#off topic that comic is so good highly recommend it

[nyxcharliechaos]

thinking of making a series of comics for two and a half halos making a whole ass au comic series (:

[obae-me]

hiii i saw ur lucifer post and u talked about the brothers having a role in their family, can u elaborate??

Of course! I'd be all too happy to explain! Note: I'm not an expert on this topic obviously, but I do a lot of research on personalities and character archetypes to help build my stories, so it's something I always have on my mind! I highly recommend doing research into this on your own (if you're into this type of thing). Warning: This response might get kind of lengthy, I apologize. I've got a lot of thoughts, but I'll try to break it down as best as I can. Also warning for potential Shall We Date and Nightbringer spoilers.

So, in writing and storytelling, it's commonly told that there are 12 different character archetypes. Those being:

The Lover: Led by the heart/emotions.

The Hero: Overcomes a challenge to save the day.

The Magician: Masters the ways of the universe to use for good/evil.

The Outlaw: Fights against society/control.

The Explorer: The curious one that seeks beyond what they know.

The Sage: The wise one to guide or advise.

The Innocent: Morally pure, naïve.

The Creator: Someone with ambitious goals for their creations.

The Ruler: One with power/influence over others.

The Caregiver: Protects and sacrifices for others.

The Everyman: The most relatable to the common man.

The Jester: The comic relief, but also known to drop heavy truths when it matters.

So, we have 12 characters in Obey Me (not counting the three new additions) and 12 archetypes. And even just glancing over them all, it seems to fit everyone almost perfectly. Of course, most of them are mixes of several different personalities, but all-in-all, from a writing perspective, they all fit into their assigned slots. Also, everyone might have their own differing opinion on where they fit, but these are my personal evaluations of each character.

Starting from the most obvious, we have:

Mammon: The Jester. Clearly written as comic relief in the games. Clearly the jokester of the family. Tougher moments in the game are often diluted by making a jab in Mammon's direction. However, like in many old plays, the Jesters are often the ones that come in and tell the characters or the audience the hardest truths. Mammon has been one of- if not the most- honest characters in the game. And despite being comic relief, it's clear he's got a firm head on his shoulders when it really counts. He is needed to help his family get through tougher times, and he knows how to have fun and make his brothers smile, even if most of it is written at his own expense.

Luke: The Innocent. Most characters in this archetype tend to be children, so he naturally fits that role. He's young, unaware of what the world is really like. Sticking to what he's been taught, afraid of the unknown, and in need of constant guidance.

Satan: The Explorer. Even from the moment he was first created, he knew he wanted to know more about the world around him. He felt there was more to him than his Wrath, more to the world than just what he can recall from Lucifer's memories. His entire character is based around his pursuit for knowledge, his drive for getting out there and exploring and learning about anything he can. He doesn't want to be confined to the label he was made out to be. He's always seeking something else.

Barbatos: The Magician. Even from the very beginning of Shall We Date, we all knew there was more to the butler than it seemed. He's extremely powerful, extremely intelligent, and if he's not quite all-knowing, he's surely as close to it as it gets. Without a doubt, he has mastered his powers, only turning them 'off' or restricting their use at the behest of Diavolo. When everything else fails, Barbatos is usually the one to save the day.

Belphegor: The Outlaw. This type fits him more so in Shall We Date rather than Nightbringer, but I still think he's the best fit for this role. The rebellious youngest, doing everything he can to fight against Lucifer and to get his own way. Plus, of course, the whole bit about quite literally wanting to fight his family and Diavolo for his opinions on the human realm in the first game. He's also Sloth, so no matter what situation he might be in, even if he agrees to do it, he's not going to do it 100% willingly. Or, at least, get some compensation out of it.

Solomon: The Sage. Even though MC being Solomon's apprentice is on the newer side of things, even in season 1 of Shall We Date, Solomon was always giving us little tidbits of advice. He's human, MC is human, he was always guiding us in the proper direction, even if interactions were minimal at the very beginning of Shall We Date. Now, in Nightbringer, the Sage role has come in full force. He's our guide, teacher, human companion, time-traveling confidant, he's it all. Plus he's chock full of the vague mysticism that Sages seem to have in fiction.

Asmodeus: The Lover. I know, it seems cliché, but I had to do some hard thinking before I put Asmo here. If you take away the word "Love" and focus on the aspect of being controlled by emotions, it makes sense. Now, I'm glad Nightbringer has given us a little bit more depth into his character rather than the peppy dramatic demon everyone knows him to be. Asmo is impulsive, almost as much as Mammon. He's caught up in the winds of trends and excitement, but more than that, he's not afraid to outwardly gush over his siblings. He craves love and acceptance, which we see more in Nightbringer, when he's worried he's only loved for his beauty. He's more compassionate than people give him credit for, and he craves that affection back.

Now, for the rest of them, the roles get a little more complex. They seem like they should be obvious, but I think they're a little more switched up than they seem (which is why I started talking about Lucifer's character in the first place).

Again, this is my personal opinion, but I believe that:

Diavolo: The Creator. Yes, he's a prince in title, and yes he's literally 'a ruler' but the trope doesn't quite fit him. When do we really see him demanding something? When do we see him utilizing his power to get exactly what he wants? Hardly ever. What has his entire goal been since the FIRST lesson of Shall We Date? To create a change. To cultivate a better world for all three realms. All of his actions, all of his power is going towards that goal, towards that ambition. This is the most important thing to him.

Lucifer: The Ruler. I almost put Lucifer in the caretaker role, but the ruler as an archetype is defined as a character with the biggest influence over others. Some sort of control or leadership that hinges on their actions an choices. Lucifer is the one who always has to lead the others and tell them what to do, even Diavolo, making sure the prince is keeping up on his own tasks. Even if he is not responsible for an entire kingdom, he is responsible for nearly everyone around him. For better or for worse, his character focuses around control, and all the pros and cons that come with it. He's the one with structure, the one with plans, the one that isn't afraid to say no or turn down ideas.

Levi: The Everyman. This might be completely subjective, but I believe out of every other character in Obey Me, Levi might be the most relatable. Video games, anime, tv, idols, figures, collecting, comics, manga, etc. He covers a wide demographic of things modern people enjoy. That's not even mentioning connecting to people on a mental level. Social anxiety, jealousy, low self esteem, stage fright, hyperfixations, panic attacks, stuttering, general neurodivergence, I know a TON of people in this fandom connect to Levi. Most of the time, he seems more human than even Solomon. A lot of the struggles he goes through are similar to what a ton of other people go through, and thus makes him one of the more popular characters.

Beel/Simeon: The Caregiver. I struggled with both of these two for a very long time. But eventually I came to the conclusion that they both exhibit the same character role. In Shall We Date, it was more obvious when they were in separate dorms, but in Nightbringer, I feel as if we haven't seen Simeon much at all. Both Beel and Simeon exist as characters to help others, and both have lost much because of it. They're both very giving and kind, and while they do of course have their own interests and selfish moments, most of their actions are for the better interests of others.

MC: The Hero. I originally wasn't going to put MC as an option, but it's true. We as the main character fill a role that would be empty otherwise. We are the ones constantly overcoming trials and challenges and overall doing basic protagonist stuff, so it's only natural that the best suited for the role is MC, whether it be yourself inserted or an OC that's been made. But seeing as it is an otome game, everything does revolve around our actions (even if most of those actions have been made for us).

NOW, a second thing I wanted to mention specifically about the brothers and their family dynamic. There is a second list I know of that focuses on a functioning group rather than individual character tropes. Which is what I was discussing in the post you are referring to. They exist better as a group, they are stronger as a group, and the reason why I think they fit together so perfectly as a family is because they all have their "roles" that keep them functioning.

