#there are webcomics that i started reading in middle school that are still going | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yd12k · 11 months

Note

i just finished reading all of EGS yesterday, and i saw ur pfp on my dash! do you have any other webcomics youre a fan of?

A ton! too many to mention them all, really. I'll be restricting this to 'currently updating stuff', and comparing it specifically to EGS given your ask. That also means that I'll be ignoring some comics that are just completely different (such as any gag-a-day type stuff. XKCD may be a classic of the internet that you should read, but it's a weird recommendation after someone asks about EGS)

The other thing I don't really have recommendations for is if you liked the 'everyone transforms all the time' parts the most. There's a reason I stuck with reading EGS over The Wotch, and it's not just because the latter went on hiatus. I'm sure there's something to that taste somewhere, I'm just not reading it at the moment.

TL;DR: Questionable Content, Dumbing of Age, Paranatural, Gunnerkrigg Court, Girl Genius

For my first recommendation, I'm going with Questionable Content, which is less questionable than you'd assume from the title, and more questionable than you'd assume from this disclaimer. It started as a basic soap opera/endless pit of references to early 2000's indie rock (but there's a funny robot that makes punchlines), and is now a soap opera where the funny robots have feelings (but there's also still punchlines).

for comparison to EGS, I'm going with hammerchlorians as a stand in for the general trend both of them went through, folding early wacky concepts into a whole that can be surprisingly emotional. It's also still wacky fun.

Dumbing of Age is a reboot of the author's earlier webcomics. Instead of taking the above approach and slowly fold the weird aspects into a sense of normalcy for the setting, Willis decided to just do a reboot of the universe, with the same characters, back in college, but no aliens this time (except fictional).

The closest EGS equivalent is end of an era, the arc where Sarah and Elliot break up, but really it's just every bit where magic takes a backseat to relationships, introspection, and growth.

I'd be remiss not to mention the comic being both funny and having action pieces, though. Those are just a lot more realistic. Also, Walky is a trans girl (she just hasn't figured that out yet (and I'm not sure the author has either (I can tell though))).

Next up, Paranatural. I'm actually a bit behind on this one, but it's really really good. It switches from a more traditional comic style to a more illustrated novel type thing partway through, but it's really really good.

It had a lot less 'folding in concepts' to do than my other examples so far, but that's because the author went in with a plan. And that plan was to write the funniest trauma a middle schooler could get. The entirety of the hitball sequence is a sight to behold. If you click on nothing else, read Paranatural.

The closest thing EGS did was Sister 3, my favourite arc. Both do 'set up a magic thing/pay off the magic thing' combined with character growth at the highest quality.

Gunnerkrigg Court is an english boarding school mystery featuring magic and robots and psychopomps and psychic powers. It seems to be nearing completion, with most of the basic mysteries solved and the questions shifting to 'now what'.

There haven't been many real Mystery elements in EGS, at least none where our protaganists are actively trying to solve it. The current Uryoms arc will probably be the closest thing we can currently see by the end, but even that's giving us more answers than it's giving the characters. If you want something Magical, but with a different vibe, read Gunnerkrigg.

Finally, Girl Genius. Girl Genius is about a young mad scientist reckoning with the mad science performed by mad scientists of the past, together with her two boyfriends (who are also mad scientists)

The closest EGS arc is any where Tedd does Mad Science, but especially the last parts of Title Pending, aka party 2. 'some device had unintended consequences and now it's up to our mad scientists to throw science at it until the device does what they want' is a description of half the arcs in girl genius (the other arcs in girl genius have other characters cause the problems on purpose (it's still solved with either mad science or swords (sometimes the swords are mad science)))

This concludes my list. the other thing these comics have in common is being pretty long-running. There's absolutely newer comics out there worthy of reading, and I'm always looking for more recommendations myself.

#el goonish shive #questionable content #dumbing of age #paranatural #gunnerkrigg court #girl genius

47 notes · View notes

ultimatefartwizard · 1 month

Text

Agonies of a Late Homestuck Reader Pt.1

(Note: Alot of these entries coming up will be posted later than the initial reading and writing, but the writing and replies to any comments are live) -If anyone knows Hussie's current pronouns lmk I hear they are clowngender I think? Just wanting to be sure so I'm not using the wrong set) Okay so first part, only got to where John is starting sBurb before I put the thing down for other activities Starting from the top!

Very beginning, was a little perplexed yet amused with the strange inclusion of a lot of computer programming and data structure lingo, and that the kids somehow have personal hammer-space like data slots for their personal belongings in the real world. I'm just barely learning coding languages myself so it's both as lost on me as John and I also simultaneously understand what nonsense they are blabbing about with the sylladex.

There's quite a good amount of unexpected flowery language and vocabulary, I'm assuming its part of Hussie's strange weird perplexities to vomit out a ton of vocabulary words a mere 10 year old won't know (at least at first), shit I didn't even know half the words and I'm a grown ass man, so I guess this will ALSO be a learning experience for fancy word vomit too lmao

AND HUSSIE DROPPED THIS BOMB?

excuse me how is it legal for this utter freak-clown of a person to be this good at writing some insane poetry drop like this? No wonder why people around me during my middle school years were frothing over this work this fool is shockingly insane with the effort and lack there-of in this webcomic, if its really even labeled as such? This whole thing even has its own music score and animations and it's baffling especially for 2009, my experiences with back then was a huge lack of that unless it was like youtube comic readings with royalty free music. Then again I was a weird kid and only stuck to a very small amount of media back then so my worldview is rather small, beyond the little info I got about Homestuck from fanworks during its golden era.

Of course, a work written by the Huss themself is not without its flaws already, and I already knew about the issues surrounding them so I wasn't necessarily surprised to find the weird two race related comments (what the hell man?) early on and casual throw of the r slur (which, with it being 2009, the R slur hadn't net fully been recognized as a slur so had to remind myself when seeing it, not an excuse at all for Hussie adding it but not surprised).

Genuinely what the hell does anything in the second image mean???? Maybe i'm not uber galaxy brained enough to understand the nonsense lipflapping Hussie is going on about with the McConaughey Wall, I don't even know who the FUCK this guy is.

Still holding out since this is really early on and not even SCRATCHING the surface of this insane piece of media that's got more words than the damn Bible, though with high doubts due to things I've heard and the mere existence of... eugh... Homestuck 2. But I'll still try to read Homestuck in its entirety and hoping at least Hussie will pipe down and not make as many weird ass things like this as the comic progresses.

Anyways I got to where Johnny is blabbing to TT and they are destroying the bathroom, seems this game SBurb affects reality? Interesting yet strange.

Till next time folks, Wizard will blab again about stupid media he missed out on during their golden years!

#ultimatefartwizard #wizardyaps #homestuck #agonies of a late homestuck reader #john egbert #homestuck related

2 notes · View notes

evenaturtleduck · 4 months

Text

Current Things

Tagged by @101octopodes! Thanks! This is fun!

3 ships: Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, and Percival Endicott Whyborne and Griffin Flaherty (see Currently Reading 😅).

Last song: It Is What It Is by Jenna Raine–it's on one of Oldest Child's playlists--I get most of my new music that way these days.

Currently reading: Deosil by Jordan L. Hawk. It's the last Whyborne and Griffin book and I'm all 😭 about this fact. Ten novels, a novella, and several short stories was clearly not enough for me.

Last movie: Middle and Youngest decided we needed to watch the Mario movie, and I'm so mad at how much fun it was.

(Unless you count showing the Sunday school kids my old favorite Veggie Tales video Josh and the Big Wall this morning with hot chocolate for their last weekend of break before school starts back up. I still have most of it memorized 😅 I don't watch a lot of movies on my own apparently)

Currently watching: Nothing right now.

Currently craving: I bought Fritos to go with the leftover chili in the fridge that look really good right now (especially now that someone else–probably Spouse–has already opened the bag).

