#one of my comics where both characters are fully dressed

[gobbogoo]

Who Is Scout's Ma?

She's a character we know extremely little about, however when you stop to consider the IMPLICATIONS of what little we DO know, things start to get interesting:

1. She lives in the roughest part of Boston ("if you were from where I was from, you'd be dead") but dresses quite elegantly.

2. She had 8 boys, all of whom she raised BY HERSELF, and yet somehow she finds the time to maintain this impeccable appearance.

3. Scout clearly loves and admires her to a point where it's one of the few things he'll drop his "tough guy" act for, and dialogue in the comics like "Ma's gonna kill me if she finds out" implies he also still fears her disapproval, despite being a fully autonomous adult.

4. Spy, despite what he likes to pretend, is clearly head-over-heels for her. He even had her likeness engraved on his fanciest gun! (Note the distinct hairband & hoop earrings) For a man who avoids attachment to the point where he never lets anyone see his face, that's an unusual degree of infatuation.

5. None of Scout's brothers left Boston while he was growing up, despite a few of them presumably being adults by then. Not only this, they were still all getting into fights together, implying they were both continuing to live with or near their mother and brothers, AND had reasons to brawl with others beyond just some adolescent street scuffle.

My Theory:

Scout's Ma is the matriarch of a Boston-based crime family.

It explains her elegant appearance, how she and Spy were able to meet, why their bond clearly goes beyond a one-off fling, why she was able to be in Scout's life so much despite the financial burdens of being a single mother of 8, and why all of said 8 were continuing to get into fights with other locals. They weren't just some street gang, they were enforcers. It also explains why/how Scout got into mercenary work, his many mafia-themed weapons, and why he continues to fear her ire even as an adult.

Plus, take a look at this unused angle of the last photo from Meet The Spy:

You'd THINK a single mother from the rough side of Boston wouldn't appear so in-her-element on a fancy date with The Spy, and yet her appearance and demeanour here just SCREAM "confident and in control."

Scout's Ma is Boston's Godmother, and I desperately wish to see someone draw her as such.

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 5 - Catholic Character Tournament

Propaganda below ⬇️

Sister Michael

She drives a DeLorean. She does judo on Fridays. She likes a good statue and despises the French. Her full nun name is Sister George Michael, after the guy from Wham!. She is the fiercest nun you’ll ever come across and, if you’re attending Lady Immaculate College, she’s the woman in charge. So whatever you do, if you’re feeling anxious or worried or just need a chat: don’t come crying to her.

joined the nunnery for the free accommodation?

she does love a good statue it has to be said

She is the headmistress of a catholic school <3

sister michael so reminds me of the nuns who taught me. they're tough and sometimes a little harsher than a woman who dedicated her life to god should be but they're also wonderful people. i had a nun teacher who was 60 years old and would do handstands. another nun (also in her 60s) told me god was nonbinary. another was really mean and made me cry. (so did the handstand nun.) while the catholic girls school is The Catholic Experience, the school wouldn't have been the same for me or the derry girls without at least one nun who seemed to have sprung up out of the ground fully formed, ageless.

Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler Propaganda:

good lord where do i start. in the animated series he converts logan to catholisism and then fucks off basically thats the main thing he did there. i think one time they tried to make him a demon to explain how he looked but everyone hated that. he sold his soul one time to help his friends out after he died. he and logan have a weird little gay thing. he was a priest one time but he was made a priest by a fake bishop from a religion that hates mutants iirc so he just wasnt a priest. like 3 people have written him in a way i like and one of those is my friend just talking about how they view him.

wow marvel loves making catholic characters dress/look like demons

Kurt is a mutant who was born to mystique who looks a LOT like a devil (technically is half one but that cannon truth isn’t real go back to bed), his mother dropped him off a cliff when he was born and he was picked up by a Romani group/circus (fuck old comics man) however he then narrowly escaped being sold to a freak show and found himself in a small German town. There he met a kind priest, who showed him God, and he quickly grew attached to the idea- However, it wasn’t long before people began labeling him a demon and soon the whole town was against him with pitchforks and fire. Cornered and injured, Kurt thought this might be the end for him- maybe he would see heaven so long after finding it- but he was then saved by Charles Xavier who invited him to the X-Men. AND ITS BEEN SO MANY YEARS AND HE HAS BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH THERE. SO MUCH. SO GOD DAMN MUCH. BUT THE MOST AAAA THING TO ME CONCERNING HIS FAITH HE WHEN HE LITERALLY DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN BUT THEN BECAUSE OF DRAMA WITH HIS FATHER HAD TO BRING HIS FRIENDS IN WITH HIM FROM THE BEYOND. THEN WITH ALOT OF TROUBLE THEY FOUGHT HIS FATHER AND THE ONLY WAY KURT SAW TO STOP HIM WAS IN A MOVE THAT STRIPPED THEM BOTH OF THEIR SOULS AND PUT THEM BACK ON EARTH. SO KURT CANONICALLY HAS NOW LOST HIS ABILITY FOR ETERNAL PEACE, LOST HIS VERY SOUL, TO SAVE PEOPLE- AND ALSO TOLD NO ONE NOT EVEN HIS GAY LOVER WOLVERINE.

Nightcrawler is a mutant vigilante who looks like a classical demon. He can’t even go to church without people panicking and trying to exorcize him. Despite it all, he’s so full of faith and hope and compassion, and he wants to believe the best of everyone. Also, he’s bffs with an extremely angry Jewish sword lesbian. That has nothing to do with anything, but it’s important to me that you all know that.

What if you were a devout christian and literally looked like the devil? He nearly became the pope, which was a plot by some supervillains that also involved faking a rapture? There is nothing like comics I swear to god.

A catholic who is half demon I don’t think I can better explain a struggle than that. But his character is so relatable to people who feel unwelcome with their congregation because of something that is a part of them but still feeling a connection to the faith. Kurt actively engaged in his faith and shares how his faith helps him through all the things he has faced in life and how he found a home with those of the church who leave the judging to God.

so they made kurt a priest briefly before deciding to retcon it, resulting in nightcrawler actually being part of a plan by villains to promote him to pope then reveal to the world that the pope is a demon. wild.

I have a side blog and a tattoo about him and i really really want him to win

Wisecracking devil-appearing devout Catholic with the Best superpower (teleportation)? HECK YES

German Catholic circus acrobat who looks like a demon & can teleport through a hellish alternate dimension with a puff of sulfur. Character of all time.

hes catholic and his dad is the devil. what could be funnier than that. also hes my silly little guy.

Nightcrawler is the world’s most fun catholic priest. I first was introduced to this kindhearted teleporting acrobat while he saved a boat full of stowaway refugees from inter dimensional pirates with swashbuckling gusto!

[fictional-orphan-smackdown]

SUPERHERO BATTLE, GO!

All propaganda and what each competitor is from under the cut

Bruce Wayne/Batman (From a lot of things)

Without being an orphan, Bruce Wayne never would've become Batman. Its so integral to his entire character. It's also, I think, where his whole "no killing" rule stems from. He's also iconic for adopting several other orphans after becoming Batman - orphan helping orphans.

