#this little comic thing isn't particularly gay but

[determunition]

last week i posted my oneshot for scrybruary week 2! the theme for that week was backstory/first meeting, so i wrote up the first meeting between two of my swap scrybes! You can read it right here: Link

On a Cable-Covered Peak is a oneshot featuring my Magicks!P03 and Tech!Magnificus getting acquainted with each other: Under a blue moon…P03, a mox-powered alchemist looking to be acquainted with his contemporaries, is journeying north to meet the particularly reclusive Scrybe of Technology, Magnificus. When the weather is a bit harsher on P03's hardware than anticipated, he must rely on Magnificus to restore his circuitry…and finds himself quite a bit more endeared to the sleep-deprived bundle of wires than he anticipated.

hope you all enjoy reading if you haven't already! ^^

[meanbossart]

DU drow asks time

Lore questions/sweet messages/stuff that made me laugh that's about DU drow specifically that I decided to compile in a single post!

First of all, "outraged to be used as a medium for old man gay divorce" is a hysterical sentence LOL

As for his thoughts on the Ansur debacle? Negative ones. He hates the emperor, he doesn't care about his third-time-twist real identity, he doesn't particularly care about Wyll either (well - he kind of finds him entertaining, he's kind of really frustrated by him, it's complicated) but he saved his dad on a whim to spite Mizora anyway. BUT HEY, all that trouble would have been worthwhile if he's about to get an ancient dragon fighting alongside him - this old duke sounds a little too confident in this fairy tale, but stranger things have happened, right?

Then the situation unfolds as it does, and if he wasn't eager enough to use that orphic hammer before, he certainly is now. There is very little that the Emperor does past Act 3 that DU drow doesn't find a way to twist into something that confirms his resolve against him. If he could have taken Ansur's side in that fight, he would have - not that he shed any tears over killing him either.

Sick sword though, that helped soothe his nerves a bit and I'm sure spared everyone a little bit of a tantrum at camp later.

HAHAHAHA I can't confirm nor deny because I see so few large body-type elves as it is (which is fair, elves aren't usually... That massive). I did set age to 50% because it does look a little weird when it's all smooth. Maybe that's the trick?

Though I guess if you find it unsettling, then... No wonder it suits him! however this just looks like an impressively handsome fella to me, to be honest. I insist on fucking him up further whenever I draw him for that reason.

Thank you so much for following along and for giving the fic a try!!! And no worries, english isn't my native tongue either so I've been there 😎👍

I do actually have a couple of very short comics planned that take place pre-tadpole, but my backlog of WIPs is... Massive. Not to mention the commission work I do (currently not taking any more). I have one that's about his first interaction with Orin and another about a business dinner with Gortash gone-wrong, but I have no clue when I'll be able to work on them. Hopefully soon though!

You know, I've always hoped that after I died I'd be remembered as the guy who inspired others to make their nipples card-swipe-able.

Joke's aside, thank you LOL I love that my guys' nips have taken up non-insignificant room in your mind, it's always comforting to know that you aren't the only one.

Piercings and the such aren't really his style though. While he finds his scar-work weirdly comforting, he isn't so interested in aesthetic results as much as he just enjoys having pain inflicted upon him in a controlled environment, by people that he loves - He doesn't recall this post-tadpole, but the scars were a result of a kind of... Recurring ritual between himself and Orin that served to replace normal intimacy, pretty much.

Since you touched on it though, I do like to believe that Astarion finds his cut-up body fun, both on the eyes and on the hands LOL.

I'm starting to think you guys are all in on this. It's like the fifth time someone catches me in the act - god damn it, is it that obvious that I wanna slide down Peter Steele's cold corpse like he's a a ride at the Magical Ice kingdom... Which is to say, yes, both the guy and his music are not-so-lowkey a big inspiration behind a lot of DU drow's characterization!

That's all for now folks, thank you so much for the asks!!! This isn't all of them but I try not to spam people's feeds when I can help it/space them out. I see all of your messages and I guarantee you that if I have an interesting answer for them, you will see a reply eventually!

[ereawrites]

Book Club (Kakashi Hatake)

Prologue - The Ambush

Kakashi sure as hell isn't going to flirt. Good thing you've got sleep-deprived courage (and Gai) at your back.

cw: alcohol use

word count 1.9k (chapter 1/9)

read it on ao3 here

"Maa, Asuma, did you forget to invite Kakashi again?", you scold, scanning the room for a flicker of silver hair even though you know you won't find it. All you see is Genma at the bar, buying a drink for a woman you're pretty sure is different to the one he was flirting with fifteen minutes ago.

"No. He just didn't want to come.", Asuma states this in a tone that suggests a lack of surprise, even as Gai slumps in his seat with disappointment. Kakashi has never been much for getting together with your old academy class, even when alcohol is involved. Asuma shoots you a sideways glance over his drink. "Although I'm sure that would have changed if I'd told him you'd be here."

"Huh?"

"Come on-", he takes another sip of sake and scoffs, not unkindly. "You've noticed how strange he acts around you."

You also take a swig of your drink, intrigued but not quite sober enough to really think about his words. "It's Kakashi. Isn't he strange all the time?"

Asuma laughs loudly - Kurenai looks at him from all the way across the room, you notice, you'll have to corner her in the bathroom later on - and claps a hand onto your shoulder. "Alright, I won't spoil it for you." He's smiling at you like the cat that's got the cream. You don't like it one bit.

"Asumaaaaaaa, don't be like that!", you complain, shrugging his hand off your shoulder and trying to fix him with a stern glare. When he returns it, you crumble - you're glad you didn't have him as a sensei back in your genin days. Besides, Asuma is too loyal to Kakashi, and not much for gossip. But-

"Gai! You know what he's talking about, don't you?!". You point an accusatory finger across the table at Gai, who has already won three separate drinking contests and has the flush to prove it. It's comical how hard he tries to avoid your gaze.

One more drinking contest later, he's yours. Asuma sighs as Gai begins his usual speech.

"My eternal rival Kakashi feels very strongly about me! Our rivalry is intensely passionate, in fact, it is unmatched! But, because our hearts are so inexplicably connected-", Gai lurches to his feet here, eyes shining with tears, "-I can sense that Kakashi feels almost as passionately about you!"

Huh? That can't be right, can it? You take a deep drink and barely even wince; then you look at Asuma, who surely can put the story straight. It's probably more like you've accidentally offended Kakashi, and inadvertently sucked yourself into a weird eternal-rival-threeway. Maybe one of his ninken likes you more than him. Yes, that'll be it. Pakkun was particularly taken with you that time you had to swing by Kakashi's apartment to deliver a message.   Asuma looks somewhat defeated, but also a little pleased. "Oh, yeah. He's got it bad for you. Remember how he disappeared from your birthday party?" You'd assumed Kakashi had just got bored and went home to nap. He'd barely even said hello to you that night. "Genma got him pretty drunk and we managed to get it out of him. Then I got him more drunk, and he fell out the chair when he tried to get up and wish you a happy birthday."

"And I carried him home in my arms.", Gai sniffles, clasping your hand tightly. "And he opened his soul to me and cried freely from the power of his love!"

"No he didn't.", you deadpan.

"No-", he concedes. "But I know he wanted to!"

This is not how you expected the evening to go. Part of you doesn't quite believe them - then again, Asuma isn't the type to stir the pot and he knows Kakashi well - and you've heard enough of Gai's power of love speeches to know how serious he is about the topic. Thank God Kakashi isn't here tonight, or you might combust.

"He's going to bolt if I tell him I like him, isn't he?" Both of your friends nod gravely. One thing you remember very well from the academy is that Kakashi loves to brood: you need to let him stew in his feelings until he can't ignore them anymore, or you'll just scare him off. It only takes you and Gai two more drinks to come up with a brilliant idea - why not give him a little push in the right direction?

~

Ah. There he is.

He's running late - again - to meet Gai. You're not sure why Gai doesn't just start scheduling their weekly training sessions for the afternoon, instead of an ungodly time in the morning. You don't remember ever seeing Kakashi out before noon of his own volition. Then again, you don't remember Kakashi being on time for anything either. You briefly imagine Gai trying to fit in 1000 pushups before his eternal rival arrives at the training ground. 

Oh, well. He's already late. Might as well commit to it.

Clearly, Kakashi is unbothered by the thought of neglecting his poor, dedicated rival. In fact, he isn't even looking where he's walking - and why would he? The wide street down to the yard is always empty at this time, because any sensible shinobi is in bed, asleep, and staying out of trouble. He doesn't notice you perched up on the rooftop of the ramen shop even when he walks right in front of it. You grin a little to yourself: you really are quite good at masking your chakra. You're so confident in your abilities that you even lean over the edge of the roof to get a proper look at the book he's buried his nose in. 

It takes everything in you not to gasp out loud with glee. You'd recognise Jiraiya's preposterous illustrations anywhere.

This makes everything so much easier.

There's a little side alley a short way up, that weaves between shinobi apartments before coming out onto the boulevard right by the weapons store. Kakashi is wandering along at the leisurely pace of a man with nowhere to be, so it isn't much of a rush to reach it, but you're still a little breathless with anticipation. He's chuckling quietly at his book when you dash out the alley, swing a left, and crash square into his chest. Right as you do, you unmask your chakra, allowing it to just brush against his in a faux expression of surprise. He recognises your chakra, you can feel it, how his own energy reflexively gives way to yours. Kakashi doesn't stagger at all and you pretty much bounce right off him, but you do hear the snap of his book closing swiftly.

