#it's because i am trying to keep this focused entirely on my story and characters and disregarding all other topics

[thelesbianluthor]

Kristen Applebees is a mess of a character in the most realistic way.

The thing is that I understand why people got to a point where they got tired of her chaotic and careless behaviour but that's the point isn't it?

I laughed at the bits and chaos of JY so much but I understand that things can be nuanced. I can laugh at the bits while also thinking about the implications of her actions in the story.

Kristen is a mess, she is spiralling, because she is a teenager who was faced with either choosing herself and being kicked out by her family and community or forever living a comfortable lie that would have inevitably made her lose herself.

She brought back a Goddess and she found her truth in Cassandra's domain, but she is also a teenager who just went through her first breakup with the first girl she ever loved and whom she experienced the highest of high and the lowest of lows. She has a right to mess up and fail and hit dead ends. Yeah Cassandra depends on her and Kristen needs to step up and take her role seriously but at the same time, it's so fucking unfair that the weight of a divine being's entire existence falls on the shoulders of a teen girl still in high school who is trying to find herself and learning how to handle life while also still recovering from a lifetime of trauma.

Whenever I think about that scene where Kristen says that her brain feels kind of liquid and she keeps failing to hold on to stuff I feel so incredibly connected to that feeling. I struggle so much with doing things that require a prolonged effort for a long term goal. My brain fails to hold onto stuff so I genuinely don't perceive how much time has passed, time feels so blurry and I inevitably end up failing at things I should be focusing on because my mind latches onto other things.

I relate a lot to Kristen on her struggles with commitment when it comes to important things and her latching onto fun and excitement that inevitably causes her to lose track of what matters.

The thing is that Kristen relied a lot on Tracker and how stable her presence was in her life. Tracker kept her anchored while also giving her a way to channel her energy and attention so I am not surprised that when they broke up Kristen lost most of her drive towards establishing her religion. It's not Tracker's fault of course and it is something that Kristen had to learn so JY Kristen was an inevitability

[phoenix-clan]

🧍‍♀️ where the hell did u all come from

hi hello thank u for all the new followers i just got.

just letting y'all know right off the bat there will be absolutely no talk of anything besides my silly cats here, this is my isolated little kitty cat corner and i will not be flooding it with anything else besides my silly gay cats

[mister-tom-a-dildo-lover]

I think a certain amount of etiquette is lost on people in fandom nowadays.

Just in general, but specifically I'm focusing on Tomarry/Harrymort right now because it's relevant my present issue.

I follow Tomarry/Harrymort content on here and Twitter. I am not always active, and I'm not always reacting to every single thing I see. But I see a lot of things and I keep my mouth shut most of the time.

In these past couple of months on Twitter, it's become really annoying to witness this particular subset of the fandom because people make posts that are not-so-subtly shading Tomarry/Harrymort writers every day.

People are so obsessed with how much they love the character and how much they love fanfiction that is true to the character, where they sound just like their canon self and don't seem any different, that they spend their days tearing down depictions of Harry Potter in fanfiction, that dare to stray away from abused, snow-white-angel, Quidditch-obsessed jock.

Many people seem to have forgotten that in the actual story, Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort would not get together. We ship two crack ships. They are things that have no hope in hell of ever happening in the canon story. To even write for Tomarry/Harrymort, we either have to change a few details, leave out a few details, or try to rework the existence of some details so they hit differently and make the pairing make sense for each individual fic.

This fandom purity nonsense has ended up with a lot of recent posts dogging on different kinds of HP tropes over the years and affecting authors.

A few weeks bacl it was 'the era of creature fics was cringe'. And then it was followed by a long list describing certain scenarios in certain stories that used these tropes, and I could immediately pick out which fics inspired these descriptions. There were people in the replies and the quotes land people who took screenshots to post to their own accounts to say shady things(including naming fics specifically!) without others being able to easily access them from the OG post itself.

I, personally, have outgrown creature fics in HP, and I'm not interested in reading them anymore. But I'm not sitting here making lists attacking the tropes involved in them. I'm not sitting here saying that they were stupid and corny, and they were the most unHarry Potter-like writings ever. And I'm not the one out here making the people who wrote those stories and get to see these kinds of comments coming from people in their fandom, feel bad.

IDK, but when So-So sees people bringing their 6-year-old fic up in a post dragging tropes in Tomarry/Harrymort fics, and they suddenly get the urge to just delete their fics entirely and not bother with the fandom anymore... maybe y'all need to learn how to word things better. It's really not that hard to say you're not into a specific thing anymore without having to drag other people down.

[applejuicewerewolf]

Just watched M27 (in cinema! That was cool!!) And oh boy, thoughts!

First of all, I was sooo excited to watch this anime movie in an actual cinema, with other people who were also there to watch an anime movie (in an actual real cinema). Idk, I often still feel like liking anime is something embarrassing, even tho it becomes more and more mainstream, so seeing 20 or so people who also openly announced that they liked it was amazing.

Now, to the actual content of the film:

Love Love LOVE Heiji and Kaito's dynamic here. He was so angry that he drove his fucking motorbike through a window!!

The fact that the KaiShin same face thing is something Heiji is surprised by is very weird, considering that he knew that Kaito always disguises as Shinichi in movies (and yes, the movies have their own continuity, see the fireworks-soccer-ball!!)

Additionally, I watched this film in the German dub. In German, Conan and Shinichi have the same VA, and Ksito has a different one. Still, Heiji makes a note of Kaito sounding similar to Conan (their German VAs do NOT sound similar!!!)

(On that note, they replaced the German VA for Kogoro and I am scared to google why :(( )

Also in the German introduction, Conan LITERALLY calls Kaito his "fated rival" ("schicksalhafter Gegenspieler"), which is very gay for the movie that completely reveals them as cousins.

Kaito feeding seagulls. Just that. It was funny. This is what happens when he has to leave his doves at home. He is a disney princess but only for birds.

Loved the scene where Kaito was attacked while on the ground and was shown to be out of his depth. Catch him on the ground and he is a wingless bird.

Additionally loved that scene because Heiji and Conan jumped in to save him. Their dynamic was so good, with Heiji attacking front and center, Kaito trying to shoot the attacker, and Conan coming clutch with his soccer ball. These three are so much fun together, and I love how throughout the movie they hunt Kaito in one scene, and work with him in the next.

They also alway immediately recognize his disguises??? That was hilarious. These three are one the same wavelenght and I'm all for it.

Oh speaking of disguises, I am VERY surprised nobody even mentioned Okita being the third same face triplet. Would've probably taken away from the KaiShin cousins reveal, I guess?

Minor mention: idgaf about Momiji and I never will. Useless character. Why does she even exist at all. Focus on the main characters...

Okay, I cannot keep quiet about it anymore. The entire "Ginzo gets shot" scene was THE BEST THING EVER. Kaito literally reliving the trauma of losing his parental figure again, and being unable to even SHOW IT OR VISIT HIM? Him having to silently watch as Aoko (MY GIRL IS ON THE BIG SCREEN I ALMOST CHEERED) is going through this all alone??? She probably was still in Ekoda. Did she get a phone call and was flown in to Hokkaido? WHERE THE FUCK IS MIDORIKO IN THIS?!?!?! GOD. This scene. I want 500 character studies of this scene on my desk by tomorrow morning.

That being said, with the Toichi reveal at the end, NOT ONLY did Kaito hide his emotions as he visited his mortally injured father figure in the hospital, his actual father was RIGHT THERE??? TOICHIIII YOU RAT BASTARD I WILL KILL YOU!

Why even WAS Toichi there. Legit. Ugh, I wanna do this in chronological order.

Anyways, AOKO SCREENTIME MY BELOVEEEEED

I feel like she was underused tho. Her only contribution was calling Conan Kaito's twin, and that was it. Feel like that's a running theme with DetCo focusing too much on random murder of the day and not its actual characters (something that also HIGHLY annoyed me during the Scarlet Schooltrip >_<)

Speaking of, that plotpoint was also kinda never mentioned again after the half point of the movie?

Coming towards the end of the story, the car chase with like 5 different parties through the city was hilarious. This is the stupid Shounen action I expect from DetCo movies (but not the stupidest Shounen action we'll get!)

