesea and Menachem Begin have in common? They’ve both got foreign names! What do you mean it’s not funny?" (x)

Alexei Sayle in Thatcher Stole My Trousers crediting Lise with co-writing Turvey: "Lise was, like Linda for mine, a vital part of Rik’s career, co-writing both The Young Ones and Rik’s character Kevin Turvey..."

a 1987 source for Lise co-writing Turvey: "The assumption that women do not write comedy scripts was one with which Lise Mayer, co-writer of The Young Ones television series, has also had to contend. She started writing for Rik Mayall’s Kevin Turvey in the television series A Kick Up the Eighties..." (x)

Rowland Rivron (comedian who toured with The Comic Strip gang and lived with Rik and Lise) in What the f*** did I do last night?: "[Lise] also had the unenviable job of standing at the side of the stage when Rik was performing, and jotting down anything he said that was unscripted. If it got a laugh, it would be woven into the next night’s routine."

the only time i've ever seen a Rik Mayall/Ade Edmondson/Lise Mayer writing credit: for a poem called Distance which was collected in this anthology! Rik and Ade seem to have acted it out (or at least a version of it) in this 20th Century Coyote performance

Rik on Lise writing TYO: "‘She discovers different things: the comedy of embarrassment and awkwardness – she draws out the cheating and stealing that goes on in the house.’" (x) (Lise also says her "favorite comedy was always the comedy of embarrassment" in the Alexei Sayle podcast)

Rik: "... Lise Mayer wrote this great scene where I find a tampon in a handbag and it's my birthday party and I think it's a present because my character is Rick, who is such a git, he didn't know." (x)

Helen Lederer in Not That I'm Bitter, writing about being on The Young Ones: "[Lise] was known to be the brains behind it all, particularly the more surreal elements…"

she and Rik chose the bands (x)

Lise: “We’d have a table read at which point we’d discover that the script ran over an hour long, and then I’d have a sleepless night editing it.” Alexei: “You did that?” Lise: “Usually me, yeah…” (she later explains they'd present the script Monday and rehearsals were Tuesday, Wednesday-so she literally had one night to edit!) (x)

facts from the blu-ray commentary tracks:

Rick's yellow dungarees in Interesting were based off a picture of Lise in a similar pair

Lise wrote an essay about the tampon joke in Interesting so that the BBC didn't cut the scene (though they still edited it)

Paul Jackson (producer) credits Lise with arguing "you are seriously telling me that we cannot refer on television to something that happens to 50% of the population for about 30 years of their life? and we're not allowed to even refer to it" to make an executive back off about the tampon joke in a meeting

Lise came up with Neil's flowerpot covering in Nasty

Vyvyan/Vivian's name comes from Lise having lived in Vyvyan Terrace, Bristol

Lise thought of the cast switching costumes in Bambi (one of my favorite moments!!) (/end of commentary track facts)

this is guesswork, but i've seen Ben Elton and Rik Mayall's handwriting and i'm pretty sure the editing/handwriting on the bottom left on this script must be Lise's, which gives insight into what/how she wrote: (x)

i feel like it's easy for people to overlook or minimize Lise's impact, something that happens to female creators far too often. i hate when women's identities are framed around their association to a man-girlfriend to Rik in this case-which was the norm whenever i saw Lise discussed in articles/books/online discussions about TYO. it's important to know she was a writer and co-creator with her own identity and (underappreciated) contributions. The Young Ones (and Kevin Turvey, and things we don't even know she goes uncredited for) would not have been the same—or wouldn't have even existed—without her!

[zuzuelectricbugaloo]

Crepic headcanon: Reading.

Hear me out.. I like the idea of Epic and Cross snuggled up close and reading together, either one of them is reading to the other or they’re both reading the same book in silence. You could take this as romantic or not, either way I just LOVEEE platonic intimacy sososo much that I had to include it in my favourite ship

This is adorable! I love them so much they’d do this, absolutely, yes 🥰 I so agree! Physical intimacy doesn’t have to be inherently romantic or sexual! Love is limitless, and platonic love can be just as deep as romantic love.

They snuggle ALL THE TIME. That’s their favored (shoutout to @sirsauidsalot), their beloved, their dearest person ever! Epic is extremely cuddly and touch-starved and Cross is also touch-starved! It’s a win-win :D

They’d definitely cuddle while reading. Cross may be touch-starved, but he isn’t much of a hugger nor a tactile person. Epic gives him most of the physical comfort he needs without Cross vocalizing it, which is what his ego prefers xD It’s like how you might not be touchy with a lot of people, but you have that one special person you don’t mind sharing your bubble with, and welcome that contact with them.

He’s happy to draw or read while laying down against Epic as he reads on the couch or bed. Or Cross would sit and read and Epic would lay his head on Cross’s lap while he also reads.

There would also be moments where they’d read the same mangas and comic books together, either sharing favorites or finishing to-be-read books. Epic would voice act or play out their favorite scenes with Cross, going all out with props around the room and their magic to bring the scene to life xD

Sitting side by side reading the same things at the same time they’d have live commentary and share their reactions.

“DUDE WHAT DID YOU SEE THAT?!?”

“I TOTALLY DID BRUH DAT’S OFF DA HOOK CRAY-CRAY!”

They’d build ultimate blanket forts, snacking on cookies and hot chocolate they freshly made with the lights turned off so glow in the dark stickers of things they like and fairly lights light up the fort while they read inside it.

[maymeowmoo]

How would SMG3 react to SMG4 wearing a dress after getting forced to wear one?

Here you go fellow Anon >:3! [->The comic they were referencing<- Ig u can call it a Part 1?]

Also added some commentary/ behind the scenes? Whatever issa called >.> below if u wanna check that out ^w^ OH and the full version without the cuts. It woudn't have a nice resolution so I had to chop it up :/ Sadge

Imma actually a lil embarrassed of Part1[?], that comic issa still my creation so I love it ether way~ Issa funny looking back at it (yes I know this was like a month ago and not THAT old). I was still figuring out how to draw Four and Three. The way I draw Three's facial hair now is so much better issa unreal X_x

It was also fun making up a continuation that was somewhat sensible. Making a part 2 also meant I could fix some things I wasn't into much. Like actually making Four suffer some consequences!

Oh and lil fun facts: The og/pt1 was colored on my ACTUAL tablet unlike other drawings I posted here! /ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

[anticmiscellaney]

what's your favorite part of writing and drawing newoldrare?

Apart from the fact that I love writing and drawing and have fun doing it and would do it all day every day if I could, it's that I can do exactly whatever the fuck I want with it.

It's likely commercially unpublishable for a range of reasons. All the stories are designed to be printed by specific processes and assembled in ways that will probably not translate to a convenient book, and nothing about traditional publishing sounds like a good deal to me. The comments I've gotten about my other scripts relating to music have been annoying. "Young people don't know who these bands are" - okay I'm not writing YA but no problem, books are a great place to find out about new things. I'm making stories about what I'm interested in and they are an invitation for readers to join me, as I have joined many creators in their interests.

I have a few graphic novel scripts that I'd be happy to draw for traditional publication and maybe one day I'll get the chance, but I also have a full time job because I need health insurance to pay for surgery. I have rent and bills and student loans. There are only so many hours in the day, and if I'm not getting paid to do art, I will only be making art I'm insane about.

NewOldRare is what I'm insane about. The art styles and approaches are varied because I love to try different things for different stories. It'll keep growing; I have a lot of ideas noted down, a lot of scripts of various lengths written, and quite a few thumbnailed. It's small scale. It's specific. It's niche. I hide a lot of things in the backgrounds and they don't necessarily matter to the story, but they matter to me. It's probably pointless, it's just quiet snapshots of the lives of two ordinary people and it's kind of silly, but I care about it. It's partly a response to how alienating I find most queer comics/art, but it's not offering incisive commentary or judgement. It also started as a porn illustration series and I forget most people don't know that because I can't post any of it here.

I held off on posting any of it online for a pretty long time and just sent people PDFs of it because I didn't think anyone else would care - friends are obligated to at least pretend. The fact that some people I don't know like it and see value in it is strange to think about, but also very cool.

I guess that was a long way to say I love doing this work because I enjoy the process, but I also like what it represents about my development as an artist and it has helped me figure out a few things.

