#the pain of reading

[shqrki]

Do you know it when you give up everything to finish reading a book series quickly because you’re so invested in it but you become obsessed with it and then you actually finish it and the void is immediately there. Like what do I do with my life now. Do I reread it? Do I drown myself in fanfiction? Do I draw my babies? Do I lie in bed all sad and miss my babies so much I cant live my life normally? Do I try to move on and start reading something new knowing my mind is still deep in the other series? Clearly it’s impossible. What do I doooo

#carry on #simon snow #snowbaz #baz pitch #simon snow trilogy #heartstopper #rainbow rowell #carry on rainbow rowell #alice oseman #book characters #bookworm #books #reading #the pain of reading #someone send help #artist issues #snowbaz fanfiction #fanfiction #tyrannus basilton grimm pitch #book girl #books and reading #the simon snow trilogy #simon snow series #carry on fanfiction #carry on series #help

[cemeterything]

my main advice for writing an enemies to lovers relationship is to resist the urge to make the characters' loathing and attraction mutually exclusive opposing forces. it's okay if they're getting weirdly into it and having Thoughts whilst also sincerely wanting to kill each other with hammers.

#🐉 #read some really good [redacted to avoid maintags] fics lately where theyre like #'yeah i used to pray for you to die badly and in pain. but i also wanted to have nasty fight sex with you in the meantime.' #thats what its all about <3

[painlandpalace]

dead boy detectives reading list

with the show finally out i figured it was a great time to share my reading list again! check it out below the cut 👻☠️🔎

-

⏳ the sandman #25 (1991)

this is their first appearance!

🐇 the children's crusade (1993)/free country: a tale of the children's crusade (2015)

1. the children's crusade #1

(2. black orchid annual #1

3. animal man annual #1

4. swamp thing annual #7

5. doom patrol annual #2

6. arcana annual #1)

7. the children's crusade #2

alternatively you can just read free country. whether or not you read the annuals i recommend reading free country's middle chapter

!!! in place of the annuals there is an additional middle chapter that was created for the book "free country: a tale of the children's crusade" where it is placed between the two children's crusade issues. the boys don't actually appear in most of the annuals (they are in two panels of swamp thing and appear in doom patrol) and reading them isn't necessary but i figured i would include them as they are part of the story.

❄️ winter's edge #3 (2000)

this is an anthology. their part is the 'books of magic: waiting for good dough' story starting on page 19

🐦‍⬛ the sandman presents: the dead boy detectives (2001, 4 issues)

i believe the tv show's esther finch was partially based on this run's villain.

*

(they do have a part in 'death: at death's door' from 2003. it's short and really just a retelling of events from sandman #25 with some minor changes. the entirety of their appearance in death: at death's door is included at the end of the next comic im listing so i am not really adding the death: at death's door book to the list)

☠️ the dead boy detectives (2005, one-shot)

this book was made by jill thompson in a very cute manga-esque style

👻 ghosts (2012), time warp (2013), the witching hour (2013)

these three are anthologies. the story 'the dead boy detectives in: run ragged' runs through all of them. 'run ragged' kicks off the next run.

🔮 from the pages of the sandman: dead boy detectives (2013, 12 issues)

this is the comic where crystal is introduced! a book collecting all 12 issues titled 'dead boy detectives by toby litt & mark buckingham' was released in 2023

🔎the sandman universe: dead boy detectives (2022, 6 issues)

the most recent run, centered around some really interesting thai mythology and featuring multiple edwin moments that i am sure you will love

-

and that's everything! i also recommend buying the omnibus if you can. it includes everything minus the 2022 run plus some additional bonus content!

i hope this is helpful! feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the comics. dead boy detectives is my number one interest so i should be able to answer

have fun reading! 👻

#dead boy detectives #the sandman #the sandman universe #comics #reading list #edwin paine #edwin payne #charles rowland #crystal palace #crystal palace surname von hoverkraft #painland #paynland #i really hope i didnt mess up while making this post fjdkfkjdkf

[novelconcepts]

I Saw the TV Glow is such a uniquely, devastatingly queer story. Two queer kids trapped in suburbia. Both of them sensing something isn’t quite right with their lives. Both of them knowing that wrongness could kill them. One of them getting out, trying on new names, new places, new ways of being. Trying to claw her way to fully understanding herself, trying to grasp the true reality of her existence. Succeeding. Going back to help the other, to try so desperately to rescue an old friend, to show the path forward. Being called crazy. Because, to someone who hasn’t gotten out, even trying seems crazy. Feels crazy. Looks, on the surface, like dying.