Currently consuming: About to sit down with green tea with toasted rice and a cranberry orange muffin. Oldest and I made them this afternoon because they're trying to get me to read their favorite webcomic because it has characters they think I would like, and they're right, I do like those weird little guys, but I'm not really into webcomic pacing so I don't keep up with it (everything gets from point A to, like, point Q so abruptly it doesn't feel real). So whenever we bake, I'll read it while things are in the oven so that I can tell them how far I got into the story and they can screech gleefully about it.

Tagging (no pressure! just for fun if you want!): @aurorawest , @lowkeyed1 , @seamu5 , and @ossified-hypothesis

#currently reading

2 notes · View notes

lonely-storyteller · 2 years

Text

Hey there!

You can call me Kay! I’m new to tumblr and the writer community but I want to introduce myself in the hopes of joining and making friends with other writers! I hope to get to know more about all of you!

About Me:

She/her

Indonesian

High school student

Interests/Hobbies:

Writing, reading, (listening to) music, guitar, tennis, badminton, movies, webcomics, math, physics,

I want a safe and comfortable place where I can share my writing and read stories from other people. So, I’m putting myself out there and posting some of my wips! (Also I usually take inspiration from prompts)

WIPS

Blackout - a resident building collapsed late at night and multiple college students were stuck inside for 24 hours, but the police are still stuck whether to rule the deaths as accidents or homicides. (word count: 0)

The Final First Girl - a girl thinks that anything related to Halloween and the horror genre are immature and dumb, but that all changed in one dark and stormy night when an unexpected guest knocked on her doorstep. (word count: 352)

I’m Missing - a group of friends go on a trip to a cabin in the middle of the woods to celebrate their high school graduation together, when suddenly one of them goes missing after playing a game during sunset. (word count: 1561)

Lady Rain - a painter tries to find inspiration by going on a get-away trip alone to a small town for the summer, and every time it rains, unexpected things start happening to him. (word count: 3654)

Real Deal - a group of college students steal from their middle to upper class neighbours as a harmless hobby, but what would happen if someone were to offer them the “real deal”? (word count: 280)

I’m trying to write a lot of stories with different genres to see which ones suit me the most and which ones I enjoy writing the most.

Feel free to message me if you want to know more about me or what I’m writing, if you have any feedback, if you want to be friends, or to talk about writing or books in general!

#writers on tumblr #writing #my wips #wip #writerscommunity #writeblr #writerslife #short story #writing prompt #female writers

18 notes · View notes

wahlpaper · 2 years

Text

The Importance of Being Audiobooks

https://thewahlpapers.wixsite.com/my-site/post/the-importance-of-being-audiobooks

A surprising number of people will tell you that listening to audiobooks isn’t reading, is cheating, or something along those lines. I was raised on this mentality. I did listen to a few audiobooks growing up. I think I read some chapter books as a little kid. I definitely read some assigned books for school in high school, such as Picture of Dorian Grey and Heart of Darkness. Still, anywhere from middle school through college, it just felt like I was doing something wrong if I chose to listen instead of looking at a page. This hindered my love of reading when college came around. It took me a couple of years to read my favorite book, Cloud Atlas. I spent 3 years “reading” Dragonfly in Amber. Audiobooks saved my love of reading and I’m so sorry to my past self that it took me 22 years to embrace them.

It started with Lord of the Rings. I had been trying to read it for at least 5 years by the time I was 22. When I started a clerical work temp job a few months after graduating from college, I found I needed something to listen to in order to get me through my days. I listened to new music, some musicals, and then Lord of the Rings. I hadn’t discovered Overdrive yet, so I was using YouTube. Luckily YouTube had an amazing recording of Lord of the Rings! It was akin to an audio adventure. It had ambient nature noises, background overlapping conversations, music, and great voice work! Now, most of the books I listen to aren’t like that, but it was the spark I needed. When I did finish Lord of the Rings, I needed more! And so I utilized YouTube for the rest of the job.

Now I’m 25 and I read around 83 books in 2021, plus however much the fanfics and daily webcomics amount to. I still read books physically, but I would never get through that many books if I was relying on that alone. While it isn’t about the quantity, there are so many books in the world I want to read, and I decided to be kind to myself and read them!

I want to advocate for audiobooks here. I have seen so many people lamenting about how they still think of themselves as avid readers but haven’t picked up a book in over a year. I hear you, and I’d like to help.

Audiobooks Are Readily Available

There are so many ways to get your ears on an audiobook now. Many are free or accessible through your local library! Overdrive has served me best. It has an app for my phone and can be used on a desktop/laptop as well! It is organized, well stocked, although it allows for recommendations, and includes a history so you can keep track of what you’ve read! My mom will argue that Hoopla is better because you don’t have to go on a waiting list like on Overdrive. She explains that it is like Netflix, if it is on there, you can listen immediately. There’s also audible, YouTube, going in person to a library, and so many more sources!

Audiobooks Are Faster

If you are a slow reader and can’t seem to get any faster, consider looking to audiobooks! You’ll know from the start exactly how long it will take you to get through it. It’s already been recorded, so all you have to do is hit play! I can go from taking 3 years to read a book down to 3 days, and I do. Even when I was avidly reading physically, I couldn’t read very fast. I think I would’ve gotten more school work done if I had been audiobooking.

Audiobook Readers Are Great

Obviously some books are read by celebrities like David Tennant, Chris Colfer, or Tim Curry, but those aren’t the only readers worthy of appeal. Those that make it their career are practiced in getting the voices just right, creating nuances to help you keep track of characters, and selling the emotions explicitly and implicitly indicated on the page. It’s a little different from voice acting, because they read everything, not just the spoken lines. If you listen to enough audiobooks, you may find yourself choosing books just for the reader!

Audiobooks Deserve To Be Normalized

Audiobooks aren’t going to work for everyone, and that’s okay! Some say that they end up zoning out, and I am sure there are other valid reasons too. Audiobooks Are obviously a good accommodation for those that can’t physically read, but they shouldn’t be seen as just an accommodation. The more people that read audiobooks, the better! We can make it something that people just do. You can multitask by putting one on as you drive or do the dishes, you can use it as something to do at a mundane job, or you can just listen to it on its own.

Audiobooks are wonderful and I’m glad that I have them in my life. I’ve not only gotten back to being an avid reader, but I’ve also gained a new passion for books. They’ve become my life and I just want to share that with other people.

#audiobook #audiobooks #editorial #personal thoughts #book blog #bookblogger #reading #picture of dorian gray #heart of darkness #dragonfly in amber #lotr #cloud atlas #librarylove #david tennant #chris colfer #tim curry

1 note · View note

sideralumen · 4 months

Text

Since 2024 is right around the corner I wanted to type out a list of things I wanna do next year since I wasn't able to do most of the things I wanted to do this year because of the accident. I also thought posting em here would help motivate me to actually do them, so here we go!

I wanna get back into traditional art. It used to be my primary way I did art but over the years I kinda went full digital without realizing it so I think it would be a fun challenge for me to get back into the swing of traditional art. I also think it could help me in areas of my art I struggle with such as making interesting color pallets/moods by eye instead of relying on filters and blending modes along with doing poses without refs (note references are very good and very useful tool I ain't knocking em but I feel like I've been relying on them TOO much this year cause of just art block issues)

I want to post art more. I haven't really posted much art to my socials this year cause I haven't really been proud of anything I made and the few things I did post to various social media's never did well so it discouraged me from posting even more, But nothing ever did good cause I didn't post regularly so it was just a really bad cycle of art block and insecurity for me. So I wanna start posting more consistently on all my main socials I like posting art to no matter how good I think the quality is, i wanna build confidence in my art no matter the medium and just build a name for myself online. I don't really care too much about how popular I get I just wanna connect with people who love art just as much as I do and inspire people with my art and stories!

