#i need a new comic book tag i don't love my old one

[cowboyhorsegirl]

THE VARIANT COVER FOR 1872 #3 HELLO??????

#NATASHA NATASHA NATASHA #HER HAIR #also #natasha BARNES #sorry i'm gonna go. i'm gonna. i need to. i. sorry. sorry i'm gonna go i'm going to go meditate on this cover for like. at least a week now #1872 #1872 my beloved #natasha romanoff #red wolf #bestie red wolf <3 #worstie fisk #i'm not kidding i will kill wilson fucking fisk i HATE him #this art is incredible everyone pack it up art is over now we've peaked as a species i think #my employer's opinions #i need a new comic book tag i don't love my old one #but what? #evren reads a comic book #evreads

[sanctus-ingenium]

I was wondering how achieve such a wonderful textured finish on your pieces? They are wonderful and I love their resemblance to aged photographs and the speckles of colors in the backgrounds. Your art is mesmerizing :)

you can see some of the texture brush sets i use in my #info_asks tag but i have some more (procreate) tips aside from just brushes

also hi i made this whole thing and then stupidly hit ctrl z to erase ONE word and i lost the entire bottom half of the post and all my image descriptions so fuck you tumblr i had to make this twice

to get a faded photo or old digital screen look, consider duplicating the canvas (once all the layers are merged) and using a gaussian blur tool on the new duplicated layer. then set that to low opacity to add a misty sort of look. looks nice in combination with some chromatic abberation and a small bloom effect. then a subtle noise filter on top:

for faded print effects, it's really worthwhile to learn how to use layer masks. you can use a layer mask to non-destructively 'weather' blocks of colour or lineart, without erasing the layer itself. the weathered ink/block print effect here was made using layer masks which means that if i just hide the mask, the lineart becomes solid black again and easy to alter or colour in:

for old paper effects you can just set a paper texture on multiply over the art sure, but you can also combine it with the blur & bloom thing, a really subtle drop shadow and canvas tilt, and highlights to make it look like an aged photograph of a card. this originally had a transparent bg but i'll post it here with a white bg so that the drop shadow is more obvious. the scuffed edges of the card (left) were hand drawn, simple white stucco brush. the bigger patch of scuffed ink (top right) was a texture stamp.

for block print looks you can move the colour layer out of alignment by a few pixels - but only after you're absolutely sure you're done with it, otherwise you'll get something like this -

i forgot to erase out her eye before i moved the red layer so now her eye defeats the 'look' of a misaligned print. the black lineart and red layer were also given the same layer mask treatment as described above to make them look faded or like the ink didn't stick down right to the paper

you can do this with multiple colour layers too. if the colour layers are separated and set to multiply (as in this cmyk example), it'll leave halos and edges around each shape which mimic old comic book print

just to show what you can do WITHOUT any special brushes, here's a piece of one of my mez tarot cards from before i got any extra brushsets at all. for this one, i added a green tint over everything to mimic a sun-bleached or faded print (my actual goal wasn't 'medieval illustration' but actually 'trading card from the 60s that got left on someone's windowsill for decades'). the background texture is the procreate noise brush. the texture under the green lion drawing is the procreate concrete brush (to make it look painted onto a wall). the lettering and lineart is procreate's 6B pencil. but to properly aim for The Look of it being a printed physical object, i also used a perspective blur so that the edges are out of focus, and metallic gold highlights which don't match the lighting of the actual illustration and appear to be catching some other external light. that texture was made from the procreate noise brush

it's pretty simple compared to my later stuff but i still really like the effect

in terms of colours, you need to keep them unified so that they all appear to be acting under the same external light source, like if someone is holding up a torch to a painting then the painting colours will be glazed with firelight even if there's no painted fire. a really easy way to do this is to slap a multiply layer over everything in one shade - grey-yellow for a weathered paper look, or greenish blue for sunbleached photos. this unifies all the colours of the drawing. or you can apply a gradient map at a low opacity so that there's only a subtle change. or just do it by hand - if you want everything to be slightly tinted yellow, just pick the colours you normally would, but move the colour wheel towards yellow to get a yellowfied version of the base colour. easy

it's really important to consider how fading and weathering can affect printed colour. white paper yellows, black fades. you will rarely see pure black or pure white. which means you can use pure black or pure white to add external effects like the white scuff marks on the hierophant card. if the whole drawing is yellowed from age but there's some white somewhere, it's an easy shorthand to show that the scuff mark or whatever was not originally part of the drawing (great way to add some nasty stains lol)

#info asks #i don't have like a specific set of steps i follow i kind of freestyle it every time #obviously i have favourites i like to use but like that sphinx drawing? don't ask me how i did it because i don't remember #i just played with it until it looked nice. the blue dots are ... some sort of effect layer i don't remember which

[soft-for-them]

I don't know a thing about love - Daryl Dixon x plus size non-binary reader

Summary: A Daryl x plus size non-binary reader based off the song 'I don't know a thing about love' by the White Buffalo.

Comments and reblogs are much appreciated and help more people read my works.

A/N: This is both a non-binary reader and a plus size reader, so cis people this isn't for you. The reader has been left vague because this is a short fic and not all plus size non-binary people are afab (really, it's real problem with authors, non-binary people aren't women!) This is coming from your very own non-binary/queer op. 👍

Everyone knows that you and Daryl Dixon are partners but everyone also knows that your relationship, or lack thereof, is complicated.

It’s clear you love each other, Rick or Carl could tell you (with various amounts of excitement) about the first time the two of you met, how Daryl’s eye widened, how you smiled like you had be given the sun and moon.

From the very start of joining Rick’s group you had it hard. Having to explain to people that you’re non-binary and not a man or woman was hard, both for yourself because you were coming out again to complete strangers and for them for most of the group aren’t queer.

Carl got it straight away, he happily used your preferred pronouns and asked you many questions most of which weren’t about being trans but where about random this like comic books and how your survived.

Rick, Carol, Glenn and Maggie learnt quickly too whilst the rest took their time getting used to someone so different to their heteronormative life.

Maybe it was because living people are hard to come by, maybe it’s because most of the bigots of the group had met their grizzly end but somehow you feel safer with Rick’s little rag tag group of survivors then the people you house shared with before the apocalypse arose.

Then there’s Daryl.

Now don’t get me wrong, the first few weeks of you joining Rick’s crew he didn’t talk to you, he just stared at you. He was raised by bigoted people and he was trying to be better, before the end of times even began he was trying to be better. He wasn’t racist or homophobic like his dad or brother nor did he go out his way to antagonise anyone (for he isn’t Merle after all) but still he was learning.

He was drawn to you, it made him panic just a bit but he has long realised that he isn’t so straight, that he identifies with both Bisexual, Pansexual and Queer, that he didn’t need a label for one he loves you and two who fucking cares.

But still it took a long time to come to terms with, thankfully you were there with him to help.

He remembers one day when you still were new and everyone was still stuck in the prison out the blue he asked about your jacket, an oversized black denim jacket sparsely covered in handmade patches.

You told him about the small amount of patches that you had; a non-binary flag on the breast pocket, an anti-Nazi patch on your arm, two ridged band patches that really should have been ironed on instead of sew on dotted around, tin badges decorating the collar like a jewelled necklace.

Over the years the jacket has evolved like he has, both have become more outward and full of love.

Daryl still cracks a smile at the back patch adorning your jacket made out of an old t-shirt of Carl’s that depicted a superhero dog.

You and Daryl talk, sleep close, sneak kisses when people aren’t looking, go hunting together, laugh at each other’s silly jokes. You’re out going and talkative whilst he stands back quiet and stoic his eyes always filled with love for you. You share clothes like it’s nothing, he loves holding you close at night the feeling of your plush body against his better than any bed or pillow, he knows you in and out, as do you for him.