And to have that other queer kid be so terrified of the internal revolution that is accepting himself that he inadvertently stays buried. Stays in a situation that will suffocate him. Choke the life out of him. Choke the joy out of him. Have him so terrified of possibly being crazy that he, instead, lives with a repression so extreme, it quite literally is killing him. And still, still, he apologizes for it. Apologizes over and over and over, to people who don’t see him. Who never have. Who never will. Because it’s better than being crazy. Because it’s safer than digging his way out. Killing the image everyone sees to rise again as something free and true and authentic. My god. My god, this movie. It shattered me.

#i saw the tv glow #I saw the tv glow spoilers #it is SUCH a queer story #the disassociation. the hiding in fiction to feel alive. #the horror of watching time tick by and knowing you’re not who you’re meant to be #the unique paralysis of staying put in hell because it’s safer than what might be over the horizon #the tragedy of trying to help someone who isn’t ready to be helped #god it’s so much. god. rarely do I walk out of a film and just stare soundlessly into space #anyway. please see this movie. although I sort of hope if you’re reading this post it’s cuz you already have #eta: I used he because the main character never quite vocalizes another pronoun #but this is SUCH a trans story. suuuuch a trans story. it is not even a little subtle #it’s so good and so so painful

[lotus-pear]

the day i picked up dazai or smth idk i've never read it

#can you tell i don't know how to draw animals #first time drawing odasaku he kinda reminds me of 22!dazai but older..........i'm in pain #they are so similar yet not #anyway i refuse to actually read this light novel bc it's going to be my thirteenth reason. i will absolutey fucking snap #no one could save me #ALSO NO TAGGING THIS W ODAZAI THEYRE FAMILY >:(( #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bsd #oda sakunosuke #dazai osamu #osamu dazai #the day i picked up dazai #lotus draws

[fulgurbugs]

Guess who caught up in the manga

#everything went so wrong so fast in the manga. recommend reading if you like pain #fanart #myart #doodle time 😎 #jjk #jujutusu kaisen #jjk manga spoilers #chosoyuki #yuki tsukumo #choso kamo #jjk choso #choso brain: weird ✅ offputting ✅ baby ❌ girl ❌. but who else could she possibly be referring to #yuki my beloved you were too good for gege he did you too dirty

[fandomsandfeminism]

I'm begging people to not be afraid of OTC pain meds.

OTC pain meds are not a devil’s bargain or a moral failing. They are a tool to reduce unneeded suffering. They do not destroy your organs if taken correctly, and there is no reward for the people who take the fewest pills in life.

Take what helps, and take it safely! If you have prescription meds or other health issues, always check for possible interactions/adverse effects. 

Edit: the upper limit for paracetamol/acetaminophen is actually more like 4g for most people! :)

#pain meds #ableism #pain management #some of yall are real catholic about pain #suffering isn't good for you #yeah dont chug a bottle of Tylenol #but if you read the labels and check with your other meds you are gonna be ok #better than ok actually because you wont be in as much pain

[armageddidnt]

I’ve been reading so much Ineffable Husbands fanfic on AO3 lately I thought it was time to put this bad boy together. Hope you can find something entertaining/relatable here XD

#fanfiction #fandom #ao3 #archive of our own #ineffable husbands #ao3 reader #ao3 writer #ao3 culture #this is the culmination of years of fanfic reading on ao3 #I can’t be the only one who feels this pain

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Horse Meshi. Delicious, in Horse.

#dungeon meshi #laois touden #marcille donato #senshi #chilchuk tims #Anne II #I am over a week late to make this relevant but dear god I love the kelpie chapter. #if not for the several layers of foreshadowing then the reveal that nearly everyone in the party is a passionate horse lover. #Truly the best part of dungeon meshi is the sheer love of horses each character has. Fantastic equines by Ryoko Kui. #Chilchuck gets to be a little wary given what goes down in the bicorn chapter. #Rest in peace Anne I and Anne II. You were beautiful horses. #The pain I felt upon re-reading dungeon meshi and realizing that Senshi called the kelpie Anne...Hurts bad! #By the way I have strong feeling about MLP AU with these characters - but I would like to assert that Senshi is earth pony coded #and chilchuck is pegasus coded. I was struggling to draw my vision and went with whatever my pen chose. #Laios is a griffin because...come on if he made a MLP AU of his friends he would be nothing else.

[khytal]

and there was only one bed (oh my god there was only one bed)

extra:

#vashwood #vash the stampede #nicholas d wolfwood #trigun #khyt.art #I love putting stupid spins on tropes :] #this is specifically 98 because trimax ww would not do this sndhsndhs #and also bc I believe trimax vw are a lot more hesitant with touch. and it takes them a lot longer #but we are not here for pain and longing we are here for *looks under the read more* not that #anyway. enjoy day 5 (only 1 bed) lmao #I think the most impressive thing about this week so far is that I haven’t had to draw vash’s coat once #it would’ve been yesterday but I was busy/needed to let my hand rest x)

[audhdnight]

Petition to add more disabled magical creatures in fantasy

Like picture a mermaid. When they have to be on land their tail turns to legs, but because their body is used to lower gravity their joints tire easily and are chronically in pain.

