#my reading is getting faster i think

[qilingxiong]

man... everyone in the 碧窗有鬼杀人 storyline sucks as a baseline but they really hammered it home and made it even more wretched in the drama huh

[leenfiend]

what's ur type first < prev next >

[buttercupshands]

rewatched Kurogiri's holiday story from ultra impact (not related to sketch at all)

(but it did inspire me)

on another note

finally!!

[vaugarde]

act 5 moments that gutted me alive

[shiningstarr15]

✨Keep your friends close, and your family closer ✨

I still can’t draw folds in clothes, but I think I’m getting better

Eepy Greg with the plush of his papa bear and his big sis’ hoodie 🥺🩷

Edit: fixed a few minor mistakes plus added hair highlights ;3

[deoidesign]

Hello! I just discovered your blog and I immediately became captivated by your webcomic, but I'm unsure where to read all of it. I know it's on Webtoons, but I can see it hasn't been updated for a while, and you still post about it.

Are your physical novels just prints of the webcomic? Are they a continuation? Is the story complete? Thanks in advance!

Hi there!

Glad you found me and are enjoying my comic!

It's only on webtoons, and the story is not complete yet! We're 2/3 of the way through right now. It's currently on hiatus, and it's scheduled to come back in about 2 months!

I'll explain why it's been so long if you're curious, but also for my followers who might also be wondering about it under the cut. Sorry, it's pretty much just me complaining haha

I took a month off I took 2 months to get the books printed I took a month to prepare my next comic and I took 2 months to write the rest of the series (I knew the character arcs I wanted, but not the time periods or mysteries!!!) I've been working on actual episodes since then

I had to take some time off because of some pretty extreme burnout due to the sheer amount of work it was to draw over 800 pages and write 6 complete stories in a year and a half... I was getting sick almost weekly due to the overwork, it was really really bad honestly. I was having to work 60+ hours every week just to keep up...

The nature of the comic itself is also difficult... Each of the arcs is a complete, self contained story which can be read (ideally) without context, and my arcs need to be about 10-13 episodes each... And since I have an exact number of episodes to work with, it's even harder.

It takes a ton of planning and a ton of refinement, and working week to week with no breaks I was forced to put out second or even first drafts, so I just wasn't happy with the work I was doing... And to do that for the rest of the series? I wouldn't be proud of the work I did.

Plus... To be entirely honest, webtoon has treated me quite badly IN MY OPINION... They deprioritized me before I launched (I had to beg for more promotion, I'm not exaggerating), they outright denied me the opportunity to even ask for a raise, I don't make any money on fast pass and they pay me less than my partner makes working at trader joes. My first editor left me completely hanging, my second editor (who I loved) was fired... And they told me I wouldn't get a third season before my first season even finished. So it was just repeatedly completely demoralizing.

I'm sorry it has taken so long, it'll have been 10 months by the time I come back. But I realized... I won't get promotion either way. I won't get more episodes either way. I won't get more money either way. So to finish everything, to make it feel good, to make it something I'm proud of, I chose to take longer to make it better.

I am fully aware I will lose a significant amount of my readership for this and it might genuinely affect my career moving forward. But it's what I had to do! So I'm sticking to my guns on it, and I'm confident long term it'll be worth it. It never could have been this good if I didn't take this much time.

[grassoftunnel]

Natsuhi/Kumasawa Manifesto

Yes shipping. No not even straight crack, I’m like actually serious! Though I’ll be frank this is mostly going off the wall insane and just doing what I like for fun and profit rather than serious analysis! But if you’re interested…walk with me!

I wish there had been more Natsuhi and Kumasawa interactions. Lesbionically charged ones even. I was thinking about how Kumasawa really stands apart from the rest of the servants as the lone person in Japanese clothes and who also doesn’t really gaf about the Ushiromiya’s like that (and the Ushiromiyas likewise are either really rude to her and/or dgaf). She also is always talking about the original Rokkenjima mythology. It got me thinking about what Natsuhi thinks about her, and if she took special notice of her in the sea of Western things associated with the Ushiromiya’s. Kumasawa is also a seriously minor and under-utilised character considering everything, and I think that’s a shame.

