#these comics are so fun to do but also very time consuming despite not having a single background lolz

[finsterwalds]

Another request for Walter being forced to cook for his son but no not that way

[damianbugs]

You need to tell us what you think of your favorite Bruce ships. Pls

i should preface by saying i usually prefer bruce (in my own works and others, including comics) to not be in a relationship at all because i can't think of a time he's like ever emotionally stable enough for that. like ever. THAT BEING SAID isn't that all the more reason to throw him into a ship? doomed tragic romance you will always be famous to me

and because i am insane, here are some comic recs to go with my fav bruce ships!!

>batcat

a classic favourite, batcat!!! i will admit i am not the biggest fan of their rebirth stories, and the whole wedding fiasco and most of what tom king wrote about them (and in general) was. not enjoyable. but pre crisis/golden age batcat? MY PARENTS. just. silver and bronze age batcat too. what a refreshing and entertaining couple. the thing that really makes them compelling is at the end of the day they have the same goal; protect the people of gotham. the ways they go about it can be different, and selina especially faces some serious mischaracterisation in order to make bruce look like the "hero" in the relationship, but at their core and simplest expression of love, they share the same dream, and they both know that. it's this selflessness that connects them deeply.

> "The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne" (Batman the Brave and the Bold #197) is, in my opinion, essential batcat reading. a very bittersweet story!

> for a more modern read, "Only Takes a Night" (Catwoman #32) is a delightful read about how hopelessly in love they are. bruce is such a devoted loser.

> ghostbat

every character needs that one irreparably damaging young adult tragic romance that changed their life forever and that is what ghostbat is. khoa is the perfect foil to bruce, in that ultimately, they are two ends of the same spectrum. fiercely stubborn and confident in their own moral code but in the opposite way. this ship is particularly fascinating because even now, the respect and love they have for each other years later is so deeply consuming that it is prevalent in how they interact now. i don't think bruce would have been the person he is without his relationship with khoa pre-batman, in both a good and bad ways. i also really love the hc that khoa is bruce's first heartbreak (refer to: the Snow and Gun incident).

> "Batman The Knight" is like ghostbat religious text. this is all you need. let it destroy you.

> batlantern

no long paragraph about this one because its my silly guilty pleasure. sometimes u need a ship in which they just don't get along except for the times they do. hal brings out such an irritating (said fondly) side to bruce and its even funnier because it works mutually. i think another really wonderful thing about this pairing is that they are really not so different from each other (nothing says romance than being consumed by your guilt and stubbornness), but they both think otherwise, so they knock heads while also begrudgingly respecting about one another in a colleague-friend-crush way. they want to make out so bad it makes them look stupid.

> "Batman: Universe" is a great and short silly story that shows their dynamic really well. amused me greatly. not ship focused though hal is there for like. a single issue unfortunately. but fun!!

> i usually never recommend any new 52 books to get INTO a character, but if you're interested in this pairing and its most 'popular' fanon interation, then "Jutice League (2011)" is the best place to start. you can get to their better stuff afterwards! (there's also an animated movie about it!)

> brutalia

AND BEST TILL LAST. THE BRUCE SHIP OF ALL TIME. ruined my life. CHANGED my life. i wish i could explain how insanely important this relationship is in words. i love my pairings tragic and there is quite literally no other ship quiet as dramatic or poetic than brutalia. talia is often seen as bruce's "one true love" with great reason, and him hers, and despite that they will probably never actually get back together. in a wider lense, the al ghuls and bruce have an insanely complicated dynamic, and this inherent conflict about missions bigger than themselves makes brutalia's forbidden love drama all the more compelling. talia brings out the best in bruce, and bruce respects and loves talia in a way i don't think he does anyone else in his life.

to complain for a moment, it's no wonder that because their relationship (since it's very first introduction) was so irrevocably pure and consensual (they were both so ridiculously obsessed with each other), that Certain Writers had to pull out the most out of character and disgusting stories to make it clear the tone of batman was changing. talia is always a victim to racism, misogyny and just unbelievable ooc writing — most evidently in her stories with bruce, unfortunately.

AND YET. recent comics have realised how truly ridiculous it is to write her as anything but kind and strong, and bruce being anything but hopelessly infatuated. i think my favourite thing about brutalia is that bruce and talia is a relationship that has been separated for actual Decades and so both their characters have been developed to have their own tragic stories and growth. then when we get small moments that bring them back together and letting that past show through the cracks in their carefully constructed walls, it's all the more romantic.

beautiful heartbreaking ship. the kind of relationship historians would cry over. would have the romantic period publishing fifteen books over.

> "Batman: Son of the Demon" is ESSENTIAL brutalia reading. also, if you are insane and delusional enough, it can be the true origin of damian.

> the comic moment that inspired all romance the moment of forever the blueprint even is in the famous "Batman (1940) #244"

> for a more modern take, very recently in fact, is her appearances in Ram V's run of detective comics, starting from #1062. its not brutalia focused, but a great take on how natural and yearning their relationship is now.

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

Dark Blue Moon and the Suffering Sun Chapter 30

MASTAPOST

huge thanks to brekitten again for betaing uwu

Despite Damian complaining of the smell, Danny personally thought his new outfit was very comfortable, at least compared to the alternatives. At some points their little nature walk along the road brought them close to the river they’d swum up to get to the locks. They could’ve easily jumped in if they wanted, but the presence of GiW boats in a narrow passage made it a very unappetising option.

They also didn’t know what his human form looked like, but they did know about siren human forms in general. Once they realised the canal itself was empty, they would very likely transition into hunting him on land. Then there would be problems.

Danny picked up the pace. Jogging was easy when you could ice over your overheating muscles from the inside, a technique that had fascinated and disgusted his friends. To their right, the remains of the canal shipyards, and to their left, a large hill covered in trees and foliage overlooked the water. Wind rustled through the leaves and blew through his clothes. Ah, to be clothed at last. What a luxury.

As they walked, the boys made idle commentary on the scenery, including sardonic comments at the presence of a golf club on the hill.

“I should hope they do not punt any balls into the water.”

“I dunno. Could be a fun challenge. Imagine doing a hole in one across the canal!”

The shade was nice too. Even the air felt cooler underneath the trees. As they rounded the corner of the mountain, their next issue made itself known.

A car drove past them, only to stop and slow down at a check point manned by, who else, the GiW. At some point Danny was seriously questioning the Panamanian government. If he were in charge, he would definitely not let the US government just run roughshod over his country’s infrastructure. That being said, it probably wasn’t the first time the government fucked things up in South America, as Sam’s many rants had led him to learning.

Danny ran his finger along Damian’s forearm, earning a hiss from the kid. He slathered the mucus over his ear, turning it into its siren form.

“Shush. Lemme listen.”

He closed his eyes and concentrated. “Sorry ma’am. We’re with the US government. We’ll need to inspect your car for any siren contraband or smuggling. We’ll also have to test you for mind control.”

With that, another voice seemed to repeat the command in very apologetic Spanish. It seemed their translator was about as unhappy with the arrangement as the poor civilian.

“Tt. Amateurs.” Damian muttered.

Then came a very rapid series of what he believed was swearing from the driver, an older woman. Oh. He didn’t need his ears to notice the sandals smacking into the agents. Danny couldn’t help but laugh a little.

It wasn’t like the blockade would do anything! There was a whole-ass hill right beside him.

“How were these people ever a threat to us?” Damian muttered. He hissed at a stray branch jabbing into his ribs, batting it away.

“Probably all the money the government throws at them to buy weapons. From my parents.” Yeah it kinda said a lot that the only reason they were any issue at all were because of his parents.

Damian stiffened. If Danny weren’t holding him so close, he wouldn’t have noticed it.

Danny hiked into the forested hill. Great thing about clothes, Damian, is that they protect your very soft human skin from being sliced up by thorns and branches and other sharp shrubbery. “It’ll be fine. I’ve beaten these clowns a dozen times before.”

 “With allies, and a healthy body. And in the water. Be wary.”

Danny grinned. “But I still have my powers!”

“Tut. Be wary. Triumphant pride precipitates a dizzying fall.”

“Hah! How many dictionaries did you consume to be able to say that?”

“Five. And I do not consume books, I read them, unlike you and your sullen species.”

