#i'm not 100% sure how to tag this lol

[theromanticscrooge]

The Marilyn Portfolio, Untitled Bella Goth, and Professor Venomous' Self Portrait

Marilyn Diptych, Andy Warhol, 1962

After Marilyn Monroe's unfortunate death in 1962, Andy Warhol released the Marilyn Diptych. The base portrait is a cropped, zoomed in reference pulled from a promotional shoot Marilyn posed in for her starring role in the movie Niagara. This portrait was screen-printed 50 times in color to black and white with varying degrees of quality/deterioration. Warhol's intention was to marry commercial art and celebrity culture with the kind of worship and devotional imagery found in churches and Christian art.

The Marilyn Diptych takes part of its inspiration from classic triptychs: multi-panel works depicting religious scenes and figures. Where classic triptychs were made to endorse and deepen someone's faith in God, the Marilyn Diptych was commentary on celebrity worship and how celebrities could and were placed on pedestals similarly to religious figures. The portrait repetition mirrored how often Marilyn was typecast as a "dumb blond" in movie roles. Because of how heightened celebrities are, they are the subject of intense public scrutiny. Their personal lives are as much spectacle and centers of intrigue as the fictitious characters they portray.

Her public image was the blonde bombshell and sex symbol; a fantasy that men lusted after and women both envied and admired. When Marilyn was outed as a scandalous subject because of her past pin-up work or the dicey nature of her movie roles, it only strengthened her image and reputation. Though, the fact her past was placed under such scrutiny and everything about her was subject to similar microscope slide treatment shows how much more Marilyn was seen as a character instead of an actual person. Marilyn wanted her celebrity image to exist as a separate, distinct entity from her personal life. Warhol's various Marilyn works are described as a tribute to Marilyn's desire for just this. Works like Marilyn Diptych are part of the library of iconic imagery that draws attention to Marilyn, but the hope is to redirect and keep focus towards Marilyn the immortalized image instead of the person behind the image.

Marilyn Monroe portfolio, Andy Warhol, 1967

The Marilyn Monroe portfolio series is a popular set of images to pull inspiration from for other derivative art and even art assets in games or shows. The intent behind the Diptych is similar to the inspiration for the Marilyn Monroe portfolio series. Though, the biggest difference is that the portfolio works center more on channeling commercial art and playing with varying color theory. Each of the works can stand separately as an individual piece because of how the dramatically different color schemes can change the mood or theming of the portrait. These weren't made as a deliberate, cohesive whole like the Diptych. That said, the varied, careful, and deliberate approach to color theory sets the portfolio as a striking but convenient set to reference or recreate.

In The Sims 2, the in-game Bella Goth pop art piece Untitled draws inspiration from the Marilyn portfolio series. Not only is the in-game art named after one of the Marilyn portraits, Untitled features a magazine posed and smiling series of Bella Goth in 9 different color variations.

Bella Goth has become an unofficial mascot for the Sims series ever since The Sims 2. In the original Sims, Bella, her husband Mortimer, and their daughter Cassandra were inspired by the classic kooky, creepy, and lovable Addams family. They share the Addams' love for Gothic and the macabre; they dress in darker colors and live in a Victorian flavored mansion next to a prominent graveyard. Most people are also familiar with Gomez and Morticia as a pair of hopeless romantics. Gomez peppers Morticia with shameless flirts and kisses. One of the iconic scenes in the 90's theatrical movies features a series of champagne corks popping off as Gomez dips and deeply kisses his wife. To an extent, Mortimer and Bella are supposed to recapture or echo Gomez and Morticia. Player success in recreating this are varied because of the finicky mood and intensive needs micromanaging Sims requires. If players can kick off successful romantic interactions between Sims, one of the kiss options is 'Passionate,' which features a tender embrace and dramatic music swell. This isn't directly related to Mortimer and Bella, but it isn't a stretch that these two might perform these interactions autonomously on a community lot.

After the Sims, Mortimer and Bella's relationship becomes muddied. Where Mortimer and Bella could be seen as a do-not-separate unit before, Bella easily overshadows Mortimer or the other Goths as a notable figure in her own right. In the PSP spin-off for Sims 2, Bella confides in the player that she only married her husband for the money and was in the process of running away from him period. In the mainline Sims 2 for PC, Bella has mysteriously disappeared. In-game bread crumbs point towards alien abduction, potential meddling from Bella's freshly-introduced sister-in-law that has convenient family ties with aliens, and Bella's prominent feature in the art for the paranormal-flavored and Area 51-inspired neighborhood Strangetown.

