#if you didn’t know what the Gatsby quote was about — he literally explains the meaning of it afterwards.

[byakuyasdarling]

『 ᴘᴏꜱᴛ-ᴋɪʟʟɪɴɢ ɢᴀᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅʀᴇᴀɢᴀᴍɪ ᴄᴏɴꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ {ᴡʀɪᴛᴛᴇɴ} 』

𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎: Freya and Byakuya were in love during their years at their former high school, Green Hills, prior to the events of Hope’s Peak or “The Tragedy”. Although, all recollection of their confession and time as a couple was erased, the memories only recently regained. Though still loving one another, a question arose:

❝ 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺? ❞

6 months after the initial escape from the academy and a mere day after Byakuya has been recovered by the Future Foundation (UDG), Freya checks up on him in his living quarters.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡ — Short Fic ; [Divider Credits]

[ Okay to Reblog — reblogs are appreciated :) ]

“You could’ve died… You could’ve really died.”

“Is that supposed to be your way of saying you’re glad I’m alive?” Byakuya snarks. There was a distinct bitterness to his tone despite his feelings towards Freya. In fact, it was most likely due to this that he is acting so irritable towards the issue.

“Don’t give me that tone, Byakuya…” she sighs, moving to sit beside him on his bed.

“Right, right.” Byakuya takes a deep breath in an attempt to re-centre himself, however, a slight twitch in his eye remains.

“It’s just that… things are difficult. This… you and I…” he gestures to Freya and himself, “… things are difficult.”

“I know.”

“No! You clearly don’t!” he is clearly fuming, his next statement exuded hurt and anguish that betrayed his usual stoicism. “If you knew what I felt, you would be here with me. Tch, typical. I should’ve known. I should’ve known you would just discard me like some broken fragment of your past. A past you gave up on, clearly.”

Freya sighs in an exasperated manner. “I didn’t give up on you, Byakuya… I never will give up on us.”

She swallows thickly before continuing, “Byakuya, the world is in shambles…” Her voice is reaching out to him as she chokes back tears, “Byakuya… there is no room for our love in a world where despair runs rampant. As former ultimates, it is our responsibility to return the world back into balance.”

“… What? Such a meagre, pathetic cop-out. Duty? Is that truly your excuse?”

Freya exhales, gathering herself. “It’s not an excuse.” She bites her lip, a discomforting silence lingering in the atmosphere.

…

“… Byakuya, do you remember the final lines from the first book you read to me?”

Byakuya merely turns his head away, frustration and mourning mixing into a twisted expression.

Freya gathered her composure promptly and hesitated before speaking. “… Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.”

She looks over to him; he’s turned away, but the small involuntary twitch of his ear suggests he’s paying attention, a lot of his anger now shifting into a solemn pang in his heart. She continues quoting the aforementioned book.

“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter,” he turns slightly towards her and she smiles a little in an inviting fashion, “—tomorrow we will run faster…”

“Stretch out our arms farther…”

“And then one fine morning—…”

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

…

Byakuya sighs slowly, the weight of his emotions finally being lightened — if only slightly. “I think… I think I understand.”

…

“Humans cannot achieve their true wishes if they continue to attempt to recreate a past long gone…” he bites the inner corners of his cheeks in thought. “To do so, even with such optimism… you will expend all of your energy into a goal that moves farther away.”

Byakuya faces Freya, his gaze intense but with the subtle nuance of gentle and affectionate feelings laced into it as he sets his eyes upon her. “And so, patience is our virtue. Patience for a new world…”

“A new world to foster our love.” Freya gives him a soft smile, with years of mutual love and devotion behind it. In itself, it is a promise. She takes a hold of his hand and he doesn’t object.

“A patience to live a promise to wait for a new world… a world for us to be together. A new world we’ll make together, whatever despair may befall us.”

[not-a-perfect-metaphor]

Interview by Veronica Bianchi-

-paraphrased to include my favorite bits & alongside my crazy ramblings!

I feel like this must have been previously posted here, either in full or in part, beyond just including a quote or two in a compilation, but I can’t find it and I also don’t really care...because I’d post it anyway regardless lol, so...let’s get right into it:

••••••••

Interviewer: “Tough guy or softy?”

Jared: “People often expect me to be the gentle one of the two of us.”

Jensen: “That’s not just suspected. It’s also true.”

Jared: “Yeah, I admit...I can be a pretty big softy.”

