#im sure the fan comic is very good! however. i do not have the emotional strength to watch my son die like that thank you

[rabbithaver]

when hte art for a fan comic posted in ur blorbo's tag is very very good but also your son is dying and you're like. having an extremely emotional moment about it

[callisteios]

I ended up with "god of longing for connection", which is funny given my current situation (housing/attempting to get comics into animation etc) and I'm noticing that some others are getting deep sea god (when they're actually studying the deep ocean as their major) etc... so my q is, are you somehow an ancient greek oracle pointing things out using modern technology to see what the mortals do with this knowledge? (Also thanks for a fun quiz)

you're going to get a long answer for no other reason than I'm at work and I hate my job. sorry

like way to long. i am so sorry.

So.

personality stuff

I'm going to say that first and foremost I am a massive skeptic when it comes to stuff like personality types, astrology etc. I think a lot of these things are people making very broad statements which many people identify with and become more convinced of their reality. a messy rabbit hole. I'm hardly the first to say this so lets move on

I also am a massive fan of personality quizzes (done well) and things like tarot ( i literally love doing tarot readings does anyone want a tarot reading). so not super well meshing opinions you may say?

yes.

however. i make them fit like this. I don't think all people can be split into 12 or 16 or whatever number of groups. I do think there are many shared human experiences and emotions. I know that most people taking my quiz are of a smiliar age and mostly western. This means we have even more shared experiences in this very global world.

I also know that from a lifetime of studying people and trying to understand their motivations (thank you autism (in case you couldn't tell)) I have got reasonably good at understanding various types of feelings and states people experience. and yes i suppose 'types' of people.

From this observation I have understood that (on top of us living in a very similar/global environment) we all (not all but basically all) go through the same emotions at some point during our lives.

From this experience and my understanding of our shared reality and feelings it is not exceptionally hard for me to then craft a quiz and retroactively apply the answers.

Example:

I'm going to give an example here because I feel my explanation has got incredibly rambly. Uh spoilers for my god quiz

Let's look at this result: the sky and the earth (because it's one of my favourites)

the first thing i'd say about this is that it's literally based on one of my favourite songs of all time. written while the author was in a mental instition no less (stream dory previn). so i am hardly the first to identify this 'type'.

When i look at this result and am assigning answers for it, several things about it stick out to me. Its main focus is the in between feeling, the longing for more spirtuality but also a desire for the physical and real. while at the same time feeling as if those are very confliced desires. there's obviously more to it but i can only hold so much info in my brain.

i think this is a state many in modern society will experience as we live in such a new and confusing and separate world. i am exposed to more of the world every day, and yet i feel as if i understand it less. the opportunities for me to truly experience the natrual are few and far between. i want to crawl around upon the earth. i want to see the stars and be enlightened.

knowing this i will say

does someone who is sky and earth want to be a god?

(this was the hardest question for literally every type btw.) here i'd say yes. because only something divine can be two opposing concepts surely. surely to know the sky and earth is an impossible goal for a mortal.

ok moving on (im not doing this for every quesion, don't worry, just a couple more to hammer home the point)

this one was harder. i was torn between fruit, dedicated to one issue, and drowning. I think all fit but went for dedicated in the end

for this one i knew i was using a picture of an iguana and i thought iguanas come from deserts so i chose desert. they're not all hits

this one was so easy. to me the confluence of rivers, bringing together something that's normally apart. that felt like the duality of sky and earth to me.

basically the exact same thing as above with mutilation.

i chose the painting of the building surrounded by people. i felt like this building crushed between the sky and the earth, looked upon by passers by, felt like a monument to the dichotomy. when i am feeling sky and earth i feel like the building, i cannot move or touch or really experience. i am just stationary watching it all move around me

So you see. I have identified here an emotion which i felt, which i have witnessed others feeling. i have identified the likely responses i believe a person in this state would give and i hope for the best.

Tarot

OKay you definitely get the point bt now. but i am nowhere near done, i mentioned tarot earlier. there was a reason for this beyond me wanting to do more tarot readings.

I think even though im good, i am really not that good. one thing i have noted over doing many tarot readings is that often the subject needs incredibly little input from the reader. oh, they may need your help guiding them towards the symbolism on the card, but once they've got that they launch into an explanation of how this answers their question.

Because I Always make sure they ask a clear question. this to me is the most important part of any kind of reading or quiz. you want the person to think about this themselves and then perhaps help them to the conclusion. once they're at the results screen/have a card they already have some idea in mind. it doesn't matter if they were expecting something a bit different, this is just a vehicle for their own self truth anyway.

ok im done.

i am a god

woah woah woah. im not done though. you're talking to a classicist so ive GOT to address the oracle comment. my favourite oracle of delphi theory is that the oracle's chamber sat above some kind of natural gas deposit, this gas was possibly hallucinatory. The oracles would get high and then deliver prophesies. I believe that if you combined my observation with powerful drugs I could come up with prophesies like "if your empire goes to war with another empire a great empire will fall ;)". Therefore, yes i am. and i'm taking requests ;)

tldr? uh. i take very universal feelings, use some skill to present those to people most likely to identify with them, they do a bunch of the work

/tldr i am a divine prophet and would like my place at a nice temple and access to good drugs asap

[sickadelia]

hi im now throwing my pessimistic city dweller hat into the adult eds ring. please excuse the shitty drawing, i havent been able to draw The Boys well since i was 12. 

lore that i wrote 10 months ago while i had the stomach flu under the cut!

I can’t really see them in a tiny town or a huge city, so I was thinking that they end up somewhere in the middle, something that’s a city but isn’t too overpopulated- maybe like 600k to 1m people. 

Ed People often seem to struggle with a career for Ed, and deservedly so, because he’s kind of an enigma. A common career choice for him is being a self-made popular comic artist or someone who works in horror movies, but I don’t think he would last very long in any creative industry, because he would probably have trouble changing his ideas to accommodate others. Sure, he takes directions from Eddy pretty easily, but once the task has emotional significance to him, he kinda shuts down and digs his heels in. To be successful in these kinds of industries, you need to work really hard to show that you’re willing to change your ideas and take criticism for the greater good of the project. So because of that, I don’t think he would have that much success in that field. Therefore, I present to you: freelance artist/record store Ed!

I’m a record collector, and I feel like that scene is very Ed. It’s all about falling down deep rabbit holes and discovering bizarre artifacts that may have otherwise been lost to time, and Ed is the kind of person I can see absolutely loving researching random things and then infodumping to anyone who will listen. So, I decided he should be the “mascot” of a record store in the hipster-y part of town: people go there specifically to hear his recommendations and learn from his infinite knowledge. This is also the only thing keeping him employed, since I can otherwise see him being confused as to what to do, like skipping out on sweeping or sorting through records. He just sits at the till and blabs, which does make the business more appealing, however he’s otherwise no use to the owner.

As for the freelance artist part, I can imagine him trying to self-publish a comic or gain a cult following online. Though, as I mentioned, he is probably unwilling to sacrifice his vision for others, making the comic basically unintelligible. He’s a good artist, sure, but his comics are impossible to follow and are filled with inconsistencies, plot holes, etc… it’s style without substance. The only successful work he’s gotten doing art specifically is posters for Eddy’s band, which I’ll get into later.

Edd Oh, Edd. He always gets the long end of the stick in terms of careers, either in STEM or as a university professor (I’ve noticed that his actual careers are always pretty vague… he’s just “a scientist”). However, while I do think science and inventing will remain one of his most prominent hobbies, I wanted to delve more into the obscure territory and make him a journalist. Though his apparent interest in journalism is only present in one episode, “Truth or Ed”, I honestly think it is a pretty fitting career for him; he has a flair for the dramatics, is very passionate about vocabulary and language, and usually takes the moral high ground and stays very committed to his standings in any situation. So I thought it would be cool if he was an opinion journalist for some dying academic dinosaur paper, which has made an unsuccessful jump to online news and now mostly reports the lowest hanging fruit, like celebrity pregnancies. Edd was probably a fan of the paper during the glory days, and though he is absolutely flattered by the opportunity to work for them, he’s stuck writing articles about meaningless drivel rather than topics of any real worth, which probably messes with his deep life philosophies or whatever.

Another trait that often gets ignored is Edd’s pretentiousness, biting sarcasm, and assholeish tendencies. He’s probably THAT kind of hipster journalist who wears oversized trench coats, owns a typewriter but never uses it, sits in cafes and stares wistfully out the window waiting for some attractive person to compliment him or recognize him, and will completely cut you off if you have an opinion that conflicts with his own, no matter how pressing they actually are. While I don’t think romance would be of any particular interest to him, I think he’d still go on several dates in an attempt to gain approval and acceptance from others, and blame them when he acts like a total jerk. 

Eddy I have never seen someone do adult eds without struggling to come up with a career for Eddy. Used car salesman or telemarketer is a common choice, which are funny and fitting, but they don't have very much depth to them. And besides, those are jobs he’d actually be good at, and most of the show’s humour comes from Eddy failing to get what he wants. I don’t think he would be an interesting character to follow if he was satisfied with his life. So like Ed, he has his aspiring career that he’s bad at and a job he hates that he’s good at: so he’s a line cook AND a metal head. 

I’ve worked in restaurants for a long time, and every single line cook I’ve met has been screwed up in some way. They either terrorize everyone for their own amusement or selectively pick who they’re nice to, and usually end up being very awkward and making every situation uncomfortable. Eddy is probably the restaurant’s top line guy, so close to being the kitchen manager, but no one can stand him enough to totally put him in charge. Throughout the show we see that eddy has an interest in cooking and baking, such as making pizza, and I definitely think he could capitalize on that for a career. But as good as he is at his job, he’s an absolute terror to work with and controls and manipulates situations to give himself power that he may not otherwise have. For example, I can see him kinda screwing around new employees or the dishwasher, and the new guy is too terrified to stand up to him (this is me projecting LOL)

Now, for the metal head portion. Eddy is probably super pretentious about music, however he fakes being into certain bands to look cool and impressive. He claims his favourite band is Tool, but if you asked him to name more than five of their songs, he’d get stuck pretty quick. He fronts his own metal band called The Hunks (the original name was “Eddy and the Hunks”... that didn’t last very long), where he sings and plays the guitar, both very poorly. However, the other guys can’t survive without him, since he brought them all together, writes all the songs, books the gigs, etc… so despite him being the only thing holding them back from success, they’re practically useless without him.

[hunterartemisanime]

KnB Commentary: Kise Ryouta and the Curse of Being “Pretty Boy” in Shonen Anime

Cheerful, extroverted, happy-go-lucky and sunshine with a face, Kise Ryota is the screen ikemen in Kuroko no Basket. Although Kise is a cult favourite, but I think he is sometimes pushed aside with Momoi. In KnB people tend to focus more on the other GoMs rather than Kise. Here is my take on how Kise Ryota’s character and his types are scorned in Shonen Manga.

Shonen and Shojo manga revolve around two different dimensions: while shonen manga focuses on friendships, journeys and solid characteristic developments, shojo manga focuses generally on the romance parts, interpersonal relationships, appearance and struggles of the ordinary main character. Both manga lauds ordinariness and makes the ordinary extra-ordinary one just by showing that they have the possibility to be sublime. While Shojo manga greatly appreciates male beauty to the point of worship, Shonen sort of looks down on male beauty: anyone who identifies himself as good looking, or wants to be good looking is put down by others around him. Let’s see how Kise fell into the same trap.

Kise is introduced in the story in a very Shojo manga fashion. He is looked from the female point of view of Seirin’s girl students as he walks down the main pathway of the school. That piece of scene almost reminded me Takumi Usui entering school in Kaichou wa Maid Sama. From that point, wherever he goes he is greeted and surrounded by female population en large, much to the annoyance of his team members and opponents. Similar to the effect of “male gaze”, exists a “female gaze” which supposedly decides the desirability of a boy, especially in a high school setting. Kise, being handsome by the contemporary Japanese standards thus somewhat becomes the focus of the female gaze which makes males around him conscious and equally anxious. This phenomenon can be asserted with Momoi’s first encounter in the anime with Kuroko in Aida Gym pool. When Kuroko is hugged by a very beautiful and buxom Momoi Satsuki, the boys on his team lament: “I am so jealous of you Kuroko, hope you’ll die.” This was from a rather “harmless” and “normal” bunch of High School Basketballers, then just imagine how it effects the powerhouse boys with similar primal instinct and with greater ego. Thus Kise is treated with hot-and-cold attitude from males around him: be its his former teammates or current.

Kise is thus definitely an eligible bachelor and he surely knows it. However his self-awareness is without vanity or narcissistic edge. He is shown to be appreciative of female attention and not portray himself as a “playboy” or a “Scorer”; he is never addressed by anyone as “charan poran” (womanizer) in the series. This is a very contradictory attitude in Shonen anime. In shonen anime Male sexuality have very limited outlets: either one should be hyper-celibate and not pay attention to any organism marked as female, or one could be hyper-sexual to the point where they objectify the female form in a not so respectable manner--there is nothing in the Middle. In KnB Akashi, Kuroko and Midorima fall in the former end of spectrum while Haizaki Shogo and Aomine Daiki fall into the latter. Even dating and having girlfriend can make you the object of male scorn: in the anime Grand Blue, the department of Mechanical Engineer has a secret pact to stay single and when they find out that Iori Kitahara is living with Chisa (who is his cousin), they almost throw a violent fit. The male solidarity in Shonen thus ostricise the males who express appreciation in female company and show interest in courting and romance. Kise is snubbed in a similar manner for showing interest in a more feminine side. A same kind of snubbing was delivered to Hiroshi Fukuda of Seirin when he confessed on the rooftop that he wanted to get into the team for dating someone. In Free Momotarou Mikoshiba too, is either ridiculed or snubbed by his teammates for openly admitting to like Gou Matsuoka.

Out of all the Generation of Miracles characters, I think Kise is the most discriminated of all. His discrimination is the unsual kind: he is too important in the plotline to be comic relief like Takao and Izuki and he is too cheerful enough to be the bad boy. So what kind of discrimination does he face? He faces the discrimination for being good looking. Yes, there is a thing to be discriminated for being good looking. I also think Kise has been played within the character of being the “dumb blond”. He is portrayed as “pretty boy” and is expected to limit himself within it. His cheerful attitude is often met with cold shoulder and it is absolutely normalised within the storyline. Unlike other players who greet their rivals outside the courts with a broody attitude and slightly glaring eyes, Kise is the one who advocates “Yesterday’s rivals are today’s friends”. This is a very positive attitude to use in real life to keep the unhealthy competitiveness in check, but it is met with a scorn in the anime. It is shown as if being cheerful is the by-product of being good looking and the former should reflect the latter. This is perhaps the reason Kise’s playing style was completely sniped out of the scene from being “the best of all”. According to the society, a good looking person is just an eye-candy for anyone to drool over and if they have too much agency or talent people enviously comment “(s)he gets all that because of the looks”. It stems from the insecurity of one person having too much social power. The entire thing is very limiting. Kise is not only good-looking, he is acing his modelling career, a field which is highly demanding and taxing and at the same time he is doing well in basketball also in a nationally reputed school. These attributes somewhat gets overshadowed because he is somewhat only identified on screen for his looks. This fact is highlighted with his rivalry with Haizaki Shogo. Haizaki, instead of acknowledging Kise as a player, “marked his territory” by “boning” one of the girls claiming to be Kise’s girlfriend. 

Kise is very much aware of the fact that the swarming bunch of girls are intrinsic to his image, especially as a model and for this reason he tries to be respectful towards them. However, he does not identify the admiration of the fan-brigade with genuine affection. This is the core fact which Haizaki misinterprets about Kise that he derives power from the admiring fangirls. Haizaki despite being the antagonist is pretty much shares the similar prejudice with the people near Kise: that Kise Ryota begins and ends with looks and even his playing style “perfect copy” is less than original. But Kise is not the prejudices that surround him, he is affectionate, loyal and genuine with enough dedication to pursue what he loves. The ideal type of Kise : “a girl that won’t tie me down” says a lot about him. He is eager to meet someone who will respect him for who he actually is and not for his looks or fame. He too is someone who grew out of seeing the surface and judge to observe someone and understand---that is how he started to respect Kuroko at the first place. At the end, when he loses to Touou, he sheds the image of a “cool handsome boy” and cries like a baby in public; something his own captain Kasamatsu or his former teammate Midorima could not do. This shows a lot of courage and strength but also shows that expressing ugly emotions in a public can also be dignified and not necessarily be stripping to masculinity.

Tags

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[sineala]

A Few Thoughts About Hurt/Comfort

I have been asked this month to make a post about hurt/comfort in Avengers comics. And I love h/c -- I actually have a massive number of WIPs right now that are h/c -- so I am very happy to talk about it! Anyway, this is not really all that planned out and this mostly turned into an excursus on Tony Stark's pain. I'm sure you're all surprised.