[homestuckreplay]

“not sure about all this” -john egbert, 2009

(page 1022-1025 & SBAHJ 9)

Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff 9 was posted yesterday or early today, and it’s a real thinker. In this comic, Sweet Bro or Hella Jeff has presumably been ‘thrashing up stunts something uncannybrutal’ (p.452) as the other one is impressed to the point of disbelief. The skilled gamer, dressed in blue, delivers word for word the famous line of unknown literary origin, “i could tell you but but  i'd would have to kill you”. Their friend, in red, is apparently so impressed by the line that half the lights go out in the room, both of their faces contort and pixelate, and the words “GOD DAAAAAAMMNN” become a beautiful horizon landscape.

This is a clear commentary on the nature of friendship. In my experience when I’m close friends with someone, I see their skills as more impressive than a stranger might, and I want to give them the same praise and affirmation that Sweet Bro or Hella Jeff does. The way I see my friends isn’t ‘objective’ and I wouldn’t want it to be; they really do have shining eyes that cut through the darkness and talents more incredible than a clear beach day. Physical attraction generally isn’t part of friendship, so when the faces disintegrate in the final panels, it’s a reminder that the bond between friends transcends the physical form.

Meanwhile, in the present, John and Rose have an INTENSE conversation about the graffiti on John’s walls. In summary, Rose is delighted to have an opportunity to really psychoanalyze John, and he’s suspicious of this – he’s having a lot of feelings, but is pulling away from discussing. I need to emphasize how Rose’s alcohol-filled house is currently on fire and is minutes away from meteor impact with no sign of Dave. She must be terrified right about now, no matter what Jade says about how things will all work out (p.838). Of course she is trying to distract herself by talking about the weird thing that’s happened to John and by totally failing to build his house. The way she talks is calm, detached and longwinded as ever, but when John mentions her situation, all she has to say is ‘Right’.

Rose originally thought that John ‘defaced [the posters] ironically’ (p.1003) but once John makes it clear that he didn’t, her only assertion is that John’s walls have been graffitied all day. John accuses Rose of ‘implying that i drew them a while ago and then forgot’, but she actually doesn’t suggest a culprit, which could be evidence that John knows about this unconsciously.

After this, she really lays out her theory on page 1024.

TT: Your presumably longstanding tendency for scrawling this imagery is really your subconsious [sic] trying to express something disturbing within you. TT: Possibly something from your past, which you have blocked out. TT: And since you have supressed it, your conscious self cannot acknowledge the drawings, therefore they have been invisible until now. EB: why now? TT: Perhaps because you have seen evidence that conflicts with the worldview your subconscious has constructed to obfuscate the truth. TT: That your dad is not necessarily the clown-loving maniac you thought he was. TT: All along, this negative attribute buried in your psyche may have been projected on to him, and subsequently reviled, as a sort of defense mechanism.

This is some aggressive exposition, Rose guiding the reader to a very specific conclusion. Repressed memories are definitely the domain of psychoanalysis but that doesn’t make Rose’s explanation the only possible outcome. To be honest, this whole story is about kids who’ve grown accustomed to very strange situations, and the blend of normalcy and weirdness that suffuses their lives. This John reveal is no weirder than what Rose found and learned in the lab, she just didn’t have another character to probe the corners of her mind about it.

Also, Rose fully attributes John’s revelation to his seeing Dad’s room, but as a trained lab scientist who knows how to control for variables, I need to point out that ‘putting on a suit’ or ‘Betty Crocker Gushers revelation’ are also possible catalysts (or a mix of all three).

I don’t even disagree with Rose. It’s just that even if she’s right, the situation is still absolutely wild. From Dad’s perspective, he saw some drawings in his young child’s room, and without asking, assumed that this would be the kid’s lifelong passion, put extended time and money into decorating the house to reflect that, did not include decorations relating to any of John’s other interests, and despite never actually discussing this with John in a years-long period, he continues to not only buy John harlequin gifts but also stay up to date on developments in the clowning world by actively reading Serious Jester magazine. That is not normal parenting behavior! I don’t find it sweet, I find it concerning that Dad basically understands John through observation – poor observation too, since he doesn’t even notice his distaste for harlequin or cakes – which is the same way John has understood Dad, but Dad is supposed to be the more responsible, communicative party!!!!

I think that’s the best explanation for John’s line ‘i felt weirdly, like... disappointed almost.’ It’s an interesting choice of word. John’s dislike of clowns and his predictable fights with his dad over this is something John holds as central to his identity, so losing that does mean losing a sense of self. But I think the real disappointment is that if Rose is right and John’s dad ‘embraces a son's hobby to establish a stronger bond’, it didn’t work. Dad got it wrong, he didn’t bond with John, he only increased any distance between them, and if Dad’s intentions were good then it is harder to be angry at him, which does lead to this directionless feeling of disappointment.

What’s really worth psychoanalyzing is John’s decision to interrupt this conversation to make a silly hat. John has these emotional outbursts in the moment but as soon as he’s got control over himself he changes the topic and goes right back to pranks, trying to deceive either or both of them, and the repression continues.

Rose provides evidence that the graffiti has always been on John’s walls – screenshots we as readers saw half a Homestuck ago on page 510. John responds with ‘they didn't look like that before. you must have changed them.’ Which is also my response to Andrew Hussie. I think if this had been planned, we’d have seen the graffiti in Rose’s previous screenshots, and while viewing through her Sburb interface, just not while seeing through John’s point of view. That would dramatically change the story though, and make the harlequins (and John’s mental state) a bigger focus much earlier on, which might have given less space to other weird plot elements – like Dave’s puppets, which are a similar idea.

So in terms of the story, the reveal of both Dad’s room and the graffiti on John’s walls put more distance between John and his dad, leaning into the unknowability of guardians by their kids and vice versa. It makes John feel even less safe in his own home and his own mind, which has been a running theme with the title, the imps, and various commands. It creates an unsettling horror presence, the idea that a malevolent clownish spirit has infected the Egbert home without either John or Dad’s knowledge – this may be connected to Nanna’s death at the hands of the Sassacre book, as Sassacre is sort of a clownish spirit. And it gives Rose a chance to flex her interests, and her and John a chance to talk about something besides Sburb mechanics, which is great for developing their relationship. So even though Rose’s screenshots being edited later make this plot twist feel very spontaneous, I can see how it contributes a lot to the comic.

It has been a while since Homestuck reminded us that Sburb is really fucking hard as a video game, but page 1025, where five crude ogres and at least thirty imps are all climbing up to John’s wobbling house, puts it into perspective. There isn’t time for psychoanalysis right now. We haven’t seen Dave for a hundred and fifty pages. Either he needs to get back right now, or we need another unexpected psycheout.

> WV: Appearify Sburb Beta discs.

[popculturebuffet]

Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Retrospective: The Empire Builder from Callisota: "No Scrooge McDuck once had everything. Now all he has is Money and What Money Can Buy" (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to my look at The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. After a long hiatus, it's almost over. Just two chapters left.

We've also got one I forgot..was banned. Yeah turns out a year ago Disney contacted rosa, told him this story was was banned and weren't really up to discussing it. As for why... well you can look above and get a pretty good idea. This story features Bombie the Zombie and Foola Zoola, characters Barks created... and characters who are entirely racist carcatures in their original form. Rosa DID do his best to give Foola depth, taking him from a one note villian to someone who didn't want a colonizer taking his land. Bombie.. really coudln't as he was a zombie and all that, but you can see from above why Disney wouldn't be crazy about reprinting Bombie and... I fully agree. As seen above, I can see WHY disney would choose to not want to print this story in it's orignal form as while Rosa did his best to fix the designs... Bombie still dosen't look that great.

The problems are twofold. The first is with Disney itself, who is unwilling to let anyone talk about it, is content to bury the story at at most suggested having people edit Rosa's art, something he's against. And I do get it: letting someone else walk all over something you carefully made.. isn't fair. I dont' agree with him on refusing to edit it due to being asked, as while as he says himself

“The Dream of a Lifetime” has only THREE panels of its 25 pages in which Bombie appears. Rather than ban this entire story forever due actually to only TWO of those three panels, the publishers suggested that I allow them to have Bombie redrawn. I would not allow art-tampering if my name is on the book. (I can tamper with my own art in reprints if I made some error, but I won’t allow changes forced on me.)