Jensen: “Did you or did you not cry during Toy Story 3?”

(I just adore the mental image of J2 cuddled up watching Toy Story 3 together ❤️ and Jared gets all teared up into Jensen’s lap while Jensen pretends to be mildly exasperated but soothingly rubs Jared’s head and also finds it secretly endearing)

•••••

Jared (on his relationship with Jensen): “That’s almost impossible to explain. Nine months of the year we’re stuck together, but even when we’re not actually working during those nine months, or during the other three months out of the year for that matter, we always find ourselves choosing to be together.”

(This has obviously become such a famous J2-ism, and with good reason! My favorite thing about it is how Jared starts off by saying that his relationship with Jensen is impossible to explain, but then by the end of his answer, in one long sentence, he’s managed to pretty undeniably convey the fact that they are CLEARLY, CLEARLY soulmates who literally cannot be separated from each other.) 💕

•••••

Jensen: “If you compare our relationship to Sam and Dean’s relationship, there is a huge difference. Jared never drives me up a wall.”

Jared: “I wouldn’t say never.”

Jensen: “Not like you’re actually driving me up a wall. We can talk to each other about anything, do anything together...and that’s pretty unique.”

Jared: “Yeah! And whenever we’ve fought, it’s been for each other.”

Jensen: “We have that loyalty, and I can honestly say I’d jump in front of a bullet for him and never think twice.”

Jared: “And the best part of Jensen’s and my relationship is it’s gonna be that way while we’re doing the show and when we’re not. He’s stuck with me for life now, and that’s important.”

(I mean, what to even say about all this that isn’t already completely obvious? I will say that these interviews always make me nostalgic for the earlier days when the Js were so blatant about their much-more-than-platonic relationship in so many ways that it’s a miracle there’s a single person who was around for those years and paying attention who didn’t glue on the old tinhat.)

•••••

Jared (on their approach toward what they look like/style/etc.): “Jensen thinks he’s a cowboy.”

Jensen: “I’m not going out and buying a ranch or anything.”

Jared: “You still think you’re a cowboy at heart though.”

(I can just see it soooo clearly, cowboy Jensen! Also, we literally HAVE seen it now.)

Jared (to Jensen as he continues to answer the question): “I’m not wearing anything special, am I?”

Jensen: “Just flannel, like you and Sam always are.”

Jared: “‘Cause your clothes are always so stylish.”

Jensen: “They are.”

(another thing I can visualize so clearly, Jared huffily/teasingly saying “cause your clothes are always so stylish,” and Jensen just being like ohh “they are” with a little smirk.)

Umm and THIS is an obviously necessary addition:

•••••

Jensen: “I haven’t needed any salt yet to ward off evil spirits in my home.”

Jared: “We totally sleep with salt guns. He lies.”

•••••

Interviewer: “Nerds or lady-killers?”

Jensen: “Nerd!”

Jared: “Also nerd.”

Jensen (on females who are into them): “It’s flattering, but not something we concern ourselves with.”

(because they’re gay and also husbands, but...you know)

•••••

Jared (on possible work-opportunities outside of SPN): “We always make those kinds of decisions together.”

Jensen: “We don’t begrudge each other those kinds of projects, even though we call each other often to talk about how relaxed we actually have it on the set of SPN.”

(certainly not because they’re too codependent to make it through something like that without talking constantly on the phone or anything)

Jared (on working with Jensen again after or even during SPN): “In other words, soon you might be able to book us as a duo!”

(I’m having a memory now of least this one particular segment being posted, and I’m going to repeat the exact same thoughts: this always sounds so much like an engagement hint to me. 😜)

•••••

Interviewer (lightning round): “Hair color?”

Jensen: “I think I’m naturally like a dark blondish.”

Jared: “Okay, Ken.”

(OMG, guys, another one that needs to be added to the ‘things-the-Js-have-called-each-other’ post. But also, does that make Jared Barbie? Hehe)

•••••

Interviewer (lightning round): “Other person’s best qualities?”

Jared: “Great ass!”

Jensen: “Gorgeous laugh and smile!”

Jared: “He’s a great guy, a good listener…and he’s ungodly faithful.”

(the “ungodly faithful” thing is my absolute favorite)

•••••

Interviewer (lightning round): “Other person’s worst qualities?”

Jensen: “Oh god, here we go.”

Jared: “He is such a control freak!”