The Driver/The Fun/The Energy: Mammon is always striving for something, always passionate about something. Even going so far as stealing things. He's the energy, the passion, the fire lit under his brother's feet. There's nothing that will stop him from getting what he wants, and I think that in turn encourages his brothers to do the same. Also, Mammon is the second oldest, he works in tandem with Lucifer to make sure his brothers are happy and safe.

The Organizer/The Structure/The Realist: This one is Lucifer. He's the one who keeps the others on task and in line so that the things that everyone is striving for can actually get accomplished. He's the straight and narrow that everyone must walk across, which can come off as rude or controlling, but most of the time he's the foundation that everyone is settled upon. He might be pompous, but he's reliable. Everybody knows that they're safe with him around. Which is essential to keeping everything together.

The Dreamer/The Visionary/The Design: Asmo definitely loves to come up with ideas. He's always trying to come up with something new for his family to do, something exciting, something fun. He works well with Mammon this way, which is why an extra firm hand is required on Lucifer's part to keep the whole thing from getting out of hand. He has an end goal in mind and knows exactly what he wants it to look like, even if he's not quite sure how to get there. He's sharing his dreams and hopes and projects with the others all the time, and a lot of them join in with dreams of their own.

The Pessimist/The Worrier/The Naysayer: While poor Levi might be an anxious mess and a self-proclaimed bummer, sometimes this can be a good thing. Of course, not when it's gone to dangerous extremes, but it's good in some circumstances to think about possible failures. Working on the other hand of Lucifer, they can both see the weaknesses in ideas or functions and come up with backup plans to ensure everything runs smoothly. Because he lacks the confidence to rush into things, he's able to more tactfully plan something out.

The Optimist/The Mediator/The Diplomat: Beel is often the one trying to quell fights between his brothers. Everyone has a special place in their heart for him and it works the same the other way. He knows how to use empathy to relate to all his brothers, and more often than not, he can work them into some sort of compromise. He fulfills a SUPER crucial role in this group/family dynamic and unfortunately he's one of the more underappreciated characters in the fandom.

The Brain/The Expert/The Researcher: Satan always brings his knowledge to the table. Even if Lucifer is implied to be more knowledgeable, the eldest's efforts are more focused on structure and order rather than education. Satan is more than happy to keep his brothers informed, and a lot of his brothers tend to turn to him for answers. And even if they come to a dead end, out of everyone, Satan is the most eager to do the research about the query they're facing.

The Unexpected/The Wild Card/The Outside Look: Belphie is a rather jack of all trades. Depending on what is needed in the moment, he is capable of fulfilling any of these slots. But more than that, he's the clever one that usually blurts out that out-of-pocket response that is the final key to the puzzle. He does things on a whim, when the mood suits him, but even so usually ends up being successful anyway. With him sleeping and (like in the first game) not being around his brothers too much, he can usually bring in a more outside perspective and catch things that the others miss.

(This was so long, I'm very sorry, but this is my full elaboration ^^)

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

I also just wanna take a moment to appreciate the way Stjepan Šejić writes the Gotham City Sirens, particularly in how he utilizes BDSM. Because first off, he is so right, Selina would be a BDSM aficionado. Girl wears a leather suit and carries a whip and her boyfriend wears a spandex bat mask. That's her gimp lmao.

But also, it's such a unique and interesting lense to view them through. I particularly like the way he uses it to peak into Harley's psyche. It's just such a unique way to view the abuse. Harleen is all about the sexual nature of their relationship and how he pushes through and creates/fills a hole in her psyche no-one else can. It's just a simple addition to the already existing toxic addiction many abusive relationships have, yet it feels like it changes everything about this dynamic. He has a mini-comic, which you can find at eyesfullofscars' post here. I highly recommend reading it real quick. It's good and also you'll know what I'm talking about.

It's called Submissive, and the general plot is that Ivy goes to Selina to get advice on how to save Harley and she's told she needs to replace Joker in Harley's mind until she can get over him. And it's just such a crazy unique way of looking at it. Like it answers a lot of questions that didn't really need answers and just adds an extra level of depth to the characters and topic. And he has a lot of good utilizations of both dry and outright comedy.

Also, he's just, like, an actually good BDSM author. The damage E.L. James did to bondage fiction is so frustrating, it's so nice to read the works of someone who actually knows what they're talking about and can make it good, sexy, and just straight up cool and interesting. I have not yet read Sunstone, but I've heard from peers that it's pretty good so take that as you will.

[namig42]

Was chatting with my lovely mutual @mortalasystem about my Wyllstarion fic Just One Yesterday and some of the inspo that got me started on it, and I thought why not share those things with people who might be looking for good recs? With that, here are some of the biggest inspirations for my super involved story!

Friday Nights by @sadinasaphrite

So the first and probably most prominent inspiration for a modern au is this wonderful Bloodweave fic called Friday Nights over on ao3. I really loved the chemistry between Gale and Astarion in this one, and Gale's perspective was very interesting, especially with the mix of magic still in this au. Wonderfully written, very considerate of Astarion's circumstances as a sex worker, and a happy ending to wrap it all up nicely!

Read it on Ao3

Sex worker/Charity worker Halstarion AU by @malacandrax

This comic has nine parts as of now that are all little snippets of Halsin being a concerned social worker and Astarion as a sex worker in a 70s/80s UK setting. OP really took a lot of consideration writing this one and portraying realistic steps that someone in Astarion's situation could take, and I love how they really captured both characters so well. The progression between the Astarion and Halsin is really nicely done, even in such small snippets. 11/10, definitely recommend.

Link to Part 1 here

Perfect Slaughter by @imagineitdearies

This is a Tavstarion fic that honestly captivated me so much from beginning to end. It's a long form fic that is incredibly compelling and is an alternate au prequel to the events of BG3. Tyrus, the protagonist, is a very compelling original character, and his relationship with Astarion in the hell that is Cazador's palace was so well crafted. This was the story that had me wanting to explore more relationships with Astarion in my own writing, focus on dark topics and give them the respect they deserve such as trauma, abuse, and torture, and try my own hand at writing something long form. It's gotten a great deal of praise, all of which is well deserved, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Read it on Ao3

The funny thing about my Wyllstarion thing was that there was actually very little Wyllstarion inspiration. I saw some good art here and there on tumblr, but not very much at the time. My dash was mostly bloodweave if anything. Still, there was just enough of an inkling in my head of Wyll and Astarion, and then a dumbass idea came to me one day.

I wrote it in the first chapter's notes on Ao3, but the thing that kicked this multi chapter obsession into gear was...

Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy

A song off a ten year old album. That's what did it. Specifically the lyrics:

Anything you say can and will be held against you,

So only say my name. It will be held against you.

Those two lines had my brain swimming with a one-shot smut fic of a police officer Wyll and a sex worker Astarion, but a one shot wasn't enough for the romantic that is Wyll. I couldn't write him having a first meeting kind of fling. I wrote out the original one shot idea, let it sit for a couple months, and then suddenly, something clicked in my brain and the whole thing took off from there.

Still, without this lyric, the story wouldn't exist at all. Honestly, going back and listening to the whole song after everything I've written so far, I think it's a fitting title and song in its own way. Highly recommend giving it a listen if you aren't familiar!

---

That's all the big ones. If other things come to mind that I missed, I'll reblog this and add onto it. In the meantime, I highly recommend checking these things out and showing the artists some love! Thanks for taking the time to read, and I hope you found something new to enjoy!

