#i've already seen this art on twitter and such and I have been following the drama around it but jsyk op I think it's very hot

[pixelchills]

Chill's ramblings about the DCA fandom and personal feelings and issues towards TSAMS (both positive an negative):

(I'm writing this like an essay but treating it like a diary, so if I jump from subject to another, it is because I am just typing as the thoughts hit my head. Sorry for being so wordy.)

I simply feel like I need to write my thoughts down, so why not share them with you. Maybe you can validate my feelings or something, I don't know.

Intro:

So, oof, I got a fic rec from @thedenofravenpuff and I'm loving it so much I really wanna draw fan art for it...

But the problem is that it's a TSAMS fanfic and I've sworn to my name I'll never draw anything related to the show because that will make me engage with a part of the fandom I'm not comfortable with.

My biggest issue with TSAMS:

I have such complicated feelings towards the show and its fanbase and I do not wish to make my life and work more difficult because of it as it already is.

My own work and characters are already constantly being compared to TSAMS. When I first introduced Solar to my fic, he was constantly being referred to Eclipse from TSAMS. Now that the show had a character with THE SAME NAME, it has been even worse.

Dolldrop Moon has been compared to Lunar. Even though the dolldrops existed before the youtube channel was even created (and Lunar made his debut much later).

The biggest issue I've had has always been the fanbase, that takes the show as the canon for Sun and Moon from FNAF and uses it as an excuse to harass shippers like me because they think Sun and Moon are brothers.

I've first handedly seen the damage the fanbase has done to some of my friends who draw, or have previously drawn art for the show besides their own AUs and personal headcanons of Sun and Moon as lovers. I'm sorry to tag you, but @kriimhild and @fablekitty : I've seen how the immature side of the show's fans have treated you, I am so terribly sorry you've had to defend yourselves over and over again for things that were not meant to be mixed up.

I have posted some ideas of a possible Animutant Moon and Sun forming a polyamorous relationship with Solar in the future of "My Dear Daffodil" on my personal/adult Twitter account. Someone kept commenting on my posts that I was glorifying incest, because Sun and Moon were brothers and Solar was their cousin.

The post had "Animutant" in it. Not "TSAMS". These comments came from a person saying they were 19 in their profile. So it's not just kids who can't tell not every fanwork is about TSAMS. It's starting to be some adults too.

Vice versa I've had another person comment on my very clearly SFW Twitter how they're following me because I am an adult artist who draws TSAMS incest. I have never drawn TSAMS art. I ship Sun and Moon, but they're never related with family bond, because I love presenting them as lovers.

Why I ship Sun and Moon:

Because I am a hopeless romantic. I love romantic love. Every single story I write is always about love.

The only exception to this is the Poppy Playtime comic I am doing. But even then, I was originally planning for a romantic love between Dogday and the Player. Yet, I decided to leave it, and keep the relationship open for any type of representation the reader themselves will prefer.

I used to watch The Sun and Moon Show when it first started airing. I loved their playthroughs. I had a big distaste for them calling each other brothers, as well as some of the first "lore" videos they had. My biggest issue at the time was how Moon treated Sun, though. As someone who grew up with an abusive sibling, it sometimes just hit a bit too hard at home.

But it got better after Eclipse and Lunar appeared. Moon was more caring, and I started to really like his character development. There was one episode where Sun explained to Lunar that he and Moon had simply just "decided" to be brothers, despite not having a canonical relationship.

This actually made me really happy. Because the Old Moon was aroace, the love he felt was simply never meant to be romantic, but platonic. And by making Sun his brother by choice clearly indicated that Sun was always the one he loved the most - in a way that was suitable for aromantic person like him.

And it really made me enjoy the show for a while. Sun is my favourite character, and despite not always liking the way the show presents him, I always feel so much love for him, no matter the AU he is in. So I loved that Moon loved him more than anything, even if it was just platonic. Because I've always been under the impression that the canon Moon loves Sun, and is only under a virus to protect him. For me, the best part of any Sun and Moon AU is to know that Sun is the most important thing to Moon.

Why I stopped watching TSAMS:

And then that Moon I had really started to like, who loved Sun more than anyone else but just platonically, died.

It hurt so much I simply stopped watching the show. I've watched a few episodes here and there after that, but I am having a hard time liking the show the same as I did before.

Partially it's because of the fanbase. Partially it's because I don't find the lore very interesting and some of the stuff a bit repetitive. Partially it's because I am scared to see Sun eventually crumble up into madness, because he has been through so much.

I like the New Moon. He is funny and nice, what I've seen. His relationship with Solar has been interesting, and I genuinely hoped they would've been able to take the romantic route after Moon said he wasn't sure if he was aroace anymore. But as I said, I've only watched a few episodes after the old Moon died, so I don't know either of their characters that much to form any strong opinions about them. I just listen to the Monty and Puppet podcast once in a while and get a little inside to some of the lore that has been happening.

But hey, at least there's fanfics. Which is why I am rambling here today.

Fanfics:

It is a rare treat to find Sun x Moon fanfics that aren't simply just porn, or do not include reader inserts. So since my romance-filled brain needed something to fill the void, I've started reading some TSAMS fics with romance (that wasn't between Sun & Moon) and plot in them.

I know Solar was settled to be a "cousin" to the weird family tree of TSAMS. But I simply crave for Solar and New Moon to be at least queerplatonic. Solar is not from their dimension, no matter how much they decide they're 'cousins' it doesn't make him their real cousin or relative because they're not from the same world.

Sun and Moon are brothers but they technically gave birth to Eclipse, who then created Lunar so Eclipse is technically Lunar's parent and then brother and Lunar is Sun and Moon's brother and... do you see what I'm trying to say?

The family tree is so complicated that I don't think I'm a horrible person for shipping Moon and Solar and reading fics about them. Tell me if I am wrong though.

The FIC that is making me question everything:

So Puffy recommended this fic by @theinfamousdoctorf , "Eclipse Meets His Match".

I'm currently on chapter 40, and I am genuinely surprised how much I am liking this fic so far. It got everything; redemption and character growth, the representation of Sun as the good, glowing angel he is in my mind (for canon, and every AU. He is always perfect in my eyes I love him can you tell lol), slow-burn romance, drama, excitment, plot, jokes and funny moments... even if there are a lot of mentions of sex and sexual pleasure, it doesn't feel out of the place as there is so much more to it too.

Eclipse's redemption to become better and realising he is in love with Sun has been so interesting to follow. Sun deserves the love. I love when Sun is getting loved. I literally ship him with every other animatronic in the games and love it when people ship him with their self-inserts and OCs. Because I love him so much I want him to be loved in every possible universe he is in.

Even bigger bonus to this fic is the second pairing, Solar and Moon, which I already opened up about above. I don't know how much the fic is truthful to the canon lore of the show, but I wish to pretend this fic is the canon now /hj.

I love the characters and how they're written. I love the descriptions of their flaws and hopes and dreams. How vulnerable they can get. How closely they stick together. And as an appreciation for making me tearful and excited about fanfiction in such a long time, I would hope to be able to gift the author some fan art for their fic.

But I've sworn to not draw anything for the show. For my own good. I've got too many awful comments already from the fans of the show despite never doing any art for it. I am just scared it will turn things worse.

End words:

I don't know if creating a new alias would be the right choice. So my main name/account would be spared from the confusion that the show's fans seem to stirr into, where one tsams artwork turns all of the artist' work into tsams.

I don't care if the art style would be recognisible. The artist would be me, but not PixelChills. Just so I could gift something to the author of this fic that is currently saving me from the boredom of being unable to write my own.