Also depending on how deep in the ocean they live, it’s likely they have circulation problems because their body is used to the water pressure holding everything where it needs to be and now their blood is always fucking pooling in their legs and they have to wear compression socks everywhere.

Wheelchair user mermaids. Partially/fully blind mermaids because who needs to see when there’s no light at the bottom of the ocean?

Mermaids with sensory issues who have to wear headphones all the time because sound is so much louder up here on land and they are constantly overstimulated. And also the sun is simply Too Bright™.

Mermaids who have POTS because in the water postural changes make no difference and their bodies don’t know how to stabilize with so much gravity.

I’m really fixated on the mermaids rn but PLEASE feel more than welcome to add more!!!! I wanna hear about disabled dragons

#fantasy #high fantasy #disability #mermaids #disability representation #books and reading #fantasy books #dragons #potsie #chronic pain #chronic fatigue #wheelchair users

[insufferablemod]

You watch him hem and haw over answering, feet shifting, same beat up black shoes, scuffing the gravel, cape swishing behind him in a one-two step. The halo of his hair, bleached eery white in the street lamp, how the light never seems to catch the rim of his shades. You missed this, you think. The bits of him that are so unsettlingly inhuman, how he's so close to you, but just far enough that you couldn't reach to touch. - Metempsychosis

#dave strider #bro strider #homestuck #homestuck fanart #hi here is my official pitch 2 get yall 2 read this fic #its good #dave n bros interactions in this are just.................... so good and painful............................ :')c #<3 #my art #art #homestuck fanfiction #homestuck fanfic #there is a good chance ill do more art based on this fic.................. and their other one(the run and go)

[puyoupuyou]

Pa-tro-clus: the syllables rang

#guess who's been reading the song of achilles #the song of achilles #patrochilles #achilles #patroclus #tsoa patroclus #tsoa achilles #tsoa #screaming crying throwing up #i've chosen pain and that's on me

[petricorah]

scenes i loved from Real Enough to Get Me Through by @marriedzukka <333 [ids in alt]

#zukka #zukka fanart #sokka #sokka fanart #zuko #zuko fanart #atla #atla fanart #avatar the last airbender #zukka fic rec #myart #yall. yall. dani. this FIC #first off it made me cry twice. not like 'oh im crying' internet speak no. like. eyes are too blurry to read let me stop this for a sec #it is SO GOOD #your prose? amazing #your insights on grief? life changing #THEM??? THEM their relationship and trust #'zuko looked at him and his world shifted on its axis' #ive been thinking about that line for WEEKS STRAIGHT #i can't tell you how many passages i screenshot just because of how beautiful or cute they were #the moment of seeing the painting of sokka's mom? how did you manage to make it so telling character wise--so sweet so PAINful AND so #cute with their relationship?!!?! #'oh so you think i'm beautiful too' #GOD #i had so many scenes i wanted to draw it was crazy #also #'Our loved ones leave impressions on us that can still impact our decisions and feelings even after they're gone' #fuck. had me crying AGAIN #seriously this fic is so wonderful and not just through a zukka lens. truly life changing you're an AMAZING writer #the fandom is so lucky to have you and i can't Believe it took me so long to get around to reading this masterpiece

[punchedlines]

"the parallels between Bruce and the robins all becoming orphans young" ok that's nice but the parallels between Bruce and Cass both having lost their innocence after being confronted with death at 8 years old. The way they both have let the grief, the guilt, the impotence haunt them ever since and transformed it into more. The way they both, though in different ways, lost their parent(s). The way that the traumatic instances (and their upbringing until then) couldn't have been more different, yet it affected them so similarly and are the pillars for their current moral code and suicidal tendencies. Can't think about them too much or I go insane

#Batman #batgirl #Bruce Wayne #Cassandra Cain #batgirl 2000 #batfam #I also think its worth noting Cass first realizes about Batmans identity while seeing that tear streaked childhood picture of him #which is so interesting because his eyes are the portion most obscured by the cowl. she'd never seen his eyes before #she really read his grief his pain his loneliness and it clicked immediately because THEY'RE BOTH THE SAME #dc comics

[alexxuun]

I need to know if other artists also experience this. Every time I tried, I have to hide my face and take +2 psychic damage.

#am I embarrassed by my writing skill? am I embarrassed by the plot? Am I just cringe? #even with one where I know a lot of people like and I also personally like #it’s still physically painful to read it #i need to know if other artists also have this problem #alexxuun #comic #artist