[sharonisthebettercarter]

we need to talk about common comic opinion for the boys

so i read the comics.

was curious for a while, buddies wanted to do it, finally bit the bullet and MAN OH MAN~<3

there's common opinion that swirls around from people who *have not read the comics* need i remind, an opinion that they are merely *meaningless edgelord drivel* or the like.

i'm here to bust that misconception, smack it upside the head and drag it around the fuckin' town and kick it till it's caved in because it couldn't be more *wrong* if it tried.

first thing i'll say is that the comics *don't* compare in what you'd call 'gratuitous edginess' to the show. while they have their 'bit on the nose moments', they're drawings that go panel by panel. even what they *could* show wouldn't compare, and it honestly doesn't. (coming from someone who's also watched the show too many times over now and got a nice fresh read in)

robin's death is more brutal *in the show*. there is more blood and gore. *in the show*. the arguably edgiest thing between both of them is a guy exploding another guy from inside his urethra, which *only happens in the show*

and for those that have no clue about the big twist or comics homie and try to make blocks of analysis for a character they have zero actual information or decent research on.

homelander is worse. *in the SHOW*.

granted, both have similar enough structure with reversed character development/reveal, but i digress

butcher is just THE biggest fucking bottom by the way, lord satan i CAN NOT with that boi--

anywho~<3

the 'meaningless' part? well that's just a big fat lie and i'll say it up front. that shit needs to stop. this thing was definitely an emotional rollercoaster, and while it may be true that it's not for everyone, it was far from meaningless and actually brilliantly written and even researched.

it's raw, it feels real half the time, it teaches valuable lessons, and even when you're in the notion of 'okay, where is this going, it's sus', when you stick with it? you get rewarded fucking beautifully.

there are moments you'd disagree with the characters actions in a way that makes them feel humanly flawed. of course they might do the wrong thing or say the wrong thing, so do real life humans?? there are cross cultural miscommunication references and conversations that show ennis knew what he was doing and why he did it a certain way. and yeah, it can be too much to handle for some,

*but if you honestly feel that way you shouldn't be watching the show either*

and here's what it's not.

meaningless, ill-thought, pointless, edgelord drivel.

it *is* an intricate and well done, brutally *honest* creative critique of the *military industrial complex*, *corporate capitalism*, and a couple other things expertly squeezed in. even touching on *abuse* and hitting all the right spots for how it can psychologically fuck with people. the ending punches you in the fucking feels as you could appropriately expect it to with a hard side of begrudged satisfaction.

good fucking satan these things were an excellent read that compelled me to want moar from start to finish, and yeah, if you have watched the show then i *highly* recommend them because the important topics and themes touched on are presented much better in the comic, even with the sometimes wonky ass art in place of hawt actors to distract you, lmao

but seriously? the lot of you that keep spouting nonsense from your clenched up assholes without actually bothering to look at the source material need to stop. all you're doin' is actin' damn fools and showing off high and mighty opinions based on complete mis-education if not un-education.

and f.y.i.... also being the damn fools both the comics AND show make fun of.

so remember that line billy says?

'but the main reason you don't hear about it is cause the public don't want to know about it.'

that's y'all. legit, at this point. more specifically, y'all would be the 'public' that wants to live with rose tinted glasses instead of acknowledging that reality is more brutal than we often want to see or admit.

why else would you keep denouncing and dismissing the comics and source material of something you allegedly love?

because some other schmuck on the internet said a lie, gave you hearsay, or a rumor they heard through a grapevine on a game of telephone that said it wasn't worth looking into yourself?

well i'll call bullshit on that straight up but what are y'all so afraid of??

couple other things i will say, if you hate butcher for being the biggest worldclass cunt, you will absolutely feel vindicated and have your feelings or possibly lovehate boner (like mine~) completely validated with what happens in these comics (and if i'm being honest about the direction of the show, weeeeelllll...~<3 lemme not tho lmao<3 still def the biggest bottom, out bottoms hughie by far, i wanna see him get railed by vas/love sausage)

i will also say, billy is 100% wrong in the comic and the show is slowly but surely unraveling that truth there as well, if it's not clear enough by now. what he does isn't for becky/becca, and definitely not for ryan either. it never was.

it's for his father, no i will not elaborate cause read the damn comics. (but also, people need to stop fucking forgetting that HUGHIE is the *actual* good guy here, not billy... billy is a bad guy... billy is objectively worse than homelander in many MANY canon ways and remember that reverse character development i mentioned--.)

contrast, if you *love* butcher, you will likely be disappointed in the show, but the comics will help prepare you for it (they also make too many things CLEAR)

unfortunately, you do not get sweetheart noir in this and while i love his show counterpart, bearing with cunt 9000 noir is worth it. (it also sparked fic ideas for me cause why not both~<3)

LOVE SAUSAGE IS UNREAL AND PERFECT~<3<3<3 if nothing else, comics love sausage at least deserves your full attention.

homelander's as always is a fun boi, show homelander by comparison is basically *final stage* comics homie (full throttle evil berserk type shit/just before it hits) take everything you thought you knew about (comics) him, and throw it out the fuckin' window.

boi does some fucked up shit... and ALSO has fucking mental breakdowns and visceral reactions like throwing up to doing evil shit because he literally can't stomach it and is trying to convince himself that he is the bad guy because he's been gaslit--.

and i'ma stop there. read the fuckin' comic if you actually wanna know just how deep that homie rabbit hole goes.

and i will absolutely use the idea of him having legit *adverse reactions to doing evil shit* in a fic because FUCK. YES. that was a sad but lovely detail and would make for a perfect fuckin'a alibi<3

anywho~<3, if you recognize he's a victim in the show? the comics. read them cause OOOOOHHHH--.

[r8kirani]

qamar's comic recs: an unsorted list of a few comics I've read this year that I'd like to share my thoughts on (midlate 2023)

Insomniacs after School

A slice-of-life manga that centers around two highschoolers with insomnia, Ganta and Magari, and their relationships with each other, the people around them, and the way they navigate through life. In order to preserve the shared space they take naps in during school hours, they refound the astronomy club.

Slice-of-lifes aren't usually my first go-to, but this caught my eye purely through being related to space. While it isn't that focused on the actual science of stars and such my autistic ass would love, they still center plenty on the art of astrophotography. The way the story balances this and the interpersonal drama of the characters is absolutely great, and what I found in this series was a genuinely very smartly written and heartfelt story. I can't understate how easily loveable Ganta and Magari are, and how invested in them I have gotten. The manga is finished now, so if you're looking for a binge, here ya go!

The Sculptor

Scott McCloud may or may not be a name that stands out to you. As the creator of a trilogy of books that center all around the art of comics (the likes of which I also highly recommend lol), I'd hope that an actual story by him would cement the idea that the man absolutely knew what he was talking about, and boy was I blown away.

The Sculptor is about a man who makes a deal with Death, gaining the power to sculpt anything he desires by the whims of his bare hands, in exchange that he dies in 200 days. It is a love story, in more ways than just one. I sort of hate to give anything more about it away no matter how much I'd like to sell you on it, so if this premise interests you in any way, please give it a try.

The Eltingville Club

Do you want to read a comic about some guys who just really fucking suck? If you're on Twitter you might've seen these guys flying around from a clip of the pilot that was pitched to Adult Swim (but never picked up). That's certainly where I discovered them from.

The Eltingville Club is a scathing examination and satire of the real nasty side of fandom culture, and while is concerned with an older era, still connects very well with the culture of today. It honestly kind of gutpunched me in a way that I never expected, having figured that such a topic wouldn't be something I'd find myself very emotionally responsive to, but it found a way.

This comic really isn't for everybody. Being about the topic that it's about, there is a lot of uncensored bigotry (misogyny and fatphobia being big ones) and generally vile behaviour on display. It's also just sometimes disgusting. People throw up and jack off in it. I also don't think it's that perfect in of itself and has its >_> moments. If that doesn't shy you away from it, then by all means, try it out and see what you think.