Thank you.

(This text has been typed on my phone, so pardon for any typos).

-Chill

[doc-art]

With the changes to Twitter would ever consider following all the artist to Bluesky or are you going to stick mostly for tumbler or do the block and AI art changes just not something you feel would effect you?

Heya! I do actually have a Bluesky, I made it a while back when there was a big scare.

The blocking changes don't really effect me, though I'm not a fan of the changes.

As for the AI stuff, my art has already been used to train stuff, and what I've seen as a result doesn't really threaten my work. Sucks overall, but agonizing over it won't do much. Anyway:

I'm actually hoping to stick to Tumblr and FA more, they're much better on image, gif, and video handling (tumblr at least) imo.

One of these days I want to make my own website to host my stuff. Have a lil forum/discussion area, make a community or w/e so I don't have to rely on the Patreon discord for that stuff.

Which reminds me, gonna plug my Patreon here. It's got a nifty discord server for announcements, commission openings, art posting

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

05/02/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Cast & Crew Sightings; Taika Waititi; Claudia O'Doherty; Dominic Burgess; Eliza Cossio; Erroll Shand; Watch Party Reminders; Fan Spotlight: Cast Cards; OFMD Colouring Pages; Stede & Ed (Calvin & Hobbes); MerMay Prompts/submissions; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika;

= Cast & Crew Sightings =

= Taika Waititi =

Taika is in NYC with Rita for more TypeBea launches! Additionally, the Met Gala happens to be on May 6th, will they be showing up again this year?

Img Src: Rita Ora's IG Storys

Img Srcs: DailyMail

= Claudia O'Doherty =

Our dear Mary, Claudia O'Doherty has peeked her head out again! This time with cooking suggestions and a podcast! Check her out on the latest episode of @douboyspodcast. Listen here

= Erroll Shand =

Just Erroll in a priests outfit with the song "Reflections" by Diana Ross & The Supremes.

Img Src: Erroll's IG Story

= Dominic Burgess =

Dominic got to slay on Palm Royale this week! Check out that suit! Bonus --Once again, I am a sucker for cat content, any cast member that shows their pets I'm posting it. Check out these adorable babies of our dear Jeffrey Fetterling.

Img Src: Dominic Burgess' Twitter

== Eliza Cossio ==

One of our dear writers, Eliza Cossio just so happens to have co-written a spin off of Felicity called "Felicity In Space". It's available on her Instagram here: tinyurl.com/FELICITYINSPACE

Img Src: Eliza's IG

== Watch Party Reminders ==

Palm Royale picks back up May 9 via @LCWebsXOXO with the lovely @/dominicburgess approx. 4pm EDT/9pm BST/1pm PST!

= Wrecked =

Last 2 episodes of Season 1 is on the docket for tomorrow! Don't have access? Reach out to me on @gentlebeardsbarngrill on tumblr, or @aspirantabby42 on twitter.

Days: Apr 29 - May 3

Times: 3:30 pm PT / 6:30 pm ET / 11:30 pm BST

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Tonight is non other than Josie Whittlesey, aka Hellkat Maggie, and the reason we have OFMD in the first place! Thank you so much @melvisik for spotlighting her!

Img Src: @melvisik's Twitter

= OFMD Colouring Pages =

More colouring pages by @patchworkpiratebear! And it fits with the MerMay Theme! I would love to print out a whole books worth of these once they're done!

Img Src: @patchworkpiratebear's Tumblr

= Stede & Ed (Calvin & Hobbes) =

A new fan spotlight tonight features our very own darling @blakbonnet! She's been making these awesome Calvin/Hobbes redraws with Stede and Ed for a while now, and she was kind enough to let me share them with you in the recaps! If you haven't seen them already, please check them out on her blog! Theres's so many to catch up on so we'll be seeing more each day for a bit!

Src: @blakbonnet's Tumblr

== Mer May Prompts ==

There's prompts going on every day from the @saveofmdcrewmates and @bizarrelittlemew's MerMay Bingo and it's taking me a bit to get permission to share, but I'll share when if/when I can! A few of our crewmates are going strong with the themes!

= Spanish Jackiez =

Our talented @erostheartist had this submission for Mermay Day 1. I love the idea of The Swede as a merman <3 Visit them on their blog for more artwork!

= Plunder =

Today's SaveOFMD MerMay Day 2 prompt was "Plunder" -- and as always, @blueberreads never ceases to amaze with the awesome pixel art they make! The very important plant booty even makes an appearance-- and that tailcoat swoosh! I love it! For more pixel art awesomeness, please follow them on their blog!

In addition, @erostheartist had some gorgeous ideas on Plunder with Izzy Hands and jewelry, check out their post here to learn more about this piece.

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies! It's finally Friday tomorrow! I hope you all are finally going to get some rest and relaxation this weekend. We could all use some! I'm gonna go into a bit of a heavier topic tonight, so if you don't have the spoons please don't worry about reading it right now (or ever). I've noticed a big rift going on in the fandom. Whether its on twitter, or tumblr, there's definitely a lot of contention between various groups of fans. I'm sorry if that's stressing you out-- I know it can be really hard to see that kind of thing, especially when we put the time and effort into putting ourselves out there and trying to find a safe space ship we can belong to. Obviously I can't speak to the entire fandom, but the way I've been trying to process what's going on is I think we're running into some Post Cancellation-Fatigue/Aggression. When we were getting regular content from the show, or we were fighting to get the show back more, even if there were some differences between parts of the fandom, it still felt at least somewhat cohesive with some random outliers. That mutual fight for the show isn't as strong now, and the only content we get is BTS from Samba or some of the other lovely crewmembers, and I think it's starting to weigh pretty heavily on people. Sure, there's always been some contention, but a lot of folks have expressed that it's felt a lot stronger the last few days and I have to agree. Have you ever seen those cat videos where there are three cats -- two are focused on one another, and then another cat sneaks up from behind and scares one of them, and then the startled cat starts fighting the other one that wasn't involved? That's what your behavioural specialists would call "misplaced aggression". Same with if your two cats are fighting, and then you try to interrupt, and they scratch you--it's not caused by you but that aggression gets directed at you. That's kinda how it's feeling right now. There's something bugging all of us on some level (and its not all the same thing) and that's translating into frustration, and being modern times we can express those frustrations online-- and maybe not worded in the best way, and suddenly we've got this huge blow up of contention between groups. Now, I may be misreading it, but I've seen this happen in a few other fandoms post cancellations, and it feels similar.

How do we navigate that kind of change? Well, it's not easy. Fandoms are supposed to be fun. They're supposed to be a relief from stress and help us escape the crazy shit going on in this world.

You're allowed to want to just relax and have fun. You're allowed to love your blorbos, and your pairings, whether they follow canon or not ( just like anything in life, don't force them on others if they don't want them). You're allowed to have fun and learn new things and enjoy all of the wonderful things that happen in the show, as well as how many positive things have happened from it's existence.

That being said, you don't owe anyone your energy and mental health-- so if you're not feeling great about a particular group, or chat, or server, or whatever you're in, remember to be kind to yourself and prioritise your happiness. There's a reason there are block buttons on most social media-- not everyone gets along, and you shouldn't have to sacrifice your peace for the sake of other people's frustrations.

There are going to be groups that feel extremely strong one way or the other, and they're going to want you to pick a side. If you find that you identify more with one side, and you feel comfortable and accepted with them, then by all means, find your new safe space ship! If you don't want to pick a side, if you just want to love your blorbos and listen to all the different fun meta going on-- that's okay too! Look for people who share that same ideal-- and aren't as worried about one way or the other.