“I am literally human right now. And I read plenty of books.” Comic books, in fact. But that addendum didn’t stop the (invisible) smirk on his face. Comics books are literature too! Even if the canon keeps getting ruined every few years.

Damian began another retort, only for the forest to fill with alarm blares. The sounds overlapped and pounded in Danny’s ears. “What happened!?”

He was in human form, they couldn’t detect-  Wait. He slapped himself in the face. It was Damian. They’d detected Damian’s signature. Fuck.

“The forest covered up their smell. Dangit. The one time they weren’t wildly incompetent.”

His head snapped to the side, then he turned around. Nobody yet. Damian growled. “We need to get moving.”

“You can say that again.”

Danny wove through the branches amidst rising shouts, and alarms that continued to sound. He caught a glint on the side of a tree. One ice spear was all it took to take out a sensor. More still screamed.

“Behind you!”

Danny dove to the floor. A shot whizzed past his head. His body creased leaves and pressed the dirt.

“There’s the specimen! Take it down!”

Several more guns whined. Danny rolled to the side. He got up in seconds. The dirt exploded behind him. Three more shots fired into a tree, causing it to creak and groan.

Damian squeezed his arm. “Throw me,” he whispered.

Danny’s face went slack. “What?!”

“There are only two of them. They do not know my identity, and they have weapons.”

Yeah them having weapons was a very good reason not to throw you at the racist government agents, Damian! “You’re crazy.”

“The Atlanteans underestimated me similarly. Now hurry!”

Another two agents flanked them on the other side. Despite his reservations, Danny was forced to admit the kid had a point. “Fine, but be careful!”

Danny stepped back. He threw his arms over his shoulders, Damian’s waist held tightly. With all his strength, he hurled him like the screaming ball of fury and spite that he was. The boy flashed into visibility. The agents behind him screamed girlishly, a fact that he wished he could have recorded.

Instead he squared his shoulders at the two in front of him. It was G from earlier and another guy. Hello misplaced aggression. The goons cried out, preparing to fire on Damian. While the kid was still on top of their friends’ faces!? Well, friendly fire never stopped them. Danny flicked two beams. One froze the trigger on G’s gun solid, scoring half his hand as a bonus. The other got his friend’s gun muzzle. The agent pulled the trigger anyway, and was rewarded by scalding hot metal shards to the face for his troubles.

Danny’s eyes glowed steely black and blue. He fired off another salvo. His attacks bound their wrists and feet to the ground. At the same time, his nose tickled with a coppery odour. The screams of the men behind him reduced to pained sobbing.

“I am returning,” Damian declared. Danny had about half a second between that warning and the kid slamming onto his back, arms wrapping around his neck again. The extra weight almost knocked him off his feet.

“What the heck are you carrying?!”

The skin around his ears shivered. A gun charged right over his shoulder. Damian nailed a reinforcing agent in the shoulder. “A new acquisition. Now move!”

Only Damian. Only Damian.

So the stealthy approach wasn’t working out amazingly. By the time Danny had cleared the forest, and lost his pursuers, there were about a dozen men lying on the dirt in various states of pain. Danny jogged past the now-unmanned barrier, wondering if there was really any point to sneaking around.

Damian panted over his shoulder. They needed to stop for another water break. His friend wouldn’t last long without one. And he was feeling the fatigue of keeping his powers up already. He’d need another snack soon.

“We cannot afford another confrontation. It was lucky we had the advantage in terrain, and they squandered their numbers by walking in one by one. The next fight may not be as fortunate.”

It was an apt time to say that, seeing as their presence had definitely not gone unnoticed.

A large white truck barreled through the road, giving Danny an honest to god heart attack. He dashed behind an electric post without thinking. Luckily it hadn’t noticed him, but the road ahead reeked of further agents. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were checkpoints along every road and intersection from here to the beach.

“Like seriously. There’s no way Panamanian government could be happy with this. I’m not going crazy, right?”

“This will likely be an international incident, especially if my plan is to go through.”

Danny suddenly felt rather uncomfortable. “What plan?”

“It is simply the most logical way to proceed. As I said, we do not have the resources to fight many more battles. At some point, we will be encircled, and either be captured or severely injured.”

“So what’s your plan, then?”

Damian laughed. It was not the joyful, innocent laughter of a kid his size, but rather a cackle fitting a demon, or some sadist coming up with creative ways to inflict pain on his victims. Danny got very, very worried.

“Wrench!” Dad called out. Jazz pulled one out of the toolbox and handed it over.

“Nope, wrong tool. I need the, uhh the thingamajig.” Without a beat lost, Jazz passed some fiendish contraption meant for measuring hydroplasm levels, name still pending.

“Thanks Jazziepants.”

For a man who’d been insistent on keeping her in bed or out of any hard work, and whom had been specifically instructed to do so regardless, her father’s willpower was very weak when subjected to Jazz’s arguments. That was what led her to sitting in the engine room with her father, watching him put the hydroplasm back into working levels. She felt a little bad about making her dad spend so much time, but what guilt she felt would have been outweighed a thousand-fold by the pain of seeing her brother in their parents’ grasps.

Now she needed to know the direction of his heart.

“Dad, are you ok?”

He shrugged. “I’m ok as ever, Jazzie.”

“You’ve been worrying.”

Her father yanked out a faulty wire. “What kinda dad wouldn’t be? When I was a kid, my grandpa Fenton told me one day, I’d be the man of my own house. I’d protect my wife and my kids from those gosh darn delinquents of the deep. Of course, I ended up finding a lovely wife who’d protect me just as much as I her, but,” He swallowed.

“It’s ok. I’m here for you, Dad. Is it something to do with the interrogation?”

“Jazzie, look, I don’t want you to worry.”

“But it’s bothering you, right?”

Her dad’s boots arced inwards, like he’d clenched his toes. “Our only lead was Phantom. That’s the whole point of this trip. But we got him, and he wouldn’t spill. And I didn’t know what to do.”

“Were you hurt?”

“No. Nobody got hurt. But your mother… I’m sorry, it’s not something you should be hearing.”

Her father’s voice went uncharacteristically serious. No! She didn’t need protecting. She needed information.

“Dad, you and mom have been dreaming of capturing a siren for years.”

Her father’s body went still for a moment. He quietly screwed in a bolt. “I know. It was nothing like I’d ever expected.”

“In a good way?”

“I thought he was gonna fight. Or throw snark at us like the fish felon he is. It was what our research told us what would happen. But it didn’t.”

She said nothing, her silence prompting her father to continue.

“Jazzie, he… cried. And suddenly I realised that Phantom looked like a kid. Like Danny’s age.”

“That young?” Jazz said with fake surprise. “Do you think he still could’ve done it?”

“I don’t know. But he must be involved, somehow. In any case, we’ll still have to pursue him.”

Jazz leaned in closer. Her father’s goggles were off, which gave her an unblocked view of his eyes. Just like her mother, they faltered with hidden speculation with doubt. The relief made her cry, almost. “There’s no guarantee, Dad,” she whispered.

Her father sat up from the creep. He stretched his arms out, and pulled her into an embrace. “I promise we’ll figure something out. Your brother’s got the might of the Fentons in him.”

‘Specimen Phantom is in disguise. Be on high alert. Nobody is above suspicion.’ Agent H hummed. That damned fish freak. Crawled its way out of the water the moment trouble hit. Now everyone was mobilising. Agent H shut off the radio, having heard enough.

Frankly, he’d had enough of this damned country and the heat. He’d been got by at least three mosquitoes already, and this brief respite in the truck was all he’d get until another six hours spent underneath the tropical sun, looking for a damn slippery siren.

He hoped Phantom would turn into fried fish before he did. Goddammit.

That was not to mention the freaking local police, who’d been harassing them all day about their tasks. Ignorant locals. How could they not notice the threat lurking right under their noses? Without the help of his organisation, the Canal would’ve been wrecked, then who’d have the final laugh? Definitely not Panama.

“Be on high alert, H.” Agent I said. “Specimen Phantom and its accomplice just took out squad A in the trees.”

H turned to her. “And why aren’t we assisting them?”

“Squad B’s taken care of it. We need to cut of the specimen’s escape, before it reaches the open ocean.”

H scoffed. “We have enough manpower, I. These sirens are smart enough to get around us. We need to hunt the specimen actively.”