Ducks

If you've seen that one Edgar Allen Poe reaction pic, or the strip it's from, you are already familiar with Kate Beaton. Ducks is an autobiographical comic by her, recounting the part of her life spent working in the oil sands of Alberta in order to pay off school fees.

It is an extremely harrowing and uncomfortable read, marked by the desolating effects of the oil sands on Kate, the people around her, as well as the larger world. It delves deep into the misogyny and sexual violence she'd encountered in such an isolating setting, as well as the bombardment of complicated feelings and thoughts she'd come to have from these experiences, from the destructive oil sands themselves. It is not light. It does not resolve itself on an uplifting note. I don't know if I'll ever read it again, but I feel like it was worth it to have read it at least the one time.

Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise

Whether you love, hate, or have no opinions on Marvel, it doesn't matter. This is a damn good comic. And you don't need to know anything about Dr. Strange to read it; I don't! I don't even like the guy!

This 4-issue series works as a completely stand-alone story with its own world-lore and characters. It is a colourful and psychedelic feast for the eyes, and is drop-dead gorgeous. The story matches this too, toying with concepts like identity, physicality, and more. In combination, this makes for an extremely experimental and mind-churning fuckery of the comics medium.

It's not the most easily followable narrative in the world, but that's not necessarily a negative to me. Even if you're not all that into thinking hard about its existential poetry like I am, it still works as a great read when tuning your mind out to its ebb and flow.

Krazy Kat

Not exactly something that's wholly contained in a compressed comic series but I thought I'd include it nonetheless. Krazy Kat is a comic strip from the 1920s that centers around the eponymous Kat and the love of his life, Ignatz the mouse, as they both live out their lives in a fictional rendition of Coconino County, Arizona. Ignatz likes throwing bricks at her head. Kat thinks of them as love letters. Maybe you'd think this to be a bit unconventional, but I think it's very sweet and funny.

Something that you might find notable about it is that it's about a relationship that is seemingly homosexual/LGBT in nature. When asked about Kat's gender, Herriman remarked that he was something of a sprite, a spirit that's free to butt into anything, neither male not female, paralleling Herriman's own feelings about being a biracial man.

The strip itself is really lovely, with panels that are very pleasant to look at and that are laid out in very interesting ways. The flow of action and linework is very beautiful and lends to the humour very well. You can read Krazy Kat on the web through archival efforts, or through book collections.

Until I Love Myself: The Journey of a Nonbinary Manga Artist

It's a travesty I haven't really read more memories from nonbinary people, so I think this was a great gateway into that. Until I Love Myself is about what it says on the tin, Pesuyama's journey of unravelling their internal strife with gender at different stages of their life, and the complications that misogyny and sexualization, and their combined trauma, brings to that. It's somewhat of a metacomic, being concerned with the comic's own creation itself and the discussions Pesuyama has with their editor, and thoughts on what to include within it.

I think I'm both relieved and saddened to know how intimately someone who lives several hundred kilometers away from me could feel the same ways that I've felt throughout my life. It really helped me feel more at peace with myself, even when upsetting. Being a person who is alive is very messy and full of regrets and mistakes, and Pesuyama is very familiar with that. It deals with some really heavy things at certain points, such as pedophilia, so I would highly recommend steeling yourself before going into it.

---

Ok that's my list thank you so much for reading and if you'd ever like to talk to me about what you thought of these comics or comics in general or if you'd like a recommendation specific to you you can always shoot me an ask or DM me bye bye

[marnz]

hello friend!! i was wondering since you both read and write a lot if you had any recs for books that are narrated by death?

also! how is your original novel writing going? you posted a snippet to tumblr once of the opening scene i think and i still think about it because your writing was so descriptive and lush

friend!! please accept my apologies in this delayed answering, your message was so kind that every time I thought about it I got overwhelmed 🥰

Okay books narrated by death! The only one I’ve read is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and it is gorgeous, I was so obsessed with it as a kid however it is about wwii in germany so ymmv.

however! I did some research and Mort by Terry Pratchett comes highly recommended (it is part of discworld). I enjoy Pratchett, he’s very fun. Death is also a big character in the Sandman Comics by N*il G*iman. I do not enjoy G*iman but ymmv!

I also am duty bound to recommend In the Woods by Tana French, a gorgeous, atmospheric murder mystery that is deeply spooky and unsettling. Death is not the narrator…but I do believe it is a character (many many interpretations!)

I feel quite bad sending you away with like 3 recs so here’s what I’ve been reading

- Exordia by Seth Dickinson - I’m not done with this yet but so far it’s like, what if every sci fi first contact military propaganda action movie…got lost and ended up being about the moral quandary of the trolley problem, Kurdistan, pink noise, and prime numbers? what if an author who hates imperialism and loves math decided to write a book length call out of Barack Obama’s drone warfare program with body horror? what if you were a cringe fail elder millennial in nyc that rescued a sexy alien with 8 snake heads instead of only one and every time you physically touched it was a sex scene? And this made the savior of the world? this book is for: homestuck fans, people who were in tragic situationships with their wife and their bestie, pilots, people who like their sci fi hard

- Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin - okay if you haven’t read this stop everything and read it immediately. This book is for: tragedy lovers!!!! Gay people!!!!! Francophiles. Marxists. People who were into the social network rpf in 2013 and read that one fanfic where Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg get cast in a Giovanni’s Room adaption and finally fuck. Anyway. Earlier this year (or possibly last year?) I read a memoir about toxic masculinity and how it demands emotional alienation of the self and I was like “okay. I mean. Obviously?” And buddy. Baldwin says more about this topic in chapter one than that author did in his whole book. And it’s sooooooooooo beautiful god like every paragraph has a life ending sentence.

- the Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai - the year is 1985 and the location is Boystown, the Chicago gayborhood. Our hero? Yale, art lover, is trying to pull off an insane deal at work and survive the devastation of the AIDs epidemic. But actually the year is 2015 and our heroine is Fiona, Yale’s best friend, who travels to Paris to track down her estranged daughter and then her emotional repression stops working! I know this book sounds devastating and it REALLY is, like at one point I was sobbing so hard my husband got really worried and I was like, no, it’s all good, thumbs up! But ALSO this book is very funny and very joyful. This book is for: people who love to laugh. People who love to cry. Art lovers. People who love emotionally messy families.

- I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai - a film studies professor & podcaster returns to her elite high school boarding school 20 years after graduating and find herself getting sucked into investigating the murder of her junior year roommate, who was murdered senior year and is now the internet’s favorite cold case. Please note this book is a response to #MeToo. This book is for: people who love True Crime but are also critical of it. People who love twitter drama. People who were losers in high school. People who devotedly at watch YouTube essays. Hot divorcées. Angry women.

I have also read a lot of excellent non fiction, the Murderbot diaries (just read themmmmm! Worth it), the entire Kate Daniels series (again.), the new SJM book, and some mid to bad books.

[leprosycock]

this is is gonna sound retarded but how do you.. start…… 4chan…………

like how do you find good not insufferable stuff how does it work how do you get into it what does it mean what does it mean

you kind of just have to like. dive into it and pick and choose the content that you actually like. each board has its own sort of subculture underneath 4chan culture as a whole. it's definitely a culture shock at first, because at the end of the day it's just a highly free speech centered image board. you can more or less say whatever you want without consequences under a layer of anonymity unless you're being a complete dickhead and spamming shit in threads. some people use this freedom for good, some people use it for bad, but it's still vital in an era where the internet in general is so ruthlessly sanitized.

you have to maintain a very thick skin when you first start browsing because it's definitely gonna be a culture shock. retards will be retards and there's a ton of ironic/very genuine racism that you just have to shake off and ignore. /b/ is mostly for fourteen year olds to post porn and jack off to female twitch streamers and shitpost, /r9k/ is essentially a femcel/incel hub (actual incels, not the watered-down mainstream definition) full of very lonely people trying to feel either less lonely or justified in their bitterness, /ck/ is for cooking and people who are very opinionated about cooking, /co/ is comics and cartoons and is considered a lot more left-leaning now and it's full of the worst threads you've ever seen, /cm/ is for cute boys! and more bitter femcels, /x/ is full of schizos who shitpost about the paranormal, /y/ is for chinese cartoon porn and some of it is okay. those are the ones that i'm most familiar with. i would very highly recommend lurking for a LONGGGG time before you start to make threads of your own and respond to others.

tl;dr sift through boards until you find a community/topic that you like, lurk for ages, and then post away. it's not a hub for radicalization any more than twitter or tiktok are. at the end of the day, it's just an image board and sometimes you can even have fun on there

[silveryinkystar]

17, 18, and 19 for the book asks!

