#post inspired by reading reviews of poor things .

[domesticangel]

telling people they lack reading/media comprehension used to actually mean something and now it’s just something people say when they actually mean “u criticized something I like so I’m gonna play superiority complex and say u ackshually 🤓☝🏻just didn’t like it bc u didn’t Get It and aren’t as smart as me☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻”

[niuniente]

Hi! I've been meaning to draft up a message to you about Death Head's Deal for a while now, but it never really felt like the right moment. Because I enjoyed it so much, I wanted my review of DHD to be really thorough--and so I was put off of saying anything until I had the time to re-read the whole comic again. But when you posted that you didn't realize you had an audience, I realized that my desire to be thorough had done the opposite of what my original intention was, which was just to express my appreciation for your art. Not saying anything was definitely worse than saying something less elaborate than what I hoped for. Well, luckily I have the power to change that!

Death Head's Deal captured my interest from the very first issue, so much so that I remember reading it during my shifts at the anarchist bookstore and while taking baths at home because I didn't want to put it down (my poor laptop...). The worldbuilding is so thorough and intriguing, the aesthetics are top-notch (the real-life photos add a fun dimension to the art--it reminds me a lot of a book I read as a kid that incorporated vintage photographs into the plot), and Alrick is just such an incredible sweetie that I can't help wanting to give him a hug even though I generally don't like touching people. Before I was even done reading the whole comic I had already told 3 people to start reading it. My twin brother and I had a few phone calls where we just discussed the plot together. Our favorite characters are Alrick and Grimm.

I still plan to review the comic in more detail sometime, but for now, I hope you get the picture that I really love DHD and I'd love to see it gain a bigger following.

Sincerely, your fan DJ

Thank you so much for taking your time to tell me this! I have gotten nice messages later and I'm not going to lie, it has boosted my inspiration and desire to draw DHD. Because I know there are people reading and interacting with the series. They wish to read more. They wish to have more time with these characters in this world. That's what I also want to provide but I felt like there really wasn't that many people out there. Or that people had already gotten bored. I used to get tens of asks and comments after every update to my inbox here and now, I'm lucky if I even get 1. So, like from 40 asks to 0 made me feel like "Oh. They're not interested any more. They don't want to read more".

To know that the series and the characters exist out there in wild outside of my comic - like in the phone call with your brother - is absolutely WILD! I'm only a small person making a small indie comic. Of course people are going to speak something big outside its frames, like LOTR or Star Wars, but my little thing? I'm super happy!

My wish is that DHD (or some other series in the future after DHD) would grow up big so that it can reach out many people. I wish that the world and the characters would inspire and most importantly COMFORT as many people as possible. I have received so much from existing series and characters, so I wish that I could offer the same to someone else.

I'm looking for your long feedback later, when you're ready, but THANK YOU SO MUCH for telling me already! It has boosted me and made me feel more like it is worth to draw the comic, people will be delighted from it.

[eazy-peazy54]

My problem with the Will Wood fandom, (a.k.a touch grass, a.k.a stan culture can suck it) (an essay.)

This one is LONG and a DOOZY, so buckle up if you like to read.

just want to clarify, i do NOT hate the will wood fandom in itself. AT ALL. I love you guys (/p)

i just dislike the people who say weird and creepy shit. if that doesnt apply to you, cool! but tell the people who do that shit to knock it off.

NO DISCOURSE IN THE REBLOGS I WILL ATTACK YOU

One HUGE gripe I have with the Will Wood fandom is how some of you guys treat Will Wood like (and this is literally the only way I can put this that isn't too serious) some all-powerful deity of knowledge that you would kill AND die for. In this essay, I will explain why [some of] you are fucking creeps.

Will Wood. Where do I begin. For the very few who are unaware, Will Wood is a singer-songwriter who makes very strange avant garde whatchamacallit evil jazz/swing music. He has been known as Will Wood since 2015, where he released his first album, Everything Is A Lot, under the name Will Wood and the Tapeworms.

Me personally, I first heard of him from the song Dr. Sunshine Is Dead, from the good old days of 2018 animation meme Youtube.

Ever since the inevitable Tiktokification of the song I / Me / Myself, from The Normal Album, the Will Wood fandom has become... well.. full of children. I have no place to speak, of course, because I myself, am a teenager, but I'm talking like. 11-14 year olds.

11-14 year olds who are all fucking INSANE.

Will Wood has been put in what I like to call;

The Holy Trinity.

This being the big three artists who the mentally ill queers (like me) listen to.

Lemon Demon, Tally Hall, and of course, Will Wood.

Being in this holy trinity has both done him good, and bad. On the positive side, yay!! More streams, more plays, more people to appreciate the craft, and more people who like the music! On the negative side, now you have an army of children listening to adult music, interacting with adult music and music videos, who are willing to do ANYTHING to get your attention, because they are young and don't know much better.

And here, stuck in the middle of it all, is poor William.

Stuck as a straight "gay icon," in a sea of twelve year olds.

Well shit.

---

Leading to the second part of my half-essay.

2020. The year shit changed for Will Wood. The Normal Album was released, and people found themselves relating to I / Me / Myself, as stated before. Then this "new," unheard of fandom was kind of birthed upon Tiktok. They were treating him like fucking jesus.

Which is weird.

They were sad, gay, looking for answers, and found them in Will's music. Which is like. Cool!

But when people were saying that he was trans, and then switched up and said he was making fun of trans people?

Yeah. Not that cool actually.

Coming back to the present now, Will has stated how weird these kids are.

In a response from a AMA for In Case I Make It on the official Will Wood subreddit, (I know. Ew, gross, Reddit, but this post was what inspired me to make this in the first place, so,) Will says this:

---

"When I was living in the sticks along the Delaware during the pandemic, I had this weird sort of mystical thing going on inside my head that was trying connect dots in my life and turn meaningless nothing things into signs that I would die.

This was happening around the same time I was dealing with getting actual public attention for the first time, and was living in an area where nobody wore masks, and was living with people who were at risk of serious covid complications if they caught it. Also for most of it I was the dreaded 27, and having been a bit of a junkie in my younger years and an idiot with a barely-treated psychiatric wreck in my brain for most of the ones following it, it was not unlike me to assume I'd die young.

It just seemed too perfect.

As I was dealing with the reception of the normal album (my first truly scathing reviews, I/Me/Myself "discourse," being the subject of conversation on a larger scale) which was beyond what I was prepared for psychologically in terms of its scope and type, my anxious rumination started to veer toward genuine paranoia.

I started thinking that I would die by my own hand or be murdered by one of these crazed Will Wood fans in the dead of night. So I didn't sleep like ever, I lost a bunch of weight and couldn't gain it back for a while, I freaked out a whole bunch and I'm surprised looking back I never lost my sobriety or whatever.

Since it started to look more and more like cosmic fact that I was doomed, I started to feel greater and greater desperation to get out these songs that I had been quietly writing over the previous year or two. Songs I'd written while going through a big breakup and wrestling with rotten parts of me that were finally accessible due to my finally being properly medicated and dealing with the real shit in therapy. And then songs I'd written as I went through these changes."