Hell, if you're enjoying the hell out of all the crazyness going on-- then that's fine too you bringer of chaos, you do you <3. I will repeat this lovelies-- this is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be an escape, not an added stressor.

Do you need a few days away from the internet? Go nuts! Go outside, lay in the grass, drink your favorite drink and eat your favorite snack. The internet will be here when you get back. This show that brought us all together is about love, kindness, acceptance, learning, growing, making mistakes, forgiveness, support from our friends and family, redemption, and breaking the paradigms that society wants so badly to hold us down with. Those are the things we need to remember and cherish. This show taught us that there are very few situations that are irredeemable with effort, if people are willing to try. It taught us that where we are now doesn't have to be where are in a day, or a month, or a year, or 10 years and nothing is set in stone. We can change our own circumstances if we need to. It's perfectly reasonable to be upset that our safe space ship is having some troubles right now, and I feel it just like everyone else, so I get it. But-- just like the show tells us, nothing stays the same forever, and things can get better. Things can mend. Fandoms can mend, friendships can mend, relationships can mend. Or they can be severed and allow for those involved to move on. Whatever YOU need to do for your peace is okay and valid (we just ask that its not purposefully causing harm to others). You're allowed to prioritise yourself and your happiness.

If you need to talk, or vent, reach out to like-minded crewmates (you're welcome to message me but I may be slow due to work stuff, but I'm happy to listen and talk when I can!)

No matter where you are, no matter how you're feeling, you are loved.

You are doing your best, and you will get through these harder times. Remember to be kind if you can, and give yourself grace too.

Sleep well lovelies, I hope tomorrow is easier for you <3

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Tonight's theme is "silly", because we all need a little sillyness in our lives.

Gifs courtesy of the stupendous @ofmd-ann and marvelous @darkinerry <3

[yasmimkilleruwu]

I've seen a lot of posts about your comic but where do you post it?

I haven't posted my comic anywhere yet, but when I do, I will post it on my Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr and Twitter, and maybe Webtoon :]

And I asked a question on my Instagram, if my followers would want me to draw just the beginning of my comic, and the majority said they wanted me to, so I'll draw the beginning.

But it will only be the beginning of the comic, and I will only draw this beginning when I finish responding to the drawing suggestions sent to me on Instagram and responding to my Tumblr inbox :P

{And I'm going through art block, so it's going to take a while for me to get back to drawing.}

★I'm going to take the opportunity to say a few things about my comic.★

I saw someone saying that you can make money by posting your comic on Webtoon, but I'm not going to monetize my comic because all the characters that will appear there won't be mine, I'll only monetize something that was made entirely by me, and I will give credits to all creators.

I will change the story of some characters a little or a lot, but I will make it very clear in my comic that their story has been changed, I will probably make my own page to show the creators' profiles and where people can find the original story.

Some of my creepypastas ocs will appear in the story, but it will take a long time.

The story will be about Toby and Eyeless Jack and their relationship, but the protagonist will be Toby, basically it will be my TicciJack fanfic.

I write a lot of cute things about Toby x Jack here, but these texts that I already posted here were when they were getting along well, that is, when they were already friends, at the beginning of the story it won't be like that, at the beginning they will be very aggressive towards each other, it will take time for them to become friends in my story and it will take even longer for them to fall in love with each other.

There will be a lot of gore in my story and I will try to bring in a lot of horror things, like creatures, etc. I don't know how to draw horror things very well, since for me my drawing is a bit "cute" or something like that, it doesn't have a scary tone, but I will try to improve my drawing to make my drawings scarier in my story.

In my story there will be canon and fanon things.

And Jeff will be in my story, even if I hate, detest and feel disgusted with him, he will still be in my story. And I can kill some creepypastas in the story :D

[hansoeii]

I wanted to thank you for

1) all of your gorgeous art, seriously, you’re a wonderful artist and I could stare at your drawings for hours!! <3 i hope you enjoy making all of your art as much as we love seeing it.

2) being one of the only people in the loki fandom who understands what’s going on💀I’ve seen so many people completely missing the point and arguing for toxicity, or calling us lokius shippers “delusional”, and you’ve been nothing but friendly and articulate the whole time, which I for one really appreciate.

here’s hoping the finale isn’t a trainwreck!

Hey!

First off, thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy my stuff!

And yeah, I've seen some nasty stuff myself. I've been into Lokius since the beginning and people are absolutely ruthless with their blatant homophobia. Are they aware they're watching a show with a queer and genderfluid main character? lol

I've learned to just block and mute them all and instead focus on the people whose opinions actually matter to me. A lot of the theories I love come from @ charcubed, @ sherlokius and @ mslm_97 on twitter! I highly recommend following them if you want a nice loki twitter timeline, haha. I gotta be honest with you that it's sometimes hard for me to stay nice since a lot of the times the negative comments I get about lokius stem from straight up homophobia, but you usually can't change their mind anyways so why use up all your energy on them? They probably have a hard enough life already living with such a microscopic brain.

[musicalmoritz]

Uhh kinda stupid question from someone who's technically new to the fandom despite following the manga for a while, where do ya'll find the official au's and their art? Like the Monster nursery one, I've seen them a lot but where does one find the originals?

There are many places to find the AUs!! Fair warning, some of them like Monster Nursery and Ghost Hotel have multiple parts but they’re still easy to find

The easiest place to find them is through the wiki page. Just google the name of the au + “wiki” like I did in the image above, and the first link should take you to a page with the full au.

There’s dialogue and images that will take you through a Choose Your Own Adventure type story, only the options have already been chosen for you. This is probably my favorite place to read them just because it’s all very easy to follow

The next place to check is the @dbs-scans account here on Tumblr! They post all the official art and aus, and I think they might even post the chapters. To find the au you want you could simply Google the name of it and their account should pop up, or you could search their account directly through Tumblr by clicking on their archive or using the search bar feature on their blog

They include all the images from the au with the text that correlates with them translated below. I believe they usually do the aus in full, which is very helpful if you’re trying to find an au like Ghost Hotel with multiple parts. If they don’t have all the parts tho, you can always refer back to the wiki or go to the next source I’m about to show you

Our next resource is the hanakokun.officialarts account on TikTok. Beware, I don’t think they have all the aus, but I know they’ve posted some of them. They get their translations from the aforementioned dbs-scans account which kind of brings this response full circle lol, it’s a small fandom. They’ll post the images with the dialogue in the captions, and you should be able to find them in order all grouped together. You might have to scroll a bit to find some of the older aus. This is one of my favorite resources for keeping up with official TBHK content tho bcuz they post the new chapters in full and it’s an easy way to find official art

You might also be able to read the aus on Twitter if they’re still up but I don’t have Twitter so I couldn’t tell you for sure. At one point I was trying to find the last part of Ghost Hotel and I deadass had to refer to Google Images, sometimes you gotta scrounge around for yourself. But that shouldn’t happen too often because the resources I gave are very reliable!!

Thank you for this ask, and it’s not stupid at all!! I had to ask my TikTok followers where to find the HKOTO au a few months ago when I got a fic request for it. It took me a minute to figure out where to find all the content, which is standard for joining any fandom that has as wide a range for content as TBHK does. I’ve seen BSD fans have similar issues. And by asking that you probably saved a lot of people’s asses who were too embarrassed to ask the same question

[positivelybeastly]

X-Men #5

Late, but who cares? Let's go.

