#moonstruck comic

[clown-college-honor-roll]

Here's a sapphic comic where they're BOTH Werewolves, the paler one is Latina & plus sized, and there are McElroy Boys Easter eggs in some panels:

we need to destroy the pale snow bunny femme x dark skin muscular butch sapphic comic industrial complex

[toonlets]

A Flat Earth Public Service Announcement!

From the graphic novel, MOONSTRUCK!

[fortressofserenity]

Ugliness

When it comes to American animation and the like being kind of ugly, I wonder if it’s not just a matter of simplifying character designs as to be more readily animated, but also a sense of kind of going against the grain when it comes to conventional beauty standards that you get drawings that are really hard on the eye. Sort of like how I feel about things like Vivziepop’s productions like Hazbin Hotel, anything by Shae Beagle and their ilk that it seems the whole suspicion about such aesthetics being ideologically motivated may ring true to an extent. I feel they draw these sorts of things as to rebel against conventional (western) beauty standards, but when coupled with certain influences and constraints it produces something ugly.

It should also be noted that a good number of contemporary comics cartoonists alive today also tend to have an animation background in some way or another, though for others like Arden Wachowski they can still and do produce good-looking cartoons. But with Vivziepop and the like, it seems to be a combination of certain influences, going against the grain and being kind of unskilled in certain things produces a rather ugly look. I still think my point stands because in the early 2010s, there was a growing number of cartoonists who deliberately went against the grain in superhero comics in some manner. Especially when it came to the way female characters are portrayed that their own illustrations would counter this, some of them would go on working in comics proper.

So their overall aesthetics tends to be a stronger emphasis on bright, flat colours, more diverse body shapes and attempts at cuteness instead of the staid realism, idealised body shapes and attempts at more realistic colouring on part of many superhero cartoonists. Like I said, some of these newer cartoonists are also more likely to have a background in animation. So their stronger preference for what seems to be a cuter aesthetic or at least something more rooted in animations of any kind gets contrasted more sharply with what I call the staid realism of superhero comics for almost the past 20 plus years, itself a reaction to the Rob Liefeld school of questionable anatomy and trying too hard to be edgy thing as seen in 1990s superhero comics.

That’s why such animations and comics like those look ugly, they may not intentionally be ugly but they are a reaction to any perceived faults with the prevailing trends in US superhero comics for the past score or more.

[libertyreads]

Book Review #107 of 2023--

Moonstruck, Vol. 1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle. Rating: 3.5 stars.

Read on August 24th.

I found this while browsing my library this past weekend and it looked too cute not to read. We follow two werewolves and a centaur as they're living life in this magical world and working at this coffee shop. But when they go to a magic show one night things take a dark turn and they're left trying to recover, find out who stole the centaur's magic (and their horse butt), and get everything back to normal.

This is a cute cozy Fantasy comic series and do I now have volumes 2 and 3 as library holds just waiting for me to swing by? Of course I do Hi, have you met me? I'm excited to keep going with this one because it IS so adorable and so magical. My struggle--and the reason this didn't get a higher rating from me--is that we spend so long meeting everyone and getting our way of the magical land that we don't have enough time on the action. We get a few pages per chapter but, as a whole, this volume isn't very action heavy. The fight sequences are quick (maybe a couple of pages at the most) and then we're moving on to the next thing. I'm hoping we get more action in the next couple of volumes.

Favorite Characters? I sort of love Cass who is a seer at another coffee shop who helps them on their mission. Julie is alright but probably not a favorite despite her being our main character. The centaur Chet was hilarious but I think 70% of that was just the fact he kept running around talking about missing his horse butt and 30% being his insane energy.

Overall, it's cute and quick and I think it's great for anyone wanting to jump into something with cozy vibes. With all the magical creatures, it also kind of gives off those Autumn vibes for anyone who--like me--is currently suffering through more heat waves than you can shake a stick at.

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Moonstruck

Author: Grace Ellis, Beagle, Kate Leth

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2018

Genres: fiction, graphic novel, fantasy, comics, LGBT+, romance, paranormal

Blurb: Werewolf barista Julie and her new girlfriend go on a date to a close-up magic show...but all heck breaks loose when the magician casts a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now, it's up to the team of mythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it's too late.