But somehow still the two of you have never breached the subject of how much you love each other, you’ve neither had the conversation trying to figure out what to call one another.

Well not until today.

Sitting idly on the front porch of a nice enough house in Alexandria you work away under the watchful eye of your lover.

It was no surprise that you and Daryl were put together in the same home, neither is it a surprise that you both sit so close as the sky starts to turn orange, the sun slowly setting and the moon rising into the sky.

Knees touching, you carefully try to stick on a new patch onto your jacket next to one of many pride flags you’ve acclimated over the years.

Daryl leans over watching you quietly sew wonky stitches, his face almost pressed to the side of your round cheek.

“You know what Daryl?” you whisper, eyes flickering up to look up at him.

He just hums out a yes.

“When I first met you I didn’t know anything about love, I don’t think I fully know a thing about love now but with you I- I well-“ you face goes warm, your fingers stop sewing as he looks up at you with sparkling eyes, “-I think I’m learning because of you.”

He just stares at you for a moment, shock and what you assume is love morphing his face into a sweet smile.

That moment disappears as he leans down and kisses you, his chapped lips gentle on yours, your hands dropping your handiwork on your lap to hold his face in place.

You pull away first but still hold onto him with pin pricked hands, eye still connected staring like a fool at him, happiness flooding through your bodies.

“For years I was told I’d never find love because of who I am-“ you begin again still in a whisper, the thoughts of the long dead people who said such cruel things being pushed away by the many memories of your and Daryl.

You push a piece of his long brown hair back from his face, you smile growing big and proud.

“- but I had been looking for love below and above despite all the dead roaming around and then there you were.”

He lets out a small chuckle, one that isn’t filled with malice like old lovers did but one filled with a joy you’ve only seen for yourself.

“Do you?” he asks covering your wondering hands with his, “Because I do, I love you.”

“So many eyes in the world are searching for love and somehow I find you, of course I love you Daryl.”

The two of you laugh together as you kiss again, the set of wings you were stitching onto your jacket fully discarded as the kiss deepens.

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon x plus size reader #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon x nonbinary reader #x nonbinary reader #nonbinary #x plus size reader #the walking dead #the walking dead x reader

[chucktaylorupset]

9 People to Get to Know Better (Tag Game)

tagged by @immortaljailor thanks for tossing me a free one, badumtss

3 ships you like:

Kabru x Laius Touden (Dungeon Meshi) Autistic narrative foils who fuck. One is a blond bombshell of a knight and the other is a short king (well, not literally, but). I love ships where one is like, internally tearing apart their mental furniture about their dick getting them into this situation, and the other one is like hee hoo i love you!

Keeley Jones x Roy Kent x Jamie Tartt (Ted Lasso) Everyone here is hot and prone to hilarious stupidity. Roy is almost definitely internally screeching about willingly sticking his dick in Jamie.

Louis de Pointe du Lac x Daniel Molloy (Interview With the Vampire (TV)) Listen. Listen I know the entire point of this show is that Louis does not get better with every old man he hooks up with. I know that. But hear me out: third try's the charm

First ship ever:

This memory could not be retrieved. If you go in my blog archive, Cassian Andor x Bodhi Rook (Rogue One) is there pretty early tho

Last song you heard:

all eyes on me - bo burnham transposed to his original voice the way this hits different than the original haunts me

Favorite childhood book:

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Waterson I don't know which volume, we owned a lot when I was growing up, but my dad would read them to me and my sister, and he would do voices. It made reading the hamster huey and the gooey kablooey comic very meta. The irony is I was very much a Susie growing up, and now I am nearly ideologically identical to Calvin. I did like the jokes, but also I just really liked Hobbes because he was a tiger.

Currently reading:

TCGF book 1 recommended by @sidecharactersdomatter, just want to be able to hang out in the same fandom/narrative spaces Babel by R.F. Kuang, given to me by a friend

Currently consuming:

Dungeon meshi anime, the magnus protocol kinda? I'm behind on both. I have a bunch of series I have ADHD wandered away from like the Bear s2, despite it being very good. I have entered the workforce and the things I do has decreased to focus on facillitating that. It is very sad.

Currently craving:

More Labru. More blonde bombshell knight bottoming. I know the labru fandom has mercifully universally agreed that the tall one gets to be the bottom this time, but I need more! (i have more, i just lack the mood and the willpower to write. i should probably post the concepts as bullet fics)

we're going to my extended family's soon for a belated lunar new year and i wanna eat my ba ngoais curry and the family egg rolls. let's GOOO

my mood's been in a gully lately but i wanna get back to the part where i'm ENERGIZED and DOING THINGS and it's not SO FUCKING COLD OUTSIDE

Tagging:

@sidecharactersdomatter, @fratgrl, @unbenchthekench @captainjonnitkessler @liesmyth @belovedblabber @professorsparklepants @twyrrinren @dabidagoose and anyone else who wants to join in!

#my post #tag game #focusing on this improved my mood. wow!!

[nocompromise-noregrets]

20 questions for fic writers

The impossibly lovely @mihrsuri tagged me in this a couple of weeks ago, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get round to it - but I find myself in need of distraction, just a little bit, as Last Cat Standing is in the veterinary hospital getting his radioactive iodine treatment for his thyroid, and we can't have him back for maybe ten days as he's going to be somewhat radioactive for a little while; I'm sure he's going to be fine (this is the treatment described to me by the treating vet as both 'the gold standard' and 'magical', in that it's effective in 99.5% of cases, and in the 0.5% it isn't, they just give it another go and then it's effective), but we haven't had an entirely cat-free house for this long in 20 years, and I'm feeling a bit weird about it. Also I'm procrastinating finishing off an essay plan (I'd rather just write the damn essay but no, we have to submit a plan for tutor feedback to make sure we're on the right lines, and as you all know by now, that's really not how I work XD )

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 362 (plus another 76 on the other account for the fandom that does not speak its name...)

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 1,491,388 (good grief; nearly 1.5 million?! and if you add in the 270,606 on the other account, that's 1,761,994 O.O )

3. What fandoms do you write for? Tolkien (chiefly the Hobbit movies, and LotR, a mix of movie and book-'verse); King Arthur (2004); Fisherman's Friends (fandom of one); The Alienist (TV; occasionally); Marvel (occasionally, chiefly bits of the MCU and X-Men comics/Evolution); Top Gun (here and there) - and a bewildering number of others...

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? My Heart Is An Empty Vessel (621); Shape Up (422); Safe (414); Not Alone (413); The Unworn Jumpers of Molly Weasley (343)

This is bewildering but also a fine illustration of the vagaries of AO3 and the absolute folly of measuring anything by the amount of kudos a fic has: Empty Vessel is three and a half years old, took two years to post and has 115 chapters, so was at the top of the tag many many times over those two years. Shape Up and Safe were written and posted not long after Top Gun: Maverick came out (I don't know how busy the tag still is, but it was very busy when the film came out so the fics in that fandom got a lot of interaction because a lot of people were there looking for fics) and are both one-shots. Not Alone is also a one-shot (for X-Men: Evolution) and has been up on AO3 for nearly twelve years (and has had a bit of a boost with the release of X-Men '97). And Unworn Jumpers (on which I really ought to put some sort of disclaimer, along with the small handful of other ancient HP fics I've got up there) is a seasonal one-shot that's been up for over ten years and tends to get a bit of a boost every December. So *shrugs* go figure. And if anyone wants to help the only HP fic in the top five not be in the top five any more, Come Home is only 36 behind it, and it is fluffy and cute and has Elrohir persuading Maglor to come to Imladris for Midwinter somewhat in the guise of the Elfling he hasn't been for a very long time... :D

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes. Sometimes it takes me a while (oh god six months, but I got up to speed with them all and now I'm trying to make sure I do it within a week) as I am a champion procrastinator but I feel it's important for me to say thank you. And sometimes squee a bit. :D And sometimes it makes me a new friend, which is extra-awesome.