(first, how much more husbandly could they POSSIBLY be?? Second, an alpha Jensen reference! Be still my heart. ❤️)

•••••

Jared (his favorite book): “The Great Gatsby.”

Jensen: “You’re such a girl.”

(heh 😏)

•••••

Jared (on their favorite movies): “[Jensen’s] really in love with Clint Eastwood.”

Jensen: “He’s the best!”

•••••

Jared (answering for Jensen, favorite music): “-country.”

Jensen: “Yes, country.”

Jared: “I like country, but Jensen loves country. There’s nothing like being woken up at 4:00 in the morning to Taylor Swift.”

(the official end of the above sentence is “-blasting from the trailer next to yours,” but I feel like Jared totally just phrased it that way to ‘un-suspicious’ his answer)

Jared (continuing, to Jensen): “You love Taylor Swift!”

Jensen: “I know I do.”

Jared: “And here I was calling you a manly man earlier.”

(Me: *below*)

Do tell, Jared!

•••••

Interviewer: “Main ambitions?”

Jensen: “I want to be as good of an actor as I can possibly be, keep my private-and-family-life private, and put up with this one over here. (…)”

Jared: “(…) I want to be very thankful and appreciative and never let any of it get to my head.”

Jensen: “You won’t. I’ll keep you grounded.”

Jared: “I know. I’ll always have that to rely on.”

(Sooo many examples in this interview of the Js either literally talking about being together forever or pretty much literally talking about it: “I’ll always have that to rely on.”)

•••••

A couple of other favorite bits that didn’t make it in above:

Jensen (about Jared preparing to film a certain scene): “He’d been working out for weeks...with good results!”

(admiring those muscles, eh Jensen? 😉)

•••••

Jensen: “I prefer to keep away from the red carpet world of Hollywood and avoid the paparazzi.”

(because it ties into Jensen’s last answer about keeping his private life private)

•••••

Jensen (to Jared): “You sound like an extendz commercial, like you’re the ‘larger man.’”

Jared: “Well, if you want to put it that way…”

(*smirks*)

•••••

And I accidentally deleted this answer from above while editing:

Jared (after Jensen told the Jared-ripping-his-pants story): “I’m really thinking hard about an embarrassing story to tell about you right now, but I can’t think of any that wouldn’t get me into trouble.”

(at least half of the stories in Jared’s head were dirty in nature or revolved around dirty moments, let’s be real)

[rainbowtitania]

I saw After so you don’t have to, a recap

The film opens on our young protagonist, TESSA, staring blankly into the camera. Which is a great single-shot summary of the film, actually, but let’s keep going anyway, shall we?

Turns out it’s Tessa’s first day of college, SELMA BLAIR is her mom, and some dude named NOAH is her...brother? (edited to add: apparently he’s her boyfriend LOL, the audience was genuinely shocked at this development). We also meet Tessa’s new roommate, STEPH, who’s not a freshman (?), looks like a Bad Influence according to Selma (!), and is rocking an adorably chill wlw look that This Reporter is totally into. Preemptively nominating Steph as the MVP of this movie. And lastly, LIAM is here! Hello, earnest little freshman English major!

And now that the stage is set...Enter HARDIN SCOTT...

Tessa comes back from a shower, and there’s a dude creeping on her bed who refuses to leave when she asks. You know...a meet-cute! He says something pretentious and annoying about the Great Gatsby (”it was all a dream”), and Tessa responds with “no. It was all a lie.” Hardin is, naturally, swept off his feet by accurate summaries of the ends of classic novels. And there’s definitely no way (LYING) any of this (HE’S! LYING!) is foreshadowing anything (SO MANY LIES!!!) in particular, so Tessa wanders off to her first college party, with some encouragement from Steph (ilu Steph!!!)

At this party, we are re-introduced to HARDIN, ZAYN wearing a Classic Harry circa 2016 Hawaiian shirt (rude), some asshole name JACE (ugh), and a MEAN GIRL (i could not tell you her name, and i sat through this whole film). I’ve been assured that LOUIS and NIALL are there too, but only as Ghosts of Fanfics Past. They can’t actually be seen until we all repent spending money to see this fucking movie.