Look, I do think they should allow Rosa, if he's able as I know drawing is hard for him these days, to draw it and I do think just saying outright "you have to" instead of opening up an actual talk with him over the issue is scummy. Disney is being dicks and their possible "solution" of just removing the story is stupid. This is an integral part of life and tims and editing it is the better part. (As noted with dream of the life time it's only three panels).

That said while I love Don Rosa.. he should redraw it. He shoudlnt' of had his hand forced, again he deserves more respect and it's clear Disney is fairly hands off when it comes to it's comics. if he can't, then I do understand. But Rosa does have to understand.. this IS necessary. This WAS an error on his part as while he did do his best to make the characters look less racist and in Zoola's case an actual character, and was horrified by this chapter in Barks history in his commentary.. he has to understand times have changed. And while he considers the Don Rosa Library just for adults.. that's simply not the case. Jason Aaron , who wrote the recent Uncle Scrooge and the Infnity Dime, read these stories with his kids. Other people will do the same. And black children.. deserve to not have to see a racist caracture. I'm not saying ther eisn' ta market to have an unedited version with a warning label on it, Scrooge has adult readers, but I am saying these comics , while written smartly and fitting everyone.. are all ages and always will be. I'd rather the story be edited slightly to be updated than gone all together.

Let's be fair though: While I do think Rosa is being stubborn, Disney.. is still the worst and still shoudl've given him a more resonable chat than this. Disney clearly dosen't give one iota of a shit about these stories or how important they are to comics as a whole and while this chapter could use an update, it's callous to chuck it in a bin as some racist artifact when while the art.. again could use a slight touchup, maybe make bombie a full on green zombie like the 2017 cartoon.. the story itself.. isn't racist. Rosa took a racist old tale and made it a story of collonalism and scrooge's worst moment. The worst thing he ever did.. was forcibly take land from the people already living there and that's worth telling and Disney is fucking stupid for not getting that.

Lucky for me I own the story already, but I can't say that for everyone and hopefully at some point Disney gets their head and finger out of their ass and compromises with rosa while he's still around to compromise with.

For now the story itself.. and this is the one I was dreading. Not for all the above, i'd happily forgotten that till I went to get the image then had to dig into it a bit. Thank you reddit. No.. this is the sad one. See when we first met Scrooge.. Barks hadn't quite worked out who he was. He was always a bastard but he wasn't the layered bastard we know, one who will undersell his nephews but also do the right thing in a pinch. As a result he entered the story a frail old recluse donald hadn't met yet with Night on Bear Mountain, and earlier stories had him more as an antagonist before Barks took a shine to him and found out just how well the old man fit the adventure stories that he'd been telling with donald.

One of those early stories... was a massive headache for Rosa. Voodoo Hodoo, the story with the racist carcatures mentioned above, one where Scrooge gleefully admits to tearing down an african villiage and getting cursed as a result.

Like me Rosa had dreaded this part as how the hell would this fit: he coudln't ignore it due to his pride, trying to weave everything in, but it was incredibly hard to parse that with who scrooge became.. till it hit him: USE the fact it was horribly out of character for Scrooge. Have it be the one moment that in rosa's words "he became flintheart glomgold" that one moment of weakeness where he became his worst self for just one day, succumbed to every bad instinct he had did something truly unforgivable... and have it have consequences. Have his worst moment, his one bad day, be the reason his family left and he didn't reunite with them till inviting donald and the boys for christmas all those many decades later. It's why I dreaded this chapter: it's the one where Scrooge gains everything he ever wanted.. and looses what he had in the process. It's one of the hardest chapters to read and it's under the cut.

So we open with Matilda closing her scrapbook. Up to this point her scrap book had been the opening page, tracking her brother's journey.. but now she and her sisters are adults working for their brother, staying at the office while he travels the world and the seven seas building his empire and slowly filling his bin. It's a nice bit of symbolisim considering what's about to happen.

Scrooge returns as you'd expect.. inside a canon as he refused to pay extra shipping to ship himself. He could, as Hortense points out let someone else run the show.. but he refuses. No one else has his grit and while he dosen't say it... no one else simply has his stubborness. When mugged and having his hat shot he runs down the new generation of mcvipers in a flashback simply because they shot up his hat and cost him money. The man DOES need a better work life ballance.. but he isn't wrong. Scrooge is simply at his best when he's doing some of the work himself. His 2017 self does delegate more.. but truly thrives when his nephew and niece and later passel of nephews and daughter he never knew he had remind him of adventure. He dosen't always turn a tidy profit.. but the experince is well worth it and for every loss there's a gain.

This mindset makes a LOT of sense in story: We've seen scrooge struggle and scrape to get this far. Fight every minute as he will not settle for a life he does not deserve nor feels his family dosen't. Every time he seemingly got up the mountain and won... something shoved him back down with only a small handful of cash as progress, enoguh to get to the next adventure. Over that, with Rockerduck and Roosevelt's help, he learned he just.. loved the chase. He's in a comfy enough place where he can still keep going on the chase.. but every small loss isn't a gutting reminder he hasn't gotten anything but experince. He can take risks. He sometimes dosen't because he's a cheap old bastard, but he can adventure.. because he can afford it. Before it was just to survive.. now it's because it's what he WANTS to do. He wants to be richer than god, to keep going keep growing his empire and he was taught the only way to get that far is to do the hardest work yourself and maybe let others come to you for money once you got it.

Case in point Scrooge really didnt' see the need for a larger office staff, leaving only his sisters to run it.. and thus hilariously passes out when he finds they hired Ms Quackfaster. For those more familiar with Ducktales 2017 Quackfaster here is more timid, put upon back when it was entirely okay to abuse your secretary/office assitant. Ah the 40's.. please stay 50 feet away at all times thank you. He goes catatonic at finding out they have a full staff, but Hortsens is unphased throwing a whole cup of coffe in his face and making it clear that A) They couldn't do this with two people ya jackass and B) we're comnig with you.. ya jackass.

The girls have brought quackmore to office manage so they can go globetrotting something scrooge is suprisingly happy with.

Sadly this is about as light hearted as this adventure gets as we head into the congo.. where

The story strangely dosen't say, which is uncarctrastic for Rosa. This story has that racist habit a lot of stories do of just saying "Africa' instead of "what country exactly on the largest continent in the world". Which is not great when he was far more specific when we did the previous jaunt to south africa. Yeah... some oft his story has not aged well and Rosa can and should have done better. He does through research but here just... plunks a very plot importnat villiage int he middle of a giant continent.

Scrooge is intent to impress his sisters.. but instead shows them, and us, how far he's fallen: Scrooge does one of the oldest tricks in the colonalist playbook, offering the cheif a quarter for the land rights since the man genuinely DOSEN'T know he's getting screwed over. This trope is.. awful, that old "Oh stupid indgenious peoples they'll belivie anything. So it's not great.. but it is softend a bit as the chief offered a tiny war drum something sacred to him, something not worth money, but worth a lot to their small community.. and scrooge faked that gesture while really screwing the poor guy over. While the optics are sketchy.. the intent works: Scrooge has sunken so low that rather than make his money square and returning a heartfelt gesture of someones cutlure sincerly.. he tricks the person for his own ends.

The sisters call him out for this... and it's a scene I forgot.. but boy does it hit

Seeing Scrooge fallen this low.. is hard. While it's not the man gut punch of the comic, Don Rosa's not even close to done working the body, it still hits to see how much he's changed. It was to the point I THOUGHT this was a bit abrubt, that while it's been a while since the last chapter, it surely can't of been THAT long.

Thinking back though... this was set up most of the story. Scrooge's dark side has always been part of his character, especially in the comics: Even in the better days ahead in the prime of the barks and rosa eras.. he's still rageful, barely pays his family or workers, petty and often wont' do things he easily could simply to be a selfish dick. Christmas for Shacktown has him refuse to help pay for christmas for orphans even when Donald put in the hard work to get 25 dollars.. which is, to my shock 294 dollars and 17 cents in today money. So yeah donald gathered nearly 300 dollars in charity.. that scrooge refused to repay. I'd say he's the worst evil billonare in fiction but his competition is pretty stiff

Point is part of Scrooge's charm is he COULD be an asshole... it thankfully got toned down with time and Ducktales and ESPECIALLY 2017 Ducktales toned it the fuck down, the latter having what I consdier to be my faviorite version, but he's still some form of bastard, and his need to grow as a person or suprising bits of depth and humanity are what make him so fascinating. He's a dick.. but he has a lot of layers to him and a moral code.