Like pretty much everyone else, I'm sure, I have found that everything lately has been... pretty tough. And the coping mechanism that really got me through last year and this year was reading and writing a lot of h/c, on the theory that, however lousy a day I'm having, I can absolutely make sure that Tony Stark has a worse one. And then I can make sure he gets hugs. Wish fulfillment? Why, yes. (Once at Hallmark I was trying to find a "get well soon" card, forgot what it was called, and described it to my wife as "a hurt/comfort card.") I think Marvel Comics -- the Avengers side, in particular -- is an interesting canon for h/c for a lot of reasons. Though, honestly, if you asked me to recommend you, a hurt/comfort fan, a new fandom, I would probably just hand you some Starsky & Hutch DVDs. Go watch "The Fix" and get back to me later. If you like that, there's way more where that came from. But there's still lots to love in Marvel! Superhero comics are really a goldmine as far as the hurt side of h/c. Because superheroes, and you probably have noticed this, get hurt a lot. They get hurt repeatedly, in fantastical ways that are probably impossible in real life both physically and emotionally (at least, I don't think anyone's invented mind control yet), and even the heroes without superhuman healing powers tend to get physically hurt a whole lot worse than actual people can take. Currently in Iron Man comics, Tony has a broken back and is dealing with this by locking himself into the armor as a backboard and injecting himself with massive doses of painkillers. He's busy! He's got stuff to do! He doesn't have time to lie around and heal! So, basically, if you name a kind of pain that you would like to see happen to a character, it's probably happened to superheroes. Multiple times. The downside, though, is that comics do not really deliver that well when it comes to the comfort part of h/c. They could. It's not inherent to the medium that they don't. But because of the serial nature of comics and also the fact the primary audience is dudes who want to read about people in spandex punching each other, a lot of the time they don't really feel the need to provide closure and write about people dealing with any of the hurt. (Raise your hand if you're still annoyed with the end of Hickman's Avengers run.) But at the same time, I think that's a quality that makes Avengers ripe for h/c fanfic. Because, generally speaking, fandom likes to provide the things that canon doesn't, and fandom is more than happy to provide the comfort. If you enjoy canonical h/c in comics, I think you really can't go wrong with Iron Man. One of the big innovations of modern Marvel Comics was the concept that heroes would also suffer from relatable human problems, and in practice what this means is that a lot of heroes start with a fully-loaded angst-ridden backstory and origin story, ripe for h/c. So Tony starts out by incurring a heart injury that he fully expects is going to kill him, which he responds to by vowing he won't get close to anyone so they won't be sad when he dies, and throughout the early Silver Age is constantly on the brink of death as his heart nearly gives out on him practically every issue. And then even after his heart gets (mostly) better, there are various plots involving his armor being detrimental to his health and him choosing to fight on anyway. It's hard for me to think of another superhero hitting that particular variety of h/c in exactly the same way. Sure, superheroes risk their lives constantly, because this is how superhero comics work, but Tony is the only one I can think of who is this constantly this badly off, physically. Like, think of all the other heroes who have had a continual solo presence as fan favorites across Marvel history -- Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine, maybe even Deadpool. You know what those guys all have? Healing factors! For the most part, they are not running around continually on the verge of death, and while there are certainly memorable arcs involving several of them being severely injured and/or dead, you really have to work at it. It's not their constant state of affairs, whereas Tony is the kind of superhero who shows up to a fight already bleeding out under his armor. Yeah, I know Extremis gave him a healing factor. But he didn't have it very long, and also he did some extremely dangerous things while he did have it; I'm pretty sure I've never seen Wolverine saying that he'll just solve a problem by cutting off his own foot. So, anyway, yeah, there are a bunch of good arcs involving h/c for Tony. If you're looking for physical injury, he has a whole bunch of heart problems over the years, gets several new hearts, then ruins his brain, et cetera. That level of hurt is basically the background pain of Tony's life; every so often, his heart will get damaged or he'll have to live in the armor or the armor will be killing him, et cetera. If you're looking for more unusual trauma, I am, as always, going to rec Manhunt, a relatively obscure arc in late v3 (IM v3 #65-69) in which Tony has an extremely bad week. His tech is stolen and used to bomb a building. Then he gets shot in the chest. Then while he's at the hospital a nurse tries and fails to poison him, and she then tries to beat him to death. Then he checks himself out of the hospital and a helicopter shoots missiles at him. Then he becomes a fugitive from justice. And then, oh, yeah, he has to fight the Mandarin. It is... a lot. (Volume 3 of Iron Man is pretty good as far as h/c possibilities. You've got a lot of physical pain, Carol's drinking arc, the Sentient Armor, both DreamVision arcs, and Manhunt. Manhunt is finally supposed to be out in trade this month, by the way.) There are of course the drinking arcs, which probably count as their own type of hurt. But if you haven't read the second drinking arc (IM #160-200), please do. Marvel likes to up the stakes on events (Fear Itself, Secret Empire) by making Tony drink, and it does work, I think. I feel like I've spoken at length about Tony's drinking elsewhere so I don't really want to rehash it all here. And then there's the emotional pain. Angst and drama is something that happens to a whole bunch of characters, yes, especially in comics, but somehow Tony seems to end up with possibly more than his fair share of it. Fandom likes to make a lot of Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, so much so that you might think, if you didn't know canon, that this was just fandom running with a throwaway mention of Tony's terrible childhood and making it worse. But, no, canon really does go there with a reasonable amount of frequency. Howard's actual first appearance is in a flashback where he's ordering teenage Tony to break up with his girlfriend because she's the daughter of one of Howard's business rivals. And then we get into the verbal abuse, and the physical abuse, and the time Howard made Tony take his first drink, and the part where Howard was a demon in hell who Tony fought while he insulted him. And more! Currently, in canon, Howard is alive again and is in league with Mephisto for the express purpose of ruining Tony's life. Also when Tony was a baby, Howard tried to trade him to Dracula. I think you can make an argument that fandom is actually showing restraint when compared to canon. Tony also has a whole lot of Terrible Exes whose presence and/or former presence in Tony's life can be used for a lot of hurt. If you've read any amount of fanfic, you probably know that the exes who get the most play in fandom are Sunset Bain and Tiberius Stone -- not that Tony and Ty were ever canonically a couple, of course, but fandom is definitely enamored of this idea. Ty and Sunset both have relatively similar interactions with Tony in canon, in that they are both liars and emotional abusers, heavy on the gaslighting, with the purpose of becoming more successful than Tony. They both also attempt to murder Tony, although this is after he figures out they're evil, at least. (Yes, I know, this is not how either of them usually appear in AUs.) Tony also has a bunch of exes who also have just straight-up tried to murder or otherwise hurt him, sometimes while they are dating, and sometimes before Tony dates them: Whitney Frost, Indries Moomji, Kathy Dare, and Maya Hansen come to mind. There are probably more I'm not thinking of! But, yes, if you want to write about a guy in a series of terrible relationships, please consider Iron Man comics. If mind control is one of your favorite flavors of hurt, Tony's pretty good for that too. We all know about The Crossing. I suppose when I say "mind control" I mostly mean "armor control" because there are an awful lot of plots where someone else makes Tony's armor do whatever they want it to do and Tony is along for the ride -- Demon in a Bottle, Sentient Armor, and Execute Program are the first things that come to mind. There is also a fairly obscure What If that is What If Iron Man Lost The Armor Wars in which Justin Hammer apparently really wants Tony in a mind control collar to take off all his clothes and lounge around in his underwear. No, really. I think a lot of pain for Tony often revolves around his issues with control, generally -- his alcoholism comes into play here again. The entire aftermath of Civil War is also notable for its propensity to hurt Tony over and over and over. Is he stoically soldiering on through his grief after Steve dies? Hell, no! He cries, like, six separate times. He 100% blames himself for Steve's death. It's great. Everybody loves The Confession and the funeral in Fallen Son, but one of my personal favorites is Avengers/Invaders, in which Tony is confronted with a time-traveling Steve from WWII and in order not to screw up the timeline, he can't tell Steve he knows him. He is clearly not coping well. He shuts himself in a room with a giant wall of pictures of Steve! Also there's a part where he has to try to convince Steve he can trust him and he ends up having to tie Steve to a chair to talk to him, and Steve looks at him and asks, "Who did you kill to get where you are?" and I feel like that is probably one of the worst moments in Tony's life. No wonder he gave himself amnesia. So now we might want to ask, okay, but why is hurting Tony in fanfiction so much fun? I mean, I can tell you why I think it's fun. I can't speak for anyone else. One reason is that he is very emotional and very affected by everything he does. Sometimes you will see people complaining that the heroes of m/m fanfic cry too much and this is not realistic. This is not a problem if you're writing Tony! He can cry as much as you want and it's perfectly in character. I don't think it would be as fun to hurt him if he didn't express so much of his pain. But he does. He also feels guilty, and for me that's a very satisfying character element. If he were well-adjusted and didn't blame himself for so many things, it wouldn't be nearly as fun as watching him blame himself for everyone whose death he thinks he is responsible for, whether or not he is. And then he just keeps going, and it's, y'know, nice to watch him be resilient, too. So, I guess, I think hurting him is interesting because it's easy to hurt him, his weak points are pretty obvious, and he reacts a lot. Steve doesn't hurt quite as much as Tony does, in canon. It's certainly possible to hurt him -- I mean, they did actually kill him after Civil War, after all -- but I don't think the canonical patterns of hurting him are as numerous. Obviously deseruming Steve is a fairly popular go-to in terms of physical hurt; he's been deserumed at least three times that I know of. I think's easy to see the appeal there of taking a character who is fairly physically resilient and making him... much less so. Certainly Marvel seems to see the appeal. But other than that I don't think he has any other really common way to get physically injured. Unlike Tony, whose origin story is basically "oh no, I've acquired a disability," Steve's origin story is "I drank a serum that cured all my disabilities." Which, I mean, great wish fulfillment but there's not really as much there to poke at. Pretty much all of Steve's pain is emotional, but, unlike Tony, his pain isn't often specifically in response to someone directly, purposefully hurting him. Hickman's Avengers run is a big exception, yes. His pain seems to come up most often as a kind of situational angst. He feels like a man out of time. He feels out of touch with the modern era, with people his own age. He feels guilt because he feels responsible for Bucky's death. He feels like he can't trust the government and therefore he can't be Captain America. He worries that he doesn't know how to have a normal life. And, yes, these are deep and important worries but it's different than, like, Indries Moomji dumping Tony with the intent to make him sad enough to start drinking. Very few of Steve's villains want to personally ruin Steve's entire life the way Tony's villains do; mostly they just want to do things like bring back the Nazis. In terms of Steve's potential for h/c, I think Steve is harder to hurt than Tony is. Physically, he is definitely harder to hurt. You can deserum him, sure, but unless you want everything you write to be a deseruming fic you're probably not going to want to do that more than a couple of times. And if you want to hurt him physically while he has the serum, you have to hurt him hard. Usually past the point where a regular human would ever survive it. He's also harder to break, emotionally, than Tony is -- which means it's very satisfying when you can get him to break, but this is a guy who's only cried twice (that I remember) in canon. So if you want to get him to cry, you really, really have to wreck him, and he doesn't have as many obvious weak spots. He also doesn't generally sit around blaming himself for things that aren't his fault, and the whole "stewing in guilt" genre of plots for him basically came down to "he was sad that he thought Bucky's death was his fault," and that's really the biggest regret he seems to have, and also Bucky's not dead anymore. The Steve/Tony relationship itself, I would think, is also appealing to h/c fans because canon provides a lot of ways for them to hurt each other. Some people only ship pairings who would never, y'know, take turns beating each other half to death in major event comics. (And for a lot of Marvel Comics history, that was also Steve & Tony, so if you want them to be BFFs who have never fought, you can just set your fic earlier.) They have definitely hurt each other both physically and emotionally, so if you're looking for something easy and satisfying as a h/c fan, you can just read or write something where they... make up. What about Marvel characters other than Steve and Tony? Surely some of them are angsty, yes? Well, yes, but also it depends on the particular flavor of angst that you like. If you like the way Tony hurts, you may very well enjoy Doctor Strange comics, because they have a very similar attitude towards life -- they are both former alcoholics whose origin stories involve physical disabilities, who routinely make tactical decisions that negatively affect their continued existence and/or happiness a whole lot. It's very much an "I must suffer alone in the dark and no one will ever know what I am doing to save the world but it's the right thing to do" sort of vibe. Like, you can read comics where Strange is lying in hell with two broken legs, hallucinating that Clea has finally come to save him. Strange's biggest fear, akin to Tony's control issues, is basically that one day he's going to be an asshole again, so he's out there trying as hard as he can to do good. Also, if you like tentacles, he has all of them. I mean that. Carol also occasionally hits similar angst spots, and her drinking arc is great. A lot of people like Natasha, too; I have read zero Black Widow comics but I get the impression many people enjoy her brand of angst. The mutant metaphor is a little different in terms of overall vibe, but some people really like it as a source of angst -- the whole "protecting a world who hates and fears them" thing. It may not work for you, but if you like your hurt to include things like systemic oppression, go pick up some X-Men comics. Start with something like God Loves Man Kills. I feel like I liked this sort of thing a lot more as a teenager but that I kind of aged out of liking the mutants quite so much. It's also worth mentioning that not everything that hits the spot in one universe will be the same in the others, and I'm mentioning this because I feel like I have to say something about MCU Bucky. MCU fandom seems to get a lot of mileage out of Bucky's guilt about being the Winter Soldier, everything he was forced to do, et cetera. I have definitely read my share of those fics, and FATWS sure went right for that angst too. But as far as I can tell, he doesn't hit the same way at all in 616. And I like him a lot in 616; I'm always pleased when he shows up on a team. (He was so good in Strikeforce. Everyone was so good in Strikeforce.) But the thing is, 616 Bucky is, basically, phenomenally well-adjusted, given everything he's gone through, and I'm including the time he wrestled a bear in a gulag. He gets over having been the Winter Soldier, and now he's just, y'know, a guy with a cool arm who likes to bring guns to every fight to horrify his teammates, and he snarks at Clint. If you're looking for that angst, that is really not him these days. He's all better. So pretty much all that is canon. So what do we do in fandom for h/c? Well, as far as I can tell, a decent amount of it is canon-based or very canon-close -- there are a whole lot of stories exploring the angst of Civil War or Hickman's Avengers run. Tony's drinking comes up a fair amount, and if one of Tony's Evil Exes comes back to haunt him, it's pretty much only Tiberius Stone. I don't think I've read a lot of fic with Steve getting deserumed; it doesn't seem as popular in fandom as in canon. When Steve gets hurt, he tends to just get physically whumped pretty hard, and there's a fair amount of that for Tony too, but of course Steve can take more. There's also a thriving, uh, subgenre of pain involving Hydra Steve doing terrible things to Tony, presumably the terrible things he would have wanted to do to Tony in canon if Tony had had a flesh body. There's the usual kinds of h/c setups that appear in basically every fandom as well -- sickfic, whump, dub-con/non-con. You get the idea. But since fandom in general likes to take specific inspiration from canon, there's a lot of fic where the hurt tends to resemble things that happen more in canon. Like, I feel like comics fic probably has more tentacle fic and more mind control than canons that don't come pre-stocked with those. Probably everybody has a whole lot of "tied up by bad guys," though. And then, of course, fandom brings the comfort that canon does not. This is true in pretty much every fandom -- I mean, you aren't going to find a lot of actual canons where Character A saves Character B from mortal peril and then there's gay sex -- but, like I was saying, comics don't provide a lot of closure before it's onto the next thing. Usually with a different creative team, who has no interest in wrapping up anything from the last team. Steve and Tony talked about the incursions exactly once after Secret Wars and nobody mentioned the part where Steve spent several months trying to hunt Tony down and kill him. Tony is never going to remember the events of Civil War. Hydra Steve died ignominiously in a fire and no one has ever talked about him again. Honestly, if you're looking for a way to get some comfort in your fanfic, picking an event, any event, and just having the characters talk about it will be way more than any of them get in canon. I feel like honestly that can often be a pretty satisfying to read. And even though comics canon physically hurts characters pretty often and pretty badly, they also often skip right past the recovery. Maybe you'll get one page of a character in a hospital bed at the end of the story arc. Maybe you won't. Demon in a Bottle has one splash page of Tony going through alcohol withdrawal and then he's all better. I think Manhunt skips to Tony getting out of the hospital at the end. That's just not a story that they want to tell very often. The second drinking arc is notable in that it devotes almost as many issues to Tony's recovery as it does to getting him to rock-bottom. Similarly, Steve is done with his Nomad angst way way faster than you probably think he is (though The Captain does go in for a fair number of issues). So one of the things we often want to do in fandom is focus on all the bits that canon skips over, both in the "why did no one ever mention this story arc ever again" way and the "wow, so how long are they in the hospital after that" way. That's really all I can think of about h/c! I'm off to write some more of it!