Anyway, some gross fake!college party stuff happens (”omg you’re a VIRGIN?” UGH), Tessa and Hardin lazily trade glares of mutual disdain, I guess. Tessa’s brother/boyfriend Noah calls and is like “you’re at a party? Drinking??? Wait til I tell your mother,” so maybe he’s also her dad? WHO CAN SAY. Tessa, who I guess has never seen a murder movie before, wanders upstairs into Hardin’s room (in case you didn’t figure it out, there’s a massive Union Jack on the wall), and learns he has a bunch of books (get you a man who puts post-it notes in his copy of Wuthering Heights, quotes passages of it at you unsolicited, and then snottily informs you “it’s Brontë” like you aren’t literally holding the book in your hands. ROMANCE). Also when she opens the book, the camera does some weird slo-mo thing for no reason, which I’m pretty sure was Ghost!Niall trying to send an SOS message to the outside world.

Time passes, Tessa and Hardin run into each other a coffee shop, he’s like “come with me” AND. SHE. DOES. She gets in his car!!! And drives into the woods with him!!! And he leads her to a LITERAL FRIDAY THE 13TH-STYLE LAKE, and at NO POINT does she question any of this, or send a surreptitious text to Steph, who I’m sure would do great in any horror movie scenario.

They jump in the lake, of course. Hardin then asks “have you never been touched?” at which point I hid in my sweatshirt so I cannot accurately report on what happened next. She and Hardin go to dinner and flirt to the soundtrack of...*drumroll* “Look After You” by The Fray, at which point my friend had to physically hold me back from lunging at the screen screaming “LOUIS TOMLINSON DESERVES BETTER,” but honestly how else was I expected to react.

And then who should run into them at dinner but Zayn and Mean Girl, and Hardin starts acting super weird for reasons that are never actually explained, and is like “I don’t date. BECAUSE OF MY DARK PAST” (I guess?), and Tessa stares sadly into the mirror to a rainy day café version of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” which is truly the best music cue of all time, kudos to Ghost!Niall for his important work.

Anyway, then Noah shows up, which is great until Liam calls Tessa, and is like “Hardin had a tantrum and broke some shit and apparently you’re my Emergency Contact now, after we bonded over Jane Austen,” and she rushes to the rescue. She and Hardin are swept away by their intense sexual chemistry, and do sexy things, while I once again hid in my sweatshirt.

Neither of them have any chill about this, and Noah stomps off to pour out the tale of his heartbreak to...Tessa’s mom? The most generous interpretation of this bit is that he has a Stacy’s Mom-style crush on Selma Blair, which, fair. But Happy Relationship Music Montage #1 is ruined when Selma Blair bursts into Tessa’s room and is like “boys will ruin your life! you’ll drop out of school and never get a job!” which doesn’t seem like the most logical leap, but then she “cuts off” Tessa like Tessa’s a dissolute 19th century heir to a dukedom, so clearly logic has no place here. Hardin steps in and is all “I’m housesitting for this professor on sabbatical, but she probs won’t mind if we have a ton of sex in her bed,” which...ew. So yeah, they live together now. ...deal with it? (NO I REFUSE)

Next comes a series of music montages, feat. more A+ camera work by Ghost!Niall (random slo-mo effects, pointing the camera up at the trees, focusing on background characters for no reason...it’s all great, I have no notes). Some of Hardin’s Tragic Past is revealed, but honestly, who has the time, and they finally have Real Sex (blech), while the camera goes utterly haywire because not even Ghost!Niall is strong enough to record this.

I think at this point there are more music montages? (there were SO MANY you guys), and then, GASP! Mean Girl is blowing up Hardin’s phone with texts and he won’t explain what they’re about. So Tessa goes to confront him, in front of Zayn, Jace (who is maybe like...the fictionalized version of Ben Winston? Who can say), Mean Girl, and also Steph! Yes, Steph’s back! Steph’s response to hearing that Tessa and Hardin are squatting in some professor’s flat--oh, sorry, I mean living together -- is “I didn’t realize it was...that serious,” which...yes Steph, that is the ONLY POSSIBLE RESPONSE TO THESE ABSURD CHOICES, but also, where did she think her roommate has been this whole time?? Steph, you know I love you, but you could maybe be a 15% better friend here. I’m sorry, I have to speak the truth.

Anyway, turns out, back at that fateful party OH SO MANY MOONS AGO, Hardin casually bet everyone that he could make Tessa fall in love with him and then drop her, because he was so Edgy and Dark he didn’t believe in love, and naturally Mean Girl recorded this all on her phone in order to reveal it dramatically, because she’s mean & also a girl (no further motivation required). At this point, Ghost!Niall must lose his grip on the physical realm, because all the sound cuts out and the camera starts bouncing around like someone dropped it down the stairs, before finally coming to rest for several seconds too long on Steph’s baffled face. Same, Steph. Same.