He lost his parents, and swore he'd take revenge, fully willing to die in the process. Then he did something he couldn't have expected…he built a new family, raising dozens of other orphans or just other kids willing to help him.

Being an orphan fucked him up so bad he started dressing like a bat and jumping through windows looking for crime.

He's Batman.

Bruce Wayne / Batman is the orphan of all times. Everyone knows about him and the tragedy turning him into an aloof justicier with poor social skills determined to put an end to crime in the rotten city of Gotham while offering an amiable and brainheaded facade of idle billionaire with too much time on his hands to the public

There are a lot of different versions of Batman so this is based off the ones I have watched and liked. Bruce Wayne is Batman because of his parents death, if he wasn't an orphan he would not be Batman. Lots stories have characters that are orphans, but with many of them their parents could just be on holiday and the story would be the same, for Batman/Bruce Wayne, his parents death is the event he has built his entire life around. If the Wayne's are not murdered, leaving Bruce an orphan, a fundamental building block, possibly the fundamental building block, of Batman is gone and the rest of the story would probably not happen.

I am the darkness. I am the night. Alfred please I don't want your cup of tea and leave me alone so I can brood in peace

Literally one of the most iconic orphans in pop culture. His parents were shot to death in front of him, ruining any attempt at good mental health. I won't get into a tangent on comics continuity so in the version that's generally accepted as Canon nowadays (or as canon as it gets for comics), his butler raised him, which makes them have a weird power dynamic as a parent/child but also master/servant relationship. Later in life, he goes on to adopt several kids, one of which is also an orphan that he keeps at arms length and not actually formally adopted until adulthood, and whose parents died at the same age his did. He's a character perpetually stuck in his own cycles while trying to break it so that no more eight year olds are left alone in alleyways (Also, in current comics, the butler is dead! We'll see how long that lasts).

DARKNESS! NO PARENTS!

This is where I watched my parents die, Fictional-Orphan-Smackdown.

Look I assume he's already on the list. He's the poster child for orphans. It's just funny to add yet another vote for him. Being an orphan affected him so bad it became a core part of his identity as an adult with a father figure (Alfred).

Peter Parker/Spiderman (He's also from a lot of things)

Orphaned twice over

Both of Peter's parents are dead so he's raised by his aunt and uncle, his uncle dies as part of his origin story. His aunt often dies eventually too, but she may come back depending on continuity (ex. Peter in the comics made a deal with the devil to sacrifice his marriage and child to bring Aunt May back)

It’s Spider-Man guys. Coolest guy ever.

[aroacebrucewayne]

when I grow up, I want to be nothing at all

CHAPTER 1.

summary: ‘Bruce hasn’t looked at himself properly in the mirror for months.’ {batman? more like notman.}

a/n: 1. character referred to w he/him pronouns for a while because she doesn’t realise she’s transfem. She’s also Misgendered because the batfam doesn’t know yet. 2. I haven’t read any comics except for the first one w/ penguin in it!! All my knowledge is from other fanfics!! Do not come at me for not knowing lore please!!! 3. Story title is from “the end” by mcr because I’m cliche trash. 4. yes, I know Dick lives a city over. Why he’s randomly returning to Gotham on this day is unknown to me. But I have gone on overnight trips to visit my grandparents in the past and they live in another city too, so I guess it’s fine. Maybe he missed his family :) [also if you’re wondering where everyone else is/what their roles may be: patience. I’ll add to this au soon hopefully!]

5. Enjoy! Idk when I’ll be writing more for this but uh. Yeah. Have fun :)

Bruce hasn’t looked at himself properly in the mirror for months. He figures that it’s the scars crossing his body, riddling his torso and limbs with a map of his past victories and losses. Sure, he looks at his face to shave and occasionally cut his hair, but that’s about it. He’s still pondering this when he his phone chimes sharply.

Tim: hi bruce. dickhead coming for dinner 2day

The text, short and to the point, only reminds him to hurry up with his dressing. The batcave, while cool, isn’t an “acceptable substitute for fresh air and human interaction, Master Bruce.” So he swiftly pulls on a sweatshirt and pants, and goes back upstairs to wash the dirt, grime and facepaint off his face.

The bathroom tile he rests his forehead against is cool against his flushed skin, offering slight reprieve from the steady pounding in his skull. Bruce forces himself to look up at the mirror. Heavy dark circles, downturned mouth, and tired eyes stare back at him, and he trudges out into his bedroom.

The room isn’t really messy, he’s never allowed it to be. But there is a jacket flung over his full-length mirror, and a chair shoved in front of it, and both of them obstruct the full view of himself. He pushes the chair aside and grabs the jacket, convincing himself with some difficulty to look at himself fully and truly.

He looks normal. Maybe a little beaten down and weary, but otherwise he looks like a normal, regular, alright guy. The moment the thought manifests in his mind, he squeezes his eyes shut and tries to ward off the feeling of WRONGWRONGWRONG thrumming under his skin.

Fuck. Fuck. Maybe there is something wrong with him, something twisted. Self hatred is nothing new to him, but this feels different. More painful. He takes one more look at the mirror - Face your fears - and leaves the room, jacket tossed to the floor. He can’t waste time thinking about himself: Dick’s coming for dinner, Tim and Damian are coming home from school soon, and the sky is clear and cloudless. It’s a beautiful day, and Bruce has spent most of it in the cave, burning case details into his mind.

The thought makes his headache spike up again, and he casts his mind to other things. Chiefly, the sound of voices coming from the dining room. Tim and Damian are sitting at the table, eating sandwiches, while Tim chatters excitedly about his day to Alfred.

Bruce steels himself for a moment before he enters with a smile, jumping into the conversation with ease. All his worries and anxiety melts into the background, his chief attention being on this sliver of his family, here and now. His mind hones into the present, and he drops his earlier train of thought with ease.

He can always figure that thing out later.

[trulytiredhermit]

You had been following up with the Linked universe comic for quite some time, you liked the Links' designs, the story, and everything it has to offer.

Stayed ever since the first part came out, you knew a lot about these characters even if you haven't played their game yet.

So what do you feel when you've woken up to a different world and meet the chain hours later?

Happiness of course! You get to meet the Links whose story in the comic you've been following since day one! You've got a lot of questions! But first, befriend them! Why would they tell you shit when they know you, right?

Oh wait that's too much.. Hahah.. Your curiosity is finally satiated, but at what cost?

They won't let you go.

oooooh!! Interesting!

Reader finding themselves in a new world and just going: Welp, guess this is my life now…. Oh neat people that look familiar…. Wait

But honestly I can fully see this connecting to you other ask and I might just combine them because now I got some thoughts in mind about an isekaid reader who knows about the games/Linked Universe comics but also knows they can't just outright fan over the Chain or spout off their many questions right off the bat.

So adding this ask in to this post as well then!

Okay so my first thought when reading these both was what if, on top of all of this, Reader didn't meet the Chain at first and realize where they were from seeing them, but like what if they saw Beedle or another prominent character in the Zelda franchise and THAT'S how they realized.

Then having rational thoughts, Reader knew they couldn't exactly go roaming about given how dangerous some of the Zelda games can be, especially for a modern Reader who wouldn't know how to use half the weapons available to them (especially if they got dropped in Hyrule's or Wild's world).