---

Obviously that is a lot to unpack for a Tumblr essay, but since you’re this far, you probably read it all already.

“Stans,” as most would call them, and “Stan Culture” as a whole, is just a huge wreck. Everyone is always fighting someone. We know this. We all do. Stans scare artists. 

I want you to think. Think of the artists who are inspired by Will Wood. The ones who want to cater out their music to the Will Wood fans. Imagine if you will, those artists seeing that AMA post, seeing the crazed fans, seeing the relentless sexualization, the jokes about serious issues, like Will’s past drug use, seeing all of this and thinking:

“Is it really worth it?

Is it really worth all of this to make music and put myself out there?”

Now, that may make you uncomfortable, but it's the honest truth. And it's happened to so many people, and so many artists. 

---

And now a message to the disgraced kids who managed to latch on to Will Wood’s music.

Treating a musical artist like a god is not gonna help anyone. I’d know. I’ve seen it happen multiple times, to multiple artists. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is think before posting on the internet. Think to yourself; would I say this to the artist's face? Could someone see this and think differently of me? Is this just weird to say in general?

Remember that these people are real people. Will Wood is a real person. With real thoughts. real feelings. a life to live. He's not just some music making machine. He’s not just some silly character. He’s not just some whimsical guy who we can all project onto.

Will Wood is a real person, and everyone should treat him that way. 

Thank you for reading.

(I will edit this essay if I think of anything else to add. That or I'll just reblog it.)

[barbswo]

Why do new chapters take so long? It also feels like you’ve been going through some dark shit, why is everything so angsty? Tides used to feel like cappuccino, bitter but sweet, and now it’s a double exspresso with no sugar

*it’s espresso, let’s leave our exes out of this

So. I’ll chew on this topic one last time and leave it alone, because it has become repetetive.

‘Tides’ has a plan. I wrote it chapter-by-chapter, and even when I was “going through some dark shit” I didn’t write anything that hadn’t been pre-planned. That little “Angst and Drama” tag isn’t there to look pretty. “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat”, too.

I don’t do fan-service. Don’t get me wrong, of course it’s very cool when you share your reading experiences with me, but please know that the whole shenanigan of “please don’t write this, write that, or I’ll be upset, oh no, I’m already upset, how could you, I’m disappointed” won’t work on me.

I won’t be changing my story just because some poor soul on the internet cannot handle it. And no messages and pleadings to give Lucerys and Aemond five kids and ten unicorns will make me rewrite this fic. Ao3 is full of wonderful stories that you can turn to instead of ‘Tides’, go read them.

Now about my posting schedule.

Are you serious?

I spend an astronomical amount of time plotting, writing and editing this thing. What you get is the tip of the iceberg, somewhat polished for the audience. I’m not even going to talk about all the chapters I had to rewrite from another POVs because those fit better, all the deleted scenes and crossed out characters.

Mind you, nobody is paying me to do this. It’s a hobby. Writing is my passion, and when I have a story bubbling under my skin, I itch to get it out. When and how I want it.

That being said, I’m eternally grateful to all those readers who support me, write long reviews, add soundtracks and offer fancasts, ask questions because they are genuinely interested and guess some of my future plot-twists. This love is insane and fuels me with inspiration.

You make me want to continue even when people like the one who asked this question decide they know better. Thank you.

[blazingstaro]

Big changes on the horizon! DotS updates and more!

Happy New Year!! With a new year in front of us, there's new opportunities awaiting us all! This year I've decided to finally go for it, and chase a dream I've been running away from for years!

I'm finally going to launch a YouTube channel sometime this year alongside dusting off my poor old Twitch account! Right now I've got a lot to prep, but this is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time, and never thought myself prepared or good enough for it. Well, last year was all about taking big leaps and just gunning for it, so that's exactly what I'm doing

The channel will (unsurprisingly) be about games, and bringing a new method of reviewing games based on multiple factors. Throughout the next few months, I'll actually be reaching out to gaming communities and asking you all various questions to help me identify different types of gamers! I'm creating a gamer spectrum and multiple profiles to help gamers find their matches.

No more confusing numbers and biased reviews! Finally asking the most important question at the core of every game: is it fun? Visuals, style, narrative (or the lack there of) can be easily cast aside if the core of the game is just fun! That's what a game should always be at base 💖

It's a huge ambition, aiming to shake up the reviewing world, but it's something I'm passionate about! I hope it'll take off, and inspire more people to give the system a shot. I don't plan to do it forever, and eventually move on to new things or just focusing on let's-plays (which I intend to do in addition to reviews, clips from Twitch streams and the like).

This is basically gonna be my day job that I'll juggle alongside my comic, and since I won't be under time constraints or physically exhausted, it shouldn't affect my comic any!

So how's DotS:MMM going to look like going forward?

My posting schedule for DotS:MMM is going to likely be 1 page a month for the time being until I can really make headway on pages! Frankly I've been stuck on one page in particular, since I've needed to remake it entirely, and it's been bugging me for months. I believe I've gotten something down finally, so with the Holidays finally behind us, I should finally have a bit more time to work on pages. My mobile tablet setup helps so much with my art away from my computer!!

My drawing energy has been really low in past months since it was so busy, but I'm getting the itch again as I'm shaking off the holiday glaze! You guys will know I'm back in action when a page suddenly appears, hehehee!

In conclusion—

The comic won't stop anytime soon, just pages are gonna be slow for a while! I have loads of graphics to make for my new channel, and I'm also making a Live2D model to accompany. My reasons for this is simply that I don't like putting my real face on the internet, and prefer my privacy, so I'm creating a cartoon avatar that represents me— much like Saberspark has, with still images in various poses, and of course an actual live model to represent my face on both videos and livestreaming. It's a lot to learn and program, so I've got a bunch of work ahead of me!

I'll do my best to involve you guys in the future of this channel, asking questions and what you all think I should name things for the channel!! You all have been with me for so long, it only feels right, y'know?

Anyhow, thank you so much for reading!! I hope you've had a wonderful New Year, and that great things await you on the horizon!💖

[noxxytocin]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Tag ✍️

Thank you for the tag @myokk 🫰✨ This looks fun!

How many works do you have on AO3? 4 public and 1 anon!

What's your total AO3 word count? 18,969 words (public)

What fandoms do you write for? For now, I'm focused on Hogwarts Legacy. But I do have some pretty intense ships in other shows, like Stranger Things, so I might dip my quill into those at some point.

Top five fics by kudos? My most popular fic by kudos is Bury. It’s quite amusing because I knocked it out in one night after a few drinks and some seriously intense feelings. It’s my least polished piece, which just goes to show that AO3 readers are all about those spicy, quick reads and I love that, haha.

Do you respond to comments? Absolutely! Every comment notification makes my heart a bit brighter, so I reply to them with as much warmth as I put into my fics.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't think any of my stories end on an angsty note—I'm more of a fluff enthusiast.

What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Perhaps, Insomnium.

Do you get hate on fics? I don't believe I receive enough attention for that to be a concern. However, I do review all comments before they are posted for this very reason, so that I may block any unwanted individuals, if necessary.