This chapter shows just what thin ice that code is on: how it wouldn't take too much for him to tip over the line and become an even worse glomgold. While that darkness isn't there in the early chapters, as younger scrooge is both a tad more naive and way more kind and trusting it slowly builds: in Raider of the Copper Hill he nearly goes mad with power at just the THOUGHT of his newfound fortune and only having to sell his newfound wealth immediatly for pennies snaps him out of it. The Terror of Transval breaks his trust in most people completely, thanks flinty. In King of The Klondike while still sympathetic you can see his harder shell having fully formed, how he avoids other people, is rude to just about everyone and later in the next chapter, is fairly cold to people.It's been bubbling faster and faster: In the billionare of dismal downs, he snaps at the townspeople threanting to leave them all homeless out of petty spite. And finally in the previous chapter, he kicks those boy scouts out rather rudely, which bites him in the ass when they assume he's a foreign spy. The last part is just them being dummies, but there's this harsh sharp edge we simply don't fully notice forming.. because it's who scrooge is even after he takes about ten percent off. The guy is mean.

But Barks uses this opportunity to show why he's a hero.. by showing him, for one shameful moment, as a villian. As a pure monster who gladly tricks an indigenous person out of their land and his response to being called out on it by his anchors, the thing noticably able to snap him out of his worst insincts... is to say "i'm done playing fair."

Scrooge is often honest.. because he's got people around to curb his worst insincts. His family keep him grounded: having the goal of helping provide for them kept him honest, his dad kept pushing him away from his worst instincts and his sisters and mom kept doing the same.

The problem is.. slowly but surely.. he's just about lost everyone: His mentors are long gone or in the white house. He dosen't trust anyone enough to have actual friends. And as for his family.. h'es slowly lost them: His Uncles have passed by now, he lost his mom and found out in the worst way possible, and he just lost his dad. He has his sisters.. but like Donald and the Boys later, he's on an uneven enough playing field with them to ignore them if he wants. After all he provided for them, he gave them a home in america, what fucks should he give they don't care. Their the last tether he has to his humanity and he's kept them at arms length, keeping them at home whlie he journied and letting himself get more and more corrupt. Without the humanizing aspects of his goal to gain wealth, having saved his ancestral castle, given his sisters a good life and become rich, all that's left is gaining more and more money whatever it takes. Scrooge may be unscrupoious on a good day.. but he has enough honor to do the right thing, to be honest about his money. Without that is just the monster barely contianed under the surface and the last thing locking it out.. is about to go away.

So Scrooge confronts the Voodoo Part of the tribe, which while... once again about as researched as Tintin in Africa, is one of the better parts. Again Barks casual racisim.. shows a bit. It's something I didn't notice on previous readings but is kinda.. obvious now as the man just didn't bother ot put in the research he did for white legends and locations. He's not always racist, he put true effort into researching the dreamtime for the Dreamtime Duck of Never Never, but it's clear when it comes to africa he didn't really give a shit.

That said while he has issues I WILL give Rosa credit for how he redid Foola. The racist aspects are gone aside from fangs for teeth.. and characterzation wise he's treated not as some cheap villian.. but as a man who puts on scare tactics because he's used to men like scrooge: Greedy white assholes who try to take everything they can from his sacred land. Foola is unimpressed by this colonizing asshole and it's a part of the story that, unlike most of the other villiage stuff, holds up very well: Barks clearly respects Vodoo even going on one of his signature "old man yells at cloud" rants about how "traditional" zombies are nothing like the ones we know now. Foola is only in the story for a short while but makes a hell of an impression, being one of the few characters to truly best scrooge

Now Scrooge probably woudln't of takent his well in any form at any time. The diffrence is the scrooge later could at least be talked down by the nephews or would've barged back in solo to fight Foola. He also never would've done the racist offering a quarter shit to him or the chief. This scrooge.. does easily the worst thing Scrooge McDuck has EVER done in any medium.

I love the heavy shadows over his face in this scene, just the pure.. evil radiating off scrooge for a moment. Anger, malice.. we've seen it.. but we've never seen him as a complete and utter monster destroying people's lives and homes all for his greed and every minute of it is painful, seeing just how... Broken matilda is by it. You can see just how sad she is to see her brother not only tear her apart for no good reason but tear innocent people apart.. while Hortense.. prepares to pack.

Somehow scrooge manages to do MORE horrible shit, pretending to be someone else to get foola to sign the contract. Foola swears his revenge... and Scrooge returns not to his sisters forgiving him and gladly taking the money as he expected... but a letter

While dishonesty is kinda underselling it, it's a truly painful moment. It's also an awesome one as the whole time Scrooge has ignored what they've had to say.. and now he can't. All he can do is gripe about WHY he's sunk this low: that if the world isn't honest why shoud he be? It's a problem that feels extra relevant these days: if the world is a dumpster fire... why shouldn't I be one too? If nothing we do matters, what does anything matter?

I'd forgotten this scene.. but damn it hits. The one thing that gets through to him.. is his dad. He can lie to himself.. but he can't lie to his dad. And the answer to that hypothetical above was simple: to be true to yourself, to respect yourself enough not to sink to tohers levels.

This does convince scrooge to go reunite with his family.. but first he has bigger issues. Foola's back..a nd he's brougth bombie. And bombie's design isn't great, but Barks reimagines him well: more as an unstoppable juggernaught than a mildly racist zombie. Thankfully Rosa also needed to retcon something else: Scrooge looked like a young donald in the flashback, something that didn't really stack up with later versions, so in not ignoring this story, Rosa found a clever way to deal with that; his earlier disguise looked like donald, so bombie only goes after him when he has a hat on.

The next section is kinda weak, if understadanbly so: Rosa had to cover DECADES of Scrooge's life this time around, so we follow him as he doe ssome buisnessy buieness buienss and outwits bombie, along the way picking up a candy striped ruby. IT's all pretty standard though the climax of it.. is fucking amazing. Bombie follows Scrooge to the titanic. Where Scrooge dosen't notice the boat sinking because he's busy with bombie. It's a sequence I just kinda eyed over in past readings but in this one.. hot damn is it fun.

After he beats bombie we then get a montage as Scrooge makes a global empire, mostly nods to various barks stories I don't think i've read yet, like the gilded man of el dorado.. who then runs in fear as he forgets who he's dealing with. Nothing bad but it feels like it's there more to cover all the gaps in scrooge's history left before the finale than tell a story for the most part. There is one exception though: after he gets shoved off a cliff.. he finds he's picked up a new ability, one of his most famous

Also props to rosa for explaining the "how he can swim through coins" thing: As ducktales 2017 put it it's a hard won skill and just diving in would kill anyone else. Rosa like barks takes this seriously, as while this world has fantastical stuff in it he grounds it in the logical explanation, ones that don't feel like nitpicky fan wankery, but a logical reason why Scrooge can do the thing people know him for.

Turns out Bombie wasn't lost in the titanic... which makes sense: If James Cameron the Bravest Pioneer didn't find him while taking underwater footage of it, he must've been gone. The Chief of an Island scrooge is negotating with takes the ruby in exchange for binding Bombie for 30 years and Scrooge is sur ehe'll NEVER see him again.

Some time ,more finagaling and proftering later, Scrooge FINALLY returns home to a warm reception.. an ddickilsh bashes the mayor with the key to the city

Sadly his return to his office.. means our ending. And it's one of the hardest things i've had to write about. And I had to write about frasier mowing down the ACLU a few weeks back.