Tessa runs out into the rain, Hardin stares after her (after! ha!), the rain miraculously clears up in time for Tessa to apologize to Selma Blair (“it was, on the whole, justified for Tessa’s mom to show up at her college dorm and demand she stop dating boys, and when she refused, excised her from the family” should maybe not be the takeaway here, but sure), check in on Noah, who seems to have recovered fine from being cheated on and dumped -- maybe he’s too busy crushing on Selma -- and also fit in another montage or two before...

It’s the last English class of the term, their professor is handing back papers, and asks Tessa to stay back to GIVE HER Hardin’s English essay, which “seems to be addressed more to you.” What the fuck? New flash to all lovelorn undergraduates: please do not narrate your breakup in lieu of writing an academic essay, especially not in the hope that your prof will HUNT DOWN your ex-girlfriend and SHOW HER YOUR HEARTFELT MESSAGE. Why in God’s name is this the plot device we’re using to get a letter from one character to another. Letters are notoriously mobile objects! It just didn’t have to be this way!

We do get to hear Hardin doing a voice-over read of the essay, the thesis of which is basically: HE DIDN’T BELIEVE IN LOVE BEFORE, BUT THE LOVE OF A GOOD WOMAN HAS CHANGED HIS MIND, AND HE TOTES UNDERSTANDS AUSTEN NOW.

...I can assure you, he does not.

Ghost!Niall, who at this point must be as ready to be done as I am, cuts to the Murder Lake, where Tessa is sitting, waiting for Hardin to creep up behind her, and naturally our boy does not disappoint.

Annddd...Fade to white. That’s it. That’s the movie.

You’re welcome.

[comicteaparty]

June 29th-July 5th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from June 29th, 2019 to July 5th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

Whether intentional or not, what would you say is the central theme of your comic?

snuffysam

The central theme of Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/ is, to put it in a word, acceptance. Accepting that you can't change the past, accepting that you can't control everything that happens in your life, accepting that other people come from different walks of life and experience different hardships from you, accepting that you can't change other people's hearts, and learning to accept yourself even when others don't accept you.

Attila Polyák

The story of Tales of Midgard https://talesofmidgard.com/comic/book-1-cover-page/ does have a central theme, but most of the story mostly follows events that allow the exploration of the world. That said... If you look at it closely you'll notice that the story does involve themes about free will and the results and consequences of an actions taken.

Respheal

Kinda hit me just now that the central theme of Galebound (http://www.galebound.com/) might be "real change comes from a place of love, not hate". Basically, even if you have "good" goals, trying to achieve those goals from a position of hatred will just destroy everything around you, while doing something because of love elevates everything. Also row row fight the power(edited)

Jonny Aleksey

The Undefeatable J-Man ( http://jonnyalekseydrawscomics.com/thelatestpage ) So when I starting writing up the series years ago the idea was always going to be about the relationship between J-Man and his father. J-Man having idolized his officer dad when he was little but growing more distance after he becomes a hero and does his own "cases" (like a kid trying to be grown up). The inclusion of sidekick Sleepy Bear evolved from a fun silly idea into being a sort of little brother to J-Man, forcing him into a guardian role before he's really ready. I guess in short the theme has become maturity and hero worship.(edited)

ErinPtah (Leif & Thorn | BICP)

If Leif & Thorn (http://leifandthorn.com/) has a main theme, it's "communication." Partly because the characters don't share a first language -- and even as Thorn gets better at speaking Leif's, there are huge cultural differences that they need to figure out and talk through.

On top of that, if you dig down far enough, a ton of the problem-of-the-week type conflicts can be traced back to miscommunication! Someone hasn't explained themselves, or tried but didn't get it across very well, or explained it clearly but the other person didn't want to listen...

(The other problems are pretty much all about financial exploitation. Something goes wrong, it's either miscommunication or capitalism. Or both!)

But I'm A Cat Person (http://bicatperson.com/) is about broke recent college grads living on their own for the first time, but still making new connections and getting by with help from their friends. Also, immortal shapeshifters who need to be bonded to a human Master and will literally run down like a rusting machine if they don't get regular orders. There was a point when I figured the theme was "independence," but it's really more "interdependence."