Do you write smut? Yes, but in a very delicate, poetic manner. Smut, to me, possesses a certain elegance.

Craziest crossover? None.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge, though I do believe I have inspired some writings. I don’t particularly mind if I encounter similar works after mine has been published. Writing is meant to be an inspiring endeavor, and that is precisely the purpose of inspiration.

Have you ever had a fic translated? I have a close, French mutual who helps me double-check my French in my fanfics, and I know a decent amount.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Well, my husband provides me with a great many ideas for the fics I’ve written, so I would certainly count his contributions. He is an excellent beta reader!

All time favorite ship? I couldn't possibly choose that...I have so many ships. I don't believe I have a favorite; they all occupy equal space in my mind.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? None, I am confident that I will finish all of mine in time. I've just been busy!

What are your writing strengths? Transforming risqué themes into romantic fluff is my specialty. I can take a rather smutty idea and turn it into tooth-rotting fluff. It’s more of a curse than a strength, really, haha...I also enjoy crafting dialogue and capturing the canonical personalities of characters. When writing Sebinis, I make a point of watching extensive videos of their lines to accurately capture their mannerisms and language.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? It’s fine as long as it is executed properly. A minor mistake is forgivable, but it genuinely irritates me when I encounter French in other fics that is clearly incorrect, especially when the writer or beta says that French is their first language, yet this is not evident in their sentences. My French beta mutual has even remarked, “Yeah, no, they're lying” It drives me mad, as I am certain this beta is deceiving the poor author, and yet I cannot address it myself. It is not my place, and I am well aware that it would only result in the individual defensively justifying their lies. Hopefully they will find out eventually...

First fandom you wrote in? First ever?....hmm....I am honestly not sure...maybe (cringe) homestuck??? But that was in 2011 or 2012, hahaha...

Favorite fic you've written? One that I am currently doing for Sebinis...but I can't share because it's for an anon writing fest!

Surprise - no 20th question! 🫴✨ Tagging: @luminousecho @the-invisibility-bloke @shyinsunlight @steve-black-hl @moltenwrites @the-golden-comet @the-letterbox-archives @mirdeli @esolean @gaunts-angel @jamiemoonymark @crime-in-progress

[erasure-picnic]

This post will cover why journalists compared Erasure to PSB, provoking their side of the “rivalry”.

Why “rivalry”? Their feud wasn’t inspired by any personal hate for each other. Even if Andy Bell had struck out first, it didn’t provoke a response from PSB–not yet, at least. Instead, the “rivalry” was largely a creation of journalists, who had started to compare the two groups. (This was already a cliche by 1989, as one article attests.) Usually, these comparisons went one way. There were far, far more articles focused on Erasure that compared them to PSB, than the reverse.

This was due to parallels in both artists’ careers, with Erasure doing many of the same things that PSB had done. In 1988, Erasure worked with producer Stephen Hague; in 1990 and 1992, they put on lavish, theatrical tours with extravagant costumes and lots of dancers. PSB had done all of these things a year earlier. Erasure also resembled PSB, in that they had a bolder, showier singer and a quieter synth player.

These parallels led many critics to assume that Erasure were merely following in PSB’s footsteps. As a result, when they would write pieces on Erasure, they would compare them to PSB. Since critics largely preferred PSB to Erasure, these comparisons were often unfavourable to Erasure. This tendency to compare the two bands shot up dramatically in the 1990s, when they were the only two synth duos of their type who had survived the 80s.

They didn’t just limit it to articles and reviews. They also did it in interviews with Erasure themselves. When interviewers would ask them about PSB, Erasure would have to distinguish themselves and justify why they did things their way. The easiest way for them to do that was by putting themselves up and putting PSB down. That’s where Erasure’s part of the “rivalry” stemmed from–in large part, because of the comparisons. Unlike PSB, Erasure hardly ever commented on their synth-pop peers unless specifically asked to. (Part 1 of 2 - see the other part in the comments)

An important element of the rivalry was class. Critics who put down Erasure in favour of PSB often implied that Erasure were a lower-class version of PSB, such as in the common phrase “poor man’s Pet Shop Boys” (a description Erasure later embraced). In fact, while PSB were middle-class, Erasure WERE working-class–and they pointed to that difference as a way to distinguish themselves. A full look into the class dimensions of Erasure and PSB could easily be its own post. It’s not in the scope of this one, but if you’re interested in reading how class played into the groups’ fanbases, this is explored in an excellent article by Lynsey Hanley, called How I became middle class (The Guardian, 2016).

Comparisons of Erasure to PSB appeared in all sorts of publications–mainstream, indie, and gay. However, the reverse–PSB being compared to Erasure–tended to be limited to the gay press, who noticed other distinctions between the bands. In the next post, we’ll look at the way the gay press treated the two groups, along with PSB’s side of the “rivalry”.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

saw your arc-v livepostings on twitter n' your z-one/aporia posts and now i really wanna get into the show and into ygo in general. do you have any recommendations on where to start so that it won't be too confusing for a poor sap such as i if you can? please and thank you (:

WAHHH IM HONORED THAT MY SILLY POSTING HAS INSPIRED YA TO CHECK OUT YUGIOH!! ;w;

yugioh really is something truly special and an absolute blast to really dig into, but it IS a very big franchise.... forgive me for being a bit inexperienced at giving recommendations, but I shall do my best!! here's some pointers that I think could be helpful if ya wanna get into the show(s) (not getting into the mangas too much on this, for the sake of brevity LOL) (the spinoff mangas are fun reads, though!)

ok so the thing with yugioh is there are Eight Different 'Main' Yugioh Series (and a few little stray other series but we ain talkin bout those right now)--my recommendations are focusing on the first five series, since those the ones i've seen (though ive heard glowing reviews for VRAINS and Sevens and you could certainly go check either of those out if you wanted to! You don't really need to know anything about the plots of the other series to follow those stories)

as a yugioh fan i am of course obligated to recommend Duel Monsters as a starter. It's the OG, just absolute Yugioh at its most tried and true Yugioh, it Is that good, the dub and sub are both classics--but IF i am being my most honest true self, if my arc-v postin and zoneporia chattering have got ya ygo hooked then I would recc maybe taking a gander at one of the spinoff series first instead ;3

(In general what's cool about yugioh is you can basically pick up any of the series as your 'first' ygo experience to start with and have a great time with it! I know tons of people who've all started with different series/only are invested in 1-2 series,Theyre all made to be their own self-contained plots, and there's really something for everyone among 'em! you could honestly just read wiki blurbs on each series and go with whatever one sounds most interesting to you, and that's a fine start right there.) (though sometimes youll see characters from one series show up in another one, the Entire Storyline isnt Hinged on that--i.e. a bunch of alternate version GX/5D's/Zexal characters show up in ARC-V, but you dont need to have seen all those series to watch arc-v or follow its plot.) also idgaf what anyone says, the dubs are just as wonderful a watch as the subs are when it comes to ygos--you have to deal with some scene censorship or dialogue changes, but to me it doesn't really impede the experience. (in fact I almost want to recommend the dubs MORE for someone just starting to get into yugioh--it can be easier to follow the duels sometimes. AND a lot of the dubs are free on Youtube!!)