As for the actual plot, I don't really care for that in DetCo movies, I'm more interested in the established characters doing fun and wacky shit.

Also so not a fan of the "murderer misunderstands or misreads a situation, making their murders pointless" storylines in DetCo. Tho M19 was probably the worst one in that reguard (girl what!)

Okay, so the Kendo guy. His mother died to a bombstrike, so he wants to blow up a mountain with lots of civillians on it. Because he's anti war. Girl what.

And now to the peak of Stupid Shounen Battles: swordfight atop a flying airplane, one of the combattants wears no shoes.

Absolutely LOVED Kaito catching Heiji midair. He does it with Conan, he did it with Heiji. Hakuba, you're next.

Sure, Iori just randomly DROPPED A FLASHBANG right in front of Heiji and Kazuha. Tho shout out to my girl Kazuha who was quick and smart enough to cover Heiji's ears as she "Get down Mr President"ed him.

At this point, shoutout to Ran. She gives it her all to make this Ship a thing. Loved her "casually but ominously deduce Heiji's true intentions" thing she did. Go be a love detective, honey!

Okay, the after credit scene. VERY NATURAL REVEAL you guys did there. Just casually have Yusaku suddenly say "yes, my wife whom I have been married to for at least 18 years, I have a twin brother i haven't seen in 2 decades." Wow.

HE REGULARLY TEXTS TOICHI??? TOICHI WHO FAKED HIS DEATH. THEY TEXT! THEY! TEXT!

YOUR SON BELIEVES YOU DEAD AND WANTS TO AVENGE YOU YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE

WHY WERE YOU THERE! WHY WERE YOU IN DIGUISE THIS ENTIRE TIME!

I HATE TOICHI EVEN MORE NOW WTF

Conan kill your uncle with a soccer ball please.

[bellisima-writes]

A GO Season 3 Fanfic Friday

Hello fandom fam,

First let's get a few things out of the way - I believe the victims, and always have - they deserve justice and what happened with GO S3, I hope, is only the beginning. Having a 90 minute series finale instead of an entire season stings, but if it protects vulnerable people and gives consequences for a sexual predator, then it is what HAS to happen. We can be sad, but we must remain enraged at the actual cause, and him alone.

NOW. This is a fanworks blog, so I feel compelled to shout from the rooftops - There are COUNTLESS SEASON 3 SPECULATION/POST SEASON 2 FANFICS OUT THERE. And I know there is a population of the fandom who avoids them because they don't want to be disappointed (I was this person) - but guess what! YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ANYMORE.

So dig in, let loose, read every bit of Season 3 fic as your heart desires and choose the one you love the most as your version.

Here are a few of my favorite completed Post Season 2 works that have stayed with me:

Please note - Now, I've not read as many post season 2 fics as others, and there are a few giants that are not on here, and that's not to say anything about the quality of those works at all. I am just a human, with my own tastes and things I gravitate towards and things I shy away from.

Most canon compliant:

Factory Settings - the original and the best with an air of mystery that makes it almost magical. This is the closest to canon season 3 story I've read. The gist is after Aziraphale returns to Heaven he finds the Starmaker standing in front of him in Crowley's clothes, with no recollection of his life as a Demon. It's a beautiful story that if you haven't read yet, you should.

Sexiest:

We Can't Keep Meeting Like This by @gingiekittycat - if you want to read the sexiest, angstiest, heart-breakingest version of Season 3 imaginable, this is it. I LOVED this story, but I love this type of angst, so proceed with caution. Aziraphale and Crowley meet once a year to discuss the Second Coming, but instead of planning they keep having sex. There is a fully blown plot driven story here that is so great. When you're ready to handle heavy angst and the hottest smut around, read this.

Funniest:

Trial & Error by @fellshish - Fellshish is my favorite author to read when I need to smile, and Trial & Error is a fantastic post season 2 fic if you need some levity and a lot of heart. The plot is simple - Crowley is brought to Heaven to face charges that he engaged in trying to tempt an angel. The way Fellshish writes Crowley is one of my favorites: carrying himself with both his heart on his sleeve while also maintaining an unwavering amount of self worth and confidence, even if it's fragile. Crowley knows who he loves, and he knows who he is, and I find the balance of the two is rare in post season 2 fics.

Fics by lesser known authors: I always like to highlight the works of a few lesser known fics because our fandom is overflowing with amazingly talented people. So here are a few I've read that stood out despite not being as popular as the ones above.

The Beginning of the End (Again) by @addledmongoose - a sweet post season 2 story that focuses on Crowley being employed by Hell to stop the Second Coming by showing Jesus around Earth and trying to convince him not to end the world. Supreme Archangel Aziraphale hears about these clandestine rendezvous and is...jealous? The characters in this are spot on, paying respect to both Aziraphale and Crowley. Some angst, but not much, and lots of sweetness. And BAMF Aziraphale coming in strong to save the day. I definitely hoped for some jealousy from Aziraphale around Crowley and Jesus' relationship in season 3, and since that's not looking likely now, this fic will always hold a special place in my heart.

A Place for the End of the World by @kitty-kat-undercover - another tender and unique take on a Season 3. The premise is, after Aziraphale returns to Heaven the Second Coming is happening fast, so Crowley heads to an old friend's house in deep rural Canada to spend the end of days time. The characters have a ton of heart with some really lovely OCs that rounded out the story nicely. The prose in this one are the standout, as well as the tender care and time that's taken to paint a picture of the beautiful landscape as well as Crowley's heart. Like a warm cup of cocoa, this one is a slower, sweeter take on a Season 3, but it could be what people need right now. Also, never seen a better take on jealous Aziraphale than in this fic. Raging, angry, jealous Angel.

And because life is short, I'll throw my own in here - Time Marches Forward. More of a sequel to Season 1 than Season 2, if Season 1 ended with the final fifteen. This story follows Aziraphale in Heaven and Crowley on Earth as they march towards the Second Coming. No book of life, no deconstructing what secrets lie in the final fifteen. In addition to Az and C, this story has an angsty and powerful teenage antichrist coping with the knowledge of what he is and how he fits into the world and the upcoming plans for everything to end, a witch contending with knowing she destroyed the key to saving everything, and a Messiah who's been left alone for 2,000 years, waiting for his "big comeback." Lots of plot, in-depth character arcs for everyone involved, an incredible amount of heart, and an actual resolution that includes justice for Heaven, Hell and humanity. This story is very dear to me.

AND IF NONE OF THESE SOUND GOOD - Here you go: Post-Good Omens (TV) Season 2 - there are over 1200 works under this tag.

Go forth and feast, dear fandom friends.

[twst-hottest-takes]

Cold take: Wtf was Leona's plan in Book 2? I know it was supposed to be Ruggie using his UM to take out Spelldrive players from the other dorms and eventually Malleus.

Problems: No Savanna Claw students were targeted which was mega sus. Even then, I don't think Leona should've targeted a bunch of Spelldrive players in the first place cause Savanna Claw should've been capable of taking them out in a fair match, and it's suspicious. Malleus was the #1 problem, so Leona should've focused on laying low and focusing his energy on him.

The plan hinges on Ruggie's UM, so if something happens to him it's game over.

I know the stampede is a reference, but there's gotta be a way to take out Malleus. Poison (or iron if that still works), telling Malleus that the tournament was rescheduled so he misses it (Malleus has missed ceremonies before so it would work), using Laugh With Me on Silver/Sebek and uhhh... y'know.

Book 2 is right up there with Book 5 in terms of frustrating writing choices.

Yeah, it's a serious stinker. It makes no sense and I am still trying to think of exactly what kind of person we're supposed to see Leona as. Supposedly he's a really smart dude in a lot of respects but his major character story block in this game makes him look like an idiot. When I first read the chapter I was worried for Jack because I thought Leona and Ruggie would target him after he admitted he didn't want to go along with the sabotage plot. Now I look back and think that's what SHOULD have happened. Not only would it make Savanaclaw look less suspicious overall but there's a lot of potential for character drama and growth. The whole plot was never really a mystery. It doesn't take much to figure out what's going on. They don't even try to hide that Ruggie is the playing piece behind the instances, and Leona is so stubborn and proud he's straight up acts dumb. He convinces Crowley to keep Malleus in the same player bracket as the rest of the school when that's blatantly unfair only to try and cheat to keep him off the field anyway? And you're right, Anon, the plot to target other players makes no sense because by all rights Savanaclaw mops the floor with every other dorm's Spelldrive team.