“And you need to follow orders, Agent H. The local government’s only barely tolerating our presence as is. One wrong move and there will be hell to pay, do you understand?”

Agent H grumbled.

“Do you understand, Agent H?” Agent I ground out.

“Yes, ma’am. I-”

Agent H was unable to finish his sentence. He slammed the brakes. He and Agent I jerked forward in their seatbelts as the truck screeched to a halt in front of a gruesome sight. In the middle of the road, two wooden stakes were erected. Blood stained the road at the base of them. Strung up to the stakes were two familiar uniforms.

“Agent G! Agent F!” He cried out. Agent H tore off his seatbelt. He snatched his hydro gun and rushed out. His blood ran cold. How dare that- that- that monster!?

“Agent H! Get back here!” His superior ordered. He ignored her. He needed to-

Agent H was right in front of the wooden stakes when he realised his error. What looked like G’s soft brown skin and F’s paler tan from afar became patchy, holed. It was no human, but a kind of mocking imitation made from dried reeds and branches.

That meant- Shit.

Agent H had no time to react. Brilliant blue blasted him across the road. He struggled, cursed, tried to reach his communicator, but his efforts were for naught. The ice bound his wrists together like concrete. In the corner of his eye, he saw Agent I put up just a few more seconds of fight, before a barrage of hydro beams took her down too. That was their weapons!

Shame burned his skin hotter than the tropical sun. The dirty, evil sirens opened the door to the truck, invisibly. He could only watch helpless as a trapped rat as the truck kicked into full gear.

[gauntletqueen]

Okay so! I saw Across The Spider-Verse. I wanna say some lil thoughts. First off, without spoilers:

I thought the first movie had prepared me for how visually captivating and groundbreaking this one would be and I was WRONG. They took it SO much further in this one and it is SPECTACULAR. The way they play much more with the art style depending on the spidey-person and the universe is incredibly fun to see and impressive to think about.

Now for a LOT of thoughts concerning spoilers:

I am SO glad that they used the fact that it's a two-parter to take the time with its story. Plenty of slower moments, room for talking, etc. I knew it was gonna be a To Be Continued, but was worried the movie would be at a break-neck speed to cram in as much story as possible like with the fuckin uuuh avengers movie with Purplo The Mean Man, and I am SO GLAD!!! That they didn't!!!

Next off I was never a fan of Peni's design in the first movie. It felt too much like that "trying to be anime" thing that western cartoons had going for a while, and I can now only imagine that the creators had planned from the start to have her grow into her comic book design between movies, which is VERY GOOD. (I had already assumed that SP//DR's design would be comic accurate in this movie after its destruction but it's nice to see :> )

On that topic, I do thing it's a bit of a shame that Peni, Noir and Ham didn't get to be in this movie, really. I understand why! Use this one to flesh out the new important characters (and they are very good especially Hobie) so it doesn't feel cluttered when you put them all together in the third one. But I was looking forward to seeing them...

Now let's have a little intermission. (it's relevant I promise) Please meet Carapace, my Spider-Sona, who I created after I had gone to see the first movie back in 2018:

I won't bore yall with the details, but basically she got her powers due to outside intervention causing a shift in her universe. Her getting these powers resulted in that universe's Peter Parker, the one who was supposed to be Spidey, to die. Carapace is characterized as sticking very closely to her own morals even if it might harm in the long run, even when people tell her and show her what she is doing is dangerous, and eventually this leads her actions, as well as her very existence to endanger the entire multiverse despite her best efforts.

So. you know. I thought that was interesting. Given. Yknow. The movie

Okay moving on. Spider-Gwen is the only spidey comic series I've actively read, so seeing her story and her artstyle explored more in this movie was a delight! It's also just really nice how she's more of a pivotal character this time around, given a lot more focus. I'm happy about that :> (also can't believe we now know why she has sneakers in fortnite wow)

The Spot! Was spoiled for me. But not like, in much detail? I had, after seeing fanart against my will, pieced together that he was the guy that got a bagel thrown at him in the first movie, and that he had something to do with "Canon". Now as someone who's read homestuck, and has consumed modern media in general, the use of the word Canon worried me. I was worried they'd break the fourth wall and get all annoyingly meta and stuff. BUT they didn't! They did get meta with it, talking about the canon events that make a spidey-person, but never broke the fourth wall. It was handled carefully and it works! Maybe that's why Ham isn't present in this movie... He'd definitely ruin that now that I think about it. As for The Spot, he's not the most compelling villain. He's funny! it's a funny concept for a villain origin. "Just take this one-off gag from the first movie and turn him into the main villain." But by doing that, by making him Funny and Pretty Dumb In Concept, and then turning him into an Actual Real Threat whose motive is that nobody takes him seriously, it WORKS. We the audience are PART OF THE PROBLEM kinda I dunno I thought it was neat.

Miguel is mean to Miles >:| Stoopid poopoo head >:| (but it's cool that he's like a parallel to Kingpin from the first movie)

As for the whole "different versions of the movie in different theaters" thing, that was spoiled for me, thoughI didn't know what was different heading in. Apparently it's like, Lyla doing some funny little bits? Whatever. I can only assume needing to re-animate perfectly good scenes for no reason other than "aah gotcha! Neat right??" is definitely something that contributed to the reported terrible working conditions and crunch during production. It's a fun reminder that even a film that is so strongly about art, about pushing back against conformity and those that want to control you, is still being made by a giant corporation, and according to that corporation, the workers don't matter, only the product's ability to money. I can only hope that the animators get enough time to work normally on Beyond the Spider-Verse, which I'm sure will be also a phenomenal movie despite the higher ups' demands, just like this one.

Also they said ASS and CRAP in it!! Wow!!!!

[lightandfellowship]

If you were to write a fic, what would it be about?

My first choice would definitely be a fic about what Vidar and Vor were up to during the events of KHDR, what would have led them to make the decisions they make at the end of the game. Out of all the content that was potentially cut from the game, this is by far the worst offender in my eyes; the absence of Vidar and Vor's side of the story, and thus the absence of pivotal moments from their character arcs, makes the game feel really incomplete to me. So of course I'd really love to be able to fill in that gap and make the game's story feel more whole, even if it's not canon at the end of the day. (This would also be my first choice for a novel side story if a KHDR novel were ever to be made. Crossing my fingers that Nomura and Kanemaki want it just as much as I do.)

I did write a large chunk of my ideas for such a fic, but what I want out of a fic like this is a little too ambitious for someone of my skill level and experience (as in, no creative writing experience at all.) Obviously I could just write it and not obsess about the end result too much, but then I wouldn't be happy with it, and what's the point of that?

I've daydreamed about alternative mediums for conveying such a story, like comics or....visual novels/games, but that would be even more ambitious and time-consuming despite it being more aligned with my creative interests.

But anyway. I think it would also be really fun to write a fic about Xehanort's "world tour". I find it very satisfying to figure out what Disney worlds would work for a character's arc/story and how best to incorporate those Disney worlds into the Kingdom Hearts universe. It's a lot like a puzzle in that way. I've talked extensively before about how perfect Hunchback of Notre Dame (the real world version, not sleeping world version) is for a post-KHDR Xehanort, for example. And I've certainly spent some time thinking about how exactly such a world visit would play out, which might be a fun topic to explore more extensively in the future.

[rainofbrasspetal]

Mashle: The Stitchy Review

Started Mashle May 26 2024.

Finished Mashle June 17 2024.

Stitchy's Score: 6/10

Shortly after finishing Inuyasha, I wanted something really straightforward. More importantly something short. At a crisp 163 chapters, Mashle really delivered on that. Mashle has a pretty good bag of jokes and a great artstyle.

A friend of mine, someone who does a lot of character design, always tells me that simple designs will always look better. Usually she's right and this time is no exception. I think Mashle really is visually appealing. As someone who also loves film discussions and film as art, it seems almost comical to say. Something that feels like it's such a surface level compliment, "The camera work was fantastic!" Of course it was! It's a movie! That's like the most basic thing you have to do! With visual mediums like movies, or especially comics and manga, you still have to point out when things look good. It's a luxury I think consumers of a visual medium may take for granted. Mashle having such a great artstyle also adds to the overall gag of the manga. There's even a lot of good fights with great scene blocking. Plus I love that it really is based around a dude that doesn't use magic and never will. Right, MHA? 🤨

The gags are, as with most comedy, hit or miss. When Mashle hits, however, it does. I also appreciate that the viz translation managed to weave words like "cringe" into the dialog without it really feeling like it's trying to hard. I'm sure this will be dated as time marches forward, but for now it's pretty charming.