No this ending is simple but crushing: His sisters decided to let bygones be bygones, enough time had passed. Sadly.. Scrooge taking the long way round.. meant he just.. dosen't care. He brushes them off, storms into his office and when Hortense storms in.. he angrily tells them they didn't care when he was abroad all that time supporting them before. What he misses.. is that things changed. Two, when he started his trip, small children with no real agency seeing their brother off versus two grown women who simply want him to acknowledge them.. is diffrent. They don't need him anymore.. and Hortense tells him if he shoes them away NOW, it's over. And sadly.. Scrooge pushes them away. While before it was due to his darkest hour.. this time.. it's just due to who he is. Scrooge is a prideful old bastard who can't accept weakness and sees his emotoinal ties as just that. IT's why it takes him so long to actually admit, and rarely to their faces, he cares about Donald and the nephews.. and his sisters need and deserve that. THey deserve to be acknowleged. Donald and the Boys did.

Speaking of Donald he and Della were here and whiel Della was only a character enough at this point to get a cameo Donald... gets the last shot in.

Bout sums up their relationship really.. but it's also oddly sweet.. donald kicks scrooge's ass, literally and desrevedly.. because he made his momma cry.

Scrooge has a chance, to reconcile, to fix this.. but sadly instead...

God that last panel, his sisters sadly resigned to letting him go as the Bin towers over everything, showing off just how lonely he is and forever will be. Even if this story as a whole has a happy ending, this ending... guts you.

And somehow.. I found a way it guts me even more on a second reading. This.. is the last time Scrooge talks to hortense that we're aware of. He DOES see Matilda again, a story we'll certainly get to someday, and one of Rosa's finest.. but it's heavily implied Hortense and Quackmore are gone by the time Donald and Della are adults as we never see them and unlike Della, we never got an explination in the comics. Scrooge's last time seeing his sister was a terrible argument and him turning his back on his family out of pride. He lost so much time with her, her children and his family.. all for nothing.

The Richest Duck in the World is a good story.. if an uneven one. Parts of it are mildly racist, with Rosa again not having cared enough to do actual research this time and that's damming from a guy who prides himself on it, and it drags for a bit as Rosa has to stitch together decades of noodle incidents in Barks work. The titanic scene is great but most of it is pretty much fanservice and while I am a fan of Barks work, i'm not the super student Rosa is, so I don't get nearly as much out of it. I'm fine with fanservice, but the rest of the comic does a better job threading it in naturally.

That said while the chapter is uneven.. the parts it nails.. it really NAILS. Scrooge's darkest hour is truly chilling, a monsterous act that is truly horrifying to watch and the ending just hits like a truck. While we get a SLIGHT breather with Donald kicking his ass, it ends on a gut punch that reminds us Scrooge.. lost his family. The very thing he set out to help... he lost.

Thankfully.. this isn't the end. While this is the climax.. i'ts not the ending. So

Next Time: We end this trek as Scrooge gets to know his nephews and has to deal with an old foe. Till then thanks for reading

[tangledinink]

Heya! First off I’m around halfway through teenage mutant what now and it is the funniest fic I have ever read - Beautifully written and overall brilliant but the jokes get me every time

And second, is it okay if I reference a pose from one of your gemini artworks for my own work? I’ll credit the inspiration if I post it anywhere ^^

whew we're overdue for an ask dump,,, OKAY ALRIGHT.

THANK YOU ; w ; I'm really glad you like it hehehehe. also yeah sure feel free! I don't mind! ^^

HEHEHE THIS MAKES ME VERY HAPPY THANK YOU

oh he DEFINITELY freaked out at first. there was a lot of panicking and confusion and "how could this even happen?!" ("you think i'd genetically engineer a creature that's not capable of reproducing? all of you should be genetically compatible with practically any yokai," draxum said. "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO, I DUNNO, TELL US THAT?!" donnie said.) but eventually, he did calm down, and he and his partner talked about it (a bunch, multiple times), and eventually some of the panic gave way to... curiosity, first of all... and then maybe kind of excitement? and some fondness? i mean, he was still pretty scared, and sure, he doesn't really consider himself a 'kid' person, but it's not like he never thought about EVENTUALLY having kids, just maybe... not so soon? but. i mean.

well. if they're already cooking...

THANK YOU ; w ; i'm glad you like them! @kiwi-smug-silvalina

oh gosh, that's a good question. i'm not entirely sure... uhmmm... i would say perhaps... details about how gemini!donnie's witchcraft looks and acts, VS how venus's witchcraft looks and acts...

it is very shiny. i like that people call it "the bean" instead of its actual title coz it pisses anish kapoor off.

ah ; w ; THANK YOU SO MUCH,,, thats so sweet and this made me very happy,,, <3 im glad you liked it!!!! @allegedllama

HEHEHE thank you. yes im aware that i am deranged.

omg same hat!!! i was a lifeguard and it was.... uh.... INTERESTING to say the least... (sometimes lovely, sometimes AWFUL...) @datfearlesschick

if by games you mean 'messed up deals that she can manipulate to her own advantage,' then yes! @frogonamelon

@beannary @spectralsleuth @heckitall @livsinpjs and the sep council as a whole!!! y'all's support has definitely meant so much and there's no way i'd have gotten as far with any of my projects as i have without them... or without literally ANY of the people who take the time to do things like reblog with tags, leave commentary in the tags, send in asks about my stories, etc etc etc! that's definitely one of my main motivators to create more!!! <3 thank y'all!

EEEE this made me smile, hehehehe. thank you :3c @thejavavoid

AAAAAA THANK YOU THIS GENUINELY MADE ME SO HAPPY COZ I WAS SO GODDAMN PROUD OF THOSE HANDS AND HOW THEY CAME OUT ; w ; THANK YOU @onejellyfishplease

thank you!!! u w u @fanrulerjynx

THANK YOU ; w ; I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS,,, it made me very very very happy and HEHEHE IM GLAD YOU LIKE YASSIFIED DRAXUM,,, i just think he DESERVES it, y'know? also thats just my favorite way to draw characters lmao I think it's fun so I decided for this comic I just get to indulge...

not necessarily-- this was mostly just a coincidence! @breezehurricane

oh gosh. i'm not sure, but i know it definitely WILL affect their parenting... i think at first donnie will find himself just... deferring to his partner a LOT in almost any situation because he's afraid that he'll fuck it up, because he DOESN'T feel like he understands proper boundaries or what parenting is supposed to look like, etc etc etc, and he's afraid he'll mess up. he probably reads a TON of parenting books as well because RESEARCH and will often try to pull directly from them in any situation he can, and is confused when things don't go exactly the way they were described in the text... leo i think kind of tends to flounder between being overprotective and feeling the desire to protect his son from everything and anything and wanting to overcorrect this tendency by pulling back and trying to give him as much freedom and space as possible, which sometimes leads to some... inconsistencies. there's definitely a learning curve for both of them, but they both get the hang of it eventually. they both have lovely partners and a very loving and supportive family to help them and they'll figure it out with a bit of practice.

ahhh thank you! :D im so delighted that my silly stories actually inspired something for you!!! hell yeah!!! MAKING THINGS IS GREAT!!! THANK YOU!!! @can-elope

i like to imagine them all staying very close, especially coz i'm loosely planning on them all going through the kraang-apocalypse together (and then coming through to the other side!) so i can't imagine them ever drifting too far from each other, emotionally or geographically. there's a bit of a rocky start for a lot of them, but all of the siblings end up a very tight-knit bunch.

[androxys]

2024 Writing Review

I was tagged in this by @vechter!

number of stories posted to ao3: I posted 2 works this year, which was a marked decrease from 2023's 7 fics. I guess I needed a break! The two were Hello World, It's Me Again (the first chapter) and I'd Teach My Feet to Fly (a one-shot).

word counted posted for last year: 17,163 words!

fandoms i wrote for: Oh, it was Batman. Because I'm dabbling in a few continuities for Barbara and playing it a little looser, HWIMA got an AMT tag. ITMFTF is very strictly comics-informed, though, so it got some (comics) tags for Batman, Checkmate, and Outsiders.

pairings: No ships this year! Just Sasha Bordeaux & Bruce Wayne; Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne; Sasha Bordeaux & Dick Grayson. All three were from ITMFTF.

stories with the most kudos, bookmarks and comment threads: That's Hello World. It's a bigger fic, with more for people to bite into, and with the benefit of not having been posted in the last week!

work i’m most proud of (and why): Agh, picking children! Nah. I'm more proud of Hello World. It's a bigger project, drawing on a lot of different threads and trying to be my personal love letter to one of my favorite characters of all time.

work i’m least proud of (and why): I'd Teach is one of those fics where nothing happens, and I'm like 95% okay with how it landed... but that 5% is still missing. But, part of the process is making slightly misshapen things to keep working the writing muscle.

share or describe a favorite review you received: I feel like I hold every comment I've ever received dear to my heart, but this one by @scintillyyy really touched me.