Game devs wrote an official Q and A with the Bella in Strangetown on the unfortunately-retired Sims 2 site. This Q and A was dropping further breadcrumbs about nefarious actors trying to use her as a means to get to Mortimer's neon green life-extending potion. There's no direct confirmation as to the why behind Bella's abduction, let alone concrete details on what happened after. Everything is a series of vague hints; pieces that the player strings together for their own personal soap opera. Overall, Bella's disappearance is something that has fascinated and enraptured players for years. There's still people writing stories, speculating, and drumming up theories about her 20 years later!

In game, Bella is portrayed as a beloved and highly charismatic socialite. She's a local celebrity. Artists are so enchanted by her that she has several pieces of in-universe art and sculpture modeled after and made in tribute to her specifically. Placing Bella as the subject for an art piece inspired by Warhol's Marilyn Monroe portraits is a stroke of genius. Bella is an iconic, larger-than-life figure among her in-universe admirers and Sims enthusiasts alike. The mystery around her catapulted her from fun pre-made character to such an established character in Sims canon that players expect some news about her or some hint at her presence in every existing Sims game, past and upcoming. She's beautiful, she's tragic, and she's such a mystery. Because of how few details players have to work with or piece together, Bella captures the imagination and plays with the theater of the mind. Regardless of how effective Simmers may consider Bella's story, it's become a front-and-center example for the storytelling potential a Sims game can have.

Marilyn is described as the postergirl for Hollywood glamour and part of celebrity culture. She has a very iconic look: heavy lidded eyes, sculpted bob, and red lips. Bella is considered fashionable and glamorous. While there has been some variation in her hair color, she's best known for her classic red dress. No matter how Bella's design or fashion is changed to try and keep pace with changing trends, the red dress is a staple. Red is Bella's trademark. In a fitting way, Bella is the immortal icon of the Sims world. She may have an official playable Sim in Sims 4, but her presence as a figure in Sims 2 will always eclipse or influence every following iteration of her in some way, shape, form, or respect.

(I included Boxman's set of Darrell portraits here as a potential nod to the triptych inspiration behind the original Diptych.)

There's also a Marilyn Diptych inspired portrait of Professor Venomous in the cartoon O.K. K.O. This portrait is prominently featured on his wall whether its at his house or in his personal office at Boxmore. Lord Boxman has a repurposed version of Michaelangelo's famous Creation of Adam mural placing himself in the role of God and his robot kids as the 'Adam' or otherwise reaching out towards him. This repurposed art is a cheeky nod towards Boxman expressing sentiments like 'I am your god!' to his first robot Mr. Logic and how much emphasis he places on the power trip he holds as the Boxbots' dad. Given the context of the original Marilyn portfolio, the Professor's variant might be part of his attempt to reconstruct himself and his self-image. The Marilyn portraits depict a very specific version of her; a very careful and highly curated image.

As soon as viewers learn about his alter-ego Shadowy Figure, the Professor tries to present the split as a Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde situation. Professor Venomous is his smooth-talking, level-headed, and reasonable public image. He has moments of being obnoxious or showing some irritation, but he usually tries to school his expressions. There's some level of restraint and control. Shadowy Figure is openly cruel and sadistic. He's the culmination of the more impulsive and desperate things Venomous wants to do: In his previous role as Laserblast, he was publicly reamed for suggesting inventions like a ray that permanently debilitates super powers, shrinks someone to subatomic level, or other obvious harm. He's openly evil as the Professor, but still feels some need to protect his image and reputation. He's still a very private and guarded person. At the very least, the increased secrecy as Shadowy Figure is an extra layer to make it harder to trace anything Venomous-related back to Laserblast and reveal his big secret.

Narrative ties aside, the Professor's portrait is also an interesting parallel to some of the art direction choices around him. Marilyn Monroe was considered a sex symbol. As Laserblast, he was called 'the hot hero' in a newspaper headline for his obituary. Otherwise, the Professor was given an elevator eyes treatment from Lord Boxman. That scene can be argued as a POV camera that's similarly applied to Boxman from Venomous' perspective and again applied in a ship-bait scene between Enid and Red Action. There's also the how-did-this-slip-past-censors scene where the Professor is leaning back in his office chair, legs spread, and slight drool dripping from his mouth. That scene has the same energy as a sex appeal fan service camera in most anime. The camera is full-on ogling Venomous here. This move was as deliberate as Studio Bones turning a Reigen Arataka undress and shower scene into something more dramatic and theatrical than the mundane, candid shot it is in the manga it was adapted from. At least Reigen's scene has a layer of irony to it; it's a Poe's Law situation where viewers aren't 100% sure if the fan service approach is a joke or earnest.