So, I've made no secret that I thought Kwannon wasn't really being given enough to do, these last few issues of X-Men, and it's for the same reason I'm happy to see Greycrow here - Zeb Wells' Hellions was amazing. It was one of the few Krakoa era titles that actually bothered to examine the moral double standards of the era, that really took advantage of its unique status quo, that looked at mutant resurrection and thought, okay, how can we mine this, not for obscure background cameos that will make a person on Twitter happy, but for actual drama? It was a truly great series, and I was hoping it would be followed up, if only in small ways.

I do like that Kwannon and John have a cabin together. With how they left off, it felt very personal and intimate between them, like they truly didn't need anything else to be content with one another, and neither of them struck me as people who need action to be fulfilled - or, rather, they don't see action as a means for enjoyment. As Kwannon says here, it merely gives them purpose. So far, so good.

Wasn't expecting an Amelia Voght callback, of all characters. Then again, this is a Jed MacKay joint.

Psychics and death, name a more iconic X-Men duo.

It is interesting that we get kinda sort of confirmation that Quentin remembers being a head, since I would've figured that the Cerebro cradles were down and he'd have lost those memories, but I suppose it's also possible he could have just heard about it second-hand and been like, wow, I got turned into a head in a box? Weird.

Yeah, no, you don't get to call Scott Slim, Quentin. Only Hank, Bobby or Warren get to do that. And Jean, if she's feeling quirky.

Can I also say something? I actually dig Quentin's fit? I don't know if that says something about my fashion sense or what, but I actually like this look for him more than . . . pretty much any other look he's had. Granted, that's not saying much, given his other uniforms were black blazer with t-shirt, the 60s retro-futuristic mutant fascist attire, or the bland melange that was his X-Force uniform, but I do actually like it. Purple and checker pattern work.

So, this whole issue is an homage to New X-Men #121, which was part of Marvel's Nuff Said initiative, and it, along with all the other issues published that month, had pretty much no dialogue in it, it was all told purely through art. It's not a direct homage, of course, since dialogue is happening, but I appreciate the lampshade being hung on it here, with Quentin both pointing out that this isn't like the other homage, and then not-so-subtly pointing out why it isn't like them.

Because Quentin can't shut the fuck up.

Honestly, that's a fun spin on it. That's how you iterate on something you've seen before.

I'm a sucker for mental landscapes. Always have been, always will. I just like getting to grapple with a character's psyche in a tangible way, it's why I like series like Silent Hill or Star Trek's many telepathic episodes. And if I had to break down why I like them?

Well.

Pretty much.

You really could've just called this New X-Men volume 3, Jed, and I don't think anyone would've objected. That being said - I couldn't have given less of a shit what happened in Marauders volume 2, so seeing that Cassandra Nova is back and wasn't consigned to the dustbin because of that series is a win in my book. She's a top tier villain, tbh, one of the best new X-villains of the last 20 years, and her particular incisive methodology for breaking down heroes' psyches feels like it's perfectly suited for the team of this book.

As she demonstrates.

Ahhhh, good foreshadowing earlier, good stuff. And I have to say, Stegman's Sabretooth is fucking top tier. Excellent rendition of the big man himself (whom I already miss, even if he does have a miniseries coming up very soon).

This is a great sequence, tbh. Like, poor Quentin - this is actually the most anyone has made me feel for Quentin since Aaron, about ten years ago - but in terms of threat and character exposition, it's very good, with some excellent art and very Nova-esque deconstruction. I also particularly like this panel composition.

His head is in a smaller panel. His head is literally in a box.

Good stuff, tbh. Again, this is the most useful Quentin feels like he's been in a while, because if he did anything of real worth in X-Force other than die, I'll freely admit that I do not remember it.

Hank, Scott, do you . . . wanna get them some paper towels, or . . ?

Overall, not a bad issue - definitely not as memorable as the original psychic rescue, though.

Now, originally, I was gonna say, you can't hold that against it, it's not easy to match Morrison, that's just common sense, but then again, most writers don't directly invite the comparison, so, I really hope Jed is cooking up something long term and satisfying, because constantly referencing Morrison is all fine and dandy, but it needs to go somewhere.

Still, I'd say the title has been squarely good thus far, and it still has room to get better and better, so I'm gonna give it time to breathe.

Also?

Our expert panel of judges have concluded that Hank McCoy once again wins the title of Original X-Man with the Dumpiest of Dump Truck Asses. Thanks for trying, Scott, but, uh. Your nickname is Slim for a reason.

Conner, you and I are gonna fight.

Damn right. It's not Hank's fault comics readers don't read anything from before 2010 . . .

[gryhmz]

The Coffin of Elfen and Leyley: Incest and Questionable Consent in 2000s Media.

WARNING: This blog post mentions numerous sensitive subjects such as incest, questionable consent, murder, cannibalism, sexually explicit material, and real-life criminal cases. If any of the following is bothersome, I would highly suggest scrolling past this post. Thank you.

ANOTHER WARNING: This post contains spoilers for Elfen Lied and The Coffin of Andy and Leyley. If you wish to avoid spoilers, I would highly suggest clicking off this post and come back once you have finished both. Thank you.

Hello (again), it's grim.

I wanted to discuss an interesting phenomenon that I've taken note of over the past couple of years that seems to always cause internet controversy: The rise of taboo subjects found in modern media.

Now, I want to clarify that I hold very libertarian beliefs when it comes to media. If you can think it, it can be written, regardless of how inappropriate the content is. However, I also believe that there should be consequences to such writings depending on the substance.

The two topics I'll be talking about today are The Coffin of Andy and Leyley and Elfen Lied. These are both pieces of media that I have consumed in the past 2 years, and have noticed a trend between taboo subjects and how their respective authors and/or fanbases have used their taboo nature to repurpose characters and relationships for inappropriate media.

While I believe these pieces of media can be criticized in any manner due to their taboo nature, I would argue in defense of their conception since there is no exact promotion of the taboo nature represented throughout the mentioned medias. I believe this is important to state, for I solely disagree with the creation of media that promotes a taboo and/or illegal act rather than just the representation of such acts.

Images of The Coffin of Andy and Leyley (left) and Elfen Lied (right)

To make this analysis and opinionated piece easier to read, I will be going through my opinions and personal experiences with both of these medias separately. To do this, I will be separating taboo into two subsections:

Illegal Taboo

Questionable Taboo

While I would argue that there is probably some grey area between the two of these, I am simply dividing the taboos into two separate categories because my stance on illegal and questionable taboo slightly changes. Furthermore, the taboos in TCOAAL and Elfen Lied are very different. I believe it would be unfair to compare incest and questionable consent content. Both are taboo, both have been countlessly debated for and against, but incest has stable, concrete laws set against it (at least in the United States) while the other doesn't.

Let's get into the analysis.

Illegal Taboo (The Coffin of Andy and Leyley)

Screenshot from the love/incest route of The Coffin of Andy and Leyley

Oh boy, where do I start. I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into when I first stumbled upon this game. I saw the art style of the game in a YouTube video where the uploader had referred to the siblings as "lovers," which gave me the impression that the main characters of the game were not blood relatives. By the time I had seen the controversy plastered all over Twitter and Reddit about the TCOAAL's "questionable" content, I had already bought the game, which put me in a tough dilemma: Do I immediately refund the game or do I give it a chance?

I bet you can guess which one I picked.

Me being the curious individual that I am, I decided to keep the game. I had a million thoughts rush through my mind about the decision I had just made. What if the game actually has illegal content? People must be exaggerating the situation. I'm sure that the incest claims are probably just false. If it does have a plot that revolves around such content, maybe its just a small tidbit of the game. No biggie. These thoughts did not stop, and I wasn't sure what to do next.