[darlington-v]

hey i read ur addition to my post and i just have to say like -- MASSIVE agree with absolutely everything. u totally summed up every thought i had that led up to me making that post LMFAO including the frustration with streamers over them just.... dropping off the earth and not wanting to seem entitled but also kind of wondering "hey what the fuck" ???? and while i love the drive wilbur and quackity have, i know theres not much they can do if all these other CCs have just decided to be MIA without warning. idk its so sad because it really feels like the smp is dying for sure and the lore is one of my favorite parts of being an mcyt fan <///3 SIGHHH -isaiah (aetherknit)

YES!!!! exactly dude!!! like i agree like while i love this drive some of the other very clearly dedicated and creative creators have, it worries me that some of the other creators who are necessary to drive this plot along just don't have that.

and i agree! like lore has been one of my favorite things, and i hope like this doesn't make them feel like... boxed in to one form of content, because theyre absolutely not! like i think many people do enjoy their content that's not focused on lore

however? a large portion of us DID come from watching the dream smp so it feels like such a massive let down and disappointment and like i said disparaging to see these creators just like put it on what feels like an indefinite hold? like, again, maybe im catastrophizing and being pessimistic, but like... i don't know how to remain hopeful when all we have is radio silence like...

we don't really get any updates or even like... a time when we will for sure have lore. again, like i had said before, like... the only thing reassuring is what wilbur said about what he has planned, because it has like a definitive number, and we know that quackity likes to do big cinematic lore streams and has always pulled through.

everyone else surrounding big storylines just feels... like... empty? i guess. there have been a LOT of empty promises from others and it's just kind of demoralizing.

and i mean? i know that there are definitely other people doing lore but it feels very... like... just not cohesive because it's very clear there are a group of people whose stories are intricately tied to one another while like people like ponk and puffy only have like a few threads into this story?

and it honestly feels like an injustice. like... that's not to disparage or degrade their lore, i've seen both of their lore before and it's genuinely outstanding, it's just like... kind of a shame because i'm not compelled to watch it when it's not really pushing along a big plot that the story clearly has now.

and like, yeah that's my own problem i guess but to argue like lore is still going on it's like yeah but this clearly very big plot with a LOT of loose ends and like was promised that it was leading somewhere big has felt like it's fizzled out!

and like!!! i don't think it has especially if they would just communicate what's going on so we don't all lose interest because we don't know if we're going to get the emotional payoff we signed up for.

like, i would just really like some communication because right now it's very frustrating and it feels unfair because like there's not even a real way to get this across to them that if they would just give a date or better explanation than something vague like "scheduling isn't working out" then i think interest would hold pretty strong and i definitely think morale wouldn't drop so low?

not to be a homestuck, but i know when the comic would take breaks or pauses there would be like this MASSIVE influx of fanart and fan-content because we knew we would have to make stuff to keep each other occupied until it came back! and like... it was good and it held many people's attention to wait so long and like continue to indulge in this piece of media.

like if the dream smp over arching plotline and lore was going on hiatus (understandably so) until they can collectively get their shit together, then i just wish they would give us a date until they think everyone will be able to participate? because like. it gives everyone a time frame and also something to look forward to.

no one wants to be left hanging and its much easier to cut shit clean off and like let it go when they are left hanging, so in these periods of down time with little to no communication, the fandom regarding this piece of media wanes.

TLDR;

i wish dream smp creators other than wilbur and quackity would communicate more clearly with their fanbase in regards to lore because waiting with radio silence will only lead to disinterest.

waiting with a date can build excitement and the fandom can definitely hold each other over with aus and fan content amongst ourselves.

i just wish someone would be more clear about what was going on.

[oh-mother-of-darkness]

asks (28)

Anonymous said: CAN I GET A HULLABALOO CANECK CANECK IN THE CHAT

GIG 👍🏼

@justyoungice said: Ever consider writing a multi-chapter fic? Your writing is so good! Been a fan ever since I ventured into this fandom =) 🎈

It happens once in a blue moon, but it’s not my preference. I like my one shots. I did, however, find an unfinished chapter fic a few nights ago that I could be persuaded to post as it is (meaning I probably won’t finish it)

Anonymous said: Am I allowed to say you're really pretty??? 😱😍

Oh thank you friend you are most definitely allowed and in fact encouraged 

Anonymous said: You cute 😚really cute

I am in hearteyes with you anon

Anonymous said: I am LOVING these batfam snippets so much!!!

2017 Amy was very funny wasn’t she?

Anonymous said: Ok but do you remember the time in no man’s land where two-face held a trial in which he was the prosecuting lawyer against himself?

Two-Face be like “I am here to conduct an entirely improper court proceeding”

@wingedskyes said: Okay.. Side q. Did neeb mean Tim as a cup of coffee in space or Tim made of coffee while floating in space? 🤔

When I asked she said only that I would know her intent in my heart 

@cafeamericano10cm said: Congratulations on finishing your exam/class!!

Thank you!!! I’m so relieved to be done

@betterbekind said: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! Im so happy for you and hope you treat yourself to something nice for surviving!!! You absolutely rock!

:) :) :D

@nightwing1536 said: Have you ever worked with an artist to make a comic? I’ve seen people do fan art and a page or so of a comic with your stories as the message. But I’m wondering if you ever worked side by side with an artist to make a comic?

nightwing1536 said: Not necessarilyDC but anything

I have! My friend @neebluarts and I did a collaboration project where she produced the most beautiful art in the world to go with a lil comic I wrote. She’s amazing. Here’s the finished project. 

I also did a smaller piece with @kurawastaken where we wrote a fic together, and she drew some pictures for it. You can find that one here. 

@kurawastaken said: Im love ya

K the muse in my soul bears your face

Anonymous said: On that time travel anon's behalf, your "mobile links" link is broken and any pages other than posts/ask/submit are just plain non-existent on the app. Do you have a "for mobile" tag on posts that contain all that info or anything like that? Whatever the link in your description is, it tried to open up my web browser, so I'm guessing it's not internal to Tumblr?

Hmmm the mobile links work for me if I press down for a few seconds, but I think that’s about the best I can do? I’ll do some research and figure it out.

Anonymous said: Thoughts on young justice? If you’ve watched it what did you think about the third season? Is Wally really dead because I’m deep in denial

I love YJ but no, I haven’t watched the 3rd season. I don’t think I have access to it, but I might try to find it now that the hard part of school is done.

Anonymous said: Omgggggg amesss you're gonna be a lawyer (a badass one i bet). Cheers dude!!!!!

That’ll be oh-mother-of-darkness, esquire 

Anonymous said: Congratulations!!!!

I’m over the moon :)

Anonymous said: Hope you’ve been taking time to Relax

I had a pretty chill week, yeah! Been sleeping mostly, and hanging with my online folks

Anonymous said: ⊂ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ⊃ This is Hug Bear. He heard you were having a bad day and had come to offer comfort.

Why thank u hug bear

Anonymous said: hey dude I've been there I cried in my moms arms for an hour the other night because of job hunting difficulties which is hard to face at 25. things will get better for us both so hang in there buddy our time is coming 💕

Ah anon I feel that so hard. Good luck my love

Anonymous said: We're here for you if you need to vent ames

lil kissy face emoji

Anonymous said: I hope you feel better and you’re not getting ship asks again. You’re one of my favorite people on tumblr.

You would think after all this time I could rest but ALAS

Anonymous said: Just wanted to say this last fic with Tim getting angry and venting some of his feelings really hit close to home in a good way and I really love it and thank you!

It seems like that one resonated with a lot of folks, and I’m glad. We all need to scream vicariously sometimes

@chiefqueenenthusiast said: I love your work so much. You let Tim go OFF and I live for it

Thank youuuuu I’m glad you liked it 

Anonymous said: Your Damian and your Tim just seem to *get* each other on a very specific level. It’s something that I love from your writing. It’s probably why they fight so much but it’s also a connection they only have with each other. Tim asking if he was allowed to be mad and Damian immediately saying yes just reminded me of it ❤️

Oh anon I’m getting emotional thank you so much 

@eatthepoison said: I'm not sure if your fics remind me of something musical yet, I need to sit and think about that, BUT your url reminds me of the song Dread in My Heart by Mother Mother. I think maybe because the song has "oh" a lot in it and because of the alliteration of "darkness" and "dread". So like, everytime I see oh mother of darkness my brain always follows up with oh dread in my heart. Idk my head makes leaps sometimes.

eatthepoison said: Also, I'm sorry your feeling frustrated :( if you ever want to talk I always open to listening. I'm not a content creator yet, at least not one big or well known, but I get that it can be overwhelming at times. If its worth anything, i think you're one of the most talented persons in the batfam community. Of all the stuff I've read, your one of the authors I think "damn they fucking NAIL the characterization of the fam every single time like holy shit".

Y’all got me sitting at work thinkin bout all the good things in my life rn. And I know that song! I like it very much

Anonymous said: Such a good little kitty. So cute too!!

She is my darling girl and I love her so much 

Anonymous said: My DC oc , Is a waitress named Jess. Her and Jason met during his brief time in foster care. She's not a superhero or anything , she owns a diner where Jason is welcome anytime, no questions asked and always willing to listen. Banged up or bloody ,doesn't matter. She's good with guns cause how else is she gonna protect herself/business in gotham. She was a teen mom and brings her kid to work with her. She's asian/hispanic, curly hair. That's about it

Hey this is a reminded that I probably will write a few paragraphs for your OC but you do have to DM me about it

Also hella cool OC you got there

[lovelytonys]

The Official Lovelytonys Guide to Iron Man Comics

Not to toot my own horn, but I’m about to save some lives. Buckle up.

Six months ago, I was asked for comic recs. I’m posting those recs today. Why so long? Because I couldn’t just make a rec list, no, I’m too extra for that. I had to go and make, to the best of my ability and knowledge, my own entire personal guide to Iron Man comics. I also have a tendency to start projects and not do them. But I did this one! And now I share it with you.

For your assistance, I’m going to link this Comic Book Herald article which is a full Iron Man reading order (LIFESAVER) and has links to amazon to buy the collections & arcs being talked about if you are so inclined.

You can find comics on amazon, ebay, the marvel website or Marvel Digital Comics Store (you can buy digital versions of comics), or just find a local comic shop and see what they have. You can easily find any comic you want free to read online, but the websites are a little shady. I’ll leave it to your discretion.

Disclaimer: Remember that these are all my personal opinions. Often, they will not line up with popular opinions. You might really like stuff that I didn’t care for. You might dislike my favorites. You might agree with my opinions. If any comic fans read this and are offended by any of my opinions, please don’t be!! Opinions on comics are SO subjective, just find out what you like and stick to it. I just figured I’d lend my own personal helping hand for you get started, because doing so can be intimidating.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, let’s begin under the cut! (If you are on mobile...I am so, so sorry about this)

Short version (the recommendation-y part)

Recs because I like them:

Iron Man Volume 3 (1998)- #1-25 (my actual absolute FAVORITE RUN of all time and my number one recommendation. It’s by Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern, and Sean Chen), #26-30, #62-63, #73-78. Iron Man Volume 4 (2005) #1-35.  Invincible Iron Man (2008) spanned many years so you should read at least some, and it has many fans, but I am not one of them, so I’m not gonna rec too much. Issues #1-6 and its epilogue, #7, are worth a read and the arc spanning #8-19 is probably the best from the era, I would say that I enjoyed that arc. Next is Brian Michael Bendis’ stuff, which has a pretty bad rep and while I don’t hate it as much as others do, I wouldn’t say I love it. It is, however, the most recent completed run & important stuff happens, and there’s some good stuff here and there, so yeah. I don’t really have any specific recs from here...just read the whole thing and see what you get out of it or scroll down to the guide section and see the highlights I picked out. Invincible Iron Man (2015) #1-25, and Invincible Iron Man (2016) #1-600 (they changed the numbering halfway through, it’s not 600 issues it’s only I think 19).

Recs because important stuff happens even if I don’t necessarily like them:

Civil War I (occurs during the Iron Man run starting in 2005), Civil War II (occurs during Brian Michael Bendis era), Iron Man (2012) #9-17 “The Secret Origin of Tony Stark.”

Long version (the guide-y part)

First off, I’m going to tell you that my suggested starting points are Invincible Iron Man (1998) which was my starting point, and Invincible Iron Man (2005). Much more on those below.

I haven’t read Mr. Stark’s classic adventures yet because there’s a daunting number of them and I still need to find a starting point, so we’re gonna start with...

Volume 3 (1998):

Okay I have SO MUCH to say here because I’d die for this volume!! It’s considered by many to be nothing special but there’s a lot to appreciate if you’re a fan of Tony in the way that many are here on tumblr- caring about character development & character moments first and foremost. I’ll break down my favorites for ya

#1- does a good job of setting the tone for Tony and this era of Invincible Iron Man. Some nice Tony character details are in there. Volume 3 is started with Kurt Busiek writing (later joined by Roger Stern) and Sean Chen on pencils. I LOVED this team, this is my FAVORITE run of Iron Man that I’ve read, PLEASE read all 25 issues. I thought Busiek understood Tony really well and I just loved the way Chen drew Tony (and everything else), and their first issue is surprisingly enjoyable for mostly existing to set the groundwork for a fresh start.

#4-5- I think this is where the run starts to kick into gear. Tony’s on-and-off girlfriend for the era, Rumiko, is introduced and she’s fun (but as the years went on, deserved much better writing). Tony kicks some butt & is a hero.

#6- an awesome Iron Man/Black Widow team up. It shows a really nice friendship between Tony & Nat. Also, Nat kicks butt & it’s great

I’m recommending every issue that builds Tony’s relationship with Carol Danvers (at this time, she was Warbird, not Captain Marvel). #7, #11-12, #18, #19, #21, and #23-25. Their storyline details Tony’s endeavors to help Carol overcome alcoholism. At least read the Carol parts of the issues she’s only in a few panels of. Major highlight of the Iron Man comics I’ve read. Also- knowing this background will definitely make Civil War II have more weight

#8-12- Tony gets the actual daylights beaten out of him and then some, leading into a compelling 2-issue Mandarin arc, this then leads into an interesting 2-issue team up with Warbird that gives us an answer as to why his injuries were so bad. It hurts but it’s good

#13- an actually really compelling single-issue story that involves some trippy, creepy mind control stuff and takes a look into Tony’s head- specifically questioning whether or not being Iron Man has become an addiction. You can’t tell yet but I’m trying my hardest to not recommend every single issue

#26-30- The Mask in the Iron Man arc. This is the first issue without Busiek writing- Joe Quesada steps in and it’s good stuff. It’s also Sean Chen’s last arc. It starts with Tony punching a guy in the face to protect Rumiko but getting punched back and having to wear a nose splint- it’s really cute. Then Tony and Ru run into relationship problems. Then the Iron Man armor becomes sentient, basically falls in love with Tony, and kidnaps him on a remote island. Wait-what? Yeah, it’s really weird in hindsight, but while you’re reading it, it sure does pull you in. One of the biggest standouts of the whole era and something of an instant classic. Also, the first few pages of #31 give you a little aftermath.

#37-40- this wasn’t my favorite arc but I’m recommending it just because of how wild it ends up being. These were the days when IIM wasn’t afraid to have a big imagination. And I mean big, like, who thought of this? Well, Frank Tieri is writing at this point (he’s okay, not my favorite of the volume), and Alitha Martinez & Paul Ryan are on pencils (it’s fine, but you’ll miss Sean Chen) (you’ll always miss Sean Chen). Also, a major player in this arc is Tiberius Stone so maybe read it to know who he is.

#50- “Tinman”. Issue 50 was meant to be a place for new readers to jump in. Mike Grell & Michael Ryan are at the reigns as writer and artist. Grell’s characterization was fairly solid, my favorite next to Busiek in this era. His version of Tony is more in touch with his emotions, I guess, than some like to characterize him. Sometimes he gets aggressive when he’s angry but there’s also a lot of really sweet moments and they portray him as doing a lot of good, like funding a rehab/safehouse for kids on the street. Grell’s stories are generally grittier and more violent but Tony himself doesn’t really take a dark turn. Issue #50 has both action and a VERY SOFT Tony, definitely recommend it

#53-55- “Book of the Ten Rings”. Again, it’s grittier than the stuff that came before it, but it’s good. Once the main story wraps up, something really important happens at the end. Also, it’s important to note here for people that weren’t previously into comics that at this point, Pepper and Happy are a thing, not Pepper and Tony as seen in the MCU

#59-61- “In Shining Armor”. Tony travels back to Medieval times and it’s not exactly a good time for him but it’s a wild time for us. Gotta love a good old fashioned time travel arc

#62-63- “You Can’t Always Get”. Oh god PLEASE read this one, if you only listen to one of my post-Busiek & Chen recs this is the one, the Tony content is so precious

#73-78- “The Best Defense”. The arc detailing Tony’s journey to becoming Secretary of Defense because yes, that happened. A very interesting concept to watch Tony go through and one of the most notable stories in this era.

Volume 4 (2005):

This is the last of what I consider the Really Good Stuff (except for Civil War, but we’ll get there). These comics defined Tony Stark as we know him today, and you’ll notice that MCU Tony was definitely influenced by them. If you’re starting here, it’ll be Iron Man as you basically already know it. If you’re coming here off of Volume 3, then you’ll notice the tone of not just the stories but of Tony himself get darker. For whatever reason, writers looked at Tony and said “let’s find ways to bring his morals into question bc that’s Interesting!” It’s not bad (the Iron Man title, that is- Civil War is bad) but it doesn’t really reflect what came before it, I guess. I’m recommending all 35 issues bc why not but I’ll break it down for ya & make sure to point out my favorites

#1-6- “Extremis”. A must read. One of the most iconic Iron Man stories in 21st century comic history. It’s on everyone’s list. You are, as an Iron Man fan looking to get into IM comics, legally obligated to read this. This would also be the arc where I believe the MCU looked for inspiration for Tony characterization. Also Extremis obviously ended up in the MCU but it’s like way different in the MCU than in the source material

#7-12- “Execute Program”- Basically, Tony is screwed up post-Extremis. Poor guy. Please read this. Directly leads to Civil War…

Civil War (2006) #1-7- Ugh. So. Civil War. In my personal opinion- not a fan. I actually like the movie MUCH better and imo the movie is the way this should have been written. Unfortunately, you’ve gotta read it because it’s an important event. You’ll see people calling it “Tony Stark characterization murder” and THAT’S VALID. Like. Tony suddenly became...a villain?? literally the worst?? under the poorly written guise of “just doing what I have to do” but the stuff that happens….it just can’t be explained with “doing what I have to do”. Honestly it reads like the writers just wanted to pit Tony against Steve and didn’t care about keeping him in character. Tony basically had to be turned into a villain to make the story work because In-Character Tony would not have fit their needs. It sucks and I don’t want to recommend it but you have to read it because it affects so much that comes after it.