It's not an appropriate one-to-one comparison to Marilyn's sex symbol status, but it's interesting to look at both the cartoon's portrayal of Professor Venomous as well as fan reception. He's part of the ever-growing library of Tumblr sexymen and given draco in leather pants treatment. In a roundabout way, the Professor's pop art portrait is a reflection of the complicated commentary around Marilyn and what dialogue the portfolio and other works have drummed up about her image and celebrity culture in general. Characters like the Professor can drum up interesting conversations about how 'sexy' villains are portrayed, how that might impact the way people interact with the story/media they are from, and what it says about the play between someone's looks vs their actions. In the Professor's case, his looks arguably help drum up more sympathy than he might get otherwise. The bigger part of his particular story is about reputation and public image than physical appearance, though. Even when he has a come-to-Jesus moment with his ex, he has a moment of L'oreal model pout, but that doesn't stop Carol from attacking him or demanding answers.

In a nutshell, it's interesting to pick out a Marilyn-inspired self-portrait as part of the Professor's decor. Looking at the history or commentary around Warhol's Marilyn portraits, there's strong emphasis on her identity as a cultural icon vs who she was in private. The commentary centers on her lack of privacy; she's not allowed to have a separate life outside of being a celebrity. Profesor Venomous' portrait borrows this commentary and applies it to his ongoing struggle with identity. He managed to escape a role that didn't fit his values or personal self-image, but he still felt forced to create and maintain a new identity. There was always some tug of war between his private self and how he wanted to portray his public image. The other example pulled from Sims 2 highlights the difference between Bella Goth as a grand mystery vs the mundane Sim she is when she's actually playable.

Regardless of what someone thinks of the original Warhol Marilyn works, there can be some nugget of intriguing character writing or other commentary when a character is deliberately centered in their own Marilyn-esque portfolio.

[xiuhunsoo]

got tagged by @guardians-of-exo! thank youuuu <3

tagging @littlesunshinedae / @xiuminscatgirl @alachii @sehunlyone @wifesuguru and @xiu-bee

[not-xpr-art]

thought i'd share when process of a piece goes... kinda strangely lol

like sometimes you have any idea, start trying to do that idea, then completely change the idea cos you couldn't make it work pfft...

like i love how this ended up looking but it was NOTHING like what i planned...

it's honestly why i love digital so much tbh, it lets you really easily change the canvas size and move things around which is great for my indecisive ass lol!!

but yeh this is just to say if an artwork isn't going 100% how you thought it would, don't give up on it!!

[talkorsomething]

want to cut my hair again like you wouldn't believe. What are the possible consequences of going bald

[seaofreverie]

How it feels to tag the official account in my fanart post on insta and then they don't share it in their stories

[shiningwonho]

favourite kpop mv shots • 6/∞

soso - winner

[justalittlebluetiefling]

.

[ayakashibackstreet]

I'm surprised I mostly got what I wanted though, that usually doesn't happen

[nakylvr]

heyy how r u doing? could you write fem reader x katseye sophia with fluff prompts 2 and 5 pls?

im doing a little better now!! trying to catch up on everything lol. thank you for requesting this 🫶

— ADORE YOU

sophia laforteza (katseye) x fem!reader

summary: fluff prompts 2("it's better with you here") + 5("you feel like home to me") from my 100 follower event OR after a rough few weeks, you find solace in your girlfriend

warnings/tags: fluff, established relationship, mild language

main masterlist | katseye masterlist

life had been...a lot, recently. work was getting worse as the days went by, your boss constantly scolding you for things that you either didn't do or that your coworkers were blaming you for. you accidentally ruined one of your favorite shirts because some asshole on your way back home spilled some sort of coffee-like drink on you. your friends were arguing 24/7 and dragged you into it for no reason at all. yeah. it had been a lot.

unlocking the front door, you step inside the home, instantly met with the smell of food coming from the kitchen. you kick your shoes off along with your coat, trailing to the kitchen where you see sophia standing in front of the stove, humming a song quietly. you walk up behind her and silently wrap your arms around her, resting your head on her shoulder.

feeling you wrap your arms around her, a smile forms on sophia's face. "hi, honey. how was work?" she asks softly, one of her hands moving from the pan to pet your head.

"mm," you grumble out quietly, your eyes closed. "a lot," you say, your voice cracking a bit.

sophia turns her head to look at you the second she hears your voice, seeing the expression on your face and immediately knowing something was wrong. "what's wrong? are you okay?" she turns off the stove and fully faces you now, her hands cupping your face.

all you can manage is to shake your head, tears welling in your eyes. a choked sob escapes your lips as you open your mouth to try and speak, ultimately giving up and breaking down in tears. sophia's arms quickly pull you closer into her embrace, letting you cry into her shoulder. she doesn't say much while you cry, a few murmurs of reassurance, but otherwise it's quiet for the exception of your cries.

"it's okay, you're okay," sophia says quietly, her hand rubbing your back gently. your cries get quiet, the only sound left being your breaths out of pace with hers trying to calm down, and she glances down at you. "what happened?"

your face remains tucked into the crook of her neck as you mumble out a response, "work has been a lot, life has been a lot. i'm just tired."

sophia nods her head, her hand still rubbing your back listening to your response. "let's eat and then we'll go to bed, okay?" she presses a kiss on the top of your head.

nodding your head, you force yourself to pull away, watching sophia make a plate and hand it over to you. "thank you," you murmur softly.