Unfortunately, the gags also add to a couple of the negatives. I can't rate it that high objectively because Mashle really tries to be serious while making fun of itself. This is such a dangerous tightrope to walk. Mashle really tries to be a racism allegory. It feels like a little too much; have your cake and eat it too. The actual plot is also so incredibly straightforward. It can be a positive to save time that way, but it's also a negative in being memberal overall. The villain isn't set up all that well and while there are so many cool designs and fights, a lot of them aren't very engaging outside of a gag or the fact they showed up one time. A lot of the big badasses show up once and are kind of boddied offscreen as the endgame comes. They all show up for such a short time. Everyone has a sad backstory while the main character makes fun of them for wasting time with a sob story. It can be funny if it wasn't the thing every time. I don't know how I am expected to care about certain characters when their only joke at the end of the day is "sister complex freak" or villains who have a sad backstory before Mash looking at the audience like "👈😏 this guy, huh audience?" Serious moments are often overshadowed by these eternal gags.

In conclusion, Mashle is a fun and quick read. It stumbles a lot because sometimes it tries to drop the funny to look at you very seriously and tell you that an oppressive class in charge is not good and everyone should ever be treated as less than human (great message, but it doesn't feel like it does a good job). Despite it all, it's fun to look at and it's a nice "turn your brain off" kind of time. Like I said, some of these jokes are real zingers. I would recommend this to people but I would really caution them that you're not going to get much substance out of it. I don't know if I'd read it again myself, but I think it has it's moments and I enjoyed my time.

[1mpulsee]

17?

MUNDAY # QUESTIONS — accepting !!

also asked by @thewomanwholaughed !

17 — fanon interpretations

// okay, it’s time for me to be an absolute hater and not in the way you may think because I’m so sick of people ragging on fanon interpretations . it’s rampant in comic book fans especially, I’ve noticed ever since I (kinda but not rly) joined the deecee fandom . (THOUGH I don’t see people being like this in the RPC, at least the people I interact with, which I’m very very happy about)

// I can’t tell you how much I see comic fans absolutely tearing down other fans because of their interpretations or headcanons, or how extreme the gatekeeping can be . I’ve seen entire blogs that are JUST tearing other comic fans down when they could rly just post their interps without making it a dunk on other people . like, comics are some of THE MOST inconsistent, long form, confusing, and contradictory sources of canon EVERRRR, and yet people still want to pretend like ‘fanonizing’ is a big deal at all when I rly don’t think it is . comics are not easily accessible . there is so much to read even for less popular characters, and not everybody has that time or the capabilities to read that much . AND WE ALL KNOW HOW FUCKASS COMICS CAN BE ………. Like literally nothing is set in stone for ANY of these mfers, literally any interpretation of a comic character ever is gonna be a fanon interpretation . comics should in all fucking honesty be the LAST source material anyone should be harping about “being accurate to canon” or consuming all content there is to consume, especially something as huge as DC . Like . I genuinely don’t understand .

// if someone enjoys reading everything there is to read and knowing a ton about canon, that’s fine . if someone has a certain interp in their head of characters or whatever, that’s fine . but I find it literally SO insane anyone expects anyone, let alone entire fandoms, to know everything about any canon . people don’t need to cater to someone’s interps or hcs because they’ve read more comics, literally just let people have fun, these comics are absolute bullshit for finding consistent characters anyway lol . if someone doesn’t like an interp or hc literally no one is forcing them to look at it or engage with it . if it’s not hurting anyone, it rly should not matter at all to people . we are ALL making shit up no matter how much people think they’re “sticking to canon” .

// people can come up with SUCH amazing interps and headcanons, and usually that’s DESPITE canon and not because of it . no matter how much someone knows about canon, if you can not be a dick about it, I really don’t care . I love fanon interps, I love stuff the fandom can come up with, I love headcanons and straight up making shit up or basically making canons ocs . I also love people who have rly faithful interps or know literally everything about comics, it’s incredibly impressive . but if I hear one more person complain about “fanonizing” or post a gatekeepy ass post on my dash I may pop a blood vessel fr .

// tldr fanon is cool actually, do what you want im the ceo of making shit up trust me bro

[auranova26]

Cryas Darkstalkers Cast Bits

So, I only really have designs for the characters I have shown via lore blogs. However, I already do have thoughts for many of the other cast. So rather than wait till I have designs to make longer lore blogs, I'll give brief snippets about how each have changed for the mythos and their general role.

Jon Talbain:

He is still a werewolf, born in the wilderness of the northern forests of the United Kingdom.

His father is still Baraba Kreutz, while his mother now has a name: Cathwulf Talbain. Cathwulf has a pet dog, an Airedale Terrier known as Norward.

He still has an ordeal of being unable to fully control his werewolf form. It is via the help of many of the years that he eventually can learn to control his Qi and control his bestial form.

He will have a fairly northern accent thanks to his mother.

He does learn martial arts from a Japanese master he finds in the mountains of the main European continent. The master does go by the name of Gallon.

He does eventually become friends with Felicia and becomes a relative mainstay in the Rose household from his travels. Their relationship is strictly platonic, despite Ramona making sly remarks about Jon being a fine man for her daughter.

Victor Von Gerdenheim:

Victor's 'birth' year is changed to 1831. No current month or date as of yet.

Honestly, aspects of his lore are inspired by the story he had from the Udon mythos. One of the very few things I can praise about those comics.

Professor Gerdenheim sees Emily and Victor as not only his creations, but also his children. He wishes to use his knowledge to further improve them, especially Emily since her 'heart' is defective compared to Victor's.

He and Emily both speak fluent Germen, but eventually learn English. Victor does tend to talk in the third person, but eventually learns to better improve his speech over the decades.

After the events of Victor and Emily's introduction into the mythos, their goals both involve making their father proud in their own ways. Victor wishes to get strong to help protect the village and his big sister from those who would cause harm. Emily wishes to follow in her father's footsteps to continue his research so that one day his studies could be fully realized and help the people.

Demitri Maximoff:

He is born in Makai.

He plays an antagonistic role, generally being a menace and nuisance to the various protagonists in the Cryas Darkstalkers mythos and eventually to even a few individuals from the Cryas Chronicles reality.

After his failed coup against Belial, he, his castle, and those in it were banished to Earth as a sign of humiliation and contempt for the vampire lord. Not only that, but the vampires who remained in Makai were under heavy watch.

However, there was another added thing in Cryas Darkstalkers. Belial cursed Demitri that so long as he lived, Demitri's power would always never be able to reach its full potential no matter how blood he consumed. Not only that, but he couldn't pass through the Gate to return to Makai.

With no knowledge of the curse, Demitri's time on Earth is spent trying to feebly regain his power and more to once again rechallenge Belial. However, he does seek to try and make a base of operation on Earth.

Despite not being at his full power, he still proves to be quite a powerful creature of the night.

His hatred of Belial extends to Morrigan. In essence, those who bear the family name of Aensland are his mortal enemies and must be crushed under his heel so he can take the throne and power of the ruler of Makai.

He does still have his harem of women. They are Patricia, Elizabeth, Francoise and Angelica. They are the ones that he gives the best treatment to in regard to their duties him compared to all his 'loyal' subjects.

His clothing is gonna be changed. Despite my desire to make fun of Demitri and see him as this dumb onion head, I will take him seriously enough in my mythos. Thus, no skintight clothing. It was and still is stupid looking.

Despite being a Makain by birth, I will likely try to design him with some sense of coding to a region on Earth. For exactly where, I still need to think about that.

While he does speak in a way to give a sense of regality to his mannerisms, he is not above going more brutish and animalistic in his tone when the time calls for it.

Zabel Zarock:

His birth year will be completely different to better match the idea of when he rose to stardom as a metal musician. For now, a current year of 1968 is in mind.

He is born in Australia, but this time will have an accent and speech mannerism to match that along with his cultural love of metal.

He becomes a zombie at a relatively young age, in his early 20s.

Despite the short time span of becoming a zombie, he amasses power at an unbelievable rate.