I constantly think about how Natsuhi was supposed to have an affair with Gohda, and I assume it would have gone more into her own desires as an individual outside of her really pitiful life on Rokkenjima. Since here is a guy who is her social lesser, who adores her, and has a distinctly servile nature around her. Like this is a dynamic that is going to appeal to her. I really want to push back against the whole Natsuhi as a tradwife characterisation because I think it ignores that it’s literally a mask that she’s constantly trying to convince herself she’s okay with. She’s a deeply conservative woman, but she clearly yearns for power and respect of her own. Which I think plays well into her conservatism with gender, like how she’s takes such pride in calling herself the representative to the head, and in her fantasies of a supportive Kinzo, he talks about how she would have made a wonderful son-in-law. Like she WANTS to be the one with power, the “man”, even if she’s still an extremely traditionally feminine woman. Like she wants to be of course seen as steady and reliable but also to be supported and doted on (by people beneath her i.e what I think an affair dynamic with Gohda would have been). For her knowledge and contributions to be admired and recognised and seen as valuable. It’s also interesting to contrast her to Eva who is like, outside of family conferences, living as close to her best life as is possible with a husband who respects and defers to her, even if she’s nominally taking the position of his supportive wife. Like everyone recognises her place as the matriarch of her own family. Which is NOT the case with Natsuhi. Who is taking Ls left right and center every single day of her life, emotionally and literally. However I feel like Gohda is too much of an incompetent clown to make her feel like that in an actually successfully or especially compelling manner. I also think he perhaps appeals TOO MUCH to Natsuhi on the surface level, like she’s not exactly questioning that deeply if she likes this refined and servile guy who is around her own age.

And so…enter Kumasawa. Her senior by like 30+ years, lowborn, boorish, vulgar and insubordinate, and with no (visible) special standing (unlike eg. Genji) outside of her long service. But also…BECAUSE of these things Natsuhi would feel very comfortable being, ugly, raw, needy, unreliable around her. Because why should she be ashamed to be those things around someone like Kumasawa! Natsuhi is so far above her it’s inconceivable that she would ever feel unworthy in front of her! It’s just a given! She should be happy to even be spoken to by someone so far above! But the thing is…I think Kumasawa would run rings around her. And has every reason to dislike and look down on Natsuhi, for her cruelty to the servants, her posturing, and clear failure to command the respect of the true master of the house, or even her own husband and daughter. Kumasawa is a very minor character but I like the small insubordinations that peek out, and while she’s generally sympathetic to the suffering of women, Natsuhi can be a real piece of work to the servants eg. Shannon. This can create a fun dynamic where Natsuhi can be needy and unreliable, and be outwardly cruel to Kumasawa but also have a condescending affection to her. And she’s too shortsighted and up herself to even realise Kumasawa feels the same. Or if she does it’s in a I can see you hate me, but that’s okay, because you have no choice anyway. Like a dark reflection of her own entry into the Ushiromiya family. And Kumasawa could see her as this pathetic young (hilarious to write about a 47 year old) thing who is fun to toy with, especially since Natsuhi is always throwing her weight around with the servants. The way that class and gendered dynamics intertwine would be so delicious with these two as well. Natsuhi is the social better, and the Man. Kumasawa is the woman, but not in any way to actually threaten Natsuhi in regards to conventional femininity (she’s an unrefined old biddy after all). Like it’s okay and not conflicting with her conservative values for Natsuhi to act like this because Kumasawa is so beneath her. But also…Kumasawa has 30 years on her and those 30 years are not nothing…I kind of want to see her indulge Natsuhi a bit and spoil her even if (maybe especially if…) condescendingly🙈 especially since Natsuhi’s had to grow up so fast and been forced into this wet blanket wife role. I want to see her be annoying to Kumasawa like Krauss is to her.