17. Top five books of the year

skdfjskj this is ABSURD to try to narrow down BUT. in no particular order:

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi This book basically unravels the mystery of how Vivek Oji died, and explores the lives of a group of queer youths in Nigeria - and the core of the story is the dual experience of wanting to "truly" express oneself while also not being out for the sake of safety, which as someone in a relatively similar situation made me want to scream because the experience is captured so WELL UGH

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste This is such EXCELLENT historical fiction - it talks about the involvement of women in the Italian invasion on Ethiopia as soldiers, spies, etc. and examines the dynamics between them on levels of station, power, allyship, etc. It's so SO SO well written and researched, I finished the entire thing in one sitting

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller I'll be honest I was putting this one off for a WHILE now and finally got to it after seeing your posts about it skfdjsk, the spirit of greek tragedies is alive and well in this one T_T

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Another one I've kind of been putting off, and haven't watched the show for - the entire book is naturally fantastic and then there's the EPILOGUE which breaks the narrative style into like an academic conference at least a century or two in the future which. HOLY SHIT

The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman This is technically a six-issue comic run but ssshhh they're good they're so good!!! Not going into this too much bc Sandman spoilers but it's basically a prequel of sorts to the first issue of the Sandman original run (which should absolutely be read before Overture btw, because Overture contains major spoilers from the final Sandman issues) which messes with such concepts of time, reality etc.. Also Dream reveals a bit of a backstory where he was damselled in a tower while a cool lady came to save him from the dangers lurking outside, which is fascinating from a meta perspective of storytelling.

18. Least favourite books of the year

Heart of Darkness by Joseph fucking Conrad. it's both tedious and fucking AWFUL and i hate that i had to read it not once but TWICE this year for two separate classes. if i have my way i'll never touch this book again in my LIFE

Also The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing. I had such high hopes for this one because the premise sounded interesting as hell but the protagonist is just awful. She's the LEAST compelling person to have written an entire epistolary novel about and her character is the flattest thing on the planet. I've gone on SEVERAL ranting sessions (and even ranted in my essay for the class I had to read it for lol) and suffice to say it's just not my thing

19. Best non-fiction book(s) you read this year

OKAY so there are a few that my professors wrote/recommended that were just incredible but those also involve giving away my location which I really don't wan't to do, but I did read A Feminist Theory of Violence by Francoise Verges and was utterly THRILLED with it!

The book talks through various salient issues (ex. racism, the prison system, sexual violence, capitalism & neoliberalism etc.) and why they don't cross each other out but actually intersect in ways that enrich conversations around these topics individually - furthermore also talks about how the sources of these institutional problems is often very much the SAME thing, meaning they're all interconnected enough that approaching one should, in fact, involve approaching these other structural problems also

Fair trigger warnings for discussion of state violence, racism, rape etc. but it's a genuinely poignant book that I highly recommend!

End of the year book asks

[coastercrushed]

#COASTERCRUSHED writing blog for mapplethorpe landis, an ghost character from abc's crazy fun park. highly selective & private. minors dni. primarily runs on queue due to work schedule. loved by billie ( 32 . est. ) this blog will contain triggering content and spoilers . 21+ preferred . minors do not interact . established november 2023.

 open starters./ headcanons / verses. /prompts. / board.

affiliated with; @artstayed, @rvnawaytrain, @lunarfey, @luminarot also found at: lennon. gonzo.gareth. april. siobhan. marko.

INFO / STATS UNDERCUT.

01. first things first, i am aware that a lot of people haven't seen crazy fun town. i highly recommend it. it'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, it'll make you feel nostalgic. i digress because this will have a lot of horror aspects. a lot of the park kids died in really horrific ways. mapplethorpe ended up going to the abandoned park alone, climbing up a rollercoaster to take a picture with his cell phone and fell off the coaster platform, falling onto one of the stalls below. a lot of depressing topics will be mentioned considering mapplethorpe had died suddenly and he's a rather fresh ghost ( the other's being from the 80s - early 00s ) so he's learning to cope with his own death.

02. drama is not my thing. i avoid it in real life and you best believe i’m going to avoid it online, being that this is my hobby. i wont reblog callouts, but will read them. i’ll only reblog if the person is incredibly dangerous to make my followers be aware. no gross behavior with minor muses, either, thanks. don’t be transphobic, genderbend, whitewash, don’t be a racist asshole, don’t support n*zi imagery, don’t be a fucking dickhead. 

03. oooooh i do love shipping! though, i do prefer a little bit of plotting beforehand. i think it’s very important to build a relationship ooc as well. i’m more comfortable to ship if we talk a little ooc.

04. i’m billie! i’ve thirty two years old and i’ve been apart of the rpc since late 2010. i’m an old lady. i’ve been around the block a few times. i work full time overnight ( twelve hour shifts ) at hospital & i have a lot of social obligations so i’m primarily mobile. most of my replies will be posted by queue due to this. my reply speed is slow and whilst i post a lot of ooc posts while at work & what not, it may sometimes take me a few days or even weeks to reply to a thread. patience is key! this is something i do whenever i want to destress and have fun.

STATS

 GENERAL.

BIRTH NAME. mapplethorpe landis  ALIAS(ES). mapplethorpe, mape, mapple, maggot boy, pennywise. AGE. eighteen. DATE OF BIRTH. may 8th MARITAL STATUS. single. verse dependent.  SPECIES. the ghost with the most GENDER. cismale PREFERRED PRONOUNS. he/him ROMANTIC ORIENTATION. bisexual  SEXUAL ORIENTATION. bisexual.  OCCUPATION. was a student, planning on becoming a writer and making comics with his artist best friend chester. now? he's just dead.

                                                                                                         PHYSICALITY.

HEIGHT. 5'9" BUILD. athletic, lean. in good shape. HAIR. blonde, curly. EYES. bluish hazel SCARS. miscellaneous scars from skateboarding. he has a lot of them. a lot of scars from just doing stupid shit as well.  ABNORMALITIES. other than being dead? not a whole lot. TATTOOS. a smiley face stick n poke on his left knee cap. PHYSICAL AILMENTS. after snapping his spinal chord so bad he was essentially bisected? not really. ALLERGIES. none.

                                                                                                          HEADSPACE.

ALIGNMENT. chaotic good MYERS BRIGGS.  esfp FEARS. losing chester, memories of his own death. DISORDERS. adhd, autism, dependent personality disorder  OTHERS.  n/a.

                                                                                                          BACKGROUND.

PLACE OF BIRTH.   CURRENT RESIDENCE.   RELIGION.  agnostic  FAMILY.  felicity landis, his mother. father is not in the picture. considers chester dante his family. STATUS.  lower-middle class

[non-reader]

Infidel

I do not have access to my college library anymore because I have graduated and have moved back to my parents' basement (temporarily). My sibling works at the library at the college near by, so sometimes I join them and spend my time writing stories and applying for scholarships. Because I am in a reading slump, because I finished my undergrad, I needed something to help move my brain back into reading. MAD Magazine ended up being the one to kick it off, but it was Infidel from my sibling's library that I had first picked out.