I have a few very very old comments on the stuff I posted before 2020 which I never did get round to answering, which I feel bad about, but I also feel like it would be weird to go back and answer them now...I dunno, what do you guys think?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't do angsty endings very often, but The Last Watch (in which Bard dies) is really sad, and Never Forgotten and See This Storm Through (in which Sigrid and Thranduil comfort each other after the funeral, and Legolas comes home to Dale to look after his father and his family and grieve with them, respectively) are almost as sad although they both end with a small amount of hope.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Ah, most of my fics end happily :D I'm far too tired for anything but, most of the time, these days. But let's face it, My Heart Is An Empty Vessel ends with a coronation and a wedding (spoiler alert! XD ) so let's go for that one.

8. Do you get hate on fics? I am lucky; the closest I've had was some anon complaining about Empty-Handed being a spoiler for the then-unposted Empty Vessel although the events it 'spoiled' were inevitable in the context of a mortal-immortal relationship, and someone whingeing in a bookmark comment that Thorin and Bilbo don't even talk until the end of Mr Underhill's Finest Seafood Specialities, thus completely missing the point of the fic (and the 'past' after the pairing tag) - it wasn't about them - which made me chuckle as much as the rudeness annoyed me.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Sometimes. I have phases when I feel like it, and (much longer) phases when I don't. It's generally only fairly tame and euphemistic (with the single and solitary exception of that one hanahaki fic about the twins the premise for which, although not the smut, came to me in a dream) and probably not all that imaginative since, as the acest of aces, the whole idea completely bewilders me XD

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Not unless you count various different parts of the Tolkien legendarium. My brain just doesn't work that way.

11. (there doesn't seem to be a question 11; I feel like this might be one of those Tumblr traditions, as I've definitely done question memes on here before that have been lacking in a question 11...)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I have! I am deeply honoured that my KA fic Anniversaries was translated into Russian by Elenabu some years ago, and It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like... appears on Lofter in Mandarin, translated by AntheaXi. There were a couple of other Russian translations of some of my very old stories, but that was 15 or 20 years ago and I can't actually remember which or where.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have! A long long time ago, the fic that eventually became the original novel that is Two of a Kind, the tale of Hal and Jack, was a co-production, and I really enjoy bouncing ideas back and forth - and of course, there is the Tudors OT3-'verse fandom stuff that @mihrsuri and I have been pinging to and fro just recently, which is also hugely enjoyable. :D :D :D

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Oh, too many to name! Gawain/Galahad from KA2004, the bi widower dads, Legolas/Imrahil, Elladan/Elrohir, Erestor/Glorfindel, Sigrid/Tauriel, to name but a few.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I am determined to finish All I Want Is You. I am also determined to finish part whatever it is now of It's Always Been You, although that's been on the back burner for a long long time. There's one WIP on the other account which I'm also determined to finish although who knows if I'll ever get there. I'm not one for saying never, though. I was out of Tolkien fandom for 16 years, and after the fandom that does not speak its name fizzled out, I genuinely thought I'd never write again. And yet...here I am.

16. What are your writing strengths? Ooooh, I dunno. Spelling, punctuation and grammar, dialogue, leavening the serious romantic stuff with a bit of humour, kindness and love for the characters and settings, happy endings and quite a lot of fluff. :D

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Plot. XD Can't plot to save my life.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Only when necessary for character reasons, and always provide a translation. Otherwise you're shutting out readers who don't understand (unless it's not important that they actually understand precisely what's being said as long as they get the gist).

19. First fandom you wrote for? Knowingly? X-Men (comics), and that fic is here, although I posted it ten-odd years after first posting it to ff.net.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? All of them. I cannot possibly choose.

Thank you so much for the tag, lovely! Entirely no-obligation tags go to @lemurious, @verecunda, @writerman, @scary-grace, @seagull-energy, @herawell, @thenookienostradamus, @sallysavestheday, @myeaglesong, @palavapeite, @bigneonglitter, @bishkebab, @peonybroadbeltofbuckland, @redeemer46, @spiced-wine-fic and anyone else who wants to do this - if you see this and fancy it, please consider yourself well and truly tagged!

#tag game #my writing #wheeeee thank you! <333333

[blackplaaague]

🌡🧪💉Hey, y'all! 🌡🧪💉

☢️ Blackplaaague here! ☢️

🩻 I'm a comic artist, internet cartoonist, and goofy little guy who enjoys voice acting, diy clothing, doll customization, and hyperfixating on weird, niche lore for weird, niche things! 🩻

Art sideblog: https://www.tumblr.com/blackplaaaguesketchbook

Why I alternate text: https://www.tumblr.com/blackplaaague/730625551588540416/how-exactly-does-bolding-your-words-help-you-read?source=share

Boundaries:

🗝 I'm currently writing Victoria Darken, a part-comedy, part-horror, sapphic love story about a feral scientist in a city full of cryptids, set in the 1910s. 🗝

🥼 I have other projects going on behind the scenes, too... let's just say I love cosplay! 🥼

🧪 Feel free to drop by anytime to ask me a question or just to chat. I post a lot more memes than art. Anyone can interact, as long as: 🧪

~You aren't here to spread hate

~You're not Racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/aphobic/etc

~Only interacting with an 18+ blog

~Also, no terfs, please, that kind of mindset kinda messes with my vibes :|

>:)

About me!

🩵🤍🩶 I am a demigender/genderqueer person who uses they/he pronouns, but I'd be fine with being called an it if you're using it in a reclaimed way. 🩵🤍🩶

⚠️ My name is Ellis, but I also go by Corvus and Viktor because those are my personally-selected middle names and they go hard. ⚠️

☣️ I'm a baby punk, new to the subculture, and I'd love tips and band recs! ☣️

💉 I write my own music, and want to get into dollmaking and wig styling. 💉

🥩 My whole aesthetic is a combination of, like... rotting meat, mad-science-looking-radioactive stuff, and classic punk, so my blog is kind of styled like that. 🥩

☢️ I'm a big fan of a lot of things, but I don't like fandom culture just because of a long history of being bullied. ☢️

💚 I alternate my text like this to help my pals with ADHD read through long text faster, it really works! 💚

Tags I use:

Fnoof: this is how I tag FNaF-related posts. I also have "Link" for all of the Zelda franchise and "he head a cup" for Cuphead. I'm very sorry for being cringe about my favorite video games. It will happen again.

Link: We just explained this

He head a cup: we just explained this, too

VD stuff: me rambling about my webcomic

BP rambles: literally anything I said, in the tags or my own post, that I think is funny. There's some gems in there.

VD spoilers: this is, obviously, spoilers for my comic. Spoilers/gore/other stuff like that is always tagged with a simple tw tag.

Mother Corporation: this is my FNaF AU that I had to make because I couldn't bear to let one of the games of all time rot in a muddle of confusing plotlines and pixel-art character models when I could rewrite half the games on a whim. It's actually pretty good, and only about as canon-deviant as the books and stuff, but I'm aware it's cringe of me so you can filter that tag out if you want.

I love you platonically: positivity and mental health reminders

Summoning the mutuals: I'm tagging people in this post and it could be you.

Peace and love on planet punk rock: this has been a psa about what punk is (a subculture about self-expression, uplifting those smaller than you, and overthrowing bigotry) and what it is not (homophobia, racism, transphobia, etc)

Daily reminder to stay alive: all the posts from my "list to stay alive" queue. I could've made a sideblog, but those always take a long time to get going and I get hundreds of reblogs from friends here who needed it. I'm just glad to help people with them.