I wanna write more. I actually really like the idea of making my own webcomic/graphic novel so I'll plan these huge projects and get really far into the process but when it's time to actually write the story I just immediately burn out, I wanna get better at writing in general so it doesn't feel like a chore to me. I was thinking of actually making fanfiction again as practice to start off since fanfic communities have always seemed very welcoming to beginner writers like myself so all I really need to do is shake off the shame of my middle school klance fanfic writing days and create something. Honestly the only reason this really got delayed wasn't because I didn't have the time but it was because it was too much strain on me physically, because of the accident it was harder for me to focus on words on a screen/page so not only did I stop writing completely I also stopped reading for the most part too cause it made me really light headed and sick but now that I'm not suffering from the effects of a skull fracture as intensely as I was at the first half of 2023 I feel confident enough to give writing a try again. Also my spelling sucks i wanna fix that.

I wanna get outside more. I actually wanted to get into skateboarding really bad this year but after the accident I basically had to relearn to walk completely so even now that I can be up and about for way longer then I've been able to I still don't feel like my ankle could support me enough to skateboard. BUT I think I would be able to handle roller skating so I wanna get myself some skates and start doing that in my free time, nothing really intense or anything just kinda skating around my neighborhood or at a park or a rink. I've been doing daily walks in the morning but I feel like something more exciting and engaging would really benefit my physical health.

And thats my list for the most part, there's other stuff I left out but I wanted to focus on how to improve myself when it comes to my hobbies and how the accident effected those things, I'm not out here getting too personal on the internet. Ik this won't get seen by anyone but I'm not taking my chances lol

#new years resolution #2024 #sideralumen

1 note · View note

highly-opinionated-nerd · 4 months

Text

Read in 2023:

Seven Against Thebes, and The Persians (~525-456 BCE), by Aeschylus- his works were surprisingly fun to read!

Strip Tease (1993), by Carl Hiassen- I grew up in Central Florida, so of course I’m a fan of Hiaasen’s. My first time reading one of his adult works- I enjoyed it! There was only one glaring moment of ��female character poorly written by a man’, for the most part it was fine, haha

The Bacchae and Other Plays (484-406 BCE), by Euripides- the Bacchae was my favorite, because the women-hating man got ripped to shreds at the end! But they were all interesting I have many thoughts about all of it

Ven Polypheme novels 1-3 (2014), by Elizabeth Haydon- absolutely delightful, love the world building and the way she talks about magic.

Homestuck (200-2016)- my 4th or 5th reread I think? and I still haven’t read Rose’s sburb walkthrough. This is so lame but I got great entertainment from reading out loud to myself, using character voices.

Ouran High School Host Club (2002), by Bisco Hatori- also one of many rereads. It’s one of the first manga I ever read. My family moved states when I was in high school, and the library where we ended up didn’t have the last couple volumes for me to finish the series...so I bought the box set, haha! No idea where I got the money for that at age 16. I kept catching myself smiling while reading. I’m still madly in love with Mori.

Tiger, Tiger (2018-present), by Petra Erika Nordlund- I used to read a ton of webcomics all the time, but I stopped for some reason. Most of the ones I’d been following ended and I never bothered to start new ones, I guess. While I was in the process of moving and all my books were packed seemed like a good time to start a new one. And I was not disappointed. The art? Awe-inspiring. The story? Delightful. There are a lot of really good names, too. If you’re insane about names, like me, just know, there’s a dude named Rakkatak. Highly, highly recommend.

Treasure Island (1883), by Robert Louis Stevenson- quick read, and highly enjoyable! GOD I love pirate stories. Treasure PLANET has long been a favorite of mine, but this was my first time reading the original. The line towards the end ‘I think we were all pleased to be so cheaply quit of him’ will stick with me as a succinct summary of the differences between the two tellings, I think.

Shadow Raiders (2012), a novel by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes- I picked this one up at a book sale because it had a dragon on the cover. It is a completely unnecessary 700 pages long, and it doesn’t even end at the end, it’s part of a series! It took a long time to get into it, but the part in the middle where the two main story lines converged and there was a big battle was very compelling. Then it got slow again immediately after. I like the concept and worldbuilding, I have mixed feelings about the storytelling, and I have serious doubt that the characters were written to their fullest potential. Not sure if I’m gonna go looking for the rest of the series, hmmmm

Sakana (2010-present), by Mad Rupert- longtime favorite webcomic started updating again after a long hiatus, so I did a reread so I’d be refreshed and ready for new pages. God, I love Sakana, Sakana is so good

Metamorphoses (8 CE), by Ovid- took a little bit of a hiatus in the middle of this one but I finished it! I still have a hard time believing that this work is considered a comedy- there’s a lot of individual tragedies on parade here if you ask me. But it was an interesting read, I liked it

Holes (1998), by Louis Sachar- first reread in (checks watch) 16 years. I’ve thought about this book a lot ever since first reading it in fifth grade. I saw it at Target one day and it was in my basket before I could even blink. I still love it, I couldn’t put it down. Finished it in like 3 sittings.

Wayne Family Adventures vol. 1 (2021), by CRC Payne and Starbite- love, love, love the art style and all the colors. The individual episodes themselves were very short but still highly entertaining, fun quick read.

Darth Bane trilogy (2006-2009), by Drew Karpyshyn- to say I was obsessed with reading Star Wars books as a kid would be a grave understatement. Before I had a personality, I had Star Wars. Now that I’m an adult and building up my own book collection, I’ve been slowly bringing a few back into my life. The Bane books truly captured my imagination when I was younger, and I still love them so unbelievably much. I could go on all day about outwardly opposing philosophies and Force specialties and the way wielding power changes and harms you and, and, and... not quite done yet, so this series’ll be finished up in 2024!

#recommendation #I'm so glad to be reading again #I stopped for a long while!#but starting again has been one of the best things I've done for myself in my adult life!#Tiger Tiger author is here on tumblr @pepurika #Sakana author is here too @mynameismad or @sakana-comic

0 notes

esor-ogramira · 8 months

Text

9 people I'd like to get to know better

9 People I’d Like To Get To Know Better

Thanks for the tag, @rosepink-hydra!! :3

Last song: Badder Than The Bad Boys by Peyton Shay. REALLY fits one particular major character in Volume 1 of The Fenrathae Saga!

Favorite Color: Let's see... Brown, red, pink, teal, and uhhhh... I think that's about it!

Last Movie: ...I honestly don't remember. I have not watched any movies in several years, because I've just grown to dislike them. I don't know why I dislike them, I just do.

Currently Reading: Mostly webcomics. Since I've been very sleep deprived over the past two days, I've been avoiding Wilde Life like the plague because of the fact that it has some very disturbing content in a very realistic art style. Otherwise, I would absolutely be continuing my binge-reading of it!

Savory/sweet/spicy: All three, to varying degrees! General Tso's chicken is a must have for me when it comes to Chinese takeout, and because I'm a Buffalonian, I can never turn down a Buffito (burrito with chicken, buffalo chicken wing sauce, and your choice of bleu cheese dressing or ranch dressing. I always go with the bleu cheese!) from Mighty Taco. With regards to savory, I LOVE corned beef dinners, roast beef sandwiches, and pulled pork sandwiches! And with sweet stuff, I can never get enough of Haribo Goldbears (specifically that brand of gummi bears!) and Hi-Chew candy, cause they're SUCH STIMMY FOODS!! X3

Relationship status: A singular pringular. And probably gonna stay that way for the foreseeable future because being outside is often loud and overwhelming on a busy street!

Current Obsessions: Champions of The Gods (current working title for my story involving my former RWBY fan characters. It has werewolves, elves, dwarves, Magic, Corrupted Magic, SOOOOO many gods, and lots of dragons, wyverns and phoenixes!! >:3), The Fenrathae Saga (Still on mostly hiatus, but I think that just putting it on that status lifted a LOT of pressure to start making the pages of the webcomic before I'm actually ready!), Slime Rancher, Gunnerkrigg Court, ALL the active volcanoes in the world (special interest!!), learning about as many nuclear incidents/man-made disasters as I can fit into my AuDHD brain (another special interest, thanks in part to my mom incidentally leaving her copy of "Voices from Chernobyl," along with at least two books about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, sitting around when I was in middle school. I don't think she ever reprimanded me for reading that book, because I started to share the same interest in man-made disasters with her!), Mysteries of the Abandoned on Discovery Channel (Mom and I will sit down and watch these together. We LOOOOOOVE learning about this kind of stuff!)