THE ONLY CIVIL WAR ANYTHING YOU SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER are tie ins and oneshots and I will tell you a couple

Invincible Iron Man #13-14- IIM’s CW tie ins. Issue 13 comes after CW #2, issue 14 after CW #5. Read these 

Captain America/Iron Man: Casualties of War- oneshot to be read after Civil War #4. Tony offers Steve the chance to try and talk it out. Both explain their positions and a lot of comic history between them is brought up.

Civil War: The Confession: SO after CW, SPOILER SPOILER poor Steve is assassinated in Captain America #25 (it’s actually more wild than that bc superheroes don’t just die but whatever) and this is a oneshot with two halves, the first takes place after Steve is dead and is Tony-centric and I LITERALLY CRIED and the second takes place when Steve is imprisoned before he is killed. PLEASE read this

There’s more tie ins involving Tony that you should read but I’m sick of talking abt CW

BACK TO THE IRON MAN SOLO TITLE

Sooooo the title now changes from Invincible Iron Man to Iron Man: Director of SHIELD but it’s the same book

#15-18- It’s Tony’s first story arc as Director and it ends up being kind of wild actually

#21-28- ‘Haunted’. Starts out as a sort of murder mystery thing, spirals into something much bigger. Also, poor Tony is so screwed up in the head but what’s new. Definitely read this one

#29-32- ‘With Iron Hands’. Basically, an entire arc of Tony feeling guilty about his past?? Pretty much. There’s also a terrorist and a giant weapon and more fun stuff. The last you’ll see of Tony for the volume bc stuff goes down in the Secret Invasion event and War Machine takes over for the last 3 issues of the title. Wish I could be of help in regards to Secret Invasion, but I haven’t actually read it because I haven’t been able to find it. Just, idk, google search the plot of Secret Invasion like I did and you should be able to get by

Invincible Iron Man (2008) AKA Other Volume 4:

Okay lots of comics fans think this is one of the best Iron Man runs in history and I respect their opinions and perhaps you will share them but I’m gonna cut to the chase here: I am not one of those people. Look, I read all 62 issues so I have a fair opinion, and I’m just not a huge fan. Matt Fraction is writing and Salvador Larroca is drawing. In my experience, the stories drag on and it gets to the point where you’re just bored. I think I read the 89 issues of volume 3 faster than I read the 62 issues of this because I was just so bored with it. Also, I’m really not a fan of Larroca’s work on the book. I really disliked the way he drew Tony and the more I looked at it, it almost made me...uncomfortable? Some of his art is kind of gross imo. Plus, I didn’t love Fraction’s Tony characterization. I can’t quite articulate why, it just didn’t sit nicely w me. There were some moments where I thought “oh yeah that’s Correct” but many other moments where I thought “No Why Did You Write That”. He was good at writing some wild and intricate stories but sometimes I felt that character got lost in the midst of the action. That’s just me though, you might really like Fraction’s run, and there is some stuff worth pointing out.

#1-6- ‘The Five Nightmares’. A fairly iconic modern Iron Man story. Tony’s worst nightmare comes true when the son of Obadiah Stane uses Stark tech to cause absolutely horrific acts of terrorism. It gets pretty serious, but it sets the groundwork for this entire era of Iron Man. As far as Fraction stories go for me, it’s one of the better ones.

#7- Five Nightmares Epilogue. A team-up of sorts with Spider-Man that I actually genuinely think you should read, especially for the ending (and because Peter & Tony clearly wish they could be buddies again in this post-Civil War world).

#8-19- Okay it’s really long but I remember it stood out to me, all I remember is that it’s basically Tony Stark Brain Annihilation over the course of 12 issues and it hurts like heecckkk. Actually I’m gonna say definitely read this one. Also Rescue happens and that’s A Thing you should know about. Stuff gets fixed in the next arc, #20-24, but it’s not worth recommending imo so don’t read this if you’re gonna read it but if you’re not just know that SPOILER SPOILER Tony is fine except he accidentally erased Civil War from his memory (god I wish I could do that). SPOILER OVER

I think I’m gonna end it there for Fraction issues of interest. There’s probably more in there I should be recommending but I just. Can’t be bothered to comb through Fraction’s volume sorryyyyy I’m just not a fan

Iron Man (2012):

So this run is by Kieron Gillen and I don’t really want to recommend anything from it. I didn’t love it as a whole. Gillen laid way too heavily into the idea of “Tony Stark is a walking ego”. The stories were kind of interesting in theory but I thought the execution was mediocre for some reason. Although, not necessarily the art but specifically the coloring was nice- very vibrant. The actual art was by Greg Land who comic fans really seem to hate. I didn’t think his work on this was too bad idk. Again I don’t really want to recommend anything so there’s only one thing I’m putting on here and it’s:

#9-17- “The Secret Origin of Tony Stark”. So here’s the thing. Kieron Gillen said to himself “I need to do something that turns Tony Stark’s identity on its head. I need to redefine him”. And he actually kind of succeeded in that. And it’s actually annoying and it actually feels like something that should be retconned…. but hasn’t been?? And since it hasn’t been, it’s going to be important going forward so you should probably know about it. You could also just google it.

Invincible Iron (2015) by Man-Brian Michael Bendis

Yes, the infamous BMB. So, what’s the truth about his run on Iron Man? Is the amount of hate warranted? Well…that’ll be for you to decide. Personally, I think it was generally...meh. Not necessarily terrible just. Meh. Many fanboys act like this run is the bane of their existence and I don’t think I dislike it to that extent at all. I mean, it gets boring after a while, but the good moments are really enjoyable and I think it’s worth reading. Bendis’ characterization was sometimes weird because it felt notably inconsistent. However, the moments when he nailed it, he really did nail it. His Tony is a bit of a dork, a bit of a hot mess, a little vulnerable, and the moments when that’s at the forefront are great. There’s also some notable stuff going on here- Civil War 2 falls under this era (I hate it less than the first one but Marvel could do 50 Civil War events and I will probably not like any of them), and so does Riri Williams (who I love, just to get that opinion over with). Finding recs for this era is kind of weird for me because the things that stood out were almost never actual issues or stories, but rather specific character moments, so like, the volume is only 14 issues so tbh you can just trudge through them all and savor the good moments, but I’ll try to pull some recs out for ya

#2, #3- just for some character moments. These two are a part of a larger arc so it might be a little confusing to read them on their own but who cares

#4, #5- Tony fights ninjas and visits kids at a hospital and MJ Watson & Doctor Strange make appearances so it’s kinda cool idk

#9-11- only because you meet Miss Riri Williams, the other parts won’t make sense since it’s in the middle of an arc but eh. Honestly the actual story didn’t strike me as being very special so like unless you’re into it you can just skim for the parts that Riri is in since she’ll be important later

Aaaand CIVIL WAR 2

Civil War II #0-8- okay I don’t dislike it as strongly as I dislike the first CW but I still?? Don’t like it?? Like at all? But something really important to Tony’s stories happens at the end and Tony is one of the main characters in the event so like. You should read it. The main problem I remember is that the pace felt so slow. This event is Iron Man vs Captain Marvel which kinda hurt me bc of how much I loved them from 1998’s volume but it’s fine!! They never address their past in the actual event but there’s a tie-in that does so that’s good I guess. Just get through it idk what to tell you

Back to Invincible Iron Man

#12, #13, #14- tie-ins to Civil War II. #12 and #13 I think come after CW2 #2?? Maybe?? And I think #14 comes after CW2 #6?? Anyway #14 actually acknowledges Tony & Carol’s past so you should give that a read while going through the event.

Invincible Iron Man (2016)

Sooo some Serious Stuff happened in Civil War II that’s going to have an effect that lasts a while. I don’t wanna spoil it, though. When you do get to the end of CW2, you can rest assured that Tony will still have a major presence as a character in this title, but Riri Williams takes the spotlight. Opinions on her are mixed, I personally love her. This, like its 2015 sister, can honestly just be read all the way through, it’s only 19 issues, but I’ll try to find stuff. Also, Tony & Riri’s banter is ALWAYS golden so just read to enjoy it tbh. On we go!

#1, #2- gives you the background on Riri now that she’s taking center stage. She’s just so darn endearing.

#11- It’s basically an issue about everyone reflecting on how Tony is a good person and different from how the public perceives him. He holds orphaned babies from around the world. It’s good stuff.

#593-600- the numbering changed, there’s obviously not actually 600 issues lol. So yes this is kind of long for an arc, but it’s important because it resolves what happened to Tony in Civil War 2. I remember getting bored with it after a few issues, like it wasn’t bad I just remember it feeling slow. Idk. It’s important. Just read it.

Stuff that I don’t think is worth your time:

Invincible Iron Man volume 2 (1996)- I think Marvel was doing some kind of reboot or something because Iron Man’s origin was redone as well as The Hulk’s. It’s amazing how a run that was only 13 issues felt like such a large waste of my time. I didn’t think there was anything of note. I basically don’t even remember what happened in it. Also the sexualization of women was so casual and constant on top of the run not being particularly remarkable so yeah don’t waste your time  

Superior Iron Man (2015)- I dislike the idea of this so much that I don’t even want to explain it ugh it’s a spin off of an event called Axis that involved some psychic type stuff that altered the personalities of those involved, boosting Tony’s worst qualities and making him evil. Marvel then decided to make a series about it and it’s only 9 issues but wow it’s amazing how hard it can be for me to get through 9 issues. I could barely read it I just so strongly dislike this idea ok so basically Evil Tony creates Extremis 3.0 which is an app that lets a person make themselves physically into the person they wish they were (In the pages of Axis, Tony personally made himself not an alcoholic because that’s not disrespecting an incredibly important character detail and there was one particularly awful panel of him drinking alcohol in front of a crowd of cheering people and saying “I missed you, sweetheart”). He is testing this app on San Francisco and effectively creates two classes of people- the “perfect” people who could access the app and the “imperfect” people who can’t and that goes about as well as you’d think. Then he makes it obscenely expensive to use which also goes about as well as you’d think. And more stuff happens. Here’s the thing. I’m sure many people thought the concept of a villainous Tony Stark was cool, but I just don’t like the implications of it. The way it’s written kind of gives the idea that, with his personality, Tony could easily become a villain. Given that some people already think of Tony Stark as a villain, reading it just made me cringe. And the WORST thing about it is that, while this is a result of Axis, it’s still Tony himself. According to the writers, he has “surrendered to his id and his legendary ego” (god I’m about to gag) after the mind-altering events of Axis brought those things out in him. Despite my qualms, was the book well-written? I will never be able to read it that objectively, so I can’t say. But clearly, as you can see by the size of this here rant (sorry), I dislike the very idea of it enough to put it on my “do not touch” list.

Okay. Wow. I finally did it. Wow. Six months and it’s done.

I am simply the mentor figure in your hero’s journey. As you get used to navigating comics and reading orders, you’ll find it easier to venture out, and there’s so many ways to go. A character crossed over into something you read and you liked them a lot? Look up their reading order. A writer or artist really impressed you? Do a google search and find what else they’ve worked on. There’s a whole world of comics out there. Go have some fun.

I leave you with 3 rules of being a comic fan:

1. No one hates comics more than comic book readers. We’re bitter because we care. You’ll be like a jaded war veteran who writes a thousand word rant about why a certain author’s mischaracterization of your fave offended you personally way faster than you’d think.

2. Follow the trail of what interests you and, while acknowledging what may be widely believed, proudly own your personal opinions.

3. It’s addictive. Embrace it. You start with one issue, and before you know it, you’ve read 200 issues and know 20 years of history on one character in less than a year. That might be how it goes for you. Just go with it.

Happy reading!

[rontra]

do you have any recommendations on how to like. Take In Umineko. I think it looks really cool and I’d like to get into it, but there’s a lot of things that are confusing (like all of the different games, the manga, the anime, ect.) and I’m not really sure where to start watching/reading it. Do you have any advice on where the best place to start is?

HOH BABY NOW THIS IS A GOOD ASK

Basically, a lot of this depends on you and how you prefer to take in media. People are different after all; some people like reading long novels, some prefer comics, u know! So let’s just go over all the avenues and how to get at them, and the rest is up to you!

I’m gonna make this post very long. VERY VERY LONG. IM SO FUCKn SORyr

First, I’ll talk abt what umineko is; then I’ll discuss the various media; finally, at the end, I’ll write down what I typically recommend to newcomers! SCROLL REALLY FAST TO THE HEADERS IF U HAVE NO TIME FOR MY RAMBLING LOL

So…here we goooo

READING UMINEKO: UNTANGLING THE WEB

OR: what the fuck is umineko and why do you want me to read it, diesel?

Since this is a general To Whom It May Concern post: Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Or Umineko: When They Cry, alternatively When The Seagulls Cry) is a murder mystery/fantasy/metafiction visual novel published between 2007 and 2011. I know “murder mystery” and “metafiction” sound pretty boring when you combine them, but trust me–Umineko’s unlike anything you’ve seen, and defies explanation. Still, I’m here to do my best!

Umineko is about a rich and complicated family, and their annual family conference–and the year it goes super duper badly. On an isolated island, in the middle of a typhoon, tragedy befalls the family–on a massive scale! Someone is killing them–all of them–and the only answer that seems to be rising is–

“Beatrice did it.”

But Beatrice isn’t supposed to really exist. Not for real!! No one by that name is on the island. It’s just a story! She’s made up–Beatrice is a legend. A witch who has lived for a thousand years–who loaned the family patriarch ten tons of gold, an insane amount of wealth, in exchange for his soul. Now she’s collecting on that loan, taking everything back, with interest–the lives of the family included.

Is the culprit a human, or not? Does the witch exist, or not?Is the culprit one of the 18 people? Does a 19th person exist? Or…?And, most importantly–when the typhoon passes, will anyone remain alive on the island?

[YouTube: Umineko opening]

I’d super-recommend Umineko if you enjoy: strong characterization, a solidly built mystery (with plenty of smaller mysteries to try your brain with along the way ;) ), complex and nuanced characters, hype magic fights, Logic-Based Combat(???), deep discussions of trauma and its consequences, large casts of characters, Genre Fuckery, coping, Meta™, and milfs Complex Lore

I would, however, NOT recommend Umineko if you are triggered by/can’t stomach reading about: body horror, gore, death, trauma, child abuse, bullying, discussion of suicide, discussion of sexual assault, etc (you can message me for a more complete list of warnings; I’m happy to provide super-specific ones if there’s something specific you’re concerned about, or even give you specific scenes to watch out for. I kept this vague on purpose, but if you message me off anon or via DMs here or at @aceyasu, I’ll be happy to answer anything!)

Overall it’s a pretty dark, emotional story, with a lot of Themes™–but it’s also full of love and genuine heartfelt Feelings. I don’t think any story has touched me the way Umineko has! Of course, everyone’s experience is very unique to them, but I think Umineko has something for everyone (provided, of course, that we’re taking into account the content warnings and excluding people who can’t/don’t want to encounter those things!). The characters, music, story and message–it all has a lot of heart and it all is very important to me as an individual. Obviously no media is flawless, but I think Umineko’s good outweighs its bad…YMMV though of course :p

Also, hype magic fights.

OKAY WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY

Umineko’s story is told over 8 arcs–styled as “episodes”. I use “arc” and “episode” sort of interchangeably! Specific ones I just call “EP#” though. All you really need to know though is there’s 8 of them, of varying length, and you have to read them all for the full story.

Thankfully they’re numbered, am i right?? HAFDmgkdfmg

Each episode has its own focus within the overarching narrative and comes with its own fun mysteries and harrowing developments just for you! yay! But basically, the important thing is that they’re divided into the Question Arcs (1-4) and Answer Arcs (5-8).

Sometimes, to make things confusing, the Answer Arcs are also called “Core Arcs” or “Chiru”. I will use “Answer Arcs” here, but if you encounter those two elsewhere, that’s what they are. :p

ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING UMINEKO

(now that im done YAPPING)

The anime

Generally viewed as a poor product. It’s a bad adaption that fails as a standalone, too, because of the amount of important scenes that are missing. Don’t watch the anime first if you really want to get into Umineko. It’s a fun watch once you know how it’s supposed to go, though :p Covers the Question Arcs only, ends with EP4–so even if it was good, it would only be half the story… press f to pay respects. The opening fuckin slaps though, and all the VAs are solid.