So Reader takes up a job and lands a place to stay, just trying to keep on getting by while figuring out what the heck happened and constantly hoping they'd get to see the Link of the world they got dropped into since they do be a simp.

Lo and behold one day while working they come across the group as you had put it and their mind implodes as they come to the startling realization that not only are they in the Zelda world but in the LINKED UNIVERSE COMIC WORLD!!

cue internal fanning and simping galore!

Like for example let's say Reader got dropped into Wild's Hyrule, met Beedle who brought them to one of the Stables and they then cut a deal with the stable owner that if they let them stay there and gave them meals, they'd work for the stable association doing whatever whilst doing odd jobs for travelers to make money on the side.

Then one day whilst airing out the bedding and the sheets they catch sight of a very familiar looking man with long blonde hair pulled into a long pony tail wearing a striking blue shirt and was also followed around by a shorter blonde ALSO wearing a familiar blue shirt.

.....and Reader just happens to overhear their names which were Wild and Wind....

So of course, Reader, upon realizing what's going on and who they are, tries to subtly get closer to the group because they are simping so hard right now, but they also try to be respectful and maintain their distance (as hard as it is) since they don't want to make the more cautious members of the group too suspicious of them.

Already too late since the stable owner and Beedle was telling the Chain about the mysterious worker they gained/person they found who had no background and was dressed in odd clothes and always seemed to hum strange songs that no one's heard of before.

So the Chain start trying to get closer to Reader to, trying to find out where they're from and what their story is while also keeping their respectful distance because they don't want to tip them off into being suspicious about them.

As the days pass and Reader and the Chain end up spending more time together and getting closer and closer, the truth comes out/one of the group realizes that Reader isn't from this world, isn't from ANY of their Hyrules.

But now there's a problem, because if they had known this before getting close to Reader they surely would have easily helped them find their way back home.

However now?

Now when they've gotten so close, shared laughs and stories, stayed up late with Reader around the stable campfire and spoke about deep topics, when they've had Reader comfort them and wake them from some of their nightmares without alerting the other patrons or godforbid the other members of the chain...

Well, they no longer feel the urge to be heroic and help Reader get home.

They just feel a selfish desire to keep Reader with them, to keep those bouts of laugher, fun times, and intimacy all to themselves and to never let it go.

*but no really I kinda wanna write a little one shot about this now*

[zahri-melitor]

Blade Runner, The Matrix and Robins: if you want to run a conspiracy in your story you need to put in the work

One of the central conspiracies people like to speculate about in Blade Runner is the theory of whether Deckard is a Replicant. It's a high-context theory woven into the plot and cinematography of the film. (I'm aware various people, decades on, have 'confirmed' it's true; I don't think that's particularly relevant to this).

The reason why the theory is so compelling for audiences to discuss is that the film in itself poses the question 'what is a human' and sends the main character, Rick Deckard, on a hunt for those clues and mistakes that give away the Replicants he is looking for. Things like Deckard's evasion over whether he's ever taken a Voight-Kampff test, and moments that suggest implanted and shared memories make for a fun second level mystery for viewers to think about and solve. The unicorn dream sequence, with both the dream and silver foil unicorn, provides another pointer for audiences to consider the idea. Even the Replicant Red Eye moments are subtle clues that get called out via the broader focus on eyes.

What also helps the debate and hunt for this potential symbolism is Ridley Scott's reputation as a director who heavily goes for visual cinematography hints and altering stories by changing them in Director's Cuts.

Similarly, The Matrix has a conspiracy that the real world is another level within the Matrix. This one is easy to understand how it developed. The Matrix, as a film, invests a substantial amount of its runtime teaching its audience the clues used to distinguish the Matrix from the real world. We get explicit scenes like The Girl in the Red Dress and explanations of how déjà vu works to demonstrate alterations in the Matrix. We see how characters can alter the Matrix to their own ends, leading into moments in the trilogy where Neo appears to use those skills in the real world being able to be read as 'are we still in the Matrix?'

The thing is: neither movie fully commits to these readings. They're possibilities that audiences can read in, that feel like they've been woven into the plot for people to consider. The audience is drawn to ask the question via the way the hints/clues are found in things the audience is already directed to consider. At their worst, they're artefacts of the audience taking the themes of those films and extrapolating too far.

My feeling about Robins as a comic is that Tim Seeley and Baldemar Rivas want to suggest one of these conspiracy theory stories, but did not have the skill to convincingly pull it off.

One of my difficulties the entire way through the comic was that the story did not know when it was set, and indeed repeatedly suggested via both dialogue and art that it was set in very different periods.

Robins takes place at least partially in a generated overlay from information based on Bruce's notes on the five Robins and also on various criminals. It's trying to take the log entries from Gotham Knights #1-11 and extrapolate that concept out to 'what if having this went wrong for Bruce'. (And I shouldn't really be surprised that Seeley chose to do this: Seeley is very big fan of Devin Grayson's work in the Bat books and frequently chooses to reference it)

The markers used for this simulation are firstly the level reward bonuses, and secondly the singing robin (that apparently uses the wrong call).

In that light, you could argue that problems like characters wearing the wrong costumes, from non-matching eras, and holding views that don't really accord with those characters is supposed to be a series of hints about the resolution of the title, rather than a set of weird screw ups that involve suggestions that the team didn't both checking details.

My issue is that it doesn't feel earned. If Seeley and Rivas really did want to hint and direct their audiences into reading that the presentation, comments and impressions of each of the Robins in their story were wholly based on Bruce's conception of them, then I think those discontinuities should match each other more clearly within each character.

Take Tim for a moment: he wears his original 1990s Robin costume; is the opponent of Damian's 'gauntlet' (a period in which he was wearing his all red Robin costume); has his overlay stolen for a rant about how Tim things the Obeah Man and other villains should die in a way that explicitly references Red Robin #26 (his post-Crisis Red Robin period); and gets specifically removed from the story and trapped in a way that he has to direct others to find him and try to escape himself (suggestions of both the Ünternet and more specifically Mr Oz during Tynion's Tec run). These do not match. If we're supposed to think Bruce is hung up on a specific conception of Tim, and a particularly backward-looking one (which you would assume, given he's put in his earliest Robin costume), why don't the other elements match? Why not put him in his all-red Robin costume to hint that he's Damian's gauntlet? Why not put him in one of his Red Robin costumes if you're going to keep referring to him as Red Robin, and that Bruce's worries about him relate to specific events in that period? And why, if the early Robin costume is supposed to reference Tim's own 'gauntlet', then is he the only character wearing his original costume from the storyline?

And what does not help with this is that Seeley has several obvious screw ups. The most prominent one is he conflates Rite of Passage with Batman: Identity Crisis. The Obeah Man was the villain of Rite of Passage for Bruce, where he was hunting him down to save the Drakes. Tim's personal combatant during that story was tracking down Lonnie as Moneyspider. The storyline where Tim showed the skills and personal judgement that made Bruce decide that he was ready to be Robin was in Identity Crisis, which was a story rescuing Bruce and Vicky Vale from Scarecrow. While the stories are sequels to each other, they're not a contiguous whole: they take part in different titles, with a gap in time between them. Similarly, Seeley places Felipe Garzonas' death as Jason's first case as Robin, rather than his last case.