ANYWAY Z-one and Aporia are from Yugioh 5D's!! The, Last twenty episodes or so. Of 5D's. 🥴 <--the suffering nicherfaverrrr. So if you want to meet them properly you Do unfortunately have to be in for the long haul (i am of course biased and will say: Worth It.) 5D's is all around fantastic though; it has its slow spots, but the duels get crazy fun on those damn motorcycles, so even if you do buckle in for the All of It you'll have a good time--there are some chunks in the second half of the show that never got dubbed though (sad!) which is just something to keep in mind.

RE: Arc-V! since youve seen me tweetin about it, I will say, the first 50 episodes or so of it, that first season, does make for a really great crash course intro to yugioh and its worlds/how dueling works, since it touches upon all the main types of summoning as part of its plot, and talks about how they work. You get to learn about them as the characters do, which is really cool! My main hesitance from suggesting it 100% as a starter series is that it gets. fucking Bonkers. like characters from the other series showing up aside there is just So Much Going On in Arc-V At Any Given Point. IT CAN BE A BIT OVERWHELMING. AND APPARENTLY ITS ENDING IS. NOT VERY GOOD. which might not be very fun for a first time ygo experience 😭BUT BY ALL MEANS GIVE IT A WHIRL IF YOU'RE INTERESTED. I'm having fun with it at least, hehehe.

OK HONESTLY. HONESTLY. I think if I have one good recommendation to take away from all of this: watch Zexal. Zexal is a fantastic starter yugioh, I can't recommend giving it a go enough. Yuma as a protagonist starts out dogshit at the game and gets better over the course of the series, and that really helps the viewer follow along with the card game and start to understand it at a nice pace without getting confused over all the finer points of it. It does a really nice job of explaining how things work imo! It's also just, a gorgeous show. It's one of the most beautiful cartoons ive ever seen art direction wise. It's so kind and so fun and goes hard as hell and the characters are so full of love and personality. AND THE WHOLE DUB IS FREE ON YOUTUBE. BTW. BONUS.

THIS ENDED UP SO LONG SORRY tl;dr you can pretty much start with whatever yugioh sounds most interesting to you personally as your first series and you won't be missing any critical lore! Also Zexal is one of the best, consistently good and really easy to pick up. I think if you could only ever watch one yugioh make it that one.

also this is a less a recommendation and more just "little things about watching yugioh to keep in mind" but: don't let the card game aspect intimidate ya too much! the show really does it's best to explain how cards work and keeps it engaging; it's a show geared towards kids so of course it tries to keep things pretty easy to follow along, game-wise (also do not listen to the 'The Duels Arent Important' Crowd they are Wrong. yugioh is a sports anime but the sport is a card game. that's the crux of its storytelling. and it's genuinely really cool!!!) And if you're interested in giving the game itself a whirl, Duel Links is pretty beginner friendly imo!

I HOPE THATS AT LEAST SOMEWHAT HELPFUL the trials and tribulations of recommending where to start with a franchise that boasts some 1000+ episodes across 8 series is mighty but that should give ya some sort of idea!! whatever you end up going with I hope you have a ton of fun! YUGIOHHHH

[handeaux]

Overwhelmed By Advertising? The Battle For Cincinnati Consumers Has Raged For More Than A Century

Depending on the source, it is estimated that each American is confronted by 6,000 to 10,000 advertising messages every single day. That immersive media onslaught swelled as we started carrying little video screens around wherever we go, but invasive and obnoxious marketing has bothered Cincinnatians for much more than a century.

For example, on 20 July 1871, a correspondent for the Cincinnati Times related an enjoyable voyage he had undertaken down the Ohio River. After praising the service of his riverboat’s staff, the remarkable scenery along the river, the picturesque little town he floated by, the writer registered one complaint, about a cliff near the town of Hanging Rock:

“High up on the face of this wall of white sandstone, hundreds of feet beyond the reach of a scaling ladder, I noticed a patent medicine advertisement. It was penciled there by a man let down with ropes from above, and the letters are large enough to be read from the deck of a steamer two miles distant. I was sorry to see this defacement. It is bad enough that all the fences throughout the land should be made to lie for patent medicines without debasing the hill-sides with such marking. I suppose that when the ‘chemical affinity necessary to be the motor of some immense flying machine’ shall be discovered, some enterprising patent medicine man will be plastering the face of the moon with some of his ‘wonderful remedies.’”

If only the poor man knew what lay ahead! Even in the 1870s, almost every vertical surface in Cincinnati was slathered with posters, placards and bills advertising shows at the local theaters, patent medicines and political candidates. Cincinnati was the center of the bill-posting world. For one thing, Cincinnati was among the top printing cities of the United States, with the mighty Strobridge Lithographing Company dominating the poster industry.

Also, Billboard magazine was headquartered here in Cincinnati. What we now think of as a music magazine, Billboard was founded in Cincinnati as a trade publication for men who posted “bills” on walls. From its first issue in 1894, Billboard covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. Initially it covered the advertising and bill-posting trade and was known as Billboard Advertising.

Far from inspiring civic pride, advertising rankled Cincinnati residents as they witnessed visual pollution encrusting the region’s hillsides. Leading the opposition was the Municipal Art Society – a sort of ad-hoc predecessor to today’s Urban Design Review Board. The opening shot was fired 24 August 1896 when the Enquirer reported:

“A matter that will undoubtedly be of interest to the business men is the fact that war has been declared by the Cincinnati Municipal Art Society against advertising signs on fences along the car routes and drives of the city. The art society maintains that these signs mar the beauty of the city, especially in the case of landscape scenes on the hills and in the suburbs, and that they are offensive to the public taste.”

The Society was persistent. It took five years but the Cincinnati Post reported [24 November 1901] that the Baldwin Piano Company had demolished 200 feet of billboards erected on company property along Gilbert Avenue. The Post described this as the “first result” of the Society’s campaign.

The Municipal Art Society was soon joined by some strange bedfellows. The Cincinnati Business Men’s Club, among whose members were certainly a number of advertisers who employed billboards to disseminate their messages, created its own Municipal Art Committee to lobby for restrictions on outdoor advertising. On 1 June 1907, the committee circulated a postcard illustrated with a photo of signage clogging the view from the Grand Central Depot, with the sarcastic caption, “A Nice Welcome To Cincinnati.”

As early as 1895, the city chased the Fountain saloon’s advertising off Fountain Square, but appears not to have drafted a comprehensive law about outdoor advertising until 1909 when, as part of a broader safety ordinance, the city adopted limitations on the size of billboards, their placement near thoroughfares and the materials to be used in their construction.

While the city pondered how to encourage commerce while maintaining attractive views, the entire billboard industry was gaining momentum through a Cincinnati entrepreneur named Philip Morton. Before Morton, “bill boards” were basically fences on which bill posters slapped printed advertisements glued up with a flour-water paste. Morton took outdoor advertising to a new level, according to Jay Gilbert, who has researched his influence on marketing [Cincinnati Magazine September 2016]:

“By 1898 he’d become the Steve Jobs of roadside blight. Doing business as Ph. Morton, Phil was an early pioneer of putting ads into free-standing frames called ‘bill-boards’ and plunking them down everywhere. Eventually every railroad route and motorway in America had its view ruined by a Ph. Morton billboard.”