The premise they try to sell is that Leona is too lazy to want to do much in the tournament but he still wants to win, right? Well he put way too much effort into concocting a convoluted plan that doesn't even affect his main target until the last minute. The entire leadup of suspicious sabotage is 100% unnecessary and it just led to them getting prematurely found out! The people writing this chapter gave no hoots. They didn't want to come up with a more clever plan that relied on sleuthing to figure out that some big event was going to happen to ruin the Interdorm Spelldrive tournament. They had to come up with this cockamamie scheme to flag down Savanaclaw like idiots because otherwise the plot wouldn't happen. This one grinds my gears because the poor execution and bad storytelling really just sets Savanaclaw up as the worst dorm for the entire rest of the game and it's very hard to live that down.

JUSTICE FOR SAVANACLAW IN GENERAL THIS TIME! (Second worst written chapter.)

Thank you for your take. (Cold though it may be.)

(I think a lot of people will agree with this one.)

[stevelieber]

Thoughts on giving critiques to comics artists.

Seeing lots of discussion from students about sour experiences with an unhelpful art teacher, so here's a long, long post about giving critiques.

NB: I have no formal training as a teacher, but I was a student, and I've spent decades giving artists feedback on their work.

When someone brings me a portfolio, I like to establish my limitations & clarify my perspective. My work is firmly rooted in traditional US comics storytelling (i.e., not manga or art-comics.) I can give feedback on other approaches but they should know where I’m coming from.

“We've only got a little time for this, so I'm going to spend that time focusing on things to correct. That doesn't mean you're doing everything wrong, or that there’s nothing good here, but it’ll be more helpful if I identify some problems and show you how to fix them.”

Why? Because for many young artists their entire sense of self worth is wrapped up in being good at what they do. (It was for me!) In school they were probably the best artist in their peer group. But now if they're hoping to turn pro, they’re at the bottom.

Sometimes you know what’s up when you see page 1, but try to keep an open mind. Some build their portfolios by sticking new pages at the back & don’t weed out the old stuff up front, so the work gets better as you go. When it’s like that I ask: “Show me your best 8 pages.”

I ask questions: "What's the goal? Do you want to be hired to work on someone else's project, or to get the story you're showing me here published?"

If 1, I steer towards a portfolio that'll showcase hirable skills. If 2, I look for what tweaks will make that particular story more effective.

"Do you have teachers giving you regular feedback? What are they telling you?" Sometimes a student is getting bad advice. In cases like that, I'll do my best to be extra clear WHY I'm giving them advice that's 180 degrees from what they've been hearing.

“What artists are you looking at? Is there someone you admire or try to emulate?” This often helps me understand choices they're making, and I can sometimes incorporate things those artists do into my suggestions.

I ask myself questions about what I’m seeing. First: Is there a narrative? If not, I make it 100% clear I'm not speaking as any sort of expert. I'm good at critiquing storytelling, but don't have anywhere near as much to offer illustrators or designers.

Can I follow the story? Or am I confused about what's going on? Are the characters and settings drawn consistently? If not, is the artist at least making use of tags (distinctive clothing, hair etc.) to keep the characters recognizable?

Does the artist demonstrate a good command of basic academic drawing? If not, Do I think they need it? Do I focus on "how to draw" or on "what to do when you can't draw?" Is the artist putting the viewer’s eye where it needs to be to tell the story effectively?

(At this point I’m usually doing little doodles to go with my instructions. I scribble out ugly little 5 second diagrams that I hope will clarify what I’m talking about. Or they might make me seem demented. Hard to say!)

Is the artist making choices that are creating more work than necessary? Is there a particular weakness? I once spoke to an artist with a portfolio full of great work when he was drawing animals and monsters, but his humans were amateurish in comparison. I spent that critique talking about drawing people.

A crit can be a grab bag. In addition to big-picture advice, I'll point out tangencies, violations of the 180-degree rule, wonky anatomy, weird perspective, places where the artist neglected to do important research, odd choices in how they spotted black, whatever catches my eye.

I also try to make a point of defining the terms, so that jargon like “tangency,” “180-degree rule,” and “spotting black” don't go over their heads. Find simple, concrete ways to talk about these things, & clarify why it's a problem when they aren't done correctly. Draw diagrams!

Recognize that even a perfectly phrased explanation might not sink in. Some lessons can only be learned when a student is ready, and it might take a year or two of work before they can understand what you were saying. It's good to plant seeds.

Are there other artists who are particularly good at solving the problems the student is trying to solve? I steer them towards that artist's work. And I always recommend life drawing & the use of reference to give work specificity, variety, and authority.

Despite what I said earlier about focusing on what's wrong, I try at the end to find something encouraging to say. And if I’ve really piled on the criticism, I emphasize that I only spent the time and energy to do so because I take their efforts seriously.

If I've done my job right, they'll leave my table with tools to make their work better. And maybe in a few years they'll be looking at some younger artist's work, surprised to discover just how much you can learn when you're asked to teach.

[pine-rhyme]

Pine I’m going insane please clear something up about tlt

I keep seeing art of two(?) v similar looking people, one with short hair and another with pigtails and I’ve seen both being referred to as Harrow or Nona or similar. I thought they were the same person (with Nona being a nickname of Harrowharks family name) but I saw some art that’d imply they’re two different people???

I always interpreted it as ‘Nona is what Harrow would be without the Horrors’ since she’s v cheerful. Like a sort of collective fandom oc. But now I think that’s wrong. Pls advise T^T

(Also hiiiiiiii hope you’re having a nice day ೕ(•̀ᴗ•́) )

OMG THANK YOU I AM SO GLAD I GET TO EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU BECAUSE THIS IS GENUIENLY MY FAVOURITE THING OUT OF THIS SERIES!!!!!

That and the wild contrast between Harrowhark and Nona makes me giggle maniacally every time.

Here is some sketchy art and rambling under the cut because I LOVE LOVE LOVE NONA!!!! And by extension the book she stars in!

Nona is a real character! But very well pointed that her name derives from Harrow's NONAgesimus! She is the narrator and main lady of the 3rd book (Nona the Ninth :DDD).

The thing about Harrow and Nona is that yes! They share the same body! Harrow is such a haunted character that it is already ridiculous how many other ghosts could take over her body if she falls unconscious (which already happened a few times and ngl it was very sexy).

But this time, in Nona's case it is unclear if it is one of her many ghosts piloting her body or if it is really Harrow whose trauma caught up with her and got her brain reset (you already know it wouldn't be her first rodeo given that she already has had the lobotomy experience :)) but the thing is, Nona can't remember a thing from before she got saved by Harrow's... friends? Acquaintances? People that owned her a favour?

The beautiful thing is that you have this vulnerable person, who doesn't know anything about herself is getting taken care of by these people that? Genuinely cared about the old Harrow? And are actively trying to figure out who Nona actually is. And how she can be helped. All we know is that Nona is uncharacteristically kind and sweet-natured for the tlt world :)))

She is deeply aware that she is unlikely to survive for much longer and experiences everything around her with a deep sense of wonder. She has only been alive for 6 months and it was a gift. The world is slowly crumbling around her and her body is slowly dying but she loves the people that take care of her nevertheless. She looks in the mirror and finds herself truly beautiful and she is openly grateful for the girl who let her borrow her body to experience this life. It is a bittersweet story and a very big tonal shift from the intense and alienating POV of the previous book (Harrow the Ninth), focusing more on the domesticity and closure nurtured in a wartorn refugee camp, between unlikely characters.

AND IT IS JUST HILLARIOUS to encounter characters with whom Harrow has been AT LEAST highly disagreeable, getting absolutely showered in affection by Nona. Nona herself being so full of love and admiration for everything and everyone she meets is just amazing when you remember that's HARROW'S body she's piloting. Harrow who is easily the most people-allergic character out of this whole series lmao. AND NONA IS WEARING HER HAIR LONG AND BRAIDED! AND PARADES AROUND IN THE MOST INSANE GRAPHIC T-SHIRTS. SHE WANTS TO DYE HER HAIR ELECTRIC BLUE LIKE HER CRUSH!

