#in case it's not clear from the images

[identifying-planes-in-posts]

trick or treat!!!

You get:

Nikitin-Shevchenko IS

[jitterbugbear]

centipede, acrylics on gel plate

[welcometogrouchland]

Batman #149 by chip zdarsky is mostly unremarkable, but I'm really fascinated by how it makes a great case for 'good' endings not saving 'bad' stories*. Because there's a lot of interesting concepts in this issue (bruce having to deal with his rapidly aging and decaying clone making him think about his own life, re-establishing a 'nest' so to speak for his family after pushing them away, etc) but bc of the OOC slog that came before it, almost every moment w/ the batfamily comes off as unearned and disingenuous imo.

Like, everything with Damian is the perfect example in this. Because in isolation it's...fine. admittedly it's a missed opportunity to not go deeper into how Damian would feel about a clone of his dad who tried to kill considering Damian's relationships with clones of himself (the heretic rejects and respawn) or with former enemies who wanted him dead but who were manipulated and/or brainwashed (like suren and maya).

Zdarsky doesn't go into any of this but you could maybe excuse it as the issue not being about Damian. However, coupled with the previous bizarre characterizations of Damian in 147 and 148, it ends up not being fine- instead it starts to feel...icky how Damian (who, despite often being drawn and written as white, will never have his connection to the non-white al ghuls forgotten and will always be effected by racism even when not portrayed as a poc) is constantly written as overly violent, uncaring and narrow minded in this run. Coupled w/ trying to recanonize the morrison origin for Damian it's like. OH this is badly written and laden with subtle bigotry, sick**

That's me going into detail on it with Damian but it's applicable to other things in this issue- the way Cass, Steph and Duke have all been ignored or turned into jobbers makes their inclusion in the 'family' here feel hollow instead of satisfying. Bruce proclaiming that Zur was still a part of him and he needs to accept responsibility for his actions (when it means taking in clone son) wrings hollow when just last issue zdarsky was bending over backwards to separate Bruce and Zur bc otherwise the Jason thing would get really awkward. Ends are achieved through means that feel hollow or strange. I'm at my destination but damn why'd the bus have to do all that???

I only really have opinions on this latest arc of zdarskys Batman bc it's the one I've read the closest (bc I'm a hater, masochist and avid follower of even the bad damian storylines) but it's not saying great things.

Bc zdarsky can do one thing good in this book, and it's write Bruce and Tim. And yet this entire story, whether of his own volition or editorial mandate, includes other characters who aren't Bruce and Tim, the fabric starts to unravel in very telling ways.

(p.s, I think pennyworth manor is an interesting idea but I feel like in execution it's just gonna be 'bruce living in a house haunted by the memory of the people he couldn't save' but with a different dead guy this time. Illusion of change and whatnot)

*whether or not the ending is good is up to you ofc, as is your opinion on the proceeding arc! I saw some ppl complain that the ending was too "WFA" for them, which I get even if I dont think it'll literally be the same premise. If anything it's probably a lead into the new tec run. Likewise many ppl who aren't in the weeds of Damian and Jason characterization liked the previous arc! But I have my opinions and rest my case before the bench

**disclaimer, I'm white and portrayals of bigotry in comics are complicated and subjective, but I am basing my point here off what other poc comic fans on socmed have been saying about 149. Also the "sick" is sarcasm incase that wasn't obvious

[puppetdoggy]

And they said bald men with dimples can’t cook 🙄🙄🙄💪💪💪

[leah2eroes]

about your dress post: do you want to wear one and just haven't gotten to try it yet?

thats a very complicated question for me. so complicated that im putting my longwinded answer beneath a cut

its piqued my curiosity obviously but like. i dont think itd be something that suits me. i feel like its too femme for me to be able to pull off. though, i do often wonder if my lean towards being butch is out of a geniune desire to be butch (because i mean thats definitely a contributing factor; butches are so goddamn fine and that includes me :p ) or because i doubt my capability to present as femme. or at least in a way i would be satisfied with.

i do think theres some self image issues i need to tackle in that regard. i think ive worked myself into a tangle of negative thoughts surrounding myself as one does when presented with an onslaught of transphobic media about transfeminine people looking like blokes in dresses. i think people downplay how brave specifically transfem folks are when it comes to dressing how they want yknow? not to get all whiny about how trans men have it easier (lets not open that can of worms yeesh), but we cant ignore that in broader society, a nonpassing trans woman is seen as a sexual predator. you fellas dont have to contend with that, at least not nearly as much.

though again i dont even know if being more femme would be something im interested in. like sure, i want to be more 'womanly' because its probably the closest i can get to what would be "correct" (though its a ways off for various alterhuman reasons lol its mostly for the tits haha). i dress butch because its neutral. i dont even know if i want to be read as a woman (but i mean id prefer it over being read as a man) but i mean i dont think id be against it? people have said i would look good in a sundress (though those people also dont like me now so whos to say really?)

i think the bottom line is, im a little afraid of leaning femme out of fear that i wont like it. i worry that i dont have like, the right body right now? thats not indicative of whatever anyone else wants to do or sees themself; its more that maybe i want to wait until i look more like a woman to myself. i want it to be an option for me; im simply not brave enough to pull it off yet. i mean maybe one day ill be brave and wear the dress and never look back and be so much happier for it! maybe ill love myself for realsies. but for now im more comfortable (in many senses of the word) not delving into that sort of thing.