Even the powerhouse Morton found himself in the city’s crosshairs. Parks Superintendent John W. Rodgers, according to the Enquirer [20 September 1907], exasperated by Morton’s billboards blocking the view of Inwood Park, erupted.

“Park Superintendent Rodgers yesterday tore down over 12,000 feet of big billboards that stretched along for a distance south of Hollister street, facing Vine street, in front of Inwood Park. The billboards were 12 feet high, about 1,000 feet long and contained the advertisements of leading firms of the city, and were illuminated at night with electric lights. They had been at that place for years.”

All of those billboards were leased by Philip Morton who, as coincidence would have it, dropped off a check to pay the lease while workmen were busily engaged demolishing his thousand feet of signage. This was the Boss Cox era in Cincinnati where the right hand was very often ignorant of the left hand’s activity. And so it was, while the Park Superintendent was demolishing billboards on Vine Street, the Board of Public Service pondered a lease for billboards along Gilbert Avenue. That’s right – the same Gilbert Avenue divested of billboards just six years earlier.

A common theme of cartoon artists at that time was the eventual coverage of all available exterior surfaces with advertising signs and slogans. In response, Cincinnati Post cartoonist Elmer Andrews Bushnell sketched City Hall wrapped from sidewalk to parapet in advertising while George Barnsdale Cox and his minion, August “Garry” Herrmann, happily apply more posters and Mayor Julius Fleischmann hides behind a billboard.

The battle raged for decades. Photographs from 1927 show dozens of billboards crowding the hillside over the Brighton overpass to Central Parkway and the Enquirer [24 March 1929] begged for relief because billboards and other unsightly structures had a negative effect on property values:

“What of the gaudy billboard that intrudes itself into a residential district, the sign which girds the tree or telephone pole, the roadside ‘shack’ which is made more ugly with bizarre advertisements? Do they affect values?”

A century later, we hardly notice billboards anymore. We’re too busy texting while we drive.

[ryuichirou]

Do you guys have any sfw headcanons about jadidi? I really liked the one you did with Floyd! 🩵💙

Not only I took 1000 years to actually reply to you, Anon, I was also mistakenly certain that we already had at least one post about jadidi hcs. I guess I’ve been writing this reply in my head for so long that I fully gaslighted myself that it exists…

Alright, my brave little story aside, I am very happy that you enjoyed our Floyd/Idia hcs, Anon! And even though it was ages ago, I hope you’re still here to read the Jade/Idia ones that I came here to offer you…

(Damn it’s been a while since we posted anything Jadidi-related! Poor Jade :( )

I feel like I’ve said this one in some other post, but still: Idia genuinely likes Jade. He is still terrified of him, yes, and he doesn’t trust him at all, because he knows better than to trust anyone from Octavinelle, but that Harveston experience has taught him a lot. When in social situations and when Ortho isn’t around, Idia’s go-to is to either die all by himself or to cling to the most shady and misanthropic person. Usually it’s Azul, but Jade fits the mold surprisingly well. Idia didn’t expect to be comfortable (well sort of) around him, but here we are.

Jade enjoys being around Idia as well, and even though they don’t talk to each other very often, they have their little chats every now and then, and it’s usually quite a lovely experience… until Jade decides that it’s way too lovely and does or says something to freak Idia out. He really enjoys teasing him (and scaring him), so it’s like one minute they are friends, and then he acts like he is hungrily circling around a squid that he is about to bite.

Jade has Idia’s phone number. He asked for it at the end of the Harveston event, and even though Idia was very hesitant, at that moment he thought that this wasn’t that bad of an idea; so now Jade is one of the few people who knows Idia’s phone number.

He didn’t even need to ask btw, he could’ve asked Azul about it or even figured it out by himself (wink), but he really wanted to act like a cute kohai that really wants to keep in touch with his senpai that he had bonded with so much.

They do text each other sometimes: for the most part Jade just sends Idia some pictures of plants and mushrooms (usually the ones that they talked about in Harveston – something that Idia asked him about because there was that one plant from his favourite anime). He also sends him any bad pictures of Azul that he has, and Idia always giggles at these.

Idia giggles (very cutely!) because of Jade surprisingly a lot. Jade’s snarky little comments always hit the right spot for Idia, especially when Jade is mocking someone (usually it’s Azul…)

They also talk about anime sometimes. Jade did watch that one kelkkarotu inspired anime that Idia really likes and rather enjoyed it. And Idia almost cried because of excitement – he knew Jade-shi would get it! After that he gave Jade way too many anime recommendations… Jade has very little free time, but he still watches things from that list from time to time. Idia always waits for his reviews desperately…

One time Jade asked Idia to come and hang out with him at the lounge after working hours, and Idia initially freaked out and didn’t want to go. The fact that he called him at like 9 P.M. should have made everything better, since there are no people there, but it somehow made it worse. It’s way too shady! Does Jade-shi want to kill him? Or even worse – is he doing to do something r- romant- eeek??

The idea that there is some romantic chemistry between them occurs to Idia from time to time. He tries not to think about it though, or to rationalize it by saying to himself that he is just being paranoid, that Jade doesn’t seem into any type of relationship in general, or that Jade wouldn’t be into him at all. Or that he probably plays too many vns, and just talking to a guy from time to time doesn’t mean that they are getting anywhere.

But they are. They really are. Jade is perfectly aware that Idia is tormented by this dilemma and that he likes Jade’s attention, and he really likes it when Idia looks at him with his surprised, confused, but also sweetly desperate eyes. He could have easily made the first move, but confusing Idia and making him obsessed with this idea is much more fun. So he’ll play with him some more~

[danaedanette]

Final review of ACOTAR

Sooooo. I finished ACOTAR. Disclaimer, the pages referred here are from the French translation.

It's a massive review, (9k caracters and 3 hours, I really didn't think I would write something this long) so I put it under this "read more" thing.

I already mentioned in another post the book is really slow paced during, like, 70%, because it’s focused on Feyre and Tamlin relationship and budding romance. It’s not necessary a bad thing, but it get a little boring after a while. But I already read the book once ; I knew what was going to happen, and it certainly played a part in my boredom (is it the right word ??) so I’ll be indulgent about the pacing.

I picked up one little inconsistency toward the end of the book : on page 452, Tarquin is described as having “almost white hair, striking cristal blue eyes and warm ebony skin” (an rough translation back to English by myself lmao). And later on page 508, he is described having “tanned skin, a blue and green tunic, a roses crown on his blond hair” (still a rough translation). Honestly, it isn’t too bad, Tarquin isn’t an important character yet (or at all), he isn’t even named, only called “Summer High Lord”. I picked it up because Tarquin is more present in the following books and I frowned on the description page 508, and I remembered that he made another short appearance sooner in the book so I checked it up.