...It's very political, but it takes place in 2010-2011, so the in-universe references have to be specific to that era. If they didn't, I'd be saying "stronger together" a lot more.

keii4ii

Heart of Keol (https://heartofkeol.com/) is about being let down by the one person you trusted, when you needed them the most. The feeling of "I'd thought they would care, but I guess that was too much to expect........" It's also about how you change (which hopefully includes healing -- though that isn't the case every time...) after such an experience. How that relationship changes afterward, and how it affects your other relationships.

Mharz

The Angel with Black Wings http://blackwings.mharz.com/ main central theme is "forgiveness" whether it's towards others or towards yourself. We've all been hurt before and sometimes depending on how tough it is, it can sometimes be so hard to forgive anyone even yourself. Some had so many tragedies happened to them that they had formed hatred towards the world that they just want to see it burn. Many of us formed self-loathing because we haven't achieve this kind of status we wanted for ourselves, or maybe we have blamed ourselves for something bad that has happened in the past. Forgiveness or lack thereof can greatly affect someone's mental health... and it doesn't just affect ourselves, but the people around us. CHAMPS http://champs.mharz.com/ aside from the slow-burn lesbian romance that's going on is about which victories are more important? The main characters, being athletes they'd want to win any match they can... but winning doesn't necessarily mean a satisfying victory. Sometimes you need to make a choice.

NeilKapit

What is this theme? Is it, according to that one guy from the Game of Thrones show, something for eighth grade book reports? Everyone knows storytelling is all about random shit happening to keep people in their seats, regardless of why.

Tuyetnhi

ha?

keii4ii

I think NeilKapit was making a joke about themes in general

Tuyetnhi

o

keii4ii

Not sure but my guess is he was sarcastically mimicking those who uh, don't "believe in themes"

Mharz

oh I thought it was pertaining to mine... becos my message was before theirs

I'm like did I say something wrong?

keii4ii

Nah, you're fine

Mharz

Ty keiiii

NeilKapit

It’s a joke based on a quote by David Benoit (sp?), one of the game of thrones showrunners, about how he approaches storytelling

It explains a lot about why the show went south so hard and so fast once they ran out of book material to adapt

Sorry if it sounded like I was dissing you or anyone here, I wasn’t

keii4ii

Thank you for clarifying

Mharz

it's good, bud. : D

NeilKapit

In all seriousness, the theme behind my comic We Are the Wyrecats (wyrecats.com) is coming of age in the worst possible way, with the protagonist having spent ages 18-22 in a coma, and awakening to a world where all the common sense heroism she and her friends tried to do ended up receiving a vicious backlash from the powers that be, where her friends have had to morally compromise in the name of survival, and where she realizes that people only allow you to do good on their terms

And what to make of things upon learning all of that

Nutty (Court of Roses)

In Court of Roses http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/ I'm trying to show the love, beauty, and power in self-expression, especially of the artistic kind and how versatile it can truly be. My bards will have a lot of challenges thrown at them to be solved uniquely with their talents!(edited)

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I wanna expand on that once they all start traveling together, as well as showing the importance of being able to seek help and comfort from others when you need it most.

Capitania do Azar

Haha central theme of my comic (www.sarilho.net/en/) is cooperation and this was super intentional because themes are super important and that's is why I spend so much time dealing with characters engaging in battle (edited)

MJ Massey

Not sure if this counts, but Black Ball (http://welcometoblackball.com/) is a deconstruction of the Great Gatsby and other 1920s literature which involves a lot of ironic tragedy. Emily is the common sense friend you wish all those characters had, because she has no time for that nonsense, and inadvertently comes in and makes people face their problems and, through that, become stronger, better people. While this is going on, she doesn't even realize that she's having an impact on people. Emily starts as sort of a passive doormat, being dragged around where her parents or the plot take her, but by the end she will find her own confidence and will become a more assertive person

Tuyetnhi

The main themes for OIYD! (http://oiydcomic.com/) is a combination of Fantasy vs. Reality, Truth and Lies, the scope of love, and the sacrifices or consquences made from those choices. Escapism, fantasies, and delusions often infer how we precieve our reality. And sometimes reality structures how these mindscapes are dictated. I want to explore such things under a romance between a dreamer and her dream, implications of trying to please your family and yourself, and what to do when your dreams can turn into concrete existence.(edited)

kayotics

Okay, so after some thinking, I think one of the main themes in Ingress Adventuring Company (https://ingress-comic.com/) is that healing isn't linear, and it can take a long time. That goes tied with the theme that sometimes there's more to people than what they show you. These aren't, like... SUPER obvious as themes yet, especially because most of the comic right now is a pretty light-hearted adventure story, but I think i'll get around to it.

