#overall it's been interesting

[chloesimaginationthings]

RIP Michael Afton, you would of LOVED Foxy’s log ride

[rice-enjoyer]

[chxrrylungs]

they're the same ship in a different font and by font i mean treatment of their yellow omnipotent boyfriends

[amphibianaday]

day 1515

[vaguely-concerned]

you must understand that I would do absolutely anything for her

[fluffshi-wxffle]

For the Capsaicin is Burning Spice’s son fellows, can we show the irony in the angst that Burning Spice was locked away by a force that wasn’t himself (the Witch) while Capsaicin locked himself away?

I do think it would also be funny/cycle continues kinda thing if Capsaicin was locked away by other cookies though :D

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

since i talked about how Ballister and Ambrosius were a much better enemies to lovers romance than c//a, i also want to mention that Nimona is a much better representation of trans people than Double Trouble or Perfuma ever was.

it seemed like Nate actually put effort into making Nimona's trans-ness (for the lack of a better word) REAL. it actually felt like it was canon and quite well written.

not just the fact that Nimona is a shapeshifter but also the whole thing viewed from a social lens. people viewing her as a monster and teaching their children to fear her too. Ballister telling her to stay in her girl form because it'll be "easier". Ballister initially finding her shapeshifting annoying and confusing. the Director literally being willing to kill half the kingdom in order to kill Nimona (very reminiscent to how transphobia can negatively affect EVERYONE, not just trans folk).

it actually seems like Nate put more effort into making Nimona an actual trans allegory, instead of simply slapping a label and pronouns onto her. i believe Nate drew from his own personal experiences, which is why it feels more realistic and relatable.

and this is what i don't understand about the trans/non-binary characters in spop. if Nate was indeed capable of writing good trans representation, what happened to Double Trouble?

the shapeshifter part doesn't bother me that much (as a genderqueer person, i would LOVE to be a shapeshifter) but what was the point of making them one of the only inhuman-looking characters? or having them invade the heroes' safe space disguised as a little girl? surely Nate knew the real-world implications of this, even if that wasn't the intention.

(i won't really mention Perfuma here because it doesn't seem like Nate intended to write her as trans, it was just the character designer who said that she was modelled after a trans woman.)

[b1odeuwed]

i love that qbagi is sharing her past with the islanders now bc eventually someone is going to straight up say “hey do you think ur brother might be cellbit” and she’s going to go through the 5 stages of grief in a cartoon way

[fjordfolk]

I know you said awhile back that Luna was a little bit different after surgery. She’s always been my favorite of the gang (maybe because I started following you way back in 2016, when she was a puppy), do you still think it’s affected her? Your post about her coat brought it to mind

2020 was a really rough year for Luna. Between the initial slip that uncovered her PL issues and the 2nd surgery being pushed back due to covid, she spent most of the year under some form of pain management and rehab. I really can't find a better word for it than traumatization. Habits she picked up during this will reappear from time to time, she refuses and panics on a lot of types of flooring. I don't think she'll ever be completely rid of that. And it aged her - she went from being an active and cheerful youngster to a wary couch potato in just a few months.

You know what's really helped, though? This thing:

Since Melis came along, Luna has been doing much better. She communicates clearer, she's less hesitant, she's more active and runs (!) like she hasn't in years. I don't think she'll fully get over the floor issues, but between the Great Slip and Melis coming home, Luna had to be carried through the hallway to the bedroom - she wouldn't even set foot there. Now she puts herself to bed every night and walks out on her own every morning.

She's not 100% back to exactly how she was before, but she's a lot closer now to the dog she would've been if the knees hadn't caused problems. And although little sisters can be real pests sometimes, she's a very happy dog.

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

I see a lot of discussion in the DR fandom on some characters that die early having "missed potential", and while I agree that definitely a few of them could have been written better or differently, part of me wonders if that missed potential is kind of the point? A character is shaping up to be something, so you get invested in their story, which then makes their early death all the more tragic. I mean, of course it's still a tough needle to thread to get it to land as tragic versus falling flat, and I'm not sure how closely some of these characters hit the mark. But I Do think some characters aren't actually "missed opportunities" and instead played their role in the plot how they were meant to, if maybe a little suboptimally.

[whoblewboobear]

I have a post about feminine rage and how klck doesn’t quite fit the definition that’s just been hanging out in the drafts for a bit so if anyone’s interested I might polish it up and post it

[can-of-slorgs]

The other researchers are also here! (magical edition!)

[moth-flowers]

moth-flowers #17

[hauntedtrait]

FUCK YES I GOT ADMITTED INTO THE OTHER UNIVERSITY I WANTED TO TRANSFER TO LETS FUCKING GOOOOOO

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Sword of Kaigen

standalone fantasy set in a rural mountain village at the edge of an empire that still holds traditional values, with families of powerful water/ice magic warriors

follows a powerful young heir who begins to question his beliefs about the empire when a new boy comes to his village from the city

and his mother, a housewife who has tried to forget her youth as a warrior and vigilante in the city since she moved back home to a loveless marriage

when there’s a violent attack on their village that they’re unprepared for, everything changes, and she has to embrace her old skills to protect her family and people

[jichanxo]

redraw of an umineko piece from 2019 (original under the cut)

this one was drawn/lined traditionally, then coloured digitally. the redraw is all digital.