The whole concept of the 'gauntlets' is the underlying thread holding the story together, the aspect on which Bruce's analysis of each of the Robins and whether he wants to work with them is based, leading to the computer files, leading to the entire plot.

If you mess up like that, audiences are less likely to grant that you're trying to build hints in that something is wrong by having things be noticeably mismatching, because you've also screwed up the ground on which you're trying to construct the story. You cannot fairly claim that the incongruities you put in to hint at your plot are something that should be analysed as clues when you've already primed your audience to think that you're just a hack making blatant mistakes.

And this problem extends to all of the characters, not just Tim. Tim's just the easiest for me to pick apart because I know the references made so well (and Tim Seeley clearly doesn't actually care as much about Tim as several other characters, making the oopsies more obvious).

The issue with this story isn't simple single-panel moments like "And I need to hear it from you, Tim, because Jason and Damian lie through their teeth" or Tim saying he "demanded" to be Robin where people can dunk on it by showing another panel like the Teen Titans 2003 "I lie to Batman" panel or ALPOD. It's in the fact it tries to be clever but doesn't earn audiences' trust to do that analysis. And it doesn't earn that trust because you can't pick apart what's a deliberate incongruity as a hint from what's a general mistake from the team, and if you do pick at elements that look like outright mistakes, the whole thing comes tumbling down.

Blade Runner and The Matrix train their audiences from the very start of the story to look for these incongruities and hints and showcase what problems to look for openly in the plot, leading to people to heavily analyse background details for further suggestions of these hints. They earn the buy in that leads to the elaborate fan theories.

Tim Seeley forfeited his audience's buy in to the story he apparently was trying to tell by not being exact enough about the details in a story where he wanted them to pick at those details, and not showing early enough that the audience is expected to be picking at those details. And that's just poor writing and biting off more than you can chew.

[cozylittleartblog]

As someone who is a fan of old Hollywood musicals from the 1930s and 1940s, I love your James and Clara pieces. This adorable OC couple gives off major Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers vibes.

I was wondering, will we ever get to see some full fledged web comics with these two? With the backstory you described, I can kind of picture a 42nd Street-style story that shows how James and Clara met and ended up starring together in their movie musical “Swingin’ Sweetheart”.

Also, if you were to draw Clara in one of the dresses that Ginger Rogers wore on screen, which one would you pick?

(On a related note, I think James would totally look great in a white tie and tailcoat.)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! :D fred and ginger were a huge inspiration for them, I saw the famous scene from swing time where they dance together in the school and instantly fell in love with them both, i've seen all the movies they made together. the characters had already existed, but i had to incorporate more of their charm and dynamic after that. the more old musicals i watched, the more i wanted to tell a story like them!

I'd like to do more short comics with them! though ideally if i magically stumbled into some $50 million dollars, I'd want to make a 2D animated film in the styles of singin' in the rain and cats dont dance. i have a rough plot in mind, it's just a matter of ironing it all out and making the thing, which... will not be for a long time, if ever. i refuse to sell them off to some studio that will make too many changes in the name of appeasing demographics and algorithms, and probably use it as a tax write-off right before release anyway, so it'd be indie or bust. i feel like with as integral as song and dance is to the story, doing it fully in comic form wouldn't do it justice, but there are shorter little moments and scenes i want to do with them in the meantime. maybe in ten years i can reblog this post with a trailer, if i am very lucky :') you're right though that that's what the movie would be about! and if i ever feel like a film absolutely wont happen then i'd find a way to make it work as a comic instead.

as for your last two comments... ginger has a lot of really good outfits, and i've drawn clara in a couple of them, but i suggest you look at my newest post :)c thank you for the inspiration hehehe

[the-epic-hiram-lows]

ignoring all visual staples in the comic and show... if you were tasked with wardrobe for riverdale, which aesthetics would you pull from?

Ooooh!

This is difficult, but I love it. For the sake of sanity, I am going to maintain color-coding to some extent. Also, please read my explanations and look at the pictures, because they both add a lot of context.

I will probably only get to one or two characters in this post, but if this gets a good enough reception I will happily continue the series.

Veronica Lodge

For Veronica... I would basically scrap the entire thing and start over new. I want to see a business-savvy teenager, sure, but I also want to see a former Hermes-toting NYC socialite who knows how to party. How do you marry those two concepts? The outfits do not all need to 100% represent every aspect of her, but her wardrobe should.

Though Riverdale (the show) fully embraces camp, Veronica's outfits should always look somewhat effortless. We should get the impression that her wardrobe is endless, and wardrobe is second nature, though it doesn't have to be tasteful. She would embrace a high-low aesthetic fairly often (think: perfectly undone waves and a white tee with a vintage Chanel skirt, or pair of black ankle boots with a delicate lace number and pearls.)

Veronica is a trendsetter and early adapter because she has her finger on the pulse. There is no excuse for these tired PDA mom looks. Here are aesthetics I would pull from when styling her:

Clueless/90s Academia Prep Revival

This is a girl who name-dropped Cruel Intentions! She knows these references. These looks are not only chic and young, but they scream 'old money' while also fitting into the Riverdale 50s academia undertones. We get to keep Veronica's signature stuffiness- but with the addition of casual pieces, a sense of novelty, and lots of upper thigh, we get a youthful, refined, sexy aesthetic. Unfortunately, most of the examples I used are not in the desired color palette, and many of them are cheapo material, but let's use our imaginations.

Click for more!

Y2k Socialite/It Girl

I want to see the glitz and glam! Veronica is the kind of girl who's had the $1k sundae at Serendipity 3's more than once, just for the hell of it. Where is the fun?! My immediate thought was Paris Hilton's famous 21st birthday look with the silver dress. Ignoring how she accessorized it, this would be a perfect reference (however inappropriate it would be in a school scene.) I want details like sheers, sequins, glitter, maribou trims, etc. The colors would be more subdued here- washed out metallics and neutrals, mostly. There are ample ways to make this more 'wearable,' but maybe sometimes Party Mode Veronica is too much.

Mob Wife

I know, I know. I was going for minimalism up top! Effortless! What happened? Well, what happened is this is Riverdale, and Veronica is Veronica. All characters in Riverdale are subject to extreme lifestyle changes- and, often, seemingly contradictory traits. In Riverdale, you are only one arc or setting change from a different aesthetic. Veronica is both the daughter of a mobster who tries really, really hard and (should be) the cool fashion girl among her peers. She wears many hats. I am just trying to make sure they're all stylish. Veronica should have a chameleonic quality to her. We should get the impression there are several Veronicas, all of whom had a wardrobe ready for whatever the occasion du jour is. A heist? Dinner with a crime family? Church with daddy? She has the tools necessary for all of these occasions, even if her wardrobe looks a bit contrived. In other words, Veronica didn't just fall out of a coconut tree. She exists in the context of all in which she lives, and what came before her. With this aesthetic, we get to have fun with some European and femme fatale influences.

Business Bitch

This is where Veronica as we know her gets to shine- it is the closest thing to her actual Riverdale aesthetic, but cuntier. You'll see all of the above come together here, as it is the fourth quadrant of her personality. Though this iteration of Veronica would be heavy on the black and white, high contrast thing she already has going (which I love!) there is plenty of room for color... even if the examples I pulled say otherwise.