A lot of the comments addressed my central goal of this fic--working on giving Oracle's Year One a modern lift and giving Barbara space to experience more messy ups and downs of recovery--and reassured that yes, I was hitting what I wanted to. But I was fully ready for the SCI research I did to kind of slip away unnoticed, so I really appreciated having that called out too.

a time when writing was really, really hard: Most of the year lmao. 2024 was the year of higher education, which left less fic time than I would have liked. But as soon as this degree is in hand and I can go back to full time work, I've got a backlog of writing to jump on.

a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: I talked about this a little with vechter in the comments of I'd Teach, but the Bludhaven scene in I'd Teach My Feet to Fly came about kind of unexpectedly. Everything about that fic kind of took the reins from me.

a favourite excerpt of your writing:

“Details are still coming out,” Barbara says, lying like an artist. That’s all this job ever was, lying in the service of what you hope is higher meaning. “But it was overseas. Ethiopia. The funeral will be tomorrow. Mr. Wayne… Bruce… wanted to let me know. Invite me to come, since I knew him.” “That’s… God, Babs. That’s awful.” He shakes his head, unsure what to say. His hand brushes back his ever-greying hair, his other reaching for his pipe. He gets it lit and takes a few puffs, his head tilting back as the soothing smoke drifts from his mouth. “God,” he repeats. “He was young.” “Yeah.” “Are you going to go?” She doesn’t want to. She knows she will. She owes it to him.

I like this sequence because it illustrates the fic's general premise: take a canon moment, expand it a little, and then focus in a little harder on Babs.

how did you grow as a writer last year: I don't know how much I grew this year, honestly. All writing is growth, and doing it is the hardest part. I think HWIMA is some of my best prose, and it's certainly shaping up to be my longest work yet. I think I'm continuously getting more comfortable with larger projects, but I'm also trying to develop more comfort with fics that just compare scenes and have some commentary around them. One of my favorite things to do as a fan is to just hold two different moments in time together, and I have to remind myself that the literary equivalent of that is still a worthwhile fan activity.

how do you hope to grow this year: I want to keep working on different types and formats of fic! I have two fics that I've been meaning to podfic forever, and the majority of a longfic that I started podficcing and then fell way off track with. (@ididloveyou I promise I have not forgotten about you! One of these days I promise I'm going to get back 😭). Otherwise, I'm working on my Wonder Woman fic that's going to end up as a poem, which is a new frontier for me. But largely, I just want to finish some WIPs. I owe a certain dear fandom friend a certain sequel 😉

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): Oh lord, all of y'all. Can I just say that? It takes a village, and I feel like so many folks in my ecosystem help influence me and my writing for the better. In no particular order, @havendance and @mintchocochipsposts and @zahri-melitor and @tevya-fandom, you've all been in my comments or my DMs or on discord, and are my subsequent MVPs of 2024. Jinx, I'm not sure where to find you but you're getting a shout-out too. Thank you for all your help and kind words over the year.

anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: Someone in the process of getting their MLS, writing about someone getting their MLS? It's more likely than you think!

any new wisdom you can share with other writers: Never be afraid to put something in a bracket and come back later! I bullet point my fics and write them from there, and sometimes I skip a bullet or describe the action (something like [Barbara looks at the mirror, isn't happy, fixes it]) and just write the next thing. Don't let something break your momentum. The other best writing wisdom I've ever received is that if you feel absolutely stuck when writing, go back about six sentences and see if the problem actually started there. I write myself into corners all the time, and have to retrace myself to solve clunky dialogue or a bad movement rather than trying to brute force my way out.

any projects you’re looking to starting (or finishing) this year: Definitely HWIMA. Ken and Barbie. The Wonder Woman poem. Those are the big three. After that, I want to get back into podfic and do that for a bit. And then we'll see where we go!

I tagged a lot of people in gratitude through this post (and all of y'all should consider this your tag to participate if you want!), but I'm also going to tag @cuephrase, @themyscirah, @sl-walker, and @clearbluewaters for my due diligence. Here's to a lovely 2025, everybody.

[sphnyspinspin]

[ INTRODUCTION ]

>> Be mindful that this will be forever under construction and continuously updated <<

Sup!! Welcome to my blog!! I mostly go by Sphny.This is my Transformers fan blog! I usually just draw, write, review, and reblog about stuff that I like.

Some I, admittedly, like more than others when it comes to this franchise’s wide array of options. These are just the ones that take up larger capacities of my headspace 24/7/365. Hell, this isn’t even all of them.

| Transformers: ONE — AHHHHH THIS MOVIE CHANGED MY LIFE FUNDAMENTALLY—I will never be the same because this movie is such a masterpiece the art, the animation, the writing—OMG THE WRITING—I’m so happy that I was able to see it while in the fandom.

| Transformers: Rescue Bots — Good God, this show was like the very first layer of my TF hyper fixation—not my biggest fixation just my first.

| Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy — THIS SHOW is my biggest fixation it’s so cute and wholesome and clever and fun it is such a good show I love the characters so much.

| Transformers: Robots In Disguise (2015) — Hear me out, this show is actually kinda funny in a non-ironic way I promise, and the designs aren’t half bad.

| Transformers: Prime — Amazingly alien, and I say that with the upmost adoration I can muster, because OMG I seriously regret not appreciating the art and character designs in this show (I hate noses on transformers now).

| Transformers: Cyberverse/Transformers Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures — PLEASE—this show is AWESOME, I praise it for the characters, the story, the character designs, the animation, the EVERYTHING (this is where I personally think Soundrod first originated).

| Transformers: Earthspark — This show, oh my god, I have a love-dread relationship with it; it has so much care-free positivity, an adorable group of characters, nice designs with world-building being amazing so far, but I know for a fact it will destroy me sooner or later (P.S. it already has).

| Transformers: Animated — This show SHOULD be more popular, and it’s the main reason I have my artstyle today (and please don’t bully me but when I found out my fave character dies I stopped watching….. like immediately………. I didn’t even finish season one.

| Transformers: Botbots — This show… Where do I begin… Oh right, literally the TF fandom parody—like I know for a fact that 85% of the characters’ personalities are inspired by random TF tumblr posts, you can’t deny that.

| Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye — I have read zero TF MTMTE comics and I never plan to, because I would actually die from dehydration after crying so much; but the fandom makes me laugh and I like the art.

| Transformers: Lost Light — I have only read three issues of this series—#23, #25, and #27, because they were the only ones available to me (and fyi for in-between comics I just read the TFWikis).

| Transformers: Last Bot Standing — HOLY SHIT—This made me so… so very sad, and at the same time I was ABSOLUTELY INSPIRED, the premise was amazing and the characters were awesome (oh and uh, I didn’t read the actual comics I just read the TFWikis… again).

| Transformers: IDW (2005/2019) — Okay, okay, I might’ve read a few IDW comics but trust me when I say this—I LOVE reading about IDW’s take on Transformers, I’m forever in awe of its storytelling and fandom.

[ ABOUT BLOG ]

#sphny arts (𖦹w𖦹)•*°⊹ is my main tag for all of my original art

#sphny reblogs (𖦹Q𖦹)•*°⊹ is my main tag for any and all reblogs

#sphny speaks (𖦹<𖦹)•*°⊹ is my main tag for small IRL commentary

#sphny answers (𖦹0 𖦹)•*°⊹ is my main tag for when I answer any asks from my ask box

[ DNI ]

Do Not Interact with me, or this blog if you’re an advocate for: Homophobia, Transphobia, TERFs, Sexism, Racism, Proshipping, or Ableism etc.

[ ASK BOX ]

Asks about my art, writings, WIPs, and reviews are very appreciated, I’m honestly not the best at answering them right away, but they’re still appreciated nonetheless.

Requests for art or writing aren’t usually what I like to receive in my Ask Box casually, so in the nicest way possible I will reject any Requests I get from Asks, unless I make it very apparent that I’m opening/seeking Requests.