[paullovescomics]

Comics read in the second half of 2023, part 4 of 7

[curiouspupsicle]

Fan Fiction Recommendations - Pinned Post

Thought it might be helpful to save links to my weekly fan fic recommendations. Organized by theme, each post gives you the rating and enough information to give you an idea of whether it's a good choice for you to read. And you'll find more great suggestions in the comments and reblogs. Just one more option for a fan fic reference desk. Scroll down for links--oldest first. Recommended WIPs at the bottom.

2024

11/8/24 - Fics that Made Me LOL - These are the funniest fics; the ones that actually had me laughing out loud. I'll definitely need to revisit this theme. So many to add to the list.

11/15/24 - Current Best of the Best - Snapshot of my absolute favorite fics at this moment in time. Fics I loved and can't imagine ever forgetting.

11/22/24 - Human AUs - These are the fics that finally convinced me to read our ineffable pair depicted as humans. And I've never looked back.

11/28/24 - Banter - Who doesn't love saucy banter? Here are my fave stories with witty dialogue.

12/6/24 - Illustrated Stories - It's in the name. These include comics and traditional fics with illustrations.

12/13/24 - Smooth Criminals - Fics that involve criminal undertakings.

12/20/24 - Christmas - I limit myself to one, very special Christmas fic. Hard to imagine any story better than this one.

12/27/24 - Through the Ages - Do you really need an explanation? My fave fics that show our ineffable pair in different time periods.

2025

1/3/25 - The Bentley - Fics in which our favorite sentient car gets her due.

1/10/25 - "Mixed" AUs - Stories in which one of the ineffable pair is mortal and the other is supernatural.

1/17/25 - Animal Shenanigans, pt 1 - Fics in which animals play an important role.

1/24/25 - Animal Shenanigans, pt 2 - One week was not enough to contain so many charming, animal-centric fics.

1/31/25 - Resistance - My favorite fics centered around resistance against powerful forces and nasty people.

2/7/25 - Read the Footnotes, pt 1 - I highlight two writers who write particularly clever and fascinating footnotes for their fics, in the style of Terry Pratchett. More to come in a future post.

2/14/25 - Be My Valentine - Recommending 3 Valentine's Day fics and 3 more that are about wooing, but not necessarily in February.

2/21/25 - Read the Footnotes, pt 2 - I share more favorite fics with clever footnotes.

2/28/25 - Alt Season 3 Speculations - These are my favorite post-season 2 fics that aren't what you might expect.

❖❖❖

And finally, I've started recommending WIPs. Listing them here and marking them complete as they finish.

2/2/25 - Cayuga Blush (M) by asparkofgoodness/@thetunewillcome - Human AU with amazing link to canon in which Crowley and Aziraphale operate competing vineyards.

2/5/25 - Pages About You; Pages About Me (T) by D_Cocca/@dcocca - Aziraphale the bookstore owner and Crowley the comic shop owner become close while recommending reading material for each other.

2/19/25 - You Can Have It (E) by @voluptatiscausa - Aziraphale gets unwanted flowers from an ex. An empathetic delivery person helps him realize he's worth more than he's settled for in the past.

2/26/25 - Moonstruck (E) by @foolishlovers - Crowley is a single dad struggling with his responsibilities when the angelic bartender at his monthly stop shows him he deserves to take care of himself as well. COMPLETE

If you're seeing this as a reblog, you can find the original (most-up-to-date) version here.

[jason-todd-rh]

Masterlist 12

It's been a while (4 years to be exact) since i have done a masterlist but I wanted to do one. Here is the link to the other ones. My organization for each post is random. Also some didn't have names so i just did a short name (sorry in advance). There isn't a specifc order to them and these are just some i liked from the last year-ish.