"Woah! I'm so sorry, I'm in such a rush to-", you exclaim, with what you think is a pretty good attempt at shock, as you right yourself and look him in the eye. "Oh. Hey, Kakashi!"

He blinks, then greets you in return. "You should be more careful. There's no need to be in such a rush all the time."

Your heart flutters a little bit at the implication that he pays such close attention to the chaotic pace you live life at.  If you aren't careful, you're going to be the one leaving this encounter flustered. So you laugh it off, and pretend to readjust your flak jacket. "I do rush, don't I? It's just, I've been up all night pretending to be a particularly noisy owl outside one of my genin's window, and honestly I'm just desperate to go home and sleep."  This is true - Haruki called you old for needing a nap yesterday, the little shit.

Kakashi doesn't even question why you've decided to torture one of your students. "I prefer to make monster noises outside Naruto's door when I'm aiming for sleep deprivation."

The one eye you can see crinkles slightly at the corner when you laugh. Otherwise, he doesn't react, so you decide to store away the image of him growling with his face pressed up against a dingy apartment door for a time when you need cheering up. Instead, you decide to set your plan into action. You're going to lose your nerve if you don't get a move on. 

"Are you going to train with Gai?", you ask, as if you don't already know. Kakashi hums nonchalantly, switches his book to the other hand, and leans his weight against the wall of the store. You inch forward just a little as you continue, "We should get together someday soon too."

Kakashi's eye widens slightly. "Hm - to train, oh -", and you're so glad he has a dirty mind, because the thought of flustering him has your courage building by the second.

Finally, you allow your eyes to flicker down to his Icha Icha novel - he's carrying the discreet cover version, rather than the much more lewd one you've seen in the bookshop underneath your apartment. The plain binding makes it easy to see how well-thumbed the book really is. Flashing him your loveliest smile, you move in for the kill. "Say, Kakashi, what are you reading? It must be quite a book for you to be so engrossed so early in the morning."

It's hard not to almost, almost, feel bad for him as his whole body tenses up. "It's, ah... well... it's...",  Kakashi pauses, clears his throat, and then clears it again. You give him an encouraging mhm as his knuckles turn white against the cover.  "...An action novel." He finishes, his voice strained.

"Well, I've been looking for a new book to read in my downtime. Would you mind if I borrow it once you're finished?", you ask. You're starting to grin a bit too much as you speak, but hopefully you're managing to pass it off as just being happy to talk to him - to be honest, you smile at Kakashi far too much even when you aren't torturing him.

He's starting to slide down the wall just a little as his knees weaken."You want to read it?"

"If that's okay with you. It would be interesting to see what you like," you respond, allowing the pause to drag out just a little longer than necessary,"...to read." He might actually be having a nosebleed under his mask, you think, as he fixes his gaze very intently at the lamppost behind your head. 

"Everything alright, Kakashi?"

Suddenly, he's skirting around you like you're hot coals. He starts to skitter away up the street, one hand rubbing the back of his neck as he mumbles,"Yes. I just realised how late I am to meet Gai, I should go, hate to leave him waiting-"

A gentle hand on his forearm stops him dead in his tracks. "Of course. Well, it was a lovely surprise to see you. Enjoy your training session." You're sure to give the exposed skin there a gentle squeeze before letting go. His chakra chases after you.

"Enjoy your nap.", he replies, staring at you unblinkingly, voice absent. Something tells you Gai will be winning whatever fresh hell he's got planned for this morning - he's probably about 500 pushups deep right now, so you really should get going. Maybe you'll have a nice warm bath and read an action novel of your own. You start down the boulevard in the opposite direction, in much less of a rush than you began, and wave back over your shoulder.

"See you soon, Kakashi. Remember to bring me that book once you're finished!"

You can only see one quarter of his face, but you're pretty sure he's blushing. God, you really do like him. 

[dairy-farmer]

Sorry if you've already touched on this, but what are your thoughts about the discourse/discussion about Tim in the comics and Tim from the lens of A03/fan fiction?

For example, I hear a lot from old comic fans about how the series with Tim dating Bernard was doomed to fail bc 'the writer wrote him like her fanfiction version of Tim and not the real character'. There was a lot of discourse with canonical announcing Tim as queer, and that's kinda all these older comic book fans seem to keep coming back to. Idk, there just kinda seems to be an underlying feeling of misogyny towards the female writers and anti lgtbq vibes that it's hard to hear like a real arguement against the series.

I guess as a long time a03/Fandom person, I'm so used to just creating another little reality for the things I disagree or want to explore with a character, that it's strange to see people so upset that Canon doesn't flow the way the want.

it's no problem!! and i haven't really touched on the newer comics all that much mostly because i also don't particularly like them, not for any specific reason-they're decent enough but i don't really think they're 'tim'-but i do know what you're talking about. on twitter and tumblr i see a lot of different takes regarding tim and how he's written in this newer robin series.

for starters: i get what you're talking about where criticism of the comics might partly because of anti-lgbt attitude. especially since tim getting confirmed to be bisexual made A LOT of people mad (including ppl who arent homophobic but are mad that it wasn't THEIR favorite robin who got confirmed queer like dick, jason, or damian etc). comic bros and even casual comic fans who had never even heard of tim or even gave a shit about him were now furious. and while there might be ppl with genuine critiques- some of hatred of the way tim is written in the newer comics you really have to take it with a grain of salt because it very well could be comic bros hating because "robin isn't gay".

same with the writer, meghan fitzmartin. in general, women DO have an uphill battle when it comes to working in comics because it is very male dominated. and it's no secret that a lot of comic fans are opposed to women writing in comics. so misogyny, and even jealousy also plays a role with how much criticism is ACTUALLY warranted. but that doesn't mean a woman in comics isn't allowed to be criticized if they do a bad job or do a botched execution when their job is supposed to be making good, enjoyable, stories that do justice to the characters. i do think meghan may have some decentish ideas but whether she genuinely has the writing chops to deliver on those big ideas is well...iffy. but then again i genuinely don't keep tabs on comic writers or they're projects so maybe that will change.

when it comes to the critique of tim being written like a "fanfiction" version and not a "real" version of him i do see what they mean.

when I think of fanon tim I think of all the mischaracterizations that have been popularized. a coffee obsessed gremlin that doesn't sleep who is deeply insecure and agonizes over his place in the family, thinking he doesn't belong. people LIKE that tim is portrayed like that (in fanfiction) otherwise that characterization wouldn't be so pervasive in fics (there's also the possibility that a lot of ff writers DON'T know any better because many don't read comics but they do read fics and so they base their portrayals solely off what they read in fics resulting in this racoon eyed, coffee loving character who they believe to be an actual portrayal when it's really just someone's idea/exaggerated interpretation of tim).

i really don't see a lot of that in meghan's writing, the issues with tim's writing with her are different. if anything WFA is the one that really have the 'written as a ff character' vibe. but that series is also SUPPOSED to be deeply unserious as a fun slice of life universe where nothing goes wrong for anyone ever as a soothing balm for the oftentimes depressing stories in batman comics.

but in meghan's writing I also don't see a lot of what i consider to be core tim values. is she the best writer for tim? no i don't really think so. but there is a certain degree of understanding for his character. I see the comics and I can recognize that it's tim. so it's not offensively OC.

a lot of complaints seem to stem from his relationship with bernard being too much of a focus. people say how tim does too much thinking about him when...he was a lot worse in the 90s with steph. I remember getting so irritated when entire comics of robin would be narrated by steph or about her, i'd be like 'I want to read about ROBIN and his adventures, not steph, why is she even relevant?'. but tim's relationships to other people are a core part about him so you just have to take it.

the part that i think is justified in critique is in talking about whether her writing of bernard dowd is good. that is a much easier thing to answer. and its that its not good writing. in fact it's a pretty bad, inaccurate portrayal of him given how he was written when we first knew him. he's sort of been...sanded down? kind of remade into some new, almost unrecognizable character that fits into what she believes would be a nice, wholesome, gay partner for tim. which is an issue for me because we have seen and know what tim is like in relationships. tim had tension with, disagreed with, got annoyed with, fought and argued with his other partners like stephanie and ariana. but he also enjoyed himself and was happy with them. there was a balance there of good and bad because tim's unique situation of being robin made it so there had to be good and bad. with bernard it's all very passive and easy. they don't argue, they don't really fight, or have any struggles in their relationship when trying determine compatibility. avoiding tension in the relationship when tim has a track record of it makes it almost seem like she's afraid of the risk of portraying a gay relationship in anything less than a golden light. which is not good writing. BUT it is also very NEW. so maybe that will change (but there's a similar problem with jon kent and his bf so idk)? i personally believe kon would've been a more ideal partner with their shared history, chemistry, tension, the fact that fans have wanted it for decades, and the fact that it would've been such a good addition to the arc of self acceptance for kon's character. and many of the issues that tim being with bernard wouldn't be a thing because tim and kon famously don't see eye to eye 100 percent of the time and so their relationship would struggle and grow as they go from friends to romantic partners.