[ SIDE BLOGS ]

@transformers-bold-bright-brisk is my Transformers-Fan-Continuity blog that I’ve been using for my AU side project(s): Transformers: Roll Call Rescue Recruits and Transformers: Reach Out To Reassemble.

[ SOCIAL MEDIA ]

BLUESKY @sphnyspinspin.bsky.social — I’m loving the vibes here in general 10/10 would recommend to chat in.

CARA @sphnyspinspin — I haven’t used this in a bit, but I like it so far.

TIKTOK @sphnyn23 — I literally only have three TikToks uploaded and they are cringe, please don’t bully me.

INSTAGRAM @sphnyspinspin — I deleted EVERYTHING on here, and I’ve mostly been using it to “interact” with other artists whose main platform is instagram.

[neogandw]

Continuing onward, page 2 of 6, the rest of which you can see here.

Honestly this page was a lot of fun, I love recreating areas in gaming a lot, so this was a lot of fun with the whole playing around with multiple universes in smash to give the idea that the Inkling girl just can't hit a shot.

Of note:

I like to think that Inkling Girl's first mistake was skipping Sheldon's explanation. Like, I get it, but his bios do give you a hint of how the thing is supposed to work. Just because you're familiar with a thing it doesn't mean you should skip the manual.

I could have straight up taken a picture of Mementos, but I instead re-drew the whole bit (if anything I just reused a re-draw of the main mementos map which I have done in a previous drawing project). I honestly do not skip steps, if I can recreate a thing for the shot, I'll go out of my way to do it. It makes things look more seamless and in-line with the drawings as a whole if I do everything from scratch, though I'm not above re-using previous drawing assets if I can get away with it (since the mementos map never really changes, I can just reuse that isolated re-draw I have).

If you want it for whatever reason, here it is.

Oh, by the by, I kinda based Joker's render off his appearence in Tactica since that had been recently released by the time I was doing the drawing. I do like the tactica renders so I may base the persona characters off that to simplify them a bit style-wise.

I know WarioWare being used for Samus is a bit of an odd choice, but I figured I could just do a simpler area rather than going with either Norfair (all that lava would get in the way of the ORANGE paint), Brinstar (same, but Yellow) or Frigate Orpheon (I didn't really need the parasite queen in the background). Adding Pikachu in was a later idea just to highlight how much she's missing the shot.

Dedede and a Pikmin laying down was funny enough already, but here's a bit of hilarity I thought about (and I know that explaining the joke ruins it, but you know, this is supposed to be a commentary): this is flat zone, it's entirely 2D, the inkling girl somehow missed the shot even when you only needed to aim left or right.

I like Minecraft a lot, but when DRAWING the universe its a bit dull if everything is just cubes. So while I totally can do that I just choose to make a stylized version that is semi-cubey for most everything. Though Alex I prefer to go full proportions.

Alex being more human proportioned does bring some challenges since I do want her to look like a country bumpkin of sorts, so this comic helped me finalize how I would do it. Honestly its kind of based on how artist Peargor does it. Though I'm gonna go with a longer braid and some freckles.

I do largely prefer Alex over Steve though, so you'll likely see her whenever I involve minecraft on my drawings. If I were to draw steve though? I'd likely make him buff. I tend to think of Alex as the builder/farmer (which is my playstyle) whereas Steve is the adventurer (how my friends play the game).

I didn't actually borrow any textures from Minecraft, they were self made. Which is kind of why they're kind of shit.

Honestly drawing the regular Charger was a bit of a thing. The Splatoon weaponry can be very complex in its detailing so for the first few panels it was kind of traced. Over time I just did it on my own for later panels.

Tracing isn't a bad practice, just as long as you don't pass an entirely traced work as your own. Trace responsibly kids, it helps learn how to do a thing.

[wisyhana]

These are some pages that I made as fanart for a fanfic i Really Love. It's something rare that I look back and actually kinda liking the result- 😂 I've been trying to improve my panels flow(?)/pacing And the Lettering- adding words in comics is pretty hard 🥺 if you had some insights, pls let me know ❤ or just give me what you think... Thank you so much!!

Hi! Thank you for waiting this long hahaha

First of all I love your Yugi, is so freaking adorable, big fan over here aaaaaa.

And okay we're gonna talk about comics. Oh boy. It's not a topic I dont like talking but it's something I get way too.... intense, even if I feel I don't have much to defend with. Anyway I'll try to not be so detailed and serious about it so I can bring a decent commentary!

Disclaimer that I have a lot of issues with the use of thought bubbles, but that's a me thing. Myself I try to avoid them so I can focus on a "show more, talk less" type of flow. So if I start talking about them it's because of that, not that you'r doing a bad thing or anything.

I like how you use the panels, by themselves and ignoring the dialogues, they work perfectly fine! I think my thing with the pacing is that I'd draw a 3-4 pages comics instead of 2 for this scene alone. It's a pain I know, but I think for this type of scenario adding a little more of time could help to appreciate some details, like Kaiba being notoriously angry, the moment he touches Yugi's forehead, etc. But this is also a very personal opinion because I'm a sucker for very sloooow interactions, so all this I'm saying is for the sake of a slower pacing. Sadly you gotta draw more or write less if you want to get that effect, also you can get in a situation where things end up vague and ugh, what a pain hjdfhjhds.

I have a serious problem with dialogue bubbles, I never know where to put them Dx. I always feel they're on the way or that they hinder the reading or that they look straight up ugly hahahaha. I think you use a good space for them! they're not in the way of the faces or important scenes, but I can see you needed to add arrows for the conversation to work. In my opinion the dialogue works perfectly without the arrows. We all know there are two people talking so having only the faces on the bubbles was enough to understand who was talking and what order follow.

Now, if you want to work on bubbles without using the faces to show who's talking and don't lose the order in the way, I could recommend something like this:

Sorry if it looks way too clumsy! But a thing we artist have to deal is how the order of the bubbles affects on the flow of the dialogue. Specially when we don't have a specific way to show how the person talks (for example japaneses have many ways to show character's expression so it's easier for them to identify it.) So we need to focus on the flow.

A wonderful person who talks TONS of this matter is the motherfucker Scott McCoud!

This is just an example of how dialogues can contribute to the time and spaces and how the order affects the reading. This is not the exact example for what I mean but Scott is a badass of the comic and the complexity of it.

Understanding Comics The invisible Art is a masterpiece, I blame him for making me doubt is I'm doing a good job or not.

Okay before I go way too into this, one last thing and this is personal opinion. I love white background but you gotta be very careful to not make it look like lazyness. You don't need to draw a full background but maybe adding some shading can help to make the illusion of space rather than having a blank space. Of course this is just my opinion.

Anyway, I really like how you work! my huge recommendation would be to simply take your time on it, I feel it shows a bit of impatience or nerviousness, but that's just my idea. So far you're going a good way on creating comics and I'd love to see more of them :3

Hope this helped you in some way! And as always don't forget to have fun drawing your beautiful bois!

this is me everytime I draw comic and find a inconsistency.

[zelda-cooper]

Thoughts, Headcanons and Comments on Morgana Mawcaber (My AU).

This here is more of a commentary blog and maybe a rant, it can also be considered as a headcanon blog and also for Morgana fans. For those who want to, they can read it as they wish, but I'm already advancing that it's LONG and will have some low-level words (I'll censor it, but it's still worth it). Feel free to leave comments about your opinions...

Many people may not know, but I like romance. I've already said a few times that I like "Enemies to Lovers", very flirtatious couples, etc. But I'm not much of a talker about WHICH ships I like and, well... For those of you who see my drawings a lot... I usually draw a LOT of my OC Silk Touch with Darkwing Duck. I admit that this ship is one of my favorites from OC x Canon and one of the ones I'm most proud of working on. However... To the surprise of a LOT of people... The CANON Darkwing Duck ship that I like the most is... Morgwing! Morgana Mawcaber and Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard! I think for some people it's a little obvious, because I drew them and I've already said a few times about the comic that I wanted to follow the Canon of the classic Darkwing Duck series (sorry Drakepad fans, but I think Drake is straight). And particularly, I genuinely like the concept of their couple dynamics. A hero and a witch... I really like it a lot!... The problem is that I don't think it's explored well... TuT

Like... There were very few episodes that showed their relationship, most of them were a lot of fighting and some I don't like, personally. The episode at Morgana's restaurant and the Valentine's Day episode where Negaduck came in the middle... I dislike it SO MUCH! And I also see that a lot of people don't like Morgana... So much so that I think that, for these reasons, there is a lot of Drake OC x Canon shipping... But anyway... Here I want to reformulate the couple and give it a a little more breadth to Morgana's personality, giving a little more context to EVERYTHING about her. And since we're getting into this shipping thing, let's talk about him first...