"of course," sophia smiles at you, kissing your cheek.

after eating, you went into the bedroom and changed into your nighttime clothes while sophia cleaned up the kitchen. laying down on the bed, you sit in silence until you hear the door creaking open and sophia walks inside.

climbing into the other side of the bed, sophia pulls the blanket over you both and holds her arms out. you move closer and curl up against her, her arm wrapping over you. pushing some of your hair out of your face, her hand rests on your cheek.

"i love you," she says softly. "i know that it's been hard these past few weeks, but it'll be okay. i promise."

"i love you too," you whisper. "you feel like home to me, you know. i mean, you are. i'd be a mess without you. it's better with you here. i really appreciate you putting up with me."

"it's not putting up with you if i love you," sophia responds, a warm smile on her face. "you're my home, too. i would do everything in my power to make sure you're okay and happy. and don't feel bad for feeling upset, it's okay. it happens to everyone, we're only human. everything will work out, i promise." she presses a quick kiss on your lips.

"thank you," you mumble. "i love you."

"i love you too," she says quietly, seeing your eyes start to slowly close. "i'll always be here for you."

[kindahoping4forever]

Apparently yesterday was the 3rd birthday (what even is time 🥲😌) of what still might be my fav fic in the kh4f canon, so she gets a reblog 💚

Come In With The Rain // Ashton Irwin

The basic concept for this one came easily, it was raining outside and I got hmm… inspired. (🤡) About 500 words in, I asked @cal-puddies​, “What if it’s a Garden Daddy story?” and laid out a few more ideas. I always said I only wanted to revisit the Gardener!Ash series if I had a worthy idea because I love that trilogy so much and there was one scene in particular I described that had Cass insisting that I write this fic because it was so absolutely the vibe of this relationship. So here we are! Please let me know what you think and if you’d like to see more one shots featuring this couple!

And as always, thank you to Cass for talking this story through with me endlessly, encouraging me to keep going and for the first time EVER, talking me out of editing down to a shorter length! 💙

Warnings: The classic Gardener!Ash brand of Domestic Thirst. Boyfriend!Ash with moments of Dom!Ash. Female masturbation, unprotected sex in an established relationship, oral sex performed on a male, cockwarming, cum play. Two casual uses of “Daddy”, slightly public sex. The mountain pants. The beard, the glasses, the robe. Yes. I am a clown.

Word Count: 9330

Masterlist // Ko-Fi linked above 

Let  me  know  what  you  think!

The sound of rain hitting against the bedroom window wakes you from your sleep; you smile to yourself because it’s so grey outside it’s impossible to tell what time it is. You peek at your phone: it’s early. You turn over and wrap yourself around your boyfriend’s sleeping form: one arm near his, tucked under his pillow, the other slung tightly around his body, palm laying flat against his chest. You hum against the warmth of his back; you love a rainy morning.

A few minutes later, Ashton stirs, noticing you curling into him; he used to be a heavy sleeper but since you moved in, he finds himself sensitive to your movements, on call in case you need something.

“You OK?” He whispers, glancing over his shoulder at you before carefully turning over to bring you into his side.

You pull his arm against you tighter. “It’s raining,” you murmur.

“Ohhh,” he replies, eyes closed but a sleepy smile curling his lips. “You love the rain.”

Keep reading

[soaps-mohawk]

So...

I've been doing some thinking about a couple of things.

This blog has grown considerably, even from its start and I appreciate each and every one of you so much. Your support never ceases to amaze me and I owe all of you a lot for giving me something to focus on this year instead of spiraling into insanity.

But

Things have gotten a tad bit overwhelming recently between trying to run the blog and trying to write. I find myself either having to ignore the blog to get writing done, or sacrifice writing time and energy to spend time on the blog and keep up with all the replies/reblogs/asks etc. Definitely not complaining, you all never cease to amaze me.

But, I am just one person and my brain only has so much power right now. So, I'm planning to take some (more) time off each week right now while I focus on writing and planning since we're getting into some serious plot stuff soon. So I'm planning to be on the blog three days a week for a while: Saturday, Sunday, and Thursday. That gives me some time to get some writing done as well as some time to rest my brain.

Saturday and Sunday of course to post the chapter and respond to replies and reblogs so I don't get super behind. Monday I'll have some asks queued up as well as maybe a few reblogs. I'll still use the queue Tuesday and Wednesday for reblogs/asks with spoilers as usual. Thursday I'll be on the blog answering asks from Monday - Wednesday as well as things I get that day. I'll queue up a few things for Friday since that day gives me a little break between to prepare for the weekend and posting the chapter.