One of the only screenshots from Episode 2 of TCOAAL that isn't horrendous

For a month or so, I avoided the game like the plague. I held off on installing it, I avoided it on Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram as best as I could (for both spoilers and online biases), and I refused to talk about the game with anyone that I knew. I planned to play the game, but I wanted all the controversy to die off first so I could play it without too much backlash. Unfortunately in this world, outrage has become the people's first emotion to anything, so even if your reasoning for such an action is rational and fair, you might still be attacked for simply touching new media without an initial bias.

When I finally got around to playing the game, I was genuinely pleased. Episode 1 has nothing over-the-top, and the incest that people were talking about was yet to be seen. So I didn't think anything of it. I scrolled through my social media and just continued assuming that people were hating on TCOAAL simply for being a new trend.

Then Episode 2 came around.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet: There is incestuous acts and behaviors littered throughout the game, and people online were certainly right.

Below, I have a handful of screenshots that I took showcasing the romantic and sexual tension and acts between the two siblings. There's a bit of it.

(I'm not kidding, all of these are in the game)

Now, I will give TCOAAL fans this, the vast majority (9 of the 10 images) of the incestuous content above is NOT easy to come across. There are very specific routes that you must past through in Episode 2 to come across these screenshots. So it's not as "obvious" as people online made it out to be. In fact, it took me roughly 3 hours of additional gameplay to reach all the different endings for Episode 2, so it certainly is time consuming.

For the sake of time and my sanity, I will NOT be showing how to reach these scenarios. I will only say that you will know if you stumble across the lover/incest route because the NARRATOR THEMSELF warns you NOT to continue down the route.

While I don't think that the incestuous undertones of the story should be the entire definition of the series, I can understand why people dislike it. What is so genius about giving Leyley a romantic and sexual interest in Andrew is that it does one simple thing that the creator wanted to hit home: It makes people uncomfortable. It simply does what every other piece of horror/thriller media tries to do, and it does it well. I don't see it as any more or less uncomfortable as the barbwire scene from Saw I, and the fact that the creator could pull that off just by making Leyley an incestuous, manipulative creep is stunning.

Furthermore, TCOAAL acts as an interesting question for psychology: Does social deprivation, abandonment, isolation, hopelessness, and manipulation play a role in one's moral compass? We see that Andrew's behavior towards Leyley dramatically changes throughout Episode 2 depending on whether you choose to trust and sympathize with Leyley. In addition to a change in behavior, we also see that (most notably the incest route) Andrew accepts his nickname "Andy" again, which he hates due to its connection with a murder that he committed with his sister in Episode 1 (not going into too much detail). It is also noted that Andrew's ex-girlfriend Julia had trouble with Leyley's dominating presence in Andrew's life, which would lead her to stop communicating with him. His degree of whether he cares or not changes based on his sympathy towards Leyley, highlighting how relationships in Andrew's life highly changes based on how much he lets Leyley abuse his existence.

Backstory that showcases Andrew's love interest that abandons him in Episode 1

In short, TCOAAL has many more layers than the internet made it out to be, but the incestuous routes and behaviors between Andrew and Leyley can be seen as concerning. I'll come back to this shortly.

Questionable Taboo (Elfen Lied)

Famous cover art for Elfen Lied showcasing Lucy in the nude.

Now, I watched Elfen Lied in 2022, so I'm just putting it out here that it has been a while since I have watched the anime. Furthermore, I have not read the manga, so my observations are SOLELY off the anime adaptation of Elfen Lied.

Just like TCOAAL, I do NOT think that the story of Elfen Lied is overly terrible. While I do think that TCOAAL has a more sound story line, I do think that Elfen Lied did an okay job at showcasing the selfishness and cruelty of humanity. However, there has always been a part of the show that doesn't sit right with me and many other viewers, and that is Kouta's (the main male protagonist) relationships with Yuka and Lucy.

Throughout the entirety of the show, Kouta partakes in relationships that are considered extremely taboo, especially in the western world. For one, he marries and supposedly procreates with his cousin Yuka at the end of the anime and manga, which is gross and highly disturbing to me, and I am certainly not the only one who feels that way. Almost any search through r/elfenlied would show the outrage and confusion that many people hold towards such a decision. Below are just a couple of what can be found about Kouta and Yuka's relationship (which is also ironically incestuous):

However, one thing that I do not see talked about a ton is Kouta's HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE relationship with Lucy. While Lucy is not human and is considered to be a Diclonius (some sort of humanoid), some of the scenes and plot points feel as if the author wanted to bank off of questionable consent. Many scenes throughout the anime highlight that Lucy is "sexually curious," which makes perfect sense in theory, but is implemented horribly into the anime. Scenes like Kouta observing Lucy's private parts and random butt shots of Lucy just make the entire show uncomfortable, and I would even argue it normalizes taking advantage of the mentally immature for sexual purposes, which could be considered sexual abuse and/or rape (especially since Elfen Lied is a fan service ecchi).

I understand that mangakas and Japanese culture call for the normalization of nudity, but Elfen Lied fails horribly at making a good case. Elfen Lied could have looked over to other medias such as Ghost in the Shell and Imouto Sae Ireba Ii do a much better job at implementing casual and artistic nudity in their shows while still offering tidbits of fan service to the horny. But, I digress.

Nudity is showcased in both Imouto Sae Ireba Ii and Ghost in the Shell and don't face the same criticism as Elfen Lied

Regardless of how I feel about the previously mentioned, I will give the mangaka of Elfen Lied this: They did a great job making the viewers uncomfortable. I would even argue that Lynn Okamoto did a better job making me feel so unbelievably uncomfortable compared to The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, and it's been two years since I last saw Elfen Lied, so props to Okamoto!

My Personal Take on Taboos in Media

(Now that I scroll through images of The Coffin of Andy and Leyley and Elfen Lied, there really are a ton of similarities...)

In short, I do not think that these taboos make The Coffin of Andy and Leyley and Elfen Lied "bad." Distasteful? Sure. Gross? Most definitely. But, my concern for these medias stems from the fact that modern media has failed to hit home the ideas that these might be inappropriate taboos to normalize in modern internet culture. Simply going through tags such as "gravecest" and "coffincest" on Tumblr showcases the questionably deranged behaviors hardcore TCOAAL fans have towards the story's incest plot.

I was fairly surprised to find out the Elfen Lied has not been overly sexualized over the years. While I am thankful for that, I do believe that Okamoto was wrong for writing up a manga and anime that focused on a humanoid character solely for the purpose of being sexually taken advantage of. She could've done a much better job at handling the fan service without making Elfen Lied look like a promotion for sexual and mental abuse.

I believe all that really matters and what can be taken away from this analysis is that taboo subjects can be used in media as long as the intent and the targeted audience work together. For instance, I believe that The Coffin of Andy and Leyley's questionable use of incest as a story principle is okay since the author does not call for the promotion of incest in the story nor does the entire story revolve around the incestuous behaviors of the two main characters. BUT, rule 34 content of the game that showcases such explicit, incestuous acts between the siblings should be criticized since R34 content is solely made for pornographic purposes with no substance to the story's canon. I am also okay with Okamoto's usage of incest and questionable consent in Elfen Lied since it plays into the storyline and theme of the anime, but the fan service showcased in the show should be criticized since it was easily used as a lazy way to throw borderline pornography into the anime, therefore ruining the point of "artistic" and "normalized" nudity.

In short: I don't think using taboos in media should be illegal unless the media in question is a direct reflection of a real-life scenario (like the 2019 Shadman incident), but public criticism is certainly understandable on a case-by-case basis.

Thanks for reading, I am extremely tired.

grim.