Ellis' sketchbook/Blackplaaague's sketchbook: art posts also uploaded on my sideblog @blackplaaaguesketchbook

I'll keep adding new tags and updates as I get new interests and such. This blog is as fluid as I am.

Please keep in mind that, even though I do not have a 200-page DNI, hate, bullying, harassment, or prejudice of any kind is not allowed on this blog. In the tags, the comments, the reblogs, nothing. If you send hateful content to my mutuals and my blog, you're getting blocked on sight. This is a safe space.

🖤🩶💚🤍 ...Also I'm aromantic btw 💚🤍🩶🖤

If we're mutuals, I will read all your posts and it will be great.

Nice to meet you! See ya around!

--Blackplaaague/Ellis

(DM me if any of these images are yours and you'd like credit, I can't remember where I got these, regrettably, and I'd like to provide credit so people can see more of the creator's content!)

IMPORTANT INFO REGARDING FANDOM, BOUNDARIES, AND VICTORIA DARKEN

Link to full post (check reblogs):

https://www.tumblr.com/blackplaaague/729620629418131456/this-might-be-a-stupid-question-but

🖤 I'm not Vivziepop. I'm not Lauren Faust. I am a teenager who likes gothic literature and silly cartoons, and I do this all for my own amusement. If I'm not liking the vibe, I'm out. 🖤

💚 From now on, we are setting boundaries: 💚

*Boundaries in linked post*

Thanks for understanding,

☢️ Ellis ☢️

#bp rambles #blackplaaague #about me #meet the blogger #meet the artist #artists on tumblr #victoria darken #art #about myself #he/they #they/he #artist #digital artist #comic creator #cartoonist #hatsune miku #frankenstien #aro #aromantic #asexual #ace #aroace #demiboy #demiguy #demimale #demiman #demigender #transgender pride #trans #genderqueer

[anakinfallen]

top 9 books

tagged by @gayarthur

(not in any order)

1. in memoriam by alice winn

as soon as i started reading this book i knew i wanted to reread with a pen. queer book set during ww1

2. blue lily, lily blue by maggie stiefvater

this book (and trc in general) had me in a chokehold when i read it in high school, not plot just vibes, the levels of mutual pining had me going insane

3. if we were villains by m l rio

i started this intending to only read about half go to bed and then finish it the next day because i’d already read one book that day and i finished it that night. another book i need to revisit with a pen. it has it all: murder, shakespeare

4. a man called ove by fredrik backman

this book is translated from swedish. the last book i read last year and the end had me sobbing. grumpy old man (who reminded me of my granddad) developing meaningful connections with his neighbours

5. the hunger games by suzanne collins

it feels like such a basic answer but this was one of the first books i ever sat down and read in one day. i borrowed it from the school library that morning and started it when our teacher gave us “free time” during our social science class and finished it at 1am. also when i was first on tumblr i was a hunger games blog (not this tumblr but my old one rip)

6. the poppy war trilogy by r f kuang (i know i cheated by including the entire trilogy but i don't care)

just this entire trilogy is so good (definitely check trigger warnings before reading though). i was originally intrigued by this series because it was described as “what if azula was the avatar” but it is so much more than that. explores the effects of war and colonialism

7. weather girl by rachel lynn solomon

one of my favourite romance books, two people who work for the same news channel work together to gets their divorced bosses back together (i just really love this trope, see: one of my favourite romcoms is set it up). touches on mental health issues.

8. six of crows by leigh bardugo

another super basic answer but i also hate that this book is considered a "booktok book" when it was originally a "tumblr book" but i loved all the crows (and also the pining between kaz and inej). just ✨fantasy heist✨

9. vicious by v e schwab

i have always been a big reader but this book got me seriously back into reading after i graduated uni and started working full time. the relationship between victor and eli is just so good and toxic and fascinating. i just love the way v e schwab writes

special mention to summer sons by lee mandelo because it was so so so good

and also the bumper book of peanuts comics because i love flicking through it when i need a pick me up

this list was genuinely so hard for me because i read so many books and then forget about them except for the feeling it left me

it also started with me trying to give short descriptions as to why i liked the books and ended in word vomit

also going to plug my storygraph (and if you see i'm 50 books behind on my goal no you didn't)

tagging @shitouttabuck @fatedking @disasterbuckdiaz @enchantingverse @uelut-erinaceus @killianjonesz

#tag game #thank you andrew for giving me an excuse to talk about books #this had me staring at all my books trying to pick out my favourites #i know some of you have probably already been tagged but if you haven't done it yet then it still counts #i was so tempted to include one of my hockey romance books in here

[finniestoncrane]

I'm here for a blind date I'm genderfluid (afab if you're wondering. I apparently give off Boy Vibes™)

I love dinosaurs (some of my favorites include Archaeopteryx, Australovenator, and Baryonyx, Minmi, Oviraptor, and Yi qi) comic books (mostly Suicide Squad but you already know that by now), and I'm trying to get into cars because I want to be an automechanic, since my grades weren't good enough for paleontology and I suck at art. College wasn't right for me and being an automechanic is probably like... A trade school thing, right? I also like Transformers. I got a mullet at one point, but it grew out a bit lol. I'm kinda clumsy, which is pretty evident since my glasses keep breaking lol. Not like I can afford new ones so I guess I'm using duck tape and super glue to keep the frames in... 2 pieces I guess. I guess it's just duck tape keeping the ear things on. I really got into old monster movies in Middle School because of a book called the encyclopedia of monsters. From like... The really old ones like The Blob That Ate Everything to the ones from to the slightly more recent ones but they're still decades old, like the Alien Franchise. Not too big of a fan of regular (?) horror movies. Technically I haven't seen most of the alien movies, but I really liked Alien VS Predator so I think that counts enough. I know I've already told you this but I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole of wilderness survival and eventually wound up finding a channel about boomerangs and the occasional Australian wildlife video (there's one titled Kangaroo Maggots. He finds a kangaroo corpse at the side of the road and maggots are inside of it. Really fucking gross. 0/10. Do not recommend if you hate maggots. Don't know why I watched that specific video honestly, but all the rest are good). Which lead me to another channel about Australian animals. I'm American and idk how tf I got from how to cook a cactus to watching a video on dingoes. I play a lot of simulator games. Like... If you look at my steam library it's like... 99% simulator games, the Batman: Arkham Series, and then a hunting game for some reason. And even then I think that's a hunting simulator come to think about it. Don't know why I like Simulator Games, I just do. Wait... Does the Arkham series count as simulator games? Like... Are they technically Batman simulators. I love reptiles and rats, but I fucking hate spiders. Need an Australian Man™ to help me if a spider is near lol. You know wow I'm talking about here I tend to get overexcited when myself or others are talking about stuff I'm interested in. I go on long tangents about stuff I like. I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to my semi-niche interests. I do enjoy listening to people go on their own tangents about things they like too though.

It's also quite apparent I have a thing for weird and/or disgusting fictional men ( my taste in women is better I swear. (Will fall for any tall woman who even looks in my direction. Which isn't saying much cuz I'm 4'10¾") )

💜 blind date 💜 the kitchen is now closed! 🔞minors dni🔞 • masterlist • kofi link • tag: finnie1500 (to follow or to block) a/n: hi please come in and distract this idiot, quickly, quicker, HURRY 💚

"Hi, uh-huh, welcome to the Vill-Inn. Can I just... sit you down as quickly as possible? If your date asks any of us if we want to see his big, curvy weapon one more time, we are going to escort him from the premises. Good luck!"

The moment you sit down at your table, after being rushed over by the waitstaff, you're met with a wide and mischievous grin, a signature smile from a man you recognise.

"I go by many names. Captain Boomerang, George, Digger. But you can call me daddy, if you like."

You screw your face up a bit, trying to pretend like that line didn't get you, and he's quick to try and win you over.