Infidel, by Pornsak Pichetshote, is about an apartment complex that is haunted by demonic ghosts. They haunt a woman named Aisha Hasan and she begins to catch on that they may be real spirits and not hallucinations. After an accident, we follow her friends who try and figure out what is going on in the building and how to stop it.

I was looking for a horror comic to read, but what made me decide on this one was the cover. A hijabi woman with a demonic hand behind her. I've been recently thinking about how we have a lot of horror stories and movies surrounding Christianity, but not of other religions like Islam. While the story doesn't focus on how the paranormal connects with Islam, I was happy to see some Muslim representation in something horror-related.

This comic also focuses on three very important topics that are prevalent today. Racism, Islamophobia, and trust. What was thought to have been a terrorist attack in the apartment earlier made many of the residents wary of Aisha, who was a Pakistani Muslim woman. The attack and the following events in the book brought about talks of racism and what qualifies as such. When it comes to trust, it is mainly through observing her friend Medina Jackson. We see in her past and current situation that she is not very trusting of others and how that effects her interactions and actions.

I do appreciate the representation and love the style of the comic. If anyone is looking for a good horror and social-political comic, I would highly recommend this one.

*This does not rightly represent how scary and cool the ghosts in the comics were*

[bloggingbrin]

Postmortem 💀 – Chicken Defense 🐔

This was originally written as an essay for a university project. You can get a .PDF here and I would recommend playing the game before reading it. Enjoy.

Introduction

Chicken Defense is a game about protecting an ever moving flock of chickens from being stolen by jealous farmers. With action packed gameplay it’s a spin on tower defence genre where the player is going to be constantly on the run and constantly moving.

Through the development process I acted as a Game Design Lead while also producing the graphic assets. I was primarily the person that made design documents and tried holding us to the pillars of the game we set up. Levering my previous experience I also programmed, mostly taking care of implementing the assets, juice and sound.

My roles had a “back and forth” connection to the rest of the team. When creating new designs I would bring them up to the team, we would discuss them and based on the discussion I would go back and revise the assets, design documents, animations …

Fig. 1: Diagram based design document

The design documents are worth mentioning as they represented a north-star in our development and directly affected every planning and coding decision made in the team. These were created either as drawn out diagrams for the topics we care about more or were collected in a google document that we intentionally kept as abridged as possible to allow for quick iteration.

1. What we did right

At the start of the project we knew that we need to facilitate a world where the chicken would make sense and I think we have successfully done that through the theme we choose to use in the game.

1.1 A sensible chicken

I am a strong believer that in games things have to make sense. Why can the player do what they are doing? Why are they doing it in the first place? Even if the focus of the game is not HOW the player can build these scarecrows and WHY they are defending the chicken from jealous farmers it has to make sense. This mentality was inspired by Rami’s and JW’s talk of Sensible Nonsense (Ismael & Nijman, 2012) and Johny Ive’s mantra of “finishing the back of the drawer” (2).

So to make sure things make sense we created a world where protecting a chicken would be logical, we designed a story of a farmer attending a chicken show that tours the country every day. This allowed us to change the landscape of the levels and make sure that “it made sense”. We envisioned this farmer being highly clever, able to modify regular scarecrows into instruments of defense.

Fig. 2: Tower concept art.

So the theme was not only tailored to the gameplay but also played into what the game actually is. The game is a small, lunch-break getaway. It is not a grand adventure, it is not something you come back to every day. It is supposed to be something that’s fun for a short amount of time because it turns a genre on its head. So having a theme that just screams unapologetic ridiculousness is honest. Being honest with our design is what helps us set the expectation of what a player is getting into. Honest design is good design (3).

This originally served as an internal way to explain our decisions, we decided to sprinkle parts of explanations into the final game. This took form in with flavourful text, presented on a piece of paper between the levels, just enough to spark the imagination of the player, but minute enough to let the player’s mind fill in the blanks. Player’s reacted positively as the off-the-wall text hinted towards what is happening in the next level and played into reinforcing the comical nature of the game.

Fig. 3: Fluff between the levels.

Lastly, we also needed to make sure that the game would feel as chaotic as we are trying to represent it with the theme. We ensured this through visual silly animations. The characters don’t have a walk cycle, they wobble on a sine wave. The chicken’s kick up a storm of dust whenever they run from their enemies while scarecrows squash and stretch generously as they attack the envious farmers. Every animation focuses on exaggerating (4) what it’s representing, again playing into the overall theme.

  2. What we did wrong

Looking back at the game I see the biggest issues being in the engine we decided to choose and in our process of tackling game difficulty through the development of the project.

2.1 Engine

I consider the choice of our engine a design choice and agree with Aral Balkan’s idea that “Design is how it works” (5). While it worked for me, I do not think it worked for us as a team. The engine we worked in was Construct 3. It is an event driven engine that is very visual and easy to use with a “pick and choose events” approach to coding instead of regular code writing. This approachable nature came back to haunt us as the code is saved in .json files which is not very readable. This became problematic as we ran into issues when merging code and having a hard time reading what changed. Additionally the programmers did not end up enjoy coding in Construct, creating a situation where they worked in a framework they considered unfun – this does not help creating a motivating surrounding.

Fig. 4: Construct’s event system.

2.2 Difficulty

Our initial goal was to scale the difficulty by throwing more enemies at the player and giving the players more chickens to take care of. Making the game more chaotic.

I see our game as having 3 pain points that resulted in me marking difficulty as a failure.

2.2a Lack of strategic depth

The difficulty of the game increases as new gameplay elements get added. For example, in level 2 the player plays with a different scarecrow than level 1. Level 4 introduces new enemies, while level 5 adds an extra chicken. Later levels focus on introducing new environments such as caging the chicken in player-in-accessible areas in level 10 and removing resource drops in level 7 and 8.

However, we rarely use these elements to create puzzles. Adding them to the gameplay does create difficulty. This difficulty is shallow and does not last for a long time. If we draw parallels with the world of UX design, we are essentially creating noise (6) that the player needs to scan through to find the right answer.

Users during tests have responded to this noise by trying out new strategies, however, the sad truth of the our level design is that this reaction is a façade. Usually the best strategy is to place as many range towers as possible in the middle of the map, no matter what level you play. This non-changing answer relegates our new elements just down to noise that needs to be scanned through and eliminated out of the equation. I believe that the elements in a game should require the player to reconsider what they are doing and force them into a different playstyle. We don’t do this consistently and that is why the game lacks strategic depth.

Fig. 4: The strategy

2. Resources

Using resources as a way to allow the player to build scarecrows seemed natural, we are making a tower defense game after all. But their purpose was to limit the player, force them to make deliberate choices and with that, create difficulty. However, this caused more issues than it was worth and for a game where we wanted to turn the tower defense genre on its head we were way too stubborn on keeping them in game.

So why were resources bad? They made the levels and chaos much harder to scale. The more enemy farmers the scarecrows defeated the more resources you would get, so in essence throwing more enemy farmers at the player would create more opportunities for a tower to generate resources. Having access to more resources allows for placing more towers making the game easier. So trying to make the game harder, made the game easier. This could be fixed by adjusting tower costs, requiring more enemies to be defeated using a single tower but this would destroy the opening levels with less enemies et cetera.

This un-intuitiveness created by the resources ties back to the first point. It made designing interesting levels really hard. The intuitive answer to ramp up difficulty was not intuitive anymore and while it did prompt us to create some interesting levels (level 7 & 9), they felt like gimmicks compared to the rest of the game.