[lesbianneopolitan]

Last night I innocently uploaded the pic of Neo and Ruby gaming on Twitter, but I got pretty much replied by people who were very much judgmental and passive-aggressive about being shocked, etc, etc (lots of them minors), lost some followers, etc

I am very affected by those situations because at some points it feels like harassment for something so stupid (I've seen wishes of death towards me before for old Fallen Petals stuff), no one ever takes the moment to even talk with me about it, nor try to understand the development and process that made me ship it in the first place- that it's actually a pretty innocent wish of building up a cool ship to have fun with my friends.

I have very bad anxiety from PTSD and I don't have access to meds rn, so things that get out of hand can really affect my mental and physical health, like, people don't keep in mind that the major part of the time, the people they accuse are people with problems like me, that are dealing with irl stuff or trauma and simply want to have some positive fun on the internet, to escape a bit from it all- art and writing has been a good coping mechanism for me to not practice self harm, and my therapist was actually proud of me for it, so I don't want that taken from me, specially when I'm mindful and tag things properly. And when honestly, discovering RWBY and messing around with some ships helped to make me happier. Because I think it was about time.

RubyNeo isn't even following all canon details, Ruby's more practiced and slightly older, and honest to God, I don't see what's wrong with building an AU with headcanons when we aren't doing it for the sake of, what?? only having them fuck?? or oversexualizing them?? the people that literally oversexualizes Ruby and only do lewds or only smash her against another character so they fuck is something that pushes me SO back because I personally find it disgusting (and if I'm in a mood I can have am anxiety attack for it, same for other dynamics, like incest, etc etc).

So for the love of everything, blacklist, block me or whatever, but understand the kind of person I am or the building for the things I do or the things I draw before I'm labeled as things I'm not. Because I'm sure you wouldn't want it to happen to you.

Treat me like a person, not like some kind of idealized artist that has to be perfect.

Show some empathy, try to be understanding, not everyone that ships 'x' is going to be a super evil person that did it with the most malicious intent in the world. Sometimes we're simply playing with them like they're Barbies, to create stories, angst, wholesome moments, independent timelines, etc.

Like I mentioned I myself deal with PTSD, there are so many things that despite being presented in good faith could throw me off the edge because of triggers, but I simply take care of myself and tag stuff, I blacklist and in the worst case I block, specially if someone is specially harmful and toxic to real people.

So please, just, let me be, I'm just a nerd trying to live life alongside friends to be as happy as I can because I've had enough abuse already.

Be kinder unless the person in question is GENUINELY harming real people and are potential real creeps, please, I'm tired.

[yogorlhilanne]

BREAKING MY SILENCE

I'll probably make this on Twitter also, though I doubt it'll really attract (on both Tumblr and Twitter) many people but OH MY FUCKING GOD. THIS NEEDS TO BE SAID.

I know OTHER people have probably talked about this (or maybe not)— plus the Harry Potter fandom is probably dead at this point or maybe still thriving somehow in ways I don't really know but LILY FUCKING EVANS MADE THE WORST DECISION POSSIBLE AFTER ENDING HER AND SEVERUS' FRIENDSHIP.

Look, she was like practically a minor character yet was kinda important to the plot but honestly she deserved to be with someone better than James Potter. No hate or dumb reasons are gonna be thrown at Lily but girlie was dumb as fuck entirely for having a kid with her friends bully who made his school life HELL.

It's been on my mind the more I think about Severus' past and James and Sirius bullying.

I genuinely like Sirius as a character but bro cannot be bullying Snape, like sweetheart we know your an inbred rich child but that doesn't mean you should bully someone who's the LITERAL opposite of you. (expect for neglect and abuse)

James was a fucking jock.

LISTEN & IMAGINE. A friend of yours who you've know for maybe about 6 years calls you the worst insult ever, in a fit of rage, you break the friendship and ofc, leave. That's genuinely completely understandable to one who has common sense.

BUT THEN, after that, you go on to marry your ex friends bully that HAS MADE YOUR EX FRIENDS SCHOOL LIFE MISERABLE AND SHITTY.

Sure it's COMPLETELY understandable how Lily can be mad at Severus for calling her a "Mudblood" because that's a canonical slur against muggle-borns, really, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN SHE HAD TO MARRY SEVERUS' BULLY WHO BULLIED HIM RELENTLESSLY, and that's so fucked up in many ways. And YES. As far as I'm concerned, Lily seemed to only like James because:

He wasn't strongly associated with the dark arts

Wasn't associated with future death eaters/followers of Voldemort

I don't think it's confirmed how long James and Sirius had been bullying Snape but it makes me SOOOO fucking livid that like... HOW THE FUCK DO YOU ACTUALLY LIKE A CHARACTER IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THEIR FLAWS AND HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS? (*Cough Cough* James and Sirius "fans" *COUGH*)

If I'm being 100% honest, I've never seen anyone say "James/Sirius is better than Snape" ever and not even ONCE in my lifetime being in the Harry Potter fandom.

There's really not much on Snape's past during his school years but in all honesty, Lily Evans was dumb as fuck for dating her friends bully like okay, MAYBE James and Sirius did take accountability at one point and confessed to Lily. JUST MAYBE. But I don't remember nor heard anyone saying that was true nor JK Rowling saying anything about them taking accountability.

AND I DON'T THINK THEY EVEN APOLOGIZED TO SNAPE EITHER. (Maybe regretted it but that's not taking accountability for one's actions, perhaps Remus did but never heard anyone saying that was true either because it's probably just a headcannon and Remus probably didn't even bully Snape at all)

Lily Evans... I love you and all and I don't hate you... You just disappointed me.

LIKE IF I WERE IN LILY'S SHOES I WOULDN'T GET TOGETHER WITH JAMES BECAUSE MY FRIEND HAS ALREADY LIVED A HARD LIFE AT HOME, (she probably didn't know but I would've ask Snape what his home life was and would've saved him unlike Lily) AND JUST BECAUSE SNAPE WASN'T RICH NOR GOOD LOOKING DOESN'T MEAN YOU GET A FUCKING PRIVILEGE TO BULL HIM. OR JUST BECAUSE HE FUCKING EXISTED.

Also I get that Lily was mainly mad at Severus because of his Slytherin friends and that he called her a "Mudblood" BUT IGNORING THE FACT HE GOT BULLIED RELENTLESSLY, NEARLY DIED TO A "prank", LIVED IN AN ABUSIVE HOUSEHOLD (she didn't knew that but imma just put it there anyways) AND THAT HE HAD HOPED THAT HOGWARTS WOULD HAVE MADE HIS LIFE BETTER BUT IT GOT DESTROYED, IS UTTERLY DISAPPOINTING AND FLABBERGASTING TO ME.

No hate to people who genuinely ship James and Lily (love the fanarts) but Lily deserved better than that. Perhaps she also knew about the werewolf incident but if I were her I would've BITCH SLAPPED Sirius to remind him of being inbred and stupid as fuck BECAUSE WHAT????

A prank—as far as I acknowledge, shouldn't put someone's life in DANGER and in a LIFE OR DEATH situation SIRIUS 'INBRED' BLACK.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE YET TALKING ABOUT THIS AND SHITTING ON LILY (for being flawed ofc yet dumb as shit). Lily in general is a good person but she had flaws that needed to be talked about and HERE I AM.

James & Sirius bullying was ignorant and really unjustifiable, Peter and Remus should've known better but I don't ENTIRELY blame them but they should've known fucking better. Lily WAS understandable up until she got together with James and I kinda wanna bitch slap her right now.