deo101

Millennium's (http://millennium.thecomicseries.com/) main theme is really all about love, and overcoming great struggle through it. It's about healing and growth and finding your own family!(edited)

Jurinova

In it's core Home is a Distant Wish (https://tapas.io/series/hiadw) is about healing and finding one's own place in the world. It is about home but not just as a physical place but home as a feeling of belonging and safety, and most importantly about the right people. It is in many ways about people disconnected trying to connect again. There are more underlying themes that are a bit darker but I do like to think that the more hopeful themes are the dominant ones.

[natsunoomoi]

Obsessed

Officially obsessed with Bungo Stray Dogs. Have been for a couple of weeks, but it's enjoyable in general as an interesting show with compelling characters, but then the literary references just takes it to a new level.

How come most of my favorite authors are bad guys though? I think the only member of the ADA whose author I knew previously was Edogawa Ranpo because his name is hilarious, his writing is great and also influenced my high school and uni hobby of visual kei (as in his work actually influenced the scene with a subgenre even named for the lit genre he worked in), and I used to watch Detective Conan. But seriously, some of his work was good and really made me think. For one of the classes I took for my Digital Arts minor, I wrote a proposal for an art exhibition based on Ningen Isu as an exploration of the meaning of personal space in public areas.

Aside from that though, Akutagawa and Higuchi Ichiyo are two of my favorites as well. I haven't read a lot of their works, but the ones I did really made me think and I enjoyed them. I have genuinely fond memories of their writing. Higuchi I liked so much I used her name on a forum site and an old email address. I can't really explain why I liked her writing, but it had a kind of simplicity without being boring and captured some of those in-between confusing times when you're growing up and just life complications with hard choices.

Akutagawa's work I read in Taisho Jpn in my upper division Japanese class and we thought a lot about the different choices made in the writing, the scenes, differences in values between then and now, and lots of things. Also, the teacher we had was really mean and the students enrolled split in half after the first two weeks. Every day every one of my classmates talked about feeling dejected and like general garbage right after class because the instructor nurtured us just as much as BSD character Dazai nurtured BSD character Akutagawa, so there's that scent of familiarity too. But the test I took on Mikan and interpreting the text is the only A I got on any of the tests in that class. I was so proud of myself because the rest of the class I was full of tears. That day I was so happy. But I liked the story too because it's sweet in a way. Like there's a lot of talk about how Akutagawa's writing is rather negative in perspective, misogynistic, and the common connection made with the character is how the weak should get out of the way, but at the same time he was adept at perspective and it's usually a mistake to think that a character's wrong thinking is necessarily the author's because sometimes they write a character to be an asshole to make a point. It's also not like that perspective is necessarily entirely wrong and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

It's just that there are some people in the world who have some kind of weakness whatever it may be, but do jack shit about it. Most people who have a weakness like poverty or a disability genuinely try their best to work around their weakness because they don't want to be a burden on other people. A handful of other people on the other hand, don't do anything themselves to help themselves and expect others to do everything for them. And I mean like, genuinely lazy people. Like I had a coworker who wasn't very smart or didn't know how to do certain things that were easy to learn, but instead of trying to learn them from a simple Google search that would give a quick and easy tutorial or even accepting training on the subject, they just passed the work onto other people in the office. And I mean, easy stuff like writing a damn word document. How hard is it to open a program and type? The time it took to send an email to ask me to do it and to read my reply of "No", it could have been finished. People who are unwilling to help themselves out of their own weaknesses like that I agree deserve to get out of everyone else's way cuz Christ, stop wasting everyone else's time.

That was a tangent, but I just wrote that to point out it's not necessarily that cold of a statement. It's like, how about just don't be a useless person?