ultimately in my opinion to write a truly good tim drake you need to be able to accurately portray the thing that made him such a great robin: his heart of gold. tim cares about doing the right thing SO much. he cares about helping people. he's not some cold, unfeeling calculated computer who uses people as pawns and abandons his morals at the slightest inconvenience or seduction to the 'dark side'. and he's not some coffee drinking hacker man that is 20 steps ahead and smug about it.

tim worries about people, he's upset at injustice, feels guilt at not being able to save people, is judgy, sometimes a brat, sarcastic, gets angry at people for throwing their lives away, gets very invested in things that catch his interest, is too curious for his own good, nosy. he lies through his teeth and then bats his eyes in sweet as pie innocence. will think VERY rude thoughts about people but will bite his tongue because he's a nice boy👼 but sometimes things slip out. he is somehow simultaneously able to be the 🥺 and 😈 emoji at the same time. his odds of making bad decisions increase by 100 fold if in the company of other stupid teenagers.

now i write tim as a very exaggerated version of that core self. that's what a lot of ff authors do. they choose a handful of traits they like best about him and spin entire fics about it. i don't think writing tim as a fanfiction version of himself is a bad thing because some fanfic is genuinely better than the source material and that comes from being very good at understanding the character. the tim of today can't be written the same way he was in his golden age, the 90s, because a lot of his struggles and hurdles that he dealt with in those comics are over. they're done. tim can't be 30 years old and still wondering if he's doing a shit job as robin. tim IS a good robin and he should be able to acknowledge that (funnily enough one of his clear acknowledgements of that is often wiped away by fics- that being the titans tower scene where jason asks if tim thinks he's the better robin and tim, without hesitation, says yes) a lot of older fans are clinging to problems that tim has already resolved. he's not thirteen and insecure about his abilities. he's not on his first relationship with someone (but he is in his first relationship with a boy). he's not still learning how to navigate his relationship with batman and the rest of the family or struggling to come to terms with his civilian and caped life. do some of those things still trouble him on occasion? yes but they're not the main focus anymore.

tim has to have new problems, new challenges, new growth.

i had some hope for new tim comics.

would i like to have seen more tim centric material or at least good stories. and often times in the new tim comics tim was exactly the same at the end of the issue as he was at the beginning. tim struggling with his identity is something that made an appearance in 90s comics a lot but I think for the newer ones that it would've been better received/more interesting if it were...written better?

idk. i don't know a single comic fan that loved every detail of their fav's comics. was it the best run? no. but it was okay enough i guess. it was lukewarm, not standing ovation worthy but also nobody should be throwing tomatoes at the performers either, it just earned a polite clap of acknowledgement which i don't think is a very bad thing but still i hope we get something better!

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

So there was a conversation about queer representation in video games, and this got said in response to the perception that lesbians are more represented in video games compared to other LGBT identities (particularly gay men):

"Lesbians are fetishized by straight men, so that's why they're more common"

I'm going to be honest and say it's never really sat right with me from that point on. Not because I don't think there isn't some truth to the matter, but because I think it lacks a lot of nuance and a lot of much more important feminist thought. So let's just, break down my thoughts alright?

What does it mean to fetishize lesbians in this situation?

This is actually something I think is worth examining in a lot more detail, because when you talk about lesbian characters in media, there's usually one of two responses from predominantly cishet men regarding them:

The character(s) in question are vehemently disliked, often getting little attention, or as is common in fandom circles, having their character and the content surrounding them relentlessly criticized.

Strong affirmations that the characters involved are Definitely Not Gay and that it's reaching to insist they are.

This, to me, is kind of strange? It's in obvious contradiction to the idea that lesbian characters are getting the most representation. So what exactly is going on?

In truth, both responses highlight some truth, and to understand this, we need to look at the primary way men fetishize lesbians, which is through porn. When it comes to porn, often there is not an overt need to deal with the people involved as wholly unique individuals with their own feelings and thoughts and what not. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, porn actors are sex workers and that's going to be the result of that. It's just kind of a natural result and porn can handle this either gracefully or not.

But as an interesting side result, this means that it becomes very easy to decouple the actors away from the content. The second reaction becomes a dominant factor here: it becomes very easy to view the women involved as being available and often the primary way this developers from there is the idea of performance: a girlfriend and her friend performing for the boyfriend, or maybe two girlfriends etc. Now, again, there's nothing strictly wrong with that in concept as a sex act as long as everyone involved is aware and consenting and happy with it, but it's how it crops up in regards to how lesbians are viewed.

Lesbians are only tolerated when they're viewed to be available to men, and are often violently disliked when that's shown to not be the case. The world has not stopped oppressing lesbians for being overt in their affections towards other women just because of porn videos. This often has the effect that lesbian characters in media are rarely very explicit in order to preserve that illusion, or the much less comical and honestly perhaps somewhat grosser option I call the IntSys method where you just make your characters all bisexual.

To be clear, I find this really disrespectful and cowardly on principle. It really illustrates the extent that the creatives involved just see bisexuality as a convenience and not actually its own important identity. It becomes a way to still sell your lesbians to men, and frankly, eugh. Lesbians and bisexuals really deserve better than that and IntSys are still in fact tremendous cowards.

Fetishization does not correlate to representation either.

Guess who else is also fetishized by straight men its trans women babyyyyy! This is a very known quantity and its curious how that hasn't also caused a similar explosion in the number of trans women in video games. Actually what it has seemingly actually resulted in is more of the "trap" archetype, the transphobic and homophobic character who exists primarily as a joke.

Which is honestly a nice segway into the next point.

Lesbians do not necessarily represent a threat to masculinity.

If you wanted to know why so many lesbians in media are extremely femme and often conform to straight women beauty standards, this is it. It all has to do with masculinity. In fact, this really ties the knot with the problems with both lesbian representation in media (the absolute dearth of masculine women and butches (sorry that Genshin character is not butch)), the lack of representation of trans women, and the lack of representation of gay and bisexual men.

To transgress against masculinity in general has a habit of making you way more hated in our society which worships masculinity as a golden standard. If a woman is too masculine and is trying too hard to be like a man, she's often virulently hated. For trans women, the rejection of masculinity and the embracing of femininity makes them beloathe, and for gay and bisexual men, having sex with men is embracing what is seen as the female sexual role. We can even circle back here to the fetishization and lesbians and the anger of exclusion: it's okay for women to kiss each other and have sex as long as a guy is involved and enjoying it (and very bad if that's not the case). That doesn't even work with gay men, even though statistically more men are enjoying it.

There's an entire thesis that could be written about the stigmatization of the sexual role of the bottom in homosexuality, or on the eventual estrangement of the femme gay men in queer society. Ideas of masculinity are inextricably tied to straight men's perception of gay men, and unfortunately, gay men are often viewed as directly transgressive. A straight man being hit on by a gay man is often viewed as a direct assault on that straight man's masculinity, and as a result, gay men are just directly hated a lot more. There's a reason violence towards gay men is still staggeringly common. It's not like the video game industry is making any progressive waves in combating any of this either.

But there's one point as well in addition to this I would feel remiss not to bring up:

Are we really laying at the feet of a lot of good, honest queer representation in video games the burden of appealing to fetishistic straight men?

This one in particular bothers me because it is actually worth noting that there is a lot of lesbian representation that has nothing to do with fetishization at all. Not because it isn't sexual in any way, but because its created by queer lesbians wanting to see themselves in the media. So one must ask if there's something else involved.

For me, I have a general pet theory that's called Cluster Behavior of Exclusionary Qualities. The gist of it is that I've noticed that outsiders to a community often do not have one single defining trait that separates them from the majority, but often have more of them. The primary reason for this is that people who are already excluded will generally start to re-examine a lot of the other norms they take for granted. But I think another aspect of it as well is that the more reasons you have for not being accepted, generally the more it just makes you stubborn and angry. What are they going to do, exclude you harder? Ultimately, the industry is still really, really sexist and it's harder for women to even make a foothold in the industry at all to begin with. You're not fighting any less uphill, so why not just make something authentic to yourself and resist a lot of the bullshit?

This isn't to say there aren't gay men in the video game industry, there absolutely are, but I think the pressure to conform is probably a lot stronger, because acceptance really is just right around the corner. Sometimes it is easier to just go with the flow when its beneficial, and I don't judge for that its a bitch of a world and we all gotta eat somehow.

So what do I think at the end of all this?

I think that the fetishization of lesbians actually results in us getting a lot less authentic, well-written lesbian characters and stories, and what it does produce are a lot of ambiguously written characters and token attempts at inclusion that often fall flat. I do think it's likely even then that still outweighs a lot of other representation in video games, but I think there are much stronger factors to explain that.

At the end of the day, we're all fighting for fucking scraps out here. We're not going to get better representation by taking jabs at each other about this. But maybe, one day, we can live in a world where a Final Fantasy 19 has two women absolutely destroying it so I no longer need to see the straight couple from 16.

[blackstarchanx3new]

FSR rambles PT

PART. 3 BABY OF BEING CRINGY ABOUT MY OWN AU

LET'S GOOOOOO (Big send of too this chapter, holy shit)

Lol so like: One thing I didn't wanna do was suppress how much Zelda meant to Shadow Link's character arc for the sake of Vidow "Working".