Also would be funny since Kumasawa’s personality and habits probably irritate her so much lmfao. Like imagine the phantom thread scene where Alma is chewing really loudly and Woodcock is going insane. Also Kumasawa is the one with real control over the servants, like it’s all Natsuhi has but it’s not even real. I want to see Natsuhi take out her pain but also try to assuage her guilt about The Child Who Would Be Sayo via her. Which is so yummy because Kumasawa’s sins are so much worse! Lol and this affair might be like literally the main outlet for Natsuhi to escape her life, but for Kumasawa who has a whole ass life and family and kids, it’s nothing. This is all not to be uncharitable to Natsuhi but I personally like to see women behaving badly and being flops in their romantic liaisons. I think there’s a fun dark version of Natsuhi where she give into her selfish desires more and kind of channels Kinzo. Like making the choice to position herself with him as a way to escape the miserable pitiful life of a housewife of an unworthy man. Usurp Krauss as Kinzo’s heir instead of trudging along the path to becoming the pitiful perpetually disrespected figure of the person who was Kinzo’s wife/ Krauss’ mother. Anyway now this is making me think a lot of a NATSUHI-Beatrice Forgery where she gets masc’d up and Kinzo-like HAHAHAHA.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Who in sskk would you say has the higher IQ?

IQ as in, conventionally smart? Then definitely Atsushi does. I'm sorry. I've said it many times before, but I don't think Akutagawa is a particularly perceptive person. Or witty. Or intelligent in general. It's due to external factors, he never got the chance to have anything that could resemble a proper education; but it's also a matter of his nature, he's just so impulsive, and narrow-minded, and stubborn, he really has the thickest skull ever. But seriously, especially in a world full of geniuses, Akutagawa simply doesn't shine for sharpness of mind, and is way too impulsive and instincts-driven to be a person that relies on reflection or rationality. Everything that Akutagawa does is the epitome of irrational, it's one of the greatest appeals of the character.

Atsushi is smart,,,, I've talked about this also, and I think it's less sustained by canon than for Akutagawa, but I like to think he's a very observant and perceptive person whose intelligence doesn't show because he's constantly surrounded by geniuses, but still he is smart. When it comes to observations skills, I find it easy for him to have them due to his childhood of ill-treatment and abuse: as a defense mechanism, he learnt to be especially observative of people's behaviour in order to tell what sets people off and be able to prevent any escalation, I think that's a widely shared abuse survivor experience. Something among these lines is shown in chapter 51:

I also think Atsushi is a very fast learner. He's observant, and that results in him constantly absorbing other people's knowledge. He's often asking for explanations for Dazai and Ranpo's reasonings, and although I know more often than not it solves an expositive role in the storytelling picture, there's still the fact that it makes Atsushi a person who's constantly trying to understand the reality surrounding him. Atsushi is also shown to be very cool-minded and calculating in fight: from him sliding under Akutagawa and attacking him from behind successfully eluding having to face him front-off in chapter 4, to him retracting his tiger limbs to escape Rashomon's bonds in chapter 12, to the strategy he elaborated with Tanizaki (and his ability to catch up on that) to defeat Lucy in chapter 16, to his attempt to outsmart Fitzgerald in chapter 34 (that, although failed, was still driven by rational thinking nonetheless), and the list could go on. The way in fight Atsushi is shown to ponder over and implement the advices people like Dazai or Mori offered him further makes me believe he's really good at absorbing information. And Atsushi is probably book smart, too! He's compelled by reading to the point he would even risk the orphanage director's punishment just to sneak into the library and read (not explicitly supported by canon, but I can take a guess). According to the second guidebook, he spends his leisure time borrowing books from the library and studying. Overall, he really seems to be rational in all the places Akutagawa is on the contrary driven by impulses¹.