He begrudgingly works under Ozom, with Le Malta being Ozom's middleman to insure Zabel upholds his end of the bargain.

Despite Le Malta's initial role, he actually grows to have a good friendly, brother like relation to Zabel. Zabel does treat him like he would anybody else but does grow to like his company.

Lord Raptor was his stage name when he performed. He still goes by that name a lot during his concerts as a zombie and when out killing for souls. Only a few people are aware of his real name of Zabel Zarock.

NO, he and Hsien-Ko are not a couple in this mythos. However, I would like to give an idea of what I plan. This next bullet point will be longer, but I need to stress this very badly.

Upon his first encounter with the sisters in the brush of Australia, he merely saw Hsien-Ko as just another jobber out to kill him. A buzzkill basically. Despite being stronger than her, something about her willingness to keep fighting despite being badly injured and losing sparked something in his heart and mind. Her ferocious fighting spirit lit a flame in him that made him respect her and even grow to find this sheila as quite the catch. He would throw the battle to let her 'win' and eventually make his escape after teasing her with his honest answer as to why he allowed her to live and win. I want to explore the idea of his crush on Hsien-Ko being built on his respect for her after that first encounter. While the sisters clearly would want him dead since he is a murderous menace, the dude proves to be too slippery to fully kill. If anything, he basically likes to annoy her when he can come across Hsien-Ko. Not only to see her react but catch more glimpses of her.

Zabel is basically a chaotic antagonist. While he generally is a terrible individual, he is quite the goober with how he just lives by his own rules. However, there will be times where he does lend a hand to Hsien-Ko based on the circumstances. It is not often but does occur.

After his first encounter with the Shao sisters, he has no intention to harm or kill Hsien-Ko. By proxy, this is the same for Mei-Ling, but only because she is related to Hsien-Ko.

He wants to gain enough power to kill Ozom so he can be free from him and just go about living his undead life his own way. He does hope that maybe in time, perhaps he could even somehow get his sheila to aid him in killing Ozom.

Sasquatch:

His father is the leader of their tribe and is known as Tundra.

Their tribe is located in the artic regions of northern Canada.

The Bigfoot race once lived in Makai, but eventually left via a gate that no longer is active. The original location of the gate that brought their ancestors to this land is regarded as a sacred place and holds major cultural significance.

I am still uncertain how big of a character and role he will play in the overall mythos, but the sisters do encounter him and the Bigfoot during their travels through the North American continent.

Rikuo:

I'll be honest, I don't really have anything in mind. He will get a redesign and his people will live near the region of Brazil. But overall, the merkin and Rikuo play no major role. Just will do things to build the world and stuff.

Oh, I guess I will refer to his race as Merkin. I could say Merfolk, but I already refer to Felicia's race as Catfolk. So, want to spread things out with my vernacular.

Anakaris:

Same as Rikuo, but I do at least have a story event in mind with him. But again, he is a minor character in the grand scheme of things.

Likely, time travel will be eliminated from his lore since I do not want to deal with such story elements. But still, Anakaris will be quite the powerful pharaoh.

And yes, he still has commandments.

Okay, I think I will stop here for now. Just give you a taste of lore cast bits. I'll give some more at a later date. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to elaborate. 😉

[5ummit]

Sorry if you’ve already answered this but what is tsumification? In the 400 kinks post you mentioned it and Google is not helpful

Oh boy… where do I even begin. You might regret asking so apologies in advance for bestowing you with this knowledge.

First, I'll start by reiterating that I originally made this list for and with the help of my friend group, so it includes a few terms that are more relevant to my circle, this one most of all. Tsumification is very niche and almost exclusively in found in Marvel fandom, particularly winterbaron fandom where it really took off for a period of time (long story), so it's not surprising you've never heard of it and can't find much information.

Next, you need to know what a tsum tsum is.

A tsum tsum is a type of bean-shaped, Disney-brand plushie with the features of Disney characters. Well they originally started out as just plushies, but there's also figurines, a mobile game, and even a comic among other things. They look kinda like this (some versions also have little arms and legs):

So what's tsumification? This is the point where I break out the warnings and where you might not want to proceed if you like tsum tsums and want to continue innocently enjoying them.

[CW: body horror, monster fucking (sort of), and mentions of noncon]

In case you haven't guessed, tsumification is when characters (usually Marvel) are turned into sentient tsum tsums (sometimes against their will but not always) OR when tsum tsum versions of those characters are just inexplicably sentient. While many fics/art in this genre are fluffy and cute, there's also a significant portion that are… less PG. These works either involve these fleshy blobs fucking each other, or more often, human characters fucking the tsums. And since tsums are much smaller and more helpless than humans, they're essentially sentient cock sleeves/sex toys. Sometimes the tsums are into it, sometimes they're not.

All of this is very much Not My Cup Of Tea but to each their own. YKINMKATO etc.

As mentioned before, tsumification is very niche, but it is actually popular enough to have it's own searchable metatags on AO3, which you can check out here if you're feeling adventurous and want to know more: Marvel Tsum Tsum and Tsum Tsums (Marvel). Have fun but beware. Never consume something with a kink you're not fully prepared to acquire. You have been warned.

Notes about the AO3 tags:

The first tag is supposedly a parent tag of the other but there are way more fics in the child tag for some reason (65 vs 150). Not sure how that's possible.

The works in these tags aren't exclusively tsumification fic. A few include actual non-sentient tsum tsum plushies.

Despite "Marvel" being in the tag names there are a few tsumfics from other unrelated fandoms sprinkled in too, because I guess tsums aren't found outside Marvel fandom enough to make it a general tag.

As you can tell, tagging for tsumfic is very inconsistent so I'm sure the tags I provided don't include all of them.

[kyndaris]

Heal the World

Despite being nominated for several categories at the 2023 The Game Awards, Spider-Man 2 did not manage to win any of the prestigious trophies. A fact that has been both lambasted and poked fun of on the internet. But when you consider the sheer quantity, as well as the quality, of games that came out, the fact Spider-Man 2 was even nominated is proof of its greatness. Especially when it was going up against heavy-weights Baldur's Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, Final Fantasy XVI, Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros: Wonder.

2023, it should be noted, was a game of big releases.

Following on from several strategy role-playing games I was stuck playing, it was only in the latter half of the year I was able to play catch-up on many of the triple-A titles. Even now, though, I have yet to tackle Final Fantasy XVI, Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2.

To be fair, I've bought all the titles. They are, unfortunately, just sitting around waiting for me to devote the necessary time to make the adventure worthwhile.

Once I do, of course, be sure to see posts pop up throughout the year. Even as I try to balance work, my writing hobbies, the books I read, shows I watch (at time of writing, I've gotten into Blue Eye Samurai), and whatever travel I also have planned. In fact, I should hopefully be publishing the sequel to Wild Child soon. After pounding out the chapters during a period where everything has gone back to normal, taking the time out to write a full-length novel is very time-consuming. Not to mention the editing I'm doing (which would probably be better if I had an actual editor and at least one beta reader) to polish up a few things.

In any case, the story of my journey with Spider-Man 2 began not when I popped the disc into my PlayStation 5. Nay, the story begins with the day I purchased the game at a store in the heart of Sydney CBD. I was catching up with a high school friend and had just seen a Facebook post about an exhibit in Barangaroo. After dinner, off we trotted - after much convincing on my part that a walk down to Barangaroo would be for the best - to take in the flipped truck suspended by spider webs and New York policemen milling about telling everyone within earshot that, "There was nothing to see here." The trip, capped off with a photo of the truck, was made memorable when I muttered under my breath how the hired actors were pretending to be NPCs. Only, of course, to be remonstrated by my friend for saying such a thing.

And honestly, it it is true that I shouldn't be calling the people I see only in passing as NPCs. After all, in their own mind, they're the main character and I'm the NPC lurking in the background of their story. Which only serves to drive home the disconnection we have with the people around us or who might share the daily commute with us.

Still, what a thing to say to dismiss another person.

I'm reminded of a scene in the book Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, which my workplace bookclub read, where Sam called his best friend, Max, an NPC right to his face. I know Max didn't take it to heart but what a cruel and heartless thing to say to someone who has supported you throughout your game developing journey and is then ruthlessly gunned down on the pretense he was you by angry gamers.