The only difficulty the resources created was punishing a player harshly for a misplacement of an early tower. This issue is not uncommon (7) among tower defense games and something we ended up band aid fixing by making towers “recycle” themselves.

Fig. 5: Remember to recycle your scarecrows, kids.

Resources had too many ripple effects and they did not serve their purpose, they forced us to band aid fixing and made level design unnecessarily hard. I am sure we could have found a better solution for limiting how many scarecrows you can build.

3. Bad (analysis of) data

I think the difficulty problem came to be from the way we analyzed data. As I alluded to in the first point, our testers responded to new elements being introduced by trying out different strategies. This led me to believe that the level designs were achieving what they were supposed to achieve.

The mistake here was not considering how many variables are at play when testing the difficulty of a game, or as Tom Francis puts it – how random difficulty is (8). When someone played the game by simply using range towers in the middle of the map, we were baffled, unsure how to “fix” this. This issue would not happen had we thought of how we want the levels to be solved more and not just what are the things we want to introduce in a level.

Takeaways

These takeaways should serve as reminders of what to do in the next projects:

Build a world not just for the player but also for yourself

A comfortable development environment goes a long way, make tool choices that facilitate this for everyone

If something is giving you too much trouble, try replacing it instead of fixing it

Summary

The finished game has a strong and honest theme that creates appropriate player expectations and makes the game feel logical. The systems work together to create a feeling of confusion and the player is required to care of multiple elements. However, most of the difficulty is manifested in this confusion creating a difficulty curve that exists but it exists for the wrong reasons. The game is far from perfect and the development process has taught us a lot, however I would be lying if I didn’t say that I am quite happy with how the game turned out.

References

(1) Nijman, J.W., & Ismael, R. (2012). Sensible nonsense https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk94HoI_tCo (2) Goldberger, P. (2013). Designing Men https://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2013/11/jony-ive-marc-newson-design-auction (3) Good Design principles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Rams#%22Good_design%22_principles (4) Twelve basic principles of animation – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_basic_principles_of_animation#Exaggeration (5) Balkan, A. (2012). Design is not veneer https://ar.al/notes/design-is-not-veneer/ (6) Krug, S. Don’t make me think Revisited (4th ed.). New Riders (7) Nijman, J.W. (2020) FFFLOOD postmortem – https://vlambeer.itch.io/ffflood (8) Francis, T. (2019) Difficulty is random https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8lYPAPGo40

Some further useful links

Francis, T. (2019) Good difficulty settings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WdYhrOHxSY Clements, R. (2012) Why we love tower defense games https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/24/why-we-love-tower-defense

[happymeishappylife]

TV Shows I Watched in 2022

1. The Sandman (Season 1)

An absolutely fabulous and remarkable adaptation that literally lifts the comic book pages to the screen. All of the people who worked on this must be so proud because its so good and all the cast is perfect! But also Tom Sturridge truly embodies Dream so well that every time he’s on screen, even non speaking or very stoic, he has such a presence that really shines. I’m so glad this got picked up for more episodes and I can’t wait to read more of the comic to see where its going next.

2. His Dark Materials (Season 3)

I already gushed about how much I love this book adaptation but man, this third season has been just as good if not better than the first two. Daphne Keen has matured and grown in ways that really highlights the character growth Lyra has gone through and Amir Wilson is really the perfect Will and is the perfect balance to Lyra. Seeing the images of the Mulefa and the Land of the Dead come life has also been a treat. But now I’m so sad its over, though I knew it had too. But truly this was one of the best adaptations I have seen and highly recommend it.

3. Heartstopper (Season 1)

And yet, another great adaptation of comics that just leaves you feeling so good and so happy. I binged this, like I did Alice Oseman’s comic in just a couple days and felt so overcome with happiness of good queer representation for younger audiences to enjoy. I think Kit Connor and Joe Lock play such a perfect representation of Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring that seeing their chemistry made it feel like reading the comic. I also fell in love with the soundtrack of this series as well as the cute doodle images that accompanied the live action and can’t wait to see where it goes in season 2. Especially with Alice’s huge Asexual plans!

4. Gotham (Seasons 1-5)

This was on my TV list for years and although it was long over by the time I got to it, I really enjoyed the entire show. Sure the storyline of Jim Gordon got a little tiring after a while, but the backstories of Bruce, Penguin, and the Riddler, more than make up for it. And really when a show can make you root for a villain like Penguin, that’s well done. Part of me wishes we could see more of Batman, but this was a night treat to see how Batman came to be and colorful Gotham was before he had to take up the suit.

5. Doctor Who (2023 Specials)

I’m so sad that another era of Doctor Who has come to an end, especially because I hit my sad Doctor feeling with Jodie after the first special of Eve of the Daleks because she is just so good. While some stories can be argued hit or miss, I truly thought that as the first woman doctor, Jodie proved it could be done and has paved the way for the future. We also got to see more interesting places, aliens (both old and new), and I do appreciate that all her companions survived compared to the rest of the modern series. The Power of the Doctor was also a giddy treat to see so many older companions and doctors and was a perfect send off (minus the last minute). I hope we see her come back and reprise the role, but I truly just want to say thanks.

6. Call the Midwife (Seasons 5-11)

This show has become my feel good show. I can always count on it to make me cry and make me feel so deeply and for that I’m appreciative. I also love the way the show blends current topics into historical context while still be true to the era. It makes me feel like we really have been in some of these fights for a while but that some of the things we still are fighting for were still just as true then as they are now. But also, this shows needs to stop killing off characters lol. Mainly because this isn’t a show where death is taken lightly. Just let people leave in peace!

7. Miraculous Ladybug (Seasons 2-3)

I really did not expect to get as hooked to this show as I did, but behind its silliness and general setup, the more we learn about the Miraculous and the history of Ladybug the more interested I get. Plus the more we scale up the threat of Hawkmoth the more intense to clashes are and I appreciate it. My only problem was I can’t watch more seasons right now since Netflix only has these first 3. And since I boycott Disney+ I’m not sure how I’ll catch up especially since I like watching these in French with english dub.

8. Supergirl (Season 5)

I wasn’t expecting to be sad when this show ended, but I got very emotional when it did. Sure not every story was great and not every season was prefect but what I really enjoyed about Supergirl was that she really fought for the ideals she stood for and told good stories about why that was important for her. I like Kara and I like many of her friends and will be sad to see them go even if I’m partially glad that there is one less DC show to follow now.

9. Old Enough

This is the cutest show! I’ve always loved how much Japan actually raises its kids to be productive members from such an early age, but watching 2-5 year olds travel the streets and run errands from their parents made me root for them so far. Sure some had a hard time, but most persevered and that was so admirable. If you ever need a pick me up watch an episode or two because they are only 10-20 minutes long and its so cute.

10. The Final Table

Okay, I know this is weird, but I discovered this show accidentally on Netflix when I turned it on at my new dentist. Don’t ask me why a food show was fun to watch while getting my teeth cleaned, but it was. And part of it might be how they structured this show to travel to different countries to see the best of the best square off. I would eat so much of all the food and it was fun to see what could be created. Too bad there aren’t any more seasons though, but for a quick splurge in reality TV this was one of my favorites.

Other Shows I watched:

10. Stargirl (Season 2)

11. The Flash (Season 7)

TV Shows I Rewatched in 2022:

Doctor Who (Seasons 5-18)

[bloodpen-to-paper]

In honor of Book Lovers Day, I shall rank the three books I’ve read so far this year, going from best to least favorite (its only three cause I’m a slow reader and just recently got back into reading)

1 - “1984″ - George Orwell: I’m big on philosophy, politics and history so this was #1 by a long shot; I personally loved the writing style, though it can be a bit dense with information (books written before the 2000s tend to be); I would note that Orwell was cringe when it came to writing about women (trigger warning for brief mentions of r*pe on pages 15 and 120), but I definitely recommend for anyone interested in those topics I listed

2 - “One Last Stop” - Casey McQuiston: I haven’t actually finished this one yet, but based on what I’ve read it starts off a bit slow but picks up as the story goes. The book is very modern and relies on pop-culture references more garnered towards millennials. More of a relaxed and very human writing style that fits what you as a person might think and say on a regular basis. The MC has yet to win me over but some of the one liners and great, and its a book with queer main characters/romances.