I'll probably add more days as time goes on. You can still send in asks on the days I'm gone, but just know I won't see them or respond to them until later in the week. I already get behind by a couple days on asks anyway so that's not much of a change.

Don't feel bad for sending them either, I love getting all these asks, I just tend to get behind on days I spend more time writing.

The second order of business

has to do with my taglist. Most of you probably haven't noticed (which I don't blame you lol) but my taglist has gotten very big. Very, very big. It's just over 230 people right now, and I'm sure there will be others asking to join. It's quite time consuming to do all of these tags for every chapter (especially since we can't tag in blocks anymore) so I've been doing some thinking into how I can make it easier for me, and for you.

I know there's at least one blog I've heard of, though I'm sure there's more, that have made side blogs that they have people follow and turn on notifications for and just make a post on that blog when they post a chapter or fic, etc. I've been considering doing that since the taglist is a lot of work and time.

I've also seen blogs that have side blogs that just post chapters/fics and nothing else. I know quite a few of you only follow for the fic, so if anyone is interested, I could put together a side blog like that as well that you can follow and get notifications from instead of having to follow this blog and having to go through the probably 100 posts that I make a day 😂 (at least it feels that way for me)

Having a separate blog for the taglist too would allow me to schedule posts so I can have them come out a bit earlier than I get up for those of you across the world who stay up to read and have to wait for me to post in the morning when I get up (or later like today because I slept in). Of course Ao3 will get posted later because I can't schedule posts there, but at least for Tumblr I can have things post earlier.

So let me know what you think about the taglist side blog and the possible just chapters/fics side blog. Feel free to send in asks (anonymously or not) with your opinion. I might not answer them all (not tonight because my brain is fried and honestly i'm not sure if this is even comprehensible English) but I will at least use them to make the decision (or make a post with all of them and answer it as just one).

[lucysarah-c]

Question: for Virgin! Canon Levi; how do you think that would go down? Like full blown sex one night? Taking it slow over time? Just how do you think reader would need to navigate it with him? Slow burn / build up, a passionate night, tipsy reader?

This is assuming Levi and Reader’s emotions are confirmed for each other

Hiiiii~~ How are you? What have you been up to lately?

Haha, honestly, I'm not entirely sure what caused this full blow-up of questions, but I'm kinda loving it.

Mhh, I think my answer depends a lot on two factors: "Levi's age" and "the experience of the reader." I know you said Canon Levi, but I wonder if you mean canon season 1-4 Levi, Underground Levi, pre-promotion Levi, etc. haha

I'll conclude that you meant "canon season 1-3" Levi. While I personally don't headcanon Captain Levi as a virgin during the "overall" period of AoT (I mean, since season 1, not ACWNR or Underground Levi), I think his reaction depends a lot on how much experience the reader has. Levi strikes me as one of those friends/partners who loves you, cares about you, etc., but hardly ever talks about themselves. In my humble opinion, even if Levi has feelings for you and you two decide to pursue a relationship together, it may take him a lot of time to open up about his past. I mean, this man gets along with Hange amazingly in the story; Isayama says that Hange is who "understands" or "gets along better with Levi," and yet Hange didn't know about Kenny.

So this may be a wild take… but I think Levi wouldn't tell you it's his first time, lmao. He may try to play it cool; you might notice he's not the most "skilled" dude out there ('cause let me tell you, no amount of Ackerman powers makes you seem experienced, lol), but he's not telling you it's his first time. Which, you know, everybody is entitled to their past. Perhaps if the reader is also a virgin and she opens up emotionally like, "It's my first time," Levi would feel she's opening up to him, and he would feel it's a good time to be honest too and be like, "Well… it's mine too, so I guess we will figure it out as we go."

About "how" it would be, I think the reader would have to set the tempo. Most men are READY to blow off some steam if you give them a chance, haha, so if the reader is also a virgin and they kinda want to test the waters before going all the way, Levi would be down for it, especially because it will give him time to catch a trick or two, learn what she likes.

I think that porn or movies make us believe how "sex" usually happens, and I mean, talking from my experience and my friends' experiences… none of us went from 0 to 10. Like, we kiss, we make out, then maybe we got a little handy, then riding on top of clothes, oral sex, fingers, etc. Especially because maybe you don't have your own place to crash at, maybe you two would like to talk it out before it happens. Buy condoms, get ready, etc.

Now, if you are curious how I think Underground Levi would decide to lose his V-card while younger… probably rather quick, steamy, and not giving it much thought, haha. He'd let the hormones talk and make decisions for him. In both occasions, I don't think he made the girl cum before him, which is something that happens a lot; we women are harder to please, it requires more technique than men who… well, let's say that they come rather easily, lol. BUT he will 100% offer to make her cum anyway, with fingers or mouth. Levi will be such a fast learner, give him a chance or two, and he will pick it up like a champ.