Honestly if I were Lily, I genuinely would've gotten together with Snape and ACTUALLY helped him like any person with COMMON SENSE would do.

And to end it off with a cherry on top. James and Sirius bullying Snape should be talked about more and we should shit on them for their flaws yet ignorance actions that they didn't even try to take any single OUNCE of accountability for. Just because you learned from your bullying mistakes and "becoming a more mature and better person" isn't justifiable and shows your blind fucking ignorance to your affects of bullying to other people you dumb dipshit fucker.

(Will possibly edit this again but I'll post this now bc it's been in my drafts for some time and it NEEDS to be sent out rn)

[scoops404]

hi scoopsogie, the post you rebloged about media creators expecting their audience to be different than it actually is and then putting their rage onto said media, made me think about Dream. because so far he was a creator who actually embraced the big part of his audience that is women and queer people. and he always has been supportive. but. and please correct me or reassure me if I'm being unreasonable. when he said in the video that a big part of his fans are actually collage guys and people into competitive gaming and with his request to be normal and tone down the activities that mostly women and queer people do in the fandom, i got scared that twitter's behaviour made him a bit apprehensive towards this side of fandom. that he doesn't like us like he used to and maybe he wishes his fan were mostly gamer guys...

Hi friend!

I like that post, it's very informative and sheds light on an issue in main stream media. For television shows, like they're mostly talking about here, there are a number of people behind the scenes making decisions and leading where the next season or arc is going. The showrunner, the network, individual writers (very rarely the actors). In between seasons, these people have time to discover *who* is watching their shows and being the loudest about it, engaging with it. It's not that NO men are watching those shows, they just aren't as loud and interested and locked in. I've read theories before about why men aren't as engaged in shows like woman as far as transformative work goes (art, fic) and a big one that I put my horse behind is that these shows are made *for* men. They see themselves as the heroes, the characters, and so they don't need to turn to fanfic to "fix" anything or to imagine it differently. I dunno, that's another essay for a different time.

For Dream and other streamers/real people fandoms (even musicians to a degree) they see their fandoms in real time. Musicians, definitely, because when they're touring you visibly see the audience coming to the show. For streamers it's a tad different, because names in chat are just names, but creators are usually way more involved in twitter where they see the bios and stuff.

I think Dream meant that his fanbase (which our reputation online has been we are all 14 year old girls) - *does* have college age people+ in it and men (who, let's be real, with *our* reputation online, is it any wonder they aren't as vocal as the die hard fans?). When your youtube subscribers alone are 30 million, you wouldn't expect all 30 million to be 14 year olds. I think Dream is very aware that his audience in primary female leaning queer people and POC. Especially compared to other gaming creators and a big part of why we are all here is because he makes us comfortable following him. I don't care how good a youtuber someone is, if they're shitty to their female and queer fans and constantly making gay jokes, I'd bounce. A huge part of why I even got into this fandom was the fanfiction. I had never played minecraft before in my life.

But also remember just who this video is intended for. It's not really for us. It's not intended for the fans who already saw the holes in these allegations and chose to believe Dream. It's for people looking to crucify him. It's *those people* he is showing himself to. It's *those people* he is saying 'I have boundaries and I don't condone everything my fanbase does willy nilly.' This shouldn't be a surprise to us, as Dream has always said he doesn't support doxxing and he doesn't support using his name to harass anyone. He's gone out of his way to be an example and be kind to people who have been mean and cruel to him (tommy, quackity). We've seen him reach out privately and resolve issues before (that guy Henry or whoever ((he's irrelevant imo)) who said Dream provided alcohol to an 18 year old in his hotel room which turned out not to be true).

I don't think he suddenly hates art or fanfiction. This is the man who not only has written fanfiction before (Percy Jackson) but hosted a fanfiction writing contest for his own fandom. I think what he doesn't want is for antis or whoever to go into the #dreamfanart tag and see explicit fic of him naked and/or having sex. Because minors CAN see that in the tag, it reaches a wider audience. Randos who only see that tag will think he condones that. So, he's simply stating he doesn't want that where majority of people will see it. At least, that's my interpretation.

It really sucks, but I think that really means no explicit art on twitter at all (though i think there's a gray area of having a private acct and only sharing with people who are over 18 and have to request to follow -- but that's been a practice already). Additionally, I'm not sure where his line is and where it crosses into explicit. Is kissing okay? He put a hard case out there for not truthing, which I'm glad he said, people shouldn't be scrutinizing his close friendships to the point where they're trying to see if they have separate hotel rooms (this is an example, i actually haven't heard of people doing that). Don't make DNF being real your entire personality.

I really don't think he suddenly wants an entirely gamer-boy audience. I think courting that side of his fandom helps with the harassment overall, though. Having men in the fandom gives the entire fandom more validity -> which, this actually makes me really angry and I hate it but (circling back to the post you mentioned) people have always struggled to respect majority female and queer fandoms.

I'm definitely rambling and trying to make sure I'm answering all the parts of your ask. This is not coherent and not all of my thoughts at all but it's already disgustingly long. So,

TLDR: Dream still loves us, still likes art and fanfiction, and isn't trying to replace us with dude bros.

[cboffshore]

Hey there - I'm Lila!

If you're seeing this, it could mean any of the following: you're already a mutual, you like Ninjago, you really like Ninjago's infamous (ha!) sixth season Skybound, or you know me from something else entirely. Or it's none of those and you've just taken a super wrong turn. No matter what - I'm glad you're here!

Join me under the cut for a more detailed look at my account, or just venture off on your own - the choice is yours.

WHO I AM & WHERE TO FIND ME

You can call me Lila! I've been around the Ninjago fandom since 2011 under a whole bunch of different names and accounts, with all the bizarre stories and memories to show for it. Now, though, you can find me under one of two handles: @cboffshore (here and on Bluesky, where I'm not all that active, but it sure beats Twitter!) or OffshoreWriter over on AO3.

My title as Skybound Analysis PhD holder was born from a joke (initially given to me when I overanalyzed Skybound's color scheme and then Flintlocke's development in a Discord server) but grew into, well, not a joke; I take Skybound about as seriously as someone can take a toy commercial cartoon. Through all of my years in the Ninjago fandom, I've never seen a season as misunderstood and contentious as Skybound. Unfortunately, I happen to like it a lot for what it is, and I'm willing to defend it very hard (but don't get me wrong, I know it's got flaws! I'm not completely nuts!). Read this ask for a detailed overview of my position on Skybound analysis.

Outside of Ninjago overanalysis, I'm into a few other things: crocheting, the occasional piece of digital art, music (special faves include I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance), and Bionicle (but only on a casual "wow cool vibes and killer writing" basis because that timeline does NOT make sense to me.).

SOME STUFF I DO

The best way to get into my work is just to explore all the nooks and crannies of my blog, but for those of you in a rush, here are links to some of my favorite projects:

On Sea, Sunlight, and Sky, aka OSSAS, is what I'd consider the crown jewel of my AO3 catalog: a Nya-centric series diving into her experience during the last few episodes of Skybound. Updated every December until I decide to lay her to rest (which, by the looks of it, will be the 2024 installment), this is my longest-term project that exemplifies how I approach Skybound as a season. If you only check out one corner of my work, make it OSSAS. You can find all things OSSAS under #ossas tag here on my blog (newcomers beware of spoilers!)

Yours To Keep: Rethinking Skybound Through Fashion is an older project of mine that blends fashion design and Nadakhan character analysis. As in, I drew a trio of banger outfits and then wrote essays about what all their details meant. Trust me on this, it's a cool one! (This is a holdover from when my fandom involvement was almost exclusively Ninjago character analysis-based couture fashion art... you can thank Giles Panton for that.)