Currently Working On: Champions of The Gods, The Fenrathae Saga Volume 1, trying to look for a job, trying to figure out why I now have nerve tingling sensations in both of my arms and my left leg (kept me from getting any sleep last night, along with how warm it suddenly got overnight.), and uhhhhh.... Yeahhhhhh, I think that about covers it! :3

@knightlymoon @felinewasteland

#was tagged the other day. and finally have the energy to do this now! :3

1 note · View note

flamboyant-king · 2 years

Photo

that’s meta

#i've been reading webtoons and i've been inspired to draw more #the last few weeks have been long as hell. but i hope i can get a routine down and find time for all teh things i want #and maybe work on projects i've had in mind like gatdamn #the way to success is starting offwith a bunch of failures and its a shame im so afraid of failure that i dont start anything #i need to just go for it....but its a lot of mental power to do more than wake up in the morning #and i still end up rushing to workk phshd #so instead of starting with a webtoon with an actual plot and flow i'll try for makingmore silly comics again #you see how i always went for making bigger storylines and dramatic comics #but i chicken out because man my art sucks bruh #i feel i need more encouragement from somewhere but not from the outside #its gotta be inside me and i was hoping all hte medicine i've been taking would help unlock my confidence #unlock my self esteem and let them tell me i can do it and open the other door of believing it #i have so many ideas i'm too afraid to put to paper nowadays. i miss when i made feh comics i tried to upload like 2 times a week #i made friends and interacted with yall. but now im trying so hard to detach from folks because just how awful people can be #i havent made new friends since feh. i havent grown since then. i want to be something. i had aspirations #but im locked up. physically mentally environmentally aspirationally. for years. since middle school #i made so many comics back then. had many ideas. wrote out story ideas with friends. dreamed of becoming an animator #wanting to make webcomics. selling merch at conventions. becoming a freelance artist. work as a children's book illustrator #dreams that i still holding onto and clutching it towards my chest as i'm crying. im still alive yet i havent done any of that #i think i never strived for my dreams because how every year i wanted to be unalive. and every new dream came out to tell me #hey if you stay alive you could be this. i'm almost 25. i lived over a decade longer than i wanted to because i still i have time #i can accomplish one of these and i know i have the potential to be one of these things. i know inside i can even do them all #but i dont have the support. i dont have the mind or the body to be these things.#i'll stay alive year after year coming up with goals and then not going for them.#ooh i want to make a game. ooh i want to make a tv show. ohh i want to be a baker.#im going to keep forcing myself to stay alive by coming up with goals to strive for but never follow through #and its going to keep accumulating until i truly die with nothing to show for it. a room full of WIPs and lists and sketches and drafts #yeesh didnt expect to go on a rant. went off on a tangent there *wipes away a tear*#anyways. cammy likes to transform into random things just to show off they know how to. cammypus is still a work in progress #but cammy figured out how to break the fourth wall. to becaome a loading screen advicce fairy and speechbubbles

39 notes · View notes

centrally-unplanned · 2 years

Note

I would love to know more about the social dynamic on the megatokyo forums. Half the people didn't even read the comic? What brought them there? What kind of tensions kept bubbling up? Fascinating to me

I obviously don't have the objectively correct answers, but Megatokyo as a comic started in 2000, and reached its peak in popularity around 2003-2006. This timing is *right* around the start of the 'second wave' internet-inspired boom in Anime in the west (which would crest and then crash spectacularly in 2008). Megatokyo was the right blend of influences at the right time - 50% western gaming/internet humor, 50% bishoujo manga aesthetics. As such it was a gateway drug for a lot of people to get into anime, and a lot of readers started with the comic and took the plunge into actual anime/manga from there. I would argue that Megatokyo actually played a small but notable role in making that boom happen.

Forums on the early internet were a total crapshoot; quality of discourse varied based on how good the mods were, how nice frequent posters were, etc. Megatokyo was lucky in that it had some great ones with a wide variety of interests & a lot of time to devote to the forums. It actually had a ton of subforums, reflecting that mixed crowd:

(A 2004 screenshot). You had the gamers, the weebs, the deviantartists, and as far as webcomic forums went Megatokyo was really smart about setting up infrastructure as soon as new interests bloomed.

In the early days of the internet, its important to remember there was NO default. If you want to talk about visual novels, you don't go to the subreddit, that doesn't exist, you just have to stumble on a place. Which means when you do stumble on a place, you have a very high tendency to stick with it. Here is where a little bit of webcomic history is needed: Megatokyo was founded by Fred 'Piro' Gallagher and Rodney 'Largo' Caston - Fred was the weeb side, Rodney the gamer side. Fred did the art and half the scripting, Rodney did the other half of the scripting. As you can probably guess that put a lot more work on Fred than Rodney, and eventually creative differences lead to them separating and Fred continued the comic as a solo project.

This event ushered in a tone shift in the comic - not at first actually, Megatokyo's peak as a 'gamer comic' was actually under Fred's solo direction, but soon enough he took it in more bishoujo anime directions. And honestly, webcomics were just so new back then! You gave *anything* a shot, you didn't give a fuck if it was good or not. I *still* read El Goonish Shive, a god damn fetish genderswap transformation webcomic but-I-was-too-stupid-to-realize-that, and its early comics looked like the mad scrawlings of a 12 year old because *they were*. As such, the schism in the webcomic combined with the fact that a bunch of middle school readers became highschools and their tastes changed, meant that half the audience of the comic just didn't like it anymore.

But the forums...those readers learned about Tokyo Mew Mew there! They found their Warcraft 3 guildmembers there! They trolled through Colin Powell's UN report on South African deliveries of uranium yellowcake to Sadaam Hussein and debated what that meant for his IRBM capabilities (spoiler alert: fucking nothing) there! So they don't even read the comic any more, but why leave - the way the forum is structured, "Story Discussion" is in its own subreddit anyway, its *built* for you to not care about the comic. And your friends are all here anyway right?

Back to the webcomic history, there was a LOT of drama around the split when it happened, and the growing weebdom of the internet was contested territory - weebs and gamers would sling mud at each other to paint the blueprint for how left-Tumblr/Social Justice Twitter would fight their endless civil wars with each other today. I - and I shit you not here, I am not making this up - was there for when 4chan launched a raid on the Megatokyo Forums because the Megatokyo folk were, by being 'anime fans', a bunch of loli pedophiles. 4chan! Accusing someone of being lolis!! It was great, the raid totally fizzled and people counter-raided /b/ with like Cardcaptor Sakura fanart, good times. All of this is to say, the people who stopped reading the comic didn't just sit quietly back - they got into tons of fights big and small with those who still read the comics, saying it was "bad now" and Fed had "Betrayed Rodney" and all that, and it was really just a proxy war for the weeb/gamer conflicts throughout the internet at the time.

That Hamtaro poster I mentioned in my original comment was at some point banned because he stirred up political drama in non-political threads, got temp-silenced, and evaded his timeout to spam the forums with an anarchist manifesto about how the only thing we posters have to lose if we kill the mods is our chains. Shit was lit.

Of course the drama is what people remember but most people posted discussions of the latest Haruhi episode in peace. Still, the different subforums became very silo'd as a result of these trends. and they became in their own way separate groups. Then of course the 1st wave webcomic bubble settled down, Megatokyo's popularity waned, and the Forum Age of the internet died as Reddit+ rose. The forum slowly fell into disuse as a result, though it definitely stuck around with active members well into the 2010's and people posted about the Good Old Days, till eventually the old forum was archived and new one, primarily devoted to the comic which is still trundling along, replaced it a few years back. Still, hopefully this is a neat history of the forums from say ~2003 to ~2008.