The manga

Each Episode has its own manga adaption, usually done by a different artist (with exception of EP1, EP3, and EP8, which are all by the same artist). Generally solid; gets the most important parts. For people who want to get through quicker, the manga helps a lot.

The primary cost is that a lot of characterization doesn’t get to shine AS bright, as there’s simply no time to get into the nooks and crannies (still a great cast, though). However, the art is usually fantastic–since the artist changes every EP, it’s easy to deal with even if you don’t like a specific one’s style. It’ll be gone by next Episode!

A lot of moments get punched up by the more visual format of the manga. You really get a better sense of the characters interacting physically with one another! You do, however, run into the Scanlation Problem…..

I know, I know–most people, when given the option to, don’t want to pay for things. So when given the choice between fan scanlations and the official release, a lot of people would choose the scanlations. And they’re fine…for the most part…except for the parts that aren’t. Some parts (notably in the Answer Arcs) are…bad. Really bad. Even I can’t really understand it sometimes, despite knowing this story inside out… LOL

If you’re good at parsing Scanlation SNAFU or can’t afford/don’t want to buy it, you can find Umineko on MOST manga hosts! I don’t know which you prefer so I’m not gonna link ‘em hahahafkgmfh I usually use Manga Rock but that’s because I usually am reading on my phone and I like their app. The episodes are all numbered, so it’s pretty easy to find your way around!

On the other hand, if you have a hard time understanding poor translations, reading inconsistent typesetting/fonts, or simply Can afford it/prefer buying media, the manga is being officially released in English by YenPress! As is standard nowadays, you can get them in both physical volumes and digital e-books! However, YenPress’ release is currently ongoing–the first volume of EP8 is slated to release in March.

[YenPress link]

The visual novel

Ah, here we are–the head honcho himself…! This is the original version of Umineko. These are the ones we call “games”, and why we sometimes say u “play” Umineko, but. Really. It’s just reading. They’re kinetic novels. Its literally just reading. So I don’t know why we complicate things like that.

(“if she an .exe, shes a game”, I guess… xD)

This is where the characterization and voice of Umineko really shines! The style is often simple to read, sometimes even comically casual, but it cuts deep when it wants to. Even really simple lines can have a really strong impact–it’s a really pleasant style to read, IMO…pretty easy to understand most of the time, but emotionally resonant all the same!

Reading the VN is somewhat of an undertaking, because of the amount of hours required…It’s a far longer read. Depending on your reading speed and whether or not you pause to think/talk about things as you read, people clock in 100-200 hours to finish it.

But, on the upside–because it has so much more time than the manga, the VN can really get deep into the characters, their dynamics, and their inner conflicts. You really get a deep sense for everyone’s character and it makes most of the cast feel fleshed-out enough that you appreciate all of them to some extent (whether positive or negative :P)

Oh, actually–the original Umineko branded itself a “Sound Novel”….as opposed to a Visual Novel, where the emphasis is on, uh–Visuals–Umineko leans more heavily on audio to create its atmosphere. And the music? Fuckin rips!! The Umineko soundtrack is huge and has tons of absolute bangers. It’s easy to see why it decided to market itself as a Sound Novel rather than a visual novel–the graphics of the original PC version are simple, but the atmospheric sound effects and BGM really shines.

Here’s some enticing tracks to pique yr interest (be careful about the comments/etc though, there’s Definitely spoilers in there xD)[worldenddominator] [dead angle] [dir] [system0] [hope]

The VN nowadays is split into the two halves; if you get EP4, it’ll include 1-3 as well, essentially. Picking up Question Arcs (or EP4) and Answer Arcs (or EP8) gives u the whole 8 episodes. Easy peasy! Because we live in the future now, and retroactive inclusion of past games is just convenient!

There is an official English release now, which is a brand new luxury. It’s even on Steam! Wow! That’s the easiest way to get your paws on the hands-on experience. The translation has been slightly updated as well! Also, they added a new set of toggle-able graphics that are…um…I mean they’re certainly new…#BarelyContainedOpinionAlert

If you don’t want to pay or can’t afford it…uhhh….I used to have torrent links but they’re all dead. :T still, you can probably just find them, if you know your way around torrents. For the translation, you’ll have to either get a pre-patched version of the game, or use the translation group’s instructions to patch it yourself. 

If you can’t do either of those, or just don’t really have a preference, or…any number of reasons, you can also find all the games fully recorded and uploaded to YouTube (with or without commentary)!

As for the links, I’ve got them right h–

Wait–oh, sh–the graphics are bad?!? You think the graphics are bad? Or you think plain reading is boring? Y-you can’t understand what the background image in this scene is even supposed to be? Ah…the post-2007 struggle….

The visual novel, Part Deux: AH, THE JPEGS edition

OKAY SO I SPLIT THIS APART BECAUSE IT*S IMPORTANT

If you wanna spruce up your VN-reading experience, here’s the thing: they ported the game to PS3, with brand new graphics and–get this–full voice acting. Wow! There’s even CGs now…Jeez!

These are NOT the same graphics as the new ones from the official English release! That’s important!

SO, if you wanna spruce up the graphics a bit, or you enjoy voice acting with your novels, you can do that! People took apart the PS3 games and made patches for the PC version to enjoy the new graphics and voices. And now it’s available for the Steam version as well!

[SPRITE COMPARISON: ORIGINAL PC | PS3 | STEAM]You pick your favorite!

ALSO VOICE ACTING! WOW!! Remember how I said the anime got two things right and they were the OP and the voice cast?

SAME CAST, BABEY!!!! They are all excellent and do a wonderful job! It can really add some more interest if you struggle with staying focused on “plain” reading.

Okay so NOW the links:

You’ll have to dig up torrents yourself if you want those, bc its 6am and I’m too sleepy to… uzu

QUESTION ARCS[Physical Eng release] or [Steam page] +[PS3 PATCH]

ANSWER ARCS[Physical Eng release] or [Steam page] +[PS3 PATCH]

YOUTUBE[Non-commentated, with PS3 patch] you can find more just by searching but this one looks good to me :p

RONTRA OPINIONS / SUGGESTIONS

Personally, I favor the VN for most scenes, but the manga for my light casual reading. Y’know? The VN can be pretty…um…dense, at times.

Ironically, I think EP1 itself might be the biggest hurdle for total first-timers. It’s definitely paced as a “part 1 of 8″ for the first solid portion! By which I mean, it really takes its time establishing the cast and their individual situations. Which isn’t a bad thing–especially in the overarching scope of how long the story is–but if you aren’t sure about the premise, format, or if you’ll enjoy Umineko at all, it can be sort of…challenging.

It all really depends on the individual–things like attention span, investment, and personal preferences, imo. Some people just don’t enjoy reading that much text at once! And that’s fine! Some people love it and that’s fine! Some people think the intro is too long, some people think it’s intriguing from the start. Some really like watching character building, and some prefer to see action happening. Either way is fine, so it’s really up to you!

Usually, if someone isn’t sure, I suggest they try EP1 in manga form first, just to see if the general premise entices them; it’s fully possible to jump back and do the VN if you decide you like it! It sacrifices some characterization in exchange for exploring the main premise a little faster.

Similarly, if you just can’t get into the VN–you can read the entire thing with manga too, if you favor action over the deepest character lore. It’s still a good time and a good experience!

Though, in EP1′s favor–if you ARE sure about it, and are able to dedicate your attention to the first 10-13 hours of set-up, EP1 has one of the most rewarding escalations I’ve encountered! If you are able to sit and read a fairly long-winded introduction, you are rewarded with the most buck wild Popping Off you can imagine.

So there’s nothing wrong with jumping right in there with the VN, if you enjoy reading!

However, if you do find that the VN is dragging too much for you, you can go in reverse too–and finish EP1 by manga, then decide if you want to jump back to the VN or not. I promise, the novels pick up the pace too–it’s just getting all the introductions down that can be daunting, when the initial cast size is a staggering 18 people (plus the LORE has to be established too)!!

Just for you–if you want to get into Umineko, but struggle with EP1, I’ll offer my private archive of YenPress manga rips for EP1–read the manga, official english translation, for free thanks to your dealer friend, rontra,You will have to message me about it, though–off anon or via DMs, here or at @aceyasu.

My favorite setups when I play by myself are either Original PC Graphics + Voice Acting, or Full PS3 Patch. I personally really like the original PC graphics, but I understand some people think they’re kinda…um…Rough, to say the least xD PS3 graphics are a close second for me though.

I don’t really like the steam version’s new sprites. Some people don’t mind them, so it’s up to you what you prefer, but I think they don’t really convey the feeling as well as their counterparts sometimes… :/

But hey, everyone’s got their own opinions!

I also prefer the EP8 manga to the EP8 VN. If I have control over someone’s first playthrough, I always push over to the manga for EP8! In my opinion, it’s a rare instance where the adaption is better than its original. People have different opinions on this, of course, but since this section is My Opinions Central, that’s my opinioooon!!! :D

SO BASICALLY MY OWN PERSONAL PREFERRED STRUCTURE IS

->TRY EP1 (jump over to manga if struggling; if enjoyed manga ep1 until the end, hop back into the VN at EP2 and come back to EP1 if you want to later)

EP2-EP7 VN

EP8 MANGA(EP8 VN if desired afterwards, once the dust settles)

But you’re free to do what you want, of course. ;9

And then after that there’s some spinoffs that I didn’t talk about because that’s a post for another time. (There’s a fighting game! It’s packed full of spoilers.)

AFTERWORD

All in all, Umineko is…big. its very very big. it has a huge cast (the final count comes out to like, almost 70 characters!) and a huge story. and huge feelings.

The manga and the VN are the main avenues of getting into it. It’s easier than it looks at a glance; and yet, more daunting than it seems…

If you have the time and energy to pour hours of your time into it, Umineko is a super worthwhile story that tackles genuinely difficult material with a delicate but honest hand.

It clowns up sometimes and stumbles over its own demographic–see: Weird Vaguely Unpleasant Anime-brand Sex Comedy that springs up a lot in EP1, some in EP2, and then largely disappears save for a few dumb jokes here and there–but overall is a solidly built and solidly delivered story about trauma, love, loss, and getting your family ritual-murdered by a thousand-year-old witch who may or may not be real.

And if you have any questions at all (or just wanna talk Umineko), you can send an ask or IM me here or at @aceyasu–you can ask for my Discord too if you wanna really get into it. Or DM me on twitter! I’m happy to answer any question or elaborate on anything you’re confused about. I tried to go over this post quickly, so if I was too vague on something, feel free to ask!

The same of course applies to content warnings; if there’s something specific you’re worried about, I can answer it for you, whether it’s “does [specific thing] happen/appear” or “how much of [thing] is there, i can handle a little bit”! Anything! Of course I want people to read my favorite, but I also more than that want u all to be safe.

I’m very sorry that this post is literally three thousand words long. Umineko’s been my special interest for almost ten whole years. I get chatty! But hopefully my passion shines through and gets you excited!!!

LOVE, A BIG NERD

[nibscribs]

So uhhhh I drew a lot of RWBY this year... only two of these are non RWBY and tbh I could have just as easily put something RWBY for June Template

Retrospective under the cut bc it’s LONG 

RETROSPECTIVE January: First piece of the year! I still like this piece and I think it shows how much I improved from the original version of it. Also I just like looking at it bc it's soft content of my rare pair. I do think I made the rose look photorealistic which looks... bad esp with all the other more stylized flowers, and I got lazy with the bleeding hearts by just drawing one set and flipping them. Emerald's hair also could look better. February:  I made this around GNG week, which was a fun, good time, long before the server imploded on itself. I got really lazy with the backgrounds, obviously, but I do like the poses in this one, tho it helped that I based it off of screenshots from Young Justice. I also just really like how Merc looks in this one. March: March wasn't a very prolific month for art, I don't think I produced much besides this and one comic piece for GNG week. I'm not sure why exactly, I can't find any specific reason why I would be unproductive that month. I'm gonna just assume I was drained from work all the time and didn't have the energy to put out good art, and also I was getting into a slump bc all my art was starting to look same-y. This piece isn't very good, but I chose it because I did it without a reference, and at this point that was going out of my comfort zone. It's obviously not super dynamic, but at the very least you can tell I intended there to be motion to it. April: This also wasn't a very prolific month for art, not as bad as March, but for the same reasons. I was also really starting to feel burnout from the RWBY fandom, specifically wasps and conflict within the GNG server. This was also when the Art vs the Artist meme was popular, and I realized I didn't want to do that meme because my art was too similar and boring, which also brought me down a peg. Though I put out a few good chibis in April, I chose my Mercury redesign bc I was really proud of it. I could never get the Emerald redesign to mesh quite right, but I can say I'm really proud of how Mercury's came out. May: May had me bounce out of my art slump and in full force trying to expand my skills! Specifically exploring painting. Although May was about as prolific as April, what I did create I put a lot into. It was difficult to pick between this and my app of Edison, because I'm really proud of both, but in the end I went with this commission of Mercury because I pushed myself to try and use an interesting perspective for the piece instead of my usual stand still and face the camera pose. Because I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, this was one of the best things I made all year, and may be my favorite piece of the year. June: TIME TO STRESS OUT ABOUT CONNECTICON! So if you follow me on twitter, you might have noticed I made a lot of posts at the beginning of the year low key throwing shade at myself for drawing my oc's instead of more "important" art. Well, that important art that I was procrastinating was con merch, and con was the second week of July, so I really had to get my ass in gear to finish merch on time (spoiler, I didn't finish a lot of it on time). This piece and July's piece are both posters I made for Connecticon, and while I like July's much better, that doesn't mean I find this piece bad. I really should have known that no one at con would realize it was a goonies reference tho -_-; I also lost a lot of love for this piece after season 6 of Voltron, which I watched while I was about 60% of the way through this piece, so I had to force myself to finish it. July: I love this piece!!!! Don't get me wrong, I know it has flaws, but look at it! The lines are so crisp, the colors look good, Roman and Merc's expressions are mwuah chefs kiss, and I just love all of them!!! ... except for Neo. I really didn't do her justice in this piece, her hair is too fluffy, her head is way to oversized to the point that she looks like a bobblehead, and her eyes are too close together. Really if you take out Neo's head that whole problem goes away. I also love all the tiny details I put in this one, from emerald's chaps to roman's rose to Neo's lace parasol. You can tell I was way more passionate about this piece than I was about the Voltron piece.  August:  pretty sure this is when I quit my job cashiering, and thank god bc customers suck. If I was going off of sheer popularity, Chibi Pyrrha would have taken this slot no contest, and while I love chibi Pyrrha, I don't think it was the best of the month. I chose this little princess and the pauper au doodle because I tried a year ago to draw these two dancing, and it looked like dog shit. It was flat and ugly. But this has motion to it, and even looking at it now makes me feel warm and happy inside. It's just a good cute drawing of my otp. September: My piece for the RWBY tarot project! I have a lot of mixed emotions about this one. on the one hand, I love how mercury looks, his expression, the lighting, the visceral gore from his legs (ESPECIALLY THE VISCERAL GORE ON HIS LEGS) and the hands of the undead, all look stunning and I don't think I could be more happy with how they turned out. And then we get to the background. The caduceus isn't the worst thing ever, but it's severely lacking in quality compared to the rendering on mercury in front of it, and a lot of it is clearly pixellated from me trying to stretch and squash it just right. And the fire is a hot (no pun intended) mess. It's flat, incoherent, and doesn't lead the eye anywhere. It's a shame too because I wanted to do more with it, but I a) didn't have enough time or patience to figure out what I needed to do to fix it and b) didn't want to go outside of my comfort level, so I gave up and decided to be satisfied with what I had. October: October was another good month for art, I made a turnaround sheet for Moss, painted a full body (and slightly lewd) Rudy, and made a decent attempt at inktober. Ok, so I got like 2 days in, but I improved a lot on inking from last year! Fun fact! this piece was originally going to be fan art of Lindsay Jones, but after I did some thumbnails to figure out a pose, I thought it would suit White Diamond better, and I could also sell it as merch. I love this piece. I think I captured the sinister mood well, and conveyed the story I wanted to without any dialogue (at least the notes on Tumblr make me assume I did a decent job, lotta people really wigged out lol) I really worked hard to get the lighting right on this one, and I think it shows. My absolutely favorite thing about this piece funnily enough, is Amethyst. I think I just did a great job drawing her and I'm proud of myself ok. Stevens bubble and my trouble figuring out how to get WD's leg just right are the only things that I dislike about this piece, but I might go back and fix those. November: IM SO PROUD OF THIS COMMISSION!!!!!! I worked so god damn hard on this chef's kiss poifect,  and it really shows. I started using a new brush at this point, the Ojing series on Clip Studio Paint, which I recommend and have been using a lot since. I've also been using this shading technique since drawing this. I love how it sort of fades out but it's still really crisp. I also love all the little details that give this piece character, like her shoes and the stripes on her jacket. This piece really takes a lot of the stuff I learned over the year and combines it into one piece, and I could not be prouder of it. I have absolutely no problems with this one, though I do find the weapon a bit plain, but it's what the client described. December: AND NOW IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!! I had been working on this piece since August, going back to it every now and then and getting frustrated. I'm really glad I came back to it and finally finished it, since I love this pair and I put a lot of effort into it back in August. However, I'm also really glad I completely overhauled a lot of it, specifically the flowers. Though I'm not 100% happy with the mums in this one, they look a thousand times better than the mums I had originally sketched back in August, and were part of the reason I had such a hard time finishing this for months. I also thought it would be nice to end the year on the same note it started; with a flower couple. I've definitely learned a lot since January, and I hope to continue growing in 2019! 2019 GOALS!