Though why can't I shake the idea of a younger Levi in the underground in his 18s, having something with a girl slightly older than him, perhaps 20, etc. And her saying between chuckles, "Slow down, boy."

God, I would pay to see his blushed, embarrassed face.

Link to my masterlist and my other works if you feel like checking them out. Tags!: @nube55 @justkon @notgoodforlife @nmlkys @humanitys-strongest-bamf @quillinhand @thoreeo @darkstarlight82 @angelofthor @aomi04 @levisbrat25 @l3visthighs @hum4n-wr3ckag3 @hannieslovebot @starrylevi @rithty @mariaace @ackrmntea @emilyyyy-08 @levisfavoriteteashop @katestrophes @levistealeaf @an-ever-angry-bi @youre-ackermine @fxnnyackerman @secretmoneybearvoid @trashblackrainbow @flxrartsstuff @katharinasdiaryy @levisecretgfblog @searriously @blackdxggr @ackermanswifee @abiatackerman @braunsbabe @moonchild-12345 @levicansteponme @galactict3a Wanna join my tag list? Here!

[stromblessed]

Mizu's spectacles, and the levels of her disguise

In drafting some more Blue Eye Samurai meta posts, I find myself writing out the comparisons between what Mizu can and cannot hide about herself, and how that affects how she moves through the world.

Like, I get the jokes about Mizu's glasses, if only color contacts had existed back then, etc. etc., and I think (hope) that most viewers don't take the glasses jokes seriously, as in "I don't care about the suspension of disbelief because BES is a cartoon." But I wanted to write these thoughts out anyway without burying them in a text post about something else.

I think the points I'm going to lay out here are viewed very differently by different people, so please feel free to add to this post, reply, or put your thoughts in the tags!

Not only do Mizu's glasses not actually help her that much, there's surely more to Mizu's mixed race appearance than just the color of her eyes.

In my view, this was pointed out in episode 1:

I'm willing to bet most of us were expecting young Taigen to say "blue eyes," not "ROUND eyes."

Obviously this is still about Mizu's eyes, but not even spectacles can hide their shape.

I don't think the show is obligated to point out everything about Mizu's face that isn't quite as Japanese as the people around her expect. Though the creators have said that they specifically designed Mizu - and her clothes - to read both as "white" and as "Japanese," as well as both male and female. I think there's more about Mizu's features that read as "white" than just her eyes.

This is where my own headcanons start entering the picture, but it's my impression that people can just tell that Mizu looks different, whether or not they can put a finger on exactly how.

There's the little girl who looks at Mizu and then hides on the way into Kyoto:

When there's more to your face you'd like to cover up than just your eyes, big hats are a big help!

By the way, most of these examples have to come from the first half of the season, since by the second half, either Mizu is too preoccupied with fighting henchmen, or everyone Mizu is facing knows who she is already, and she therefore has no reason to hide her mixed race identity.

It's worth mentioning that the mere fact that Mizu has to hide multiple aspects of her identity - her mixed race and her sex - results in her having to choose clothes that really, really cover her up, which doesn't win her any favors either:

(Zatoichi reference, anyone?)

If it were as easy as, for example, tying her glasses to her head and wa-lah, nobody would ever know she was half-white - then (1) Mizu would've just done that long ago, and (2) Mizu wouldn't be so on guard and on tenterhooks 100% of the time the way she's depicted in the show, even when her glasses are on.

Her spectacles sure don't help her in the brothel, which is full of observant women who are trying to seduce her, meaning they get good long looks at her:

Mizu never takes her glasses off, but they still send a woman to her who has light eyes, thinking that must be what will interest a blue-eyed man:

No wonder Mizu gets mad after this, lol

So Mizu never takes her spectacles off in the brothel, it's dimly lit inside, and the women can still tell that she has blue eyes. I'm getting the sense that Mizu putting on her spectacles isn't a guarantee that people suddenly can't tell that she looks different.

And yet no one spots that she's female.

Mizu can hide her breasts, can wear her hair in the right style, can hide what's between her legs, can walk and talk and behave like a man - and she's been doing it for almost her entire life, to the point that not only is she very good at it, but the threat of being found out as female is deadly, but isn't presented in the show as omnipresent.

Let me explain.

She threatens Ringo for nearly saying the word "girl" out loud, because while she's constantly ostracized for being mixed race, being a woman traveling without a chaperone, carrying a sword, and disguised as a man will get her killed or flogged or arrested or some combination of these things.

But in addition, it's been drilled into her since she was a child that if she is discovered as female, the combination of her being mixed race and female will identify her as someone extremely specific, someone known to some bad people, and she will be killed:

I think of it as Mizu thinking to herself, "Being found out as mixed race means I'm treated badly. Being found out as mixed race and a woman means I'm dead."