#megatokyo #old internet history

60 notes · View notes

sly-s-n0nfusion · 3 years

Text

Lucy Marlowe ♥️♥️

From @ohcorny ‘s Never Satisfied

So idk if Taylor will read this but I’d like to write a few words about this amazing webcomic

I have a special attachment to this comic. I started reading it back in 2015 when I was in my second year of middle school and I immediately loved the characters, the story and the artstyle. But it’s the backgrounds and the fictional locations that made me fall in love with it. I’m from central Italy and I immediately recognized my country’s typical ancient towns and hamlets and I think it’s so amazing that such a talented artist took inspiration from them for his also amazing webcomic. The character of Lucy really hits close to home since during these years I’ve been and I’m still struggling with inferiority complex and competitiveness.

In conclusion, never satisfied accompanied me throughout 6 years of my life, I’ve bought the physical copy of the first volume and I’m looking forward to the publishing of the second volume. My following of Lucy’s adventures has still a long way to go ;) Thank you Taylor.

#never satisfied #fanart #never satisfied lucy #sly art

184 notes · View notes

sushiburritonoms · 3 years

Text

My fingers slipped and I wrote @sadiebwrites a little bit more of the library AU instead of doing adult things or answering the other prompts. It's not really tied together in any narrative and it's 100% self-indulgent fluff. I really spent way too many years in libraries, folks. Sorry, I'll get to the other requests soon!

Previous library AU ficlet here.

“Being a librarian is my dream job,” Ms. Mothma admitted as Luke helped put the last of her romance novels into her bag. “To be surrounded by books every day sounds so wonderful. You must read all the time.”

Luke tilted his head and desperately tried to think of the last time he’d read an actual book and not a Horn Book review on the latest trends in YA Lit or a publisher’s summary of a title. Did picture books count? He read a lot of those, over and over again until he had the lines memorized and he could recite the story without looking while he moved tiny hungry caterpillars and angry pigeons across his felt board for inattentive 4-year-olds. Actual fiction...well there were the tabs of Sherlock Holmes/John Watson fanfiction that sat unread in his browser at home. Did webcomics count? He read the latest Ngozi post last night, right before he fell asleep with his mobile phone still in his hand and Artoo purring on his chest.

“All the time,” he lied as he handed her the last book. “Real dream come true.”

Later when he texts his bestie from grad school, he is reassured that he’s not that bad of a librarian.

haven’t read a 📖for fun in 📅 Ezra texts back. last 1 finished was for our uni’s common read program 📚🤭😊

“I was going to read a chapter of Chernow’s Hamilton biography,” Tionne told him at lunch, “but instead I rewatched Gossip Girl and drank a lot of white wine.” Luke approved of her life choice.

“Books?” Dak stared at him with a blank face, with one of his earbuds looking like it was about to make a bid for freedom from his head.

“Nevermind,” Luke sighed.

But of course, there’s always one overachiever on staff.

“Of course. I always make time to read, my young apprentice,” Obi-Wan said when Luke interrupted his daily chat with retired Head Librarian Jinn. “Would you like some recommendations? I could send you my Good Reads account.”

“You know he’s not that young anymore,” Qui-Gon reminded him. “Nor are you. Perhaps you should be spending less time with your head in books and more time out there in the real world.”

“Hmmm, I suppose I would take your suggestion seriously if you weren’t haunting the very building you retired from three years ago,” Obi-Wan argued as he adjusted his delicate wire-rim glasses on his face.

“Perhaps it is not the building that brings me back, but the company, my dear former colleague.”

“Hmm perhaps.”

Luke tiptoed away with a silly smile on his face. Old people in love are so cute, even if Obi-Wan was an insufferable perfect librarian.

-----

On weekdays, when Luke was not lying to kind older ladies from the City Council, he was often hiding from his mortal enemies.

“Din! Hide me.” Luke ducked into the Children’s Room reference desk and waved his crush over with a grim look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Luke was slightly impressed and slightly worried when he saw Din’s hand automatically drift towards his waistband, in search of a weapon. Their State was NOT open carry, but that was Future-Luke’s problem.

“The Imperial Solutions vendor is here,” Luke hissed. “They want me to be the majority vote to petition the county to switch to D. Star and I refuse, Din. I REFUSE.”

“I have no idea what any of that means,” Din replied.

“Imperial Solutions is evil and they’re gonna own us all!”

Din opened his mouth to reply but before he could say anything, a deep freeze fell upon the Children’s Room. Small infants started to wail and toddlers dropped their blocks and looked up in helpless confusion.

“Ah Mr. Skywalker,” a smarmy voice calls out. “There you are, young man.”

“Hello Mr. Gideon,” Luke mutters. “It’s a ...pleasure to see you again.”

“I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d drop by to see if you had considered last week’s presentation.” Mr. Gideon had the biggest, fakest smile to ever don a human’s face. He looked like just being inside of the Children’s Room was causing him to melt. But then Imperial vendors were never children--they were hatched from some dark dank cave in Illinois.

A three-hour presentation. Yeah, Luke had considered it right out of his head.

“Oh ah...gosh Mr. Gideon, it was a long...long...presentation and I’ve been so busy. In fact, I’m so, so, sorry but I’m kind of in the middle of something.” He gestured to Din, standing in front of the reference desk.

Din glared at Gideon for a moment before he slowly sat down on the patron’s side of the reference desk. “Ah...right. I need a book. For my kid.”

“Great! What’s the title of the book?” Luke said as he saw Gideon roll his eyes.

“I don’t remember, but I know the cover is red,” Din replied. There was a sparkle of mischief in his eyes. “Then after we find that book, I need all the books about whale sharks. In Spanish. Can you help me?”

“Of course! So sorry, Mr. Gideon! If you have to go I understand!” Luke shrugged helplessly. “This is gonna take a while!”

The two of them kept their heads buried over Luke’s shared screen until Gideon stomped away. Then they fell apart laughing.

“Whale sharks?” Luke giggled. “Why whale sharks?”

“They are the biggest fish in the ocean and their mouths are 5 feet wide,” Din said robotically, obviously quoting from something.

“Grogu’s into sharks now?”

“Blame Baby Shark,” Din groaned and laid his head on Luke’s desk.

Oh God. Luke winced and reached over to massage Din’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“Do do do dodododo,” Din hummed tunelessly.

Luke is going to have that damn song back in his head for the next year...but he’ll sing the song for library staff karaoke night if it means he gets to keep rubbing Din’s shoulder AND be protected from Gideon at the same time. He’s got a mean singing voice after all.

#If I got Baby Shark in your head right now I'm SO SORRY #But you see I've had that song in my head for years #I live like this everyday #Also please dont ask book sellers or librarians if we read a lot #we're just as busy as the rest of y'all and sometimes its Gossip Girl Night #There's always one librarian on staff that has read everything #nobody likes you Obi-Wan #Except Qui-Gon #really my fanfic is just free therapy I subject y'all to #you're welcome

50 notes · View notes

teeth-and-tea · 3 years

Text

ANIME & MANGA I HAVE BINGED IN THE LAST MONTH: May 2021

I've Been Hunting Slimes for the Past 300 Years and Now Ive Maxed Out My Level: incredibly long name aside, cute af slice of life that suffers Same Face Syndrome. I'm still happy to watch it because of how feel good and fluffy it is though, Im probably gonna forget about it in two or three years tho. 8/10.

Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro: I found out this was a webcomic first and suddenly all the HORNINESS made so much more sense. A Femdom, Degradation, Humiliation, Dacryphilia Bullies to Lovers story disguised as a high school rom-com which, I'm not going to lie, misses SKEEVY CITY by mere inches on a regular basis. However, I'm a Dom/Switch and this entire relationship sets off my dom brain center like New York City just shy of midnight. So if you're into that sort of scene, this anime is for you. If not, it's still fascinating but you're probably gonna be a little put off by how mean the Girl!Bully is to the guy MC. Unless you find out something about yourself, in which case, congrats! Stay safe, sane, consensual, and learn about the traffic light system on top of safe words, I promise you'll have a better life in general after that. Still Ongoing, currently 10/10.