Work on backgrounds for the love of god

Draw more stuff that isn't RWBY

Perspective

Make more speed paints and post more to youtube in general

[noona-clock]

Study: Im Jaebum

In which we dig deeper under the surface of our favorite KPOP idols.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the gifs used in this post. I am not an astrologer nor am I a professional psychologist. These are my opinions based on the research I have done personally/as a hobby. If you disagree with any of these statements, please do so respectfully.

-Admin B

Sun Sign: Capricorn (Earth)

Jaebum has a lot of Capricorn in his birth chart, so if there’s any one sign he identifies with, it’s going to be this one. I feel if you really understand Capricorn traits, you can get a good grasp on who Jaebum is.

Capricorns are known for being one of the most down to earth, dependable, and solid signs of the whole zodiac. I think we can certainly classify Jaebum as all of these traits. He’s the dad/grandpa of the group, as well as the leader, and he wouldn’t hold these positions if he weren’t dependable and responsible. He’s very good at managing the other members, though not necessarily in an authoritarian way (hence the ‘down to earth’ part).

Another Capricorn trait Jaebum personifies is being on the more serious, conservative side. We all know Jaebum likes to have fun and be funny, but would we say he’s the most fun-loving member of Got7? No, definitely not. Would we say he’s the most serious? I might, actually. As I said earlier, he’s the dad/grandpa of the group, so he’s more likely to be the one breaking up the fun rather than the one creating it. He’s also pretty conservative when it comes to showing affection, giving praise, and values. We all see how uncomfortable he is with skinship with the Got7 members, and he didn’t want to seem like he and BAP’s Youngjae were a couple (but, like, it wouldn’t matter if they were). 

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn which is generally viewed as one of the unluckiest planets. Many Capricorns deal with lots of struggles in life and really don’t have it all that easy. They only get stronger because of it, but they still go through some shit. I honestly don’t know if Jaebum has gone through many personal hardships in his life as he doesn’t tend to share much about his private life. Being an idol certainly has its struggles, and I know it hasn’t been easy to become such a popular group. He’s also had to deal with darker, more serious sides to his personality, but if Jaebum has dealt with any sort of loss or tragedy, I haven’t heard about it. Let me know if you have! Just be on the lookout for our Jaebummie, okay? We need to be ready to support him!

Moon Sign: Scorpio (Water)

I’m going to be honest here. Scorpio is one of the most difficult signs to have in your lunar placement. Your moon sign is connected to your deep, emotional, inner self, and Scorpio is already an intense, deeply emotional sign. So I think we can bet Jaebum has a lot of emotions. But, like a Scorpio, he’s really good at hiding them. Scorpios tend to be pretty mysterious and private, and I think we can all agree Jaebum fits that description. He’s pretty quiet, and he doesn’t reveal too much about his personal life. He doesn’t show too much emotion, including when it comes to the Got7 members. He’s known as being “Chic” and “Cool,” two words which really mean “doesn’t say much.”

This doesn’t mean he has no emotions, of course. He’s got a lot of them. We just don’t see or hear about them all that often. And this also doesn’t mean he never shows affection, because he does! Scorpios are very loyal and loving people. But when you think about Jackson... and then think about Jaebum... the difference is almost comical.

Even though Scorpios are very good at keeping their emotions private, they do actually have a lot going on in their minds. They tend to be very imaginative and creative, and we see this side of Jaebum when he write songs (especially when he releases songs as Defsoul on his SoundCloud).

One other Scorpio trait Jaebum 100% possesses is that of valuing family. Have you seen when he’s at a concert or fanmeet and he spots his parents?! The way he smiles and how his eyes light up?! It’s honestly so adorable, I die inside every time. I can only imagine how great of a husband and father he will be in the future.

Fun fact: Scorpio is known for being intense and very sexual, which is why Jaebum is so good at being RUDE.

Chinese Astrology: Water Rooster

Roosters are seen as one of the more organized signs in the Chinese Zodiac. They are thorough and highly intelligent, and I feel we see these qualities in Jaebum as a leader. As we know, he’s good a managing things (especially the members), and I feel one basically needs to be smart in order to write, compose, and produce one’s own music. 

In addition, Roosters have a propensity to be extremely caring and have a need to help those who are less fortunate than them. While Jaebum is more private, we know he cares so much about the people he loves as well as his fans. He’s got such a big heart despite the struggles he’s had to overcome to become a popular, well-liked idol and leader of Got7.

Something I found interesting about Roosters is they’re very likely to have large families. Since we know how much Jaebum’s family means to him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up having several children in the future!

Numerology: Life Path  3

Those born with the Life Path number of 3 are known as Communicators. They have a talent for communicating with people, though this communication may come through in many different forms. We all know Jaebum is not a huge talker; he’s pretty shy, quiet, and very serious. But he does a heck of a job communicating through his music. (Also through dancing, which seems to be his way of communicating in a more sexual way). He also uses his communication skills as a leader. We heard from the psychology in Got7 Hard Carry that Jaebum is probably one of the best leaders in the KPOP world. He does an excellent job at managing and communicating with the other members. He’s not afraid to say what needs to be said, and the members know exactly what is expected of them.

3s are also known to be talented individuals, and they like presenting their ideas/talents to an audience. Besides the fact Got7 is always capable of drawing huge audiences, Jaebum likes to share his own music with his fans on his SoundCloud. He also FINALLY!!!! got an Instagram, and he’s been sharing posts and stories pretty regularly since then. He’s private, but he still likes to connect with his fans.

MBTI: INFJ

Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging

Jaebum is definitely Introverted. He is quiet, very serious, and he’s extremely private. It doesn’t really seem like he enjoys going out all that much, either. He keeps to himself most of the time, which is really the best way to tell if someone is Introverted or Extroverted. You can be an outgoing Introvert or a shy Extrovert, something it took me a while to realize. Shy and Introvert are not synonyms! I’m a shy Introvert, but Admin T is not. I think Jaebum is a shy Introvert, but he’s truly an Introvert because he is more reserved, he keeps to himself more often than not, and he has the ability to think through his words before speaking.

I’m very grateful Got7 were professionally typed because I honestly would have a very difficult time typing Jaebum. Since he is so private, it’s hard to really know and understand him. According to the test, however, Jaebum is Intuitive. He actually got the highest score on this type than any other dimension. Since Jaebum shows such a strong inclination toward Intuition, we know he thinks more about the big picture rather than the small details. He has the ability to look to the future and imagine the possibilities. He can think in more abstract, conceptual terms, and he doesn’t necessarily have to experience something to learn about it.

Again, I’m glad Jaebum has been professionally typed because I’m not sure I would’ve come to the conclusion he’s Feeling since he does such a good job of hiding his emotions. Granted, his Feeling score was only two points higher than his Thinking score, so I do feel a bit of validation in my insecurity. I do feel the songs he writes are a good indicator of his feeling domination, though, because he definitely writes songs with a lot of emotion behind them.

Lastly, Jaebum types as Judging. And while this can mean he’s more prone to leading an organized life, it mostly means he’s more controlled by his judging function - his is Feeling. Again, he only scored three points higher in this dimension so his Feeling function will not be extremely dominant. But I can see how he would be controlled by his feelings rather than by his intuitive thinking. I feel like he really takes his members’ feelings into account when making decisions.

Other Studies: Mark Tuan, Jackson Wang, Park Jinyoung, Choi Youngjae, BamBam, Kim Yugyeom

Master list // RULES // Submit a Request! // Read About the Admins

[poppztartz]

You are very correct ⬇️ more to add on to what you said.

every character in undertale has mental illness portrayed , whether canonly said for s character to have it, they show many signs .

Thats why i hate when people make the bad guys straight bastards. Or -even any good sans a type of bastard. there is no bad, nor good. Many grey areas. Certainly, some are straight assholes . However theres more to them then that. Ive encountered many saying dream/ swap/ink are overated for very similar reasons, I beleive they arent overated. however , dream isnt pitch perfect . The fandom portrays him as well , the best i could put it.

"Uwu soft boy perfection positivity prince."

when in reality he is the exact oposite mostly.Keep in mind that he didnt really notice nightmare being outcasted. But at the same time he didnt take the time to stop the villagers from doing so . As far as i know.

Ink isnt perfect dandy mr guardian either. However - he isnt the evilest bastard either. Underverse isnt canon to inks story , so i dont count underverse ink . When people reffer to ink being a complete and utter asshole, it usualy comes from interpretation from other fan series/comics. However , He has his flaws-he also has traumas/and pros. Ink cannot stand being abandoned. He hates the thought of being alone/forgotten forever. he hates white enclosed /white large spaces because they are blank and bring no comfort of life. He has abandonment issues. When i did a character study based on @comyet/ @myebi 'bio' and 'his story' which isnt too much, however it gives me a basis of his character . People seem to forget he suffered in a blank timeline , watching his timeline go blank and his friends and family where emotionless husks. When he himself where the only one with emotion, so he ripped his soul in half in hopes to no longer suffer. Soon going through the void , getting those marks and appearing in what people now would call the doodlesphere, his domain. His job keeps him from gaining a soul for himself. And his viles may he fake/artificial emotions -however they mimic and resemble the emotions a soul would create. And drinking them all would create a balance for the emotions he needs/can/will feel. and when he needs a boost of an emotion , he drinks more of one or more vile . Its like medicine . Saying hes completely fake and absolutely a horrible person is not true. Not to mention He appeared in the world with no emotions/family-friends ect. Despite being the guardian and rather lucky to be seen as a hero, He can be an asshole. And as far as comyet had said in his bio/QNA about ink ,ink is kinda oblivious to some things he says. [Sorry if any of this was incorrect. I did based off of what i remember . ]

Error isnt perfect either. CQ/loverofpiggies even said he was a man baby . And rather the prick. And when people asked if error had any canon relationship/romantic and such they stated that error wouldnt be a really good person to be in a relationship. {However , interpretation to what i read.] Error is an asshole-prick . errors purpose was to destroy aus. or rather- what 'the voices' had told him or what he had told himself when he entered the antivoid. He used to be geno,and im sure hes also rather jelous of the pacafist aus with family . He has trauma, whether he remembers it or not. and that goes with ink as well. Whether they remember it or not it still travels onto the person. However , hes not just the huge man baby destroyer who destroys aus because he beleives their dirty glitches , or the fact that he is upset and wants to destroy one. He Has his flaws, but he isnt just flaws. He has likes, hobbies - and boundries. Hes a blunt person . Who likes Undernovela?[Forget if thats canon or not.] Enjoys the taste of underfells chocolate , enjoys knitting /sewing . And he has boundries for a reason, and haphephobia. And phobias are no joke.

Swap isnt --uh-'uwu' boy either. Hes legitamately the swap version of Canon undertale papyrus. And so is swaps brother- they are basicly The swap versions. People forget the fact that swap may be childish and small, however he is clever, smart -peculiar -naive and curious. And overall forgiving and kind. and much like Canon undertale brothers , papyrus had wanted to protect swap sans for that reason. so he can keep hoping. keep forgiving. keep loving others and seeing the good side, however - with the interpretation of blueberror and that comic , swap would of had trauma as well. Being stuck in the anti void, gaining voices , going through the emotional pain of not seeing his brother and friends, and the pain of the glitches and becoming an error.

And swap papyrus has so much trauma as well, much like undertale sans. knowing/living and repeating genocide timelines and seeing and feeling his brother dying.

canon is the creators interpretation of their character. For example , comyet made ink. anything they say canon about ink is canon as it goes. and that goes for the rest of any character.

Headcanon is a canon interpretation of fanon. For example , one follows the canon storyline , but Small things such as "I headcanon error has small pricks and cuts on his fingers from sewing and knitting. " Stuff like that.

Fanon characters are putting the character that isnt yours into a completely different storyline , away from its original canon standpoint. of course still giving the artist and creator credit , however the interpretation is usualy way off, or the backstory /traumas of the character and likes are different from the original. Some being similar to the canon, some being completely way off .

however my point stands, if your having an opinion of the canon itself character , please go off of the canon standpoint. if your going from an canon interpretation /opinion its best you put that opinion of one from the canon. not fanon. [I know people who dislike a character because its overated/ or the fanon character. ] But if you dislike a character as a whole , i would like one to state facts from the canon storyline and facts. Not from fanon.

In conclusion, Every character has its traumas /flaws/pros and cons. You may enterpret how you like , however people mistake fanon from canon. And headcanon.

[Your allowed to enterpret a character however you like. this is my opinion , these are not my characters. If i missed something please correct me , these characters do not belong to me , they belong to their own creators . ]

-poptart.

genuine question rq

did the entire fucking UTMV fandom all like. completely miss the part where nightmare was abused, near tortured by, and traumatized by the villagers just for existing, while simultaneously watching them praise and worship dream as they abused him at the same fucking time im being repetitive here because i dont think people actually understand the whole concept that “if you beat a person down just for existing while raising up the person they’re closest to just for existing” it leaves you, you know, kinda traumatized and that’s a form of emotional abuse?

because ive been seeing a lot of stuff lately where people claim nightmare has no motivations for eating the apples other than “for power” or “he’s the bad guy” and like

buddy pal have i got some news for you as a traumatized person

you are all as blind as canon dream who apparently had “no idea nightmare was being abused by the villagers”

abuse leads to PTSD. nightmare most definitely has PTSD. nightmare was abused.

i dont even like dreamtale canon but you guys cannot even deny this please try to understand mental illnesses and what trauma is and how it can be caused and what it does to a person

[comicteaparty]

February 28th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on February 28th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Zenchav by Draco Plato.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Zenchav by Draco Plato~! (http://khyatix.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Draco Plato

hmmmm

flips through chapters quickly

RebelVampire

just say all the scenes cause as the creator its the one time you can get away with it XD

Draco Plato

I'm sure I have a favorite

shiz everything exists on a neutral plan of emotion

RebelVampire

for my favorite scene im gonna pick that time everyone was pursued by spiky chia pets and oziel and ara argued to the point damian snapped his finger at them and told them to focus.

Draco Plato

I was leaning towards that myself too

RebelVampire

damian did what we all wanted to do deep down in that moment

Draco Plato

yeeeeeah

I love the finger snap

I always enjoy drawing the damon and lyall scenes the most

I like chapter 14 but I think it was a bit hurried seeming overall.

I picked up the pace for webcomic time but I think I should have slowed it down a bit there

that was my favorite chapter to draw recently tho cause damon and lyall

Kabocha

I think... My favorite scene is a toss up. I really liked Nadia and Damon's meeting -- Damon's priorities are basically mine: "OOO SPARKLY" http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume1/ZenchavVolume1#p=98 But I also really liked how crushed Damon was when he burnt up Liberty's body. http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=157 Can't do anything else? Well, at least I can make sure nobody asks too many questions right~?

Draco Plato

aaaaaaaaaaaaah

I have so many mixed feelings about damon burning his daughter's body

like was that a GOOD decision? it's so morbid

I always get a laugh out of that

Kabocha

It felt pretty emotional

and yessss

I really like the first volume a lot, to be honest. The art in it has a lot of character which helps the black and white pop

Draco Plato

yeah I agree! Whenever I re-read it I think the early chapters actually have a lot of charm to them

I used to be really bothered by the flaws but that doesn't really bother me now

Kabocha

Yeah They're cute! And... Damon was... very angsty in volume 2's start

Draco Plato

hahah his brief gangster look

RebelVampire

it was nice to see damon grow up from an innocent boy into angst rage machine into hi everyone im stay at home dad who makes jam

Kabocha

it is pretty fun when you get very... uh... ...I don't know the term but when you pull the expressions pretty far and make them somewhat more cartoony

Draco Plato

yeah! I agree. I think I pushed limits a bit more in the earlier chapters. Honestly I think my disdain for drawing shines through too much now

I mean, it all looks great, lmao

Kabocha

"Oh, I like it when you touch me" -- Sayeth Lyall, volume 2, page 12

Draco Plato

Aaaaaaaaaaah, I feel so awkward about those early scenes

where lyall's feelings start shining through

Kabocha

Lyall honestly just needs anyone's affection

RebelVampire

another scene i like is http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=42 where damon and lyall are flirting sort of and rex just shows hes watching and hes very bored. i think it was a great way to bring rex back in while also paying off on all that tension buildup of him coming back.

Draco Plato

he just needs damon's affection

Kabocha

...Damon's hair is also kinda kelpie-ish, so I meaaaaaaaan

Draco Plato

yeah I liked that scene too!! and that's true, I hadn't thought he looked a bit like kelpie there

I'm kinda with what Dark said about wtf is going on with his hair in chapter 5

like yep, that's why it lasted a very short time that look

oh i remember my fave scene now

Kabocha

What did Dark say?