It's like… A physics law when it comes to sskk, that Akutagawa will have the most despicable trait while Atsushi has the trait that is conventionally considered the best; or at least that's as far as my characterization of them goes. Atsushi is beautiful, Akutagawa is ugly². Atsushi is polite, Akutagawa is rude. Atsushi is pure, Akutagawa is stained. Atsushi is smart, Akutagawa isn't. Atsushi is lovable, Akutagawa is destined to cause repulsion in everyone he meets³. In the end, none of this matters: they're no different where it counts, that is, Atsushi isn't any more morally just than Akutagawa is. Atsushi in not any more good than Akutagawa is (I actually suspect the contrary is true). But as far as appearances go, it's still important to portray them as opposites, because Akutagawa being unlovable and Atsushi receiving all the love Akutagawa didn't get for being his contrary - even though deep down they're the same - is almost everything their relationship is about. It's also a big part of why they act like they do towards each other: it's source of Akutagawa's bottomless envy for Atsushi; it's source of how devoted and loyal he will grow to be for him - reaching the point of giving his life for him -, because he can't see Atsushi as anything but perfection. It's source of confidence and of that certain justified hatred towards Akutagawa Atsushi feels because to his eyes Akutagawa is about the worst person to have ever walked on earth. It's source to their wish to annihilate the other as the opposite they can't exist at the same time of. It's the reason Akutagawa had to die, because he's not the good one. Overall it's also expression of Akutagawa's thematic struggle to be good and unavoidable failure at that because of the constraints of a narrative that never wanted him to be good.

But I also think they can make it work. More precisely, I think sskk can make it work when both of them can overcome and defeat the narrative dichotomy they found themselves stuck into: by recognizing that deep common ground of “we're the same” and that where it matters, in morals, neither of them is better or worse than the other. The Beast universe exemplifies that for us readers, but they don't know Beast, so they'll have to realize it by their own. About that, I think Akutagawa already caught on, because he was faster to call out the hypocrisy of Atsushi's good guy façade, and from that it's a short distance to realizing that, as much as he hates to admit it, at his core Atsushi is not that different from himself. It's taking a little more for Atsushi to realize, because it's harder to get down from that higher moral pedestal he believes himself to be on, but with his whole reevaluating Akutagawa after he stopped killing and sacrificed himself for him (and then saved him again. And then showed him how formidable of a team they are when they find a common ground.), I think he's getting there.

Tl;dr: Atsushi is smart and Akutagawa is stupid and yes it fits their personalities, but way more importantly it's consistent with the themes they carry that translate in what their relationship is like.

¹ For further reading on how Atsushi can be witty, please refer to @/gloomierdays's tags on this post. ² For further reading on how Atsushi and Akutagawa's looks can be used to reflect their characters themes, please refer to this post. ³ For further reading on how Akutagawa being not smart (as far as conventional definitions of smart go) ties to his character themes, please refer to this post.

[mx-myth]

Recently the dungeon meshi craze hit my friend group and they were all really surprised when I said I was reading the manga instead of watching the anime so now I'm curious:

[arsenicflame]

ANGELA/SERA FROM THE MARVEL SNAP HERO ANIMATIC

[presdestigatto]

anyways, i wrote a little something

cinque, sebchal, E, 1.3k words

‘Number five, Sebastian Vettel. He kisses it again, suddenly overcome with emotion.’ Charles helps Sebastian calm down in the aftermath of 2019's Canadian Grand Prix.

mind the tags as always 🙆🏻‍♀️

[torithehoshi]

Oh look - it's him the Whole!

I think I prefer Whole as a concept more than a character, and I've certainly thought of that more. However, it doesn't mean I dislike the idea of Whole as a character. There's a lot of cool and interesting interpretations and as usual - people are really creative. Though I wasn't thinking too hard through my album listens about Whole as a character which is why it lingered with me but I didn't have too many of my own thoughts.

. And then I started listening to Pathological Facade by GHOST AND PALS again which led to something really clicking. So I've drawn Whole!! Tbf I actually have drawn him before in my sketchbook 'cause of another song I was listening to but the lyrics are me kiind of stretching it? I'll see what I do with it later - though I wanted to share these ones I did since like I said before - traditional drawing and digital feel different for me and it'd been a while. There aren't a lot but I like 'em!

[More ramblings under the cut 'cause this is getting long]

I just knew I wanted him to have a fusion (the word I intended to use but hadn't noticed until now???) of some elements in my HMS designs hair and face wise. And while I only have two frame redraws from the video (which are my favorite frames btw), it's something I've been thinking of a lot 'and... hope I can better articulate? . Although the lyrics really made me think of that 'cause I think about the lyrics of Pathological Facade a lot 'cause of its lyrics...