So onto the characters and what I thought about them !

Let’s begin with Rhysand, at least it’ll be done faster. No surprise here, I didn’t like him. I’ll admit all the seeds for Feysand are planted here so it's smoother on the next book, something I hadn’t saw on my first reading 7 years ago. But alas, Rhysand is desesperatly Rhysand, so all the signs of abuse that will (in my opinion) define the character and the Feysand relationship are all here too. Nothing new : the forced deal with the broken arms, the drugging and dancing, the eye that spy on Feyre,… I know it’s all explained (and immediately brushed under the carpet) in the next book, even if I don’t remember the details, and obviously Feyre forgives him, but I simply can’t condone Feysand with a history that heavy between them. Especially as we know that there will be… questionable actions on Rhysand’s part later on. Either he doesn’t learn of his past mistakes or they’re not mistakes at all and he knows perfectly well what he’s doing. I think (to no one surprise) that the latter is true, and here an example why : the first time Feyre is painted in preparation for her nightly dances, Rhysand shows her how, when the paint is damaged by contact, he can fix it with his magic. And later on, when Tamlin and Feyre are kissing and Rhys interrupts them, Tamlin has paint on himself and Rhysand made it disappear. Or maybe Tamlin does it himself, but either way it doesn’t matter, my point still stand : Rhysand can fix the paint on Feyre, he doesn’t have to kiss her to explain that the paint is blurred when Amarantha comes in the room. So Rhysand lied to kiss (read : sexually abuse) Feyre. He’s a dick. (Or it’s another inconsistency on Maas part, who knows ?)

Still, I liked him better in this book that I will in the next, because here we don’t have the narrative and Feyre telling him that he’s a poor, poor baby who never, ever did anything wrong in his life (or else he was forced and he didn’t want to do it :( ). Here, he’s still a villain/really morally grey character. (I keep making assumptions about what I’m gonna find in ACOMAF, and I should stop because I want to go in with an open mind.)

Amarantha is caricatural. That's all she inspired in me.

Then Lucien, because I wanna keep the two main protagonists for last. I remembered that he was one of my favorite characters, and so I was quite disappointed with my rereading. He is not nice with Feyre – which, understandable. She killed Andras, who was his friend, and he had to be at least helpful/civil toward her because they needed her to break the curse. That’s a horrible situation to be in. But all the times he insulted her… It was, at least 50% of the time, insults about her being mortal. To me, it feels like Lucien’s hostility toward Feyre was born of racism, and not of a personal history (her killing his friend). He did helped her UTM, but honestly with how their relationship was before that, I interpreted this help as him doing a favor to Tamlin/helping the only person who had a chance at freeing them from Amarantha. I do think that SJM intended for Feyre and Lucien to be friends, I just don’t think I read the book the way she wanted it to be read. And also, to be fair, Lucien wasn’t exactly really developed. Even his relationship with Tamlin was lacking, in my opinion. Lucien was sometimes (rarely) making fun of Tamlin, as friends do, or he was doing his report about sentry duty. Aaaand… that’s it. Tamlin reacted most of the time by being like “shut up, Lucien” and growling menacingly, which is, for one, not nice to threaten a friend, and two, all the time ? Come on, I understand the situation is really complicated, but be nicer to your friend, talk and joke with him, you’ll feel better Tamlin !

This will be our transition on Tamlin. He was quite nice during the majority of the book. I’m not exactly sure about UTM, but more onto that later. It was nice reading about all the efforts he kept making to get to know Feyre, and hilarious how bad he was at it. The Summer Solstice was one of my favorite scene, Feyre was so free and happy, and the idea of Tamlin playing violin for her on his knees… Yeah, I melt just thinking about it. He was a lot more anger-proned that I remember, but never toward Feyre, and she never felt threatened, and even if Tamlin did threatened Lucien, well,…  Lucien always came back to annoy Tamlin, and when Feyre, talking about Lucien’s eye, asked if Tamlin did it, Lucien was quite shocked, almost horrified, that she would think that. So I take it Lucien wasn’t feeling threatened or afraid of Tamlin, and therefore, despite being angry most of the time, Tamlin knows how to keep his temper under control and it wouldn't surprise me if he's the "quick to anger, quick to appease" type. (It’s still not nice to threaten people, especially friends).  About UTM, I don’t know what to think. Tamlin does know how to control his temper… to a certain point. He was never violent toward anyone during the book, but he did have difficulties to hide his anger, notably his claws which were almost always threatening to break out. And yet, UTM… nothing. He gives strictly nothing. No claws poking, no growling, nothing. I’m REALLY conflicted about it. It is, as Lucien said, a way, as small as it is, the only possible thing Tamlin can do to protect Feyre from Amarantha. But is it in character for Tamlin, who doesn’t seem to struggle to keep his poker face, even when he was an open book the whole time ? Was he so open with his emotions during the book because he was at home, with people he trusted and in a place where he was in control ? And so does it mean that UTM he wore a mask to protect himself and Feyre ? (this one should appeal to Rhys’s fans.) I DON’T KNOW. Maybe I think too much and it’s just an inconsistency/retcon on Maas part to justify Feyre leaving in the next book because “you did nothing to help me UTM”.

Either way, I liked Tamlin (and Lucien) less than I remember liking them the first time. But I have a theory : it’s quite possible that the unfairness and retcon that they both suffer in the two next books had me so offended on their behalf that I decided I would love them twice as much for every character who would treat them unfairly based on strictly nothing.

AND FINALLY FEYRE. Even if…, to be honest, I don’t really know what to say about her. She really is quite the typical YA female protagonist. She slayed the first challenge, it was one of my favorite scenes. And the last challenge was really poignant. Even if it was MORE than time that she used her brain. Seriously, this riddle was easy. Or maybe I read too much fantasy books, I don’t know. She was too complacent (not sure this is the right word, but nice is not right either soooo) with Rhysand. A guy that treat me like that, I hate him with all my guts, no matter what “helps” he gives me in the middle of all the abuse he inflicts on me. But well. Seeds for Feysand and all that. On that note, I think I read somewhere on Tumblr that Rhysand knew as soon as he met Feyre for the first time (on Calanmai) that she was his mate ? Not sure tho. In any case, it can’t be true because during their last conversation, just before they leave UTM, Rhysand says goodbye, then freezes and looks at Feyre with, uuuh, big surprise (stupeur in French). Sorry, my brain is melting, I have worked on this review for way too long. So I guess this is the moment Rhys knows she’s his mate. Which, now that I think about it, is really weird that he would be nice to her before that because let’s be real : Rhys don’t give a fuck about people not close to him. Oh, well. Either it’s a retcon, an inconsistency, or anything else, I’m done with this book. Next step : ACOMAF. Maybe I’ll find some answers. Maybe I’ll find more questions, more retcons, and a sudden want to cry. (Open-minded, Danette, remember that you must be open-minded).

To conclude, I was not surprised about Feyre and Rhysand, they were pretty much what I remembered/expected. Lucien and Tamlin were a little disappointing, but honestly not by much, because I knew my memories might be askewed and I know not to expect too much from SJM. This was a very mid read. Not too bad, not good either. 2, 2.5 stars.