Draco Plato

i need to find it

she wasn't a fan of the chapter 5 damon hair, which I agree with since I'm not a fan of it either

Kabocha

I don't dislike it, he just seems very... ...high stress right now

RebelVampire

i like to think damon's early life is characterized by phases. you got the angst phase, the emo phase, the cute kid phase, the weird flirt with your uncle phase

Kabocha

all business, no play

Draco Plato

there it is, the scene that always haunts me in re reads

oh that's true Rebel, it very much is

Kabocha

cough There's inappropriate jokes that one could make about coming in handy

But I'm not going to make them tonight

Draco Plato

I just...that line in retrospect is so BAD

Kabocha

But it's Lyall~

Draco Plato

i think that's the only time he really had pedo bear vibes

maybe not the only but the biggest

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume2/ZenchavVolume2#p=38 This page, Lyall's like... "This woman's going to kill me, Damon, and everyone in this neighborhood"

Draco Plato

there's also that time

Kabocha

What does Nadia do, anyway? Is she actually a mob boss? I know she's gonna be different in the upcoming video, but... >:D

Draco Plato

Lyall thinking she's a homewrecker there ruining his chance at future happiness as Damon's husbando

Yeah she's the head of her mafia

her backstory is actually the same as the animated version but without the interference

https://youtu.be/gGdGFtwCNBE

that's my song for lyall in chapter five

Kabocha

"I feel like I've known her" -- "Oh, yeah, last time around, she tried to kill you a buncha times, and I heard she's gonna do it again."

Draco Plato

wheeeeezes

Kabocha

"Also, she's your sister. Or will be. Different lives and all."

Draco Plato

It just gets worse

#TrueLove

Kabocha

I wonder what their entanglements were like in previous lives >:D

RebelVampire

you know what other scene i like? this scene http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume2/ZenchavVolume2#p=48 where lyall tells damon he didnt love liberty. partly cause it was cute seeing damon be this angsty adult and get hit with the reality stick in such a way hes still little boy shocked that this is a thing that could happen. and it was also nice cause lyall revealed something in an angry outburst and thus one more truth was added to the truth pile

Draco Plato

i really should have made a chart for Nadia's lives, the main one I know that has her and Damon together before that life is when she was Lili's sister

Oh Oh I like that scene too!!

Kabocha

I would be interested in seeing Lili's sister

and aaaaaaaaaaaaa, yes. Lyall: Truth teller in bad situations

Draco Plato

I can always feel a mini heart attack when Lyall says he didn't love her

cause I know how much that hurts damon

Kabocha

"you made my mother a whore and you didn't even CARE?"

Draco Plato

Lili's sister doesn't have much to her, she married Muir at the same time as Lili but ended up leaving and letting Lili and Muir be alone

Damon was too pure then, lol(edited)

he was really hung up on the sleeping with his mom thing for a long time

Kabocha

I can't blame him, especially if he thought it was gonna damn Liberty to hell

but nope, just ends up with her coming back one day as a cute smol girl

Also... Lyall has no last name. JUST TAKE DAMON'S! nau

Where did the nickname Sha come from by the way?

Draco Plato

actually why didn't he take Liberty's last name

Oh!!! Lol nobody has ever asked before

She wanted to call him a shark but he lacks the bite so she dropped the k

looking back on this nickname it doesn't make much sense lmao

I think it originates from an earlier version that made more sense

RebelVampire

i like to think that lyall not taking a last name was his way of rejecting the permanence of their situation. but also not having a last name sounds helpful when in the mob. "Hey Joe you gonna kill that Lyall fellow we were ordered to kill?" "Which Lyall?" "I don't know man. Let's just pick one."

Draco Plato

truuuuue

altho how common a name is Lyall

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

"but joe theres like 20 other lyalls" "just kill them all"

Draco Plato

LOL

omg XD

Kabocha

It soon became the great Lyall purge of 1930

Draco Plato

Lyall: I don't have a last name because I'm waiting to marry you and take yours

Kabocha

Lyall probably used that pickup line a few times

"I don't have a last name, but why don't I borrow yours for the night~?"

Draco Plato

ffffft

sadly i don't think that's one he'd use since it's rather personal to him

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

also i'm not sure what y favorite scene is theres a lot of them lol

Draco Plato

it's okay, my mind went blank too

and I should know all the scenes

Kabocha

pick a volume, flip through, find your favorite

Draco Plato

i know cali's fave

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

which one

LMAO

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. As shown in the comic, Apus has been going on quite a recruiting spree. How do you think Damian will adjust to his new life situation, especially after what happened? How will Damian deal with Damon joining the Demon Council? What do you think the story is with Firosofi and Euripides? Will they adjust to their life there and will the others adjust to them? Will recruiting Draco go smoothly, or will matters be complicated because of Draco’s situation with B.I.T.E.? What do you think is up with Earth suddenly recruiting so many demons and non-humans all at once? Lastly, do you think Amai will learn to do field work, and how might it change her?

Draco Plato

i'mma delete that one for gore tho

Kabocha

Damian's going to angst a lot when he finds out his dad's on the Demon council. And then be like "MY FATHER BETRAYED US" And worry a lot. And continue to be grumpy until he becomes older Damian.

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i feel like damian will go crazy and become numb to all the weirdness

and then take wizard drugs

become damon

Kabocha

But also they're just gonna ship him off to the future to hang out with his dad, soooo

Draco Plato

i feel like these questions would have been good for me to ponder before writing

OoO spoils Damian's immediate future, lolol

Kabocha

Ooop, Damian, you're gonna sleep with that hot bird-brained nurse~

Draco Plato

why is the Earth recruiting all these people, I just figured apus was understaffed

aaaaaah that spoiler!!!

their romance took a flight

Kabocha

It definitely did... You could say their hearts fluttered like little wings

Draco Plato

Vivi was born from a little egg

not that it's relevant but it's cute

RebelVampire

i like to think Earth just felt like it. was bored and said "you know what would be funny? is if i put all these demons at apus and force the people i 'hired' to get along with them. this sounds like a fun social experiment."

Draco Plato

I mean I feel that's about as hard as she thought about it

but now I feel I should think of a good reason and make it seem like I had something deep behind it

Kabocha

Vivi was born from an egg, eh? :3

I'm kind of curious now

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

plot twist, apus is just earth's ant farm but with people and demons

Draco Plato

yuuuuuus

omg XD

anytime someone mentions an antfarm I remember the one my bro had, where all the ants came dead except one and that one ant worked hard to bury all the other ants(edited)

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

rip ant

burying it's brethren

Draco Plato

antfarms are SAD

just burying all your dead kin

symbolically damon will be the ant

and we'll pretend this was a metaphor

Kabocha

Apus as an ant farm? I guess The Earth hasn't changed. She's just gonna try to burn it next time Damon shows up

Draco Plato

nah tho, Apus is meant to protect the earth

probably

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

maybe

we just dont know

Draco Plato

but she allows the demon council too

and is an aid to rex

so the earth plays both teams

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

news reporter interviews the earth "Miss earth? why did you create apus?" "lol idk i just wanted to"

RebelVampire

ya know consider earth talks to both sides, its more like these are her little play soldiers and she got more from the store so she could have an epic battle.

Kabocha

Cadence got her planet in the end

Draco Plato

baaaasically

her being the earth is totally karma for having made a planet

and not being it's planet seed

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i just imagined like a fight going on and someone jumping at someone

but in realityits just earth throwing one of her play soldiers at another one

Kabocha

She doesn't seem to hate it at least. She's probably like, "heh, I'll show you whose Karma fucked them up"

Draco Plato

muahahaha

I think the rational was that she wanted to see which side would win out

the planet itself is neither good nor evil, a neutral party

if a planet becomes totally good or totally evil it will end

because it must exist within duality

so that makes me think her ultimate goal would be to make it either totally good or totally evil so that it can die

since that would be freedom in a sense for her soul

Yes, beautiful, perfect earth

she don't care which time wins, just so long as someone does

Kabocha

YEP

she finally got it

a shame Samantha couldn't think big tho

Draco Plato

so much of Soul Hymn is still in the air tbh, especially with Sam

Kabocha

unless she's working with Decebal...

Draco Plato

cause I thought it'd be fun to make her more of an important baddie

Kabocha

"Yeah, I'll let you be the planet seed if you help me out*

Draco Plato

fffffft, being a planet seed is the last thing she wants

Kabocha

Sam wasn't really listening, she heard "You get a planet"

Draco Plato

it may be fun if sam is an antagonist to both erik and decebal

since if she regains her powers she'd be quite a formidable foe

RebelVampire

maybe lets bring the topic back to zenchav at this point XD

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

"you get a planet and you get a planet"

Draco Plato

Decebal becomes Oprah

Damian will not be pleased Damon joined the DC

nope

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

but hey he gets to spend time with his daddy

i guess

Draco Plato

I actually don't know if they'll ever meet face to face during that time tho

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

O_O

damon and rex i mean

lmao

Draco Plato

LOL

Damon is so happy about that, yeeeeah

RebelVampire

my question implied damian adjusts at all. which i would argue damian doesnt adjust to anything. just sits in eternal grump land.

hey

damon got new clothes already

id say thats a great dad

Draco Plato

LOL you make an excellent point Rebel

but they're not blue see, they have to be blue, so he's sad

Kabocha

Question: Will we get to see Mr. Philosophy get a sword

Draco Plato

Yes!

Kabocha

YES

Draco Plato

Firo has two swords

RebelVampire

i think Amai will be fine with field work cause firo can do all the heavy lifting metaphorically speaking. or ya know he could sip tea and wave at her from afar

Draco Plato

Firo actually can't kill anyone because it would be too kind a death for them

Kabocha

Then he gets to be mad at Dakin and Amai all the time :3

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

one to put jam on his toast and the other to poke things

Draco Plato

this is true, firo will do way more heavy lifting than Amai

buuuuut Amai will probably have plant powers like Dakin

which wasn't in the story originally so tentatively she'll be a bit more bad ass when she awakens to that

firo doesn't get mad

RebelVampire

by that implication amai doesnt know she has the plant powers?

Draco Plato

if firo gets mad that's gotta be something really really bad

nah Amai thinks she has no powers atm

she's been very sheltered

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

would he get mad if someone cut him off on the freeway

Kabocha

bwahahahaha

Draco Plato

No O_O

Kabocha

WHAT

he is inhuman!

Draco Plato

He got mad once as a kid tho

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

say if it isnt so

Draco Plato

kid cut off his ponytail

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

off with his head

Draco Plato

yus O_O you don't touch Firo's hair

but he probably wouldn't get mad at that now

but there is a time when he will get mad

maybe more than one

Kabocha

He didn't even get mad when his life was threatened, so

I mean

he's a pretty chill dude

RebelVampire

will it be at damon for damon being a little rex puppet murderer?

Kabocha

I almost wrote "Chill dad" and then I was like

"naaaaaaaaaah"

Draco Plato

oh firo having his life threatened was like a tuesday, no biggie

nah he won't get mad at damon

EveryoneLovesDamon

RebelVampire

Firo: I'm not mad at you, Damon. Just disappointed.

Draco Plato

YES!

that'll happen

Damon: But I looooove him father

/shot

RebelVampire

damon goes home and rex tells him the same thing, that hes not mad, just disappointed. only then rex kills some kid or something.

Draco Plato

Rex just makes Damon's wounds heal slower

when he's mad at him

RebelVampire

you know

thats a lot more tame then i realistically expected

good on rex

Kabocha

sorry, I got distracted reading OoO again

Poor Damian

Draco Plato

yeah, damon is the fave

RebelVampire

slightly less of a jackass than he couldve been

Draco Plato

ffffft, that's a good reason to get distracted, lol

Rex to damon's other siblings is pretty swift to kill

so they have to tip toe a lot more

I think Damian is pretty lucky

got to go to school in the future, meet all those kooky people

damian at apus is interesting tho since there's more reasons than just damon at the DC he's sour about

RebelVampire

on the otherhand, he got to go to school and meet all those kooky people and deal with a huge jump in technology and his dad being a wizard. it may perhaps contribute to the grump.

you mean like liberty being dead O_O

Draco Plato

nervous laughter

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

shes fine

its just jam

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. In recent events, Damon has been forced by his father to join the Demon Council. What activities do you think Damon will be doing for the Demon Council? Will Damon manage to fit in there, or will he stick out too much? Will he at least be able to get along with his new sister Theia? As time passes, do you think Damon will come to agree with Rex’s ideals? Or, do you think he’ll stay steadfast in his own beliefs? Do you think Damon will find out Damian is alive and with Apus? How might this change his actions in the future? Also, how might his relationship with Lyall change him? Do you think Rex will keep his promise of not hurting Lyall? Finally, will Damon reconnect with Purusha’s life to escape the darkness?

Kabocha

wait, I'm mis-remembering things... Who is Dakin's dad XD

Draco Plato

Firosofi

Amai is his mom

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

firosofi more like

Draco Plato

sorta

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

firosofty

Draco Plato

it's complicated

wheeps

was so surprised when there was a Firo in Baccano

https://tenor.com/view/firo-playing-baccano-gif-11864371

RebelVampire

#spoilers

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i think rex will make damon think hes gonna make him do really bad stuff, but he just makes him sit down and play chess all day

Draco Plato

Rex: Damon, I want you to be the greatest chess master to ever live. Damon: Father....I hate to break it to you but that's never going to happen, I'm an idiot.

damon can probably play chess

RebelVampire

maybe damon will get super good at chess cause chess is half just about remembering the patterns and knowing the best move for each pattern.

and damon can make little dresses for the chess pieces

Draco Plato

ffffft

Kabocha

Lyall would make very pretty chess pieces

Draco Plato

Lyall is very good at chess

Kabocha

Damon would make them regal clothing, befitting their stations in life

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

rex walks in sees his chess set all mangled with pretty dresses

Draco Plato

damon says plz he's not that much of a loser

weeps

I think Damon's ideals already died long ago

he mostly just wants to not die and not have Lyall die

probably

Kabocha

he'll get better one day

Draco Plato

when he goes insane

What will damon be doing at the DC ponders

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

eat donuts

Draco Plato

a mystery

RebelVampire

hes gonna make up for lost time. go on fishing trips with rex. fight over a stuffed animal with theia, etc. etc.

Draco Plato

Damon can't taste donuts tho

€heshire777

Nggh, I missed it

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

plot twist DC means donut council

Draco Plato

omg XD

€heshire777

Oops

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

yer right on time cheshire

Draco Plato

oh yeah, him and Theia will wrestle all right

RebelVampire

we still have an hour left to go

€heshire777

Too bad I didn't read all of it...

Draco Plato

that's okay~!

it is 400 something pages

€heshire777

I usally do tho

Ah well

Draco Plato

no worries~

Kabocha

Well, that's fine Cheshire! You can chime in about what you did read

or are you just here to talk about how much you didn't?

€heshire777

I'll talk! I confess!

Kabocha

https://giphy.com/gifs/the-simpsons-excellent-mr-burns-8fen5LSZcHQ5O

So, I think it'll be interesting going forward, to see what happens more with Firo and his buddies -- mostly because I read the original draft once upon a time, and Amai is very dear to me. XD I wanna see her do more stuff! Yell at her mom! Ask Pavonis why he's such a stick in the mud

RebelVampire

its also fine to just live read and comment your feelings as you read, @€heshire777 ~!

Draco Plato

awwww, I'll make sure to put her in more knowing that ;3;

Kabocha

So uh, is Pavo's original... backstory... still valid

Draco Plato

yus I think so

Kabocha

wherein he was so in love with Earth and...

cackle

RebelVampire

you cant just ask pavo why he's a stick in the mud. mostly because i expect itll wind up like that time he tried to explain apus to damian and damian was just like "whaaaaat"

Draco Plato

he lived in ancient greece sometime

LOL

Pavonis: You know what, you're clearly not going to get this, go see the nurse

Kabocha

Pavonis has no middle ground either. Either he's with Earth and Apus, or he's a demon, helping Rex commit atrocities.

Draco Plato

pavonis has a really really thin line between good and evil

pavonis would be evil for the earth

he wouldn't second guess it

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Specials/ZenchavSpecials#p=64 I see you, Sotiris (http://khyatix.com/world <- see the dark reddish brown-life)

Draco Plato

loooooool

i really like that special

and it's plot based too

but sotiris looks like a freakin chef there

I keep wanting to do more with Minos, now that they're at the DC I'm hoping I can have him show up

RebelVampire

i do think thats the best of the specials. just cause it was nice to see lyall before he became a bitter old house wife who was jilted by rex.

yes

do that

cause with this special in mind i want to see minos and lyall interact

Kabocha

Yeah! I wanna see what's happened to Minos -- Rex didn't kill him for that but I do wonder what he'd have done to him

RebelVampire

cause for lyall its been eons, for minos probably not that many eons

Draco Plato

yeah!! it actually hasn't been that long for Minos since lyall was pregnant with rex's kids

before then Lyall and Minos used to whore around together

Kabocha

Rex disappears for a few minutes, comes back with Lyall and an extremely scarred Damon

Draco Plato

i mean they never slept with each other but they'd pick up women together

YEP

It's actually probably been a few years since Theia got there

but between rex dropping lyall off and picking damon up that's probably a few days at the DC

if Rex bothered to wait, which I think he did cause he changed his clothes

but in one of my stories that may just be an hour later

Kabocha

Rex goes to get some tea

remembers, "Oh yeah, I should pick up Lyall."