That said, in Mikan the "watakushi" in the story has a kind of prejudice against this girl, which I'm ngl by complete coincidence in my brain I imagined to look something like Kyouka when I was first reading it. The narrator though looks down on her because she's obviously a country bumpkin, doesn't know train etiquette, has pimples, etc. He guesses about where she's going and her life and is critical of her until just before the end. She carries oranges with her which used to be a more expensive item. Fresh fruit used to be crazy expensive and harder to come by. It was probably supposed to be a gift for the people at her destination, but instead she tosses them out the window as a gift to children waving at them at the station. This surprises the narrator because it's a very kind act to gift something so precious like that and the story ends with the narrator being pleasantly surprised and in higher spirits. To me, that kind of speaks to the perspective thing and as a story I felt like was a show of how being prejudiced can blind you, which is a contrast to the quote associated with the character and even the bluntness that Akutagawa's friends remarked about him. The things I read about his life, he didn't seem to be that mean or cruel, but rather just troubled. Plus he was liked enough by friends to have the most prestigious writing award named after him, so he can't have been that bad.

That said though, I subconsciously remember his work every day when I get on trains here. I think about the orientation of the seats and the windows because of the work we put into imagining the scene and what the train car looked like. I remember it when I think about train etiquette and how people naturally try to give each other as much personal space as possible and feel just as annoyed when there's empty spaces everywhere else but someone chooses a spot near me although as a woman I sometimes also have the extra layer of, "Is this dude trying to be a creeper?" I live in Kagawa, but sometimes I go to Ehime for coverage which is where oranges are grown so I think about how plentiful and sweet they are in comparison to what it must have been like in Taisho Japan. When I'm in Tokyo for events and being nerdy, I also get extra excited for a moment when I hear Yokosuka on a train announcement because the train in the story I believe was the Yokosuka line which Akutagawa took himself to get to work when he was teaching. I don't really know why I get so happy over it, it's just like "I KNOW THAT PLACE" and I'm fond of the story. There's a lot of positive thoughts about his work like that that I just think about often. Not really intentionally because I like his work, but I think in my leisure time I prefer other writers. Despite that though, the prose he wrote sits in my mind and definitely seems to color how I view my everyday life and even make me enjoy my train commutes. I sleep through them, but I think it's a big influence on the more mundane parts of my life.

That being said, I think because of my fondness for the writer, the character Akutagawa is my favorite. He also reminds me of Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho, who I've loved since I was 10, but I mean, the writing is a huge influence as well I think.

It's interesting looking at rl Akutagawa and Dazai and compare them to the characters because it's flipped. Irl Dazai idolized Akutagawa and when Akutagawa killed himself, that's why Dazai started becoming depressed and suicidal himself. It was a trigger and really sad. But at the same time, even though BSD as a story seems to revolve more around Atsushi and Dazai, like the plot and backstory seem to be more on Akutagawa. I mean, cuz it's Yokohama which is near where irl Akutagawa worked and flipping the story so that Dazai is the mentor is like kind of like sweet? Like irl I don't think they actually met, but it's like saying if they did maybe Dazai could have given Akutagawa hope to keep living because he died because he was worried about his mental state deteriorating. I mean, in BSD he has an abusive way of making character Akutagawa motivated so some creativity took over at some point, but it is a question regarding the real people what if Dazai could have given the real Akutagawa hope? Higuchi too, she died of TB and was rejected by her mentor who she fell for cuz he viewed her more as like a sister or something. So it's like a second chance for her too as a manga character to have a greater existence with fuller experiences. Her writing was well received in her time and she's celebrated even today on the money here, but her life was so short. It's like watching a show of the second life of writers who died too soon.

But then there's the American authors. It's more hilarious than the same introspective joy I get from the Japanese ones. Fitzgerald is funny, but like I'm wondering why his ability is that specific aspect of Gatsby? I was thinking there would be more green lights too. Or even a murder car. Lovecraft is hilarious though. I think I almost died laughing. Steinbeck though is so literal to the title? Not that I really expect that deep of an analysis into the story, but I was hoping it'd be a little more justice-y? Nathaniel Hawthorne even is kind of only half of what the Scarlet Letter is about. Like religion is part of it, but it's not positive in the story so I'm not sure why he's so religious. Like part of the story is showing how it's hypocritical. Edgar Allan Poe is probably one of the more properly fleshed out ones probably because the author had a more direct connection to Edogawa irl so less research work. The ability choice is interesting though and combines a couple of works. I was expecting more ravens though, but perhaps that's too obvious.

Those criticisms aside though, I'm looking forward to more and would like to see some European lit. Especially with Edogawa and Poe, I'm expecting some Conan Doyle. Come on!