Fruits Basket: IM GONNA CRY I LOVE THIS ANIME SO MUCH???? The original anime came out when I was in... I think middle school and my parents were really strict on what I watched so I never got to experience the first wave and I never bothered to watch the show ever after I moved out of the house years later. However, now that I'm much older I honestly can say this is one of my favorite anime to date, and all the characters are charming, lovable, with their own problems that I can connect to or sympathize with, and I love the MC which is always a treat tbh. Except Akito. Akito can suck a sandpaper dick. I'm only on S2 tho so no spoilers! Anime 11/10.

Monster Girl Doctor: went in thinking it was gonna be a monster girl who's a doctor with a homoerotic assistant (her name is SAPPHY okay sue me for thinking it) and ended up watching the entire dubbed harem series. Honestly, I've seen worse and this one has consistent follow-through on interesting characters and backstory enough for me to shove aside the blatant under-monstrousness of the female monsters and the harem-ness of everything else. Dubbing is honestly really good, which is a treat, and the monster designs are not the worst and the MC is tolerable. Honestly, I don't mind having watched it! The mix of cgi and the traditional animation together work pretty strangely though, and it often doesn't flow super well. 7.5/10

So I'm a Spider, So What: Dubbed version which honestly isn't that bad. Took me a bit to get into it, but after realizing that it's got a mismatched timeline a la The Witcher, it made so much more sense. Heavily done in cgi, and you can definitely tell between the 2D and 3D animations, but not the worst in the world. I went in not expecting much but it ended up being an Issekai I can stand and even enjoy. On god has a decent story... with the spider. I'd be a liar if I didnt say I skipped some of the human parts just to get back to the best part of the show. 8/10.

Somali and the Forest Spirit: I'm so fucking nostalgic for this thing it makes me want to go and hug my dad. About a human girl under threat of being eaten with a monster-dominated world. Very obvious "humans fear what they don't understand" message but instead of the humans learning tolerance it's what happens when they get annihilated first so like, kudos for the mangaka for having the guts to do that. I cried like a baby regularly. It's really good, I watched the dub and ID WATCH IT AGAIN!!! 9/10.

To Your Eternity: Oh my god. O h my g o d. Fell in love on the first episode, ngl. About if an immortal being learned how to be a person from scratch. I love it. HOWEVER. Keep a box of tissues on you at all times because you're gonna need them. I'm only on EP7 because that's all that's out right now but just know. I love it. Not for everyone but certainly for my "what do we define as human and the human condition" ass. 12/10.

Those Snow White Notes: A sports anime without any sports. About shamisen playing which is cool because I never realized how cool this instrument was??? Its neat af. OP1&2 are by Burnout Syndrom so know theyre fire. Gonna be real, its pretty alright, but not extraordinary. You can tell they were using the characters as archetypes rather than actually characters which kinda kills a lot of the emotional value you could've had, but I'm still gonna watch it. It doesn't make me cringe as hard as other sports anime tho so I consider it toptier in that regards but if you're a big sports anime fan you might be bummed out by it. Every single musical performance is INCREDIBLE tho. A solid 8/10.

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun: THE ART OMFG IT'S SO GORGEOUS. Listen, if you took coptic markers and gave them an animation budget with some manga panel direction thrown in there, that's this anime. It's beautiful. Gorgeous. I'm in love with the aesthetic every second. Story? Really good. Characters? I love the MC and his evil little twin brother asshat. Demons? Not super imaginative but I'm carrying on happy as can be anyways. Dubbing? A bit shaky at times but I found the voices charming if a little off for some of them. I'm already waiting for the second season with popcorn at the ready. 10/10.

Prison School: I watched this directly after Hanako-kun and it was like I got slapped in the face by sweaty unwashed titties and some fedora wearing schmuck's piss kink. No character is likable or redeemable. I finished it, but at what cost? 2/10 and only because a character shit his pants and I laughed.

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle: watched this right after Prison School and it was NECESSARY tbh. Its so CUTE and honestly, im not even kidding you, the fucking funniest anime I've seen in months. I watched the dub and the VAs are having the time of their lives working on this anime not just giving it their all but literally just going ham. Its great. If I read this im sure id be bored outta my mind but the VAs giving it a joyous performance make it an insta fave for me tbh. 9/10.

Sk8 the Infinity: i watched the dub with my bro and I can confirm that its a spectacular show because we both loved it and we have vastly different tastes. Incredibly SUSPENSFUL AND STRESSFUL for an anime about skateboarding but we finished it in a single sitting tbh. The last episode is not dubbed for some reason but we still loved it. Like if Free! was less obnoxious but the only fan-service here is Joe ♡ a beefcake who owns my lesbian heart. I think there's exactly one named female character tho and I legit couldn't tell you what it was if there was a gun to my head. So, over all, 9.5/10.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: I'm going to be entirely honest, I went in thinking it was going to be a boring isekai of no value. I was right about the Isekai part. It was honestly pretty interesting and focused on nation building like you're playing civilization rather than the usual "Get Stronger" narrative or "Get Some Pussy" narrative most isekais take which is delightfully refreshing. Granted there are flavors of that in this which means it doesn't alienate the big isekai watchers out there, but it's not the whole dish and it doesn't make me want to cringe the same way others do. You've got a slime MC just vibing and building a nation of monsters nbd. Does lose points for making the female monsters more humanoid than their male counterparts but makes them back by only doing perfunctory fan-service and nothing that makes me want to cry... except the butt sumo episode but in fairness it was all a terrible dream. Literally, the MC refuses to dream anymore after that. solid animation, decent voice acting, decent story, made me realize how HUGE this is in the Light Novel community???? There's like 18 fucking novels and that's WILD. 8.5/10.

MANGA:

Spirit Photographer Saburo Kono: a one shot special by the mangaka of The Promised Neverland! Honestly a really delicate touch of both super creepy and really touching, and I'm not gonna lie I'm bummed that this isn't a bigger project but the single chapter makes it a good taste for their style. I've been wondering if I wanna read/watch The Promised Neverland and now I think I will. 10/10

Deranged Detective Ron Kamonohashi: from the mangaka of Hitman Reborn comes this Sherlock and Watson derivative! Not even 20 chapters out yet with a sort of spotty schedule, I honestly love it even thought it's exactly as you expect. HOWEVER. Kamonohashi the "Sherlock" character uses mental pressure to kill all confirmed murderers and it's up to Toto the "Watson" character to save all those people before Kamonohashi kills them! It's just recently introduced a "Moriarty" family of crime lords (not a big spoiler don't worry it was obvious) so the tension surrounding Ron's past is amping up rn. Personally, I think the art is GORGEOUS, the characters engaging, and the story quick enough to keep my interest. Most mysteries are solved within a chapter or two so you're not stuck 20 chapters into one locked room mystery which is just peachy tbh. RN, 10/10. If this gets an anime, I anticipate a legion of fangirls who ship the two main characters along with their many friends. I've been alive too long to believe otherwise.

Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro: Yeah I read the manga after I watched the show. A slower build than the anime, but it works for the format, if theyd done the same with the show then I don't think it wouldve done as well. Honestly? Cuter tbh but just as horny. You dont start really LEARNING about your character until like, chap 65 tho and no real "drama" happens until like 75. A good chunk of the chapters are like 8pgs so its a breeze to get through. I love these slow burn idiots of the century. 9.5/10 because you can DEFINITELY tell the mangaka does hentai too.