Draco Plato

and change my clothes while I'm at it :>

/shot

that's just damon tho

probably

altho rex is pretty fashionable

Kabocha

Hehehe

So anyway, there's reincarnations, time travel shenanigans, and lots and lots of suffering for Damon.

RebelVampire

the changing clothes is just part of their genes. encoded on their dna.

Kabocha

And we're just getting started

Draco Plato

Lyall can do that

he often makes clothes with his powers

since he can make any organic material so he makes it soft like fabric

RebelVampire

maybe its a rule in the DC. no outfit is allowed to be worn for over 3 hours.

Draco Plato

nah, that's the rule in OoO

7 times damon?!?

if it's a joke nobody will blame the creator for clothing ADD

RebelVampire

i wonder if therell be a love triangle between damon, lyall, and minos.

Kabocha

Oh my

Draco Plato

Oh nooooooo

minos is an asshole so probably not

amongst other reasons

but alternatively will sotiris and theia ever have a thing

Kabocha

https://giphy.com/gifs/jaw-drop-oooooh-6FymBmqKeBrl6

Draco Plato

I honestly don't know atm

RebelVampire

well theyd at least be a sexy pairing

and lyall could make "hey stop touching my daughter maybe" faces

Kabocha

Having read Out of Order, I kind of can't wait to find out about how Damon and Claire meet in this life. I've heard rumors that it is ... bordering on "not good"

Draco Plato

oooooooh, it's fun!

I really like randolph and claire at apus

they were actually with each other longer than they were with damon

not as a couple of course

and Damian is older than both of them, lolol

well maybe not randolph, i dunno, it's a toss up

RebelVampire

one day after many people die, damian will sit there going "wait a second im the older person here"

Kabocha

Randolph and Claire were a duo?

Draco Plato

oh gawd no

but they both worked at Apus together

Claire was raised there from age 13 and Randolph took care of security

Randolph had his own room that he stayed in almost exclusively but people have to visit him cause he's the techno master

uh room being where all his security systems are

claire was a field worker though

so basically claire and damian would visit him and bicker

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. An ominous tone seems to be setting in on the future. What do you think Pavonis meant in saying that Firosofi’s arrival signaled “certain things were set into motion?” Does it have something to do with the declaration of war that Oziel claimed recruiting Damian would be? Is it something else entirely that has more to do with Firosofi, Damon, or someone else? Of the characters we’ve met, who in Apus and who in the Demon Council do you think will clash first? What do you think will happen? Overall, do you think the conflicts between Apus and the Demon Council will ever be solved? As a last bonus, what time periods do you think we’ll see in the comic considering it involves time travel?

Kabocha

Firosofi's going to take over the story soon, and we're gonna see him go face down his destiny... And reclaim his last name...

X

..................No?

RebelVampire

wait wait

this is why lyall didnt have a last name

theyre going on the quest together

Kabocha

Firosofi X and Lyall WHY

Draco Plato

fffffffffft

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

and something Z

Draco Plato

will they ever even meet

who knows

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

o wait zenchav

Draco Plato

muahahah

what time periods would people want to see

Kabocha

There we go. The mysteries of the plot, explained.

Draco Plato

i have some up in the air atm

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

cavemen

Draco Plato

LOL

dies

Kabocha

I'd honestly like to see some mid-2000s Damon. Baggy jeans, Anime hair... Debating who's better: Trunks or Vegeta

Draco Plato

That we will see!!

already in there

Kabocha

(It's totally Trunks, by the way.)

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

damon: ugga ugg lyall: ugga ugga damon: ugh >_>

€heshire777

Steampunk Damon

Draco Plato

I do love trunks but i love vegeta too

steampunk would be pretty awesome

I think I can do that

Kabocha

Damon WOULD go for a Steampunk aesthetic

Draco Plato

he totally would

He's going to have a hell of a motorcycle collection, lol

Kabocha

Next world they go to in OoO will be a steampunk world, totally

Draco Plato

Claire's original clothing aesthetic was supposed to be steampunk too

but it looked too out of place

that'd be good for OoO tho, i'll think about it for that

cause I have it kind of wide open atm for where it's going

oh I know where i can fit steampunk into Zen

muahahah

€heshire777

Goth

RebelVampire

i cant think of a good time period so im just gonna go with ancient egypt. where someone can sneak into a tomb and write a message in the hopes it confuses the heck out of future archaeologists

Draco Plato

goth will be in the animated version!

ancient egypt would be interesting, I hadn't considered that

i remember an older version I had them live in ancient persia for awhile

Kabocha

YES

Ancient Persia would be awesome!

€heshire777

Chinese?

Kabocha

Some of the clothing they have in pseudo-historical Bollywood films... it's so pretty

Draco Plato

Chinese would be good too!! I was just appreciating their clothing the other day

true!!!

Damon will go to india at one point

Kabocha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7K4vGYL9zI Allow me to share this song with you

Draco Plato

!!!! I LOVE THAT SONG

that actor does such a good job in that movie too

RebelVampire

thats good damon gets to go to india. i think it will suit him ;3;

€heshire777

Caveman?

Kabocha

It also fits the overall reincarnation theme, too, I think

Draco Plato

cavemen would be so weird XD

€heshire777

I like weird

RebelVampire

if lyall went with him, cavemen would murder him cause thats 0 tech zone

Draco Plato

oh yeah, that's right Firo is from India too

Lyall says that sounds like where Rex would send him

€heshire777

Ok, and lost you again...

Kabocha

Firosofi's one of the recently introduced characters -- he's more clearly introduced here: http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=63

€heshire777

That's just about where I'm at

Draco Plato

oh yeah~!

he's also Haranasa

€heshire777

If you say so...

Kabocha

Well, Draco would be the one to say so... as the creator

RebelVampire

are we going to get to see oziel more? i need more oziel spunk in my life.

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=80

Draco Plato

coughs I'm honestly not sure what Oziel's future is in the story atm

but I can add him more if you want

I know some other people liked him too

ah both names at once there, lolol

€heshire777

Who was that again? (edited)

RebelVampire

more i just think theres potential between him and damian. cause of the whole ya know, you got my sister murdered

Draco Plato

that fellow is oziel

€heshire777

ah

He's cool

Draco Plato

yeah I agree Rebel, I've been thinking that should be explored more too

I always like Oziel's hair

Kabocha

I like Ara better

Draco Plato

fun fact he was in a wheelchair for a portion of his life

Kabocha

and I wanna know what the fuck Ara did to get his future lives the way he did XD

Draco Plato

LOL

Kabocha

(But this... is not... in Zenchav yet... I'm speaking partly about stuff that I know that is... spoilers...)

OK Draco, Draco

Draco Plato

Ara ara ara, ahahah

Kabocha

if you could pick one character that's not Damon to make super sparkly

who would you choose

Draco Plato

Firo~

€heshire777

Atlantis would be cool

Draco Plato

Firo was originally the main

Atlantis is a great idea

yeah I can use atlantis

Kabocha

atlantis would be cool

€heshire777

I'll just keep suggesting stuff as long as you'll let me

Moon base

Draco Plato

loooooool, would be too sailor moon

Kabocha

DRACO I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE SO MUCH COOL STUFF

Draco Plato

awwwwww ;3;

I really want more firo now

I never get to draw him

but i'll be in the most recent chapter

€heshire777

Norse?

Viking era?

Draco Plato

That's a good idea too, I could do that

I used to love Norse mythology

altho marvel kinda eeeeehed me a bit to it

even tho i like marvel

€heshire777

Yeah. same

Marvel nut

Draco Plato

me too

well....I haven't read all the comics

cause there's ALOT

€heshire777

Oop, cell service

Bye

RebelVampire

i was just about say draco, youre gonna be stuck drawing firo for quite a while now in this upcoming arc.

XD

Draco Plato

laters, Cheshire :3

Not as much as I'd like cause he mostly stands in the BG

which means I'll cut him out of panels a lot for drawing time

buuuut I think the chapter after he really stands out

and tbf shading his hair sucks so much

RebelVampire

this almost sounds creepy. draco and amai talking in the forefront, firo just in the background of the shot smiling at the reader all the time, as if to say i see you.

Draco Plato

that'd be so in character for Firo XD

this is why he can't be the MC

actually I think most of it is Draco talking to his peeps tho

buuuuuut

I dunno maybe I'll add in more firo

cause him just standing there in the BG of chapter 13 was kinda lame too

RebelVampire

maybe he and draco can at least share a warm hug

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i wanna see them hug

:y

Draco Plato

>w> well that will probably happen

draco can leap onto him in a bear hug

Kabocha

Hugs for everyone!

RebelVampire

i cannot picture this bear hug. although i can picture euri and amai being like wtf

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END! Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Draco Plato, as well, for making Zenchav. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Draco Plato’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read the Comic: http://khyatix.com/

Draco Plato’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/khyatix

Draco Plato’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/KhyatiX

[mobianstrip]

sonic forces me to analyze the game

this is by no means a full, in depth review of sonic forces. however, since im working on a Forces au i think its only fitting to talk about my personal gripes with the game. just to be clear, i dont hate sonic forces by any means! there are some really neat concepts about it that i enjoy, which ill include my thoughts on as well! though with that said, theres a lot about it that could have been dealt with better. this post is gonna be a bit long and messy, sorry!

now i cant speak for what the gameplay controls itself are like since i havent actually played it with my own hands, so my primary focus will be the story and general format of the game. everything under the cut!

ill start by saying that in hindsight, i think the general premise of the game is actually really neat (had the war framing of the plot not been so overly glorified and bland. more on that below). eggman taking over most of the world is very reminiscent to the initial circumstance of mobius in the early archie sonic publication. it seems especially reflective of the comic in the fact that sonic forces takes place on a planet setting more akin to that of Mobius than that of Sonic’s World/Earth, the difference being the lack of human beings aside from Eggman. while this does somewhat bother me for the fact that it paints an inconsistency with the setting, im also all for the planet being strictly Mobians + Eggman again tbh. the concept of sonic being on earth populated by humans, complete with a mock version of the united states, never really settled well with me. it always felt like just a means to make sonic more relatable, which is true, but not done because it made anything more interesting. a problem that then arises is that the origins of shadow and silver/blaze would be radically different or at least would need some retcon alterations to make sense...but thats a topic for another day

overall, looking past the inconsistency with the setting and its implications, i enjoy how the premise of the game feels like going back to the basics. but even the premise still has its problems...which is never a good sign, and this point practically sealed forces’s fate of inconsistency: the theme of war and how it frames the story is so, so poorly written

starting with whats presented at the beginning of the game, sonic is captured by eggman as a prisoner. if the writing had just left it at that, fine. however, the exposition goes on to say that sonic has been there for six months being tortured...and that tails has completely lost it. again id be fine with this - the theme of war is a darker one so these two events would make sense in this circumstance. however, that tension is just totally lost in a matter of a few episodes. you rescue sonic who is just as cheery and jokey as ever, somehow able to fight a boss despite being supposedly locked away and tortured for six months

of course i understand that its not like they could give sonic ptsd and make him look tortured and weak and so on - but why even mention the torture thing at all? the same problem is apparent with the first cutscene with tails. tails is hardly given enough time to seem like he has "lost it". i will say though that tails WAS given a bit more of an emotional response to work with than sonic overall. particularly when tails is about to be attacked by chaos, and he ducks his head in fear and calls for sonic to help him even though sonic isnt there - i actually enjoyed this small segment bc it does reflect some of what was said about how he reacted to sonics capture (aside from also being across the planet...for seemingly no reason except bc he "lost it" and to get him away from the main group so that classic sonic can appear)

frankly speaking from these two points alone, the games tone just feels kind of confused. its obvious the writers wanted some parts of the darker theme of war...and its also obvious that going all out wasnt gonna be an option bc of the nature of sonic as a character and franchise being about more lighthearted, easier to relate to stories about sonics heroism. which im fine with that being the case; sonic is a hero and more importantly a mascot that profits off of kids being able to relate and look up to. my issue is simply that the premise of this game makes consistent writing kind of doomed from the start if the writers are trying to appeal to both the kids AND older fans. they cant go to the lengths necessary to adequately build the narrative. cant go too dark, cant go too lighthearted, and not finding a balance between to two gives you a confused and bland story 

on that note,  i personally find the theme of war to be...uncomfortably glorified and unchecked (adding to the tone confusion and blandness). sonic forces is named so because...yknow. armed forces. armies. the whole point of the game is that theres a war going on and youre on the good guy side. i mean its not as if youre fighting against other living creatures, just infinite and eggmans robots, but still. i think what put me off the most is the first comic with the soldier cat. after they save the day, the last lines are "I'll do better. I'll be better. I'll become a real soldier and a real hero." now slap that as the tagline to a united states army corps commercial and suddenly its really...sour tasting

war is just one of those subjects that i think needs to be handled with a bit more care. i mean think about it: the primary gimmick of forces is that you get to make your own character, to be the sonic version of yourself in this world. the plot of the game is that theres a war, and your character joins the resistance to defeat eggman. this game is pretty blatantly glorifying the idea that joining in on a war can make you a REAL soldier, a REAL hero. to some kids, that might sound pretty cool. but theres no nuance to it whatsoever, nothing thought provoking on the subject. no one steps back to be like ‘its good to do good things but wars are tough and not fun, and being a hero isnt everything’. none-a that

now do i think a sonic game could get it into a childs head that they should join the army for real? no, not necessarily. i think its possible, but i think that would also be due to a larger issue of military glorification present in modern culture in general (especially in america). mostly i just find the implications at play with glorifying the theme of war in conjunction to the avatar gimmick to be in poor taste and also entirely avoidable because...

i dont think the war and army framing even had to be a thing. not only is it just so sloppily done in general, with that fact that the supposed soldier forces on the Resistance side are literally never seen on screen except for some dialogue boxes in one episode and the rest of the time only being mentioned through other characters, but i seriously think never saying the words “war” or “army” and not including literal soldiers would have worked just as well and even been the better route. they could have just been like yeah heres eggman taking over the world, heres the resistance fighters that have come together to stop him, they are opposing forces and you play as your avatar to stop eggman - and just leave it at that. it wouldve made the glorification of war less obvious and the handling of the topics at hand appear less confused, appealing to a more lighthearted tone rather than weighing it down with frankly out of place hints to a darker subject of war

finally i wanna talk about the story as it relates to how its told through the game. the plot itself is fairly standard - eggman starts war, captures sonic, takes over planet. you rescue sonic, and together you fight eggman and infinite and ultimately defeat them. thats all good and well even if its cheesy sometimes. the REAL problem is how its executed. a lot of the exposition is given not through cutscenes, but through spoken dialogue with text box subtitles over the episode select screen. and it just feels so...stiff. it doesnt feel like world building, it just feels like being forcefed information with no substance behind it

i get that fully rendered cutscenes throughout can be expensive and time consuming, but shoot id take in-game rendered cut scenes at least. (like in sa, sa2, shadow 2005...) anything that could have provided the world building with a bit more ground to stand on would have been great. sure, there are levels to traverse which look cool...but they dont provide any sense of scale, they dont tell us what the area is like, and more importantly, you never see the other characters who are supposedly on the battlefield "alongside" you in a couple episodes. the storyline from the exposition along sounds like it could be an epic journey - but the way its told with the given game mechanics (i.e.: stage-based gameplay with no open worlds to explore) leaves a lot to be desired

i feel like the stuff explained in the comics should have just been cutscenes or exposition or something to pad out the game a bit. the comics are so short anyways so why just put it in the game? maybe not the first comic about the rando soldier saving the day or w/e...but the comic with silver and knuckles fighting chaos? the comic about infinites origins? all of that could have easily been included. at LEAST the comic with shadow was part of the DLC...but even thats just so gimmicky. they provide important background to the main plot of this game so i really dont understand why it was sidelined to comics and not just included from the beginning

the tension that the exposition already fails to build up is brought down even worse when coupled with the confusing timing of the stage complete screens, where you get your completion rank and see what new character creation items you unlocked. listen, i know immediate gratification for completing the level is important and all...but i swear, having these screens between the end of a boss fight and the cutscene showing what happens to them after being defeated seriously impairs the flow of the game. maybe having it there allows for the cutscene to load up in the background to improve efficiency, but personally id prefer seeing a loading screen as the break between a boss fight and the following cutscene after it and THEN the stage complete screen to finish the sequence off. the boss fight end cutscenes arent that long anyways for the most part, so its just nonsensical to have the stage complete screen interrupt the action when theres only a two minute scene left to it

i cant stand how streamlined forces is to the point of the main plot. what happened to games that actually take the time to explain stuff, show us extra bits to the story and how they connect? and even when forces' does explain SOME stuff, its through audio/text only dialogue. nothing visually interesting, just...dialogue. and then its off to the next level. forces' feels very bare bones honestly. the story is supposed to feel big and epic but it just wasnt given enough to bring that feeling into fruition. this is probably the only thing that saves forces’ from the war glorification issue because the game simply fails so miserably at telling a compelling story due to poor writing and poor formatting that the war stuff gets lost in the mix - and thats just sad

all of this brings me to my conclusion. fuck i wish sonic forces was a better written and executed game, because i do think it could have been so cool. i really like infinite as a villain, in both his design and personality. yeah hes kind of a whiny, edgy bitch - but he had potential. and its really gonna suck if this game killed off all that potential in one fell swoop

(then again, thats why we have fan content and aus :3)