Mizu's hair is cut as a child. But she isn't made to wear a big hat, or cover her eyes somehow, or anything like that. Because hiding her sex is a more successful endeavor than hiding her race.

Ringo finds out she's female by accident, but once Mizu accepts the fact that he won't rat her out, she relaxes pretty early on in the season. Because the threat of being found out as female is mitigated pretty much 99.9%, since Mizu has gotten so good at being a man. And also, because most of the time, people see what they want to see. Even if Mizu's face makes her stand out as "not 100% Japanese," no one in the world of BES looks at Mizu's clothes, her bearing, her sword, hears her voice, and will ever in a million years conclude that she is a woman, because expectations around gender roles in the Edo period were so rigid and so widely enforced.

One detail that proved this to me is after the Four Fangs fight:

Ringo takes off Mizu's clothes so he can stitch her up, then leaves her clothes off even after he's done. He doesn't even throw her cloak over her as a blanket or anything. There's a little a straw (pallet?) as a divider there on the left, but anyone could just peek around it and see Mizu and her chest bindings. (I think it's mostly there as a windbreaker.)

And Taigen is right there, but he doesn't give a shit:

Opinions probably vary hugely on this, but my impression is that because the show doesn't make any kind of deal about Taigen being in the room with Mizu here, my guess is that Mizu isn't in any danger of Taigen thinking she's female. Even when I watched the show for the first time, I assumed that Taigen had seen Mizu out of her clothes here, and that he thought nothing of it.

Eat your heart out, Li Shang (Mulan 1998). I actually do think that this scene is a direct and purposeful side-eye to that movie, lol

There's obviously some nuance to how "severe" being mixed race is compared to how "severe" being a woman is for Mizu:

After all, Swordfather can't bear to listen to Mizu confess to being a woman.

So a Japanese man can go wherever he wants, whenever he wants in BES. A Japanese woman has limited options: marriage, religion, or a brothel. A mixed-race man is an eyesore in this story. A mixed-race woman is a death sentence.

May as well eliminate the female aspect, and do what you can about the mixed-race aspect. Because that's just realistic.

Meaning Mizu can avoid the strictures Edo society places on women. But she can't avoid the repercussions that come with being mixed race. And I truly don't think that it's just because "there's no brown contacts yet."

[sen-ya]

Life After Info Post

[Click here to access the Life After Digital Comic Book]

Summary: Two years ago, a viral outbreak rose the dead. Considering how his life had gone up to this point, surgeon Trafalgar Law figured this might as well happen too. When a supply run into the nearby city gets intercepted by a seemingly reckless and impulsive former patient, the dependable routine Law had settled into in this new life shatters. He finds himself exposed — his body out in the infected landscape, his conscious clawing to define what he believes is right, his heart begrudgingly deciding to find a new home on his sleeve. Maybe there’s more than a virus roaming the new world that can bring a dead man back to life.

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence, zombies/body horror (but lbr I am not good at making scary things look scary)

Relationships: Luffy x Law

Update Schedule: New page every Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Page Count: [37 posted | 55 drawn]

Latest Update: [7/21/24] WOWEE did I get myself carried away this morning. I just spent 5 hours organizing my comics and creating the digital comic book pages. I could have spent that time drawing or idk not doing what I do for my job, but I cannot be stopped. Anyway I blocked out 30 pages of this comic last week and they include the most intense action sequence I've ever done in my gotdang life. Wish me luck because I am nervous about tying down all my drawings lmao.

OLD UPDATES:

[6/29/24] HULLO! I'm doing so bad at keeping my masterposts updated lately I am sorry. All pages of life after are tagged life after if you're ever looking between masterpost updates! Also exciting update, I finally have figured out all the different plot points i'm gonna be hitting (yay!). I got hung up on something for awhile that made me not wanna work on this project, but I'm back at it. I think we'll end up with 6-7 parts! I have probably another 80-100 pages to draw lol. Also i got the app Magic Poser and it's AWESOME and I immediately used it to block out sets cuz MAN I hate backgrounds.

[6/10/24] HELLO. I'm sorry I've been shit at updating my masterposts lately. It's easiest to do from my computer, which I rarely use, and life has been happening. I also can't believe I bungled the queue and posted pg19 before pg18 i am very sorry 🤦 Eventually I'll have to turn this into an airtable base I'm sure, but until that day comes where I have like 100 pages of this comic we're stickin to the regular post lmao

[5/26/23] I got real caught up in doing summer of lawlu comics this week and this is the first week since the first week of April I haven't drawn new Life After pages and it feels weird 🙊

[5/19/24] More Luffy backstory comin' this week! :^)

[5/12/24] Updating now so get myself on schedule to update on Sundays like I had been with my other comic master post!

[5/8/24] Thank you to everyone who's liked/reblogged/comment on the first few pages!! It means the world to me that anyone's reading my silly little comics.