Yugen's All-Ghouls Homeroom: one-shot by the mangaka for Food Wars, it's no wonder there's this constant perviness from the MC, a guy who can see and exorcise spirits. Takes place at an all girl's finishing school with KICK ASS monsters tbh, kinda bummed its not longer. The MC? Blatant monsterfucker who is also a CONFRIMED monsterfucker???? Idk i vibe with that single emotion. Everything else is hit or miss. 7/10 for monsters and cool concept, lost points for the MC very pointedly being okay with admitting he'd wait for the teenagers to be adults tho. Creepy af. Could live without that.

Hell's Paradise: I finished the entire 127chps in 3 days and I was really enthusiastic about it 90% of the time thinking about how deep it was and then I actually thought about it and I ended up being very neutral about the whole thing tbh. The art is fantastic tho, but DEFINITELY deserving of the M rating. Tits. Tits everywhere. But not tits to be ecchi over, no, monster hermit tits on beautiful women-ish figures. Now generally I give that a pass but a huge theme in the story is that men and women are "no better than one or the other" but like, lady tits are what you see 99% of the time. Men tits are few and far between. I call bullshit on most of the "deep" themes is what I'm saying, so it's like the mangaka was trying for those deep thoughts but missed the margin a little too far for my preference. That being said, the MC is a married man who loves his wife which automatically makes him my favorite character so like... idk so many good things, so many misses, but overall really spectacular themes and imagery. Unique but classic all at once. It's getting an anime and I have NO IDEA how much censorship they're gonna be doing but they're going to be doing SO MUCH. Oh yeah, and one guy is a plant/human hybrid who fucks a 1000 year old plant-hermit which makes him a canon monster fucker. And one canon non-binary character who I, a nonbinary, actually like. So like... gosh I've got mixed feelings. 8.5/10.

Choujin X: From Sui Ishida, mangaka to the mega hit Tokyo Ghoul comes this brand new manga!... Of one chapter, lol. Not really binge-y because it's just the one chapter out right now but I'm already keeping my eye on it. The grasp on anatomy in the art is PHENOMENAL and you can see Ishida flexing his art skill which is great. Can't give a true rating but I'm giving it a tentative 9/10 because I'm excited to see more.

Shag&Scoob: technically not a manga, its an ongoing webcomic I binged an subscribed to in one day and I just think it deserves more attention. Starts off funny with "what if Scooby Doo had a gun" and has been led to "what if all cartoons are aliens that survive and receive their powers by the humans that love them in an epic war with Martians." On god, its good. I finished the current series in a couple hours so it's a breezy read, highly recommend it. 9/10.

To Your Eternity: Yeah I watched the anime and then finished all current 143 chapters in like 3 days. GOD IM WEAK. I don't buy physical manga unless I know I want to remember the story forever and I'm already budgeting for the current books out. Yeah, this is a good series. That being said, definitely not for the faint of heart or those who suffer under common triggers like suicide, molestation, death, etc. It's all framed as bad and necessary to the story don't get me wrong, but it's there and has lasting affects on the characters. Incredible story telling by the creator of A Silent Voice. Keep tissues nearby at all times. 12/10.

#i've been killing slimes for 300 years and maxed out my level #don't toy with me miss nagatoro #spirit photographer saburo kono #fruits basket #deranged detective ron kamonohashi #yugen's all-ghoul's homeroom #monster girl doctor #so i'm a spider so what #somali and the forest spirit #to your eternity #jigokuraku #hell's paradise #choujin x #shag and scoob #toilet bound hanako kun #prison school #sk8 the infinity #that time i got reincarnated as a slime

45 notes · View notes

ambassadorquark · 3 years

Text

here’s a long post about a bunch of webcomics i love and recommend. i’ve certainly read & liked other ones and have just lost track of them somehow but these are like, mostly classics that basically anyone who reads newer webcomics will recommend to you and a couple i’ve found more recently that i loved. tried to limit it to FAVES that update pretty regularly or are already completed so you can get quality stories out of it but it still ended up mammoth so uh, it’s goin’ under a readmore

namesake - super long-running comic with beautiful art, consistent and frighteningly frequent updates, made by Webcomics Pros. it’s about people who have the ability to enter the worlds of essentially any fairy tales in which the protagonists happen to share their name, and the lore only gets more intricate from there. this one is a very engaging archive binge as it’s been running for about a million years

gunnerkrigg court - honestly if you’re not already reading gunnerkrigg court i'd be very surprised since this is another one that’s been going easily since the invention of webcomics (not really, but THAT ARCHIVE!). i don’t know how to summarize it beyond saying it STARTS as a story about a girl attending a quirky boarding school and is now kind of a sweeping epic about the intersection of technology, nature, and divinity. there’s time travel or something in there now?! you will love renardine. i love renardine

paranatural - another one i’m sure you’re already reading and if not, WHY? it’s a fun li’l action-comedy about middle schoolers fighting ghosts with the help of other ghosts. has been running for a good while and gone through some weird changes but is also probably one of the funniest serial comics i’ve ever read

he is a good boy - a super weird, cerebral, since-finished comic by online comics vet KC Green, about a little acorn finally leaving the tree he grew on after it dies. this one has more “adult” content than any of the previous ones, but if you can handle some cartoony gore and obscenity it’s really funny, strange, and worth checking out

anything by evan dahm tbh - these come recommended by absolutely anyone with taste because evan dahm makes beautiful fantasy comics. rice boy and order of tales are both completed and have a bizarre, super-unique setting and bittersweet approach to these delicate, human stories (despite having no actual human characters). vattu is still currently running and is a slightly more grounded fantasy comic about a little girl from a nomadic hunter-gatherer culture getting caught up in the machinery of the empire that’s moving in on the land where she was born. cannot recommend these enough TBH

also anything on johnny wander - this site contains a bunch of comics by a couple of married comics pros; a big backlog of their really funny, charming autobio comics, the entirety of their graphic novel lucky penny, a whole bunch of shorter comics you might have seen around, and also their new, longer-form webcomic barbarous, which is about a wizard school dropout who’s appointed as a super at an apartment building full of weird magical folks. recommended because there’s a lot of quality stuff in there for you

the sword interval - on webtoon, completed. legit my favorite thing i’ve read in a hot minute. modern fantasy about a young woman who tracks down a legendary, but retired monster hunter for help on her quest to find and kill the lich-like being who killed her parents. gorgeous art, super awesome monster designs, twists on twists, characters you will never want anything bad to happen to ever. reggie the golem.

widdershins - a pretty well established comic i only just read recently. a series of connected stories following different characters from a big ensemble cast and their various adventures in a magical town in victorian west yorkshire. full of fun old-timey shit and wizards. i read it obsessively in like a day. super funny, super long archive. extremely endearing characters who you also will never want anything bad to happen to.

the last halloween - abby howard is a godly horror artist who’s been doing this comic since her style and sense of humor were almost completely different, but the story really does grow as it goes and is both very spooky and very funny. book one is about a little girl facing the potential extinction of humanity after the spontaneous appearance of billions of monsters. it’s currently in book 2, which is a direct sequel about different characters that actually updates sporadically at the moment because the artist is making other cool stuff. definitely still worth it though. gets intense as hell

string theory - this one got back into regular updates pretty recently! i’m linking the about page, not the homepage, because this one is about nasty people doing nasty things and there’s a few CWs that the author mentions right in the summary. it’s an alternate history sci-fi set in a near future where the USA was devastated by nuclear weapons after the cuban missile crisis but is mostly a character driven story about a jerkhole scientist having a terrible couple years. i can’t explain this one at all. if you like terrible men as much as i do you’ll probably enjoy it

tiger, tiger - a beautifully drawn maritime fantasy about a young noblewoman who impersonates her sea captain brother in order to launch an expedition to study sea sponges. there is a sexy nonbinary sea monster character if that sweetens the pot for you any. awesome, subtly integrated worldbuilding. super funny and charming. i love this one a whole bunch

bybloemen - i’m not just recommending this because i’m vague internet acquaintances with the author, it’s ALSO an extremely one-of-a-kind comic about the dutch tulip mania, and also demons. the art is gorgeous and the character designs are some of my favorites out there in newer webcomics. just kind of an extremely good concept that i think everyone should check out. and it’s funny, duh

mare internum - completed. an extremely affecting sci-fi set on Mars. you really just have to read this one, honestly. i’m also linking to the about page on this one because it contains CWs to keep in mind; it’s an incredibly well-constructed character study of some flawed, complicated people and also awesome if you like space aliens.

ozzie the vampire - another supernatural action-comedy because i know what i like, about a recently turned vampire girl and her best friend defending their small new jersey town from demons. super funny, super exciting, and really grounded and realistic for a story that’s about a vampire punching demons. the artist is also a superhuman wizard who draws a whole other comic, a shounen inspired action story called station square that you should check out if you end up liking ozzie.