Oh, and sorry for any mistakes. This post was long and I really don't have the strengh right now to proofread it. Maybe later, but probably not. I hope it's not too hard on the eyes.

[redinkscrawl]

Redd Reviews: THE WORLD KEEPS ENDING, AND THE WORLD GOES ON by Franny Choi

Genre: Poetry

Major Tropes: Dystopia, utopia

Representation: Written by a queer Korean-American and discusses Korean-American issues, though the book is not explicitly queer (to my knowledge.) Little to no disability rep.

My Thoughts

Franny Choi’s The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On is a book about many things; apocalypse, dystopia, history, future, COVID, race, trauma, life… but it is also very much a book about endings, beginnings, and continuances. Choi’s lyrical play and word choice often leans into this theme, with poems like “We Used Our Words We Used What Words We Had” and “I Have Bad News and Bad News, Which Do You Want First” blending the beginnings and endings of lines and stanzas. The world has ended, after all, but it has also continued right along.

One time the world ended was in 2020. Choi’s poems are all tinted by a post-COVID perspective for me, and possibly for the author as well. It’s impossible for me to know if lines like “...stitched by girls who look like me but for their N95s…” refers to masks worn for COVID-related or other reasons (poor workplace conditions?), but my perspective on these lines post-COVID is certainly tinged. Given that the author does outright reference COVID in other poems, I find it hard to believe that these lines weren’t at least left ambiguous on purpose.

My second favorite poem in the collection was “Field Trip to the Museum of Human History.” Choi says this poem was inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin, and I clocked this immediately. What’s fascinating for me is that I checked The Winds’ Twelve Quarters, the only non-children’s book by Le Guin I’ve read (though I have others on my to-be-read shelf!) and I don’t believe I’ve read The Dispossessed, the story Choi says the poem was inspired by, nor any significant passages from it. Le Guin’s influence over the poem is just that strong. And now I have another book to add to my TBR shelf!

Related, I really enjoyed the scifi aspect of the book overall. I’m a big fan of exploratory, speculative fiction and have sought in the past a way to write a scifi or fantasy poem without it being a hundred pages. Obviously, Choi achieves this goal in “Science Fiction Poem” and “Field Trip to the Museum of Human History,” but even more than that she achieves this goal in “The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On,” if in a more watered-down form.

My favorite poem in the collection was “We Used Our Words We Used What Words We Had.” I’ve always been slightly fascinated by nonsense poetry and literature, but most nonsense doesn’t make my spine tingle like this poem does. Instead of being silly and charming, this poem cuts deep at something… but I don’t know what. Sense is abandoned for lyricism; phrases are structured for rhyme, consonance and assonance, rather than for meaning. It’s a beautiful poem, and I don’t get it. But I think that’s the point. This poem certainly inspires me to play more with my words, regardless of hard meaning and in favor of effect. The piece is a playful celebration of sound, and I wonder if this has anything to do with her background in spoken-word poetry.

This collection of poems is somewhat haunting for me. I’m frequently a doom-thinker, almost obsessed with intrusive visions of my own death and the death of the ones I love. In my dreams I fair better, as brilliant revolutionary leader or crafty apocalypse survivor, but still the doom is there—why is the revolution necessary? What caused the apocalypse? This is not to say I believe this collection is possessed by an untoward sense of doom—I think any sense of doom the collection has is warranted and realistic. But it’s inconvenient. It forced me to face things I try not to face, for fear my sense of doom would grow greater. The moral of the story here is that there is no remedy, or at least no easy or permanent one. Even if we prevent one apocalypse, another will follow, almost certainly. That said, “Protest Poem” does give us some hope for changing the future… A sense of ‘something will always be wrong but at least it can be less wrong or for less time.’ Additionally, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On is greatly interested in knowing others.

In this way, Choi’s book reads like a manifesto of sorts, or perhaps half a manifesto. Most manifestos expose the wrong in the world and give a list or at least a sense of the policies, ideals, aims, etc. that would correct that wrong. Choi does a lot of the former, and much less of the latter. I struggle to see a call to arms in this book, despite the aforementioned “Protest Poem.” She establishes empire as the root of evil in some poems, but fails to present a solution to empire. I think this is intentional, and partially because I don’t think the speaker believes in any true, hard endings. Of anything, not just empire. Is this depressing? Possibly. But love doesn’t end either, nor compassion, nor progress. In this way, I believe The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On does carry some sort of hope, should you choose to read it that way.

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On is filled with poignant lines and exploratory poems with few misses, but a few pieces lost my attention at times.

Rating: 🌎🌎🌎🌎/5

Check out waffalet's elf girl maker here.

[mask131]

I have such a love-hate relationship with the Eddings fantasy series. I tried to explain it in a post... But it turns out either into an insanely long dissertation, into a completely unhinged rambling that sounds like pure chaos. But it is a good reflection of how complex and frustrating it is to deal with these series.

So for now I will just say that these series have so many good things for them, and have a key part in the evolution of fantasy literature... And yet have just as many things to be hated for, and so many reasons to be disliked.

I think the most important point is that the Eddings couple was good at two things. On one side, the subversion and twist of fantasy tropes - well, what WAS at the time fantasy stereotypes and cliches - and as one reviewer said, the Eddings would have probably produced better books if they were fantasy parodies or humoristic novels. On the other side, they are excellent at character concept, basic worldbuilding and iconic scenes... but fail when it comes to complexity or plot-building/narrative-flow. Which is why, as I said previously, the Eddings would have been excellent at writing campaign scripts. Just take the Malloreon: it feels SO MUCH like a campaign manual rather than an actual novel series...

Note: By the Eddings series, I refer specifically to The Belgariad, The Elenium and The Malloreon. I do plan on reading the Tamuli at one point, but I am NOT speaking about The Dreamers because I went through more than half of the first book and its shit. Pure shit.

Back to the topic... Yes, the Eddings series are so frustrating as a whole.

They are funny, but very dated. They have cool concepts and ideas, but they have typical 80s-American-prejudices and vaguely pedophile tones (not so much The Belgariad, but the Elenium and Malloreon have... worrying stuff). They subvert Tolkien's work and changed the game in fantasy literature - but then repeat themselves in a drab and dreary way, robbing their own inventivity. They are weirdly positive and weirdly negative at the same time.

And if the books themselves weren't complex in their over-simplicity and problematic in their strange worldview, there is also the big problem of the audience/fandoms literaly not understanding what the books are about. Like people missing out completely that the Elenium is supposed to be "dark fantasy", not "high/heroic fantasy" like the Belgariad ; and there's also something to be said about a very interesting double-standard people have when it comes to the use of "races" in these works - but that will be for another time.