[4/28/24] HULLO. It’s happeninnng. I’ve spent the last few weeks working on this comic, and I gotta make this post so I can start queuing pages & link this in them! This is the most like….legit? Comic endeavor I’ve undertaken perhaps….ever. I’m very nervous about committing to how long it will need to be lol. This story is dear to my heart — zombie content is kind of my very favorite. I’ve always found it to be a great backdrop for exploring themes like grief, coping with change, community, and learning to live again. It’ll be a long haul but I hope you’ll ride it out with me!! Tomorrow I’ll be posting the first two pages. After that a page will post every Monday/Wednesday/Friday. As of this post I’ve completed over 20 pages so that I have a good lead on what’s posting and continuing to write, so I’m hopeful that’s a cadence I’ll be able to maintain. I’ll update this post weekly to include the most recent pages the way I do with my main comics master post. All pages will be tagged 'Life After' and I'll tag any pages with zombies in them with 'zombie' for blacklisting etc.

[thenegativitypit]

Like???

Tennis ball

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH DRAGONBALL

I thought I'd peek into the jk rowling tag because... I heard more bullshit was going on and I'm a masochist I guess.

Genuinely I expected to find it populated mostly with people angry at her, as well they should be.

Instead it's full of totally incoherent shit under a pro-jkr tag?? Like no, not bad stuff - incoherent shit. It makes no fucking sense at all. I guess it's all... bots??? Who's going out of their way to make a bunch of pro-jkr bots but not even like bothering to make them make coherent thoughts?

[erinwantstowrite]

Hi!!!! I Love love love your fic, and I have a question! An inquiry if you must lol. I was reading the tags again, and I noticed the skip Westcott tag. Are you going to approach the topic? Like, other than Peter suffering that trauma, when he eventually opens up to the bat family, will he talk about it?? Will dick talk about his own experience with Tarantula? I'm so excited to see your take since you put some hints that skip was maybe his caretaker at some point? Like foster dad or maybe I'm genuinely just tripping and mixing with other fics.

ALSO incredibly excited to see what happened to him with the experiments!!! It's extremely vague but im so needing that angst!!!! I really want to see more of Peter's life before coming to Gotham, before even meeting Tony!

hiii!! ty for the love!! :)

i spent ages looking for an ask i got a while ago about this topic but i can't find it for some reason? so if anyone is able to find it for me, i'd like to link it to this post and i'd appreciate the help!!

EDIT: perpetuallypanicky found the post!

(warning for under the tag: talking about Skip Westcott and Tarantula, which covers the topic of SA. please take care of yourself)

Peter will eventually talk about Skip Westcott. I can't say how much he says because I haven't actually written the conversation yet, but at the moment, it's more alluded to that it is talked about. It's a conversation for way later in another part of the series I have planned for LoF, which actually has an entire plotline about Peter's past and how it connects to his future. But he will open up and talk about it at some point. I think in the road trip arc (chapter 15 I think?) I have it planned for Peter to talk about Skip in some context with Dick (mainly, he tells Dick the most he's ever told anyone about the day he was bit by the spider), but not fully.

(And if that changes, it will 100% be warned in the beginning with the other trigger warnings I put in beginning chapter notes.)

That's mostly because Peter still hasn't processed that yet. He hasn't even told his therapist (I briefly mentioned a few times in Peter's POV's that he has gone to therapy, but I should probably make sure it's known that he doesn't go so often that he's gotten through the biggest parts of his past).

As for Tarantula... I talked about this in the Lost Post (this thing disappeared???) so I should probably mention it again. But Tarantula did NOT happen in this au.

There's a huge reason for it, and that's because I hate Devin Grayson, the writer who put that shit in there. I don't want her attached to LoF in any form, even if I'm writing to bash it.

That's not saying that Dick isn't still a survivor of SA. He's still going to have that be a part of his past as well, with some of the other instances. (There's another instance with Catwoman that's just... no.) So I'm not erasing that part of his history. I just hate Devin Grayson.

Which means that when Dick does find out (and he will), there's gonna be a big reaction. For the most part, when it comes to What Happened, I won't be going into details, nor flashbacks, stuff like that. It'll be about the impact of those times, and how Peter and Dick are recovering, though they do talk about it.

Also, Skip was Peter's last foster parent before Tony, you're right. He's probably just a little older than Dick, I'd say, around mid thirties? He was responsible for Peter for a little while but Peter ended up running away that day he got bit, and Skip hasn't fostered since.

And as for the experiments: I'm excited to write about it more. Peter and Dick also talk about this, and in some more detail than the Westcott talk. It's about time that Dick learned how Tony got Peter's complete trust,,,, a little sneak peak into that,,,, :)

There's actually so much about Peter's backstory that I sometimes wonder if there's things that I wouldn't be able to get to in LoF... It just means that I've been considering writing a prequel one day