#beep boop #i could probably come up with recs for people with slightly different taste than me but these all have my personal seal

40 notes · View notes

yurileclercseyeliner · 3 years

Text

A Dumb Rant About A Webtoon

Okay so I’m actually super into reading webcomics (I read them on both Webtoon and Tapas), and although this has nothing to do with my blog (I AM considering making a side blog for webcomic content/reviews tho) I sort of feel like ranting about one that I saw. I’m sorry, but if you like Athena Complex this is probably going to piss you off. Admittedly, I couldn’t get far into the comic without being upset about this so I stopped reading a few chapters in, so that may affect my opinion here. This is mainly my opinion though, and if you disagree with me it’s fine.

So I did mention in my Fire Emblem kelpie beast unit post my opinion on mythological adaptation. Essentially, I believe that when you adapt any sort of mythological being into your story you need to keep these two things in mind:

The recognizable features/symbols/abilities: by this I mean what physical features is this being known to have, what are their physical/magical abilities, what objects are they most associated with, etc. You don’t need to have every single thing that is mentioned in the source material, just a decent combination of them that can allow the reader to easily connect the adaptation to the source material.

This factor mainly applies to individual characters as opposed to a full species or classification of creatures (I have read a decent number of mythological adaptations and have seen a mythical species depicted as evil in one adaptation and benevolent or neutral in another and enjoyed both, it all depends on if it makes sense in the context). What are the character’s main personal views, goals, and motivations? By this I mean how do they think and what are their views on the world around them, and what is the context surrounding that? Essentially, what can their main personalities and motivations be boiled down to and why?

After those two factors, I think that you can then go buck wild with any other characterization as long as it isn’t contradictory and makes sense in your story.

Now that I have set that down here’s my deal with Athena Complex. Athena Complex is a Webtoon based on Greek mythology that follows Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and strategy. She falls in love with Poseidon, the god of the sea, and is rejected by him. Fueled by vengeance and a desire to win his heart she takes the form of a high school boy in order to take revenge on his reincarnation. Basically, this entire Webtoon is practically a public execution of a large part of what makes Athena, well, Athena.

First off, I will give credit to Athena Complex for at least getting the symbolism correct, Athena is a goddess of wisdom and war and when in the form of a goddess her design reflects that with her armor, among other things such as her association with owls, so the first aspect that I mentioned is fine.

Additionally there is the fact that they also did heavily tap into the prideful aspect of Athena’s nature. Essentially in the source material Athena is a VERY prideful goddess and will take any opportunity to prove her worth if someone attempt to upstage her, and gets very angry when she fails or is insulted in the process (ie the story of Arachne, the story behind the double flute). This aspect could also be seen slightly in Athena Complex’s Athena’s behavior, which I can also give them credit for.

But that’s where a lot of the similarities end. Tbh a large majority of these issues surround the second aspect, the basics of the figure’s personality and motivations.

First, Athena’s stance on romance. Original Athena...literally wanted nothing to do with any sort of romantic relationship. Seriously it’s one of her main things one of her epithets is literally “Parenthos”, which means virgin. No lovers, no sex, no marriage, no intentionally created children (I say intentionally bc she and Hepheastus accidentally created a child when his snot got onto a torn piece of her cloak, but that’s a different weird story), nothing. She solely focused on the expansion of knowledge and learning. She had no time for any sort of relationship. Making Athena in Athena Complex heavily motivated by an unrequited romantic attraction literally rips one of her main core values to shreds.

And this in my opinion one of the worst offenses, MAKING THE SUBJECT OF THAT ROMANTIC ATTRACTION POSEIDON. Literally one MAJOR thing for the original Athena and Poseidon is that they HATE each other. (Also Athena is literally Poseidon’s niece, but tbh that’s a less heinous crime bc Greek mythology was weird about that shit, multiple gods married their siblings/cousins/uncles/aunts/nieces/nephews/etc., it’s weird. Also in Athena Complex Poseidon acted the main person raising Athena, which is ALSO really fucking weird and concerning, anyway back to why they hate each other).

The Contest for Athens: Basically before the Greek city of Athens was called Athens the people were looking for a patron deity, and both Athena and Poseidon tried to lay their claim. In order to determine who the city would go to, they decided to have a contest of who could give the city the best gift. Poseidon gave the city some horses (for transportation and farmwork) and a small spring in the middle of the city (note: the water in the spring was salt water and therefore undrinkable). Athena gave them olive trees (for food, making oil, wood, etc.). The peoplr decided that Athena’s gift was better and thus named the city “Athens” after her, leaving Poseidon incredibly salty.

The Medusa Incident (TW: possible rape/non-con): So Poseidon was having a nice little affair with a mortal woman named Medusa (you notice how this name is familiar, right? that’s important). It’s a little iffy on whether or not this affair was fully consensual on Medusa’s end due to the sort of victim blame-y aspects to this story, hence the trigger warning. So Poseidon his having his fun and decides to find a nice little place they can go to do the nasty. Where does he think would be a great idea? One of Athena’s temples of course! You know, a literal place of worship dedicated to his rival who is known to dislike involvement in romantic/sexual relationships? Nothing could go wrong at all! They of course get caught, and Athena, being pissed, decides to curse Medusa with snakes for hair and the ability to turn people into stone just by looking at them (see why the name was familiar?) For good measure she also curses Medusa’s two sisters with the snake hair. The sisters are then dubbed the Gorgons and then go live in isolation on a island until they are killed by Perseus (a hero that Athena was helping).

So this Webtoon completely ignores the context behind this hatred and decides to make it into an enemies to lovers story based on unrequited feelings (the feelings of a person for their childhood caretaker too...still weird). I guess they wanted to do enemies to lovers and such based on a rivalry dynamic, but in doing so they erased most of the actual substance behind that rivalry by making it romantic and destroying the characterization of one of the main characters.

I can understand taking creative liberties, but before you do so you NEED to have a full understanding of the characters that you are adapting. If a mythological character is known for a certain practice (refraining from romance) or for having an extreme distaste for another figure (Athena hating Poseidon), INCLUDE IT. You NEED to have all of the bare bones basics before you start taking liberties.

For example, the original Athena:

Goddess of wisdom and strategy

Association with owls, olives, carries a shield known as Aegis

Highly values learning and knowledge

Prideful to a fault

Virgin goddess with no interest in romantic or sexual relationships

Extreme hatred for Poseidon as a result of repeated negative encounters

Those are the bare bones basics, after that you can do what you want.

Honestly I don’t think that this Webtoon is necessarily BAD, but it is VERY annoying when you have the context behind these characters (hence my frustration and inability to make it past 10 chapters). In my opinion, if the author wanted to write this storyline, they should have made their own OCs as opposed to butchering a pre-existing figure’s characterization.

(Also I’m so sorry I know that this isn’t relevant to my argument BUT THE POSEIDON REINCARNATION LOOKS SO BORING HE LOOKS LIKE A BACKGROUND CHARACTER WHERE IS THE FLAVOR????)

#athena complex #athena complex webtoon #webtoon #rant #again this is just my opinion #i don’t expect anyone to fully agree with me #tw mention of rape/noncon

10 notes · View notes