Anyways, back to Spider-Man 2. The game follows on from Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Ten months on from the last game, we see Peter Parker and Miles Morales working together to keep New York safe. And though the Avengers seem to exist in the world - what with Avenger Tower jutting up above the New York skyline - we never see these other superheroes once during the struggles Peter and Miles face. Nor do we see cameos from the likes of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist or Luke Cage.

Which is such a shame.

But it also highlights the problem of having so many comic-book superheroes call New York home.

Spider-Man 2 starts with Peter taking on a job as a physics teacher at Brooklyn Visions, the school Miles attends. As he's teaching them about surface tension, Sandman attacks. Torn between his responsibilities as civilian Peter and that of Spider-Man, Peter joins up with Miles to take down Flint Marko in an epic showdown that saves the city. Unfortunately, due to dereliction of duty as a teacher, Peter is fired. A side-effect of being a superhero who keeps his identity hidden (although given how often his friends have since said his name during the game, I'm surprised it's still a secret).

From there, the game introduces us to Kraven, a man who seeks his death in glorious combat with a mighty opponent. As such, he captures Mister Negative and Scorpion while the two were being transported from the Raft. He even administers a high dose of Lizard serum into Dr Curt Connors to face up against a worthwhile opponent.

It is only when Peter acquires the symbiote that excitement enters Kraven's eyes. In the latter chapters, he fights against Peter and demands that our erstwhile hero stop holding back even showing off a battered Miles. Before Peter can kill him, Miles intervenes and Peter is then freed from the symbiote's control.

Of course, Spider-Man 2 is not content to have Kraven as the big bad for this game. Oh no.

As many know, once you've introduced the symbiote, you've also introduced Venom. But instead of Eddie Brock taking on the mantle of our favourite anti-hero, it is instead Harry Osborn.

Though Harry was only mentioned briefly in the first game, in Spider-Man 2, Harry returns from a long sabbatical in Europe and supposedly cured from his terminal illness. Harry is introduced early, hiring Peter to work at his environmental technology startup called the Emily-May foundation where the pair can pursue their childhood dream of "healing the world." Unfortunately, during the events of Spider-Man 2, with Peter taking on the symbiote, Harry's health - both physical and mental - deteriorates. Desperate to return to a semblance of normality, Harry reclaims the symbiote and is then transformed into the Venom we all know and love.

He is later stopped by the combined efforts of Miles, Peter and MJ. The final battle leaves Harry comatose and our heroes shattered once again by the sacrifices they had to make in order to save the city they call home.

What I liked most about Spider-Man 2, however, as a criminology major in university, was its focus on rehabilitation. Many of the supervillains that Spider-Man fans have come to know and love have been reformed in some way or another. Be that Tombstone to Mysterio. Many of these villains have chosen to turn over a new leaf and assimilate back into society. The most tragic and most human is the story of Sandman. Threatened by Kraven's hunters, fearing for his daughter and not being heard by those in power, he resorts to the only thing he knows in order to garner attention: attacking the city.

It is a tale as old as time.

And helps support the tenets of strain theory in crime sociology.

Of course, there are a myriad reasons why people turn to crime.

But these glimpses are so important to understand the complexities of why someone might resort to doing something illegal. And it's a far better exploration of redemption than what Spider-Man: No Way Home attempted. As I've stated before, change takes time. While No Way Home plucked our villains during their final showdown with the various Spider-Man across the multiverse, Spider-Man 2 shows the results of Mysterio and Sandman having served their time and seeking to mend their ways.

This all culminates in the interactions with Mister Negative and Miles Morales. And while Miles cannot bring himself to forgive what Mister Negative did, he is able to move past the anger.

The other message in Spider-Man 2, of course, is that some burdens cannot be taken on alone. The tagline for the game is: 'Be Greater. Together.' Something I wish more people would take to heart. When a community comes together, there is so much more that can be done. Unfortunately, the Western world prefers to champion individualistic effort over those of a collective.

Capitalism seems to forget that if you don't have your workers or people who can afford to purchase your goods, then what's the whole point? And if you're curious where this odd segue came from, I'm currently playing through Octopath Traveler 2 and Partitio's story is very much of a big-hearted merchant who looks out for his town. His dream, funnily enough, is to destroy the devil known as poverty. Something our modern world still has not been able to solve (but could. If there was any profit to it. But who are we kidding? There isn't.)

From a combat perspective, Spider-Man 2 changes things up a little by introducing a parry mechanism as well as a few other new abilities for the Spider-Men to enjoy. While this kept the game lively, it annoyed me that I needed a full Focus bar in order to heal. This was especially difficult in the latter boss battles against Scream and Venom. I'm not sure if the reason why I struggled through them was because I hadn't topped up my Focus bars prior to the mission or if it was simply me not gelling with Peter's abilities.

What I do know was that I hated how the attack you couldn't dodge, but had to parry, was highlighted in red and that the unblockable attack was blue. Especially when the game had trained you early on with managing a perfect dodge when the spider sense was red. It also didn't help that in the battles with Scream and Venom, these indicators didn't last for very long and I couldn't cancel an animation if I was already mid-dodge to parry an attack.

At least the checkpointing was generous!

As for other gameplay moments, I had to say the swinging was smooth as butter and the web wings added some great diversity to travel. Especially with the wind tunnels all around the city to help one get from Point A to Point B.

And because of these quality-of-life improvements, I didn't feel like the new map, which now included Queens and Brooklyn, was that much larger than the original Spider-Man game or as time-consuming to get through like a map in the open-world Assassin's Creed titles.

So, while Spider-Man 2 didn't win at The Game Awards, it certainly won my heart as the second last game I played in the year 2023. And I'm certainly excited to see what Insomniac cooks up next, despite the hack. The studio is great at nailing story, gameplay and world while serving up side-dishes of heart. Best of all, it didn't have me chasing after pigeons!

In a year teeming with big titles, Spider-Man 2 was everything I wanted in an open-world game without overstaying its welcome.

Thank you Insomniac and here's hoping Spider-Man 3 brings on the Green Goblin in all his glory! Oh, and Silk. I'm curious to how they'll insert that comic storyline into the game.

[bookwyrminspiration]

okay and general reactions bc i wrote them in my notes app when i remembered to. me going "OLA ESCAPED????" was quickly followed by "OLA DIED??????" and then ten minutes of quietly sobbing as kihrin said "i lost. you all won." etc etc and THEN (when kihrin was in hell w janel) "diversity win! the giant all consuming demon that traumatized you when you were fifteen transcends gender!" followed by me getting SOOO enraptured in this book. was whisper screaming and going "OHHHH" like a high schooler watching a fight which progressively got louder until kihrin's hand closed around the handle of urthaenriel and then i had to put down the book and fucking. WHEEZE. my bad dude just uh pulled the magic sword you've been planning to steal for decades out of the fucking ground. what's up.

but ALSO also ALSO. the characters are so DISTINCT. im already staring at janel like what is up with you what HAPPENED with the demons why do you roam hell at night and why do people think you're something holy. but also just in general the entire first book cast.... teraeth and khaemezra (DEATH????) and thurvishar (<- help. am i spelling that one right) and jarith and therin and miya-khaeriel.... like they're so memorable and so much fun i haven't read a book with such solid characters in SUCH a huge worldspace in so so long. and then kihrin's humor which is like so intrinsic to a main character obviously they're going to be funny but it makes you laugh at such INOPPORTUNE TIMES. when talon healed from the crossbow and kihrin just stared at her and was like "I just want you to know this has been a really bad day." him going "AHAHAHAHA. THIS ISN'T A PROPHECY THIS IS JUST PEDRON BRAGGING THAT HE GETS AROUND." the long pause after darzin came in swinging after talon-as-alshena and kihrin did a thing. etc etc. the humor & the tone etc reminds me vaguely of Saga by. oh no i can't remember the author. brian vaughn i think? which is an ongoing series of comics about a kid named hazel who is the child of a winged lady and a guy with horns who were on opposite sides of a war & were then forced to become Parents and On the Run, and there are TV heads and stuff, it is very fun despite (waves my hand in its general direction) weirdness

Sorya you don't understand this is all I have ever wanted in life, someone to scream about this series with <- said as if I'm not in a discord for that specific purpose. It's SO fun to share this experience with someone

But you're so right! The way this series is you have very little clue who is going to be important and stay important, so when Surdyeh, father figure I figured would stay around a while, died at the very beginning and then Ola died at the end? It was just a well guess they're not that important after all kind of moment. Had to kill Surdyeh to replace him with Darzin and then kill Darzin to replace him with Therin. Kihrin is burning through these father figures damn.