"I'm joking, love! Lighten up, it's a blind date, it's supposed to be fun!"

At least he's quick to... not apologise for his jokes, but to try and recover from them. And he's also surprisingly interested in you, and in getting to know you. Although, you fear it's just so he can make more risque jokes.

"Ah, mechanics. So... you're good with your hands then? You wear one of them little overall things? With anything underneath?"

The loud laugh he lets out at the end of his remarks are so endearing though, they make his lewd comments almost charming. Which you're unsurprised by, given your specific taste in men. He's perfectly strange and definitely a little bit gross, just how you like them.

He comments on your glasses, mentioning that you seem like someone who is a creative problem solver. A comment that feels like a proper compliment, not just a segue into another flirtatious remark. And it feels like he's dialing down on that the more he gets to know you. he talks to you about horror films for twenty minutes without saying anything lewd or crude. It's almost like it's a defense mechanism he uses to keep a distance, to maintain his facade.

In fact, he barely says anything at all when you're telling him about your preference for classic horror, and what video games you're interested in. Almost like he's enjoying learning about you. Almost like he can forego his usual ridiculously brazen behaviour around you. And you're more than happy to return the favour when he gets excited about boomerangs. Your fault for mentioning them.

"Yeah, you can learn a lot from a video online about surviving in the outback, but if you're ever looking for private tutoring, I'm your man."

He winks with this statement, but you can tell there's sincerity behind the offer. The fact that you're willing to listen politely, and that you seem interested in him when he's talking about subjects that are so personal to him, makes him feel very at home around you. And you're warming up to him, to the point where you can make some jokes too. I mean, no harm in joking about inviting him round to your place to get rid of some scary spiders, since he's Australian Outback Extroardinaire.

"Listen, for you, I can let myself be more of a hero than anti-hero for a change. Show me the little buggers and I'll have your house spider free in no time."

He winks again, and you're so fond of it that you can't help but imagine a life of being winked at across tables. A strange, happily ever after.

#finnie writes #finnie1500 #long post

[literaticat]

Hi Jennifer,

So art notes for PB should be minimal. We’re supposed leave absolutely as much room for the illustrator as possible.

But for graphic novels, the writer provides lots of descriptions, breaks the script into pages and panels, has notes about emotions and tone, etc etc. There’s so much to do in illustrating a GN that it takes some load off the artist to predecide a lot of stuff.

So, my question is: how should a writer (who is not an illustrator) format a “script” for a comics-style pb and handle those “art notes”? Do PB editors know how to read a comics script? Should we still be leaving as much room for the illustrator as possible? Should we break the script into pages and panels?

Thank you!!!

First, yes, you are correct on both your first points.

A script for a graphic novel looks much like a screenplay. The "Art Notes" are where descriptive places would be in a screenplay. The dialogue is tagged, as are sound effects.

So it might look something like:

--

Page 1.

Exterior, a suburban neighborhood at sunset -- the street lights have just come on, and a boy, age 10, stocky build, is building something in a treehouse while MOM, still wearing nursing scrubs from a long day at work, calls to him from the doorway.

1981: Two Days Before Doomsday

It started like every other night.

MOM: "Johnny Jefferson, you get in this house right now!"

JOHNNY: [hastily putting a cover over his creation] "ALRIGHT, Ma!"

[Johnny scrambles out of the tree-house and Mom returns to the kitchen]

Page 2.

Interior, a homey but somewhat cluttered working class home. DAD is already at the table, drinking a beer and watching the news on an old-fashioned small B&W TV. 12-year-old sister JOSIE is setting the table with a sour expression on her face, Mom is clearly annoyed and plating lasagna as Johnny, disheveled, pulls up a chair.

TV announcer: [blaring] "More after an ad from our sponsor!"

JOSIE: "Thanks for helping, nimrod!"

JOHNNY: "Whatever, buttface!"

MOM: "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!"

The kids are shocked silent

TV: "Friends, do you have wobbly dentures?"

MOM: "DAVE. TV. NOW."

Dad shuts off the TV and everyone is now obviously abashed and on their "best behavior"

MOM: "THANK you." [demeanor changes to bright and cheery] "Now, who is going to say Grace?"

--

Though that's just a for-example. There are lots of ways to do it, and you aren't going to get dinged as long as you are consistent and it makes sense. You are leaving room for the illustrator here - you don't need to specify exactly what the characters are wearing or what they look like or what is happening unless it's actually important to the story. So for some stories, these descriptions will be VERY important. For some, not so much. In my example, it's important that Johnny is 10, that he's stocky, that the neighborhood is suburban, that the mom is a nurse, that the street lights have just come on, that they have a small, old TV, that dad is drinking beer, that it's a little cluttered, etc. It's NOT particularly important what kind of home it is (craftsman? ranch? etc) or what color hair mom has or what the other details are -- the illustrator will add all kinds of other details that round out this family.

Some authors do paginate, and I think can be helpful for you to do so so that both you, and the reader/editor/artist can tell how many pages the dang thing is going to be and approximately what's on each page -- if you have a TON of dialogue on one page for example, that's going to be a problem -- the artist needs to actually have room for all those words AND the pictures. Some authors get into the weeds about panels-per-page, etc, some only put that when it is important to the pacing of the page or something. Neither is strictly necessary, though.

There are lots of resources about how to format a GN online, and I'd also suggest you study books like Words for Pictures and Understanding Comics (and I'm sure there are lots of other good ones!) so you can get a better idea of what the medium is all about.

(And a PB editor may or may not be a GN editor. GN editors do, indeed, know how to read a GN script!)

#graphic novels #formatting

[nekofra]

15 questions for 15 mutuals

1. Are you named after anyone? Nope

2. When was the last time you cried? I think it was about 2 weeks ago. I was in a really foul mood because my mind was thinking something about being always the third wheel/nobody will ever need you smth like this

3. Do you have kids? too young and with no money so (also I don't know if I really want one)

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I don't think so. I tend to stay silent if I don't know how to answer

5. What sports do you play/have you played? I've been skating for like 13 years and sometimes I look at old photos of me wearing costumes for competition and I miss those days

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people? I think what they wear. Maybe because in the last two years I finally found my (original and really colorful) style and idk I look at this details because I want to understand if I can "vibe" with them

7. Eye colour? Brown

8. Scary movies or happy ending? 100% happy ending. I really don't like horror films and such

9. Any special talents? Idk I do cross stitch and embroidery

10. Where were you born? Italy

11. What are your hobbies? Again cross stitch/embroidery, reading books, comics, mangas everything I'm open to all genres, going to thrift shops

12. Do you have any pets? Yes, two cats~

13. How tall are you? I think I shall correct in how short are you bc I'm 159 cm

14. Fave subject in school? English and literature

15. Dream job? Somewhere related to the world of books (like rn I'm working in a library and I love it)

Thanks @focryst for tagging me 🩷

And now that's my turn @ceenthesis @dattebasa @flvffy-cookie @miyukiissofine @fractured-sky @earlgreyflavoredbrat @vanille-sweet @disneysbiggestmistake @zoldyyks

Still new to Tumblr so I don't have so many to tag but feel free to do it~

Bonus pics of my cats 🩷enjoy🩷

[mini-uzzy]

YOOOO!! was tagged by @sleeplessincarcosa thank you very much 💖✨

Get to know a blogger!

Share your wallpaper

It's Phillip Graves!!

Last song you listened to

it's a beautiful song... jamming the new Periphery album now 👌

Currently reading

I don't read :( at least fictional books, I only read comics/manga and textbooks... but I'm gonna say 19 Days, a mxm comedy/drama manhua... been following this manhua for several years now and they just dropped an update today!!

Last movie

Like in a theater?? It's Thor : Love And Thunder...

Last show

oh man, it's been a WHILE since i watched anything, really... but my last show was Vikings...