Shadow Link does love Zelda FYI our mans is Bi. Idk if you noticed...but this whole comic is just polycule central there's no shipping wars, you can ship everyone basically. X'D

Zelda was a huge role in Shadow Link's character development to being a good boy, so it's only natural he's attached to her. (This will also be shown in the next chapter...Hehe)

Also the way his emotions around Vio are so charged that the best way he can put it to words is Vio is "Really cool" is like, so dumbly sweet. Bro can't properly even word how much he adores this man.

Shadow Link has made it no secret he wants to be buds with Vio for reals this time, and he's also 100% not interested in helping Gannon. So...There really ISN'T a reason Vio and him should have the same issues Vio was worried about. Thus, he tries to sooth Vio's fears.

*cough cough cough* gay. Shadow Link's so anxious about asking.

Lol so I got a "Writing rule" for Vio...He ain't gonna cry till I crack him completely like an egg. X'D He will get very close tho: Like this moment.

The way I put blush on the nose area specifically indicates someone's like, close to crying or is crying. I just like this face particularly because there's so much shit going on in that head of his.

The start of the hug is so damn awkward (Intentionally so)

These panels mean so much to meeeeeeee-

Everything about em

The hug, Vio's so close his face is squished (He's so adorable.)

Shadow Link doesn't immediately hug him back he's stunned.

Hehehehe. Vidow go brrrrr..

This entire page is just: PAIN.

Shadow breaks the hug to show him the book.

The wording leaves it so ya can't help but think he hoped the introducing of their friendship would change Vio's mind about being Link again...That his words earlier were just mad ramblings and not how he actually felt. But with a clear head Vio verbally says he still wants to be Link again.

Lmao bro tries not to crack again aaaaand fails.

The book is one about healing magic...What kinds are in there I wonder. ;) A refrence...to a past Selda game mayhaps?~

Also this frame of Shadow Link full blown ugly crying while pretending to be fine is so hilarious to me idk if it comes off as sad or funny but it's kinda both to me. X'D

Mans is crying for him and Vio at this point.

Vio putting the book down in favor of comforting Shadow Link is just kinda one of those things that like, if he had ignored Shadow Link the reader would have noticed, but him being like, decent is smth that isn't nearly as "noticeable" (Like, ya typically notice a character being shitty WAY MORE than you notice all the subtle things they do that are just, kind.)

Also Shadow still wants to be helpful even though he's like, sobbing his eyes out. X'D

He also tries to hide from Vio lmao. Vio saw the water works bro.

Quite a few things:

Shadow's still toxic, just a little. X'D He WANTS Vio around, he misses him like crazy and does not want him to leave, AT ALL. This is very obvious lmao.

But he's also at the point where he knows he can do better than just screaming and throwing tantrums like he did as a kid. But his true feelings about how betrayed he feels Vio still wants to be Link are STILL THERE. Even if he chooses to try and hide them.

Also funny detail: Vio blushing was a lowkey gag because of the whole "They're both attracted to red flags" joke.

You could also take it as him being scared shitless, which he IS.

While he can't take back snapping at Vio, he certainly realizes his mistake very quickly and apologizes. So that's SOMETHING at least. (Considering the type of person he was before, a relapse or two is expected lmao.) I think him still having a certain level of anger management issues makes his character overall more interesting.

I like to think the only reason Vio gave him any patience for that, was because Shadow Link has been nothing but patient and there for him all night and he knows Shadow is emotional as fuck.

As Vio gave him shit for the fight with Blue earlier showed, Vio doesn't tolerate Shadow's crap when he's just being a violent shithead.

Hahaha. Remember when Link outright stated Vio wanted to be Vio and not Link. :) Link sure is a way more reliable narrator than...idk...The guy who lies...

*Whispers gently into your ear* Vio's not being very truthful here...

Notice: He only. ONLY brings up "Logical" reason...not his actual FEELINGS on the matter... He SAYS "I don't want to be Vio"

WHY. WHY!? TELL US WHY VIO!!!

He does have a reason but he's not tellin' lmao.

So, in the book it's not really...SPECIFIED where Shadow Link came from? Like I think all it says is "Gannon drew him out of the dark mirror"

...THAT IS SO UP FOR INTERPRETATION AND BRINGS UP SO MANY QUESTIONS:

Did he have a life in the dark world and was just, TOLD to do Gannon's bidding? His line of "I'm your living reflection in the dark world" MAYBE supports this idea...??? KINDA?

But my issue with that is: Shadow Link gives NO indication he has had a past in the dark world, like...at all. Nothing. No mention of family (Which...Reasonably wouldn't he have a dark version of Link's father???) He's the ONLY PERSON who's implied to be FROM the dark world. Also...The dark mirror isn't REALLY implied to be a PORTAL... The seal on Vaati and his demons was, but Shadow Link wasn't freed from that, Gannon "Drew him from the dark mirror" to release Vaati...So uh...HMMMM His also distinct lack of his OWN name kinda makes me go ???? Like...His NAME is Shadow Link...Like that's not a nickname. That's his NAME. (Like this just weirds me out because of a cannon "Reflection" of Link: in Ravio. Who like...HAS HIS OWN NAME???? ik Ravio isn't from the "Dark world", he's from Lowrule, but point still stands this is odd.)

Suffice to say, there's just not enough info here to draw a conclusion for me? So I gotta make shit up. X'D Shadow Link was created out of Link's Shadow by Gannon in FSR. This is also the reason he resembles a Gerudo male. Cause Gannon said "Mm yes, my evil Link sona will have my heritage. UwU"

Shadow link realizing he almost made Vio cry is so funny to me.

Vio looks so fucking pathetic there. lmfao.

Shadow's words only hit again like Link has stated: Shadow knows Vio

Whether intentionally or not: what he says hits Vio like a ton of bolders.

He's very hesitant to keep talking though because he doesn't want to hurt Vio either.

It's like, he's AWARE he's telling Vio this shit because he WANTS him to stay, but you also can't deny Shadow's at least CORRECT in a lot of his statements. How far should he push that though? Hmm.

His "Oh my god you're an idiot" face is hilarious. Shadow's like "You still don't get what I'm laying down dude??? REALLY!?"

*Explodes*

Lmao. That panel before they kiss is basically my favorite in the entire comic rn. X'D

Shadow pulling away and squishing Vio's face is also a favorite. Vio's just cute and squishable.

Vio stating the obvious: That his mental breakdown wasn't Shadow's fault. (Wasn't really anybody's fault it was inevitable, especially with the curse/Dark Link active)

Lmao. Vio's kinda dumb as bricks sometimes too. X'D

Shadow Link's fucking deadpan stare while Vio rants is so hilarious to me. Also the direct quoting of Vio instead of paraphrasing making his statement sound even more stupid.

Also fun dialogue thing: You'll notice the characters stutter or like, pause weirdly, Because I like writing dialogue a little more realistic. Like Shadow Starts off as "I-was" instead of like "W-was" like he thought of saying smth completely different at first or his mouth moved before his brain did. X'D

Their banter is fun, Vio's his sassy self. Shadow giving him all the kisses we desired...

Okay ngl this page hurts me X'D Like. Ouch. All of it hurts.

Because of how Link kinda abandoned Shadow Link (Even though he was always there) Shadow is OBVIOUSLY very hesitant to let go. It's super obvious Vio doesn't wanna let go either.

Also Vio kissing him back surprises Shadow. X'D He's still bamboozled Vio is receptive to his affection oof... (Would like to show him getting more comfy with it as the comic goes on like "Holy shit, nah he's not playing around with me he fr-")

They mean so much to each other. QuQ

Okay to make you laugh in these very serious panels: Because Shadow's floating Vio's standing on his tip toes.

On that note, can't wait to see yall for the next chapter, whenever I get around to it. X'D

[gay-poet-gabriel]

could u possibly. tell me about jibril. like jsut yap he seems so cool my interesst is very piqued

imagine getting paid to yap

HIIIII!!! LOL i just got back from school and i have found that i have been invited to yap which like i could do for hours but at the same time i probably cant do for very long because my thoughts on this man and his fam are like.,,,,, everywhere ermmm idek where to start

AND ILL BE HONEST EVERYTHING IVE EVER WRITTEN OF HIM (starting a few years ago) HAS VERY DIFFERENT BACKSTORIES AND CRAP FOR HIM BUT YKNOW

SA MENTION, IDEK JUST BEWARE UNDER CUT

uuhh well his family were shepherds in Palestine. He loves them dearly, his Mama is dead (like mine, self-insert time) his brother Mikael is loving as well as his Baba Yusuf, great! But he struggles still because of his missing mother and he was raped as a young boy :(

Didnt get much of an education. Good at what he does, not particularly smart though. (Not that it matters of course c: )

so this comic (which u can barely see cuz my phone camera sucks) is basically about Abraham and Isaac but also Miriam and Moses like essentially Jibril knows he should feel blessed with the birth of his daughter, but he also is pretty mentally disturbed so he has these very horrifying intrusive urges of hurting the people he loves, particularly her (Anaïs, his little one) I feel like the parallels are obvious in this one so yknow i basically already said it

Anyway the lyrics on the left are from Swan Upon Leda by Hozier, which is about rape (story of Leda), abortion rights, and Israel's violent occupation of Palestine (Where Jibril and his family have always been from actually so that's one thing that hasn't changed that they are Arab)

Also jibo is transgender (how i usually draw him LOL who knows anymore magic) so he gave birth to his daughter himself, hence like all of this.