I absolutely love Nona she is my favourite character in this series. It is because of her that Harrow started to grow on me as well. It is just wonderful to find, after how distressed and alone Harrow is during the 2nd book, she has people that would go to such lengths to care for her, despite the fact that she lost her necromacy, genius and aptitudes, along with her memories and, in fact her body might be the only thing that remained out of her because, by the end, Nona might indeed be somebody else entirely.

More than that it is a story about a girl with no past and no future loving unconditionally and getting unconditionally loved in return by her friends and family. Even when it gets very complicated and twisted and at times you are forced to question what is everybody's hidden intentions or what is the meaning of it all. It is just as grim (and upsetting at times) as the rest of the series but having for once an optimistic pov (even tho it comes with her forcing herself to suppress her ugly feelings because her life is very short and she needs to enjoy everything while it lasts) feels almost like a fever dream.

"Life is too short and love is too long."

(This is Nona with Pyrrha! Pyrrha loves Nona so much it makes me sick to my stomach and I could talk for hours on end about them. )

Thank you so much for this ask and for indulging me in my madness!!!!!!! MMMMWAH!

[lych33dragoncookie]

Ok so about yesterday's post, I'm rly rly grateful for all the attention n feedback, I'm glad ppl resonate with my analysis stuff and that they're happy to find someone who understands the characters, buuuuut Since it's my most critical post till now it's garnered a few counterpoints that I kinda wanna address.

The first one, and the one that I understand the most; the people that were telling me to not lose hope and that they could do something more with this.

I... Appreciate the optimism! I really do, and if you believe this then obviously I hold no ill will towards you and if you can keep looking on the bright side then more power to you, but... Really, I think the moment and the chance have already passed, unfortunately.

Yes, I am genuinely saying that, unless they pull a miracle, whatever they do next is just... Not going to land. Definitely not as well as it would have to have a better ending to the story we got.

Here's the main thing, really. For one... What is Burning Spice even gonna do to get one over Golden Cheese again? He's already just about entirely outmatched, and so anything they do next is just gonna feel like a repeat of what they already did in this update. Though more importantly, I'm concerned with the fact that they can't really do this again, we just saw Golden Cheese at her lowest point, actually on the brink of death, more heavily damaged than we've ever seen anyone in this entire franchise, we got extra development for both her and Smoked Cheese, and the Spice Army is kind of just... Not there anymore. No one other than Nutmeg Tiger really has any faith in Burning Spice anymore. The setting, the stakes, the characters, everything that made this story hold up (until its god awful ending) isn't repeatable, not without making it feel like we're just doing the same thing again. They can't match the sheer level of visceral brutality either, not only because again the setting is gone but also because it really won't hit anywhere near as hard the second time around, and even they have limits for how far they're willing to go with it.

That's just kind of the thing. The one thing that makes me so mad about how much this ending sucked. This entire story is one of a kind, you can't do this again, because if you try, then it's not gonna hit anywhere near as hard the second time around. Hell, it'd be the third time we've seen Golden Cheese in a low spot that she ends up pulling through and recovering from, and the second time (with Burning Spice) was so much more extreme than the first one which is part of what made it work, you can't do that again.

The framing isn't replicable. The active contrast between the two primary characters, the brutality and viscerality of it all, the active rejection of Burning Spice's ideals in a golden blaze of glory, the reinforcement of Golden Cheese's will through an adversary completely opposite to her, it can't happen again. This is why you don't fumble a story like this, because once you've shot the round, it's spent. There's no getting it back. If you miss the shot, no matter how potent the weapon, it won't do anything, and there's no getting that shot back. Specially because, like... Are we forgetting that we're not done with Golden Cheese here? Why waste more time on retreading ground that we already covered with her encounter against Burning Spice, when instead it would be much better spent later on focusing on her relationship with White Lily, and how she handles the whole Dark Enchantress situation? Sure, I have no doubt all the beasts are gonna come back, but I really, really don't see them getting entire stories dedicated to each and every single one again, specially involving their respective ancients, because... They've. Already lost. And if you try to set up the same matchups, it's just gonna feel like doing the same thing all over again. If/when they come back, it's most likely gonna be more short-form, akin more to a boss rush, I'd imagine, because the alternative is... What, exactly? Just doing their chapters again? A second time? For each one? It just feels really weird to think about, honestly.

Just... Everything here. Every bit of it. Every bit of narrative paralleling with Golden Cheese, Smoked Cheese, Nutmeg Tiger, Burning Spice and both of the respective kingdoms/armies, it was all contained in this arc, and you can't just do the same thing all over again, specially when the thing you've got set up next for Golden Cheese is a meeting with White Lily. Unless you plan to have Silent Salt and Burning Spice team up for a 2v2 against White Lily and Golden Cheese or... Something..? Completely taking away from the 1v1 fated duel kinda thing they've had going on this entire time..? I dunno, man. I don't see how they could salvage this. They had their chance, and they wasted it. Like sand, slipping through their fingertips.

Alright, that's the big one out of the way. I saw the comments and RBs bring up a few other points, so I'll address those now.

The first one, with someone posing the idea that she did take Burning Spice's Soul Jam, and that's why hers' changed color.

... What?

That's... That's not shown. Ever. Sure, you have an animation of her soul jam going over Spice's and eclipsing it, but... That's. Kind of it? It's never implied at all, and worse yet, it's directly contradicted by the fact Spice still has his Soul Jam. Like. It's right there. You can see it.

You could say maybe it's just a case of reusing assets, that they wouldn't make a whole new asset just for this one cutscene, but, uh... ... They did. It's this one.

It shows up in absolutely no other cutscene, only the one where he's about to get smacked by Golden Cheese. If his soul jam was taken not only would we have seen it (like we did both times it's happened to the Ancients), not only would he have probably noticed because that is very much a material object, but we would have seen it, like we do when both GC and Dark Cacao's soul jams are gone. So, no, he absolutely still has it. Undeniably so. You can't take someone's soul jam power without physically taking it, at least not that we've seen.

Secondly, a few comments/tags saying that it makes sense for Nutmeg Tiger to go back to Burning Spice after his defeat.

... I mean... Yeah, I guess? Technically?

It's... Not out of character. She is obsessive, absolutely to a fault, and she is incredibly stubborn. My main complain isn't that it makes no sense, and more that it's a bit of a wasted opportunity. More specifically, the fact that she went back to him with nothing about either of them having changed at all. It would have been super interesting to see how she'd react to seeing her god rendered powerless, to have him lash out at her despite her loyalty to him, to have Burning Spice's hostility and complete lack of care catch up to him and end up isolating him from absolutely everyone who served under him. To have her conversation with Smoked Cheese to be proven tangibly true, proving that yes, he would just discard her the moment she stops being useful. And, the best part? You get to keep her alive to have her process everything that just happened! Because, guess what, Burning Spice lacks basically all his power now, meaning he can't just kill her on the spot! Hell, if you really, really wanted to have a villain for a followup update, it could be Nutmeg Tiger, disillusioned with her former god's promises, deciding she'd find a way to become the next great destroyer, or something like that. Maybe she'd try to find someone else to serve instead to give her life some sort of purpose? Who knows! There's so many options you could go with, rather than just... Resetting everything back to where we started.

Really, this part of the whole thing is the least of my concerns. She's not the biggest player in this update, but I think she would have benefited heavily from the "Burning Spice gets his Soul Jam taken away" route in terms of potential development. Alas... There's a good chance we'll never get to know what that would have even looked like.

Thirdly and lastly;

The argument that it wouldn't be in character for Golden Cheese to give Burning Spice another chance.

Okay, this is somewhat minor. I need to emphasize; when I gave that hypothetical scenario at the end of the last post, I meant it as like... A long term thing. Not something to happen within the chapter itself. Besides, it's just one of many paths you could go with a jamless Spice.

... I'm still holding my ground on it, though.