Craving

LIQUOR and I mean a STRONG ONE...

What are you wearing right now

Speaking of alcohol, a shirt that says "Pilsen:Time:Na" in a digital clock font with a bottle of San Miguel beer beside it... aaaaand a strawberry patterned shorts... basically my clothes from yesterday, bc I haven't bathed yet...

How tall are you

NO I AM NOT DOING THIS - -

Piercings

Ears... well, I wanted to get nose piercing but I need a job...

Tattoos

One........... day 😅😭

Glasses/contacts

Glasses!! And I need a pair of new ones because my headaches are coming back...

Last thing you ate

Fried fish and rice with some chilli sauce... typical poor people food, we're broke atm...

Favorite color

For clothing it's black and warm greys... in general, I like blue, especially the darker shades... and mustard yellow...

Current obsession

Minecraft, well, I just restarted a world four days ago... Also binge watching geology related documentaries and gem faceting... still going in and out of watching some military videos, trying to add more lore and details for my COD OCs... aaaaaaand I also just rediscovered ERB, so yeah been binge watching those videos too...

Any pets

As I am writing this, there's Loki beside me... he's a black cat my mom found as a small kitten a few weeks ago... he's grown and healthy and is super energetic... on my feet lies Orange, an orange cat (very creative name) and she's very pregnant and cranky and dirty and stinky idk where she's been... and downstairs we have Bun, Kratos and Old Lady, all mischievous cats...

Favorite fictional character

Ivarr Ragnarsson (AC: Valhalla) this man is plaguing me for almost a year now... i dont mind it thoooo...

Last place you traveled

somewhere in Davao Oriental, for a family reunion... being the embarrassing relative as usual, got drunk and almost fell down a sea wall... otherwise I had a good time, and took nice pictures of the sunset...

I am tagging... @yeehawkins, @eljeebee, @vdk-hellscape, @brasideios, @voodoochild002, @pricescigar and anyone who wants to 💖✨

#ask/tag games :D #thamks ✨✨ #Spotify

[yarrayora]

end of the year book stuff tagged by @carriagelamp

How many books did you read this year?

does comic books count? if yes then i didn't count, if no then i'm pretty sure just two (but comics should absolutely count btw)

Did you reread anything? What?

i always reread servamp all the time so i can write Essays. also i reread katekyo hitman reborn for nostalgia and crossover reasons. TECHNICALLY i reread dante's inferno even though i never finished it because i'm not used to classic so i have to repeat the paragraphs before Getting it

What were your top five books of the year?

GIDEON THE NINTH!!! also Superman Smashes the Klan. the rest of the top 5 is servamp, unfortunately

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

if i have never read tamsyn muir's homestuck fic before then it would have been her, but because i have that means she's an old fave-- oH i guess ryohgo narita counts? i knew he wrote durarara but i never truly managed to appreciate his writing until i read dead mount deathplay

What genre did you read the most of?

fantasy, duh

Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

too like a lightning by ada palmer. i keep forgetting i already have an e-book of it

What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate?

i dont use goodreads thumbs up emoji

Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

yeah, finally reading original novels again. im trying to beat my ADHD so i can devour books the way i did during childhood

Did you get into any new genres?

new genre huh uhhhh... no. i know what i like

What was your favorite new release of the year?

i don't follow new release i just browse the bookstores and hope something speaks to me

What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

gideon the ninth

Any books that disappointed you?

i dropped a lot of books and nothing this year has disappointed me enough for me to remember their titles

What were your least favorite books of the year?

bungou stray dogs look the light novels are still REALLY well written. i also appreciate how beautiful the translation can be. but the canon storyline fucking sucks. it betrays its theme when it comes to handling abusers by making this little girl who gets physically abused by her dad as a form of discipline to look up to him as a hero because dad's a cop

What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

i don't care about something like that

Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?

i don't follow book awards either

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

i tried reading blue lock and it's the worst sports manga i have ever read. i can't get over how stupid the premise is. soccer is a team sport you idiot (note that this book didnt disappoint me because i never had any expectations for it in the first place)

Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

oh yeah JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World. I went into it expecting a cheap smutty story but turns out it's a pretty feminist narrative about sex workers and how no matter talented a woman is as long as the environment around her is aggressively and violently patriarchal those talents that would make men a hero would make women accused as demons-- but that's okay because you don't need the power to slay an entire army to change the world. sometimes, eating at a cafe in a world where women arent allowed to go outside without a chaperone is more revolutionary than magic that can burn a horde of monsters into cinders

How many books did you buy?

more than five

Did you use your library?

there is no usable library around me

What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

i dont follow new release remember

Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

oh yeh i watch them from the sideline with popcorn and all, thats crazy

What’s the longest book you read?

dante's inferno

What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book?

back when i was a kid i read three pjo books in one day. i don't do that anymore

Did you DNF anything? Why?

i read reeeeeeally slow now so it's less not finishing and more like taking long breaks inbetween

What reading goals do you have for next year?

finish gideon the ninth so i can read the next one

#yarra speaks

[carrie-tate]

Top 22 of 2022 End of the Year Game Tag

Well, as I understand it, I, too, have been drawn into this tag game. At least I was to mention @otomiya-tickles and @happyandticklish, thanks for that, in any case, I'm glad to join)

Part 1: Fandom Faves

1. Favorite new fandoms of the year You know, there are no exclusively new fandoms this year. Rather, my love for a couple of old fandoms caught fire in a new way. Like Mob Psycho 100 or Psychonauts. Oh! Milo Murphy's Law, Kaitou Joker, Inside Job, Super 4 (this two actually new…) and Percy Jackson too btw! Balan Wonderworld is deserves a mention too Okay, okay, that's all, otherwise I'll just go into the enumeration of ALL fandoms in general, because I don't know how to choose my favorite

2. Favorite new ships since this year If I lower my impudent ships with s/i, then I will say: Milo/Amanda (Milo Murphy's Law), Annabeth/Percy (Percy Jackson) Well, obviously Terumob and Shoritsu (Mob Psycho 100), haha

3. Favorite anime/TV show of the year Oh I also started watching Supernatural this year and I should keep watching (while I'm stuck on the first episodes of season 4), I definitely like this show Speaking of anime - Mob Psycho 100 and Kaitou Joker, I haven't really watched anything else huh

4. Favorite movie of the year Complicated question, yet I watch a lot of things, but at the same time I remember a little… Only Klaus (2019) and Rise of the Guardians come to mind, which I'm going to review closer to the holidays

5. Favorite character of the year Shigeo Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100), Rasputin Aquato (Psychonauts), Mini-Mini-King (Kaitou Joker), Stoll Brothers (Percy Jackson), Brett Hand (Insider Job)… *mumbles in enumeration*

6. Favorite soundtrack of the year The Meat Circus from Psychonauts (this tune haunted my mind for a month while I was playing the second part and actively sat in the fandom, haha) Crazy Necross from Vangers GO GO REIGEN! from Mob Psycho 100 which I just found but I love it and want to set it as my ringtone lol The whole Gris ost (the ending of the game makes me cry when I need to…), the whole Beetlejuice east… I guess that's it, heh.

7. Favorite book/manga/comic of the year Percy Jackson book series (honestly, I promise myself to still find time and read the Mark of Athena from the second cycle TwT)

8. Favorite game of the year Psychonauts 2, this game literally became the first platformer (well, in general, a game where you need to run, jump and beat enemies) that I went through completely And Little Inferno too

9. Highlight of this year to remember Entrance exams and college admissions, god it was this summer but it feels like it's been YEARS

Part 2: Community Review

10. Favorite Tumblr moments of 2022 To be honest, I haven't been as active on tumblr this year, so I have no idea what happened here in a year. That is, perhaps I know, but most likely I do not attach any importance to this.