As a reminder, make sure to follow these blogs :)

Series "Birds of a Feather" (part 1) (part 2) by @zyhkoo "Guard Dog" (part 1) (part 2) by @mostly-imagines "Shower Surprise" (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) by @twilight-orchid "Learning to Love Slowly" by @to-the-stars8 (honestly one of my favorites 10/10 recommend)

Jealous/Protective Jason (love me this category) "Don't Tell Jason" by @siddyyyyyyyy "Who are your boyfriend" by @prongsx

Fluff "Moonstruck" by @mostly-imagines "Favors in exchange for kisses" by @prongsx "Scenes from an afternoon odyssey" by @mostly-imagines "MIA" by @indulgentdaydream "Hungry?" by @montagoves "How He Shows He Loves You" by @mistymisfit "Amnesia and Flustered Jason" by @sanguineterrain "Eat Your Heart Patrick Swayze" by @kitkatscabinet "Physical Touch" by @luv4jason "Bluetooth j.t" by @cipheress-to-k-pop "Falling Asleep for the 1st time" by @patchiko "Hiding Nightmares" by @stararch4ngelqueen "Perfect Match" by @msfantasy-comics "SFW Fluff Alphabet" by @kimberly-spirits13 "Late Night Bouquet" by @killxz "We Got Love" by @makethatelevenrings "For the hell of it" by @lambsouvlaki "As long as you're with me" by @maivolpe "Shelter in the Rain"

Angst/Angst-ish "Don't Go Disappearing on Me" by @rambling-at-midnight "So This is Love" by @mostly-imagines "Not hot enough" by @writeriguess "Kidnapped" by @sanguineterrain "Where Are You" by @millyhelp "Ghosts of Gotham" by @sexsylexi "Domestic Betrayal" by @yourlocalcringydaydreamer "The Arkham Knight" by @mostly-imagines "Never Let Me Go" by @froggibus "Misunderstandings" by @sanguineterrain "Broken Heart of Gold" by @jasntodds "Be with You" by @chaotic-birds "Text me when you get home" by @sanguineterrain "Puzzle Pieces" by @makethatelevenrings "O Me! O Life" by @makethatelevenrings

NSFW "Jason Birthday fic" by @spidernuggets "Trying to get s/o's attention" by @gay-dorito-dust "First Time" by @igotanidea "Doesn't Always Have to be So Black and White" by @hanasnx "Lazy Morning" by @k2ntoss "Soft" by @stararch4ngelqueen "Don't make me cover your mouth" by @patheticbabie "Shower's on" by @icameheretoreadstuff "For the Hell of it" by @lambsouvlaki "NSWF Alphabet" by @sunlight-wing

[wtl-archive]

Cover Page.

Also doubling as a Table of Contents since I can't be bothered with putting PREV / FIRST / NEXT links on everything. Full list of links is below the cut.

[Tapas] (This is the best place to read the comic.)

Chapter One: Monstrous

INTRO - [1] FORLORN - [1] [2] [3] [4] INTERMISSION | DISCONTINUITY - [1] LANGUID - [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] INTERMISSION | MADELEINE - [1] [2] ASKBOX CHECK-IN - [1] [2] ABERRATION - [1] [2] [3] [4] INTERMISSION | METAMORPHOSE- [1] [2]

Chapter Two: Zoology

INTRO - [1] PURLOIN - [1] [2] [3] INTERMISSION | KISMET - [X] [X] <<< We Are Here LEONINE - [X] INTERMISSION | FEINT - [X] FURTIVE - [X] INTERMISSION | SKULDUGGERY - [X]

Chapter Three: Heartbroken

INTRO - [X] ANNEX - [X] INTERMISSION | PHRONESIS - [X] HARROW - [X] INTERMISSION | NAISSANCE - [X] ANIMOSITY - [X] INTERMISSION | MACHINATE - [X]

Chapter Four: Mirrored

INTRO - [X] CEREBRATE - [X] INTERMISSION | SQUAMOUS - [X] DONNYBROOK - [X] INTERMISSION | CAT'S PAW - [X]

Chapter Five : Blissful

INTRO - [X] VIRTUOSO - [X] INTERMISSION | CORDATE - [X] ARIOSE - [X] INTERMISSION | ONEIRIC - [X] ROSCIAN - [X] INTERMISSION | VIBRISSA - [X] JUBILEE - [X] INTERMISSION | MOONSTRUCK - [X]