See... We've got to remember here: Burning Spice's immortality is the exact thing that got him here. Take that away, and what do you get? A large man with anger issues and no special powers; and absolutely no one to cover for the newfound weaknesses of a mortal, since he's alienated and wronged absolutely everyone loyal to him. Not the Kulfis, or Nutmeg Tiger, or any of the spicelings would be left to help him. He'd be on his own, entirely. Why would Golden Cheese ever even consider helping him in any way, you may ask? After all he did, after all the bloodshed, physical pain induced, and complete lack of remorse for any of his actions?

Simple. For the same reasons she gave Smoked Cheese and White Lily another chance.

The latter specially! At the end of the latest Beast Yeast chapter, Golden Cheese decided she's ready to talk to White Lily. White Lily, who, as far as she and everyone else is aware, is pretty much responsible for her kingdom being reduced to nothing but ash and crumbs. Of course, on an objective level, White Lily is much more understandable, specially since she now exists as a separate person from Dark Enchantress, but... In the end, does it matter? Are the actions themselves any different? No, not really. The level of destruction and decay are still the exact same.

The main difference is, while White Lily would at most be hesitant to accept forgiveness and feel really really bad (like mortifyingly bad) about what Dark Enchantress did, Burning Spice wouldn't be interested in such a thing.

And, honestly? I feel like Golden Cheese would know this. And, at first, she'd have absolutely no interest in actually helping him. To me, she'd occasionally visit to see how he's faring, how this oh-so-powerful god of destruction is doing now that he's just a powerless little commoner, a mortal like all the rest, teasing him, finding entertainment in his position, while he can't do anything about it. She gave him the mercy of life, but that doesn't mean she's not gonna be a little shit about it and have her fun. And he can't do anything about it, either! Truly, eternal torture. Powerless, mocked by your enemy, made to feel small, denied the satisfaction of a proper fight or a warrior's death... Lol, get fucked idiot.

Eventually, it would probably turn into teasing him about how her kingdom is shaping up quite nicely, how happy everyone there is, how it's such a shame that his short-sighted and hostile nature prevented him from ever knowing such comfort and luxury, how instead he's here fighting for his life in the land that he once ruled.

And then idk he almost gets himself killed in the middle of a spice storm or something and she refuses to give him the satisfaction of a quick death so she drags his sorry ass off to safety much to his absolute livid rage and idk you know where this kinda thing goes. Both parties here hate each other. But I feel like sooner or later, it could grow into a very begrudging living agreement where he works for her, day in and day out, to make up for everything he did, and as payment for being given somewhere to stay. A destroyer, helping to rebuild and elevate a civilization he was so intent on destroying, how ironic is that?

And then yuri or something idk. That part is optional I just like the idea.

... Can you tell I'm a Dragon Ball fan? I'm all too used to absurdly evil villains getting another chance and becoming either significantly less dangerous or outright good.

Yes, I'm looking at you, Vegeta. You may not have killed a single earthling, but you did almost directly cause the death of 4. And then over time, through many, many humiliations, and finding yourself a woman who can somehow handle how much of an arrogant cocky bastard you are, with a temper matching or surpassing your own, you settled down and built something infinitely better than what you had when you exerted your power over those under you. Seriously, watch Dragon Ball Z, it's really good. It somehow makes a redemption arc for a guy who's blown up planets feel genuinely believable and engaging.

... Right, Cookie Run.

Yeah, I think it would be perfectly in character for GC to refuse Burning Spice the warrior's death he so desperately wanted (you know finding something that can destroy him), take his soul jam, and after a good while of having fun with watching him flounder about as a mortal, drag his ass over to her kingdom to work for her to compensate for all the shit he's done. And it would be infinitely more interesting than what they actually ended up doing.

And... I think that's it!

I think that covers everything I wanted to say regarding my last post on the update. This is probably the last I'll have to say about it of my own accord, though you can definitely continue the conversation through asks (Always open!). I'm still really mad at how bad they fumbled, but...

Hey, that's what fan-fixing is for, isn't it? This ending may have sucked, but don't let that prevent you from making a better one yourself, through whatever your medium of preference is. Go ham. Because there's a good chance whatever you have in mind is infinitely better than whatever the hell they're planning to do next with Burning Spice.

Go absolutely nuts. I'll be watching on, and potentially participating, if writing motivation ever strikes.

Cya'll.

[terapsina]

#2 for the book worm ask game!

(ask game)

2. Favorite fantasy book(s).

(Eeeeexcellent, I do love fantasy books. Though how I'm gonna narrow it to only a few I've got no idea. Okay. I'm going to remove the very obvious choices like Lord of the Rings (though it is one of my faves)).

---

Monstrous Regiment. I love the entire Discworld series (especially The Witches) but I've also got a huge soft spot in my heart for Terry Pratchett's take on 'a girl dresses like a boy to go to war' (and thinks of everything except some spare socks in- erm... the right place). Along with Polly, the squad consists of a vampire, a troll, an Igor, a religious fanatic and two very, very close "friends" (and yes, the official summary put the friends in quotes too). And everyone has their own secret.

I love basically everything about this book and I can't tell you guys any of it because it would spoil all the fun.

The Goblin Emperor. This one's a story filled with light. Maia the half goblin son of the elven Emperor was never supposed to take the throne (or to ever even be at court. because racism). And then everyone ahead of him dies in a single "accident" and suddenly he's the new Emperor. Maia is a good person, and a kind one, and despite everything that gets thrown at him he keeps hold of that understanding of right and wrong and refuses to bend.

(I have to mention that the language of the writing is kinda hard to get into in the beginning, and the characters's have very complicated and long names, but once you get into it it really did enhance the story for me).

Good Omens. An Angel and a Demon try to stop the apocalypse and instead lose the Antichrist. I've loved that book for like a decade now and if I don't put it on a list of my faves that list would be a lie.

The King of Attolia. Third in The Queen's Thief series and my favorite one out of all of them. I've always enjoyed Outsider POV in fics. And here is a book that just... proves why. We've got Eugenides and Irene, the Thief and the Queen, and we know them from the two previous books. And adore them. But the story isn't from their POV, it's from the POV of Costis, a Queen's guard who's suddenly gotten assigned to the King. The useless, weak, undeserving king that as far as Costis is concerned doesn't deserve to even kiss the Queen's boots. And it's hilarious to read the story from the eyes of someone who knows so much less than us. And so satisfying, as he begins to understand.

(I recommend the whole series and am personally glad to have read them in the published order but Megan Whalen Turner has stated that she wrote them in a way that allows you to jump in at any point you want).

The Raven Tower. The story is from the viewpoint of a sentient, omniscient rock whose name is Strength and Patience of the Hill and it is the GREATEST THING EVER. The gods are real and must be very careful with their words, because if they speak a lie the reality will alter to make that lie the truth but if the lie is bigger than the power of the god... well. Inspired by Hamlet.

(the book also has a trans man as the main character; the other main character? The sentient rock is the narrator but the largest part of the story focuses on Eolo).

A Natural History of Dragons. The first book from The Memoirs of Lady Trent (and honestly it would probably be more honest to say that every single book from this series fits the category of fave but I'm putting up the first here because this isn't a series where you should skip ahead). The book focuses on the life of Isabella as narrated by her older self. This is the story how a Scirland lady bucked all tradition and became a world renowned expert on the Natural History of Dragons.

(this series has a piece of my heart and always will).

---

(and finally, here's some more of my favorite fantasy books that I also adore and would totally ramble about but I got tired of typing).

[erisweekofficial]

Today we are celebrating the Amazing @the-darkestminds! 🤩

If you've ever wanted to dive into an Azris fic, we SUPER recommend her fic Autumn's Shadow which you can read on tumblr or ao3. This fic features enemies to friends to lovers and is so achingly soft!!

Definitely read this fic if you love stories that balance sensuality with tenderness and also feature a super unique plot full of mystery 👀

Read more to learn why @the-darkestminds started writing for Eris and what to do if Eris gets sick!

Would drew you to creating content for Eris? And especially for Azris other than any other ship for him?