11. Favorite fan art of the year Oh, there were two memorable fanarts that come to mind here and here

12. Favorite fic of the year Can I just say that ALL of Kanene's MP100 fics are my favorites at the moment? Like, so much so that I can't remember anything else lol

13. Favorite ask game of the year It's not like I'm involved in a lot of that, is it..? Maybe that recent fandom thing? This was fun

14. My top achievements as a writer/artist/creator/blogger The fact that I was able to get out of the shell and start interacting with really cool people from tk community, and the fact that I literally carring the mp100 fandom with my sketches, lmao

15. My own best fic/post of the year If we talk about the post that I am proud of, then this is one of the last posts with the Kageyama bros. I think I did a really good job on the poses this time

16. My most underappreciated fic/post of the year My posts are related to mp100 Beetlejuice!AU, because I want to develop this idea, but I think that people are not very interested in it

17. A post of mine that got more popularity than expected I'm still surprised by the popularity of that art with Shoritsu, which was one of my first posts on mp100 here, and probably one of my most popular posts in general…

18. Something I changed on my blog since this year Well, my blog is only a year old, so I can't say anything definitive…

Part 3: Next Year

I have such a spontaneous lifestyle that I don't have anything planned for next year huh, so I can't seem to answer the questions below…

19. Something I didn’t post this year but would like to do next year 20. Goals for next year 21. 2023 releases I look forward to the most

Part 4: Spreading Love

22. Shoutouts to people who made my 2022 a better year Well, then I'll throw everything under keep reading

@candyheartedchy, thank you for the fact that formally it was with you that my acquaintance with the existence of such a thing as s/i and f/o began! Your art is amazing and inspiring! @kanene-yaaay, I am sincerely grateful for every reblog of yours, like, this is one of the main incentives why I draw now. You are so emotional and bright, it's just amazing! @misaki-just-doodles and @we-dont-talk-about-potato-nonono, yes, we haven't talked in a while, but I'm really grateful to you two for supporting my work this summer. It was a great time and I hope you are doing well! @otomiya-tickles @ssnicker-doodless @vqler @thecomfortable even if it's still a little embarrassing for me to tag you, I want to say that I admire your creativity and you are like those cool older comrades that you look at and think "I want to be like this when I grow up", thanks for that!

#tag game #talk #top 22 of 2022

[hobbitsetal]

I saw your post on the entertainment debate floating around, and read the tags, so I was wondering if you did end up writing a post on storytelling and God?

Not a separate post as such, but I had a few under my "art faith and media" tag that probably qualify!

But for you, dear anon, let me go off just a bit because I'm procrastinating editing and this is a worthy writing project.

What has storytelling to do with God, first and foremost? I would argue He is the original Storyteller, that the Bible is the story of humanity's quest to understand and follow this Great Being Who reveals Himself to us in many ways and through various means.

Jesus taught through parables, in the tradition of various Jewish rabbis, as a Jewish rabbi Himself. God affirmed and continued the human yen for storytelling while He walked this earth with us. I find that eminently lovely.

The first followers of Christ were charged to go and spread the news of what God had done--charged to become storytellers and forth-tellers. Storytelling itself was changed by the presence of God. I've seen a post on Tumblr talking about the old story form of a man who loses his lover to death. The Greek myths end with him losing her forever. The stories post-Jesus end with him recovering her. Take that one with a grain of salt--I am no scholar and I can't find the post again--but it's a beautiful thought.

So, do we now go on to tell you to write stories with good Christian morals?

Absolutely not. If you set out to write a moral, you'll probably bore everybody. Write a good story and your own values will filter into it. Art is terrifyingly revelatory. I've laughed with my husband before over how various life changes and events and struggles seep into my characters and storytelling, whether I want them to or not.

And that brings me to what one might consider the heart of storytelling: knowledge and understanding. Those who read more widely are, apparently, more empathetic. Reading puts us in the shoes of others, in other situations and other worlds. Reading humanizes other people to us, and that is a valuable weapon against selfishness.

Storytelling gives us a safe way to work through questions and struggles. Some scholars apparently believe that the books of Job and Jonah don't describe historical events, but are records of the ancients Jews grappling with the problem of pain and with the idea of a God Who is willing to embrace even our worst enemies.

Storytelling gives us a medium to examine our world in a way that removes it from us just a bit, just enough to study issues with a little more breathing room. What makes a god? What is worth fighting for or dying for? How does one determine right and wrong when everything seems uncertain and you don't know who's lying?

What does hope look like in the face of great darkness? Read The Lord of the Rings. What might God's love look like in another world, in another place? Read C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, or his Space Trilogy. Is morality contingent on gods? What is the responsibility of those in power to defend against oppression, racism, abuse of power? Read Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

You don't need to agree with everything you read. I adore Pratchett, but he was an atheist and it shows in his writings, and I am very much a theist to my core. Nonetheless, he makes important observations about human nature and right and wrong.

If you read through a Christian lens--that is, through the mindset that there is a God, that He cares about us, and that objective right and wrong exist--everything you read has the potential to teach you important things.

Why am I talking so much about reading? Because I'm a writer, and reading is what I think of first. Movies, tv shows, podcasts, oral stories--all qualify equally as storytelling. I think art--paintings or web comics or whatever else you would like to name--can be storytelling. They all have the potential to move someone emotionally, to point them to insights about humanity, to provoke the imagination.

Storytelling, then, is a way to understand ourselves and the world around us better, both as it is and as it relates to God. Storytelling is a reflection of the Great Creator, the original Storyteller, the One Who knows us most intimately and perfectly...the One Who created us for joy.

Embrace imagination, my friend. It is created by God.

#art faith and media

[intolerancecare]

Books and Voice

I really don't understand why my voice changes. I have always been trying to hone my voice most especially when I'm using this language.

There is always a heavy baggage in my chest whenever I have Kris Aquino's kind of voice.

By the way, I bought a few books yesterday. I'm planning to donate them to a public school where I am immersing. They only have a small library. When I was a student, I don't usually have textbooks and workbooks. They are expensive. We just borrowed from other people. I was even sent outside class because of a rule that my teacher (who happens to be one of my brother's god mother) said. She didn't expect that I'll be the only one who will not bring a book in class. She gave me an old copy after. I don't really feel down just because I don't have school books. My mother was an English teacher. I have more access with reading books. All kinds since I was young. My classmates won't be able to read the books that I had. All stories. It started with fairy tale books that my mother's students lent me. Fairy tales and toy magazines. My mother has lots of reading books also that she uses for teaching. My kuya (cousin) has so many comics, he had daily supply of a local comics here in the Phils. Yes, Funny comics made me learn how to read. He had another collection when we got older. I was his book thief. He was also like my father and grandfather. They have favourite newspapers that they read every day. My family actually love the English language so much or we are so engrossed with foreign stuff. I also frequent the library because I always stay at school after class to wait for my mother who was teaching. It was my turf. One of my regrets, I refused to take the presidency of Book lovers club because I was already chosen to succeed a post in another club. It was a new club. Really made me sad that the officers aren't readers. Top students but not readers. Not book lovers. I had lots of reading books but I don't keep them, I lend them because borrow too. We passed on books.

I want to share what I thought was my advantage to some other kids. Maybe they won't be around the same people that I had or experience what I had. I want to leave the skills and knowledge. I thought if you are not rich in money, you can be with knowledge, and that is a good start.

I don't like this voice, my voice is skidding. My high school voice.

Another thing, some people are like leech, right? Like the G.

I made mistakes? because I am skeptic. I can list down what I did. they always put me in positions vulnerable to mistakes. I have no routine. Most of them prepared. Doing the same work in a day, in weeks and months and years (Hello brat). Me, changes tasks more than once in a day. I'll guess, the G managers are paying my cousins now? I have two siblings who said that their school is owned by a G but they were not mentioned in the school's history. why do you think I will not think that they are related to those who sent me to rehab? My siblings studied there during high school only. Just 4 years. They were already Valedictorians before enrolling. They can be good students anywhere. They don't have any right at me.