And yes!! The ending of book 1 KILLS me, he lost. They all won. Things go so so incredibly south. And yet the story goes on, it's not over yet; you don't get to walk away.

DIVERSITY WIN!! Seriously though there are quite a handful of diversity wins like that in this series, which I highly appreciate. Is it perfect? Of course not, but DAMN do I appreciate that Lyons wasn't afraid to fuck around

Also imagine being Gadrith in that moment?? I am undead and have spent longer than you can imagine scouring the world for this once specific sword that you happened to grab on accident. from the middle of the city I live in. I think I'd lose my shit. Well, he kinda did actually

YEAH!! The cast is huge but no one bleeds into each other, there's a full range of beliefs and morals and opinions and personalities and backgrounds and it's SO impressive. Just so you know you will get to spend a lot of time with Janel though, so that's something to look forward to. I adore her with every fiber of my being. She could kill me without a second thought, and that's not just me saying that because I like her. She genuinely could absolutely decimate me in a variety of ways. And if you think the distinct characters are impressive now, just you wait because Lyons practically doubles if not triples the cast and!! they are all!! still!! so distinct from each other!!

And Kihrin is such a little shit and it's so endearing. Not in a "I'm not taking anything seriously and lets fuck around way" but in a "god fucking dammit I have no choice but to do all this shit, might as well try and have fun while I'm at it." Maybe it's a little cliche for a main character to be so so silly, but it's Kihrin and I'd forgive him of any and all sins.

I have never heard of Saga before, but perhaps I'll check it out! I am thrilled that you are enjoying this series btw, cannot express that enough. i refuse to shut up about it ever

[belltrigger]

Oh for the character bingo heheh so. Picking feferi because its funny XD. And then Karamatsu and then Emmet!

Aha! Thanks for asking! ♪(´▽｀)

*-Feferi-*

So Feferi huh? With Feferi I am torn! I was not interested in her during the run of the comic, and her connection to HIC (and *her* treatment of The Ψiioniic) kind of made me distrust her. That being said, I do think the general fandom is rather mean towards her. Saying she's boring is kind of lackluster to me; there's a lot to her, a lot of things that happen as a result of (or lack of) her actions. Blaming her entirely for Eridan's outburst is pretty unfair, I think. I've never been a big fan of the "man going berserk because a woman spurned him, so it's her fault" trope.

I do like her design, though! She does need a bit of a bite for being the "fancy free princess" type. Haha

*-Karamatsu-*

I didn't start out with Karamatsu as my favorite. I actually went in expecting for Choromatsu to be my favorite (because of Hiroshi Kamiya ehe. I was on a big kick for him at the time.) But this poor cringefail lad who seemed to actually be trying his best won me over.

The other characters make fun of his outfits but. Uh. Other than having his face on it, I like his style a lot. (Sorry Totty, but your outfits are literally the worst. I hate them so much.)

Karamatsu is silly, and does his best, and I want him to be successful in whatever he wants to do. In fact! I want him to be able to do the things he likes while also having a healthy relationship with his brothers. He loves them a lot, even when he gets mad at them, or frustrated with them (or gets ignored by them （＞人＜；）

*-Emmet-*

(You may notice there is a faint circle around the SQUEAK square. I didn't fully circle it because it's not my intention to squish the poor lad, it just kind of happens.) Into the salad spinner he goes!!

As you can probably see from how Emmet and his brother have consumed my blog, I am completely normal about him :) I certainly don't think of head-canons and scenarios about him all the time!

Of course, despite me being really normal about him, Emmet is probably my favorite of the twins, if I *HAD* to say I preferred one over the other. He's funny and I like that he's always smiling! I love that he and Ingo are identical twins with matching black and white aesthetics, and are so angled! His relationship with Ingo being slightly different in each version of him is also so interesting!! They're close in all of them, but there are little changes that are so fun to explore.

I choose to think that Hisui's timeline is a completely separate universe, and therefore not the end goal for every version of Emmet and Ingo. Some people seem to want other games (including remakes) to involve the fact that Ingo is lost in Hisui, but I would rather that not happen! Fandom is doing an excellent job experimenting with it, and having something canon that is tragic may just make me too sad (*╯^╰)

Oh yeah! I prefer to call him Kudari when I can! Nobori and Kudari just sound very matching to me, compared to Ingo and Emmet. It's a nice aethetic! But, when I switch between the Japanese names and the English names, it's easier for me to say Emmet than Ingo.

[llycaons]

palm tree + sage !!

hi dolly!

palm tree ⇢ do you have a fictional villain you shouldn’t like but love regardless?

let's see *checks my database of media real quick* eh the only character I can think of is xue yang, just because he's so unhinged. whx is a real treat to watch, and his scenes were just fantastic. he manages to be fun and amusing despite the truly horrific things he did. and if his performances wasn't enough, the sheer power of wearing cheetah-print robes in a wuxia setting sealed the deal. 10/10 presentation but I AM glad he's dead

sage ⇢ what ‘medium’ of art (poetry, music, fiction, paintings, statues etc.) is the most touching to you? why do you think that is?

oh, I love this question! when I was an edgy high schooler I used to joke that I hated art 😭 this was foolish and short-sighted obviously, I just meant that I don't really care for the types of paintings I would see in museums. obviously I appreciate visual arts like illustration and painting now for its aesthetic and the talent that goes into it, but I can't say it really touches me emotionally. same for most songs, poetry, music....I like sculptures more than most things, but still only in a way where I think it's cool and exciting and not in a way hat I feel like, the deeper meaning of what the artist is trying to say.

my most beloved, most meaningful, and most emotional connections to art has always primarily been through storytelling, whether through animation, comics, movies, tv shows...especially longform works where I can follow a character's trajectory and watch their development. I've seen some very condescending posts about people who treat fictional characters like real people who we like personally and who we believe deserve things, and maybe that means that I'm engaging with stories on a more juvenile level than the other people Consuming Art on here, but that's what fun about it, for me. so I don't really mind? yeah it's cool to step back and see something deeper and keep that distance and objectivity but a lot of the times I like rooting for my little guys and sharing their losses and their joys.

the creation of fictional lives and people gives me that emotional connection to really feel a piece of art. I've certainly never cried at any painting or piece of classical music no matter how beautiful it may be...I just find stories about people to be the richest, most rewarding, most endlessly fascinating type of art to be invested in. from the moment my librarian introduced me to fiction to get me to read something besides animal care booklets, to my current fascination with all the worst fanfic the internet has to offer, I just have the most to say about storytelling, and my engagement in it feels the most rewarding.

as for why....idk. I'm well aware this is the majority of how people interact with fiction on here, so my reasons are probably similar to lots of other people's. I've always struggled to communicate with others, so through fiction I feel like I'm getting that sense of connection, whether I'm discovering how other people perceive the world, or seeing myself in someone else's writing. there's also the escapist appeal, but I don't think I've watched this stuff for escapism in a long time. I just like to feel connected to other people, I guess, and I find that writing and tv and other forms of linear storytelling can deliver the types of character development and engaging plot that I find very rewarding. and sometimes I just want to watch or read something that makes me stand up and walk around like

and storytelling (manga in particular - I love you yu yu hakusho) has been the only form of art to give me that

what a fun question. thank you!

[huzzela]

Hi, after almost a decade, I finally caved. I now have the Order 1886 digital copy in my PS4. I had bought this console towards the end of its life cycle when it was like 150 bucks with your choice of two games (I chose Wolfenstein and Titanfall 2) and I feel like so much happened since the time the game, 1886, was released and the present. I'm by far not very skilled (nor have I gotten any better much), but I'm also indulging myself to grow just a little bit better which is nice.

Unsure how to say this exactly but I feel giddy as all hell. I don't like first person shooter games, and if I have the option not to use the mechanic, I won't (like in Prey 2017 where I can just straight up use a wrench to beat eldritch monstrosities into oblivion). The only FPS heavy game I would indulge in is Wolfenstein and Resident Evil but they're self indulgent and heals my inner child.