I have the most fun writing for characters whose stories are largely untold. Angst/pain/hurt are my favorite themes to write and Eris fits into that mold well for me. There are no shortage of characters in the acotar universe with traumatic backstories, but to me Eris feels particularly tragic. We know he’s abused by his father, has likely been forced to wear a mask for his entire life. He cares about Lucien but is unable to show it in any open, meaningful way. He clearly cares about his Court and people, and yet he's treated like a supervillain by the main characters of the series. I think he’s extremely lonely. He doesn’t have an inner circle or a family he can trust. There’s so much to work with when it comes to his backstory because it hasn’t yet been written, which makes it extremely fun to fill in the blanks, specifically the events that shaped him into the male he is today. A lot of room to write about his pain and suffering. lol Because of this, I think he pairs well with Azriel’s darkness. They may appear completely different on the outside: Eris is snarky, bold, well dressed, vibrant, etc, whereas Azriel is brooding, quiet, always hidden in the shadows…but I like them together because they both have an inherent darkness to them. They’ve both known suffering. In my mind, they are able to draw each other out of it with lots of tension and passion. 

How do you choose which scenes or moments to focus on?

Again, I have the best time writing angst and pain, so I try to focus on scenes that depict how his suffering has shaped him as a character. We’ve only been told snippets of his past, so I like to fill in those gaps and try to portray what his suffering might’ve looked like. I decided to write one fic for Eris Week that focuses on when his childhood trauma first began, and another oneshot depicting his grief as a grown male. I swear I love him! 

What role do you think fan interactions play in your creative process?

A HUGE one. In fact, the only reason I ended up posting the first chapter of my azris fic was due to the lovely @unanswered-stars expressing interest and asking to be added to a tag list!  I absolutely love getting feedback on what I write and it motivates me to keep going. I’ve had people share their thoughts and theories, ask questions and wonder about certain elements of the story that in turn have given me ideas for later chapters. Their support is everything and I am a much better writer for it.

Eris is sick! What are you doing to help him get better?

Calling Azriel

Also: Can you give me a name for one of Eris's brothers? And also for one of his dogs?

One of Eris’s brothers is named Jasper. He is the second oldest after Eris and is featured in one of my Eris Week fics. One of his hounds is named Sol. Eris acquired this hound shortly after Lucien was forced to flee to spring and wanted something to remind him of his youngest brother. 

[urpaperboy]

Desolation

A YV Fan Au created by me !! Mateo/urpaperboy !! :)

Hi !! So I made these doodles on the whiteboard that @itsargyle made and got going on here rn and well people were interested in me talking about it so here I am !!

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Welcome to Desolation, A Steampunk styled YV Fan AU !!

The Term Desolation means - a state of complete emptiness or destruction or anguished misery or loneliness.

This was fan product I created back in 2021 and have and continued growing along side a couple of my friends in the YV community, and while although I haven’t written anything about it, I know how both the story begins and ends. So let’s talk about that !!

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The Plot

Everyone has their beginnings, middles, and ends. Everyone's beginnings either start bright or tragic. In this story, we follow the life of Seth, one whose beginnings started both bright and tragic and ended bright and tragic too. Seth is the so called “proud inventor” of the town, ones who inventions are beloved by many people around him, including Alphonse, which Seth has grown to love and care for and hopes to have a future with. But when tragedy strikes amongst the two, it sends Seth down a path of Desolation. But to keep his beloveds memory alive, he invents what can only be his greatest creation and the possible escape from his grief. But with that, comes a price, that the two of them must face and pay with in Blood and Tears, and possibly Oil too.

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The Characters

Seth

- Seth in this AU of mine is the main protagonist of the story. He’s an inventor !! Again, the “proud inventor” of the town he lives in. He has made many things for everyone and even owns a small shop in the town where people can view what he is creating just by looking through a window. Although most see him as a bit of a weird person for focusing their life to the inventions, the entire town loves him !! He has made himself quite a popular one in the town. But of course, he faces his own struggles and grievances, especially now that he knows the man he fell in love with, is now gone. But with the creation of his biggest invention ever, he hopes that maybe his broken heart can be healed and made anew, but unfortunately not everyone gets that.

Alphonse/A.I.phonse

- Alphonse is technically a protagonist too but not in the way you expect. For the first few parts of the story he runs a small business of selling sugars and sweets, which is actually running very well. And (and this is completely obvious) he has a rather close relationship with Seth (hehe crush moment), but unfortunately, his story comes to an end. But when tragedy strikes, something new blooms.

Meet A.I.phonse, A Robot created in Seth’s image in the hopes to keep a small resemblance of Alphonse alive, sounds a bit psycho but I promise it’s not. Throughout the story, he is there to help Seth Process his Grief, and help him attempt to continue with His Life. He learns like a newborn child in the world, he learns about life and other things. But as he grows, the realization of existence begins to become his biggest question.

Finn/Jack

Finn and Jack are one of the closest friends Seth. They are the one who help him out whenever Alphonse can’t. Finn has his flower shop which Jack works in too. When Alphonse dies, The Two boys make it their goal to at least keep Seth happy, although it is rather difficult considering Alphonse literally dies in Seth’s Arms so it was a rather traumatic experience and definitely difficult to try and keep someone happy after that. But although the challenge is difficult, they keep trying, because who wants to see their friend sad?

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These are the other characters that are in the story but can’t really write much about at the moment

- Charlie

- Derek (he’s obviously a the antagonist)

- Jessie

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That’s currently what I can share so far !! I’ll post a character line up of all the characters when I fix them up and actually do it soooo yeah !!

If you have any questions for me about this AU, my inbox is open, I’d be happy to answer these questions !!

- Mateo ⭐️

[rewrittenmha]

Hi, everyone! This is @sapphic-agent speaking! I went ahead and made the new blog just to have it set up. I won't be active on it for a while- at least not until I either finish the anime or read the manga- but when I am it will be mostly bouncing ideas around, discussing what went wrong in canon, giving shunned characters real arcs, and fixing character arcs that were lacking in canon.

As I said before, this isn't a full fledged rewrite. I don't think I have the time or the energy to commit to that. If I feel inspired, I may write little excerpts here and there. But other than that, this blog will primarily be discussion-based. Unlike my main blog, this one will be a little more serious. While I still won't treat characters like Bakugou, Aizawa, and Endeavor kindly, this blog won't be me just mindlessly bashing them. I do that enough on my main🤷🏾‍♀️

Rules

Be Civil: Don't be dicks to each other. I almost never see that from the people who frequent these tags, but this is just to make sure. No racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, etc. No insults or threats or harassment. And please, no holier-than-thou attitudes. Everyone interprets the story differently and that's okay. Don't assume you know better because your opinion is different. The point of this blog is to be open to everyone's perspective. Just keep the discussions friendly, okay?

Be Constructive: I don't mind what you say about the fictional characters/plot/Horikoshi in the tags or reblogs, but I do ask that you keep the asks rewrite related. This is to a) keep the blog focused on one topic and b) keep my ask box from getting flooded. Questions are fine as long as they pertain to the rewrite.

Be Patient: I would like to go through every arc one by one. So if we're on the Sports Festival, it doesn't make sense to suddenly jump to the Shie Hassaikai, you know? It helps me keep things organized here

Scroll: If you're a Bakugou, Aizawa, or Endeavor fan, I recommend not visiting this blog. At best, they're all facing harsh criticism. At worst, they'll be given extreme consequences. Get gone if that bothers you. If you harass me or anyone else about it, you'll immediately be blocked. This isn't a space that's meant for you, kindly respect that.

No Shipping: I'm staying FAR away from shipping in this. I've never really shipped anyone in MHA hardcore (the closest maybe being MomoJirou), so I have no qualms leaving it out entirely. Don't ask me about any ships, none of them are going to be written by me. Only wholesome platonic relationships up in here😤

Keep asks focused on THIS rewrite. This blog isn't meant for giving advice or critiquing ideas for your own rewrites. If I'm ignoring your asks I'm not trying to be mean, but it just doesn't pertain to what I want to do here. I'm going to be deleting the asks I've already answered about this because it feels as though the blog is getting cluttered with them

I'm pretty sure that's it. I might add more rules if needed, so check in on this post every once in a while (I'll pin it). Can't wait to start on this after I get through this dumpster fire!