ANYWAY

omg i just realized all of these comics are about his relationship with his daughter except for the red one that's impossible to see whoops

YOU CAN ALSO BARELY SEE THIS ONE

but basically its Jibo's Baba (Yusuf) telling him how special he is and how everything has a bit of god in them, and yknow its him freaking out about how he has something beautiful to share but he just hates himself because he feels he isn't doing a good job as a father or as a person

---------

moving on he joined the military asap and went on that for a while (don't have much to say about that actually? that's kind of just where i insert him with fandoms i like BUT IT MATTERS I PROMISE)

above lyrics are about rape again u get it and learning to live again (LOVE YOU HOZIER)

THEN he meets his lover boy Aislinge!

Feels immediate guilt for being in love with a man, feels like it is wrong to be gay, feels like he is wrong because he is transgender and still in love with a man (like how he thinks a woman should be)

He is already deeply detached from desire- it doesn't come with the job, does it? haha- and sex-repulsed. but he has a simultaneous fascination and of course guilt with shame and themes of repressed sexual and religious trauma

He feels as though he should not be forgiven but Aislinge does forgive him! And then they're in love and they get married and Gabriel still thinks about the people he's lost and feels bad for it but they're okay.

They both retire and spend their days in Ireland while Anaïs does something, haven't decided what she would do as an adult

the end

[roosterbox]

Fic Rec Friday 8/4/2023

Title: Endless. Not Everything.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022)

Relationship: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling

Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, Hob Gadling

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Dream can have a gender, as a treat, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus is Bad at Feelings, Lack of Communication, Idiots in Love, I cannot stress enough that nobody in this fic has any emotional intelligence, they're all idiots, idiots who don't talk about their feelings until shit goes tits up, LITERALLY, Happy Ending, Body Horror, kinda? tagging anyway cause better safe than sorry

Summary: "I am. Endless. But there are still... things that I am Not."

'Lovable' is at the top of the list, he thinks, though 'wanted' isn't far behind.

'Woman' is on there somewhere too, apparently.

———

And now for something completely different. But if it’s yet another gay ship, how different can it really be?

Much like with Steddie, I fell for this pairing sight as yet unseen. I’ve never watched The Sandman. Never listened to the audiobook(s). Never read the comics. But someone posted cute fanart. And dammit, I am weak.

Y’all know gender fuckery is one of those fic subgenres I adore, and I feel like this fandom/pairing is particularly well-suited for it. Just the fact that endless, ethereal beings could have gender at all (Desire notwithstanding) is pretty interesting. And Dream trying to be something else, only for it to be just… wrong wrong wrong, ugh. My little Enby/Gender-Fluid heart just breaks for him. Because I know that feel. I’m sure a lot of us know that feel, even if we are only squishy humans and not Endless. Also I love the Author’s note at the end. Definitely shouldn’t be that hot of a take - it makes perfect sense to me!

Dream is absolutely precious in this, in his gender conflicted glory. And Hob. Hob Motherfucking Gadling. I am officially crowning him as my Sandman Blorbo. That man is a saint. He certainly has the patience of one, at least. The care he shows to Dream in this fic is just everything. When his first concern when he finds Dream after their… encounter(?) is if Dream is okay, if he hurt Dream… I cannot. And I love that, despite him being several hundred years old (and Dream being several millennia), their communication skills still need work, lol. They may be an immortal human and the immortal personification of Dreams, but they really are just like us.

This is a beautiful story.

———

Next Week: Spacedogs time again! And this one’s a doozy. I mean, with how obsessed with space Adam is, canonically even, it somehow makes absolutely perfect sense to have an AU where Nigel is an alien, right? It’s soft, romantic, slightly silly, and sexy as hell.

Stay tuned!

[littledreamling]

Tag 9 people you’d like to get to know better

I was tagged by @virgo-dream @mathomhouse-e @sonata-ix @hopefulpenance AND @quillingwords (thank you all!)

3 ships:

Dreamling, obviously

CJ/Flick from Animal Crossing because they're my comfort gays (though I've never read fanfic about them, I just squeal happily whenever they talk about each other in the game)

Me/a function sleep schedule

First ever ship: sadly, Johnlock from BBC Sherlock. Not something I'm particularly proud to admit, but I can't change it so I might as well embrace it

Last song: Currently I'm listening to a playlist that isn't mine, so I'm not counting it because it's more for background noise (though it's currently on Better Days by Birdtalker). Instead, I'll count the last song I played on purpose, and that would be In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel because everything he did went hard as fuck

Last movie: Mamma Mia, if only to introduce my parents to the majesty that is Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, and Stellan Skarsgard all drunk out of their minds, singing ABBA songs. It's not my favorite movie of all time, but it does have a soft spot in my heart

Currently reading: So many things. Lots of fanfic, The Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe, The Neil Gaiman Reader, The God Equation, The Book: A History of the Bible, The Sandman comics, The Graveyard Book and American gods by Neil Gaiman... I have the attention span of a pygmy goat and far too little time to actually read anything

Currently watching: Absolutely nothing, due to the aforementioned lack of time. I have quite a few things on my To-Watch list, including Mank, Victoria, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Peaky Blinders, His Dark Materials, Letterkenny, the list goes on

Currently consuming: dark chocolate, specifically Ghirardelli 60% baking chocolate. It's my writing snack and my guilty pleasure that I don't feel that guilty about

Currently craving: whatever my mom is making for dinner, which I can already smell from downstairs. A good night's sleep (or a better sleeping schedule). A box of matches so I can light a candle in my room. More time and motivation to write. A song that scratches every itch in my brain and also never gets old so I can listen to it on repeat for the rest of my life. Water, because my water bottle is empty. To live life to its absolute fullest (okay Hob, calm down)

Because I was tagged by so many people (thank you!!) I'm not sure who to tag and who hasn't done it, so I'll just tag people and if you don't want to, you don't have to!

@levi1088 @birdbraintm @staroftheendless @pellaaearien @fishfingersandscarves @sunsetcurveauto @delta-pavonis @historyandqueershenanigans and @btwimkindagay

If anyone else wants to do it, consider this your tag!!

[goddamnwebcomics]

Lessee what we have for this batch...

- League of Super Redundant Heroes

Not sure if I suggested this one in the past about stupid superheroes (including a blind guy with bike handles on his head and laser eyes, an actual Mary Sue who's his girlfriend, a cowgirl who makes no sense, and a guy that levitate cats) but putting it up front just to cover that base

-Delta Dawn

A particularly infamous "superhero" comic that tries to be a social justice comic tackling racism and sexism while apparently unintentionally doing both those thing somehow? It's either that or intentionally being bad to prove it's point, but it doesnt have the self awareness to do it right? Apparently tries to have a protagonist and antagonist story run side by side too? You know it's bad when I see character names and I can't tell if it's being hyperbolic or if that's literally what the characters are called...

-Black Magic by SacredHyacinth

Magic teens in a future apocalyptic setting have magic jewelry to protect them as they live in a city that doesn't want them to have their jewelry for some reason? Things for the comics lore and worldbuilding just are half explained haphazardly as it goes on...

-My Alien Girlfriend (doesn't know I'm an alien)

Another webtoon comic. Comedy romance about two dating aliens in obvious disguise. Drawn rather poorly, lots of fanservice without going all the way to being porn, and very poor humor... literally the girlfriend looks like a clown character from another, and I believe actual porn, comic the author had a hand in.

-Parallax by m falke

Sort of a hybrid magical girl/superhero thing. A boy is given a little box that turns him into a ninja looking hero to fight monsters. Haven't read too much, but the art style is interesting looking at least.

- Bittersweet Candy Bowl by Veronica "taeshi" Vera

A furry teen drama comic about an angsty Mary Sue white cat named Lucy and love triangles upon triangles upon etc. So odd, cause some characters are fully dressed and some aren't, Lucy has like two bird pets, but they can talk? And oh so many perfect reaction images from the cat blobs.

- Black Jade by Steele Snover

Lesbian mad scientist villain makes a raygun that turns other women gay as well. She literally gets a girlfriend and from that point onward the comic has no idea what it wants to do with itself. The author notoriously asked for $1600 a month to keep this comic going I believe.

-Don't know if youd do written fanfic riffing at all, but One Piece: This Bites by Xomniac might be worth tearing into if you ever get around to doing that. It's basically a self insert fic involving a fan of One Piece who abuses his knowledge of the series like mad after a literal RNG God decides to matoon him in that world. It kinda tries to ground the anime in reality and to be more "hard core" by mauling the main character and torturing villains and such.

-...lets be honest here ANYTHING by Dave Cheung

Just. Wow. Dave Cheungs list of wretchedness is something frankly unbelievable from what I've heard there's sexism, snuff and a lack of holding back all wrapped up in a generic non-anime style... US Angel Core is the absolute worst in particular as it is just...disturbed, like seriously bottom of the barrel disgustingness as it kills characters and subjects them to heaps of abuse to the point i dont even reccomend you look into it, its that fucking disgusting. Literally anything else, this one isn't so much a recc as it is a warning...

Already on the rifflist

This sounds like an easy target so why not

The lady from Keeping Up Appearances made a webcomic? Oh this is trying to be ART and DEEP. I can tell it from the somewhat pretentious artstyle alone.