[magnusbae]

every single time i see people praising gault i pull my hair a little harder like, holy shit, i do not have the energy to write the massive essay rant it deserves but essentially, what was not properly addressed or fully discussed in the show, other than mild hinting is that— what gault does to Jed is absolutely awful. 

sure on the show the plot role of two despicable characters been dressed in the skin of a pretty lady with “good intentions” however, and it’s a big one, it does not change that what she does to jed is absolutely fucked up.

dream mentions, for a reason, that a human being cannot live their life in their head. she cuts jed off of the true dreaming, where you have a balance between dreams and nightmares and work on your own subconsciousness, and places him in a sandbox of her own making, where she gradually pushes him further and further into dethatching from reality. 

a few more months of this? hell, he’d probably be so far gone he’d be in a loony bin for the rest of his life, OR WORSE.

since in the comics, the original characters of the gault had driven the first human they did this to, to end his own life because the strain of a nightmare living in your mind was TOO MUCH for a human to handle.

so no, she is not a kind hearted sweetheart, she was literally using jed for her own selfish reasons and most likely would have driven him to insanity or worse. 

dream had 10000% rights to be furious with what she had done. 

she broke one of the most basic rules of his realm, rules established to PROTECT the dreamers, not to strike at dreams ego

also sorry but the whole ‘nightmare wants to be dream’ is sweet and all, however, the dreaming has a function, and it needs BOTH dreams and nightmares, what happens if all the nightmares simply wish to be dreams, is dream an asshole for not allowing that when the dreaming literally needs a balance and everyone has their super important role to play? 

no i cant with this seriously, they had adapted the comic plot so badly, they kept dreams justified anger and fury at the breaking of his rules, which were even worse in the comics, then changed those two characters into one pretty and sympathetic one and then NEVER explained fully on screen what her actions actually would have caused???? and then ??? they just let dream look the ass for SAVING A CHILD FROM A ROUGE NIGHTMARE ABUSING HIS MIND FOR HER OWN FEELINGS AND SAVIOUR COMPLEX like?? ? ? ? ? 

ok im calm

[tea-ddie]

Something that may or may not be clear about my book, Ballyhoo, on a surface level, is for how long it's been in the works. People who've known me for several years will remember the very first draft of the comic from 2018/2019. That version was specifically made for Webtoon and has been more-or-less scraped for the current version of the story. Because of that, all of Ballyhoo's characters have gone through pretty big changes—not just in their design/my art style evolution/etc, but also in their occupation, some elements of their backstory, and more. I've started working on Book 2 and have been making some new concept art. I realized as I looked to the future of the project, it was a good time to look back. This post will go through three of the main characters: Evelyn, Marjorie, and Oretta, and explain how we got to where we are in Ballyhoo.

Evelyn Golubev

2018: Evelyn was one of the very first characters I ever created for this story. She was originally the femme-fatale-type—her girlfriend had just mysteriously gone missing. She worked at a vaudeville-type club as a dancer and, besides being somewhat hot, ominous and foreboding in the way that a femme-fatale must be, that was about it. I was still definitely trying to understand my art style and struggled a lot with making the hair look as "natural" as I wanted. Her outfits all leaned pretty heavily femme and her makeup was heavy... but uncanny as I didn't fully understand how to color makeup on a face then.

2024: Evelyn Golubev, or better known by her stage name, "Evelyn Gold," still works at a vaudeville club, but beyond dancing, also sings and performs at other bars and clubs across the city of Portapolis. She is the frontwoman of her Baby Blue Band, which is the house-band at local lesbian bar, the Lilac. Although she still holds some of her femme-fatale vibes, I wouldn't necessarily describe her as a "femme" in the queer spaces she occupies. She wears custom blue suits at the club and brings a swagger that would make any girl blush to her performances. In both versions of her character, she holds a few secrets that she protects fiercely, but in the currently version of the story, the consequences of these secrets coming out feels more intense. Overall, I think her character has become more refined and deliberate in the story.

Marjorie Miller

2018: Oh, Marjorie. Her role in the story has shifted pretty significantly from the first drafts of the story—in this earliest drawing, she's pictured singing at what was a lesbian house party. She was always a bit desperate—trying to fit into a space that wasn't really for her. I knew she had grown up outside the city, probably in a more rural area, and was trying hard to fit into more classy and elegant circles. She mostly functioned as a background character in the lesbian scene who held a secret that would help solve the mystery (because of course this story was always a mystery).

2021: This was about at the time I was re-developing the story and laying out the groundwork for a new version of the comic. Despite scrapping the house parties, I wanted to redraw that specific scene... mostly because I liked her dress. Marjorie's hair, similar to Evelyn, was something I became more comfortable drawing with time. In 2021, you can see me trying to separate the way her somewhat messy waves and curls fell. Like I said, at this point I knew the house party scene with Marjorie wasn't going to happen, but I wasn't sure what her exact role would be. Was she a hopeful performer? Someone who performed alongside Evelyn in the Vaudeville club? Something else entirely? What was her life like when she wasn't singing? Well...

2024: Marjorie Miller is a married woman, living her perfect, heterosexual, suburban housewife life with her dearest husband George. This might seem like a hard pivot—it also feels like a hard pivot to her old friends Oretta and Evelyn, both of whom she's mostly fallen out of touch with. Despite the changes in her life, she is content with how it's worked out for her, or at least pretends to be. Still, beneath the picture-perfect surface is a woman who was, in every version of the story, desperate to fit-in and who is living a life that feels out of her depth.

Oretta Adams

2018/19: I don't have a drawing for this, but my earliest ideas for Oretta included her arriving in Portapolis on a train. This was always her introduction and it's how she arrives to the city in Ballyhoo, too. Back then, I knew she was an old friend of Marjorie's and Evelyn's who would open up an aspect of the mystery and story that both of them wanted to keep hidden for whatever reasons. I'm sure this sounds woefully underdeveloped—and that's because at that time, it really was. However, this was around the time where I started to have an inkling that maybe the trio's shared past was in the circus.

2021: Because her introduction was so vivid in my mind, a lot of Oretta's early concept art is her at the train station. Pictured in 2021 is a more relaxed version of Oretta: she smokes, she's dressed very casually and comfortably, and, of course, she has her suitcase. It was important to me that she always dressed for comfort and for herself first and foremost. This is part of why Oretta's outfits in the current story consist of a lot of 40s work-pants and sweaters.

2024: As I started writing the comic in 2021/22, it became shockingly apparently that Oretta was the main character of the story. Her being the factor that opens up secrets multiple people wanted to keep hidden put her in a prime place to act as both outsider and instigator. Oretta, Marjorie, and Evelyn share a background in circus performance and it started to make sense that she would be a writer/playwright, taking her experience in showbiz to a backstage role. And it is her play—possibly inspired by past events—that triggers the main events of the story. Her play is a catalyst for too many things coming out, and everyone seems to have a good reason for wanting to make sure the show will not go on.

In Conclusion...