Although who knows - I want to finish the second drawing as something more fully-fledged but I have like... a few other WIPs and ideas I'd like done before the end of the year just personally before I start something new. I think this doodle looks really nice on its own though - I had fun drawing it. That song's really good.

[afniel]

Realizing that I went and wrote a bunch of intentionally aro relationships and my partner was like, "Idk, it seemed like normal relationships to me," and I was like, "I mean yeah it's not that different from ours, I guess, I was kind of going for 45° off from 'normal' romance," and they're like, "Okay, but ours is also pretty much like that," and I'm like, "Yeah, true," and now I'm like, damn hold up, are we both some kinda arospec and THIS is how we figure it out? Because I wrote a long-ass fic about intentionally queer-coded (among other things) robots? Life is weird, man.

Like I've been prone to extreme long-term crushes on a very few (mostly unattainable) people over the years, but I wouldn't have known what to do with them even if they worked out, and cough my ex was not even one of them. I just kind of assumed I was failing to feel a thing I was totally supposed to feel, there, and quite a lot of that relationship emotionally was me going, "Okay, I care like This, but I think I'm supposed to care like That? I'm pretty sure he cares That way. I'm not sure I do, but I mean, there's really only one way*, so maybe I'm just misreading this and actually I do care like That, I'm just bad at it."

*This was me being very incorrect, it turns out. There's all kinds of ways to love someone. It's a very inadequate and nonspecific word.

When I confessed my feelings (which I'd been sitting on for a year) to my partner, their reaction wasn't to be particularly romantic about it. In fact they told me they'd help me move to California if I wanted to. And after I got over my initial confusion of being kissed on the forehead (which is also not super romantic as a gesture and I couldn't decide how to even read that so I kinda skipped over even trying for a while), I was thinking, Awesome, that is a yes. They have promised to assist me with difficult stuff, and said nothing at all about emotions, because that's not a big deal anyway. The important thing is that I can rely on them and vice versa. Cool. We are basically together forever now. Which ended up being true. I just never moved out and now it's like 13 years later, go figure. But that's not what I think actually passes for reciprocating feelings for most people? Worked great for me though.

Anyway I feel like I have accidentally learned something about myself, lol. I guess romance is okay I guess, like it's not repulsive, but seriously, it's WAY more satisfying to me to guess someone else's Quiplash answer because you know they know you would think it's fucking funny, and you do, and because you think it's funny and you're well aware they know your type of humor and you know theirs and that you wouldn't expect them to use "cum" as an answer because that's not usually how they roll, so of course that is the only answer they can possibly give, which is instantly evident to both of you with no conversation whatsoever on the topic. When you got just one brain cell and it's quantum entangled with their just one brain cell so you have a lot of null discussions where nobody has to say anything but it's fully understood anyway, that's The Dream, if you ask me. And like I don't really think that's romantic by the usual definition. You can have that with friends and family, too. But that is what it turns out I prioritize in relationships, which I'm starting to feel like isn't what the majority of people are here for?

TFW it's hard to tell because I've been assuming I'm totally alloromantic so everything I experience must be typical totally alloromantic stuff too, but I'm starting to think it isn't maybe? But how do I even tell, this is like being colorblind, lmao.

[triglycercule]

i love doodling swapinverse like hello drawing characters aside from the normal mtt is lowkey therapeutic 🧡🧡🧡 anyways i FINALLY FINALLY finished crash's lore!!!! and vice.SER is connected to him,,,, theyre interconnected!!! i forgot how much i liked crash's design (not the design but all the little gimmicks in the design. figuring out all the hanging ribbon bits is annoying but hey it looks good)

[francy-sketches]

No guys you don’t get it grrm announcing the dunk n egg show means he’s confident he can write more of those books soon and he’s not going to do that until twow is done wich means he’s close to getting it done and it’s coming out tomorrow. Trust me

[nexus-nebulae]

love watching weather science videos but like. why am i 1000x more interested in tornadoes over hurricanes. they're both spinning air