For some, the Eddings series were a "gateway fantasy" to have a short and simple introduction to archetypes, plot beats and the general ambiance of "typical" fantasy. For others, they are a "comfort read" to enjoy something while shutting your brain off. And I agree that this is what these series ultimately are: they were never meant to be high or great literature, and they are very simple and dated, and I personally used them as "waiting reads". Because these are books I can easily get in or out of when waiting for my computer to start, for my train to arrive, for my class to begin. It's a "snack-read". I did feel involved in The Belgariad because everybody agrees that it is the best of all the four series - when the Eddings really struck something good. But by the Elenium and the Malloreon, I literaly was not as invested and I just read it because. To see the characters, and the ideas, and the concepts. Because no matter how poor these series can become, they are always a BIG source of inspiration for fantasy material.

Even The Dreamers, which is pure shit, had one of the most interesting concepts of a fantasy "big villain" thrown to us in the first pages, and this is why I even stepped so far into the book, before giving up by realizing the rest was just... garbage.

[pengugay]

i have literally no idea how to start this off its been like how many hours since i woke up and hastily reblogged and liked the initial post because i was too sleepy to parse shit but ONANISM. PEAK. THAT IS ALL. (not really. im going to start yelling screaming pissing shitting my pants you are quite literally god having taken shelter under the protection of a skilled human carcass)

THE HINTS OF SMALL BITS LETTING US IN ON THE FAINT IN BETWEENS. THE DIALOGUE. THE UTTER DEPRAVITY WHICH SWUNG AT ME LIKE A DUMBBELL AFOREMENTIONED ON A SIGN WHICH I FORGOT TO READ BUT ENDED UP ENJOYING ANYWAY DUE TO THE GRACE AND DELICACY IN WHICH IT WAS HANDLED

no joke, your work is inspiring and very much within my lane. although my vision was still under a fuzzy filter due to me having just woken up at the time of reading, i can still remember how beautifully morbid everything is from beginning to end. the way you interpret both beel and hades in onanism is so!!! fascinating, and quite refreshing as well as imo it provides a highlight on some more 'unsavoury' aspects of hades' personality while also not making him look like an outright edgy bad boy character as is often done in other modern romantic portrayals of him in media. BEELZEBUB. BEELZEBUB, oh curse his poor tortured soul, i FELT every emotion he was feeling for the entire duration of the strip and i myself have never fucked or even thought about fucking a corpse but for the entirety of it all i was just like 'damn,,, he just like me fr,,,,'

your art and storytelling oozes pure, raw, visceral emotion so powerful it doesnt just provide the shoes for the reader to put themselves in, it shoves the reader into them; making us feel the experience. each word was so eloquent befitting two very powerful deities but also casual(?) enough to make it seem as if we're in the car while all this shit goes down (which i imagine would be a twice as harrowing experience if that were the case 🗿)

ignoring how i just said the same thing twice but differently but IN CONCLUSION: I LOVE ONANISM!!!!! I LOVE BEELZEBUB!!!!!!! I LOVE HADES!!!!!!!!! I LOVE BEELHADES!!!!!!!! AND I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!! AND I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING DAY/NIGHT AND I LOVE YOUR WORK!!!!!!! KEEP GOING BUT ALSO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!!!!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

Weweweeewrwewe i came back home and your inbox surprised me. I read every words thoroughly and for a moment i was moved so tyvm again (ᗒᗩᗕ) !!

Ty for reading and enjoying it hehe (≧◡≦), it was my first attempt to create something long and your review gives me the strength and confidence to keep creating more bubuhade stuff that i left undone in the back of my mind (hehe menacingly)

(randomly passes this painting commission i bought bcs you love them sm ( ◜‿◝ )♡)

[aweirdsimp]

My Poison Flower (Roxana Agriche x Female! Reader) 

By: Gothic_Celeste (written by Luci on wattpad reviewed by d10nsaint) 

Hello Celeste here I am making this one-shot or whatever for fun so please tell me if I need to 

be recreated or need some work. I was inspired by @d10nsaint on tumblr. Or known as Brook on tumblr. So this book is about Roxana agriche x Fem Reader. 

I hope I don’t get too much hate. For it. Since I am a beginner writer I will repost after maybe checking in with people such writers who are better than me. Also you should probably know about me.. English is not my Native tongue. 

Tw: Yandere, kinks teasing, mommy issues,blood, Gore. 

If you’re not age 18+ then don’t read this and if you’re comfy with me writing any of the triggering things. Then please get off of my posts and account and go read someone else's work that is safe and comfy for you. 

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•

- Well first of all, you started as Roxana agriche personal maid and you had to take care of her needs and her pet’s. You hated the fact she was really pretty and could get you to believe her anytime she wants. With just a sad look like a puppy when it’s sad. 

- She is very possessive over you to the point, if you ever show her love and treat her more than a tool, she’ll try and get you to stay with her forever, till death due her apart from you both. The most part she had her personal maid look after you and maybe a secret butterfly just in case you didn't escape from her grips. 

- Like her brothers, you started out as a toy for her Cause her old one was getting boring and she hates how her other toy doesn’t talk back to her and couldn’t be punished just like you. You did develop kinks while you’re with her, maybe mommy issues. 

- When she finds out you have kinks and maybe issues such as parental issues. She found it very hot but satisfied now she could break you by using the information against you. When she also could explore some kinks with you and tease you about your kinks while you tease her about hers. 

- When someone hurts you Roxana wasn’t fond when she found out. How dare  they hurt her delicate poisonous flower. She would not dare but to hurt them ten times more than they did to you. You were her obsession after all. And then she would kill them in a gore ways like how she likes it. 

- You belong to her and no one else, you belong to her and you know that. You gave her love and now she is  your problem to deal with. And she was really at first when she received you. She found no interest in you but now she has. 

- After killing her whole family with you. Well apart from her mother Sirena, She became the duchess of the house and you both got married  around the remaining dead body since she planned the wedding to happen a day early and when she killed her family except for Sirena she is  still alive. 

- You and Roxana, were forever stuck with each other. Mostly because she was possessive and didn't like to share. She also likes to do it anywhere and she doesn’t care who watches to be honest. She likes to break you and then mold you to be your bratty self and then break you again. 

-Poor Cassis, your brother has no clue where you are every time, he wants to cuddle with you when Roxie isn't busy putting you in your place. That boy just wants his little sister in his arm but yet you just being f*ck every time Roxie felt angry or just plain bored.

[jude-apollo]

Posting this bc I haven't finished watching The Menu but I got super stoned last night and in a flash of divine inspiration predicted how it will end and I think I'm right. I want to have my prediction documented before I watch the end and see the reveal.

Also don't read the next paragraph if you don't want potential spoilers !! Obviously

My prediction: all 12 guests at Hawthorn that evening have wronged Slowik or things he cares about -- by being fraudulent rich assholes, destroying restaurants with poor reviews, being condescending to those around them, whatever. It at least feels obvious that all the customers at the restaurants are generally terrible people. ANYWAY my thought is that Hawthorn is generally a very high-powered theatrical luxury restaurant but for this night specifically, Slowik is pulling some huge revenge plot on the specific 12 people who "deserve" it somehow. That's why he's so concerned with Margot; she's "not supposed to be there" not because she's too poor but because she doesn't deserve whatever horrors Tyler and the rest of the guests are about to face at Slowik's hands. Anyway that's my prediction I just finished the taco course pls no one be an ass and tell me the ending before I finish it later