I feel like because of this reason, I am at the point where, the Order 1886 is now an aspect of my inner child. I was like 16 when it came out, but at this point in life, that's a part of my life where 16 is now a part of my inner child. So naturally, I'm going to get a copy of it. I'm going to have fun.

And I have been having fun, if not, struggling with the camera and its just CHRIST. It makes me nostalgic of old school style of shooters, had a Wolfenstein feel (like a blend of old school Castle Wolfenstein and reboot Wolfenstein), and the frigging camera is like Bloodborne (I need to wrestle with it and I cannot eye frame shit). The main player character felt like he could fit right in with Assassin's Creed (look me in the eye and tell me he isn't a blend of the main protag from ACI-III) and I'm just frigging giddy. I feel a child-like whimsy even when I feel so weighed down by so much in life right now.

I technically have so much to look forward to this week (a concert with a life-long friend, a group I share a hobby with, a loving support group, comics I wish to indulge in, and a literal video game that reminds me why I play video games in the first place). Despite all these great things, I am just not a happy camper when it comes to work and school. I'm just going through the motions, conserving what little energy I have in the first place, and it makes me want to be passive once more. Because passivity is safety, because if I am a mere consumer, all the variables are just so much more easier to control and it BOGGLES MY MIND how easy it is for me to revert back to this. Its insane!

So, I look forward to this game. Its my shining beacon as I say goodbye to yet another weekend where I feel like? I am not in control. I have no autonomy whatsoever, and some of the video games that had once brought me joy, now feels like I don't have that joy, and Order: 1886 just may be the much needed change in pace and scenary and mechanics that I so desperately need. And its just. So right.

I didn't even bother to wait for a sale. I'm just so desperate to have this experience and playing it for a few minutes is just the much needed break for me. Like I can thread through the waters once again, keep my head just above the water.

And I know others may not feel the same. I do not care. I am undergoing once more a turning point in my life and there is nothing I can do but make choices I will surely regret regardless of what I choose, and my one shining beacon for me BY MY CHOICE is this game everyone and their grandma wants to shit on. I do not care.

All I care about is my enjoyment. This is what I can control, and by damn, I will have it my way.

[homestuckdailyweekly]

Homestuck Daily Intro - Happy 4/13

So, I have a very very bad idea. You see, there's this web comic, called Homestuck. I never engaged with Homestuck when it was originally being made, I only read it years after the fact at the insistence of one of my exes. And, regrettably, I loved it. I tore through the entirety of Homestuck in an insomnia-fueled week long binge in February of 2020. It was, possibly, the 2nd worst way to consume Homestuck.

The worst possible way of consuming Homestuck, I think, is what I'm planning on doing for the next (7? 8? I can't do math) years: Homestuck Daily. Each day, I read whatever pages of Hhomestuck were published 15 years ago. I have scheduled out the first year of this project so I know when to stop reading each day. No matter how much I want to keep reading, I will follow along the comic as if I was a fan following along from the very beginning. What do I hope to gain from this? Absolutely nothing, I am doing this on a whim and there's a good chance I give up in a week. But, there's also a chance I keep up with it all the way to the very end. This project has the potential to be the longest-lasting aspect of my entire adult life. Which brings me to this blog. I want to document my own journey, and despite having never used it before, I am choosing tumblr to shout that documentation out into the void. Despite evidence to the contrary, I do live a somewhat busy life, so I can't promise updates every day, but I'll be aiming for once a week. Then again, I suspect nobody but me will ever read this. If I am wrong and somebody has chosen to read a random stranger read Homestuck as if it was being released live, I have one thing to say: Surely there's a better use of your time.

For some simple book keeping in this First Post, a few facts about how I will be beginning this terrible journey: I will be reading through the Unofficial Homestuck Collection. I will be using the TUHC Time Machine mod to keep myself honest and have to wait for new pages to unlock. Although they'll be anachronistic, I will also be using The Homestuck Commentaries Mod because I've never read them before.

Also, fun fact, apparently there's a mod that lets you play DOOM through the Homestuck Unofficial Collection.

-eV

[fatal-error-blog]

FATAL_ERROR COMIC AND CONTENT WILL RETURN JANUARY 2022!

TL;DR at the end~ Hey folks! I’m so sorry I’ve been absent from the blog and from the discord for such a long time. I mentioned that I was taking a break back in…oh geez, May? And that break has gone on for much longer than I expected XD Long story short, I am very okay! This has just been an exceptionally busy year, and I’ve had to rearrange my priorities a bit to navigate it all.

To be absolutely honest, I’ve just been burnt out. Not from just the comic, but from a lot of things outside the blog. And if you’ve ever been burnt out, then you know that it kinda doesn’t matter how passionate or excited you are to work on your projects - you just keep hitting a wall that doesn’t really let you progress. Unfortunately I hit that wall, haha. So I’ve been taking the time to recover from it. Legitimately, this blog post took several weeks longer than I wanted it to, just because I was trying to gather enough will to draw a cute little drawing to go along with it. Eventually I figured that it needed to go up without it.

It sucks to have to admit that I needed to step away from the comic, the blog, and the discord. It’s hard to admit to myself that I was having a hard time balancing everything and that despite being excited about where the comic was headed, I just physically and mentally had to take a break. It feels really bad to have a lot of fun ideas about what I want next for the story, for all the side comics and the graphic novel and just not be able to act on them because something within me is just tired and needs a minute before continuing. It sucks to disappoint everyone who’s come to love this story and is also just as excited to see what happens next.

I think deep down I’ve always been scared that I’d give up on the Fatal_Error comic, which is why I was hesitant to step away from it to take care of other things that had to be taken care of. But I think I know now that completing this story is so important to me that I could never give up on it. But I do know that I need to give myself time to get some other things in my life in order, so that I can get through the block and come back to the comic ready to keep moving forward. So I hope you’ll be patient with me and rejoin me when the comic starts back up in January 2022. I don’t want to bore ya’ll with details, but probably the biggest thing I’ve got going on outside of this blog is trying to advance my career. I work in game development (QA Tester, been that way for a few years) and I’m more than ready to move up in the development pipeline. So I’ve been dedicating a lot lot lot of my time trying to work on those skills and apply for jobs. It’s very time consuming, haha. And mentally taxing. So I’ve been using this time (and I’ll be using the rest of the year) to work on some indie projects, beef up my portfolio, and hopefully get hired for a better job than I have now. I can’t express how much that’s gonna relieve a lot of stress for me, and less stress = more energy to spend on the Fatal_Error comic.

I do still plan to stream working on these projects, it’s (probably) not gonna involve Fatal haha but there is a lot of art involved and me bumbling around trying to program which should be entertaining to some extent, so if that’s something you’re interested in I’ll mention whenever I’m planning on streaming and you’re more than welcome to pop in and see what all the fuss is about.

As for discord, I’m never really far ^_^ I keep discord open all the time, and even if I don’t post or do much in the discord, I’m always nearby to check in and available to talk if ya’ll need me. I’ll try to be more involved though <3

I think that’s the major stuff? I really am looking forward to hopping back into Fatal’s story once things calm down on my end. It’s been a really wonderful source of comfort and expression for me and I love where the story is going, and I love getting to share it with ya’ll. I’m sorry for making you all wait so long for what comes next, but as always, I sincerely hope that once we get there, it’ll be worth the wait. Thank you for your patience, your kindness, and your enthusiasm. I’ll be around (and catching up on the inbox, messages, etc haha), but in terms of the comic, I’ll see ya’ll in January 2022 <3

Stay determined! I know I will be ^_^ <3 Xedra

TL;DR:

Is the comic over?/Is the blog dead? Nope! Just on pause until January 2022. What about the volume 2 of the graphic novel? Also on pause! I’m hoping to open preorders in March/April 2022. Are you okay? Yup! Thank you for asking, and I’m sorry for making you worry. What are you going to be doing in the meantime? I’m going to be working on some game development projects. I’m working on applying for jobs and I need stuff for my portfolio, and I also want to make sure I have something to do after Fatal_Error is finished ^_^ Are you still gonna stream? Yup! It’ll probably be non-Fatal_Error stuff but you’re more than welcome to watch me work! I’ll make a post about it when I have the times and stuff sorted out. Are you gonna be back on discord? Slowly, but yup. I’ll kinda chill in the background if you need me. You gonna play Deltarune Chapter 2? HEcK YEAH MY DUDE