Sorrow is All The Rage: An Analysis of Sexual Assault in Jay-Centric Skybound Fanfiction is a two (technically, three) part essay detailing my attempts to come to terms with the (frankly rather concerning) trend of gratuitous SA inclusion in a surprising swath of popular Skybound fanfiction. (Spoiler alert: I still think it's weird as hell and I haven't come to terms with it... but I have gotten way better at using the block button to keep it out of my line of sight.) The link in the title will take you to part one; part two is linked at the end, and part three's mini update is lurking somewhere in those tags. Please note: this essay is not an attack, or a condemnation, although it may come across that way at times. This was written largely as a vent piece about an issue that has disturbed me deeply and affected how I go about interpreting Skybound, and that definitely impacted my tone. If you'd like to reference this for any reason, or if you have any questions, please shoot me an ask or DM.

[harukadrawsthings]

Japan (and many international viewers who watch the original audio) has just seen the end of an era that lasted a quarter of a century. I haven't watched the episode yet as I'm awaiting the release of the English subtitles tonight from the team responsible for the translation but I have no doubt I'll need a lot of tissues. But since the outcome is already known in the land of the rising sun I've decided to reveal my art tribute to Ash and Pikachu in T-Shirt format that I've been preparing for at least a month but was reserving it for today!

I vividly remember the moment when the Pokémon series premiered in Portugal in October 1999, when I was still at primary school, and introduced us to an ambitious 10 year old boy who fell asleep on the 1st day of his journey in pursuit of a dream and who at first did not get along well with his electric mouse partner. There wasn't a single child or teenager at that time that would be indifferent and wouldn't talk about that universe inhabited by hundreds of creatures with magical powers and how different that concept was in an animated series for that time (and in videogames too because there was also a rush to Nintendo's handheld consoles!).

I never imagined that 23 years later I would still be following this story of friendship and how remarkable the protagonist would be in my life after being with me almost the whole time. He was the one who introduced me to a franchise I'm a big fan of and that same exposure has influenced my artistic path. He decompressed me on the daily train journeys I had to make to college, making me laugh and go to class with determination and optimism. He has been my psychologist these past six years which have been particularly difficult for me and has been a major element in my emotional stability. I also owe thanks to Ash for several important life lessons he has given me along his journey by demonstrating his virtues such as kindness, honesty, helping and being tolerant of each other. I have very happy memories of waking up in the morning and watching his adventures on television before going to school, and of watching him in the evening on television in more recent years including the present time.

Portugal will still have Ash on the small screen until the end of this year and I will follow him to the end and wait for the local dubbing of the remaining episodes to be broadcast (and cry again with the disclosure of the Pokémon Ultimate Journeys and this special 11-episodes mini-series) and enjoy his company for a while longer. I will miss this duo that won my heart and of millions of viewers of several generations all over the world that we will certainly never forget and that their memory will be eternal. It was a privilege to watch this story as everything happened in the moment.

So this stamped illustration is a homage and a gesture of gratitude to one of the most influential and impactful characters ever in the history of Japanese animation and who leaves us a legacy that I hope future generations will come to know and recognise his cultural importance. You'll be forever a legend! 🧢⚡

Thank you, Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, and so long!

Do not repost. Do not modify. Always credit me!

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Ash & Pikachu © Nintendo/TPC

Art © HarukaDrawsThings

[self-hatred-h00die]

Hii! I've seen your recent posts about your financial struggles. It's SO unfair and unbelievable that someone so creative and talented like you has not been able to make money from selling art. Your work is seriously stunning, I'm such a fan! You have your own style, your characters are so unique, cute, well made and diverse. I hate that I am from a third world country, I have to pay for rent and everything else and I only make 400 dollars a month, otherwise I'd literally buy so much art from you.

So, I really wanted to ask, have you ever tried selling your art on Upwork or Fiverr? There are many people there who are looking for skilled artists like you. You're a gem and I honestly wish you so much success, from the bottom of my heart!💜

hi, this is so so kind omg !!!! i really appreciate it and im super happy you like my art <3 it really does mean the world 🩷🩷 i haven't tried upwork or fiverr before but i will definitely look into them ! thank you so so much !! ive mostly been trying to advertise commissions through social media like twitter/insta/here/etc but it's super hard to sell if u don't already have a big following </3 hopefully ill have some luck with ur recommendation !!! i hope u have an amazing day <3

[kumaronoa]

just bc i saw your many posts about tumblr not being fun to post art on:

tumblr is very community based and there is no algorithm! and sometimes if you post for a less popular character (like we do with dain), you're just gonna get less interaction and you gotta live with that. but the biggest way to increase people liking/rbing your art is just finding mutuals and following people/tags. and then you can just yell in your friend's dms, or join/make a community!

i feel it sometimes, too, with not a lot of people seeing/adding rb thoughts on my dain or genshin posts or smth. but hey, i prefer just knowing i got 20 notes to knowing another 300 people saw my post/tweet and didn't interact with it. 🤷‍♂️

so there's my two cents/advice and i wish ya a good time!

I've been on tumblr for years,i had my Mystic messenger and Dragon Age time where i would post a lot and make mutuals with the same interests,but that was years ago and i think tumblr has changed?

I didn't know about this ''community'' thing,i already follow tags and stuff but i don't like asking for mutuals to rb/like my stuff (but thats a me thing),also kinda hard to find genshin mutuals here.

I kinda got used to algorithm,it was easy (for me ofc) to get your stuff seen,to meet new people,have fun in the comments,and on twitter i had a sense of community that i don't feel here or on instagram. But i know algorithm is a double-edged sword,still as i said i got used to it qwq

I'll try to keep posting here,even tho it's still not fun,maybe with time i'll get used to it again.

Thank you! ehehe 💕💕

[theliterarywolf]

God it isn't even out yet and already people are on twitter like how dare vizzie portray a sexual abuse survivor in a way that I personally don't gel with

Oh, the 'Angel Dust is bad because he doesn't fit my idea of what an SA survivor should act like' discourse has been going on for a long while now.

No, the discourse that I'm surprised has popped up is everybody showing their asses in regards to the recent design reveal for Adam. A character, mind you, that we had NO IDEA was even going to be in the show. So this is the first 100% brand new design for the project so far (or, rather, brand new if you aren't subscribed to Vivzie's Patreon, which is currently its own kettle of fish because we have some clout-chasing assholes leaking Patreon stuff despite being legally told not to).

My favorite bad takes have been:

'This would be the one time that a skinny white twink would have made sense but they couldn't even do that right!' We all know that if Adam had been a more humanoid design, these people would have still bitched.

'Why couldn't he be more accurate to a biblical angel~? This is just Blitzo 2.0~!' I mean, technically speaking, Blitzo would be Adam 2.0 since HH's pilot came first. Especially since everybody has been pointing out that we saw Adam and Lute's silhouette's during Charlie's intro song from the pilot.

Also, something something -- since when has anything relating to the Hellaverse been biblically accurate?! Last time I checked, Lucifer wasn't a duck-obsessed amusement park tycoon, Asmodeus wasn't a slutty crooner, and cherubs weren't furries!

'Lol, every Hazbin character just looks like this *insert intentionally shitty drawing*' At least with this one, I've thankfully seen some people go 'Hey, wow! Thanks for sharing your Hazbin Hotel OC with everyone~! Your art was kind of rough though, so I drew them for you~!'

Again, there are so many IPs centering around Hell and demons. I wish that people would realize they don't have to negatively focus on the Hellaverse and just go follow one of those.