Stay tuned, everyone😊

[thefatisland]

Okay so I did a brief digging into the manhwa works of Taejun Pak, the creator of Lookism. I won't go too deep into it all because these stories all are basically about hyper-violence in one way or another, and that's not something I feel I can enjoy. I don't mind a battle story, but Pak's creations are... a bit too much for me. I said how much I disliked Lookism, his more recent works like My Life as a Loser seem to be a bit better, though still not my cup of tea. Though this is obvious that it is because Pak is still making himself out as a manhwa creator - Lookism was literaly his first creation, and it shows as it bears all the marks of a "first project". His later projects seem more focused, more well-handled, more precise in what they try to do. However, I digress...

What I meant to say is that Pak clearly has a certain interest in exploring the various male body types and indeed, as I thought, almost all of his works contain presentations of fat male bodies to various degrees. (Since this post is VERY long, all under cut)

All was sparked recently due to the main character of "My Life as a Loser 2" being a very muscular guy who turned basically obese since the last time we saw him

I already talked a long time ago about Lookism, which started out and maintained this very bad habit of depicting all the overweight characters as... inhuman, grotesque, half-chibified abominations.

Except for this one side characters, originally the main antagonist, then turned sort of side-kick, then co-protagonist? I don't know, Lookism is very convoluted... but this guy who is drawn like a regular person, and does get an entire arc of him losing weight, and then regaining all back and some more, before returning to his usual size. Logan Lee, that's the name. And apparently from a quick image research he at one point loses the fat and get buff? Okay...

Oh yes and you can count the main character who, as he loses the weight, slowly turns more and more human-looking but... I mean come on, that's typical Korean fatphobia to the max, the guy literaly has to slim down to be human.

Well I would have said "typical Korean fatphobia" if there wasn't all those other detailed, constantly shirtless, and shown as strong fat characters that keep popping up in th artists' other works.

Another one of Pak's famous works is "Questing Supremacy" which also has its share of fat characters (notoriously shown here as hard to fight due to their weight apparently? I am relying on the screenshots I could find)

Though it makes sense since most of these series all take place within the same universe, with recurring background, organizations and characters. One of the fat guys is actually a (tertiary I would say?) antagonist that started in Lookism and then returned in Questing Supremacy. Someone did a compilation of how his frames were reused, and you can see the style evolution between the two works)

Viral Hit (also known as "How to fight") also contains some characters with fat on them (though I don't know much about this series), most notoriously Donseok Ok (referred to as "the fat boxer" by some Internauts)

And this guy everybody is crazy over apparently, Mangi Hwang

There's probably many more but, as I said, I probably won't get too deep into this all because... I just don't have the time to explore entire multiverses of webtoons about gang members and bullies beating up each other - no matter how cool or good-looking the fat guys might look. If anyone has specific info, indications or screenshots they want to share, as usual don't hesitate (I think I should open a "Submit" option on this blog...).

And why do I have the strange feeling that someone Pak hesitated drawing fat men early on but as time passes by he just goes all in and takes a huge kick out of it?

I am thinking especially about "My Life as a Loser 2": the main protagonist, after letting himself go massively, returns to the past (though in a different body) and we get to see back his muscular, fit self... Only for this old body to become just as massive if not more as the "future obese" self for reasons yet unknown and unclear (I will be on the lookout for explanations as to how he could grow that big in just a month). If there's no explanation, it's just that the creator wanted to have this fat design for as much as possible...

[what0smart]

Jay and Jon: Absolute Power

Been a while since I posted but I wanted to make a post as a sort of quick refresher for what we know about Absolute Power and what it's gonna be like for Jay and Jon. (Some of this will be more speculation as some of it is not 100% confirmed but the majority of this is accurate based on what we've seen.) Spoilers Ahead!!!

Amanda Takes Control of Gamorra

In Suicide Squad:Dream Team we follow Nia as she struggles to fight against Amanda as she is forced to help in a hostile take over of Jay's country, I'll get back to Nia's role in this soon. In Issue 2 of Dream Team Bizarro acts on Amanda's orders and ends up killing Jay's mother, but right before that Jay is telling her that he's trying to call Jon for help but he's not picking up his phone.

For a while we were unsure if something had happened to Jon or if he just wasn't near his phone which many, including myself, doubted because of Jon's super hearing and how attentive he is as a boyfriend, but now we know why he didn't answer the phone.

Jon was Missing

For a long period Jon was just nowhere to be seen in the comics, even in a Brainiac event focused on the entire Kent family. In that event Clark mentions that Jon is with the Titans, but the next week we saw that he was not with them despite both comics taking place at nearly the same time. It didn't feel like they just didn't have room for Jon in the story but more that he was intentionally not present. We now know that it's because he has been kidnapped by Brainiac, as we now have the covers for Jon's solo issue in Absolute power "Superson". It seems like Amanda had gone after Jon first before going after the Nakamura's knowing that Jon would intervene unless stopped beforehand. There’s a chance that this could be wrong and we won’t know until after the event releases but until then this is the working theory.

Nia's Betrayal

In Issue 4 of Dream Team we end up seeing why Nia hasn't stopped Amanda despite her opportunities, it's because Nia's parents are under threat if Nia steps out of line.

While her actions are understandable she did just chose her own parents over Jay's mother and his country and that choice is going to cause a strong divide between the two of them. If you're more interested in this Nicole Maines, the creator of Nia and one of the writers for Absolute Power recently had an interview going over how Jay, Jon, and Nia's relationships are going to have massive changes throughout this story.

We're going to start with this spike in Nia and Jay's relationship as previews for Absolute Power #1 show that Nia is tasked with Deadshot in capturing Jay so he doesn't use his platform on Truth and Amanda keep's control of the narrative.

Final thoughts

I am personally very excited for this event, at it's base I'm glad to get an event which feels like if the heroes win could be a conclusion to Amanda Waller for quite sometime if not permanently. This is a very unique story and it's exactly what I've been hoping for Jon to get conflict wise of putting him in a position where he feels powerless, it's also going to dive into his past which is always nice to see finally happen for Jon. Jon's event appearances in my opinion are consistently pretty good in things like Dark Crisis and Beast world so I'm really happy he's a main character. It's nice to see Jay being involved in a major conflict in a way his addition feels very natural with references back to Son Of Kal-El and will have lastly impacts on him as a character, especially for Jay's first event appearance. We haven't seen much of Nia's friendship with them so it's nice to have more at the for front now rather than in the background, even if it is kind of their friendship falling apart. This is also Nia's first real time in the spotlight starting out with Dream Team and leading into this, which I have very much enjoyed so far, Nicole is not afraid to put Nia in really tough spots or give her flaws which I appreciate. This event has some of my favorite writers on it like Mark Waid so I'm expected good things and I hope you all who read this enjoy it too.

Edit

I had to make some corrections and you can find those here

As well as now that the issue released you can read the update to this post here

[kookieswan]

Red Light - Dearheart

Nightmare!Hoseok x Psychologist!Reader

Word Count: 2k

Genre: Horror AU, Monster AU, Psychological horror, angst and some sad fluff.

Warnings: Buckle the fuck up. Mild sexual content. It should be noted that this story will contain themes of horror/psychological horror and also explore obsessive behaviors and codependency. Many characters are morally gray. Please be warned!

Summary: As you stare quietly at the Nightmare in front of you, you can’t help the nerves that take over. It’s now or never, right?

Notes: This happens after My Sweet Love, a week after or so. Have fun! ☺️

This is Part 37 of the Red Light series. Find the Masterlist here ♥️

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“Well, that’s everything I wanted to talk about today. I suppose we’re at the end of our time together now.” Your voice holds a tone of sadness to it as you trail off, the Nightmare in front of you raising an eyebrow. He stands up from the chair he’s been sat in, slowly walking forward until he’s placed both hands against his cell, leaning forward curiously. His wings stretch out slowly, backdropping him in darkness.

“What’s wrong Doctor? You’ve seemed nervous the whole session… Nothing has happened, right? No one’s bothered you?” His words are sweet but laced with venom. Staring back, tapping your pen against the clipboard slowly where the extremely long letter you wrote last night lays. You sigh, looking to the side as the nerves take over. Even then, you try to keep your voice steady as to not alarm him.