Yesterday, I also saw a man who looks like my molester. Scary. I was just too young to remember the exact face. A bit taller than the average, thin and crew cut hair. Ugly. the kind who wears dog tags. Illiterate kind of boys here. Dependent from family. Japayuki. You know my mother's family were poor mostly girls in a brood of 10. In that small puritan town, there are so many Japayuki's. My mother's sister had fights with those who were forcing them to be Japayuki's. Base on my orientation they are drinking club entertainers. Maybe the name was taken from the word Karayuki. I heard this from my History professor in UP. It means travelling prostitutes. I hate it that I was added to my family. I was a very, very minor then. My tito also worked in Japan. He had a very distinct position. We don't need them for any connection. They are probably lower than my tito's staff.

Maybe you get warried of me mentioning my family here. I miss my father's family. They are old, even my siblings who can reach them are parting away. I am the only one who is stagnant. Still a child. I helped raised my own family. I hope they will look back to those who help my parents raised us. We only joined my mother's family when I was already in college. My mother had again a longer feud with my father's. I mean, my younger siblings only got to know my mother's at that time. I hate it that we are parting from my father's because we have to help my mother's. But they are not like us. We strived to be independent. I don't see any hint that they are making moves to be independent someday. All relying to my brother. Me temporary because I don't want to be with them.

Cherry leech. I don't need their visa stamps.

[moonlightperseus]

That's fair, if it makes you feel better I experienced the opposite in a way (I was pretty much directly told I'd have to quit my job, which if I think about it is obvious, but I'm still so sad- I love my job and the people. Part of me is like "it's okay, I can quit my job, go to school, ask for my job back <3" as though It makes any sense to go back to my CASHIER job after completing four years of nursing school) 

And that's completely understandable, everything is one day at a time. I'm sure the future will be better!! 

I would love for that to be something I'm capable of but instead I'm way too?? Bad at consuming media. Like TWO of my friends LOVE sandman so I was like "okay I'll watch it for you guys" put it on and didn't pay attention to a single second. 

I honestly judge that one less I tried so hard to watch Titans so go off. I know she appears in some Wonderwoman comics because I opened volume 8 and she was PISSED about something I missed because I only had volumes 1,2 and 8. But it was definitely largely important. (It should've been the new 52 run) hopefully you like the one you have open!! 

I use it a lot at work to make my hands feel right again, that's it. But you're right!! It's all personal and that's what matters. 

i have a tag on the first book so I know when it's available and then I'll probably try it. I'm glad you've been enjoying it! And that makes sense I get that (personally if I DO start reading it I'll probably google all the vibes because I hate suspense- it's why I got yelled at the last time I read a book my friend recommended. Apparently I "spoiled the end of Gideon" and "found out the whole thing harrows trying to figure out in Harrow" and I was like ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ but now no surprises) 

I went to the library yesterday!! I had to go to work to get something so I just kept running errands so I went to the library and I asked for an online library card. I spent like all night after that just *looking* at my options now. I picked a sad book (my favorite kind) that I need to remember to read and tagged a bunch for later (including, like I said, the Raven Boys- audiobook I think) 

i got to issue 11!! I know that's not a huge jump but I decided I was gonna read a couple and then I did. (because your site is so linear, and like just automatically goes to the next issue, it's a lot harder to stop lmao) 

Did you read the annual with Harley and Lobo? On my old old site that was counted as something else but not yours so I imagine you did? 

and tbch I haven't read ground zero yet, I own it but I just haven't cracked it open. That all sounds great though. 

His name IS Jake. HOWEVER he got the nickname Music Man because he just started playing music out of his pocket because the radio wasn't good enough so I started calling him "music Man" and then I heard his co worker call him Jake so boom Music Man Jake. But if it helps I have to physically restrain myself from instead calling him music man *Kyle* for some reason. (I believe it's because of the existence of Theatre Gay Kyle and Crackhead Kyle already in my life)

I know of that too but I also don't remember where it's from. And she IS in fact significantly better than all of them. Everyone knows boys drool girls rule. She can fuck'em all up and I love her for that. 

I think, in all honesty? I don't know how much you'll *like* year zero (Dinah's in it but not largely, Diana Might have a larger role? But iirc it's not really the marks you're trying to hit) HOWEVER that being said, it's a very short run so I'd say go for it. I'd you don't like it and it's hard to get through just stop. 

​​​​​​​Have a good day <3 

boy howdy my life has been busy, apologies for my delay in response.

as it turns out, and now i can say it bc before i was paranoid somehow someone would find my blog and relate it to my job and learn the news this way, i am losing my job in the sense that my place of work will be closing end of january. i’m gonna miss my coworkers most of all and a good amount of the dogs as well but i’m otherwise handling this news pretty well i think? idk like i’ve said i’ve been so burnt out and i thankfully have the fallback of being able to go back to living with my parents while i recalibrate. i have a feeling i will be sadder the closer it gets to closing time but for now i’m putting emotions about it on a shelf for later.

oh that’s totally fair. i definitely don’t consume every media friends like/recommend bc i don’t have the time and tbh not everything interests me but if the interests vaguely line up i do try. or at least im trying to try. and sometimes trying to try things that don’t necessarily sound particularly interesting but sound like they could be surface level fun and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying something at surface level. idk. its hard to commit to starting new things to be invested in. there’s just not enough time in the world.

(personally if i ever end up in a time loop i will be fucking around and consuming as much media as possible before looking for a resolution.)

i think i honestly stand by the fact that titans has some really good moments. but it just also has some really bad moments. i wouldn’t say it’s balanced necessarily but god the good stuff is so good to me and i am willing to suffer through the bad. (and to some degree. some of the Bad honestly became comedic to me-though bald connor will never be one of those that shit was god awful. boy needs his hair, i’ll say it.)

congrats on going to the library!!! huge step and i love that for you!! you are SO valid re googling the vibes. i didn’t feel like there was a whole lot of suspense in the first book personally but i also was not surprised by two of the “dramatic reveals” but i may have also been potentially over analytic of the first book so i’m not sure i’m the best judge of character.

ALSO!!!! the locked tomb!!! love that series!! they make for great audiobooks though a little confusing and confusing stuff is harder in audiobook format bc i can’t easily reread bits until my brain has digested them. but it’s so much easier for me to get through an audiobook because i can do it while doing other stuff.(i feel like i’ve already talked about audiobooks so i’m not gonna continue on the ramble that’s forming in my head and move on instead.)

i try to make it my philosophy that any progress no matter how small is still progress so congrats on making it to issue 11. i definitely agree that it’s a little too easy to just keep going thru the issues on that site bc i’ve definitely been like “i’ll read a few” and then binge a whole lot. ah well.

i did read that annual! all the annuals were put at the start of each year so i read them before each year.

ground zero is definitely fun if you can put aside the joker of it all! would recommend!

i have not done any more reading of the injustice verse because again. life been busy. but i do think i’m gonna give year zero a try before starting on injustice2 just because it is so short. i keep telling myself i should start on it and then i am so easily distracted and lately i’ve been on a sudoku kick. my sister also shared this house flipping game with me and it’s fun but very frustrating bc it doesn’t run well on my computer so i don’t know how long i’ll keep up with that game.

ahjsjd that’s valid. i take it he was playing it out of his phone in his pocket and not a very small but very cool tiny instrument in his pocket anksdjs

life has been hectic but i’m hanging in there and doing relatively well right now. hope you are also hanging in there and doing relatively well!!

#comics anon #abby replies #anon #i actually typed this out in one go look at me!