NOTE: MY DYSPHORIA IS IRRATIONAL. THE THINGS I SAY ABOUT MYSELF ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF HOW ANY OTHER TRANS PERSON SHOULD SEE THEMSELVES. my cringe poison brain dictates too much in my own life. dont let it dictate anything in yours. youre all beautiful and i love you.

(also i dont have the money for that shit LMAOOOOO dresses are so expensive)

[sonknuxadow]

epic shadow the hedgehog moment

[batsplat]

deeply compelled by this photo

[marietheran-archived]

Some way or other, the pre-climax of Perelandra is also "Man talking with God," in the fashion of a thousand later bad "Christian Fiction" novels and it makes artistic sense.

[depresseddepot]

trying to determine which parts of my relationship with sex are asexuality, which are trauma, and which are autism is like trying to have a conversation with three people talking loudly and all at once

[foxgonyoom]

Lessons we learned in LMK Season 4:

Episode 1:

Be afraid.

Episode 2:

If your friends get sucked into a nightmare scroll, you should jump in it too.

Episode 3:

If there’s a ghost, don’t fight him. Words are much more effective at making him cry.

Episode 4:

Feeding customers is more important than escaping an angry mob.

Episode 5:

“What are you Thor, the God of Hammers?!”

Episode 6:

Cats are more reliable for bringing your friend back to their senses than motivational speeches.

Episode 7:

We’re pretty good at faking it til we making it so you better start TAKING IT SON!

Episode 8:

Shit’s complicated

Episode 9:

Fuck up that lion man!

Episode 10:

When all else fails, return to monke.

[savefrog]

how to explain to people that while we DO need to desperately dismantle AI’s capitalism-driven rise to prominence in many professional areas especially art because of how it will be used to replace artists in exchange for cheap content and on the back of uncredited artists that came before, and how things can be said about supporting the ai platforms that enable this

that simultaneously using Dall-E mini or Bing or whatever once to make a cat at some nebulous point is not like. It is not like. He did not just shoot an artist point blank out in an alleyway 😭

[sucrecube9]

[snekdood]

Yknow what makes me reaentful? How ive been sexually abused so much growing up, no one did shit besides shove me off to a therapist, ive been promised by feminist spaces that ill have a place to heal within them, and as soon as my abusive ex tries to smear me and project their behavior on to me by accusing me of doing that shit too, all the sudden everyone acts suspicious, and i still dont get any of that promised healing. Its hard not to feel like my ex did this intentionally to prevent me from having a space to heal. And its my issue with the "believe victims" narrative because it seems to me like people dont actually want to believe victims but to believe the victims they *like* and *agree more with politically*. If people can just say whatever about someone and you feel obligated to believe them because "believe victims", its very clearly going to be exploited by abusive people, and while i dont think we should stop per se, we need to have some sort of actual system to vet who is and isnt telling the truth, like a pseudo-courtroom. At the very least let everyone and their side of the story actually be heard. Bc idk how you guys plan to believe two victims at once who are accusing eachother other than throwing your hands up and picking one or deciding that we're both bad, which doesnt seem very fair to me since people seem to looove demonizing me for no discernable reason.

[flygonscales]

PAIN. MUCH PAIN. I was so pleased and happy about my new t-shirt. But then I look closer today and it probably is an AI generated image. FUCK. This company’s (spiral direct) generally been good in the past too! And it’s so blatant! Can’t believe how I missed this. URRRGHHHH. GOD FUCKING DAMN IT.

[shidoukanae]

backtracking through TME again and im still utterly in awe of Helene and her writing

I thought by the time i reached episode 72 that her story arc was mostly cleaned up. We got to learn that she does care about Lyla and that she's basically the asshole with a heart of gold stereotype wrapped in a few layers of pettiness and a faint hint of immaturity on her part.

...But now im realizing there MUST be still a lot to her character to go. There's just no way there's not. Between the missing event that turned Helene against Lyla and the way Helene warned Lyla not to trust or get close to her...not to mention we still haven't addressed the reason why OG!Helene destroyed the world in the first place...man, I LOVE that there's still more to her character to go

Helene is literally everything I have ever wanted to see in a character wrapped into one. I'm still shook she exists, that the whole of TME's plot never forgets her or shelves her potential.

She's a gal who has never gotten the chance to really mature into the person she should be due to Lyla's continued existence. She's petty and mean but her original saintly nature seems to be still intact. She's a walking contradiction: both cruel and kind and brave yet afraid. The amount of complexity and depth invested into her is honestly astonishing. And I wouldn't be surprised if she's heading for a villain arc considering her ties with her mother and the hints that she has a hand in the deaths of the empire's mages.

And I just,,,, god,,,, I want to create characters on the same level as Helene (and as the rest of this cast, actually). And while im currently in a rut with OC stuff due to being overwhelmed (and in a "what's the point" mindset lmao), this manga is SUCH an inspiration for me and all i wanna do is cling onto it and hope it never ends :'D

[sonknuxadow]

he HATES silver the hedgehog

MMY CAT KNOCKED HIM OUT OF MY HAND AND HE HIT THE HARD FLOOR FACE FIRST IM GONNA THROW UPPPPPPP