Ballyhoo has been a long time in the works! I hope this is interesting, or maybe even inspiring for those starting longer stories? Things will take time, but it will be worth it. I'm really happy that Ballyhoo: Book One is out there in the world, and I'm honestly so excited to get to keep working on this project. I might do more posts like this about other characters or other aspects of the story—again, it's been in development for what seems like a pretty long time and I have a lot of thoughts about how different aspects of the story have played out.

[jadethest0ne]

03!Mikey-centric meta posts for your perusal! I'd also recommend checking out the notes. https://www.tumblr.com/soleminisanction/85582131847/mysillylittlesoapbox-this-post-all-his-eps https://paperlifted.tumblr.com/post/693062242993930240/you-need-to-watch-the-tmnt-2003-series-over-again (Again, if you personally didn't jive with this version of the character or didn't prefer how the narrative treated him, then that's perfectly valid, but hopefully you find these alternate takes interesting all the same. :) Have a good one!)

I know you just sent these to me via an ask because the comments wouldn't let you, but I must make something clear! I very much like 2003 Mikey!

If I gave the impression that I disliked 2003 Mikey, then that was on me! This is a Michelangelo hype zone! He deserves the best!

I was very brief about my reasons for being upset at Mikey's characterization in my previous answer, mostly because I address a lot of this in the essay I'm writing and I didn't want to repeat myself. I will try to be more clear here without overlapping what is in the essay.

I actually fully agree with the above posts! Mikey is awesome and epic! The Battle Nexus episodes are among my faves because they are largely Mikey-centric. I like any episode where he teams up or has a moment with Leo, because I think they have the best dynamic in that series. And the dude has major nb swag - he cross-dresses multiple times in the series, and everyone is just chill with it.

My issue with Mikey is not because (to use your words) "he’s a one dimensional goofball that only exists to make quips and one-liners and get smacked". It's because the narrative treats him that way.

He gets these cool episodes and moments, and yet practically no one in the show treats him with any kind of praise or respect. At times, the narrative itself seems to try to do its best to paint him in such a terrible light, making him almost unlikable at times with certain comments and rude jokes (for example, when he keeps calling the Underground City folk "monsters"). His bragging about his win at the battle nexus is portrayed not as well-deserved self positivity, but as having an obnoxious ego which his family shames him for. His interests are constantly mocked, and certain episodes often have him losing his comics, or his collections being destroyed because it's "funny". Even Splinter is an ass to him on multiple occasions. It gets grating to have that much negativity thrown at a character who really does not deserve it.

When I said that "he would've been my favorite had it not been for how the narrative treated him" I meant that I liked HIM, but not the narrative surrounding him.

As for that second link regarding the "abuse" of Mikey; I also absolutely hated that pretty much every time he makes a joke, talks about things he likes, or acts like, ya know, a teenager, he gets smacked upside the head. After the first 50 times it gets a little stale.

But frankly I think it's silly to call it "abuse". What I would call it instead, is "bad writing". The creators think that's funny. They think that's showing a good, silly brotherly relationship. I, personally, do not. But to call it "abuse" is missing the point that I'm trying to make with both the hitting and his character in general. And that is that the writers did not know how to allow for any meaningful depth in a comic relief character and make it stick, nor do they give Mikey any of the respect that he truly deserves.

And THAT'S my issue with 2003 Mikey. Not that he's a bad character, but that he deserves better!

Thank you for these links! I know these were sent just for my perusal, but I had a lot to say about Mikey, and, well, you gave me a good excuse to ramble more about him haha!

[wyrmghost]

FANTASY PERIOD DRAMA??? YES PLEASE TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT

okay so that’s for my pair of oldest ocs

Right is Mariette a middle/upper class French woman

left is Pierre a working class individual with the makings of an inventor

The story takes place quite a bit before the French Revolution, but does have some related things going on that lead up to it like the American revolution which is talked about by many of the characters. Pierre is a witch which isn’t uncommon among the working class, a majority of the population are witches to varying degrees. Mariette is a shifter, she can become a rabbit, shifters are believed to be blessed by the gods and carry their traits in familial lines, Mariette specifically is blessed by the goddess of fertility who is often represented by a rabbit in religious iconography .(this fantasy France is still heavily influenced by the church but with a different religion where all the gods are related to a core ideal in their society)

the story revolves around self identity, social classes, heavy classism and social disparities are touched on, religion, optimism despite hard times, and a budding romance that is incredibly confusing for those involved based on a number of factors including the gender identity of both main characters, the social classes they belong to, along with things like responsibilities and family.

Pierre meets Mariette after he sees her fall in a fountain after tripping, no one was helping her since it would be seen as disrespectful and crude for the lower class folk to offer her a hand, Pierre couldn’t care less about that and helps get Mariette out of the fountain with some effort (a soaked 18th century dress is incredibly heavy), she thanked him afterwards and he told her that she should get out of the wet clothing since it was hard to walk in, she wasn’t too keen on this idea but followed him to his work shop where he was an apprentice and allowed him to bring her a dress he claims belonged to his sister, she dresses and leaves, people are a little more than surprised to see her wearing a much less expensive gown but she makes her way home, later on seeing Pierre again and they slowly learn more about each other.

side note:

Mariette feels her responsibility to her family strongly and wants to do her best to make her father happy but struggles with following his ideals and choices while trying to find herself she wants to be a good daughter but also wants to be an independent driving force in her own life. On top of all of this she feels a duty to her religion and one that she can not feel she can fully fulfill in more than one way.

Pierre wants to be an inventor and hopes to bring his family the best life he can afford and legally obtain (blah blah blah laws not allowing peasants to buy nice things and more) hense his apprenticeship, his is hopelessly optimistic and does his best to keep his head held high, he hopes to improve his social standings once he becomes a well known inventor, but he struggles with poverty and due to his kind hearted attitude will throw himself in harms way to try and break up fights or help people that may not have his best interest in mind.

There’s a whole lot of other things like the man who Pierre trains under and Pierre and Mariette’s families especially her father that I can’t really fit in here, but it’s one of my stories that I live a lot and would do a comic for if it wasn’t so important for me to be mostly historically accurate especially when it comes to visuals with a few liberties taken, I may write a book for it one day.

[spburns1]

Convention Blog Post

In July 2023, I went to MetroCon in Tampa. This was one of my favorite experiences to this day as I had never been to an anime convention before this. I found my love for anime in 2020 when COVID-19 hit, so this was my first opportunity to attend one of these events.

The venue was amazing, with lots of cosplayers as well as colorful showcases and anime booths, I felt like I was in heaven. MetroCon's colorful, varied ambiance perfectly captures the essence of today's young culture. You enter the convention hall and are immediately engrossed in a world where there is a tangible passion for gaming, comics, and anime. The event draws a varied spectrum of people, most of whom are young, who gather to celebrate their common interests. The intricate costumes, dynamic discussions, and vibrant fan interactions all demonstrate this sense of enthusiasm among attendees.

The convention functions as a miniature representation of young culture. It offers a venue for young people to openly and creatively express themselves, frequently via cosplay. Participants can explore many facets of their personality by dressing up as their favorite characters.

I saw many attendees challenging the traditional gender norms/roles, which we had recently learned about in this latest module.