“No, that’s not it. You haven’t listened in…?” He smiles gently, shaking his head as his wings slowly draw back in with a crack. Your Nightmare taps against the wall between you a few times, pursing his lips as he cranes his head slowly. His jumpsuit still hangs around his waist and sways slightly with his movement, chest on full display. You look back to his face quickly.

“I heard you coming and drew myself back in; you know I try not to if I can avoid it even if I love your pretty voice. It gets too loud at times anyway, saves me a headache to keep to myself. Why, want me to listen in?” Hundreds of voices at once can’t be fun, like a room screaming at you. You nod your head in understanding, quietly looking down, unsure of how to bring up what you need to say. Every way you think of seems awkward, but maybe…

“Well, it’s Christmas today…” A lame start, but it works you suppose. Hoseok’s eyes widen as he waits, yet you remain silent because you’re really not sure where to go from here. The man hums to himself as he appraises you, his voice almost delicate at first as he speaks.

“Indeed, you would be correct Doctor. It seems no one can shut up about it down here. Even Namjoon seems to be jumping for joy still from your little gift. That was very kind of you, but also very risky. Dangerous, even.” There’s an undertone of anger there then, very slight, but you catch onto it. Even though you understand, you choose to ignore it for now. You’d listen to Hoseok about most things, but not this. Your patients deserve happiness.

Staring down at your hand, the empty spot on your finger screams back at you. You had got the other Nightmares presents, yes… But what you’re going to give to Hoseok, well, that’s in another ballpark entirely. Standing up from your spot, you toss the clipboard over to the table and kiss your teeth. The letter is too much for now, and you’re afraid of it, so it’s for another time.

“… I got you one too. This wasn’t so much a session as it’s just me wanting to see you for a bit. I’ve missed you, so here I am.” The words come out in a small whisper. You have missed him, completely focused on how to manage the issues going on down here and putting your relationship in the back of your mind. Hoseok easily distracts you from the all of the issues though in this moment, pretty smile on show now, both lovely and borderline predatory.

“Ah, a present? Getting to spend time with you is more than enough for me Doctor. Nothing thrills me more than getting to see your lovely face as I’ve missed you terribly as well.” You walk closer, sliding a hand into your coat pocket. You feel the keys there, once again thanking Taehyung for helping you out. Stopping right in front of Hoseok, you poke the wall just about where his cheek would be.

“Close your eyes for me?” His eyes sliver a bit, but the smile remains. It makes you giggle a bit as you tap on the wall a few more times, hoping he’ll do as you say. It’ll make you feel a little bit better if he’s not perceiving every move, because as much as you care for him, you know that he’s perceptive to a fault.

“Just trust me, okay?” His eyes slide shut slowly at that, and you pull the keys out with a jingle. It’s obvious he wants to open his eyes, but they remain shut diligently for you. Unlocking the locks slowly, you pull the heavy door open and walk in, your heels clicking loudly in the silence. His wings extend outward again, drawing in around you as you get closer.

Leaving the door open, you step forward until you’re standing directly in front of him, the other gift you hold burning a hole through your pocket. Pulling it out, it jangles a bit but otherwise gives no clue to what you have. Glancing up, you don’t think you’ll be able to put it on him without some help, even without his boots on he stands well past six feet.

“Maybe bend forward a bit…?” He leans in toward you, face almost parallel to yours. Grabbing the necklace with both hands, you unclasp it and wrap it around his neck. His skin brushes against the underside of your palms as your clasp the necklace behind his neck, the skin warm and inviting. You hold your hands steady for a bit, gently fingering at the hair there.

You stare up at him, noting that his hair has gotten significantly longer since you first met. He looks handsome in the dim light, pretty dimples on show as he continues to trust you wholehearted. You pull your hands away, the nervousness now returning as he seems to want to follow you.

“There we go. If you don’t like it, I can get something different-“ Hoseok blinks a few times, then looks down to see what’s been given to him. The nightmare first lays his hand over the thin silver necklace, and then grabs the ring that’s been placed on it. He stares at it for a second, brows furrowing until recognition sets in. You watch quietly in a panic.

“… This is one of your rings.” He holds it in his hand, fingers clasping it tight as he gazes at is. He doesn’t look away for a while as you start to babble about other gift ideas, all of his attention on the object that’s now chained to him. You slow down eventually, drawing back to his earlier statement as you notice is quietness.

“It is my ring. It’s one of my favorites, and I want you to have it. You’re not allowed a lot down here but I wanted to show how much I care for you, so… I don’t know, maybe it’s too early to say anything but…” The words are on the tip of your tongue, and his head whips up, eyes meeting yours. They’re somehow smoldering, the black of them now a cavern of emotions you really wish to fall into.

He crowds closer to you then, dropping the ring in favor of holding your face softly in his hands, the metal thumping by against his chest. Hoseok’s eyes search yours, thumbs running against your cheekbones in a soothing manner.

“This ring represents your affection for me, hm? Perhaps something more?” You attempt to respond, but nothing more comes out than a sad little squeak. Hoseok’s wings wrap around you tighter, pulling you in even further. He holds you close, all attention on you, nothing else in the world mattering even a bit, even as you try to look away in embarrassment.

“You’re allowed to take your time, I’m in no rush. Maybe you can’t say it right now, but I certainly can.” You look up in shock, searching his face for any kind of hesitance. There’s none there, not as he looks at you with such gentle eyes, his words gilded in adoration.

“I love you.”

“I’m in love you, _____. I love you selfishly because I know I can’t possibly offer you what you need. I love you to a point of recklessness; I’ll do anything to keep you safe, to keep you happy. I love you very much, my dearheart.” Tears well up in your eyes, a sob almost coming out as you choke it back. He leans down then until his lips press against your forehead, the kiss a reassurance that everything will be okay someway, somehow.

He holds you as you continue to cry silently, your cheek squishing up against his bare chest. You listen to his heartbeat, losing any notion of time as you take only him in, and maybe you can’t say it yet, but he really is yours. Your love…

“Hoseok-“ You glance up, chin resting against his chest to see him properly. It’s then you notice a few wet tracks on his own face, a few tears that managed to escape his eyes. Grabbing his face, you pull him down again, leaving chaste kisses against the watery marks on his face.

“May I give you a gift in return dearheart?” You confirm that he can with another kiss, this one dangerously close to his mouth. He doesn’t let that slide though, no, his lips meeting yours in a searing kiss. It holds all the emotions you’ve both managed to bottle up.

He pushes against you until you’ve backed up into the wall, reaching down so his hands come down to the back of your legs, nails digging into your pantyhose. He hefts you up until he’s properly holding you against him, and you wrap your legs tightly around him so you don’t fall. Maybe you let out a shameless moan as he licks into your mouth, but then again, maybe you don’t care.

When Hoseok finally pulls away, a thin bridge of spit connecting the two of you still, you can feel yourself heat up in both need and embarrassment. You don’t want to let him go, not now, not knowing what terrors tomorrow could bring. You let out a little whine, one that has Hoseok chuckling warmly.

“I know, pretty girl. But you’ve already been in here with me for a very long time, we don’t need people to start questioning anything, hm? I really don’t want to have to go hunting again, not when I know it hurts your heart so terribly.” He slowly lets you drop to the ground until you’re standing properly, pulling back just a bit as his wings draw back in.

He reaches out to the side as you watch in awe, pucking a small black feather from his wings. The Nightmare holds it out to you, eyes intense as he watches for your reaction. You smile big at the gesture, taking the feather into your hands and holding it close to your heart.

“It may not be a lot, but it’s a piece of me and I want you to hold onto it, just as I’ll hold onto a piece of you. Will you do that for me?” It’s a commitment that you’re more than willing to make to him. Leaving a kiss against his chest where the ring lays, your words quiet but earnest.

“I promise, Hoseok. I’ll keep it close to me.” He leans down to leave a final kiss against your neck, then walks past you and out of his cell. You can only watch in horror as he approaches your clipboard, picking it up and waving it toward you with a smirk.

“Now, about this little love letter…?”