Chapter Six : Primal

INTRO - [X] ASUNDER - [X] INTERMISSION | EVERYWHEN - [X] PANACEA - [X] INTERMISSION | INEFFABLE - [X] COALESCE - [X] INTERMISSION | TOTSIENS - [X]

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

📣 What to Read After Watching: Nimona 🎞️

🩷 I stumbled upon She-Ra and the Princesses of Power from creator, showrunner, and executive producer ND Stevenson in 2018 and never looked back. It was one of the few projects, let alone animations, I ever watched that so blatantly flipped the script by highlighting inclusivity without needing to say it outright. Queerness was simply a way of human existence; representation mattered but didn't need to be outrightly defined. Again, ND Stevenson has flipped the script, this time by bringing his webcomic from page to screen. The story became an outlet for Stevenson to express his own nonconforming gender identity. The shape-shifting title character, Nimona, is a stunning example of unapologetic transness and gender fluidity, again, without needing to say it outright. If you haven't watched it yet, Nimona is now available on Netflix, with the original comic available online and in stores.

🩷 If you HAVE seen it and adored Nimonia's punk-pop chaos, don't worry; there's plenty more where that came from! Here are a few options you should consider reading after watching Nimona!

🩷 The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag 🩷 Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker 🩷 CosmoKnights by Hannah Templer 🩷 The Night Eaters by Marjorie Liu 🩷 Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Gus Allen, and ND Stevenson 🩷 Save Yourself! by Bones Leopard 🩷 Kim Reaper by Sarah Graley 🩷 Moonstruck by Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle 🩷 Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

[nerdanel01]

Emmrook at the Opera

In honor of Sylvia confirming Emmrich’s occasionally into a “bold Orlesian opera” (one of the most exciting things to ever happen to me), I wanted to put together this little post on resources for anyone who might be curious about the genre, or want to incorporate it into their fic writing.

It’s going to be a little USA-heavy because I do, unfortunately, live in the land of hamburgers and assault rifles, but the silver lining is that I also live in the country that created this:

The Metropolitan Opera House in NYC has to be one of the largest opera houses in the world, at least partially because of the fact that it was built much more recently than many of the old ones. When it’s full, it fits over four thousand people in it. I once took a tour of the backstage with one of my best friends who told me, partially in jest, “Wow, I’ve never seen you look at your boyfriend the way you’re looking at this building.” I broke up with that boyfriend like a year later, but the Met is my love for life. I love the red velvet on the walls and the seats. I love the giant Marc Chagall paintings. I love the sputnik chandelier. I love the peeling gilt gold on the ceilings, which I often have a perfect view of from my seats in the nosebleeds. The Met is my boo. 

Onto the resources!

If you just want to watch a movie that FEATURES opera but is not specifically an opera:

Moonstruck - Cher tries to invite her fiance’s brother (Nicholas Cage) to her wedding. Can you imagine what happens to Cher and Nicholas Cage next. Features the both of them on a date at the Met Opera (my beloved!) and excerpts from La Boheme. One of my all time fave movies, I identify deeply with Cher’s grandfather in the film. 

Falling for Figaro is a pretty cute romcom about a finance chick who quits her job to pursue her dream of becoming a soprano. 

And listen like the singing in Phantom of the Opera (2004) is. Not great. (I’m sorry Gerard Butler, I loved you when I was twelve.) But the opening sequence of the rolling camera pulls through the opera house as the overture plays will haunt me for the rest of my life. 

If you’ve never seen an opera before, and want to watch one (either online or in person), I recommend starting with one of these:

La Boheme - One of the most popular operas, period. Also, it’s literally RENT. Beat for beat, from ‘will you light my candle’ to ‘la vie boheme,’ it’s RENT, just sung in Italian and set in Paris. (Spoilers, the ending in the opera is more tragic.)

L’Elisir D’Amore - If you like Agnes and Emmrich because you enjoy watching two idiots who are obviously in love with each other pine for each other, this is a good one. Very sweet. One of my faves.

The Barber of Seville - I think this one is very approachable if you think of it as a comic version of Sweeney Todd, if Sweeney had no tragic backstory and Jamie was a young noble. It’s a romance, shenanigans are had, and Largo al Factotum is one of the biggest bops of all time. 