This thing is ridiciulously short, so I'm on the edge. Wait porn???

This might be too competent.

Ohhh no no no no no. Did you miss the submission page rules? The author's husband will kill anyone who criticises the comic

Oh, it's been a while since we've gotten some good old lesploitation.

I don't really riff written work unless it's done by one of our usual suspects or other webcomic makers

Ah, Cheung's work we're familiar with. U.S. Angel Corps is on the rifflist and I am very wary of riffing it, but I say Cheung deserves to be brutally riffed.

[pherabloom]

General stuff.

Time  for  a  big  Ivy  thought  dump.  So  to  start, yeah this is my version of Ivy so don't expect her to be like any canon Ivy. In regard to her powers  Ivy  isn't really  “naturally”  able  to  charm  anyone.  She’s  not  particularly  charming  or  manipulative. She's more of an awkward feral girl than a true femme fatale. She’s  always  been  considered  weird  and  little  off-beat.  Her  physical  beauty ?  Exceptional.  Her  social  skills  and  grace ?  Near-non  existent.   As  a  normal  human,  despite  her  also  being  incredibly  intelligent  ( Eventually  becoming  a  botanist and  toxicologist )  it  was  really  her  physical  beauty  that  has  ever  caused  anyone  to  take  interest  in  her, otherwise yeah, she was generally thought of as a weird and a little creepy. Why ? Because if its not obvious I portray Ivy as on the ASD spectrum and she came across that way to me in my fav canon portrayal of her from Gotham. Further,  she  would  be  oblivious  to  her own looks  if  she  wasn’t  forced  to  take  notice  of  it  because  people  suck  and  are  creeps. Still  previous  to  her  “transformation”  this  was  really  back-of-the-mind,  don’t  think  about  it  unless  something  explicitly  made  her  recognize  it type of thing. Ivy never once consciously used her looks to get herself anywhere.

As  a  mutant  Ivy’s  dangerous.  She's  misanthropic  ( leaning  a  little  further  toward  misandry,  entirely  trauma  based ).  She’s  highly  “antisocial”  per say,  and  she’s  learned  to  harness  her  abilities  to  facilitate herself in this.  But  again  she  doesn’t  really  have  a  lot  of  natural  charm  and  becoming  a  semi-undead  mutant  didn’t  increase  this  aspect  of  her  socially,  she  just  secretes  a  potent  pheromone  that  makes  people  far  more  susceptible  to  her  suggestions  which  she’s  had  to  become  aware  of  it  because  she  can’t  seem  to  turn  it  off  naturally  ( much  to  her  dismay ). So yeah, Ivy isn't a natural seductress, its literally a chemical thing she can't control. It’s  not  only  men  that  this  effects,  btw,  but  occasionally  it  seems  more  potent  with  (*straight  or  bi)  men,  but  its  because  they’re  more  likely  to  feel  attracted  to  her  physically,  which  seems  to  make  the  pheromone  work  better  on  them.  It  inspires  devotion  to  her  and  when  there's  a  form  of  physical  attraction  present  people  tend  to  get  their  wires  crossed  and  it  can  quickly  turn  into  romantic  obsession. However this  works  on  everyone,  regardless  to  sexuality  /  gender.  For  straight  fems  and  gay  mascs  its  just  like,  more  of   feeling  very,   very  compelled  to  do  as  Ivy  wants  and  to  be  friendly / close  to  her.  Devotion,  but  without  the  common  romantic / sexual  infatuation  that  tends  to  effect  straight  and  bi  mascs  and  bi  and  lesbian  fems.  She’s  a  siren  very  much  in  the  traditional  /  mythological  sense  of  the  term,  she  uses  this  power  to  lead  people  astray  and  get  what  she  wants. This,  while  def  having  its  advantages,  has  compounded  with  her  trauma  in  making  her  extremely  distrustful  toward  others.  Since  she  can’t  naturally  turn  it  off  ( though  I  imagine  it  can  be  artificially  weakened,  as  can  her  other  powers,  just  for  the  sake  of  being  able  to  contain  her  in  Arkham )  she  can’t  often  be  sure  if  people  are  being  nice  / friendly  to  her  out  of  authenticity  or  because  of  the  pheromone  she  secretes.  I  also  follow  the  idea  that  she’s  also  highly  poisonous / venomous  but  this  seems  to  be  something  she  does  have  some  form  of  control  over.  I  like  to  keep  some  comic  canon  in  the  sense  that  this  is  something  she  is  able  to  develop  an  antidote  for,  so  that  not  everyone  who  is  kissed / bitten  by  her  has  to  die  or  become  dangerously  ill.  That  being  said  she’s  usually  the  only  one  who  possesses  the  antidote  and  its  in  limited  supply  without  her. I  also  don’t  portray  Ivy  as  like. . . Caring  about  plants  to  an  all  consuming  extent.  She’s  a  lowkey  echo  warrior  but  not  to  a  nonsensical  extreme.  The  fact  is  Ivy  has  always  loved  plants,  gardening  and  nature, herbology is her long time special interest which she transferred into botany,  but  she’s  not  entirely  illogical  about  it.  The  thing  is  however as a mutant  she  is  extremely  chlorokinetic  and  she  uses  those  powers  to  their  fullest.  She  can  and  will  influence  all  organic / plant  life  around  her.   Further, she  is  able  to  alter / mutate  plants / vegetation  and  typically  any  plant  that  has  come  in  contact  with  her  power / influence  will  be  genetically  different  to  whatever  it  started  life  as which is one of Ivy's most interesting traits as a mutant.

A  lot  of  the  plants  Ivy  influences  become  aggressive  and  are  entirely  susceptible  to  her  will  but  will also  function  in  a  monstrous / predatory  manner  entirely  on  their  own without her.  Others  simply  become  jumbo  size  and  are  extremely  strong.  They  occasionally  start  doing  really  weird  shit  that  isn’t  really  “normal”  for  plants,  or  rather,  they  do  things  that  plants  might  normally  do  but  on  a  much  smaller  scale  thus  meaning  it  doesn’t  normally  effect  or  cause  any  issues  for  the  majority,  so  suddenly  when  Ivy  amplifies  them these "normal" plant things  become  a  problem. Think  the  killer  plants  scene  from  Jumanji  amplified  by  100.  You  can  imagine  how  truly  dangerous  this  makes  Ivy  if  she's  able  to  have  any  unrestrained  contact  with  plants / vegetation.  She  can  essentially  make  biological  weapons  out  of  any  plant  life  within  an  instant. Its  more  Ivy’s  misanthropy  that  drives  her  than  her  concern  for  plant  life  however.  As  a  result  yes,  she  is  a  echo /  bio  terrorist,  yes  she  does  lash  out  under  the  pretense  of  preserving  /  aiding  the  environment  and  she  does  genuinely  believe  in  this  to  an  extent, but  the more  excessive  aspects  of  it  is  her  hatred  of  people  and  a  misguided  sense  that  she's  ultimately  helping  someone / something  in  the  process. She  uses  her  powers  to  promote  green-life  bur  given  the  way  Ivy’s  plants  are,  ie  they are  naturally  predators  they  are  actively  hostile  to  humans  /  animals  /  insects  which  is  ultimately  not  great  for  the  environment,  since  they  have  the  capacity  to  COMPLETELY  alter  life  on  earth  as  we  know  it this is kind of shallow.   So after  experience  Ivy  does  come  to  realize  this.  She's  not  out  for  plants  to  take  over  the  world,  because  she  doesn’t  care  about  world  domination,  but  she  will  weaponize  them  for  her  own  means. Whether  for  self  defence  or  as  a  means  of  exerting  her  will / force. As  I  mentioned  the  result  of  all  this  makes  Ivy  one  of  the  most  powerful  meta-humans  known.  She's  also  an  object  of  scientific  intrigue  as  are  the  plants  she  influences.  A  few  have  probably  been  taken  and  kept  as  lab  specimens for study,  but  there  is  only  ONE  Ivy  therefore  she's  not  really  able  to  be  studied  effectively.  Theres  been  attempts,  but  they  don’t  go  anywhere  largely  because  Ivy  is  still  recognized  as  a  human  with  rights and  she  is  particularly  protected  as  such  within  Gotham  city  ( probably  a  lot  thanks  to  the  influence  of  Batsy / Bruce and Oswald,  but  I  also  think  its  fair  to  say  the  population  of  Gotham  has  grown  to  take  a  weird  pride  in  their  “home-grown  freaks” and  can  be  protective  /  supportive  of  them  in  cases  like  this anyway ) But  its  not  uncommon  for  others  to  try  and  violate  these  rights  in  the  name  of  "the  greater  good."  As  a  RESULT  and  through  experience  with  these  things,  when  Ivy  isn’t  in  Arkham  she’s  usually  left  alone  and  she  understands  the  danger  she's  in  by  acting  out  which  means  she's  very  reclusive  and  doesn’t  tend  to  associate  with  human  populations  if  she  can  help  it.  She  never  goes  far  from  Gotham  because  that  is  the  place  she  is  “protected”  but  usually  if  she's  not  in  Arkham  she’s  probably  hauled  up  somewhere  in  Gotham’s  surrounding  wilderness  in  a  personal  grove  of  protective  /  man  eating  plants.  Typically,  as  long  as  Ivy  isn’t  doing  anything  to  threaten  anyone  in  Gotham  she's  left  alone  and  the  general  consensus  is  if  you  stumble  upon  Ivy’s  grove  you  need  to  leave  asap  and  stay  away  from  her.  She's  kinda  like  a  local  and  very  real  cryptid  in  that  regard.