Cosplay was one of the most obvious ways this was accomplished. Adorned as characters of varying genders, fans demonstrated that their identities and passions transcend conventional norms. To subvert traditional gender norms, male guests may have cosplayed as female characters and vice versa.

The event also included talks and panels that examined gender diversity and included perspectives from the LGBTQ+ community. By offering a forum for discussions on gender identity and expression, these workshops inspired participants to accept and express who they really are.

Gender-neutral areas and activities were also featured during the event, making everyone feel comfortable attending regardless of gender. MetroCon fostered an open atmosphere that made it possible for individuals to question and reconsider conventional gender standards in a safe environment.

At MetroCon, fandom is a significant cultural phenomena that both impacts and is impacted by wider societal trends, outside the realm of hobbyism. The event is evidence of how fandom can unite people in a common cultural experience that goes beyond personal passions. The wide range of discussions, seminars, and displays captures the complexity of fandom, which includes anything from cosplay and video games to anime and manga.

MetroCon is distinguished by its commitment to showcasing fan ingenuity. Numerous fan-run activities, such as cosplay competitions, and fan art exhibitions, are held throughout the convention to display the creativity and commitment of the local community.

Participating at MetroCon was a really fulfilling experience. I saw the convention as a colorful celebration of my hobbies and passions as an anime and manga enthusiast. The chance to interact with other fans, take part in different events, and fully immerse oneself in the anime world was enlightening and thrilling. The event made clear how crucial a sense of belonging and common interests is to the development and validation of cultural identities. MetroCon gave me a place to meet others who share my interests and explore various aspects of my own identity, whether it was through costume competitions or panels discussing the newest trends in anime.

Overall, though I really enjoyed my experience and it helped me to further understand Japanese anime culture and youth culture. I learned more about gender norms as well as cultural identity formation while I was here.

[fortressofserenity]

Thorny Topics

When it comes to the subject of what is cultural appreciation and what is cultural appropriation, the latter often comes off as a performative interest in something. That’s from my experience appropriating Chinese culture to feel less western, until I started frequenting Chinese websites more often and began incorporating more hanfu influences in earnest. The former is a sincere interest in something foreign, albeit one that’s either anchored in respect or tempered by it. Sometimes the line between the two is blurred, but ultimately the latter will lead to the former if the interest is sincere enough.

As for Avatar: The Last Airbender and its Asian pretensions, somebody said that its creators primarily based its overall atmosphere from Hong Kong martial arts films and anime with Southeast Asian, Northeast Asian and South Asian cultures as window dressing. It’s pretty much got traditional Chinese characters pat, but not so much when it comes to adhering to a rather westernised philosophy and understanding of things. Per Chinese cultural logic, the waterbenders would be in the north and firebenders based in the south. The airbenders would be in the east, since that’s wood’s cardinal direction and wind’s subsumed under it.

If because both of them penetrate things and that plants give off oxygen, the metalbenders would be in the west and earthbenders at the centre. Also the waterbenders should wear black, since that’s the colour water’s associated with. As in it gets real deep and dark when it comes to the ocean, white with metal (silver, gold and iron when you think about it), green and blue with wood (these colours were only given separate words and characters later on in China’s linguistic history), yellow and brown with earth and predictably red with fire. Actually regarding green and blue being both associated with wood, it can be pulled off in a way that’s reminiscent of flowers and fruits.

Especially flowers like violets and cornflowers as good references, but that involves being more deeply influenced by Chinese culture or at least have a deeper understanding of it than they’re used to or think they do. Supposing if the Philippines were to become more deeply influenced by China at this point in time, it wouldn’t entirely undo western influence and at best it would minimise it. It would, however, lead to more organic borrowings not just due to a growing admiration for China and Chinese culture, but also and most importantly how close the Philippines is to China. So strongly around the corner enough to have these borrowings take off real well.

It could even happen anytime soon if America stops being a superpower for good, but it could take off in a way it couldn’t fully be with Spain due to how close these two are. Spain had to rule the Philippines through Mexico, but with China it could take off more easily due to it being a stone’s throw away from us. Similar things would happen if the Philippines became more heavily influenced by Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, all three of them are also a stone’s throw away compared to Latin America if one were to consider both logistics and geographical proximity. This would be China’s advantage over America in many ways.

I’m getting off-topic here but you should get my point where if something’s actually influenced by another country, especially on a larger scale, then the cultural borrowings would come off more organically and naturally. This is something that I feel the Avatar stories lack, if because it was written by people who never lived in a community or country that’s influenced by China in any way. It becomes evident in the philosophical undertones of the story so far, there’s not a lot of characters respecting anybody who’s older than them.

Well as far as I know of since I’ve just started reading the comics, when it comes to bats in Chinese culture they’re actually associated with luck and happiness as the Chinese word for bat is homophonous with another word for fortune or something like that. Dragons in Chinese thought are linked with weather and water, in fact there’s as much a link between dragons and snakes in China as there is in the west because not only do Chinese dragons look snakelike but that snakes are referred to as little dragons. Additionally and something that should be noted more often, dogs were historically used in China for rodent control.

Because a huge chunk of the Avatar stories seem to owe Chinese culture, right down to the use of Chinese characters it’s odd why there’s not a single dog used to hunt down rats in those stories. It’s like that in Ancient China, since this happened before the arrival of cats there. It still is the case with its neighbours like the Philippines and Indonesia, they may be influenced by Chinese culture but only certain aspects of it. Especially the ones that can be easily commodified, not so much the other aspects that go against western stereotypes of Chinese and East Asian cultures. I even think if Avatar was created by somebody who’s actually Chinese, it’d turn out differently to the point of being alien.

Which says a lot about Avatar being made by people living in a place that’s not impacted by China in any way.

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

Ship it or Flip it: Your thoughts on Stucky

Ship it:

1 What made you ship it?

Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan's performances in the MCU. I've never read many of the Captain America/Winter Soldier comics because up until Chris Evans played Steve (and quite honestly, it took me a year or so after that), I never liked Steve. The AvX comics killed any chance of my liking him for a long time, but Chris' portrayal introduced me to a Steve I could (generally) like. I mean, Joss' bullshit lines ("There's only one god and he doesn't dress like that" and "Language") nearly killed my liking him again, and of course, there's Steve's idiot behavior prior to and during Civil War that nearly killed my like for him again. And I really didn't know much about Bucky other than when he was first created, he was essentially a Robin-esque character until they changed up his background to be the Winter Soldier.

But anyway, the two actors have such great chemistry and a great love and understanding of the characters that they sold not just their friendship but their undying love for one another that transcended the platonic. Where I truly couldn't and can't see Steve's "true love at first sight" (bullshit) for Peggy Carter (honestly, that whole set up is the same as the gross set up as Logan thinking that Jean Grey was the love of his life on first sight - there was as much emotional connection between those two as there was Steve and Peggy, and both women were irrationally jealous, and Peggy even shot at Steve out of jealousy, so), it was easy for me to see the love between Steve and Bucky as whole and healthy and truer than true. That's one of many reasons why Steve's ending choice in Endgame was a disappointing bullshit cop-out on the part of the directors.