My personal favorites also include Akhaten, La Fille Du Regiment, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Turandot, but your mileage may vary with these—Akhnaten is very contemporary, productions of Turandot sometimes feature some pretty heckin’ yikes orientalism. 

If you want to listen to opera music:

WQXR is NYC’s Classical Music Station. In addition to their regular classical music stream (which is also very good) they have a separate stream of just opera music called Operavore. (I also love New Sounds, but the streams vary wildly and its definitely an acquired taste.)

The Met broadcasts a series of live Sunday radio transmissions every year starting in the spring, available online and also via WQXR.

The Chicago Lyric Opera has a bunch of their live streams archived online.

I have also made a playlist where I’ll be adding all the songs featured in my Emmrook fics. :)

If you want to watch an opera stream online:

OperaVision

There’s this incredible list from OperaWire

But there’s also this site, where you can find pretty much anything

The Met also has it’s own paid streaming service, which is SPENSIVE on the subscription model, but if there’s something you really want to see and can’t find elsewhere, they allow you to rent single titles for $4.99 each.

I do strongly recommend, if you have any interest at all and have the opportunity, to go see an opera in person. For me it makes such a difference to be there in person, and it’s not as expensive as you might think! Plus, since opera is a dying art and opera houses are desperate for new audiences (at least, in America) there are usually a number of discounted ticket programs. (Again, the list below is super USA centric, I’m so sorry—and of those below, I’ve only been to the Met myself.)

The Metropolitan Opera is the biggest opera company in the US in terms of literally the number of operas they put on a year. Other than a brief break in February, the opera is pretty much in session 5 nights a week, from October through the end of May. 

Family Circle. I love the family circle. I’ve spent so much time in the Family Circle. The acoustics ARE genuinely better up here than they are in other parts of the house, and depending on the opera, tickets in the Family Circle typically go between $26-45 dollars each.

Rush Tickets are available every day online—these are usually seats in the orchestra. I can’t remember exactly but I think these are always $25. 

If you’re feeling ~opulent and looking for a very special date night, the Met also runs a program called Fridays Under 40. It’s a special priced Orchestra ticket for people under 40. Many of the dates also include little parties where they usually have photo booths, charcuterie, etc., and opportunities to meet some of the cast.

The Detroit Opera offers student rush tickets, although it looks like you have to be at the box office in person to get them. 

The Chicago Lyric Opera has discounts for students and 50% off rush tickets.

The San Francisco Opera has a great offer for first-time opera attendees who live in the Bay Area - $20 for two great seats

The L.A. Opera also offers student rush discount tickets, and $30 tickets for attendees under 30 years of age.

I am not aware of any discounts for the Santa Fe Opera but it looks so cool and it’s on my bucket list to go one day <3

Dallas Opera offers student discounts and discounts for attendees 21-45 (although it looks like they’re aksing for a membership fee for the 21-45 program—boooo Dallas Opera)

Not super clear on the specifics, but Houston Grand Opera also offers some kind of Under 40 discount on select performances

Opera Philadelphia, which recently appointed my all-time-favorite opera singer Anthony Roth Constanzo as their director, offers $10 rush tickets and student discounts

Tips for your first time at the opera, if you do go:

A thing I did not know before I started going to the opera is that even though they are sung in foreign languages, there are almost always subtitles. At the Met, these are transmitted to the chair back in front of you and available in a variety of other languages. Other houses often project the titles above or at the side of the stage.

If you don’t want to read and listen at the same time, synopses are almost always available in your program or ahead of time.

The food and drink is expensive and almost always not worth it. When I go to the Met with my friends, I regularly bring in alcohol minis as well as little cheese/meat/fruit plates in tupperware in my purse. We eat these outside the theater at intermission. No one has every batted an eye at me. (Mileage may vary at other theaters.)

I know opera has a Reputation, and I definitely was a little worried at first that I would look out of place and people would be snide to me. I have never found this to be the case. The only reason someone will be an asshole to you is if you have your phone out or are talking during the performance—don’t do that. Keep it in your pocket until intermission and silence your notifications. 

Crawl into my dms to talk to me about opera at any time, I will happily yap your ear off

[toonlets]

Hygiene!