[nailamoonsi]

The Main 6 of Blue Horizon's character profiles on the main comic site.

Since Tumblr allows for it, I'll transcript from the main comic site Antonio Chandrani-Rivera and Alejandro Caldera-Altaha's character profiles as well as the newest character profiles (Layla Chandrani, Alia Atif-Akinyemi, Khaleel Atif-Akinyemi, and Leo Abara).

They all make up the "Main 6" of Blue Horizon. You can just click the link above to see it on the main comic site instead. I would also like to note here that I'm utilizing their oldest character arts.

Antonio Chandrani-Rivera: The true eldest of triplet brothers, Antonio has long been regarded as "infamous" by the world population. Like his twins, several cousins, and Alejandro Altaha, at 15 he joins the Protector's class with the goal of becoming the Protector of Worlds... They say he's secretly planning on bringing Alejandro Altaha down. How far will he go for the sake of his goals? Among Antonio's friends he's known as straightforward, brash and a little too frustrating. Unlike his identical twin Fernando he easily loses his cheeriness, having a tendency toward broodiness. This is something his taciturn fraternal twin Raj is very inclined to too, though Raj is much quieter as a person. Antonio is particularly known to flex his beauty and boast about his accomplishments. [English-style] pronouns: Antonio doesn't understand. Sexuality: Gay Special item: A broken spring green plastic ring with a half-torn green cloth flower. Likes: Libraries; history; astronomy; complicated puzzles; flashy rings; being around confident and calm guys; having female friends. Dislikes: He won't disclose these.

Alejandro [Caldera-]Altaha: A confident individual who rarely falters on whatever path he's bent on taking, even if it meanders or causes him to become lost. Initially Alejandro isn't interested in the position of Protector. People easily relax around him, and many notice his underlying warmth. This is how he becomes close confidants with the likes of the cheery and reliable Fernando Chandrani-Rivera, the easygoing and amiable Diego, as well as the sharp and capable Alia [Atif-]Akinyemi. Despite Alejandro falling in with people easily, he winds up having trouble around Antonio Chandrani-Rivera. Yet everyone knows that Antonio Chandrani-Rivera is too often around him at 15 years age. Among all his friends, Alejandro is regarded as rather hotheaded and occasionally a little clueless. He's one of the most honorable of students in the Protector's class, though it doesn't mean he can't be deceptive. He likes to be around steadfast people. [English-style] pronouns: Grew up with "he/him." Sexuality: it is a mystery (not hetero) Special item: A carefully-kept photograph. Likes: Libraries; history; math; eating healthy; sweets; close confidants; living freely; being nosy. Dislikes: Saviors; familial problems; his brother; worrying about love; bitter foods.

Layla Chandrani: Layla Chandrani is most well-known among the all-female and nonbinary-adjacent Queen's Guard as a thunderous individual, though their powers extend far beyond that of lightning and thunder. At 17 years age, they are the most powerful among the youngest generation of Chandrani progeny in the Protector's network and have little trouble showing it. Despite being regarded as a little too easygoing and something of a cad among sapphics their age, they strangely avoid dating. Layla is known to seek out Alia Atif-Akinyemi, the most powerful young woman in the Queen's Guard, though whether they are truly friends is a puzzle amid many people's speculation. In the end, they call another young woman, the one very well-favored as the future Protector of Worlds—if she weren't interested in another position altogether—the one and only Khalida Ahmad, their 'best friend.' [English-style] pronouns: Uses "she/her" growing up. Adds "they/them" when older. Sexuality: Lesbian Special item: A pale diamen-steel axe-ish thing they can fly around on. It has spring green designs like leaves on it. Likes: Downtime; befriending girls; avoiding girls; configuring the future; testing their capabilities. Dislikes: Keya; their datelessness; people who don't aim higher; familial trouble; Antonio running towards trouble.

Alia [Atif-]Akinyemi: Alia Atif-Akinyemi is the most powerful young woman to be a part of the all-female and nonbinary-adjacent Queen's Guard. Her mother is famous, and she and her siblings are seen as individuals who will ascertain that the Atif name is respected across the planet Imion. At 17, she is the up-and-coming powerhouse of the Atif-Akinyemi clan with the strength of the stars that reflect within her seas. What most note about her from the get-go is her coolness, though she is more extroverted than her younger brother Khaleel Atif-Akinyemi. She can be rather bold and to-the-point, which leads her down paths many have to chase after. Khaleel often wants to make sure his sister is doing alright, and tails her for that reason. She seems surprisingly closed-off from Layla Chandrani despite being seen around her often, though a majority of students know that she finds Layla Chandrani very capable. She regards Khalida Ahmad as her closest. [English-style] pronouns: She/her. Sexuality: it is unknown (not hetero) Special item: A book she's had for a while. It's unopenable. Likes: Being Khalida's Second; libraries; ascertaining the future; understanding her capabilities; her trio of siblings. Dislikes: Layla running after trouble; someone far apart; otherworldly shenanigans; an old friend; prophecies.

Khaleel Atif-Akinyemi: Khaleel Atif-Akinyemi is more quiet and—at 16—more unassuming than his older sister Alia Atif. While his elder sisters are associated heavily with their mother and seen as people who will attempt to uphold their mother's reputation, Khaleel is more of a daddy's boy. Despite his relationship with his father causing him a great deal of consternation and leaving him with internal conflict. Khaleel was childhood friends with Leo. He attempts to stay low-key, and yet more than a few have guessed that he is in love with him. Their current relationship is more at odds, though the Protector's network assumes they are close friends again due to the outward warmth they have around each other. It's the strangest thing. He's fond of Antonio Chandrani-Rivera, and considers Alejandro Altaha his friend. [English-style] pronouns: He/him. Sexuality: Gay Special item: A letter with a promise. The letter seems to have been crafted by a child with gray unknowable squiggle text, and there's a rainbowy word on it. There's two little brown-skinned children with black hair at the bottom drawn with happy anime eyes. Likes: Upcoming. Dislikes: Upcoming.

Leo Abara: Leo Abara is known as quite friendly, and yet many gauge it, his sharpness. Raj assesses the 16-year-old Leo to be an up-and-coming leader. He's rather calm and gets along with people well. Not only do people gather at his side easily, he's known to be quite the flirt, alike to Layla Chandrani but toward a wider range of genders. Antonio and Alejandro have small crushes on him; Leo mostly avoids flirting with them. While he's among the most powerful in the Protector's class, it's been observed, how he's quite careful and avoids being over-flashy. To an extent, at least. His relationship with Khaleel is quite curious. Alia regards him as an old friend, though in the end, both know about the trouble between the Atif-Akinyemi and the Abara families. [English-style] pronouns: He/him. Sexuality: Bisexual Special item: A possibly ancient map with light obscuring it, as well as some sort of magical ward shown via rainbowing glitter that obscures the rest of it. Likes: Upcoming. Dislikes: Upcoming.

Khaleel's letter: A letter with a promise. The letter seems to have been crafted by a child with gray unknowable squiggle text, and there's a rainbow-y word on it. There's two little brown-skinned children with black hair at the bottom drawn with happy anime eyes.

[bedsheetghost413]

Ghost rants about Mariko Tamaki's "Skim."

Honestly, the Mariko Tamaki hate is kinda deserved because "I am Not Starfire" is a shitty self insert, and "Skim" has a literal teacher-student romance that isn't ever shown as really bad or illegal. But I think people ignore her other work that is actually kinda good. I grew up reading her comics in middle school, and they felt important and like they had something profound to say. Probably because I was a gay tween trying to figure out myself, but it still shows that they still had an effect on me. Particularly "This One Summer" and "Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me."

It's also kinda weird how the only people I've seen actually review her work are "comics/media is getting too woke now!!1!1!!!11" types. Like, it feels like they're just hating on her without trying to understand why certain artistic choices were made or if there was any meaning behind a character's actions. I remember that the art teacher did tell Skim she wanted to end things, idk if it was when Skim came to her house after she left the school or another thing, but every review I've seen skips over that. I feel like with the inclusion of that part, the story becomes more of a "teacher takes advantage of a student who feels lonely and isolated, feels guilty and bad about it, student still doesn't understand because she isn't mature enough to realize what happened was wrong" story. The art teacher feeling bad doesn't do anything to make the situation better or absolve her of her actions. She was the adult, and she should have kept things professional and legal. But it changes how the reader can interpret the story. I still don't understand why it was included, though. It could've just been a "gets a first girlfriend and then she breaks up with me for no reason" romance instead, maybe even make the girlfriend her friend's older sister (but still within an acceptable age range) to imply that the girlfriend broke up with Skim because she felt bad about dating her little sister's friend.