Okay, first... A lot of people I think question why Morgana fell in love with Drake, which is understandable... He's completely selfish, self-centered, arrogant and is probably unstable with relationships (I'll leave that last one part to comment on Drake's blog). So... In my view... It was purely for Drake's body! WAIT, CALM DOWN- LET ME EXPLAIN!!! I consider that, firstly, she just really wanted Drake/Darkwing as a worker zombie who would help her in the restaurant, but she would also have a certain more... Eh... Intense... As for his body... If they understand me... :'>

So... Think about Morticia and Gomez from the Addams Family... It's a little EXPLICIT that they have a more physical relationship and (pardon the word if you're a Christian or don't like hearing this...) something more lustful. Just watch the kissing scenes and certain adult jokes. They certainly have a lot of tension between them.

I've seen many headcanons that Drake and Morgana WOULD HAVE this more physical relationship (but it would be less explicit, please...) and I agree. And, considering Morgana... I have no doubt whatsoever that she would have been interested, FIRST, in Drake's body (because, especially in DT 2017, he looks like a standard, handsome blonde man). And Morgana, I don't even need to comment... Drake got dizzy just seeing her and I think he got a little... How to say...? Kind of tense in a different way... (My God, it's tense to say this kind of thing here...:'³).

But you might be wondering: "Okay, but how did this turn into love and develop into dating?" It's simple... Coexistence! Like... Many couples who start out physically end up developing a feeling of love. As much as Drake is an extremely complicated person and probably difficult to live with, I think Morgana is... And many artists agree... Drake WASN'T Morgana's first boyfriend! Come on... Morgana looks young, BUT SHE'S A WITCH!!! SHE MUST BE ABOUT 200 YEARS OLD!!! The woman must have a lot of experience with dating. The one who would be "new to love" would be Drake! Because, yes, he has never dated anyone in his life! That's why he was so disconcerted when he saw Morgana and even when they started dating. But as a philosopher once said... "Passion is fleeting, love lasts a lifetime." And, despite being a bit controversial, there is a grain of truth to it. So, yeah... Despite the fights... There would still be love in their relationship.

Okay, moving on to her personality... I admit that it's quite irritating due to a single factor... Even though she has characteristics of flirting a lot, being a witch and having a certain "strange" air for traditional families (•cough• Binkie, I hate y-)... I still see traits of a standard and stereotypical woman of the time... Don't get me wrong, this stereotype isn't exactly bad, it's just problematic and I don't feel it matches the character of Morgana. If I were to change her... I certainly have the best inspirations for her!

Eda from The Owl House and Mary Jane from Spider Man...

Let's start with Eda... She's basically a rebellious witch, completely relaxed (in the beginning, at least), EXTREMELY powerful, who speaks her mind and is very good at fighting! On the other side, we have Mary Jane... Peter Parker's girlfriend is basically a strong woman, completely debauched, VERY beautiful, a little too loose (if you know what I mean) and also, despite everything... She is a good person who really loves Peter. Mixing these two... It would make Morgana from our Fan Comic! Basically that's it! But there is another factor and here I will pull the hook to another topic...

Several artists who reimagine Morgana in a DT 17 version often make her a black person... I didn't quite understand why... Until I saw that the woman's voice actress is a black person, then everything made sense in my head. However, I have many reservations about this... It has already been said in the series that the Mawcaber Mansion is in Transylvania (I know it's a cliché for monsters to live there, but follow the reasoning). And Transylvania is in Romania, a country (unfortunately) little known. Then I thought... "Technically, Morgana is a witch, which means she's a different race... And she lives in Romania... Technically, you could consider her a foreigner or an immigrant? 🤔".

(For those who are bad at geography, here is a map of where Romania is.)

This opens up something else in my head that... If Morgana lived isolated with her family, in a country that didn't have so many resources... The reason she went to St. Canarian would probably be to really have opportunities! She wanted to have her restaurant and that's why she would have gone to the United States. So, you could say that, in the Comic, she would be an "immigrant" from Romania. Which also comes with the issue of her not being of another "race" and her basically having little social skills... Now you must understand my point... You can say that, in terms of social skills, she is like Drake... In other words, neither of them are good at socializing. And that's why they'll get along so well...

To sum up this whole blog for you... In my AU, Morgana is an immigrant from Romania who dreams of having her own restaurant and that's why she went to St. Canarian. Her and Drake's relationship, in the beginning, was very... Physical... But over time, they both really fell in love. And Morgana's personality... We mixed with Morticia Addams, Mary Jane and Eda. And so, the Morgana of our AU is formed.

(Art for @anniesilveratl2 )

Well, guys... That was it... Sorry if the Blog was a mess, I just couldn't organize everything today... Give your opinions in the comments, if you can, reblog and... BYE!!!

[henrysglock]

You ever think about how Brenner said he always thought Henry was out there, hiding in the darkness. You ever think about how that line is followed directly by a recap of them exploring the original lab gate.

And then maybe you wonder about how El managed to escape in 1983. Her escaping out that tunnel, just like Henry showed her in NINA.

Then maybe you think about closet scene in NINA happening at night...despite the massacre happening during the day...and the 1983 escape vibes that has.

And the fact that that scene was entirely spliced in, and we never see closet guy again after that scene.

And then...I just think...Season 1

"And the boy?" "Still missing."

We assume Brenner's talking about Will when he says "the boy", since Will is our main focus at the time, but now, with the "First Message from the UD" not being Will's first time talking from wherever he disappeared to...

I'm not 100% sold anymore.

We've always assumed it was Will talking through the lights whenever they're being helpful, despite ST showing us over and over that the lights blinking and shifting just means someone is near them.

And now, in this latest TFS teaser...

It's the origin of the Upside Down. The first message from the Upside Down.

It does make me wonder who, exactly, was speaking when the lights spelled out RUN.

On a directly related note: Another thing that's struck me as odd all along was the teasing and commentary about monsters in TFS—

There are a lot of monsters.

And I initially went "but how, if no one opens gates until El does it in 1979? Is someone else opening them in the 50s? Are we talking about something else entirely?"

We've always assumed that Henry had never opened a gate/didn't have the ability to open gates because we never see him do it in the flashbacks. We've also assumed that he can't do it because Vecna couldn't do it. But if Henry isn't Vecna...then who's to say what his powers entail?

There's something about the Lost Sister, too. Kali having these vision powers but no remote viewing. All of Kali's One coding, behaviorally, as opposed to El and her refusal to go along with it. El having gate powers and remote viewing (remote viewing seems to be less unique, Ten had it as well, it's less of a tell)...especially when compared to the BTS teaser:

That plus the lost sister having initially been titled "The Lost Brother" and casting for men like Jamie...Something stinks about Henry-El Kali-One copycatting, here.

It makes me wonder who may have been opening gates like the one in the tree...or the one in the wall of the Byers' house, which would have allowed Will to escape, but only ended up drawing attention to him. Something about trying to help and making things worse by doing so.

Anyway, back to my original point.

We all assume Will has powers (and maybe he does, I don't know), and that he was the one who told Joyce to run in ST1, but now I'm wondering if we haven't been duped all along.

After all, who's the boy we just saw in the TFS teaser, the one who's shown using (what seem to be) remote viewing powers while holding hands with Sue Sinclair? How about the boy Patty Newby falls for? The boy Victor Creel loves to the moon and back? The "sensitive" boy who keeps spiders as pets in fully furnished jars? The boy who's so paralleled to Will that it's almost comical?

That's Henry, no?

So when we ask "Who's signaling for Joyce to run?"...let's put Mister "I tried to help, but it only made things worse", the guy who knew Joyce in the 50s, back on the table.

Pretty please. As a treat to me.