3 - “Coraline” - Neil Gaiman: If you’ve seen the Coraline movie but haven’t yet read the book, I’d definitely try not to compare the two too much or you might end up a bit disappointed. The movie is definitely more whimsical, and personally I found the writing style a bit dull and dreary; it has a lot of description on the environment but in a way that didn’t really interest me (might be different for you though); writing picks up more towards the second half, and its a short read so good for if you want a book that’s not too overwhelming

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Bonus: Webtoon Edition 

(not ranking these since I haven’t finished any of them, just giving general reviews)

“Heartstopper” - Alice Oseman: very heartwarming romance that heavily revolves around queerness and homophobia; diverse in both racial and LGBT identities; can get very angsty as it addresses some depressing themes, but it represents those themes well and is mostly very sweet and wholesome (sidenote: Netflix has one season of a show adaption of Heartstopper that is pretty good if you’re interested!)

“Wayne Family Adventures” - DC Comics (via various artists/writers listed on the site): for all the Batfamily fans that want a break from the gritty and dark nature of the comics; slice-of-life that revolves around the members of the Batman franchise having light-hearted hijinks, with the occasional angst that delves into life lessons; love this one in particular cause it actually puts a spotlight on more than just the four most well-known “batbros” and gives some love to the others in the family; highly recommend for any Batman fans that come across this post (not because you’re a Batman fan, but because you’re on Tumblr)

“Get Schooled” - Yongtaek Chae, Garam Han: omfg I love this webtoon so much. Its literally about a guy who beats the shit out of high schoolers. That’s it. But its so funny (and surprisingly depthful); I could go on and on about how this comic is more comedic but tends to nail the more serious aspects of the story, as well as the politics; great world building, and one of the only pieces of media I’ve seen that addresses themes like child abuse the way it does; also if you’re interested in men and women that are scary and could beat the shit out of you in the way that makes you attracted to them, I’d give this a go ;) 

“Boyfriends” - refrainbow: episodic slice-of-life that is diverse in LGBT identities, as well as a great read for representation of healthy polyamorous relationships; mostly very light hearted and low stakes; its like when you get candy on Halloween and just keep eating it up without a care in the world

“Study Group” - Hyungwuk Shin, Seungyeon Ryu: very typical Korean “bullied guy fights bullies” comic; love the artstyle though, and it can be pretty funny (I am also in love with the teacher character, she is so fucking gender); its one of my guilty pleasures

“Coffin Jackson” - CTK: I LOVE THIS ONE; subverted my expectations of being a super serious and gritty comic by being quite comedic and light-hearted (mind you it is still gritty and dark, just not all the time). The main characters have my heart, and the artstyle is something I want to put under a microscope and study like some freaky little scientist trying to understand color theory

“Fictional Skin” - Kris Nguyen: the one I read through the least; seems pretty easy-going so far, and Vivi is a character I enjoy a lot; from what I’ve seen, the plot will pick up into more exciting themes as the story goes, but its mostly just really cute

“Everything Is Fine” - Mike Birchall: a very normal comic where everyone is perfectly happy and easy-going; the characters are all content; nothing bad ever happens; nothing is wrong in this world; Everything Is Fine :)

“Vibe Check!” - Ucheomaaa: I literally don’t even know how to explain this one just go read it if you wanna laugh at obscure and weird internet humor

[aropride]

what's the best way to start listening to MCR? I've listened to some of the songs already but do you have suggestions?

(also i genuinely can't remember if i already sent an ask in like this, if i did i apologize)

YES OK SO. i got into them the way a lot of people did- i heard welcome to the black parade, went "this slaps," and listened to the full album.

i recommend listening 2 the songs in order, bc each album has a storyline that it follows, but it's not like- essential to Getting Into Mcr to do that, it's kinda just smth i wish id done instead of figuring it out later. i listened to the black parade -> danger days (<- my favourite <3) -> i brought you my bullets you brought me your love -> 3 cheers for sweet revenge -> conventional weapons but part of me really wishes id listened to the albums in the order they released bc i think it wouldve been cool to see how their style changed over time, but u can rlly listen to them in any order. BUT starting with tbp is cool too bc it's their most iconic album and i think it really nails the Vibe of the band yknow?

i think id recommend either listening to them in release order, or start with black parade -> 3 cheers (a lot of their iconic songs r on 3cheers too) -> bullets -> danger days -> conventional weapons (but those last three i'm not as sure of the order) Also you literally dont have to listen to them in any of those orders ^_^ thats just how i ideally wouldve done it

like i mentioned b4 each album has a storyline, danger days specifically gerard way actually wrote a comic about in 2013. but all the songs in all the albums stand on their own too & u dont have to know the stories behind them 2 listen to them

oH i also highly recommend watching life on the murder scene, its on youtube & was released after 3 cheers but before tbp, it deals w a lot of heavy topics but it's very good

most of mcr's music is on spotify but some isnt so here is a playlist with every single song i believee it also has a few covers (all i want for christmas is you mcr cover, my beloved <3)

AS FOR CERTAIN SONGS. <- he is going to list his favourites from each album

bullets

EARLY SUNSETS OVER MONROEVILLE

our lady of sorrows

this is the best day ever

3 cheers

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DO TO GUYS LIKE US IN PRISON

the ghost of you

i'm not okay (i promise)

the black parade

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

DISENCHANTED

MAMA

welcome to the black parade

danger days

BULLETPROOF HEART <333

summertime

the only hope for me is you

conventional weapons

boy division

the light behind your eyes

make room!!!

UMM yeah this is getting long but that is my advice ^_^ and also my excuse to list off my favourite songs off each album <3 thank u for giving me an excuse to talk about my chemical romance djfjdkjf

[byallmeans1]

Hey How did you sink into Levihan? What is the reason that make you fall in love?

Ohhh boy. Many things. But all of it changed over time.

The universal and everlasting truth is that Levi is a very intimidating person with dark past. However, Hanji doesn't seem to mind. They're not scared of him, and what's more, they're brazen enough to tease him and piss him off. They know each other very well, and only Hanji understands him to the point where they translate his words to other people. They're good friends, which, to me, is a really great asset. I love ships that start off with friendship. And the fact that they're both annoying weirdos??? Love it.

Besides, what's better than having two faves? Two faves ending up together ^^

I've always had a soft spot for grumpy/sunshine romance. Almost every ship of mine follows that pattern lmao

But the most important thing to me is Hanji. They have a crucial role in that ship, because I've never seen such a character before. Because they can't be depicted only by word "sunshine". They can be sassy and mean, they have a big sexy brain, bad hygiene, and, in the end, a very tragic story. My love for Hanji is probably the main reason why I can't let go of that ship.

Back in 2013 when the first season of the anime started coming out, I actually thought that levihan was a straight ship, which made me love them even more, because in most cases, straight ships are boring, bland and cheesy (majority of my ships has always been gay), so every time i stumble on a good straight ship (once in like million years) i cherish them and water them every day like plants.

But yeah, later I found out Yams never said Hanji was a woman and didn't want gendered pronouns for hanji and I actually ended up loving that fact and it didnt make me love the ship any less. And also!! It made me educate myself on the topic, because 14yo me never heard of nb people.

And!! Of course I was never the same after discovering DYFM's comics

Anyway LeviHan is very sexy i highly recommend