I always thought of "Skim" as being about a high school girl who's angsty and shitty. We're getting a small glimpse of her life and what happens in that time frame. We see how there's a tragedy at her school that she sees the response to as being "over dramatic." Which is ironic because Skim herself is just as dramatic, not how she thinks her classmates are being, but in the way a kid on a TV show goes through an edgy phase. I think people forget that a protagonist can be an asshole because that's another complaint I see brought up all the time. Skim is an ass. You don't have to like her, she doesn't care if you do, but she also does because she wants to be liked. She's a teenager, anyone who's recently been a teen, one that was an outcast like Skim and had an edgy phase, can relate to that. You want to be cool, but not like the popular kids are cool, so you go too far in the other direction, and you feel like everyone else doesn't like you, so now you feel like an outcast.

Another thing I don't get people complaining about is the diary format and how it's "too disjointed." It's a diary. Is it supposed to be like reading a day by day basis of what happened and how and where and when? No! A diary is meant to be a collection of thoughts, feelings, and other shit you want to get off your chest. Does it always work? No. Does it mean it's a bad format? No. I feel like it fits with what "Skim" is going for. It just may not have been executed well.

I think I might re-read all the books of hers I read as a kid to see if they still hold up as much as I felt they did. It's been a good few years since I've read any of Mariko Tamaki's books, so maybe I'll interpret things differently now. I based all of the above on what I remember thinking and how I interpreted the book when I read it in middle school.

[not-charley]

ask game!!! 18 soupy and candle

18 - How did I think they were as a kid?

SOUPY AND CANDLE the guys ever

I think that Snorpy was very shy when he was a little child and wasn't able to speak much til he was like 7. When he was little he idolized Floofty very much, as their parents were always busy and Floofty was the only one there to really care for him, and tried to replicate every single thing they'd do (and that included being mean to people sometimes lawl). I also like to think he was pretty short so he was intimidated a lot by others (was a little shorter than Chandlo when they first met) and then had the GROWTH SPURT OF THE CENTURY and got sooo much taller (because i love tropes like that). I also think that he had a huge attachment to Floofty (before getting as attached to Chandlo) and would panic everytime they aren't around or he got lost (honestly he would panic whenever he's somewhere and someone he knows isn't around anywhere). Despite everything though Snorpy's kinda a teacher's pet and would often make friends with teachers more than other students (except Chandlo) and was exceptionally smart and creative at his age and would win nearly every engineering fair. Also the type of kid to drive RV cars around the house to deliver messages instead of just walking and talking to people (sorry i have so many snorpy childhood headcanons oh my god)

Chandlo has two gay dads because I said so and I stole it off a fanfic. As a child Chandlo was always energetic and the type to win every game of tag because he's SO FAST and loved participating in games like such. Contrary to Snorpy, he's rather social and likes making friends with people (though he gets teased a lot and often mistaken as one of those stupid athletic kids). He was known to stand up to bullies as well (especially for Snorpy) buuut unfortunately he didn't have the same strength as he does in adulthood, so sometimes it would end in him getting beat up which pushed him harder to gain more muscle. I also like to think he was an avid fan of comic books as a child n would collect superhero figurines (sometimes he would share with Snorpy) and had such a collection of random posters his dads bought him at cheap sales. he has a bunch of broken boomboxes because he blares music so loud

For the two together I believe while they had a rocky start (Snorpy didn't particularly like Chandlo at first meet) they became INSEPARABLE and would do everything together. They would come over to each other's houses sooo often, went walking around random parts of town together, and whenever Snorpy was grounded Chandlo would find ways to break into his room like a knight in shining armor or something. Snorpy helped with Chandlo's homework and Chandlo helped Snorpy talk 2 others. They found themselves together (i hc them as t4t) andd yeah !!

Sorry if this was longer than anticipated lawl i like rambling. also sorry if its hard to understand, articulation isn't my strong suite

[og post]

[livvyofthelake]

well i'll speak on it anyway. first of all i DID actually like the first episode of the season overall (there was some stuff i didn't vibe with but as a whole episode it was a fine season opener). i feel like i've said my piece on not liking the 50s stuff but to reiterate: i don't like the idea that they'll be back in time for the whole season because it feels like we lost all the characters we know and love, and i don't like how riverdale suffers from 2017 teen drama syndrome in that it NEEDS to talk about the Issues Du Jour (be it gun violence, racism, sexual assault, homophobia, suicide, etc- season 2 was the biggest offender of this stuff) and all the Issues of the 50s are super heightened versions of current issues, and it gave us the first episode's insane tonal inconsistency with the emmet till stuff, and it's going to give us so much more of that as the season wears on, and i am particularly not excited for the homophobia stuff i know is coming. we already did all of this. i am so deeply unexcited for cheryl's school principal hates her because he suspects her of being sexually deviant and therefore evil thing. like. SO deeply unexcited.

speaking of riverdale's gay characters. WAS THERE NOT A MORE INTRIGUING WAY TO INTRODUCE CLAY. i don't care if he's kevin's husband in the comics or whatever, i don't like anything about the way that relationship was pathetically set up, i'd rather do kevin/fangs again. we all know at this point that i am a #koosegirl, and i know i'm coming off as if i'm just mad kevin's love interest isn't moose, but genuinely i would like clay if he was interesting AT ALL. and like what even happened to moose. did tabitha forget he existed when she sent everybody back in time. like. why would we end season 6 with an apparent koose endgame and then just drop him for the new guy. ras you had time you could literally have just written moose out in the middle of season 6 and i wouln't be so mad about this... like. it's looking like the endgames are bending towards kevin/clay, choni, and fangs and midge. which i don't like. speaking of characters that aren't there. um what about baby anthony.... we don't even need to get into it.

AND ALSO. veronica would not fucking do that. i know her and she would not fucking do that. i can't even elaborate it actually made me so mad what was going on with her this episode. i don't really love a lot of what's going on with veronica's characterization, and i don't think she would be into julian blossom at all even a little bit so jot THAT down.

speaking of that. what did trevor stines do to roberto to not be included here. where's jason. i hate julian fuck julian all my homies cannot stand julian.

also i don't like archie's characterization, unless there's gonna be a huge twist that he Knows he's in the past it just reads as lame to me. idk maybe i'm just not an archiegirl, i've never claimed to be. he peaked in season five to me. sorry. like what does he even do. drive a car. talk about wanting to date veronica. why isn't he playing music why isn't he having a troy bolton arc again. if i have to sit here and watch betty do the season 1 pine for archie edit the newspaper inner darkness struggle with outward performance of perfection thing AGAIN why are we not doing archie's music or sports thing again.

and finally it bothers me that jughead isn't like. in the group. he has a seperate group of friends away from archie, when archie is supposed to be his best friend. i understand it's a way to include more characters without making their friend group ridiculous but come on. jughead doesn't sit with archie at lunch? archie and betty and kevin et al are Too Cool to associate with the comic book fans EVER? they didn't even like, nod at each other in the hallway. come on.

anyway as i've said before, i survived once upon a time season 7, so none of this can ever hurt me. i'm just disappointed because i expected riverdale to be. well, better. good even. roberto you gotta put the good back in here soon i don't want a whole season of this.

if i spoke my truth about how i felt about last week’s riverdale the rivermutuals would crucify me.

[finniestoncrane]

just found your work, and i love your writting sm!!!! so i had to request a little something sjndjf i would love to see some general hcs for bane and a little rogue boyfriend, if you could please write some 👀👀. like really little, im talking a 2 feet height difference. sometimes he feels bad about his height and work as a villain yknow. and i would also love to see bane receiving comfort from him and some t4t couple wholesomeness if possible!!! (and if you could. stray away from s*x hcs thay would be wonderful) thank you! keep up the awesome work!!!

thank you so much!! i am BLUSHING.

ok my sweet love this is an ADORABLE idea and i hope i did it some justice for you 💚 i'm working on bane being roughly 7ft (as he is in comics etc.) and his bf being a true short king at around 5ft and the dynamics of being lifted and cared for by a big gentle giant are just *chef's kiss* (and if i got anything wrong or something isn't sitting right with you pls let me know omg i can only keep learning and bettering myself)

minors DNI!! 🔞 there's no nsfw as per request but don't come near my stuff anyway thanks

he has a tendency to think of you as his sidekick, but he means it in the most sincerely kind way. it's not that you're not as tough/strong/capable as him, but his instincts to protect you outweigh everything and in a dangerous moment, you're being tossed to safety like a football so he can face it alone

he also feels bad about you being in this lifestyle with him, it's hard to see him in danger and he knows that even though he looks indestructible it would still fill you with nerves and fear anytime you had to watch him fight because you know how vulnerable he is

even though he's a big and tough he needs you to look after him if he's taken a particularly tough beating. you're the only one gentle enough with his body, to tend to all of his wounds, to soothe his scars. you'll tell him he's strong and brave and wonderful and he only believes it from your mouth

a lot of the time he's hyper-aware about how much bigger he is than you, but he'd be extra gentle to counteract it. he's so feather light when holding your hand that you sometimes forget you're even enclosed in there. it's just because he's kind of clumsy. several times he's broken something around the house by knocking into it or handling it carelessly and seemingly forgetting his strength, but you assure him every time that possessions are fleeting and you would never be angry over an accident

but his height and strength definitely come in handy in domestic situations as well as when you're out being gay and doing crime™, and he likes to remind you of that, so he'll hide your aftershave, shaving stuff, medicines, t-shots/gel, your favourite foods, the t-shirts you like wearing best, high up so that you have to ask him for help to reach them and his favourite thing is to lift you under your arms and hold you up so you can grab what you need