2 What are your favorite things about the ship?

Steve's constant "Fight me" attitude and Bucky's "Oh fuck not again" attitude in regards to Steve's "Fight me" attitude. They've been friends and close long enough to just know each other, and even those new things they have to learn about each other (such as Steve post-serum and eventually Bucky post-Winter Soldier), they take generally in stride because this is the person each man loves the most in the world. In the same respect, no matter how much love there, neither is immune from snark and sarcasm and ceaseless teasing, and they know enough about each other dating back to the 30s to have plenty of ammunition. I love that they'll take on the world for each other and protect each other and save each other time and time again.

3 Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I can't really think of any of my opinions on this ship itself that are unpopular. I do think that Steve was entirely in the wrong for not telling Tony about Bucky or that Bucky killed his parents under conditioning and orders because I'm fully of the opinion that Tony, being the heart of the Avengers, would've vented for a moment and then offered everything he had to Steve to get Bucky back and to help him, but that's less about Bucky/Steve than it is Steve not communicating where he should've.

Ship it/Don't Ship it (or as I called it Ship it or Flip it).

[thetantiger]

So the main parts I'm gonna focus on is when Rachel is holding Faye's dress and beyond that. So the 26th frame is the one where Rachel is surrounded by light pink mist and has little pink bristles of shock around him and his pupils are a pink and blue star. Here Rachel suddenly feels something, a nagging feeling that something is different with him that he refuses to address and it actively causes him anxiety--hence the subtle decisions on spiky brushstrokes with the pink surrounding him. His pupils are starts because star eyes are just something I've always used to convey awe in a character's expression, maybe even a little bit of positive shock with it, because Rachel doesn't directly feel disgust or dysphoria with the idea of being feminine, however the rest of his expression (his frown, the way his eyebrows are positioned) conveys that he feels worry for what that possibility might entail.

The next two panels are Rachel reliving things Frederick directly told him. Rachel was mentally and physically abused by his biological father and while he likes to think he's moved on from that trauma, it's still ingrained in him. It's like whipping an animal. If an animal eats and you whip the animal, and do that consistently for a long amount of time, the animal will have a lot of anxiety surrounding food. Rachel here has a lot of anxiety with his identity. Being attracted to men and only men was a big enough point of contention for Frederick to repeatedly physically abuse his son over even the possibility of such, and Frederick often referred to both queer people and women with words of hate or distrust, so Rachel potentially being anything but cisgender would just be having to overcome the same obstacle again, and the echo of Frederick's words are enough to steer him away from the dresser.

After that, Faye--or her in her spiritual rabbit form--does not exist in any further panel, and there's even a panel specifically to show the empty room and the fact that she isn't there. Faye represents an opening to Rachel embracing femininity--she's the one that leads him to her old dress in the first place--but Rachel would rather literally refuse to listen to the spirit of his dead sister and close her away (closing the door) than confront that part of himself.

Rachel's eyes are also not seen for the rest of the comic either. I do this typically when a character feels unhuman. A person's eyes are for a lot of people the first thing someone focuses on. Eyes are expressive and there's the old saying of them being a window into the soul, and a lack of them in a drawing can portray that there suddenly isn't a window. Whether a character is in a fit of rage or, here, in such a dark, removed pit of unbelonging that they feel like maybe no one else would understand them.

OOH, ANOTHER THING- color choice! Faye's color for her lil' rabbit noises are electric blue 'cause.. well, Sheefu, and also her vibe is blue anyway (this ramble was copy-pasted by my discord server, for y'all who don't know Sheefu is Faye's dad and Rachel's adopted dad who has lightning powers and a blue aesthetic), but I wanna focus on specifically the usage of pink and red in this comic. Sometimes I use red in text to convey the visceral-ness of words (see when Rachel says the words "punchline" "different" or "is there something wrong with me?" or Frederick's echoing dialogue behind him), but the red scribbles around Rachel that happens after the pink ones are a little different. Red is also the color of anger and violence and can instill a sense of being threatened or a lack of safety in a person (see: stop signs, or red traffic lights, or flashes of red when a character is injured, or just.. y'know, blood). Rachel feels directly unsafe when thinking about Frederick even though he is fully aware Frederick is dead and not in his life anymore and there's nobody like Frederick in his life anymore because Frederick directly trained Rachel to feel threatened by him. To bow his head and obey.

I also would like to point out the correlation between the colors of pink and red. Easily I could have gone the angle that blue takes over instead because blue is the color most associated with masculinity and Rachel leans into that aspect of him more in order to cast away his femininity. However, that's not the case for Rachel--or, from a meta standpoint, me (I'm genderfluid lul). Femininity and masculinity don't have to necessarily oppose each other and can coexist in a person, as seen in Rachel's eyes earlier--one pink, one blue--but instead, pink takes the harsher form of red because he directly correlates the idea of being feminine with danger.

The very last panel is important too, and in a weird sense it's because there's not much to add. The door is already closed. Rachel has already left the frame. There's nothing else there to be said or shown, but Rachel says more anyway because he feels the need to. He feels the need to cast that part of him away again, for good measure, because not saying anything and not trying to reassure himself that it's stupid or pointless is too frightening for him.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

Word choice is a thing I paid attention to as well. Rachel says "just" a lot throughout this comic in order to downplay how he's feeling or what he's saying. "I just played into the stereotype" = something that's casual and surely doesn't have a deeper meaning (according to Rachel). "That's just the way things were" = there's no deeper dissection to be had about that behavior because otherwise he sees it as digging into something he shouldn't. "Just your dresser" and "just your dress" = objects that are supposed to be unimportant to him. That shouldn't have any deeper value to him other than the fact that they used to belong to Faye. "That'd just be stupid" is the last time he says just, again as extra measure to downplay how he's feeling.

The very second panel is something I want to talk about too. Rachel mentions that he thought it was normal to feel the way he did because he was just "playing into the stereotype" of a gay man--AKA, the innocent jokes people make around him about him being gay, or, on a more malicious level, the shit Frederick would always tell him about how disgusting he found gay men and how they're all [INSERT SLUR HERE] and yadayadayada. I put this into here because I actually relate to it a little too hard. For those who don't know, I used to identify as lesbian (funny how that turned out, lol). There's the butch stereotype of lesbian women that is like,, overly masculine, and I just hid behind the lesbian label in order to not confront that I did, indeed, feel masculine. It was only after I realized I was bisexual--a label that doesn't have any prominent overly gendered substereotypes to them (besides eat hot chip and lie I guess)--that I had to actually confront my gender. In a parallel, Rachel has hid behind the fact that he's a gay man and the stereotypes that come with that so that he doesn't have to confront his gender either.

And.. that's it. Lol.

If you wanna see more edgy Rachel in this fashion I mildly joked with my discord server of friends that this is like the sequel to "Cupid," an animation to the Jack Stauber song of the same name I did *checks notes* a year ago (wow) involving Rachel's time being in love with Wrex--a villain character my friend had at the time who led Rachel on and actually literally tried to off himself after Rachel tried to save him from a perilous situation. If you're curious about that you can watch it here:

Anyway, uh.. Yeah. This got depressing, but-- ramble over! :D

Rachel Comic - Part 1

Part 2 is already done the full comic is just 35 panels so it has to be split into halves, idk if I can reblog this post and then add more images on top of that or if I have to create a new post entirely but fuck it we ball