[libertyreads]

Book Review #112 of 2023--

Moonstruck, Vol. 3: Troubled Waters by Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle. Rating: 3 stars.

Read on September 2nd.

This wasn't on the agenda to read today but when I went to start a lighter read today I couldn't even focus on that. I have a lot of real life stress going on right now and I couldn't focus on anything else today. I literally read one chapter of a hockey romance novel in the course of my workday (which is super strange for me--I can get through at least 25 pages of a fantasy novel in a full workday just on my breaks). Which meant I needed to pull out the last library book I still had out. This was a quick and easy read that I was actually able to focus on. This is my least favorite of the series so far. Apparently, it's not complete which I didn't know when I went into it. It actually ends on a pretty big cliff hanger but it's probably never going to get answered. The latest volume came out in Fall of 2020 and we're coming up on Fall of 2023 right now. I feel like there's this whole thread of the story with Cass and with Julie that I want to know but probably never will.

But that doesn't factor into my actual rating at this point. I gave this one a 3 star rating because I enjoyed it for what it was. But I had some problems. I hated that this turned into a relationship issue between Julie and her girlfriend. I hate when miscommunication is used as a plot device rather than having a couple have to deal with outside forces together as the plot. I thought both Julie and her girlfriend behaved like brats and I don't really think it's too in keeping with their characters. I loved Chet and his relationship. I also absolutely adore Cass and her cat. I feel like there's so much more depth to her as a character and I wish I had an opportunity to know more about her.

[concord-and-cliches]

hey!! i’m contra and this is my silly little art blog! thanks for checking it out, and i hope you have a lovely day!

20s / any pronouns talk to me over at my main @violentlydefending!! (also where i follow and interact from) i’m always up for making new friends :]

other links:

Twitter // Instagram // Youtube // Twitch // Bluesky

No More Chasing Ghosts: an ongoing urban fantasy webcomic! [tapas / webtoon / comicfury (<- has page transcripts)]

Moonstruck: a lesbian magical girl visual novel! [itch.io]

It’s Not You, It’s Your Trauma: an RPGmaker game! [itch.io]

Making the Time: a completed GL webcomic! [tapas / webtoon]

my (currently open!) store on Big Cartel!

Linktree (links to more of my other social media + projects!)

(and my full about under the cut)

About

contra || 20s (nov 3) || any pronouns || asian canadian || reads and appreciates every nice comment and message even if i don’t always have the energy to reply :’)

just a silly little place for me to post my dumb art lol (ocs + fanart! prone to intense hyperfixation LOL) // main is @violentlydefending (i’ve also got a marvel/dc/etc. sideblog @marvel-unofficial!)

other places you can find me + my personal projects: https://linktr.ee/concord.and.cliches! (...i'm definitely most active right here on tumblr though LMAO)

—

Contra’s Silly Little Comics

No More Chasing Ghosts - A seemingly arbitrary kidnapping. A lost child with a missing eye and an untold story. An unexpected sentience. What is it that connects these strands of fate? Also, there’s catgirls, so that’s cool. (ongoing!) || Tapas / Webtoons / Comicfury

Making the Time - a story about the world’s most annoying Uber driver. (completed!) || Tapas / Webtoons

Concord and Cliches - all my short original comics collected together! (ongoing i guess?) || Tumblr Tag / Tapas / Webtoons

Six Simple Steps - a meta comedy about three highschoolers doing dumb dumb highschooler things, as they are wont to do. (completed!) || Tapas / Comicfury

Spacial Rend - Sinnoh’s gotten weird. A Platinum Randomizer nuzlocke comic! (on indefinite hiatus) || NuzForums

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How I Tag Stuff

polished art - contra art less-polished art - contra doodles original stuff - contra ocs fanart - fanart merch posts - store tag comics - comic video games - contra vg writing - writing animated/video stuff - animation character and fandom tags - just their names, nothing fancy

please feel free to let me know if you’d like anything specific tagged!

—

thanks again for checking out my art blog, and thanks for reading! once again, i hope you have a lovely day 💖💖💖

[paullovescomics]

Books read in the first half of 2023, part 9 of 15